You are looking at: Home : Gear news
Hudz Customise your bike with coloured hoods
Posted: 5 June 2008 by David Arthur
Along with custom fit frames, Alberto Cont ador’s many pink parts and bespoke rim decals,it seems that customisation is the latest buzzword in cycling. The latest is Hudz, replacement brake hoods that come in a variety of colours allowing you to move away from the standard black coloured hoods that all shifters are fitted with out of the box. You can choose from 11 colours providing a wealth of options for unique setups, but the most obvious step seems to be matching the hoods to that of your bar tape, as Contador recently demonstrated with all-pink controls. As well as (possibly) improved aesthetics, Hudz also claim to have improved ergonomics, with the Shimano designs receiving the biggest difference from standard - about 6-8m of additional height to the top of the lever hood. Available to fit Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM, with the full list of colours including the amusingly titled Bastogne Blue, Bordeaux Gold, Brugge Black, Eroica Celeste, Ghent Grey, Lombardia Orange, Paris Pink, Roubaix Red, San Remo Green, Vlaanderen Yellow, and Wallonne White. Lausanne Clear will be released soon. Interesting, money from the proceeds will go to a charity, with each colour lending its own individual support to different charities, including the Lance Armstrong Foundation. www.grabthehudz.com
Colnago CLX: PEZ Giro Spec Friday, September 19, 2008 12:13:45 PM PT by Richard Pestes The Colnago CLX was my first taste of the legendary Italian marque's ride. Delivered in a mid-priced package, it's a great all-round road bike. Pondering what I’d ride at this year’s Giro, this made a perfect platform for some serious component upgrades from Hed, Zipp, Easton, Zero Gravity, Tiso, Blackburn and more…
I took delivery of the shiny new Colnago CLX back at the Tour of California - and liked it from my first ride. It wasn’t the trickest, or best spec’d, or lightest bike I’ve ridden (by a long shot), but the package was solid, and from day one it felt great no matter what terrain I was riding. Click the thumbnail at top for the BIG view.
Piazza Barberini in Roma makes a pretty nice photo studio.
The fact that it weighed just over 17 pounds was no big deal, but a guy in my fortunate position does get to ride a lot of sub-15 pound bikes, so
my one idea for improvement was to shave some weight with some new spec. Read my original CLX review here.
Independent studies have failed to prove any correlation between test riding bikes on freshly paved roads under sunny Italian skies and on reviewer objectivity…
Given the moderate- but very functional and reasonably priced US$4700 stock build on the CLX - Campy Centaur, Campy Euros alu clinchers, FSA alu bars and stem, I knew shaving some grams would be easy to do… and a lot of fun. Another fortunate part of this gig is our great relationships with so many cycling parts manufacturers – so it took only a few phone calls and emails to line up some much lighter gear for the rebuild: • HED Ardennes Wheels • ZIPP VUMA Quad cranks • EASTON EC90 carbon bars and stem • ZERO GRAVITY Negative G brakes Plus some stuff just for fun like: • TISO Gold bolt kit
• JAGWIRE cables – in gold • VITTORIA Diamonte Pro tires • BLACKBURN Carbon Cages • HUDZ white brake lever covers • ROCKET SCIENCE Dimpled Bottles • HUDZ Enhancement Brake Hoods - $34.95 Retail Seems like only yesterday we were stuck of a world of black lever covers, when in fact it was actually just last year… When I saw these babies at Interbike ’07, I grabbed as many as I could mooch off Hudz’ Lance Johnson.
They’re offered for SRAM, Shimano, and Campy, and things have evolved somewhat in 2008, with a veritable rainbow of colors now offered inclusing sparky names like: Bastogne Blue, Bordeaux Gold, Brugge Black, Eroica Celeste, Ghent Grey, Lombardia Orange, Paris Pink, Roubaix Red, San Remo Green, Vlaanderen Yellow, and Wallonne White. Pale blue and light purple are coming at Interbike. Hudz are big into philanthropy, and every color benefits a different charity – so get some color in your hands at your fave shop, online retailer or at GrabTheHudz.com
The Incidental Cyclist Cycling in and around Union County, NC
Review: Hüdz February 13, 2008 in Accessories by Bud | 1 comment Well I have had the new Hüdz replacement brake hoods on my Dura-Ace equipped bike for several rides now and here is what I think. I like them. Now that doesn’t mean they are perfect, there are issues. First what I like. They are slightly smaller than Shimano brake hoods. This means that if you have smaller hands and feel the standard hoods are a little uncomfortable these may be just the ticket. They are available in a wide variety of colors. Right now I have the black ones, it was what was available from the distributor and it fit better with the stealth look of my current bike. Once they become available for Ultegra I will have a blue set and a red set for me and my daughters bike (should be April). There is a rolled area on the back side where your fingers fit perfectly when holding on to the levers from the tops. I also like the slightly tackier feel of the rubber. What I don’t like. There is a considerable mold line where the two halves of the mold meet. You can definitely feel the line in your hands. I am sure it will wear after a while and it will become less noticeable, or I could just take my Dremel and a sanding drum to it to remove it if it becomes really annoying. Another thing is the amount of flash left from the injection process. It is simply too much, I had to cut away the flash so that it did not interfere with the installation. One more thing I would like to see changed is the area for the FlightDeck button. It is simply too big, it would have been nicer if it was a raised area rather than a button. One more thing, they are currently available for Campy Ergo and Dura-Ace only. Ultegra and 105 (same Hudz) will be available sometime in April. Sram sometime after that. They come in eight different colors. Even with the little quibbles I still like them and have an order for two more sets in color of course!
Hudz SoftGrip Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 brake hoods By: Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com Published: November 12, 2009, 11:04, Updated: November 15, 2009, 00:15
Molded-in finger grips on the underside of the Hudz provide a secure place to grab on to Cyclingnews Verdict: Rating: 5 out of 5
Improved ergonomics, tight fitting seams, wide range of colours and two durometer options, all at a reasonable price Better ergonomics and a surer grip Hudz' replacement brake hoods for Shimano's ubiquitous Dura-Ace 7800 STI Dual Control levers differ from the stock items in several key areas: the tops are notably flatter, the upper tips aren't quite as pointy, and the underside features nifty moulded-in finger grips. The effect is a more secure-feeling and level 'shelf' for your hands that doesn't concentrate pressure on the hooks of your thumbs as the stock hoods do, plus a bigger and generally more substantial feel. This is great for those with larger hands, but the increase in size isn't so dramatic as to make them unusable for smaller folks. In addition, the ridges on the underside of the Hudz make for a more natural-feeling place to put your fingers, particularly when you're out of the saddle and climbing hard.
Our lower-durometer SoftGrip version seemed perfectly suited to the rigours of cyclo-cross racing. The tacky surface, combined with the modified shape, requires less hand pressure to maintain a secure grip on the bars and there's more security when you hit the bumps. In spite of expectations, the softer material is also firmly attached to the underlying substrate, with a snug fit and no twisting to speak of. Our earlier experiences with Hudz have included ugly mould flash lines and ill-filling edges but these latest editions have improved substantially on the originals with tight gaps and nearly invisible seams. The end product is far improved in overall quality and there's still the same generous array of 14 colours. If you can't find something to match the rest of your bike, you're simply not trying hard enough. A more natural grip, a wide array of colours, a high-quality fit and feel, two durometer choices, and even a reasonable price (at $29.95 USD) if there's a downside to Hudz' latest little bits of rubber, we haven't found it yet.