Tadej Pogacar, so far, looks unbeatable at the Giro d'Italia when it comes to the fight for the pink jersey. This is not quite true according to his rivals however, and Geraint Thomas sees a trend which can be a weak spot in UAE Team Emirates' armour."His Achilles heel is the fact he's so strong an...

UAE Team Emirates have the pleasure of having Tadej Pogacar lining up at the Giro d'Italia; leading the race, winning stages and even leading out his teammate Juan Sebastin Molano in the finale of stage 9. Rui Oliveira, who is supporting the Slovenian at the Giro, never ceases to be amazed at the r...

The Stooge Dirt Tracker is a modern 29+ tribute to British tracker bikes from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, which arguably could have been the first mountain bikes. We had the chance to dig into the history that inspired the 21st-century version of the Dirt Tracker and spend some time with this beauty while trail riding and bikepacking for a full review. Dive in hereThe post Stooge Dirt Tracker Review: Convergent Evolution appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

The fast tires keep coming, this time from the Italian powerhouse Pirelli. Just in time for the summer race schedule (and Olympics), Pirelli adds another update to the performance focused P Zero Race road tire line. Pirelli claims the new P Zero Race TLR RS is its fastest road race tire to date thanks to a new compound, reduced rolling resistance and more.How did they accomplish this? Read on and find out.What is it? Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RSThe new top-tier road race tire from Pirelli shares the same tread pattern and overall design as its predecessor, but it excels with lower rolling resistance and wet weather performance.Pirelli Bollate Plant To accomplish this, the Pirelli team moved production to an Italian factory in Bollate last year. The new factory is within a stones throw of their Milan HQ. There, they hashed out ways to make the P Zero TLR the fastest its been, arriving at an all-new P Zero TLR RS.Didnt the P Zero TLR Race just come out? Yes, and we love that tire (Ive raced it for a year with zero issues). Like many race-focused companies, the team at Pirelli is always looking for faster, lighter, and better. They hit the nail on the head with the new P Zero TLR RS.First, the team looked for where they could make improvements, most notably in weight, rolling resistance, and all-around weather performance. They leaned heavily on the Trek LiDI World Tour Team for testing and guidance. The current P Zero TLR Race was the teams go-to tire but was slightly overbuilt. The puncture protection is top-notch, but it also costs in rolling resistance and weight.The Pirelli team improved on this with an updated Patent-Pending Speed Core technology. This technology consists of a thin, airtight layer of rubber compound infused with aramid particles. Using this layer helps lighten up the casing structure and overall thickness, knocking down the weight slightly and reducing the rolling resistance.Flats Arent FastDoes this mean the tire is less puncture-resistant? Yes, but only not really. The current version of the P Zero TLR Race is very puncture-resistant. I cant remember getting a flat on them the entire time Ive raced them. They are less flat preventive than the previous version, but remember that these are race tires, and the risk/reward for lower rolling resistance and weight could be worth it to many.Updated SmartEVO CompoundThe Pirelli SmartEVO compound used on the P Zero TLR RS is a product of the new facility in Bollate, Italy. This updated compound improves the tires speed and grip. As Pirelli says, power is nothing without control. The team looked to improve performance in all race conditions, both dry and wet.Along with the updated compound comes an updated TLR bead design. This new design improves compatibility and air retention. The rim and bead market has changed, and with it, bead design. To accommodate modern rim designs, hookless included, Pirelli developed this new TLR bead design under ETRTO and ISO standards.Modern Tire SizesThe new Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS comes in a wide variety of sizes: 26, 28, 30, and 32mm. This is enough to fill all the road racing segments and bleed into the all-road market. Like most, 28mm and above are hookless rim approved, but any size under is not.Details Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RSPrice: USD: $99.90, CAD: $136.90, Euro: 89.90, AUD: $144.90 and NZD: $159.90Weight:298g Size 28mmAvailability: NowRide Impressions: Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RSI admit it: the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR is my go-to road race tire. I have two sets mounted up: one on my training wheels and another on race please squeeze every watt from my body wheels. Ive had a few issues (none, actually) with my current P Zero setup.UnboxingThe new Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS looks and feels significantly different from the current P Zero Race TLR. The under portion of the tire is notably glossy, and the tire itself has a softer feel. It might be my imagination, but the compound feels softer. Either way, one thing is certain: They are lighter,12g lighter than the other P Zero Race TLR in a 28mm size (298g vs 310g). Hookless MountingSince there has been a lot of talk about hookless lately, I felt the best review would be from the view of hookless bead wheels. With minimal effort,I mounted the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tires on the CADEX 50 Ultra (race) wheels. The glossy internal finish on the tire made it slip around lightly on the rim, but after some direct attention, it mounted quickly.I inflated the tires with my trusty Silca floor pump with zero tissues getting the tire to the seat. Its worth noting that I cleaned the heck out of my valves before attempting this.Pirelli Pressure GuidancePirelli gives a little cheat sheet on recommended tire pressure via body weight and rim width along with the tires. The CADEX 50s have a width of 22c, and I followed the guidelines.The tires plumped up to a nice 29mm and pretty much on the dot of what Pirelli said in their tire inflation guide. The guidelines are slightly higher than I usually run and are at the top of some hookless rim recommendations. All in all, though, the tires felt nice and comfortable at the recommended 81psi for 160lbs.On the RoadAt the same pressure that I ride my P Zero Race TLR tires at (75-80psi), the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS felt nearly the same. I did have that new tire feeling and thought I felt a faster roll into some downhills, but its unsubstantiated. The tire felt just as comfortable as the P Zero Race TLR, and I rode with the same confidence on poorly maintained roads.Though I only had a few rides in the rain on the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tires, they felt as good or better than any others in the P Zero lineup. Per Pirellis recommendations, I dropped the tires at 5psi for the rainy training day and felt confident in the performance. I couldnt feel much or any rolling resistant loss (they felt better), and Iwas feeling theconfidence in the corners 77psi was my new go-to pressure now. With the same setup and the same equipment, I felt faster on the super smooth and more well-maintained tarmac. This, again, is a feeling, but as any racer will tell you, a large part of going fast, is feeling fast.At the RacesAt our local weeknight crit, I had a chance to give the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS a proper test. The tires rolled fast on our traditional Oval shaped course I felt confident in the traction. The performance was nearly identical to the Race TLR versions, with an unexplained springinessto them. That feeling could be the excitement of summer night racing or the new compound and lightened carcass of the tire.Racing our bullet shaped crit course, I was able to push the corning a bit more. I found the tire comfortable with a confident performance. The tires sidewall felt slightly more corner-friendly when leaning the bike over, slightly more supple. I attribute this to the thinned-out casing and a bit to the compound.Final ImpressionsWithout all the technical data from Pirelli, it is impossible to prove that the tires are indeed faster. I have to settle on my ride sensations and race impressions. As a fan of the previous P Zero Race TLR, I find this improvement (all be it slight) excellent. I see these as a go-to race day tire to give any road racer that extra edge and confidence.The price? Yeah, these are performance race-day tires, and with that comes a higher price. Considering the wear and puncture resistance of the previous top-tier Race TLR, these should hopefully prove their price. Well be back with an entire season of racing reviews, but as of now, these are my go-to race tires. Ive yet to have a flat (knock on wood), and the tire wear seems on par with most race-focused tires we test. It is slightly fast-wearing but nothing out of the ordinary.Pirelli.comThe post Review: P Zero Race TLR RS Is Pirellis Fastest Road Tire To Date appeared first on Bikerumor.

