Tabla de contenidos para June 2017 en Cyclist

Fuelling on the bike doesn’t have to mean stuffing your pockets with synthetic energy products and tubes of goo. That’s the belief of Veloforte founder Marc Giusti, whose range of natural bars uses only raw ingredients, with no processing whatsoever. ‘Pan Forte is a delicacy in my home town of Siena,’ he says. ‘It’s a very dense food that was initially developed for soldiers as it contains a huge amount of nutrients and energy but doesn’t go off or need to be chilled. Plus, because it’s all natural it’s easy on the stomach. In Italy, people even believe it can stave off colds.’ Despite the Italian influence, the 70g bars are handmade in London. They contain around 300 calories each and come in three flavours.…

Stephen Roche’s experience of the tifosi was wildly different from my own. Around the same time as he was being punched, abused and spat at by fans as he raced to victory in the 1987 Giro, I was being blown kisses by a bikini-clad beauty riding pillion on a Vespa as it overtook me on a coast road near La Spezia. Roche’s crime was to take the pink jersey from his Carrera teammate, national hero and defending champion Roberto Visentini. I’d been merely riding my pannier-laden touring bike at a sedate pace in the direction of Sicily. A few weeks later, as I toiled up a climb in the Apennines in the heat of the midday sun, a clapped-out Fiat pulled up alongside me and the grubby-vested farm labourer in…

1 LUSSO ACTIVE AERO SOCKS £19.99, lusso.bike In theory the most aerodynamic shape is an infinitely thin flat plate positioned at 0° yaw, so unless you’re 1960s children’s book character Flat Stanley (who was flattened to the thickness of paper), you’ll need all the aero help you can get. Luckily Lusso has your back – or at least your ankles – with its Aero Socks, which promise a 3s saving over 8km compared to regular socks. In case you were worried, Flat Stanley was restored to full health by a bicycle pump. 2 ADIDAS EVIL EYE HALFRIM PRO GLASSES £190.99, adidasspeciality sports.co.uk Pub quiz fact: Adidas was saved from bankruptcy in the 90s by Frenchman Bernard Tapie, who tempted Greg LeMond to his La Vie Claire team in 1984 with…

Against the odds, 10 months after Morgagni sent that impulsive telegram, 127 riders lined up to make history The Giro d’Italia was born one hot August morning in 1908, in a small office in Milan. Tullo Morgagni, editor of the Gazzetta dello Sport, was in desperate need of cash to keep the lights on at his struggling newspaper, and he’d just been given the kind of tip that could transform the publication’s fortunes. Morgagni sent a brusque telegram to his cycling correspondent, Armando Cougnet, demanding he return to the Lombard capital at once. Eugenio Camillo Costamagna, the paper’s owner, received his own communiqué, and promptly ended his vacation. ‘Without delay,’ announced the message from his editor, ‘necessity obliges the Gazzetta to launch an Italian tour.’ Morgagni’s haste was well warranted,…

MODEL: Bianchi Infinito CV Potenza GROUPSET: Campagnolo Potenza black 11-speed DEVIATIONS: None GEARING: Campagnolo Potenza Power-Torque System 50/34 chainset, Campagnolo 11-29 cassette WHEELS: Fulcrum Racing 5 LG black clincher TYRES: Vittoria Rubino Pro G+ Isotech graphene FINISHING KIT: Reparto Corse Alloy 7050 stem, Reparto Corse Compact Flat Top bars, Reparto Corse full carbon UD seatpost, Fizik Aliante saddle WEIGHT: 7.78kg (size 55cm) PRICE: £3,349.99 CONTACT: cycleurope.com THÉRÈSE’S SUMMARY The Bianchi Infinito CV is an immediate charmer. The iconic celeste colourway mixed with Campagnolo’s ornamental looks is a nice blend of traditional and modern. When riding, the ability to absorb the imperfections of the road is striking from the outset. It handles well, too, bestowing enough confidence on the descents that I could easily keep pace with the boys and…

To download this route go to cyclist.co.uk/ 61sanfran. Starting at Robert’s Market on Alpine Road in Portola Valley, turn right onto Portola Road and head for Woodside Road. Turn left onto Kings Mountain Road, climb for around 8km to Skyline Boulevard and cross onto Tunitas Creek Road. After descending for about 10km bear right onto Lobitos Creek Road to Lobitos. Head south on Highway 1 and after around 5km turn left onto Stage Road to San Gregorio, then turn right onto Old La Honda to rejoin Highway 1. Head for Pescadero State Beach, turning left on Pescadero Creek Road and ascending for 22km before turning right onto Alpine Road. Climb to the ridgeline and meet Skyline Boulevard. Cross over and descend Page Mill Road for 12km before turning left onto…

