CyclistThe 10 best moments in the 2026 Womens WorldTour seasonIt feels like just yesterday the 2026 season was about to get underway and riders lined up for the first races with bright eyes and big dreams. Much has happened since we were awoken from our offseason slumber, and Robyn recaps ten of the best moments this year in the womens WorldTour peloton.10. Lara Gillespie shines at Le SamynRhode Van Elsen/Getty ImagesIrishwoman Lara Gillespie enjoyed a brilliant Classics campaign. The sprinter shone in the one-day races, securing top ten finishes at Ronde van Brugge, In Flanders Fields, Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix, and during a three-race stretch in March she occupied all three spots on the podium with victory sandwiched between second place at Omloop van het Hageland and third at Nokere Koerse.Gillespie lined up at the hilly Le Samyn where she had finished third in 2025. With their breakaway coming into the finish with daylight, Gillespies UAE teammate Elynor Bckstedt worked her way to the front, and following an attack from Liv AlUla Jaycos Quinty Ton, Gillespie then opened up her sprint, creating a huge gap to take the biggest win of her career.She would go on to double up at the Irish National Championships in the summer, win the Argenta Classic-Deurne and become World Champion in the Points Race on the track. Lorena Wiebes has been a thorn in Gillespies side, however the 25-year-old came incredibly close to turning the tables on Stages 2 and 3 at the Tour of Chongming Island. Could she turn the tide in 2027?9. Get Caryls Lloyd her LegoLuc Claessen/Getty ImagesTypically, Wiebes wins every sprint finish shes a part of. One glance at her palmars this season shows an insane ferocity that has lasted from her three consecutive stages at the UAE Tour, through two back-to-back days to kick off the Tour de France Femmes, and the most recent dominating tear of victory in all stages of the Tour of Chongming Island. Yet on one day in March, things were different.The Ronde van Brugge was expected to end in a bunch sprint, and defending champion Wiebes lined up at the start line as favourite. But when the business end of the race came, a crash disrupted proceedings. Wiebes found herself boxed in. Emerging from the chaos would be Movistars Carys Lloyd, who just last year had been the youngest rider in the Womens WorldTour. The 19-year-old Brit claimed her first professional victory in quite some style by finishing ahead of huge names in Wiebes, Elisa Balsamo and Chiara Consonni.Lloyd later revealed the team had been speaking about winning as a joke before the race and her mechanic had promised her anything from the Lego Store should she claim victory. I hope she got her trip.8. Noemi Regg prevails in a 3 vs 1Con Chronis/Getty ImagesThe odds might not have been in Noemi Reggs favour at the Tour Down Under, but the defending champion didnt care. UAE Team ADQ riders were particularly active during the final stage of the race and when the final ascent of Corkscrew Road came around, they had Dominika Wodarczyk in the lead. EF Education-Oatlys Regg bridged the gap and brought along two of Wodarczyks teammates in Paula Blasi and Mavi Garca. It would be three vs one to decide the race as the quartet made their way to the finish. Regg launched her sprint to the line in Campbelltown and blew the UAE riders out of the water to win the stage and retain her overall title. It was a remarkable display, mirroring her EF teammate Neilson Powless against Visma-Lease a Bike the year prior.7. Isabella Holmgren vs the FinestreTommaso Berardi/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesLidl-Treks Isabella Holmgren enjoyed a fruitful 2025 that saw the young Canadian finish seventh overall at the Giro dItalia and win the Tour de lAvenir. Upon her return to the Giro this May, just after her 21st birthday, she rocketed into fourth place overall after Stage 5 and led the youth classification.The Colle delle Finestre was the races headline act on Stage 7 a climb familiar to Holmgren, who had ridden it at the 2024 Tour de lAvenir, racing to second on the day behind Frances Marion Bunel. Now, she had worked her way into a group of contenders that housed Demi Vollering, Antonia Niedermaier and Anna van der Breggen.As they ascended the Finestre, it was announced the stage would be shortened due to an unstable sheet of ice at the summit, taking off the top kilometre of the climb as well as the descent and final climb to Sestriere. The four would battle it out for the stage, not quite sure where the makeshift finish line would be. Vollering crossed the line first as Holmgren came through in second, a huge result for the young rider especially considering the season Vollering had.Holmgren would go on to finish the race seventh overall, winning the white jersey, and back that up with