Aubin Sparfel might be one of the brightest young talents joining the peloton on the road in 2027, but that isn't going to put him off his pursuit of success in Cyclocross. The Decathlon CMA CGM rider steps up to WorldTour next season. The French rider will become teammate to his peer, Paul Seixas,...

This edition of Weekend Snapshot highlights quick getaways from readers in England and two corners of the United States. See how a few folks from our worldwide bikepacking community spent their recent time away and share something from one of your rides hereThe post Weekend Snapshot appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Comment & Analysis: The headline Dublins noisiest locations: From a picturesque D4 road to a busy M50 junction runs in todays The Irish Times online, with an opening paragraph Sandymounts Strand Road has been found to be the noisiest place in Dublin city. But is Strand Road noisier than the M50? Or, as some have asked, busy city centre streets?The article is based on a limited set of live monitoring locations by Dublin City Council, Dn Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, and South Dublin County Council. The fourth Dublin council, Fingal County Council, does not yet have live monitoring.For traffic noise, its worth looking at where car noise comes from and how engine noise is the main source only up to around 35km/h, as shown in the image below. Its why electric cars wont solve the traffic noise issue, and other research even indicates that the gap between internal combustion engine cars and electric cars narrows at around 15-20km/h.IMAGE: Noise from cars depending on the speed (image links to source). Its worth noting that there are other factors, including different types of asphalt that can also affect the rolling noise level (although low-noise asphalt is reasonably rare in Ireland). We can also see from the above that the noise at 50km/h is significantly louder than 30km/h, while 60km/h is also significantly louder again. While roads and streets, for example, along the Grand Canal are busy, these are usually at very low speeds, with heavy traffic and crossing many major routes slowing things down.The councils noise mapping shows the M50 locations are nearer to houses than to traffic, while along Strand Road the traffic is closer and often at higher. Given its coastal location, there may also be wind interference pushing up the baseline at Strand Road.But Strand Road also has a large number of trucks, and theyll cause more noise at anything but crawling speed, while locations along the canal have fewer trucks.But even without any mention of wind interference, I think the line that Sandymounts Strand Road has been found to be the noisiest place in Dublin city should include or be closely followed by the context that it refers only to live locations data, which is limited, and any mention of the M50 should mention that there are houses closer to it than the monitoring locations.One of the closest live monitoring points to the M50 is at Ballyogan Crescent. You can see the noise monitor on Street View and how its sheltered by houses between it and the motorway:That location on Ballyogan Crescent is the small red X at the top left corner of the map below, showing EPA predictions of where noise is worst. Theres now new housing built that changes the map below, but that new housing and other existing housing are likely far more exposed to noise than the monitoring location at Ballyogan Crescent:South Dublin County Councils sound monitoring station in Tymon Park seems to be 120+ metres from the motorway mostly with thick tree cover from most angles: There are loads of places where housing is closer to the motorway and other busy, higher-speed roads with less cover and no sound barriers of the type you get across Europe. So, while Strand Road is clearly very loud problematically noisy I think care needs to be taken calling it the loudest road or street in Dublin,

UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Tadej Pogacar arrived to the Tour de France confident of securing a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey. However, according to one UAE rider, Jonas Vingegaard was as dangerous as ever following his Giro d'Italia domination in May. Pogacar's eternal Tour de France rival V...

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Although we have a global readership, we want to take a moment to encourage our fellow U.S. citizens to get out and vote before polls close tomorrow night. Find resources to help you cast your ballot in the midterm elections if you havent done so yetThe post Its Time to Vote! appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma | Lease a Bike's rivalry over the past six years have seen the two teams dominate the UCI rankings as Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard's battles impacting much more than the riders themselves. But over the past 18 months, other teams have been trying to butt in. Red...

Work on the cycle lane in Baths Royal Victoria Park was suspended almost as soon as it began last week, after the council admitted it did not respond to an active travel groups formal objection

MET has updated its Trenta road cycling helmet. The little brother of Tadej Pogaars favourite Trenta 3K Carbon helmet, the new Trenta 2 gains features from the Trenta 3K, itself updated just over a year ago.MET claims improved ventilation from the Trenta 2s 24 vents and internal channels, the same count as for the Trenta 3K Carbon. It says that there is a smaller area of contact between the helmet and the riders head than for the original Trenta, which also improves air circulation.Theres a wide range of adjustability, with the rear cradle offering fine tuning of the vertical and occipital fit. The outer vents are positioned to provide docking for the arms of sunglasses. MET says there's increased rear protection from the original Trenta and a reduced head contact area for the Trenta 2, helping to improve cooling. The new helmet includes MIPS Air Node Pro rotational impact protection inside its dual-density EPS shell. MET says it has extended its rear coverage and the fully wrapped polycarbonate shell should increase durability and avoid gouging of the EPS foam.Along with the minimalist MIPS, MET says its Air Lite straps also keep weight low. It claims a 260g weight for a size-M helmet, the same as the Trenta 3K Carbon, despite the 3K's carbon inner shell rather than the Trenta 2s EPS ribs. Despite an EPS shell rather than carbon, MET claims the Trenta 2 weighs the same as the pricier Trenta 3K Carbon. Theres no Virginia Tech safety rating for the Trenta 2 yet, but the Trenta 3K Carbon received a five-star rating after its refresh in 2025, making it one of the best road cycling helmets in its independent safety assessment.The MET Trenta 2 helmet is priced at 280 / $350 / 300 and is available in four colours.

Teased at Sea Otter this spring, Hudski's new SRAM Dualist build kit option is more affordable but just as capable. Find details on the new builds and the fresh Dualist colors they're offering here...The post New $2,200 Hudski Dualist Builds + Fresh Colors appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.