Massage guns have become increasingly popular as a method of treating injuries and aiding recovery, from the comfort of your own home. And, physiotherapists have been using them in clinics, too. With a huge array of options available, it’s hard to know which are truly effective. We asked cycling injury specialist, Dr Graham Theobald to review the C2 Heat+Ice Massage Gun from Bob and Brad.

The C2 Heat+Ice massage gun from Bob and Brad provides the massage features of all guns within this category, combined with a unique hot and cold head for additional therapy.

As with the multitude of massage guns on the market, it is of a standard size. However its stall force - the amount of pressure that can be applied without causing the motor to stop - amplitude and speed are proposed to be market leading. This model provides massage at 10mm amplitude, denoting the distance the gun head covers as it moves back and forth. This movement results in percussions (strokes per minute) that are delivered to the area being treated. In theory, the longer this distance, the harder the massage you get. This can be, however, a personal preference. As per much of the competition, it is targeted at active people and athletes.

Bob and Brad C2 Heat+Ice Massage Gun construction

This gun immediately feels more robust than its competitors. It has 5 attachments, including the unique hot and cold head which is charged, via a usb-c cable, independently of the gun. Hot and cold therapy has been used to treat injuries and aid recovery for decades and is a theory supported by research studies and practitioners. The gun has 5 speeds, a force (ring) light indicator, lights that indicate charge levels and a handle that gives excellent grip. Attachments are pushed on and off with spare rubber washers for wear and tear on attachment usage.

The gun comes with a nice carrying case with mesh for wires and attachments.

Bob and Brad C2 Heat+Ice Massage Gun in use

After using many massage guns both clinically and personally, the first thing I noticed about the C2 Pro was that, when compared to similar priced and marketed products, it has a very nice robust feel to it. Nothing on it feels flimsy or as if it will break after a few uses. This is reassuring. It is also one of the quietest guns of this size I have used. The 4 normal-use heads are sufficient for most applications. I mainly used the ball and air cushion heads, but the hot/cold head conveys the most intrigue. This gun is sold in two guises, with and without the hot/cold head.

From a professional perspective, I have used the hot/cold head quite a lot in the clinic on its own (it is independently charged and powered) as contrast therapy, without the additional massage function, and have found it useful working with tendinopathies which often benefit from this treatment (patella tendon and achilles for example). However, the hot/cold head when used on the actual gun seems somewhat contrived, hot and cold therapy does not need to be applied with the force of the gun, so my reccomendation would always be to use them independently, perhaps negating the need to spend extra on the function when other sources of cold and heat are available.

The power of the gun is fine for most areas such as arms, neck and feet (actually very good for plantar fascia) but when it comes to the larger athlete and muscle groups such as glutes, I found that it stalled too often and was a little underpowered. For these areas and bigger athletes, you may want to consider its bigger brother, the D6 Pro-C as this is more powerful and still over half the price of its competitor.

Lastly, the C2-Pro can be awkward to get to hard-to-reach areas such as the lower back which can be frustrating. Again, its bigger brother is better here due to its handle configuration and should be considered if these tricky areas are something you need to work on regularly. That said, if you have a partner who can help, the C2 is fine.

Bob and Brad C2 Heat+Ice Massage Gun value and conclusions

Overall, the C2-Pro is a great value massage gun for its intended use. At its normal price point of £99.99 (often less in Amazon sales so shop around), it remains a great product and ahead of its direct competition. Build quality is good. If you compared it to the market leaders (Therabody), it fairs very well against the Theragun Mini and is much cheaper. However, I would consider purchasing it without the hot/cold head unless you have a specific requirement for it.

Overall, a really nice product but with limitations with larger muscle groups and athletes.

Most cycling outer layers, including the best waterproof cycling jackets have a three-layer or two-layer construction where a waterproof membrane is overlain by a fabric outer layer. There may be a third inner fabric layer too, making up the third layer. 

The membrane stops water getting in from the outside, but includes pores large enough to let water vapour from your sweat and body heat out, keeping you dry. 

To work effectively, though, the outer surface of the jacket needs to be hydrophobic, so that the fabric doesn’t wet out and stop the membrane from functioning. That means that the jacket is normally surface treated with a durable water resistant (DWR) coating. 

The best winter cycling jackets and other softshell garments are also often DWR coated to help repel rain, as are many of the best bib tights, leg warmers and arm warmers, even if they don’t include a membrane layer. Castelli Nanoflex and Sportful No Rain clothing are examples.

With use, the DWR coating can wear off, but its effectiveness can also be reduced by dirt, oils, sweat and other contaminants, something that cycling outer layers are particularly prone to picking up from road spray and our physical exertion.

When your outer layers start to wet out, you need to clean them with a specialist wash product to help to restore the water repellency; standard laundry products will leave residues on the fabric surface that will exacerbate the problem.

That’s where Grangers Performance Wash comes in. It’s designed to clean your waterproof/water resistant kit without detriment to the DWR layer.

It’s really easy to use and Grangers has just reformulated it, so that you only need to use 25ml per wash and can get 12 washes from the standard 300ml bottle instead of six. Grangers also sells Performance Wash in one litre eco refill pouches, which work out at around half the price per wash of the 300ml bottle. Both sizes work out cheaper per treatment than the equivalent Nikwax Tech Wash.

You just add it to your washing machine and put your waterproof clothing through a standard wash cycle. Most waterproof kit needs to be washed at 30C, although some can be washed at 40C. To be effective, you need to limit your load to one or two pieces. Then just air dry and you’re ready to go again.

I’ve found that Grangers Performance Wash has done a good job of making my wet weather gear less prone to wetting out, making it one of the best waterproof treatments for your cycling jacket. 

It does seem that the initial DWR coating tends to lose effectiveness quite quickly, though. And, once it has, you never quite get that beading and avoidance of wetting out back again - particularly with surface coated garments without a membrane. That's not unique to Grangers Performance Wash though and seems to be true of all the technical cleaners I've used.

The next step is to use a wash-in re-waterproofing treatment like Grangers Clothing Repel or a spray-on like Grangers Performance Repel Plus. In both cases, Grangers recommends washing with Performance Wash first.

We don't often give products a score of one star out of five but the Silca Asymmetrico deserves it. The one thing a saddle pack needs to do is stay attached to your saddle and hold your spares. And the Silca doesn't.

There are several different designs for the humble seat pack. From big ones to small ones, ones that clip on to the saddle rails, and most commonly those fixed on with Velcro straps. 

Silca have used a single Boa strap for attaching their £52 Asymmetrico roll up pack to your bike. A minimalist design using a fastening device we’re more used to using on our shoes. At a first glance the solution looks excellent. However, in practice we discovered a fatal flaw.

Silca Seat Roll Asymmetrico: construction

Unlike most other saddle bags which come with an opening at the front the Silca seat roll rolls out flat. Taking its inspiration from a tool roll. Inside are four compartments to slot your kit into. These were the perfect size for one inner tube (700x25), tyre levers, a small multitool and a gas canister with a small valve.

Slot one into each pocket, roll the pack up lengthways and then secure with the big velcro strap. Once neatly wrapped up you can attach it to the underside of the saddle rails. This is done by feeding the Boa cables over the saddle rails, hooking them around the catch on the bottom of the pack and tightening the Boa dial.

The seat roll is simple and easy to fill, much easier than stuffing everything in via one hole at the end of a saddle bag. I’m sure we’ve all found ourselves standing at the side of the road struggling to stuff everything back into a saddle bag as tyre levers grip the inner tube, or a multitool catches on the tube’s valve or there’s not enough room next to the gas canister.

While the seat roll is easy to fill, it’s a little limited in space, as there was no room for anything more in those pockets. But it packs up nice and small and tucks neatly away under the saddle. A reflective strip on the velcro strap that holds the pack together was a nice touch, although it obviously gets very mucky very quickly if the roads are wet.

As you can see in the pictures, and tell from the name, the Boa strap isn’t placed centrally on the pack. This makes sense when looking at how a bag fits under a saddle. There’s not much room behind as the seat pin gets in the way. This design holds most of the pack away from the seat pin where there is room.

Silca Seat Roll Asymmetrico: the ride

Filling and fitting the pack was easy. But there was a major downside to its attachment method. Once riding it didn’t take long for the vibrations from the road to result in the pack vibrating and moving up and out from under the Boa strap, leaving it dangling off the saddle rails. 

This wasn’t as bad as with the previous model which would regularly fall out within a few hundred metres of re-attaching it (especially on cold days with cold fingers when it was impossible to tighten up the Boa enough to keep it in place) but it happened enough to convince me it wasn’t a result of me attaching it incorrectly. 

Going on customer reviews and comments I wasn't the only one to experience this with the previous model (that eventually bounced off my bike and into the gutter, never to be seen again) and there was more material to this updated version which did help, but it’ still wasn't enough to guarantee it stayed in place. 

It seems to me that the asymmetrical positioning of the strap is part of the problem. If it was in the middle it might stay in place. My theory is the lack of padding in the material the roll is made from is the main problem. Any padding would have likely resulted in better grip through its compression when tightening the Boa dial. 

Without padding, and with mainly hard items inside, there was no give in the bag for it to compress into the spaces around the saddle rails. No matter how hard I tightened the dial, if there is just a slim bit of material between a multitool and a saddle rail there is no compression to give extra grip. No stretch in the Boa cable didn’t help either, I suspect.

I tried putting the items (all very common, I wasn’t carrying anything that you wouldn’t on a normal ride) in different sections, although an inner tube would only fit into the main pocket a the others are two narrow. My thinking was that by positioning the inner tube against the saddle rails there would be a tiny bit of cushioning. But there isn't much versatility here as the inner tube has to go in the central pocket as the others aren’t wide enough.

The result was many an infuriating moment, stood at the side of the road reattaching it. Not what you want on any ride.

Blackburn’s Ex-1 pannier rack has been around for years, in fact, it was designed by Jim Blackburn in 1975. While there may have been one or two refinements to the design, the primary functionality of it remains the same, for good reason. The extended, quick-release skewer makes it arguably the easiest rack on the market to mount.

Construction

Blackburn don’t give extensive detail about the rack’s material on their site, quite simply that it’s ‘aircraft-grade aluminum’. It tips the scales at 540g, a modest weight when compared to something like Topeak’s 820g Super Uni Tourist Rack, which we tested alongside this Blackburn as part of a grouptest. 

Welding is tidy and the powder finish looks slick.

The rack is supplied with an extra-long skewer, two 1/2” seat-stay clamps and two 9/16” seat-stay clamps.

The ride

The Ex-1 is the easiest and quickest rack I’ve personally ever fitted. The quick-release skewer replaces your wheel’s existing skewer, with its extended length accommodating the racks disc brake adapters. The skewer needs to be clamped tight; any slack might result in it flexing under a load, so compromise the rack.

There are various options for attaching the extenders- frames mounts, supplied P-clips, or an adapted seat-post clamp.

I’ve only actually had the rack on one bike - a Triban RC520. My other disc-brake road bikes use 12mm thru axles, so the QR mechanism is redundant. However, the clearance and scope for adjustment that I have on the Triban makes me think that the rack should fit the vast majority of 29er and 700C wheels, even with wider tyres. The only thing that might pose problems is the length of the quick release, ensure that it is long enough before investing.

Having said all of this, the rack is not limited to mounting (with the QR) at the drop-out, it can be mounted on the frame too. Its versatility is most definitely a selling point. 

Once on the bike, the rack feels sturdy and secure. I've had no problem getting any of the panniers I've been testing on it; the platforms construction gives plenty of positioning options for panniers hooks. 

The adapters, used to make the Expedition 1 sit proud of the disc, result in the rack being much wider than most. While I noticed the panniers sitting further out, it didn't bother me at all, or noticeably affect handling in any way. 

Value and conclusion

At £54.99 / $54.95, the Blackburn Expedition 1 Disc fairs well against other brands with similar reputations for quality. Topeak’s Uni Super Tourist is £44.99 / $73.49 and Tubus’ Disco has an RRP of £135.99 / $135.99, though perhaps it’s not a perfect comparison; it’s made of steel, so it’s likely to last longer and is repairable too. It’s worth noting that the Expedition 1 encouragingly comes with a lifetime warranty.

The versatility of a direct frame mount, or a quick and easy drop-out attachment, coupled with the fact that it fits the vast majority of quick-release disc-brake bikes with 700C wheel, make it easy to recommend the Expedition 1. It's a competitively priced option for anyone wanting a reliable, well-made rack.

Specifications

• Capacity: up to 45 lbs/20.5kg
• Country of Origin: China
• Frame mount compatible
• Rear dropout compatible
• Product Weight: 535 grams

Our Tech Team has been wanting to put a Theragun to the test for ages, but knowing if it's effective is really a job for an expert - so we had Dr Graham Theobald, Clinical Director, Lead Clinician and Clinical Educator at The Body Rehab put it to the test. The unit arrived with Dr Theobald so he could test its effectiveness as part of a fitness feature for Cycling Weekly magazine, allowing him to compare it with other similar designs. 

With coronavirus lockdowns making it less convenient for people to visit massage clinics, more and more massage guns have been appearing on social media. Sports massage has been hit hard by restrictions, and many have purchased these 'soft tissue weapons' in order to improve recovery, and relax or warm up muscles before workouts. Some are nothing more than a jigsaw gun with a (thankfully) different attachment, others such as the Theragun Pro have an innovative and well developed design, with function and application at its core.

In our physiotherapy clinic (thebodyrehab.co.uk) we have been trialling the Theragun for a few months, placing us in a good position to provide a longer-term review of this top-of-the-range product. The Theragun Pro is the flagship product from Therabody and is marketed as percussive therapy rather than a massage gun. This not just marketing spiel, but grounded in science.

Theragun Pro: the claimed benefits

Theragun’s educational website, for clinicians and athletes, seems to take an evidence-based approach. That said, as with all such areas of therapy, when explored, this evidence does have its flaws. There are some published papers on percussive therapy but participant numbers are often too low, with varied methodologies, to provide clear results at this stage. Further research is ongoing.

Percussive therapy is described as “the rapid and repetitive application of pressure perpendicular to the body.” This stimulus causes both pressure and vibration. Larger amplitude produces a deeper muscle treatment, and the Theragun’s measured non-stall 16mm amplitude provides consistency that its current competitors cannot match. Scientifically, this helps to reliably repeat application. The added adjustable frequency range also allows treatments to be varied to tolerance. Further adaptability comes from the good assortment of interchangeable heads.

The claimed responses and benefits include:

• Increased blood flow, local temperature and oxygenation of muscles and extensibility
• Reduction in acute muscle pain, tension and soreness
• Improved recovery rate, range of motion and performance

Interestingly, vibration and stimulus to tissue has been around for millennia. Although percussive therapy combines both these principles, the evidence suggests that there are many other treatments that also claim the above responses – none of them as yet proven.

Theragun Pro: does it deliver?

So what makes the Theragun Pro better than its competition?  Well, firstly it feels great in the hands. Its weight has been well considered, and whatever position of the application arm you choose (others guns do not have this versatility), you are able to use the weight/shape of the Pro to deliver the directional control required. Each different massage head offers specific applications such as plantar fascia, etc. Though guidance is given on these, we have found that over time as a physio you develop a personal preference for a particular head depending on the application.

The Pro’s ability to deliver consistent amplitude and frequency is a clear differential. The various hand grip and arm positions add to its flexibility. Most other guns have just one handle, making it harder to access difficult-to-reach areas.

The two wireless batteries have acceptable longevity – just over an hour per battery max (albeit not as long as the claimed figure of 1.5 hours), and the fact that you have the extra battery is helpful. The wireless charging station is available as an accessory and can be useful if using the Theragun clinically.

We have used the Pro to warm up tissue prior to further therapy and/or exercise, treat soreness and de-tone muscles. All our physios have reported very positive responses from their patients with regards to outcomes, though as with all treatments of this kind, the longevity of these outcomes remains questionable and has not been measured to date.

Personally, I have used the Pro for a while now and can categorically say that my muscles have felt better for the pre-workout stimulation and that areas treated after exercise seem less sore too. I can definitely feel a difference after use and this is supported by patient experiences.

An added benefit for therapists is that the gun, compared to administering manual hands-on massage, prevents a lot of soreness to our hands and provides the same stimulus required in a far shorter time. This allows us to spend more focused time with patients. As for recovery improvements, more research is needed, and besides, such outcome measurements are difficult to determine. Conventional massage may appeal more to some due to the ability to feel the tissue and determine its effects on elasticity. So far, however, the feedback from patients is positive.

The Tailfin Cargo Cage is an incredibly well thought out piece of kit, with a range of clever design features and integrations that will benefit bikepackers and anyone who simply wants to carry more things on their bike.

>>>Read more: Everything you need to know about bikepacking

Perhaps best known for its innovative Rigid Seat Pack design, Tailfin is a British design company which has recently been broadening its bikepacking ecosystem.

The construction

CNC machined from 7075-T6 aluminium, Tailfin claims this makes the Cargo Cage stronger and less likely to fail than welded or sheet metal designs. The result is a clean look with chamfered edges which mitigate the risk of bags snagging on the cage.

Along its length, there are six sets of integrated strap guides which have been designed specifically to work well with the widely popular Voile XL Straps. Naturally, the guides also function fine with other straps, I’ve used the Voile Nano series straps as well as some other unbranded straps to great effect on the Cargo Cage.

The cage has a modular design, with a “Load Chip” that can be installed to provide a supporting platform for heavier loads. Alternatively, the chip can be removed, allowing longer items – such as tent poles – to be strapped to the cage, or as Tailfin suggests, fishing rods. The chip is easy to mount, being secured by a single bolt, and it also features an integrated bottle opener – which is always a plus.

I tested the large version which comes with four bottle boss mounts. It only needs to be secured with two bolts, but the extra holes allow for greater flexibility regarding the positioning. Two rubber bungs are provided to fill in the holes that aren’t in use.

If you so choose, and you have the frame for it, you can use all the holes of the Cargo Cage and four bolts do come supplied. These take a 3mm Allen key, which is quite common, but 4mm would have been better to see as these tend to be more robust.

The Cages are rated for carrying items up to 5kg on the road and 3kg off-road, which is quite high for this style of cage.

The ride

You can mount the Cargo Cage essentially anywhere you have bolts, be it on the main frame, on the forks or on Tailfin’s own AeroPack rack. I opted for one on the inside of the downtube and one on the underside. The four bolt holes made it easy to place the cage in a good position, while the 72mm width ensured that there was no fouling with the cranks when mounting on the underside of the down tube.

Although I mounted the cages using the bottom two holes, with the rubber bungs installed there was no rattling from the top of the cages on my frame. The extra length didn’t present any issues, so I think it is well worth getting the larger option just to give yourself a little more flexibility with what you can carry.

I’ve been testing this over the UK winter lockdown of 2020/21, so I haven’t subjected the cages to any arduous multiday trips, but I have been using them when getting out on my more local loops. I’ve found the cages to be particularly useful for holding my Thermos flask and Aeropress, enabling delightful mid-ride breaks for coffee.

One thing to note is that if you are carrying something metal, it’s good to put some kind of interface, like a cloth, between the item and the cage and they can rub on each other — especially over rough terrain. This is one benefit a plastic cage does have over a metal one, although they are obviously less robust. Some form of polymer coating would be a great addition for simplifying carrying metal items.

The low profile of the cages meant that I was very happy to leave them on the bike even when I wasn’t using them. I find an empty bottle cage under the downtube looks rather odd if not filled with a tool keg, but an unloaded Cargo Cage definitely wasn’t aesthetically challenging even when I kept my tools in a saddle bag.

Value

Checking out competitors, the Blackburn Outpost Cage is less than half the price, can carry up to 4kg and comes with straps, making it great value with an RRP of £22. On the other hand, the Tailfin Cargo Cage does somewhat justify its higher price in having a modular design enabling it to carry long loads, being CNC machined rather than welded as well as being more versatile in mounting positions and with straps.

Another alternative is the Problem Solvers Bow Tie Strap Anchors which are only £15 but don’t come with straps. They are very low profile, discrete, and lightweight at just 21g per pair. They do, however, only have a 1.3kg carrying capacity, so aren’t well suited to the heavier loads that the Tailfin provides. But if you are looking for something cheap and sleek for light loads, they might be a better option.

We haven’t yet tested either the Blackburn Outpost Cage or the Problem Solver Bow Tie Strap Anchors, so can’t currently vouch for their user experience.

The advantages of balance bikes and the ease with which they can get young children on to two wheels are well documented. We can't recommend them enough. When you think about the separate factors involved with riding a bike, it quite quickly becomes very complex.

A balance bike does away with most of those, allowing the child to focus just on balance and steering as they simply propel themselves by using their feet to scoot along, a perfectly natural movement for them.

This wasn't the first balance bike ridden by our tester, three-and-a-half-year-old Mia. She was already proficient, but was ready to try a slightly bigger bike. The Hornit Airo was that bike.

It passed it's first test with flying colours. When she saw it her eyes lit up. The brilliant, bright yellow paint is a great look. It might seem daft, but we're all guilty of going straight to the shiniest, sparkliest bike in the shop and drooling over it. So why shouldn't a three-year-old?

The added bonus of this love at first sight is that will mean they'll instinctively want to ride it. And any parent who has stood in a park with a screaming child who doesn't want to ride their bike will know just how important that is.

