Innehållsförteckning för September 2024 från Cycling Plus

eCargo bikes have been around for decades, but now there’s a new generation of more compact electric-assisted machines to help you out of your car and onto two wheels. Our quartet of bikes are all capable car replacements, thanks partly to a long wheelbase to give plenty of extra carrying capacity over a standard bike. They are equipped with powerful mid-mounted motors and large-capacity batteries. 01 Powerful motors All of the bikes here are running powerful mid-mounted motors. Yet all have been tuned and prepared to shift weight rather than shift speeds. The Cube, Cannondale and Trek all use one of Bosch’s Cargo Line motors. The Cargo is based on the German motor maker’s powerful mountain bike motor, but here the 86Nm of Torque are applied lower down in the…

All of our compact cargo machines here are brilliant ways to reduce your reliance on a car. Each one provides ample carrying abilities and has the versatility and accessories to be tuned to your exact needs. Trek’s Fetch+ 2 has a low centre of gravity for stability and is easy and fun to ride. The downside is the lack of equipment included for the price. With not even mudguards (a UK essential) included in the standard set-up, you’ll be ramping up the price as you add those essential items, to produce a bike that’s already a big investment even more pricey. Cannondale’s Neo Cargowagen shares the same small-wheeled, low-centre-of-gravity traits as the Trek but it comes with plenty of great equipment as standard. It also gets a large-capacity battery for…

SO HE DID IT. 35 WINS Twenty-eight years after the bike-obsessed Mark Cavendish started doing junior races on the Isle of Man, inspired by the posters of Robbie McEwen and Mario Cipollini on his bedroom wall, and 16 years after he won his first stage at the Tour de France, in Châteauroux in 2008, the Manx Missile surpassed Belgian Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins with a sensational showing at the 2024 Tour. The 39-year-old sprinter – whose 165 career wins also include 17 stages of the Giro and the 2011 world road race title – has experienced moments of ecstasy and pain, invincibility and despair. But with passion and resilience, he fulfilled his childhood dream to become a cycling icon. Over the years, I have interviewed Cavendish many…

Aero road helmets can – and should – offer a balance between TT and traditional road helmets. That means they have to be more aerodynamic than a road helmet without the compromises of weight and ventilation that a time-trial helmet comes with (as a bonus, aero road helmets also offer some protection from those beastly easterly winds in the winter too). Our previous wind-tunnel testing has proven that aero road helmets cut the mustard in the speed stakes, but what are the other key factors to look for when picking a lid? There’s the helmet’s often-overlooked raison d’être, which is of course safety, and also the effectiveness of the retention system for comfort and fit. And while EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) dominates the build of road helmets on test here, the…

It’s easy to forget how hard cycling can be on your feet. Thousands of revolutions pressing all of your weight through a pair of relatively small pedals can take its toll. With the right shoes, you can minimise the effects of heat, pressure and friction to enhance the comfort and efficiency of your rides. Get it wrong, however, and even short spins can become an agonising experience with ill-fitting shoes that are too tight, too loose, too hot or just not fit for your intended cycling purpose. As your feet are two of your five contact points with the bike (along with your hands and bottom), it pays to spend time finding the right pair for you. Whether you ride for leisure, you’re an endurance challenge junkie or a stem-chewing…

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“My journey took me from the two extreme points of the USA, passing through almost a dozen states and meeting all sorts of weird and wonderful people on the way. Most Americans are incredibly friendly and gregarious. When they see you on a bike with bulging panniers, they ask you what you’re doing. They hear your British accent and they just open up to you. I’d previously cycled there in 2016 and found that riding a bike opens up a world of opportunity to speak to people. Fast-forward seven years and I decided that the best way to witness the build-up to the 2024 Presidential Election there would be by bike. I set off on my Van Nicholas Rohloff bike – it’s titanium with drop handlebars and a carbon chain,…

