The contact points on a bike are the feet, hands and butt. Cyclocross racers are only on the saddle for an hour and much of that time is actually off the saddle. On the other hand, gravel racers are sitting on the saddle for hours on end.
At Interbike 2018 in Reno, we checked out some of the items that could help for both short cyclocross and long gravel days in the saddle.
Today, we look at products from Lizard Skins, SQ Lab and Chamois Butt’r.
Each company is on its own slide. Use the next button to scroll through each.
For more new products from Reno, see our Interbike 2018 archive.
Lizard Skins Bar Tape
Lizard Skins turns 25 years old this year. The company started with a neoprene wrap to protect the chainstay from chain-slap on mountain bikes in 1993. Now its grip products are on the bikes of professionals both on and off-road, and the company has even crossed into Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and professional lacrosse.
For the drop bar set, the Lizard Skins bar tape comes in 3 thicknesses: 1.8mm, 2.5mm, and 3.2mm.
Lizard Skins offers three different thicknesses, grip patterns and colors of Lizard Skinz tape. l-r 1.8, 2.5, 3.2mm. 2018 Interbike Contact Point Product Round-Up. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
Each thickness is available in a multitude of colors and patterns. The surface is incredibly tacky and in our experience has remained that way in wet and even muddy conditions. The layer below the rubbery surface provides the padding and it is important not to stretch the tape during installation to avoid compressing the padding or separating the layers.
We were told that most professional road racers choose the 2.5mm thickness but move to the 3.2mm thickness for some Spring Classics that include the Paris-Roubaix.
Lizard Skins also produces gloves to mate to the bar.
Light padding in the right places does not affect grip on the bar. Lizard Skins Monitor gloves. 2018 Interbike Contact Point Product Round-Up. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
For cyclocross and gravel, the Monitor series offers a snug long finger fit with varying thickness of padding.
No padding if you prefer the bar tape to do it all for you. Lizard Skins Monitor gloves. 2018 Interbike Contact Point Product Round-Up. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
Click next for more contact point products.
