Chris S
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Tested: Serfas Dual Density Saddle Review
As mentioned in the New Zealand Alps to Ocean write up, I was impressed by the cushy Serfas Dual Density saddle on the original Merida rental bike and back home tracked one down for just £25. It’s really like one of those naff gel covers of old, bonded into a saddle and probably scoffed at…
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E-Biking Across Snowdonia
Trans Cambrian Way Monks Trod (shortly) Wales. A great place to try the Tero out in the wilds over a few days. Snowdonia was the site of my first independent teenage adventures: trekking the snowy Carneddau; rock climbing Llanberis Pass; riding our Triumph 750s through Beddgelert, strung with colourful bunting for the 1977 Queen’s Jubilee.…
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Karakoram: Cycling China to Pakistan
See also: Himalaya. We’re Alive!Bikepacking Ladakh & Spiti Valley (soon) Central Asia has always intrigued me, a richly historic cultural crossroads with added mountains and deserts. I read Peter Hopkirk’s and Colin Thubron’s books on the region while working in a bookshop, but getting there with a motorbike (my usual ride) from the UK was…
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Tero X5: Better Headlamp Mount
Other Tero X5 posts Even from near-new the Tero 5.0 X headlamp mount which slots under the handlebar stem was loose. Loose eventually breaks off, so I reduced the play with some tape (below right). In Wales, a gust blew the bike over while opening another interminable gate, and when Tero forks flip 180° the…
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Dartmoor E-Bike Recce
Dartmoor has a mystique unmatched by other moorland areas in Britain. Or maybe it’s just me. I still recall the mist-bound moorland road as a teenager on the way to walk the Cornish Coast Path. Elton John’s Funeral for a Friend was on the cassette; the track starts with a suitably chilling wind and sonorous…
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Tested • Adidas 5.10 Trail Cross Mid Pro MTB Shoes
In a LineLook good, well made, grip like geckos, but clammy and ankle cuffs too tight for me. What they sayHigh top shoes for adventure biking.To bike pack is to explore. When the ride is more about the adventure than the destination, these Adidas Five Ten mountain biking shoes fit the bill. Pedal, push and…
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Tested • Catalyst Pedals
Although I won’t miss being thwacked in the shins by MTB pedal studs, I’m not entirely won over by my Tero X5‘s OE Specialized Commuter ‘sandboard’ pedals for my intended use. I suppose commuters prefer not chewing up their city soles, but on the trail and with mud-clogged footwear, I’m not convinced they’ll work with…
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E-Biking Alps to Ocean (NZ)
After six days riding three e-MTBs along New Zealand’s 300-km Alps to Ocean bike trail (A2O map below), in early 2026, again I wonder if e-MTBs are an answer to trail biking here in the UK where there are way more cycle-friendly bridleways than moto permissible byways, let alone the wild expanse of the Scottish…
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Waiting for Kamingo
A Kickstarter campaign In the summer of 2025 caught my eye: a dinky, clip-on, 750w ‘rub motor’ called Kamingo from China which converted your regular hardtail to on demand e-assist. Comprised of the motor clipped to a seat stay bracket, a 266w battery in the bottle cage and a controller on the bars, the whole…
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Himalaya: ‘We’re Alive!!”
See also: Kashgar China to Chitral Pakistan. Late in the 2009 season, we flew to Leh in lovely Ladakh, then cycled south across Himalayan passes up to 5200 metres. By now acclimatised to riding at this elevation, we decided to string it out and, just before the once notorious Rohtang Pass for Manali (now tunnelled),…
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Tero X5: Purbeck Range Testing
Other Tero X5 posts The bloke who sold me the Tero reckoned it did 70 miles to a charge. Good to know; about 110km, but of course what does it mean? All day in Eco, switching off, level or hilly? The question every young tyke asks on seeing a flash bike needed answering: ‘What’ll it…
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Aeroe Spider Rack
The geef’s XS Lapierre e-MTB needed a rack, but this bike has no fitting eyelets at the axle, just a pair near the seat tube. Odd. There are spindly conventional racks on eBay from 12 quid with crude pipe clamps for the seat stays. Then a mate put me on to Kiwi-made Aeroe racks which…