Big news for fans of Kona Bikes! We're heartened to share the news that founders Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron have purchased the company back from Kent Outdoors. They're shaking things up and charging full steam ahead into a fresh chapter. Find a press release with details on the exciting announcement here...The post Kona Bikes is Back in the Hands of its Founders! appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

With news emerging that Movistar Team's Oier Lazkano has decided to leave for the BORA - hansgrohe project, with Red Bull having agreed a contract for the next three seasons, until the end of 2027, the Spanish based outfit reportedly already have a replacement in mind.According to GCN's Daniel Bens...

In the conclusion of his two-part tale from Morocco, Evan Christenson re-rides the same loop around the Atlas Mountains to deliver the 46 portraits he shot during his first spin along the route. Hes met with a mix of familiar and unexpected experiences during his ride. Find the second part of his story and another exceptional photo gallery hereThe post Learned Helplessness: A Second Lap Around Morocco appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

As you may recall, not too long ago I was on a quest to obtain a pair of Spinergy Rev X wheels:Further to that post, a reader reached out and informed me that he did in fact live in the vicinity of the apparent seller, and whats more also planned to be in town for the Five Boro Bike Tour, which meant he could not only purchase the wheels on my behalf but also deliver them to me personally.Finally, I had the white whale in my sights, and satisfaction was just a harpoons throw away.Unfortunately, while like many Craigslist sellers the Spinergy purveyor was clearly an asshole, Id failed to take into account another possibility, which was that he might also be a scammer. Sadly, the reader found this out the hard way when he agreed to pay the seller a deposit in order for him to ship the wheels, which as you can probably guess were ultimately not forthcoming. Naturally the first rule of the Internet is that one should never send money to a stranger, but I suppose this unfortunate reader was caught up in the thrill of the chase, and for stoking that furnace I blame myselfthough not entirely, since had he told me beforehand the guy wanted money to ship him the wheels I would have played the Starbuck to his Ahab and told him to abandon the pursuit and return to port.But ultimately thats little more than craven rationalization on my part. Theres no denying that Im the Ahab in this sad debacle, and this well-meaning reader was just a loyal crewmember.Meanwhile, as all this was unfolding, in a twist of irony apparently another reader traded in not one but two pairs of Spinergys (Spinergae?) to Classic Cycle, and on Friday I received a sizeable parcel:There they were, their Blades of Death wrapped for safety:Its a good thing, too, because even when not spinning they can be incredibly dangerous to wild rodents and household pets alike:Paul also included what I assumed was an automotive brake rotor until I finally figured out it was the wheels formidable pie plate:Holding the rear wheel aloft, I inspected it:Heres the last thing a squirrel sees before its severed in half:There was a nick in one of the machete blades:But Im not at all worried about it because Spinergy Rev X wheels are renowned for their structural integrity:Im sure itll be fine.In addition to the two flying crabon guillotines the package contained another deadly weapon with which to replace the wobbly crank on the LeMond:I installed it and took the bike for a ride the following daythough I wasnt quite ready to Unleash the Spinergys. But perhaps I should have armed myself after all, for heading over the George Washington Bridge I discovered they were setting up for the Gran Fondo New York, which I always forget about, and which would be taking place the following day:Route 9W was teeming with even more roadies than usual in anticipation, so I headed deeper into the New Jersey interior:Where I had an opportunity to contemplate equestrian cyclocross:Even here there were plenty of riders:And even though I was alone I nevertheless felt part of the vast brotherhood of middle-aged men with beer bellies and mildly irritated people waiting for them at home that is the roadie culture.Soon I passed back into New York State:Where once again I found myself in the very thick of it:Until I crossed over the Tappan Zee and back to my side of the river, where I was finally free from Fondo-Mania:As for the LeMond, its running beautifully:I no longer have the Litespeed to compare it to, but it feels every bit as nice as that bike felt, and maybe even nicer:And the only thing Id change about it if it were mine are the bars:By no means do they ruin the bike for me or anything, and I can certainly live with them, but the problem I have with bars that are too sculpted is that my hands dont quite find their natural position because the bar wants me to put them in very specific places and at very specific angles. Im sure if those places happen to work perfectly for you then the whole fighter pilot feeling is great, but for me I find regular bars with more gradual bends and a consistent diameter much more comfortable on longer rides:Some people are soft mattress people, and some people are hard mattress people; I guess Im a hard mattress person.But the bars do perfectly match the cranks, and both match the bike:You cant discount the importance of that.

With much uncertainty surrounding the Team Visma | Lease a Bike lineup for the 2024 Tour de France following bad crashes and injuries to a number of the team's star riders, Steven Kruijswijk is confident he be fully recovered at the startline and ready to perform at a top level.My shoulder and coll...