eighth at the Tour de France Femmes as well as second in the U23 Worlds Road Race. Dont look away, she is destined for big things.6. Elise Chabbey wins Strade BiancheFDJ United-SUEZTwo FDJ United-Suez riders made the podium of Strade Bianche. If you hadnt watched the race, you might have assumed one of these was Demi Vollering, right?Wrong.With 33km to go, a chasing group including pre-race favourites Vollering, Pauline Ferrand-Prvot and Lotte Kopecky found themselves led down the wrong gravel road that ended their chances of coming back into contention.Into the finale and the leading group thinned up the Via Santa Caterina to leave a quartet vying for victory: German Road Race Champion FranziskaKoch, Polish Road Race Champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Italian Road Race Champion Elisa Longo Borghini and former Olympic canoer Elise Chabbey. At the top of the climb the riders were still together, but Koch, Niewiadoma-Phinney and Longo Borghini all tookthe same wide line into a corner. Chabbey came out ahead and never relented, claiming her sixth professional victory ahead of Niewiadoma-Phinney with teammate Koch finishing in third.Chabbey would end her season after finishing seventh at Lige-Bastogne-Lige as the Swiss rider announced she was pregnant with her first child.5. Paula Blasis rapid rise to redUnipublic / Cxcling / Angel CamarenaFormer duathlete Paula Blasi only began racing bikes seriously in 2024 and joined the WorldTour level in 2025 with UAE Team ADQ. She has been rapidly rising ever since.The 23-year-old Catalonian had tremendous season, claiming her maiden Classics victory at Amstel Gold Race in April before lining up at La Vuelta Femenina to ride her first Grand Tour.Turns out she only needed the one to make her mark. Bursting into life when the mountains came calling, Blasi notched second behind Anna van der Breggen on the first summit finish to Les Praeres to rise from outside the top ten overall into second. The final stage was a summit finish on the brutal Alto de lAngliru, and it was on those steep slopes that Blasi would overhaul an 18 second deficit to Van der Breggen. Even though she lost out on the stage win to Petra Stiasny of Human Powered Health, Blasi carved out almost 40 seconds of an advantage to take the overall victory.4. Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset lights up the road to PolignyA.S.O./Billy CeustersThe Tour de France Femmes gave us plenty of brilliant moments, and Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset coming in at number four isnt the only entrant on this list. In what can only be described as the most impressive solo breakaway in the womens peloton this year, Uno-X Mobilitys Norwegian National Champion went off the front with 88km to go. The peloton never saw her again. Only Lotte Kopecky could manage a glimpse, at one point cutting the deficit down to just ten seconds after an enormous solo chase, but even the mighty Belgian could not reel in Haugset, and the gap swelled back out once more in the closing kilometres. Not only was Haugset on her way to a stage win for just her second professional victory, but she was on her way to pulling on the maillot jaune too.The 27-year-old lifted yellow from the shoulders of Lorena Wiebes to pull off one of the most daring and entertaining feats this season. It just goes to show: always believe in the breakaway.3. FranziskaKoch prevails over the cobblesXavier PereyronParis-Roubaix Femmes always delivers the goods. There has yet to be a repeat winner, and in 2026 it was one frequent domestiques time to shine on the bigest stage. Ferrand-Prvot arrived as defending champion but had the aim of supporting Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Marianne Vos, who returned to racing after the death of her father. Initially a quartet that formed with 45km to go, SD Worxs Blanka Vas was dropped with 23km remaining leaving the pair of Visma riders and FDJ United-Suezs Franziska Koch, who was fresh off leading out Demi Vollering to Tour of Flanders victory the week before.The cobbled sectors ticked down, Vos couldnt get clear, and it was clear that this would be the group heading into the famed velodrome for a sprint. The odds were not in Kochs favour. She had not won on the WorldTour since the Boels Ladies Tour in 2019, and she had to overcome one of the greatest cyclists to ever live. It would be a tough ask.Ferrand-Prvot led them out onto the track. It would be Koch against Vos in the sprint. The pair were closely matched coming around the final bend and the bike throw was tight but Koch just had enough to edge out Vos and take a famous victory.2. Demi Vollering wins Tour de France FemmesA.S.O./Billy CeustersSince its inception in 2022, there had never been a repeat winner of the Tour de France Femmes. Going into this years