UKCE Cotswolds Classic Starting at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, all 59, 82 and 127km routes of this UKCE sportive take you through the Cotswolds AONB. Be prepared for a few punchy climbs. 31 August 2024. Etape Caledonia This sportive is closed to traffic and there are 64km, 89km and 128km options. The terrain’s pretty hilly but the mighty views offered by the Scottish Highlands help. It returns on 11 May 2025. RideLondon-Essex Choose from 48, 97 and 161km options. You’ll travel from Central London via Epping Forest into the Essex countryside on its longer routes, or the 48km heads to Buckhurst Hill and back. 25 May 2025.…

22 June 2024 ● Riders experience the Causeway Coastal Route north of Belfast on the Ireland edition of Chase the Sun just after sunrise. CTS once again witnessed four coast-to-coast events in 2024, with North and South options in the UK, an Italian leg, and this 209-mile (336km) adventure from Belfast in Northern Ireland to Enniscrone south of the border on the year’s longest Saturday.…

Perhaps because of its shorter and less illustrious history (it was first raced in 1935), or because for spells it’s been a far flatter race than it is today, but the Vuelta a España has fewer truly iconic climbs than its Grand Tour brethren. We’d wager that if we asked a pro cycling fan at random to reel off five climbs of the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, they’d be able to do so with ease. Mountain passes such as Alpe d’Huez, Col du Tourmalet, Passo dello Stelvio and Passo Gavia are fixed in our minds through history, drama and iconography. They’re individual obstacles not just defined by the races they appear in but on their own terms. The modern Vuelta, however, is known more for the collective wallop that…

The sporting achievements may inevitably go down in history, but Olympic host cities’ plans to get people moving to and from events on foot and bike have so far been less than illustrious. So when Paris announced it would put cycling at the heart of its Olympic transport plans, observers were rightly sceptical. There was, after all, prior form. Keener observers may recall Tokyo’s pre-Olympics promises of a network of cycle routes, which apparently sank without a trace. More of you may remember the horror of Rio’s disaster-movie-style collapse of the seafront bike lane. While Tokyo’s crowds never arrived, because Covid got there first, visitors might have noted a disconnected hodgepodge of variously painted routes that give the distinct impression of being an afterthought. Rio’s plans to link every venue…

Weight 31.5kg Frame Hydroformed aluminium Fork Aluxx Aluminium Gears Shimano Deore 10-speed 42t max cog, ProWheel, 46t narrow/wide Brakes Tektro HD-T737 4-piston hydraulic disc, 180mm rotors Wheels Formula DC-71/Formula EHL-148s hubs on alloy double-walled 32-hole rims Motor system Bosch Performance Line Cargo 85Nm motor, Bosch PowerTube 500Wh battery, Bosch BSP3200 SmartphoneGrip controls, Bosch LED remote Finishing kit Bontrager alloy telescoping 34.9mm seatpost, Bontrager Boulevard saddle, adjustable aluminium 90mm stem, Electra Vale Go handlebar, Schwalbe Pick-Up, Addix E-compound 20 x 2.35” tyres Extras Stand, lights Trek’s compact cargo bike is slickly designed with a plethora of features, an easy-riding nature and a base price of £4,625. Smaller 20” wheels help to create a long, low-slung, oversized aluminium frame so the bike’s easy to get on and ride. A spring-loaded steering damper helps…

01 THE SMELL OF VICTORY HOW NOSE-BREATHING IS KEY TO ON-BIKE CONTROL Monitoring metrics such as heart rate and power can control your effort, but there’s a simpler method, according to experienced cycling coach Joe Beer, which can do so much more. And it’s free. “Using nose breathing to optimise your air intake will deliver a three-fold gain: pacing, fuel-use and brain function,” Beer says. By keeping yourself in nose-breathing mode when you know you shouldn’t be riding full gas, you immediately set a limiter on how much you can push the pedals. “This means you don’t have to roll out the ‘went too hard for the first two hours’ excuse in post-race banter.” Nose breathing also reduces lactate build-up by improving the efficiency of your aerobic system. “Finally –…

