Innehållsförteckning för Issue 20 från Cyclist Australia

Something has been nagging away at me for a while now. It’s a feeling that strikes all cyclists at some point, and no matter how hard I try to suppress it or drive it from my mind, it has grown to the point where it has become impossible to ignore, and I simply have to accept that I’m helpless to resist its urges. I am going to buy a new bike. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be an issue, except for the fact that I really don’t need a new bike. I can’t think of a single decent reason for getting another bike. None of my riding plans for the coming year involve any terrain that couldn’t be dealt with admirably by my current crop of bikes. But still, against all logic…

The Elemnt bike computer is a surprising little device, not least because Wahoo has allowed some of the vowels to remain in its name, which is unusual for them. In order to compete in a market heavily dominated by Garmin, Wahoo has opted to take a fundamentally different path in terms of set-up and connectivity. ‘A consistent trend we noticed in our consumer research was the need for simplicity,’ says José Méndez, Wahoo’s head of cycling. ‘So we created an intuitive set-up and update process for the Elemnt using an app on your phone, rather than in the computer itself. Apps, unlike devicespecific software, are used every day so we could capitalise on the familiar app navigation processes.’ The app, combined with the Elemnt’s Wi-Fi capability, allows a degree of…

More than two years have passed since Shimano launched its first hydraulic road disc brake system, yet the debates over the necessity and/or aesthetics of this technology on road bikes still rages on. However, the recent news that the UCI has given them the green light for the pro peloton next year may well be the extra bit of impetus needed for discs to finally usurp the humble calliper brake. Shimano has continued to develop and refine its disc brake offering and in quite timely fashion its 105 level disc brakes, launched earlier this year, are just reaching shops, meaning this technology is now available at almost every price point. Shimano 105 has a solid reputation for trusted, reliable performance, and quite often the 105's functionality is barely distinguishable from…

Look at Chris Froome. Look at him. His body seems like it’s made from drinking straws with an orange on top. But look how fast he rides uphill. Faster than most of us can achieve on the flat, so if only we could be as thin as Chris Froome, we too could ride like a Tour champion. Or could we? ‘Lighter is faster, that’s true, but only when there’s no decline in power output,’ says Greg Whyte, professor of applied sport and exercise science at England's Liverpool John Moores University. ‘If losing weight means stripping power then any advantage is likely to be lost.’ Appropriately, given we're talking about riding something that starts out with stabilisers, the key here is balance. ‘There are two aspects to finding the right balance,’…

'We really do have an awesome group of customers. We appreciate all their support' It takes a special kind of cafe to be nominated, let alone take out the top prize as Cyclist's Coffee Stop of the Year. Firstly, they have to welcome cyclists with open arms – along with their dirt covered bikes and damp lycra. Secondly, they have to serve a pretty darn good cup of joe at an ungodly hour of the morning. And lastly, they must have a menu that matches their high-quality coffee. Ticking all the right boxes, we're thrilled to introduce you to 2016's Cyclist Coffee Stop of the Year: Honour Espresso. Located in Graceville, just a 20-minute drive from Brisbane's CBD, Honour Espresso has garnered quite the following with the local cycling community…

I’ve ridden a Scott bike before and loved it, so I had high expectations of the Addict 10. This is a race-ready bike with a beefy, oversized bottom bracket for better power transfer, aerodynamic tube shapes designed specifically for speed, and a slender 860g frame. Slick Shimano Dura-Ace components top off an already extremely tempting package. To save weight and increase ride stiffness where it’s needed the most, Scott uses ‘IMP’ technology that involves stripping carbon from areas of the frame where it has no benefit. If you’re looking for a light, stiff bike that will survive the mountains, but will also optimise your chances of beating your mates to the next telegraph pole back home, the Scott Addict 10 would be a solid, well-specced choice.…

THE SPEC Model Cervélo S5 Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9070 Deviations None Wheels HED Jet 6 Plus SCT Finishing Kit Cervélo All-Carbon Aero bars, FSA OS-99 CSI stem, Fizik Antares saddle Weight 7.22kg (size 56cm) Price $11,600 Contact cervelo.com When Cervélo released the S5 four years ago it felt as if the brand had lifted bike design to new heights. Scientific white papers, wind-tunnel tests and stiffness analysis all played a part in a grand engineering project aimed at creating the most aerodynamic bike ever. In that sense it was a success, but it alarmed some onlookers with its abominable curves and aggressive tube shapes. This revision is undoubtedly more handsome, but Cervélo now has some formidable competition in the fight to lay claim to the fastest bike on the…

Taking handlebar choice in a slightly different direction to traditional norms, the range of DRiVE (Drop Reach Variant) bars are designed to put the rider back in the most ideal positions for power, comfort and control. Size metrics have been simplified so all you need to do is measure the width of you palm; this in turn recommends the DRiVE bar to suit your body type – essentially for drop and reach . Once that’s done, you can still choose your preferred width.…

