CATEGORY 01
Bikes, wheels, and kit — judged by real riding, not spec sheets.
Gear · 2026.07.02
Deep carbon wheels look fast, but aero gains, crosswind handling, and maintenance all belong on the same balance sheet. Here's what rim depth actually earns on your bike.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.14
Pedals, cranks, and spiders under $500 — ranked by accuracy, install, and real-world value. What to buy, and why a $300 unit might be all you need.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.14
The two power pedals everyone compares. We rode both against the same reference and broke down accuracy, install, battery, ecosystem, and cleat compatibility — here's the verdict.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.15
The three head-unit ecosystems side by side — displays, controls, mapping, battery, and price. Which one fits how you actually ride?
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.15
Electronic vs mechanical, gearing philosophy, braking feel, and price — the two biggest groupset makers compared without the tribalism.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.15
Carbon wheels have crashed in price. We compare the sub-$1000 options worth considering — depth, weight, braking, and warranty.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.15
Direct-drive smart trainers have gotten cheap. We compare the sub-$800 options worth buying — accuracy, noise, road feel, and app compatibility.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.15
The two smart-trainer designs compared — accuracy, noise, tire wear, setup, and price. Here's how to pick the right one for indoor training.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.15
What tubeless actually is, the real benefits and drawbacks, and whether you should convert — without the evangelism.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.16
The two biggest indoor cycling apps compared — gamified virtual worlds versus structured training plans — and which suits your goals.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.16
How to choose bike lights — how many lumens you actually need, beam pattern, daytime running lights, and front vs rear.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.16
How to set your road or gravel tyre pressure — the trade-offs, what affects it (weight, tyre width, conditions), and why lower is often better than you think.
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Gear · 2022.01.01
Ice-Tech rotors prioritize heat management; solid-steel rotors prioritize stiffness and durability. A close look at why rotors rub after descents, what delamination means, and when replacement is the only safe answer.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.19
Brake calipers, disc rotors, levers, and shifters across three generations of Shimano road groupsets. Specs, weights, compatibility, and official docs in one place.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.19
Cranksets, cassettes, derailleurs, and chains across three generations of Shimano Di2. Real weights from independent measurements, gear-range comparison, and the engineering differences that justify a 3× price gap.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.19
The full 12-speed wireless electronic SRAM road lineup, compared across three tiers. Weights from SRAM's own spec sheets, plus the E1/D1 generation update story, the XPLR 1×13 gravel option, and where SRAM diverges from Shimano.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.19
Campagnolo's first wireless groupset, dissected. Real weights from BikeRadar's hands-on, the N3W freehub quirk, the 10T-start cassette philosophy, and how it stacks up against Shimano Dura-Ace and SRAM RED — the only three top-tier wireless road groupsets that exist.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.20
The complete GRX gravel ecosystem — Di2 (RX825), 12-speed mechanical (RX820/RX610), and 10-speed (RX400). Every derailleur, shifter, crank, cassette, chain, and brake across all four tiers, compared.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.20
The complete SRAM 12-speed mountain bike ecosystem — mechanical Eagle, electronic AXS Eagle, and direct-mount T-Type Transmission. Every tier, every cassette, every chain, and the UDH frame interface explained.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
The complete Shimano 12-speed mountain bike ecosystem — XTR M9100 (race), XT M8100 (prosumer), SLX M7100 (value), Deore M6100 (entry). Every crank, cassette, derailleur, shifter, and brake across all four tiers, with real weights and honest comparisons.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.20
Every current Giant road, gravel, and mountain bike model, organized by category — frame grades (Advanced SL / Advanced / Composite), groupset tiers, geometry DNA, and who each model is actually for.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.21
Every current Specialized road, gravel, and mountain bike — Tarmac SL8, Aethos, Roubaix, Diverge, Stumpjumper, Epic, Enduro. FACT carbon grades, Future Shock, SWATTM, and which model fits which rider.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.21
Every current Trek road, gravel, and mountain bike — Madone, Émonda, Domane, Checkpoint, Fuel EX, Slash, Top Fuel, Supercaliber. OCLV carbon grades, IsoSpeed, and the model family logic.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.21
Every current Canyon road, gravel, and mountain bike — Aeroad, Ultimate, Endurace, Speedmax, Grizl, Spectral, Strive. Direct-to-consumer pricing, CP0017 cockpit, and the bike-fitting philosophy.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.21
Every current Cervélo road, gravel, and triathlon bike — R5, S5, Áspero, Soloist, Caledonda, P-Series, P5. The aero pioneer's full lineup, from Tour de France climbing to Kona triathlon.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.21
Every current Pinarello road and gravel bike — Dogma X, Dogma F, Dogma XC, Paris, Grevil. The Italian brand of choice for Ineos Grenadiers, with the signature asymmetrical Onda waves and asymmetric frame design.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.22