The second test is one that we're all familiar with. Weight. this isn't for getting up hills, power to weight or acceleration. It's about a small child easily being able to handle the bike. That's riding it, getting on and off of it, sitting on it and eating a snack and everything else.

If that becomes a struggle because a bike is heavy it can really put a child off. Not only does this mean that you might have wasted your money, but it could put them off riding. And that's a disaster.

The Hornit nailed this one too. At just 2.95kg it's wonderfully light and easy to manoeuvre. It never once overloaded it's tester who is under average height and weight for her age. This means coming to a stand still and not toppling over. Another thing that can stall a burgeoning cycling career.

That light weight came from the material. It's made of magnesium alloy, which is 33 per cent lighter than aluminium and extremely strong to boot.

It's hard to miss the clear air running down the middle of the down tube. This is to give the bike - designed by Roy Grinfield who has a background in car design - a distinct look, ticks all the strength and weight boxes and makes for a great handle. You spend a lot of time carrying a child's bike, so this is appreciated. It's also great for little hands that might otherwise struggle get their hands around a fat tube. Little touches like this can all give confidence, and they all really add up to a great package.

With a nice light steering motion the bike was easy to steer, putting the tester in control, rather than her having to fight it. Another boost to her confidence, something that was clear from the way she was happy to throw the bike around and play about on it. The importance of this was highlighted when she was trying out a friends pedal bike, on which the steering wasn't anywhere near as light. On that bike she wanted me to steer for her.

The light steering comes from a nice a-headset and a great set of wheels. There's an argument that it's the moving parts on a bike that are the most important, after all they're the parts that are going to wear out first. On this bike that's just the hubs and headset. It's here where the bike really stands out. Pick it up, spin the wheels and they're as smooth as a set of race wheels.

Both hubs and headset are made of heat treated 6061 aluminium with the hubs fitted with a sealed double bearing. They are standard adult size fittings and races, meaning parts can be replaced should you need to. The quality is clear, and coupled with the nice, fat 12-and-a-half inch tyres make it easier to ride than cheaper, heavier options.

The step up from our tester's previous bike with solid tyres and plastic headset was clear. This isn't a criticism of the previous bike, it was ideal for her age then, but the better quality helped massively as she wanted to go a bit further and bit faster.

While the quality was there throughout, the paint did get damaged when the bike was dropped. Our tester wasn't averse to stopping, stepping off, dropping the bike and going off to pick a flower or stroke a dog. On some occasions I caught the bike (once the bike and the rider) before it hit the ground, but a few times it was dropped on its side.

This chipped the paint on the outside of the footplate, which was a shame. Had the grippy material on top of the foot plate been extended around the edge the frame would have a bit more protection.

The foot plate might also be a little bigger. It wasn't quite big enough for a set of size seven feet (which isn't big for that age) to rest on, but there's no doubt a sweet spot for this. Too wide and it will catch the rider's ankles, too narrow and it's useless.

Other nice touches include the soft rubber grips (could be a bit wider perhaps as toddlers don't always hold the bars where they' should) and the padded cover on the stem clamp. This offers a tiny bit of protection when there's a clumsy dismount. It's a really neat idea, but a bit more padding would make it better still .

The saddle passed the test on the bases of there being no complaints. It was nice and soft and seemed to be a good shape. It's fixed atop the seat pin with no adjustment, which means nothing to go wrong. The seat pin as enough adjustment to cater for an age range of 18 months to five years.

About Hornit

Founded by former lawyer and Ironman athlete Tom de Pelet, the Exeter based company only started in 2012 with a range of accessories including the world's loudest bike horn. In the years since it has brought more products in to it's range, including lights, helmets, cycle storage and eventually, bikes. The Hornet Airo being their first and only children's bike in the range.

The Scott Foil 10 was selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

Scott's Foil has gained a reputation for being the 'roadman(or woman)'s aero race bike - it's optimized to be fast, but in the process hasn't lost some of the characteristics often bestowed on lightweight all-rounders.

The 2021 iteration has a new party trick of complete cable integration, made possible by the Syncros Creston iC SL Carbon combo cockpit which was first released via the Addict. In fact, the two bikes look very similar and there's definitely the beginnings of a convergence of the brand's lightweight and aero bikes.

Every time Cycling Weekly has tested a new model, we've been blown away by this bike - and this frame is near identical to the 2020 version, all that's changed is the front end. So it's no surprise that we were impressed.

Scott Foil 10: Frame

Despite its similarity to the GC bike, the Addict, the Scott Foil has all the hallmarks of an aero design: Scott's own patented aero shapes at the down tube, head tube, seat tube, seat post and seat stays - which of course are dropped. It gains a little weight in the process, our size medium came in at 7.8kg.

The bottom bracket area is chunky and ready for those all-out sprints, and of course there's the new integration via the Syncros Creston iC SL Carbon combo front end.

This bar and stem combo sweeps back into an aero design, and also promises additional comfort - whilst we don't have a windtunnel to test the former claim, the latter was something we certainly noticed coming through in the ride when comparing to the outgoing version.

The cable routing is entirely internal - so you won't be noticing any of those nasty paint-wear marks over time and of course there's the minutest of aero savings promised - plus the overall aesthetics.

The system is one we've discussed at length with local bike shop mechanics, it sees the cables run through the bar, into the headset and into the frame and of the systems out there it's not a total pig to work with (though to be clear - internal cables will always be more time consuming to replace than external, at least this decade).

Scott also includes its aero cover over the disc brake calipers - this attaches via a magnet, and we noticed on very long mountainous descents, tiny shavings of rotor actually became attached to the cover - though perhaps this was a symptom of the breaks wearing in!

Split spacers mean that front end adjustments are fairly easy, though the aero top cap means that you'll have to use a round version until you chop the steerer if you are dropping the bars.

There's space for tyres up to 30mm, which is a nice to have, though we'd currently be sticking with the specced 28mms on a bike designed for racing.

The Foil is a little higher than some competitors - a size Medium (550mm headtube) carries a stack of 547.5mm and a reach of 388.9mm. However, there's plenty of adjustment available via the spacers, so I can't see a rider seeking a long and low position having any issues there. Comparatively, a Cannondale SystemSix comes with a 540mm, a difference that could be achieved with less than a 10mm spacer. The 72.5º had angle and 987mm wheelbase make for snappy handling, more so than competitors in this aero arena.

The spec

This Scott Foil comes sporting SRAM Force eTap AXS, which in our experience has always been an excellent system - featuring nearly all the rewards of SRAM Red eTap AXS but at a more friendly price tag.

Most of the finishing kit comes from Scott's Syncros brand, including the Syncros Capital 1.0 50 disc wheels. These certainly are not a case of providing stock wheels under the expectation you will upgrade, they're fast and responsive and didn't seem to slow me down. The very same wheels feature on the higher end Scott Foil Pro bike, retailing at £8,099 - which gives you an idea where these belong on the scale.

The tyres are the excellent Schwalbe ONE Race-Guard Tires, in 28mm - and these complement the bike no end, offering comfort to the chassis as well as excellent cornering grip.

Scott has also adorned this model with the  Syncros Duncan 1.0 Aero seatpost, which is d-shaped and aims to reduce road buzz, something we'd say it does very effectively considering the aero nature of the frame and balanced ride quality on offer.

The ride

The Foil is an utter dream race bike to ride. It’s fast, stiff, climbs with grace and just looks so stylish, with its metallic finish purple blue paint-job, you catch a lot of eyes on the road. When you pass it in the hall or happen to enter the garage you can't help but spare longingly at it. It makes you want to ride.

The most notable talking point on the Scott Foil is the way it manages to so elegantly balance the speed requirements of an aero bike with the cornering and climbing capabilities that come sometimes be lost in the pursuit of all out speed.

The frame and wheels together definitely upped my pace - I found myself easily setting time PBs on just about every Strava segment whenever I turned on the gas, finding myself comfortably sitting at 32Kph on a long straight stretch of road without feeling the pinch. Even on the climbs this thing is fast.

There is the obvious comfort trade-off when riding a bike this fast is the ride quality – it’s never going to be a comfortable all-day bike for those who want to relax into their ride. However, enough has been done via the extra compliance at the handlebar and seatpost, plus the addition of 28mm tyres, that it's not a bumpy ride either.

Value

Of course, the £5399 price tag is a heavy investment - but it's in line with the competition. A Trek Madone SL 7 comes with Shimano Ultegra Di2, costing £5450 whilst the Giant Propel Advanced Pro 0 disc also with Shimano Dura ace will set you back £5299 - each coming with finishing kit, including wheels, from the brand's in-house roster.

In February 2019, SRAM changed the bike industry with the release of AXS. SRAM wasn't actually the first to drop 12 speed, but it was the only brand to announce a completely wireless system.

If you want the best, then SRAM AXS 1x is the obvious selection. However, the SRAM Rival 1x11 mechanical groupset represents some of the best value on the market. If you are looking at a new bike something with SRAM Rival 1x11 is often a marker of that first jump from best pricing to higher performance and it also makes a great option if you want to reinvigorate an older bike.

Shifters

There's no way to get away from comparisons to Shimano when it comes to a discussion of any groupset. For most people the first experience with integrated brake/shifter setups on drop bar bikes is going to be Shimano. When it comes to SRAM there's a noticeable difference to the shape of the upper part of the shifters.

Unlike a cable pulled brake groupset, hydraulic disc groupsets need extra space above the brake lever. It's here that the master cylinder and fluid reservoir live. The SRAM design is boxier and taller than what you will find with a Shimano setup. As someone who likes to spend time holding that top section, when things get long and flat, I prefer the SRAM style. It's not a huge difference but it's subtly more comfortable. 

Comfort also comes into play for those with smaller hands. A long shift lever helps with leverage and modulation when braking hard but if you have smaller hands it may be a hard reach. Both the brake and shift levers feature independent reach adjustment requiring only a small twist of a hex wrench.

Chainset

When it comes to a 1x setup arguably the piece that gets all the attention is the front chainset. Using only one chainring means weight savings as well as simplicity. For most people it's the simplicity that is the best feature.

When it comes to gravel riding it's easy to see the advantages of the simplicity 1x brings. Let your concentration remain with how to handle the environment instead of deciding which front chainring to use. If you guess the gearing wrong it's only a small adjustment to change gears and it's unlikely to upset the chassis of the bike.

The tall, square, profile to the teeth, that SRAM calls X-SYNC, helps to engage the chain earlier than a traditional triangle tooth profile. When things get dusty, dirty, or muddy, there is a rounded slope to the edge of the tooth that helps make sure the chain continues to engage. With all that in mind, don't discount the utility of 1x drivetrains on the road. The array of 38T, 40T, 42T, 44T, 46T, 48T and 50T chainrings make plenty of gearing combinations available.

Whatever chainring you choose, SRAM Rival 1 cranksets use a forged aluminum construction. Forged aluminum is a good option to balance performance and price. Weight comes in at a quoted 799 grams for a 172.5 crank arm length, no bottom bracket, and a 42 tooth chainring. If you need a different crank arm length options include 165mm, 170mm, 172.5mm, 175mm.

Rear Derailleur

The Rival 1 rear derailleur is available in a long cage or medium cage version with a max tooth compatibility of 42, or 36 teeth. All of the technologies offered on the Force 1 derailleur show up on the Rival 1 derailleur as well. The only exception is a short cage version available at the Force level. Weight is also a differentiator between the two although it's a small difference. The claimed weight of 269 grams for a medium cage makes the Rival 1 rear derailleur 8 grams heavier than the equivalent Force version.

For me the most exciting part of the Rival 1 groupset is the rear derailleur. This is a groupset that just works and differentiation comes down to the little things. Two little things that set the SRAM Rival 1 rear derailleur apart are the roller bearing clutch and Cage Lock technology.

SRAM isn't unique in using clutch technology on a rear derailleur. What is unique is that there's no on and off switch for the Rival 1 groupset. I have never once felt like I needed to reduce whatever small amount of drag exists because of the clutch on a derailleur. On the other hand, I have many times forgotten to re-engage a clutch after a wheel change. It's a small detail but it makes the whole experience more pleasant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrQV8qtKscw

Along the same lines is the Cage Lock feature. Move the bottom section of the derailleur forward to remove tension from the chain. Once in place, press a small button to lock it there, and now it's a simple thing to put the bike on a trainer or change the wheel. It's not a new feature and it's not a headline feature but it's the kind of thing that makes a real difference in day-to-day use.

Brakes

The SRAM Rival 1 hydraulic disc brakes are a thing of beauty. With the progress of time and technology, the best braking power has moved its way down the lineup - this performance now mirrors that of SRAM Red just a few years back. 

The system is fully sealed and consists of forged aluminum disc calipers with steel-backed organic pads. Modulation is more than good enough for one finger braking.

Over technical gravel sections my preferred grip is thumb over the top of the hoods and four fingers on the front of the drop bar. I keep only my index finger wrapped around the very top of the lever and even with this grip there's more than enough power available.

The one thing of note about the brakes is the use of DOT 5:1 fluid. Shimano brakes use mineral oil and swapping the two is not possible. Both Shimano and SRAM have technical documents outlining why they chose the respective fluids they chose. Both companies cite heat and water management as the reason that their fluid of choice is superior. In my experience they both perform the equally well, what's more important is that you use the correct fluid for your system.

The Ride

If you've never used SRAM before what you've likely heard about is Double Tap shifting. It does not mean two pushes to shift. Instead, it means one lever handles both upshifts and downshifts. When out on the bike, the Double Tap experience is what dominates my perception of the Rival 1 groupset.

It's so simple: push on the shift lever until it clicks a single time to move the chain one sprocket down the cassette into a harder gear. Push the shift lever past that first click, until you hear a second click to move the chain up the cassette a single sprocket. Push past both clicks, then release, and the chain will move up the cassette multiple sprockets. If you are moving from Shimano it's not hard to relearn the system and there are some advantages.

If you like to spend time in the drops the Double Tap system is easy to use. The brake lever is the farthest forward so it's not in the way of the shift lever. You can also either adjust the shift lever back towards the bars, or just hold it there when you want to, and it makes reaching from the drops even easier. 

Outside of the Double Tap experience, my overall impression is that Rival 1 is a system that works well. Braking is solid. Shifting is fast and precise, and the hood shape is comfortable. Comparing the clutch to Shimano I find SRAM does a slightly better job controlling movement, but it's only a nitpick.

Value 

Modern groupsets are very good. It really comes down to the small differences. In the case of SRAM, the Cage Lock Technology on the rear derailleur is a big selling point but is unlikely to be the deciding factor. Feel the levers in your hands and see what you like. If you choose SRAM the real question is which groupset makes sense.

The Rival 1 Hydraulic Disc groupset has an MSRP of $950/~ £979 and a weight of 2690g.  The next logical move up the range is the Force 1 groupset. Force 1 has an MSRP of $1350/~ £1234, has all the same technologies, and weighs in at 2446g. If you are choosing the exact same setup it doesn't make much sense to choose Force over Rival unless that's how a bike comes.

What's more interesting is that once you've made the price jump up to Force a good deal on a Force AXS 1x12 system starts to come into reach. Rival gives all the performance you need at a great price. If you have the money for something more expensive Force AXS is the best upgrade, just don't overlook the cost of replacement parts when making a choice.

If you were looking for someone to design you a gravel bike frameset you’d be hard pushed to find anyone more suited to the task than Tom Ritchey. After all this is a man who started riding drop bar bikes off-road decades before it became a ‘thing’. He continues to log tens of thousands of miles on such terrain, feeding back a lifetime of reconnaissance into the frames and products he designs under his own name. So it’s safe to say that my expectations for the Ritchey Outback gravel frameset were very high indeed.

If this were a movie review I’d need to issue a spoiler alert here. The Outback met and in fact surpassed these expectations. The reason I'm declaring this here is that I would have found it next-to-impossible to bury my admiration for the Outback deeper in the review.

Frame details

The Ritchey Outback is now in its second incarnation. The 2020 model benefits from some pretty substantial updates from the first-gen offering. Whereas the original was more of a monstercross machine, the latest Outback is more versatile, reflecting the widening sphere that gravel riding now operates in.

Firstly, there’s the increased tire clearance, which means you can now run 700c x 48m or 650b x 2.0” rubber.  Then there’s the completely reworked adventure fork, an all-carbon affair with multi-purpose mounts, helping to make the Outback even more bikepacking friendly. There are also rack and mudguard (fender) mounts plus three more for cages. Other changes include a frame that now accepts flat mount disc brakes.  Finally there are a few geometry tweaks, most notably longer chainstays, which now measure 453mm, and an increased wheelbase; my size medium measured 1060.4mm. 

But fortunately a few important features remain. The Outback uses Ritchey’s proprietary triple-butted Logic steel tubing, which is heralded for its blend of comfort and responsiveness. It also features a 68mm threaded bottom bracket and external cable routing. Tom Ritchey is adamant in his belief that both these standards make sense for most bikes and most bike riders. I would largely agree. I’ve never been a fan of pressfit bottom brackets because of the super tight tolerances required to ensure they remain creak-free.

Equally, my time spent working as a mechanic has given me a general disdain for internally routed cables too. And while hidden cables make sense on a race bike from both an aesthetic and aerodynamic perspective, the Outback is designed for adventure. If I’m heading into the unknown I want cables I can see both for easy diagnosis and simplicity of repair.

The Outback is beautifully refined in its appearance, even if gravel bikes probably aren't renowned for their elegance. Across the frame the thin-walled Logic steel tubing lends it a classic feel.

There are a number of touches that ooze understated sophistication and reflect the all-round high build quality. The forged and machined straight headtube with its integrated headset cups bucks the tapered trend but looks all the better for it. The integrated seat collar (which takes a 27.2mm seatpost) is equally stylish as are the dropouts designed around a 12mm thru-axle standard. All in all, it’s a classy looking machine with a real timeless quality that perhaps only steel can deliver.

The Outback is only available as a frameset. This speaks to its versatility and allows you to build it up in a number of ways, including with both a 1x and 2x drivechain. My review bike is best described as a lightweight gravel grinder. It includes a 1x Praxis Zaynte carbon chainset alongside Shimano GRX hydro shifters and rear derailleur. Then there’s a prototype Ritchey carbon 650b wheelset shod with Ultradynamico Cava 47mm tires. Cockpit and finishing kit comes courtesy of Ritchey’s top end WCS line, including its new Toyon gravel stem and Beacon gravel bars. The handlebars are very distinctive and worthy of their own review, which you can read here.

The ride

Jumping on the Outback my initial impressions were dominated by two sensations: one of stability and one of comfort. 

Lengthening the frame’s wheelbase clearly works as I was immediately taken with just how solid the bike felt. On the road this had me feeling very centered, a position I could settle into for hours if required. On my first few rides I was pleased at just how easily the Outback ate up the tarmac, feeling assured and stable at all times.

When I reached the trails this perceptible stability really shone through. Loose gravel and sand can often result in a bike squirming a little but the Outback held firm, even at slower speeds. Tackling steep woodland paths I always felt in control thanks to the Outback’s reliable handling. As I got to know the bike a little better this meant I could go faster and try bolder lines, buoyed by the confidence that I’d gained from those first few rides.

And as for comfort? The Outback is genuinely one of the most comfortable frames I have ever ridden. First impressions were that it felt full of life, just like a few other high-quality steel frames I’ve ridden; compliant without ever feeling dull. As my time spent aboard the Outback increased I sought out harsher surfaces. Each time it responded with a resilience that was impressive. City streets littered with cracks and potholes. Rutted tracks with an abundance of tree roots. Gravel paths with large, loose stones. None of them were a match for the Outback. It offered feedback but provided an ample buffer against challenging surfaces. So much so I started to think of it as something of a magic carpet. My back and legs agreed!

There was also another attribute of the Outback’s ride quality that really sang. And one that I found a little more surprising. The bike was both fast and very lively. It responded positively when I really pushed on the pedals, accelerating quickly on both flat roads and inclines. The front end felt genuinely snappy.  So a surprise, but a very pleasant one indeed.

When it comes to the ride qualities I’m looking for in a gravel bike, stable, comfortable yet responsive pretty much covers it.  And the Outback delivers this with aplomb. But what I really came to appreciate the more I rode it, and why I’m just so enamored with this bike, is how Ritchey has seamlessly blended these elements into the Outback’s design. At no point did I feel that one came at the expense of the other. Rather they are sublimely balanced, counter-weighted to deliver a bike that responds to your demands and to the riding conditions. When I needed it to connect me to the road it did. When I required it to deliver assurance it answered. And when I needed comfort it provided it in spades. The Outback proves that ‘nimble’ and ‘stable’ aren’t mutually exclusive in a frame’s design. 

A versatile frameset

Chatting with Fergus Liam, Ritchey’s US marketing manager, he’d described the Outback as “a quiver killer.” As a phrase it stuck with me. On my rides I found myself contemplating whether the Outback was indeed that uniquely adaptable kind of bike, capable of replacing several others in your stable. Certainly, its high build quality and its blend of new standards such as flat mount disc brakes with the tried-and-tested threaded bottom bracket make it a frameset with plenty of longevity. 

Equally its superb balance of comfort and responsiveness make it ideal not just for bikepacking adventures but also as a frameset perfectly suited to endurance gravel races and even randonneur and audax events too. Build it up with some carbon 700c wheels and a carbon cockpit and you have a sub-8.6 kgs / 19lbs bike that would be racy yet compliant, ideal for those long days in the saddle. Add some mudguards (fenders) into the mix and you’ve got a reliable winter road bike too. Armed with two sets of wheels it’s fair to say you’d have a bike that could handle a variety of riding conditions without compromise. A ‘quiver killer’ indeed.

