Inhaltsverzeichnis für October 2015 in Cyclist

From £1,180, sram.com Sram has been hinting at launching something a bit special for more than a year, and finally it’s here – the much-anticipated wireless electronic gear shifting system. And while Sram may be the last of the big groupset manufacturers to produce an electronic system, the Red eTap could help the American company to leapfrog some of its rivals. On Shimano’s Di2 or Campgnolo’s EPS electronic systems, you press a button on the shifters that sends a signal down a wire to a motor that makes the front or rear derailleur move. Sram, however, has done away with the wires. ‘We wanted to improve the riding experience, but technology shouldn’t clutter the bike,’ says Sram’s road brand director, Chris Zigmont. ‘A bicycle is supposed to be simple.’ Going…

£139.99, madison.co.uk The Edge 200 was a great little GPS computer. However, for many riders it lacked one crucial thing: connectivity. It was a standalone unit that out on the road only listened to and spoke to itself, with data exchanged only when plugged into a computer. Its new replacement, the Edge 25, adds ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart connectivity, effectively making it a smaller version of the Edge 510. This means that when it’s paired with a smartphone the Edge 25 delivers live tracking (where friends or family can view ride progress online in real time), automatic uploads of ride data to Garmin Connect, and on-screen notifications such as incoming calls or upcoming ride segments to race for. It also has a basic navigation function where pre-planned courses can be…

£36, milkit.bike MilKit is an ingenious system that uses a two-part valve and syringe to measure, remove or insert latex sealant – ‘milk’ – into a partially inflated tubeless tyre, accurately and without mess. Once inside, the sealant coats the underside of the tyre and, in the event of a puncture, solidifies in the hole to prevent the tyre from going flat. To use MilKit, install the provided valves, then when it comes to milking time remove the core, insert the syringe and either draw back to suck sealant out, or fill the syringe first and push the plunger to inject sealant.…

Few of us would visit our local supermarket to hold a lengthy conversation with one of the sales staff about the provenance of their tomatoes, or the pros and cons of pyramid-shaped teabags versus square shaped ones. Similarly, you wouldn’t go into a shoe shop expecting the staff to explain the specific vertical compliance of one type of heel compared to another. It’s different in your local bike shop (LBS), however. The people who work there love the things they are selling. Any interaction in a bike shop will transcend mere commerce. Advice will be sought, wisdom proffered. The mention of a particular brand or component will trigger a forensic discussion of its merits. Throwaway opinions will be picked up, dusted off and put under the spotlight. Before you know…

On Stage 2 of this year’s Tour de France, Mark Cavendish finished a frustrating fourth in the sprint for the win. Insult was added to injury immediately afterwards when his bike was inspected to check whether he had a motor fitted. Many people thought it ridiculous and demeaning that such an investigation was required, but the potential for cheating with hidden motors is real. They do indeed exist, and we’ve got one. There are various ways in which motors can be integrated into a bicycle. They can be placed in either the wheel hub or at the bottom bracket. Hub motors, though, are complex and bulky items – certainly not fitting within a svelte carbon hub. So, if one of the goals is concealment, that leaves us with a cylindrical…

Just two hours into our 130km bike ride around the jagged rock spires and twisted pinnacles of the Italian Dolomites, which will culminate in a sweaty siege of the forbidding 2,236m Passo Giau, Vincenzo Nibali launches an unexpected attack. It all happens in a dazzling blur of Astana blue. The first I know about the 2014 Tour de France champion’s surprise cameo in Cyclist magazine’s latest adventure is when my local Italian ride companions Klaus and Roberto start bellowing ‘Vincenzo!’ and rubbernecking towards the left of the road. The hullabaloo shatters what until then had been a tranquil, early-morning spin along the sun-dappled slopes of the 2,244m Passo Sella. And sure enough, here comes the Italian cycling idol, unmistakable in his sky-blue Astana kit emblazoned with the green, white and…

The details Free beer awaits you at the end of El Limite, if that helps What Sierra Nevada El Limite Where Sierra Nevada Ski Resort (Pradollano), near Granada, Spain Next one 25th-26th June 2016 Distance 92km or 180km on the Saturday; 40km on the Sunday Price From €45 for one day or €87 for both days. Includes T-shirt and post-ride hot meal and beers Sign up mamutsierranevada.com At least the sweat stinging my eyes means I can’t see the spots in front of them. I’ve just dismounted at a feed station and feel distinctly light-headed, which may have something to do with the fact that the last time I was at this altitude I was in a plane rather than on a bike. Between the sweat and spots I…