race, Ferrand-Prevot, Niewiadoma-Phinney and Vollering were all looking to change that.On an enthralling trip around Switzerland and France that saw the yellow jersey change hands from Wiebes to Haugset to Marlen Reusser to Niewiadoma-Phinney, Vollering brought her characteristic flair in the final two stages to become the races first two-time winner. Vollering had been caught out by an attack from Niewiadoma-Phinney on Mont Ventoux, meaning she sat 15 seconds in arrears to the 2024 winner before Stage 8. On the final steep ramp of the stage, a controversial move by FDJs Celia Gery saw Niewiadoma-Phinney get boxed into the barriers, giving Vollering an early advantage, and after the Polish rider clawed back on, Vollering was able to solo away with 6km to go to take the win and precious time to take the overall lead.Multiple ascents of the Col dEze were on the cards for the last day of racing. Only eight seconds separated Vollering and Niewiadoma-Phinney a time gap just larger than Niewiadoma-Phinneys winning margin two years prior. The pair battled ferociously until Vollering rode away into the distance with 16km remaining.The Dutch rider extended her advantage to become the first woman to win the Tour de France Femmes twice. A truly incredible accomplishment. She wasnt done there either, ending the season by becoming World Champion, one of the major races she had yet to win, and it really makes you wonder what could be next for such a galactico of the sport. Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix are yet to appear on her stacked palmars she has never even started the latter. Then theres the prospect of a hilly Olympics course in 2028. Can anyone stop Demi domination?1. A dramatic day atop Mont VentouxTim de Waele/Getty ImagesKasia Niewiadoma-Phinney does not win often. When she does, she wins big. Speaking to Cyclist before the Tour de France Femmes, she laid down her goal of wanting to beat the QoM on Mont Ventoux, a climb carved in cycling folklore and one that would be the headline act of the race for the first time in its short history.In a tactically delightful game of cat-and-mouse, Niewiadoma-Phinney seized her chance with just under 10km remaining, jumping away from the duo of Vollering and race leader Reusser. Neither of the two behind responded. Vollering was waiting on Reusser to defend her top spot. Reusser was watching Vollering knowing the Dutchwoman couldnt let Niewiadoma-Phinney slip away. A stalemate threatened to end both of their challenges.Onwards the lone leader persisted; the summit beckoned. At the start of the day she possessed a deficit of over a minute to Reusser and Vollering. By late afternoon, in the sweltering Provence sun, she had overhauled the standings to pull on the maillot jaune.As we now know, this would not be the end of things and Vollering would fight back with a vengeance to reclaim the top step of the podium. However this moment one in which Niewiadoma-Phinney did demolish the climbing record by almost two minutes will stick in the memory for years to come. It was so quintessentially Niewiadoma-Phinney. Daring, emotional and glorious.The post The 10 best moments in the 2026 Womens WorldTour season appeared first on Cyclist.

CyclistPro Log: GB top Track Worlds; British Cycling and Picnic PostNL respond to negative culture allegations; Transfers latestWelcome back to another edition ofPro Log. Heres a rundown of the latest results before we get started:Tour of Guangxi, Overall, Sun 18th October:1st Jarno Widar, Lotto-Intermarch, 22h 22min 45sec; 2nd Tom Pidcock, Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +09sec; 3rd Louis Barr, Visma-Lease a Bike, +16sec.Tour of Guangxi, Stage 6, Sun 18th October:1st Jarno Widar, Lotto-Intermarch, 3h 39min 05sec; 2nd Tom Pidcock, Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +06sec; 3rd Louis Barr, Visma-Lease a Bike, +10sec.Japan Cup, Sun 18th October:1st Quinn Simmons, Lidl-Trek, 3h 33min 02sec; 2nd Ben Healy, EF Education-EaysPost, +00sec; 3rd Jenno Berckmoes, Lotto Intermarch, +1min 12sec.Veneto Classic, Sun 18th October: 1st Brandon McNulty, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 3hr 32min 57sec; 2nd Anthon Charmig, Uno-X Mobility, +1min 06sec; 3rd Pavel Sivakov, UAE Team Emirates XRG, +1min 32secGreat Britain tops medal table at Track World ChampionshipsMadison champions! Anna Morris and Erin Boothman have been scintillating in Shanghai Thats now three for Anna and two for Erin https://t.co/ZoLMOD6QWE | @BritishCycling https://t.co/bclvAr4ESn Team GB (@TeamGB) October 17, 2026The UCI Track World Championships were held in Shaghai, China last week and saw Great Britain take home six gold medals to top the leaderboard, even without sprinter Matthew Richardson, who was sent home prior to the event after allegations of misconduct.Matt Bostock won the mens Scratch Race; Mark