Mudguards may serve a useful purpose by keeping the rooster tails of rain spray off you and your mates, but people are often reluctant to use them. That could be due to the fiddling required to fit them or possibly the rattling and rubbing they cause when riding. But most probably it’s because they make […]
If super-slick aero framesets were the memorable sight of September’s Eurobike, and German sausage the memorable taste, the memorable sound was a cool R2D2-style motor noise. Everywhere you went, it seemed, you could hear the clicking and whirring of a Shimano Dura Ace Di2 mech being fiddled with. The Di2 adorned nearly every single top-end […]
AceCo specialises in precision engineering and has produced this K-Edge Chain Catcher – recently seen on Bradley Wiggins’ Felt – with the dual aim of keeping your chain in place and protecting your frame from damage caused by a derailed chain. It works only with braze-on style front derailleur, is just 10 grammes and, tucked […]
With most of the SRAM-sponsored teams in the pro peloton running these derailleur cables, it’s a sure bet they offer pretty snappy performance. I’m a convert to the sealed versions on my mountain bike and cyclocross steeds, and immediately noticed improved shifting, increased resilience to mud and crud, and prolonged durability. This latest incarnation is […]
The Gorilla Cage is a smart looking piece of carbon that’s not going to look out of place on even the fanciest steed. And, at £37.99, it’s competitively priced compared to other carbon cages. Hitting a pothole and losing bottles can spell disaster but here my bottle stayed firmly in place despite hard mountain biking. […]
Mavic and Zipp are usually the first names to spring from people’s lips when they’re talking about aero wheels. But while that pair may have the highest profile, they are far from the only stalls in the deep-section marketplace. FSA isn’t exactly a newcomer to that market but is hoping its K-Force wheels will help […]
The Knog may be the most style conscious of the panniers we’ve tested, with discreet yet distinct design touches, but it’s not without substance. Its main compartment is large enough to take clothes, tools and food, plus there’s a padded pouch for a laptop and/or documents, with another mesh pouch on top of that for […]
Dawes is often seen as a byword for affordable, no-frills kit. But a product has to do more than simply be a bargain to be any good. Not that the Dawes pannier is a disaster; it’s just you get the impression that they’re hoping its low price will give it a bit more leeway in […]
The Yamaska may not be as tough as the Carradice CarraDry but it does use the same Rixen Kaul fixing system to clip to your bike. It makes for a solid binding, and the neat design means it remains rigid and rattle free over cobbles, kerbs and potholes. It’s also smaller, but this means there’s […]
At first glance the Outeredge seems a basic little brute, but look closer and you find it has some neat tricks up its sleeve. It shares the same tough, waterproof PVC as the Carradice CarraDry on its front and back, while the plastic-coated fabric on the sides are similar to the AGU Yamaska 435. The […]
Compared to the largely understated black offerings available these days, the silver CarraDry is the loudest pannier around. But while it may be the most ‘disco’ thanks to its shiny exterior, it’s also the most cavernous, with a maw capable of swallowing a 27-litre load. Two clips and an adjustable hook attach it securely to […]
Doing longer rides and need to take more water bottles with you? Or just don’t fancy ruining the aerodynamics of your frame with a couple of large vessels? Either way, placing water bottles behind the saddle may be the answer to your woes. The Giant Trinity Bottle Cage System attaches securely to the saddle rails […]
Mavic Cosmic Carbones were one of the original high-performance deep-section wheelsets to emerge from the famous French brand many moons ago. Now available in various weights and rim combinations, the latest SL version can also be purchased with a Powertap 2.4 wireless rear hub (£1,365 for rear wheel alone) fitted in the factory. The usual […]
Having impressed us over at 220 Towers with their Quarra Extra Speed bike, the leading Swiss brand Erox is back with its Mega 500 carbon wheelset. Despite the first use of the word ‘mega’ since 1988, this carbon wheelset is truly impressive. Spec-wise, the Mega 500s boast 55mm deep section rims, weigh in at a […]
Buying sexy bits of kit is always easier than having to shell out for boring essential stuff. So a 70-quid track pump was always going to be a hard sell. But Giant is pitching the Control Tower Pro as the only pump you’ll ever need. To that end, its sturdy, cast-aluminium body makes for a […]
French manufacturer Hutchinson has been making bike tyres since 1890 and has a well-earned reputation for dependability (not to mention an impressive list of race honours). The Fusion 2 is a race tyre that holds up well in a market packed with stiff competition. We tested a pair on rough, pot-holed and grit-strewn Devon lanes […]
Even if you’ve gone over your bike with an aero fine-toothed comb, chances are you probably hadn’t thought to upgrade to super slippery brake callipers. With these new Tektro brakes, however, aero performance is the name of the game. They mount behind the front fork to reduce drag and are optimised for internal cable routing. […]
Depending on which research you side with, aerodynamic components should either smooth out the air flow around them, or be as slim as possible so they slip through the air with minimum disturbance. FSA’s rear disc wheel, available for Shimano drive-trains and for tubular tyres only, definitely fits into the skinny category. Its flat carbon-fibre […]
This is über-bling: a light (120g), all-carbon, functional (because of the inherent stiffness of the material) rear derailleur – all for a penny… under 800 quid! Not cheap, but things of great beauty very rarely are. We had it working perfectly with Campagnolo’s Chorus 10 drivetrain, even if it made our test bike look like […]
This is not just a lightweight disc wheel – this is the Lightweight disc wheel. At 820g for the rear road version, there isn’t another disc near it for weight, and that individual quality transcends to its instantly identifiable (and slightly hypnotic) looks. Apart from being round, a rear wheel has two further properties: it […]
Okay, the price is mad, but for a piece of bike-pimping exotica these brakes take some beating. However, good looks and being the world’s lightest equivalent brake at 150 grammes each isn’t the whole story. These stoppers also do the business on the bike. On the R960s, function hasn’t been sacrificed for form. You get […]
These Bontrager-branded aero wheels match a Steve Hed-designed 50mm deep-section carbon fairing with an aluminium rim and Bontrager hub. They come in at 1,660g per pair so aren’t a mountain climber’s first choice (Lightweight’s carbon set comes in at 1,000g), but equally they won’t hold you up on rolling terrain. Rather than the spokes attaching […]
The Vitesse is Fizik’s female-specific tri saddle, coming with a more padded, wider-than-average nose for tri-bar time, and pink detailing. Making anything lady-specific in either powder blue or pink is a real trend in the bike industry of late, yet seems to wind lots of women up. Thankfully, on the mostly black Vitesse, the pink […]
The Selle Italia SLR T1 saddle is a triathlon/time-trial specific model from one of the most established names in bicycle seating. It features more gel padding than a traditional road saddle, especially on the nose, to accommodate time spent perching on the tri-bars. The covering material is a glossy black Lorica fabric designed to be […]
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