Every current Colnago road and gravel bike — V4Rs, V4, C68, C64, G4-X. The Italian marque of Tadej Pogačar's Tour de France wins, with the lugged-carbon heritage and the move to monocoque.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.22
Every current Merida road, gravel, and mountain bike — Reacto, Scultura, Silex, Big.Nine, One-Forty, eOne-Sixty. The Taiwanese giant's own-brand lineup, with the same factory that builds Specialized frames.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.22
Every current Factor road, gravel, and track bike — Ostro VAM, ONE, LS, O2 VAM, Hanzo. The Australian engineering boutique, with the Visma-Lease a Bike and Israel-Premier Tech pro-team ties.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.22
Every current Scott road, gravel, and mountain bike — Addict, Foil, Speedster, Gravel, Scale, Spark, Genius, Ransom. The Swiss brand of IMP carbon and twinloc suspension, and the lightest production hardtail ever.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.22
Every current Bianchi road and gravel bike — Specialissima, Oltre, Infinito, Aria, Methanol, Sprint. The world's oldest bike brand (1885), with the celeste green and the Italian racing heritage.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.22
Every current BMC road, gravel, and mountain bike — Roadmachine, Teammachine, Kaius, URS, Fourstroke, Twostroke. The Swiss engineering brand, with the MTT micro-suspension and ICS integrated cockpits.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.22
Every current Cannondale road, gravel, and mountain bike — SuperSix EVO, Synapse, Topstone, Habit, Scalpel. The American innovator with the Lefty fork, Ai offset, and the 'one bike that does everything' philosophy.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Van Rysel road and gravel bike — RCR, EDR, Graille, NCR. Decathlon's premium in-house brand, the bike of the dsm-firmenich PostNL WorldTour team, and the proof that direct retail can reach the WorldTour.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Orbea road, gravel, and mountain bike — Orca, Orca Aero, Terra, Oiz, Rallon, Wild. The Spanish brand from Mallabia, with the MyO custom paint and geometry program and a deep Basque-country racing heritage.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Santa Cruz mountain bike — Bronson, Hightower, Tallboy, 5010, Megaton, Hekla, V10. The California premium MTB brand, with the VPP suspension, lifetime warranty, and the no-budget engineering reputation.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Yeti mountain bike — SB140, SB150, SB160, SB165, ASR, ARC, 160E. The Colorado racing brand, with the Switch Infinity suspension, the turquoise heritage, and a race-first, no-budget engineering ethos.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Ridley road, gravel, and cyclocross bike — Noah Fast, Helium, Fenix, Grifn, Kanzo, X-Night. The Belgian brand from Flanders, built on the cobbles of the Classics and a deep cyclocross racing heritage.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Ribble road, gravel, and mountain bike — R872, Ultra SL R, Endurance SL, Gravel SL, HT Ti. The British direct-to-consumer brand, with in-house carbon and a 120-year Lancashire heritage.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Orro road, gravel, and mountain bike — Gold STC, Veggravel, Terrain, Mantle. The British brand from Sussex, with in-house carbon and the Gold flagship.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Kona mountain, gravel, and adventure bike — Process, Honzo, Sutra, Rove, Dew. The Pacific-Northwest brand, with a freeride heritage and the bikepacking-icon Sutra.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
Every current Salsa gravel, adventure, and mountain bike — Warbird, Journeyer, Cutthroat, Mukluk, Horsethief, Rustler. The Minnesota brand that defined bikepacking and adventure cycling.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
The five carbon wheel brands that define the road and gravel OEM and aftermarket landscape — Roval (Specialized), Zipp (SRAM), Cadex (Giant), Reserve (Cervélo/Santa Cruz), and DT Swiss (independent). Depths, weights, hookless vs hooked, and which wheel fits which rider.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
What matters in a cycling helmet — aero vs lightweight, MIPS vs WaveCel vs standard, ventilation, and fit. A practical guide to the helmets that actually protect your ride.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.23
What to wear cycling, from bib shorts to winter layers — chamois quality, fit, materials, and the kit that actually makes a difference on the bike. A practical guide without the marketing.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
The rear derailleur does two jobs at once — move the chain across sprockets and keep it tensioned. Here's the mechanism, piece by piece.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
The front derailleur looks simple, but cage geometry, cable pull ratio, and trim positions are all engineered. Here's how it actually shifts.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Chainring size sets your gearing range and top speed. Here's what compact, standard, and semi-compact actually mean, and how BCD controls which rings fit.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Your cassette decides how fine your cadence steps feel and how low you can climb. Here's how sprocket ranges and jumps actually work.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Bike shifters bundle brake lever and gear control into one unit. The three big systems — STI, Ergo, Di2 — each take a different mechanical approach.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