Stewart the mens Points Race; Erin Boothman, Millie Couzens, Josie Knight and Anna Morris prevailed against Italy in the womens Team Pursuit; Couzens took home gold in the Individual Pursuit ahead of Knight; and Morris prevailed in both the Omnium and also the Madison alongside Boothman.The squad won 12 medals in total, with three silver and three bronze completing the tally.Elsewhere, Harrie Lavreysen continued his dominance with three gold medals in the Sprint, Team Sprint and Keirin. The Dutchman has now won 23 world titles.British Cycling launches action planSinan elik (Cyclist Trkiye)After a confidential survey funded by UK Sport found a plummeting morale and responses of a toxic atmosphere, British Cycling is launching an action plan to address concerns, according to The Times. The report asked recipients to describe the World Class Programme culture in three words; driven was the first, but toxic was the second, and 31% of 41 riders and staff had witnessed or experienced thoughtless, inappropriate, or unacceptable behaviour in the last year.It comes almost a decade after an independent review commissioned by UK Sport found a culture of fear existed.Picnic PostNL also address allegationsA.S.O. Germany/Marcel HilgerPicnic PostNL have responded to a report by Dutch public broadcaster NOS, which alleged there was a culture of fear at the team, by saying we do not recognise ourselves in the overall picture presented.The report said that riders and team staff allegedly left the team traumatised. One instance included Martijn Tusveld disagreeing with a team tactic during the 2020 Giro dItalia to sports director Rudi Kemna, to be then told he was creating a negative atmosphere at the end of the season and that no major races were on his calendar for the following year. Tusveld felt he could no longer speak up and felt unable to give feedback or share his feelings.NOS Sport and In De Waaier spoke to 71 people who work or worked for the team, with some speaking of a culture of fear and an unsafe working situation. One former cyclist said everyone is afraid of management as a former staff member alleged riders were not seen as people.Picnic PostNL said they will commission an independent investigation into their team culture.The news doesnt come at a good time for the team, who only just scraped their first WorldTour win of 2026 at the Tour of Guangxi, and rumours suggest they may voluntarily drop out of the WorldTour this winter.Final races of the season crossed offRemco wins his final race of the season by over two minutes Evenepoel takes victory at the Chrono des Nations ahead of Jay Vine and Stefan Kng. https://t.co/Zf65dNEFAZ Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) October 18, 2026World ITT Champion Remco Evenepoel topped the standings in the mens Chrono des Nations time-trial at the weekend. The Belgian beat Jay Vine by a blistering 2min 11sec to take the title, with three-time victor Stefan Knga further 17 seconds back. In the womens event, UAEs Mava Squiban claimed victory by 24sec from Liv AlUla Jayco rider Nadia Gontova, as FDJs Juliette Berthet rounded out the podium.Lotto-Intermarchs young Belgian Jarno Widar won the Tour of Guangxi on the final stage ahead of Tom Pidcock, who was riding alongside brother Joey in what would be the 24-year-olds final pro race. Meanwhile Brandon McNulty claimed his first victory in the rainbow jersey with a solo move at the Veneto Classic. In the Japan Cup, Quinn Simmons pipped Ben Healy to the line. And finally, it was double Visma-Lease a Bike delight at the Eneco Tour as Victor Campenaerts and Lieke Nooijen topped the standings.Richard Carapaz to NSN Cycling, Tao Geoghegan Hart to Lidl-TrekA.S.O./Thomas MaheuxRichard Carapaz has said goodbye to EF Education-EasyPost. The Ecuadorian has secured a move to NSN Cycling on a three-year deal, despite his contract scheduled to run through 2027, to move to NSN Cycling. Carapaz won two Tour de France stages plus the mountains classification this season and will lead NSNs Grand Tour ambitions. Carapaz won the Giro dItalia in 2019 and raced to third overall in Italy in 2025. He finished the Vuelta a Espaa in fourth place this year and joins fellow new signings Santiago Buitrago from Bahrain Victorious and Lennert Van Eetvelt from Lotto-Intermarch in NSNs GC lineup.Coming into EF Education-EasyPost meanwhile is Tao Geoghegan Hart. The Brit joins from Lidl-Trek on a one-year contract after a tough stint at the squad.Elsewhere Brits Ben Wiggins and Jed Smithson will turn pro with Jayco AlUla in 2027 alongside Irelands Adam Rafferty and Australian Wil Holmes.For more transfer news, check out our full 2026/2027 transfers guide.The post Pro Log: GB top Track Worlds; British Cycling and Picnic PostNL respond to negative culture allegations; Transfers latest appeared first on Cyclist.

