Innehållsförteckning för Issue 48 från Cyclist Australia

Everyone knows the n+1 rule. The correct number of bikes to own is one more than the number you currently have – but that only works up to a point. Eventually, the equation needs to be reset. Once you have a climber’s bike, an aero bike, an endurance bike, a gravel bike, a touring bike and a unicycle, where do you go next? I suspect this is a question the bike industry has been asking of late, and the answer seems to be: start all over again. The latest message is that the bikes we have are not really the bikes we need. Oh no. That aero bike should really be lighter, don’t you think? And that climber’s bike should really be more aero. And all of them should be…

RRP $124.95, cadex-cycling.com/au Cadex… Cadex… Cadex. Sound familiar but you just can’t place it? What if we said ‘Giant Cadex’? Released in the 1980s, Giant’s Cadex was one of the first mass-produced carbon fibre frames. And while you won’t see Giant’s logo on anything from Cadex, you can be sure this premium brand is made with the same level of high precision and quality Giant has made its name on. The Classic tyre is no different. It has been designed as a performance all-rounder, suited to the harshest conditions. There are a heap of in-house technologies within the rubber, and with Giant’s reputation for delivering on promises, they’re definitely worth a crack.…

$239 (140ml), fesports.com.au We’ve had graphene in tyres, jerseys… and now lubes! According to AbsoluteBlack, its lubricant is ‘the world’s first hydrocarbon-based water emulsion’ containing ‘high-purity graphene’. As is typical with products containing graphene, AbsoluteBlack boasts some impressive performance stats – a single application could last up to 1,800km and may hold ‘sub-five watts of frictional losses for over 900km’. The brand adds that studies have shown graphene is ‘very effective for friction and wear reduction’, but doesn’t get used much in lubricants owing to its high cost. If those performance claims hold up, you certainly won’t need to buy a new bottle too often.…

Ever since writer and cycling promoter Paul de Vivie invented the two-speed derailleur in 1905, the cycling world has had an appetite for sprockets that has become insatiable. A ‘cogset’ with four sprockets appeared in the years before World War II. That rose to a block of five in the years after. As wheels transitioned from the freewheel / threaded hub design to a freehub-plus-cassette configuration, the number of sprockets quickly advanced from six to eight. We went to nine-speed in the 1990s, and recent years have witnessed an arms race, with 10, 11 and 12-speed cassettes appearing in quick succession. Indeed, Campagnolo has barely given 12-speed a moment in the sun before introducing its latest Ekar 1x gravel groupset with a cassette that houses 13 sprockets. It begs the…

Due to disruptions to the 2020 racing calendar, fans were treated to a flurry of activity late in the season. You had to feel for riders who went from the Tour de France into the World Championships and then into either the ‘Spring Classics’ (read: Autumn Classics), Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a Espana. It must have been exhausting. The racing matched the schedule. It was as intense, exciting and dynamic as anything we’ve seen. And one Aussie shone above all others, turning himself from relatively unknown talent to global cycling star. One Aussie shone above all others, turning himself from unknown talent to global star When 24-year-old Jai Hindley (Sunweb) finished with a select group of climbers on the fifth stage of the Giro (along with compatriots Jack Haig and…

The opening day of the 1981 Tour de France didn’t go the way Freddy Maertens would have wanted. For just the third time in its history the race had headed to southern France for its Grand Depart, with Nice having the honour of hosting the big send-off for the first time. To the bemusement of many observers, Maertens was among the riders assembling on the Mediterranean coast. Maertens had suffered a terrible previous two seasons, finishing few races and winning nothing of importance. He was a shadow of his former self – a rider who had won 54 races and the rainbow jersey in 1976; who had led the Vuelta from start to finish in 1977, taking 13 stage wins along the way; who had won the green jersey at…

Giorgia Bronzini is struggling to find the right words. Just moments earlier the 37-year-old had been talking full-gas (to borrow a phrase she uses frequently) while telling Cyclist the story of a 2015 race in Belgium that involved wind, rain, shattered sunglasses, broken bikes, stubborn domestiques and a teammate who podiumed but still thought she had done wrong and cried afterwards in the team bus. ‘That was an epic day,’ Bronzini summarised dryly after relaying the whole tale in detail. But now she is quiet and reflective. The question that has Bronzini momentarily stumped is little more than a throwaway line, dropped in towards the end of the interview: ‘Can you describe yourself in just three words?’ ‘Three words?’ Bronzini murmurs to herself. ‘Hmm…’ Rainbow of surprises Trek-Segafredo’s sports director…