The first thing I noticed about the Krypton X-Road was all the writing. The frame is covered in enough of it to produce a novella, including such insights as ‘HDS Horizontal Dual System’, ‘Optimal Balance’, ‘Argon Fit System’ and so on. It detracted from an otherwise elegant bike, with surprisingly refined-looking tubes considering it’s aimed at off-road adventures. The X-Road version of the Krypton comes with disc brakes and extra clearance for tyres up to 32mm so that you can keep going when the tarmac runs out, although I’d hesitate to describe it as an ‘all-road’ bike. Rather it’s a road bike that will cope with rougher stuff. The frame is quite stiff, which made for a crisp ride on Mull’s mostly smooth roads, but I never felt the urge…

THE SPEC Model Look 765 Disc Groupset Shimano Ultegra 6800 Deviations Shimano RS805 Flat Mount hydraulic disc brakes, 160mm front/140mm rear rotors Wheels Mavic Aksium Disc CL, 12mm thru-axle Finishing kit Zipp Service Course alloy bars and stem, FSA SLK carbon seatpost, Selle Italia Q-Bik Flow saddle Weight 9.01kg (size 56cm) Price £3,300 Contact zyrofisher.co.uk There’s a famous quote from Einstein that goes something like this: ‘Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’ The idea, of course, is that everybody – indeed everything – should only be judged on the skills it possesses and in the arena it was designed to operate. Like most quotes there’s a…

THE SPEC Model Simplon Pavo Granfondo Disc Groupset Shimano Ultegra 6800 Deviations Shimano BR-RS805 hydraulic disc brakes, Shimano RT-99 160mm/ 140mm IceTech rotors, Shimano ST-R685 shifters Wheels DT Swiss RC 38 Spline C db Finishing kit Simplon Erg Carbon bars and stem, Simplon Pavo seatpost, Selle Italia SLR Flow saddle Weight 7.45kg Price £4,850 Contact simplon.com Simplon may seem like a brand that has popped spontaneously out of the woodwork, but it is in fact a veteran of the cycling world. It began life in Austria back in 1930, but it was not until 1961 that it acquired the name Simplon and began trading in bespoke high-end bicycles. Despite being an Austrian brand, the name comes from the Simplon Pass in Switzerland. During the 1950s the quality of…

The Powerbox is the result of a two-year collaboration between component brand FSA and German power brand Power2max. FSA brings its experience in producing chainsets, while Power2max’s expertise is in spider-based power meters. To set the Powerbox apart in an increasingly crowded market, FSA has priced it competitively and aims to make it simple to use. ‘The Powerbox auto-zeros every time you stop pedalling for three seconds or more, which improves accuracy and saves doing it before every ride,’ says FSA’s Edoardo Girardi. ‘It has an in-built accelerometer so the meter is just plug and play – no need for cadence magnets – while the battery lasts 300-400 hours and can be changed easily by the user.’ Unsurprisingly, FSA claims that connectivity, range of metrics and accuracy are all as…

Gone are the days of craftsmen hammering in rivets to affix leather covers on Selle San Marco’s enduring Regale saddle – now a ‘Microfeel’ synthetic cover is vacuum-bonded onto a carbon-reinforced shell. The process may be less romantic but it has produced some decent performance improvements. At 145g, the Carbon FX is 20% lighter than its predecessor and features ‘DNA’ carbon crossed rails, which Selle San Marco claims improves saddle rigidity. The technologies may have changed, but fans of the Regale’s shape will be cheered to hear it has stayed exactly the same.…

Dear Frank I’m a recent convert to cycling. My wife is prepared to put up with me disappearing for hours at the weekend, and spending my spare cash on gear, but she draws the line at me shaving my legs. What do you suggest? Harry, by email Dear Harry Let me answer your question by asking a few of my own: How much do you love cycling? How much do you love your wife? And is your name really ‘Harry’, given this hairy situation? As cyclists, we generally look for reasons to justify why we shave our legs. There are heaps of them: aero advantage, road rash, massage. The fact is, for most of us who shave our guns, we do it for one reason: we want to be part…

The inclines here are so savage that every excess gram or hint of flex on a bike takes its toll on the ascent The Fred Whitton Challenge is an event every serious cyclist should do once in their lifetime – and then never attempt again. It’s a sportive of exceptional difficulty, clocking up 3,900m of vertical gain over 180km, and taking in six daunting climbs in the Lake District with gradients well over 20%. It was the first major event of its kind in Britain, and many would argue it remains the most challenging. With that in mind, the Lakes seems like the appropriate place for Cyclist to test three bikes designed specifically to meet the needs of sportive riders. The inclines on climbs such as Honister Pass and Newlands…

