Strengths: Alloy frame quality and finish. Price. V brakes.
Weaknesses: only 6 speed. Basic F forks.
Overall: A good childs bike with fantastic VFM. It was my lad's first geared bike and he got the hang of it very easily with the twist grip changer. Compared with simlar specced bikes, the Dawes is worth every penny. The raliegh equivilant is not as good. Frame has low top tube which allows for a 6yr olds short legs and gives more use over the years.
Strengths: Everything remains clean, no black gunge.
Weaknesses: Any hint of damp, rain or water of anykind and the stuff is gone, resulting in a squeeky chain. Nice small bottle.
Overall: Not for the UK. Too thin when applied so alot of it drips off when applied, although it does dry off after hours. However, you have to think in advance and apply the stuff long before you ride. It disappears after a couple of miles in the rain so for the UK 'summer' its not so good. For the same money you can get an all year round lube'. Too much bother really.
Weaknesses: poor quality frame, poor carry bag design, easy scratch lenses, poor fit.
Overall: The best bit about these glasses is the box they come in, although the slots that are provided for the lenses when not in use are too small to insert the lenses easily. The carry case has no facility to keep spare lenses apart and they rattle about inside against onme another casing scratching. Carry case is also soft which gives the frames no crush protection when bouncing about in a pannier. The glasses fit too high on the bridge of the nose which causes interference with the hemlet and discomfort. The side head grips are covered with a rubber sleeve both which came off after little use resulting in no grip on the head and the glasses sliding forward. with the amount of faults they have, they are not cheap. When these broke, I used a £10 pair of normal sunglasses which were far superior to these.
Overall: IVE HAD ONE OF THESE LIGHTS NOW FOR SEVERAL YEARS. IT LIVES EITHER ON THE HANDLEBAR OR MY PANNIER WITH SPARE CLOTHING AND HAS STILL GOT SCRATCHED TO BUGGERY BECAUSE THE SILVER PAINT FINISH IS ATOM THIN. THE SWITCH BECAME STICKY AND NOW REQUIRES A SWIFT TAP ON A SOLID SURFACE TO GET WORKING. IVE DISMANTLED THE SWITCH BUT CANNOT SEE ANYTHING OBVIOUSLY WRONG WITH IT, EVEN WD40 DIDN'T WORK. THE BATTERIES DO LAST ABOUT AS LONG AS THE MANUFACTURERS SAY *BUT* ONLY AS A MARKER LIGHT. IF YOU WANT A BEAM TO SEE BY, THE BATTERIES HAVE TO BE NEW OR IT WILL FADE AFTER ONLY ABOUT 6-10 HRS. IT IS ALSO NOT A WEATHER PROOF AS I WOULD LIKE AND RAIN WATER GETS IN DURING A DOWNPOUR. NOT A BAD LIGHT BUT CONSIDERING THE STUPIDLY HIGH PURCHASE PRICE I WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER WHEN THIS ONE DIES.
[Update 03/06/06] The on/off switch failed completely and the March 06 rain got inside the light unit everytime. I repaired the light with a switch from Maplins which looks odd but does to job with some modification.
Overall: I use this little light as a flashing marker light to let blind car drivers know I exist. Its only a few inches long and doen't take up too much room on the handlebar. The rubber front cover makes it bash resistant and the top battery cover is also attached by a rubber safety strap inside, should a severe bump detach it from the light body. Batteries seem to last for ages. The light does not produce a beam powerful enough to see with in the pitch dark however, and is too difused.
Weaknesses: sometime a bit too warm, can only be used in very cold weather. Neck fit.
Overall: A well made outer winter jacket that is a bit different. The reflective bones pattern are a change to the normal yellow hi-vis jackets and people always comment on it. Great for night time. There is a useful rear pocket and zip front. It is windproof and warm although the neck could be sightly higher and a snugger fit. Moisture wicks away and it breaths well. It is quite expensive at £80ish but for a quality item that aint bad I suppose.
Overall: these things were fitting as standard on my MTB and are knackered after only 18 months with only light use. They clunk out fearcly when jumping even a traffic hump and this throws the wieght forward and down ruining the handling of the bike. Spend the money on getting pissed: the hangover will last longer than these forks. Total false economy.
Strengths: strength, looks, eyelets, simple wear inicator that cannot be missed.
Weaknesses: wear rate
Overall: I have just replaced a T224 after 3 years and 6000 miles when the braking surface became concave and the wear indicators stared to show through. The indicators are small cut-outs on the inside of the rim braking surface, that eventually show thru as a hole on the outside when approx. 1mm thickness is left on the rim. The black surface has survived well despite use through the salted winter roads. The T224 has now been replaced by the virtually identical A319, which I got from the CTC shop for much less than the RRP. It has been fitted to my Dawes hybrid that is used with heavy panniers and runs on a mix of crap city roads, track and towpath with no hint of buckling.
Weaknesses: wore out a little too fast. List price not cheap.
Overall: Like all good ideas, the Powerlink system is simple and it allows the chain to be removed in seconds. This encourages me to clean it off the bike more often and I don't have to fiddle around with chain tools, getting stiff links etc. But dispite regular cleaning and lubing it was totally buggered after one year and 2000 miles. I bought another though!
Strengths: tread pattern. ease of fitting. reflective band.
Weaknesses: failed sidewall after 2000 miles. Rare.
Overall: I obviously paid over the odds for this tyre and paid about £18.00 from a quality bike shop. The tyre is however good quality and is very easy to fit which is a bonus when fixing a puncture at the roadside in the rain! The direction specific tread offers good grip without producing any excess rolling resistance but the side wall of the tyre split inexplicably after only 2000 miles. The wire clincher beading separated from the sidewall producing a 2" split making it only fit for the bin. Maybe it was a 'friday afternoon' tyre. I replaced it with a continental.