The map Vršič & Mangart Without wishing to denigrate the achievements of Jani Brajkovič, Simon Špilak and Borut Božič, Slovenia has only recently come to the fore in professional cycling. But now, with Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar battling it out for supremacy at the pointy end of the biggest races in the world, the Republic of Slovenia (as it is officially known) has the eyes of the cycling world on it. Nestled between Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, about half the size of Switzerland and with a population of just over two million, it’s fair to say this state of the former Yugoslavia is not large. However, diminutive though it may be, Slovenia crams in a lot of mountains and has the sort of roads that certainly inspire you…

It was impossible not to love the sense of being so fruitfully rewarded for my efforts Why does the Cervelo S5 stand out for me as my favourite aero bike ever? Simple. I’ve categorically never ridden as fast as I did on this bike and, until it mysteriously got deleted, I had the Strava KoM to prove it. It happens the world over, I’m sure; every local riding group has its own Strava ‘patch’ within which there will be a hierarchy of segments. Riders know very well which are the more prestigious ones to ‘own’; those with the biggest bragging rights. And so it was back in 2013 I found myself testing the recently launched second generation of the S5, and returning home after what had seemed like a decent…

We were never going to agree easily, so in a fit of proportional representation, we asked each of our testers to nominate a first and a second choice, and based on those results we arrived at… a tie. That wasn’t supposed to happen. With a first place and two second places apiece, the Trek Madone and 3T Strada turned out to be Cyclist’s favourite wind-cheaters. However, since like The Highlander there can only be one, we went back to the Zoom debate centre. At first we thought weight might settle it, and after running the numbers the lightest bike here (in comparable size and top-spec form) was in fact the 3T Strada at 7.50kg. This plays to Gerard Vroomen’s idea that losing a front mech and chainring saves significant grams,…

These days it’s rare for a company to produce a completely new bike. Even rarer for that company to unveil something altogether unseen before. The launch of the Specialized Aethos comes with two striking surprises: it weighs less than 6kg for a complete build and it isn’t intended for pros. The Aethos is in fact the lightest production disc road bike we’ve seen to date, yet it is not simply a lightweight love story. Specialized claims it is the most technologically advanced bike the brand has ever produced and it represents a change in focus, shifting away from the needs of pro riders and towards passionate bike consumers. Cons of pros ‘It became clear to us in creating the Tarmac SL7 as a single solution to racing that we were…

RRP $249, fesports.com.au Aftershokz was founded in 2011 pioneering headphones that utilise ‘bone conduction technology,’ where the headphones rest directly on the listener’s cheekbones, transmitting sound to the inner ear (cochlea) via this path instead of the traditional way via the eardrums. This model is waterproof and has an eight-hour battery life - great for long rides. But what’s even better than the hardware is the knowledge that you can listen to tunes, a podcast or an audiobook on your bike relatively safely, as your ears are still open to the noises around you. Hearing is a vital sense on the bike, and Aftershokz can help you multitask safely while churning out long kms.…

RRP $599.95, fizik.com Fizik tells us the Stabilita features a radical revamp to its original Dynamic Arch Support system – creatively named Dynamic Arch Support 2.0. This is integrated into the carbon outsole and consists of an external, separately adjustable strap assembly that provides tailored support to the plantar fascia. ‘When the plantar fascia is properly supported, the medial arch stiffens, allowing for efficient power transfer and the most direct energy delivery from legs to pedals,’ Fizik says. Further, the Stabilita sole features an engineered carbon fibre lay-up with a stiffness index of 10, the stiffest in Fizik’s racing shoe range. It has expanded airflow and reduced weight by adding internal channelling and removing all unnecessary material. And to further increase stability, resilient, polyurethane-laminated fabrics, combined with a comfortable mesh,…

Mavic Cosmic SLR 45 Disc Price TBC, mavic.com If you’re scratching your head at the five-word name then don’t fret, because here’s a translation: Mavic is the brand, Cosmic means carbon in Mavic-speak, SLR is for racing performance (one rung below the flagship, Ultimate), 45 is 45mm deep, Disc is disc brake. Got it? In even simpler terms, the SLR 45 is Mavic’s new all-round race wheel that, based on overseas pricing, is not eye-wateringly expensive (local RRP was TBC at time of print). The marketing material says all the right things about weight savings, aero performance and tubeless adaptability. It even makes a strong case for its famous and constantly changing brand-specific spoke and nipple system. But what should really make you excited about these new Mavic wheels is…

