I’m excited to share with you my favourite things of 2024. Not only to help others by offering my recommendations, but also to document where I’m at in my own cycling journey at this particular time. When I look back over the years, my cycling needs and aspirations have evolved tremendously, and sometimes even come full circle.
For me, I value a product most when it enables me to experience something new. I love technology and innovation, especially when it improves my performance or adds to the enjoyment of riding. But creating new memories is what’s really important to me. I can’t say I remember much about my rides when I got the new electronic shifting in 2009, but roaming free with my friends in the summer of 1980 on my Norco Spitfire BMX will stick in my head for the rest of my life.
Not all of these products I’ve listed fit into this above category, but it gives you a sense of what I loved in 2024.
Garmin Varia
This falls into the category of something you didn’t know you needed until you have it. I always dismissed the rear radar as a gimmick and that my ears would do just as good of a job to hear vehicles approaching. This wouldn’t change the way that I rode, so why is it needed?
As it turns out, a rear radar is like a second set of eyes. I no longer need to keep looking over my shoulder, as it turns out it can see much further than I can hear, and I’m delighted by how much more aware it makes me feel.
I opted to buy the Varia RCT715 with the rear camera. I’ve had too many instances where a car has come far too close and a radar doesn’t do anything to give visual evidence if something were to happen. If the police in Australia actually enforced the meter matters law, this would be an effective tool. Sadly, it will only be of use if the worst is to happen.
The only negative thing I have to say about the Varia is that retrieving the footage is extremely finicky: it hangs up when downloading, the app crashes, or I can’t find what I’m looking for. I’m actually not confident that I’ll be able to get the footage if I ever need it. So for now, I consider it a false sense of security. If I were to buy it again, I’d buy the radar-only unit (RTL515) now that I know how useful it is on its own.
Price: US$400 / £300 / €500 / AUD$700 (for RCT715)
Apidura bike bags
‘Bikepacking’ couldn’t have come at a better time in my cycling life. I’ve toured around countries on my bike a few times in the distant past, but for some reason the concept of bikepacking, flashpacking, or whatever you want to call it has something more accessible with different expectations and ambitions.
Buying and using Apidura’s bike bags has enabled me to have some of the most memorable experiences of my cycling life within a few hours of home. It takes me to familiar areas to make them feel completely new, and takes such a minimal amount of effort to make happen.
One might think a bike bag is just a bike bag, but each time I use Apidura’s bags I’m delighted with the consideration and simplicity that they’re designed with. I feel like I discover something new each time I use them and think ‘how clever’. Not to mention the durability, practical design, and the company’s ethos of sustainability.
Pricing:
Saddle pack (14L): US$162 / £125 / €146 / AUD$250
Frame pack (5.3L): US$121 / £93 / €109 / AUD$178
Handlebar pack (14L): US$132 / £100 / €109 / AUD$196
Specialized Riprock 24
No, not mine … my son’s. This could be any kid’s bike for that matter, but the Specialized Riprock ticks all the boxes for a 10 year old. 24″ wheels with big 2.8″ tyres, twist shifter, front suspension (note that new models are fully rigid), disc brakes, easy standover geometry that we’ve gotten many years out of for our growing boy.
There’s nothing quite like seeing what a bike means to a child, the freedom it brings, and the experiences you have together. Riding a bike as a kid are some of my earliest memories, and I feel a duty as a parent to make sure my son also has the opportunity to experience the joy of riding as well. I’ll never push it on him, but I’ll drop everything to go on a ride together. As of late, all the riding he’s seen me do over the years is beginning to rub off on him, and it’s a wonderful thing to see him always asking me to go for a ride.
Price: US$700 / £540 / €700 / AUD$900 (note that this price is for the 2024 model, and shown above is the 2020 model)
Shokz OpenRun headphones
The only time I have a chance to listen to music or podcasts is when I’m riding – most often on the bike path during my commute to work – but I don’t like to block out the ambient sounds. Especially while I’m mountain biking. I simply cannot ride a MTB when I’m not hearing the sound of the dirt under my tires or the sound of the birds and the trees. And on the road, you hear trouble before you see it.
Bone conductor headphones such as Shokz solve these problems wonderfully. They allow you to be fully aware of your surroundings while listening to a podcast or music. Battery life is long (~8hrs), they’re comfortable, and the sound is decent. The physical buttons are fairly easy to find by feel, it always connects to my iPhone, and charges quickly.
Price: US$130 / AUD$200 / €140
Baum Orbis-X
It’s not lost on me how much of an indulgence this bike is, but it doesn’t negate the fact that each time I sit on it I’m reminded that a bike can actually be this comfortable. I also feel this way about my Baum Corretto travel bike (which should also be on this list, but I’ve talked about it enough over the years). Titanium has a very special feel to it which I love, but combined with a custom geometry and a detailed fit, there’s nothing I’ve ever ridden that’s quite like it.
In most cases a bike is a bike to me and I’d be happy riding anything as long as I’m comfortable. But this bike is a wonderful experience each time I turn the pedals. It takes me to places my other bikes cannot, and it has a very special meaning to me.
Price: This one is priceless to me, but Baum complete builds start at AUD$16,000 for the Orbis X. The US agent is Above Category Cycling (Disclosure: Darren Baum gave me a generous industry price on the frame, and Shimano provided the GRX groupset as a gift for my retirement at CyclingTips. Thank you to both.)
Specialized Vado e-bike
Riding to the office is when I do all my best thinking and figure out most of my problems, and riding home is my way of switching off and being present when I arrive.
Those days when I’m too tired or I just can’t be bothered getting another change of clothes together, I’ll always turn to the e-bike to get the feeling I’m after.
Big pannier bags make it easy to stop at the store on my way home for groceries, and a quick run to the bakery feels like a little adventure rather than a chore. The Vado has long since replaced my motorized scooter and made it irrelevant, and it’s something I can no longer live without.
Price: US$3,000 / £2,500 / €2,900 / AUD$4,500 (Pricing includes all available models including prior years. Disclosure: The bike I’m riding is an older generation Vado 3.0, on loan from Specialized, and still very thankful!)
Honorable mentions
The Art of Suffering: My good friend and photographer here at Escape, Kristof Ramon, released his first book and it’s a masterpiece for cycling enthusiasts. In a world of content that quickly goes to the digital graveyard, it’s nice to have a physical time capsule on my bookshelf that adds to my collection.
Pro alloy 12° flare handlebars: on my Baum Orbis-X above. These things are a game changer for comfort, position and stability.
Capo Socks: I have three pairs of white Capo socks that are about 13 years old that are still going strong. This was just when high cuff socks started to become fashionable and the brand was known as ‘Capoforma’. They’re as white as any of my other new white socks, no holes, still have good form and compression, have been through hell and back, and are my go-to socks. Later vintages of Capo socks haven’t stood the test of time like these, but no socks have. I still love Capo apparel and am excited to see that it’s been purchased by new owners who appear to be reviving the brand.
This is the seventh instalment in our Favourite Things series, which will continue into December. You can find the rest of series here.
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