Its human nature to take things just a little too far, to never be satisfied, and to push our luck. Sooner or later, each one of us falls victim to hubris. This is why we have that myth about the naked guy who flew too close to the sun:You can see this throughout history, everywhere you look. Someone has a good idea, it brings them success, then invariably they have to push it, with disastrous consequences. Consider Cannondale, who figured, Hey, everyone loves our bikes, so lets make a motorcycle!Or take Jerry Lewis, who decided, Hey, everyone loves my comedies, so why dont I make a movie where Im a clown in a concentration camp?Okay, I regret even bringing that one up, so lets just stick to bikesand when it comes to cycling, what company is more iconic than Campagnolo? They may have owned the road, but nevertheless in the late 80s concluded, Hey, why dont we take a stab at this mountain bike thing?For chrissakes they even had a group called Icarus!I mean come on, Campagnolo, clearly your own subconscious was trying to tell you something.Anyway, given this universal truth about humanity, should we expect any different when it comes to our advocates? Here in New York, advocates had a fantastic idea, which was that it should be easy to walk and ride bikes without getting killed, so we should have bike lanes and stuff. Arguably, this peaked under the Bloomberg administration, when the city built a bunch of bike lanes and urban cycling experienced the sort of growth it hadnt seen since the age of the pennyfarthing:[Today the fixie and the yellow taxi industry are both mere shadows of their former selves, proving once again that when Specialized appropriates something its the kiss of death.]But in the ensuing years advocacy went from a grassroots movement to a sociopolitical philosophy or something, and by 2020 they were saying the police shouldnt be doing traffic enforcement:Because is harms people of color:Which I only mention because the same outlet new reports that the citys streets have become more dangerous due toa reduction in police traffic enforcement:Which harms people of color:Insert record scratch sound here:But what about those egalitarian cameras that were supposed to save us back in 2020? Well, now Streetsblog wants you to know that you need human enforcement too, go figure:Thats not to say we should have artisanal one-at-a-time hand-curated traffic stops instead of speed cameras. However it is to say we should probably have plenty of both. You dont get rid of police enforcement just because you have speed cameras. Sure, the advocates probably thought getting rid of traffic stops in favor of cameras was like getting rid of your landline when you get a cellphone, but if theyd actually stopped to think about it for two seconds they might have realized its more like getting rid of your kitchen sink because you got a dishwasher. Yes, the dishwasher helps, but when the grime is really stubborn sometimes youve got to roll up your sleeves and get in there.Meanwhile, I pointed out this irony on Twitter and people were like, We never said there shouldnt be traffic stops, we just said someone else should be doing them, though it was only four years ago and I totally remember that they quite literally thought we didnt need to pull people over anymore:But I dont blame the advocates, because again its human nature to try to squeeze in that last morsel of self-righteousness:Or to spend years and years praising every dubious bike industry innovation only to complain when a simple stem adjustment now requires a few hundred dollars and an appointment at a service center:Well, I mean there are a lot of reasons to make you go through that. For example, when you bring the bike in they need to be able to say, Wow, still riding the F5?, so they can talk you into a new Dogma:Theres not a lot of information in the video, but Im pretty sure he needs a stem adjustment and hes trying to get to the shop before it closes.

