10 Product Reviews Loosely Related to Mountain Biking

Today we are going to review ten

product

s,

loosely

related

to

mountain

biking

. Some of them I bought and others were sent to me by various companies. Like everyone else, I have my biases, but I will do my best to separate all of these

product

s. Here it goes. Let's start with the Sennheiser MKE2 microphone. It's a microphone the size of a clown nose that plugs into the waterproof housing of a GoPro Hero 4. It has its own circuit board and mini USB cable. This entire unit is waterproof and the clown nose is supposed to suppress wind noise. It looks great for surfing, motorsports and skiing, but I can only speak to how it applies to

mountain

biking

.

As many of you will know, most mountain biking vloggers use the hero4's internal microphone, along with a gimbal. The sound of this setup is so good that it's hard to imagine it being better. To use the MKE2, you'll need to remove the gimbal and triple the size of the GoPro with the case and microphone. What's worse, it only works with a Hero4. The Hero5 is available now and it really needs a microphone. We've established that the MKE2 is bulky and barely applicable to mountain biking, but how does it perform? To find out I did a little test.

I first climbed down this rock face using a Hero 4 with just the internal microphone and no stabilizer. Listen to how that sounds. I then took the same line with the Sennheiser microphone. Well, it sounds REALLY good, almost perfect. My friend Jordan actually wears one on his full-face helmet and syncs the sound to his chest cam, but most people wouldn't be willing to go through all that trouble or pay $200 for this. As far as mountain bike vlogging goes, I don't think the MKE2 is worth it. It could be cool, but it would have to be smaller and work for the Hero5.

Let's move on to the MRP ramp control cartridge. This thing replaces the top cap on your Fox or Rockshox suspension fork and allows you to control the air volume or increase it. Here we have a fork without a ramp. Simply crush with the same firmness throughout the entire journey. Add a rise and it becomes more progressive. The MRP Ramp Control Cartridge does this with the turn of a knob, which is a game changer. Without this, you need to let all the air out and remove the top cover, on which you stick these chips. That's a pain.

Having this knob allows you to adjust the ramp up the trail, giving you the perfect ride minute by minute. In a bike park you will want a lot more progression to avoid hitting bottom. On a windy, secluded forest trail, you'll want a linear course for a comfortable ride. The MRP ramp control cartridge is relatively easy to install and worth the money, but it is not cheap. If you would benefit from this, it is worth the money. Otherwise, you can still use tokens for a few dollars. If you want to better understand air volume, click the link at the end of the video to see my tutorial on suspension fork setup.

Next up is the Kali Protectives Interceptor Enduro helmet. In my last video I reviewed the Smith Rover, which is a $120 helmet that I really like. The Kali Interceptor costs $180 and is inferior to the Rover in some ways. In fact, the Rover has a better finish, a stronger visor, and straps that lie flatter on the face. So why would you buy the Interceptor? Well, I can only speak to how it feels in my head, where it fits better than anything I've tried. It stays perfectly in place with hardly any pressure on the straps. Sealing the deal is this solid mount, which can be used for a lightweight or action camera.

It's also supposed to be very good at protecting your head. So I like the Interceptor enough to make it my primary helmet, but I wouldn't want to pay full price for it. There are too many other options. Let's take a look at another Kali product, the Venture gloves. Let me start by saying that these gloves breathe well, almost too well. The sides of the fingers are made of this lightweight but durable fabric that allows air to pass through. The rest of the gloves are armored in all the right places, to protect your fingers while hiking. I think they're worth $40, but they're only good for summer or warm climates.

I'll need to get something heavier for the winter months. Let's move on to another video product, Hero5 Session. This has become my main 4k helmet camera. The video and sound quality is adequate and the form factor is unbeatable. The battery life is enough for a long trip if managed properly. I also love how easy it is to remove from its housing for third-person shots. There are very few things I don't like about the Hero5 Session, but for most people it may be overshadowed by the Hero5 Black. For an extra $100 you get a noticeably better screen and video quality.

So, I think the Session is a good auxiliary camera for enthusiasts and professionals. If you're looking for a do-it-all action camera, choose the Hero5 Black or Hero4 Silver. That's my two cents. While we're talking GoPro, let's take a look at the Karma Grip that I'm still trying to fit into my gear rotation. It's a stabilizer made by Gopro, which you can use handheld or with this $100 extension cable. I use this expensive cable to mount the stabilizer to my chest and keep the handle in my pocket. It's really bulky, but the stabilization is exceptional. That's why Phil Kmetz uses it, and grinds it very hard.

Still, Phil syncs the sound to him from a camera in his helmet. Combined with the Hero5, the Karma sounds like total garbage. At best it sounds dull. In the worst case you can hear the engines. To get a Karma, the cable, and a Hero5, it will cost you $800. You can buy an Evo and a Hero4 for less than 6 years to get almost identical video, far superior sound, and much less volume. So unless you've learned to master this like Phil did, I'd wait for the next version or buy it when it comes out. The following three products are from a British company called 76 projects.

They do some interesting things. The first product is Piggy, a holder that repositions the water bottle holder to allow for storage. This is great because dropper posts have made saddlebags a thing of the past. Since Jersey pockets only provide limited space, it's nice to have some room on your bike to store a tool, some food, car keys, and other things. In fact, you can hold almost anything, or even a mini tripod like I did. For many cyclists, the Piggy will be of no use, but some of you are looking for something like this. I'll use this on my hardtail bike during solo rides, free as a bird without a backpack.

The next product is the cable reel. This is a marble-sized clip that allows you to secure your cables. The coil adapts to any angle at which they intersect. The thing about these coils is that they are only slightly better than flanges, although they are many times larger. That's why no one will buy them for pragmatism, but for fun. They are sold in different colors and 76 Projects even means they will print you a custom color. Since the coil is fun and delivers on everything it promises, I think it's great. Just don't expect it to make your bike faster.

Let's move on to something that looks like the coil, but does something very different; the cable greaser. This should be placed in line with a gear or brake cable and provide a port to add oil to it. If you went to high school, you are familiar with the concept of capillary action. Do you see how the oil leaks into the port? This is how the oiler works. Is it necessary or useful? It could be, but maybe not for me. I never have the same shift cable for more than a few months, so I rarely need to grease it.

I am also concerned that this port could allow contaminants into an otherwise sealed system. What do you think? Have any of you used this product for a long time? Let me know below. Now let's move on to a product that is not

related

to mountain biking, but to video. I use it often to create content for this channel. Meet my dash cam, the Anker Roav. Whenever your car is on, the Roav is recording. When you run out of space, it writes over the oldest footage, automatically saving any instances where your car hit a pothole or went haywire.

If someone touches your car while it is parked, it automatically detects vibrations and starts recording. You can stick the Roav to your windshield and plug it into the power port, but I plugged mine in to reduce the mess. Getting it done professionally will probably cost you between $50 and $100. For a content creator like me, Roav is fantastic. If I see something interesting or crazy, I can go back and watch the footage. However, the video quality is not very good and there is no way to get rid of this watermark without cropping it. The Roav is under $100, extremely reliable, and super easy to use, so I like it.

If it had a flat color profile and the ability to remove the watermark, I would love it. There you go. 10 product

reviews

in one video. If you found these

reviews

helpful or just entertaining, please like this video and subscribe to my channel to see content like this every week. Before you leave a comment asking more about this topic, remember that Google is your friend and I left links to everything below. Thanks for traveling with me today and we'll see you next time.