Weight 7.53kg (XL) Frame Orro Gold STC Disc Fork Orro Gold STC Superlight 2.0 Gears Shimano Ultegra 8170 12-speed (11-30t, 52/36t) Brakes Shimano Ultegra 8170 hydraulic disc Wheels Vision SC40 Carbon Finishing kit Orro Carbon seatpost, Selle San Marco Shortfit saddle, Vision SMR Alloy Integrated stem, Vision Metron 4D handlebar, Continental GP5000 30mm tyres This latest version of Orro’s original endurance bike has a new frame design with aerodynamic tube shapes and full cable integration. All of the Gold STC range has electronic drivetrains and bikes start at £3,199.99 for a 105 Di2 model. Our Ultegra Di2 Tailormade bike comes with Vision SC40 carbon wheels and a carbon Vision bar. It’s built to order and can include upgrades such as a Ceramic Speed bottom bracket and headset and a choice…

1 Sweet Protection Shinobi £159 Colour tested RIG Emerald/Gloss Crystal Panther Available colours 12 The 34g Sweet Protection Shinobi shades are the Scandinavian brand’s flagship model, with a half-frame design. Our test set is striking, with its Emerald ‘Rig Reflect’ lens giving a purple tint to the outside world. Optical clarity and contrast is excellent, though the outer lens surface was quite prone to smearing. There are 12 options of varying colours and light transmission, and the lenses can be replaced. Two clasps slide back to release the lens, and it comes away easily by squeezing the nose bridge. The frame uses a central pillar to connect the nosepiece to the frame. The pillar stayed out of my line of sight, and there are two replacement nose pieces for those…

I’m in the vast event space of the Atelier Lihotzky in Frankfurt, Germany, surrounded by more than 270 examples of the latest bikes, kit and components and in the midst of a heated debate about, of all things, a new innertube valve standard. Welcome to the wonderful world of Eurobike judging. Eurobike is the world’s biggest bike show: it’s where the international bicycle-manufacturing community descends on Germany annually to show off their latest and greatest wares. I am here a month ahead of the show, however, to look through, ride, fidget with, inspect and evaluate the entries to decide the prestigious winners of the coveted Eurobike awards. The German design council assembled a team of judges and I was honoured to be included among the eight-strong panel, which included Olympic…

Who doesn’t love a switchback, a hairpin bend, a proper 180° turn? It’s what we cyclists dream of, swinging back and forth through shoelaces draped across an Alpine hillside. As soon as you hit them you’re transported to scenes you’ve watched in the Grand Tours, and you imagine climbing in the tyre tracks of legends, rapidly ascending under a blazing sun. These marvels of engineering are commonplace in the mountains of Europe; our continental cousins are blessed with countless kilometres of bends rising to snow capped peaks. Unfortunately our small island is rather a hairpin desert, so when Luke Edinburgh from the website Switchback Saturdays contacted me suggesting I plot a switchback route in the UK, my instinct was to laugh. “A ride in Britain, packed with hairpin bends? That’s…

Pronto Bikes Frome, Somerset History ● Justin and Kate Hoy opened Pronto in Feb 2021. Justin has raced road and MTB events and worked in cycling distribution for many years, while Kate came from a fitness and marketing background. What makes this shop special? ● “It’s the community aspect,” says Justin. “We have a club with over 160 members, men’s and women’s race teams and a Castelli Cafe within the shop. New for 2024 is a performance centre with bike fitting, sweat testing, a gym area, sports therapy and more.” Why is a local bike shop so important? ● “It’s the customer service – online shopping can’t buy you that. Knowing the customer’s requirements, offering advice, looking after them and their bikes… it’s all invaluable.” What’s in store ● “We…