With a view to fairness, I attempted to find some things that I didn’t like about the Outback. But I really couldn’t find anything of a serious nature. The rear derailleur cable is routed along the top tube and down the rear stay rather than along the downtube and under the bottom bracket shell and chainstay. It might suggest that fitting a frame bag could cause interference with the cable. However, Ritchey says it chose this routing as it offers both the best approach angle to the rear derailleur and keeps the cable out of the muck. It’s a decision apparently based on the feedback they received from its Swiss Cross cyclocross frameset. As for fitting a frame bag, if you’re concerned about it impacting on your shifting you can easily run a length of housing between the two frame stops.

Then there's the colour. It's the only one the Outback is currently available in. Ritchey calls it Guac y Crema. Personally I grew to like it but it might not be to everyones tastes. Either way if you’re thinking about buying an Outback I’d urge you not to let this be a deal breaker. It’s also worth noting that Ritchey often adds an additional colour after a year or more. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Outback in a secondary colour sometime in 2021. 

Price as reviewed: $1399 / £1300 (frameset only)

Frame

• Frame Material: heat-treated, triple-butted Ritchey Logic steel tubing - TIG welded
• Rack and fender mounts
• Ultra-light forged and machined straight 1-1/8" headtube
• WCS headset included (upper IS42/28.6 - 16mm stack height | lower IS42/30)
• 142mm spacing (12mm alloy thru-axle included)
• Replaceable stainless-steel derailleur hanger
• 27.2mm seat tube with integrated seat collar (max torque setting: 6Nm)
• Front derailleur clamp size: 28.6mm (max torque setting: 2.5Nm) - not included
• Bottom bracket: 68mm - English threaded
• Can accommodate 1X or 2X chainrings
• Crankset min/max ring size - single: 36 to 46t / double: 46/30t to 50/34t 
• External cable routing

Fork

• New Ritchey Carbon Adventure Fork with multi-purpose, rack and fender mounts
• 1-1/8" straight steerer with integrated 45-degree crown race 
• 100mm spacing (12mm alloy thru-axle included)
• Steerer length: 300mm
• Axle-crown: 393mm
• Rake/Offset: 50mm
• Fork max payload: 3kg per side 

The HJC Ibex 2.0 helmet was selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

Automation can be a good thing. There are some jobs that just become tedious and if there's an easier way of doing it or even better, something to do it for me, then I'm all for it. I never felt this way about my cycle helmet and it's almost standardised dial system for fitting it to your head until, that is, I tested the HJC Ibex 2.0.

HJC has fitted what it calls its Selfit system in the Ibex 2.0, in contrast to the usual dial based cradle used by other brands. This is effectively a sprung loaded variation that automatically adjusts itself to provide what HJC deems to be the correct amount of retention pressure to your cranium in order to keep the helmet from rattling off your head. I was at first sceptical, expecting it to slip and feel unsafe during the first ride and with the thought in the back of my mind that it would pop off, leaving my head exposed, in the event of a crash. This was of course not the case, in fact the system provided one of the most comfortable experiences of wearing a cycle helmet I've had so far. It also suddenly made me realise that I have probably been over tightening my helmets over recent years.

The system can also be adjusted for head size before use to further alter the level of retention if so needed. The fit of my medium helmet was spot on and despite having a head size at the lower end of the recommended span (56cm) it didn't make the overall size too large and cumbersome.

What also makes this comfort even more unexpected is HJC provide the bare minimum of internal padding, just a section across the brow. There is an optional extra pad you can add to the crown of the inside but I honestly never felt the need for it. To add to this comfort the straps of the Ibex 2.0 are very soft and supple and, like the rest of the helmet, were quickly forgotten about whilst riding.

The Ibex 2.0 is also very light, weighing in at 223 grams for the medium test helmet. This is a little over what HJC claim but is still up there as one of the lighter helmets on the market.

Airflow is also very good thanks to the sixteen vents strategically placed around the shell and it coped admirably during our (sadly, since passed) hot summer. It's also good to note that not only did the helmet interact well with a range of different brand eyewear but it also has a simple solution for placing said eyewear when not needed.

The only aspect of the Ibex 2.0 that I feel lets it down slightly is the lack of any additional safety measures such as MIPS that have been proven to increase your protection in the event of a crash. I would be prepared to put up with a little extra weight in response to the extra reassurance this technology can bring.

In terms of value, whilst £200 is a considerable amount of money to pay, it is less than most of the other brands top level helmets.

How do we score products? Check out the scale here

The Specialized S-Works Aethos was selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

We must note that this bike was £10,750 at time of review, before a price rise saw it increase to £11,750. The model pictured was photographed ahead of testing, and the set-up is not as tested. 

"I ride my bike to feel more alive... and this bike just does exactly that."

That was my first impression of the Specialized Aethos. In hindsight, it sounds a bit excessive - as I type my heart is pumping, my breath is breathing and there's no need to put an ad in the local newspaper just yet. However, I stand by the statement. The Aethos embodies how I want to feel when I ride a bike.

Specialized designed the Aethos as part of an experiment. Aim: design a bike thats sole purpose is to excel in ride quality. It's rare that I'll completely agree that a brand has met its remit - but honestly, I think the Aerthos has cracked it. If you ride for the love of riding, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this bike to you. As always, there are some caveats to this statement though...

The frame

The Aethos is extremely traditional in its aesthetic. Indeed, it looks like Specialized's own SL4. With its traditional round tubes and high seatstay bridge, it also reminds me of the Werking custom bike I had designed for me a couple of years ago.

However, the brand says this frame hasn't been pulled directly from the 1990s. We'd have to simply take their word for it, were it not for the weight: at 585g (for a barely painted) size 56. My size 52 has a claimed frame weight of 565g, plus about 25g for the Chameloen Red paintjob.

The stiffness to weight outperforms both Canyon's Ultimate CF Evo, using independent testers Zedler, and it also outperforms the Tarmac SL6 - so no need to be worried about floppyness. The max rider weight is 125kg - just like the brand's other frames, so it's not expected to crack - though this is an assessment for long term testing.

We have to trust the brand's description of how reached this industry lead setting stiffness to weight ratio. Reportedly, it used new tube shapes that are round but merge to become conical at key stress points, allowing for a reduction in carbon plies - check out the launch story for more detail on the manufacturing process. 

The previous leading frame in the lightweight disc brake stakes was the Canyon Ultimate CF Evo - at 668g, according to the Zedler test, where my size XS was 5.98kg built. Whilst Specialized has taken a big chunk off the competition in terms of frame weight, this size 52 comes in at 5.95kg.

The lesser difference in built weight is because the American brand has bypassed some measures which would drop the mass - such as fitting a full carbon saddle. It's also used a threaded bottom bracket, which is heavier than press fit but makes home maintenance a lot easier.

The seatpost uses a standard 27.2 diameter, and the S-Works model comes with a two-piece bar and stem, with internal cable routing that disappears into the frame at the top tube and downtube, the cables are on show beneath the handlebars - again making maintenance easier.

The disc brakes are flat mount, and Specialized has made this bike compatible with 160mm rotors only - front and rear (due to a mixture of weight saving measures on the front fork and customer trends).

Geometry wise, though it's not being marketed as a 'race bike' (due to the Tarmac hitting the UCI weight limit and being more aerodynamic, thus faster), the Aethos shares most of its numbers with its World Tour winning sibling.

On my size 52, the wheelbase (975mm) and headangle (72.5º) match. The stack/reach look to be different (527/380 vs 517/382 on the SL7). However, this is mostly because the Tarmac has an unmovable spacer so the reality of the fit is identical - if you take the cockpit out of the equation.

Out on the bike, I felt that the size 52 Aethos was shorter vs the Tarmac. Measuring the tip of the saddle to the end of the shifter, I found it was, marginally. However, checking the headtube, top tube and bar reach, I couldn't establish why. In short - the geometry is very close, any small difference could be corrected via a stem swap.

If anything, I imagine my desire to be longer and more stretched out on the Aethos comes from my feeling more comfortable and at home one it, and feeling less fatigue running through my upper body. The body makes up 80 per cent of drag, so if being comfortable on a more springy frame means I can get longer and lower, I'm all for it and I'd be interested to test the science of which is actually faster.

Build

This S-Works Tarmac comes wearing Shimano Dura Ace Di2 (with dual sided power meter). Of course, it shifts excellently and the brakes are responsive. Personally, I prefer SRAM Red eTap in the 'lecky gears' stakes, but notably SRAM is a few hundred grams heavier. So the Di2 fits the lightweight build.

The Power Arc saddle is a practical choice, and whilst it's not my favourite, I've yet to find anyone who finds the Power a real pain in the bum - so it's an excellent choice for an all-round bottom pleaser.

The 'short and shallow' carbon bars feel great on the drops - I really enjoyed having a standard, traditional bar in my grip. I would like the reach to be a little longer, but I could fix that with a stem swap.

I do think the alloy stem and spacers - which are wider in diameter - ruin the look of this bike a bit. The Roval Alpenist handlebar recently released would create a cleaner look, in my opinion.

The Alpenist wheels in 33m diameter work perfectly with this bike, and 26mm Turbo Cotton tyres are a treat - though neither is tubeless ready which seems like a major omission in 2020. This said, Specialized had riders running clinchers and latex tubes at the Tour de France, so perhaps tubeless isn't the only way to go as has been frequently touted as of late.

This build comes in at £11,750 (£10,750 at time of review). Sure, the frame is record breaking. However, I can't help but point out that you could build a bike entirely to your own specifications via a custom builder, for less. You wouldn't get a 585g frame, but you would likely get a responsive and lively ride quality, and a custom geometry.

The ride

Riding the Aethos away from my home in Caterham Valley, I've never smiled so widely at passing cyclists.

Whilst aero race bikes are undeniably fast, and from a technical perspective, I can't knock them, they numb a little bit of the enjoyment of cycling for me. The Aethos brought everything I've been crying out for - somewhat vocally - all year.

Every pedal stroke feels determined and effective in providing forward momentum - much more so than on an aero bike. I realise this goes against physics, and it's an impossibility - the aero bike will require fewer watts for the same effect. But it doesn't feel as good.

Nailing into corners, this bike seems to move with me - like an extension of my body, as opposed to a machine that I'm driving. I'd put this down to the extra lateral flex afforded by this frame shape.

The Aethos does feel a bit softer at the rear end when compared with a more aero bike, like the Tarmac SL7. However, over the course of a long ride, I found the extra compliance an asset - but this will be down to personal preference. The front end is definitely stiff enough and offers excellent transmission to the road creating a directness that I loved.

It's pretty hard to put a number on exactly how many watts you're losing in aerodynamics. My experience so far has been that this bike is still fast - it's just not necessarily a PB setter.

For comparison's sake, I did my standard test loop on the Aethos, riding at a sub-tempo, day-to-day pace. It's 53km/33 miles with 713 metres/2339 feet of Kentish climbing. On the Aethos, I averaged 29.4kph/18.2mph. It was a notably windy day. My average power was 170watts; I didn't set a single PR on a segment. Comparatively, the same route on the Tarmac SL7, I averaged 28.6kph/17.7mph at 172 watts, but I did pick up a couple of segment PRs.

I have to stress that this is not a controlled experiment in any way - these were different weather conditions. The aerodynamics of the Tarmac SL7 certainly showed when I raced myself on a time trial circuit, at 230watts/22mph/34kph and the benefit would increase with speed. The takeaway is that I would not expect your average speed to drop by a lot on your daily rides due to this bike's lack of aero features. You would lose the edge during race efforts - but then, that's not what the Aethos is for.

On the Sunday club run, I felt like I was in the form of my life riding this bike, and notably it was pointed out that I seemed to be the strongest of the day as we rounded the route off.

The race feel and non-aero nature of this bike could arguably limit the Aethos' appeal. However, not necessarily so when you look at the number of cyclists who jump on their bikes every weekend for the pure, unadulterated joy of pedalling.

If all you want is to win races, the SL7 is the sensible choice. If you want phenomenal ride quality to boot, personally, I'd recommend the SL6. If I was spending my money, that's what I'd do. However, there are a lot of riders out there to whom racing is irrelevant. If that's you, then the Aethos could be for you, too.

Value

The S-Works model of this bike comes in at £11,750. At time of review, it was £10,750. Either way, that's expensive, you could see a custom frame builder and get something made to measure for less.

However, this frame was three years in the making. It is the lightest disc brake frame on the market, and trickle down technology benefits the entire market. In fact, Specialized says that leanings from this frame did influence that of the Tarmac SL7 and its recent Epic mountain bike launch. That doesn't help you if you're counting your pennies and can't make them stretch this far. What might help you is the knowledge that the Aethos will be a product family, and therefore we can expect lower spec options to arrive soon.

With those comments in mind, my only really quibble with the prize is that I personally think that a customer burning £11,750 would be in their right to want the neater looking Alpenist handlebar.

In 2013 two fathers, Christian Bezdeka and Marcus Ihlenfeld, joined forces to build bikes for kids in a garage in Vienna Austria. The Woom bike company was born. The story is a familiar one for the few companies out there who dedicate themselves to bikes for kids.

>>> Best kids' bikes reviewed 

Christian and Marcus are passionate about bikes and want to share that with their own kids. Looking at what was available led them to believe they had something to offer the world community. Seven years later Woom offers 12 bikes spanning a range of ages from a year and half up to 14 years old. I took a look at the woom Off AIR 5 designed for the most dedicated of young mountain bikers in the 7-11 age range.

The Frame

The woom Off AIR 5 frame uses the most current technology available to build a high-end aluminum frame. Butted and hydroformed tubing saves weight where possible and allows for precise shaping. On adult bikes, this is somewhat standard but kids' bikes often lack attention to detail.

The original Woom Off models had a carbon fork paired with the high-quality aluminum frame. In the woom Off AIR models, there is a 4.5lb, in the size for the Woom Off 5, suspension fork upfront. Like a quality adult hardtail mountain bike, the suspension is adjustable depending on rider needs. Turn the adjuster all the way and it locks out completely. If you'd like to swap in the suspension fork to a non-air Woom Off it is available alone as a $269 (~£208) upgrade.

When it comes to the geometry of the woom Off AIR 5 there is plenty of thought about what will help young riders most.  Comparing the woom Off AIR 5 to another 24"-wheel bike the wheelbase is almost 2" longer.  When you lengthen the wheelbase of a bike you add stability at the expense of snappy handling. This isn't a bike designed for tight switchbacks but for stability at speed. There's also a kinked, dropped, top tube that makes for a low standover height on what is an otherwise large bike for a 24"-wheel frame.

The Spec

More than any other place it's the spec sheet that sets the woom Off AIR 5 apart from the competition. Woom is offering a combination of components that almost doesn't exist on other bikes in the market.

Upfront you've got a 28-tooth narrow-wide chainring. Combined with the 28 tooth chainring is 9 speed 11-34 gearing in the rear. For my own riding, I always look for at least a 1:1 ratio for off-road riding. For kids, 1:1 is the minimum both on-road and off. It can be hard to find but any kid that rides anything other than flat roads will appreciate it.

Control of the shifting at the handlebars happens via a SRAM trigger shifter with a SRAM x5 derailleur moving the chain at the back of the bike. Next to the trigger shifter, there are front and rear brake levers controlling Promax hydraulic disc brakes. There are 140mm rotors both front and rear. The brake levers, cranks, and grips are all sized appropriately to make it easy for small hands.

The Ride

I didn't ride the woom Off AIR 5. It's actually well-built, and big enough, that it's not impossible but I elected not to try it out. What I can report is how my boy did when riding the woom Off AIR 5.

The first ride was around the neighborhood. A few blocks to make sure everything was working as it should. The disc brakes and thru axles meant an easy setup but I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

My boy is a tall 8-year-old and has been riding a 24"-wheel bike for about a year now. The woom Off AIR 5 is a pretty big bike. The long weelbase and large 2.35″ Schwalbe Rocket Ron tires really drive home the bulkiness of it. Even with the low standover height, and weight that matches his other much smaller bike, I wasn't sure how he would do with the size of the woom Off AIR 5. As it turns out he had no complaints and was able to ride without ever seeming to notice the size of the bike. From my vantage point, it looked more stable under him than his previous bike.

https://youtu.be/qAYEHCZm4wI

The next ride I took him on was a mellow trail ride. It's a short section that I love to do on my gravel bike and I thought it would be a good test of the Woom. It's not technical but it has plenty of rocks and rough stuff. My boy isn't a mountain biker and this was his first time riding off-road. The trail uphill consisted of the normal amount of complaining about riding up a hill. The descent consisted of pure joy and the only one who was nervous was me.

Notice there was no mention of the actual bike. It disappeared under him. The bike wasn't once mentioned either on the way up or the way down. He'd never been on a rocky trail, and he often gets nervous on short road descents, but he was going around 15mph down the trail with no nervousness. There's no way I could ask for more of any bike.

Value

Woom bikes (pronounced something like vroom and less like womb) are not the least expensive bikes on the market. High-quality frames, thoughtful design, and great components are all items that put an upward pressure on the price. Remember though, value is more than price.

The time in a child's life when a Woom bike is appropriate is when a parent sets a life trajectory. If you care about bikes and you want your child to care about bikes then consider getting them the right tool for the job. Woom claims that children learn up to three times faster on their bikes than competitors. I'm not prepared to back up that claim one way or the other but a good bike will help a child concentrate on learning to ride. Spending time on the bike shouldn't be about the struggle of getting it to work. It's hard enough to learn something new. Don't add in equipment issues.

Start looking at 9 speed, suspension fork, hydraulic disc bikes, and Woom will look like a pretty good deal. There are only a few other options in the same league and Woom is a deal compared to them. Woom also offers a 40% trade-in program to help with the second bike as a kid grows. Even still, I'd recommend selling the Off Air 5 privately. High-quality kids bikes hold their value in a way that is unheard of for adult bikes.

Bikepacking bags are an odd thing aren’t they? Such a specific piece of kit with such a niche usage - what’s to stop me buying a set of straps and using a carrier bag to attach my kit to my bike and riding in the direction of the horizon? In the spirit of bikepacking it’s this writer’s opinion that that is a perfectly reasonable option and in no way should hold an adventure from taking place, but it is also in this writer’s experience that a good set of bikepacking bags make life on the road a lot easier and more fun.

A quality set doesn’t have to be an overly expensive outlay for those on the cusp of becoming a two wheeled nomad thanks to Passport Cycles.

>>> Best bikes for bikepacking

Construction

Let’s start with the handlebar bag. This waterproof 210D nylon dry-bag affixes to your handlebars with ease thanks to the two velcro straps that are fixed into the bag.

These straps tighten down on themselves and hold true even over the most rocky terrain and really that’s all you need, they also feature in built padded grippers to add to the solid retention.

While the handlebar bag is simple in design there are a couple of features that are really quite helpful too: two light mounts up front, a reflective printed logo and a reinforced tarpaulin base made from 500D tarpaulin that ensures even the most aggressive conditions remain on the outside of the bag. 

The frame pack follows suit with it’s simplistic yet functional design - the same mix of 210D/500D tarpaulin is used and three sizes are available to fit frames of all dimensions.

The inside of the bag is lined with a hi-viz yellow inner too meaning all the bits and bobs you carry should be easier to find. With access from only the right side of the bag you may find your readily accessible essentials would fit more comfortably in the accompanying top tube pack (not tested)

Finally the seat pack - there’s a little more to it.

Again a nylon outer features with an internal hi-vis liner but from here on you’ll find a few other features that make this part of the line the star of the show. Small details such as the rubberised fabric where the pack meets the seatpost or the two external pockets big enough for a tube or a couple of snacks make the bag so much easier to live with. With a really robust feel the difference in construction is tangible, if only for all the extra seams and additional means with which to carry such as the elastic cord on the exterior of the bag.

The Ride 

Removing my well thought out setup of bags from different brands I was apprehensive to get out there with a new set of unknown carriage for at least half the price. With a singular colour choice of grey the bags don’t look premium, but functionality is key when you’re miles from home and living out in the sticks. On the functionality front - I can’t fault Passport. I found the handlebar bags simplicity welcome, it stays where I put it, and doesn’t fill me with dread every time I remove it as is the case with other over complicated systems I’ve experienced.

It’s a similar story with the frame bag. The medium 3.3 litre bag on test carried everything I usually do with a little space left over, and with the yellow internal beaming out at me and the small inner pocket I found I spent less time fussing about finding the small item lost in the abyss of a frame bag and more time enjoying myself, it’s the little things that add up right?

And the seat pack, with the side pockets. Why doesn’t every seatpack have side pockets I wonder? Especially when many are double the price. Rolltop compartments are fantastic for weather sealing, but sometimes you just want access to something fast and having the option to divide items between the two just makes sense.

The one gripe I had was that the straps didn’t clamp down under the saddle maybe as tight as I’d like, but it’s offset by the two beefy closures that wrap the seatpost that do their fair share to admonish the evil under-saddle sway.

Value

Well now here is where Passport make their case. The seven litre saddle pack on test comes in at £59.99, with the medium frame bag and the handlebar bag at £32.50 and £34.99 respectively. To put that into perspective you could spend £120 and come away with just a saddle pack from other companies.

