Inhaltsverzeichnis für July 2019 in Cyclist

Jersey £60, Cargo bibshorts £110, Lightweight socks £15, rapha.cc The Core collection aims to offer a taste of Rapha for a little less cash. It launched a few years ago with a jersey and bibshorts, but the range has expanded steadily and now comes the biggest overhaul since its introduction. The new Core line offers multiple bibshorts designs and a totally new version of the original Core jersey. The latter takes styling cues from the Classic jersey, with a white band on the left sleeve that matches the white branding. Rapha says it has designed the body fabric with a softer, stretchier marl fabric, and incorporated several fit refinements. Crucially the price has dropped to £60, which makes it the company’s cheapest jersey yet. The Cargo version of the Core…

£109.99, extrauk.co.uk ‘Living Coral’ is officially the Pantone Colour of the Year, which is a fact that hasn’t been overlooked by Fizik. The Tempo R5 Powerstrap shoe makes excellent use of the on-trend oceanic colour scheme, but also packs some impressive technical details for the price. The shoe has a central one-piece Velcro strap that wraps around the midfoot, and a second strap higher up to secure the instep, which together offer full control of the fit of the shoe’s upper. The only sacrifice to higher-spec shoes is a sole made of nylon composite rather than full carbon fibre. But for the colour of the year, we’re willing to sacrifice a watt of power here or there.…

1 BERYL BURNER BRAKE LIGHT £39.99, beryl.cc Burger King is called Hungry Jacks in Australia because some flaming galah bought the Aussie trademark before the sandwich monarch got there. Similarly Blaze (of green-laser headlight fame) is now Beryl due to trademark wrangles in the US. Yet its products remain as solid as ever. The Burner is a 200-lumen rear light that’s effective during the day as well as the night, and like a car’s lights it will intensify in brightness as you slow down. 2 MUCOFF TUBELESS VALVES £22.50 (pair), muc-off.com As the very recently coined saying goes, if it ain’t broke, anodise it. So Muc-Off has. Yet there’s more to these ostentatious tubeless beauties than meets the eye. An allen bolt slot in the backside of the…

In this day and age it seems absurd to come to the Alps and not take a disc bike, especially given the likelihood of damp weather. Similarly, fitting the widest tyres possible also seems a smart move, despite the extra weight. Thus, furnished with Campagnolo H11 disc brakes and 28mm wide Continental GP4000S II tyres, the Leggero SL was every bit the mountain goat I was looking for. At 7.23kg it was light but not flattering up inclines, but I’d trade that weight twice over for the confidence the Leggero presented down washed-out descents that even included cobbled hairpins. The Campagnolo Bora One wheels were also an excellent addition, their mid-sectioned 35mm rim profile and 1,483g weight (claimed) providing rapid acceleration and good rolling speed yet being shallow enough to…

Instead of sprinting onto the track, the three leaders found themselves outside a wall on the wrong side of the velodrome Fausto Coppi made thinly veiled threats that he would never ride the race again Of all the expected events that can conspire against a rider trying to win Paris-Roubaix, misleading directions given by a gendarme would be low on the list. A puncture or poor weather, a broken bike or a crash – these are perhaps to be expected. But a policeman pointing you in the wrong direction? Not so much. Yet that was exactly what happened to France’s André Mahé in 1949. The race had been billed as a showdown between Fausto Coppi, winner of Milan-San Remo the previous month, and defending champion Rik Van Steenbergen. ‘The Paris-Roubaix…

THE SPEC  Model Pearson Objects In Motion Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc Deviations None Wheels Pearson Full Carbon Hoopdriver Finishing kit Pro Vibe alloy handlebars and stem, Pearson Bolt Upright carbon seatpost, Pro Stealth saddle, Continental GP5000 28mm tyres Weight 8.32kg (M) Price £7,499.99 Contact pearsoncycles.co.uk Pearson is possibly best known for being the oldest bike shop in Britain, if not the world. Blacksmith Tom Pearson first opened the doors back in 1860, and by 1889, having been joined by his brother Harry, most of the business was concentrated on the newfangled bicycle. For me, Pearson is notable for another reason: the wonderfully worded names of its bicycles. There’s the Allmodcons gravel bike; the I’ve Started So I’ll Finish cyclocross bike; the Cut To The Chase aero road bike; and…

£4,108, campagnolo.com Campagnolo is now offering eight versions of its 12-speed groupset, from the recently launched Chorus set-up (a snip at £1,120 for rim brake mechanical) all the way up to this, the top-spec disc brake Super Record EPS electronic groupset. Like the other versions, it has an extra sprocket squeezed into the same space as the previous 11-speed – so no need to buy a new frame or wheels to upgrade – but Campagnolo insists the thinner chain and cassette are just as robust as before. There are two options in terms of cassette sizes: 11-29 and 11-32. Being Super Record, no expense has been spared. The components are dripping with carbon and titanium, the bearings are CULT ceramic, and anything that can be shaved or hollowed out to…

