Christmas List 2021 – All I want For Christmas is…
Want List 2021-22
I’ve already got world peace, health and happiness. So what more could be on that age-old Christmas List? I’ve had some thoughts for this year and I’m struggling to think about what I either want or need. So long as Santa sanitises his hands before handing over my bag of goodies I ‘ll be happy.
Further below I’ve re-posted my 2017 Christmas list as a retrospective to see what kit I eventually managed to get hold of.
Back to this Christmas…
Indoor Trainer – This year’s slew of new indoor bike trainers obviously failed to materialise. My Kickr ’17 is a little long in the tooth but perfectly fine. I don’t use it that much if I’m honest and don’t know if I should upgrade to the 2022 version. I probably will try a Kickr Core just because, well, why not?
Shimano Semi-wireless Di2 – this will hopefully be a mini-project sometime in 2022, coinciding with an R9200p. Do I really care about LR power balance?…nope.
Bikes – I have a Cervelo P5 and R5 so I really can’t complain. I love collecting watches and bike computers and seem to always want to complete the set. Thus it seems rude not to aspire to a Cervelo S5 to complete the Cervelo set. The S5 and R5 are essentially the same for a rider like me, if I just get my existing handlebars a bit lower on the R5 then I’ll probably go as fast as my cycling buddy who has an S5. (P5=TT, R5=Hills. S5=Aero).I vaguely recall some new pro Shimano aero handlebars with sweet internal cable routing, I might go for something like that combined with semi-wireless Di2.
My P5 is a beautiful bike and I love to ride it and I love to look at it. However I really, really, really don’t like to fix or adjust anything on it. It’s a complete PITA on that front. Even the hydraulic rim brakes (yep, really) sound awesome but they are not self-adjusting…#Sigh, hydraulic?!?!?!?!?. That’s just the start of the DIY maintenance annoyances with the P5, some of the others are far more serious. A new model P5 is out of my budget and I think it would require me moving to disc brakes, which would involve a complete sale and replacement of all my frames and wheels.
Running Shoes – I’m loving SOME of the carbon race shoes I’ve tried this year. They really can make you faster. I’ve not tried either the Nike AirFly or the adidas Prime X. I have already bought the latter and given it to my significant other to give back to me in a few weeks time! #Excited. Review to follow
Garmin Fenix 7 – Yep it really is happening in January and is already being tested by various sponsored athletes and ambassadors. I want one and I’m going to get one. I might buy the Epix model (7X), I might not.
Next Gen Garmin Edge – Yep, be it a 1040 or a 540 or an 840, I’m easy about whichever first gets on my handlebars.
Dura-Ace/Ultegra – I need to swap out all my remaining Ultegra bits for the latest Dura-Ace 9200 ones. I contemplated a move to 12-speed but that’s not going to happen
A smaller Garmin Enduro that works – I was initially very excited by the Enduro which omitted all the non-running gumf like Music and maps. It was the large size and I’d have preferred a smaller, medium-sized one but the biggest problems I had with Enduro at launch were usability related. I guess those problems are fixed now. So all Garmin has to do is make a smaller one and then I could use it as my main running watch.
2017 List
This was my fantasy list for 2017 and I think Santa served me well in the 4 years since. Thank you, Santa.
At £5500 I would love a Cervelo R5 Dura Ace 9100 Road Bike 2018 (link to Sigma sport, non-affiliate, just for the heck of it). (Edit: I DID get a used R5 and it’s awesome. I did get a mostly Dura-Ace groupset including R9100p)
That’s too much of my imaginary rich uncle’s ill-gotten gains. So I’ll have to go for a sale item instead at £1500++. I’ll take a ‘this year model’ like the Zipp Super-9 Clincher Disc Road Rear Wheel 2017 (link to chain reaction, non affiliate) (Edit: I went for two sets of new Mavic CXR deep rims and Mavic SLR climbing wheels both are interchangeable and have exalith rim brakes)
Naturally a $600 PowerTapG3 hub (link to: powermetercity.com, 10% discount on most stuff with the5krunner10 code 😉 ) might find its way in the disc – I assume that’s compatible…not checked. And I might need a spare PowerTap for a day-to-day road wheel. Not much to ask for? (Edit: no joy)
On the gadget front I’ve got all I need, I suppose. It might be fun to get an Edge 1030. I do NOT plan to get one but would love to moan about the touchscreen if I did. I’ve got bored about moaning about the Edge 820’s rubbish touchscreen. Although, on that note, I went into the aforesaid SigmaSport and had a play with the display models of each of the 820/1030…their touchscreens seemed OK. VERY different feel. Very strange. (Edit: I got the 1030 Plus and 530 and both are great but I still u see Wahoo ELEMNT)
I’m not too bothered about the Forerunner 645 that ‘may or may not’ be announced on December 8th. I’d be more interested in the 245 if it looks like a real sports watch…which it probably won’t. (Edit: The 245 is the best running watch ever and I did get one but I tend to use my FR935 or F6 for now)
Actually the ONE thing that I probably will get will be a PR/Loan of Hammerhead’s Karoo. I’m apparently on a list somewhere but probably behind Cycling Gadgets Weekly…or someone else who will have conveniently ‘lost it’ by the time my turn comes round. (Edit: I did get a Karoo2 and it is VERY good. Probably my second favourite after the Wahoo)
As something to make my cycling life easier I would love some Shimano Di2s. Electronic shifting always sounds very modern and I’ve always been a bit old school. Then again I am getting laughed at quite a lot by ‘friends’ as I clunk through my gears. That might then force me to move to 11-speed cassettes too? That’s 8 more gears than my existing Sturmley Archers 😉 (I fully moved to 11-speed and have Di2 on two bikes and have never looked back)
What do you want for Christmas? It can either be a real product or one for next year.
3 thoughts on “Christmas List 2021 – All I want For Christmas is…”
Fenix 7 for sure 🙂
The thought of the Epix reborn from its ashes is exceptionally tempting. Going to have to wait until the actual specifications are published before I make plans. I certainly do want a larger face than the FR945 with mapping, but cellular AW7 may ultimately take the spot on the alternate wrist so the phone can stay at home.
aw7-mght require its own data contract as some providers don’t let you share data allowance unless you buy the watch from them. GRRRRRR. I just got caught by that one.
Fenix 7 for sure 🙂
The thought of the Epix reborn from its ashes is exceptionally tempting. Going to have to wait until the actual specifications are published before I make plans. I certainly do want a larger face than the FR945 with mapping, but cellular AW7 may ultimately take the spot on the alternate wrist so the phone can stay at home.
aw7-mght require its own data contract as some providers don’t let you share data allowance unless you buy the watch from them. GRRRRRR. I just got caught by that one.