Hello friendly subscriber.

This week is a big week over on the Cyclingnews Tech YouTube channel. Not only is it my first appearance on the big screen, but more importantly it's for a review of the most aerodynamic bike we've ever tested in the wind tunnel – and we've tested 40 – the Factor One.

As a small show of appreciation, we're giving you exclusive early access to that review.

What's more, in the coming days, we'll also be dropping a behind-the-scenes video from our most recent day the Silverstone wind tunnel, testing road wheels.

• What are the fastest UCI-legal road wheels? Wind tunnel testing the big-name brands and Chinese contenders

Whether for good reasons or bad, the Factor One is certainly a head-turning bike, with its ultra-wide fork, steep seat tube and similarly steep fork blades. Its looks might be polarising, but there's no ambiguity about its racing intentions. It's also the most expensive bike I've ever ridden, at an eye-watering £14,500.

It's a bike that does some things exceptionally well, but as you'll hear in the video below, it does some other things… well... poorly.

To find out what those things are, and for a somewhat comical rundown of what else you can buy for the same money, hit play.

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The Factor One has to be one of the most talked-about bikes to launch in years.

It first broke cover at the Criterium du Dauphiné in 2025, and very quickly broke our small corner of the internet with its wild time-trial-esque design, extremely wide fork and chainstays, and bayonet fork with razor-thin leading edge.

Less than a day later, it looked as though it was going to be banned by the UCI, who announced a rule governing how wide forks and chainstays could be, but I later learned that Factor knew about the impending rule change and designed the bike right up to the legal limit.

It won a stage of the Dauphiné a few days later, and was then raced at the subsequent Tour de France by Israel-Premier Tech. And to cap it off, a pre-production prototype tested extremely well in the Cyclingnews aero bikes wind tunnel test, both with and without a rider, as you'll see in more detail below.

Soon after, it launched officially with an emphasis on its progressive geometry. In fact, the only thing bigger than the fork clearance was head engineer Graham Shrive's presentation on that matter. I'll get into that later, but in simple terms the bike is designed with a modern racing position in mind; further forward, with shorter cranks, narrower bars and bigger tyres.

It also launched with claims of being faster than the Tarmac SL8 – which our own testing data agrees with but Specialized's does not – and at a price that is sure to make most wallets wince.

In the UK, a frameset (with handlebar and seatpost) is £6,920, and full builds start at £11,056 (Shimano Ultegra). 'Standard' builds top out at £13,419.00 with Campagnolo Super Record.

I was sent the model equipped with SRAM Red to review (with power meter), priced at £13,082. However, it also came with the £506 optional extra CeramicSpeed OSPW system, as well as the not-currently-specced Black Inc 62 Hyper wheels, which alone fetch £3,799 (£1000 more than the 'standard' Sixty Two wheels).

To my maths, that makes this build £14,588 (or £1,000 less with the 'standard' Sixty Two wheels).

Design and aesthetics

To begin this section, it's pertinent to revisit the motivations that drove its creation. For years, Head Engineer Graham Shrive had wanted to design a bike that really pushed the envelope, but the brand's founder – then CEO – Rob Gitelis didn't think the Factor brand was ready to put something like this out into the world.

Through its sponsorship of the Australian Olympic Squad, the development of the Hanzo Track saw them unearth plenty of aero gains. Then the UCI's rules changed in 2023 governing how the fork and down tube could be designed together. In 2024, our original round of aero bike testing proved that the Ostro VAM was not only competitive but a leader in the 'superbike' space both in terms of weight and aero. With all those things combined, Gitelis decided it was time.

Concurrently, the brand was a sponsor of the Israel-Premier Tech team, who, like the rest of the pro peloton, were slowly shifting their positions to this modern consensus. Saddles were being slammed forwards to get over the bottom bracket and rotate the body to lower the front end, shorter cranks were fitted to keep the hip angle open, longer stems swapped in to accommodate the newly shortened reach, narrower bars added for aerodynamics, and tyre sizes grew for comfort, grip and rolling resistance improvements.

Shrive says this led to riders running stems that were so long that they were unsafe, and it put their centre of gravity too high and too far forward on the bike, meaning any sudden braking came with an increased risk of an over-the-bars crash.

Therefore, he designed the ONE's geometry with this in mind, and the result is that across all sizes, the reach of the bike has grown by 20mm. In my size 58cm, that means a reach of 421mm, which is 19mm longer than an equivalent Tarmac SL9, which I have also been testing.

To offset the fit implications of the longer reach, the seat tube angle is now steeper. On all but the 47cm frame (where it's 1°), the seat tube is now 2° steeper than the OSTRO, at 75.5°. Some basic trigonometry tells me that at my saddle height (785mm), that puts me 27mm further forward, easily offsetting the extra reach.

At the rear, the chainstay lengths are unchanged, so the distance from the bottom bracket to the rear hub is still 405mm (except the 58cm, where it's 408mm). This is shorter than most of the competition, and lends itself to an agile ride, albeit there's nuance to this in the bigger sizes that I'll get to shortly.

To account for the trend towards bigger tyres (and to a point, shorter cranks), the bottom bracket drop is now 5mm bigger (thus it sits lower) on all sizes.

The rest of the differences against the OSTRO VAM are size dependent. To account for handling goals and toe overlap concerns at the smaller end of the size run, Factor has kept a similar wheelbase to the OSTRO VAM (technically it's 3 - 4mm longer), steepened the head tube angle, and offset this by reducing the fork rake (in the 47cm frame, Factor has changed the fork rake by a quite significant 9mm).

The goal of this is that toe clearance (or the removal of toe overlap) isn't solely achieved by slackening the head tube angle so much that it ruins handling. As such, smaller riders should get a bike that handles as well as bigger riders. I've been riding a 58cm so can't verify it, but the logic holds.

To compare that again to the Tarmac – the Specialized doesn't come in a 47, so I'll compare the 52cm frames – the head tube angle is 73.3° on the ONE, 0.8° steeper than the 72.5° of the Tarmac. However, both have 58mm of trail because the Tarmac's fork has a 4mm greater rake (aka offset).

All that is to say, this should make the handling of the ONE slightly sharper than an equivalent Tarmac, especially combined with 5mm shorter chainstays and a 1mm shorter wheelbase.

At the other end of the size run, though, the increased reach has mostly carried over into the wheelbase. It's now 16mm longer than the Ostro VAM in the 56 and 58cm frames (which I have here). That makes it more stable, but it does lose some of that agility that made the OSTRO VAM frame special.

To continue the Tarmac comparisons, the One is longer and lower (19mm more reach and 4mm lower stack in my size 58cm). The Tarmac's head tube is marginally steeper, with a shorter trail, meaning the front end feels a little more nimble, which is no doubt also aided by the Tarmac's lighter weight.

But added to this, the Tarmac's chainstays are only 2mm longer (again, we're comparing the 58cm frame), and the wheelbase is 16mm shorter. In tight corners, this definitely bears out in the Tarmac's favour, but the ONE makes up the ground in other places.

Rounding off this comparison, since the Tarmac comes specced with a -15mm offset seatpost (you can change it) and the ONE comes with a straight post (you can also change this), I can get 42mm further forward on the ONE, which makes for a big difference in how I feel when I actually ride the bike. I can obviously also slide the saddle back to undo this, and as I'll explain below, I tried a few different positions.

Before I get into that, though, let's just talk about some of the other standout design points, because aside from all these geometry shifts, there's some serious engineering going on here.

Primarily, that's the way the front of the bike is put together. It uses a bayonet-style head tube (where the steerer tube doesn't travel through the head tube, but rather in front of it and clamps top and bottom); a design popularised by the Cervélo S5 and also now found on the Colnago Y1Rs, but the leading edge of the ONE is insanely narrow, even by the aforementioned bikes' standards.

The way the fork mounts into place is a little complicated, to the point that Factor has a 'V2' in its manual that simplifies the original instructions.

Thankfully for the mechanics out there, no specialist tools are needed (unless you count a hollow socket, but a ring spanner works in its place).

There's a rather large 'tension rod' that sits vertically and is tightened from the bottom to first add preload and also hold everything together. In my time with the bike, I experienced a loss of preload on multiple occasions, creating that unnerving feeling of a loose headset.

Loosening and re-tightening to add preload got me through the few months I had with the bike, but not without the final attempt shearing off part of the head of the bolt, meaning I was then unable to disassemble it for a proper fix. I'm well aware a paying customer would just take it back to a shop for a fix here, probably when the headset loosened the first time, and so a proper disassembly-reassembly would likely remove this issue entirely.

Where the ONE really changes the script, however, is where the cockpit clamps into place. Instead of mounting at the point of the steering axis, it clamps into place approximately 4cm further forward, downwards onto the top of the fork using four bolts (which are later hidden by a carbon cover).

The steering axis, and thus the 'lever' you turn when steering the bike, is still normal, so handling feels familiar, but this design means less distance between your hands and where the cockpit meets the bike, which makes it much stiffer. This adds to the directness of the steering, but it has pretty dire implications for comfort, as I'll get into later.

The rear brake hose (and Di2 cables where necessary, but my bike was wireless) routes vertically out of the top of the head tube, and is then directed around a tight corner forwards into a hole at the rear of the one-piece cockpit, before being directed left or right depending on which way round you run your brakes. The front brake hose travels entirely through the fork, and thus exits slightly further forward before being bent around another tight corner to the opposite lever.

Both of these are pretty difficult manoeuvres. That much was already clear from the state of the hoses in my test bike – they'd clearly been ravaged by pliers or mole grips to force them where they needed to go.

I got a taste of doing it myself when I needed to swap the bars from the size 1 (90mm stem / 110mm effective length) the bike was accidentally shipped with, to the size 3 (110mm stem / 130mm effective length) I needed, and pliers really are the only way to get the hoses to bend where they need to go. I'm just glad we're no longer using cable-operated brakes, as this would be on par with the Venge Vias's infamous rim brakes.

The other big design story (both literally and figuratively) is the wide fork, and despite having thousands of words on geometry already, there's actually not a huge amount to say.

Somewhat obviously, they draw from learnings made in the Hanzo Time Trial and Track development. Specifically, learnings about tyre wake and how the disrupted airflow acts downstream, and how the fork leg spacing helps to smooth the airflow before it then goes on to hit the frame and rider's legs.

Factor says it tested multiple fork leg spacing iterations to see which was fastest, and settled on a fork that is 114mm at its widest point; a mere millimetre under the UCI limit of 115mm.

The crown of the fork protrudes forward from the head tube to the point that it creates a little shelf. I could probably sit a small mascot on here like truck drivers who tie toys to their grill, but that would likely upset Shrive and the aero motivations for making it this way.

The depth of the fork blades no doubt aids the bike's ability to 'sail' in crosswinds, but what's less discussed is that Shrive intentionally changed the shape so that the leading edge was more vertical, because that makes it more perpendicular to the airflow. Most forks sit at an angle loosely in line with the head tube angle plus a little bit of offset, but the ONE's fork actually kicks forward at the top before coming down more vertically toward the axle. This really changes the aesthetic of the bike – and I'm still not sure I'm over that – but from an aerodynamics standpoint, it reduces the (horrible phrase alert) 'wetted length', which is the length of material in contact with the air, and improves the effectiveness of what is.

Performance

Clearly, a lot is going on with the design of this bike, and there's a hell of a price tag to boot, but how does it actually feel to ride, as a bicycle, on the road?

Well, the biggest surprise to me when I first hopped onto one is that it felt… normal. Save for a headset issue on my first test bike, which essentially gave it indexed steering, the Factor One rides and handles a lot like any other race bike.

The primary affectors of how the bike rides – its geometry, its material, its touchpoints – are all fairly normal. I've already spent 1000+ words on the geometry so I won't go there again, but aside from a seat tube angle that puts you further forward on the bike, and a wheelbase that's longer, everything else is pretty much the same.

The forward-protruding fork makes the head tube angle look steep, but in this size, it's the same as the OSTRO and 0.2° different from the Tarmac. The trail is similar, the chainstay length is similar, the stack is similar.

So if you came here to learn if riding the Factor One was going to feel foreign compared to your current race bike, there's a good chance that it won't (assuming that race bike isn't from the 1970s).

However, before you rush off to remortgage your house, 'normal' doesn't automatically make it great. In fact, despite the price tag, there are a lot of things the Factor ONE doesn't do very well. Whether that actually matters to you will depend on what you want from it.

If you're considering the Factor One as your only bike, I think you'll grow weary very quickly. To peddle a metaphor, it's akin to having a car designed for track meets as your daily commuter, or to borrow one from my colleague Will, using a fish filleting knife as your general-purpose knife. I will cut up a pizza, but it won't be the best tool for that job.

The primary reason for this is that it's ridiculously stiff. I'd love to put some numbers to this, but Factor chose not to be involved in our road bike stiffness tests earlier this year, so I'm left to infer from feeling. And the main 'feeling' is a lack thereof, because every time I ride it for more than about 40 minutes, my hands go numb. This is probably partly due to my weight being further forward and thus more supported by my hands, but there's no getting around how insanely stiff the bike - and specifically the cockpit - is.

In my entire history of riding other bikes, I can recall one instance of hitting a bump and my hands coming off the bars, causing me to almost crash. It's happened three times on this bike. I don't think that's a lack of attention on my part either; the jolt through the front end of the bike is so much more severe than I'm used to that smaller bumps that I'm otherwise happy to ride over are enough to dislodge my hands.

I've ridden the One with two different wheelsets (the 'normal' Sixty Two and the Hyper Sixty Two), two cockpits (110 and 130mm), with the Black Inc stock bar tape, without bar tape at all (through necessity for one ride) and with Fizik's Comfortfeel 3.5mm tape. The stiffness or numbness hasn't abated in any case.

Of course, I'm framing it as a problem, and it must be said that the One can accept 32mm tyres, but that stiffness has its benefits too. Yanking on the bars in an ugly-face, all-out sprint, the difference is night and day compared to pretty much anything else out there. Have you ever picked up an old smartphone and wondered how the hell you ever lived with it? That's kind of how I feel when I try to sprint on anything else now. The responsiveness in the pedals feels marginally better, but the feeling through the bars is ridiculously good.

It carries over into climbing too. The Factor ONE weighs 8.2kg in this setup (with pedals and computer, no bottles) but has the sprightly feel you get on a 6kg lightweight bike because of how the stiffness translates to the road. I doubt for a second it's actually undoing the 1.5kg deficit it has to the O2 VAM when it comes to a hill climb, but from a pure sensations point of view, it's a nice thing to have on a bike that can also then barrel along a flat road with ease.

And 'barrel along' it can. The ONE is a bike that enables the en vogue modern, progressive aero position, and for that I really like it. Partly because it lets me open up my hip angle and prevent pinching of my hip flexors, which has long caused me discomfort, but also because I get to ride in that racy, forward, purposeful position that has long-ago been shown to be more aero.

I've always been quite quad dominant in my pedalling technique too, and I feel this lets me play to that strength. This is also the first test bike I've had in years where I've not had to slam the saddle as far forward on the rails as it'll go, and I buy into the notion that a longer front-centre reduces the over-the-bar risk, even if it's not something I've ever really worried about before.

The downsides to this position mean I now have more trouble with my neck, because rotating my body forwards means my neck has to compensate in the opposite direction if I'm still to see where I'm going. I had it especially badly on the Ridley Noah Fast 3, but I seem to be in the minority in having this problem, so I'll brush it aside as a me problem for now.

But this all leads to the ONE feeling really at home. I'm loath to say it 'feels' fast, because so many other factors could come into play on any given day and we have the wind tunnel data to prove that it is – keep reading for that – but it 'feels' happy. The longer wheelbase adds high-speed stability, and where I found the Ridley Noah was buffeted by the wind quite easily with its deep wheels and mega head tube, the Factor is stable and surefooted. The switch to the Hyper wheels adds a slight twitchiness to the front end by dint of its reduced weight, but with either wheelset fitted, the bike was quite content ticking along at speed, even when the going got a bit blustery. And once I'd put the longer-reach cockpit on, I could sit in a nice long, low, narrow position and tick at speed nicely.

When the going gets twisty, however, I can't help but shake the feeling that the handling is actually comparatively slow in comparison to the Ostro Vam, Tarmac SL8 and SL9. I'd add the Noah Fast 3.0 to that mix too, but the Noah Fast I've ridden was a smaller frame size, so it's not a perfectly apples-to-apples comparison - not least since the Ridley geo is even longer and lower than this, with a slacker seat tube angle.

The extremely stiff cockpit kind of helps to offset this and give the impression of precision, and it goes extremely well on fast, sweeping descents where the roads are smooth because the front triangle flex that can cause vagueness under high load – like you get on the Y1Rs – isn't an issue here. But on tighter corners and hairpins, I'd often miss the apex. Overall, I just struggled to develop the intuition for how the bike would handle like I could on the OSTRO VAM, or like I can on the SL9. This is exacerbated when the road surface gets a little rougher, as is common here in the UK, as every bump is felt through the hands, making steering inputs more difficult.

Of course, I'm splitting hairs here, but it sort of bears out in the geometry charts in my frame size too. I think riders on smaller frames will probably feel differently, because in that comparison against other race bikes, the ONE's gets a steeper head tube and pairs it with a short wheelbase, but in my size, it's a different proposition with a longer wheelbase and no meaningful change to head tube angle and trail. Thanks to the position change, there's perhaps a little too much weight through my hands too. It's not a dealbreaker though. As I say, I'm splitting hairs and comparing an elite bike against other elite bikes, and it's perhaps something that I could reduce by playing around with more tyre sizes, different cockpits shifting my weight balance around to find a sweet spot.

Aero performance - wind tunnel test data

Cyclingnews subscribers will already be familiar with this, but the ONE can lay claim to the title of being the fastest bike we've ever tested in the wind tunnel, both with and without a rider. That's against a cohort of over 30 high-end road race bikes, and includes pretty much all the big players from Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, Colnago, Cervelo and more.

The graph above shows the CdA (the measurement of how aerodynamic something is) at seven different wind angles, with 0° at the centre being a direct headwind, and a lower measurement being better or more aerodynamic.

The Factor One is highlighted, and it's clear that its aero credentials come to the fore as the wind angle increases.

Using the CdA from each of those wind angles and averaging them out, we then calculate the number of watts needed to overcome the aerodynamic drag of both the Factor One and dozens of other bikes that have been through the same test.

We use an old, basic bike as the comparison, and can see that the Factor One tops the list, saving 40.28 watts. Perhaps more usefully, it's two watts more aerodynamic (at 40km/h) than the next best bike.

With a rider on the bike, things shift a little, but the Factor is still within 0.04w of the top spot, which is well within the error margin of the test. In this test, it was 27.53W more aero than our baseline bike with a rider, and 7.9W more aero than the Tarmac SL8 (we're yet to test the SL9).

And in our third aero test, we swapped out the stock wheels for a 'control' wheel - the Enve SES 6.7.

This allows us to see how each bike compares with the exact same wheel-tyre combo, isolating the aero differences to the frame, fork, handlebar and so on.

In that test, we once again have Factor atop the tree with a sizeable step to the next best on test.

To read the full breakdown, head to our wind tunnel aero bikes shootout or our Factor One wind tunnel deep-dive.

Value

The price of this build is £14,588, or $15,788. Minus £1000 or $1100 for the 'standard' Black Inc Sixty Two wheelset.

That's £90 cheaper (or oddly, $288 more expensive) than a Colnago Y1Rs specced with the same groupset and a similar wheelset upgrade (Enve 4.5 SES wheels). But it's also £2,589 more than an off-the-peg S-Works Tarmac SL9.

To contextualise just how much money the Factor One will cost, here's a look at what else you could buy. You could buy a Tarmac SL8 Expert - Ultegra Di2 (£5,499), a Crux 5 Expert Force XPLR (£5999) and an Epic Hardtail (Comp, S-1000 AXS and Sid SL)

Alternatively, if you wanted a top-tier race product, you could buy a Canyon Aeroad CFR (£8029) and still have enough to buy that aforementioned brand new Crux 5.

Or to put another spin on it, if you're buying it because you want to get better at racing, you could buy that aforementioned Canyon Aeroad CFR, and then spend £300 a month on a support network of various coaches for 21 months to help you find significantly more than the few watts you're saving here.

Verdict

The Factor One is a singularly minded, out-and-out race bike, and for that type of riding it's really good, but it's an incredibly expensive tool for a specific purpose, not a versatile bike. It's the drywall screwdriver in the toolkit; brilliant at its job, and technically capable as an impact driver, but it'd soon get tiresome.

The handling might not feel quite as sharp as the OSTRO did, but it's still really fun to ride when you're trying to go fast. Racing, KOM hunting, or simply chasing your mates on it is a hoot, and the geometry allows that 'modern' position. It's longer, lower, but with a steepness to the seat tube that doesn't just stretch me out, instead letting me really get over the bottom bracket, drop my elbows and ride it hard.

As a result, it's a bike that holds pace on the flat as well as anything else out there, and the stiffness means sprinting is also better than anything else out there.

But the big takeaway is that it's so stiff that riding it every day becomes tiresome. Even after adding plush bar tape and swapping to my favourite saddle, I feel battered if I go for more than a couple of hours, not to mention my numb hands and pothole incidents.

As such, this is more a race tool than an everyday machine. And that throws up another issue in that it has such a divisive aesthetic that plenty of its potential buyers wouldn't actually feel comfortable turning up to their local race on one.

The ability to get into the modern position is really good. But the Noah Fast offers this too.

It's not a bike I'd overall recommend, unless for a very specific purpose.

A new Cube aero road bike has been hiding in plain sight since June this year. That model, along with a host of other new machines, has now been officially released by the brand.

Both Tour de France races are over for the year, and hot, lazy August days at times feel like downtime before the excitement begins to build again for the year's final big races like the Vuelta a España and the World Championships.

But Cube is already looking even further ahead to 2027 and has pretty much announced its full bike lineup for next year, including the mystery aero bike we have wanted more information on for months.

We saw Team TotalEnergies with the new Cube aero bike at the Tour-Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes back in June, and the team has raced with it ever since.

That bike was announced today as the latest version of the Litening Aero C:68X; it's lighter, more aero and, in context, really rather 'cheap'. We have more details on Cube's range-topper below.

Since this is the first 2027 range news we've released, and possibly because we're excited for any news on next year's bikes, we've included an overview of some of the other models on offer from Cube as well.

The new CUBE Litening Aero C:68X

There is no model name change for the Litening Aero C:68X, but the brand's range-topper has undergone some changes in this latest update.

Cube hasn't gone into fine details regarding the design process for the new machine, but we've got the key points here.

The frame and fork are now 150 grams lighter and have 34mm tyre clearance. The steering forkstop pin has also gone, providing a bigger range of movement from the handlebars.

Geometry also remains the same, with no big changes taking place between the new and outgoing models, although a size 62cm frame has now been introduced.

The frame is said to be lighter, stiffer and more aero than the outgoing model, with a quoted aerodynamic saving of 6.2 watts. That's all the detail we have on that front for now, though I have asked the brand for more information.

There's a fresh carbon seatpost which is said to be 10% more comfortable, and that area of the bike is the easiest to differentiate between the old and new models. The new bike has a seat tube / top tube junction that drops away at an angle; look to that area if you are spotting the new bike.

There is also a new integrated handlebar specifically for the bike. Cube says the IC Aero Max cockpit helps put the rider into a more aero position. We got a little more info on the bar, and Cube told us there are palm support dents on the tops, special bar tape cutouts for where the tape is designed to end, and a little bit of flare to the drops. The brand is also speccing narrower bars and shorter cranks on 2027 bikes.

Prices for the bike begin at £4,999, but top-spec Dura-Ace (claimed 7.1kg weight) or SRAM Red builds - with Newmen Streem carbon wheels, Schwalbe Pro One Aero tyres, and the Aero Max cockpit - will set you back just £7,499 or €7,299. Still a chunk of money, but a very attractive price point in this top-tier aero bike category.

The lightest bike in the range isn't even the most expensive; the 6.9kg Orbit model with SRAM Red XPLR 1X drivetrain comes in at £6,999 / €6,999.

Road and gravel bikes

It's not all 7K Dura-Ace race bikes today; Cube has made some changes to its gravel and more affordable road lines too.

The Attain endurance bike range has received attention; specs have been strengthened across aluminium and carbon models, and a carbon frame model now starts at £2,500 with Shimano 105 Di2, carbon wheels and an integrated handlebar, which sounds like a competitively priced package that should rival bikes like the Canyon Endurace.

The Nuroad gravel range has also had an update, and another contender for one of the best specced gravel bikes around is the Nuroad C:62 SLT (pictured above). It's one of the few bikes on the market right now with an SRAM Red XPLR groupset for under £7,000.

Coming in at 8kg with Red XPLR, Newmen Streem wheels and Schwalbe G ONE RS Pro tyres, its RRP is £6,499. It also has mudguard mounts, rejoice!

Mountain and hybrid bikes

Cube's range could be called comprehensive; there are a lot of bikes. When it comes to mountain bikes, the brand has resurrected a previously discontinued model and streamlined a big range.

The Fritzz was discontinued back in 2018, but after a hiatus the brand has reworked and returned it to the range as an Enduro bike which will replace the Stereo One77 model. We don't have full details on the suspension and frame angles, but the bike will sport 170mm of travel, use a high pivot design and come with a mullet wheel setup as stock.

The sizable Stereo range, which until now consisted of 14 models, has been streamlined to a 150mm / 145mm travel bike and two carbon frame options. A Shimano XT-equipped bike will come in at £2,199, further reinforcing the Cube value offering.

Finally, whilst various hardtail and hybrid bikes have also received updates, there's a brand new model in the shape of the carbon-framed e-bike, the Supreme Hybrid C:62 deluxe. Both versions of the bike have a Gates carbon drive, integrated lighting, fenders, frame lock, kickstand and luggage rack. Prices start at £4,899 for this.

The fifth edition of the Tour de France Femmes is over in what proved to be a nail-biting race that all came down to the very last stage to see Demi Vollering become the first multiple winner of the event since its inception.

It was, however, a close fought battle with the yellow jersey changing hands multiple times throughout the race.

As well as a close fought battle for yellow, the polka dot, green, and white jerseys were up for grabs too, and we were treated to some long range breakaways, thanks in no small part to Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset's exploits for Uno-X Mobility on stage 3.

The green jersey was a more forgone conclusion, as Lorena Wiebes absolutely dominated the sprints with her usual display of force. Meanwhile, Puck Pieterse added to her young rider win in 2024 by taking home the mountains jersey.

Antonia Niedermaier took home the white jersey as the highest placed rider this year under 24 years of age, ahead of breakout star Paula Blasi.

Despite tensions within the squad, Blasi's Team UAE L’Imad was the team classification winner, with Elisa Longo Borghini claiming third overall, Blasi 5th, and Dominika Wlodarczyk in 7th, although the UAE squad didn’t take home a single stage win.

In total, six riders took home stage honors across the nine days of racing. Those victories were spread out among just three bike brands, three wheel brands, three tyre brands, and two groupset brands.

Stage-by-stage breakdown: Who won with what?

Bike brands: Who came out on top?

Specialized was the absolute dominant force here, with two thirds of the stages won by its bikes. Of course, the brand sponsors three WorldTour teams, with each one taking at least one stage win, alongside other Pro Teams too. This meant each of these wins was a point for the all-rounder bikes too, as the S-Works Tarmac range - now up to SL9 - has been ‘one bike to rule them all’ since the SL7 launched and Specialized removed the aero-focused Venge from its line-up.

Canyon took home two stages thanks to two of its three sponsored teams; Canyon-SRAM and Movistar. Wins were spread across the Speedmax TT bike and Aeroad aero road bike, with the Ultimate climbing bike seldom being used.

Ridley was the only other brand to take home any spoils with the epic solo breakaway of Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset aboard the very aero focused Noah Fast 3.0 frame.

Every other bike brand in the race failed to win a single stage, or jersey for that matter.

Specialized riders took home yellow and green. Canyon left with polkadot and white. Colnago, the dominant brand in the men’s race, took home the Team Classification, but no individual wins or jerseys.

All-round takes the crown

While the men’s race was a win for the aero frames, the women’s race showed that the all-rounders were the main bike of choice for riders who won stages.

This is biased due to Specialized only having an all-rounder, while Canyon and Ridley both took home honors with full aero bikes. Indeed many teams with the choice of aero and lightweight still opted for aero frames, likely due to it being easier to make aero bikes closer to 6.8kg with the smaller sizes often used across the women’s field than men’s.

Time trial bikes took home one stage win at the TT, but interestingly some road bikes were used for this, or rather road frames converted into time trial bikes.

But the main story was all-rounders winning across hilly stages and sprint stages proving the versatility. Interestingly though the Queen Stage up Mont Ventoux was won aboard an aero bike.

Groupset wars: SRAM keeps the crown

SRAM was the leading groupset brand in the Tour de France Femmes, usurping Shimano from the top-spot, but it was close.

Shimano counted its wins from Demi Vollering and Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar, while SRAM saw wins across a broader spread of riders and teams.

Campagnolo was again notable by its absence, although a reinvigorated groupset line-up could see changes in the future, as the brand is still the only 2x13 speed option available.

Roval steals the show, Zipp and DT Swiss share the scraps

Specialized’s in-house wheel brand, Roval, took the top spot as the wheels are used by the three Specialized-sponsored teams who took home most of the spoils. Winning wheels were a mix of the Rapide CLX III and Sprint CLX wheels.

Zipp took home stage wins with Movistar in the time trial, and Canyon-SRAM on Mont Ventoux, showing some versatility across high speed aero demands and long climbing efforts.

DT Swiss was part of the epic solo breakaway on Stage 3 where aero was pretty much everything to help secure that amazing win.

Triumphant tyres, with a tubeless takeover

A theme has developed, where Specialized and the in-house wheels and tyres were present across all the brand’s bike wins. The latest Turbo Cotton tubeless tyres were used across the entirety of the riders using those bikes to take home most of the stage wins.

Continental remained present with Movistar and Uno-X Mobility using its GP5000 tyres to take home stage wins. Meanwhile Schwalbe muscled in there to get a win with Canyon-SRAM.

Pirelli and Vittoria were absent, despite the strong presence both brands held in the men’s event.

Inner tubes and glued-on tubular tyres have again been missing from the biggest races. Brands have tended towards tubeless across the board now thanks to lower weight and rolling resistance. Additionally, with more lightweight race tyres, tubeless affords micro-punctures to fix mid-ride with limited pressure loss.

Two-by, or not two-by

1x groupsets only took home a single win in this race, and that was just the time trial. Even then, many riders were still using 2x, due to the presence of some hillier sections in that stage. For the rest of the event, 2x was used by most riders.

Part of this may be due to 1x being particularly useful for races where the speeds are significantly higher often across flatter terrain. Looking at the men’s event with stages in excess of 45kph most days, those stages present a perfect opportunity for 1x gearing. Plus there were fewer ‘transitional stages’ in the women’s race so fewer truly flat affairs.

Instead, 2x and the versatility it offers was preferred for the majority of riders at the Tour de France Femmes. It doesn’t look like that is set to change any time soon with the great gear ranges, smaller jumps in gears, and superb shifting afforded across groupset brands.

With the men's Tour de France (and with it, the Tadej Pogačar procession) out of the way, now it's time for the real bike race of the summer, the Tour de France Femmes.

Lorena Wiebes might be storming the early stages, but Demi Vollering and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot are gearing up for a mega duel in the GC, while Kim Le Court, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Marlen Reusser, and Elisa Longo Borghini are all vying to upset the applecart, which has already been somewhat upset already by a barnstorming ride from Norwegian national champion Sigrid Haugset.

As ever, Cyclingnews is on the ground covering the racing in all the exciting detail, and here we're going to focus on the tech. In this gallery we've got the usual cohort of nerdy tricks and tidbits, as well as a host of stunning custom paint schemes, and even an appearance from SpongeBob SquarePants (of course!) - you'll have to read on to see what that's all about.

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on every Tour de France Femmes team's bikes, kit and components.

The 2026 Tour de France Femmes kicks off on the 1st of August. The nine-stage race, now in its fifth year, will be hotly contested, with defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot aiming to repeat last year's success.

21 teams will do battle at this year's race. 14 are from the WorldTour - cycling's top flight, which ensures a team automatically qualifies for the event. The other seven are Pro Teams, which sit one division below.

Some of those squads don't have the visibility or fanbase that the larger teams do, and as such, the equipment they use can fly under the radar.

This guide provides a full rundown on every team's equipment, their frame options, tyres, computers and kit. Want to know what tyres the St Michel team use, or what aftermarket cranksets the Maybenne Monbana Mypie squad are running? This is the place.

This year's race should provide plenty of interesting tech opportunities that should create some variation. From the Stage 4 individual time trial that will demand aero optimisation to the summit finish on Mont Ventoux on Stage 7, where low weight may be a key factor.

Cyclingnews will be providing tech coverage from the race as it happens, so stay tuned.

