Merry Christmas, beloved BikeRadar readers! We hope you have a fantastic festive period and a well-earned break.
While 2021 has brought many challenges, as a team, we’ve been buoyed by the number of people who have stuck with cycling since it saw a huge surge in popularity in 2020.
Whether you’re a new hardcore roadie, a fresh-faced mountain biker or just a casual commuting pootler, we have no doubt you’ve found a new lifelong passion that will bring you years of joy (and we hope you’ll keep visiting BikeRadar to learn about the latest cycling tech!).
2021 has been a busy year for us too, with some big product launches and great content from across the whole team.
The biggest news of the year came in June, when BikeRadar broke an exclusive first-look at Shimano’s much-anticipated Dura-Ace R9200 groupset at the Baloise Tour of Belgium. This was, without doubt, the biggest product launch of 2021 and a huge collaborative effort across the whole team secured us the scoop that we were incredibly proud of.
BikeRadar’s Gravel Diaries continued in 2021, with the BikeRadar team enjoying (and suffering) their way through two gravel-tastic adventures this year.
The team’s epic day out at the Dirty Reiver – a massive 200km gravel race in one of the most remote parts of the UK – was one of the best rides we did this year and the video from the event is well worth a watch.
The BikeRadar Podcast has gone from strength to strength in 2021, with nearly 80 episodes being released this year. Nearly every member of the BikeRadar team has been involved, as well as Mountain Biking UK’s editorial team. We’ve covered off a vast array of topics – from talking Brexit politics to our bike-buying addiction, as well as ranting about the lack of consistent industry standards that have left us floundering.
We also brought you in-depth coverage of the Tour de France and our 2021 Ride Strong series. We’ve interviewed some incredible cyclists this year too, including household names Tracey Mosely and Alistair Brownlee.
We’ve also packed in some key tests this year, including an in-depth round-up of the best power meters, our yearly smart trainer mega test, reviews of every key mountain bike groupset on the market and, of course, Bike of the Year 2021.
Thanks for taking the time to visit BikeRadar – for reading our stories and for contributing to the community we have here and on our YouTube channel. BikeRadar simply wouldn’t exist without you and we genuinely appreciate your continued support.
We’ll bring you even more great content throughout 2022, kicking off in January refreshed and ready for another year of riding. See you then!
The BikeRadar team