Cyclist

Some races have a special magic, an aura that lifts them above the mass of similar events. They are the races the fans most want to see and the riders most want to win. Strade Bianche is one such race. Perhaps it’s the beautiful Tuscan backdrop that makes it so alluring, with its oil painting of rolling vineyards, cypress trees and hilltop towns. Or its appeal could be the white gravel roads that give the race its name – strade bianche – and offer the perilous excitement of Roubaix with the added drama of clouds of dust engulfing the peloton as it barrels across the landscape. Or maybe it’s just because it falls right at the beginning of the pro season, when we’re all still starved of racing after a long…

All bikes have a definite life cycle, but once the latest model is released, its engineers don’t ever just sit back and relax. ‘When you’re developing big new ideas, you have to pick an endpoint and launch a product,’ says Maria Benson, Cervélo’s director of product management. ‘But in reality we don’t stop looking at how it can be improved after the bike is launched.’ Immediately after the last S5 was released in 2018, work started on its successor, which has now arrived to sit at the top of Cervélo’s road racing line-up, and it has already seen some action. While the men’s Jumbo-Visma team were racking up wins on the previous S5, this latest model was being raced by the women’s and development teams in early 2022. The biggest changes include…

Silca Terra floor pump £180, saddleback.co.uk Silca’s floor pumps are considered among the best on the market, so when the brand releases a new design it has to measure up to a high bar (that’s a pressure joke). What’s more, the new Terra has the weight of history on its shoulders, being a descendant of Silca’s original Terra pump from 1988. The original was the first high-volume pump with a low pressure gauge to serve the bigger air volume of mountain bike tyres. The new Terra builds on that concept by using an asymmetrical, non-linear gauge to accommodate accurate inflation duties for both high-volume/low-pressure gravel tyres and low-volume/high-pressure road tyres. What that means is the gauge shows 0-30psi on a fine scale, offering a claimed +/-0.5psi precision, then displays 30-120psi on a broader…

Take a ride out to the coast from Newcastle upon Tyne. Right before you end up in the North Sea you’ll find yourself passing through the town of North Shields. It’s an area famous for its fishing port and shipyards, making it a fitting home for composites specialist Viola Townsend and her homemade carbon fibre bikes. ‘It’s funny what boat builders view as waste,’ Townsend tells Cyclist. ‘The scrap from a 50-foot-long boat isn’t much to them, but just one little corner offcut could make nearly a whole bike.’ Townsend’s background in composite engineering has put her in a unique position when it comes to building bikes. Her time spent working for a fishing rod company taught her about the science of tube construction, while her work in the boat industry has…

Most cycling trends tend to be pretty short-lived but one that has proven remarkable in its endurance is silver components. Their appeal started as one of necessity: the beautiful simplicity of early drivetrain components from the likes of Campagnolo wasn’t available with the electroplated or thermally sprayed finishes modern parts often boast. That theme has continued to this day and is likely to continue long into the future given the quality of the options currently on the market. The classic design of Thomson’s Elite seatpost is as relevant as ever for those looking for an easily adjustable, fit-and-forget component, while newer seatpost, bar and stem options from the likes of Zipp and Ritchey can create a vintage look despite offering similar weight, stiffness and ergonomics. In components such as its RX crankset, British…

Numbers are a cultural thing in cycling. From heart rate and functional threshold power to average speed and annual kilometres ridden, and on to bike weights, tyre pressures and trail figures, nothing is anything unless it is quantitatively qualified. This data-driven approach extends into (or perhaps more likely, originates from) the research, development and marketing of new products. With every product launch, the ubiquitous ‘stiffer, lighter, faster’ trope is rolled out in one form or another. I’ll admit, as Cyclist ’s tech editor I play my part in propogating this, but the binary nature of the participation in cycling, as well as the commercialisation of it, is hardwired into this sport arguably to a greater extent than it is in any other. Football boots aren’t sold on being 20g lighter than old…