• Tour de France Femmes key stages analysis
• How to watch the Tour de France Femmes
• Tour de France Femmes top contenders

Tour de France Femmes teams bikes and kit

AG Insurance-Soudal Team

• Bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 / Shiv TT
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels: Roval Rapide CLX III / Sprint
• Tyres: Specialized Cotton TLR
• Clothing: Castelli
• Saddles: Specialized
• Finishing Kit: Specialized / Roval
• Computers: Garmin

AG Insurance-Soudal have a proven equipment package from Specialized that's the same as a few other women's and men's teams.

Specialized provides the majority of the overall build. The team recently moved onto the new S-Works Tarmac SL9 frame, and Roval, Specialized's in-house component brand, provides the wheels and handlebar; even the tyres are Specialized Cotton TLR numbers.

Groupset-wise, it's the trusted Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, but don't hold your breath for many 1X setups, as Shimano doesn't currently offer a dedicated 1X aero ring.

Canyon-SRAM

• Bikes: Canyon Aeroad CFR / Ultimate CFR / Speedmax
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: Zipp
• Tyres: Schwalbe Pro One / TT / Aero
• Clothing: Canyon
• Saddles: Ergon
• Finishing Kit: Canyon
• Computers: Hammerhead

The clue is in the name with Canyon SRAM; the team races on Canyon bikes and uses a lot of equipment from the SRAM family, such as groupsets, wheels, pedals and bike computers.

The team tends to always use the Canyon Aeroad CFR frame, a no-brainer given how fast pro races are now. Canyon recently gave it a small update with UDH compatibility.

Componentry comes from SRAM in the form of the Red AXS groupset. The team has several models of Zipp wheels to choose from, from the aero 454 NSW to the super light 202 NSW.

Computers are the Hammerhead Karoo model, meaning the riders can set their shifter bonus buttons up to switch the computer pages.

The team also uses saddles from Ergon, a popular choice in the womens peloton.

Cofidis women team

• Bikes: Look 795 Blade RS 3 / 796 TT
• Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record 13
• Wheels: Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO
• Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Pro / Speed
• Clothing: Exteondo
• Saddles: Selle Italia
• Finishing Kit: Look
• Computers: Wahoo

The Cofidis women's team recently received a frame upgrade in the form of the new Look 795 Blade RS 3 frame. It is a little lighter and a little more aerodynamic.

The frame's handlebars and seatpost are also from Look, but the rest of the equipment comes from Campagnolo. Cofidis is also the only team in the race on the legendary Italian manufacturer's equipment.

The team will use the latest Super Record 13-speed groupset, with Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO wheels fitted with Vittoria Corsa Pro or Speed tyres.

French team, French bikes, French race. Cofidis will be targeting victory from Stage 1.

EF Education-Oatly

• Bikes: Cannondale SuperSix Evo, SuperSlice (TT)
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: Vision Metron RS
• Tyres:  Vittoria Corsa Pro / Speed
• Clothing: Assos
• Saddles: Prologo
• Finishing Kit: Cannondale
• Computers: Wahoo

EF Education Oatly race on the Cannondale SuperSix Evo 5 frame, which launched at the start of the year.

The bike got lower and narrower, whilst maintaining a lot of the overall aesthetics of the outgoing model. Cannondale also produced a new integrated handlebar to go with it.

The team use SRAM Red AXS groupsets, and carbon-spoked Vision Metron RS wheels also wrapped in Vittoria Corsa Pro or Speed tyres. The Corsa Speed is a time trial tyre but is being widely adopted by teams in road races for maximum speed.

Look out for world road race champion Magdeleine Vallieres' cool custom rainbow-painted bike during the race.

FDJ United - Suez

• Bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 / Shiv
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels: Roval Rapide CLX III / Sprint
• Tyres: Specialized Cotton TLR
• Clothing: Gobik / Nike
• Saddles: Specialized
• Finishing Kit: Specialized / Roval
• Computers: Garmin

FDJ United Suez use pretty much the same equipment package as rivals AG Insurance-Soudal.

The team has also recently switched to the Tarmac SL9 from Specialized and uses Shimano Dura-Ace groupsets and Roval wheels.

European road race champion and one of the race favourites, Demi Vollering, races for the team. Look out for her striking custom-painted white European road race champion bike.

At times, Specialized also rolls out special 'Project black' lightweight bikes for big stages. Don't be surprised if Vollering switches to a superlight all-black bike at some point.

Fenix-Premier Tech

• Bikes: Canyon Aeroad CFR / Ultimate CFR / Speedmax
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels: Shimano Dura-Ace
• Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS / P Zero Race TLR SL-R
• Clothing: Alé
• Saddles: Selle Italia
• Finishing Kit: Canyon
• Computers: Wahoo

Fenix-Premier Tech use predominantly the same Canyon Aeroad CFR frames as Canyon SRAM but fitted with Shimano equipment instead of SRAM.

The team races with Dura-Ace groupsets, and we expect to see them racing on the new, recently released Dura-Ace wheels, which now have carbon fibre spokes.

The team will, on paper, have the option to use three wheelsets for road races: the C36, 50 and 60 models.

Tyres come from Pirelli and are the P Zero Race TLR SL-R model. The SL-R tyres have a specially shaped sidewall to improve the aerodynamic relationship between the rim and tyre.

The team has also launched a switchout kit for this year's race, which is in the Instagram link above.

Human Powered Health

• Bikes: Factor Ostro VAM and O2 VAM
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: Black Inc.
• Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Pro / Speed
• Clothing: Verge Sport
• Saddles: Selle Italia
• Finishing Kit: Black Inc
• Computers: Wahoo

Human Powered Health races on Factor bikes and, like a few other teams, technically can choose between a few different models.

The hyper aero and aggressive Factor One is used by some riders, but not all, it seems. Some prefer to use the brand's Ostro VAM race bike.

The team use SRAM Red AXS groupsets, Vittoria Corsa Pro / Speed tyres and Black Inc. wheels, which is Factor's in-house wheel brand.

Riders from the team will also race on custom bikes featuring characters from SpongeBob SquarePants. The designs reinterpret Mighty Jaxx’s XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star collectables.

The team has also announced a TDFF switchout kit featuring the message 'True Health is Self Made'.

Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi

• Bikes: X - Lab AD9
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels: Branta C50 UL
• Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Pro / Speed
• Clothing: Agu
• Saddles: Prologo
• Finishing Kit: X-Lab
• Computers: Wahoo

Basque squad Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi race on Chinese X-Lab AD9 bikes.

We tested the AD9 in the wind tunnel ourselves; we found it wasn't as fast as some of the very quickest bikes we've tested, like the Factor One, instead holding its own and sitting mid-table in our test.

The team bikes are fitted with Shimano Dura-Ace groupsets, and the team use X-Lab's own Branta 50mm wheels, one of the less well-known wheel brands in the women's peloton.

Tyres are Vittoria Corsa Pro / Speed models, like several other teams in the race.

Check out our women's Paris-Roubaix Femmes gallery for some truly wild bar tape wraps from the team!

Lidl Trek Women

• Bikes: Trek Madone, Domane, Speed Concept (TT)
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: Bontrager RSL
• Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS / P Zero Race TLR SL-R
• Clothing: Santini
• Saddles: Bontrager
• Finishing Kit: Bontrager
• Computers: Wahoo

Lidl-Trek race predominantly on Trek's Madone model, and like a lot of other squads with a couple of frames to choose from, tend to go for the more aerodynamic model.

The Madone has gotten lighter and more user-friendly over the last few updates; it's also more aerodynamic with the aero frame bottles than without.

The team use Bontrager wheels, Trek's in-house brand wrapped in Pirelli tyres, most likely the P Zero Race TLR SL-R.

Lidl-Trek are currently racing on some as yet unreleased Bontrager RSL wheels that we hear will launch later this year.

Like the 'Project black' Specialized bikes, the team also has access to Trek Project One 'Vapour coat' paint jobs, which save weight over the team's stock paint jobs.

Liv - Alula - Jayco

• Bikes: Liv Langma, Enviliv Advanced Pro, Avow (TT)
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace
• Wheels: Cadex
• Tyres: Cadex Aero Cotton
• Clothing: MAAP
• Saddles: Liv / CADEX
• Finishing Kit: Liv
• Computers: Garmin

Liv - Alula - Jayco race on Liv bikes, and have a couple to choose from, the Langma and Enviliv Advanced Pro. Fun fact: Langma is the Tibetan word for Mount Everest.

The team races on Shimano Dura-Ace equipment, but is one of the squads we have seen fitting aftermarket 1x aero chainrings this year.

The brand races on Cadex wheels and tyres, likely using the Cadex Aero Cotton models on the Cadex carbon fibre wheels.

Lotto-Intermaché

• Bikes: Orbea Orca / Orca Aero
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels: OQUO RA57 LTD / CS
• Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Pro / Speed
• Clothing: Vermarc
• Saddles: Prologo
• Finishing Kit: Orbea
• Computers: Garmin

Lotto-Intermaché is a new team from this year and uses Spanish Orbea bikes to race on.

The team can choose between the Orca and Orca Aero, which was recently updated and given 37mm tyre clearance, some of the biggest around when it comes to pro race bikes.

The team also use OQUO wheels, racing on the RA57 LTD / CS, which have striking champagne coloured hubs and carbon fibre spokes.

Lotto Intermache are also another team racing on Vittoria Corsa Pro or Speed tyres, depending on the conditions.

Ma Petite Enterprise

• Bikes: Factor Monza / O2 Vam / One
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 / Galfer
• Wheels: Black Inc
• Tyres: Hutchinson Blackbird Race
• Clothing: Velo Plus / AMD Bike
• Saddles: Selle Italia
• Finishing Kit: Factor
• Computers: Wahoo

Ma Petite Enterprise also race on Factor bikes, and some of the team's riders will also be using custom-painted SpongeBob SquarePants bikes from Factor.

The team's riders seem to favour the brand's lightweight 02 Vam, but we may well see the aero One model being raced as well during the race.

Dura-Ace groupsets and Black Inc. wheels round out the build.

The team use aftermarket disc brake rotors from Spanish brand Galfer, popular in the road and mtb world.

Unlike Human Powered Health, the team use Hutchinson Blackbird Race tyres.

Mayenee Monbana Mypie

• Bikes: Winspace SLC5
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 / Cybrei
• Wheels: Lún Hyper
• Tyres: Hutchinson Blackbird Race
• Clothing: Craft
• Saddles: Prologo
• Finishing Kit: Winspace
• Computers: Garmin

The Maybenne Monbana Mypie team races on Winspace SLC5 bikes. Interestingly, the SLC5 is listed as an 'all-rounder' model by the brand, not an out-and-out race bike.

The team uses Shimano equipment, but uses lightweight Cybrei cranks and chainrings.

Wheels come from Lún Hyper, Winspace's in-house wheel brand, and Hutchinson provides the tyres.

Movistar

• Bikes: Canyon Aeroad CFR, Ultimate CF SLX, Speedmax CFR (TT)
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: Zipp
• Tyres: Continental GP5000 S TR / TT
• Clothing: Gobik
• Saddles: Fizik
• Finishing Kit: Canyon / Lizard Skins
• Computers: Garmin

Movistar use an almost identical setup to rivals Canyon SRAM.

The team uses Canyon Aeroad road machines, with SRAM Red equipment and Zipp wheels, but with Continental tyres instead of Schwalbe.

Look out for world and European time trial champion Marlen Reusser's custom-painted Canyon Speedmax TT bike on Stage 4 of the race.

St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93

• Bikes: Cannondale Supersix Evo
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: Mavic Cosmic / Comete
• Tyres: Michelin Power Cup / Time Trial
• Clothing: Poli
• Saddles: Prologo
• Finishing Kit: Cannondale
• Computers: Wahoo

St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 also race on Cannondale SuperSix bikes with SRAM Red AXS groupsets, the same as the EF Education squad.

However, the team races on an all-French wheel and tyre combination with Mavic Cosmic wheels and Michelin Power Cup tyres.

Team Picnic PostNL

• Bikes: Lapierre Xelius DRS, Aerostorm DRS TT
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels: Ursus Arya R35 / 50
• Tyres: Michelin Power Cup / Time trial
• Clothing: Nalini
• Saddles: Prologo
• Finishing Kit: Lapierre
• Computers: Wahoo

Team Picnic PostNL race on French Lapierre Xelius DRS road bikes. Easily recognisable in the bunch thanks to their eye-catching rear frame triangles.

In the wheel department, the team use Ursus Arya wheels for road stages and Scope ones for time trials. Ursus wheels are available in two different depths for flat and hilly stages.

Groupsets are Shimano Dura-Ace, and the team races on Mnicheli Power Cup tyres. However, we have seen them use Vittoria tyres for time trials with the logos sharpied out.

Team SD Worx Protime 

• Bikes: Specialized Tarmac SL9 / Shiv (TT)
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: Roval Rapide CLXIII / Sprint
• Tyres: Specialized Cotton TLR
• Clothing: Specialized
• Saddles: Specialized
• Finishing Kit: Specialized / Roval
• Computers: Garmin

Team SD Worx Protime also races on the new Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 frame, and the American brand is the most well-represented manufacturer in the race with a total of four teams riding its bikes.

The team uses SRAM Red AXS equipment, the only Specialized team to do so.

For the rest, it's a very familiar spec list with Roval handlebars and wheels, along with Specialized tyres.

We have also seen star rider Lotte Kopecky riding an all-black S-Works Tarmac SL9 bike, so look out for that stealthy model too.

UAE Team ADQ

• Bikes: Colnago Y1RS, V4Rs, TT1/2 (TT)
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels: Enve Pro / SES
• Tyres: Continental GP5000 S TR / TT TR
• Clothing: Pissei
• Saddles: Fizik
• Finishing Kit: Colnago
• Computers: Wahoo

UAE Team ADQ, has two Colnago bikes to choose from: the V5RS and the aero Y1RS, which is one of the fastest bikes in the WorldTour.

The team use Shimano Dura-Ace groupsets and Enve wheels in a range of different depths.

The team also received a new time trial bike earlier this year in the form of the new Colnago TT2, which dropped around half a kilo compared to its predecessor.

Uno-X Mobility

• Bikes: Ridley Noah FAST 3.0
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: DT Swiss ARC1100
• Tyres: Continental GP5000 STR / TT / Aero 111
• Clothing: Fusion
• Saddles: Prologo
• Finishing Kit: Ridley
• Computers: Garmin

The Uno-X Mobility women's team races on the Ridley Noah Fast 3.0, a dedicated aero bike.

Wheels come from DT Swiss, and the team are one of the few to use the Continental Aero 111 tyres at times, depending on the conditions.

SRAM Red AXS groupsets are run with double and 1X chainrings depending on the course.

We recently tested the team's DT Swiss ARC 1100 wheels in our CN Labs aero wheels test if you want a deeper dive into WorldTour wheel aero performance.

Visma - Lease a Bike Women

• Bikes: Cervélo S5, R5, Caledonia, P5 (TT)
• Groupset: SRAM Red AXS
• Wheels: Reserve 34/37 - 42/49 - 57/64
• Tyres: Vittoria Corsa Pro / Speed
• Clothing: Nimbl
• Saddles: Prologo
• Finishing Kit: Cervelo / FSA
• Computers: Garmin

Visma - Lease a Bike can choose between two models of Cervélo bikes: the aero S5 and lightweight R5 machines.

It seems this year that the majority of rides are on the S5, one of the fastest bikes around, but look out for the R5 on the hilly days.

The team use SRAM Red AXS equipment and Reserve wheels with Vittoria Corsa Pro and Speed tyres.

Look out for some custom-painted bikes for the team's Dutch national champions and a special blue and white Giro helmet for defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

VolkerWessels cycling team

• Bikes: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wheels: Fast Forward Raw 55
• Tyres: Schwalbe Pro One / TT/ Aero
• Clothing: Bioracer
• Saddles: Specialized
• Finishing Kit: Specialized
• Computers: Wahoo

The VolkerWessels team ride Specialized Tarmac SL8 bikes, but so far this year we haven't seen them on the latest S-Works SL9 model.

The team run Shimano Dura-Ace groupsets and, fittingly for a Dutch team, Dutch wheels in the form of Fast Forward Raw 55 models.

The team pair these with Schwalbe Pro One tyres for road races.

The best road bikes, the ones that I sit fondly with in my mind’s eye long after the review period has ended, are like a balanced diet. A few healthy salads, regular hearty bowls of pasta, infrequent takeaways, and the occasional night where you have four martinis and a couple of cigarettes for dinner.

Some bikes are a little more salad, others have a couple more martinis on the menu, but they all regress to the mean; a happy medium of comfort, stiffness, aerodynamics, liveability, and style. The Incolor SSR is not like living on a balanced diet; it’s like trying to survive on a diet of popping candy and vitamin pills. You might not die, but you’re not going to have a particularly enjoyable time.

It is, on paper, a very accomplished machine, and a challenger for the best aero road bikes for sure. A very low weight, and a claimed aero package that is just shy of 4 watts faster than a Cervélo S5, a bike that is widely considered one of the best aero bikes on the market, and one that came out on top in our own wind tunnel testing. All the mod cons, and yet, much like the Felt Nexar, things quite quickly fell away when the rubber hit the road.

I’ve taken the SSR out on my usual test routes, involving fast flat riding, plus the usual hills and twisting descents that test the handling, plus a solid 7hr day in the chair to test its endurance capabilities, which I’ll admit is not what it’s designed for. All in all… I have not enjoyed it.

Design and aesthetics

Visually, the Incolor SSR is a striking machine. In fact, it shares a similar vibe to the Felt Nexar, insofar as it’s clearly designed with aerodynamics at the forefront of everything, but with a slenderness that makes it look fragile against the muscular frames of the Cervélo S5 and even more so against the likes of the Factor ONE.

There’s more than a hint of a Giant TCR about the thing, with the compact frame and integrated seatpost, but the scalloped cutout to surround the rear wheel is Canyon Aeroad, and the bayonet fork is very Cervélo, at the head tube at least. The crown and legs, also extremely blade-like, are a thing of their own, and able to swallow a surprisingly large tyre. Officially the bike will accommodate a 32c tyre with a 2x setup, or a 36c with a 1x. All very modern.

What was also modern was the cockpit, which arrived in a 120x35.5 guise. A wider one also arrived, but let’s be real, I’m not going to fit that when there’s something as tastefully aero already fitted; shoulder pain be damned.

The seat mast you need to cut to size yourself, and unlike bikes from the likes of Giant whereby there’s some wiggle room in the topper to adjust the height, here you can modify your saddle height by a couple of millimetres by using different 3D printed saddle cradles. It’s certainly neat, and clearly done with aerodynamics in mind. Luckily my test model arrived with everything bang on, and topped with a suede-topped (yes - fun, right?) unpadded carbon saddle that, praise be, was at least a shape I was comfortable with. I did find after an initial test that the saddle was just on the cusp of being a little high for my tastes, so I swapped from my Bont shoes to a slightly higher stack pair of Lakes, and everything was on song from there on in.

Incolor claims ‘custom geometry’ as an option, though this is perhaps a bit of a stretch. What you can do is select a ‘more aggressive’ or ‘more relaxed’ version of each of the seven sizes (45-60), which either increase the stack and reduce the reach or vice versa while keeping the saddle height range the same, for an upcharge of $600. I tested the standard version, however, which is probably what most of you will opt for, too. A 72º head tube angle is perhaps a little slacker than most, certainly 1.5º slacker than a Tarmac, for example. The stack in my size is 2mm lower than a Tarmac, but the reach is shorter by 6mm, so like me you may be able to bump up from your usual stem size to compensate.

In terms of aero claims, SSR quotes a frontal area that is 60.37cm2 smaller than a Cervélo S5, resulting in a claimed 3.99 watt benefit at 45km/h. Take this with a pinch of salt as this was done over a yaw sweep of -20º to +20º; wind yaw angles of 20º at 45km/h aren’t impossible, but they are very rare. We don’t know what weighting Incolor used, but by the graph we have, it is clear the SSR outperforms the S5 at higher yaw angles. Regardless, to be in the right zone as the S5, taking its data at face value, with a bike that weighed 7.05kg with pedals, the aero bottle cages and the neat 3D printed titanium computer mount, is impressive. We will be testing it in the tunnel ourselves in the coming months to validate these claims.

There are also stiffness claims too, with the SSR stiffer in ‘pedalling stiffness’ (which I assume is at the BB) than a Tarmac SL7 and SL8, a Giant TCR, a Van Rysel RCR (not the RCR-F I don’t believe), and a Cannondale SuperSix. It has a stiffer head tube than an SL7, an RCR and a SuperSix, and has more laterally stiff forks than all but the TCR. Sadly, there’s no quoted data for the seatpost stiffness, something which I fear was totally overlooked, as this is by some margin the least comfortable bike I’ve ever ridden.

Performance

Everything about this bike: the claimed aero superiority, the low weight, the modern tyre clearance, the lifetime warranty, the modern cockpit options and ‘custom geometry’, and the nifty 3D printed accessories. All of it simply falls out of the conversation because this is an almost unbearably uncomfortable bike ride.

It feels crystalline and brittle, even in comparison to the Van Rysel RCR-F, a bike that was in its own right uncomfortable but one I still managed to tap out an early spring 200km ride on without wanting to simply walk home halfway round. The main culprit is the integrated seat mast, and while some of you may look at the unpadded saddle and say that’s the culprit, I will gladly point you to my stupid flat bar road bike, which has a bare carbon saddle on it that I can sit on for hours on end with no issue. It doesn’t feel like there’s not enough give; it feels like there’s no give, and it has knock-on impacts beyond just battering your undercarriage.

On climbs, where the low weight should make it sing, the stiffness of your perch means you bounce jarringly if your cadence gets too high. The weight makes it a good climber, sure, but for extended climbs of more than a couple of minutes I want to be in a position where I am able to focus solely on the pain in my legs and lungs, and not my arse.

On the flat it is fast; part of that is down in no small part to the 355mm cockpit, which is probably going to do far more than any frame aero package, but it ticked along very happily on fast roads, and when things were smooth I could tuck into a lovely aero position. The front end may lack the lateral stiffness of a TCR, but it does feel like it has the vertical stiffness of a breezeblock. Like the rear end, the front is entirely unforgiving over anything other than beautiful millpond tarmac, and this has implications for the handling.

There’s nothing wrong with the geometry at all. It’s not like the Felt Nexar, which seemed to get it all a bit wrong, but having a degree of compliance adds a sure-footedness to the equation that the SSR lacks.

Actually, despite the slightly slacker front end, it is quite a lively bike to ride; perhaps the narrower cockpit is at play, but I don’t think to a great deal. I never felt truly at home sticking it into the corners as it felt like it could judder and skate over the surface at any time rather than hunkering down into the forces that are borne upon it and dealing with them with composure and a degree of grace.

To try and alleviate things a bit, I swapped the quite cool ‘Aerowav’ wheels (these were perfectly fine, if also quite stiff, and rather like riding Campagnolo Hyperons in my experience) for a set of Enve SES 6.7s shod with 32mm Hutchinson Blackbird Race tyres, rather than the 28mm set that came with my bike. I wanted to use 35s, which would have just cleared the front derailleur, but I didn’t fancy taking the risk. In any case, things improved marginally, but not to the point that it became enjoyable. The Aerowav wheels did come set up tubeless as standard.

The Blackbird Race is a good, and quite underrated tyre in my opinion, and the higher volume and decent spoonfuls of supple gave the SSR a bit more self-confidence, but taking it on a longer ride was truly quite hateful. 1 hour is enjoyable, you can smash it out. 2 hours is totally bearable, but three is unpleasant, and anything beyond four is torture. After seven I couldn’t ride anything for a few days, with the rear end comfort complemented by a fizzing sensation in my hands that I’ve only experienced after strimming the allotment with a 2-stroke Stihl for several hours. I know it isn't an endurance bike and I wasn't expecting an armchair, but people train on their race bikes, and this is absolutely going to detract from your training if you're doing any significant volume.

Finally, I never managed to get the headset to tighten properly. The shiny top cap wasn't machined with enough clearance for the top cap bolt, which would bind in the countersunk hole before it could fully do its job, almost getting totally stuck at one point, so I just left it a little loose.

Value

The frameset, without a cockpit, will set you back $4,399, or $5,299 if you want the ‘custom’ geometry. That’s a lot less than an S-Works Tarmac frame, but when Specialized trickles out the standard Tarmac SL9, I suspect the differential will be less. It’s also a couple of hundred bucks less than an S-Works SL8 frameset, which is still a very, very good option and one I would pick over the SSR in a heartbeat.

When you package in the cockpit at $419 the difference between this and the best bike in our buyer’s guide, the Factor Ostro VAM, is minor. The same goes for the Cervélo S5, another absolutely sensational bike.

Verdict

I think you may have gathered at this point that I don’t think the Incolor SSR is a very good bike. It is a clear example of trying to design something that looks good on paper. It has to hit the wind tunnel numbers and the stiffness figures and the weight. It has to have the fancy 3D printed titanium hardware and the modern narrow cockpit, but it doesn’t feel like anybody took it out and actually rode the thing.

I loved watching Blackadder growing up. There’s an episode where Edmund Blackadder’s puritanical aunt and uncle come to visit, and instantly chastise him for owning chairs, which are of course an invention of Satan.

“In our house Nathaniel sits on a spike”... I think I know how he feels.

The Wahoo Kickr V6 easily dominates as one of the market's best smart trainers. Wahoo's flagship trainer is our top choice for Zwift racing and narrowly missed out on being the best overall indoor trainer, with its sibling, the cheaper Kickr Core 2, getting the nod there.

The Kickr Core 2 ticks all the boxes as the best budget-friendly smart trainer. Perfect for the more casual indoor rider, or anyone getting into indoor riding and Zwift for the first time.

However, the Kickr V6 is the smart trainer of choice for riders seeking maximum performance and lightning-fast race-day connectivity.

That performance usually comes with a substantial price tag, but right now at Amazon, the Wahoo Kickr V6 is discounted by $200, down to just $849.99. If you're looking to invest or upgrade, we think the V6 warrants serious consideration at this price.

Wahoo is also running the exact deal on the Kickr V6, and elsewhere in its Summer Sale, the Kickr Core 2 is reduced to just $399.99 from $549.99.

Our choice as one of the best bike computers, the Wahoo Elemnt Roam 3 is discounted to $419.99, along with Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar's unit of choice, the Element Bolt 3, down to just $299.99.

The Wahoo Sale runs until Sunday, August 9, and the limited-time promotion sees discounts across the Wahoo ecosystem, from smart trainers and indoor bikes to bike computers and power meter pedals. Amazon prices reflect the discounts at Wahoo, so we'd expect those to return to full price come August 9.

The Kickr V6 still claimed a perfect 5-out-of-5-star review from Cycling News' Associate Editor, Josh Croxton. At the time of testing, Josh was torn between the Elite Justo 2 and the Kickr V6 as his top choice, and both are excellent top-of-the-line smart trainers.

The Elite Justo has a slightly better max power (2,300 watts vs 2,200 watts) and higher max simulated grade (24% vs 20%). I'd still opt for the Wahoo, as I love Wahoo products, and especially at this discounted price. The Elite Justo 2 is currently discounted by 5% on Amazon, but still costs $1,049, for anyone interested in checking out an alternative brand.

The Wahoo Kickr V6 deal applies to US shoppers only, and there are no reductions on Amazon or the UK version of the Wahoo Summer Sale. There are reductions on the Kickr Core 2 and the Zwift Ride with Kickr Core 2, down to £899.99, from £1,099.99, which matches the best price from back in January this year.

Below are the best Wahoo deals, from other retailers, relevant to your location and currency.

"What bike is that? It looks unreal!"

This was generally the kind of Instagram message I received whenever I shared a photo of the Argon 18 Anti-Matter during my test period. People were, at the very least, definitely on board with the aesthetics of the Canadian’s brand's new gravel race bike.

According to the Department of Energy, 'Antimatter is the twin of almost all the subatomic particles that make up our universe'. The scientists at CERN make Anti Matter to test; has Argon 18 meddled with the very fabric of the universe to bring us this new bike?

Bad science jokes aside, the Anti-Matter was spotted at the Traka at the start of May this year, and officially released later that month. It slotted in as Argon’s fastest gravel race bike and, in the brand’s words, is "built for the fastest gravel races on the planet."

Competitive gravel races are fast now. Very fast. In fact, for any rider, a gravel race is generally an exercise in putting out the most power you can for prolonged periods of time. As a result, the bikes are getting more specific and more speed-focused to try and bring those power requirements down.

The Anti Matter was developed from the ground up to be aerodynamic as a system. The brand claims over 800 hours of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) and 45 hours of wind tunnel testing went into its development. One line that stuck out to me from the press material was "achieving road bike level efficiency on gravel terrain."

This Anti Matter and the Nitrogen Pro road models could be a matching pair; you can see a lot of the same design language across both bikes.

If nothing else, that tells us something regarding what the Anti Matter is about. It’s also produced in a pretty mean-looking bike, which always helps.

The Anti Matter is available as a frameset, and in three SRAM XPLR builds in Rival, Force and Red. I tested the middle-spec Force-equipped bike out this summer after we took it to the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub wind tunnel to see if it was as fast as it looked.

Design and aesthetics

The Anti Matter appeals immediately. The narrow headtube, chunky fork crown, big down tube and dropped, angular chainstays all work together to produce an aggressive and aesthetically pleasing frame silhouette.

Pair that frame with a pair of deep, wide wheels in the form of the Zipp 303 XPLR S, aero chainring and that eye-catching black and blue fade paint with lurid neon decals, and you have a fantastic-looking package.

The neon on the ‘sea foam/neon’ paint scheme is an inspired choice. It’s the pick of the paintjob bunch for me and really brings the whole look together.

There are small flourishes dotted across the frameset, from the chequered flag-type logos on the forks and chainstays to the little easter egg behind the fork crown, which is the equation for the power needed to overcome aero drag and road vibration.

Argon 18 has used its ‘pro-level carbon’ for the Anti Matter layup; it keeps the exact type to itself, though. In terms of design, the bike possesses the features a top-end race bike needs.

At launch, the brand claimed a 14.5 watt saving over the Dark Matter model at 45km/h (+/-15degree yaw); based on that, if you are racing and are focusing on performance and speed, this is the model to choose.

First up, the clearance number: the Anti Matter has 55mm tyre clearance, not quite class-leading now but still very healthy. The 1X-only, all-SRAM build options give it away, but the frame is UDH-friendly and is designed around a threaded T47 bottom bracket standard; there's also a 1 1/8in round steerer tube, aero bottle cages and a total of 12 mounting points, but no frame storage hatch; remember this is a race machine.

The frame mounts are less 'attach your bikepacking bags' and more 'stick your Co2 canister here', or 'stick your aero top tube bag there'.

Altogether, there are two mounts on the top tube, some spaced for single items. Two under the top tube, four on the down tube, another two on the seat tube and a final two under the down tube. The mounts on the down tube can also be used to mount a specific WolfTooth 1x chain-guide, which is available separately.

A frame bag has been designed for the frame, and it comes included with all three models and the frameset; rejoice! It’s a collaboration between Apidura and ATTEN; Argon 18’s special projects arm dedicated to top-end components and products. It’s a sleek-looking thing, and fits neatly under the top tube; fitting it can be a slightly fiddly job so don’t leave it 10 minutes before your gravel race to whack it on.

Argon 18 has also made some strong spec choices that in some cases feature on all three Anti Matter models and help strengthen the build. All three models have CeramicSpeed SLT headset bearings, and come with Schwalbe G-One RS Pro tyres in a 45mm size. The Force and Red-equipped bikes come with CeramicSpeed T47 BB Alpha units, the brand's top-spec bottom bracket.

The Force XPLR version arrives with 170mm crank arms, with a left-hand Quarq power meter and 1x 44-tooth aero chainring (you can fit up to a size 52T). There’s a 10-46T cassette and 160mm rotors fitted to the Zipp 303 XPLR S wheels.

The top-spec bike gains the XPLR SW wheels, which share the same dimensions but get an upgraded hub, and some surface texturing. On the wheels, there is a healthy-sized approved tyre list, which is worth checking so you know what you can run.

The finishing kit is Argon 18’s own; there’s an integrated ATTEN CHB-01 handlebar, the same one that can be found on the Nitrogen Pro aero race bike. Available in 12 sizes, my 38cm / 100mm stem version measured 43cm at the drops, and has a reach of 75mm and a drop of 125mm.

Proprietary side-load bottle cages integrate seamlessly with the frame tube profiles, and the bar tape deserves a mention; it’s from Ciclovation and was both thin and grippy. I loved it. At the back, a 20mm setback aero seatpost, paired with a Repente Quasar 2.0 saddle, completed the build.

I tested a size medium bike, which is given a ‘54-56’ label, quite the span. For me, this bike is closer to a 54 than it is a 56; check if you will need a size M or L if you are a taller rider.

Stack for an M is 555mm, whilst the reach is 392mm.

Compared to the brand's Dark Matter bike, it's clear this is a racier model; the chainstays and overall wheelbase are shorter. Whilst the seat tube angle is almost the same, the Anti Matter's head tube angle has been steepened up.

