Innehållsförteckning för May 2020 från Cycling Plus

Every year I am left in awe by the amount of work our trusted testing team puts into Bike of the Year. This time out, senior technical editor Warren put around 2500 miles in, through the worst of the winter storms, on 20 amazing bikes. Then most of the team decamped to Gran Canaria to choose the winner. We like to cover all price points in Cycling Plus, but for BoTY we’ve settled on £2900-£4000 to ensure that we show the best a modern road bike can offer without delving into the realms of fantasy. Turn to page 31 to discover your next bike… SUBSCRIBE TODAY FOR ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE OFFERS & COMPETITIONS AS PART OF OUR SUBSCRIBER CLUB! SUBSCRIBE! NEW SUBSCRIBERS TO CYCLING PLUS CAN GET A LEZYNE POCKET…

JOHN WHITNEY: Cycling isn’t the biggest sport in the UK, but it does have its own section in Waterstones. What is it that makes it such a popular form of literature? JAMES WITTS: In both cycling and life, we can relate to digging deep, to carrying on when every cell’s telling you to stop. It’s hard to relate to Lionel Messi or Ronaldo, whose deft footwork is other-worldly. Cycling’s struggles are poetic, almost romantic, fertile ground for the written word. And then, of course, there’s doping. Ever since Adam nibbled the apple, humans have bowed to temptation. Sprinkle those flaws into the mix and cycling lit’s appeal is clear to see. JOHN: I often tell people that Tyler Hamilton’s The Secret Race is the cycling book to read, even if…

WE SAY… Cannondale’s sportiest model so far but one that doesn’t sacrifice comfort for speed HIGHS Lively handling, light chassis, smooth ride LOWS Middle weight wheelset at odds with superbike chassis BUY IF… You like your endurance bike to handle beautifully and don’t mind investing in better wheels down the line £3999.99 Top-flight drivetrain for the venerable Synapse Cannondale’s Synapse has evolved over the years, from being a fairly upright, long-distance bike to this latest iteration, which is based around a geometry that balances endurance and speed within a lightweight chassis. The 610mm stack and 393mm reach (on our 58cm test bike) balances nicely with a wheelbase that’s 1009mm long, while the fork’s 58mm trail adds snap to the steering without compromising stability. A 70mm bottom-bracket drop, up from its…

WE SAY… A racy off-road machine that blends the best from Giant’s TCX ’cross bike and Defy roadster HIGHS Superbly smooth ride; great spec for the price; sweet handling LOWS Noisy brake rotors BUY IF… You want a capable all-road machine that’s light, nimble, well-equipped and well-priced £3249 Gravel racer with podium pedigree Giant’s Revolt launched in late 2018 and it is a clever culmination of the best bits from the TCX cyclocross machine and the Defy endurance roadster. The frame’s built using Giant’s premium Advanced carbon technology in a process it calls ‘modified monocoque construction’, which means the frame is formed into a single piece. Frame shape mimics the Defy’s super-dropped rearstay design. The shaping of Giant’s super-sloping compact top tube’s evolved, gradually narrowing from the deep head-tube junction…

In 2020, gravel riding’s set to continue its rise with more bikes, events and riders than ever before. The market’s still a relatively immature one but it’s growing – and learning – fast. Inevitably, that means swift gear evolution with the survival of the fittest arguably coming down to suspension and comfort, but not by sacrificing speed. Cue GT’s Grade Carbon Pro, the Cannondale Topstone Carbon Ultegra RX and Canyon’s Grail CF SL 8.0 eTap… SUCKING UP THE BUMPS GT’s suspension system cleverly adapts its signature triple-triangle design; in other words, the small triangle created by the seatstays overlapping the seat tube and meeting the top tube away from the junction. It has featured on GT’s mountain bikes for decades, though on the Grade Carbon Pro there’s a twist. During…

WE SAY… The claimed “fastest bike in the world” shows how to do aero rapidity with surprising agility HIGHS Agile, light and furiously fast LOWS Narrow tyres, lower-spec disc rotors BUY IF… You want an aero bike that doesn’t compromise handling or ride quality for its impressive speed £3999.99 Complete aero package built for speed Top line: in wind-tunnel testing, Cannondale’s SystemSix generated drag of 203 watts. That’s lower than the Cervélo S5 (206W), Ridley Noah Fast (213W) and Trek Madone (212W), adding some weight to the claim that the SystemSix is the “fastest bike in the world”. If the numbers add up, it’s partly down to the chassis, which is based on a Kammtail design. In cycling circles, Kammtail is a teardrop shape greater than the UCI’s stringent 3.2:1…