Getting insights into your heart rate, how it responds to exercise and how it varies over time is key to effective training. Despite the emphasis on power measurement, you need to couple this with heart rate data to understand how your fitness changes, how much effort you’re putting in to push out a specific number of watts and plan your training and recovery effectively. The Garmin HRM-Dual is one of the best heart rate monitors that you could use to get this data.

And the best way to get an accurate heart rate measurement as you train is to use a chest strap. Optical wrist based measurement may be more comfortable and less intrusive, but it can be a lot less accurate, particularly when you’re exercising, when the combination of motion and sweat is a problem.

The Garmin Edge range is the default choice for a GPS for many cyclists. If you haven’t bought your computer bundled with a heart rate strap and want to add one, the Garmin HRM-Dual is a logical choice. 

It’s worth bearing in mind however that the protocols used to communicate between a heart rate strap and a computer are generic. The Garmin HRM-Dual transmits via both the ANT+ protocol and Bluetooth LE, so you can use it with one of the best bike computers from other makes, too. I paired it over both ANT+ and Bluetooth with a Lezyne Super Pro GPS and via Bluetooth with Suunto and Polar smartwatches.

That works both ways and you could as easily pair a heart rate strap from another brand with a Garmin computer. The most obvious is the new Wahoo Tickr, which undercuts the Garmin HRM-Dual by £20 and is just as effective. 

But Garmin’s price isn’t too out of kilter with other HRM straps, with Polar charging £52.50 for its standard strap and £79.50 for its supposedly more accurate H10. Garmin has just introduced the HRM-Pro which offers on-device data storage and is priced at £120.

The Garmin HRM-Dual has a wide, comfortable, easily adjusted strap, which links up via a hook and loop closure on its right side. There’s a cloth tab to stop the fastening digging into you. Garmin’s HRM-Dual is unobtrusive when you’re exercising and I really didn’t notice that I was wearing it as I rode. 

Get the strap tension right and there’s little tendency for the strap to slip or for the trace to drop out while riding. As with any strap you do need to moisten the electrodes once you put it on, to get a good reading of your pulse.

Garmin’s strap is washable once the electronic unit has been removed. This is held in place by two press studs. It’s compact and low profile and powered by a CR2032 coin cell. Garmin says that this will power the HRM-Dual for 3 years, if used for an average hour a day. 

When you do need to replace the battery, you have to unscrew four small screws on the back of the unit. That’s a bit more fiddly than most HRMs which have a battery cover that you can twist off with a coin, although with the infrequent battery swaps, that’s not a big problem - as long as you can locate the appropriately sized screwdriver. 

So the Garmin HRM-Dual is comfortable, accurate and has long battery life, but it’s a bit more expensive than Wahoo’s equivalent heart rate monitor.

This jersey pairs with the Turbo shorts as part of Madison's indoor training kit, designed to boost comfort and therefore performance when your pain cave gets steamy.

Construction  

This jersey is specifically designed for indoor use, with its mesh fabric just about as lightweight as it could be. The fabric is treated with anti-bacterial coating and, unlike most cycling clothing can be washed at 60º to prevent the build up of nasty whiffs.

A full length zip helps if you get too warm, and while there is a hem gripper, it is absent from the sleeves. We tested the Acid Bolts colour scheme, which is redolent of the old Canyon-SRAM team kit, but plain black and a very striking Acid Fade are also available.

The jury is out when it comes to pockets on a jersey designed for turbo training. Some brands do add them, meaning you could easily use the piece of kit on outdoor rides in hot weather, whilst others do not - pointing out that this reduces the specificity as they're not necessary for indoor cycling. Madison has taken the latter approach - so there's no pockets here.

The Ride   

This jersey really is no more than a base layer with sleeves and a zip, the mesh is so fine you could easily read your copy of Cycling Weekly through it. The material is very breathable. Though there are heavier panels along the sides this makes no apparent difference to the wicking qualities, which are excellent for such a lightweight garment. It never once felt saturated.

While the Turbo jersey fitted well in the body, staying in place with help from hem grippers, I found the standard height collar was restrictive, making me uncomfortable and forcing me to undo the zip. With no extra-stretchy arm cuffs I also found the sleeves rode up when bending the arms to simulate a low aero position on the bike.

When I first looked at the jersey I thought the lack of pockets was a good idea, but when it came to carrying my phone, a couple of bottles and the other paraphernalia needed for a turbo session out to the turbo in the garage I missed them. Also, though removing pockets does make this garment more specific, adding them would make it wearable in more circumstances (eg, those infrequent UK heatwaves).

Value   

Coming in at £54.99, this jersey is cheaper than the competition (such as the Le Col x Wahoo model at £120). It comes at a good price if you feel you need a specialist jersey for your indoor sessions. The standout benefit is the ability to wash this, and the accompanying shorts at 60º which will certainly help with hygiene after hours of sweating.

If you're not riding your bike outside, then the indoor options generally fall into three camps: a turbo trainer, rollers, or a dedicated exercise bike.

There is however a fourth option - a bikemill, the biking alternative to a treadmill, like this model from Oreka.

>>> The best turbo trainers for indoor cycling: smart and standard turbo trainers reviewed ).

The Oreka 02 is a little different to a traditional treadmill, and indeed the Tacx version for cyclists, in that the rider drives the belt rather than the other way round. It uses an electromagnetic system that regulates the belt’s resistance via rollers, whilst hooking up to virtual training software, such as Zwift or Rouvey, to regulate the resistance.

>>> Oreka Training 05: the off-grid turbo trainer launched 

It's also important to state here that this isn't a bikemill equivalent of a smart turbo trainer, exercise bike or otherwise. It took me a while to leave these preconceived notions at the door. The feeling is a lot more like riding outdoors and you'll move around a lot more on the bike.

This system hasn't been designed as a powermeter trainer like a smart turbo/exercise bike.

In order to control the resistance, the 02 trainer does need to estimate how much power the rider is producing via a dual sensor system. The rear sensor measures the pulling and the front sensor measures the speed. Using both sensor's data (pulling force and speed), it creates a matrix to estimate the power and control the resistance.

Nevertheless, Oreka is clear that it's not an accurate powermeter because it's unable to take the data directly from the bike or pedals, and with other factors such as tyre size and air pressure directly impacting on the pulling force the calculus would be pretty deviated anyway.

This does mean that you can jump on and ride a virtual route, but it won't be a true reflection of your input. However, the unit is both ANT+ and Bluetooth compatible, so if accurate training data is important, Oreka recommend sticking with your own powermeter for no deviation between outdoor and indoor riding and when pairing with third party software.

Unboxing

One of the biggest practical differences between the Oreca 02 and alternative smart bike trainers is the size. This isn't something that can just be propped up in a corner out the way. It needs its own dedicated space.

I set mine up in the hall for the test period, but measuring 2380cm x945cm at it longest and widest, if you're buying one to keep then the end location will need some thinking about.

Getting the 90-kilo unit into its final location is ideally a forklift manoeuvring job. I made the error of getting the delivery person to leave it on the drive on the pallet, and then realised that getting the unit inside would take an awful lot of muscle, arguably more than most cyclists would have. It's without doubt a two+ person job.

There's precious few grab holds between delicate plastic electronic protective covers and the moving rollers which makes the job harder, I think Oreka could do with offering an installation service.

Once in situ, it's only the safety bar that needs any assembly tools, a spanner and Allen (hex) keys. There will also probably be the requirement for the treadmill band adjustment, but that's a relatively straightforward 10m Allen key job.

The last set up aspect is to swap out your rear skewer/ bolt thru for the 142mmx12mm supplied one. This is a specially adapted one that enables a teather to be attached to your bike. This elasticated leash centralises you on the trainer and ultimately prevents you from riding off the front.

The guys at Oreka must have had their work cut out calculating exactly the right length and tension for it.  Too long or loose and you would be able to ride off, too short or firm and it would have created an awful ride sensation, so kudos to the team for getting that just right.

At the rear of the 02 trainer is a raised barrel roller, to stop you rolling off the back of the unit. When you nudge it with your rear wheel it simply spins allowing you to continue riding forward once more.

The final part is to plug the 02 Oreka Training in, download the app and then pair with your favourite virtual reality riding software, ensuring that you select your own power meter for power date reading and the Oreka as the controllability. Note, if riding on Zwift, it's been recommended that you select Max on the 'level' setting.

The ride

Ok, so the bit you've been really waiting for - how does it feel to ride. The closest familiar feeling would be to liken the Oreka 02 to a set of rollers. There's that familiar unnerving feeling of riding a bike freely on a relatively small footprint.

The safety rail is super handy, enabling you to get riding and slowly build your confidence. But once you dial the feel, it's a rapid learning process as the ride feel swiftly becomes more natural and secure. I've not ridden rollers around seven years, but was able to ride normally on the bike (just using the bar for stopping and starting) after about a minute, and then out the saddle a minute or so after that. That's not to say that I became a fluid rider on the Oreka Training at this point, I'd say you have to rack up around 50miles or so for it to become more natural, and I'm still to master a flat out full gas sprint.

Once you start pedalling and are up to speed, around five miles an hour or so, the belt drive kicks in and you start to experience the rolling road resistance change. It's this aspect that the likes of Zwift / Rouvey/ Bkool software controls take over to mimic the road, climbs, descents and drafting.

This is also the exact point on the first ride that I realised the chosen location of the Oreka 02 wasn't ideal for homelife. The noise is best described by my six-year-old as a "jet engine on take-off".

A closed door did reduce the decibels to a constant undercurrent low hum, but my plans of post-child's bedtime social Zwifting were thwarted, as it became clear that it was, in fact, positively anti-social for the rest of my household.

In hindsight, the garage or a specifically built shed (with corresponding soundproofing for community harmony)  would have been a far better location.

The ride feel is very realistic, giving you the ability to move around on the bike. This is a huge perk to the Oreka Training unit, and a massive issue overlooked when using a static trainer. There's no way you can replicate the big milage of riding outside on a static bike and expect to come away unscathed in terms of ailments (and mental fatigue). Obviously there are benefits to static intensive riding, but for rides of any endurance or exactly replicating your riding position, only your own bike with freedom of movement will do.

Unfortunately, there's no incline/decline pitch feature - something offered by the Tacx Magnum and Wahoo Kickr bike.

The other major reminder that you’re not outside is the bungie leash and rear roller encounter. It does get better over time, but I now know what a dog feels like on a retractable lead. When you’re pressing on, it feels a little like a mate holding on to your saddle. Easing up on the pedals also doesn’t correspond with an instant easing up of the belt speed, which, depending on the force applied to the elasticated leash, recoils you with some voracity into the rear roller, creating a rebound effect until momentum subsides.

You need to keep your wits about you, and personally I've struggled to get everything out on the trainer through fear of not having the mental or physical capabilities to respond to this pin-balling, but it certainly gets more natural over time and the whole feel of the ride significantly improves the more you ride the Oreka 02.

When using online platforms, the belt resistance is instantaneous in terms of reacting to course/route details, with features like drafting noticeable. Whilst the trainer may not pitch up or down to represent gradients, there's no power limitation and there are also no limitations on the feel of inclines or declines. As the belt resistance increases and becomes harder to ride against, you naturally gravitate to the hoods - as you would on a climb, and, as the resistance lowers, back to the drops once over the top.

This outdoor riding indoor experience also extends to real-life braking. It's a feature that seems always on the cusp of the next iteration/software updates of most cycling apps, RGT (Road Grand Tours) is by far the most advanced on this, but good to know that the system is totally future-proofed for all apps.

Stay Alert

Just as in the real world, it's important that you totally stop the wheels before disembarking.

If you don't, the treadmill will increase in speed, believing that you are still powering it. I discovered this having failed to do so, standing on the edge of the belt, just out of reach of the emergency stop button.

I've raised the issue with the team at Oreka. I believe the trainer does require a warning sticker, acting as a constant reminder to stop before disembarking and a note of the need to do so in the user manual.

My nagging concern, however, is that this could happen if you suffer a medical problem, or fall. I realise that a running treadmill is exactly the same, although that doesn't become progressively faster, and it is often mitigated by the use of a magnetic safety lanyard that would cut the power circuit once pulled.

Obviously lanyard and bikes entanglement probably pose an even bigger safety threat; a neater fix could be poaching technology from the helmet world, where devices detect a crash and act accordingly. The chances are that any fall would clear you and the bike from the moving belt entirely, but it still plays on my mind.

Value

There's a few ways of looking at the value of the Oreka Trainer. It is a big expense and without a doubt it's a marmite product in the main.

For someone with the perfect space, a big screen, decent headphones and who spends at least a third of the year suffering from bad cycling weather or (or a global pandemic) then the Oreka 02 Trainer is great. Really great. The ability to actually ride your own bike like you would on a road is a huge perk in terms of keeping a high level of endurance riding without risking injury or de-training the exact muscle groups.

However, the Oreka Training unit isn't without flaw. I for one would rather see a small price hike, with my safety concerns over the stopping feature addressed.

Although designed as multi-sport glasses, there are plenty of features within the 100% Hypercrafts that make them a great choice as your dedicated cycling shades.

They share the same 5.5 cylindrical design as the 100% S3 models and once again they prove it to be a great shape, offering an uninterrupted view, even at the furthest peripheries of your vision. It makes a noticeable difference when glancing over your shoulder or passing a sideways glance at movement on the road.

The frame is made of UltraCarbon, which is essentially a nylon and carbon hybrid material. It’s a construction that 100% boasts will make the frames stronger. Having previously snapped a set of 100% S3 glasses I don’t personally see this as unnecessary. I’ve noticed less flex in the arms and an altogether more premium feel.

At 24g, these glasses are the lightest that I’ve used and the lack of weight is a big factor in their comfort. Without a full frame they feel light on your face, and with only three contact points (arm tips and nose) they’re well ventilated for hot rides. Even on rough roads or when glancing down at my Garmin they haven’t moved off my face and I’ve been very impressed with their secure fit.

Unlike Oakley, 100% glasses don’t ship with a “HiPER” lens as standard (the brand’s equivalent of a Prizm lens), instead, you have to either buy a HiPER pair for more money (either £159 for the HiPER blue Topaz or £179 For HiPER Coral) or buy the lens as an upgrade later on.

My non-HiPER Blue Topaz mirrored lens was sufficient in harsh sunlight, and it blocks out the full spectrum of UV rays, including damaging UVA and UVB. With a filter category of three they’re suitable for mountainous riding, too. However, without the added contrast of the HiPER lens it struggled to cut through dappled light, making it difficult to pick out potholes in wooded areas.

The Hypercraft glasses are available with four different frame colours and lens options: the Blue Topaz tested here, a HiPER Blue Topaz a Soft Gold lens and a Matte Stone Grey with a HiPER Coral lens. All models come with an additional clear lens.

Having really rated the Odlo Element cycling shorts and the Blackcomb Seamless Sports bra, I had high expectations of the Element short-sleeve jersey from the off.

It's worth noting at this point that Odlo also have a men's version of the Element, well infact they have three: one the exactly the same, one half zip with a stand up collar (both for the same price) and a full zip stand up collar version for £70, so don't switch off if you won't be buying this women's version.

>>> Best short sleeved summer cycling jerseys 

Ethical values

One of the big drivers for me with clothing is its source, and I highly rate Odlo for its ethical values.

The brand's entire supply chain is transparent, and, as a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) it endeavours to improve labour conditions in the textile industry, including no exploitation, no discrimination, fair pay, and ensuring the health and safety of workers. It's also a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) which works towards improving the sustainability of the supply chain, e.g. the reduction in air freight (for rail and road), use of recycled fabrics, designing products to last. Odlo even has a repair service, and I haven't even touched on its social monitoring and responsibility programmes.

I'm already feeling warm and fluffy - but how does the Element jersey actually stack up when it comes to performance? We know that this kind of wholistic social responsibility doesn't come cheap, so once you factor all ethical costs in, can a £50 jersey really be any good?

Simplicity

Made from 100% Polyester, the Oldo Element short-sleeved jersey has been kept simple. There's no uber tech fabrics other than its own 'Light' technology that aims to provide optimum comfort in all situations and in all weather. In the case of the jersey, the goal is making it as breathable as possible, sweat-wicking and fast-drying, all of which are commonly known properties of Polyester.

The sleeves are of a standard hemmed variety and other than a silicone gripper around the middle and three good sized pockets at the rear, that's it. It's this pared-down approach that I really rated about the Element shorts.

Sizes range from XS to XL, and there's a wide range of designs, from a plain peach colour to loud prints.

A quick check against peers, and it's only really comparable to the Craft Essence jersey, which weighing around 120g, along with boasting SPF 50, heat cooling fabric and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes isn't a bad twin for just the £10 more price tag.

Great Value

When there's limited fabric technology, it actually makes wearing the jersey a much simpler affair. There's no weather or temperature condition quandary, simply on and go.

The fit, as expected isn't tiger tight or aero, but certainly in the side of sport over leisure. There's no obvious fabric flap, it fits well across the shoulders and on arms.

All three pockets are of a sensible size, big enough for spares, snacks and phone, as well as being easy to reach on the move. The silicone waistband does a good job of securing the jersey in place, but worth ensuring that your cargo is evenly distributed to prevent twisting.

When compared to other more technical fabric jerseys, it's not going to keep you as cool or dry on a hot day in the mountains. If you were getting pretty serious about training rides, you might be inclined to spend a bit more, but for bobbing around on your regular ride route or commuting to work, the Odlo Element short-sleeve jersey is spot on.

The Specialized S-Works Turbo RapidAir 2Bliss Ready tyres  was selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval.  In our original review, we gave these an 8/10 - flagging concerns over longevity. However, our tester is still riding these a year later and they're going strong - so we're happy to stand corrected, and have increased the score to 9/10.

When Specialized set out developing the S-Works Turbo RapidAir 2Bliss Ready tyre the end goal was a tubeless creation that would offer the ride quality, puncture resistance and grip of a tubular tyre for its Deceuninck-Quick-Step professionals.

Such a statement of intent clearly marks the tyre out as a top-end piece of rubber, and a price tag of £61 certainly confirms this. Cast an eye over the American brand's tyre range, however, and you might become a little confused. It plays host to a range of Turbo branded tyres, all with price tags that sit north of £50. In particular there are two tubeless ready tyres that sit within £9 of each other – a set of Turbo Road Tubeless and the RapidAir models on test here.

The main difference is variation in the threads per inch (TPI) count. Our RapidAir 2Bliss test models come with a 120 TPI count compared to 180 on the top-end models. The higher the thread per inch count, the more supple and comfortable a tyre can feel, the lower the more 'clattery' or stiff. Typically tubeless tyres have to have a lower count than clincher tyres so the side walls are stiffer to form a better seal.

Now clearly a tyre's TPI count doesn't tell the full story. In testing the Continental GP 500os felt distinctly more clattery than the S-Works RapidAir tyres despite their higher TPI count, indicating that Specialized's Gripton compound offers a pleasant amount of cushioning.

Setting up the tyres tubeless on a pair of ENVE test rims couldn't have been easier, only requiring minor thumb agitation – something that cannot be said of all tubeless ready tyres – and a compressor. A daily pressure loss of just a few PSI meant I didn't need to grab the track pump before every ride.

Specialized recommend running between 85-100psi which is more than many would choose to run a tubeless tyre. I've stuck to my standard 80psi (even this makes me a bit of a luddite) and have had no problems, either with the seal or squirminess when diving into corners.

As previously mentioned the tyres offer a comfortable ride quality despite a lower TPI than direct competitors although they've proven to be less resilient than the likes of the GP 5000. I'm yet to have an instance where I've relied on the sealant to plug a hole but the tyre has become nicked and cut despite Specialized's Blackbelt cut-resistant breaker. Slight signs of wear, such as sidewall cracking, are beginning to show after just over 1000kms.

Tested in 26mm width, the RapidAir tyre rolled with ease and when paired with my Enve test wheels had a great profile that was reassuringly wide beneath the handlebars. They roll with the addictive ease of high-end tyres and compliment a speedy bike.

£61 is a lot of money for a tyre, but it's in line with the latest offerings from Continental and Schwalbe. Specialized do offer an alternative Turbo 2Bliss tyre for £35, although it can only be used on hooked rims and not hookless designs.

The Cadex Race 25s are the brand's fast rolling race tyres that are tubeless ready

As part of Giant’s componentry wing, Cadex is responsible for high-end performance products that are often found littered across the pro bikes of CCC Team.

The Cadex tyres are available in 23, 25 and 28mm sizes (my test pair sit in the middle) and they have a 170 TPI build. For comparison, that's the same as Specialized's S-Works Road Tubeless tyres - but 10 TPI less that the Continentals GP 5000 TLs.

For the uninitiated, the higher the thread per inch count, the more supple you'd expect the tyre to be - whilst a lower TPI generally signals a harsher ride but with better protection against punctures.

As the road market races to adopt tubeless technology, we've found that tyres can have a harsher feel as  a stiffer casing is necessitated to ensure a tight seal on the rim. Unfortunately for Cadex, this was the case with the Race 25 tyres. Whilst the effect was notable, they're in no means the worst I've tried and I found this rubber less 'clattery' than the Continental GP5000 model.

I tested these on the Cadex 42 rims as well as on Hunt's 34 Aero Wide Disc rims, running 80psi in each. Maybe I could run them at lower pressures (a much touted benefit of tubeless tyres), however I don't for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I don't tend to suffer much from pinch flats (touch wood) due to my light weight and secondly, I hate the feel of a squirmy tyre moving underneath me.

