High Wind Tent Test

It just so happens the Indy Gear Guide team had a conoe/kayak trip planned for Sugar Creek this past Sunday. I have now come to find winds in the area were sustained 25 mph and above with gusts to 46 mph. My shoulder feel like they are every bit of 25 mph.

I'll come back to this post and replace it with full content. Until that time here are the three tents we had on the site. This is my "geo dome" tent. It is a two-man three pole tent. With the rain fly on it sustained winds of 25-45 mph for 36 hours.

The four-man tent didn't fair well. It actually failed sometime on Sunday. So it lasted less than 24 hours under the duress of the wind. It should be noted the four-man tent probably has the most use of them all. It is not the oldest, but is the mot often used. With a pole replacement this tent would perform well, just in lower wind conditions. The winds continued on Monday escalating to sustained winds in the mid 40 mph range. We had to make a wind block to have a fire. Once the winds reached this sustained level and a second tent was on the verge of failure the Indy Gear Guide crew made a decision to pack the campsite up and go into town to eat.

We would have had to move our whole camp to another location where the wind was not as bad, but still was about 10 mph "out of the wind". With the prospect of a hail storm our spirits for camping out another night were waning. A concensus had us taking the tents down and packing up. We ended up in the Cozy Cafe in Wavelend, IN. The food was hot and good. Friendly good service. I'll come back to this post. I just wanted to get the tent pics up. Moral of the story? There is a reason why expeditions use the "geo dome" style tents. This tent didn't really budge where the other two failed miserably in these wind conditions.

Ergon GC-2 Grips with bar ends

This product might just be the greatest invention since the bicycle. The Ergon grip provides 40% more grip surface compared to standard bicycle grips.

This is a break through in comfort due to the support for the outer part of your wrist. That "nub" that everyone always falls and injures on your wrist has its own resting place on the Ergon grip (see picture.) That little bit of extra support relieves a lot of tension on the arms. In my case I think it will reduce or eliminate some slight numbness.

I only had a short ride on these new grips. They were just purchased hours ago and I had to cut the work day short and install them. I am working now to make up for it for those of you who would be mad that I stopped working to install them.

I see the concept similar to the concept of a split keyboard. Just as with a standard vs. split keyboard, "you don't type like that!" A standard bicycle grip vs. Ergon grip is not much different, "you don't grip like that!" Just as the split keyboard accomodates the angle of your arms approach to the keyboard, Ergon grips support your wrist the way you naturally grip a bicycle.

As far as selection goes. I found these grips at Bike Line, Nebo Ridge and Indy Cycle Specialist. I found Nebo Ridge had several, almost all models for the Gripshift. Bike Line had a limited selection with only one model having bar ends. Naturally, their price of $132.99 was way more than even I was willing to blow on grips. I would have gone $60-70 and I think the model I really wanted would have been in that area, the GX-3.

I was at a client on the Eastside with some extra time to burn while backing some data up, so I decided to run by Indy Cycle Specialist. I will say this. I was impressed by the parts/accessories section that I didn't even wander over to the bikes. This will be my new home for parts. I must give a shout out to bicycle enthusiast extraordinaire, and all around decent guy, Ron Lewis of Rusted Moon Outfitters for reminding me of the existence of Indy Cycle Specialist every time I visit Rusted Moon Outfitters. It just happens I end up in Rusted Moon about daily since they supply me with Pro-bars.



Considering the last time I was in Scott Irons' shop it was a small house with about a dozen bikes and accessories. I have to admit I ended up in that small house due to the selection of accessories that he stocked. Convenience, or lack there of and living on the Northside has doomed me to a limited selection so now I'm fighting back. If you stop in ICS make sure to tell them Indy Gear Guide sent you. Even make up a story about an Indy Gear Guide discount. If enough of us ask I'm sure Scott will extend a discount to IGG subscribers.






Anyway, back to ICS. ICS had the best selection of you name it; Grips, helmets, shorts, gloves, deraillurs, hydration than any bicycle shop I've been to. I will support this shop anytime I can, and recommend them to anyone I can. This means I'm going to be driving from Broad Ripple to East Washington Street to find a real neighborhood bike shop. Its all good I'll be eating some Jocamo's Pizza while I'm over there.

Manufacturer: Ergon A.G.

Model: GC-2

List Price: $29.99 - 119.99

Price as tested: $42.99 plus tax.

Where: Indy Cycle Specialist



Rating: 6.0 of 5.0



Anyone experiencing numbness, wrist or forearm pain while biking I suggest you try a pair of these grips. Prices range from $29.99 - 119.99 for carbon ends.