Whether it’s the biting winter chill or the legacy of last year’s summer miles, this is the time of year when cyclists’ bodies begin to creak and groan with all sorts of niggles and injuries. And no matter how much you love riding, pain will eventually force you off your bike and destroy your hard-earned gains. Is that you? There’s a good chance it is as a study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that 94 per cent of cyclists had suffered overuse injuries. Around 45 per cent of those were back-related and 23 per cent were in the knee, but pain can strike anywhere. Thankfully, there is a solution. To help you remedy your aches and dodge new problems, we asked a team of experts how to condition every…

JAMES TRIGG, HALFORDS CYCLING CATEGORY MANAGER “You won’t always have time to wash your bike after every ride – but it’s important that you wipe down your chain to prolong your drivetrain’s life and add a few drops of lube afterwards to keep the chain running smoothly. Check your wheels are true. On a rim-brake bike, you just spin the wheel and keep an eye on the gap between the rim and brake pad. On a disc-brake bike, rest your finger on the chainstay or fork in line with the rim, as a point of reference. If your wheels are out you can try straightening them with a spoke key. This is a bit of an art so if you’re in doubt, take your bike to your local shop. Poor…

The Dukes Pass: an iconic climb on the Scottish amateur racing scene There was a time in the dim and distant past when I’d have pitched up at the Dukes Weekender licking my lips at the prospect of its hill climb. A searing 1.7km up the Dukes Pass, an iconic climb on the Scottish amateur racing scene in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. It would have ticked all of the boxes for the 10-and-a-halfstone flyweight who relished the simplicity of going uphill for short periods as fast as possible while balancing the side effect of keeping his lungs in situ. The 2019 vintage, however, who carries a bit more around his middle, a mismatch for gravity but with more curiosity for differing forms of two-wheeled fun, was here…

Look Cycles is famed for innovation. The French manufacturer, synonymous with its Mondrian-inspired logo, started out in life in 1951 as a ski-binding manufacturer. Look would later sell its skiing arm but, in 1984, applied that spring-loaded binding technology to the world of two wheels, creating the first clipless pedal. Twelve months later, Bernard Hinault would become the first cyclist to win the Tour de France using a pair of clipless… and, as of 2020, the last Frenchman to win the world’s biggest cycle race. Clipless pedals proved a game-changer – as did Look’s KG86. It’s regarded as the world’s first carbon road bike. It was certainly the first time carbon bikes made an appearance at the Tour, with both Hinault and Greg LeMond using the KG86 at the 1986…

01 Tour of Flanders 5 April, Belgium A million roadside fans including neardelirious local support concoct arguably the greatest atmosphere in professional bike racing, aside perhaps for an Alpe d’Huez Tour stage. Making his debut in 2020 will be Julian Alaphilippe, France’s latest beau who rides for Deceuninck–Quickstep, the Belgian super team who value a Flanders win above all else. Alaphilippe, who went agonisingly close at the Tour de France last year, has switched his focus back to one-day races for this season. rondevanvlaanderen.be 02 Dirty Reiver 17-18 April, Northumberland We rode this gravel race in Kielder Forest last April, where our correspondent reported that it “was hard to know what hurt more: the palms of my filthy hands, which had been pummelled pink and raw, my cramp-infested calf muscles…

THE BIG PICTURE CURTAILED COMEBACK Chris Froome returned to racing for Team Ineos last month at the UAE Tour, just eight months after what could have been a career- or even life-ending crash on a training ride at the Critérium du Dauphiné. However, what should have been a seven-day stage race came to an abrupt end after just five stages due to the coronavirus outbreak. After two workers from one of the participating teams tested positive for Corvid-19, all teams were quarantined in the race hotel for further testing.…