Olympic silver medallist Daria Pikulik has apologised after she was stripped of her results over an 18-month period due to an anti-doping rule violation.The Polish rider, who most recently rode for Human Powered Health, committed three whereabouts failures, according to the International Testing Agency (ITA), with Pikulik confirming on social media that this was due to missed tests.The 29-year-old finished second in the omnium at the Paris Olympics in 2024, behind Jennifer Valente of the USA, four years after she had taken a bronze medal in the same event at the 2020 UCI Track World Championships. In 2023, she won the Tour of Guangxi and a stage of the Tour Down Under, before she finished third at the European Championships road race in 2024.Her period of ineligibility has been set from 9 December 2024 to 8 June 2026, meaning all results within that time have been disqualified. Pikulik has not raced since March, and only finished three races in 2025, so the punishment is not a severe one. The ITA handles anti-doping for cycling's governing body, the UCI.Whereabouts is the name of the anti-doping system used by the ITA and UCI for out-of-competition testing, with details of where a rider will be; they have to give a daily window for where they will be available for testing. The statement reads: "The ITA reports that rider Daria Pikulik has agreed to the consequences for her ADRV under article 2.4 of the UCI anti-doping rules."Daria Pikulik committed three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period. The rider did not challenge the ADRV and agreed with the consequences proposed by the ITA. Accordingly, the case was resolved via an acceptance of consequences."In accordance with article 10.13.1 of the UCI anti-doping rules, the riders period of ineligibility is from 9 December 2024 until 8 June 2026. Additionally, all the riders competitive results within this period are disqualified including forfeiture of medals, points and prizes."In a post on Instagram in Polish, Pikulik wrote: "Many questions remain, and I must face them head-on. I'd like to explain why you haven't seen me racing since March. I was suspended for failing to report for three doping tests."This happened to me twice, in September 2023 and October 2023. Realising the seriousness of the situation, I tried to systematically complete my residence data in the system, but due to my oversight and a much greater workload, it happened a third time in September 2024."I spent the last two years trying to defend my good name, and ultimately CAS issued a judgment in March 2026 without a penalty, finding me guilty of omitting an inspection."In September, I was finally suspended from December 2024 to June 2026. It was a terribly difficult time for me and my loved ones. It was never my intention to violate anti-doping rules."Throughout my career, I have passed dozens of doping controls without any problems."However, I need to accept what happened and put it behind me. I apologise to everyone I've let down and thank everyone who has been with me through this time."Human Powered Health was contacted for comment.

Ealing Council's actions are the latest in the saga of attempting to curb rogue e-bike operators in the capital whilst no city-wide rules are implemented

Tao Geoghegan Hart will ride for EF Education-EasyPost next year after the American team "took a bet" that 2027 will be the year he regains his top form.Announced on Monday afternoon, the move ends the 31-year-old's three years at Lidl-Trek, which were dominated by his comeback from a horror crash in 2023, while he rode for Ineos Grenadiers. Geoghegan Hart won the Giro d'Italia in 2020, and was among the favourites to win at the 2023 edition, when he he fractured his left hip and femur in a crash. Since then, there has been a long process of rehabilitation, with glimmers of his past form. "Tao is an incredibly gifted rider with the perseverance and stubbornness to come back from a horrific crash injury," EF's CEO, Jonathan Vaughters, said in a press release. "While the fruits of his work to come back from injury have not blossomed yet, we are taking the bet that 2027 will be the year that this happens.""It started with a very interesting, personal conversation with EF Pro Cycling founder and CEO Jonathan Vaughters talking one-to-one about the difficulties Ive had since the injury three years ago, ideas around that, and opportunities for the future," Geoghegan Hart added. "There are a lot of people on this team Ive known for a long time, and also quite a few young riders Ive got to know recently whom Im excited to work alongside. On a personal level, its really about trying to re-find the condition I had in my best years the ceiling of that, the journey towards it, and the end results themselves. Its an exciting prospect to come into a new environment with new ideas, new perspectives, and different people.""Im much more interested in looking forward in the moment," he continued. "A good leader, in sport or beyond, is really aware of individual qualities, promotes those qualities in the people around them, respects them, and equally has empathy and understanding for all our inadequacies what we each bring and can contribute. Its about finding a way to make all those individual instruments line up and occasionally play a tune sometimes it sounds a bit cranky, but you still get the job done and steadily build towards something."Sounding raring to go, Geoghegan Hart added: "When I spoke to head sports director Charly Wegelius a few weeks ago, I said one thing I really love about cycling is the feeling of turning up to a race hotel with fire in your belly knowing you did really great preparation in the weeks or months leading in, with your eyes on the prize, whatever that prize may be. I look forward to chasing that feeling."It was revealed last week than Richard Carapaz would be leaving EF to move to NSN at the end of the season. See our full guide to 2027 transfers here.

