In this issue of What We Have Noticed we look at the Pebble stainless steel watch, the XLab mini cage pod, Ortlieb's Velocity pack, awesome Brit bicycle art by Dynamo Works, the keen eye of Darryl Carey, and Mirinda Carfrae's fine new German Allroad from Audi of Boulder.
A stainless steel Pebble
I get an unbelievable amount of attention every time I wear my Pebble, a watch that I bought during the brand's now famous crowd funding push on Kickstarter. The brand introduced a stainless steel edition recently and I added one of these more elegant beauties to my quiver. In addition to the stainless steel housing it also features Corning Gorilla glass and should thus be very scratch resistant. And with a tri color LED display you can check out the charging status when connected via the USB charger.
Sadly though, this charger uses a different port to connect with the watch than the original Pebble, but that is only an issue for folks who have the regular one too. As for battery life, I get about 2-3 days of usage out of the watch with the gyroscope/accelerometer light feature and bluetooth turned on, and about twice as many days with both of these features turned off. Also, some watch faces which utilize the accelerometer siphon life out of the battery, but I have none of those loaded. I personally enjoy this watch for the variety of watch faces I can download, and when in meetings or on longer rides, I connect it to my phone and then can see on the watch who is calling me and check my messages without grabbing the phone. Actually really love it.
MSRP: starting at $229
XLab cage pod
Modifying old water bottles to make them into useful tool and spare tube holders is very popular among triathletes and cyclists. Some folks have done better jobs than others with these home made storage units, but XLab recently introduced a very clean solution for this situation. The Cage Pod has a wide screw top to keep your stuff safe and dry, and the felt bag should prevent all the rattling. For those athletes who want to carry more than a tube, tire lever, Allen tool and CO2 cartridge, XLab also offers a Mezzo Cage Pod that has a 50% greater volume.
Capacity: 500ml
Weight: 56 grams w bag
MSRP: $8.95
Ortlieb Velocity bag
The Ortlieb Velocity Rucksack is actually meant as a messenger bag but would make a very fine transition bag for triathletes. Actually anyone could easily use this sturdy backpack for a variety of applications and with the big variety of color options there should be one that fits your taste and style. I personally like this Limone colored one as it allows the wearer to be seen from a distance.
Colors: various
MSRP: $115
Dynamo Works prints
UK based outfit Dynamo Works designs very cool cycling related art prints and t-shirts by setting vintage wood type on 19th century relief presses. I simply love this old school craft and look, and also the messages the Dynamo Works team creates. Get on it already.
MSRP: varies
The Darryl Carey eye
Darry Carey was born and raised in the UK, but has been living in New Zealand for a while now. He is a photographer with a keen eye and while on assignment recently in Taiwan to shoot Challenge Taiwan, he stumbled upon this very cool and stylish young cyclist. One or both parental units of this child are likely very active cyclists themselves and we think this passion will be handed down from generation to generation.
Mirinda Carfrae's Audi
It is not surprising to see Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae very happy here next to the very flash Audi Allroad. Her new sponsor is Audi of Boulder and the sweet looking German car will be her new ride when she isn't training or racing on her Felt IA. I also expect her to now drive to some events where she might otherwise have flown to. Vorsprung durch Technik. Makes me also want to go to the Audi dealership right here and take an Allroad for a test drive.