CANYON ULTIMATE CF SL DISC 8.0 Di2 AERO SPECIFICATIONS Weight 7.54kg (58cm) Frame Carbon Fork Carbon Gears Shimano Ultegra Di2 (52/36, 11-30) Brakes Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8070 with Ice Tech 160mm rotors Wheels DT Swiss A RC 1400 Finishing kit Continental GP5000 25 mm, Fizik Antares saddle, Canyon carbon post HIGHS Light; extremely fast; sharp handling LOWS Firmer front than rear; takes some getting used to BUY IF… You want a lightning-fast bike with speedy handling We’ve ridden and rated the full gamut of road-specific genres. But the four that follow are unadulterated speed machines, looking to offer light weight and decent aerodynamics – but how do they perform on the road? CANYON ULTIMATE CF SL DISC 8.0 Di2 AERO £3749 Value-packed flyweight race machine Canyon’s direct-to-consumer model cuts down…

WE SAY… A race thoroughbred that punches far above its weight for its reasonable price HIGHS Sublime handling, great wheels, superb comfort LOWS Several mid-range components BUY IF… Your idea of the perfect road bike is racy and fast-handling with a comfortable edge £3000 Classic race machine with aero tweaks The unifying factor between the original SuperSix of 2008 and this, the third-generation EVO, is handling. Cannondale’s combination of 73-degree head and 72.9-degree seat angles, a short 1005mm wheelbase, 58mm trail on the lightweight fork and stiff chassis forges a bike that handles like a race thoroughbred should. The EVO comes in two versions: the ultra-light Hi-Mod found on the top-of-the-range EVO and the BallisTec carbon chassis found here. The frame’s still very light at 999g and the fork similarly…

WE SAY… Upgraded from the 2019 version, this Defy offers a gloriously composed ride HIGHS Stunningly composed ride and handling; comfort in spades LOWS Slightly clumsy gear cable routing, saddle is average BUY IF… You want an endurance bike with a sporty edge and a great spec £3499 The legendary Defy with added value Giant’s Defy has garnered a reputation for its vibration-neutralising abilities. Well, with this latest version, it has elevated that to a new ‘low’, thanks to dampening bars and seatpost, as well as carbon wheels complete with tubeless tyres as standard. This is a true modern endurance road bike. Cue the D-shaped seat tube that maintains lateral rigidity but allows the post to move fore-and-aft – not by a huge amount but enough to smooth the ride.…

WE SAY… Combining sharp looks with urgent acceleration and supple handling composure MAXXIS HIGHROAD HYPR K2 £54.99 Specification The Maxxis Highroad HYPR K2 claims to be the brand’s best road race tyre, and features a 170 TPI casing with a K2 Kevlar composite puncture protection layer, which is also claimed to be more effective than Kevlar only or Vectran. Maxxis says that its all-new HYPR compound rubber tread will lower rolling resistance as well as improve traction in the wet. Our 25mm pair weighed in at 575g, but the non-tubeless version costs £10 less and will save on weight: a claimed 80g per tyre. Fitting We tested the TR tubeless-ready version of this tyre, which, when used on an appropriate rim, along with sealant, offers the benefits of a tubeless…

If you ride regularly it’s inevitable that crashes will occur. Hopefully, like most crashes, it’ll be a case of getting up and dusting yourself down, or dealing with a little road rash. More serious crashes do happen, of course, and with most deaths and traumatic brain injuries occurring from head impacts, there’s no question about putting on a helmet. Today’s helmets are so light and comfortable, you barely notice that they’re there and on warmer days they do a top job of keeping you cool. Some feature inner skeletons to increase the strength of the inner EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) shell allowing for more vents without compromising protection. Modern-day helmets are so light and comfortable, you barely notice that they’re there… While the EPS shell is designed to take direct linear…

“When we’re looking at things like a sportive or multiple-day events (that are becoming quite popular with some of these long endurance rides), ensuring you plan your food intake is important,” insists Nigel Mitchell. You want to know where the feed stations are along the route, but perhaps more importantly, what kind of food those stations are going to provide. “Some events will give that sort of information beforehand. If the food provided is something that you don’t normally eat, it’s a good idea to ‘practice’ with that food during training, to allow your gut to become accustomed beforehand.” He also suggests that rice-based foods are really useful for long or multiple-day events. “It’s easy to digest, a good source of carbohydrate, and because rice is cooked with water, it’s…

