Cycling Plus Gear Guide

Unless you’ve shelled out a massive chunk of cash on a custom-built bike tailored to your every whim, the chances are that you’re keen to upgrade aspects of your bike once the stock parts have worn out, or maybe you’re building your own custom bike from scratch. In this special issue, we’ve pulled together all the most recent reviews from Cycling Plus magazine on almost every bit of bike kit available. We’ve concentrated on upgrades that you’re likely to make to your bike itself, but we’ve also covered the essential gear you’ll need to ride it. Whether you’re looking for a new helmet or a complete groupset, you’ll find plenty in here for you.…

CAMPAGNOLO SCIROCCO C17 £310.99 › Give your bike a second wind… Weight 1916g (pair) Internal width 17mm External 22.5mm Depth 35mm Spokes 16/21 Tyre OD 26.5x25mm A perennial budget favourite, Campagnolo’s Scirocco aluminium wheelset returns with a redesigned rim. They’re 35mm tall, but in line with the shift to wider road tyres, are 22.5mm wide externally and 17mm internally. The Sciroccos are rim brake only, and their C17 rim bed design improves strength, and makes for a better interface with 25mm and 28mm tyres, reducing the turbulence caused by poorly matched tyres and rims. The rims are balanced to equalise the rotational mass of the valve using Campagnolo’s Dynamic Balance process, their joints are welded for integrity and the braking track is milled smooth for smoother, more efficient stopping. Campagnolo’s…

MICHELIN POWER COMPETITION £33.99 › Outstanding all-round performance and value Weight 208g (25mm) Inflated width 26mm Michelin’s Power Competition may be the cheapest tyre here but it is also one of the fastest conventional clinchers – and it grips and wears well too. While Michelin’s flagship blows up to the right width and a slightly taller (26mm) height, it’s very light for a responsive and agile feel. Ride quality from the supple carcass is good with decent cushioning over rough surfaces. The Moto GP-derived compound and pliable carcass mean it holds speed very well. We’ve had no issues with all-weather grip, and wear and cut resistance have been impressive across all the sets we’ve used. Add a very affordable price and our only gripe is the lack of a tubeless…

CAMPAGNOLO CENTAUR £588.11 (inc bottom bracket) › The Italian 105? Campagnolo’s redesigned Centaur 11-speed groupset called time on 10-speed shifting, and took aim at Shimano’s standard-setting 105. Campagnolo has trickled down the mechanical shifting refinement developed for top flight Super Record to this entrylevel, European-made offering. With obvious familial aesthetic and functional similarities, Campagnolo says the only difference between Centaur and its loftier siblings is the materials used in its construction. Centaur is a mainly aluminium, rim brakeonly groupset with a four-arm crank spider that has separate, rather than combined, bolt circles for each chainring, increasing their rigidity. Chainring options are 50/34 and 52/36. The Ergopower controls have an EPS-style thumb lever that’s much easier to operate then the old right-angled one, and although this limits downshifts to one per…

BOARDMAN ROAD TEAM PEDAL £24.99 A great price to introduce you to riding clipless Weight 310g (pair) Colour Black Cleat style Look Keo It’s hard to imagine that you can buy a clipless pedal with cleat for under £25 but Boardman can offer just that. The Road Teams feature large shiny black painted aluminium bodies that use dualcompound Look Keo-style cleats offering seven degrees of float. The bodies work well but the paint can be slippery in the wet and we found it chipped off over time. They roll on chromoly axles with a combination of bushings and sealed bearings that worked fine during testing. If you can live with a few paint chips, these pedals offer outstanding value for those on a budget. HIGHS Great value LOWS Slippery when…

SELLE SAN MARCO SHORTFIT C RACING £114.99 › Truncated racing perch Weight 205g Length 173mm Width 140mm San Marco’s Shortfit saddle caters for riders whose seated position doesn’t change much while riding. This Racing model features San Marco’s waved profile, where the saddle’s top line curves by more than 5mm. Although its claimed width is 144mm, ours measures just over a still wide 140mm, but its 250mm length is short compared to an average saddle’s 275mm or more. The ‘big hole’ in the saddle is 173mm long and 12mm at the front and 38mm wide towards the rear. That equates to a large portion of the carbon fibrereinforced nylon shell’s surface area, and along with the Xsilite rails keeps weight to 205g. The wedge-like shape means that you immediately find…