Compared to a Crux 5? The two bikes have very similar geometry; an M Anti Matter and a 54cm Crux 5 have the same chainstay length, fork rake and bottom bracket drop numbers of 425mm, 51mm and 78mm respectively.

The head tube angles are within 0.2 of a degree of each other, whilst the Anti Matter has a half-degree slacker seat tube angle; it has a shorter overall wheelbase too.

My test machine arrived slammed, with the bars sat directly on top of the bearing top cover. Well done Argon 18 for not leaving a huge stack of headset spacers in place on a bike like this.

I was sceptical of the layback seatpost before I rode the Anti Matter. I’m a big fan of inline seatposts and think they contribute to more comfortable modern positions as well as racier ones.

The brand told me the geo had been designed around a layback post, though you can get hold of an inline should you desire.

There aren't any hidden surprises regarding the geometry; the bike may start to feel a little slower with a big long stem up front, but that's never an issue for me. It's a fast, performance-focused setup without going completely nuts.

I was pleasantly surprised on my opening ride to find the bike didn’t feel how I thought it would. I felt locked in and comfortable, not too stretched out as I feared. The 73.5 degree seat tube angle, 100mm stem and 51mm fork rake all help to put you in the right place.

Handling-wise, I feel the 100mm stem helped keep things nippy. I rarely need a stem over 100mm, and on a bike like this, I think it aided the steering. This is still a gravel bike, and things didn't feel too long or cumbersome; I could swing the bike into turns and still have fun.

Performance

The Anti Matter feels absolutely rocket-ship fast, particularly in faster gravel or off-road sections. Even on my first ride, I mouthed to myself ‘this is rapid’ on a fast and flowy dirt section that requires a quick shimmy as it traces an S through my local woods.

Why does it feel fast? The bike picks up speed instantly, and if the surface is smooth, that combination of the stiff bar and frame, 44-tooth chainring, aero Zipp wheels and the fast Schwalbe tyres means it does indeed feel road bike fast off-road.

This feeling of speed, and the bike urging you to press on, is a key theme of the Anti Matter. It’s one of those bikes that makes you want to drop the hammer, and it feels great to do so.

I value a gravel bike that can handle itself down a rough descent. On rough terrain, I felt some harshness from the bike and felt quite a lot of feedback via the ATTEN integrated handlebar. The bike is a good descender, and handled my technical test descents well, but it is a harsher experience.

The ability to hammer rough, rocky descents probably wasn’t a key aim during the Anti Matter design process, but if this is something you enjoy in your own gravel riding, the Dark Matter would probably be a better bike to go for.

SRAM’s XPLR groupsets rule the roost when it comes to gravel equipment, and Force is excellent; it’s slightly heavier than Red, but the brakes are just as powerful. That 44-tooth ring worked for me, and the bike's fairly low overall weight of 8.3kg helped when climbing (the Red-equipped model will be lighter still), but it would be easy enough to purchase a few alternate rings to suit your racing or riding. The groupset hasn’t missed a beat, and is a fantastic choice for any gravel bike right now.

The Zipp 303 XPLR S wheels with their 32mm internal width are at their best on faster, smoother terrain; get the bike moving on road sections or gravel, and it really flies. They aren't a magic bullet, though; their 32mm inner rim profile and skinny rim sidewalls can be susceptible to rock smashes, especially when running narrower tyres at low pressures.

They are all-rounders with the right tyres, but in my experience they are at their very best on faster, smoother terrain and with 45mm + rubber fitted.

Rattling down rocky, rough trails is at the harsher end of the spectrum, but everywhere else the Anti Matter feels racey, stiff and exciting. There is balance there; however, the steering isn't so sensitive that it's frantic, and it wasn't so stiff that it left me wanting to stop.

Wind tunnel testing

Thanks to our recent gravel bike wind tunnel test session, we have a set of aero data for the Anti Matter, helping to paint a clearer picture regarding its aero credentials.

We tested the same bike I’ve tested here, and it performed very strongly against a crop of the latest and most popular racy gravel bikes.

We carried out bike-only testing, as well as test runs with a rider. After all, you never see a bike racing on its own, do you?

Our test runs were all completed at 35 km/h, and across seven yaw angles from -15° to +15° in 5° increments.

Long-time followers of Cyclingnews' wind tunnel testing should by now be familiar with our trusty Trek Emonda baseline test bike; we use this as the baseline for all of our tests, so that we have a reference point for how fast every bike we test is.

Included below are two new graphs showing how the gravel bikes in our test group performed against the baseline so we can compare them.

In the bike-only stock build test, the Anti Matter topped the test group. For the full breakdown of the test day, head to our in-depth gravel bike aero test.

We tested with a rider too; CN Associate Editor Josh Croxton rode each bike and held a standard 'in the drops' position for each capture in the tunnel.

The Crux 5 took the top spot with a rider, followed by the Wilier Rave SLR, and then the Anti Matter. However, our error margin meant those bikes, along with the Reap and Dogma GR, could also claim the top spot; there was only a couple of watts in it.

We also tested the bike with the frame bag fitted and found a 0.75w saving (tested as bike only). So although the difference is small, you're probably better off using it, even if it's empty.

Our own testing showed the Anti Matter is a highly competitive gravel machine and that its aero frame design backs itself up in testing.

In the real world, the individual rider, their position on the bike and tyre choice and pressures need to be optimised to make potentially huge gains, but it’s clear that the Anti Matter is putting you in a competitive place straight away.

Maintenance

There shouldn’t be any nasty surprises when it comes to living with the Anti Matter. In fact, the stock headset and bottom bracket choices should help boost longevity.

The CeramicSpeed SLT headset bearings and Alpha BB both have lifetime warranties and have long service intervals. The SLT headset bearings were designed as a response to integrated front ends creating headset issues.

CeramicSpeed lists a service interval of 8,000–13,000 km (5,000–8,000 miles) for its BB Alpha, and a once-per-year service for headset bearings. CeramicSpeed recommends using specific products on them; make sure your shop doesn't fill your $300 BB with any old grease. Look after them properly, and they should look after you.

Elsewhere it's business as usual. Threaded bottom bracket, easy to service Zipp hubs, and you will need to periodically remove and regrease the frame hardware, seatpost, etc.

One point I really liked was the thru axles having the thread pitch specs written on them. It can be difficult to find the right thru axle in a bind, and it's a useful touch for the future.

Value

In this spec, the Anti Matter Force costs $8,999 / £7,900 / €8,995.

In context, things could be worse. I'd say the pricing is in line with plenty of other Force-equipped performance gravel machines in this price bracket, and if you are shopping, there's plenty to choose from.

I'll compare it to its nearest two competitors in our wind tunnel test for a start. One thing I will say now is I suspect that this will be a popular bike; it's been well received, and though we all have different tastes, I see riders wanting one.

A top-level S-Works SRAM Red Crux 5 comes in at $14,000; that's another price bracket.

The Anti Matter Force sits between the new S-Level Crux 5 (2nd tier frame but Red XPLR spec), and the Expert model (2nd tier frame, SRAM Force XPLR spec). The Crux 5 Expert sits at $6,995, but it has a two-piece bar and stem, and arguably less exciting Roval Terra C III wheels. It's also about the same weight.

A Wilier Rave SLR iD2 with Force XPLR comes in at $9,200 or $7,200 (no power meter), depending on the spec, with Miche carbon wheels. I see no weak spots in the spec of the Anti Matter; Force XPLR is great, the BB and headset bearings have been upgraded, and the bike comes with the frame bag. Things could be worse.

Verdict

The Anti Matter is a great-looking gravel race bike that feels absolutely rapid to ride. It has backed the on-bike, real-world experience up with a very competitive performance in our own wind tunnel testing.

Its focus is speed, and it’s best when you're pressing on smoother, faster gravel surfaces. I found it started to get a bit chattery and harsh when hitting rougher stuff at speed, but for everything else, it’s a rocket ship.

I could get aero, but the geometry let me find a comfortable position, which let me have fun in the rough stuff and hook into the drops for the techy stuff.

For me, it looks great, and rides brilliantly without being a one-trick pony that's only capable of being pointed in a straight line.

The mad scientists at Argon 18 have created their own form of Anti-Matter that is guaranteed to convert all of your energy into forward momentum.

Cyclingnews subscribers get early access to all of our new bike review videos before they go live on YouTube. To join our ever-growing community of cycling-obsessed subscribers and support our world-class cycling journalism, join Cyclingnews here!

The Van Rysel RCR-F is the brand's all-out aero bike and the weapon of choice for the latest French prodigy to break onto the WorldTour scene, Decathlon CMA CGM's Paul Seixas (alongside Van Rysel's new prototype that we spotted at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes last month).

Senior Tech Writer Will Jones recently took this bike to the French Alps to put it through its paces on some of the roads that Seixas and the rest of the Tour de France peloton will be tackling this week.

What's more, we've also tested this Van Rysel aero machine in the wind tunnel at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub. Will combines that data with his Alpine testing to bring you a comprehensive video review, assessing the bike's main strengths and potential flaws, and ultimately, questioning whether it's worth handing over your well-earned money for one!

Not yet subscribed? Don't worry, you can get early access to this in-depth video review, plus a whole host of other brilliant features, including our Cyclingnews Labs testing, unlimited access to our unrivalled racing coverage, and member-exclusive investigations on the biggest storylines within cycling, by becoming a Cyclingnews subscriber today.

OK, I’m going to get this out of the way right at the top because: The CAAD needs mudguard mounts. It’s not aero, and at this price and the tier below it’s a serious contender for ‘first proper road bike’ for a great many customers, and a surefire contender for a spot in our guide to the best aluminium road bikes. I know it doesn’t rain in California, but it sure as hell does in Connecticut where Cannondale’s head office is, and it sure as hell does in the UK, too, even if the launch media was very Los Angeles. Despite this large gripe, I do actually quite like the latest CAAD.

I think it is going through a bit of an identity crisis of late. The old generation aped the dropped chainstays of the SuperSix Evo, but had mudguard mounts to make it a year-round performance bike. Now the stays are back up where they arguably should be for a metal bike, but with the lowest tier of the CAAD family now the cheapest road bike in the brand’s range, it seems caught somewhere in the middle of trying to be a crit bike of yesteryear while also offering new roadies an approachable package.

Despite this slightly confused outlook, I do like the platform. Rubino tyres on a bike at this price is a let-down, but it has the potential to be a really wicked road bike for those that don’t want carbon for whatever reason.

Design and aesthetics

As someone who lusts after the Liquigas-Cannondale era SuperSixes, I must say I love the decision to pop the seat stays back up where they should be. That, along with the basically horizontal top tube, makes the aesthetic package very classique and pleasing to behold.

Much like the latest SuperSix I am slightly underwhelmed by the paint options, especially given the crazy custom versions that have been kicking about on socials. The frameset-only option is delightful, as is the raw version, though these are so rare that I suspect they’re essentially a showpiece, like the 100-piece Team Dream Team limited edition. Black, white, or this perfectly handsome but dull cherry option are your choices, and if you want electronic gears, then it’s just this red.

Gone are the mudguard mounts (someone will die on this hill, I assure you, and it ain't going to be me), but there is a round seatpost and clearance now for 32mm tyres with a bit of wiggle room. This mid-tier model comes with the new SRAM Rival, and ‘robust endurance road wheels’ from DT Swiss of an alloy variety, paired with budget Vittoria Rubino Pro tyres. As I’ll get into when I discuss the handling, these are a little bit of a letdown and again point to the slight confusion of the machine.

The cockpit is a separate system, with alloy bars here. Given Cannondale is only offering integrated cockpits on its top-flight SuperSix models, it’s not a great surprise (and no bad thing) to have a two-piece on offer here. At the bottom bracket there is mercifully a standard BSA threaded shell, and there's UDH compatibility at the back, so no mad Cannondale standards of yesteryear.

The CAAD14 is geometrically very similar to the latest SuperSix Evo, a bike which I really, really liked from a handling perspective. In the same size, the CAAD is 15mm higher, which sounds like a lot, but the latest SuperSix cut 10mm from the head tube to make it lower. Same head tube angle at 73º, but a higher bottom bracket for the CAAD by 3mm, and 5mm longer in the chain stays, but all in all the lineage from SuperSix to CAAD is more or less a straight line.

Specs sheet aside, what I do like about the CAAD is the fact you can still mess about with it. Yes, semi-internal cable routing is a pain, but as a serial setup messer-abouterer I love the fact that, hypothetically with a bit of playing around with hoses and spacers perhaps, I could slap a Thomson seatpost and stem combo and some vintage classic drop bars off eBay and have something that looks pretty old school with modern sensibilities, or I could run it 1x with 35mm tyres and an extremely narrow cockpit to keep up with the trendy folks. It’s one of the main reasons I bought a Bowman Palace back in the day, and now run it with a flat bar like a moron.

Taking the mudguard mounts away, though, is dumb. It has endurance wheels; it’s alloy so will appeal to new cyclists and those looking for a winter bike that doesn’t handle like a water buffalo, and if we’re all honest with ourselves, despite the marketing, it ain’t a crit bike either. If you’re serious about racing, why would you get an alloy frameset that isn’t aero when you can get a Quick Pro frameset (as an example) for less money AND have aero gains AND have weight savings?

I hate to burst some of your bubbles, but if you crash and snap an alloy frame, it’s actually going to be harder to repair than a carbon one. It might take little knocks more easily, but the big stuff is going to write it off whether it’s made of plastic or tin.

Performance

The CAAD14 is, first and foremost, a laugh. There’s definitely something psychological at play, but not being aboard a bike that is carbon or aero, or both in this case, allows the mind to drift into a more playful space, and this is compounded well by the fact that the handling characteristics are pretty much as they are for the SuperSix, which is beautiful to ride. A little more stable with that longer back end, but basically the same.

Compared to my Bowman, admittedly a bike that is many years old now, the CAAD14 is worlds apart. It’s stiff enough in the frame, but like so many bikes it really pays to go up a little in terms of tyre sizes. Even up to a 30c takes some of the sting out of the tail that comes with not having a great deal of seatpost stickup. I have a size down here compared to my usual 56, and it is a little small (ideally I’d have this but with a longer stem, but we are where we are) and even here the seatpost doesn’t extend that far out. It certainly adds to the old school charm in a visual sense, but even a round carbon seatpost can’t do everything.

While I’m on the wheels and tyres, the stock wheels are OK, but the tyres are certainly a weak point for a bike where handling is such a key part of the appeal. Even if you don’t swap the wheels, you’ll have a far better time if you swap the Rubinos out for something moderately premium. Continental GP5000s and Vittoria Corsa Pros are good, but cost a bomb, and realistically, if you’re not dropping top dolla on a race bike then take my word for it and sort yourself out with a set of Hutchinson Blackbirds or Blackbird Race tyres and thank me later; ⅔ the price (or half, when on sale) and they feel really, really good. Same goes for Michelin Power Cups, though they don’t come in the same size range.

The stock wheels make for little to write home about, and I can’t help but feel I’d be writing “these would be a fantastic winter wheelset, and you can save some posh hoops for summer”, but THE RUDDY MUDGUARD MOUNTS ARE GONE.

I don’t lament the separate bar and stem combo, even if to all intents and purposes it’s just as inconvenient as a one-piece given the internal routing. I like the bars, and while they do flex more than I’d perhaps like when cranking out a sprint effort, they’re stiffer than the Seka Spear integrated cockpit. The ergonomics are sound, and being alloy I’m less stressed about leaning the thing up cack-handedly against a wall and it toppling over.

When the road points upwards I did wish I was on the SuperSix, even when I slapped a set of Zipp 202 NSW climbing wheels on. It’s just a little more stolid, but it gets over lumps perfectly well, even ticking off a few PRs on both sustained efforts and uphill sprints. The stock setup with pedals, cages, and computer mount tips the scales at 9.17kg (I did swap the saddle, though), and this isn't exactly feathery; it combines with the additional drag of the tyres, so it does feel sluggish at times, but it is an alloy bike with alloy wheels.

While one can’t necessarily feel the difference in a handful of watts here and there between the best aero road bikes, you absolutely can feel the difference between this and a frame designed to beat the wind. It’s not like having an anchor on or anything so dramatic, but you do have to work harder on the flat. Again, this is aided with better tyres, and you can do a lot with positioning, helmet, and clothing, but fundamentally this is a slower bike than a similarly priced aero frameset, whatever you put on it.

Downhill, though, it’s ripping good. The SRAM brakes are excellent and add a layer of confidence on top of the balance the geometry brings to the table. The same confident turn-in as the SuperSix is at play here, and a front end that is stiff enough to track where you want it to without being so stiff you skitter hither and thither. If this is to be your first ‘proper’ road bike, then there are far worse places to learn to descend than aboard one of these. It doesn’t descend quite as well as the SuperSix, but for a bike that costs substantially less it’s impressive how good an impression it can do if its premium sibling. It’s like the difference between Sprite from the fridge and room temperature Sprite. Same thing really, underneath, but one has a little more ahhhh.

It’s fun, but is that enough? The problem with the CAAD14 is that it’s sort of trying to be all things to all people and hamstringing itself in the process. It’s got the handling of an excellent fast road bike, but without the componentry, and realistically in this day and age if you’re buying a non-aero alloy frameset to race on seriously you probably need your head examining. On the flip side, it occupies the entry-level road bike space for the brand, but without shouldering any of the responsibility to be utilitarian that comes with that market position.

People buying their first road bike will also be looking for something to commute on and use all year round, and without mudguards it can do neither thing well. The Fairlight Strael manages to handle beautifully and be utilitarian enough to be a commuter, winter bike, and light touring masterclass, and if it can be done in steel then it can be done in aluminium, too.

I will also say that I never really got on with the groupset beyond the brakes. The gears were perpetually skipping and mis-shifting no matter what I did to trim and re-trim the rear derailleur. It was frustrating, and again, if this was my first dealings with electronic gears I’d be a bit non-plussed.

Value

£3,700 is a fair wedge but it’s substantially cheaper than the top-flight bikes I so often review nowadays. What else can you get for that money? An Ultegra-equipped Fairlight Strael… A bike I gave a perfect score to. I know any Nero Show followers will be wailing and gnashing their teeth, but both bikes are not aero, made of metal, and handle excellently. One is just a lot more adaptable and a lot more configurable.

It's also several hundred more than the Winspace M6 aero race bike my colleague Tom just reviewed. That has carbon wheels, a one-piece integrated handlebar, etc and is sure to be a much quicker machine.

From more mainstream competition, you could get an Ultegra-spec Canyon Ultimate, with carbon wheels and race tyres for the same cash. Maybe it ain’t as cool, but it’s more bike for your money. A SRAM Force version of the Ultimate with carbon wheels and race tyres will save you 350 quid over the CAAD, which you put towards a power meter, and you can get it in red not white, so people don’t accuse you of being an influencer on the internet.

What I’m trying to say is the CAAD isn’t particularly good value. It isn’t a good enough race bike to be raced as-is without investing in better tyres, for starters, let alone the wheels, and it isn’t utilitarian enough to be a year-round training machine.

Verdict

I liked riding the CAAD, but I am also here to provide consumer advice. I like riding bikes that are cool (have I mentioned my alloy flat bar idiot wagon?) but ‘fun and cool’ only really gets you to the marketing campaign. You can stick cycling’s most effervescent influencer on one in front of a Porsche, but that’s sort of all there is underneath. It is fun, and it is cool, but if that’s all it is, then why not make it cooler? Why not make it more fun? Give it the paint it deserves, and the tyres it needs. Give people who are coming to road cycling for the first time something to really show off at the cafe, and for pity's sake, give them some mudguard mounts.

Winspace has been making bikes since 2008, and despite being around for some time, only in the last several years has the brand’s visibility risen in the western market, as more and more Chinese brands have gained a foothold, popularity and visibility.

I’ve been test riding the Winspace M6 since April. It's one of the brand's latest aero road bikes and sits alongside the T1550 and T1600 models.

The M6 is available in a few configurations; I've tested the 105 Di2 version, though it's also available with 105 mechanical and Ultegra Di2 as well. It's generated interest wherever I've taken it, far more than some of the best road bikes I’ve ridden from more established brands.

As pictured, the bike I have been riding comes in at $3,900, making it a more attractive option than bikes from bike brands with similar specs that may cost a lot more or as an affordable yet capable platform to upgrade further down the line.

I’ve done all my road riding and training on it, and have used it for three road races. Here’s how I got in.

Design and aesthetics

Winspace owns its own factory in China, which I believe allows for some of its competitive pricing. Spec-wise, the bike comes with a strong overall package that doesn’t really have any gaping weaknesses.

You can do quite a lot of customising when ordering on the Winspace website, and the brand uses a direct-to-consumer model supported by dealers in different regions. You can choose from one of nine colour options, and custom paint services are offered in at least the UK, with prices starting from £450.

Two integrated handlebars are available: the Hyper bar, which is what came with my bike; I chose a 36cm/105mm combo and loved it, or you can choose the Hyper 2 for $100 more, which to my mind looks a bit like the bar shape on the Colnago Y1Rs.

The seatpost is an aero Winspace model, which has 15mm of layback in size M and upward, and is inline for the XS and S sizes, topped off with a Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo X-Cross Superflow, an XC MTB-specific saddle, but one which I have also found very comfortable, visually it also fits in well with the bike, and doesn't look out of place.

Handlebar width and stem length can be specified, as can crank length, and (to an extent) chainring size. It's all very customisable, and you should be able to get close to the exact build combo you want. One thing to note is shipping times; you can currently expect a 30-45 day wait for your order to arrive.

My bike came with the stock Unaas Hard D50 wheels with 28mm Continental Grand Prix tyres and tubes, but you can spend up to $1000 more by upgrading things on the wheel front.

The groupset is the always solid Shimano 105 Di2, and it was solid as a rock. The bike comes with a 170mm 34-50T chainset, and I did swap in a 36-52T for a road race; for general riding it’s absolutely fine, but if you're racing and need some more speed in flat-out fast finishes or for a better chainline you may want to go bigger. There's also no included power meter, a positive or negative depending on your opinion; PM crank arms for Shimano chainsets are relatively inexpensive though.

One aftermarket part that caught my eye immediately as I wax each new test bike's chain was the chain itself. Winspace spec'd a SUMC flat top model - a Chinese brand that I wasn’t familiar with. I'm a stickler for running Shimano chains with Shimano groupsets, but I must say performance has been good from it. I can’t say shifting performance was any different to a Shimano unit or poor in any way, and I was paying very close attention.

So, for the frame itself, the M6 is constructed from Toray T700/T800 and M40/60 carbon fibres. Various brands use Toray, so material-wise, the quality is there.

The bottom bracket standard is T47, and my bike came fitted with a Token screw-together unit; the cranks span very well straight out of the box, but more on this further in.

The frame is UDH-friendly and has 32mm tyre clearances; I've run it with 32mm Specialized Cotton TLR tyres comfortably at times.

Winspace quotes 900 grams for an unpainted size M, and my bike came in at 7.9kg out of the box.

The M6 is billed as an aero bike, and the frame is angular and many familiar aero shapes are there from the deep head tube, which tapers at the front (pictured below) to the seatstay junction area; perhaps the most eye-catching are the 68mm deep fork legs which flick backwards at the bottom.

Aero-wise, the brand says the bike has been to the Fuji wind tunnel and this was preceded by CFD modelling. Compared to the brand's C5 bike, Winspace claims an 8.9 watt drag reduction at 48km/h, though that bike has an almost identical frame from what I can see. I don't have any comparisons for the T1550 and T1600 models, though, which would be desirable.

What we don't have currently is any of our own wind tunnel data for the M6, but I would like to see how it fares against a range of current models.

Performance

I've ridden the M6 for over 1000 miles, including using it in three road races, even taking a 5th place in the last one, to really test it in anger and have been highly impressed.

As is often the case with the bikes I know are really going to fit me well, my laps around the block to scrub the brakes in told me a lot straight away, and I was able to find a great position on the M6 pretty much immediately.

Position and fit will make or break things, regardless of the bike you are riding, so let's look at the geometry first. I'm 176cm and have been riding a size M bike, which has the following key geometry figures (full table below):

Stack: 535mm
Reach: 383mm
Wheelbase: 980
Trail: 63.1mm
BB drop: 72mm
Seat tube angle: 74 degrees
Head tube angle: 72.2 degrees

The geometry results in a pretty user-friendly bike in my opinion; that 383mm reach number is the same or within a millimetre or two of bikes like the Cervelo Soloist, Specialised Aethos, Ridley Grifn RS and Ribble Ultra Race, all bikes I have ridden and been very comfortable on. In short, it isn't super aggressive, and a range of riders should be able to get comfortable, and if you do need a longer stem, it's only going to make the bike look mean.

I was very comfortable, but could still achieve a low, aero position on the hoods. Stack-wise, the bike is a touch more aggressive; I rode it with 20mm of spacers.

In use, there is little for me to fault when it comes to the M6; it has performed excellently across the board.

I've loved the handling; it's sharp, exciting and precise. I've felt completely confident on the bike, and descending and cornering under pressure in races has provided another solid testing ground.

The Hyper bar has helped in this department; I really like what it brings to the table. It feels very stiff, though I am a lighter rider, and the shape and ergonomics really help you put the bike where you want it. Also, in its 36cm size it falls within the UCI handlebar width rules, as long as your shifters aren't at a crazy angle, so racers will be ok on that front.

I've ridden the bike with three different wheelsets and a range of tyres, from 28s, 29s and 32s; the bike has felt comfortable with all of them. It's a racy bike, engaging and snappy, but it hasn't beaten me up, and 30 or 32mm tyres will do a lot there. One thing I did notice was that acceleration was improved at low speed with a lighter wheelset, specifically some Roval Rapide CLX III's I'm testing.

The Stock Unaas wheelset weighs in at a claimed 1609 grams, with a 21mm internal width, Pillar steel spokes, cartridge bearing hubs and a three-pawl freehub. The hubs feel buttery smooth, and combined with the 28mm Conti Grand Prix tyres and tubes, the wheels feel nippy enough and smooth. There's nothing wrong with them, and they have felt livelier than other budget wheels I have used.

I've tried the bike with premium wheelsets from Roval and DT Swiss, and an upgrade in wheels and tyres only unlocks more performance. At speed on flat and rolling terrain it feels really quick.

I've done all sorts of efforts and training sessions on the bike, and sprinted flat out on it; it feels very good when accelerating and riding out of the saddle, and the ride quality is there.

Does it feel quite as stiff and direct as something like a Canyon Aeroad CFR when you are really stamping on the pedals? Not quite, but it's not a million miles off and for a bike at this price point, it's meant as a compliment.

I could do everything on this bike; its 7.9kg weight isn't too bad. Of course, we all want a lighter bike, but for a 105-spec aero machine, it's not bad in my opinion; it would be easy enough to start dropping some weight, and the M6 itself certainly doesn't feel sluggish.

I've had no mechanical issues with the bike of any kind, and the quality and paint finishing all seem very good.

Maintenance and servicing

A single issue has raised its head so far, and that relates to the bottom bracket. When I first removed the chain to wax it, I was highly impressed with the way the cranks span; it was probably the best spin test I've seen in a test bike.

Fast forward a few months, and the cranks still spin very well, but the bearings are sounding a bit blown out and rumbly.

I'm light and easy on equipment; I'm also light on the bike washing. I removed the cranks for an inspection, and the right BB bearing feels rougher than the left one. Not terrible, but there's some roughness there which I wouldn't expect after less than six months of use.

A bearing upgrade may help; I can't vouch for the quality of the stock 'Takino' branded bearings, but if that failed, perhaps a deeper look at things would be needed.

Elsewhere, it's a similar story for a bike like this: minimise front-end blasting to protect your headset bearings; though you can access them for regreasing, the bottom bracket is threaded, you just need the correct Token bb tool, and keep everything as clean and as well greased as you can. I can't say there are any specific points to mention.

Value

As mentioned $3,900 or £3,460 is our price tag here for the M6 with Hyper bar and 105 Di2.

The bike comes pretty much assembled, and you get the integrated out-front computer mount included. The bike also comes with a neat foam-lined cardboard box with spares, spacers, a light mount for the combo computer mount, and a Shimano Di2 charger cable.

How does it measure up to the competition from bigger name brands? Let's look at Canyon, with it's often hard to beat direct to consumer pricing.

A base-spec Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7 starts at $4,999 or £4,499; that bike also has 105 Di2 with a power meter, and 65 mm DT Swiss ARC 1600 carbon wheels with Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR tyres. It's about $1000 more, with a bigger spec, but you can't specify stem length, and you will need to purchase the computer mount separately. A Specialized Tarmac SL8 Comp with 105 Di2 and alloy wheels comes in at $4,699 or £3,599; that's without a PM and with a two-piece bar.

I've discussed the excellent performance, but putting that aside, I think a key part of the Winspace value proposition is the range of customisation options on offer. You can spec a heck of a lot straight off the bat, and I see notes on the UK website, for example, on communicating cassette and power meter preferences. For less than a lot of bikes, you can choose a lot of the spec to suit from the off, which could save a lot of money and time further down the line.

Verdict

Winspace has put together an excellent all-round road bike in the M6. It's a bike that performs very well everywhere. The handling is excellent, and is further boosted by the very good Hyper bar. The ride quality is good, exciting and engaging, and the bike is comfortable to ride; this will only be boosted by larger, tubeless tyres if you want to go that way with it.

I'd like it to feel even more direct when really putting the power down out of the saddle on steep climbs, but that's a finer point; it really has impressed me across the board.

It sits at a competitive price point, and you can customise an awful lot at point of sale; I think it also provides a good base to upgrade from in the future, or as a competitive frameset to build up into a race bike, etc.

Check the geo, and if it's right for you, I promise you will not be disappointed in the M6.

In case you didn't know, Cyclingnews subscribers get early access to all of our new bike review videos before they go live on YouTube. To join our ever-growing community of cycling-obsessed subscribers and support our world-class cycling journalism, join Cyclingnews here!

At the start of this year, Cyclingnews Labs got its hands on a Chinese aero bike that's caused quite a stir in the industry. The Seka Spear was dubbed the 'fastest all-round road frameset' in its marketing material, and in fairness, it was something of a surprise package in our wind tunnel testing. But, as some parts of the cycling tech community like to remind us very frequently, numbers on a page are, well, just that.

So that's why we've since given the Chinese all-rounder a comprehensive review, with our video review set to go live on Cyclingnews Tech's YouTube channel this Thursday. But as already mentioned, Cyclingnews subscribers get a first look, ahead of the launch date.

Cyclingnews' Senior Tech Writer Will Jones was fortunate enough to ride the Seka Spear in the French Alps, putting it through its paces on the climbs and descents of one of cycling's heartlands.

But for all the Spear's perks, including its top aero data and its value for money against the likes of the Specialized Tarmac, what's the catch? Find out via our in-depth video review below.

Not yet subscribed? Don't worry, you can get early access to this in-depth video review, plus a whole host of great features, including our Cyclingnews Labs testing, unlimited access to our unrivalled racing coverage, and member-exclusive long-read features on the biggest storylines within cycling, by becoming a Cyclingnews subscriber today.

80 years ago, Gaston Lapierre gave his new bike brand his surname: Lapierre. Today, on Bastille Day, Team Picnic PostNL will race Stage 10 of the Tour de France on custom-painted 80th anniversary Lapierre Xelius DRS race bikes to honour 8 decades of their sponsor brand's history and its French roots.

Cyclingnews was out at the Tour de France in the run up to the Grand Dèpart, visiting team hotels and looking at bikes and equipment. The Catalan sun was high in the sky and blazing down on us as we made our visit to Team Picnic PostNL to try and take a look at this bike ahead of the race.

Not much was moving in the late afternoon heat, but we got some time with Warren Barguil's Xelius DRS bike whilst the team mechanics worked away quietly. By Stage 10 of this Tour, punished by the furnace-like heat and UAE Team Emirate's vice-like grip on the race, a new custom-painted machine for Bastille Day will no doubt boost rider morale.

100 individually numbered framesets of this Xelius DRS will be available globally in small, medium and large sizes, and will set you back €4,499.

Bastille Day always produces some explosive racing exploits at the Tour, and this 80th anniversary Xelius may well write a fresh page in the Lapierre history book today.

Cervélo has launched a new version of its Soloist road bike today. This update sees the model get its second update following its relaunch back in 2022 after a lengthy hiatus.

If you aren't familiar with the name, the Soloist was one of the Cervélo bikes raced by Team CSC back in the early and mid-2000s.

Perhaps it's just a sign of the times, but sometimes it feels like every bike launch has to be a thing, whether that be a new hyper aero road bike, gravel bike with MTB specs or aero wheels with laser beams and a single-digit spoke count.

Whisper it, but bikes aimed at regular riders still exist, and the Soloist is one of them. In the brand's words, it's for 'the ones riding through the sunrise before work, the ones gathered at the shop for the Tuesday night fast ride.'