£169.99, ison-distribution.com Spiders’ webs are marvels of nature – incredibly strong and flexible, yet practically weightless. All of which, Tioga feels, are useful attributes in a saddle. The Undercover Stratum uses a web-like flexible base structure to offer the rider increased cushioning and shock absorption, while effectively halving the bulk. This top-of-the-range carbon-railed version weighs just 150g, making it about the same weight as a Goliath Birdeater Tarantula from Brazil.…

Alessandro Petacchi Age: 45 Nationality: Italian Honours Tour de France 2010 Points Classification, 6 stage wins Giro d’Italia 2004 Points Classification, 22 stage wins Vuelta a España 2005 Points Classification, 20 stage wins Milan-San Remo 1st, 2005 Paris-Tours 1st, 2007 Cyclist: After retiring in 2015, are you able to enjoy watching races as a fan? Alessandro Petacchi: I work as a commentator on Italian TV for big races like the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, so obviously that’s a bit different because I am thinking about my work and what I should say. But the truth is I still get nervous and I still feel the same tension and emotion. That’s especially the case when I watch rides that I did as a pro like Milan-San Remo, which…

Not to be confused with darts legend Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, Phil Taylor is the power behind Bespoked, an event that takes place every year in Bristol and showcases some of the finest framebuilding talent from around the globe. Cyclist has been a regular visitor since the magazine launched in 2012, and at some point we must have done something right as Taylor has asked us to judge the road bike category for the last few years. Each year it gets tougher. That may sound like a cliché, but the fact is handmade bikes have in recent years undergone less a resurgence and more an Old Masters-level of artistic renaissance – albeit a renaissance that encompasses cutting-edge materials and building methods, from butted carbon tubes and 3D-printed lugs to gravel…

‘We realised the impact we’d had when the media and information outlets shifted from saying Garmin and the rest to Garmin, Wahoo and the rest,’ says Wahoo Director of Product Management Jose Mendez. Over the past three years, Wahoo has taken the fight to cycling GPS computer giant Garmin, establishing itself as a genuine alternative to a company that had previously looked untouchable in this area of the cycling market. Much of that is thanks to the Wahoo ELEMNT, a GPS computer with all the core functionality you need from a bike computer – whether it be mapping or performance data – in an easy-to-use format that seamlessly syncs straight to your smart device with the click of a button. Now comes the Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM, which offers the same…

I have always found Austria charming, much like Switzerland but without having to pay €45 for a cafe stop. Austria enjoys the full bandwidth of the Alps, and through its landlocked state draws on cultures from Hungary to Italy and beyond, yet remains itself very much Austrian. You will find the traditionally rude waiters in the coffee houses of Vienna, world-class orchestras in the magisterial concert halls of Salzburg and the unmissable décolletage of dirndl-clad receptionists in Alpine hotels. In the most endearing sense, Austria is an almost impossible pastiche of itself, delivered without irony. It is friendly – homely even – but encompasses landscapes that run the full gamut from idyllic to downright daunting, all the while existing just as it has been portrayed in musicals and adverts for…

In the heart of this ascent, the gradient is relentless. There’s no other word for it You have to be a cyclist to understand the appeal of the Mortirolo. It’s too narrow and poorly surfaced to be fun in a car or on a motorbike, and the main road provides a faster and easier route between Mazzo and Monno. Unlike the nearby Stelvio and Gavia, there are no real views for the traditional tourist to stand and gaze over, mouth agape. No Michelin-starred cuisine or site of special scientific interest awaits you on the summit either. A compulsion to don Lycra and pedal is therefore imperative if you’re to be inspired by these slopes. Take anyone else over the Mortirolo and they will have forgotten all about it as soon…

Wherever I look, everything seems genuinely vintage, with both riders and kit echoing a bygone age Jam waiting at the start line of the Bergkönig Vintage sportive. To my left is Biagio Signarello. He is in full 1940s Legnano kit, and not replica stuff, either. It’s all original gear – the moth holes give that away. He is also on a matching bike, its maroon bar tape complementing his jersey sleeves perfectly. He looks to be running 19mm tubs and has seven gears at a push. His shoes look like they belong in a museum and when Cyclist’s photographer asks him to pose for a photo, he immediately goes for that classic racing position they all did back in the day. Hunch in the drops, grin from ear to ear.…

THE SPEC  Model Specialized S-Works Roubaix Groupset Sram Red eTap AXS HRD Deviations None Wheels Roval CLX32 Disc Finishing kit S-Works Carbon Hover handlebar, Specialized Future stem, Specialized Pavé seatpost, S-Works Power saddle, Specialized Turbo Cotton Hell of the North 28mm tyres Weight 7.27kg (56cm) Price £9,500 Contact specialized.com On the afternoon of Sunday 14th April, Philippe Gilbert and I had something in common. As Paris-Roubaix reached its climax, we were both riding the same brand new Specialized S-Works Roubaix at more than 50kmh. Where we differed was that Gilbert was on his way to adding a fourth Monument to his palmarès in northern France while I, according to Strava, was on my way to an unremarkable 891st place on some random segment as I descended from the mountains in…