Bicycles need not cost the Earth, but sometimes they can get quite close. At nearly £13,000, the Rolo we are testing this month pushes the boundaries of what most right-thinking people would pay for a bike. Yet there are still bargains to be had (as the Norco Valence SL proves) and middle grounds to be sought (as exemplified by the Ridley Noah SL). So take a look at the bikes on offer and get an idea of how much you’d like to spend, sir. And remember, money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a bike. Which basically amounts to the same thing.…

THE SPEC Model Rolo Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9070 Deviations None Wheels RAR Absolute, handbuilt carbon tubular Finishing kit Haero Carbon bars, Extralite stem, AX-Lightness Daedalus seatpost, Fabric ALM carbon saddle Weight 5.8kg Price Complete bike as tested €17,400 (approx £12,800) Frameset €8,880 (approx £6,500) Contact rolobikes.com Rolo Bikes hails from Luxembourg but takes its name from an all-conquering Norse Viking of the 10th century, Rollo. It’s certainly more fitting than naming it after chocolate-covered caramel sweets. When it comes to the fight for supremacy in the bike industry, the fledgling company, formed in 2011, has picked an arena in which only the most experienced dare to do battle. If you’re squeamish about five-figure pricetags you may want to look away now. At almost £13,000 for this complete…

£52, zipp.com Zipp’s ethos has always been the pursuit of pure speed. Back in the late 1980s, when it first started working on disc wheels, most riders believed 19mm tyres pumped to a rock-hard 180psi were the fastest way to go. Few would have predicted that two decades later Zipp would be touting a 28mm tyre as its latest, fastest product innovation. The aptly named Speed R28 tyre is a new addition to Zipp’s Tangente family and has, almost to the surprise of the engineers, produced the lowest rolling resistance Zipp has ever seen. At a time when the bicycle industry has rejected conventional wisdom and accepted 25mm as the new ‘go-to’ tyre width, Zipp reckons 28mm is faster still, and claims the Speed R28 can save 8 watts at…

If you ride a bike you know all about the effects of wind resistance. When riding at speed on the flat, aerodynamic drag contributes up to 90% of the overall resistance to forward motion. That’s because the blunt and irregular shape of a bike and rider is inherently bad at passing smoothly through air, meaning that any improvements in aerodynamics can make a big difference to saving precious energy and increasing speed. As a result, manufacturers spend massive amounts of time and money on aerodynamic testing, claiming for instance that kit that is 10% more efficient, could save you 20 seconds over a given distance or give you an advantage equivalent to five watts. Cyclist wanted to see if these claims could be substantiated in the real world, and not…

1 SPIUK TROPHY GLASSES £39.99, silverfish-uk.com Eyelids move at 0.118kmh, meaning that if you rode this year’s Tour in a ‘blink of an eye’ it would have taken you over 3.25 years to complete. If you can’t go fast, look shiny, and Spiuk’s Trophy glasses are the perfect place to start. 2 EXPOSURE LINK LIGHT £64.95, ultimatesportsengineering.com What’s the difference between a hippo and a Zippo? One is heavy, the other’s a little lighter. And even lighter still is the 44g helmet-mountable Link from Exposure, which puts out 100 lumens from the front and 35 from the rear. Perfect for moles, miners and commuters. 3 BIRZMAN VELOCITY APOGEE PUMP £29.99, i-ride.co.uk At the deepest point of the Earth’s surface the water pressure of the oceans reaches 15,846psi, or the exact…

To download this ride, go to cyclist.co.uk/40dolomites . The route begins and ends in Corvara in Alta Badia. Take the SS243 west over the Passo Gardena, then the SS242 south over the Passo Sella. Join up with the SS48 south then the SP641 east over the Passo Fedaia and on towards Saviner di Laste. From here take the SR203 and SP251 north towards Colle Santa Lucia and Codalonga. Join up with the SP638, which travels north over the Passo Giau, then head west at Pocol on the SR48 to cross the Passo Falzarego and Passo Valparola, before hooking south on the SS244 back to Corvara.…

They say the Devil himself built these roads. Legend directly links him to at least one stretch of today’s ride, the Devil’s Bridge, but his fingerprints seem to be all over the rest of today’s steep and undulating profile. We’re riding in the Cambrian Mountains, south of Snowdonia and north of the Brecon Beacons, and often nicknamed the ‘Green Desert of Wales’. Because of this, I had mistakenly thought it was going to be a flat plain of serene countryside. So when I’m told by Ieuan, our guide for the day, that it’s a 10-mile climb out of Machynlleth, I genuinely think he’s joking. He knows the area intimately and is unlikely to be wrong, but I hadn’t heard of any UK climbs outside the highlands of Scotland that could…

