Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Thinking Ahead

No matter what the law dictates in your particular state, not wearing a helmet while riding is one of the dumbest things you can do. That doesn’t mean lugging around a bulky dome guard is any fun for commuters. The Overade aims to make riding slightly more convenient and just as safe. Designed in France [...]

Bicicletta Italiano

Bringing their subtle Italian style from leather goods to two-wheel motion, Travelteq has collaborated with Milan based Cicli Maestro to create the Traveler Bike (~$1120). For the record, we haven’t decided whether or not to categorize it as a style accessory or simply a stylish bicycle, but we’re leaning toward the former. The single speed [...]

No Drafting

It’s quite satisfying when you find quality bike wear that not only offers up the right functionality, but also looks downright fashionable. We recently tested the Icebreaker Commute Jacket ($230) and fell in love with it — a trend these days with Icebreaker gear. The 84% Merino wool Ponte 355 fabric is both soft and [...]

Hipster Grill Guard

Is your biking habit leaving its mark in the form of mud speckles on your designer jeans, or god forbid, dulling your neon yellow paint job on your custom fixie? Bike accessory maker Full-Windsor created the Quickfix Bicycle Mudguard to stop these road condition annoyances from cramping your two-wheelin style. The origami-inspired plastic fenders can [...]

Clothes that keep up

Nonetheless Garments is a new Chicago clothing brand dedicated to creating stylish menswear that can also withstand the fluctuating weather conditions of commuting. The magic all starts with using advanced materials like Polartec NeoShell, which has twice the airflow of comparable waterproof materials, without looking like it was shorn from a Paratrooper. Like any good [...]

Just the push you need

Electric bicycles present a nice compromise to green commuters who are slightly apprehensive about relying solely on their own stamina to get around. Unfortunately, they’re expensive (usually $1,000 and up). The Ridekick electric bicycle trailer ($700) can add up to a 19 mph electric push to any existing bike, making it a more affordable solution [...]

Hidden In Plain Sight

Quarterre is first and foremost a London-based, multi-disciplinary design studio that has been lending their talents to luxury manufacturers over the past four decades in the fields of transport, product, and entertainment design. They also dabble in creating fantastic looking bike accessories that provide convenient storage to two-wheeled commuters without sacrificing a sense of interior [...]

The fine folks at Gear Junkie brought this film starring Minneapolis custom bicycle builder Eric Noren, founder of Peacock Groove Cycles to our attention. Proclaimed as the Liberace of bikes by some, in this short film Noren covers his approach to creating the ultimate two-wheeled ride that hipsters, road bikers, or any fan of self-powered [...]

2 Wheel Motion

You know those Chrysler commercials touting the tagline “Imported from Detroit”? Well, we like to imagine that there’s another one but rather than cars they’re packed with similarly seductive night shots of Detroit Bicycle Company’s two-wheeled artistry. The company’s works are rolling testaments to killer design, with each bike entirely hand-crafted in Motor City. Indicative [...]

Chain Drink

Bike rack maker Kuat (Koo-at) has released a convenient and clever contraption for keeping your wheels safe. What looks like a typical bike water bottle from the outside actually contains a five foot internally coiled 8mm cable thats designed to lock back into itself. The bottle also sports a lower storage compartment for stashing keys [...]

The Eye Sees All

All headlamps are about the same, right? Not quite. Basic LED headlamps do a decent job of lighting up dark places, but lack the intensity and flexibility needed for a range of night-time situations. This is where the LED Lenser H7 ($54) shows off its abilities. We got our mitts all over this new release [...]

Racked Up

Drive down the main street of any outdoorsy town like Boulder, Jackson Hole or Ely and every other Subaru you see will have some sort of roof rack on it, carrying a quiver of bikes, boats, skis or cargo. But rarely will they carry all of the above. That’s because most of the rack systems [...]

Better Brain Bucket

Belgium is arguably the most rabid cycling nation in the world (sorry France). So it’s no surprise that the country that produced Eddy Merckx, the Tour of Flanders and embrocation would also produce some of the best bike helmets. Lazer is the world’s oldest helmet company, having started out making those old leather hairnets way [...]

You never know when you’re going to need some illumination

Whether you’re caught out after sunset on your bike, troubleshooting an uncooperative ’74 Beetle, plotting your pre-dawn summit bid, or finding a blown fuse in a dark basement, a good light source becomes invaluable. The problem is, you usually need different lights for different purposes and the one you need is rarely where you need [...]

Back and Fold

Small car. Smaller bike. And so the idea goes behind the MINI Folding Bike ($499). Built around a lightweight aluminum frame that hinges along the crossbar and handlebars, the bike can be unfolded in just a few seconds. Weighing less than 25 lbs, it also features an 8 gear chainset, 20 inch wheels and matte [...]