Plus the week’s best news, reviews and advice

By Jack Evans

Published: Friday, 14 July 2023 at 12:00 am


As reliably as Mathieu van der Poel has led out green jersey-wearer Jasper Philipsen to sprint victories, we have covered Tour de France tech trends and much more at BikeRadar this week.

On Monday, Factor officially launched the O2 VAM, its latest aero-optimised climbing bike. Both the Endura Hummvee Shorts and the Kast Utopia Y aero helmet scored highly in reviews.

The Alé Strada and Castelli Competizione were among the few bib shorts to gain the approval of technical writer Oscar Huckle’s discerning bottom.

Oscar’s Bike of the Week was the Fezzari La Sal Peak. The enduro mountain bike will be Nick Clark’s long-term review.

We also published a guide to enduro racing, but the front-page mountain story of the week was the arrival of SRAM GX Eagle Transmission. The mountain bike groupset makes direct-mount technology more affordable.

If you’re off on a two-wheeled adventure this summer, our bikepacking bags guide will explain how to carry your belongings. Brush up on how to treat road rash before you go in case you do crash.

Now it’s time to run through the best new gear to appear at the BikeRadar office this week.