One of the most significant trends in road bike, mountain bike and gravel bike design has been the move to ever-wider tyres.Thats resulted in an increase in wheel rim widths too, because theres a need to support the wider tyres properly to ensure they perform optimally and safely.The improved accessibility of carbon rims, in place of alloy, has helped enable the increase in rim widths by reducing the weight and increasing the strength of the material required to make a rim wider.Heres everything you need to know about rim width.What is rim width? Some aero wheels reach their maximum width mid-rim. Hunt wheels The width of a bicycle wheel rim is the distance across the rim from edge to edge. Thats as opposed to the depth, which is the distance measured from the outer circumference to the inner circumference of the rim.Rim width is usually quoted as two figures: Internal width the distance between the innermost edges of the rim wall External width the distance between the rim walls outer edgesIts worth noting that some aero rims (mainly seen in road bike wheels) bulge out further lower down the rim profile. In these wheels, the overall external rim width will be greater than the external rim width at the tyre bead.The internal rim width (in the position where the tyre beads sit) is where official measurements for tyre compatibility and safety are taken, and are the vital measurements to pay attention to.Why does rim width matter? Rim and tyre width both have a significant effect on tyre profile. Katherine Moore / Immediate Media There are a number of reasons why rim width is important.Firstly, it determines which tyre sizes will fit safely.As a general rule, a very wide tyre on a narrow rim will be unstable thanks to inadequate support for the sidewalls and large air volume.Similarly, mounting a tyre that is too narrow for a wide rim risks insecure fitting and damage to the rim if you strike an object as you ride.Rim and tyre widths are determined by the ETRTO (European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation), with a range of sizes that are deemed safely compatible. You should never ride a wheel and tyre combination outside of the safe range.Although most wheel makers publish both internal and external rim width measurements, its the internal width that is most important when it comes to safe compatibility with tyres.In general, a tyre will be wider than the visible external rim, but there are limits to how much wider it can be before it falls outside the safe range.That said, there are examples of external rim widths that measure wider than the widths of the tyre, while remaining safe. This is usually in pursuit of maximising aerodynamic efficiency. Wider rims are a trend in both road and mountain bikes, assisted by the use of carbon fibre. Alex Evans / Our Media Rims have become a lot wider in recent years, with many modern road bike rims having an internal width of 25mm or more, whereas 17mm or even narrower was a more usual width a few years ago.External rim widths have also grown in tandem. External widths of 28mm or more are now common, and aero rims designed for maximum efficiency may be significantly wider still.For example, the Hunt 5AM Limitless Ti_UD Carbon Spoke aero front wheel has a rim with an external width of 34.5mm and the rear is 30mm wide, both with 23mm internal width.Theres been a similar expansion in the width of mountain bike wheel rims, with some as wide as 40mm across the rim bed.Rim width, tyre volume and tyre pressure A greater internal rim width can plump 28mm tyres up to over 30mm. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media As rim widths grow, the real width of a mounted tyre may increase too.Most road bike tyres and gravel tyres are now designed around an ETRTO standard rim with a 19mm internal width, meaning they should measure true to their stated size on such rims.Using rims with an internal width greater than 19mm will therefore see the inflated width of those tyres increase in tandem.A nominally 700 x 28c road bike tyre may measure around 30mm wide on rims with a 21mm internal width, for example.This results in the volume of air contained in the tyre being significantly larger. For example, a 700 x 28c tyre will contain around 15 per cent more air when stretched to a 30mm width than at 28mm on a narrower rim. Actual tyre width varies significantly with rim width. Enve You can also get the extra volume without the additional weight a nominally wider tyre would bring.In turn, that means that tyre pressure can be lowered because the weight of the bike and rider is supported over a larger surface area.Road riders in particular typically run much lower tyre pressures than they did a few years ago, because doing so can bring benefits in comfort and rolling resistance.The effect is less pronounced with mountain bike tyres, which have much larger air volumes already. Incremental increases in rim and tyre width lead to proportionately less increase in the air volume in the tyre, although there are other effects of increased rim width, as described below.How to measure bike rim width Vernier calipers enable you to measure the internal and external width of your rims accurately. Russell Eich / Immediate Media There are two widths to measure: the internal width and the external width. The internal width is more important for the safety of the wheel-tyre