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on the horizon, where the world-beating British track-cycling team will be hunting more gold medals in the velodrome, this is the perfect year to enjoy your first taste of track cycling. Not only will you get the thrill of racing around the steep banking at gravity-defying speeds, you’ll also gain a whole host of technical skills that will boost your performances out on the road. “You can actually tell which riders in the peloton haven’t been on the track because you hear that empty ‘thunk’ sound when they hit their dead spot as they pedal,” says former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas. “Working on the track teaches you to pedal really smoothly and that helps you to ride more efficiently on the road because…

“I have pretty much settled on the more aggressive fork position”WARREN ROSSITER WEIGHT LOSS 01 The HVRT can be run as a road machine and a gravel bike. By switching up the wheels to Hunt’s carbon 650b and converting to tubeless I’ve saved over half a kilo. FORK TWO WAYS 02 The TwinTip fork means you can change the front-end geometry between a racy setup and a more endurance biased one, I’ve settled on the more racy end of things. AN ACE MECH 03 Dura-Ace mechanical is not what you’d usually find on a bike hitting the dirt, but I’ve been impressed at how well it’s performed both off- and on-road. SPECIFICATIONS Weight 8.22kg (XL/59cm – 650b) Frame EPS carbon superlight Fork TwinTip carbon Gears Shimano Dura-Ace (52/36, 11-28) Wheels…

DISTANCE 69km TOTAL ELEVATION 1294m GRADE Only technical on a small section, it’d be challenging but doable for a gravel novice WHERE TO STAY The Forth Inn (forthinn.com) in Aberfoyle, the base of the Dukes Weekender, would have been our choice had we booked earlier in the year. Instead we stayed in the functional Rob Roy Hotel (robroyhotel.co.uk), an American-style motel that has seen better days. They didn’t allow bikes in our room, which is unusual and frustrating. DUKES WEEKENDER The 2020 event is set for 12 and 13 September. Entry to the whole weekend is £78, or £25 and £58 to enter the hill climb and gravel enduro individually. There’s also a ‘mini enduro’ for kids on the Saturday morning (£25). dukesweekender.com KOMOOT Komoot is the navigation app aimed…

Spring is finally here (hopefully!), and this issue of Cycling Plus is chock-full of bikes that will enhance your riding experience throughout the cycling year, so in these pages we focus on where that riding should take place as we look at the events you need to be a part of in 2020. We round up the key events of the cycling season, both at home and abroad, cast the net wider to bring you 20 of the best events you might not be familiar with, and head to Nice to check out one of the sport’s newest challenges, based on an old classic. We’ll also help you prepare for a summer of cycling with our guide to getting your first century under your belt.…

1. You don’t have to do long training sessions “There’s no need to ride 100 miles before your first 100-mile sportive,” says Simon Jobson, professor of sport and exercise physiology at the University of Winchester and co-author of Ultra-Distance Cycling: An Expert Guide to Endurance Cycling (Bloomsbury). “If you’ve done a 60- or 70-mile ride, you’ll find you have what it takes on the day to go the extra miles.” 2. It is possible to get the ‘experience’ in just one weekend “If you’re struggling to find the time to do long rides, try doing two shorter rides on successive days. For example, 60 miles on Saturday and 40 miles on Sunday,” says Jobson. “The Sunday ride will help you get used to the sensation of riding when you’re tired,…

We take our testing very seriously at Cycling Plus. For more than 25 years – an age when disc brakes, Di2 and super-wide 1x gearing weren't even a glint in a designer’s eye – we have been putting road cycling products through their paces. Our test team, led by senior technical editor Warren Rossiter, has nearly a century of riding experience between them in just about every discipline. They can separate the great from the also-rans when it comes to bikes, clothing, accessories – and more. If it gets our seal of approval you can be sure that you’ll be bagging a great buy!…

Dartmoor’s dramatic valleys, moortops, climbs and descents offer some awesome cycling. Gateway towns for a day ride are Okehampton, Tavistock, Buckfastleigh and Moretonhampstead, but Bovey Tracey – on the south eastern corner of the moors – offers that bit extra. Of course, there are challenging, hilly routes of any duration straight from its doorstep. But it also offers that Dartmoor rarity: level options for trundlers or families, in the shape of a newly improved rail trail to Moretonhampstead (the Wray Valley Trail), flat car-free path to Newton Abbot (and its mainline rail station), or easy riverside lanes alongside the Teign. Bovey also benefits from a gem of a cycle cafe that serves as a lively hub for local riders and non-riders. Cafe 3 Sixty’s extensive terrace tables are a vivid…

