It's that time of year again, the first federal holiday of the fall. Conveniently as ever, it comes just at the change over between summer kit and winter gear - excellent for picking up bargains on jerseys and shorts from the season just been, and even scooping up some gloves and long sleeve jerseys that didn't sell before the summer!
The big retailers are starting to gear up for the main selling season, ahead of Black Friday, Christmas and the January sales. The discounts aren't huge across the board, but there are some reasonable enough reductions not to feel bad if you need the kit now.
For instance, you can pick up a Tacx Flux 2 smart trainer with 20% off right now. Chances are there might be bigger reductions later on (then again, there may not be) - but that's still a pretty handy discount if you've been putting off replacing a broken indoor trainer all summer and now your hand is being forced!
And there are also the firm favorites on their seemingly perennial discounts, such as Vittoria Corsa G2.0 tires on a 44% reduction for the 28mm width. Why such stellar tires are so often on sale is beyond me. Still, it's sensible to have at least one set stored in reserve - you can guarantee than when you really need some fresh rubber they're going to be sitting stubbornly at full price for some reason!
There's only three left and only in a size small, but if this does fit you, then it's well worth a consideration. The premium Belgian brand is known for its quality - plus being dressed in SRAM's 12-speed electronic gearing, shod with Vittoria tires and rolling on carbon hoops certainly helps.
One of Giro's premium helmets, this is the lightweight ventilation oriented option with a big emphasis on fit and comfort - as well as safety, coming with the MIPS Spherical protection system, which is exclusive to Giro.
Vittoria's Corsa Graphene 2.0 are amongst the best tires we've ridden at Cycling Weekly. Their particular combination of cornering grip and low rolling resistance makes them great for fast riding on technical roads.
There might well be bigger discounts than this later in the season and around Black Friday - but I wouldn't necessarily count on it. If you don't need an upgrade, it might be best to wait for later in the season. If you do need a new indoor trainer ahead of winter, then you can be satisfied that this is actually still a good deal.
Indoor cycling shoes can sound like optimization for optimization's sake - but remember, there is still nothing stopping you from using ordinary cycling shoes indoors. Still, if you would prefer higher levels of ventilation - courtesy of breathable mesh fabrics which you probably really wouldn't want to get muddy - then an investment does make sense.
I used this multitool when cycling across the mountains of central Wales across to the Irish Sea - and it really impressed. It has Allen keys from 2.5mm right up to 10mm, Torx heads including T10, T15, and T25. It has a chain took, spoke tools, disc brake spacer and a plug and knife for tubeless repairs - plus it's actually easy to use, unlike others which cram in so many different tools.
After winning the 2019 National Single-Speed Cross-Country Mountain Biking Championships and claiming the plushie unicorn (true story), Stefan swapped the flat-bars for drop-bars and has never looked back.
But his favourite rides are multiday bikepacking trips, with all the huge amount of cycling tech and long days spent exploring new roads and trails - as well as histories and cultures. Most recently, he’s spent two weeks riding from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia.
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