Cycling Plus

100% hypercraft

£139 Lightened, large-lens road shades 100%’s rise in the road cycling market has been incredibly rapid, thanks in no small part to the association it’s enjoyed with three-time world champion Peter Sagan. The 100% design is based around large, single-piece shield lenses, which superbly blend retro with modern looks. For the Hypercraft the design came out of its Californian operation, although it is still manufactured in Italy with the idea of taking the large shield design but reducing weight to a minimum. The frameless design slims down the arms, too, and the shield lens is laser-cut with an etched rim at the base. The lens itself is manufactured in France from a shatterproof and impact-resistant polycarbonate that’s also treated to be hydrophobic and oleophobic, so it repels water and oil and sheds dirt. What…

gore cancellara set c5 shorts; c5 jersey; c7 shakedry jacket

£89.99; 79.99; £319.99 ‘Spartacus’ co-developed ride kit Gore’s limited-edition collection from Fabian Cancellara (aka Spartacus) comprises of the premium-priced C7 collection (including the brilliant Shakedry jacket) and this more affordable, but still tech-laden, C5 collection. Shorts The high-trunk section of the C5 shorts is a key feature and it offers support to your core and keeps you comfortable when working hard. The shorts also feature Gore’s windstopper fabric in the groin area. Gore calls it ‘cup technology’ and just like a sports cup that you’d wear for cricket it’s there to protect your sensitive areas, although not from a spinning high-velocity ball, rather from high-velocity chilling winds. The preformed double-skin section here has a Roubaix-like fabric back. It’s designed to give added protection to genitalia and it does it well. The Gorede-signed pad is…

castelli italia 20 kit

£130 (jersey), £120 (bibs) Italian suave Forget memories of heavy wool jerseys, the woolmix fabric in the Italia 20 is incredibly light. In fact, without the embellishments it’d be one of the lightest summer jerseys around. Those embellishments include a stitched-on fabric Castelli logo and Italian flag shield on the chest and an Italia zipper pull that’s enamelled tricolore. The word Italia is printed across the back and a tricolore flag print can be found on the centre of the three stitched, reinforced rear pockets. Even the gripper elastic at the waist is triocolore with gold banding. Design-wise, as well as on the bike, the jersey is in a class of its own. The polyester in the mix makes for a great fit and the wool adds a soft suppleness to the…

sram force etap axs

£1650 Top tech trickles down SRAM launched its topflight Red eTap AXS groupset at the start of 2019, refining the wireless shifting the brand pioneered with its original Red eTap. The AXS groupset brought a move to 12-speed gearing and shook up the approach to road gearing with wider ranges and closer ratios where you need them most. The downside to all of this cutting-edge technology was the price. At more than £3000, Red was always going to be for those with the deepest pockets. Thankfully, just as Shimano offers a more affordable alternative to Dura-Ace Di2 in the form of Ultegra Di2, SRAM now offers a Force version of its wireless flagship. Force eTap AXS offers a hugely appealing set of features with well thought-out gearing options and no compatibility booby traps, as…

gocycle gxi

£3699 Futuristic folding e-bike Gocycle founder Richard Thorpe – whose previous career was at McLaren Formula 1 – founded the brand with the ground-breaking G3 more than a decade ago. The G3’s single-sided front and rear was demountable and packable for travel, but there was still a demand from commuters for a fast-folding bike, thus the GX was born. A bona fide speedy folder, the GX answered this need while still staying true to the G3’s compact, single-sided concept. This latest GXi model tops the Gocycle folding bike range and builds on the GX’s clever design but with added integration and connectivity. The single-sided folding design is perfect for commuters because the stub axles, which hold the wheels in place, allow you to repair punctures without the need to remove the wheel…

splendid isolation

“WE HAVE A TREADMILL WHERE YOU’RE STRAPPED IN WITH A HARNESS THAT PULLS YOU DOWN. WE ALS O HAVE A WEIGHT - LIFTING DEVICE THAT SIMULATES GRAVITY USING COMPRESSED AIR. THEN HERE’S CEVIS – CYCLE ERGOMETER WITH VIBRATION ISOLATIONSY STEM” DOUGLAS WHEELOCK, THE ASTRONAUT It’s a fact that American Douglas Wheelock has twice been one of the most isolated cyclists on our planet. Well, we say on our planet, but the trim 59-year-old resident of Ohio is an astronaut who first went on a 15-day space mission in 2007. Three years later, he spent six months on the International Space Station. “Down on Earth, I cycle a fair bit and run or walk with my dog,” Wheelock tells us. “Up in space, well, it’s a similar story.” Without the dog, of…