Tech features
Opinion: Boonen’s win in Argentina was historic, but disc-brake proponents shouldn’t get too excited just yet
January 28, 2017
Earlier this week, Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick-Step Floors) made a bit of cycling history on Stage 2 of the Tour de San Juan as the first rider to win a UCI road race while using disc brakes. The implementation of disc brakes in the pro peloton has been an unquestionably dramatic affair, so this latest development …
Bikes of the 2017 WorldTour
January 16, 2017
The 2017 WorldTour has arrived and its first race, the Santos Tour Down Under, is the perfect chance to see all the new team bikes in one place. Much like we did in 2016, here are the WorldTour bikes we’ll see in action throughout 2017. While the re-trial period for disc brakes is now underway, …
Fitness trackers and cycling: a match made in heaven, or the odd couple?
January 7, 2017
Fitness trackers were once touted as the next big thing in consumer electronics, and two companies — Fitbit and Garmin — have set their sights on cyclists with two tiny wrist-based models packed with features such as optical heart rate monitors and GPS. On paper, both sound like they could potentially replace a handlebar-mounted computer …
Opinion: When it comes to carbon bicycle frames, durability should also be a performance metric
December 30, 2016
I recently wrote an article discussing some of the new technologies that have been proposed to help improve the damage tolerance of carbon fiber frames, forks, and components. On the one hand, so-called hybrid composites — made of a mix of carbon, plastic, and steel fibers — help carbon composite structures mimic metals by deforming …
Ten products I loved in 2016: David Everett
December 24, 2016
Our gregarious roaming reporter, David Everett, closes out our collection of editors’ personal favorites for 2016. The weather is now deep into winter in his European home base, so several of the products are skewed to keeping you warm and dry. The rest are a mix that may interest regular travelers or cyclist who like …
Crash-resistant carbon fiber: Why your next frame might just be made of hybrid composites and thermoplastics
December 21, 2016
One of the typical ironclad rules of structural materials is that as stiffness goes up, ductility goes down. As far as carbon fiber frames are concerned, that’s essentially just a fancy way of saying what we all already know: whereas steel, aluminum, and titanium frames usually dent or bend upon a heavy impact, carbon fiber is …
