Bar tape is one way to dress up a road bike. Now there is another way to feel fancy. Hudz, has come out with colored brake hoods, and throughout 2008, according to their site, they will be shipping hoods in 8 different colors that will fit Shimano Dura Ace (7800) and Ultegra (6600, which also fit Ultegra SL and Shimano 105), Campagnolo, and SRAM levers. The Hudz colors are as follows:
Bastogne blue
Roubaix red
Ghent grey
Wallonne white
Brugge Black
Paris Pink
Vlaanderen Yellow
San Remo Green
(I'm not sure about the color naming conventions? Pink doesn't bring Paris to mind. It brings to mind a city in Italy?)
Hudz is also able to create custom colors for brake hoods, to match team colors for those putting together club, race, or special event team bikes. Also, the company plans to donate money from the sale of their products to charitable organizations. Each colored hood has a charity associated with the color. Hudz is looking to sponsor bike teams or groups who ride and are socially and environmentally conscious, and they redesigned their product packaging, so it is takes up a smaller landfill footprint.
I haven't tried these brake hoods. But I do know that some designs and rubber compounds feel more comfortable than others on the webbing between my thumbs and index fingers, and different rubber compounds wear better than others. If you put some Hudz on your ride, post a comment.
(Photos lifted from the Hudz website and a vendor's catalog.)
