Products to swear by, at

I haven't done a 'stuff I use' post in a while, so I figure now's a good a time as any.

The reviews are for various products I've tried and/or used religiously in the last few months, in the order I thought of them. I've tried to keep them short, but probably failed. :)

Pearl Izumi Attack shorts, 2006 - My favorites of the PI shorts are the Ultrasensors, but my post-elephant body has temporarily outgrown both pairs I own. So, I was thrilled when my bike shop had a $20-off sale on the Attacks. I have a pair of the 2005s, and they have the same chamois as the Ultrasensor. The inseam is a little shorter and the material is different, but they're good shorts. With the discount it made it worth it to pick up another pair in XL.

Well. They have apparently revamped the design for 2006, and while they still work well, I don't like them as much as the 2005 version. The 2006 XL is smaller than the 2005, or the material is less stretchy. They also feel shorter than last year, and don't have the same chamois as the Ultrasensor anymore. (I can understand that, I guess...the Attacks are $20 cheaper.) The new chamois is still better than every other brand of shorts I've tried (I've only tried sub-$100 shorts, so know nothing of the high-end brands), but not as good as my other ones. There's no chafing, still, but I notice pressure more than in my '05 Ultrasensors/Attacks.

So, while I still recommend them, I prefer the '05s.

Trek Sonic Elite helmet - I got this at the same sale I bought the Attacks, and it was the better of the two purchases. Much lighter than my old helmet, and very comfortable. Guess which color I have. ;)

Odwalla Bars - I love these. Buying the Superfood one was a little scary (because the Superfood drink is spinach green, which kind of freaks me out), but it turned out to be the best of the bunch. The Berries GoMega is also really good. I thought I'd like the Cranberry C-Monster more than I did, but it wasn't bad. I plan to try the rest of them eventually...they make a good mid-afternoon snack.

Terry Butterfly Ti saddle - I bought one of these about 4-5 months ago, because Team Estrogen had a clearance sale on the '04 model. I got a great price on it, and I rode it for a few months. Ultimately, though, I ended up putting the Liberator back on my bike. For the kind of riding I do (not racing, mostly upright), the Liberator was a better fit for me. I think the Butterfly's nose might be just a tad too long, and the cutout never felt like it was in the right place. I think it'd be better for someone with a more stretched-out riding position, but it just didn't work for me. (Anyone want a used one--cheap? Email the address on the sidebar.)

Champion C9 - This entire line is well made for the price. My favorite product is the one thing that I can't find online--I don't even know what it's called. It's a tank, I guess, but loose and with no shelf bra. It's almost identical to the Prospirit ones I reviewed last year, which I have worn and washed so many times that the labels have completely worn away. I have the C9 version in orange and hot pink, and they're great for walks, spin classes, and gym workouts. If they had back pockets, I would wear them on the real bike, too.

Adidas Climacool sports bras* - I only buy them when I happen upon a sale, so I only have two. They are the hands-down favorites of my collection, though--good moisture wicking, decent coverage and support. If you're bigger than a D, they might feel a little bouncy, but for my B/Cs, they offer plenty of support without feeling binding.

*This is not the model I have, but it's the closest I could find. I think mine are both past years' models.

Coppertone continuous spray sunscreen - Maybe a little bit pricey, but when weighed against the raging sunburn I get because I'm too lazy/inflexible to fully apply the sunscreen lotion? Well worth it. Spray, dress, go. Easy as that. I don't use it on my face, though...I have an SPF 15 moisturizer that works well enough, without the vaguely chemical smell.

Goody Stay-Put hair accessories - I had to restock my ponytail (or in my case, pigtail) holders the other day, so I picked up several different varieties of these at Target. The elastics are excellent, though they tend to be a little snarly coming out. The headwraps are hit-or-miss. The wide one was good, but I had trouble with the thin and middle-thickness ones falling out, particularly when I was wearing a ponytail. They were more reliable with pigtails, but I still felt like they were slipping a little bit. I think part of it was that they were a little too big for my head. And my head isn't freakishly small, so maybe I'm just wearing the things wrong. At any rate, I swear by the elastics, swear at the headwraps.

Crank Bros. speed lever - Best. Bike. Tool. Ever. It was taking me 20 minutes to change a tire with regular tire levers, and I can do it with this thing in less than five. The best part of it is the little hook on the bottom (see link), which forces the tire bead back into the rim, even during those last tough inches. (It might tear up the tire a bit over time, but for wusses like me, it's a small price to pay.)

Timbuk2 large seat pack - I bought this specifically to hold my dearly-beloved speed lever...it wouldn't fit in my old seat pack. :) It's a great bag...fits a spare tube, CO2 pump, multitool, speedlever, my car keys, and still has room for a credit card/cash and a pair of gloves. There was that little incident with the strap at the Space Race, but I think that was more a function of seat/shorts position than the strap itself. I haven't had a problem since, anyway.

eBags Kalya tote - As much as I love Gigantor, after a year of daily use, her charms are starting to wear off. I've been losing things in the bottom of the bag lately because it's so big, it's too heavy, there's no separate compartment for dirty clothes, etc. So, once again, I found myself bag shopping. And after much searching, I settled on this one.

I've had it for two days now, and it's mostly good. I like the color (pink) and the overall style. It's pretty light. I like the iPod compartment, though I kind of have to cram my headphones in there...the little poke-through headphone port is useless to me, since I never use my ipod and my bag at the same time, but it's a nice thought for those that do. I like how the water bottle compartment zips to fit, and the front flap pocket with the different compartments and the key lanyard is a nice feature. One workout's worth of gear and supplies fits inside without employing a complicated packing system and/or a shoehorn. I also like the little pouch pockets to keep shampoo bottles and such contained.

Now, the cons. It's a little smaller than I'd like, since I can't fit a decent-sized bath towel in there on those days I want to shower at the gym. While it does have a zipper pocket on the inside where I can hide/stow dirty clothes, it's not terribly big. So I can, say, quarantine my dirty underwear, but I can't stuff an entire outfit in the stink chamber and also carry a clean set of clothes in the main compartment. The single most annoying thing about this bag, though, is the handles. Or, actually, the complete LACK of handles. It has a shoulder strap--which is really quite comfortable, no complaints there. However, when I go to set it down somewhere, it's more of a hunch-and-throw motion than the lift-and-place I've grown accustomed to.

So, overall, I like it. If they added a set of clutch handles by the top zipper and made it even 10% bigger, it would be my One True Bag.

Starbucks blackberry green tea frappuccino I was intrigued by this drink when it first came out. I am noncommittal about green tea, but I love blackberries...would I like this? I didn't try it for a week or two, because caffeine is my primary objective on a Starbucks run and this doesn't have much of it. Besides, it has nearly triple the calories of my nonfat latte, so I had to plan ahead.

I finally tried the thing on my way home from the Space Race a couple weeks ago. It was fine, but not something I'd ever order again. The blackberry syrup was a little too sweet, and the green tea was as bleh as always. It was nice to drink something sweet and cold after 3 hours on the bike, but for my frappuccino dollar (or 4), I would have been happier with a caffe vanilla light.

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So, that's about it for the reviews for now. I recently got a couple jerseys, and I have a pair of shoes on order, so there will probably be more reviews coming once I have a chance to try them out.