Eating less than 50g of carbs per day and getting most of your calories from fat has been shown to make the body burn more fat for energy. Great news for endurance athletes: simply create this fat-adapted state in the leadup to an event then ramp the carbohydrates back up as you approach race day so your body now has two energy-rich fuel options. And the theory largely holds, bar one crucial thing, says a recent study on online journal community Plos One: it won’t make you real-world faster. The study took three groups of elite racewalkers (often called ‘speedwalkers’) and over a 25-day training programme put one group on a high-carb diet (HCHO), one on a periodised carb diet (PCHO, with carbs apportioned based on training load) and one…

Ί used to work in a national high performance cycling program. We once had a workshop about human movement patterns. My entire department was in there and I think there was one guy who could squat. Everyone else had a version of a squat that wasn’t really a squat.’ Will Newton is an endurance sports coach who says his focus is to get people to move well, with a view to making them more effective human beings rather than just faster cyclists or triathletes. This is why, in his opinion, the squat is so important for anyone who rides a bike. ‘Small kids will happily play with toys in the squat position for hours. The aim is to retain that ability, rather than lose it from cycling’ ‘Most people look…

Not all rides go according to plan. I found myself reflecting on this fact halfway up a remote mountain fire trail, ski-slope steep, pushing more than 20kg of bike and cargo up a punishing 35% gradient. Moments previously, we’d been intercepted by a friendly park ranger, who’d let us know our planned ride, and the road ahead, was closed due to the bushfires that ripped through the area almost a year ago. We’d have to adjust our route and go back the way we came before diverting over a different part of the range; a hefty fine was on the cards for going out of bounds, so there was nothing else to do but turn around and follow the ranger’s instructions. Our relief at avoiding personal bankruptcy did little to…

There was Francesco Moser’s 1984 Hour record bike, all cutting edge disc wheels and wildly sloping frame. There was Alf Engers’ 1978 time-trial bike, with its one-piece bar-stem, reversed levers and filed down cranks. In fact, as far back as 1891 riders were aware of the role of aerodynamics in performance, with participants of the 560km classic Bordeaux-Paris allowed to draft behind tandems. Yet when the dust settles, it will always be argued that the Cervelo Soloist set out the blueprint for what’s commonly understood to be the aero road bike. Released in 2002, the Soloist broke new ground with tall, skinny tubes based on NACA profiles, semi-internal cable routing, aero seatpost and… it had been in a windtunnel. It’s this thought that helped steer our criteria for Cyclist’s inaugural…

The road is wide and empty the whole way up and its surface consistently as smooth as glass The shadows are lengthening as we approach the cream-coloured concrete struts of an arched bridge across a dried-up riverbed. Despite being in the middle of nowhere and carrying nothing more significant than a farm track, the bridge is a local landmark, its distinctive geometric design dating back to the 1930s when the island of Rhodes was part of Italy’s colonial empire. A moped is buzzing towards us from the opposite side of the bridge. As we get closer, it stops and the rider flags us down. He and his female pillion passenger are, appropriately, Italian tourists. In faltering English he points to his map and asks if they are on the right…

This Genesis Zero Team harks back to the days when the manufacturer had its very own pro team, the British Continental squad Madison-Genesis, and it proudly displays the team colours on the frame. Sadly, the team is no more, having folded at the end of the 2019 season, but the Zero continues to offer a pretty decent carbon race bike at a very reasonable price. We hired this bike from our hosts at Get Active Rhodes, and we were immediately reminded what a solid performer it is. The Zero was launched in 2014 specifically to meet the demands of a pro team that needed a lightweight racer, having been racing on the brand’s steel Volare bikes up to that point. Oddly, when you consider its original purpose, its outstanding feature…

RRP $300, sciconsports.com.au Traditionally known for its cycling travel products, including bike travel bags, Scicon Sports has recently expanded its range to include cycling eyewear, and you may well have spotted the results at the Tour de France on the faces of UAE Team Emirates, Israel Start-Up Nation and NTT Pro Cycling. Inspired by the retro design of 90s goggles, the Aerowing sport performance sunglasses are designed for athletes who seek a large field of vision along with top-class protection and ergonomic adaptability. The large cylindrical base-6 shield lens offers panoramic views in any position, whether you’re sitting at the wheel or leading from the front. Available in red, blue, bronze and silver colours.…

