Reid Falco Elite 2014, 1 year on. Plus, all my other bike accessories that I haven't mentioned yet

Reid Falco Elite 2014, 1 year on. Plus, all my other bike accessories that I haven't mentioned yet.

Bike stuff.

I was always planning on doing a long term review of the Reid Falco Elite 2014, and it just so happens that I recently passed the 1 year anniversary since I bought it.

This time last year, I had plans to be riding a lot more than I actually am now. I envisaged riding after work everyday, at night, in traffic, epic long distances, and while I've done all those things, I don't actually do them that often. Due to other interests and factors outside my influence like the weather and the atrocious local cost of cold season riding gear I've settled into mainly a weekend ride with a possible sneaky one during the week along the local bike track which constitutes about a 35 minute ride each way for just over an hour or so riding in total.

Since buying the bike I've also had one major accident that saw me fall/flip over onto the bike path embankment while trying to avoid crashing into 2 small children who, having just received their shiny new Christmas presents, thought to go riding together.. side by side.. across the entire track width.. around a blind (for their height) corner.

The derailleur hanger did a fair job of taking the brunt of the impact, but sadly the rear mech was also bent and while serviceable will never shift the same again.

I don't really have the desire to go used, or new 105 5700 components, and if I want to go for 5800, it makes more financial sense to spend a couple hundred more on the newer version of the same bike. Along with full 5800 I'd be getting some upgrades to the frame such as internal cable routing, better seat, new forks, better handlebar tape, plus 12months free servicing.

All in all, I cannot fault the bike in any way. For the price it has been, and continues to be, extremely good to me. If there was one thing I wished was different it would be more tyre clearance of the forks. I'm sure a 25 would fit but a 28 would probably rub. Given the trend towards wider tyres with lower pressures and the general state of the bike paths and roads around my area I would have liked to have the option to go wider.

That about wraps up my long term review. Everything I stated in the original review still stands and at the price I would still recommend the old 2014 model. If the updated model is as good as it's predecessor I'd recommend that as well.

I should also mention that the Mavic Axiom wheelset I bought has also gone through some rough abuse and are holding strong after 2 accident related re-truings.

Now on to the accessories:

Elite Super Jossanova water bottle and Mejio bottle cage

Got this pair on sale at Chain Reaction Cycles. I use the bottle all the time, everyday, even off the bike, just drinking water all day long. It won't spill, flows fast, and matches the colour scheme of my bike. One of the best investments I've ever made. The only downsides are:

1. The elongated triangle graphic indicating which direction is close and open has worn off from the way you have to grip the cap the screw it closed and unscrew it open. No big deal as by that time you know the direction off by heart.

2. Upon receipt there was a distinct plastic odour that had to be washed out. I gave up and just started using it. I await any long term side-effects.

3. Below a certain fill level, the air inside the bottle will interact with the pressure in the room you are in, so if you are in a small room with limited ventilation, the membrane can 'wheeze' and 'pop' with your breathing while you are trying to get to sleep. This is easily fixed by closing the cap before going to bed, but waking up in a haze and desperate thirsty for a drink is always made more annoying when you go to squeeze and forgot you closed the cap. YMMV.

10/10

The bottle cage has been flawless. Easy to use, doesn't snag on clothing. My one complaint would be finicky installation but I don't have any other bottle cages to compare to.

9/10

Airace Fit Tele Road mini pump

This pump is small and compact, but not very light or effective. I used it exclusively as my primary pump for months before upgrading to a floor pump. Only useful as a backup emergency pump, it comes with a clip that mounts beneath a bottle cage. The first one of these I had, the mount sheared off at the bolt holes from road vibration (not excessive in any way) releasing the rubber strap and letting the pump drop to the ground where it bounced directly into my spokes before getting torqued backwards, painfully into my shin, then falling beneath the rear wheel where it was crushed beyond repair.

I was lucky in this instance that only one side of the wheel spokes caught it as if it had bridged across both sides I probably would have been flung over the bars.

I took it back to Reid cycles where I got it (free with my bike purchase) and the lady took one look at the mount and replaced it free of charge.

It's attached to my bike but I haven't had need of it since getting the floor pump.