interface, while the external width is significant for frame clearance, aerodynamics and brake compatibility (if youre running rim brakes).Typically, wheel makers will quote rim width on spec sheets for their wheels.If not, to get an accurate measurement of rim width, you need a set of Vernier calipers. These can measure the width of your rim precisely, either digitally or with a scale embossed on the caliper.There are two sets of jaws to Vernier calipers and you use the main outside-facing ones to measure the rims outer width and the smaller inward-facing ones to measure the internal width.You can also get a rough estimate, down to around a millimetre, using a ruler to eyeball the rim width.How to match rim width and tyre width Many brands have guides to help you match rims and tyres. Continental There are various online resources you can refer to, including Schwalbes guide to recommended tyre widths for different rim widths. Other tyre makers have similar charts and most wheel makers will also provide a recommended tyre width range for their wheels.Mountain bike tyres can usually be a little wider relative to the rim width than road bike tyres, because they have more inherent structural rigidity.These recommendations will be based on the ETRTOs recommendations, and should always be adhered to.Whats the best rim width?Theres no one answer to this question, and it will depend largely on the kind of bike you're riding and the experience you want to have from your wheel and tyre combination.You also need to consider your frames clearance. A wide tyre on a wide rim may push how much space there is between the frame and the perimeter of the tyre.Road bike rim width HED was an early advocate of wider rims for road bike wheels. Steve Sayers / Our Media Opinions on rim width have changed significantly over the last few years. So whereas 17mm or narrower was a typical internal rim width a decade ago, 19mm is now usually the absolute minimum and many road bike wheels now have much larger internal widths.HED was the first brand to promote the benefits of wider rims and we remarked on the 23mm external width of its HED Ardennes wheels and the ancillary benefit of better aerodynamics and lower tyre pressures as long ago as 2008.It took more than 10 years for the mainstream to catch on, but wide rims are now a feature of wheels from almost every wheel maker. For example, Zipps aero road wheels have 23mm or 25mm internal width rims. ENVEs go as wide as 25mm internally, although its newer SES 4.5 Pro wheels are 23.5mm and its SES 6.7 Pro wheels are 22.5mm wide internally.Mountain bike rim width A wide rim may mean the side knobs are not positioned to provide optimal cornering grip. Jack Tennyson / Our Media As with road bikes, theres been a trend towards wider rims on mountain bike wheels.With hard turns under compression a feature of mountain biking, the ability of wider rims to provide a less light-bulb-shaped tyre profile and reduce the tendency of the tyre to deform when turning is the key reason, just as with road bikes.Older mountain bike wheelsets tended to come with 25mm internal width rims, but this has increased to 30 or 35mm internal in many modern mountain bike wheelsets.Note that whereas mountain bike tyre widths are usually expressed in inches, rim widths are given in millimetres.There are a couple of issues with going ever-wider though.First, wider rims may lose rigidity over narrower ones because theres more material between the point of attachment of the spokes and the rims edge. That potentially makes the rim more prone to damage.Weight also increases. Thats less of an issue with carbon rims, which can be built stronger for a given width, while still being lighter than alloy, which is one driver of the trend for carbon wheels in mountain biking in particular. A tyre will deform less under cornering load if it's supported by a wider rim. Elite Wheels Secondly, as rim width increases, the tyre profile becomes more flat, so theres more of the tyres tread in contact with the ground. Thats great for straight-line grip, but means the knobs on the edge of the tyre designed to give you cornering grip arent there when you do make a turn, so your ability to turn at speed may decrease. The Zipp 3Zero Moto wheel's rim is designed to flex under asymmetric load. Zipp Zipp makes a benefit of the decreased rigidity of wider rims with its 30mm internal-width 3Zero Moto wheelsets rims. These have a single-wall carbon rim (meaning it doesnt have a hollow mid-section, as many other rims do) and are designed to flex under cornering load. This results, Zipp says, in less chance of rim and tyre damage, greater traction and a smoother ride, among other benefits.Gravel bikes As gravel bike tyre width has increased, so has the width of gravel bike wheels. Scott Windsor / ourmedia As with mountain bikes, gravel bike wheels have to cope with high loads on uneven surfaces. Gravel bike tyres are wider than road bike tyres, so considerations of tyre-wall support lead to wider rims than on road-going wheelsets.45mm is now a typical width for tyres fitted to newer gravel bikes and rim widths have expanded to keep pace. The Newmen Streem G.62, for example, has a 27mm internal width, although its external width balloons to 45mm. The Zipp 303 XPLR is 32mm wide internally, while the ENVE G SES 6.7 Pro betters even that at 35mm.Hookless rims and tyre width