Team Visma | Lease a Bikes unsettled start to 2026 is beginning to spill into the transfer market, with the Dutch team now reportedly exploring a move for a proven Grand Tour climber to plug a gap that has opened up behind the scenes. According to cycling journalist Daniel Benson, the team have ide...

Redshift Sports' line-up of problem-solving components, comfort aids and leftfield designs has got a new addition with the arrival of the Top Shelf handlebar. The new bar is, according to Redshift co-founder Erik de Brun, a bar designed to dramatically improve comfort and reduce fatigue, be it on your bikepacking rig, hardtail mountain bike or commuter. The bar is 800mm wide (with etched markers to enable you to cut it down) with a 14-degree backsweep and a 5-degree upsweep. De Brun says this shape puts your wrist in a more natural position, hence reducing fatigue on long rides. The Top Shelf comes in 50mm or 70mm rise. Redshift The bar is available with a rise of 50mm or 70mm, to help give a more upright position and reduce strain on your back. Old-school crossbar The shape of the Top Shelf bar is claimed to put your wrists in a more natural position. Redshift Riser bars with a crossbar hark back to the earliest days of mountain biking. However, Redshift says its signature crossbar is designed to satisfy the needs of a modern rider, with ample space to mount lights, a GPS and a camera. It has also designed a dedicated Top Shelf handlebar bag that uses the crossbar and main bar to mount, making it very stable even on the roughest terrain. Redshift claims the crossbar provides plenty of space for accessories. Redshift The bar is made from 6061 T6 aluminium. The uncut 800mm bar weighs in at 544g (50mm) or 552g (70mm) and comes in a black anodised finish. With a standard 31.8mm clamp diameter, the crossbar is 22.2mm in diameter and Redshift will offer shims for mounting specific accessories. The Redshift Top Shelf is priced at 119.99 / $129.99 / 139.99 / AU$229.99 / CA$189.99.

Very light for the price, but fit is odd and venting mediocre, while the eco promise fails in the UK

Good morning and welcome to the Liveblog of the Itzulia Basque Country. After the opening individual time trial, the race moves into its first road stage today. True to the races demanding nature, the peloton faces a tough profile that will take the riders all the way to Mendukilo Kobazuloa. So be...

The mutual respect between Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen has been a recurring theme throughout the Flemish classics, and over the past week, it has once again come to the surface in a way that stands out in a sport defined by rivalry. From a shared effort deep into the Tour of Flanders finale to a...

Campaign groups celebrate victory as US also announces removal of existing steel tariffs on electric bikes

Mathieu van der Poels ride at the 2026Tour of Flanders did not just end in second place. It reignited a familiar debate about how, or even if, Tadej Pogacar can be beaten when he reaches this level. In the days since, much of the discussion has centred on whether Van der Poel should have raced dif...

Tadej Pogacars Tour of Flanders victory has already been framed through results and dominance. What continues to emerge in the days after is how that performance actually felt inside the race itself. For those caught in the moment, it did not always resemble a normal bike race. Among them was Alpec...

You know, the other day I said Campagnolo Super Record shifty parts were the most lavish gift Ive ever received from a reader:And while thats probably still true I totally forgot about the time someone sent me a whole entire Marinoni. Granted, it was in pretty rough shape:And I had to push myself to the very limit of my meager mechanical skills to rehabilitate it:But still, at the very least its a close second, and hopefully its new owner is still enjoying it.Speaking of shifty parts, what is it about them we find so compelling?[Like a couple of freshly-caught fish.]From the blockheadedly simple pushy-pully sticks of yesteryearTo the clockwork complexity of the integrated hand-controllers ofalso yesteryear, but not as long agoWhat cyclist does not revel in the sound of their operation, and the feeling of them in the hand, or other prehensile body parts? They also give a bike its personality, for if the eyes are the window to the soul, then shifters are the googly eyes on the cartoon character that is your bike:Or, the antennae, as the case may be:But what of todays battery-powered, push-button electrical gear changers? Do they engender the same fascination? Or are they just another appliance, about as exciting as a blood pressure monitor or a Roku Streaming Stick? To me its decidedly the latter, though I fully recognize this is the Prejudice of the Retrogrouch, and no doubt digital devotees find their e-shifters just as captivating. All of this is to say that shifty parts are constantly evolving, and we may be on the cusp of an era in which they become<dripping blood font>Chinese</dripping blood font>:Goodbye Campagnolo, hello L-Twoo:Wheeltop,L-Twoo, TRP and the partnerships betweenRotor and Wheeltop, andTRP and Classifiedhave all arrived on the scene in recent years. All have come on in leaps and bounds since we started to see Chinese groupsets emerge.The next step for wider acceptance and adpotion of these brands will be representation in pro racing. The inevitable goal will be taking a stage win in a major tour or top-level race.But this is surprising why, exactly? Really, the only thing remarkable about any of this is that it hasnt happened already. People who romanticize the sport of cycling think that God has to anoint a drivetrain manufacturer, and that He spake unto Tullio when He gave unto him the Quick Release on Mount Sinai, when in fact all a company really has to do is make something that works okay at moving a chain and then give a pro cycling team lots of parts and money:Good enough to win the Tour de France isnt that high a bar, really. Have you seen Tadej Pogaar? He could win the Tour on this:That would be one way to un-boring the sport in the Pogaar era.By the way, I checked out the Wheeltop website, and their rim brake electronic shifty parts work with anything from 3-14 speeds:All that for only $599plus 599 points, though they dont say whether or not you can convert those to your frequent flyer program of choice:I mean the video on the site looks like it could possibly be AI, and I dont want this or any other type of electrical shifting gewgaw on by bike, but even so Id certainly be lying if I said this didnt pose quite an ethical dilemma for me:Really, all Id need would be that Wheeltop group, a 5-speed freewheel, and the Roaduno:But whatever you think of electronic shifting, its clear that older bikes are better than newer bikes in almost every way. For example, you could easily take your 40-year old road bike and slap a Wheeltop group on it, but it would be nearly impossible to take any of your old parts and and put them on an Elves Falath:[Elves Falath sounds like something youd order from Doordash.]Sorry, make that an Elves Falath Evo.Rivendell really needs to start making Evo versions of all its bikeslike a sub-35lb Platypus, or a Roaduno with a Wheeltop group on it.But yes, since Ive now answered the modern vs. retro question once and for all, could someone please tell GCN they can stop making videos about it already?If youve seen one youve seen them all:[Crotchal POV camera shot, Englishman screaming into wind] The gears are so high! The bars are so wide! The tires are so skinny!Etc.