Apart from the bad luck I've had with it, I really did like the head mechanism design. You clamp the socket to the valve, pulling the locking lever, then twist the handle releasing the telescoping head. This disconnects the movement of the body from the head so you can be as vigorous as you want with your pumping and not fear damaging the tyre or valve.

As for the actual pump action, it's only in the compression direction, and the drawback only serves to fill the pump chamber. Pretty standard for this class of mini pump.

Where the pump falls short is the handle. The portion you grip with your hands is too small. Inevitably you pinch your fingers between the two moving halves or slip off either of the sections. Having one of those swivelling end caps on the lower section which allows you to get your palm involved would have required a shorter lower section, allowing the upper section to be proportionally longer, aiding grip and reducing hand muscle fatigue while avoiding pinched fingers. There's not reason this couldn't be done and if they can keep the aesthetic of the current design while stowed then it would be a definite recommend from me. As it is, there are probably better pumps out there that don't look as good and conversely better looking pumps that have less functionality.

5/10

Jetblack Jetrace Saddle Bag (Large)

The large is too large for the height and aft position of my seat. There isn't enough room above or below it on the seatpost to mount a rear LED flasher (the small ones like the Knog frog series). Capacity is good as is construction and materials. The storage chamber has hard, slightly flexible walls so items inside won't be crushed in an accident.

The velcro strap is atrocious. It's way too long for it's intended fitment and the ends are so sharp that they have actually sliced a hole in my lycra bib shorts. This sharpness combined with the excessive length is a bad combination as my bare skin will attest.

Utilizing a quick release clip mechanism would have been way smarter and less mess/fuss. If I ever replace this bag, I'm going with one of those designs. I bought this because it was cheap, but being instore-purchase only I wasn't able to bring my bike that far into the shopping complex to judge size.

I have no negative things to say about this company and if they brought out a similarly priced quick release version of this with a wider but squatter and design I'd definitely go for it.

3/10

Smart USB 500 lumen LED front light (BL185USB).

I bought this light based on the generally positive reviews of the 400 lumen predecessor to this model, especially when priced among the 100-250 lumen offerings from most other brand names.

The box contained the light and two mounts. A flexible rubber one and hard plastic one. The flexible one is fine for road use while the hard one has a screw retention mechanism which seems a lot more firm and suited to offroad use.

I can't vouch for any of the claims on the box but the battery is stated as Sanyo or Panasonic Li-Ion, the LED CREE.

Turning on the light is neat. Hold the button for 2 seconds and the light comes on with the mode you were previously in. While on, click the button once to cycle (no pun intended) to the next mode.
From my experience quoted run times are accurate at 2.5hours on high, with around 10hours on low. Charge time is also accurate at around 6.5 hours from almost dead.

Low mode is quoted at 250 lumens but I'm inclined to think either it's higher than that, or the high mode does not actually reach 500 lumens.

In either mode it's super bright. Probably blindingly so for oncoming motorists, so angle appropriately (very easy with the rubber mount).

There is also one other mode which you will never use short of firing this up at a rave concert. The 'Superflash' mode turns the light on and off rapidly and is quoted at 40hours run time. This mode would have been really useful had the flash rate not been so fast. It needs to be about 1/8th the flash rate to even make sense. It's also flashing at the high output setting which makes it doubly annoying to other road users. Perhaps there's a hack you can solder onto the circuitry to accomplish this but I'll wait for someone else to try first.

The quick release mount is super easy to use, and as such I can use this light as a general purpose light, or camera spotlight in a pinch, and I do. All the time.

The charge port is covered by a rubber flap and grommet so waterproof for the most part. Build quality in general is superb with aluminium front and very strong plastic for the rear and mounting point in a fairly light package. I wouldn't be surprised if this survived a fall from a second story building.

Would highly recommend this or any future version, especially if they can fix/tune the strobe rate of the flashing mode, and perhaps add an additional low setting while strobing.

8/10

That's all the stuff that currently attaches to my bike. My next post will not be specifically a bike related product but does have an interesting connection to bikes and also the Sony Action Cam I reviewed a while ago (of which I now have 2 after adding an HDR-AS20).