The incident involving two riders at Frances womens junior national championships provokes serious questions about the proximity of racers to support cars

The brand's new flagship road racing tyre, priced at 84.99 each, claims to have enhanced rolling resistance, grip and reduced weight, while all manufacturing of the new tyre has been brought back to Italy

Alberto Contador, Eurosport analyst, has given his opinion of the tenth stage of the Giro d'Italia. It is a hard and short day of just over 140 kilometers and with a summit finish that comes just after the rest day."Here comes the tenth stage of the Giro d'Italia, quite a hard high finish. The star...

Yep, chalk up one more spaceship TT lid for the races against the clock with the all-new bell-shaped Limar Alien time trial helmet. This one maybe more than most seems to combine all of the latest features weve seen in aerodynamic time trial helmets. A wide bell-shaped frontal profile with an open lower half. A sculpted side profile to hug the riders shoulders. More (huge for TT) open ventilation. Plus of course, a full wrap-around integrated visor held in place with magnets.But will that make it faster than the rest?Limar Alien wide aerodynamic time trial helmet(Photos/Limar)Wide aero seems to be the way current time trial helmets are trending. The explanations seem to repeat the idea that they do a better job of spreading smooth airflow from the helmet onto the riders shoulders and over their back. The new Limar Alien continues in this direction. Yet, it still smoothly transitions with a sculpted tail that curves over the riders back. But from the top view, you can really see just how wide this TT helmet goes, and then how quickly it tapers back over the rider. Its certainly a shorter tail than you used to see in old-school time trial and triathlon helmets.Designed in CFD but validated in the Silverstone wind tunnelLimar explains that much of their drag-reduction development and aerodynamic testing focused on improving performance across a wider range of conditions, as opposed to straight-on in the Silverstone wind tunnel.In addition to examinations under ideal conditions, we extended the tests to realistic scenarios, simulating wind conditions commonly encountered in time trial road races, with wind angles varying between 5 and 10 degrees. These tests revealed that Alien particularly excels in these real-world conditions, exceeding expectations and delivering even better performance than the results obtained in CFD and wind tunnel tests. This confirms that Alien is not only optimized for ideal laboratory conditions, but is truly adapted to the dynamic challenges of road cycling, offering cyclists an unrivaled aerodynamic advantage.The result is an aero helmet that claims to offer all the benefits of the new school wide approach, and the old school long and curvy approach.On the sides Alien is designed to generate an aerodynamic effect known as Outwash, also widely used in Formula One. This technique allows the air that hits the athlete to be deflected, moving it laterally relative to the figure and away from the shoulders.The central part of the upper shell, on the other hand, is designed to create and maintain laminar flow along the riders back, thanks to the Coanda effect. This area works synergistically with the lower shell, which uses the same principle to reduce turbulence in the area between the helmet and shoulders, and by efficiently directing air above them, it feeds the flow generated by the upper shell.The combination of these two phenomena directing airflow ensures reduced drag and optimal airflow around the cyclists body, improving aerodynamic performance. This reduces drag and improves aerodynamic efficiency, making Alien a truly innovative helmet in time trial cycling.In the end, Limar claims a full 10W drag reduction over their already conventionally-aero short Air King Evo time trial helmet. Allowing the racer to maintain high speeds with less effort, optimizing race performance.Tech detailsThis new Limar Alien is pretty conventional when it comes to construction. It uses a standard in-mold EPS foam core with a polycarbonate shell over top. Its just that the outer shell extends far below and behind that regular EPS. Inside the 3 front vents connect through recessed channels to 2 top vents in the EPS core. Those link to the air scoop cut out of the tail of the Aliens outer shell. Limars standard removable pads and Air Fit dial system offer plenty of adjustability. And an adjustable webbing straps and a magnetic clasp secure it in place. The CE & CPSC-certified Alien is offered in three sizes: S (53-56cm), M (54-58cm), L (57-61cm). And claimed weights start at 438g (S), 438g (M), up to 468g (L).Limar Alien Not quite availabilityLike the Wingdream we featured yesterday, this new Limar Alien time trial helmet isnt quite available just yet. Only the Astana-Qazaqstan Team have them for the time being. But you can sign up on Limars Alien product page to be notified when they are ready to ship. When it actually hits the market this coming August, we expect to see it in white or black versions like Limars current time trial Air King Evo helmet. The new Limar Alien will add a third overlapping size for more precise fits, although generally keeping about the same overall fit range.Limar.comThe post Limar Alien is Out of This World: Another Wide Aero TT Helmet to Race Against the Clock appeared first on Bikerumor.