I was initially worried that this harshness would impair the tyre’s grip but happily the RR-S Silica compound works well and the tyres have plenty of bite in the corners. Once I was used to the slightly harsher feel of the rubber I was contentedly leaning over in bends and attacking descents.

Giant hasn't made any sweeping statements around the rolling resistance afforded by these tyres, and we've yet to see this model come under the scrutiny of an independent testing rig. However, they certainly offer the feeling of fast rolling that accompanies other top end race tyres – a sort of subtleness that just makes riding easier.

The natural consequence to a quick rolling, grippy tyre is quite often a reduction in puncture protection - and juggling all three demands is something tyre brands have been trying to do since the Boneshaker days. To counter flats, Cadex has built in a 'Race Shield Puncture Protection' belt; this is made from a Kevlar material incorporated into the casing.

I did briefly run these as a clincher - as you might in an emergency 'flat on the road' situation, and I did hear the worrying hiss of a flat tyre on the very first outing when a sharp stone got the better of the system. Unfortunately it was enough to take a chunk out of the tread which subsequently let air leak out once I set them up tubeless.

Thankfully, I've since tested a new set on the latest Giant TCR - and after a few hundred kilometres of tubeless riding they have resisted cuts and tears and have remained seated admirably.

At £64.99 per tyre, the Cadex Race 25s come in at the same price point as the Schwalbe Pro One TT tyres and the Continental GP 5000 TL rubber. It's not cheap, and you can find a good tyre for less - especially if you're actually going to set your wheels up in clincher form.

Indoor cycling is certainly not the ‘needs must’ form of torture training that it used to be. Immersive online worlds such as Zwift’s Watopia and Sufferlandria from The Sufferfest have partnered with direct drive smart trainers to create an almost enjoyable environment for those pedalling indoors. Now after the initial ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ have played out for the top-flight models, trickle down technology is beginning to bring the experience to a wider audience via more reasonably priced machines.

Enter the Elite Suito. The Suito is not Elite's most entry level smart trainer (there's the Zumo at £450 and the Muin at £275 that provides one-way interaction) - but it is an all singing, all dancing model which provides many of the benefits of the more expensive designs.

This is the first machine from the brand to arrive pre-assembled, with a Shimano 11-speed cassette already adorning the spindle. It’s compatible with 9, 10 and 11 speed cassettes from SRAM or Shimano.

Technically, Campagnolo is not listed but having run an 11 speed Campagnolo set-up with a Shimano cassette for some months I can attest to compatibility, even it not officially endorsed. Those who have progressed to 12-speed would need to purchase an add-on cassette adaptor.

The box contains adaptors for both quick release skewers (130mm and 135mm) and thru axles (142x12mm), and setting up was as simple as ripping open the packaging, extending the legs, fitting the correct skewer and plugging in the machine.

Elite calls this ease of use ‘Plug&Play’ and though ‘playing’ with an indoor trainer might be a little too much of a stretch for the imagination for anyone who has sweated their way through an FTP test, it’s absolutely true that elapsed time between opening the box and it being ready to use was less than 10 minutes.

The unit is mostly constructed from steel, making it feel incredibly robust. At 14.5 kilograms, I was pretty cautions maneuvering it up the stairs to my office/turbo space; in a battle between it and the wall I’m not sure the wall would come off well. Elite has built a wide handle into the design which makes carrying it quite easy.

>>> Cheap indoor fitness app set up

The legs come with adjustable supports, so you can cater for a wonky floor or patio. Extended, they create a solid base, which was reassuring even during full-pelt sprints, but you can tuck them away and the Suito inhabits minimal floor space.

Elite provides a supporting ‘myETraining’ App, which can be used to calibrate the turbo trainer, though you can also do this via your cycling computer (I used a Garmin Edge 520). You get 12-months’ free use of the app’s subscription services with any Suito purchase too, though if you intend to use Zwift (for which you get one month free), The Sufferfest or Trainer Road this may be irrelevant.

>>> Indoor cycling apps compared 

The turbo communicates with devices via Ant+, FE-C and Bluetooth, and I never experienced any issues with connecting to a cycling computer, phone or iPad – the trainer was picked up every time and has never dropped out, which is something of a rarity.

>>> Cheap Zwift setup: what you need

It’s the flywheel on a turbo trainer that creates the feeling of inertia and, alongside other factors, dictates the level of feedback you receive and how well it imitates the road. Elite has opted for a 3.5kg flywheel. You’ll typically find heavier flywheels on the top end model, for example the Wahoo Kickr (£999.99) which received ‘Best on Test’ in Cycling Weekly’s last head to head has a 7.25kg flywheel.

Whilst the Elite Suito doesn’t feel quite as smooth and lifelike as the very best models, it’s still worlds apart from the feeling of wading through treacle that we all put up with on the turbo trainers of days gone by. If faced with the choice between an old style, wheel on turbo trainer with a magnetic resistance unit and a set of rollers, I would always choose the latter – but pedalling on the Elite Suito felt just as natural and quickly became my preference.

>>> Rollers vs Turbo: which is best? 

Elite says that the trainer is able to replicate slopes of 15 per cent, and has a maximum power capacity of 1,900 watts. Throwing myself into Zwift’s recreation of the Harrogate circuit at the UCI World Championships in Yorkshire, I found the ramps in elevation smooth and realistic, and there was plenty of resistance on offer there to have me breathing hard. When slopes got to around 15 per cent on the 'NYC KOM' loop, I did notice a strange sensation, a little like wheel slip outdoors, but once I got the pedals churning this faded and I could push hard and maintain the pressure as the climb built up.

>>> Wheel-on vs direct drive turbo trainers

Whilst more expensive models like Elite’s Drivo II (£1200) will go to 24 per cent, you have to ask yourself how necessary this really is in the course of an average training session, or indeed to mimic your typical outdoor ride.

The most advanced trainers, like the Drivo II, can boast power meter accuracy of +/- 0.5 per cent, the Suito’s margin of error is wider, at +/- 2.5 per cent. To put that into context a 250 watt effort using the more expensive unit might produce a reading on the screen of 249 to 251 watts, whilst the Suito may read anywhere from 244 to 256 watts.  For someone who has been training for a number of years, an improvement of a couple of watts over a given duration would be quite an achievement, so that extra 2 per cent drift isn't insignificant.

Personally, I found the power readings to be true to expectation, and swapping between the Elite Suito indoors and a Quarq DZero power meter out on the road, efforts were always comparable. Though I didn’t have a bike with an alternative power meter fitted to run a direct comparison, I never felt that the unit was under or over reading for the given effort.

The Suito was quiet as well. It's not the quietest of all the direct drive offerings, but I had no need to worry that the whirr of the trainer would upset my partner even during early morning sessions when the rest of the house was asleep. The noise from my fan and the Spotify soundtrack being bluetoothed to my smart speaker easily overtook the sub 80 decibels emitted by the turbo trainer.

In terms of value, Elite does offer cheaper alternatives, such as the Zumo, which replicates climbs to 12 per cent, withstands 1,100 watts and has an accuracy race of +/-3 per cent. However, the Suito is significantly cheaper than the top of the range models such as the brand’s own Drivo II and the Wahoo Kickr, yet it performs almost as well.

The slopes might not be quite as steep, max power is a little lower and the accuracy isn’t quite as tight. To determine if that matters to you, you have to ask yourself how often – and for how long – you normally climb over 20 per cent or hold over 2,000 watts, and how much difference a few watts here and there matter to you in terms of accuracy. The answer might be often and a lot, in which case it’s worth spending more. If not, this Suito is an excellent investment.

The Parcours Strade wheelset was selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

An aerodynamic wheel is only as fast as its rider's ability to control it allows: a wind cheatingly deep rim will be no good if the result is an increase in distance covered due to wavering on the straights or squaring off the corners.

With this in mind, when British brand Parcours created its new Strade mid-section wheelset, it prioritised stability in crosswinds as well as a rim optimised for 28mm tubeless tyres.

All about stability 

Working with the Sports Engineering department at Nottingham Trent University, the team sent testers out with Calypso marine ultrasonic anemometers fitted to their front and rear wheels. Over the course of several months, as well as many strange looks directed at the spaceship contractions, they collected data which showed the average battering each was getting.

The results confirmed suspicions: the front wheel was consistently experiencing a higher yaw angle, with the rear seeing a lower yaw angle, on average, due to the impact of the bike and rider.

To cater for this, the engineers decided to take a mismatched approach, designing differential rims in line with the conditions. Parcours used a blunt 49mm U-shaped rim with a 32mm external width at the front, and a sharper 54mm V-shaped rim with a width of 30.5mm at the back.

Further testing provided the seal of approval - when Parcours tested the Strade against its 40mm Grimpeur wheel, the new design experienced around a third less side force impact.

Ready for wide tyres

The original remit, of course, was to design a rim that would allow riders to run 28mm tyres without sacrificing aero gains.

Why? A wider tyre provides greater contact with the ground, offering security in the corners. They can be run at lower pressure (particularly with the growing trend towards tubeless tyres) boosting comfort - hence why we're seeing more and more 28mm rubber specced on endurance bikes where riders seek compliance and stability.

For racers, in some conditions 28mm rubber may also be faster, the lower pressure allowing the tyre to absorb imperfections as opposed to wasting energy skitting over them. However, on most standard wheels, a 28mm tyre blows up to protrude from the edge of the rim and can be held responsible for greater drag.

To smooth out the wider tyre and dissipate the aero penalty, Pacours developed wider rims. The brand opted for an internal measurement of 22.5mm - and external measurements of 32mm and 30.55 front and rear respectively.

Following iterative CFD analysis, it took two different pairs to the A2 Wind Tunnel in North Carolina - where one version proved faster than its previous Passista mid-section wheel, both wearing 25 and 28mm tyres, the latter being the quickest.

When compared with a baseline wheelset - shallow alloy wheels Fulcrum 5s - the new Strade fitted with a 28mm GP5000 TL tyre (at 80psi) was 58 seconds faster over 40 kilometres, with a rider travelling at 50kph. Using a 25mm tyre on the Strade the saving was 56s - more than the Passista with a 25mm tyre (54s) and a lot more than the Passista with 28mm rubber (37s).

Arguably, the numbers mainly show that Parcours made a faster wheel all round when compared with its existing Passista option - but the gap between the Passista with 25s vs 28s is clearly much greater, demonstrating success in the tailored approach.

Parcours did not test its wheel against competitors of similar depths, citing concerns over mixing protocol and making unfair conclusions.

The brand tested the wheels alone, not attached to a bike and without a dummy or rider. That means we know the data is unsullied by external factors, but we also can't guarantee the same effect in the wild. Asked why they made this decision, Parcours points out that it would probably have to sell a lot of wheels to justify the days/weeks in the wind tunnel it would take to test the wheel with every bike model out there.

The spec sheet

It's not all about rim profile - a fast wheel is no use if the hubs have seized after a few months of riding and the spokes aren't easy to replace.

The Strade hoops come with own brand, precision machined alloy four pawl hubs, fitted with high-grade EZO cartridge bearings.

Parcours has used Sapim CX-Ray aero spokes, with 24 in a two-cross pattern at the front and rear. The hubs are designed for 12mm thru-axles front and rear - though adapter kits are available, and they use a Centrelock disc fitment.

A set weighs in a 1520g (690g front, 830g rear) - and at £999 these stats place them within the competitive arena, give or take 50g. By comparison, Cero's RC50 disc wheels (RRP £1000) come in at 1471g, whilst the Hunt 50 aero disc set will set you back £849 and drop into the scales with a claimed weight of 1487g.

The ride

It's near impossible to discern the 21s saving afforded by the Strade, when compared with the likes of Parcours' outgoing Passista. Having tested these wheels over winter, I think it's fair to say I've not ridden 40km at 30mph, as per the wind tunnel tests.

The claimed aero credentials with a 28mm tyre are a nice to have, but the reality for most of us is that unless you've optimised every single element of your set up, it's unlikely you'll notice the difference. The human body makes up 80-90 per cent of drag on a bike, so the biggest gains are to be found in positioning. For me, the pièce de résistance of this wheelset has to be the crosswind capabilities.

Despite blustery days, I've really not found myself pulled to the side at vulnerable points - for example when crossing gates or over bridges. I did get whipped sideways a little by a passing lorry, that was a big ask for a 50mm set of wheels. Even at the Thruxton Motor Circuit which, like all such airfield perimeter tracks, is renowned for its ability to trap even mild wind and turn it into a cyclone - these hoops held firm.

It's not just the Strade's ability to combat crosswinds which is impressive. I have taken them over hill and dale, down fast flat lanes, sploshing through grimy lanes, I've even managed to get them tangled with the front wheel of a rider who might have accidentally overlapped a wheel on a club run.

The ride quality came through from the very first outing, and resilience has been proven so far. An expertly laced carbon layup means these wheels feel exceptionally sprightly for a mid section rim, they were never a bore on the climbs and the handling on fast winding bends has been excellent throughout.

When Wout Van Aert won a very muddy 2017 World Cyclocross Championships in Bieles, Luxembourg, the main talking point was the colour of his tyres. Michelin green mud tread, circa late 1990s, glued onto a ‘Dugast’ tubular carcass.

>>> Get off road: a guide to cyclo cross

It spurred a fair bit of nostalgic rumblings amongst the cyclocross fraternity, not all of it complimentary (longevity mainly), one thing most agreed at the time of their first appearance, was that the colour was pretty cool and the tread pattern perfect for muddy conditions. Almost 20 years later, Van Aert arguably benefiting from both aspects!

Maybe on the back of that adulation, Michelin has introduced the latest version – the Michelin Power Cyclocross. In two tread patterns, the spaced out knobbles of the ‘Mud’ and the sleeker, directional tread of the dry weather ‘Jet’.

The big difference in ‘then’ and ‘now’ is tubeless technology which Michelin says, in this case, offers “tubular performance with all the advantage of a clincher tyre”.

At a UCI legal 33mm width they are unapologetically meant for racing, the Jet being a little more versatile for general off-road and ‘gravel’ riding (the Power Gravel, introduced earlier this year, fills that space with a 40mm tyre – in black).

Mounting

I fitted the tyres onto a Mavic Ksyrium rim, firstly without latex they pinged onto the rim satisfyingly with just a few rapid pumps of a track-pump, easier than I expected. Latex then applied and ready to go quite quickly (must be a French tyre/French rim thing?)

Riding

First race of the cyclocross season being a dusty, grassy and rooty affair, I fitted the Jets at around 30psi. I probably could have gone lower, Michelin boasts extra puncture protection “due to its 'Bead 2 Bead Protek' cross-laid reinforcement on the tyre's crown and sidewalls”.

‘Trust the tyre’ is an oft said adage when racing and I found it true in this case. A fast descent into some tight grass turns and I was able to ‘crank over’ without losing any speed. Grip on the dusty trails, which became progressively broken up, was perfect, skipping over roots was very forgiving and puncture/burp free despite my attempts to prove otherwise!

As the weather changed I fitted the ‘Muds’, a clear advantage in having just the one pair of race wheels over tubulars, the ability to swap tyres without the worry of glue or tub-tape.

The first race on them - on a notoriously puncture strewn course - I went for a slightly higher psi and survived unscathed whilst the DNF count went up. The spacing of the ‘knobbles’ provided good grip on slippery corners, but not too deep in tread to ‘drag’ on the firmer ground. They also gave good grip enabling me to ride a steep slope each lap, despite it getting progressively cut-up. (After the race I noticed I had sustained a cut of about 4mm in the tread, the latex sealed from the inside and with a little glue I was able to seal/smooth from the outside).

Buy now: Michelin Power Cyclo Cross tyre Mud and Jet from Tredz for £39.99

Further on into the season & the weather conditions deteriorating, things have got decidedly muddier. The lowish profile of the ‘mud’ tread have not given the greatest confidence at times. Especially noticeable being the lack of ‘aggressive’ side tread for cornering in really slippery ‘clay-ish’ type mud. Still competent, and perhaps more noticeable with my riding style, but in very muddy conditions a more aggressive/deeper tread may be a better option

When Connor Swift popped out of the lead pack at the National Championship road race in 2018 it took everyone by surprise. Looks were exchanged between the bigger name riders, and before they could think too long the Yorkshireman was up off the road never to be seen again.

It’s not that Swift was a total unknown he’d been around for a while racking up results on the British racing scene for a couple of years. He was just the best on the day, maybe even a little underestimated.

Buy now: Genesis Zero Disc with Ultegra from Tredz for £2699.99

The Genesis Zero was the bike he rode that day - though CW’s test rig is the subtly detuned and disc version (Swift was on calliper brakes and the higher grade SL frameset) – and it has some of the qualities of its former owners ride that day in Northumberland.

A version of the Zero disc has been in Genesis’s product range since 2017 but it still has qualities that make it well worth considering if you’re in the market for something in the £2,500-£3,000 bracket.

The Zero Disc will set you back £2,699.99 what do you get for that money? Well you get full Shimano Ultegra R8000 disc brake groupset, bar the cassette and chain. A Fiziki Antares saddle and Genesis branded bar and stem. All of which is very impressive stuff, and not a given at this price point, especially from a smaller British brand, which doesn’t have the mass buying power of one of the industry’s biggest names.

The frameset and fork are the same geometry as the top of the range SL model but the carbon used is a combination of 24T and 30T as an opposed to the more exotic 30T and 40T sued in the lighter frameset.

With all that there has to be some compromises and the wheels bare little excitement with Jalco rims laced to Formula hubs, they’re solid but it’s not a spec that’ll set many hearts racing. Nor will the Donnelly Strada tyres.

No bike, however, is just the sum of its parts. Hop aboard the Genesis Zero Disc and the first thing you’ll notice is that the front end is quite high for a race bike our medium had a stack height of 558mm, it wasn’t unwelcome as my back isn’t what it used to be but it was I think the principal reason why the bike felt “big” to begin with. So perhaps consider trying to test one out before buying one.

Out on the road the first thing you notice is how smooth the ride is. For a bike with racing ambitions it’s a very plush ride, helped in no small part by the 28mm tyres, which despite their modest price-point were confidence-inspiringly grippy and supple (though the rear did acquire a sizable cut down the middle of the tread in CW’s 700km of testing).

The handling too hits a nice balance. I usually like my bikes to be quite twitchy so I feel like I can flick them around potholes of my local lanes but the Genesis is more steady in its handling. However, it was never sedate and it tracked beautifully through the corners while responding to any changes in direction with ease and after a while I really began to enjoy the balance it’d struck.

What’s more I could swear I began to descend faster and more confidently after a while with the bike. Whether this was the handling, the cushioning and grip of the fat tyres or the modulation of the disc brakes or a combination of all three, is hard to say. But it was a pleasure to sling it about the back lanes.

Buy now: Genesis Zero Disc with Ultegra from Tredz for £2699.99

When the road points up is when the compromises that have been made are most obvious. While the Genesis Zero Disc isn’t a porker for a disc bake at this price, it’s not super light either. And the pedestrian wheels mean that an acceleration uphill has to be hard earned. Keep your momentum and it’s fine but it lacks a zing on the slopes.

When you’ve got to the point where you want to start training smarter and more effectively, one of the key pieces of equipment you’ll be looking at is a power meter.

>>> Buyer's guide to power meters

With ever-raging discussion about riding to power in the professional peloton and an increasing number of training programmes based around FTP (functional threshold power), watts are high on many riders’ agendas.

>>> Buy now from ProBikeKit for £160

But for the everyday cyclist price can be a major barrier to ramping up performance.

One of the brands offering a cheaper way to break into the world of watts is Oxford-based Avio.

Having developed its power meters in rowing, the brand has now moved into the cycling sphere with the PowerSense range.

There are a few variations of the Avio meters, with Shimano 105 and Ultegra left-crank options as well as a dual-sided Ultegra chainset.

Avio also offers a DIY option, where riders can buy a single PowerSense power meter and fit it at home using a supplied fitting kit and an online tutorial.

Or you can also send your own crank arm away to Avio to have a meter fitted.

The first thing to say about the PowerSense is the price.

Avio says it has designed the range to help amateur riders get professional and reliable equipment on a lower budget than other brands, and Avio undercuts market leaders Stages and 4iiii with its pricing.

It goes without saying that the Ultegra single-sided power meter we tested will be less accurate than dual sided, and that goes for all brands of power meter, but Avio says its tech ensures a two per cent accuracy level. This is a touch lower than the 4iiii model, which claims one per cent.

The Avio is also on the slightly heavier when compared with the lightest on the market. PowerSense is 25g added to the weight of the crank arm, while the equivalent Stages power meter is around 20g and the 4iiii, the lightest on the market, at just 9g.

Battery life is another point where the Avio has sacrificed performance in favour of value, as the PowerSense has a 100-hour span, compared with 200 hours for the Stages and 120 for the 4iiii.

We have been testing the Ultegra left crank version of the Powersense, which retails for £319. You can upgrade to the dual-sided Ultegra version for £380, or get the 105 left crank at £299 and the DIY option just £225 including the fitting kit, which includes a 10-litre water carrier and cable to calibrate it plus the epoxy adhesive and associated equipment for bonding it to the crank arm.

The calibration process for our factory-fitted Avio PowerSense using a Garmin Edge 520 was as simple as could be imagined and of course fitting the Ultegra crank arm itself was also quick and easy.