The Soloist is very much a performance road bike, designed to be faster and lighter than the last version, and yes, there are some wattage-saving claims for me to share. It's even being raced by the Visma-Lease a Bike development squad this year, but it's not as aggressive and unapologetically race-oriented as the brand's S5 model.

I headed to the Netherlands to attend the bike's launch, test ride it, and talk to the Cervelo engineers and product managers about what went into it.

How has the new Soloist changed?

Cervélo has given the Soloist a pretty thorough overhaul, changing a lot of frame tube shapes to increase surface area and make the bike faster, and carrying out a comprehensive weight-saving programme that's resulted in a 176-gram system saving.

The top-flight SRAM Red build weighs a claimed 6.85kg out of the box, and the heaviest build is only 7.41kg; competitive weights all round.

Weight has been shaved in a few places, from the handlebar to the lightened seapost clamp bung and seat tube shaft; lots of components have been on a diet. The frame itself is 28 grams lighter, whilst the fork saves 16 grams.

Let's look at a few numbers first; I also have a number for the difference between this bike and the S5, which I found interesting. I don't, however, have in-depth wind tunnel testing protocols or testing procedures for you.

The Soloist is said to be 8.6 watts faster than the old bike, with the older HB13 handlebar, and the same Reserve 42/49 wheels.

The new HB18 handlebar the bike comes with is said to be 134 grams lighter and 5.8 watts faster than the current HB13 model, so a chunk of the overall saving is coming from the bar.

And the S5 difference? The S5 with the aggressive HB19 bar, the one with the split, positive rise stem and 57/64mm Reserve wheels, is 11.8 watts faster than the Soloist in the above spec.

There's also an additional 4.3-watt saving when the bike is ridden with the new Cervélo 650ml aero water bottles, which are included with the bike. The cages themselves will take a round bottle, and the aero bottles physically stand up on their own, which is a nice touch.

Interestingly, the brand says round bottles will add 6.3 watts of drag to the bike, and using Soloist aero bottles adds two watts over using none at all. Food for thought there if you are watt hunting.

Why don't the Visma WorldTour team use the aero bottles? Simple: they have an existing bottle sponsor, though the aero bottle question sounds like it's being worked on.

Geometry has also been tweaked; the bike has a 2mm lower bottom bracket across all sizes to account for the updated 36mm tyre clearances the bike has.

The bike fits exactly the same as the R5, the brand's superlight climbing bike, and is a little more relaxed than the S5.

For instance, a size 54, the size I test rode, has the following geometry:

Stack: 544mm
Reach: 383mm
BB Drop: 74mm
Chainstay length: 410 mm
Seat tube angle: 73.5 degrees
Trail: 45.5mm

Pricing and specs

The Soloist will be available as a frameset and in five SRAM and Shimano-equipped builds, including a 1x SRAM Force option priced the same as the double version.

The bike and frameset will be available in 'black magic' and 'cloud break' colours and in an additional 'Maldive' colour as a frameset.

The frame is electronic only and is UDH compatable with a threaded bottom bracket.

All builds will come with the Cervélo HB18 integrated bar and Reserve 42/49mm and 40-44mm carbon wheels; all builds also come with a power meter.

Anyone purchasing a Soloist will also be able to request an alternate handlebar size and have it swapped at an official dealer within the first 60 days of ownership at no extra cost. A nice touch, if like me, you would want a different-sized bar or stem.

Claimed weight for a Red AXS-equipped bike is 6.85kg and rising up to 7.41kg for a SRAM Rival-equipped bike. Overall build weights are pretty competitive across the board.

Soloist Red AXS: $11,000 / £9,000 / €10,999
Soloist Force AXS: $8,500 / £7,000 / €7,499
Soloist Ultegra Di2 (4iii PM): $8,250 / £7,000 / €7,499
Soloist Rival AXS (Quarq Spindle Single PM): $6,800 / £5,500 / €5,999
Soloist Frameset: $4,000 / £3,500 / €3,799

First impressions of the Soloist

I snuck in two rides on the Soloist, including a fun devil take the hindmost race around a small circuit that Cervélo organised which was actually a refreshing and welcome test compared to some press launches. It also included a 50km/h tear-up with recently retired WorldTour pro Carlijn Achtereekte along a Dutch canal, another good chance to ride the bike in anger.

My main point of focus, if I were buying this bike, would be to swap in the narrowest bar I could get my hands on, and switch in the alternate lower stack height bearing top cap cover the bike comes with to drop the front end.

The front end felt a touch too high, and the bars were wider than I would like, which resulted in the front end feeling pedestrian and not as racy as I would like.

If a racy and aggressive setup is of importance for you, check the numbers to see if the available bar configurations will be right for you.

Issues like this can be a part and parcel of launch rides, and my job is to take those out-of-the-box setup niggles into account and feel through them. Bars can be swapped, and front ends lowered.

Even from clipping in and rolling around the block to check my saddle height and setup, I sensed a stiff frame that responded well to my inputs and an engaging overall ride.

This feeling only grew the more I rode it, and I found it to be a very good all-rounder that, crucially, is exciting to ride. It felt comfortable and smooth when up to speed, stiff and responsive when accelerating, and it handled very well when I pushed it into corners during our mini race.

One minor concern for me related to the stock Cervelo out-front computer mount; it felt very flexible and nowhere near as solid as a lot of units I try. I didn't have any issues, but I'd at least be double-checking it if paired with bigger units or with heavier lights and action cameras because it felt flimsy to me.

I also believe bikes come with Vittoria Corsa N.Ext tyres; switching to premium Corsa Pros would also extract even more speed.

There's a solid bike at the heart of the Soloist; now that it's received another update from Cervélo, it's more competitive than before. It may not be as fast or as exciting as the S5, but it strikes me as exactly the kind of bike amateur riders buy and own for years, tackling races, epic rides, sportives and holidays on, and hanging on to it because it means so much to you.

The Scott Addict RC is the lightweight climbing machine of the NSN Cycling Team, and our choice as the best lightweight road bike.

For stage 6 of the Tour de France, climbing specialist George Bennett and team leader Biniam Girmay will test the Addict’s climbing reputation on the brutal Col d'Aspin and legendary Col du Tourmalet.

If the ongoing Tour has you feeling inspired, I've found an incredible deal on the Scott Addict RC Pro.

Competitive Cyclist has the Scott Addict RC Pro discounted by $1,350 to $7,649, which is a rarely seen 15% off its usual $8,999 price.

We awarded the Scott Addict RC a stellar 4.5 out of 5 stars in our review. Tester Will Jones praised the bike, saying, "The Addict RC stands alongside the very best road bikes on the market, combining a phenomenally low weight with impeccable handling and a flawless build."

Scott says the Addict RC represents the absolute pinnacle of the brand's road racing lineup. Featuring the Addict RC HMX carbon frame, engineered to be exceptionally light and stiff.

In our review, Will tested the Addict RC in its Ultimate guise, which weighed in at just 6.4kg. The Pro version on offer here has a claimed weight of 6.5kg.

For comparison, two of our favourite lightweight options with the same Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 build are the Cannondale SuperSix Evo, weighing in at around 6.6kg, and the Factor O2 VAM Disc, which is roughly 6.4kg.

Both these bikes, of course, are some of the best road bikes you could ever wish to own. Priced at over $10,000, they don't come close to the Scott Addict RC Pro deal price at Competitive Cyclist, and we think the Scott represents incredible value for money.

Will summed up his testing by saying, "If you love riding bikes, you’ll adore the Scott Addict RC, and while I haven’t tested the lower-tier models, the geometry will be consistent, and so I am pretty confident in saying that probably applies throughout the range." and concluded, "The Addict RC is absolutely one of the best road bikes you can buy today."

Unfortunately, this specific deal applies to US shoppers only. If you are reading this in the UK, I've found the Scott Addict RC Pro in Carbon Black discounted by 24% to £6,550.00 from £8,599. Check out our guide to the best road bikes for excellent alternatives available near you.

I think it’s safe to say the Cannondale SuperSix Evo has a passionate, dedicated following. Like the Specialized Tarmac, and maybe the Pinarello Dogma, it has a healthy lineage and hoards of passionate fans keen to espouse how it is the best road bike on the planet.

The new version is very similar to the outgoing model, which I must say was excellent. I had the pleasure of cutting about on a mid-spec model in the French Alps for a good while off the back of some work trips, in addition to a lovely week in Cornwall during a heatwave blasting along the always shockingly hilly coast roads. It’s good. In fact, it’s very good, but I don’t necessarily think it’s sufficiently different from the old one to justify itself from a consumer standpoint, in much the same way as the latest Giant Propel.

Design and Aesthetics

I know the designers will have been beavering away at improving the platform for months, but when I picked the bike up I did genuinely have to check it wasn’t the previous model. Visually it’s a very similar silhouette, with the key giveaway being the seatpost, which loses the cutout near the top. The fork crown is slimmer, and the head tube is 10mm lower (thanks to input from Ben Healey, apparently) which all amounts to a bike that is, according to Cannondale, basically just as aero as the old one, though anywhere from 35-72g lighter depending on tier, which is the same as one or two double espressos, not including the cup and saucer.

The geometry is basically the same save for the lower headtube, which affects the stack and slightly the reach too, which is good because the handling was always the big selling point of any racy Cannondale, and top-tier models get a beautiful carbon one-piece cockpit, though mid- and lower-tier options have to make do with a separate system. In my SRAM Force model, retailing for a cool $7,000, I would like to see a one-piece. There isn’t anything physically wrong with the Vision TriMax bar and conceal stem combo, and it is at least relatively narrow, but it looks like a bit of a cop out, especially with the holes at the base of the wings for external cables that will never be used. It’s like Cannondale either got a mad deal on a shedload of them, or already had a load kicking about and needed to fit them to something to shift them.

While we’re talking aesthetics, I am also not overly enamoured with the paint options. It’s matters not a jot to performance, but considering Cannondale is the brand that brought us the lefty fork, a bike with a rollerblade for a front wheel, and sponsors a pro team with vibes being as much of a performance metric as wins, the colour options all look like they were chosen by a boardroom full of Agent Smiths from The Matrix; it’s all a little corporate and plain. Give me anything but variations on grey, please!

Happily, the days of slightly bonkers Cannondale standards are behind us; the wheels are normally dished, and the bottom bracket isn’t a brand new standard that’ll die out in 6-8 months. The only slightly zany thing is the aero bottles and cages, which I have to admit I didn’t get on with; It was like being 17 again. When you’re on a low-pressure training ride it’s fine, but when the chips are down, and you’re pushing on, it takes a level of thought to get them back into the cage that a round bottle and normal cage simply doesn’t require.

Happily, our own wind tunnel tests show a noticeable improvement on the old model in aero terms, with a 6.9 watt benefit versus the old SuperSix, but this still sits it very much mid-table. It isn’t an aero bike, whatever the bottles say, and the low weight does mean it has designs on the high mountains. Top-spec models can be 6.4kg out of the box, while this model tips the balance at 7.7kg, which is certainly competitive at this price point.

Performance

Unlike the Seka Spear, which has exceptional aerodynamics and a middling ride, the new SuperSix has middling aerodynamics and an exceptional ride. The old one handled very well, and the new one handles… well, the same really. It’s certainly up there in the mix with the best of the best in terms of how it rides, with a poise and balance that only really comes unstuck and gets a little squirrelly above 75km/h when hard on the brakes approaching an alpine hairpin a little too quickly. The rest of the time it’s a delight, turning in on demand and, when faced with surprise oncoming lorries messing up my apex-kissing, able to dive out of a corner as fast as it jumps into it.

There’s nothing terribly wrong with the DT Swiss ERC wheels and Schwalbe One tyres in this spec, but they do feel a little wooden, especially the tyres, when mounted to a platform that sings in the bends as well as this. To see what could reasonably be achieved with some light modding, I slapped a pair of the new Zipp 202 NSW wheels and some 30mm Continental GP5000 S TR tyres and things were markedly better, though probably slightly less aerodynamic.

I have no qualms with the groupset, and other than it feeling like a cheap spec option, the cockpit was plenty stiff enough to hold up to sprints and hard cornering, as was the frame. It’s no Ridley Noah, but it has that taught bowstring I look for in all the best all-rounders that produces a pleasing efficiency when the road points uphill. Again, this was aided by swapping to the Zipp wheels, but realistically I think anything slightly more premium would be an improvement.

One thing that slightly confuses me is the decision to only change the groupset when going from Rival to Force-tier builds. Same wheels, same tyres, same afterthought cockpit. These components feel perfectly good on a Rival-level build, but they feel a little lacklustre on this mid-spec model, and I’d like to see more to bridge the gap to the premium builds. You can get a build with Reserve wheels for more money, which is good to see, however.

I found the position absolutely fine, but I test racy bikes for a living, and so the lower front end proved no impediment. I can’t help but feel, however, that catering to a single Ben Healey may have an alienating effect on a large proportion of the customer base who maybe don’t have the same supple lumbar spines as pro athletes.

In reality, aside from the cockpit, I can’t really fault it in terms of performance. It is brilliant, and while I lament the slightly corporate vibe of the thing, that has no impact on how it goes, turns, and stops, all of which are done in relative comfort. When we tested it in the wind tunnel, the seatpost looked alarmingly flexible laterally, but I am happy to report this wasn't borne out on the road. Comfy, but never floppy anywhere, all without being over-stiff; a bike I’d happily spend all day on were it not for the demands of modern life.

Value

Compared to a Force-equipped Tarmac, there’s a gulf of £250 in favour of the SuperSix at RRP. The Specialized Tarmac SL8, however, comes with a better cockpit and better wheels, so it’s a far better deal in my view. Speccing the better Reserve wheelset jumps things up £2k, but at least then you get the integrated cockpit, and then it’s a good wedge more than the Tarmac.

To further tip the scales against the SuperSix, an Ultegra spec Canyon Aeroad is only £104 dearer than an Ultegra SuperSix, but comes with an integrated cockpit, higher calibre DT Swiss ARC wheels, and top spec Continental tyres.

It’s a hard sell really, no matter how well it handles. This is further compounded by the fact you can still pick up 2025 model SuperSixes, which will ride just as well and only suffer a minor aero and weight penalty, for significantly less cash.

Verdict

In terms of pure performance, the latest Cannondale SuperSix Evo is a brilliant bike to ride. It handles superbly, climbs well, and while the aero package isn’t sensational, it’s an improvement over the old one. When viewed in isolation it’s great, but as soon as you start adding in the context of other options the value proposition isn’t as strong as other options, even from brands that traditionally command a premium.

If you have a SuperSix from a few years ago, I wouldn’t stress about upgrading. It’s certainly in the mix if you’re looking for a brilliant all-rounder, but if you were my mate down the pub I’d suggest you look for a 2025 model on sale before spending big on a 2026 model.

We might be slightly biased, but there are loads of great reasons to be a Cyclingnews subscriber, not least our industry-leading lab testing or member-exclusive in-depth investigations! However, another reason just got added to that list – first eyes on our expert bike review videos before they go live to the public.

The Cyclingnews Tech YouTube channel has only been up and running for a few months, but the number of bikes that our Senior Tech Writer Will Jones has cast his expert eye over is already into double digits. Yet given that you, our Cyclingnews subscribers, are our most loyal supporters, we wanted to give you first dibs on this tech insight.

The bike in question this week is the new Cannondale SuperSix Evo, launched in February of this year. Will had the pleasure of testing a mid-spec model in the French Alps, alongside his hilly home roads in Cornwall, England. But what did he think of Cannondale's latest SuperSix offering, and more importantly, is it an improvement on its previous iteration? Watch below to find out!

Not yet subscribed? Fear not, you can get early access to this in-depth video review, plus a whole host of great features, such as our Cyclingnews Labs testing, unlimited access to our unrivalled racing coverage, and member-exclusive long-read features on the biggest storylines within cycling, by becoming a Cyclingnews subscriber today.

The Tour de France is underway, and first blood has been drawn. Jonas Vingegaard wears the race leader's yellow jersey, with Tadej Pogačar sitting a mere six seconds off the lead after Stage 2's explosive showdown in central Barcelona.

We bought you a comparison of the two big GC favourites' time trial bikes ahead of the opening TTT, and are following that up with their race bikes now the first stage is behind us.

We bagged some time with each rider's number two race bike at their respective team hotels in the days before the race, and took a look at their setups and a few details that, at times, fly under the radar for such famous bikes.

There's a breakdown of components here: crank lengths, tyre sizes, and dimensions. The game is set, and we're going to see a lot more of these machines over the coming days.

The bikes themselves

First, the machines themselves.

Pogačar is riding a Colnago Y1RS, which was launched in late 2024. Pogačar has taken countless big wins on it since then and uses it pretty much exclusively now in an all-black version that only he uses. The world champion rarely rides the less aero V5Rs, though Isaac del Toro did choose to use that bike for Stage 2.

Vingegaard, meanwhile, is using the Cervélo S5 aero model; that bike got a refinement in the middle of last year, and the two models are amongst the most aerodynamic in the WorldTour based on our CN Labs aero testing.

Handlebars

We were allowed a good look at both riders' number two race bikes, something that never fails to surprise and impress mere days out from the start of the world's biggest race. We did leave the mini shadow bike stands at home this time, and used a proper folding bike stand. The shadow stand is a great tool, but we wanted to minimise the risk of one of these bikes toppling over if we could; it wouldn't have been a good look.

Bar-wise, Vingegaard's S5 has the accompanying HB19 integrated bar and stem from Cervélo with a single 5mm spacer underneath. It's an aggressive and low front end, and after looking at so many bikes, where possible a low front end seems to be a priority for the team for an aero gain.

We didn't have time to get the tape measure out here for full measurements, but Vingegaard's bar looked reasonably narrow; Cervélo offers it in 36/40 and 38/42cm versions, and it will almost certainly be one of these two. As long as overall handlebar width is 40cm (measured outside to outside) and the inner distance between brake hoods is 28 cm, bars are deemed UCI legal.

Vingegaard has a photo of his family attached to the bars of his number one race bike, as we saw this at the TTT start.

Pogačar's bike features the Colnago CC.Y1 integrated bar and stem, with its distinctive forward sweep. Pogačar's bar had a 145mm 'stem' and was in the 377-400 size, which complies with the UCI rules. The bar has a reach of 79 and a drop of 130. Pogačar also had an aero Wahoo computer mount and the famous Hulk sticker on the top of the bars.

Drivetrain and gearing

Each rider and their teams use a different groupset, with Pogačar on Shimano Dura-Ace and Vingegaard on SRAM Red.

Vingegaard's bike was running SRAM Red 1x, and he's been on board with 1x drivetrains for quite some time now. His bike had 165mm cranks with a 52-tooth chainring with a 10-34 or 36 cassette, complete with a waxed chain.

Pogačar uses a 2x Dura-Ace setup with a range of aftermarket drivetrain parts. He runs 165mm cranks too, but this bike had 40-55 tooth Carbon-Ti chainrings, and thru axles, pulley wheel bolts, and a direct-mount rear mech hanger all from the same brand.

He had a Dura-Ace cassette with an 11-34 tooth sprocket sizing, and a chain that looked like it had a drip wax lube applied.

His bike was also fitted with a Beone bottom bracket - a Spanish manufacturer.

Pedal-wise, Vingegaard uses the Wahoo / Speedplay aero pedals that have dimples on one side. His team buys these pedals themselves as they have an existing sponsorship agreement with rival Garmin for computers.

Pogačar uses Dura-Ace SPD-SL pedals with yellow cleats for a few degrees of 'float'.

Wheels and tyres

When it comes to wheels and tyres, there are some interesting differences to be observed.

Vingegaard's bike was fitted with 30mm Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed time trial tyres set up tubeless. The team's Head of Performance Equipment, Jenco Drost, told me at a recent event that the team use a 29/30mm tyre combination for racing too, and said they had found it to be fastest, but no more.

Vingegaard had Reserve 42mm deep, semi- or mini-hooked wheels fitted with a 25.4mm internal width with external nipples and bladed spokes, and seems to often prefer a slightly shallower rim. The team will have tested all combinations, and though there's up to a 64mm option available, Vingegaard tends to run shallower wheels.

Interestingly, you can't seem to buy a pair of 42mm Reserve wheels on the brand's website; the stock configuration is a 42/49 pairing, so the team must have built up some 42mm rims.

Pogačar's bike was fitted with Enve SES Pro 4.5 wheels with a 49/55mm depth and 23.5mm internal width. These wheels also have a mini hook, but with internal spoke nipples and bladed spokes.

Pogačar also had time trial tyres fitted with Continental GP5000 TT tyres, also tubeless matching Vingegaard's all-out time trial tyre speed. He did, however, have 28mm tyres, so a slighly smaller size than Vingegaard.

Saddles, seatposts and extras

When it comes to saddles, Vingegaard had a 140mm Prologo Choice fitted, a sleek-looking saddle with a cutout that the brand says is aerodynamically optimised; check out those side 'vents' in the images.

It weighs a claimed 152 grams, and the rails can be separated from the carbon shell, allowing for replacement parts to be swapped in the event of a crash.

In terms of details, we were particularly impressed with the neatness with which the Visma mechanics had taped over various bolt holes to smooth airflow; everything looked tidy.

Pogačar uses a 3D printed Fizik Argo saddle without a cutout, and with carbon rails. The saddle is available in 140 and 150mm widths, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a custom saddle for Pogačar himself. It's a little heavier than Vingegaard's, with a claimed weight of 196 grams, or 190 grams for the equivalent 140mm version.

After just one day of racing his sixth Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard has laid down a marker in his bid to add to his pair of wins from 2022 and '23, by storming into the yellow jersey in the opening stage team time trial.

The Dane, who has never finished lower than second in the race's overall, makes his assault on the 2026 race on a Cervélo S5 aero bike. Widely regarded as one of the very fastest bikes in the World, the S5 received an update in mid 2025 to further refine it.

Cyclingnews visited the Visma-Lease a Bike Hotel in the days running up to the race and managed to get some time with Vingegaard's number two race bike.

Spec-wise, it's nothing we haven't seen before, with a 1X SRAM Red groupset and Reserve carbon wheels, but there are some really interesting details that, for me, highlight the team's attention to detail and their ability to focus on the little things.

I also received a tip that the team were doing a few things to lower drag in the derailleur pulley wheels; they use the stock ones, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had stripped the factory grease and added a light oil or grease to really make them fly.

Vingegaard rides a size 51cm frame that has a stack of 519mm and a reach of 376mm; he's added a single spacer under the stem.

We also got hold of Vingegaard's number 1 time trial bike, as well as his great rival Tadej Pogačar's, for a head-to-head comparison.

Perfectly timed for the Tour de France 2026, Specialized has launched the S-Works Tarmac SL9. Although it wasn't a secret, with various leaks, the new Tarmac SL9 is still one of the most eagerly anticipated launches of the year, and without doubt, it'll be one of the best road bikes of the year.

The Tour de France started last weekend, and the new SL9 will be front and centre, ridden by Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Team co-leaders Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz will look to take advantage of the aerodynamic efficiency claims and are targeting the yellow jersey.

Specialized is claiming the new S-Works Tarmac SL9 is "the fastest road bike ever made", which is a bold claim, considering it looks almost identical to its predecessor, the S-Works Tarmac SL8. It also comes with a whopping price tag of up to £11,999, so it's a massive investment for us, mere mortals. Although it looks almost identical, there is a ton of tech going on behind the scenes to justify that cost, including a new layup, a more aero front end, and a deeper seat tube cutout.

With the SL9 launch, there are big discounts on the outgoing SL8, already our choice as the best aero bike, especially outside the S-Works top-tier builds. So if you've had your eye on what was once the "fastest road bike ever made," then now's the time to take a look. Below I've listed the discounted models at Balfes Bikes, and with limited sizing, they are likely to go quickly. I've also added the S-Works Tarmac SL9, just in case...

Shop the Specialized Tarmac SL8 with up to 16% off at Balfe's Bikes.

These highlighted Specialized Tarmac SL8 deals are UK only, and I've not managed to source any SL8 USA deals just yet. The best I've seen and strictly speaking not a deal is the SL8 frameset at Backcountry with a 10% cashback offer, which is better than nothing.

However, incase I'be missed anything, below you'll find the best prices on the SL8 with prices and retailers, relevant to your location.

Tadej Pogačar comes into the 2026 Tour de France as the defending champion and hot favourite to win the overall general classification against his arch rival Jonas Vingegaard, as well as Remco Evenepoel and perhaps young Frenchman Paul Seixas too.

The Slovenian, who is also reigning World Champion, comes into the race with a relatively unchanged bike from last year’s race, but as the team’s press officer Luke Maguire tells me, this is only because Pogačar drove the team hard towards improving its equipment a few seasons ago.

Those changes included a switch from Pirelli to Continental tyres, SRM to Wahoo computers, and Campagnolo to Shimano groupsets. Similarly, I recall Colnago telling me last year that Pogačar was pivotal in driving the brand to creating the Y1Rs aero bike too.

Maguire says the team is now “very happy” with their equipment, although that does include some aftermarket add-ons that help the bike get down to the 6.8kg weight limit.

Ahead of the race’s Grand Dèpart, Cyclingnews spent some time at the team hotel in Barcelona. We’ve already brought you a comparison of his time trial bike versus big rival Vingegaard’s, and now it’s time to look at his road bike.

This is his ‘number two’ bike, so not the one he’ll start each race aboard, but set up exactly the same so that if he has a mechanical, he can swap over without issue or detriment.

The 2026 Tour de France kicks off with an unusual take on the team time trial, in which times are taken individually for each rider. The yellow jersey is on the line for the fastest rider over the 19.6km course, and that means riders are here in Barcelona with their time trial bikes optimised to the Nth degree.

We've already seen that Remco Evenepoel has a brand new Specialized Shiv TT time trial bike, and no time trial is complete without a mention of his name in the running, but what of the two hot favourites for the GC by the time we get to Paris in three weeks, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard?

The Cyclingnews tech team are here in Barcelona for the Grand Départ, and in our tour of the team hotel car parks over the past two days, we were able to spend time with both of their 'number one' time trial bikes; i.e. the bike they will respectively roll down the start ramp aboard.

So here in this article, we'll pit the duo head-to-head. Who has the biggest chainring? Are they running one-by or two-by groupsets? Who has the deepest front wheel? And who's bike is coolest?

The bikes themselves

First up, we'll look at the bikes themselves. Pogačar is using a Colnago TT2 time trial machine, the newly launched time trial bike that Colnago brought out recently. The headline for this bike is that it saves around 500 grams over the previous TT1 bike he used last year, whilst still being just about as aero.

Vingegaard is riding the Cervelo P5, which, as far as we know, has remained the same for a while. This bike has a raw carbon finish, whilst a lot of the other team bikes had full, glossy black and yellow team paint.

The machines above were the riders' number 1 time trial bikes, and we believe the bikes they will ride on Saturday and later in the race.

Handlebars

Both bikes were fitted with carbon fibre, custom time trial bars, and whilst we didn't have time to measure every dimension, we got a good look at them.

Both riders use grip tape on the base bars, and we were struck by just how low Vingegaard's base bar was; it felt extreme.

It also had a weight sticker underneath, which you can see below.

Both riders had Shimano and SRAM shifters at the ends of the extensions, and both riders had shifters glued onto the insides of their base bars.

They had their computers tucked neatly in between the extensions, but one key difference is the Visma 'mono' extension riser versus the dual risers on Pogačar's machine.

Interestingly Vingegaard is opting to use an older Garmin computer, likely due to the smaller size.

Drivetrain and gearing

Despite running different groupset brands, Vingegaard and Pogačar will be using similar drivetrain configurations. This includes the same size front chainring of 64 teeth, and both are on 160mm cranks.

Vingegaard had 160mm carbon fibre SRAM Red cranks, with a 64-tooth aero chainring. I wasn't able to get a max tooth count on the cassette, but it looks like a 10-36.

His bike was also fitted with a chain catcher from Wolf Tooth, and I know from recently speaking to Jenco Drost, the team's head of performance, that the team regularly hot waxes its chains.

I understand each bike has a freshly waxed chain for every race; they have also experimented with the optimum amount of run-in kilometres for a race chain so it’s as fast as possible.

Pogačar is using Shimano equipment with some aftermarket parts, and Vingegaard is using SRAM.

The Colnago TT2 had Dura-Ace cranks in a 160mm length, paired with a monster 64-tooth Carbon-Ti 1x chainring, whilst an 11-30 Dura-Ace cassette was fitted at the rear, though of course this could change come Saturday.

Pogačar's bike had a K-Edge chain catcher fitted, and an 'aero' Bikone bottom bracket with a smooth threaded left-hand cup.

Wax- or lube-wise, Pogačar has been said to use Absolute Black chain lube, but I also saw a mechanic applying Silca Synergetic to a different team bike. It looked like a wax-based product had been applied, but the chain didn't look fresh out of an immersive wax.

Wheels and tyres

Wheels-wise, both riders are using disc wheels and deep section front wheels; at least we assume they will on race day.

Vingegaard is using a Reserve Infinity disc, with an inner width of 24.5mm, paired with a Reserve 77mm deep front wheel.

The biggest difference is in tyre sizes; Vingegaard’s bike was fitted with 30mm Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed, which were set up tubeless.

Pogačar’s wheels were fitted with 25mm Continental GP5000 TT tyres; a 25mm tyre is something we haven’t seen in quite a while. The tyres may size up a little larger on the new Enve wheels, but the team may have decided the narrower, and likely aerodynamically faster, 25mm.

Saddles, seatposts and extras

Both riders are using time trial or triathlon-specific saddles from their team sponsors.

Pogačar is using the Fizik Transiro Aeris 3D-printed model, which weighs in at a claimed 190 grams.

Vingegaard is using a more extreme-looking Prologo TGale TT model, which weighs a claimed 252 grams for the carbon-railed model.

In terms of extras, both bikes had minimal paint; Vingegaard’s frame looked pretty raw, Pogačar’s had a slightly more normal finish.

Both bikes looked fast standing still, and in a few days we will see which one of cycling's Grand Tour titans draws first blood.

As night follows day, so the prototype bikes spotted at the Dauphiné (no, sorry… I mean the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) are released just before the Tour de France, all within a few days, and each swallowed up by the next.

We’ve already had a brand new Look 795 Blade RS for Cofidis, a new Tarmac SL9 for Red Bull and Soudal (plus a new Specialized TT bike in prototype form for Remco Evenepoel), plus a rogue couple of gravel bikes from Giant this week, but today it’s the turn of Orbea to set its latest machine out into the wild: the new, updated and heavily overhauled Orca Aero, ready to race under the Lotto-Intermarché riders.

The headline figures, for those of you either short on time, or breathless from the cadence of pre-Tour news and in need of a sit down: 37mm tyre clearance (plus 5mm safety clearance, so it’ll swallow a 40mm as measured without too much trouble, we’d have thought), a very low 78mm bottom bracket drop, and 5.1 watts of drag benefit versus the old model at 50kph, though there are more wattage claims to go over.

What's new?

Before we dive into the changes, fans of the old Orca Aero will be pleased to know the aero storage box on the downtube remains, though it will not be used by the Lotto riders for reasons of UCI compliance. It’s not clear whether the wattage figures contained herein are with or without the box, but we do at least hope that Orbea has been consistent. The box itself is worth 1.1 watts, we presume at 50kph.

A new head tube and fork aim to reduce the frontal area without making the hose routing prohibitively complex. The new fork especially has been designed with acres of space at the crown to accommodate really very large tyres indeed. While 35mm is the current progressive end for aero bikes at present, Orbea is really pushing it with 37mm quoted, and with the 5mm either side you will most likely be able to run 40mm rubber if you so wish, as long as you don’t try and do it in a UCI road event. This larger capacity leads to a claimed saving of 6-7 watts alone on cobbles at 40kph, though it isn’t clear between which sizes this comparison was taken. It’s also assumed the maximum clearance can only be realised by running a 1x setup.

There's a wider down tube to "manage airflow more efficiently", while at the rear end things look slimmer in keeping with modern trends of aero at the front, lightweight at the back, A slimmer seat tube and seat post, as well as slimmer seat stays help to shed weight. The frame is quoted as 900g (size and paint unknown), which is allegedly worth 2 watts on an 8% gradient at 17kph.

The bottom bracket is, unusually, a real talking point. The bottom bracket drop (the distance from the height of the centre of each wheel axle to the centre of the bottom bracket spindle) is 78mm, which is a good few millimetres more than most modern bikes. It is suspected this was partially done to offset the increased ride height that comes with fitting higher volume tyres, but for racers still kicking about primarily on 28mm or 30mm tyres it will slightly reduce the frontal area as you sit more ‘in’ the bike. There’s also a ‘keel’ under the BB shell, which also claims to improve airflow.

Interestingly the lower BB also positions the end of the cranks closer to the ground, increasing the risk of pedal strike if you pedal through hard corners. When I asked Orbea whether this would be offset with shorter cranks across the range I was told these can be specced in the MyO builder at point of sale.

The new machine, with the help of some aero bottle cages, offers up 5.1 watts of benefit versus the old model, which Orbea claims is "consistent at all speeds and, crucially, across all wind yaw angles". We’ll give it the benefit of the doubt here and assume it means the aero benefit scales consistently with speed, and that the bike performs similarly across a yaw sweep.