‘I think safety has been a growing problem in cycling. We have a lot of political involvement in road safety – in the USA that’s where we’re active. I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a train’ Cyc: We gather you’ve cycled with George W Bush. How did that happen? John Burke: I was on the President’s Council of Physical Fitness. Back then George W Bush was a big runner but he was having problems with his knee. I sent a note to someone who knew him that he should get a bicycle – the White House called about 20 minutes later. So all of a sudden he got into biking, and he turned out to become a huge mountain biker, so I’d go…

When the opportunity came up to ride New Zealand’s most popular sportive, the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, I jumped at it. Two years on from my first visit to shoot and ride part of the route, the idea of actually racing the event was too good to pass up. As I looked over the website to enter the event I was amazed at the number of categories: 18 in total. It was then that I realised why this is such a popular event, with over 7,000 entries in 2015. It really does cater for nearly everyone, from the elite to weekend warriors, endurance mountain bikers and even kids too young to complete the entire course. If it has wheels – one or two, as I’d see later – then you’re…

We know that every few years the big bike companies redesign, redevelop and relaunch their models, complete with their latest breakthroughs in technology. Recently, however, more focus has been placed on the aesthetics of their models. Canyon came along and set the benchmark in this regard. In Australia these bikes are still relatively rare – maybe it’s their unique design, graphics or scarcity that makes them the envy of us all. The Aeroad has gone a step further for Canyon. The frame design, integrated headset, stealth-black exalith-coated Mavic Cosmic wheels, direct mount brakes and recessed bolts all add to its appearance of pure speed. It may go some way to explaining all the acronyms after its name, too. With a frame weight of sub-1kg, it isn’t just an “aero” bike.…

Lining up for an ITT with Australian former time trial champion Luke Durbridge is another world of mental and physical hurt It’s only 12 minutes. How hard can it be? I’m lying upside down in the back of a van, my legs propped up on luggage, preparing for the next stage: a 12-minute ITT with so many possibilities. Is it too hot out there? Did the wind change; is it a cool southerly or a hot northerly? It feels cooler, but does that mean it’s a headwind now?! My thoughts drown out the hum of the rows of turbo-trainers in the neighbouring teams’ makeshift camps. I’ve never entered a race where I wasn’t expecting to have a shot, or at least overcome a personal challenge. This one is purely in…

For many years, the sport of cycling was a peculiar mixture of gentlemanly conduct and downright cheating. Riders would respect certain unwritten rules – such as ‘no attacking the yellow jersey when he takes a nature break’ – while simultaneously ignoring all the ethics of sport by pumping themselves full of performance-enhancing drugs. These days, while it seems that doping is thankfully on the wane, the unwritten rules of the sport cling on. Take the incident at last year’s Tour de France: Vincenzo Nibali, the former Tour champion, was eight minutes down in the standings and looking to salvage his Tour, and seemingly used a Chris Froome mechanical as a springboard for his Stage 19 victory in La Toussuire. Nibali’s crime? Controversially attacking on a key climb while the yellow…

Just two hours into our 130km bike ride around the jagged rock spires and twisted pinnacles of the Italian Dolomites, which will culminate in a sweaty siege of the forbidding 2,236m Passo Giau, Vincenzo Nibali launches an unexpected attack. It all happens in a dazzling blur of Astana blue. The first I know about the 2014 Tour de France champion’s surprise cameo in Cyclist magazine’s latest adventure is when my local Italian ride companions Klaus and Roberto start bellowing ‘Vincenzo!’ and rubbernecking towards the left of the road. The hullabaloo shatters what until then had been a tranquil, early-morning spin along the sun-dappled slopes of the 2,244m Passo Sella. And sure enough, here comes the Italian cycling idol, unmistakable in his skyblue Astana kit emblazoned with the green, white and…

THE SPEC Model Cannondale CAAD12 Dura-Ace Disc Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 Deviations Shimano R685 shifters and BR805/785 hydraulic disc callipers, Cannondale Hollowgram SiSL cranks Wheels Mavic Ksyrium Disc WTS Finishing kit Cannondale C1 Ultralite alloy bars and stem, Cannondale carbon SAVE seatpost 25.4mm, Fizik Arione saddle Weight 8.10kg (56cm) Price $5,799 Contact cannondale.com For those people who have come to cycling in the past few years, carbon reigns supreme for top-end bikes. But those of us who pedalled long before the success of Cadel Evans really put our sport on the map in Australia will remember when aluminium frames were once the cutting edge of road bike technology, and will recall the unmistakable stiffness, power transfer and feedback that made alloy bikes such an exciting and rewarding (if often a…