In this topsy-turvy year practically the only race not to shift seasons was the World Championships, which maintained its September slot, although COVID did force a venue change from Switzerland to Italy. An outstanding Anna van der Breggen did the double for the women, winning both the road race and time-trial, while Wout van Aert did a double of sorts for the men – the Best Rider Since Coronavirus™ going home with two silver medals but no silver lining. To be fair, the Belgian with the Best Hair In The Peloton™ was outclassed by an imperious Filippo Ganna against the clock, while Julian Alaphilippe seemed destined to win on the F1 circuit in Imola once he motored clear on the final climb. The tearful, swashbuckling Alaphilippe became the first French…

With 30km to go in the World Championships Road Race, after 225km of racing around the Imola circuit in Italy, a figure in pale yellow and blue shot out of the leading group. It was Tadej Pogačar, whose reign as Tour de France champion was only in its sixth day. ‘If he does this, he could dominate everything for the next 10 years,’ read one breathless comment on social media, perfectly capturing the thrilling, intoxicating possibility of the unknown. It was understandable. Pogačar had done the seemingly impossible seven days earlier, turning a near one-minute deficit to Primož Roglič into a near one-minute advantage over the course of a 36.2km time-trial. Pogačar was 21 then, turning 22 the day after the Tour finished. He was the youngest winner since 1904,…

‘As cyclists we’re always concerned about our legs as the driving force, but it’s your trunk that stabilises you on the bike, so forgetting about your core and back muscles can lead to injuries,’ says Hannah Attenburrow, former elite racer turned cycling coach, Pilates instructor and studio owner. ‘Pilates keeps you strong and in a good position on the bike. It helps with correct posture and uses functional movement patterns to maintain flexibility.’ This 20-minute routine has been devised by Attenburrow to prevent injury, enhance flexibility, improve muscle strength and help to correct muscle imbalances. It can be done at home and doesn’t require any specialist equipment (if you don’t have a stretch band you can always use a spare inner tube). Nor does it require you to have any…

Follow in Cyclist’s wheel tracks To download this route, go to strava.com/routes/2764067449239368574. Starting Canberra at the Big Trout in Adaminaby (you can’t miss it), head east on the Snowy Mountains Highway for a bit over a kilometre, then turn left onto Boboyan Road. Continue on Boboyan Road (it turns to gravel after around 10km) until you reach the fork with Jones Plain Road; follow it south-east for 10km until you hit the intersection at Shannons Flat Road, where you turn left. This will carry you around 15km until you hit Boboyan Road again at the small settlement of Shannons Flat (where we filled our bottles at the community hall). Boboyan Road will take you up and over a climb back to Namadgi National Park and the ACT; soon after crossing…

It was perhaps inevitable we would end up here. The writing was on the wall two years ago when Specialized launched a new Venge that looked and rode, well… a lot like a Tarmac. At the same time, the Tarmac SL6 was also displaying a number of design cues borrowed from its aero sibling. Now the merger is complete and it’s time to say goodbye to the Venge. From this point forwards the Tarmac SL7 flies solo as undisputed top dog in Specialized’s road race category. ‘The engineering has just caught up,’ says Specialized road product manager Cameron Piper in justifying the union of these two thoroughbreds. ‘We can now build an 800g frame that’s a full 45 seconds faster than the Tarmac SL6 over 40km [measured in the windtunnel…

Bike building is a lot like baking. As much art as it is science, experience is everything and the slightest deviation from a trusted recipe can have quite catastrophic results. A soggy bottom is just as undesirable on a race bike as it is on a roulade. BMC therefore took a huge risk with its latest Teammachine by attempting to factor aerodynamics into an already highly refined formula. It’s an ingredient that is notoriously disruptive in any design, let alone in one as established as BMC’s flagship race bike. It is the front of the bike that has received the most treatment in the drag-reduction department. The new Teammachine takes cues from BMC’s Timemachine Road aero race bike, with a head tube and down tube that have been stretched front-to-back…

Bikes are great. I love their simplicity, their democracy, their freedom. However, sometimes I find myself less than enamoured with their longevity. I mean, after all, if you bought a $15,000 car and the accelerator started squeaking, the gears slipping and it developed play in the steering wheel after just three months, you would be (quite rightly) annoyed. And yet, when it comes to bikes, it happens far more often than it should. In part, I think the problem lies with manufacturers making overly complex designs. Now, let me point out at this stage that I don’t mention this to level criticism at the Ridley Helium. Quite the opposite, in fact. I mention it as context for praise. Because the frustrations of being on a rattling, mal-tuned bike only serve…