The lower bottom bracket, along with 13 cockpit options and the ability to run 40mm of spacers all contribute to "a more stable and aerodynamic rider", which Orbea quantifies as offering a 14-watt saving at 50kph on flat terrain. Add that to the 5 watts for the hardware alone and there is just shy of 20 watts on the table at 50kph, though it must be said that 'making the rider more aerodynamic' is a classic line from many a bike launch.

As to be expected, it’s electronic only, but Orbea looks to be offering everything from Shimano 105 (€5,699/£4,999/$6,284) up to the usual SRAM Red / Shimano Dura-Ace (€10,999/£9,999/$12,127) in six stock colours and the custom MyO paint options.

It's hot in Barcelona right now. The heat and tension only seem to be building as the start of this year's Tour de France draws near.

It's been a busy week already, and we managed to spot a new Specialized prototype time trial bike yesterday over at Bora-Hansgrohe.

Cyclingnews tech is already on the hunt for bikes and interesting kit in Spain, and we were handed Matej Mohorič's custom, brand-new Bianchi Specialissima at the Bahrain Victorious team hotel on Wednesday.

The team and brand were keen to show the bike off, and that's understandable, as the recently updated Specialissima was launched a few weeks back. We also asked about news on a new Oltre RC, but the brand remained tight-lipped on that front.

The bike has received some aerodynamic updates and new components to make it a faster all-rounder, and move it away from pure lightweight climbing bike territory, which, given the speeds pro riders are moving at, wouldn't be of much use.

This model also had a special custom paint job, a dazzling greeny/blue that shimmered next to the team's hotel swimming pool in the afternoon sun.

The bike is said to save around 16 watts over the old model; there's a more aero frame, handlebar and fork, but a size 55 is still said to weigh around 750 grams, and this bike was under the 7kg mark. It did feel light.

The bike had a few interesting details: a saddle slammed forward, a Chinese Elilee power meter crankset with Dura-Ace chainrings and Continental time trial tyres for maximum speed.

Stay tuned this week for more Tour de France tech stories and bike checks from the race.

With the opening stage of the Tour de France taking place over a 19.6km team time trial course, teams will have been frantically working to fine-tune their leaders' TT setups in the lead-up to the race.

But it appears Remco Evenepoel's bike sponsor, Specialized, has gone a few steps further, as a new 'prototype' time trial bike and a deep-section front wheel have been spotted hiding in the back of a van at the Tour de France Grand Depart in Barcelona.

And we didn't need to hide in a bush for these photos; we were given permission to shoot in and around the mechanics as they busily worked on building bikes for the team's leaders, and while there, my eagle-eyed colleague Tom spotted the new machine hanging in the back of a nearby open van.

A few quick photos - those you see here - were all we could obtain before one of the mechanics realised his mistake and quickly closed the door.

Update: Fresh images have emerged of a dazzle camouflaged machine outside the team bus - Scroll to the bottom to see.

What's new

Analysing the photos, the most obvious point of difference is the interaction between the seat tube and the rear wheel.

Whereas the old bike had quite a distance between seat tube and rear tyre, this one looks to have filled that space in, and then protrudes beyond the seat stays not too dissimilarly to the recent 'Win Fin' on the Tarmac SL9, or even the 2014 model Shiv that preceded the existing model.

The seat stays themselves remain low and horizontal as per the outgoing model.

The other big change is the introduction of what appears to be an aero saddle clamp system, integrated into the carbon at the top of the post, rather than a separate bolt-on unit. This removes a bunch of material from beneath the saddle, no doubt improving airflow between the rider's legs.

Looking closely, it's possible to see the 'YPE' at the end of the 'Prototype' sticker on the seat tube, and above this on the top tube, it's just possible to make out the 'Evenepoel' sticker to denote which rider will be getting this bike (as if it wasn't obvious).

With the old model in front of it obscuring some of the view, it's hard to see if there are any changes at the front end too, but we can at least see that the trailing edge of the head tube looks similar to its predecessor.

Interestingly, the down tube logo bears the Specialized name, rather than S-Works. But while that might suggest a lesser-spec frame (S-Works is reserved for the brand's top tier products), the wordmark near the bottom bracket here shows 'Fact 12R Carbon' - the type of fibre used only on Specialized's flagship models.

We also spotted a new, much deeper Roval time trial wheel, which looks to be in the region of 90mm deep and specced with the same carbon spokes as found on the latest range of Rapide CLX Sprint wheels.

Upon reaching out to Specialized for comment on the new machine, the brand explained it "relies on feedback from professional athletes in both developing and testing pre-production products in real-world applications. With this top-level feedback, some of these design elements and products eventually show up in future retail product offerings. We call this Project Black."

Update: The dazzle camouflage reveal

While Tom was quick off the draw with his camera in the mechanic's truck, we didn't get to see a whole load of details. Happily a Getty photographer was stationed at the Red Bull hotel and snapped a painted version of the new machine with Evenepoel atop it. I will say that, while this dazzle camouflage will make it a lot harder for a German u-boat to torpedo the Belgian, it does somewhat make it obvious that this is a new machine. Perhaps that's the point though...

Looking at this handy side view (sorry it isn't drive side, purists) we can see the seat tube is much deeper than the current model, curving around the rear wheel to smooth airflow. The fork legs are deeper and the cork crown looks to be more curved, The seat post is deeper to match the tube in which it sits, though the down tube and top tube look relatively similar. It also says 'SHIV TT' on the back of the seat post, so we know it's definitely a replacement rather than a new complimentary model.

Factor launched its Sarana ultra gravel race bike at the start of May, and the Sarana now sits alongside the brand's Ostro gravel and Aluto machines. In the brand’s words, the bike was “built specifically for ultra-distance racing, and riders pushing the limit of modern gravel racing.”

There are some seriously challenging gravel events on the calendar now, and they only seem to be growing in popularity. Take the Traka 360 for instance; the Sarana is a bike that has been designed for riders trying to go as fast as they can for hours on end.

Factor’s range is three models strong, and there’s a fourth mystery hyper aero machine floating around that is as yet unreleased. Factor places the Sarana in the middle of the range with a ‘race endurance’ tag.

Factor released a new pair of Black Inc. Forty Six gravel wheels along with the bike, which are available to buy separately. My test machine came with them, and I’ve been using them too.

It’s worth making the point that not every cyclist is tackling 300km+ ultra races on the weekend. The amateur riders I know do all kinds of general gravel riding with the odd big race or event planned into their calendars.

Factor bikes sit in the premium end of the market, and the Sarana carries an RRP of $8,499 / £8,299 / €10,199. It's undoubtedly a pricey machine; here's how it measured up after testing it out on a wide variety of surfaces and ride durations.

Design and aesthetics

Rob Britton is a name that crops up regularly if you are researching the Sarana. The ex-road pro and now ultra-focused gravel racer had a big hand in the development of this bike, and his super long rides and feedback apparantly informed a lot of the bike's design. He has, along with other Factor athletes like Victor Bossoni, the Traka 560 and Tour Divide winner, been riding and racing on the Sarana since launch. It’s probably a stretch to say this bike was designed specifically for Britton, but my impression from Factor was that he certainly played a big part in its creation.

We’ll get into the details, but Factor has blended and balanced here; this isn’t an all-out, blood and thunder, speed-at-any-cost race bike, and probably won’t be the right bike if you are looking for one. The frame has been put together to provide a balance between speed, comfort and capability, and up front, if you choose to spec one, a suspension fork takes care of the obvious. Throw in 29x2.1 Continental Race King tyres, and you have a bike that can go fast, yet can also be hammered down rough terrain without leaving you feeling beaten up.

There are adventure-focused gravel bikes that are all about comfort, and ones that still address the need for speed. For me, the integrated Black Inc handlebar the Sarana comes with is a perfect example of this kind of bike and the kind of setup you see regularly at gravel races now.

A two-piece, more adjustable unit could have been fitted, but the handlebar provides an aero advantage and a lighter, narrower, stiffer and slightly more aggressive front end. That handlebar, coupled with the big tyres and suspension fork, perfectly sums up the blend of themes at play with the Sarana and what it’s all about.

To the frame, the Sarana is constructed from a mix of Toray, Nippon graphite and Pan-based (polyacrylonitrile) fibres and has clearance for up to 57mm tyres; there's a T47a bb standard, it's 1x only and UDH-friendly.

The front half of the bike looks pretty traditional; the headtube hints at some aero consideration and the fairly thin top tube looks elegant; the rear end of the frame gets a little funkier. Factor has gone for heavily dropped seat stays, which it says act as a leaf spring and an offset, curved seat tube, which are all designed to build compliance into the platform. The chainstays are also dropped to help with that 57mm tyre clearance figure.

The bike can be run with a suspension or rigid fork, as well as a dropper post if you really want to go for it; this is the reason for the round 30.9mm seatpost and external clamp.

There's downtube storage and a set of four mounting points on the underside of the top tube for bags/bottles. A pair of mounts on the top tube and another two under the downtube. Factor includes the downtube, frame and top tube packs with the bike, which is nice.

Factor has talked a lot about nailing the Sarana geometry. I was slightly in between sizes and went for a 52 over a 54, which would generally be my usual size. The 52 was the right call, and I'm glad I went for it, and I'd possibly advise sizing down if you end up in a similar scenario.

Let's look at some numbers; the full geo chart can be seen below, but the Sarana in a 52 has a stack and reach of 558 and 388mm.

Wheelbase for the bike is 1018mm, and the seat tube angle for the 52 and 54-sized machines is 74.5, whilst head tube angle is 71.5 degrees.

BB drop is 82, trail is 65 and chainstay length is set at 425mm for every size.

Two suspension-equipped gravel bikes I have tested are the Lauf Seigla and the Canyon Grail RIFT. Compared to the size medium Seigla and small Grail RIFT I rode, the Sarana has the same chainstay length of 425.

Build-wise, in this spec the Sarana comes with a SRAM Force XPLR groupset; always an excellent option in my view. The hooked Black Inc. 46 wheels are 46mm deep and have a 27mm internal width. They are fitted with Continental RaceKing tyres, which have now been succeeded by the Continental Dubnital. Factor told me it designed around the Race King, but overall it is a similar (if not basically identical) tyre to the Dubnital.

The Factor Black Inc. HB05 integrated handlebar comes fitted; it's a pleasingly ergonomic unit with a reach of 75mm, drop of 116mm and a 17.4 degree flare. I've gotten on well with it and tested a 100mm stem and a 360 bar. You can also choose between an 80-130mm stem and 360-400mm bars; good work, Factor.

You can also choose between 165,170 and 172.5mm cranks at checkout, as well as add on a CeramicSpeed OSPW for a cool $600 off dollars.

Performance

I feel it right to mention I haven’t been able to tackle a monster ride or event on the Sarana, which seemed in keeping with what it's about. I had hoped to find the right event to really put it and myself to the test, but nothing materialised that worked in the time I had with the bike. Instead, I have ridden it at home on varied terrain that I test every gravel bike I review on.

I'll talk about what I see as what may be the key strength of the Sarana first: its capability when things get rough and technical. The bike has felt very composed and stable on technical descents and rougher terrain. I have an mtb descent that regularly makes me nervous and that I’ve even had a couple of small crashes on when I've gotten it wrong. I take every gravel bike down it. The top is narrow, fast, rocky and rutted, and the Sarana just danced down it. I've had great fun in these kinds of sections, and the bike let me carry speed and remain composed.

This composure in the rough stuff has been a standout strength. The Rudy fork up front and big tyres do a lot of the heavy lifting, but the bike’s geometry, wheelbase and overall frame angles all help when tackling technical terrain and pushing it.

If rougher terrain and testing yourself off-road is something you go after in your gravel riding, the Sarana will have you covered, and I’d imagine if you're 10+ hours into a ride and are faced with technical terrain when you're in a bit of a state, it should look after you more than a rigid bike.

A topic that needs mentioning when it comes to the Sarana is the bike's overall weight; on my own scales, my test machine (pictured) came out at 9.87kg for a size 52; that’s heavy for a gravel bike, and I have noticed the weight of the bike at times.

It feels sluggish on steeper climbs, and when accelerating at slower speeds, a heavier overall weight will also affect rolling resistance, a more pressing matter when riding gravel.

In these departments, a little less heft would be desirable. That 44 tooth front ring also means I’m grinding a bit on the steep stuff at times, and coupled with the weight, contributes to things feeling a little slower.

On that 44 tooth chainring, it’s going to depend on the rider and course, but I would want a 42 or even a 40 if I was taking on a big, tough ride with a lot of climbing. If I was on my knees and facing a wall, an easier gear would help. Changing chainrings for the demands of a course is nothing new. It might be worth considering some chainring options if you do invest.

I asked Factor about overall weights for bikes as there aren't any published numbers to be found for the Sarana. The brand told me 'the general goal is 1200g for the mid-range sizes' and that 'a more robust, lower modulus layup' was used to add protection in certain areas. So I think from that it's safe to say you can look at around the 1200 gram mark for a mid-sized frame.

The uncut rigid Sarana fork weighs 550 grams according to Factor, and the RockShox Rudy Ultimate fork (with starnut) fitted on my test bike comes in at 1.26kg on my scales.

On a side note, dropping the fork out of the bike to weigh it put a smile on my face; due to the external front brake hose, it was so easy, taking mere minutes, and made for a refreshing change from fully integrated front ends.

We're looking at a 476-gram weight saving if you were to swap to a rigid fork (not factoring the fork expander bung and cutting it to length); It's also worth noting, whilst I'm in weight weenie mode, that the SRAM Red XPLR-equipped bike will save a few hundred grams over the Force model.

By my maths, that still leaves us with a bike weighing over nine kilos, and whilst weight certainly isn't everything, it may be a consideration for some riders.

When I haven't been throwing it downhill or pointing it upward, the Sarana has ridden beautifully; the bike is comfortable to ride, and that 44-tooth ring does allow you to get up to speed and barrel along on flatter, smoother gravel terrain and on the road too.

The handling isn't race bike sharp, but some of that comes from the big front tyre. It's engaging, smooth and confidence-inspiring, and I always feel confident cornering and turning on the bike.

The more I've ridden the Sarana, the more I've begun to feel that it's quite a specific machine, and one that does seem to align with what Factor say it's been designed for.

If you want an all-out racer, it's not the fastest option, and I can't say it feels race bike fast. I will add here that Factor hasn't shared any hard wind tunnel or testing data on the bike, and we haven't tested it here at Cyclingnews, so I can't say for sure how competitive it is aerodynamically.

If you are a racer that's about to tackle a horrifyingly long, tough ride, and need more comfort and capability, it would very likely be a good choice, particularly, I feel, on rougher, more challenging terrain where it really seems to shine for me.

Weight is more of a factor for gravel bikes, and one concern I do have is that even with a rigid fork specced, the Sarana is still a little on the heavy side; based on my numbers from weighing, a rigid-forked model will still be knocking on for 9kg.

The medium Lauf Seigla I tested (with SRAM Red) came in at 8.59kg, and the small Canyon Grail RIFT at 9.64kg with a GRX double chainset, for context.

Racers generally want speed, and a bike that feels fast; the event and terrain would have to be testing enough to warrant you picking the Sarana. I think racers are often robust (or foolhardy) enough to make a faster, possibly harsher racer bike work for them, unless conditions really are testing.

On this topic, I spoke with an ultra rider who has ridden events like the Tour Divide. They made the case that if you are riding that kind of event on a bike like this, you may end up with it weighing north of 20kg, depending on what you are carrying, further negating overall bike weight for ultra events.

We also discussed the fact that fitter or pro riders have the legs to make an on paper slightly slower bike work on the flat, with something like a suspension fork fitted before reaping the rewards off-road and potentially saving even more time. It was a more nuanced point, but it was good to discuss things like this with someone who had ridden a bike for 2 weeks straight, for example.

I'm not racing a full gravel calendar, but I would ultimately like the Sarana to feel and move a bit faster on certain climbs before I could batter it back down the descent on the other side.

In my testing period, the Sarana has performed perfectly in mechanical terms, plus no flats or other major issues. I've had some rattle at times from the downtube storage bag on rough ground; that's about it and was in part down to what I had in there and how I packed it.

It's been a positive test period, and I've always felt the Sarana has had my back.

Maintenance and servicing

When it comes to working on and maintaining the Sarana, there are some key points to bear in mind:

Starting at the front, if you choose the suspension-equipped version, like a lot of its other forks, RockShox recommends a 50-hour lower leg service interval and a 200-hour damper and air spring service for the Rudy XPLR. So you will need to factor this into maintenance of the bike. Lower leg services are generally fairly low cost, with the bigger 200-hour service costing more. At the very least, try to keep the stanchions as clean and dirt-free as you can.

The suspension fork means an external brake hose, which means you can remove the forks in minutes as mentioned and easily service the bike's headset, a plus point after hours off-road.

The threaded BB is also an easy one to stay on top of, as is the external, standard seatpost clamp, which means no corroded or hard-to-reach internal clamp assemblies to worry about.

Wheel-wise, the Black Inc 46 wheels use a three-pawl freehub body which pulls off easily for cleaning and re-greasing at the least, and the wheels are built with brass nipples which eliminate the corrosion issues that can come with aluminium ones.

Value

The Sarana is an expensive machine, and most of us probably expect a premium price tag when we think of the Factor bike range.

I think if you're gravel bike shopping, there are better value buys out there that will do a lot of the same things the Sarana can, and possibly with a lower overall weight.

Decide whether you really want the suspension fork (and additional associated servicing costs), as it costs several hundred dollars more to spec one, and does add weight. If you think your riding is rough enough to regularly need one, or you like the added smoothing, it will work for you.

If you're invested in the brand and love the design, that paintwork is also very nice; for instance, I'm sure you will be very happy. It's a lovely bike to ride.

Verdict

I've had a great time riding the Sarana; as mentioned, it has performed faultlessly, and I've really enjoyed what it has brought to the table in rough, technical sections.

If you are just shopping for a capable gravel bike to do all sorts of things on, it will be a worthwhile purchase; just switch that 44 ring out for a smaller one if you live somewhere rough AND hilly.

For me, it's also a very attractive bike to look at, and that's always important when you're bike shopping.

The ride quality is good; I have no doubt the platform would provide a comfortable place to spend hours on end during a big ride.

That heavier weight does lead to some sluggishness on steep climbs, a black mark in the bike's ultra-endurance USP and my least favourite thing about it.

I agree with Factor in that it's quite a specific bike all told; I feel unless it meets your gravel bike requirements to a T, there may be more suitable bikes out there available for less cash.

Today is the day many Specialized road bike fans will have been waiting for; the launch of the American brand's latest flagship race bike.

But no, it's not a Venge as many predicted. It follows in its many predecessors' footsteps (tyre prints?) and is called the Tarmac SL9.

Its launch has been a typically turbulent Tarmac launch. It started, as it often does, with an early digital imagery leak courtesy of a farflung retailer and the WeightWeenies forum. It was then followed by social media leaks courtesy of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's in-team photographer (who no doubt got a slap on the wrist before he duly deleted his post).

And it was then followed up by Dauphine spy photos courtesy of our very own Will Jones, who had to go full Daily Mail paparazzi and hide in a bush to get them, and was subsequently threatened on social media by a Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe mechanic. Fun.

What's new

At first glance, and second, the SL9 looks very similar to the SL8, but having been up close with one – I have one next to me right now as I type this – it's fair to say a lot of work has gone into the bike that will probably go unnoticed.

In fact, every single tube has been reshaped in some way. The ones that stand out the most, however, are:

• The seat tube now curves rearward to follow the shape of the tyre.
• The fork legs are now deeper and thus hide the deep 'speed sniffer' head tube.
• The seatpost has a narrowed section for extra aero gainz between the rider's legs.

In brief, that leads to a bike that is four watts more aero than its predecessor. The claimed frame weight is two grams heavier at 687g (size 56cm in Raw Carbon / Gloss Amethyst Frost finish), but full builds now start at 6.5kg thanks to lighter-weight components.

Tyre clearance remains at 32mm, but the specced option has bumped up to 30mm.

For today, the only version being revealed is the S-Works model. It's safe to say that more budget-friendly models will follow in due course, but today is all about the flagship product and as we gear up for the Tour de France, the team replica framesets too.

The equation of speed

When the brand launched the Tarmac SL8, it came with all the usual claims of being stiffer, lighter, more aero and so on, but quietly tacked on at the bottom were some calculations claiming it was 20 seconds quicker than the SL7 up the Col du Tourmalet or 128 seconds over the 294km course of Milan-San Remo. Without much context on how the brand landed on those numbers, they went largely ignored by most media and readers.

Returning to the present day, those claims are no longer tacked on quietly, but front and centre. Specialized has said it before, but this time it led its presentation with the statement: "Time to the finish is all that matters."

With that in mind, Specialized says the SL9 is "Fourteen seconds faster [than the SL8] over the last 80km of the final stage of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes," which conveniently is the stage in which FDJ United-Suez leader Demi Vollering lost the yellow jersey by four seconds to Kasia Niewiadoma.

I'm told that when Vollering heard the claim, she wasn't best pleased (in a 'thanks, but I wish you hadn't told me that' sense).

Specialized says that 'Time to Finish' is a "physics-based simulation output that predicts total elapsed race time over a specific real-world course, using measured inputs from aerodynamics, weight, rolling resistance, surface roughness, environmental conditions, and rider power. It is not a slogan. It is not theoretical. It is the result of measured data applied to real courses."

And that all takes us to Specialized's 10-year 'Equation of Speed' journey.

In 2016, Specialized hired Marcel Keyser from Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 team as a Senior Engineer for Race Simulation, and in the ensuing decade, he has developed a piece of software that looks at every force acting upon a cyclist, which he calls the Equation of Speed, effectively replicating software used in Formula 1 to predict lap times and guide the design of the cars.

The aforementioned sextet of inputs (aerodynamics, weight, rolling resistance, surface roughness, environmental conditions, and rider power) are also joined by other metrics such as tyre grip and rider skill.

A neat example is that Keyser can measure a rider's cornering speed using .FIT files, assign a cornering ability score to each rider, and then advise on their appropriate setup for an upcoming race – do they need the slower, grippier winter tyre when it's raining, or can they handle the 80km/h descent on the faster-rolling summer tyre?

With this software and by developing tests that measured each of these things in isolation, such as a test that measures the rolling resistance of tyres or the CdA of each rider on each bike, he could input known variables, and it would spit out a simulation telling him how long it would take a rider to finish a specific course.

How does that relate to the Tarmac SL9?

Specialized took this software, initially created to choose the optimal equipment for race day, and applied it to designing the optimal equipment for race day.

With key races in mind, Specialized designed the Tarmac SL8, and now of course the SL9 (as well as the recently released Crux) not only to be more aerodynamic in a wind tunnel or lighter on a scale, but to be faster to the finish line on a variety of important course profiles.

You could say that it went to a lot of trouble to land on the same end goal that most bike brands aim for: lighter, more aero, better handling. But Specialized will tell you the special sauce lies in finding the right balance with a measured, scientific approach.

I feel this points us towards the resurgence of a dedicated Specialized aero bike like the Venge. Specialized argues the Tarmac SL9 can be optimised via configuration, and for the upcoming Tour de France the riders will have three wheelset options: Rapide CLX III, Alpinist CLX III, and Rapide Sprint, which they can choose between depending on various factors.

But why shouldn't it also extend to frame choice? I struggle to believe that when designing a frame with specific courses in mind, one single design is optimal for Paris-Roubaix, a flat sprint stage, and the Col du Tourmalet concurrently. I shan't hold my breath, though.

The differences, in detail

I've used a lot of words there to explain Specialized's thinking. Now let's dig into what's actually changed.

Deeper fork

The most divisive feature of the SL8 - the protruding 'Speed Sniffer' head tube - has technically not gone anywhere, but thanks to a deeper fork, which Specialized is calling the 'Flow Fork', with its further-forward leading edge, the front end of the bike looks seamless once again.

Lower down tube

Behind the fork, the SL9's down tube has also been dropped slightly to better manage the airflow coming from the fork and the front wheel.

Narrower head tube

The 'Speed sniffer' head tube shape remains largely unchanged when viewed from the side, but head on it has shrunk by 4mm, bringing its frontal area down by 10 per cent. Of course, that's just the frontal area of the head tube itself, meaning the rider's total frontal area will be reduced by a much smaller percentage.

This led to a few design challenges for the Specialized team, as the reduced space meant less room for the brake hose to pass through the head tube around the steerer inside. As a result, the fork's steerer tube actually kinks to the right inside the head tube, then kinks back to the centre again at the top of the head tube. This allows the rear brake hose to sit alongside it.

Curved 'Win Fin' seat tube

It wouldn't be a Specialized Tarmac launch without a strange descriptor of one of its design elements, and this time it's the turn of the 'Win Fin' seat tube, which curves rearward and follows the shape around the rear tyre.

Specialized says that after studying WorldTour riders during the key parts of races where breaks are formed or races are won and lost, they invariably have ejected one of their bottles and are running an empty cage. As a result, the Tarmac SL9 was designed with this in mind, and this move alone is reportedly worth 0.5 watts at 45km/h.

Narrower seat post

North of the Win Fin is a new S-Works Rapide seatpost, which, incidentally, can also fit into the new Crux, and is narrower at the top half. This is essentially to remove material in an area where airflow is accelerated as it travels between a rider's legs.

Spec changes

Since my review of the Tarmac SL7, I have bemoaned Specialized's reluctance to embrace narrower handlebars, but there is at last some movement and improvement in this regard.

Previously, a 58cm bike would be shipped with 44cm bars, and the solution last time was to simply send cockpits in their own retail packaging so that shops could more easily swap them out when a customer wanted.

This time round, a 58cm bike will shipped with 42cm bars, but what's even better than that is that the measurement at the base of the hoods is now 36cm thanks to the flare of the Rapide cockpit. That's much narrower than they would have been on Tarmacs of old, where a 42cm outside-to-outside bar would still be around 40cm at the hoods.

In addition, all bikes now come with shorter cranks, to the tune of 2.5mm shorter across the board.

Bikes still ship with the 15mm offset seatpost, so those looking for the 'modern' aero position with an effective steep seat tube, short cranks and narrow bars will probably be looking to swap this out, which is possible but not without the support of an amicable bike shop.

But I can see why Specialized didn't flip the well-loved geometry of its flagship bike on its head to appease a growing-yet-still-small subsection of the market. Maybe that's where the Venge fits in.

The other change I really appreciate is that the S-Works Tarmac now ships with 30mm Turbo Cotton Tubeless tyres. This is at odds with most brands who have ballooned their tyre clearance to 32 or 34mm, yet still send bikes out with 28 or even 25mm tyres.

Tarmac SL9 vs Cervelo S5, Colnago Y1Rs and Factor ONE

It's becoming incredibly common for new bikes to launch with claims of being 'better' – in some metric, but often aerodynamics – than a named competitor. And almost ubiquitously, one of those named competitors is the S-Works Tarmac.

It could be seen as a compliment, but Specialized has become a little fed up with it and has decided to reciprocate the honour with a comparison of its own.

It has benchmarked the Tarmac SL9 against the Cervélo S5, the Colnago Y1Rs and the Factor One. Given the Remco Evenepoel connection, it's not a surprise to see the Cervélo and Colnago (ridden by Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar respectively) in there, but the Factor One is an interesting addition that evidences Factor's rise to relevance over the past few years; no doubt aided by its unconventional design too.

These comparisons don't simply quote a single metric such as CdA, they input the CdA and weight into the Equation of Speed simulation to quantify the speed differences over a variety of courses.

Using bikes set up as follows:

Specialized measured each bike as follows:

Note that the delta between Tarmac SL8 and the competitors is different to what we found in our own wind tunnel tests, but within the error margin of our tests (using a real rider).

Our tests were performed at a slower speed (40km/h vs 45km/h), and the different yaw angles were weighted differently. Specialized says weighting more favourably towards zero yaw offers better real-world relevance for cyclists. Existing accepted methods – including ours – are based on the automotive standard of environmental wind speed, measured at 3m above the ground. Specialized's data argues that measurements at 1m above ground - as experienced by a cyclist - see a lower wind speed, thus increasing the likelihood of experiencing lower yaw as the rider's own forward momentum is what creates the wind.

I'll save the full breakdown, but over three laps of a relatively flat 2026 Montreal Worlds course, the differences are as follows:

• SL9 Time to Finish: '00:19:17.100'
• SL8: +3.7
• Cervelo S5: +0.5
• Colnago Y1RS: +1.9
• Factor ONE: +2.1

And in a single ascent of Alpe D'Huez, the differences are as follows:

• SL9 Time to Finish: ‘00:38:18.000'
• SL8: +5.5
• Cervelo S5: +16.4
• Colnago Y1RS: +18.2
• Factor ONE: +30.9

Early review

At the time of publishing, I still want to put more miles through the Tarmac SL9 (and put it in a wind tunnel) before I write a full review, but having ridden the SL6, SL7, SL8 and SL9, (as well as the Venge Vias, Venge, Roubaix, Allez, old and new Aethos and probably a few I've forgotten over the years), I can confidently say the SL9 retains the well-loved Tarmac handling and ride feel.

That's not to say it's exactly the same though.

Firstly, an important caveat. I am now a proud father, and two things have happened since January when our son was born.

1. I've not ridden as much as I normally would, so my fitness has tanked.
2. My willingness to rail around corners has reduced as my sense of mortality has increased.

The reason I mention this is that the perceived performance of a bike is quite correlated to my ability to ride it. It's the "all bikes feel slow at altitude" dilemma, but framed differently.

Take 40 watts off my FTP, and bikes won't feel as sprightly uphill, because my reference point of the SL8 is on legs I had two years ago. Nor will a bike feel as telepathic on descents. I'm comparing today's apples against last year's oranges.

Therefore, despite jumping onto the Tarmac SL8 in 2023 and immediately feeling like I could throw it into hairpins, that took around 4-5 hours of riding this time round, and only came on a fast descent of Coe, a spicy climb north of Morgan Hill. I was following a group of Specialized employees and locals that knew the roads inside out. Hanging off the back of the group to follow their lines helped me to judge the otherwise never-before-seen corners and let the bike shine.

And shine it did. It was stable, predictable and planted when you wanted it to hold a line around wider corners, but agile on the tighter corners and easy to accelerate back to speed on the other side of them. The SRAM Red brakes were reliable as ever for late braking into tight hairpins, and the wide tyres added a level of composure that really helped on rough and gritty roads I'd never ridden before.

The flare of the handlebars meant leverage wasn't lost when you wanted it for those tiny steering inputs on fast descents, but the narrower spacing between the hoods was perfect for getting small in the slipstream when the roads straightened up or levelled off. It really was a fun experience that, without getting too sentimental, was one of those that reminds you why you love riding bikes so much.

One thing that's not affected by my fitness, however, is the comfort and ride feel, and the balanced quality that has long shone through in previous generation S-Works Tarmacs remains abundant here. It's a lovely blend of snappy and punchy responsiveness under power, but smooth, stable and refined the rest of the time.

Price and availability

For now, as mentioned, Specialized is only launching the S-Works model Tarmac SL9.

When the lower-spec models will come is to be confirmed, but that at least simplifies your options if you want to buy one this side of the Tour de France.

Team edition colourways

Look has launched its latest top-tier road bike today, the 795 Blade RS 3.

The Blade RS has been the French brand's premier model for several years now, and we tested the outgoing 795 RS back in 2024. The RS 3 represents the third generation of the 795 family.

Top-tier race bikes usually come with aero claims these days, and the Look is no different. The brand claims it's faster than the previous machine by a healthy chunk of watts, but an emphasis has also been placed on the quality of the ride experience and real-world speed and usability, not just numbers on a test result or spec sheet.

Cyclingnews attended a pre-launch call with the bike's engineers and designers, all of whom emphasised this point: a bike has to be great in the real world, as well as on a spec sheet. Surely that's a point we can all get behind?

It also turns out the Blade RS 3 has actually been used right under our noses by team Cofidis for several months, even taking victories at Itzulia Basque Country in April and at the Tour of Belgium in June.

We have new tube profiles, new aero claims, and a new handlebar.

Let's get into it and see how the Blade RS 3 might stack up against the best road bikes right now.

Look Blade 795 RS 3 - what's new?

Looks claims the RS 3 saves 15 watts at 50km/h over its predecessor and drops 160 grams from the frameset weight too.

The Look team members' design philosophy and conviction were clear to see in the presentation we joined. The brand argues the project has leaned on two engineering principles. These are 'prioritising the essential connection between the rider and the bike' and ensuring engineering advancements are 'based on repeatable gains validated in real-world testing'.

On this design philosophy, Look CEO Federico Musi said, "We did not design it to win a comparison table. We designed it to win on the road and to stand as the ultimate long-term partner for our riders."

Development and testing took the form of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations, which apparently specifically focused on high yaw (wind) angles. The bike was also tested on the road and in the velodrome alongside wind tunnel testing.

