If you drive a Toyota or Nissan truck, and you want a bike rack for truck bed then look no further than Rocky Mounts Clutch SD. This fork mounting rack is bolted to the block plate that slides into the rails. Works great for road and mountain bikes!
The Clutch SD has an all around better design then the mounts you can buy from Toyota, it also comes w/ a lock and two keys. Not are you getting a better product, but you will get it at half the cost ($50 vs $100).
Rant: I love Toyota, but they are just like any other car manufacturer. They want to bleed you dry w/ the cost of accessories. The mountain bike fork mounts are$45 odd bucks, but you also have to buy the rail block separately which is another $45 bucks. What a load of crap!
There is one thing that I know w/o a doubt; take care of your butt and your butt will take care of you. This is true for toilet paper as it is for bike saddles. Unfortunately the saddle sold w/ my Trek Madone was absolutely horrible. Ok, there are probably worse bike saddles than the unknown Bontrager, but I couldn’t suffer any longer (neither would Napoleon and his generals).
I’ve learned in cycling the equation is simple: discomfort = speed OR comfort = slower. So goes the equation w/ saddles, if you want speed you have to endure discomfort, or go w/ comfort and have a huge seat that adds unnecessary grams to your bike. This is why I bought the Specialized Alias, it’s not the uber-racing-toupe saddle, nor is it grandma’s spring supported bubble butt seat. At 250 g it’s light and comfortable.
The comfortable in this saddle is not the gel or padding, but in Specialized’s own words, “Combined with our medically tested Body Geometry blood-flow technology to reduce numbness, the Alias redefines the crossing point between ergonomic comfort and pro-level performance.” In less marketing speak they’ve cut out the center of the saddle so your generals don’t sit in your throat while your ride.
Another feature Specialized offers in their saddles: 3 sizes. My previous seat was to narrow, so I went w/ the 143 mm. They also offer 130 mm and 150 mm.
I haven’t broken in this saddle, but on the short rides I’ve already felt the difference, and so has my bottom.
Rant: I’m not sure who’s to blame Trek or the reseller. I blame Trek, because they should never allow any of there bikes to be sold w/ crappy seats. Even a starter bike should be sold with a decent seat b/c the rider will judge his early biking experiences on the seat and not whether has the lightest crank or derailer. Just as important don’t sell a Madone w/ a crappy seat w/ the notion that the customer should upgrade. That is wrong on many levels and should be obvious. If a customer wants a cheap seat to lower the price of a bike than let them ask for a crappy seat. It’s just good business.