‘You can race all you like in January, but 400km in two days over cobbles – this is another level,’ says Rowe Luke Rowe is eyeing the evening’s dinner options. It’s 25th February, and a few hours ago he finished a creditable sixth at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, one of the Belgian Classics, and has since ‘cleared out shit’ on the turbo, downed a pint of carb-and-protein mix, showered and had a massage. Now he’s studying a table laden with roast cauliflower, sweet potato with pomegranate, aubergine pasta bake, goat’s cheese risotto, parsnip and potato gratin… ‘You can race all you like in January, but 400km in two days over cobbles – this is another level,’ he says. The spread before him will help the 26-year-old Welshman recover from the 198.3km…

For a country with so much to offer road cyclists, it can be surprisingly difficult to plan a ride in the wilds of Scotland. There’s no shortage of beautiful countryside and challenging climbs that beg to be ridden, but the problem is often the roads – they don’t go anywhere. A glance at Google Street View will reveal quiet roads in remote parts of Scotland that wind their way through picturesque valleys and alongside lochs, but if you follow them as far as possible, they all too often come to a halt at a desolate farmhouse. Either that or they arrive at junction with an A-road where lorries thunder along at the national speed limit. At Cyclist, we are a demanding bunch. We want a loop – a route of…

THE DETAILS Weight 1,578g (709g front, 860g rear, including rim tape) Rim depth 53-58mm Rim width External: 27.8mm Internal: 17mm Spoke count 18 front, 24 rear Price £3,500 Contact zipp.com During my testing I was asked frequently, ‘Are those the whale wheels?’ It suggests that Zipp has been successful in delivering the message about the new 454 NSW, with its technology derived from whale fins. But is it just marketing spin? We covered Zipp’s latest aero wheel concept in issue 56, but in case you missed it, here’s a brief recap: Zipp’s mission for the 454 NSW wasn’t simply to make something faster by reducing drag, but rather to focus on stability for greater usability in windy conditions. As such, the manufacturer claims the 454 NSW isn’t significantly faster…

There are a few bike computers lining up to take on Garmin, and near the front of the queue is Wahoo. This unit weighs just 60g and has been designed to be as aerodynamic as possible. The Bolt’s turn-by-turn routes are near-faultless and the use of the Bluetooth-connected phone app will get you home from just about anywhere. Add in Strava Live, LEDs that change colour according to your pre-set heart rate or power zones, and excellent usability, and you have a smart, neat computer at a reasonable price.…

Lizzie Deignan  Age: 28 Nationality: British Honours: 2016 1st, World Road Race Championships Team Time-Trial 1st, The Women’s Tour 1st, Tour of Flanders 1st, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 1st, Strade Bianche 2015 1st, World Road Race Championships 1st, UCI Women’s Road World Cup 1st, Ladies Tour of Qatar 2014 1st, UCI Women’s Road World Cup 1st, Commonwealth Games Road Race 1st, Ronde van Drenthe 2012 2nd, Olympic Road Race 2009 1st, World Track Championships Team Pursuit Cyclist: Your autobiography brings a lot of new information into the public domain. Was that a nerve-wracking prospect for you? Lizzie Deignan: I suppose when you’re writing a book there’s a line to be drawn of how much you want to give away in terms of your private life, but I wanted to make…

A longside the rows of hand-files and hacksaws that adorn the walls of Tom Donhou’s workshop hangs a picture of a legend. Yet, surprisingly for a man who has surrendered his life to all things bike, it’s not of Eddy Merckx, Fausto Coppi or Jacques Anquetil, but of 1970s Formula One ace James Hunt. The playboy driver is sat on his car after a Grand Prix, smoking a fag, with a can of beer in one hand and a redhead in a gold jumpsuit next to him. ‘The picture was taken moments after he had won the 1977 United States Grand Prix,’ says Donhou. The girl on his arm was a now painfully anachronistic ‘Penthouse Pet’, and while the beer label is obscured, the cigarette is most certainly a Marlboro,…

The clouds dissipate and the primeval landscape of Campo Imperatore opens up beneath us At a fork in the road, a solitary Italian shepherd is selling plump wheels of Pecorino cheese. He doesn’t look like he’s getting much trade in these remote parts, and we don’t stop to give him any business either. Instead, a swift left turn delivers us into the wind-whipped mountain amphitheatre of Campo Imperatore – the Emperor’s Field. We’re in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, a 2,014 square kilometre arena of brooding limestone and dolomite peaks, slithering glaciers and seductively silent roads in the Apennines of central Italy. This particular canvas of high mountain meadows, framed by jagged pinnacles and scudding rain clouds the colour of Roman chainmail, is known to locals…