The best thing about cyclo-cross bikes and gravel grinders are the endless supply of choose-your-own-adventure options. If, like me, the reason you ride bikes ultimately comes from the need to explore, then the options these bikes provide are tantamount to being a kid again. This image was from an evening exploring the high country behind Falls Creek in the Victorian Alps. There's a crazy network of access roads, aqueducts and cattle tracks just begging to be ridden. The scenery up in Australia’s high country is unique and pretty damn hard to beat as well. It’s not an evening I'll forget quickly. For me, this photograph brings back the feeling of the last rays of light on your skin, the scent of the grass and thin mountain air starving my lungs…

The "brew ride". So entrenched has coffee become within cycling that it now has its own vernacular, specific routes and rules. And though quoting Velominati’s ‘The Rules’ may be the fastest way to lose my attention (or the chances of me riding with you), I'll admit the guidelines around brew rides are both reasonable and to be respected – from the obvious (no half wheeling) to the required (no grades steeper than a speed hump) to the highly opinionated (the coffee must be good). What, years ago, started as an optional, post-ride, “fries on the side” afterthought is now an expectation. The reaction to one of the bunch declaring ‘gotta go, no time for a coffee today’ is a bigger bombshell than, say, admitting you’ve reached the point where you…

Are you sure? It’s pretty high,’ I ask Dan. His fingertips are white, digging firmly into the rope, while my toes curl over the rock ledge, peering down. ‘The jump is quite a long way. It should be deep enough,’ he replies, referring to the murky shallows below. His comment is followed by a smirk, which I take as a sign his enthusiasm is tinged with doubt. ‘Pass it over, I’ll have a go.’ My reply jumps an octave or two, all certainty disappearing before I even finish the sentence. Boats and jetskis roar past, their wake lapping against the rocks below. A sheer sandstone cliff rises, and rooted into the rock platform 10 metres above is a slender eucalypt leaning over the edge. A row of boards snakes along…

Nutrient-rich drinks like shakes or smoothies are particularly valuable for cyclists who struggle to eat before a long ride, and are perfect for refuelling post-ride. Liquids are absorbed faster than solid foods, so there’s less chance of feeling uncomfortable on the bike. Carb-protein powders like Etixx Complex Training Shake or Recovery Shake offer a convenient on-the-go option – perfect for Big Ride trips where the blender is left at home.…

Our featured bike is team-mate Andrew's BMC teammachine SLR01. Everyone by now is familiar with the SLR01 as one of the premium models in the market; even after Cadel won the tour on it they sent it back to the Swiss lab coats and redesigned and rebuilt the frame to result in a slightly stiffer and lighter incarnation. On appearance it's not much different to the original, which says a lot about its pedigree. Andrew’s has been built up with mechanical Dura-Ace, a Ritchey stem, a nod back to BMC pro team with 3T bars, Garmin Vector power pedals which link back to his Garmin head unit, and Mavic Carbone SLRs... which I'm sure were the sole reason for his performance advantages over me all week.…

The route begins and ends in Corvara in Alta Badia. Take the SS243 west over the Passo Gardena, then the SS242 south over the Passo Sella. Join up with the SS48 south then the SP641 east over the Passo Fedaia and on towards Saviner di Laste. From here take the SR203 and SP251 north towards Colle Santa Lucia and Codalonga. Join up with the SP638, which travels north over the Passo Giau, then head west at Pocol on the SR48 to cross the Passo Falzarego and Passo Valparola, before hooking south on the SS244 back to Corvara.…

This issue we look at the future of road bikes in two very different forms: one is a high-speed race machine refined even more than before, while the other represents an ongoing favourite spliced with a breakaway from tradition. A once-admired cyclist famously said ‘it’s not about the bike,’ and in the case of the Cervélo S5 some may argue it’s true. Few would refute the all-out wind-slicing S5’s heart, but you can’t ride a frameset. Dig a little deeper and much of what is gained in aerodynamics can be attributed to others. It’s a well-considered package fit for the WorldTour, but thanks to the UCI, it’s available to us weekend world champs too. The CAAD, meanwhile, holds a special place in the hearts of the team at Cyclist, but…

We rise from our saddles, our chests slowly swaying over the drops in unison. The short climb steps up three times, at this point past a 12% gradient. It’s humid, and I feel for Ian, who two weeks earlier had been shut down in an English winter. It had done its best to erase the summer of riding from his legs, and now here he was, up to his teeth in a Sunshine Coast summer, humidity nearing 85% and the temperature on its way past 30 degrees. I breathe deep, worried what I’ve planned on the road ahead isn’t spectacular enough to justify his effort to get here. We’ll soon see... The ride We’re up at 5am and on the road 30 minutes later stocked with bananas, gels, bars and…