Table of contents for Bike of the Year 2025 in Cycling Plus

Wilier Rave SLR ID2 £9,200 (read full review next issue) The SLR ID2 is designed for speed, with aero tube shapes and a widened down tube that shields water bottles from the wind, plus a racy geometry. It’s stiffer than Wilier’s original Rave SLR, with a tighter rear triangle and shorter wheelbase to give better handling offroad. With tyre clearances up to 52mm, it can only handle 1x drivetrains. There are two bottle mounts and more sets of bosses elsewhere, but to save some grams, there’s no provision for mudguards, bags or internal storage. The frame weighs a claimed 990g (medium size, painted). A cut-away aero seat tube boosts tyre clearance while keeping the wheelbase short (1,031mm). This build includes the excellent SRAM Red XPLR (but sadly, no power meter).…

NOASCA, ITALY COLLE DEL NIVOLET Length: 21.3km Elevation gain: 1,142m Average gradient: 5% Maximum gradient: 12% The Colle del Nivolet in north-west Italy is the most beautiful mountain road in the world. Fact. But that’s not the only reason why it’s on this list. Starting west of Noasca and heading into the heart of the aptly named Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso, this climb will destroy your legs and blow your mind. Don’t be fooled by its modest 5% average. That number hides frequent sections of double-digit gradients en route to Lago Serrù – the 2024 Giro d’Italia stage finish. By the time you arrive, you’ll be wrecked – and rewarded. The final kilometres twist like ribbon between alpine lakes and snow-capped peaks. It’s insanely beautiful. And yes, it’s where the…

It felt like just yesterday when a 40mm gravel bike tyre was considered wide. Then it quickly became 45mm, then 50mm. But now bike brands are pushing the boundaries even further, with some new bikes sporting clearances of over 57mm. That means we’ve got to the point where you can run a cross-country mountain bike tyre on a gravel bike. And judging from the bonanza of unreleased bikes raced at the Unbound 2025 event, it looks like there are more big-clearance machines on the horizon. So, is 57mm+ set to become the new standard? Lauf’s Seigla turned heads when it was released in April 2022, offering clearance for up to 700c x 57mm (or 29 x 2.25in) tyres. The Icelandic brand’s previous True Grit gravel bike had clearance for just…

“On the inside heel of the left shoe is an NFC ICE-Key chip, which can store emergency information in case you have an accident” Yes, these top-spec race shoes get their name from the best all-round road racer in the world, Tadej Pogačar. Underfoot, they’re as stiff as they come, but a knitted, wraparound-style upper adds comfort. The full-carbon sole has four large, meshcovered cut-outs and the shoe’s snug-fitting, sock-like upper allows a good breeze to penetrate, so ventilation is excellent on warmer days. A tougher weather resistant layer covers the heel area and the lower part of the upper. This also adds structural support. The knitted design is intricate, with retaining laces visible through the side of the foot. Pulley system DMT’s lacing system uses a pulleyed clasp –…

Q1 WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY BIKE’S SHIFTING? How can I make my shifting easier? It seems very stiff. Do I need to replace the cables? Wzarycki1 → Stiff or delayed shifting can derive from a number of causes, so it’s worth being systematic as you go through them to eliminate them one by one. An easy starting place is the point on the derailleur where the cable is anchored. Once you cut a gear cable down to size, the threads of wire that make it up begin to fray, unless they’re held in place by an end-cap. As these strands unravel, the cable isn’t able to hold tension as securely and the shifting will feel sluggish and less crisp. Make sure the little squished endcap is still in place and that…

Chasing yellow Clermont-Ferrand, Central France 31 July 2025 ● The world’s finest female cyclists tackle stage six of this year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, negotiating 123.7km from Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert. UAE Team ADQ’s Maëva Squiban would cross the line first here, but French compatriot Pauline Ferrand-Prévot would take the overall race GC honours after winning the final two stages following a devastating display in the mountains. The Centurions  Salisbury Plain 12 July 2025 ● Hundreds of riders headed to Wiltshire to tackle The Glorious Gravel’s Centurion (100km) or Double Centurion (217km) events, with finish times for the latter ranging from 8.5hrs to 13hrs. Even to reach the finish line in either event proved a phenomenal effort as temperatures tipped over 30°C. The dusty trails resembled Strade Bianche on…

Scottish clothing specialists Endura have, in recent years, pushed technical boundaries with record-breaking speedsuits and ProTour gear for the likes of Movistar Team. So, it’s good to see the brand haven’t forgotten their humble roots in making quality, affordable kit. The new Loop range has been designed both for new riders and for adventurous roadies seeking gravel-ready kit at a decent price. There are nine pieces, some available in women’s fits (with more to come in 2026) as well as men’s – four shorts styles (bib, waist, baggy and cargo), three tops (a shortsleeve zipped jersey and long and short-sleeve technical T-shirts) and both full-finger and mitt gloves. My pick of the range for the road is the bib shorts and short-sleeve jersey combination, pictured. The Loop bibs (£74.99; men’s only)…

