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Gottseidank, es ist Freitag! I have no idea if that’s right, I got it off Google translate, but you know what I mean, thank goodness it’s Friday! You’ve made it. I’ve made it. We’ve made it. And what a week it has been.
In preparation for the last of the Monuments, Il Lombardia (read our guide here), we’ve been riding up one of the steepest climbs in Italy, the Muro di Sormano – so steep the pros petitioned to have it dropped from the race; I’ve been reviewing what has to be the most beautiful titanium bike ever, the Reilly Fusion (and it ain’t half good), and Trek's new Domane (and it ain't half bouncy).
Robyn’s been mixing it up with an exceptional Extremely Online Round-up in which newly crowned World Champ Remco Evenepoel gets on the DJ decks, and we even thought we’d do a deep-dive into Remco’s previous footballing career, as told by his old coach. He was a bit tasty. Remco, I mean, no idea about the coach, but one would assume he was OK at footie too. Oh, and the UCI is doing gravel racing, have you heard?
But now, it is Friday and this is the moment you’ve been waiting for: here is me telling you about elastic straps made from inner tubes that cost £58 each. And other stories.
Quite apart from this being an exceptional coat to curl up in next to a canal after enjoying one too many of Amsterdam’s notable hospitality cafes, the Scotch & Soda coat is ‘Amsterdam Proof’ because it’s been designed with city commuting in mind.
Which is what they do in Amsterdam, home of the sit-up-and-beg-bicycle being pedalled at improbable speeds with all the inertia of a bulldozer, often in wind and rain.
This, then, is one of those fashion brand-does-practical garments that, as fashion dictates, is really rather expensive. Or is it? It’s little more than some of Rapha’s top end jackets, and vastly less than Assos’s, and sure, this isn’t a jacket for sports riding, but then again I’m not wearing the £575 Assos Equipe RS Johdah jacket to the cinema or the pub.
This, then, is the Scotch & Soda Amsterdam Proof’s first major win, it is apparently very fashionable (I have been told, I’m a cyclist and nearly forty so I wouldn’t know). But then on top, this seems to be, so far, a really well-made jacket with a bunch of well-thought out features for riding.
First and foremost, it’s waterproof. I don’t have the hydrostatic numbers for you, but it seems to work well so far. It’s got a drop tail to further lengthen what is already is essentially a trench coat come Liam-Now then, Now then-Gallagher parka.
Those extra flaps fold up and secure with poppers off the bike, and fold down to help usefully cover legs and bum when on the bike. The sleeves are slightly longer too, to account for reaching forward for bars, and the hood has a very useful little flip-up peak like you find on a cotton cycling cap.
There’s a reflective detail on there too, which can be seen from behind, plus several elasticated drawcords to pull the hood snug around the face or back over the head, so the peak doesn’t cover eyes. Rounding off the ‘cycling-specific’ brief are pit zips for breathability.
Elsewhere, elasticated drawcords tie off cuffs along with Velcro swatches, and the little metal drawcord toggles have Scotch etched on one side and Soda on the other, which is a nice touch. There are plenty of pockets, the front two are kind of layered, with a popper-accessed pocket on the front and side zip-accessed pocket behind.
The latter is good for plunging hands deep into like a normal person; the former can be used to house hands and arms vertically so you can stand like you’re waiting for a bus in a Shane Meadows series.
On that note, this isn’t an insulated jacket per se, but the way it comes all the way past the knees plus the overall heft of the material makes it pretty warm.
If there’s a criticism, it’s the fit. This is a size small, which feels roomy up top but with the full sleeping bag zipper done up it leaves me walking like a penguin on his way to the Hacienda.
I started with a medium, but while that solves the walking issue, it’s huge up top. Still, this is the style in a sense. But it’s all forgivable, mainly as the zip undoes from the bottom so you can make a slit to better aid leg movement, and as other people are no doubt a different shape to me, so someone broader up top with skinnier legs will be just fine.
I’d still suggest going one size down than what the size chart would have you believe.