WE SAY… A composed, comfortable race machine that has been designed to go fast HIGHS Awesome ride; racy handling LOWS A bit weighty BUY IF… You want a taste of cutting-edge aero at a reduced cost £3900 Aero superbike comes down in price The major issue with making cutting-edge aero bikes is that it’s expensive to recoup the huge development costs. So how has Trek managed to squeeze the Madone chassis replete with IsoSpeed rear suspension into this price category? The answer lies in the front end as Trek has done away with the expensive integrated bar and stem system and replaced it with a more cost-effective combination of alloy Bontrager Pro stem and Aero VR-CF handlebar. Cable integration, however, is still tidy as Trek has designed a set of…

WE SAY… A super-light race machine that doesn’t compromise on comfort HIGHS Lithe and nimble handling, great package for the money LOWS Front end can’t quite match the back end for comfort BUY IF… You want a sublime handling, racy bike with a great specification £3399.99 Great-value Spanish flyweight The original version of the Orca M25 started out as Orbea’s pro-level race machine, combining a 780g frame and sub-300g fork for one of the lightest chassis in the peloton. This is the disc model, introduced in 2016, and although it’s 100g or so heavier than the rim-brake model, it’s still one of the lightest disc-specific frame and forks around. The frameset employs the classic two-triangle shape, but the design’s not dated. Take the front end featuring a drag-reducing bowed fork…

WE SAY… Smooth-riding comfort from a bike that boasts swift handling that’s as good as the best HIGHS Road smoothing, speedy handling LOWS Not the greatest-value proposition when it comes to the wheels BUY IF… You want extreme comfort combined with impressive handling £3499.99 Future Shock-equipped bike promises comfort and speed The Roubaix platform has evolved T from the relaxed original to iterations with elastomer inserts, to the 2017 version that introduced the idea of a damper unit mounted on the steerer. Now it comes armed with the updated version of its Future Shock, the radical suspension system that provides up to 20mm travel between the stem and top tube. By positioning it above the headset, the unit ‘suspends’ the rider rather than the bike. That means not only a…

Endurance bikes – aka sportive bikes – are designed and manufactured to ensure that long days in the saddle are a bit more comfortable. The idea is that your derriere is protected from overly aggressive vibrations, while making certain that your legs retain freshness for hour upon hour of Sunday-morning rides. With that in mind, we present to you Canyon’s Endurace CF SL 8.0 Aero, the Bianchi Infinito XE Ultegra and Trek’s Domane SL6. GEOMETRIC COMPARISONS The CF SL 8.0 Aero sits at the top of Canyon’s Endurace CF SL range. There’s also the SLX models, which run into superbike money thanks to their light-weight frame of 820g. The SL uses a more modest carbon construction yet still keeps the scales under a kilo. The idea is that your legs…

Five riders, five bikes and a range of challenging climbs and technical descents ahead I’ve spent the last five months testing 20 of 2020’s best new bikes over 2200 miles, riding against all the British winter can throw at me with plenty of input from the crew here at Cycling Plus. Now it’s been whittled down to a final five. So, we thought, ‘What better reward than to take the five finalists for a few days’ riding in the winter sun of Gran Canaria sampling some of Europe’s finest climbs and most thrilling descents to find our winner?’ THE FINAL LINE-UP After a long day’s travelling with bike bags in tow, we arrive at our accommodation, assemble the fab five and hit the hay, ready for an early start and…

WE SAY… A good-quality wheelset that will add a little luxury to your ride £279.99 (R)/£214.99 (F) Wheels to take on anything The CR1400 wheelset falls outside of DT’s gravel range (which gets a G prefix in the name). Rather, these are described as a high-performance, all-road wheelset at an attractive price. The sub-£500 price point on any wheelset usually means that you’ll get middleweight cartridge bearing hubs that are decent, but nothing to write home about. Which is why the CR1400s are surprising as they’re built around the straight-pull Dicut version of the lightweight 240s hub. Dicut means these are DT’s most aerodynamic hub, with the stiffest shell and, up until the recent launch of the very pricey 180s, they were also its lightest hubs. The alloy rim is…