Overall, it appears Look prioritised the bike being competitive with a rider; bikes, after all, do not pedal themselves.

The brand makes the point in its white paper that the wind rarely blows at 0 degrees in the real world and is not controlled; indeed, the brand's testing on a test course shows more time spent riding between -6 and -12 degree yaw angles.

Look says it 'identified aerodynamic enhancements that remain effective across different body types, varying speeds, and diverse drafting positions.' The idea here is that due to the bike's geo and fit configurations, most riders can find an aero position that they can hold for longer.

Specs and technical details

Frame weight is claimed to be 890 grams +/-5% for a size medium in 'Pro Team Black'. Claimed fork weight is 340 grams, a 50-gram saving over the previous unit.

Lots of tube shapes are new, and Look says the frame uses a new UD UHM carbon fibre. The frame is also Universal Derailleur Hanger friendly and carries a lifetime warranty upon frame registration.

Look also mentions ISO and safety testing, not included with every brand's PR material. The bike complies with ISO 4210 pertaining to safety standards for bicycles. Fatigue and Look's own internal testing are also carried out.

Tyre clearance is set at 34mm front and rear, giving plenty of options for various tyre sizes.

Total bike weights start from 6.9kg for a size medium without pedals, a highly competitive weight.

Look also makes a frame stiffness claim, saying the bike is 10% stiffer than the WorldTour average at the bottom bracket and front end. The attached white paper shows a testing comparison, but it doesn't state which competitor bikes were tested, which doesn't provide much insight.

Sizes from XXZ to XL are offered, and the brand says six dedicated geometries with three size-specific fork offsets cater to riders from 155 to 200cm in height.

Look claims that the Blade 795 RS 3 would return an "estimated Normalised aero drag" of 205w using the Tour Magazine testing protocol, where the benchmark for the very best aero bikes is around the 198-200w mark.

This protocol uses a pedalling-leg, leg-only dummy at the GST wind tunnel on the Airbus site in Immenstaad. But importantly, this is only an estimation and Look hasn't explained its workings here.

You can see how the previous bike performed in our own wind tunnel tests at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub in our superbike wind tunnel test. We hope to test the new one later this year.

Look also worked out some real-world time savings between the outgoing model and the current one. For the Liège-Bastogne-Liège sportive challenge, the brand claims it would provide a 7-watt saving when riding the course at a 31kph average. For a pro riding stage 19 of the Tour de France this year, it would provide a claimed 2 minutes 27 saving over the 795 Blade RS 'at pro race pace.'

A brand new handlebar

Look has also produced a new integrated handlebar for the bike in the form of the Aero Carbon RS 3 BAR.

Look says the bar is engineered for three racing scenarios: maintaining an aero position for longer, i.e., hunkered down on the hoods, maximising stiffness when sprinting in the drops and opening the chest when climbing by way of a 'tailored sweep and flare'.

Available in 380, 400 and 420mm widths and with 80 - 140mm stem lengths, the sizing options tie into Look's claimed '350 configurations' principle. In theory meaning the maximum number of riders can find comfort and speed on the bike.

Customisable options include seven stem lengths, two seatpost offset configurations from the new Aeropost 5 seatpost, three handlebar widths and the ability to run 0-50mm of headset spacers.

Pricing and build options

The Blade RS 3 will be available in several guises, and in four finishes: Silver Red, Pro Team Black, Iconic Prisme and Orange Shift.

A frameset retails at €4,990 or with a Look cockpit for €5,780.

Complete bikes start at €8,490 for the Pro Team Black version, built with Shimano Ultegra Di2 and LOOK R45S wheels.

Other wheel options include Mavic Comete 50, Fulcrum Speed 57 and Scope Artech 6.A wheels.

Prices then rise upto €13,190 for the model with Campagnolo Super Record and Scope Artech 6.A wheels.

Other builds include bikes with Dura-Ace Di2 and SRAM Force E1 AXS groupsets.

There's also an even more exclusive limited edition build that's limited to 50 units worldwide. With a price tag of €13,990, the 'Prisme replica' features the exact Team Cofidis Tour de France spec of Campagnolo Super Record wireless, Bora WTO 60 Ultra Team wheels.

Builds can also be custom-specced using the 'Your Look à la Carte' web configurator. Customers can choose between stock build groupset and wheel options to mix and match.

Eurobike is back. Though not as I or many others remember it.

At one point, it looked like the show might not go ahead at all, but in the end, it has returned, albeit in a much smaller capacity, and there was still plenty of new tech on display to check out.

The event now uses only three halls and even these were far from full, compared to seven or more in previous years. As someone who has attended the show on and off for fifteen years, I found this rather melancholic. It's an event that everyone likes to complain about, but it was always a great chance to meet up with the rest of the industry from around the world in one place. Alas, times change, but despite this, there was still some great stuff on show.

Having roamed the halls, here are my top five highlights.

1. New Canyon Aeroad CFR

Canyon wasn't shy about its latest race bike, the Aerroad CFR. "The fastest Tour de France bike you can buy." That's a line touted by many an aero bike builder, but this one is at least backed by test results from Tour magazine that put it under the elusive 200W barrier, and putting it ahead of everything else currently in the pro peloton. Time will tell how well it fares in our own testing, though; keep your eyes peeled.

Calling it a new bike feels a bit of a stretch, though, as all of the changes and improvements come from using a different handlebar. It now features UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) compatibility, and more seatpost options are available, too, making it much easier to get your ideal fit.

The handlebar has been used by Mathieu van der Poel and his teammates all season and is available aftermarket at £598, should you want to upgrade your existing Aerroad.

The catchily titled CP0053 is said to be 120g lighter than the outgoing version and to save two watts, with a forward-sweeping design and flared drops. Canyon make some lofty claims on how much this new bar saves with the rider, claiming the longer lower position could save up to 24 watts (assuming, of course, the lower position works for you and you can stay in it, which is no mean feat for most of us).

2. Ridley's unnamed gravel racer

The prototype for this was first spotted at the Traka by our own Will Jones back in April, and it now looks much closer to production-ready, proudly on display on the Ridley stand. We assume it'll be the new Kanzo, but it doesn't yet have an official name.

It's a striking-looking beast, and ticks all of the current gravel racers' want lists. Aero, wide tyre clearance (up to 58mm apparently), frame storage and an aggressive position similar to top-end road bikes. The display bike featured SRAM Force 1x13 (does anyone still run a double chainring in gravel?) and had a neat Wolf Tooth chain guide as well as a sharp-looking Forza one-piece cockpit with narrow lever position and flared drops. The wheels look like something new, too, with deep rims and 27mm internal rim bed, CeramicSpeed-equipped hubs, and carbon spokes. They're named the Forza Sikonros and could be a good, fast option with wider rubber.

3. Eddy Merckx 525R

On the same stand was the Eddy Merckx 525R, which takes a thoroughly different approach to going fast. It has a lot of the things you'd expect, like a nine-watt saving over the original, tyre clearance for 34mm and a sub-kilo frame weight. But what makes this interesting is its approach to fit geometry.

By steepening the seat angle and raising the stack, they've created an aero bike that still lets the rider get in an aero position, but one that's far more comfortable for us mere mortals to hold. There is some clever geometry manipulation going on here, and good use of the revised UCI regulations, too, which means they have moved the saddle position further forward to open up the hip angle, which is becoming an increasingly common way to get faster on the bike.

Elsewhere, you'll see aero features common on lots of other bikes, like a deep head tube and aero tube shapes throughout, but combined with its fresh take on fit geometry, this could be one of the surprises of all of the latest generation of aero bikes.

4. Megamo Upon

Avinox, the e-bike arm of DJi, drew plenty of attention this year with its new concept motor, combining an E-bike motor and gearbox, but it was the use of its current 2nd-series motor on the Megamo Upon that caught my eye.

Most E-road bikes approach the motor in the same way, trying to hide it as much as possible. Both in terms of looks and function, but the Upon is different. Looks-wise, Megamo has done a very good job of packaging the full power motor and 600Wh battery. You can still tell it's an e-bike at first glance, but it's far from the early monstrosities the Eurobike was often full of.

Power is where it differs greatly, though. Normally, bike brands will spec either a lighter-spec version with less torque or a specific motor designed to give a softer feel on drop-bar E-bikes. The idea being that you don't really notice the motor and still feel like it's your effort propelling you forward, more of a gentle assist than you would find on a full-power e-MTB, for instance. But not here. This uses the same high-powered motor as their MTB line, offering up to 1500 watts of peak power.

I'd say watch out Jasper Philipsen, but his is limited to 25 km/h in Europe, so don't expect to be dominating any sprints on it. It should make light work of steep climbs, though. It's an interesting approach, and one to keep an eye on.

5. Gusto's new GTG gravel prototype

And finally, a bike from a brand you might not have heard of, but one ridden by someone in his younger years, you certainly will know.

Gusto are a Taiwanese brand that offers great value road bikes, but unlike many others, has been involved in the European race scene for some time, sponsoring a certain Tadej Pogačar when he first joined the peloton. In fact, he now personally sponsors the second division team that still runs the Gusto bikes.

The brand had a new gravel bike on display outside in the sweltering heat. Details were a bit scarce, but it looked like it follows many of the aesthetics and details found on its current road bike, the GTR and added all the features you'd expect of a gravel bike; plenty of tyre clearance, a one-piece cockpit and a suitably aggressive position, and some new gravel-specific wheels too.

The brand says it expects to launch the bike fully later this year, but if its road range is anything to go by, I'd expect it to be sharp-handling and extremely well priced.

Colnago has officially launched the TT2 time trial bike that Tadej Pogačar was racing on in April at the Tour de Romandie.

The TT2 was first spotted as an unknown prototype back in February. Colnago itself then gave us information on it in the run-up to Romandie, and now the official launch is here.

The Tour de France will soon begin, the race opening with a team time trial in Barcelona, with another individual time trial later in the race. The new bike will see action on both those important stages.

Before that though, Pogačar (and his teammates) will ride the ITT at the Tour de Suisse on Saturday aboard the TT2 after laying waste to the race on its opening day with a highly impressive long-range solo attack.

The TT2 is available as a 'frame kit' from late September. The kit includes: frame (available in XS, S, M, L), fork, seatpost, base bar, aero bottle system and cage, bearings / small parts, etc.

The TT2 has clearance for up to 30mm tyres, is UDH hanger friendly, uses a BSA 68 bottom bracket standard, and can accommodate up to a 70 tooth chainring.

Prices are: $7,500 / £6,499 / €7,040.

Lighter and faster

Major headlines around the TT2 have focused on the bike's lower weight; Colnago claims it's 550 grams lighter as a frame kit compared to the Colnago TT1, the brand's TT machine up to this point.

A small, ready-to-paint frame weighs 985 grams, and a frame kit weight is 2240 grams. The fork is also much lighter, 393 grams against 530 grams for the TT1 fork.

A half kilo saving on a top-level road machine would be very difficult to achieve without compromise. It seems Colnago has found a way to drop this healthy chunk of weight from the TT rig with its added frame real estate whilst still 'preserving the stiffness, strength and aerodynamic efficiency required'.

In short, it sounds like the TT2 will result in a 550-odd-gram lighter bike, but it's now faster and more stable, with an updated geometry that makes it more user-friendly and more suited to modern time trial courses that appear to be moving away from the long, straight drag strips of old.

Colnago says the TT2 has 'simplified structural junctions', a revised carbon layup strategy and a new fork concept. As is the norm with high-end bike design, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnel testing were used in the development of the bike.

The front end of the bike has received key attention to reduce frontal area. There's a narrower handlebar that measures 36cm centre-to-centre, a new fork and a slimmer 32mm-wide head tube. Front-end performance is very important aerodynamically, and this has clearly been a concern for the TT2.

The rear of the bike has also received attention. The seatstays are wider around the rear wheel to improve airflow, and more smoothly integrated into the seat tube; it looks far less eye-catching and angular than the TT1 design.

Elsewhere, the bottom bracket, seatpost and fork, as mentioned, are all new and more high-modulus carbon fibre has been used across the frame.

The brand claims a two-watt saving compared to the TT1 across 'a weighted range of real whirlwind conditions,' and confirms aerodynamic drag is lower than the TT1.

Colnago also cites stability as a key concern for the TT2, and the frame has new shallower tube profiles specifically to provide more predictable 'airflow behaviour across a range of yaw angles'. Colnago makes the case that fewer steering corrections let riders maintain their aero position more effectively.

Various pro riders have crashed on TT bikes in training, most recently Wout van Aert; perhaps a more stable all-round bike will help riders when training and competing.

Geometry has also been updated. The XS size is new, and stack/reach numbers have been altered. Stack height now grows as reach increases, whereas it flatlined before in larger sizes. Colnago says this change reduces the need for extreme spacer configurations, i.e riders would add multiple spacers to the handlebar configuration to achieve their desired position.

The seat tube angle has gotten steeper, and the bottom bracket drop has been lowered to facilitate 'aggressive forward rider positions'.

A magnetic aero bottle

;An integrated aero bottle is also included with the TT2, and it's an 'aerodynamic component of the bike'. Colnago says the bottle and cage have the thinnest and longest permitted profile to reduce aero drag overall.

The cage uses Fidlock magnetic Twist fasteners to make bottle access easier and faster in an event.

Notably, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG team will not use the stock water bottle due to a sponsorship agreement with Elite, instead using an Elite aero bottle with a custom Colnago bottle cage system.

The biggest race of the year approaches, given the way he continues to ride, the fact that the world champion now has a lighter, faster bike to use for time trials will surely only bolster his chances when July rolls around.

The best budget mountain bike market can be a minefield. Choose the wrong one, and it'll rob you of a fun-filled future, but buy the right one, and it'll be the gateway to a lifetime of berm slapping and bike adventures. Luckily, entry-level MTBs no longer have to equate to trail-riding disappointment.

Our expert testers have many decades of experience riding affordable mountain bikes, which is how we picked the best budget options here. Something to bear in mind when looking at budget MTBs is that there will always be compromises. If a bike has a great drivetrain, it might have a lower-end suspension in order to keep the price down or vice versa.

Once you buy a bike, you might find that you want to upgrade some of the components. Tyres are consumables that eventually wear out, or you might want to swap your stock tyres to something that better suits your needs. Should either case happen, we've got guides to the best MTB trail tyres and best XC tyres, and we've also got a guide to the best MTB grips.

As everyone's idea of 'budget' can differ, we've chosen a range of affordable mountain bikes to allow riders to match their expectations to a specific price point.

Best budget mountain bikes

Best budget hardtail

Trek knows how to make a high-quality frame, and the Roscoe 7 Gen 4 comes with all the features and additions that you would want to find on a modern hardtail.

The top tube is low slung for plenty of standover height, there's a relaxed 65-degree head angle to aid confident descending, and Boost hub spacing on the fork and frame for increased stiffness and wheel upgrade potential later on. All the cabling is internally routed through the frame, and the bike also comes with a frame bag.

The specification is what you'd expect from the Wisconsin brand, including a decent quality, 150mm travel, air-suspension RockShox Recon Silver RL fork and Shimano CUES 1x10 drivetrain paired with TLR 30 rims and Gunnison Pro XR 2.4in tyres from in-house brand Bontrager. It also comes with a TranzX dropper post with 150mm drop on the size S, 170mm on M and ML, and 200mm on L and XL.

We've ridden various iterations of the Trek Roscoe. With its easy, confident handling and plenty of traction from the bigger tyres, it's a great option for beginner riders and dirt tourers looking for a little extra comfort, or trail riding predictability. The 150mm fork means the Roscoe is more capable up front than most of the other hardtails in this round-up, too.

Best full-suspension

Bet you weren't expecting to see a full-suspension bike in our list of the best budget mountain bikes, yet Marin has pulled it off.

Not only does the Rift Zone 1 have the on-trail benefits of full-suspension – adding confidence, grip, and control – it also manages to budget in a solid spec sheet that rivals some equally priced hardtails. There's also a choice of 27.5 and 29-inch wheeled versions.

There are a few compromises though, the X-Fusion rear shock is basic rather than brilliant, as are the Tektro hydraulic brakes. But overall, the Rift Zone is still a proper bargain and you can upgrade these components later if you wish.

As to be expected from an established brand like Marin, the geometry is sorted as well, with a 65.5-degree head angle, 77-degree seat angle, and decent reach numbers, which put you in a great position to shred the trail both up and down.

Best budget mountain bike for trail riding

Merida's latest Big Trail hardtail is an even more sorted trail steed than before. The previous model had really well dialled-in geometry and an excellent ride feel, but the new version has even more confident handling, guaranteeing good times on genuinely big trails. If you're looking for a budget hardtail that's got what it takes to go beyond blue-marked trails, this is the one for you.

While the 140mm RockShox Psylo fork, Shimano CUES groupset with hydraulic brakes, 2.5in wide tyre up front with a 2.4in rear, and a dropper post are all obvious highlights, there's some great 'hidden' detailing too.

Short seat tubes let you size up or down to get the reach you want for the kind of riding you do. There are twin bottle mounts and an accessory mount for trail essentials, but also a stealth kickstand and fender fixtures for weekday workhorse duties. What's not to love?

The Big Trail range consists of three models. While we've featured the mid-price, mid-spec Big Trail 500 here, all three bikes use the same excellent frame and bike setup, so the cheaper 300 model is well worth a look too. We've tested the slightly costlier model, so see our Merida Big Trail 600 review for a verdict on how the bike rides.

Best budget mountain bike for speed

If you're looking for a speed-hungry mountain bike at a decent price, the Specialized Rockhopper Expert is a good option.

A low overall weight (13.2kg, size large) provides an energetic and lively ride feel that encourages stamping on the pedals with enthusiasm. Paired with the smooth RockShox Judy air-sprung fork, low bottom bracket and fantastically well-modulated Shimano MT200 brakes, the Rockhopper oozes confidence on less technical trails. The amount of available fork travel increases with frame size, from 80mm on XS and S, up to 100mm for the L, XL and XXL. We're not really sure why Spesh gives smaller riders less suspension travel, but it's worth noting.

Something more significant is that, just like its previous, very similar iteration – the Specialised Rockhopper Elite reviewed by our tester, Jim Bland – this latest Rockhopper shares a potentially major drawback: a straight, non-tapered head tube. With all the best aftermarket suspension forks using tapered steerer tubes, there’s no room for upgrading the Rockhopper’s front-end performance with a better fork. While this could be a deal-breaker for some, if you're not planning any future fork upgrades, it won't matter at all.

As Jim said of the Rockhopper Elite, "If you think you’re a rider who will keep things stock and just ride, the Rockhopper’s trail prowess, excellent brakes and sorted gearing make it a great riding option that should provide years of fun."

Best budget mountain bike for all-round riding

The Marlin hardtail family are Trek's best-selling mountain bikes, which makes them some of the most popular in the world. It's easy to see why, with the Marlin 6's under 33lb weight, fast-rolling 29er wheels, and good looks all making it a standout performer.

Older Marlins had more upright geometry that was better suited to cross-country than trail riding, but the latest frames are longer and more relaxed. This increases stability and rider confidence, and is much more suited to tackling modern trails. Fast rolling tyres keep riding speeds up though, so this bike is definitely no slouch on flatter trails.

The Marlin's new trail-friendly nature is further enhanced with a TranzX dropper post, which allows you to lower your saddle so it doesn't hinder you when descending. The 100mm fork has far less travel than the Trek Roscoe or the Merida Big Trail though, so if you're looking to go beyond blue-marked trails, they are both better bets.

Trek has also taken the super smart decision to only use the most reliable equipment. This includes Shimano CUES gears, Shimano MT200 hydraulic brakes, and a RockShox Judy fork, which means you get to ride more and worry about maintenance less.

We're less impressed with the decision to use a straight head tube on the frame though. Like the Specialized Rockhopper, this severely restricts any potential fork upgrades you may wish to make in future, as better quality forks require a tapered head tube. However, Trek has a workaround in the form of its FSA Orbit headset. This has an external bottom cup that makes the Marlin's frame compatible with tapered steerer forks.

There are four different Marlins at various price points. We reckon the Marlin 6 is the best bang-for-buck catch. While the Marlin 7 is the top specced model, you're not getting a whole lot more for your money. The two models below the Marlin 6 both have downgraded forks and fewer gear choices.

Things to consider when buying a budget mountain bike

Between us, our test team has tested a huge number of mountain bikes of all price points over the years. That's helped us identify exactly what to look for when buying a budget mountain bike. If the bike you're interested in ticks all the boxes on our checklist below, it's likely to serve you well. If you want more details after reading this, check out our article on 5 must-have features on budget mountain bikes.

• Geometry: Modern frame geometry can deliver a confidence-inspiring ride without the need for state-of-the-art suspension. A key number is the head angle – look for numbers less than 67 degrees, anything over that is likely to feel twitchy and nervous in trail situations. Reach is also a key factor, as longer numbers here will also help to boost trail confidence, though going too long can feel uncomfortably stretched for the rider. Look for around 470mm for a large frame, 450mm for a medium frame and 430mm on a small.
• Brakes: MTB brakes have moved on from grabbing the wheel rim to using specially designed discs (like most motor vehicle brakes) also known as rotors. Disc brakes are much more effective and come in two varieties – hydraulic and cable-operated (aka mechanical). Hydraulic brakes give more reliable stopping as the calipers self-adjust as the pads wear down, but cable operated are decent too. Out of the two types, we'd opt for hydraulics every time though.

• Skinny head tubes: The short explanation here is to just avoid them. Beneath your frame's skinny and straight head tube is a fork with a straight steerer. Straight steerers are an outdated fork standard as most forks now have tapered steerers that are wider at the bottom, and narrower at the top. While straight steerer-equipped forks aren't necessarily worse than similarly specced tapered models, if you want to upgrade to a better fork later on, you're unlikely to find anything that fits your frame.
• Thru-axles: Rather than using a skinny QR skewer rod (that hasn't moved on since they were invented in 1926!) to attach your wheels to your bike, any mountain bike worth its salt these days uses bolt thru-axles. They are threaded tubes that are much stiffer and more secure than QR wheel skewers and will ideally be on the fork and rear dropouts. Look for 'Boost-width' (110mm wide at the front and 148mm at the back) as this is the most commonly used standard these days, so will give you more choice if you decide to upgrade your wheels later.

Best budget mountain bike FAQs

How we test the best budget mountain bikes

All the budget mountain bikes tested here have been ridden on a wide range of trails, from singletrack to technical woodsy riding, in a variety of weather conditions, from bone dry to properly sodden. We test bikes over a number of months so we can assess how they fare over time.

If you're in market for a new MTB, there are loads of budget mountain bike options to choose from. So how do you decide which ones are winners and which are losers? Not just now, but further down the line when you're hooked on trail time and want to upgrade parts or replace bits you've worn out.

Our ultra-experienced bike tester, Guy Kesteven, reveals the five must-have features you might not think about at first, but matter way more than component brands and the number of gears in the long run.

1. Good geometry

If the bike frame isn’t a good shape to start with, there’s nothing you can do to make it ride confidently, so you can have maximum fun. Unfortunately, some cheap mountain bikes just re-use old, outdated frames to save money.

The really important number is the head angle. This is the angle the forks sit in the frame and the smaller that number is the more stable the steering of the bike will feel. For general trail riding, you want a 67-degree head angle or less. Otherwise, the steering will feel really nervous.

A generous reach – the horizontal distance from the centre of cranks to the fork top – also helps stabilise the bike. My baseline numbers are 470mm for a large frame, 450mm for a medium frame and 430mm for a small frame. If you have to size up to get the reach you need, make sure you still have enough space under the saddle to fit a dropper post if you’re looking to upgrade to one in future.

Buyer beware...

To be clear here, we’re talking about the angles of the frame tubes – not the shape of the tubes themselves. They don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, although be aware that big, square tubes will generally give a harder ride than skinny round ones.

2. Disc brakes

Thankfully it’s been a long time since I’ve tested a mountain bike with brakes that rub on the rims to eventually stop you. That’s because disc brakes give much more consistent braking in wet weather or on dirty trails and have become the industry standard. Ideally, you want brakes that use hydraulic fluid as they self-adjust for pad wear, but wire cable-operated disc brakes are still better than rim brakes.

If your budget doesn’t stretch that far then at least get a frame and forks that have the attachment points for disc brakes already built in.

Buyer beware...

Check with the shop what sort of replacement brake pads you’ll need for your brakes. Many budget brakes share standards with Shimano, but some are a special shape which can be hard to find.

3. Through-axles

‘Through-axles’ that slide through solid ends in the fork and frame are a lot more secure than old road bike style quick-release (QR) axles that sit in open slotted fork and frame tips. Ideally, you want them to be ‘Boost’ standard which means 110mm wide at the front and 148mm wide at the back too. This makes the frame and forks stiffer for more accurate control and makes it much easier to upgrade with better wheels in the future.

Buyer beware...

Even at $1,000, some of the most popular mountain bikes still have QR skewers with a skinny steel rod, not a thicker through-axle. Don’t be fooled by ‘standards’ like “Boost 141mm” either as they’re not a proper Boost fit and still use a QR skewer.

4. Tapered fork fit

Another future upgrade issue I still see hiding on some four figure price tag mountain bikes are skinny head tubes with skinny straight ‘steerer’ suspension forks. To be honest, the performance of these forks isn’t much worse than other similarly cheap models so you’re not losing out much at first. However, all better quality forks and frames use a ‘tapered' steerer with a larger bottom bearing as that design is lighter and stiffer, so you won’t be able to upgrade in the future.

Buyer beware...

Speaking of cheap forks, coil-sprung versions can feel great if you’re between 70-80kg in weight. However, if you’re lighter or heavier than that try and get a fork with an air spring that can be adjusted to your weight or how hard you ride.

5. Twenty niner wheels

The final item on my wish list for budget mountain bikes is probably the most controversial one. Unless you’re buying an XS frame I’d say always go for 29-inch wheels if you can. Partly that’s because they roll a bit smoother and easier than 27.5in wheels so your bike will make you feel like a slightly better, fitter rider. You’ll generally find 29in wheeled bikes will have more up-to-date geometry too.

However, yet again the main issue is upgrading in the future. That’s because decent quality 27.5in wheels and tires – particularly front ones – are getting increasingly hard to find as most bikes switch to 29in.

Buyer beware...

The big issue with saying that you should always buy a bike with 29in wheels is that some of the best budget mountain bikes available now still come with 27.5in wheels. Just to be really awkward, they often come with all the essential features listed above while some 29er bikes don’t. So in this case, feel free to ignore me about wheel size, just be sure to buy some spare tyres while you still can (and while they’re being sold off cheap).

Eurobike is less than a week away, and in a move that will undoubtedly draw crowds to the Canyon booth, the German brand has unveiled a bold new collection of technologies it believes can "define the future of safety" for cyclists.

It says, "Road cycling needs a safety revolution. We are transforming safety from being reactive to being predictive."

It's called 'Canyon Predict', and it comprises a prototype bike and smart helmet that work together to analyse your surroundings and warn you of potential risks and dangers before they happen.

That includes not only the behaviour of drivers, but also other cyclists when you're riding in close quarters in a group, as well as your tyre pressure.

It will even advise on cornering speeds, and predict tricky surface conditions "before the rider notices them."

There's even a suggestion of an onboard wind tunnel being added in the future, although its 'Aero Coach' working title might be up for a lawsuit if Xavier Disley, owner of Aerocoach, catches wind (no pun intended) of it.

Predict Bike

With an aesthetic that puts me in mind of the recently launched Lego road bike, the 'Canyon Predict Bike' - as the brand is calling it - could pass as a typical aero road bike, with its deep tubes, aero gulwing-style handlebar and carbon wheels.

More notably here, however, is the integration of a '360-degree sensor array' that can "anticipate road hazards, other road users, track group-ride dynamics, advise on cornering speeds and predict tricky surface conditions."

This is comprised of an array of cameras and radars that feed into the bike's 'Cognitive Core' – or onboard computer to you and me – to be analysed. This computer has an on-device Large Vision Model AI system that combines this data with more typical ride metrics like speed, steering angle and stability, to predict potential hazards from other road users or the surface.

This is then fed back to the rider via a display integrated into the handlebars, lights built into the shifter hoods, and haptic feedback. This indicates threat severity, direction and even provides recommended actions.

Canyon promises the bike will offer both 'passive and active' safety support, with the aforementioned feedback falling squarely under 'passive'.

And although the idea has clearly been derived from the automotive industry's charge towards safety through technology, the Predict Bike stops short of actively slamming on the brakes for you in an emergency.

It will allow you to drop the seatpost for extra stability, and it will even provide progressively extreme warnings from basic haptic suggestions to visual and audible warnings if it believes you're unsafe, such as being too close to the rider – or vehicle – in front of you.

Stingr Smart helmet

Alongside the bike, Canyon has also revealed a prototype 'smart' version of its Stingr helmet with a retractable visor.

It incorporates a front and rear light, as well as a head-up display inside the visor to provide those aforementioned warnings and feedback about other road users, such as brake light activation and impending crash risk warnings.

It will also provide metrics such as speed, power and heart rate, should you be more performance-minded with your riding.

The visor itself is retractable, as mentioned, but not simply with a shove. It is motorised and retracts via the push of a button or voice command – Star Command, do you read me? – and each time it retracts, it self-cleans not too dissimilarly from the cat’s eyes you see on the road.

No smart helmet would be complete without in-built audio, and the Stingr concept meets this brief with aplomb. It offers a 'near ear' audio system for warnings, navigation, phone calls, and presumably, playing Fields of Gold on repeat. That's accompanied by a duo of noise-cancelling microphones for those aforementioned voice commands, and buttons on the outer shell that let you adjust things like volume or what's being displayed.

Also notable, but less relevant to the topic at hand, is that the helmet uses a traditional fabric strap and buckle, rather than the Highbar plastic retention system it was unveiled with.

For both the bike and the helmet, it'll be no surprise to read that you need to remember to charge them in order for them to work. The bike, Canyon says, should be good for eight hours, while the helmet has a broad eight to fifteen hour claimed range.

Tastefully, Canyon has integrated an element of renewable energy into both bike and helmet to 'top up' these figures, courtesy of a dynamo hub in the bike and a solar panel on the helmet.

How much of all of this is already functional versus simply a theoretical concept is yet to be determined. Canyon says the bike displayed at Eurobike is simply a 3D-printed prototype, but it claims to have already proven the technology can function as intended.

It estimates a market introduction in "approximately three years."

Stage 2 of the Tour of Slovenia has been neutralised around 27 kilometres from the finish after the race doctor had to remain attending multiple victims of a previous downhill crash.

Stage 2's largely flat stage was moving into its final, decisive phase with a series of small, technical ascents and descents including the Cat. 4 climb of Jeruzalem when the race director first indicated to riders to slow down. Then after a couple of kilometres the race was stopped completely.

The crash on a sweeping downhill left-hand bend shortly before the neutralisation involved around five, as yet unidentified, riders, with the race doctor stopping to check on their condition.

At the time, the main peloton was heading the race on the 181.8-kilometre stage from Radlje ob Dravi to Ormož , shortly after a five-rider early break had been reeled in.

Before it stopped the race director called race leader and stage 1 winner Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) forward to explain that they had to stop the stage for safety reasons.

Riders first slowed then halted completely in the middle of a deeply rural area, taking on drinks and refuelling as they waited in warm sunshine.

After 15 minutes' wait, it was stilll unclear how quickly the race would begin again. Commissaires spent time going through the peloton and attempting to ensure those who were in a second group when the race was suspended, would then wait for the same amount of time as before the neutralisation once it got underway again.

After around 25 minutes, with staff returning to the stage, the race got underway again for the last 27 kilometres.

The original Big Trail started as a collaboration between Merida and UK dealers wanting something more rad than the average trail hardtail, but it’s become a super popular mix of tech-taming capability and everyday practicality the world over. For this latest version, Merida has made the geometry even more aggressive to create a serious rad ride that’ll kick ass on proper enduro trails while still letting you mount a kickstand for work days.

Design

Before you freak out about the idea of utility mounts making it look like you’ve stolen a Dutch nan’s shopping bike to hit the trails on, rest assured that the kickstand, rack, and full fender fixtures are very cleverly hidden. The only ‘basic’ looking part is the big seat stay gusset that can mount the ‘whale tail’ rear fender. That’s only a thin plate though and when you look closely at the top quality welding, hollowed out rear dropouts and the flowing hydroformed tube shapes, Merida’s metal working mastery is clear to see.

The big head tube allows the use of ‘Wire Port’ internal brake and gear routing through the Acros headset to keep the main tubes clear and clean, and Merida has capitalised on that with relatively slim and shallow, organically shaped top and down tubes. The down tube is long enough to fit two bottle cages on every size (500 + 700ml on XS – M, 2 x 700ml on L – XL) with an accessory mount in the top tube ‘armpit’. That leaves the oversized seat post straight and clear to take a long travel dropper (200mm on the ‘Long’ size I rode) in a stiffness and reliability boosting 34.9mm diameter. There’s only room for a 2.4in rear tyre between the curving rear stays though, which is a shame as fatter rear rubber is a nice option on a hardtail that’s begging to be ridden properly hard.

