More triathlon gear tests than any other website. EXPERT REVIEWS of the latest and best tri kit, including bikes, running shoes, wetsuits and clothing.
Designed to take on the cobbled races of northern Europe, these retro-styled rollers are equally ready for your local council’s worst repairs. We’ve heard good reports from big riders who’ve absolutely hammered these wheels and ours remained true even after venturing off-road. The slightly soft spoke tension takes plenty of sting out of rough sections, […]
Forget turning down the Christmas pud – these lightweight Reynolds rollers are a great way to lose weight after Santa’s scarpered. The good news is that there are no ‘special dietary requirements’ for these wheels – just conventional low-calorie menu options right through. The mid-depth aero rims help keep the wheels tight and responsive while […]
These 105 wheels are light and good value, which, coupled with Shimano’s legendary reliability, makes them an ideal winter wheel. The 24mm rims offer a smooth, pliable ride for coping with potholes, and also makes them less prone to gusting than deeper hoops. Placing the nipples of the straight-pull spokes (16 front/24 rear) at the […]
Undoubtedly these Gipimme wheels are very eye-catching, but sadly they wouldn’t be our first choice for winter work. The deep 40mm section, with its widely spaced, paired aero spokes and overall matt-black finish certainly stands out in the crowd, and they hold speed well. However, as the only wheelset here over 2kg, they take some […]
Halo has been making wheels for headcase MTB dirt jumpers and free-ride lunatics for years, so we expected their road wheels to be rugged. The relatively low 25mm rim and symmetrical crossover (therefore longer and springier) spoking all round means they’re also comfortable. The ‘Six Drive’ hubs are straight off their mtb wheels, with an […]
Easton’s second-tier aero set is impressively tough and versatile – if you like particularly stiff set-ups. With a mid-section 29.4mm aero rim, broad-body hubs and tight round spokes in a two-cross driveside/radial offside and front pattern, there’s no sign of deflection or drive loss however hard you kick. They’re impressively light for a low-cost aero […]
Using a mid-depth rim and tight double-butted spokes with Easton’s patented T3 Twin Thread technology makes the Circuit a phenomenally stiff and strong wheelset. They’re made for big riders and bad roads, and our experience doesn’t suggest any different. Despite the strength and stiffness they’re not harsh on rougher sections, and they feel impressively tight […]
The eye-catching orangey/red rims and hubs make these beauties look several times more expensive than they actually are, and may prompt you to check the price several times before believing it. The 24mm deep rims are strong enough to cope with winter roads without feeling as ‘clattery’ stiff as some deeper set-ups, and they still […]
The Arena comes from Oregon Scientific, well-established providers of all that’s a tad quirky in the world of electronic gadgetry. Here they’ve come up trumps with what is one of only a limited number of waterproof MP3 players on the market. The Arena MP180 is waterproof to a depth of 1m for up to 30mins; […]
The pool-friendly 1GB Sport player from Freestyle Audio is kitted out for sports use straight out of the box, coming complete with three different-sized earbud fittings for the waterproof phones and an armband. Sound quality is reasonable and the earbuds aren’t uncomfortable, though the use of ear clips for swimming is slightly odd. However, the […]
Available in several colours and two sizes (£39.99 for the 1GB we tested; £59.99 for the 2GB version), the 2-Play MP150 will look familiar, as it follows the now ubiquitous USB stick format. Initial impressions are pleasing: its body comes wrapped in a nice rubber coating and the two-colour, four-line LCD greets you with a […]
The baby of the market-leading iPod family, the stamp-sized, 1GB Shuffle is designed as a no-frills, no-fuss way of bunging some music in your ears while you’re on the move. And there’s the rub: the lack of an LCD or all but the most basic playback controls (there’s no EQ, for instance) mean this won’t […]
In recent years, the inventors of the original Walkman have fallen a bit behind in the personal audio arena but, as games of catch-up go, the 4GB NWZ-A826 is hard to beat. Design-wise it’s not a million miles from the iPod Touch, its obvious main rival, being an ultra-slim, black beauty with a large full-colour […]
Although aimed primarily at coaches, this British Triathlon Federation DVD provides plenty of technique advice that you can put into practice on your own or with training partners. You get a disc covering each of the triathlon disciplines, broken down into various different skills. The swim disc, for example, covers body position in the water, […]
The prospect of enduring a whole DVD on core training might sound daunting, but this is great stuff. US coach Eric Schmitz manages to make strengthening your mid-section interesting by demonstrating loads of exercises you’ve probably never done before and adding plenty of variety throughout the workouts. Some sessions require no equipment; for others you’ll […]
This impressive DVD is all about getting race day right, covering everything from visualisation to nutrition to specific technique advice for each of the disciplines. Former US pro Wes Hobson and Olympic coach Michelle Blessing anchor things, and you get plenty of additional input from well-recognised experts: 220 contributing coach Joe Friel gives useful tapering […]
Fancy conquering one of the Tour de France’s most feared climbs from the comfort of your own turbo trainer? This is a cyclist’s-eye view of riding the Alpine mountain Ventoux. And it couldn’t be simpler: you pedal along, a number in the corner of the screen tells you when to adjust the gear or resistance […]
This DVD is built around turbo-trainer sessions, where you cycle along with former British tri champ Rick Kiddle on the rural roads of southern France. You get a low- and high-end endurance ride, hill climbs, extensive intervals and a scenic jaunt, which you can do either individually or all together as one tough workout. Graphics […]
In jargon-free language, regular 220 Triathlon contributor Joe Beer unravels the basics about our beloved sport, from the fundamental training required to become a triathlete, to the equipment you’ll need, all the way through to racing. Along this enjoyable ride, there are plenty of training plans and tips to get your teeth into. Complementing the […]
Triathlon Made Easy is written by Zoe McDonald and Lisa Buckingham from Zest magazine, and their day job has clearly seeped through to the pages of this guide, as it has a stereotypical girly air to it – lots of stars, pastel colours and cute illustrations. While these fluffy visuals will appeal to some, many […]
Everyone with a pair of running shoes should have Running Well by Sam Murphy and Sarah Connors on their bookshelf. It aims to show runners how to minimise and treat injury through smart training and good technique. But Running Well is far more than just an injury book. It’ll help you assess and correct your […]
This kit bag-sized book by Anita Bean is a valuable reference tool for those interested in supplements and nutrition. Easy to read and packed with concise information, it’ll help you understand the massive range of supplements on the market to see which you need, which you don’t and how to make them work for you. […]
At a massive 351 pages, with excellent examples, exercises and tips, Jeremy Lazarus gives you a practical handle on the use of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) for sports people. NLP breaks down the mental aspects of sport into scenarios that are easily practised and visualised, which helps the athlete to take the most appropriate actions […]
The Will is a bar with energy at the heart of its formulation. The ‘coco-a-go-go’ flavour, which we tried, includes caffeine (0.2%) and taurine (1.8%). And at those levels the bar will definitely put a spring in your step and make an evening or lunchtime session easier to get through. See it like a solid […]
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