From our tests the Avio ran a few watts higher compared to power meters we know to be accurate, but remained consistent within itself, which lets you measure and compare your own efforts – even if it does make you look stronger on Strava a little unfairly.

Aside from the minor footnotes, the Avio PowerSense was a reliable tool for the first two months of use, but unfortunately things did go downhill from there.

While riding I noticed the device was dropping in and out, with power dropping to zero inexplicably.

Figuring this was a low battery issue, I set about trying to resolve the problem but was unable to.

Eventually the Avio PowerSense cut out completely and would not turn on, leaving me without a meter or any easy chance of a fix. I'm still not sure what caused the issue.

Prior to that the Avio PowerSense had shown no signs of dropping out at key moments, and it wasn't prone to the superhuman false spikes in power that hamper even some of the most expensive models.

We contacted Avio and co-founder Mike Devaney had this to say: “The unit had has been through 10 or 15 shops. A few people ride it at every shop and it’s been on loads of different bikes and whereas we’re not excusing it, it’s got old software and we’ve made loads of changes since. That unit had been absolutely pillaged, which is a good thing because when we get it back we can find out how it’s stood the test of time, but there’s only so much we can do.”

It's worth noting that Avio does offer customers a two-year “quibble free” warranty.

Avio have since sent out a replacement meter and we've had no problems at all, running reliably for the last two months.

The Elite Direto is the mid-market option from the Italian accessory brand, and is has quickly become the weapon of choice for pro teams and amateurs alike.

With virtual cycling and indoor training only growing in popularity, Elite has cemented position in the cycling world by embedding the Direto in every corner. Having been used as a warm-up tool for the likes of Mark Cavendish, the Elite Direto was also used to launch the Zwift Kiss Super League earlier this year.

>>> Rollers vs turbo training

Currently on sale for £599.99, The Elite Direto is competing with the likes of the Bkool Smart Pro 2 and the Tacx Flux, while offering a cheaper alternative to its own Elite Drivo II and the highly rated Wahoo Kickr.

>>> Wheel-on vs direct drive turbo trainers

While the Elite Direto takes some assembly, effectively screwing three legs to the main unit, it was a quick an easy process that only required a few glances at the diagrams in the manual.

After fitting the cassette (not provided) and mounting the bike, the kit was set up and ready to use within about 45 minutes - not bad for a first set up.

It does take up a fair amount of space and is heavy enough to make it a hassle to move, so finding the ideal permanent spot to avoid packing and unpacking can be tricky.

One minor gripe is that the cable to plug the device into the mains is too short, so make sure you either have a plug handy or pick up an extension cable at the same time as the turbo so you aren’t limited in your training spot.

Linking the machine with other devices is as simple as can be and even calibrating the in-built power meter took a few minutes, including downloading the Elite app.

It was another few seconds to get hooked up to my laptop and ready to roll on indoor training software like Zwift and Sufferfest.

As it’s ANT+ and Bluetooth compatible, the Direto works with external apps and your cycle computer, giving you a wealth of options to explore.

>>> Zwift: Everything you need to know

It’s also certified by Zwift, making it the perfect entry to the world of online virtual training.

With gradient simulation up to 14 per cent and a max wattage of 1,400, the Elite Direto stacks up well against the Flux, which allows up to 1,500watts but only reaches a 10 per cent max gradient.

While the Drivo II reaches a whopping 2,300w and gradients of 24 per cent, the Elite Direto is more than capable of handling anything your training software will throw at you.

>>> Zwift vs Peloton: which is best for your at-home workouts?

One of the most important aspects of any device measuring power is its accuracy and also its consistency, ensuring you get the most out of your training.

The Elite Direto measures your watts with a +/- accuracy of two per cent, which is less than the more expensive Elite Drive II but more than the Tacx Flux at less than three per cent.

A turbo trainers buyer's guide

Based on personal experience of power meters the machine is definitely accurate and perhaps more importantly it’s consistent to itself, without any major fluctuations in power, making it an effective training tool.

Elite’s claim that the “only noise you’ll hear comes from your bike’s chain” is definitely overstated, as the Directo gives off a sizeable hum that can be heard through walls, mostly owing to the vibration on the floor (even with the Elite mat to dampen the noise). Beware anyone sharing training space with someone who might be trying to get some peace and quiet, like flat-mates or family.

There is enough movement in the base allow for sideways movement without feeling unstable or like you will snap your frame if you shift your weight wrong.

But the Direto is a brilliant piece of kit that fits perfectly into the mid-range bracket, allowing you to maximise your indoor training without maxing out the credit card.

You may want to consider a more expensive option if you’re looking for stealthy sessions but if you’re looking for reliable, accurate and affordable, look no further than the Elite Direto.

Ortlieb's famous panniers with their roll tops and welded seams are often copied but never equalled: the Ortlieb Micro Saddle Bag is a Mini Me version of them, featuring a scaled-down roll closure with added elastic bungees. It looks cute but it also does the same grown-up job of keeping out water.

>> What should you pack in your saddle bag? (video)

The Ortlieb Micro Saddle Bag is for carrying a very minimum of spares and is the smallest saddle bag in Ortlieb's range. With a capacity of 0.6 litres and measuring 12x11x8cm there's only room inside for a single tube plus a small multitool, a couple of tyre levers and the other emergency get-me-home essentials that any sensible roadie carries.

It's made of a lightweight PU-coated fabric that comes in a variety of colours, all of which have a large reflective element at the rear.

The Ortlieb Micro Saddle Bag clips into its own mount, which clamps to the saddle rails via two bolts, and features a quick-release system so that you can remove it very easily. The downside to this, of course, is that you have to buy more than one mount if you want to use it on more than one bike unless you want to unbolt the mount each time – which you don't. The spare mounts are cheap to buy though – around a fiver and widely available from the usual retailers.

Ride

Set-up is very simple. The mount clamps to the rear bend in the saddle rails – handy if you like to have your saddle forward towards its limit – so that the bag itself is angled to follow the shape of the saddle. It clips in and out securely and easily.

Packing it is a bit fiddly, however. Since the opening is at one end you have to poke everything down rather than strategically placing items and then zipping the top shut, as you do with other saddle packs. And when you have to reverse the moves by the roadside it's also slightly awkward: it's too small to get an entire hand in, so you're delving with fingers like a game of Operation.

Since the Ortlieb Micro Saddle Bag is made from a fabric rather than a moulded EVA foam, there is more packing flexibility, but we found that unless it was packed very tightly and evenly – best of all with everything in a supermarket carrier to pad it out – it was noisy on bumpy surfaces, making a thwacking sound as the waterproof material oscillated.

What's for sure, however, is that it will keep everything perfectly dry. And not only does it benefit from the legendary Ortlieb waterproofing but it also has the unmistakable look of an Ortlieb product, and that's enough for many riders.

Japanese brand Inoue Rubber Co, aka IRC, is not too well known in the UK but based on our initial impressions of the IRC Roadlite X-Guard it deserves to be.

The Roadlite X-Guards have a no-nonsense aesthetic and are totally slick, suggesting that less is spent on marketing and, judging by the good-quality feel, more on materials and construction. IRC's tyres are also made in Japan.

Incidentally, you don’t need an aggressive tread pattern for winter tyres: on tarmac whether wet or dry a bicycle tyre relies on adhesion for its grip – i.e the compound – rather than mtb-style knobs. Tread pattern can affect the contact patch but it won't supply extra grip in the wet. Unless you're travelling at over 80kph you don't need a 'siping' pattern to channel water out from under the tread.

>>> What's the best tread pattern for winter?

The tread does have a tacky feel and we have found grip to be excellent in both wet and dry.

In an era when getting a tyre on a rim can feel like Big Daddy v Giant Haystacks the IRC Roadlite X-Guards fitted beautifully using thumbs only but felt very secure once the bead was in.

IRC Roadlite X-Guard: ride

The IRC Roadlite X-Guards' 120TPI casing gives a nice, supple ride, and the X-Guard puncture resistance belt, which runs shoulder to shoulder, doesn’t appear to compromise this. It’s actually so lightweight it’s not easy to detect at all, and at 230g for the 25mm size they are lighter than the equivalent sized Continental Grand Prix 4 Season and the Vittoria Corsa Control. However, IRC does say this is its most puncture-resistant clincher.

As they’re fairly new to the UK and we haven't ridden anywhere near a whole winter on them, we can’t comment on durability but after some recent wet and dry riding in debris-strewn lanes they’ve come back in perfect condition, showing good cut resistance.

Since we reviewed the IRC Roadlite X-Guard for the November 11 issue of the magazine we've had a chance to put a few more miles on them fitted to a fixed-wheel training bike that only goes out when the weather is horrible. As any traditionalist will know, fixed-wheel bikes puncture their rear tyres infuriatingly easily: the wheel is driven harder into the road surface at high cadences and it's not feasible to loft a fixed wheel over potholes as you can a freehub-equipped wheel. Yet the IRCs are still immaculate with not a single cut to the tread so for this reason – although I've probably now jinxed them by doing this – I'm going to up the score from the 8/10 we gave them in the mag to a 9/10.

Of course the other attractive thing about them is that they’re relatively cheap compared to the Corsa Control and the GP 4 Season so if you do happen to experience a bad puncture you won't be too heartbroken.

The Australian brand entered the smart trainer market this year with the JetBlack WhisperDrive Smart, which is compact next to the heavyweights of its category such as the Tacx Neo and CycleOps Hammer. However, it comes with a big USP: it doesn’t require an external power source so can be used anywhere.

It also has a USB port so you can charge up a device while you’re riding. It makes total sense to redirect the energy generated by pedalling straight back into the trainer itself.

Whereas certain smart trainer designers have let their imaginations run riot and created abstract sculptures or Sith landing crafts, the Aussies have played it straight: the WhisperDrive is unremarkable looking but much more user friendly than the Tacx Neo Smart and the Elite Drivo II. Two hinged legs simply fold out and snap into place. It's not pretty but it works.

Set-up is incredibly easy. There’s no cassette supplied but you do get thru-axle end-caps and a spanner to fit them if you're using a disc bike with bolt-thru axels.

>>> Five best smart turbo trainers for autumn/winter 2018-2019

In use the WhisperDrive feels stable with a springiness that makes pedaling feel realistic. The legs are well placed just behind the BB and directly underneath the rider’s weight for maximum support.

As for connectivity, we had an initial hiccup where the wouldn’t connect to anything at all via Bluetooth despite furious pedalling to charge its capacitors, but then it pinged up on Zwift and behaved like any other smart turbo.

Riding the JetBlack WhisperDrive Smart

Riding the Watopia Volcano Circuit its electromagnetic resistance system replicated changing gradients very smoothly and ‘feel’ was particularly good with its 6.5kg flywheel, which is pretty heavy for its overall size.

There is, however, a slight delay in the resistance changing compared to what you see on screen, in the region of five seconds. The same goes for increases or decreases in rider power output. This means that, for example, 10-second sprint intervals in erg mode tend to start and finish later than the Zwift interface indicates, but I've found it's not a problem once you get used to it – you still get the same workout. JetBlack has said this is due to the the JetBlack WhisperDrive Smart being self-generating: it doesn't have the power supply to move its motor any quicker – but you can't have it all.

I've used it as my regular indoor trainer for the last month and it has been as reliable as any, with those occasional hiccups that most of us never get to the bottom of: for instance I get cadence with an iPhone but not with an iPad even though everything, including the trainer itself, is running the most up-to-date version of its software and firmware.

A couple of times I've also had the resistance increase for no apparent reason until I've had to stop pedalling. I suspect this is a connection issue rather than one with the trainer itself and it has happened only rarely.

In all the times I've used it I've had just one dropout of power and, as with the above, it's hard to know whether to point the finger at the trainer or the device, but it was easily resolved by simply coming out of the Zwift workout back to the device-pairing screen and ordinary service was resumed.

I've only used the JetBlack WhisperDrive Smart with Bluetooth and iOS devices so can't comment on its behaviour with ANT+.

What's for certain is that the JetBlack app needs improvement: it crashes easily and it isn't always possible to do a spin-down calibration with it despite uninstalling and reinstalling it. Sometimes it simply won't connect to the trainer. However, based on the zero-offset I've done and based on an FTP derived from another smart trainer I would say the JetBlack is accurate, but it would be nice to be certain each time.

‘Whisper’ does not describe the noise the JetBlack WhisperDrive Smart makes – whine is more accurate – but fortunately as you increase the resistance and pedal harder the whine settles down into a hum that is still louder than the quieter units on the market such as the Wahoo Kickr, but is not offensive.

Overall, it lacks the refinement of smart trainers from the more established brands and there are a few software/firmware issues still to be resolved, but JetBlack's product development team seem to be on the case.

The Tacx Flux Smart is the second in a duet of direct drive trainers from Tacx. Following on from the all-singing Tacx Neo Smart, the indoor trainer giant has managed to package up the benefits of direct drive into a very competitively priced trainer.

>>> Best Black Friday 2018 Cycling deals

Out of the box the Tacx Flux Smart needed minimal assembly; just slot the stabilising legs into the main body and bolt in place. Unlike the Neo however, the Flux doesn’t have the convenience of being able to fold away for storage. Ideally it is suited to a dedicated training room or space, as once it is built the sheer weight and bulk makes it difficult to practically move regularly.

Further compounding the immovability is the lack of a carry handle or even basic hand holds, making carrying awkward. Something I feel Tacx has forgotten, as main rival Wahoo has included one on its excellent Kickr turbo trainer. Fortunately for any non-cycling members of the household, the Flux is relatively discreet and good looking (for a turbo trainer), so shouldn’t encroach too much within a multi-purpose room.

• Is direct-drive the future for turbo trainers
• Wheel-on vs direct drive turbo trainers

Tacx has fitted the Flux with Edco’s MultiSys freehub body, allowing Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo cassettes to be fitted to the same unit. This also means that if you are a serious high mileage indoor rider, spare bodies can be relatively easy to source. Edco also uses decent sealed bearings for reliable performance. Spacers for fitting 9 and 10-speed cassettes are supplied along with multiple lockring options.

At this moment the Tacx Flux Smart is only configured for use with standard quick release (so not thru-axle) frame configurations. Tacx supplies spacers to allow 135mm (MTB/CX) axle spacing as well as standard 130mm road axle fitment.

Watch: Buyer's guide to turbo trainers

Like the majority of Smart trainers, the Tacx Flux Smart relies on electromagnets to adjust resistance. This means that a power source needs to be available to run the unit properly.

The Flux is capable of delivering up to 1500 watts of resistance for sprint sessions and can consistently hold up to 850 watts for a minute and up to 450 watts for a 20 minute period. Whilst these figures are lower than the stated capabilities of the more expensive Neo, they are more than sufficient to cover the requirements of all but the most powerful riders out there.

>>> Should you buy a smart turbo trainer?

To start accessing the features of the Flux, the minimum that is required is the Tacx Training app. Through your smartphone and via Bluetooth you are able to record training sessions and manually control Slope and Power settings. Compatible heart rate straps can also connected.

>>> Zwift vs Peloton: which is best for your at-home workouts?

The only downside to the app is workouts cannot be synced directly to Training Peaks or Strava. If this is important to you, the Flux can be connected to a Garmin or other ANT+/Bluetooth headunit to store data.

But it is pedalling where the Flux really shows the benefits of direct drive turbos and why they are becoming the future of indoor training. Resistance is consistently delivered and feels silky smooth through the pedals. In comparison to a wheel driven trainer, powerful starting efforts rarely feel like they are overloading the motor and the feedback is instantaneous.

>>> Turbo trainers: a complete buyer's guide (video)

Adjusting power manually results in noticeable increases in resistance that read similarly to measurements recorded using different power meters. The figures were always within the +/- 5% stated by Tacx, albeit a little low on most occasions.

The Tacx Flux Smart can be adjusted to apply resistances equal to a 10% climb which is good for most hill training but lacks the 25% capability of the Neo for true mountain goat wannabees. It doesn’t feel quite so natural and ‘bike-like’ as the Neo or Wahoo Kickr due to the lack of motor driven freewheeling capability, but is certainly better than most high end wheel driven trainers.

As with most other direct drive trainers, the Flux produces very minimal noise, even during sustained hard efforts. Testing this by setting it up in a bedroom produced a noise no more disruptive than a dishwasher heard through several closed doors.

For more involved training, Tacx has enabled the Flux to be compatible not only with its own proprietary training software but also with third party software such as Trainer Road and Zwift. Whilst all require more monetary outlay, the ability to create a more immersive VR style experience adds an immense positive to what can be a very mind-numbing experience.

>>> Zwift: everything you need to know

Tacx has a huge range of Real Life and computer generated courses enabling real-time riding experiences of some of the most iconic climbs and races of the world. All of which allow the Flux to adjust resistance according to the situation. Zwift and the more ‘serious’ Trainer Road can be utilised properly, although the occasional resistance lag can be detected on very rolling courses or rapidly changing interval settings.

The only thing to note about the Flux (and direct drive trainers in general) is full-on, out of the saddle sprints can sometimes feel like they are placing additional stresses onto your bike frame. Also, if you wrench on the bars a lot, make sure the quick release is done up tightly!

>>> Turbo training sessions: get the most out of your indoor training

Overall, Tacx has created a highly competitive entry to the direct drive market with the Flux. Whilst it doesn’t offer the same life-like feel as the Neo, or the same levels of resistance – at £500 cheaper this is something you could live with. As a trainer, the Flux makes following and completing specific workouts and training plans much simpler. For experiencing the proper feel of Tacx’s own VR videos and software and for Zwift users the Flux Smart is an excellent choice, helping minimise the inevitable lack of motivation during indoor training.

The new Wahoo Kickr Core is a stripped down version of the brand’s top-end Kickr trainer, designed to provide all the basic functions of the original but for £300 less. We loved the first and second generation of the Kickr, so we’re hoping this budget-friendly offering won’t disappoint.

>>> Best turbo trainers for this winter

Out of the box the Core is a very compact unit, it does require you to bolt the legs on but you only need do it once — after each training session they simply fold down to reduce the storage space required when you’re not using it. The Core comes with a 12lb flywheel, which makes the unit relatively easy to lug about (the Kickr has a 16lb wheel), although it does compromise the performance slightly, something we’ll get onto in a minute.

Turn the Core on and it’ll quickly synch with your phone and to a variety of other units via ANT+, Bluetooth or FE-C. I hooked the trainer up to an Android phone and the interface proved easy to navigate and to calibrate with your bike.

>>> Cheap indoor fitness app set up

The Core’s ace up its sleeve here is that it’s open source, meaning you can connect it to pretty much anything you like — third party apps like Garmin and Zwift, or power meters like the Vector. And of course it’ll also link to Wahoo’s own bolt-on hard wear products, like its indoor grade simulator, the Climb, and Wahoo’s fan called the Headwind.

In use the Wahoo Kickr Core feels pretty realistic, just like the Kickr it’s virtually silent and the only sound you’re likely to hear is from your drivetrain.

>>> Best turbo workouts

I spent zero time adjusting the gears to get silent running because I cannibalised the cassette straight off my bike and onto the Wahoo Kickr Core — one advantage from the fact the trainer doesn’t come with a cassette. In day-to-day use this isn’t practical of course, unless you have a dedicated training bike, so you need to factor in the extra £50 to the unit’s cost. At least you’re guaranteed to get the right gearing setup to mirror your regular bike.

Trying to set the Kickr Core up on most mountain bikes is difficult though, despite the allowance for 12x142 or 12x148 Thru Axles, and 29er or 27.5in wheel sizes. That’s because the unit isn’t compatible with SRAM XD driver bodies, something almost all modern mountain bikes over £1,000 now come with.

However, Wahoo does say that the Kickr Core is fully compatible with 12-speed mountain bikes by utilising specially designed cassettes that fit on standard Shimano freehubs, like the SRAM NX Eagle cassette or the Sunrace MZ 12-speed cassette - so watch out for that if buying.

With a Shimano cassette on, the Wahoo Kickr Core is stable in use, putting in a hard effort doesn’t produce excessive rocking even if you set it up outside on soft ground. Riding the Kickr does feel like a relatively truthful recreation of riding, but there was always a slight feeling that something isn’t quite right.

Jump on and turn the pedals over you’re met with firm resistance, as you should. But that initial inertia seems to drop away slightly as momentum builds and before the unit can add more resistance to make it feel realistic.

This hard, soft, hard feel makes me think the unit doesn’t quite respond in time to your efforts, something that could probably be cured with a heavier flywheel to maintain its momentum… something the £999 Kickr has.

Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels have been a constant gem of an upgrade wheel and now Mavic itself has upgraded them to include tubeless technology.

One of the easiest and biggest changes you can make to improve the performance of your bike is to upgrade the wheels. For any road bike costing around £2,000 or below a pair of wheels like the Mavic Ksyrium Elite UST's will be a huge step up in performance and that is why we feature it in Cycing Weeky's Editor's Choice.

Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels are one of the most popular upgrade wheelsets around, with a good reputation for reliability, quality and easy servicing. The current Mavic Ksyrium Elite UST wheels feature a wide internal rim width of 17mm as before but now has the tubeless ready capability.

Mavic will supply the Elite UST's with the tyres already on so no mucking around with the tubeless setup, you are good to go. Just add a bit of sealant.

Wider rims more comfort for the Mavic Ksyrium wheels

The wider rim equates to the tyre sitting wider, providing better grip in the corners, a more comfortable ride and better integration of the tyre and rim. No more mushrooming on a 25mm tyres. Now with the potential of tubeless you can run lower pressures to help reduce the risk of puncture and smooth the ride out further.