Just released, the new Chiru Fuka was designed specifically to tackle the Rhino Run, a 2,750-kilometer route connecting South Africa and Namibia. It has clearance for 29 x 2.6" tires, eight bottle mounts, and room for a big frame bag. Check it out here...The post The Chiru Fukai is Designed for the Rhino Run appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

A welcome rest day in the Giro for many riders after the hardest stage although spending it at altitude can make it a little less restful.UAE look a rider short by the final climb. However the team was pulling so hard during the stage, especially in the valley to the start of the Foscagno pass yesterday that only Majka was needed for the final move and of course Pogaar can finish the job, they just have to get him with range and he can move but it can mean no margin for error like a mechanical or a bike change but hes minutes up no so thats covered. UAEs Tour team will offer a lot more support which close down this small weakness come July.Riders can follow Pogaars attacks, its what comes after that is impossible. An acceleration can create a gap but the onslaught of power makes the moves impossible to follow, once hes made the jump he can sustain an effort at a rate that others cannot. Yet were also seeing the others racing each other, if Pogaar moves the best of the rest are watching each other. The positions behind are ossifying, the time gaps on Sunday morning were widened by the finish. There is still a duel between Dani Martinez and Geraint Thomas and Ben OConnor is close for the podium too and itll be interesting to watch the dynamics here.He didnt win but Nairo Quintana could have won the stage yesterday had the breakaway cooperated better. Sure, if this then that but whats notable that riders are openly saying they were in the breakaway but the move sabotaged its chances because of a lack of cohesion; we had this yesterday but also on the stage to the Prati di Tivo. With Pogaar grabbing so much, teams ought to have an added incentive.Embed from Getty ImagesRomain Bardets attack saw him gain a few seconds but leaves him in a difficult place. Too high on GC to be allowed in the breakaway, too far from the podium to get a memorable result. But hes not shopping in a gift store and picking which reward hed like, its where he is. DSM will also not turn the points from a high GC finish; remember the UCI publishes weekly updates but the Giro results, from Stage 1 to 21 are only computed once the race is done.Embed from Getty ImagesTo points of a different sort and theres a battle for the blue jersey. Tadej Pogaar leads the competition on 172 points, almost 100 points ahead of Simon Geschke but of course Geschke carries the blue jersey. Only were seeing Geschke going up the road to collect points and and Lilian Calmejane doing the same. In Calmejanes own words wearing the jersey by procuration is valuable, it brings publicity to teams. How much value we can debate, pro cycling is the sport where sponsors pay to have teams branded in their image yet success comes when, in this case, swapping the Cofidis jersey for one reading Banco Mediolanum. Either way it shows riders are scrapping for the crumbs that fall from Tadej Pogaars table. Tuesday and Wednesdays stages are for the breakaway and could see the mountains jersey become a direct contest.At the back and Vadim Pronskiy did not start Stage 15 and Clment Davy did not finish the stage. All the rest made it within the time cut. These are set at the discretion of the organiser and the Giro seems generous compared to the Tour de France. Stage 15s time cut yesterday worked out at 18%; the Tour rulebook would have stipulated 13% which, everything else being equal, would have culled four riders.Talking of exits, few sprinters have bailed because of the mountains. Phil Bauhaus did not start Stage 15 but thats it. With two sprint stages left theres an incentive for many to stay, Jonathan Milan is in the points lead, Kaden Groves still hunting a stage and so on. Tim Merliers done the Giro and Tour before but never got over the Alps so he of all has an extra challenge.Watching the Italian TV news bulletin last night the sports news came late this isnt Flanders where the death of the Iranian president might come second to Evenepoel and RAIs Telegiornale led with the tennis ATP Rome doubles before a 90 second report from the Giro, most of which was about fans picnicking roadside on the Mortirolo, complete with some seemingly obligatory newsreel footage of Marco Pantani before ten seconds on Pogaar winning.Looking wider and Pogaar is being portrayed as a rider apart. Its notable how the contest is less with rivals on the road but comparisons are made with greats of the past. Take La Gazzetta, whose front page proclaims Pogaar alla Coppi.Forecasting the winners is proving easy so far but the weather? The race has an official sponsor in 3B, an Italian weather website that has a deal with RCS for its newspapers and with La7, the TV channel owned by race organiser boss Urbano Cairo. Its normally ok, anecdotally the best outlet for weather in Italy but still surprisingly prone to announcing sunshine only for it to rain and vice versa.All eyes are on tomorrows weather forecast with snow expected at the top of the Stelvio and if the Giro wont reach the 2,757m pass, it turns off just a couple of hundred metres below to take the Umbrail. However its more a story of grim discomfort, than alarm and snow ploughs. Snow here means a light dusting that may not settle higher up. Itll just be very wet and cold but this could still be sufficient for a third revision.The post Giro Rest Day Notes first appeared on The Inner Ring.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider, second overall, says that UAE Team Emirates will pay for "burying themselves" on stage 15