Hookless rims can be lighter and cheaper, but they require precise tolerances. Warren Rossiter / Our Media Hookless rims have been the norm for performance MTB wheels for some time. These have a straight profile to the edges of the rim rather than having a rounded hooked section at the top edge to help retain the tyre. Hookless tech has spread to gravel bike wheels too and, to some extent, to road wheels.In a hookless rim, a close fit between the rim and the tyre holds the two together and prevents the tyre from popping off the rim.This relies on precise tolerances in making the rim and the tyre, which havent always been the case in the past.Hookless rims are only compatible with tubeless tyres. But, particularly for road wheels, some wheel brands publish a list of which specific tyres and widths will work with their hookless rims and dont recommend using tyres other than these. Some tyre makers will also stipulate their tyres should only be used on hooked rims. A hookless rim has a straight-edged profile to the rim. Hunt Bike Wheels The main potential advantages of hookless rims are that they can be made lighter, and theres less manufacturing complexity, which can make them cheaper.The tyre-to-rim interface may also be smoother, which some manufacturers cite as an aerodynamic advantage to hookless rims.Hookless rims are easier to use in mountain bike wheels, where tyre pressure is a lot lower than with road wheels. At higher road wheel pressures, there is a greater risk of the tyre separating from the rim, particularly if hitting an object at speed, which could result in explosive loss of pressure, damage to the rim and a crash.Pros have called for hookless rims to be banned for road racing and the UCI has toyed with a ban, which is one reason many newer performance road bike wheel rims are designed with mini-hooks. ENVE's newer SES Pro wheelsets have mini-hooks rather than being hookless. Ashley Quinlan / Our Media Brands such as Zipp and ENVE, who have introduced hookless beads on many of their road bike wheelsets, recommend a maximum tyre pressure of 72.5psi / 5 BAR or less, which is much lower than has been typically used by road cyclists in the past.This gives headroom for sudden increases in tyre pressure seen when the tyre is compressed by hitting objects, as described above, and helps prevent blow-offs.The trend to wider rims for road bike wheels helps here, because you dont need to run such high pressures for the same support.For optimum performance and safety, then, its important to pay close attention to wheel manufacturers' recommendations for compatible tyre sizes and pressures.For more information and advice, on topics such as silencing noisy disc brakes and repairing punctured tubeless tyres, check out our workshop hub page.

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Continental has teased a 32in version of its popular Dubnital cross-country / gravel tyre, saying it will be available globally in April 2027.Details about pricing, width options and weights are yet to be revealed, although it has said the 32in Dubnital will initially only be available with its lightweight Race casing and fast-rolling Rapid Compound.The announcement throws further momentum behind the emerging wheel size.According to Alexander Haenke, product manager for MTB and gravel, the growing interest in 32in wheels is clear, and our priority is ensuring riders have immediate access to Continentals flagship tire technologies as new wheel sizes emerge.Maximised momentum retention Conti released a 50m-wide Dubnital (pictured) for 29in gravel bikes earlier this year, and has now announced a 32in version. Continental Like many other brands entering the world of 32in bikes / wheels / tyres, Continental cites a number of now familiar potential performance gains to justify the new tyre size.Scaling the tyre and tread design to this new larger size, maximises momentum retention, improves obstacle rollover, and increases overall traction and stability, it says.The German brand hasnt offered any data or specific evidence to back that up, but its fair to say those are things BikeRadars testers have noted when reviewing 32in bikes, such as the Sour Cycles Pasta Party 32 (alongside a few downsides too, of course). What does this mean for 32in bikes? Are 32in bikes on the way or have they arrived? Scott Windsor / Kelsey Media If youve been following bike media in recent times youre probably sick to the back teeth of the phrase 32in is coming! after all, it feels as though it has been coming for a while now, and if it was all its cracked up to be, wouldnt it have actually arrived by now?Nevertheless, backing from Continental is undoubtedly a significant stamp of approval for the tech a little bit like how it finally jumping on board the tubeless road bandwagon back in 2018 (with the launch of the GP5000 TL) was something of a watershed moment for that technology.Haenke says Continental chose the Dubnital for its first 32in release because it allows us to support evolving setup preferences and frame designs right out of the gate.It also makes sense because gravel and cross-country mountain bike racing appear to be where interest in the new wheel size is peaking.Does this mean 32in wheels are about to kill off 29ers for good, then? Probably not, but it does appear to signal that for better or worse 32in is going to be more than a passing fad.