You do get a top chain guide mounted on the ISCG bolts around the bottom bracket though, and a 55mm chain line keeps the links clearer of mud on dirty days. Chaotic trail calmness gets another real audio and emotional upgrade from the fully foam-sleeved cables inside the mainframe and a dual-compound clip-on chainstay guard that even has hollow nodules to further deaden chain noise. While we’re on the subject of detailing, the seat tube clamp is a really neat, crisp, twin-band piece that elevates the overall aesthetic more than a basic forged option. Finally, the far end of the stays uses a distinctive angular ‘elbow’ above the dropouts to give clearance to fit the four-pot Shimano brakes on the chainstays rather than seat stays, where they could potentially reduce compliance. Do I even have to say it’s UDH too, or is that just expected on new bikes now?

Geometry

If you’ve been watching what Merida has done with the ‘Agilometer’ geometry on its One-Sixty, One-Forty and One-Twenty full-suspension bikes, then the angles and lengths of the new Big Trail will be less of a surprise. 64-degree head tube, 70mm BB drop and 480mm reach (on a size Long) are still proper rad for a mass-production hardtail rather than a niche cult bike. Merida has been slightly more conservative with their 76.5-degree seat angle compared to its crazy steep full-sus bikes, but it’s still very much a front and centred riding position. If you don’t want a super long stretch, then relatively short seat tubes mean you can size down without running into saddle height issues either, hence the use of Extra Short / Extra Long, etc. naming rather than Extra Small / Extra Large, etc.

Components and build

Merida has matched the more radical angles with a more control-focused build on the Big Trail too. That headlines with the Shimano XT brakes with a 200mm front rotor connecting to the trail through a 2.5in wide, triple MaxTerra compound Maxxis DHF tyre. A basic RockShox Pike fork separates them with 140mm of travel and Shimano hubs on the 30mm internal Merida rims create a sturdy wheelset. Hassle your Merida dealer to fit the tape, valves and sealant needed to turn them tubeless before you leave the shop though as they aren’t supplied. An EXO+ carcass on the rear Dissector tyre means you might not need an insert unless you’re really getting rowdy in the rocks. Deore gears deliver their usual remarkably smooth and accurate shifting reminder that you don’t need anything fancier. The low cost of replacement reduces the concerns about close passing trailside boulders too. While my test bike came with 170mm cranks, production bikes will have 165mm arms on all sizes but XL, which means more ground clearance to compensate for the super low bottom bracket.

The rest of the bike is Merida own brand, which is totally fine. I particularly appreciated the higher rise bars which help lifts the far away front end. The ‘Ergon–ish’ grips are comfy and the short coffin-shaped stem gets matching coffin-shaped spacers underneath. Merida has used a fixed-length dropper post rather than an adjustable one to save a bit of cash, and the lumpy lever mount isn’t the prettiest thing, but the lever action is actually really smooth. The Merida saddle is comfy enough and it comes with a mini-tool mounted underneath. The rear axle has a 4mm and 6mm hex head built into it too.

Ride, handling and performance

While all the detailing and smart spec is important to the overall package, what should dominate a lot of riders' decision to put the Big Trail on your short list is the ride vibe. That’s because the Big Trail isn’t just an exercise in extreme handling arithmetic, it’s clearly a bike that’s been ride tested into a really righteous balance for as much radness as you can handle. It only took about five minutes into the first ride for the super slack front end to save me. Turning a full facial slam into a self-steering emergency press-up save, when the back end went sideways on a wet root as I abseiled a janky drop. With that precedent set, the rest of the first ride was all about pushing harder and harder and realising just how much the Big Trail could handle. Actually, ‘handle’ sounds a bit half-hearted, the naturally centralised, feet-on-the-floor feel insists you attack all the sketchy stuff as fast as possible. It totally dominated snaking chutes that I’d been really concerned about rolling into beforehand and it’ll rail a turn like someone has you on a lunge rein.

It’s not just the geo either. Those slim, pressure-moulded main tubes set up an excellent blend of traction-boosting compliance without worrying twang or wander that could teach many steel bikes a lesson. There’s enough spring and life to really flatter the grip, comfort and smoothness of the base-level fork too, so I never worried about fully committing the front end into the most random rut, root and rock off-piste. As mentioned previously, the higher riser bars help lift the nose off drops or manualing through ditches. The seat angle means there’s enough weight over the front to keep the tyre steering and straight on steep scrambles too. It’s a good job the production bikes will have shorter cranks though, as I had to do a lot of half-cranking to stop tapping out on ruts and stepped sections. While it's relatively light for a trail hardtail, the build kit and grippy tyres mean it's no XC race bike if you're really into long rides and hefty climbs.

Inevitably, the rear end also makes things a game of two halves in terms of the amount of abuse coming from the back wheel. That massive seat tube definitely means sitting and pedalling through rough sections can be a jolting, momentum-spilling experience. Hover your butt off the saddle though and there was enough give in the stays to not find every old fracture in my ankles even on long, rough descents. Backing off ten percent on jagged and ragged technical climbs rather than charging bluntly at everything felt like it gave a thirty percent payback in terms of flow and grip too.

I can’t underestimate how calming the quietness of foam-wrapped cables, pneumatic chain protector, hushed Shimano rear hub, and even the genius spec of rattle-free non-finned pads in the XT brakes is when things might otherwise feel frantic either. It’s literally like wearing a full-face helmet in terms of reducing the acoustic anarchy that automatically spikes anxiety as soon as things start kicking off. Another sure sign that this is a bike that’s been created and crafted by real riders who understand what a big deal small things can be, not just desk jockeys looking over the shoulders of other brands.

Verdict

If you want to go on a forum to complain, then yeah, I’d rather the Big Trail had normal cable routing and space for a bigger rear tyre to reduce the game of two halves impact response. The riotously enjoyable, yet fail-forgiving ride of the radical geometry and compliant yet controlled front end outweighs those niggles by many multiples on genuinely big trails though. Both frame and parts pick are loaded with solid choices and smart details that really elevate the complete package too.

The death of Vitus and Ragley has dramatically reduced the options for affordable but properly radical hardtails, which makes the reshaped Merida even more welcome. You get the same frame on the £2,000 / €2,350 600 version here, the £1,500 / €1,175 Big Trail 500 (with a RockShox Psylo fork), and £1,100 / €1,300 300 version (Suntour XCR34 fork). Whatever model you buy, the fact that it’s a full-feature daily driver for commuting or utility use potentially makes it even better value

Test conditions

Surface: Natural off piste loam, roots and loose rock and a bit of kitty litter red run track

Trails: Natural Enduro DH and singletrack play runs and red and black grade trail center silliness

Tech spec: Merida Big Trail 600

Discipline: Trail

Price: £2,000 / €2,350 / not available in US

Head angle: 64 degrees

Frame material: Hydroformed aluminum alloy

Fork: RockShox Pike, 140mm travel

Size: X Short, Short, Medium, Long, X Long

Weight: 14.48kg (Long tested)

Wheel size: 29in

Chainset: Shimano Deore , 32T, 170mm arms with Hollowtech II bottom bracket.

Rear mech: Shimano Deore

Shifter: Shimano Deore

Cassette: Shimano Deore 12-speed 11-51T

Brakes: Shimano Deore XT hydraulic disc brakes with 200/180mm rotors

Tires: Maxxis DHF 3C MaxTerra 29x2.5in front and Maxxis Dissector 3C MaxTerra 29x2.4in rear tires

Wheels: Merida 30mm tubeless rims on Shimano hubs

Bars: Merida high rise alloy 780mm width

Stem: Merida alloy

Grips: Merida Ergo lock-on

Seatpost: Merida EXP TR 200mm dropper

Saddle: Merida TR

The Rockhopper has been part of Specialized’s lineup since 1985, and ever since its release it’s been one of the most sorted options for new riders getting into mountain biking.

The latest version we have here sports an impressively low weight and a smooth engaging ride, but with several design features severely limiting upgrade potential, it’s hard to recommend to riders who are wanting to enhance the performance of their ride as time goes on.

Does the Rockhopper have what it takes to be one of the best budget mountain bikes? Keep scrolling as we hit the trails to find out.

This review was originally published in October 2022. The Rockhopper Elite 29 is no longer available, but the nearest equivalent model is the Specialized Rockhopper Expert.

Design and geometry

At the heart of the Rockhopper Elite lies an A1 butted aluminium frameset that utilises a low-slung top tube, a chunky ovalized downtube and sleek stays that give a really premium look and feel. With a suitably low 305mm bottom bracket that positions you 62mm below the axles, and a 68.5 degree head angle paired with a 445mm reach (size Large), the Rockhopper projects well on the trail.

While short chainstays are all the rage, Specialized has opted to run a 440mm back centre here, which places the Rockhopper’s rear end at the longer end of the spectrum – I presume this move was made to better suit the Rockhopper’s XC intention, along with providing a balanced ride feel throughout the wide S to XXL size range.

Specialized has gone to great detail to ensure the Rockhopper’s aesthetic is as good as it can be, and by hiding rack mounts inside the stays and featuring a sleek chainstay bridge that doubles as a kickstand mounting point, the overall frame is pleasing to the eye. I'm a huge fan of the army green colourway too, but for those who aren’t, Specialized also offers the Rockhopper Elite in an additional two colourways.

Internal cable routing provides a neat and quiet ride, and there’s space for a fully internally routed dropper should you want to upgrade in the future. But while the cable routing is slick, the quality of the inside of the seat tube itself was sub-par, and due to a lack of reaming, my seat post was scratched up right from the off.

While lots of small details have been stressed, it's strange that several larger, fundamental parts of the design have been missed – the most obvious one being the straight non-tapered head tube. With pretty much all of the best aftermarket forks in 2022 only being available with a tapered 1-18/1.5in steerer option, it seems odd for Specialized to make such an oversight, which really limits the Rockhopper’s future upgrade potential. While I do understand that bikes in this price bracket have been hit the hardest following the global pandemic, I can’t help but feel this decision is limiting the Rockhopper’s general sustainability beyond 2023.

I tested the 29er version, but Specialized also offers the Rockhopper Elite with 27.5in wheels. While smaller wheels this would add an aspect of playfulness to the Rockhopper’s ride, I do think the bike's nature and focus is best suited to bigger 29in hoops.

Components

A straight head tube requires a straight steerer, but thankfully Specialized has selected the excellent RockShox Judy Solo Air fork to provide comfort and grip up front. Having an air-sprung damper means the fork can be adjusted specifically to any rider's weight, which in turn should offer an increase in composure over a more basic coil-sprung fork, similar to the sub-par option that’s fitted to the Trek Roscoe we tested alongside the Rockhopper. While the Judy itself is a component highlight, it’s strange to see that different frame sizes get different amounts of fork travel – the small gets 80mm, the medium gets 90mm, while large and bigger get 100mm; this is a specification choice that is going to give smaller riders a compromised performance on the trail.

Unfortunately, the same goes for stem lengths too, as larger frame sizes get longer stems, another specification choice that is going to offer different characteristics between the various frame sizes – in reality it just means the taller you are, the worse your handling characteristics are. Thankfully, the stem is an easy switch and the stock 740mm bar is a solid and comfortable shape, if a little narrow by current standards.

It’s not all negative in the component department, though and the 11-speed Shimano Deore provides smooth and reliable shifting throughout the enormous 11-51t cassette. The Deore derailleur also features a clutch which helps to keep chain slap to a minimum. But the best component on the whole bike is by far the brakes, and Shimano’s MT200 hydraulic disc units provide best-in-class power, feel and reliability.

Keeping the Rockhopper rolling is a set of 25mm internal rims laced to smooth rolling Formula hubs. Both the front and rear use a traditional quick-release axle system. Specialized’s own Fast Trak tyres roll fast but they’re undersized by modern standards and the relatively firm T5 rubber compound prioritises rolling resistance over grip.

Ride, handling and performance

Thanks to the generous bottom bracket drop, the Rockhopper feels natural and confident on the trail, and when riding back-to back with the more cramped and dated feeling Trek Roscoe 6, the Rockhopper’s low and stable riding position gave me the confidence to push harder almost everywhere. To complement this ‘in the bike’ feel I would like to see the head angle slackened a degree or two though, and while it would dilute the addictively snappy nature slightly, I do think it would unleash the Rockhopper’s full descending potential and maximise fun.

The Rockhopper provides procession and smoothness on the trail, and massively contributing to this smoothness is the Rockshox Judy fork. An air-sprung fork means rider-specific tune-ability to an individual’s weight, and the performance enhancement it gave over roots, through slick off-camber sections and over fast repeated hits just echoed how it’s a vital component for bikes around the $1,000/£1,000 price point. The fact that it’s a straight steerer matched with a non-tapered head tube is a real sour grape though, as it leaves next to no upgrade potential in the fork department should you be looking for even greater performance down the line.

The low 13.2kg weight means the Rockhopper feels eager to surge up and along the trail – something that encouraged me to get out the saddle and sprint through the next section of track with enthusiasm. Along with the fact that the huge range cassette provides a suitable gear for any gradient, I think the Rockhopper would be a stellar option for riders who favour climbing and long-ride efficiency. The biggest thing that limits riding fluidity is the lack of a dropper post, and it’s something I’d like to see on a hardtail at this price.

The best-in-class brakes from Shimano provide the feel and power to slow speeds in a controlled manner with just one finger on the lever. But the biggest cause of compromised traction are Specialized’s own FastTrak tires, and while they do roll fast the hard rubber compound and narrow width proved to be sketchy as soon as I remotely begin to push on the trail. As a result, swapping to a bigger volume gripper front tire would be the first alteration I’d make to the Rockhopper Elite.

Verdict

Summarising the Rockhopper is tricky as its composed shape, great feel and low weight provide some highly desired traits on the trail. However, while I understand bikes in this price bracket have been the main victims of the recent global pandemic, it’s hard to recommend a bike to someone that is heavily compromised in component longevity and upgradability. That being said, if you think you’re a rider who will keep things stock and just ride, the Rockhopper’s trail prowess, excellent brakes and sorted gearing make it a great riding option that should provide years of fun.

Tech specs: Specialized Rockhopper Elite 29

• Model name: Rockhopper Elite 29
• Discipline: Entry-level trail
• Head angle: 68.5 degrees
• Frame material: Alloy
• Sizes: S to XXL
• Weight: 13.2kg (large tested)
• Wheel size: 29x2.3in
• Suspension (front): 100mm travel, 46mm offset
• Groupset: Shimano Deore 1x11-speed
• Crank: Stout 30T alloy
• Brakes: Shimano MT200 with 180/160mm rotors
• Tires: Specialized Fast Trak T5 29x2.35in tires on 25mm rims
• Bars: Stout Mini Rise 740mm
• Seat post: Unbranded 31.6mm

Welcome to another new subscriber perk on Cyclingnews! Before we drop our latest review on the Cyclingnews Tech YouTube channel, we're giving our subscribers exclusive early access to a video breakdown of a bike that certainly left our Senior Tech Writer, Will Jones, with split opinions: the Stooge Rambler.

A boutique brand based in Shropshire, Stooge makes bikes different from the norm and has been pushing the boundaries of massive tyres and progressive geometry for some time now.

But will its head-turning looks and adaptability make it the perfect companion for when riding off-road? Watch Will's full video review below, before it officially goes live, to see how the Stooge Rambler gets on.

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Chinese bikes are one of perhaps two overarching themes in road bikes, along with ‘aero at the front, lightweight at the rear’. While it’s safe to say that a great proportion of ‘Western’ frames are manufactured in China, those bikes that are fully and proudly Chinese are very much upsetting the apple cart, and are now challenging the best road bikes on the market for top dog status and, more importantly, for your money.

In order to furnish you with objective and subjective testing to help inform your purchasing decisions, we’ve begun incorporating these Chinese bikes into our testing. We’ve run the X-Lab AD9 through the wind tunnel before giving it a full review, and at the time of writing, I am due to receive the new Incolour SSR, and my colleague Tom is in the process of testing a new Winspace. Now, though, it’s the turn of the Seka Spear, a bike (or frameset, I should probably say) that has been at the very forefront of the hype train.

The Spear has class-leading aero, a superbly low weight, it’s very speccable at point of sale, offers a ‘race’ geometry in some sizes, and comes in at a price that undercuts the likes of the Specialized Tarmac by a fair wedge, a bike it shares basically its entire geometry with. On paper, it should be able to claim status as the best road bike going, but there is a big catch: it’s just not stiff enough.

I was lucky enough to pinch the frame from our video manager, Jamie, and cut about on my home roads before taking the Spear out to the Alps to zing it up and down some mountains to see what it’s really about. It’s good, but I don’t think it’s quite good enough for ‘best’ status.

Design and aesthetics

When I first laid eyes on the Seka Spear when it arrived, kitted out with some very garish No.6 wheels, I thought it looked far too over-the-top. The silver and purple paint put me in mind of a Dairy Milk wrapper, or perhaps a Premier Inn lobby, but with a more muted set of Enve SES 4.5 wheels, I must say my attitude to the frame has softened considerably.

The frame itself is lovely and skinny, very much in the vein of the Tarmac, which belies the extremely impressive aero package on offer. With a rider on, this is the fastest all-rounder we’ve ever tested, only being beaten by three full-on aero machines. Where it really seems to shine is at higher yaw angles, which likely has something to do with the ‘Wind Eye’; the bifurcated seatstay insertions that create two large holes where they join the seat tube. We obviously can’t attribute performance to a single feature, but it’s at least not holding it back in any way. If you want to have a deep dive into the aero package, then we’ve got a whole Seka Spear wind tunnel deep dive for you to pore over.

The frame is available in two guises: a standard version weighing in at 780g, or the RDC version (Race Day Combatant), tipping the scales at 685g, both for an effectively unpainted matte black frame in a size Medium. I tested the RDC variety.

As well as two tiers of frame, separated by $600, you also have the standard run of sizes plus a ‘Race’ geometry in both medium and large that are a little longer and a little lower. In geometry terms, the Spear is effectively the same as the Specialized Tarmac, but with a smidge shorter reach and higher stack in the standard option and a smidge longer and lower in the race version. I tested the standard geometry.

I’ll get into value later on, but from what I can see you have to order a Seka Rapier cockpit with the frameset at an additional cost of $500, and a seatpost at a cool $200. The latter isn’t an issue, but as I’ll get into shortly, the former is. While it comes in a great many widths and lengths, it is very flexible and not one I got along with at all.

You can only buy the Spear as a frameset, and given the impressive specs, I wanted to give it a fair crack of the whip, so the aforementioned Enves were paired with a full Shimano Dura-Ace groupset and 30mm Continental GP5000 S TR tyres in a build that’s pretty hard to fault.

Performance

The Seka Spear is in many ways an excellent machine. The geometry, either derived from the Tarmac or happened upon by coincidental convergent evolution, is brilliant, and in combination with the low weight makes for an engaging ride. The real issue is that neither the frame nor the cockpit is stiff enough to make the most of what the geometry is offering up.

The cockpit itself is ergonomically and aerodynamically sound, but there’s simply too much flex, especially in the drops. This is compounded by a frame that, by our lab testing, has a very flexible bottom bracket (less stiff even than my steel Fairlight Strael), but the thing I found most frustrating was the amount of torsional flex you can put through the thing, meaning that with the saddle braced against your leg, the bike can shift under you more than you lean in cornering. It doesn’t feel more flexible than a light steel frame, but it certainly doesn’t feel as stiff as a moderately stiff carbon one.

It’s not scary in any way like the Felt Nexar either, but it gives a feeling of imprecision in the bends that you simply don’t have with stiffer machines like the Pinarello Dogma, Scott Addict RC, and the Specialized Tarmac SL8.

This is a shame, because the geometry is excellent. It’s stable at high speeds without ever being dull, and the turn-in is immediate without being so lively that you have to back off. It sits right in that Goldilocks zone.

The flexibility does mean it eats up road chatter and poor surfaces very well, however, and as a bike for long, fast days without being ground to a fine powder, it’s excellent, and at times when descending Alpe d’Huez during some resurfacing works I was glad of the additional compliance. In fact, I set my fastest ever time down the hill on the Spear (361 / 77,749 at the time of writing, thank you very much), but I know that if it had that pip and zing of more taut frames, I could have gone faster.

The low weight is certainly dreamy uphill, especially on sustained efforts. On those little raises where a sprint can muscle you to the top the stiffness means you feel a little less connected to the rear end at max attack, but it doesn’t skip about either like I find with some very stiff machines under high load out of the saddle.

The aero package is certainly satisfying, aided by the ability to fit a cockpit of suitably modern (by which I mean narrow) proportions, flexibility aside. On the flat it ticks away very well, though because it’s more compliant than many bikes, it doesn’t feel all that fast on the flat, as humans perceive speed primarily through that high-frequency vibration that comes broadly under ‘road buzz’. Feeling fast and being fast are different things though, as evidenced by the Cervélo S5 for example, which is phenomenally fast but never really felt it.

Time, and a lack of suitable 32mm tyres at my disposal, meant I wasn’t able to max out the stated tyre clearance, but I suspect this would turn the Spear into a brilliant poor-surface all-road-lite machine (no, I know we don’t need yet another new genre of bikes). Despite the RDC designation on the fork crown, it sadly doesn’t quite feel like a true race-ready machine. It’s not far off, but I suspect the designers prioritised weight over stiffness, and with the aero package on offer I’d take a handful of extra grams in the frame and cockpit to make it feel more like a coiled spring.

Value

Given that the hype around the Spear is that it’s a ‘Tarmac killer’ it makes sense to compare it to the SL8, though as I write this I am aware that a new version is imminent, having spotted one at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes recently. All the same, the non-RDC varietal is about $600 less than the standard Tarmac frameset, and the RDC varietal is about $2k cheaper than the S-Works model.

On paper, especially compared to the S-Works, it’s an absolute bargain. With that ‘spare’ two grand, you could get a better cockpit and some very good wheels, but with the guts of the machine feeling as they do it’s still going to feel a lesser bike. I don’t honestly think many customers are weighing up an S-Works or an RDC Seka, and more likely is an RDC Seka or a standard Tarmac, which retail for a near identical value; get the Tarmac.

The Seka is good, but the Tarmac is excellent, and while I appreciate that $600 is a lot of money, if you’re erring on the side of economy and choosing a non-RDC spear over a standard Tarmac I’d perhaps suggest saving up some money or trimming the grams elsewhere in your build sheet to get a better chassis.

Verdict

By the numbers the Seka Spear promises an awful lot, and it actually delivers in a great many ways. It’s extremely light, it has a stellar aero package for an all-rounder, it looks cool, is decently configurable at point of sale, and for a Chinese bike it’s relatively easy to get a hold of. The geometry offers up a handling package that is good, but not great only by dint of a lack of system stiffness from the frame and cockpit.

That’s really the only fault I have with the Spear. I think perhaps it's because my expectations were so high that I came away from my testing feeling a touch disappointed.

It’s a good bike, but not an incredible one, and certainly not a machine to topple the best all-rounders from more established brands… yet. Give it another iteration with a greater focus on stiffness and even if nothing else changes this would be a hell of a bike.

Bikes tend to come in regular cycles of around 3-4 years. You can’t set your watch by it, but it’s unusual for a bike to leapfrog up a place in the development order. Bianchi’s old Oltre aero bike, still trucking along under Bahrain Victorious, and still carrying the legacy of an immediate UCI ban for its aero fins, has been around since 2022, and was the bike we expected to see updated for the modern era next by Bianchi. However, the Italian brand announced today that it has instead opted to overhaul - and totally redesign - the Specialissima, which last got a do-over in 2023.

Previously the brand’s lightweight machine, it has been morphed to become an aero all-rounder; a one-bike solution for a team that already only uses one bike.

A familiar design story

The trend of bike design in the past 18-24 months has been aero up front, lightweight at the rear, and the new Specialissima hits the brief dead on. The back end is very reminiscent of the old model, with very thin chainstays and even more diminutive seatstays, joining in a way that’s almost wishbone-like to the seat tube.

The seat tube itself, along with the top tube (at least most of it until you get right up to the head tube) looks very similar to the old one, too. Gone is the upward inflection of the top tube where it meets the seatpost however; likely a design flourish that, while eye-catching, was perhaps not the most aerodynamically efficient.

In the down tube, fork legs, and head tube, you can still see the genetics of the outgoing model, but everything is plumper without losing the angular touches. It’s almost as if, from a drive-side view at least, the front end of the bike has been inflated slightly. The similarities visually are underpinned by a geometry that matches the old version exactly, save for some tweaks to the reach figures in the cockpit. The more chunky front end hasn’t made it a heavier frame, however, with a claimed 40g saving over the old model in a size 55, tipping the scales at 750g for the frame.

There is a new cockpit to go with the Specialissima, which makes sense given it’s the very leading edge of the bike. There’s a touch of the Y1Rs about it, but significantly less wild; a little upsweep, a little forward sweep. It’s more akin to a painting of a languid seagull on a summer postcard than a spaceship from a distant galaxy, and has a claimed improvement of 25% over the old cockpit in terms of aerodynamics. The speed at which this is found isn’t stated, but as other claims are made at 50km/h, we assume the same is true here.

The fork, too, is claimed to be 14% more efficient through the air, and when combined with the cockpit and frame, plus we must assume the new RC 49R Reparto Course wheels, there is a total claimed benefit of 16 watts over the old Specialissima.

We don’t have our own aero data for the old Specialissima - nor the new one, for the time being at least - so are unable to place where the new one would be hypothetically if these gains are realised, but to add context a 16 watt difference is just over two watts greater than the difference between the fastest and slowest bikes we’ve ever tested. We do test at 45km/h, though, so at 50km/h the differences will be greater.

Three tiers will be available: Specialissima (SRAM Rival, Shimano 105 and Ultegra) starting at €5,200, Specialissima Pro (SRAM Force, Shimano Ultegra) starting at €7,700, and Specialissima RC (Reparto Corse - SRAM Red, Shimano Dura-Ace) starting at €11,500.

Is this the end of the road for the Oltre?

Bike brands have slowly been consolidating their efforts into single race machines for some time now, with some notable exceptions. R.I.P. Specialized Venge, sayonara Cannondale SystemSix. Yes, Tadej Pogačar still cuts about on an aero bike, but the dawn of the Colnago Y1Rs has meant it’s farewell to the V5Rs for good. Visma have access to the Cervélo R5, but you can count on one hand the times they’ve used it over the S5. Perhaps the fly in the ointment here is Ridley, with Uno-X rocking the very aero Noah Fast 3.0 exclusively, but have been seen testing a feathery prototype at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

With this in mind, it becomes increasingly hard to see how the Oltre will make a comeback in the near term, and my view is that it’ll fall by the wayside in the same way as the SystemSix. Teams generally seem to want to work with a single race platform, and the cost of developing multiple varietals can be a huge financial drain on bike brands at a time when the industry isn’t exactly flush with spare cash, and when, with enough R&D, you can make a bike that hits the aero targets and is light enough to cause mechanics to worry about the looming scales of a UCI comissaire, it’s a hard sell to make a machine just for those few pan flat stages.

The Specialized Crux 5 had possibly the most successful launch of any bike ever.

It leaked at the Scottish UCI Gravel Worlds qualifier, the Gralloch, beneath Gee Schreurs as she rode to victory, and then after an official launch on Thursday, it took six of the 10 wide-podium spots in the Elite 200-mile races at an ultra-muddy Unbound on Saturday. For a gravel race bike, it has already proven it can race.

It was also tested among a cohort of competitor gravel race bikes here at Cyclingnews, and spoiler alert: it did well.

But before we get into the minutiae and results of that test, here are some basic details about what is still a very new bike at the time of writing. I'll spare you a regurgitated press release and instead outline some of the headline claims from Specialized.

1. It's no longer a 'cross bike and has instead gone all-in on gravel racing.
2. It's 15.2 watts more aerodynamic than its predecessor.
3. It boasts 55mm tyre clearance front and rear.
4. Builds start at 6.9kg with lightweight wheels, growing to 7.1kg for aero wheels.
5. It's mega expensive, at 14,000 US dollars for the top-spec S-Works model.

Wind tunnel testing

As mentioned, Cyclingnews had exclusive early access to wind-tunnel-test the bike against a cohort of competitors, including the Wilier Rave SLR ID2, the Argon 18 Anti Matter, the Trek Checkmate SLR, and the ever-popular Lauf Seigla.

The results are already live in our full gravel race bikes wind tunnel test write-up. But for those of you who want to focus solely on the S-Works Crux, you're in the right place. We'll be doing similar for other popular bikes from that test in the coming weeks, too.

Protocols and caveats

As ever, we used the wind tunnel at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub and, for the most part, mimicked the test conditions used in our road bike wind tunnel tests.

This means we tested each bike in a size 56cm (or equivalent), both with and without a rider, in the bike's as-sold setup, and then again with a pair of 'control' wheels. We tested each bike at seven different wind angles ranging from -15° to +15° (in 5° increments), and the results below will show a weighted average.

Rather than the 40km/h speed we use in the road bike tests, we adjusted the speed slightly to 35km/h to better reflect what you'd experience in gravel races.

To caveat that, I am aware 35km/h is still fast for gravel, but we settled on this speed for a few reasons.

Firstly, to ensure accuracy. The slower the wind speed, the less force is placed on the force balance inside the tunnel, which ultimately is what measures the drag. What's more, with lower resolution and testing with a real rider, slight movements would have an outsized effect on the result. We could have tested for longer at each yaw angle to offset this, but holding the correct position for longer has its own issues, as it can lead to more movement as the rider fatigues. Therefore, testing at as high a speed as is relevant made the most sense.

Secondly, I did some research into average speeds of entire races, and average speeds of key points within them (such as chases or attacks), and found that 30-35km/h was a good balance in competitive racing.

We used each bike as it would be supplied by the manufacturer, save for a couple of standardisations: We added bottles and cages, since that's how riders will use the bike in the real world. We swapped the 45mm Specialized Pathfinder tyres for a 45mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RH control tyre to ensure no bike gained an unfair advantage from speccing slick tyres.

We removed the out-front computer mount simply because not all bikes come with one. And we swapped the S-Works Power Mirror saddle for an Ergon All Road SR. This gave us a consistent 80mm point to measure to when setting the saddle setback, and meant no bike was unfairly hampered by a 3D-printed saddle (which can catch the wind when there's no rider sitting on top).

For the extra test using the 'control' wheels, we used a pair of Enve G SES 6.7 wheels shod with 50mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres. I feel that 50mm is a good balance of progressively wide, but not so crazy that half the bikes couldn't fit them.

Confidence margin

The below data is subject to the following confidence interval.

This is calculated by testing the same bike at the start of the day, then again at the end. Given that the same identical setup can achieve two different results, we cannot trust that any other bike is more accurate than this difference.

Results

Now, to get into the results. I will first share the raw data as it comes out of the tunnel. Then the processed data, which takes the average CdA from each of the seven yaw angles and calculates a weighted average that better reflects real-world conditions. Specifically, we weigh heavily toward zero degrees - or a direct headwind, as per the research and PHD of Cannondale's Nathan Barry.

Bike only: Stock wheelset

The Crux doesn't have the most aero-looking design, at least based on common convention, but it's clearly better able to slip through the wind than the Trek Emonda ALR and most of its gravel-focussed peers.

Since there's no rider on the bike here, a bike's ability to harness the wind at wider yaw angles becomes clearer, signalled by how flat this V-shaped line becomes. If you check out the same graph for all-out aero bikes like the Factor One or Colnago Y1Rs, you'll see it becomes more of an M shape, as the deep tubes help the bike to sail in the wind.

Next up, I will work out the weighted average of these data points and use it to calculate the watts required to overcome the aero drag. Those calculations won't include things like rolling resistance, but it's only the aero differences we're interested in here, not the absolutes.

We're pretty confident that thanks to the Crux's low weight and 55mm tyre clearance, it would outshine its competitors in a comparative rolling resistance test, but such a test would be fraught with variables. It is therefore easier to measure the rolling resistance difference of tyre models and tyre widths alone, both of which we've done.

• What is the fastest gravel tyre setup?
• Is a wider tyre a faster tyre? We combine aero and rolling data to find out

The above graph shows the watts required for the bike to overcome aero drag, and that the Crux is in 2nd place, just 1.21w (+/- 0.26w error) behind the much deeper-tubed Argon 18 Anti Matter.

There's around a kilo difference between the two, but bear in mind that the Argon 18 was equipped with the slightly heavier SRAM Force XPLR.

The graph above is a slightly clearer view of the differences between each bike.

And in the graph above, you can see every bike we've ever tested, listed as a difference against the baseline Trek Emonda, with the weighted CdA solved for watts at 40km/h, for consistency against the road bikes.

Some context to add here is that this baseline bike is kept completely unchanged from test to test, and it is retested at the start and finish of every single test session, so the differences between it and whatever cohort of new bikes we're testing are valid no matter when the test occurred.