Logic suggests that if you want something to slice through the air quickly, you make it thin and sharp – like Concorde. It was shaped like a dart while other passenger planes were bulbous, and as a result it could cross the Atlantic in under three hours. Much the same thinking went into early generations of deep section aero wheels: thin, deep V-sections tapered to a sharp edge, which gave the impression of slicing through the air with maximum efficiency. It made intuitive sense, but times have changed. The cutting edge of wheel design now is, well, less cutting and more blunt. Edges have been softened and rims widened to the extent we are now being told that fat, rounded rim profiles are the best wind-cheating shape for all-round performance.…

THE SPEC Model Ridley Noah SL Groupset Sram Red 22 Deviations None Wheels Zipp 404 Firecrest Finishing kit 4ZA Cirrus Pro bars, stem and saddle, Noah SL aero seatpost Weight 6.93kg (size 56cm) Price £7,499 Contact sportline.co.uk Aerodynamics in cycling seems like a modern trend, but actually it was the 1980s that saw the most committed attempts to beat wind resistance. Not only were steel frames designed with wacky aerodynamic shapes, but groupset manufacturers followed suit with the likes of Campagnolo’s aerodynamic Delta brake and Shimano’s AX series Dura-Ace groupset. It proved to be a fad, however, and consumers gradually lost interest, put off by the sacrifices in weight and ride quality. The aero trend has resurfaced recently but, as before, certain manufacturers seem to be abandoning their more flamboyant…

THE SPEC Model Norco Valence SL Ultegra Di2 Groupset Shimano Ultegra Di2 6870 Deviations None Wheels Easton EA90 SLX Finishing kit Norco Compact light alloy bars and stem, Norco Di2 Lite Composite seatpost, Fizik Antares Mg saddle Weight 7.26kg (56cm) Price £3,000 Contact evanscycles.com In his 1862 book entitled Mécanisme de la Physionomie, French anatomist Guillaume Duchenne observed that there were two distinct categories of smiles: those that are genuine, and those that are not. Subjects displaying the genuine article – the Duchenne smile – would raise the corners of their mouth and also their cheeks would raise to form crow’s feet around their eyes. Insincere smilers, however, could only upturn the corners of their mouths in a non-Duchenne smile. Such observations became crucial in the Facial Action…

£199.99, bontrager.com Lace-up cycling shoes seemed like a bit of a retro fad, but it looks as if they’re here to stay. Their proliferation within the pro peloton has further reinforced the trend and Bontrager has now joined the party. ‘The idea with the Classique Collection was to achieve the “retro” look but with modern execution,’ says Bontrager’s Tom Kuefler. The 12K weave carbon/fiberglass composite sole has a stiffness index of 12, which was until recently the stiffest that Bontrager offered, and is still only trumped by its latest XXX shoes, rated 14. The Classiques are also very light, tipping our scales at just 223g for a size 43. ‘The Clarino Wallaroo premium microfiber upper is a synthetic kangaroo leather that is very supple but is also lighter, thinner and…

Saving weight, better aerodynamics, maybe because your mates all have one, or simply because something looks cool…there are countless ways to justify buying the latest gear. But when it comes to your contact points with the bike (handlebars, saddle, pedals) it’s worth selecting more carefully. Pedals in particular provide the vital link between the driving force from your legs and the bike, and are a crucial choice for attaining maximum enjoyment and performance on the bike. ‘It’s a complex bicycle part,’ says Speedplay founder Richard Bryne. ‘It’s the junction between human and machine and is arguably the most important component on the bike. Getting 100% of the energy from the rider through the shoe to the cranks is the goal, and in terms of the ergonomics you need to have…

Dear Frank Call me antisocial, but I prefer to ride alone. Yet more and more I find that my weekend rides are interrupted by other cyclists who latch on and seem determined to turn my solo session into a group affair. I’m usually too polite to tell them to get lost. What do you suggest? Richard, by email Dear Antisocial I ride solo a lot, like you. Except whenever I swing leg over top tube, I ride sufficiently hard that no mortal can hold my wheel. One guy tried once and spontaneously combusted, leaving behind only a green globule. So while I don’t personally have the problem you describe, I’ve seen this happen in countless groups as I blow by them, so I feel comfortable assuming I’m an expert in…

I’ve ridden a Scott bike before and loved it, so I had high expectations of the Addict 10. This is a race-ready bike with a beefy, oversized bottom bracket for better power transfer, aerodynamic tube shapes designed specifically for speed, and a slender 860g frame. Slick Shimano Dura-Ace components top off an already extremely tempting package. To save weight and increase ride stiffness where it’s needed the most, Scott uses ‘IMP’ technology that involves stripping carbon from areas of the frame where it has no benefit. If you’re looking for a light, stiff bike that will survive the mountain ranges of Europe, but will also optimise your chances of beating your mates to the nearest lamppost back home, the Scott Addict 10 would be a solid, well-specced choice.…

