We spent a week doing carless commutes. Here’s what we learned. | Carbon Fahrrad Umwerfer Installationssatz

Road touring was followed by mountain biking and a career racing in the mud that was as brief as it was unsuccessful.

The shoes feel plenty efficient, and only minimal heel slip is felt when making a specific effort to seek it. Where a race shoe’s complete stiffness means your foot naturally wants to pull away from the board-like sole, the XC5’s sole allows some flex to retain the foot.

A sleeve bushing and cartridge bearing keep the chromoly axles running smoothly. Funn claims this configuration allows easy servicing, but my set still feel as good as they did the day I fitted them, despite two months’ use in atrocious conditions.

Ride Concepts TNT Ride Concepts’ mid-height, flat pedal offering with an ankle strap for on the fly adjustments. $160 USD.

I didn’t know what to expect when I started using the Garmin Varia RTL510 radar light. Now, I think of it as an indispensable tool that doesn’t only help keep me safe but gives me some measure of peace of mind while riding rural roads. The radar alerts me when a car is approaching from behind far earlier than my own senses would and as a car passes the blinking light ensures I am well visible to drivers. The light is bright and has great battery life. I use to never ride with a light during the daytime but when you have a light this good at your disposal, it’s worth using even on the brightest and clearest of days. Read the full review.

While his first preference is Shimano, James did throw in a suggestion for Time pedals. They’re very lightweight, the lower-priced options are very appealing in terms of value for the money, their unique retention system is especially easy to engage, the float is particularly smooth in feel and generous in range, and recent changes to the cleats have made them nearly as good to walk in as Shimano.

Yet again Canyon has no idea about their own mudguards and recommend clip-on guards as a temporary solution… for a bike out for a year with…

Mountain Biking Australia is Australia’s premier off road biking title. It’s the ideal magazine for enduro, trail-riding, cross-country and down hill bikers.

But the music thing is different. You may want to pretend your ride is that sick-ass YouTube edit you’ve been watching in your cubicle all week, but that doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone else within earshot. And while you’re certainly under no obligation to appreciate the blissful sounds of nature, that doesn’t mean you get to fuck it up for everyone else. Hey, I’m not religious, but I can assure you I at least have the decency to refrain from audibly farting in your house of worship.

First announced over a year ago at the Fort William World Cup alongside the new Saint flat and Saint SPD pedals, the PD-M8040 is the first ever flat pedal from Shimano to wear the Deore XT name.

Cycling shoes usually have quite a stiff sole but this varies greatly depending on their intended use. Clip-in shoes tend to have stiffer plastic soles with rubber lugs for good grip. Soles can have carbon fibre inserts through their length or alternatively just in just the midsole to boost stiffness. A cross-country shoe like this pair of Shimano XC7 SPD shoes has a stiff sole for good power transfer on cross-county, cyclocross and gravel bikes. It has a carbon fibre reinforced midsole but it’s shoe brother, the XC9 has a rigid carbon forefoot for an even stiffer sole.

It may not have some of the fancier features like colour mapping or a touch screen. But what the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt does do, it does really well. The menus and buttons are intuitive and easy to use. The mapping is incredibly simple to read and understand on the fly, and it pairs super easily with heart rate monitors and power meters.