CyclistBicycle gear ratios explainedThe first bicycles had only one gear. By the mid-19th century, this had increased to two, and the number of gears has risen consistently ever since such that today it is possible for a bike to have 81 gears(oh yes it is: a Sturmey Archer CS-RK3 internally geared three-speed hub with a nine-speed cassette and a triple crankset, since you ask).Of course, more isnt necessarily better. Its the range the ratios that matter most in gearing, and in that regard, we have never been more spoilt. The trick is to know which combination of gears will work best for you.Not so long ago, most road bikes came with a standard double crankset (or chainset, if you prefer). That is, a big ring with 53 teeth and a smaller 39-tooth ring. Then along came the compact crank popularised by FSA in the early 2000s with 50/34 chainrings. Since then weve seen the advent of the mid-compact 52/36 crankset, and then the super-compact 48/32 crankset, plus numerous other variations on the theme.While all this has been going on at the front of the drivetrain, at the rear there has been an equally rapid growth in the number of cassette variations. The once ubiquitous 11-23 cassette has given way to a wide range of options, from a tiny 9-tooth sprocket up to a dinner plate-sized 42-tooth. These days its not uncommon for a road bike to come with a 10-33 or 11-34 cassette as standard, while a gravel bike might feature a 10-36, 11-40 or one of countless other options. Related Posts Gravel bike gearing: Everything you need to know How to find the right saddle position Stack and reach explained: How to measure them and why they matter What is a bikes head angle? What is a bikes wheelbase and how does it affect handling? What stem length do I need? Which gear ratios are best for climbing on a road bike? Whats the best crank length for cycling? Cycling gear ratios: 12-speed optionsWith all the main groupset manufacturers Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo now offering 12-speed drivetrains, the jump between gears need not be huge, even with a very wide range.But its not just the sprocket and chainring sizes that affect gearing. The size of tyres and length of cranks also have an impact, so its worth understanding a bit about how gear ratios are calculated.Without getting too geeky, a gear ratio allows you to understand how far the bike will travel for every turn of the pedals, and the starting point is to simply divide the number of teeth on the chainring by the number of teeth on the cassette sprocket.For example, a 5011 gear equates to a ratio of 4.55, usually expressed as 4.55:1. In other words, in this gear the rear wheel will turn 4.55 times for every crank revolution. If the sprocket and chainring are of equal size the ratio is 1:1.How do I calculate bicycle gear ratios?From here, we can work out how far the bike will travel per pedal revolution known as metres of development by measuring the wheel circumference, which is where tyre size becomes an issue.If were riding in a 5011 gear, a 700c 28mm tyre (circumference 2,136mm) will travel 9.71m per pedal revolution, while a 700c 32mm tyre (circumference 2,155mm) would travel 9.8m. That means with each turn of the cranks, the bigger tyre carries the bike 9cm further.Its worth remembering that the size of the sprocket tends to have a bigger effect on the gear ratio than the size of the chainring.Or to put that another way, a 449 gear is actually bigger than 5311.Thats an extreme example, but it suggests that the need for large chainrings may be diminishing and that it is feasible for most riders to get all the gears they need from a single, smaller chainring.Rise of the 1 drivetrainIn 2018, ill-fated pro team Aqua Blue became the first professional outfit to compete at WorldTour level using just 11 gears.With a single chainring at the front and a wide-range cassette at the back (a system known as 1, or one-by), its possible for a smaller number of gears to provide enough range to ride effectively, although the approach has not proved popular in the pro peloton, and Aqua Blues ultimate failure was messy and public.There will be those traditionalists who insist that a bike simply wont be able to go fast enough without a meaty 53t chainring up front, but the maths suggests otherwise.A single 46t chainring, paired with an 11t sprocket, ridden at 100rpm (perfectly within the bounds of normality) with 28mm tyres, gives a theoretical speed of 53.42kmh. That should be more than sufficient for most riders.Theres so much bravado around gearing, says Phil Burt, former head of physiotherapy at British Cycling and founder of bike fit specialist Phil Burt Innovation.Riding a compact might have a stigma attached to it, just like riding with an upright stem, but if it means you dont get back and knee problems and you can ride the bike more comfortably, then so what? You need to think about it more as a tool to do the job, not what it looks like.1 may not have properly caught on for road bikes as yet, but its hugely popular in gravel circles, and gearing options have never been better with a host of 112 drivetrains on the market, and even 113 in the form of Campagnolo Ekar and lesser-spotted and unimaginatively named Rotor113 groupset.And the revolution is happening on road cyclings biggest stage too. Since switching to SRAM, Visma-Lease a Bike riders have regularly used 1 gearing in races, including all of their 2023 Grand Tour wins, and 1 set-ups are becoming a staple of time-trials, too, with Ineos Grenadiers recently taking on a Giro dItalia TT with a single 66-tooth front chainring alongside a Classified Powershift hub gear, which simulates an extra front ring.Up to speed on gearing ratios? Head onto the next in our series on bike fit variables to get a handle on the effect of head angle on handling.This article first appeared on Cyclist in 2018 and has since been updated with contributions from our team of experts. Related Posts Gravel bike gearing: Everything you need to know How to find the right saddle position Stack and reach explained: How to measure them and why they matter What is a bikes head angle? What is a bikes wheelbase and how does it affect handling? What stem length do I need? Which gear ratios are best for climbing on a road bike? Whats the best crank length for cycling? The post Bicycle gear ratios explained appeared first on Cyclist.

With the 2024 Giro d'Italia having reached its second rest day, the rumour mill is filling up the day off from Grand Tour racing with transfer talk going into overdrive. According to reports, the INEOS Grenadiers have been active, securing the services of Equipo Kern Pharma's Pablo Castrillo.Accord...