1964 Finishes 12th in the Olympics Road Race 1965:Turns professional on 29th April, aged 20, signing for the Solo-Superia team 1967: Wins the World Road Race Championships with the Peugeot-BP team, and Milan-San Remo 1968: Moves to the Faema team and wins the Giro d’Italia 1969: Disqualified from the Giro d’Italia for a suspect urine sample and banned for one month. Ban overturned on 14th June. Wins first Tour de France 1970:Wins Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix followed by the Giro-Tour double 1971: Moves to the Molteni team. Wins five major races as well as a second rainbow jersey and yellow and green jerseys at the Tour 1972:Completes second Giro-Tour double after winning Milan-San Remo, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Giro di Lombardia and a record third La Flèche Wallonne 1972: Takes the Hour record aboard…

To download this route go to cyclist.co.uk/40wales . Starting at Machnylleth, head east on Newton Road and Forge Road, then take the left fork 5km into the climb. Ride for 12km to a crossroads after the Dylife Gorge and turn right onto the B4518 to Llanidloes and Rhayader, where you turn left onto West Street for the Elan Valley. At the steep hairpin ramp on the other side of Craig Goch Reservoir, turn left towards Aberystwyth. When the road forks, stay right on the B4574 to Devil’s Bridge, then take the A4120 to Ponterwyd, turning right onto the A44 and then left at the sign for Nant-Y-Moch. Continue until Tal-Y-Bont, then turn right onto the A487 for 15km back to Newton Road.…

Huddled beneath the soaring bell tower of a solitary red-brick church near the northern Italian town of Treviglio there lies a secluded labyrinth of factory buildings, gates and fences painted in the iconic mint-green ‘celeste’ of the venerable Italian bike marque, Bianchi. This secretive complex in Lombardy is the modern headquarters of one of the world’s most stylish and respected bike manufacturers, which was founded 130 years ago by the Italian engineer and inventor Edoardo Bianchi. Proudly performance-focused, the Bianchi brand has historic associations with Grand Tour-winning cycling champions such as Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi, Marco Pantani, Mario Cipollini and Jan Ullrich, and its elegant two-wheeled creations have been raced to victories in 12 Giros d’Italia, three Tours de France, two Vueltas a Espana, 19 Milan-San Remos, seven Paris-Roubaixs, four…

Fuelling the professional peloton has changed beyond recognition since the days when recipes comprised pasta, pasta and, for variety, brown pasta. Many of today’s team chefs are now minor celebrities in their own right, with social media providing them with a global platform to parade their latest recipes even as the pros are tucking into them after each stage. A few examples from this year’s Tour: ‘Chicken and tomato w/ coriander and roasted fennel,’ Hannah Grant @ dailystews (Tinkoff-Saxo). ‘Mussels from #Bretagne, chervil, tarragon, dill fresh, fennel, garlic, carrot and ginger,’ Soren Kristiansen @ temskychef (Team Sky). ‘Fresh carrots with walnuts, garlic, goat’s cheese, garlic toast with humus caviar and anchovies,’ Sean Fowler @Larryvich (Cannondale-Garmin). ‘Twitter has become a useful tool for communicating with recreational riders,’ says Trek Factory Racing’s…

Wattbike and Cyclist are teaming up to give you the chance to win a Wattbike Pro – the ultimate indoor training bike. Offering an unsurpassed inventory of real-time, usable data including power, cadence, heart rate and pedalling effectiveness, the Wattbike Pro is the tool of choice for Olympic and World Champions such as Joanna Rowsell. It lets you train more intelligently and optimise your efforts, while also improving your technique. With Bluetooth and ANT+ offering maximum connectivity, you can also use the Powerapp and Powerhub to record, analyse and share all your workouts. It’s your perfect training partner. To enter go to cyclist.co.uk/wattbike…

THE DETAILS Weight 1,505g Rim depth 46mm Rim width 26.2mm external/ 16mm internal Spoke count 16 front, 20 rear Price £2,000 Contact upgradebikes.co.uk Aero wheels are big business. Pioneered by Steve Hed in the 1980s, capitalised upon by Zipp in the 1990s and exploited to full effect by Simon Smart with Enve in the 2010s, recent years have seen the blunt or snub-nosed rim profile dominate the scene. It’s easy to think that such rim profiles are as fast as things can get (find out more on p136), yet Reynolds’ director of technology and innovation, Paul Lew, would argue otherwise, and with these 46 Aeros he has stuck resolutely to the teardrop profile associated with aeroplane wings. He calls it Dispersive Effect Termination, or DET. The (very oversimplified) theory…