There are also three new choices of hub colour; the red you see here, yellow and grey. The anodised finishes look great and it is nice to see choices. It also means there is scope to colour coordinate with your frame.

The ISD 4D superlight rim is designed to reduce inertia and improve aerodynamics. I have to admit that I didn't really notice any discernible difference in aerodynamics, but any improvement is welcome, considering the previous version didn't have a strong reputation in this department.

The ISM 4D process is used to remove excess material from the rim while maintaining it around the spokes and the Fore Drilling help form stronger connections between the spokes and the rim.

Budget price doesn't mean budget performances for the Mavic Ksyrium wheels

For the same sort of money you could opt for a budget carbon deep-section clincher, such as Wiggle's Cosine wheels. However, the superior stiffness and quality of the Mavics swings it for me. It's no contest.

In terms of weight there's less of a change from the previous version. For the pair without tyres the Elite UST hits Mavic's scales at 1520g, 30g less than the previous version.

Mavic’s QRM+ bearings found in these wheels are superb and are actually the same as used in the top of the range Cosmic Ultimate wheels – an excellent example of how technology trickles down.

On typical UK roads and doing the odd bunny-hop, clatter up kerbs and ploughing into several potholes I can report, these wheels are as bombproof as the previous model, with no truing required throughout testing. Stiffness is good too, with no noticeable flex or brake rub noted when sprinting or climbing.

The wheels come with Mavic's own 25mm Yksion Pro UST tubeless ready tyres. These measure with our callipers around 25mm, they come up considerably narrower than Continental GP4000 or Schwalbe One 25mm tyres, both of which sit around 26.5mm on these rims.

Inevitably when a product is popular and used by a large number of people, some will have a bad experience, or issue. Fortunately Mavic offers a solid warranty and repair programme for the unlucky minority – I have used this service in the past and was impressed with the turnaround

Mavic has taken one of the best upgrade wheels on the market and made it even better.

The Tacx Neo was a few years ago the best smart turbo trainer you could buy. It came with 'the best turbo trainer money can buy' price tag too. However, the likes of Wahoo, CycleOps and Elite now produce some decent competition for it for less money – all direct-drive, smart turbos too.

Direct-drive turbos currently offer the most realistic road feel compared to wheel-on trainers. The downside, however, is that they are generally more expensive, mainly for being 'smart' trainers offering power readings and being controllable by programs like Zwift.

Included with the Tacx Neo is a front riser block, power socket and transformer, Edco lockrings and a quick release skewer. Tacx's website has a list of compatible bikes if you are wondering.

Out of the box, the Tacx Neo offered quite a tricky setting up procedure especially in the small space I had to put my bike and trainer. Folding down the legs isn’t as simple as it sounds, especially when you add the smart turbo’s 22kg weight into the mix.

>>> Wheel-on vs direct drive turbo trainers

That means when folding this beast away you can frequently catch your hands or have a sudden drop of weight on you while hunched down. The release clips are at the bottom and if you release one side the Tacx Neo has a habit of falling to one side or release both and you've got a huge weight to bear until you try and softly place it down.

Other competitors like the CycleOps Hammer are better in this regard and so is the Wahoo Kickr, which is much easier to manoeuvre.

At this point, anyone with a thru-axle bike or a bike with disc brakes will be left scratching their head as the Neo doesn’t ship with the converter needed to make it compatible, which stings a bit considering the price of the unit.

Watch: Turbo trainer buyer's guide

Also annoying, and unlike the Wahoo, the Tacx doesn’t come with a cassette, which will be a frustration for those who don’t have the tools to fit one.

Fortunately, the Tacx Neo freehub is Edco, meaning that it is both Campagnolo and Shimano/SRAM compatible, unlike the Wahoo Kickr, which is just Shimano/SRAM compatible out the box - unless you order a separate cassette body and swap them over. The transformer for the Tacx Neo is dual voltage, meaning it works in any region too, which is useful if you want to take it abroad.

>>> Zwift vs Peloton: which is best for your at-home workouts?

The turbo’s heft means it won’t be leaving my living room anytime soon, but compared to the likes of the Wahoo it is pretty similar in terms of weight but does weigh a fair amount more than Elite Drivo II. Its footprint measures 750 x 575mm, which makes it bigger than its Wahoo equivalent. However, it’s smaller than the Elite Drivo II and once folded away it’s quite slim and sits nice and flush against the wall out of the way.

Like the Wahoo Kickr, the Tacx Neo is very quiet making it ideal for those who have thin walls or shared living. Having tested both, the Wahoo is slightly quieter I'd say. Mainly because of the Tacx's 'road surface simulation', which replicates cobbles or wooden slats that you come across on the Zwift platform. It is noisier and rather annoying but without that feature there wouldn't be much between the two turbos.

A nice feature of the Tacx Neo is you can use it when it's not plugged in. Pedal for a few seconds and it turns itself on using a dynamo, albeit with reduced functionality, something which makes it very useful for taking to races and warming up on. By comparison, the Kickr has to be plugged in for use.

Once plugged in, you can make use of the Tacx Neo's full hardware features, controlling it in the iOS or Android apps available for smart phones and tablets. I used the iPhone app, which allowed me to manually control the both the slope from -5 per cent to 25 per cent. In addition to this you can set a specific wattage to ride to.x

This is really useful if you want to do an interval at a specified wattage – you just concentrate on turning the pedals and the Tacx Neo will adjust the resistance to match your chosen cadence. I really like this setting as it means you can watch a film and not have to stare at the numbers constantly.

The Wahoo Kickr can also perform this ergo function too. I have found the Wahoo software to be better than Tacx's, particularly when trying to export ride data into Training Peaks or Strava.

Accuracy is good: compared with on-bike power meters, readings remained constant. Pedal-based power meters like the PowerTap P1s or the crank-based system like the Quarq DZero will not include drivetrain wastage, which will be around four or five watts lost compared with the Tacx Neo reading – and that showed.

When doing high-power efforts the power readings were consistent too, a good sign of reliability and durability of the unit.

The Neo, unlike any other turbo we've tested, is self-calibrating. This means that you don't have to perform a zero offset like you do with many power meters and turbo trainers. Wahoo for example will want you to complete a weekly spin-down test to ensure correct calibration.

Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity means you can connect the trainer wirelessly with your computer or phone and ride along downloaded courses or complete training sessions. That of course also allows you to use third party apps such as Zwift.

Having used the Tacx Neo with Zwift, the unit adjusts the resistance to simulate what is happening on screen, and is brilliant at simulating the changing gradients, recreating the feel of anything between a 20 per cent uphill slope to a -5 per cent downhill slope. If virtual reality training is your thing, then this is a superb tool.

Ultimately, the Tacx Neo was once was the market leader, but the likes of Elite, CycleOps and Wahoo have now come to the fore and provide equal performance with better compatibility at a cheaper price too.

However, the Tacx Neo remains one of the better ones for riding and that large flywheel offers good ride quality.

The new Elite Drivo II is said to improve on everything the original Drivo was. Better road feel, better response to terrain change in apps like Zwift and higher accuracy levels to within +/- 0.5 per cent.

In a world where turbo training has never been so good Elite had to impress – and if claims are to be believed then impress the new Elite Drivo II will.

Out of the box the new unit requires some self-assembly. This is the first smart turbo I've come up against that requires a few bits to be bolted on. It isn't that complicated and the tools are provided to help you with the process – a spanner and an Allen key.

Once the legs are in place you have yourself a rather large looking unit and set up side-by-side with the CycleOps Hammer, Wahoo Kickr or even the Tacx Neo there is no denying that the Drivo II is portly.

Because of the design and its size it's a bit hard to move around. The handle at the top is a good place to have it but all of the unit's weight is at the bottom and I struggled to move it around comfortably. And there's the added issue of the retractable legs that don't sit flush with the unit when the arms are folded in. You can't leave the legs out if you want to move the Elite Drivo II as it won't fit through the door!

The good thing though about its wide footprint and low-down weight is that the smart turbo is very stable and doesn't rock uncomfortably. Even during big efforts the Drivo II remains assured.

I tested the Elite Drivo II turbo using Zwift's training platform and linked to an Apple iPad via Bluetooth. Connection was quick and stable.

>>> Cheap indoor fitness app set up

One issue I had when completing a specific training sessions is that the Drivo II kept increasing in resistance until I couldn't pedal any more. Trying to do a sprint effort when the resistance of the turbo is getting harder and harder is not only annoying but pretty soul destroying when you can't put out the required numbers.

This was with the 'erg' mode enabled, so to get the turbo to reduce the resistance I had to stop, turn erg mode off and then continue. This didn't happen when erg was switched off during a training session on Zwift, which is recommended.

>>> Zwift vs Peloton: which is best for your at-home workouts?

Away from the training session and just riding Watopia the Elite Drivo II performed very well. I was very impressed with how fast and refined the trainer's motion was to changing gradient while riding the platform and I was happy with the realistic feel of the unit: the Drivo II has a super-fast magnetic system that claims to allow you to go from zero to 24 per cent gradient in three seconds. Not that I tried this.

The 24 per cent gradient that it can replicate is a whole four per cent more than the Wahoo Kickr can do, and is the highest output on the market despite a smaller flywheel of 6kg compared to Wahoo's 7.25kg.

The Elite Drivo II claims to be one of the quietest turbos on the market today. I did some testing with a simple and free app on my phone. In the riding position at 150 watts I rode for a minute to get an average decibel reading and found the Drivo II to be at least six to seven decibels higher than the Kickr in the exact same environment. This reading was around 58db and is a like a medium hum.

As with most of the latest turbos, the noise level is far quieter than the old type, but the Elite Drivo II does fall short of some of the best out there at the moment.

Accuracy of the unit is said to be the best on the market at +/- 0.5 per cent, which is better than the class-leading Tacx Neo and Wahoo. Riding Zwift and comparing efforts with the Wahoo mainly I felt like these numbers where on point with no wild readings. Sadly at the time of testing I couldn't compare with my normal power meter as it was out of action for a bit.

This was without a calibration since Elite suggests that once calibrated in the factory, barring any software updates you shouldn't need to calibrate the unit all that often.

You don't get a cassette with the Elite Drivo II but you get good compatibility between thru-axle and quick release, something you don't get with the Tacx Neo for example, for which you have to buy a separate adapter. You also get a free 36-month subscription to My E Training software.

The Wahoo Kickr was already a hit with us at Cycling Weekly but it did have some limitations in terms of outright performance and ride quality.

>>> Buy now at Evans Cycles for £999

For 2018 Wahoo has given the Kickr smart turbo a spruce-up, bringing a number of key upgrades to enhance the indoor riding experience. This all comes with no increase in price, which stays at £999.

>>> The best turbo trainers for autumn and winter 2018/2019

With these improvements (I'll come to those in a minute) comes one drawback – weight. With a larger flywheel than the previous model the overall weight increases to over 22kg. We need to see turbos getting lighter, not heavier! Thankfully the design, ergonomics and well positioned weight of the Wahoo Kickr means it remains one of the easiest turbos to move and store. Great when space is tight.

Compare this to the Elite Drivo II, which is lighter overall. The Elite is a larger unit which is harder to store (for those tight on space) and the weight isn't distributed as well as the Kickr. (In relation to where and how you hold the unit.)

The compact nature of the Kickr is down to the legs, which fold flush against the body of the unit. This design also means it doesn't need building when it comes out of the box. But there is a trade-off here. While the Wahoo Kickr is a stable platform, it isn't as stable during hard efforts as the Elite. There's a compromise between size, stability and storage. You decide which is more important.

The Kickr's 'ready out of the box' nature is complemented by the Shimano 105 cassette, a big improvement over the cassette previously provided.

>>> Buyer's guide to turbo trainers

Video - Buyer's guide to turbo trainers

Set-up and connection to other units is as easy via ANT+ or Bluetooth. You can calibrate it quickly and easily via Wahoo's app or a Garmin unit so once you've locked your rear dropouts in place and clicked a few buttons you're good to go. Compatibility with Zwift is also very good.

>>> Zwift vs Peloton: which is best for your at-home workouts?

Via the app you can adjust the erg setting, which is great for sessions where you want to sit at a certain wattage. The previous problem was that if you did stop pedalling the system would be nigh on impossible to get going again. It now adjusts the resistance so you can get back up to your required wattage without needing to do a standing start effort.

>>> Zwift vs Peloton: which is best for your at-home workouts?

In general it gives a very realistic feeling of road resistance. For example it's pretty damn hard to hold 30mph, and if you do, your wattage would be around what you'd expect to see out on the road.

These readings, however, didn't seem as stable as those of the Tacx Neo for example, and although I didn't experience any dropouts in wattage like I had on the previous version, numbers did seem a little more erratic than the Elite's and read a little higher than I'm used to seeing.

The larger flywheel definitely makes sprint efforts more manageable and with good connectivity I never experienced any dropouts as speed, wattage and resistance all stayed on point, even in Zwift training sessions with the erg mode on.

As with any turbo, noise needs to be factored in. Wahoo has improved this too and it claims the Kickr is almost silent when riding. My testing found over a course of a minute the decibel reading was 52db, around five less than the Elite Drivo II. Some of that comes from the drivetrain of course and a consideration with the supplied cassette is that if you have a worn and stretched chain it'll cause more friction and won't work as well with the new cassette.

The chances are you'll need to index your gears for the turbo set-up. I spent a while on the trimming setting of a Shimano Di2 to try solve clicking issues and it's a little more fiddly with mechanical gears.

Connection via Bluetooth or ANT+ is easy and the unit allows you to do both at the same time. External apps like Zwift work seamlessly, and while I’m yet to explore many more to see how it compares, being open source means the Kickr can connect to pretty much anything.

The updated Wahoo Kickr remains one of the best on the market in terms of road feel and has managed to sharpen up that feel further still with the latest update. It's done this simply by increasing its flywheel size to 7.25kg.

Other updates include a better overall wattage output which increases to 2,200w (this feels like a bit of a needless arms race to mortals like me, but track sprinters might think differently), whilst mimicked gradients stop at 20 per cent, slightly down on its rivals.

Overall it is a great piece of kit and very practical too. When compared to the other smart turbos on the market I feel Wahoo gets more right than wrong.

The new S-Phyre X glasses from Shimano, developed with the LottoNL-Jumbo team, have a top half-frame with detachable lower frame bumpers. The other model in the range, the S-Phyre R, has a frameless design.

The lens is large, extending well above the eyebrows so that even in the most aggressive position the frame top doesn’t obscure your vision. We should say ‘lenses’ because you get three in the hard case the S-Phyre X glasses come with: there’s a polarizing mirror red for bright light conditions, a photochromatic dark grey for variable light that changes from 13 to 62 per cent light transmission in eight seconds, plus a ‘Cloud Mirror’ lens.

The Cloud Mirror lens has 85 per cent light transmission and is designed to reduce blue light transmission while allowing red/yellow through for good contrast in low-light conditions. We found this lens was the best for night riding while the grey-tinted photochromatic was great for daytime changeable light conditions.

However, the photochromatic lens would be more useful it it did go completely clear rather than starting at dark grey in order to avoid unnecessary lens changes: they're not the easiest to swap but once you learn the technique it is possible to accomplish it without worrying about snapping something.

In the box are both red and black detachable lower bumpers, which, compared to the lenses, are easily swapped but don’t look as if they’ve seated properly into the nosepiece.

Although they're not adjustable the arms of the S-Phyre X glasses are comfortable and secure, but we found they have a tendency to pull the lens too close to the face. This, combined with the lack of venting on offer, led to a feeling of overheating in warmer conditions, with sweat collected by the eyebrows running down the insides of the lenses. That said, as with helmets, different glasses suit different shaped heads.

The Blackburn Dayblazer 1100 is the most powerful of the new Dayblazer range, which has a strikingly angular modern design with the suggestion of cooling fins on its black aluminium case.

The Dayblazer 1100, which has a replaceable battery, stacks two LEDs on top of each other rather rather than side by side as some such as the Lezyne Lite Drive 800XL do, presumably with the intention of taking up less space on the handlebar.

It uses the now almost ubiquitous rubber strap mount that requires the light to be swiveled in order to get the strap over its hook, which can be a bit tricky. However, despite the strap being narrow, it holds the Dayblazer well enough in all planes and we didn’t get any slippage forwards.

>>> Best front and rear lights

The Blackburn Dayblazer 1100 has five modes from Blitz (1100 lumens, one hour burn time) to Strobe (200 lumens, 12 hours). The Blitz mode is super bright, literally turning night into day, but obviously has to be used sparingly, and then on High (800 lumens) you get two hours, which is fairly standard.

The on/off switch, as with most lights, has the battery indicator inside it: green for 100-75 per cent of charge, orange for 75-25 per cent and red for under 25 per cent. However, there’s no double click function for instant full beam or five-second hold for a ‘race’ mode, as other lights offer – you have to cycle through all the modes to get back to ‘Blitz’ if you want some extra illumination.

It’s also worth mentioning that you can’t use any old micro USB cable to charge the Blackburn. Since the space around the Blackburn’s socket is oval, the type of cable that has a square plastic moulded section directly behind the connector (ie most of them) won’t fit, so you’ve got to use the one it comes with or trim the universal square-type with a Stanley knife to fit – and that’s not ideal.

The Lezyne Lite Drive 800XL is a beefed-up version of the 700XL that won 'best on test' in Cycling Weekly last year. It has the same curvy, twin-headlamp design that looks like it fell off a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado. And, like its predecessor, its polished CNC-machined aluminium case also comes in silver, anodized purple, blue and red.

>>> Best front and rear lights

The eight modes the Lezyne Lite Drive 800XL offers have pretty much all night-riding bases covered. The highest power, Overdrive, is a super-bright 800-lumen blast that very effectively illuminates a dark lane, but only for an hour and 20 minutes. The lowest, Femto, is a low-powered 15-lumen beam that will give a claimed 76-hour burn. There’s also a ‘race’ mode, activated by holding the switch down for five seconds, that has just two modes: Overdrive and Economy (150 lumens, nine hours burn time).

We found the race mode was great for the evening chaingang where you don't need a bright beam until you're on the front, but we'd rather the 800XL had a function like the Cateye Volt 800 where you could toggle between Overdrive and a mode of your choice since Economy is on the dim side for solo riding on unlit roads.

The Lezyne Lite Drive 800XL mounts via a rubber strap that can stretch enough to wrap around the flat section of an aero bar if required. We found the strap worked fine for a regular set-up on a handlebar top: it held the light in balance but you have to swivel the light to get the rubber strap over its hook, sited directly underneath the light casing, and if you want the light next to the stem there’s not always the space to swivel it.

There's a single top-mounted, positive-feeling button that stands proud of the casing and is easy to use with full-finger gloves but also means the light is prone to switching itself on in a bag if you're not careful.

Charging is via a micro USB port in the rear that’s hidden behind a substantial rubber bung. An LED inside the button changes colour to indicate battery status (four different statuses), which we found useful. The battery is not replaceable. A great light for a great price but we’d like a shortcut to full beam from the other modes and not just while in race mode.

The Specialized Air Tool HP is a handsome-looking piece of kit, standing out from the crowd in its ‘Ion’ hi-viz colour way (it’s also available in silver) with a large steel base that curves forwards to combat rocking in that direction with sandpaper grips stuck to each side of the footplate.

It stands 65cm off the ground, a seemingly standard height that allows you to get your weight over the handle without doing your back in. However, as we shall see, the Specialized doesn't really need to be leant on t00 much to hit the sort of pressures a road bike user will be aiming at.

The Air Tool has ‘auto-selecting SwitchHitter II technology’, which means the chuck goes onto either a Presta or a Schrader valve without any user intervention. On the Presta valve we tested it with, we got an immediately airtight and secure seal. Pulling the chuck off the valve is an equally neat operation with minimal air lost – just what's in the hose.

The gauge is a fairly standard 7cm in diameter, is easy to read and has a useful marker that you can leave pointing to your target pressure for extra speed and accuracy.

Talking of speed, Specialized says the Air Tool “requires 30 per cent less effort than traditional floor pumps to reach 100psi in a 700C tyre. That’s hard for us to quantify, but it took us 30 easy-feeling strokes to reach 100psi.

The Specialized Air Tool HP isn't the cheapest track pump around, but with its aluminium barrel and steel base it's made of good quality materials that will last a long time. It’s a pity the plastic handle, which is comfortable to hold and nice and wide at 25.5cm, feels lightweight and flimsy compared to the rest of the pump’s metal construction, but this doesn't have any effect at all on the Specialized Air Tool's ability to deliver a smooth and powerful tubeful of air.

If you’re looking for an all-round disc brake wheelset, which can cope with the UK’s rough road surfaces and year-round conditions, at a modest price, the Miche Race Axy has a lot going for it.

Miche is a classic Italian manufacturer of alloy components and alloy and carbon wheelsets, based around an hour north of Venice, in Italy’s bike manufacturing heartland. It’s been in business for almost 100 years and is still in the same factory. The company has a catalogue of over 10,000 different lines and has been making wheels for close to 20 years.

>>> Best road bike wheelsets reviewed

But it’s invested in automation and computer controlled machinery, so although the Race Axy is laced by hand, it’s trued by a Dutch machine to +/- 0.2mm – a considerably closer tolerance than most wheel makers aim for.

