Cyclist May 2022

Where do you sit on the change spectrum? Some people love anything new; others hate change, like the reader who told me that featuring disc brakes meant we were in league with the Devil. Me? I’m somewhere about halfway along that spectrum. I like things that are new and improved, but only if they are genuinely an improvement. And disc brakes are an interesting case in point. Anyone who has experienced the terror of descending in the wet while using rim brakes and carbon wheels will, like me, appreciate the more assured stopping power of disc brakes. But why do they have to squeak so much? And why is it so difficult to stop them from rubbing? And don’t get me started on bleeding hydraulic systems. The old-fashioned rim brake has a number…

Asynapse, says Encyclopaedia Britannica, is ‘the site of transmission of electric nerve impulses’. This means there has never been a more fitting version of Cannondale’s Synapse endurance road bike, as this latest model is built with SmartSense, an interlinked lights and radar system. SmartSense is powered by a battery that sits just above the bottom bracket junction, and comprises front and rear Garmin Varia radars, Lezyne lights and Cannondale’s own wheel sensor. This tech all pairs with the Cannondale app to send alerts to your phone or bike computer. Aside from increasing visibility for the rider and other road users, both in the daylight and at night, the rear light can act as a brake light, and both lights can be set up to adjust their luminosity dependent on light conditions. The…

Audax is a niche corner of cycling that has been around for about 130 years. At its core it is a long-distance challenge within a set time limit where completion is more important than speed, and Café du Cycliste says it has created the ideal gear for such a challenge. Each item comes with an Audax pouch and a route card for Café du Cycliste’s open brevet, the Zinzins de Turini in southern France. To give you a flavour of the course, zinzin means ‘bonkers’ in French. While the route might be crazy, Café du Cycliste says the Audax collection is not. The Zelie’s hood and three-layer construction affords it serious protection against the elements. It also has a unique pocket layout to give riders enough space for all the snacks…

Pro riders have a hard life, but they’ve got it better than amateur cyclists in one area: easy access to a postride massage. With the release of its RecoveryAir Pro boots, Therabody says that amateurs can now enjoy the benefits of a massage from the comfort of their sofa without having to hire their own personal soigneur. The RecoveryAir Pro’s pneumatic compression system works by using air to squeeze and manipulate leg muscles to increase blood flow. The technology was originally developed to prevent deep vein thrombosis and blood clots, however it also boosts circulation, decreases swelling and reduces muscle soreness, hence its benefit as a sports recovery tool. There are four pre-set modes – recovery, warm-up, isolation and interval – so you can just pick one and settle in for a…

Oakley has taken its modern Sutro Lite design and combined it with a lens shape inspired by the brand’s iconic Razor Blades to bring a touch of retro cool to the Sutro Lite Sweeps. The high-wrap, semi-rimless frame offers an uninterrupted field of view, while the holes along the top of the lens improve ventilation and prevent fogging. Oakley says its Prizm lens coating boosts contrast to make it easier to pick out details while riding fast, and the ‘O Matter’ plastic frames keep these sunnies light at just 31g.…

Wahoo acquired pedal brand Speedplay around the same time that Wuhan acquired the coronavirus. Despite the ensuing disruption caused by the pandemic, the sports tech company has used the time to produce the Powrlink Zero pedals. This is the first power meter in Speedplay’s lollipop pedal guise and looks almost identical to the standard Speedplay Zero pedal. The cleats are cross-compatible and the only changes to the pedal bodies are a 2mm increase in spindle length and a 1.5mm increase in stack height. There are single and dual-sided versions. Both track power and cadence, and the dual-sided option records left-right power balance too. Wahoo claims +/-1% accuracy on the pedals’ data and those numbers are said to be unaffected by large changes in elevation and temperature. LED indicators show Bluetooth and ANT+…