£39.99, gorewear.com Named after an incomplete theorem by Stephen Hawking concerning the expansion of the universe (or possibly just a made-up name), Infinium Stretch gloves are near physics-defying in their abilities. Only marginally thicker than a pair of surgeon’s gloves and just as form-fittingly dextrous, they function like a second skin made out of Gore-Tex. The result is that they offer a serious amount of windproof and rain repellent warmth – Gore reckons they work best between 5°C and 15°C – while retaining impressive breathability. Reflective details are present, as well as silicone grippers and touch-screen sensitivity in the fingers. Also available in hi-viz yellow.…

£219, velobrands.co.uk During the early season one-day races in Belgium and France, Team Sky’s Luke Rowe made a nuisance of himself, pushing the pace and forcing echolons to form in the windy conditions. No doubt Rowe would argue that his ability to blow a race apart was all down to the power of his legs, but helmet supplier Kask would equally insist that he was helped by the design of its new Utopia helmet. The brand claims the Utopia saves up to 6 watts over ‘the best competitor’ at 50kmh. We can’t verify that claim, but it’s certain that any aero advantage doesn’t come at the expense of weight. This medium weighs 235g, which puts it among the lightest aero lids on the market. Kask says it achieved this efficiency…

‘I built this bike for the Sram-sponsored builders’ competition at last year’s Grinduro,’ says Rob Quirk when we meet at his workshop in east London. ‘There’s a public vote for the favourite build and also a prize for the fastest builder in the race, and I won both. ‘I was pretty happy. I knew I was doing the Silk Road, so the whole time I was building this bike it was with the idea I would take it to Kyrgyzstan.’ To those unfamiliar, Grinduro is an annual gravel-cum-MTB-enduro event and the Silk Road Mountain Race is an unsupported, fixed-route cycle race. While the former is held on the Isle of Arran and the latter across the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, both test bikes to their limits, although it’s fair…

At first I’m like a zombie, but the progress from week to week is amazing I’ve given myself a mountain to climb, both proverbially and literally. I want to get properly fit again by the time I turn 40 in six months, but I’ve been off the bike for four. All fitness has been lost, and too many kilos have been gained. As for the literal mountain, that’s the Hautacam in the Pyrenees – 13km, most of it at 10-12%, a hors categorie brute. This will be the measure of my progress: one simple number, my best time to the top. It renders all other stats secondary. My opportunity to ride this colossus regularly and regain my fitness has a lot to do with the reason I lost it in…

Depending on who you listen to, the cycling boom in the UK is over. British Cycling’s numbers, however, tell a very different story. The UK’s national body for cyclesport has just reached the milestone of 150,000 members, which is a testament not only to the country’s enduring love of cycling, but also the far-ranging benefits being a British Cycling member has to offer. It’s an impressive achievement, and all the more so when you consider that number was just 58,000 at London 2012. Members range from as young as 14 months to as old as 99, and between them own nearly half a million bikes, with 40% saying they ride every day. British Cycling offers several membership options, but the driving force behind the organisation’s rapid growth has undoubtedly been…

The bike I rode for the Bergkönig Vintage Cycling Festival was plucked from the collection of race organiser Alex Beeler, and the Wernli Sport Columbus SP is one of his favourites. Wernli Sport was a local Swiss team in the 1980s and this bike was raced in the national championships. The team’s kits and bikes clearly took inspiration from the 7-Eleven team of the same era. Made from Columbus steel tubing, the SP frame was specifically designed for heavier riders, with reinforced steel to prevent flex – something I was thankful for when chomping away at the day’s multiple double-digit gradients. Beeler has retrospectively fitted an indexed Shimano Dura-Ace eight-speed groupset from 1991 and, generously, chosen 39/28 as the bike’s ‘easiest’ gear. It also had a set of 23mm clincher…

THE SPEC  Model Rondo Ruut CF2 Groupset Sram Rival 1 Deviations Sram XG1150 10-42t cassette Wheels Rondo Superlight Finishing kit Rondo Flare handlebar, Rondo S stem, Easton EA50 seatpost, Fabric Scoop Flat saddle, Panaracer Gravel King SK 35mm tyres Weight 9.1kg (L) Price £2,699.99 Contact hotlines-uk.com Road riding traditionalists will be weeping into their espressos. Where once it was all about svelte tubes, skinny tyres and rim brakes, now the notion of road cycling has evolved to the point where new bikes sport disc brakes, clearance for fat tyres and a rugged off-road sensibility (just look at the three bikes reviewed in this issue). The Rondo Ruut is the perfect embodiment of this change. It includes numerous off-road elements, including a 1x groupset, dropped drive-side chainstay so that it can…

THE SPEC  Model Sram Red eTap AXS HRD Price £2,759 (£3,794 as tested) Contact sram.com For full spec and technical details see our analysis at cyclist.co.uk Can it really be three years since Sram unveiled eTap and introduced wireless shifting to the world? In the time since then, it has proved the dependability of the system, meaning that for its latest version – Red eTap AXS – it has been able to focus on refinement and improving the rider experience. The headline-grabbing change is the addition of a 12th sprocket. I won’t list the numerous gear ratios here (all that info is available on cyclist.co.uk), but more sprockets means smaller jumps between gears, and the fact that all the new cassettes now start from a 10t sprocket means it has wider…