Miche also CNC machines its own hubs from aluminium billets and assembles them on site. Miche provides, at extra cost, all the adapters necessary to fit quick release axles as well as the variety of thru-axle standards which you find on different road disc bikes. There’s also a Campagnolo cassette body available. The wheels use the Shimano Centerlock rotor standard, which makes for a clean look.

>>> Disc brakes: everything you need to know

The Race Axy is a mid-section wheelset, with a 30mm deep asymmetric alloy rim. So it’s not designed to be particularly aero, but does have a 17mm internal, 23mm external width, so it supports wider tyres well. It’s a bit heavier than some – the Fulcrum Racing 7 DB has a claimed weight of 1750g for example, although the Mavic Aksium Disc wheelset’s weight is similar to the Race Axy.

Out on the road, the Race Axy belies its relatively high weight. It feels very well built and sturdy with little flex, so that power delivery is effective and you can move on fast both on the flat and once you hit the hills.

>>> Are bikes with disc brakes faster?

The 24 classic J-bend butted steel spokes are laced two-cross front and rear. They use Sapim brass nipples, which should be resistant to freezing, allowing the wheels to be trued if needed.

So for a classic sportive or training wheel, the Miche Race Axy WP DX wheelset should prove ideal and give long service whatever conditions it is used in.

In Zipp's ever-growing range of wheels, the Zipp 30 Course disc brake wheels are the least expensive options, but at £800, we'll be the first to admit that "least expensive" doesn't mean cheap. However, for the price on offer they are seriously impressive performers, and it's this that lands them a spot on Cycling Weekly's Editor's Choice for 2017.

Zipp has always been known as a very forward-looking company, so it's no surprise that the Zipp 30 Course disc-brake wheels have been future-proofed. All conceivable axle standards are covered to allow you to fit them to whatever disc-brake bike you want.

Out of the box they're designed to work with quick-release skewers, but there are also thru-axle end-cap adaptors supplied (front: 12x100mm & 15x100mm, rear: 12x135mm & 12x142mm) that should cover all eventualities.

As you would also expect, the Zipp 30 Course wheels are tubeless-ready, and there is also a tubular version available at the same cost. Zipp supplies everything else you need such as skewers and rim tape so you can begin to use these wheels straight out of the box.

With an RRP of £800, the Zipp 30 Course wheels don't have carbon rims but don't let that put you of: the aluminium rims that Zipp has given this wheelset do a great job.

Like everything else with these wheels the rims are bang up to date, coming with a wide 21mm external and 21mm internal rim width that means that they work perfectly with wider tyres, offering a more comfortable and aerodynamic ride.

Inevitably, this might lead to some tyre clearance issues, which we did find when we tested the Zipp 30 Course wheels with a 30mm tyre. The combination of the wide rim and the size of the tyre caused issues with some framesets, with minimal space under the fork and between the chainstays.

With a claimed rim weight of 500g per wheel, they're not super-light compared to some of the carbon-rimmed wheels we've ridden, but it's certainly not a bad number. They're nice and easy to spin up to speed and always felt lively on the climbs.

This makes them a great addition to heavier adventure-style road bikes that aren't always at their best going uphill.

But even with this light rim weight, the Zipp 30 Course wheels are stiff. Even with the minimal clearance between the tyre and the chainstay and the the rim and the brake pads I never had problems with them flexing even when hammering out a full-gas sprint.

Hubs have historically been something of a sticking point with Zipp wheels. However, all of the company's latest hoops – the Zipp 30 Course disc brake wheels included – come with its new 77/177D hub, which comes with better bearing protection and sealant and ditches user-adjustable preload tension in favour of factory-set preload.

Happily, I've been using the Zipp 30 Course disc brake wheels all the way through the British winter — often in atrociously wet and gritty conditions — with no problems whatsoever. The bearings are still running smoothly and quietly and these wheels are still a joy to ride.

The Zipp 30 Course disc-brake wheels are seriously impressive. Even with an aluminium rim they're light and agile enough to enliven even the dullest adventure bike, and have all axle standards covered with their quick-release and thru-axle compatibility.

The new tubeless update to Mavic's 40mm mid-section wheel has a more aerodynamic rim than before plus a slightly lower overall wheel weight when the tyres are factored in – and they roll fast!

The Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL UST was one of the best carbon wheels on the market and by making it tubeless, Mavic has made a superb wheel even better (and faster). They are great value when compared to other premium brand carbon clinchers and being 40mm deep, ideal for all round use. To top it all off, the braking is excellent.  Mavic has changed the game with these, hence their inclusion in the 2017 Editor's Choice awards...

Newly launched this year, the new Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL UST road bike wheels are an updated, tubeless-ready version of the brilliant Cosmic Pro Carbon SL C clinchers.  The wheels feature a wide ‘U’ shaped profile and improved brake track over the previous 'V' shaped Mavic Cosmic 40C wheels.

The new U-shaped NACA profile on the Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL UST is said to be more aerodynamic, more stable in crosswinds and also wider than previous Mavic wheels (19mm internal, 25mm external). The wider rims are also better suited to integration with wider tyres.

Improved stopping power is thanks to Mavic’s iTgMax carbon technology. The secret behind the excellent braking is said to lie in the manufacturing process. The company has a patented process which uses a laser to prepare the braking surface. This burns away the surface resin leaving the carbon fibres intact and exposed. It has also developed a heat curing process to ensure that its rims can tolerate braking temperatures of up to 200ºC, which is at the extreme of potential real-world conditions.

Creating a carbon clincher rim profile and its braking surfaces requires moulding to very close tolerances and Mavic has developed its own proprietary processes to achieve this without subsequent machining of the rim, as this can lead to cut carbon fibres and damage to the rim’s integrity.

Aero benefits

Mavic has also tested the aero benefits of its new rims. It started by gathering data on the real-world wind yaw angles experienced when riding, which are rarely much above 5 or 10°C. Wind tunnel testing showed best-in-class results for its 40mm rim at these lower angles. We haven't aero tested the new Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL UST, but we did test the non-tubeless Cosmic SL C it has replaced, which has a very similar rim profile. Our own drag coefficient testing suggested that there was very little difference between the Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL C and other similar depth wheels from brands such as Zipp, Enve and Fast Forward.

Mavic's NACA rim profile certainly provides an aero advantage though, with our drag coefficient testing suggesting a 9-10W saving at 40kph over a Mavic Ksyrium Elite box-section rim. The Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL C also uses new elliptical steel spokes to help reduce air resistance, while the hubs are Mavic Instant Drive 360, with 9° engagement.

The new Pro Carbon SL UST is also lighter than the older Cosmic 40C with a claimed weight of 1,490g v 1,550g.

Making a tubeless-compatible rim has added a small amount of weight over the Pro Carbon SL C (1,450g a pair) that it replaces – but Mavic insists that a tubeless tyre and sealant results in a net weight saving over 40g per wheel over a traditional clincher and butyl tube.

Although the overall wheel weight may appear slightly more than the likes of Zipp and Enve, this is misleading – the skewers supplied are not the lightest. You could easily swap these. The key thing is the low 470g rim weight, which consequently has low inertia and is really noticeable when accelerating or ascending.

To put the wheels and their iTgMax brake track technology to the ultimate test, we used them in Spain's biggest Gran Fondo – Quebrantahuesos.

The event features three hors categorie climbs and to make matters more testing we experienced terrible weather too.

Safe descending

While descending Pyrenean climbs in the wet we felt safe, with assured, consistent braking – with no disconcerting squealing or brake fade as can be the case on carbon rims.

We have also used the iTgMax carbon brake track during Paris Nice Gran Fondo, and although this event was dry, the technical descents required heavy braking at times. The same result of consistent, quiet, assured braking was observed. For riding carbon in the mountains, we wouldn’t want anything else. One caveat though – you have to use the yellow Mavic Swiss Stop pads (a set is included with the wheels).

The Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL UST come supplied with Mavic's own Yksion UST 25mm tyres. These tubeless tyres roll nicely and feel faster than Mavics standard Yksion (non tubeless) tyres.

Black Friday 2018 deal: Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon at Evans Cycles for £821

What cannot be ignored is the price: £1,579 a pair. Although expensive, the price is still much lower than those of other premium brands and you get tyres included too. The weight is slightly higher than a pair of Zipp 303s or Enve 4.5s, but as previously mentioned, this added weight is not in the rim, where inertia is most important.

It is also worth noting that Mavic is now offering a pre-purchase test programme called 'Riding is Believing' through selected dealers, allowing you to try before you buy. It is also offering a new warranty called Mavic Care Plus which offers a free third year and discounted crash replacement.

The Ridley Helium X is Ridley's lightweight climbing bike, which is a featherweight in the hills yet easily stiff enough to make it in a GC bunch sprint. It's this performance attitude that gains the Ridley Helium X a spot on Cycling Weekly's Editor's Choice for 2017.

The Ridley Helium X comes out of the same mould as the Helium SLX, the bike of choice for Thomas de Gendt, but it’s made of a mix to 30T (30 tonne) and 24T high modulus carbon rather than the Helium SLX’s 60T-40T-30T higher-modulus mix.

This makes the frame a touch heavier than the GC contending SLX model, and as a result less expensive, bringing down the Helium X’s overall price tag. Regardless of the carbon mix, this test bike still weighs a competitive 7.5kg.

The Ridley Helium X is a lightweight frame with a robust head tube/down tube junction and chunky chainstays for power delivery. The comparatively skinny seatstays are designed to add some cushioning for extra ride comfort. Ridley uses threaded external bottom bracket bearings for more efficient running and ease of maintenance.

The head tube is a bit taller than on some race machines, although the stack means that the ride position remains low, again reflecting the Helium X’s big brother’s pro race credentials.

The 72° head tube angle and 96.9cm wheelbase on the size 54 tested are quite aggressive, leading to handling that is more edgy than relaxed.

Like the frame, the Helium X’s fork is all carbon and made of the same high-modulus 30T-24T mix.

A quality spec

The bike comes with a full Shimano Ultegra groupset, excluding the chainset, which is replaced by a Rotor 3D30 chainset and brakes. With its semi-compact 52/36 rings and 11-28 cassette, there’s plenty of range for faster riding as well as the uphills. As you’d expect from Ultegra, the shifting is faultless and the braking effective.

Although they’re not a premium wheelset, the Forza RC23 wheels have a quality build and are deep enough to give a sporty look to the bike. The Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyres give plenty of air volume, a wide stance to the sidewalls and a comfortable ride. With the extra volume, you can also lower the tyre pressure to add comfort.

Ridley’s in-house component brand, Forza, sells a comprehensive range of finishing kit and the Helium X makes use of this, with a Forza alloy cockpit, carbon seatpost and saddle.

Lively in the hills

The Ridley Helium X shows its racing credentials in a lively ride, which makes you want to ride faster and put its handling to use. With the stem slammed, the ride position is racy enough to put you quite long and low, although there are spacers to get the bars 4.5cm higher if you prefer.

Although it feels fast, the Helium X isn’t a handful to pilot and is quite happy ridden rapidly on faster flats and descents. There’s plenty of rigidity to the bottom bracket and chainstays too, so you can put the power down and climb effectively.

Although billed as a lightweight machine, that rigidity does mean that the Helium X is a bit less plush than some alternatives. It's not uncomfortable, there's just more ride feel, in many ways making you feel more connected with the bike.

At close to £3,000 in Ultegra spec, the Ridley Helium X is also a bit more expensive than some alternatives. But for your money you are getting a WorldTour-level frame tested by Thomas de Gendt and others on the Lotto-Soudal team.

And Ridley has built the Helium X with a range of quality components. Not just the full Shimano groupset, but the wheels and own-brand finishing kit befit a premium machine too.

The new CLX range comprises a 64mm deep, 50mm and the Roval CLX 32 Disc wheels tested here that fall into the lightweight category. The rear weighs in at 740g and the front 610g – not bad for a disc-brake wheelset.

But it is not just the tech specs that are excellent, the ride quality is every bit its match and that's exactly why the Roval CLX 32 Disc wheels have landed a spot on Cycling Weekly's Editor's Choice for 2017.

Class leading wheels

Specialized is throwing around some big claims surrounding the Roval CLX 32s. It has wind-tunnel tested all of the rims and claims the Roval CLX 32 to be class leading in terms of weight and aerodynamics, suggesting they are faster than some wheels twice the depth.

In our testing these claims certainly felt like they could be true, with the wheels feeling light and stiff, rolling up to speed very nicely and then staying there.

The 32s use the centerlock system for the discs and have a very wide internal carbon rim which sits at 20.7mm. They certainly look very wide and the 26mm tyres they were fitted with sat perfectly, giving a great contact patch on the road allowing for better comfort and rolling resistance on the typical broken roads of the UK.

Specialized say the Roval CLX 32 was engineered in its own wind tunnel with 24mm wide tyres to get the best aero package as possible, and it seems to have worked, and these feel great at all speeds. Their light weight definitely helps their acceleration and the aerodynamics help slice through the air, which heightens their all-round ability.

Now these rims are tubeless ready, but a colleague and I found the wide rim made the tubeless set up difficult, even with the help of dedicated tubeless pumps. However, the advantage of this is getting tyres on and off is easy, but getting them seated is a pain, and will require a bit more grunt work than narrower rims.

Stiff, light and strong

Despite the light weight Specialized claims, these carbon hoops are tough enough for cyclocross and while we haven’t pushed these off-road, we can confirm they brushed off typical farm tracks and weathered winter lanes without buckling or needing a true-up.

Thankfully the American brand provides QR and 12mm bolt thru caps with the wheelset (as well as pair of tubeless valves) so you should be able to work with whatever spindle type you use.

Ceramic bearings are a tidy finish to this high-end wheelset and help them roll nicely. By being light and not so deep these spin up quickly and hold speed well too. I’d happily train on these, race on these and use them everyday for commuting.

The brilliant thing about disc brakes is that the rim will never wear and, as long as you look after the ceramic bearings, they should stand the test of time too – regardless of whether you're riding cross or just on the road. There can't be many better upgrades for those who have dived into the disc-brake world.

The humble cycling gilet is one of the true bike-riding must-haves, but still it seems strange that such a tiny bit of fabric as the Café du Cycliste Madeleine gilet is so technical. Yet, when you're out riding you realise its true worth.

The Café du Cycliste Madeleine gilet's selling point is its weight: at 99g it's tiny, easily folding away into a rear pocket. It's the lightest gilet I've tested by a country mile, but it's the fact it can generate the level of warmth it does despite being a mere sliver of material that impresses me.

>>> Winter bikes: buying guid to 2018 models

It's labelled as windproof and its tight arm seams keep the wind out and the heat in, plus an additional storm flap behind the zip ramps up the protection, too. A high neck is a nice touch especially as it's padded with a soft material, eliminating chafing and adding warmth.

Thanks to the breathable back section, the warm gilet doesn't become a bin bag and it's never been damp with sweat at the end of rides.

Watch: buyer's guide to winter clothing

That same breathable back means the gilet doesn't need gaping arm holes, so neither does it blow up like a balloon as soon as you set off.

Despite its slim appearance, it does an excellent job of keeping your core warm, whether that's on particularly cold days or long descents. Don't underestimate its importance in keeping your fingers and toes warm.

At £92 it's certainly not cheap, and to many will seem excessively expensive, but there's no doubting the insulation on offer, its technical prowess or its importance as a layering addition.

As a true wardrobe essential, it accompanied me on everything from big days out to my urban commutes, and it still is so often the final piece of kit I reach for before heading out the door.

At the end of the day, the Café du Cycliste Madeleine gilet isn't just a spring or autumn item: I'd throw it on whatever the season as a perfect final layer.

A skinsuit is designed to be the most aerodynamic piece of clothing you can wear. Premium skinsuits such as the Assos CS.speedfire Chronosuit S7 feature special fabrics and strategically placed seams designed to reduce drag and manipulate airflow.

>>> Project 49 - how to ride a time trial pb (video)

The Assos CS.speedfire Chronosuit S7 has reportedly been developed with the use of a wind tunnel and is notable for being worn by the USA and Swiss teams in the Olympics. It is also worn by the BMC pro team and perhaps most famously by Fabian Cancellara en route to the gold medal in the Rio Olympics individual time trial.

It's very well made, the quality every bit as excellent as you'd expect of an Assos product. In this regard it stands out and is superior to other skinsuits I have tested, including leading suits from Castelli and Endura. There is a radio pocket (in case you're a pro) and a very useful small zipped valuables pocket on the rear which is ideal for a car key, meaning you don't have to ask the timekeeper to look after it for you.

Consistent with other Assos products the Assos CS.speedfire Chronosuit S7 is built to last, but we would like to see the inclusion of a number pocket on the rear, as this helps to stop the suit getting damaged from pins.

The distinctive Assos logo pattern received a Marmite reaction when worn at local time trials. I like it, but the suit does create the illusion of a high waist line, which is not the most flattering.

Having performed competitive aero testing of multiple skin skinsuits with the help of WattShop at Derby Velodrome, we were able to see how the Assos CS.speedfire Chronosuit S7 compared against leading suits from Bioracer, Castelli, Endura and others.

Our testing suggested the Assos suit was consistently slower than the others, which came as a surprise. Despite not being the fastest, the consensus among all our test riders was that the Assos suit was, without doubt, the most comfortable on test. We will be publishing a video in the not to distant future that goes into more detail about this testing and the data obtained.

It should be pointed out that although we tested the skinsuits with three different riders, the performance of a suit can be system dependent, meaning that the fastest suit on you may not be the fastest suit on me.

The Easton EC90 Aero Bar is a bladed handlebar designed to reduce drag and it certainly looks great with an aggressive shape and smart styling. The bars tipped our scales at 243g rather than the 230g claimed weight – this is still in the same ballpark  as other carbon aero handlebars. The claimed weight for the 42cm width is 25g lighter than that of its lower-ranked EC70 cousin but both have the same shape and dimensions.

>>> Would you benefit from narrower handlebars?

The only obvious difference between the EC90 and the EC70 is a white decal rather than black, but for £259.99 rather than £179.99 that’s a very expensive sticker. For the weight weenies it may well be worth the extra grams saved, but as the EC90 hit our scales at 13g above the claimed weight I’d want to weigh the EC70 to see the true difference before committing the extra cash.

Upon fitting the bars we found the cables easy to route compared to most aero handlebars. The job did require an old spoke being poked around inside to hook the cables but it wasn’t so bad. We’d say it was a DIY home job for the more adventurous, but a qualified mechanic would find it easy.

A big worry when choosing an aero handlebar is that you sacrifice some stiffness, feel and handling in favour of those ever more important aero gains. We found the EC90 surprisingly stiff for a bar this aggressively bladed.

If you’re in search of the ultimate aero front end to your bike and you plan to run Shimano Di2 cables internally be warned. Due to an internal completely solid section where the gear shifter clamps to the bar it is impossible to run a bar end plug Di2 junction box. The absence of a drilled hole in the centre of the bars also indicates that they were not designed with internally routed Shimano electronic gearing in mind and your junction box will have to go elsewhere.

Considering this, the Easton EC90 Aero Bar would not be compatible with an S-Works Venge Vias or Trek Madone. From the look of the carbon finish, there are several sections of the bar that have been bonded together, which would explain the solid section.

Another small oversight by Easton is the lack of 31.8mm round clamping section either side of the stem to run an out-front Garmin mount. I was just about able to attach an out-front K-Edge Garmin mount but I had to run the bars 3mm off centre in order to accomplish this. This was a problem we also encountered on the ENVE SES aero bar.

The EC90 Aero Bar is a compact shape, with 80mm reach and 125mm drop. When wrapping the Eastons I chose not to place bar tape across the top section so that the fancy decal could be shown off! This looked great but I found the top section slippery in wet and sweaty conditions.

As with pretty much all bike cases, this offering from Polaris is a clamshell design with zips and clips to securely close the case. The Polaris EVA Pod Plus sits in the middle of the Polaris bike case range, mixing the rigid nature of a box with elements of the softness of a bag.

>>> What do different airlines charge to fly your bike around Europe?

Being taller than the likes of Bike Box Alan and Evoc, the Polaris will accommodate integrated seatposts. However, although some smaller bikes can get away without removing the rear mech, you most likely will have to with this case, which adds to the pack-down faff. Typically pedals and bars will also need to be removed.

Two padded wheel bags are supplied to protect bike and wheels from rubbing and these are held down with clips and straps — as is much of the bike. It’s a simple, effective design.

We’ve had no problems with transportation and the case seems robust, standing up to knocks and bumps, while the added handle and wheels make for easy travelling. The bike lock eyelets are also a nice touch too, although it is a little difficult to get in and out of smaller cars and being rigid isn't exactly packable when not needed.

Taste & texture

The Primal Bar is made up solely of natural ingredients, with five different flavours, including coconut and macadamia, almond cashew and brazil nut and cherry.

The taste is acceptable across all flavour options, while also being quite unique in texture compared to the other energy bars.

>>> Best cycling energy bars

Nutrition

In terms of pure energy bar needs it doesn’t quite hit the mark with a higher fat content present than in other bars — this is primarily due to the nut-based ingredients.

But it also lags behind with some of the lowest carbohydrate levels — around 20 grams per bar depending on which flavour you choose.

Practicality

As mentioned previously, The Primal Bar is the ideal energy bar solution for those following the paleo diet, as well as perhaps being quite a useful snack bar to keep you going through the day.

But if you aren’t too fussed and are purely looking to replace depleted energy stores on the bike, it may be better to look elsewhere.