«
THE TEST ZONE
How it works:
∫ Pair the Omni with
your phone via Blue-
tooth.
∫ The helmet’s
strap-mounted
bone conductors
translate sound into
vibrations.
∫ Those vibrations
travel through your
cheekbones to the
inner ear, where they
become sound again.How the Omni
performs
∫ Open ear canals
mean no drop
in ambient noise.
∫ Bass is lacking, but
the sound is clear.
∫ Music can still
be distracting,
so I wouldn’t use it
for group rides.
—Dan RoeTHE COOLEST
THING WE’RE
TESTING
Coros Omni Helmet /
$200Confession time: I wear
headphones while riding on
public roads. Purists say you
shouldn’t need them, focus
on the ride, clear your head—
whatever. Sometimes I need
Gucci Mane’s thumping bass
and hard-charging lyrics to
get through a ride. And forme, an up-beat Ramones
riff elevates a summer
cruise. I’ve always been
this guy and I’m not chang-
ing, but lately, the Coros
Omni helmet and its bone-
conduction speakers allow
me to listen to tunes and
hear my surroundings.To test bike locks,
we use the tools a
thief might. One of
the best-performing
models was the $90
Hiplok DX U-Lock.
Bolt cutters barely
scratched it. Our
hacksaw quickly
dulled. And the lock
withstood the angle
grinder for about 60
seconds. Not totally
theftproof, but stout
enough to deter
many would-be bike
thieves.—D.R.18 BICYCLING.COM • ISSUE 5We tested a dozen e-mountain bikes recently. They’re fast. But to find out
if they’re quicker than a regular bike, test editor Bobby Lea—a three-time
Olympic cyclist—rode a Cannondale Scalpel and a Scott Genius e-Ride 920
on the same five-mile singletrack loop. On the e-bike, he was 4:17 faster,
and his average hear t rate was almost 20bpm lower.EXPERT
INSIGHT
ARE E-MOUNTAIN
BIKES REALLY
FASTER?
We Tried
to Kill
This LockBend 36 Chamois Cream Woman / $20
NYC’s 5 Boro Bike Tour had trying weather—nonstop
rain and 50-degree temps. Not ideal for riding, but great
conditions for testing the limits of products, like this
chamois cream from Bend 36, a new company started by
former pros Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso. By the end,
my butt was the only thing that wasn’t hurting. The cream
is pretty thick, so it stays on your skin and doesn’t sink
into the depths of your chamois.—Jessica CoulonONE RIDE REVIEW