FROM THE EDITOR… As if the chance to save 30 per cent and having every issue of Cycling Plus delivered direct to your door wasn’t enough of an incentive, we’re also giving new subscribers a Lezyne Pocket Drive Mini Pump as a gift. At 79g and just 14cm in length you’ll hardly notice its presence wherever you’re roaming. Yet in the inevitable event of a puncture or a top-up, this tiny trooper will ensure you’re back on the road and up to speed again in no time. PLUS ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE OFFERS & COMPETITIONS AS PART OF OUR SUBSCRIBER CLUB! WORTH £25 FEATURES • Just 140mm in length • Handle is lightly knurled for slip-resistant operation • Overlapping handle and integrated ABS Flex Hose • Maximum inflation pressure of 160 psi…

In winter 2016, Dan Bigham – a speed-hungry cyclist training at Derby Velodrome – thought it would be fun to enter the team pursuit at the National Track Championships. With a masters in motorsport engineering from Oxford Brookes, Bigham had been working in aerodynamics for the Mercedes F1 team and racing on the road for Planet X-Northside. He roped in fellow riders Charlie Tanfield and Jacob Tipper, as well as Jonny Wale, a psychology student at Loughborough. The team had no money or coach. But in January 2017 these talented mavericks shook up the cycling world by becoming national champions, in a new competition record time of 4 minutes 4 seconds. “We just did it for fun but we were pretty nerdy in our prep,” recalls Bigham, 28, tinkering with…

WHAT GOT YOU INTO CYCLING? “My dad was a professional motorbike racer but told me to never ride a motorbike! Instead I cycled as a kid. Even though I rode a lot I got pretty big at uni – useful for rugby but not ideal for cycling.” WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET BACK ON THE BIKE? “The crux for me came from when I visited a school for kids with cerebral palsy called the PACE Centre in Aylesbury. The centre looks after 107 kids and is entirely self-funded. It was an incredibly moving experience and I decided I’d try to help them out with a sponsored cycle, riding around Richmond Park for 24 hours to raise awareness – 320 miles. That was my first real long ride.” HOW DID YOU…

“Shortening the stem centralised my weight better and really improved handling”ROBIN WILMOTT The mud has just been pressure washed from the TCX for the final time at the end of what’s been one of the muddiest cyclocross seasons I can remember in over 30 years. It’s the interchangeable components that are key to ’cross, alongside the skill and fitness to do them justice, but the frameset dictates how well everything else functions. Giant’s engineers nailed it with the TCX first time. Excellent mud clearance, great torsional stiffness, intuitive control and impressive composure over the bumps make for a superb all-conditions racer. My season using SRAM’s Force eTap AXS 12-speed has impressed. Its hoods and levers are so comfortable and having two shifters only confused me once. The speed and accuracy…

Intermittently spirited defiance from the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana notwithstanding, the Tour de France remains the biggest stage race – nay, biggest race – in the cycling world and 2020’s 107th loop of the country won’t change anyone’s mind. 2019’s edition, with its inspired but ultimately doomed ride by home darling Julian Alaphilippe, was a timely reminder of just how great this race can be when the stars align. Two in a row for 2020? We can but hope. The route designed by race head honcho Christian Prudhomme and his ASO colleagues is an unusual one. We said loop of France but Tour traditionalists, particularly those in northern France, will have been choking on their moules-frites at the route Prudhomme’s concocted, given its high concentration of stages in…

As mountain passes go, the Col de Turini could be considered something of an anti-climax. There’s a car park serving a couple of hotels but no panoramic views and little to indicate that you’re 1600 metres above sea level in the heart of the Alpes-Maritime region of France. The drama is on the way up. You have a choice of ascents, ranging from brief and punchy to long and meandering, that all carve paths through rugged gorges and are punctuated by spectacular sets of hairpins. It’s a favourite of many of the professional riders who live in nearby Monaco and will be featured in stage two of this year’s Tour de France – for the first time since 1973 – and L’Etape du Tour, the event for amateurs that mimics…