Van Rysel RCR Pro Replica £9,000 The RCR Pro Team Replica isn’t the bargain you might expect from Decathlon, but it’s a fantastic race bike, boasting tantalising speed and an excellent front end. Van Rysel made no secret about buying the leading 18 WorldTour race bikes and testing them, and the result is a sleek, angular and well-proportioned frame made from high-end carbon fibre and claimed to weigh 790g (medium size, painted). This 6.9kg team edition is specced with the same kit used by Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, including a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 groupset (but thankfully with non-pro gear ratios) and a Deda integrated cockpit (with a ‘stem’ that measures up close to 120mm, which won’t suit everyone). Overall, it’s a sensible design that’s well executed. Suitably lightweight and aero,…

Cannondale’s Synapse Carbon 2 (£7,250) is a deserving winner of our overall Bike of the Year title, 11 years since its ancestor claimed victory. Since then, of course, the endurance bike game has moved on, but our expert team agree that the latest Synapse is a technological tour de force, representing a new benchmark of how neatly useful technology can integrate with an outstanding design. “The Synapse represents the new template for a non-racing road bike,” says senior technical editor and Bike of the Year veteran Warren Rossiter. “It has handling that’s swift and stable, and it delivers confidence in spades. It’s compliant but doesn’t lose the excitement that comes from a stiff bike, plus it features the most usable application of the SmartSense system to date.” He concludes: The…

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It all started with the UCI and a raft of alterations to their equipment regulations on 1 January 2023. Among the key changes were the banning of supernarrow handlebars (which has now changed again), updated time-trial bar regulations and, crucially, the end of the so-called ‘3:1 rule’. This stated that the maximum length-to-width ratio of a component could be no greater than threeto-one – much to the disdain of aero enthusiasts and boundary-pushing bike designers, who knew deeper profiles could, in theory, make a bike faster. Since the lifting of this rule in 2023, brands have been free to design bikes with tubes up to 80mm deep and as narrow as 10mm. Moreover, head tubes can be elongated to a massive 160mm, thanks to updated regulations surrounding ‘compensation triangles’ at…

How do you improve on a helmet that was designed in collaboration with the Movistar Team and has been ridden to Road World Championships glory? That was the difficulty ABUS faced when updating the popular AirBreaker. Once again developed with the Movistar Team and tested by them in the demanding conditions of the WorldTour, the new lid retains the original’s iconic curved design and much of its DNA, but has a more aggressive look, along with significantly improved ventilation, aerodynamics and protection. The AirBreaker 2.0 is available with or without a Mips slip-plane system to help mitigate rotational impact forces – something its predecessor lacked. Another key change is the introduction of ABUS’s Forced Air Cooling Technology. New brow air intakes and longer top vents suck more cooling air through…

Cube Attain C:62 SLT £2,999 This is one of the best pure endurance bikes around, and it’s incredible value for money. The carbon fibre frame has stiff and light high-modulus fibres in the head tube and bottom bracket shell to boost handling and power transfer. It marries aero elements with slender dimensions, and has a claimed weight of 1,150g (medium size, including fork and hardware). The geometry sticks close to genre norms, and while the 34mm tyre clearance prevents the Attain C:62 from straying into allroad territory, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Cube’s slick frameset is paired with a specification that would cost twice as much on rival bikes, including a 12-speed, mostly Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8100 groupset and lightweight (1,366g, claimed) Newmen carbon wheels. This results in…

If you want a challenge that means cycling far from the nearest B&B, but you also enjoy comfort at the end of the day, then a campervan is the ideal solution. How do you deal with all your storage, cleaning and space needs though? You could, of course, convert a van, but it’d be much easier to buy a campervan that’s ready to go, with innovative on-board features that have been designed to perfectly suit your requirements Auto-Trail, a motorhome and campervan manufacturer with over 40 years of experience and 40 models to their name, have just the thing. Their appropriately named Expedition range is aimed at cyclists looking for adventure. So what makes these vehicles so special and why is an Expedition such a great option for you? Room…

It’s new research into performance that powers forward momentum in elite endurance sport, taking athletes to ever faster times, speeds and recovery. A major event in the calendar is the annual Science & Cycling Conference, which sees the greatest minds in the sport gather in the location where that year’s Tour de France begins to reveal their findings of the past 12 months. Nutrition, training and technology are all covered, and the brilliant thing about it is that a lot of what’s presented there trickles down to us, the everyday riders. Here are four of our top takeaways from this year’s science symposium in Lille, France. Neutralise it First up is sodium bicarbonate supplements – specifically, the Maurten Bicarb System, which 800m Olympic running champion Keely Hodgkinson credited with giving…

Cleaning and lubricating your chain may seem like a chore, but it’ll reduce wear and improve performance, so it’s well worth showing your bike some love occasionally. It’s particularly important to go through this process during the winter months, when chains are likely to get mucky and covered in corrosive salt and grit from the road. While it’s easier to deep-clean a chain with it removed from the bike, you can get the worst of the dirt off and apply fresh lubricant while it’s still installed, by following these eight steps. 01 Safety first If your bike has disc brakes, it’s a good idea to cover the rear rotor or remove the back wheel, to avoid contamination. At least make sure to apply degreaser as far away from the rotor…