• Buy now from Scotch & Soda (£370)
What’s the most expensive inner tube on the market? I used to think the Tubolito had a good shout at £30, but now there is the Fair Daily Hook. Sort of.
That’s because the Daily Hook is a pair of Swiss-made aluminium carabiner-style hooks that attached to the ends of a road bike inner tube to turn said inner tube into a hooked, elastic strap. It’s really quite genius.
The idea is twofold, it makes for better-performing cargo straps for commuter racks of bikepacking luggage than regular bungees since the hooks are way more dependable, but it also gives old inner tubes a new lease of life. Look at your classic city messenger’s bike and they’ve known this for years, albeit without the easy-use nature of clips.
The clips hold the ends of the inner in a clamping mechanism secured by two torx bolts which is eminently satisfying to appraise but also dead strong – I can’t ever see an inner slipping out. The sprung-action of the clips is also rather pleasing.
Still, all this better be the case, because whether it’s just straight up manufacturing economics or something to do with the pound verse the Swiss franc, just one of these things costs £58. However, if you are prepared to supply your own old tube, a pair of hooks can be had for a few quid less.
I can’t help loving the Fair Daily Hooks – they are so well made and so insanely priced. There’s something marvellous in that combination, a money-no-object dream come true. Fair play.
Endura comes from Scotland, and Scotland understands bad weather like nowhere else in the UK. Not because Scottish weather is somehow awful – dramatic is the word, plus I’ve enjoyed plenty of sunny days north of the border – but because in my cycling life at least, Scottish people know how to embrace the weather without moaning about it like we do.
But that takes the right kit, which is where Endura steps in with its all-new Pro SL Waterproof jacket – a packable waterproof shell with a road-racing cut.
The waterproof claim comes from the fact this jacket is rated at 20,000mm, with anything over 10,000mm considered officially waterproof for downpours.
The measurement describes a column of water being placed on a fabric before the fabric leaks, so a 20,000mm-rated fabric can contain a column of water 20m high before it leaks.
The Pro SL is incredibly light at 163g, and as such it goes up against what many consider the industry leader for ultra-light rain capes, the Gore-Tex ShakeDry jackets.
ShakeDry is rated 27,000mm so in essence more waterproof, but it’s unlikely you’d notice the difference and, crucially, the Endura jacket is more than twice as breathable, rated at 60,000g/m2/24hrs compared to ShakeDry’s 27,000g/m2/24hrs – which is the amount of water vapour molecules in grams the waterproof membrane will let permeate per metre squared in 24 hours. The higher, the more breathable.
All in, that makes for a well-made jacket that is certainly jersey pocket-packable, is very breathable, highly waterproof and has a decent bit of heft to it too – the 3-ply laminate feels robust and quite tear-resistant (not that I have tried) and given this, has a slight element of warmth to it too.
I look forward to the weather really turning so I can wear it more.
Drackett, a subsidiary of Bristol-Meyers Squibb, invented Mr Muscle back in 1986*, and though much time has passed and the idea of a cartoon bloke heading up a cleaning product company in order to convince us of its cleaning credentials is now laughable, I cannot disagree with how well Mr Muscle Drain Unblocker works.
Sure, at £3.40 in my local Tescos for one go – like those carnival games for unwinnable teddies, you pour the whole thing down a drain in one go, that’s it, one shot – Mr Muscle is expensive, but boy does it work.
I caveat this by saying I dread to think what pouring this into the sewers does for the world, and of that I am ashamed, but honestly I had a blocked sink and I tried everything, dismantling the U-bend, coathangers, plungers (top tip: a cycling bidon makes a good plunger if you unscrew the cap and put the mouth over the plughole); eco-friendly measures such as hot water, vinegar, baking soda – I even tried special eco-friendly enzymes that Prince Charles, ahem, King Charles apparently uses. But none of it worked, OK? What was I to do? This stuff dissolves hair.
So that’s what I’ve been really into this week, watching the water disappear in a powerful vortex down my bathroom sink plughole. She’s never flowed as pure.
*Later bought by SC Johnson & Son
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