A disc brake is a small hydraulic press that squeezes a steel rotor against friction material. The clever bits are in the heat path and the seals.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Rim brakes ran the sport for a century — caliper, cantilever, V-brake, dual pivot. Here is how each one worked, why each one was abandoned, and the one corner of cycling where they still win.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Hydraulic is better in almost every technical dimension. Mechanical still wins on serviceability, price, and one specific riding context. Here is how to actually choose.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Brake pad compound is not branding. It dictates the temperature your brake can survive, the weather it works in, and how long the pads last. Here is the actual decision tree.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Rotor diameter is not about fashion. It is a heat-management decision with a small aero and weight penalty. Pick too small and the brake fades; pick too large and the front end goes vague.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Carbon fiber dominates modern road and mountain biking, but 'carbon' is not one material — it's a family. Stiffness, comfort, weight, and durability all come down to how the layup is engineered. Here's what the marketing terms actually mean.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Titanium is the cult favorite of bike materials — expensive, durable, and famously comfortable. But Ti is not magic; its reputation rests on a specific alloy, a specific manufacturing challenge, and a specific kind of rider. Here's what to know before buying.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Steel was the only frame material for most of cycling's history, and it's still here for a reason: forgiving ride quality, ease of repair, and a soul carbon can't replicate. But 'steel is real' cuts both ways — here's how to tell a classic frame from a cheap one.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Aluminum is the value champion of bike frames — light, stiff, and cheap to manufacture. It powered the bike boom of the 1990s and still dominates entry-level and mid-tier road, gravel, and mountain bikes. But its reputation for harshness is earned. Here's how to choose a good one.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Every frame material makes different tradeoffs. Carbon wins on weight and stiffness; titanium wins on durability and ride quality; steel wins on repairability and soul; aluminum wins on value. Here's the side-by-side comparison, with the tradeoffs explicit.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
What actually makes a bike 'aero' — the truncated airfoil tubes, integrated cockpits, and deep-section wheels that buy you free watts above 30 km/h, plus the weight and comfort tax you pay for them.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Lightweight vs aero, the physics of where each wins, the UCI 6.8 kg limit, and why the modern 'all-arounder' has quietly made the choice less binary than it used to be.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
The category that quietly outsells every other road bike — taller stack, shorter reach, engineered flex, and tire clearance that's swallowed the all-road segment. What endurance geometry actually does on a six-hour ride.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Why a fixed gear has no freewheel, how track geometry differs from road (steeper, shorter, higher bottom bracket), the brake question for road fixies, and the technique you need to ride one safely.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Hinge mechanisms, wheel sizes (16 vs 20 inch), weight vs folded compactness trade-offs, and the use cases — apartment dwellers, multi-modal commutes, boat and RV life — that make folders the right tool.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
The bottom bracket is the most fragmented standard on a modern bike. Five systems, four shell widths, two spindle diameters, and a drawer full of mismatched tools. Here is how to tell them apart, which one your frame actually uses, and why there is no winner.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Smart trainers turned the indoor season from a mind-numbing slog into a structured, measurable, and even social workout. But the choice between direct-drive and wheel-on, smart and dumb, is a $1,000 decision. Here is what each type does well and where each one cuts corners.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
The bottom bracket is the part of the bike with the most confusing naming in the industry. Four families, six thread and bore specs, and three crank spindle diameters — and almost none of them cross-compatible. Here is what each standard is, which one your frame uses, and why some are quietly dying.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.27
Di2, AXS, EPS vs cables. The shift in feel, reliability, cost, and maintenance. An honest comparison that cuts through the marketing to help you decide whether electronic is worth the premium.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.27
One chainring or two? The range, the gear steps, the chain retention, and the cockpit simplicity. A comparison that helps you pick 1x or 2x for your riding — and why the answer is different for road, gravel, and mountain.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.27
Your freehub body determines which cassettes fit your wheels. The five standards — Shimano HG, SRAM XD, Shimano MicroSpline, Campagnolo, and N3W — explained, with which groupset needs which, and how to check yours.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.27
The Garmin Varia radar is the single most useful safety accessory for road cycling — it tells you when cars are coming from behind, how many, and how fast. How the Varia works, how to set it up, and why riders who try one never go back.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
How to measure your own aerodynamics without a wind tunnel — protocols, pitfalls, and what the numbers actually mean.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Each architecture makes different trade-offs between accuracy, portability, dual-sided data, and price. Here is how to choose.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Chest straps still win on accuracy, but optical has closed the gap for steady-state efforts. Here is where each fits.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
Beyond the screen, the real differences are in GPS quality, battery, mapping, and how well the head unit talks to your sensors.
Read story →Gear · 2026.07.26
The two wireless protocols that run your head unit, sensors, and trainer — what each does well, where they conflict, and how to pair them.
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