FAVORITE Bike Gear of 2021!

My favorite bike gear of 2021.

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[danielstranahan]

Russ, it was so nice to hear you cover some of the practical benefits of the Cable Cherries. Since they're anodized and often get paired up with other expensive made in USA parts, I think they often get lumped into a category of unnecessary bike 'bling' or jewelry (which to some extent they are!) when in fact, all the practical benefits you mentioned were my main intention with the design. Cheers! -Dan

[TerryB]

Cable Cherries 🍒 are excellent. I really dislike crimps. Thank you for the heads up!

[coreyreeder]

Thanks for not taking yourself too seriously, Russ. I laughed multiple times through this video. May have to pick up some cable cherries for my old dad bike

[GMoneyLove]

My winner(s) for the year: Goat Link + Shimano GRX rear derailleur coupled with my 2x from Shimano cranks/AbsoluteBlack chainrings. Result? The "Bucktooth Mullet." Lots of climbing range with good gear spacing in a near bomb proof system. And as a friend says- "You can pull stumps with that bike." Now to get some Cable Cherries to make it all look good. :-)

[katcorot]

Bike Iowa stated, after his review of the pogies, they received 400 orders in 2 weeks. I know I ordered some, and hopefully will receive in January

[kellymorris]

Bike Iowa Pogie Lites! Absolutely love mine on my Jones H bars. They're awesome for unpleasant weather. Well worth every dime. Glad to see you enjoying them.

[ranggiarohmansani]

as Ratio user with 1x12 and 51t cassette in my bike, it's one of the best investment, so I don't really need to catch up with bike industry trend for solid 3-5 year.

[OneLessCar]

Those lightweight poggies would be great for the UK where the normal ones are overkill most of the time.

[jp]

I would nominate Fillmore Reserve tubeless-specific Presta valves for next year. Just put them on and aside from having to hunt down a different sealant syringe tube for filling the tires, I am more than impressed. No need to use a special quick charging tank on an expensive floor pump or even an air compressor to seat the bead. Expensive but truly evolutionary.

[joeumbrell]

My vote for most supple is a tie between the Microshift Advent X groupset and Russ' artwork. I have the groupset in the garage on my bike and one of the postcards framed on the bookcase next to me as I watch this!

[Sergio_Math]

Most supple gear of the year for me was the bronze PartyPace stem cap I got for my bronze-colored gravel bike :)

[herethere]

Barnett Bicycle Institute actually does a sizable rant about proper cable termination; according to them there is no substitute to soldering cable ends and I would have to agree with them (requires skill though, perhaps why it is so uncommon). End crimps, or otherwise, are just for preventing injury from sharp ends while soldering truly allows the cables to get reused without ever worrying about frayed ends. Crimps are easy to remove if you simply crimp 180-degrees from the original crimp.

[ESI_Grips]

Thanks for the shoutout Russ. We love that you choose and enjoy our products!

[Beesno]

Russ, if you like the ESI grips but are switching them around all the time, the deity supracush may be a good fit. They're almost as squishy as the ESI extra chunkies, but being lock-ons, are super easy to switch out.

(Note: they're pretty big, so may not fit all hands)

[onelastlap]

Didn’t even know those cable cherries existed, very cool! Liked the other recommendations as well, great video 👍

[sagehiker]

I am a fan of alt bars and my back and more body parts can't abide drop bars BUT I think your selection of the most supple bike gear is a cross over adapter is great! The struggle is real for so many of riders around me trying to run real gravel and sketchy dirt in my area with road gearing.

[rogervancleave]

Agree on the Ratio conversation kits…game changers! Now to source some cable cherries 🍒.

[thombatty]

ESI grips are great, but as you say a PITA to install. I find that I get the same degree of comfort with Salsa Fat Foam lock on grips without the installation and removal headaches.

[yazzmatazz]

This is already my favourite video of the year, triple laurels for you!

[TravelingThru]

That Ritchey is so nice. Jack the Bike Rack might be coming home with me. Great video, love the show.