Plus highlights from a busy week of biking
The BikeRadar home page has been popping in recent weeks. Not only are we in the middle of the world’s biggest bike race, but we’re coming off the back of the world’s biggest bike show.
The dust has settled in the vast Messe Frankfurt, with Eurobike finished for 2024, so now’s the perfect time to catch up on all the tech highlights you might have missed.
Our Eurobike coverage is all collated beautifully, so give it a scroll and pick out your favourite bits – just as Warren did when he was a judge at the show this year.
The world’s pluckiest pros are currently powering their way around France. This week, we sent our own brave rider to find out how tough the Tour de France really is. We also compared Tadej Pogačar’s Colnago V4Rs and Jonas Vingegaard’s Cervélo R5 – and Cav’s first and latest stage-winning bikes.
But, that’s not all. Our knobbly-tyre’d readers shouldn’t assume it’s all curly bars this week.
Announced on Tuesday, YT’s new Decoy SN was built to be ‘the best enduro bike, powered or not’, and, on first impressions, it’s pretty good.
I also reviewed the new Merida Big.Trail 600 – a properly rad hardtail at a decent price.
On top of the new YT, we saw a new Lapierre Spicy that we reckon is the first bike to offer high- and low-pivot linkages on the same frame, as well as a bike I’m super-excited to ride – a new Trek Top Fuel.
We’ve also been rolling out plenty of sports bra reviews, as well as updating our guide to the best gravel tyres.
Muc-Off Big Bore Hybrid tubeless valves
High-flow tubeless valves seem to be in vogue at the moment and Muc-Off’s latest-generation valves are certainly head-turners.
If you hadn’t twigged, that mid-stem lever is the open/close ball valve, eliminating the usual Presta (or Schrader) pressure-controlled valve.
This enables the full internal diameter of the stem to be opened up, with Muc-Off claiming 254 per cent more flow than a regular Presta valve.
This, in theory, should help pop a tyre bead onto the rim, make sealant injection easier and lessen the chance of sealant clogging your valve.
This Hybrid model fits Presta-drilled rims and requires a Schrader-headed pump – there’s a slightly slimmer ‘Lite’ version, offering 230 per cent more flow, utilising a Presta pump. A ‘Ludicrous’ Schrader-drilled, Schrader-pumped version comes with 265 per cent extra flow.
There will be 30mm, 35mm, 45mm and 60mm-long stems available, along with a range of colours.
Various rubber bungs, to aid an airtight seal, are included, while the base of the valve has four-way airflow holes, so it’ll work with inserts.
Spanner flats ensure easy fitment, while a service kit is coming soon, to ensure your inflation woes are eased.
- £40 / $50 / €45
Alpinestars kit
The fashion houses of Milan might not yet have contributed much to the world of cycling, but those Italians still know how to put together some fancy threads, as proven (in my opinion) by Alpinestars.
Alpinestars is big in moto, and has had a long presence in mountain biking too. Its new protection line is proving popular with testers here at BikeRadar.
However, I thought I’d highlight a few items of its summer kit that I’ve been cruising around the woods in.
Alpinestars A-Dura Oscar Jersey
This lightweight, short-sleeve jersey has an airy feel, while avoiding getting too clammy when you’re hot and sweaty.
The jacquard poly/spandex construction is built to breathe well and has enough stretch to avoid looking awkward over body armour.
The spiral design is said to represent the brand’s 60 years working in the two-wheeled world.
- £49.99 / $59.95 / €49.95
Alpinestars A-Aria Elite Shorts
These mid-weight shorts are designed to be as flexible as possible, with plenty of stretch built in to the material – ensuring they don’t impede your pedalling.
There’s wicking fabric incorporated into the waistband inner rear panel to soak up drops of sweat before they make their presence felt down below.
Three zipped pockets and a magnetically clasped belt finish the build.
- £119.99 / $129.95 / €119.95
Alpinestars A-Dura Gloves
More mid-weight goodies here, with a durable-feeling spandex and polyester upper built to shrug off most attention from trail-side vegetation.
The palm’s suede material is said to optimise feel and durability.
Up top, there’s a broad Velcro-closed cuff, while the fingers are touchscreen-compatible.
- £39.99 / $42.95 / €34.95
Continental Kryptotal and Argotal tyres
Continental is a huge name in the world of tyres – certainly if you include the automotive world.
For a while, it’s probably fair to say that in the MTB market, it wasn’t at the top of everyone’s wishlist. However, since the launch of its latest range of rubber, that has changed.
Continental Argotal
The Argotal is the brand’s loose-surface, aggressively treaded trail, enduro and DH tyre, with big, chunky blocks designed to cut through dust and loam in the search for grip.
Their wide spacing is there to enable the tyre to shed mud effectively.
Available in both wheel sizes, and 2.4in or 2.6in widths, you have four casing and compound options to pick from – Trail, Enduro, Downhill Soft and Downhill Super Soft.
I’ve got the Enduro casing, 29×2.4in version, which uses a soft rubber and weighs 1,200g on the nose.
- £72.95 / €79.95
Continental Kryptotal
The Kryptotal I have here is to match the Argotal I’ll be running up-front, and so is the rear-specific version.
This has been designed to balance the needs of grip for braking and rolling resistance for speed, with chamfered central blocks to reduce buzz and sharp edges to help dig in when needed.
While the Argotal is built for loose conditions, the Kryptotal is intended for mixed conditions.
I have the 29×2.4in version in the enduro casing, which has the softer rubber compound. It weighs in at 1,211g.
- £72.95 / €79.95
Endura MT500 D3O Glove II
A glove’s a glove, right? Wrong.
There are huge variations in mountain bike gloves – from super-lightweight options to burly items with plenty of protection.
The MT500 D3O glove from Endura sits towards the more protective end of the spectrum, thanks to the addition of D3O inserts over the main knuckles.
They’ve been built, in Endura’s own words, “with fast, tight and technical trails in mind. The D3O Ghost Knuckle inserts give you the confidence to take that inside line close to the tree without worrying about your hands.”
How does that work? Well, D3O is a flexible material that stiffens on impact. So, it should bend and flex comfortably over your hands, and then spread impacts over a wider area when you take those inside lines, reducing the chance of injury.
The rest of the glove’s construction is a little more orthodox, with a lightweight, four-way stretch outer, and a thin, non-padded synthetic suede palm, with silicone grip panels to ensure you’re well connected to the bike.
There’s a snot-wipe on the thumb and a mid-length, stretchy cuff, too.
A quick note on size – I’m usually at the upper end of a size Medium in gloves, but here I sized up, just a touch, to a Large.
- £49.99 / $49.99 / €54.99