MODEL: Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0 GROUPSET: Shimano Ultegra Di2 6870 DEVIATIONS: Shimano ST-RS785 hydraulic disc brakes, Shimano RT-99 140mm IceTech rotors, Shimano ST-R785 shifters GEARING: Shimano Ultegra 50/34 chainset, Shimano Ultegra 11-32 cassette WHEELS: Giant SLR 1 Disc WheelSystem tubeless, 12mm thru-axle TYRES: Giant Gavia SLR Tubeless 25mm FINISHING KIT: Giant Contact SL handlebar, Giant Contact SL stem, Giant D-Fuse SL Seatpost, Giant Contact SL Neutral saddle WEIGHT: 8.02kg (size 56cm) PRICE: £3,875 CONTACT: giant-bicycles.com PETER’S SUMMARY The advantages of disc brakes on this terrain are considerable, and the Defy still remains competitive in weight and ride quality, although it’s worth remembering that a well-specced rim brake bike at this price could be nearly a kilogram lighter. The Defy juggles enough stiffness to reward climbing efforts while offering…

MODEL: BMC Roadmachine RM02 Ultegra Di2 GROUPSET: Shimano Ultegra Di2 6870 DEVIATIONS: Shimano ST-RS785 hydraulic disc brakes, SM-RT81-SS 160/140 Rotors, Shimano ST-R785 shifters GEARING: Shimano Ultegra 50/34 chainset, Shimano Ultegra 11-32 cassette WHEELS: 3T Discus C35 Pro alloy TYRES: Continental Grand Sport Race SL 25mm FINISHING KIT: BMC RAB 02 handlebars, BMC RSM 02 stem, Roadmachine 01 ‘D’ Premium Carbon seatpost, Fizik Aliante Delta saddle WEIGHT: 8.56kg (size 56cm) PRICE: £4,099 CONTACT: evanscycles.com ALISTAIR’S SUMMARY I loved the loud yellow paintjob and sharp aerodynamic curves that make this bike stand out from the crowd. It was seriously fast and responsive, while offering a healthy rumble from the road. At times it was a little stiff over rough terrain, although on the whole it was more comfortable than its aggressive…

‘It all started 14 or 15 years ago, growing from an online forum called Framebuilders at Phred.org,’ says Don Walker in a carefully measured, California-tinged accent. ‘We kept talking about having this show where we could meet up and anyone interested in the craft could come and see what was on offer, but we never did anything about it. Then one day I just thought, you know what, I’m going to do this because I think it’s what our industry needs. So I did it, and we had the first show in 2005.’ Operating out of a hotel in Houston, Texas, the first North American Handmade Bicycle Show – or NAHBS to its aficionados – attracted 23 exhibitors and around 700 attendees. As a tentative venture into the great unknown…

The Pacific coastline will provide some panoramic views, but for now we’re happy with what we have I am waiting in a parking lot near San Francisco, trying not to look conspicuous. My ride partner for today, Paul, has told me he knows where to score some ‘Mexican Coke’, and now he’s walking towards me with a brown paper bag clutched in his hand. ‘This is the good stuff,’ he tells me. ‘Not like what you get back in Britain.’ I can’t help noticing that a few local shoppers are watching us suspiciously, but that might have more to do with the fact that we are clad in bright, skin-tight Lycra than because they suspect some kind of Breaking Bad- style dodgy dealings. Paul takes off one of his cycling…

‘In the 1990s the mini-pump came along and brought with it new companies that made them cheaply in Asia. We did the same, but we’re trying to bring a lot of it back to France’ Whether you knew it or not you have probably been using Zéfal products ever since you learned to ride a bike. That bendy, blue and red woven pump adapter that’s still floating around your shed? Zéfal. That skinny frame-mounted pump you used to borrow from your dad? Zéfal. Those chromed toeclips you saw everyone riding at L’Eroica last year? Zéfal. And that little threaded nubbin that keeps the air in your tyres? ‘Some time ago, we think in the 1890s, a gentleman named Mr Sclaverand invented the Sclaverand valve, now known as the Presta valve,’…

One of the most wonderful things about cycling – beyond the activity itself – is its ability to unite total strangers in conversation and debate, and of the topics that crop up, few have generated as much interest as disc brakes. The manufacturers say yes, the pros say no and the consumers say, er, maybe? How you feel about this month’s bike line-up is therefore up to you, but the fact that quite by chance we’ve once again ended up with three disc-equipped bikes on test should tell you where the industry’s heading – or at least, where it wants to go. So if you like calliper brakes, better get buying up some old stock fast, because disc brake bikes show no signs of stopping.…