As cobblestones go, they are exceptionally smooth to ride – it’s just you don’t expect to find them on a modern mountain pass. This is Vršič Pass, a 1,611m-high gem of Slovenia’s Triglav National Park in the magnificent Julian Alps. Cobbles remain intact on the many switchbacks of the northern Kranjska Gora side of the climb, and precede a smooth, fast run down the southern side into Trenta. In all, there are 50 bends across its 24km, each numbered, like Alpe d’Huez, the Tour de France’s best-known climb, whose patrons pinched the idea from the Vršič. Built by Russian prisoners of war during WW1, the chapel at 4km on the northern side honours their comrades killed in an avalanche during its construction. Slovenia as a road cycling destination was less…

Weight 35.4kg Frame Aluminium Fork Aluminium Gears Gates CDX (55t, 24t) Brakes Hydraulic disc (203mm) Wheels Cube EX35, 36h, tubeless ready Motor system Bosch Cargo Line 85Nm motor, Bosch PowerPack 725Wh battery, Bosch Kiox 300 display Finishing kit Satori Sorata telescoping seatpost, Natural Fit Sequence Comfort saddle, Byschulz Speedlifter Classic stem, Cube comfort trail 680mm handlebar, Schwalbe Pick-Up Super Defense, 65-559, 26” x 2.25” tyres Extras Integrated lights, kickstand, mudguards, bell The Longtail Hybrid has a total load capacity of 200kg, with 60kg of that on the extended rear carrier. You can also buy also a plethora of accessories to help you tune the Longtail to your needs, including rear running boards (footrests) for passengers, wheel guards, a padded bench seat (for older children) and a safety cage to protect…

The nostalgia industry is all commercialised and corporate now. We did it so much better in my day… Joking aside, maybe it still works on a bike. In Ulverston. Because I’m here for Velo Retro’s annual vintage rally. It’s June, it’s sunny and it’s already hot, even at 8.30am. There’s nearly five hundred of us, queueing in the cobbled market square for the Grand Départ of today’s leisure rides: four options from fifteen to fifty miles round southern Lakeland, Coniston and Windermere. A few people are in period costume. Two chaps in plus fours and bow ties; a woman in wartime-granny frock and hat on her basketed shopper; a couple in tennis gear with a wooden racket protruding from their tandem’s pannier. Most however are in Lycra, often with a…

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01 Birzman Feexroll £22.99 Size 400ml Colours Black ● The waterproof Feexroll can be used either as a saddle bag or as convenient storage in either a jersey pocket or, on bigger adventures, within frame bags. On the saddle rail, it’s attached with a Velcro strap and metal button, and this stays on the rail when you need to access the pack. Inside, there are two larger compartments for various tools and food (but not most modern phones) and a smaller pocket with an elasticated strap to store an inner tube. The Feexroll has less storage and is less accessible than the other bags here – it’s more like a wallet than a bag. On the plus side, its compartments allow easy access once the bag is opened, rather than…

01 WHAT’S BEHIND THE RISE IN LOW TESTOSTERONE LEVELS? One of the natural processes of ageing is loss of muscle mass, a drop in metabolism and a middle-aged spread of fat, even when you’re a keen cyclist. Weight training and higher protein intake will help ameliorate the decline. As will testosterone. But recently there’s been a rise in men reporting low testosterone levels. Why is that? “Over the past five years, I’ve started to see more exercising men present with borderline testosterone results,” says Dr Simon Saunders, specialist in endocrinology at the Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. “These are effectively broken down into two major groups. First, there are young men in their mid-to-late twenties who are interested in muscle bulk. They’ve spoken to someone at the gym…

Forget all the shiny kit, ultra-fit, focused pros and wannabe amateurs: cycling doesn’t have to be a serious sport. As record-breaking ultra cyclist Steve Abraham says: “Ride for fun. Any bike that works and fits will do. Don’t spend a fortune on it. There is no shame in walking up hills or using an electric bike. Just go out, experiment and enjoy. For anything else – indexing gears, dealing with bad weather – just type ‘How to….’ into Google. It works for me.” Here’s our key advice for getting into road cycling and thriving in the world’s greatest sport… 01 START SLOWLY Cycling is less impactful on the body than running or many team sports, but overuse injuries can still be common. “Take a sensible approach when it comes to building…