Pick ’n’ Mix

Possession is nine tenths of cycling

KNOG OI BIKE BELL

£15.99, todayscyclist.co.uk Like a diamond smuggler with an upset stomach, the law never ceases to throw up gems. Did you know that cyclists, for example, can’t be fined for speeding but can be booked for ‘cycling furiously’? Or that every new bike should be fitted with a bell? What constitutes ‘furiously’ is debateable, but you can be assured this bar-mounted tinger from Knog has a ring so pleasing it will calm even the most furious cyclist. £9 for four, scienceinsport.com American Randy Gardner holds the record for the longest time spent awake without stimulants, a literally eye-watering 11 days and 24 minutes. We’re not sure if his name makes him unwelcome at his local B&Q, but we do know that he could have stayed up even longer with these caffeinerich drinks, which claim to lower fatigue and boost mental performance.

3 BRIGHTSIDE SIDE LIGHT

£29.99, brightside.bike We can’t tell where we’ll be in three years – it’s not like we have 2020 vision. But we can at least be confident other road users will know where we are thanks to Brightside’s ingenious Side Light, which mounts perpendicular to your stem or top tube, emitting an amber light either side to increase rider visibility from all angles. Brilliantly simple.

4 KCNC TRACK PUMP CONNECTOR

£ 35, clee-cycles.co.uk ‘Ken Lin is our leader,’ states Taiwanese firm KCNC proudly. ‘KCNC staffs are fuelled with the single desire to design and produce our bicycle parts finest possible.’ It’s an admirable quest, and one Ken should feel has been achieved in this expertly made track pump head with aluminium chamber and durable stainless steel spindle. It can be fitted to virtually every track pump hose using the provided jubilee clip. Pure engineering joy function.

5 SWISSSTOP BRAKE PADS

from £23.99, extrauk.co.uk In a bid to reinvigorate the writing of this magazine, we clubbed together this month and bought a thesaurus. Sadly, not only is it useless, it’s also useless. Happily Swissstop’s new pads are anything but, the blue BXP compound being especially developed for alloy rim braking, while the green Disc 32s use a Kevlar, ceramic, brass and resin blend to halt rotors in their tracks.