Evidence that this works is that we tested the same Scott Foil in 2024 and 2025, and it performed similarly in both tests (bike-only and with-rider) over the two test days. In the bike-only test, it was 34.98 watts faster in 2024, and 35.66 watts faster in 2025; a difference of just 0.68 watts. With the rider on, it was 19.79 watts faster in 2024 and 19.15 watts faster in 2025; a difference of 0.64 watts.

Especially relevant today, though, is that we kept it in the road bike position, rather than adapting it to a gravel position. There are two reasons for this. First, the amount of adjustment needed to get it into a gravel position was impossible to achieve without a very strange stem setup. And second, road and gravel bikes do put you into a different position. By testing it this way with the road position, we could see a fairer difference in how the gravel bikes compare to the road bikes, in a way that is likely to be experienced.

Bike and rider

The 'road' position of the Emonda makes a world of difference to the results here, so please don't let your takeaway be that the fastest gravel bike is a 10-year-old road bike.

But for a consistent comparison machine, it's as good as we need, and comes with the nice bonus of allowing us to compare (loosely, given not everyone will adopt the same positions as we did) across genres.

With a rider on, the Crux lands a very impressive top spot, albeit well within the error margin of the Wilier, the Argon 18, and the Pinarello. If we couple this with the bike's impressive weight – a full kilo lighter than the similarly-specced Rave SLR – and ample tyre clearance, it's a very strong case for concluding the Crux is the fastest gravel bike we tested.

Here's a clearer view of the differences between each of the bikes. The Crux and Rave are super close, separated by just 0.05 watts.

It's very caveated by the positional difference and the fact that we've got gravel tyres fitted here, but as the fastest gravel bike we tested (with a rider), the Crux is the closest to all the aero bikes we've tested. It's still in the region of 20 watts off the Cinelli Aeroscoop, though, and 28 watts behind its road-going stablemate, the S-Works Tarmac SL8.

When we tested gravel tyre widths, we found the difference between a 40mm road tyre (Goodyear Vector) and a 47mm Vittoria Terreno Dry gravel tyre to be 8.7 watts when using the Zipp XPLR wheels, and 6.6 watts on Hunt CGR wheels. That's roughly what I'd expect to save if we swapped the Crux onto a road tyre, and it helps you understand the deficit in a slightly more comparable way.

With all that said, I am planning on running a more in-depth head-to-head between the Crux and the Tarmac soon. However, since a new Specialized has been spotted at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in recent days, I'm hoping Specialized will oblige me with the opportunity to test it against that. Watch this space.

Bike only, Enve wheels

A similar graph to the one above, but the Crux has actually dropped down the table a little, now into 4th.

When we calculate the weighted average and solve for watts, the Crux sits in third.

When we swapped in the Enve G SES 6.7 wheels and 50mm Vittoria T30 tyre, all bikes improved.

That could come down to the difference in tread between the Cinturato and the T30 tyres, but given the depth of the Enves, I'd be surprised if that's not the real reason.

Still, in a complement to the Roval Terra Aero CLX wheels that come on the Crux, it was Specialized that improved the least, at just 2.37 watts.

Essentially, this says the Roval wheels were the closest to the Enves, in a cohort that also included 3T's Discus, Miche's Graff Aero, and Zipp's 303 XPLR S.

Conclusions

As the most aero bike with a rider on, and 2nd place as bike only, the Crux 5 has held its own very well despite others here having a more obviously aero-looking design, such as the deep head tube of the Argon 18 and the integrated aero bottles of the Wilier.

Importantly, though, the Crux is a full kilo lighter than the competitors that accompany it on the podium.

It weighed 7.1kg on our scales, with Red XPLR, (empty) bottles in the cages, no pedals, no out front mount, and no sealant in the Pathfinder tyres it comes with.

Under those same conditions, the Argon 18 is 8.2kg (albeit in a Force XPLR spec, as tested), while the Wilier Rave SLR ID2 is 8.1kg with Red XPLR.

With that in mind, and the fact that neither beats it on tyre clearance, the Crux is the fastest gravel bike out there right now.

That could be about to change, though, because Giant just showed off an interesting-looking contender, Factor has a new wide-tyred aero bike on the way, Ridley has what is essentially a gravel-going Noah Fast coming, and Canyon's been busy too. Once again, watch this space.

Further questions

As ever, our testing has led to as many questions as answers. For example, I'm now curious how many watts would separate the Crux 5 and the Tarmac SL8 if we were to match the tyres and the rider positions?

Similarly, are those Roval wheels actually two watts slower than the new Enves, or is some of that down to the tyre tread? And how does the width affect it?

Likewise, what's the difference between the Terra CLX Aero wheels and the Terra CLX III (which are shallower and weigh 261g less)?

The media circus around bike races, particularly big, tech-heavy ones like the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (previously the Critérium du Dauphiné), is quite amusing sometimes, so indulge me for a second and I'll lift the lid.

Some bikes we spot through nous, tip-offs, and a bit of sneaking. The new Specialized Tarmac Sl9 is one of those, but sometimes we just get told a bike will be available to come and photograph in advance of the race. The new Cube Litening Aero prototype is one such bike.

I turn up at a pre-arranged time along with several other media outlets (unbeknownst to one another), all shoot the bike en masse, and then get told we can't use the images "until tomorrow", so have to form a gentleman's agreement, because this is a small industry and it doesn't pay to sour relations over something like this.

We aren't told anything about the machine because it's a prototype, beyond a distant muttering of a 2028 release (which sounds too far off to be true) so have to glean things just from what we see. Then the bike is promptly whisked away and we disperse again to hotel rooms across Grenoble to ponder and mull over a chilled rosé (in my case, at least).

Anyway, here's a new Cube prototype; let's see what we can see, shall we? It's certainly a new form compared to the current Litening Aero, though I will caveat this with the fact that general angles of the frame are compact due to it being a size 50 machine, i.e. very small.

It's well and truly new road bike season. I've already bought you the first proper spy shots of the brand-new Specialized Tarmac SL9 at a race, a bike that is modestly different but clearly targeting greater aerodynamic efficiency as a one-bike system for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and, inevitably, all Specialized teams down the line.

Following that, we had another slightly aero prototype all-rounder from Van Rysel to keep everyone on their toes.

Ridley, though, is taking a different approach. Its main sponsored team, Uno-X, has been smashing about happily for some time on the excellent Ridley Noah Fast 3.0, a bike I really enjoyed riding. It was, however, a very single-minded beast, and while it handled punchy rises well, it wasn't a bike destined for the high mountains.

It seems the Belgian brand has been working on a new lightweight machine, one that has been spotted at the Giro d'Italia Women's race under Mie Bjørndal Ottestad.

Some judicious browsing of Getty Images later, and we can clearly see a svelte frame, with a 'PROTOTYPE' UCI sticker on the down tube and 'PROTOTYPE' written on the fork legs; that'll be a prototype, then.

While we can't say for sure what model this is, given the current designation, it seems likely it'll be an updated Falcn RS, a bike that, in Ridley's own words, "will help you conquer the highest mountains and the exceptional aerodynamics of the frame and the fork will convert every watt into pure speed when you’re in the breakaway."

The current Falcn RS has a generous 34mm tyre clearance, and it looks like this could be increased further still by the looks of the fork crown; it's extremely roomy. It also appears to keep the same cutout in the non-drive side leg where the brake calliper sits, but perhaps to a slightly less severe degree.

The top tube looks to be slimmer in the vertical direction, but with a slight triangle cross-section, a trend (the narrow bit at least) that's common among many new bikes targeting a low mass. The shaping behind the head tube appears to be more of a smooth curve, but that could just be the angle of the images from the race.

The head tube has a ridge, too, about 2/3 of the way up, which is very much akin to the Speed Sniffer found on the Specialized Tarmac SL8 and new SL9 that caused much consternation at launch, and also the head tube of the Pinarello Dogma, which received zero backlash despite being basically the same thing.

It appears the cutout in the seat post has gone from these images, though again, you can't see it totally side on. What you can see is the seat tube widening and flattening where the bottle cage is mounted, perhaps in an effort to smooth the airflow around the rear bottle, the frame, and onto the rear wheel.

From what can be seen here, it looks like a bike more than capable of troubling the UCI's weight limit.

Happily, having seen these images, I was able to high tail it over to the Uno-X team hotel at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and lo and behold there it was, lined up next to the existing Noah Fast aero bikes and several Dean time trial machines, so we can get a more in depth look.

I was told by the mechanics that the bike we saw was 7kg, though we suspect it would be more than possible to make it lighter than that.

Van Rysel has had quite the stratospheric rise. Its initial foray into WorldTour machines, the RCR-Pro, was an all-rounder that promised remarkable value, at least in the top spec versions (the lower tier options less so, as evidenced in our Van Rysel RCR-Pro review).

This was then swiftly followed by the very aero Van Rysel RCR-F (F for fast), which was an all-out aero bike. Given the heavy focus on aero, it's no surprise that the riders of Decathlon-CMA-CGM opt to use it at all times, somewhat putting the RCR-Pro in the shade.

Now, though, it seems the Lille-based brand has been cooking up a new lightweight all-rounder to try and compete with the likes of the Specialized Tarmacs (a new version of which has been spotted at this race, too) and Pinarello Dogmas in the high mountains, likely spurred on by the similarly meteoric rise of star GC prospect, Paul Seixas.

The Critérium du Dauphiné, or Tour Auvergne Rhône Alpes to give it the full new title, has revealed this new Van Rysel, and it seems likely it'll replace the RCR-Pro.

In a similar fashion to a great many modern all-rounder machines, this new bike appears to have a focus on aero up front, and low weight at the back, where the air is dirtier and more unpredictable.

The curved seat tube remains, but it is kinked from the bottom bracket rather than straight with a cutout, and it and the seat stays look to be narrower in diameter to save some grams. The chain stays too look to be slimmer, but still intersect the seat tube with the slightly widened stance of the current RCR-Pro.

The down tube and top tube are relatively similar in proportions, but up front, the head tube is deeper. The most drastic difference is at the forks, which have deeper legs that begin to taper as they reach the brake calliper mount. This should aid the leading-edge aerodynamics.

Our own wind tunnel testing has shown that all-rounders can beat full aero bikes in the lab, and while there is a chance that this new machine could be a range killer, replacing both current models, we also know the RCR-F is a fast bike, and it seems unlikely that the team would turn their backs on a bike that's only a year old. This situation happened with Cannondale when it effectively mothballed the very aero System Six, but that bike was very old by that point.

Curiously, however, while the bike was out for Seixas at the team bus, the Frenchman opted to ride the current RCR-Pro instead. He may switch on the road, as the black machine was still on the roof of the team car, but it's clear it's still very much in testing.

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly the Critérium du Dauphiné) is always a hotbed of new tech. Fresh bikes get released into the wild for field testing before the Tour de France.

This year, this included the new Specialized Tarmac SL9, seen at the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe camp. While the bike was interesting in its own right, closer inspection of the images reveals a sticker under the downtube bearing the name 'Remco Evenepoel', appearing to suggest the Belgian could make a surprise return to racing earlier than planned ahead of the Tour de France.

Another clue is that the chain on the bike is gold, which Evenepoel nearly always uses as the Olympic champion. However, the Belgian was also still training in Calpe on Thursday and Friday, according to his Strava, so any arrival in the south of France would be a late one.

Red Bull released a seven-rider roster in a press release about Maxim Van Gils' return to racing on Friday, but have been very quiet on their social media. Alongside Van Gils should be Dani Martinez, Luke Tuckwell, Haimar Etxeberria, Gianni Vermeersch, Callum Thornley and Finn Fisher-Black, but not Evenepoel.

At the start of May, it was reported that Enevepoel had axed the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes from his calendar, opting not to race at all for a full 69 days in the build-up to the Tour de France to focus on 'specific training'.

If Evenepoel is to appear at the race it'll certainly be earlier than planned, and while there may be a desire to get some racing in the legs it is also worth remembering that the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the last race before the Tour to feature a team time trial, perhaps offering the Belgian specialist an irresistible final chance to tune this discipline up with a race number on before the opening stage in Barcelona and a prime opportunity to wear the yellow jersey.

Should Evenepoel line up at the start on Sunday, it will certainly give pre-race favourite Paul Seixas cause for concern, and will certainly mean he doesn't have the race all his own way. There is every possibility that if this is a surprise pre-Tour shakedown, Evenepoel will be flanked by a strong squad with a lot of firepower.

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The Critérium du Dauphiné, or the Tour Auvergne Rhône Alps to give it its new name, is the traditional place to spot all the latest new tech in use before the Tour de France. The Specialized rumor mill has been running on overdrive in recent weeks, with the launch of the new Crux mere weeks ago to keep the gravel gang happy. Now, though, attention will turn to the road, and what looks to definitely be a new Tarmac SL9, as spotted with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

The bike was hidden by the team mechanics when they spotted my camera, but thanks to an enterprising attitude, a dark outfit, and a childhood playing hide and seek I was able to sneak into the undergrowth behind the team's hotel car park and get some spy shots to confirm it was the new machine, before making a break for it and trying to get some closer snaps with some success.

Leaked images online abound, including a brief roof rack spot last week after an image was shared online, but in the flesh we can see for sure what the direction of travel is for Specialized’s flagship machine.

It is clearly still an all-rounder, rather than jumping wholesale into the aero market, though there are some clear new concessions to cheating the wind. Given the Tarmac SL8 was particularly fast for an all-rounder in our wind tunnel testing, we suspect this will make the SL9 a very fast machine indeed.

The eye is immediately drawn to the new seat tube, now infilled up to the dropped seatstays to provide a shroud for the rear wheel. This is now very much par for the course on all aero bikes like the Canyon Aeroad, but has the effect of making the silhouette a little more muscular.

The seat stays themselves look a little fatter to me, and maybe the chain stays too, but it's marginal at best. Perhaps there were stiffness demands from pro riders if this was the case, though our stiffness testing revealed the SL8 to be a relatively stiff bike despite being fabricated from relatively silly tubes.

The seat post looks essentially the same as the current model, so it's likely the two may be compatible. It also looks to have the standard Roval Rapide handlebar, as per the current generation, perched above the Speed Sniffer nosecone.

Speaking of the speed sniffer, this still remains (in fact, the main triangle looks extremely similar in form to the old model), but the fork legs appear to have been deepened, but forwards, such that the leading edge of the fork crown is in line with the protuberance of the head tube. It has the effect of appearing to steepen the head tube angle, much like the very extreme forks on the Factor ONE, though it is suspected that the geometry, if it is changed at all, will only feature minor tweaks. The forks also look to be wider set, too, in keeping with modern trends.

Beyond that it's business as usual, as much as we can tell from a pro bike rather than a shop floor model. No aero bottles that are so often specced to bolster wind tunnel results, and no great lurches to either super light or super aero. We don't have official weights to work with, but with the additional carbon it is entirely possible that it'll be slightly heavier than the old version, though it's probably also still likely to be possible to make under the UCI weight limit in smaller sizes, something all riders will now be hyper-aware of in the wake of Lorena Wiebes’ shock disqualification recently.

Once the race starts, it will be easier to get some better pictures that didn't involve hiding in a bush – the mechanics really didn't want us to see this – so stay tuned for more images in due course.

It's said that dogs are a man's (or woman's) best friend, and gravel racer and ex-WorldTour pro Alexey Vermeulen certainly seems to have a special bond with his dog Sir Willie.

Vermeulen often rides with Sir Willie (whose Instagram page you can see below) housed safely in a backpack. The American rider finished 5th at Unbound in 2022 and came home in 15th place in this year's Elite 200 race with an average speed of just under 21mph - that was without carrying Sir Willie around the course.

Vermeulen arrived at Unbound Gravel with Sir Willie in tow as well as a special custom-painted Enve Mog gravel bike, which garnered a lot of attention. It also features a very trick custom chainring.

Unlike many of his competitors, who kept their final race-day setups a secret, Vermeulen chose to display his bike at the expo, allowing everyone to check out his new custom paint job from ENVE featuring arguably the most famous dog in cycling. We grabbed some photos before the Unbound mud covered everything.

Cycling tech can get serious sometimes; this is a nice moment to enjoy a cool bike and a celebration of a man's love for his dog.

Check out our Unbound Tech gallery for all the best tech from the weekend's racing.

Wilier Triestina released a new Rave SLR gravel bike with a renewed focus on the ever-growing gravel race scene. The first-gen Rave SLR was released back in 2021 and pitched as an on and off-road crossover, when the concept of a dedicated gravel race bike was still forward-thinking.

The original Rave SLR’s success off-road was cemented by Ivor Silk riding to victory at both the Traka 200 and Unbound the following year, but its dual-purpose aims meant the bike had its compromises.

I felt the overall application fell short when I reviewed the original Rave SLR. While I enjoyed the spritely and reactive ride, which undoubtedly contributed to the bike's racing success, it lacked the aero-optimisation and wide tyre clearance that was beginning to creep into the gravel race scene. Ultimately, Wilier’s attempt to juggle both gravel and road duties fell short, leaving the bike feeling confused and compromised, particularly when it came to gravel riding.

These days, any self-discerning gravel bike brand has to have a dedicated gravel race bike in its catalogue, and Wilier has given the second-generation Rave SLR ID2 a clear gravel racing objective. The downtube is denoted with three pixel-style emblems, an arrow, a blank space character and a smiling emoji – symbolising Wilier’s goals for the second-generation Rave. These represent aerodynamic speed, space for bigger tyre clearance and the smiley because gravel riding is meant to be fun, the spirit of gravel and all that.

To compete with the best gravel bikes, the new Rave SLR was designed in collaboration with Wilier’s gravel racers and is laser-focused on off-road races like Unbound, where we first spotted a mystery stealthed-out, aggressive-looking Wilier.

Design and aesthetics

The new Rave SLR ID2 tubing shares very few similarities with the previous Rave SLR. Most notably, besides the very green paint, is the new aero profile. Developed using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics)

The resulting tube shaping is claimed to reduce air resistance by 8.9 per cent. For a rider of Slik’s calibre, that equates to a 54-second saving over a 70km course based on Wilier’s own findings.

A couple of key elements have been used to achieve this. The NACA profile downtube transitions from a thinner teardrop into a wider profile to shroud the leading water bottle and smooth out airflow. The fork shares design cues from the Supersonica SLR TT bike, and dropped seatstays and a scooped-out seat tube should limit the disruption of airflow as it passes over the rear of the bike.

To further boost aerodynamics, Wilier recently launched an aero kit which consists of an aerodynamic bottle cage system. The 550ml bottles and cages combined give a smooth profile with the downtube and seat tube to reduce turbulence. The bottle and cage cost €99, so you probably don't want to be throwing these bottles away, but if you need to grab a fresh bottle mid-race, a regular-shaped bottle will also fit in the cage.

One of the selling points of the previous generation Wilier Rave SLR was its impressively low weight. The Campagnolo Ekar build I tested in 2021 was lightning-quick on climbs and reactive sprints. Despite its larger aero tubing, the new Rave SLR only adds 120g to the frame weight but will be considerably more capable at holding speed on fast flat sections. On top of that, Wilier has added additional carbon reinforcement to the chainstay to increase stiffness by a claimed 11.78 per cent.

Increasing stiffness didn’t just involve slapping some extra carbon to the stays and calling it a day either. The Wilier SLR ID2 features a size-tuned layup to maintain the same ride quality for riders across all frame sizes.

As we provided in our lab test, wider tyres are faster, so it's great to see tyre clearance has grown to 52mm, roughly 2in if you speak MTB. While that isn’t the biggest we have seen for a gravel race bike, it's certainly up there.

There's one thing I disliked about the old Rave SLR that has been carried over to the new model. The seat clamp is still unnecessarily recessed into the top tube, making it trickier to insert the seatpost than it should be. It’s far from a deal breaker, as it's not something you will be dealing with regularly.

The bike features a Press Fit bottom bracket shell and is equipped with SRAM’s UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger). Although my bike was fitted with an electronic groupset, there is cable routing that exits through the underside of the chainstay if you prefer mechanical shifting.

Despite the proliferation of 12sp and 13sp drivetrains these days, double chainsets are still holding on as the preference of some gravel riders, so it’s worth noting that this frame is 1x only; there are no fixtures or cable routing for a front derailleur.

As it's a race bike, you’re not going to find much in the way of bikepacking fixings. There are the standard bottle cage mounts, plus eyelets for a top tube bag and under the downtube for an additional bottle or storage, but that's it.

I would like to see some internal frame storage; it's becoming increasingly common on gravel bikes, but it's a feature that is generally excluded from race bikes. Sure, it would require a little more design work and add a few grams to the frame weight, but I think the convenience of the extra secure storage is worth it, especially when you consider the potential aero penalties of taping ride essentials to your carefully crafted aero frame.

Although the new Rave SLR ID2 is visually very different with its new gravel aero profiles, Wilier hasn’t changed all that much in regards to the geometry. Most notable is an extra 10mm to the stack height, which the new aggressively shaped F-bar offsets; more on the handlebar later.

Beyond the stack height, only minor tweaks have been made to the headtube angle, chainstay and reach compared to the previous generation. This gives a far more traditional fit when compared to the longer top tube and shorter stem trend that we have seen on bikes like the Canyon Grail and Lauf Seigla.

On an aesthetic front, I felt the old bike lacked presence, but the same certainly can’t be said of the new aggressive aero profile. While Slik’s Unbound bike came in a subtle raw carbon finish, our test bike is certainly not going to fly under the radar in its eye-catching 90’s electronica paint scheme. My test bike came in the Pixel Green colourway, which incorporates fluorescent pixels of CRT screens and the laser beams of rave parties. There’s also a Neon Purple inspired by futuristic cities and underground clubs, Byte Cream that nods to the retro computers and consoles aesthetic and finally the understated Glitch Black.

Specifications

I tested the top-tier spec, which means I was treated to a full SRAM RED XPLR AXS groupset. That means the derailleur uses SRAM’s T-Type direct-mount to shift across a 10-46T 13-speed cassette. The bike comes with a 40t chainring. This is fine for general riding, but if you are serious about gravel racing, you’re probably going to want to get something with a few more teeth. It's a bit disappointing that spending almost €10,000 doesn’t get you a power meter, especially on a bike that's aimed at racing.

Miche isn’t a brand that's commonly featured on an off-the-shelf bike; Wilier has opted to keep it Italian and specced the Graff Aero 48. It’s a deep-section hookless gravel wheel aimed at gravel racing, with a 27mm internal rim diameter that's broad enough to comfortably support wider gravel tyres. They performed well during testing, although they aren’t the lightest, so there are a few hundred grams to be saved if you need it. These are fitted with Vittoria T50 tyres, but in my opinion, a set of faster-rolling T30S would have been better suited to the Rave SLR ID2’s nature.

Wilier specs its own F-Bar integrated handlebar on models at higher price points, and my bike came equipped with a suitably racey handlebar width of 37cm on the tops, flaring out to 40mm in the drops. All the flare occurs in the curve of the bar, giving the 126mm drops a comfortable inline hand position. The UCI’s handlebar width rules only apply to mass start road and cyclocross events, so these one-piece aero handlebars are still race legal in gravel and, with the hoods turned in, they promote an aggressive aero position. Cable routing is internally routed through the handlebars and continues unseen into the frame. The handlebar is available separately for an eye-watering $1000 price tag if you want to fit it to your current bike.

The full build comes in at a hair under 8kg for my size medium, which is very respectable, especially considering it's got aero tubing and it’s fitted with 48mm deep rims and 50mm tyres. For comparison, the benchmark of lightweight gravel bikes is the round-tubed and shallow rimmed Specialized S-Works Crux at 7.25kg. It's among the lightest of aero gravel bikes, coming in at not much more than 100g heavier than the Ridley ASTR RS and 300g heavier than the Cervelo Aspero-5.

Performance

The Wilier Rave SLR ID2 only has one purpose: it's a race bike, and it encourages you to ride fast. Climb aboard, and it feels as though you have a rocket between your legs. It's sharp and reactive, urging you to kick it up a gear and attack. Its unapoligetic about its singular focus and all the better for it.

As critical as I was about the old Rave, the one thing that really enamoured me about it was the instant reactivity and eagerness for acceleration. The aero upgrade, deep-section wheels and fat tyres could have easily numbed this experience; thankfully, the Rave SLR ID2 still has this explosive thrust forward when power is sent through the pedals.

Handling is extremely precise, with the short chainstay and wheelbase giving the Rave SLR ID2 a lively yet planted feel through the corners. In fact, I would go as far as saying that this is one of the best-handling bikes I have ever tested. Drill the bike through corner combinations, and it's easy to open up gaps that the wheels behind you will need to close.

What's interesting is that the Rave SLR ID2’s singular focus actually makes it a much better bike for spanning across gravel and sealed surfaces. Low weight ensures you are up to speed quickly, and the aero positioning and frame design hold speed well on flat sections.

Ride feel only tells you so much, but our own independent aero testing backs up what I felt when riding. We wind tunnel tested the Wilier Rave SLR ID2 against the top gravel race bikes, including two spicy unreleased gravel bikes from Argon18 aero gravel bike and Specialized Crux, and the Rave SLR ID2 consistently scored among the fastest bikes. If you want to delve into the numbers, check out the full results in our gravel race bike wind tunnel test.

While our rolling resistance testing has proven wider tyres are faster, and they certainly enhance cornering performance, it's worth noting that the wider tyres don’t necessarily equate to more capability. The bike is taught and even though it comes stock with 50mm Vittoria T50 tyres, there is still a lot of trail feedback translated through the bike. This was particularly noticeable when speeds picked up on rougher tracks, with a lot of vibrations communicated through the bike despite my experimentation with low pressures.

The cause could be attributed to a number of factors, so to try to isolate some of the nervousness when descending on raw surfaces, I switched the tyres to a set of Continental Terra Speed gravel tyres in a smaller 45mm size. Although the differences weren’t dramatic, the combination of a more forgiving sidewall and slightly more rounded profile made a difference to handling and I was able to corner with even more confidence. Ride quality also improved, and although the Terra Speeds I fitted were smaller, they dulled vibrations more effectively.

Changing the tyres didn’t transform it into a magic carpet ride, and the frame stiffness combined with the aggressive aero positioning makes descending on proper technical terrain an experience that demands some attention and care. Let speeds pick up on loose and chunky surfaces, and the bike will begin to feel a bit squirrely. I think it's forgivable; it's a race bike rather than a pseudo mountain bike, and if you are racing, the aero performance should outweigh the additional care needed.

Value

Wilier offers the Rave SLR ID2 in 10 different builds plus a frameset option. Pricing starts at $5,200 / £4,150 / €4,400 for the mechanical GRX 12sp bike up to the SRAM RED-equipped range-topping bike I have been testing, which costs $11,700 / £8,900 / €9,900. In between there are also GRX Di2, SRAM Rival and SRAM Force equipped bikes with either Miche Graff XL, Graff All-Road or Aero Graff Carbon 48mm wheelsets.

Is the Wilier Rave SLR ID2 good value? To put it bluntly, not really. Based on component MSRP’s, you will save money buying a complete bike, but it's a tight margin. The frameset costs around £3000 (add £800 if you want to F-Bar too) and with some shrewd deal shopping and a bit of luck, it could be possible to build up a SRAM RED/Miche Aero Graff 48 equipped Rave SLR ID2 bike cheaper than it comes from Wilier. Admittedly, you would have to factor in additional postage costs and deal with assembling the bike too. In the end, the discounts would need to be good to make the juice worth the squeeze, but let this be a reminder that it shouldn’t be assumed that an off-the-shelf bike build will be cheaper these days.

It’s worth noting that Wilier offers significantly better value than many of its gravel race bike competitors. Want to spend under five figures on a top-tier gravel race bike? You will be looking at a SRAM Force-equipped 3T Exploro RaceMax, Allied Able or Cervelo Aspero-5.

Pinarello’s latest Dogma GR can't be had for less than €14,000 complete, although it does come with a particularly flash set of Princeton Grit 4540 Evolution wheels. The Rave SLR ID2 undercuts some of the big players too, Specialized’s S-Works Crux and Cannondale’s SuperX Lab71, both with Red XPLR, are well North of the €10k mark.

There are better value bikes around. The SRAM RED equipped Lauf Siegla Ultimate that my colleague Tom tested saves a huge chunk of cash, and although it doesn't have a fancy integrated carbon handlebar, it does have a suspension fork and power meter. Trek’s Checkmate SLR 9 and Orbea Terra Race M11eLTD just scrape under the five-figure mark and both include a SRAM RED groupset, with a power meter as standard too.

Verdict

The Rave SLR ID2 hooked me on my first outing and the more I rode it, the more I loved it. It's undeniably fast, both in feel and in our independent aero testing, and the handling prowess is frankly outrageous. If you have confidence in the surface, few bikes will be able to hold the wheel of the Rave SLR ID2 through fast twisting trails. It's addictive, willing you to accelerate harder, go faster and brake later with each corner.

If you're looking for a bike that will absolutely rip the high-octane gravel racing that is seen on distances up to 200km, the Rave SLR ID2 is the tool for the job. It will cover the longer Ultra distance too, especially if you choose a supple tyre to improve comfort, but it's definitely better suited to the smoother, faster and more aggressive nature of short distance races.

To get the most out of the Rave SLR ID2 I would recommend switching out the tyres. Pairing the bike with a set of the best gravel tyres for your local conditions will greatly improve control and confidence on descents.

Over the weekend in Emporia, Kansas, riders on the new Crux 5 from Specialized claimed the top three spots in the elite men's 200-mile race and the top two in the elite women's 200-mile race.

It marks an opening weekend of blockbuster proportions for a bike that launched to the public less than 48 hours before the race got underway.

Among the many steps along the way to this result was testing in the Flint Hills both in and out of competition.

Matt Beers, winner of four Cape Epics and now second at this year's Unbound was involved in both efforts. Early on in the process, Beers and 2021 Unbound winner Ian Boswell were recruited for some tests that pitted the previous Crux against one of Specialized's other gravel bikes, the Diverge STR, which features a small suspension device at the rear.

"We came out [to Emporia] in 2024," Beers told Cyclingnews. "We came out here and we tested the Crux versus the STR which has the rear compliance in the seatpost. And we tested that with a bunch of sensors on each bike doing recon. Ian Boswell and myself.”

This testing was followed up a year later with a sensor-equipped Diverge race bike that Beers rode in the 2025 edition of Unbound, where he gathered data about where and how the rough terrain of the Flint Hills was translating into fatigue for riders.

As the Crux evolved from a pure cyclo-cross machine to a gravel racer, it was crucial to know where comfort could be gained without sacrificing stiffness and power transfer.

“We had a little black box on the saddle that took data from the race. I raced with that. The more vibrations that go through you, the more fatigue, so trying to figure that out and trying to eliminate that."

According to the brand, this is part of its 'Equation of Speed', which essentially aims to replicate Formula 1's lap times technology and measure everything between the power in at the pedals and how that translates to speed. This involves the well-known metrics like aerodynamics, rolling resistance and gravity, but also factors in frame responsiveness, tyre traction, course profile, course surface roughness, weather, rider fatigue, rider habits and so on. These are all measured, quantified, and input into an algorithm - built in-house at Specialized by former F1 engineer Marcel Keyser - which then runs simulations and calculates finish times. By iterating on bike design - adding extra stiffness here or more compliance there - the algorithm can calculate how that affects a rider's speed.

"Obviously, we've had the Crux, we've had the Diverge, the Diverge STR, and we've collected data through all those bikes. That had an effect on development on this bike, trying to make one that can kind of tick all those boxes and be super fast, and I think that was the main goal of this bike, was just to kind of make it as compliant, but very fast and super stiff all in the right places.”

As a taller rider, Beers, and his teammate Geerike Schreurs have found the new Crux design to be especially adapted to their needs.

"I think the head tube is always quite important. Mine is very long, and you can feel quite a lot of flex through it sometimes. But also just the overall fit of the bike. I think Gee will also know, the bike fits really well for a tall person.”

This is down to Specialized's Rider First Engineering principle, which promises the same ride quality for every rider, regardless of their frame size.

Schreurs agreed. “It fits perfectly for tall people. It's kind of built for me, I think."

The biggest weekend in the gravel racing calendar has now come to a close, and the storylines are still slowly filtering out. The 2026 Unbound Gravel had everything, from extreme mud, brutal crashes, and shows of impressive selflessness.

But as ever, it also brought dozens of new tech finds too. It would have been hard work for this year to top 2025's total of nine 'spotted' bikes, but brands certainly tried their best. Factor, Canyon and Giant all brought the heat, each with respective new machines.

Meanwhile, Specialized launched its all-new Crux and dominated the action, claiming a 1, 2, 3, 5 in the men's Elite 200, and a 1, 2 in the women's Elite 200.

Scott's prototype could be the biggest story of the weekend though. With 32in wheels, it's the first competitive outing for the new, bigger wheel size, and it took the win in the 350-mile Men's XL race, albeit Robin Gemperle has been in such impressive form of late that he probably would have won that on a Brompton.

In this gallery, we've predominantly got the bikes from the Elite finish line, plus a bit from the Expo and the XL to round it off. We kick off with the Men's Elite 200 winner.