Donkey Boy

Podcast: Our Four Favorites

At the end of the year, most publications and their writers come out with the four or five favorite products they used in the past year. Most of these things are the cutting edge of their categories or a niche product that fits a specific need. These stories are great because they often allow journalists to write about their favorite things and are often useful to a wide range of people.

This year we here at Rodeo Labs wanted to get in on the fun, but to stay true to our roots we did things a bit differently. So, we got together our host and resident bike journalist Logan Jones-Wilkins, CEO and Head Intern Stephen Fitzgerald, engineer and fourth finisher at the Tour Divide Cade Reichenberger, and director of product development/master tinkerer Drew Van Kampen for a podcast. Specifically, a podcast discussing our four favorite things from four different categories.

We didn’t limit ourselves in this discussion to new products like most end-of-year lists do – some of our products are much older, while others are still to hit the shelves – but we did do all non-Rodeo products to ensure our recommendations stay true to things we have simply enjoyed and would like to put on your radar. Most importantly, we also didn’t limit ourselves to a set clock. For this pod, we lingered a bit to cover all the ground we needed to and we found some pretty interesting rabbit holes along the way.

We have done our best to compile a list of the things we deemed our favorites below so check those out if you might be interested.

Accessories

These are the essential parts of the bike, not the frame, wheels, or groupset. They can be aftermarket groupset add-ons – like a chain ring or a derailleur cage that can add something special to it – but also include handlebars, seat posts, seats, pedals, etc.

Logan: Ergon SR Triathlon Saddle

Drew: Bjorn Probka saddle

Stephen: FSA K-Wing AGX / K-Force carbon handlebar

Cade: TTPH1

Wearables

As you could have guessed, this includes anything one wears on one’s body while riding: clothes, shoes, helmets, glasses, watches, heart rate straps, hats, and glucose monitors.

Logan: Smith Trace with Mips

Drew: Wrist-based heart rate monitors (no chest strap)

Stephen: Gore Shakedry packable jacket

Cade: 100% Photochromic glasses