Great Britain track star Katie Archibald has announced her retirement from the national team after an extraordinary career defined by success and consistency at the top of track cycling. At 31, Archibald draws a line under a 13-year journey as one of Britains most decorated riders, leaving an indel...

Okay, thats it, I quit bikes:So its like a gravel bike, but its a road bike? Yet its designed for all-day rides on any surface, so exactly a gravel bike?Actually, thats not entirely true. Its for roads that kinda disintegrate into dirt:Its about time someone made a dedicated Roads That Kinda Disintegrate Into Dirt bike. Also, further to yesterdays post, whats with bikes starting at over $6,000 now?And how come when I clicked on the Rival bike the price went up by $600?And thats before I even added the optional $750 white finish!Jeez, for that kind of money they could at least throw in another chainring:Echo really is the perfect name for a bike though, because its just the same thing over and over and over and over again:See, this is exactly what gravel riding was until a few months ago:The frame weighs 790g (size 56) and clears tires up to 700x45mm, allowing you to maintain speedandcomfort on everything fromon smooth pavement to champagne gravel to properly loose and washboardy detours. The geometry still has a fast, road-first feel, just subtly rebalanced for 32-45mm tires and long-distance comfort on a variety of surfaces.But now its road riding:Road riding has changed, and ECHO reflects that,said Sam Pickman, Director of Product and Engineering at Allied Cycle Works. We kept performance at the center and expanded what the bike can handle. This is still a fast, precise road machine it just goes further, across more surfaces, with more confidence.So first they took the idea of riding a bike with drop bars on a variety of surfaces and called it gravel. Then they made the bikes more and more extreme until they were mountain bikes, and so what used to be called mountain biking became gravel. But now gravel is road riding again, road riding is gravel, up is down, black and white, and yet somehow nothing has changed at all except the bikes cost over $6,000, need batteries to shift, and have proprietary everything.As for road cycling, thats now called pumping black:I wonder which company will supply the bikes:Pumping Black follows cyclist Taylor Mace, who at 35-years-old is finding himself aging out of the sport. He is taken under the wing of Andrea Lathe, a doctor driven by her own thirst for victory and power. As the race to the Tour de France progresses, Taylor must take increasingly dark measures to protect his secret. According to the description, its an adrenaline fuelled, dangerous thriller likened to both Whiplash and Black Swan.On one hand you dont want your bikes associated with doping, but on the other this could be the start of an incredibly popular franchise, and Im already looking forward to Pumping Black II: The Graveling.Id also love to see the feature film version of this thrilling Benedict Cumberbatch road rage incident:According to reports, the altercation continued for several hours, during which time they locked their bikes, booked a table at a nearby restaurant, and ate a four-course meal before agreeing to disagree and finally continuing on their respective ways.And finally, speaking of road bikes, a few weeks ago I got this, and for the price of that entry-level Allied I could have bought 30 of them and still had plenty of change left over for a lavish restaurant meal with an irate Benedict Cumberbatch:Not only that, but so far Ive adhered to my two-pronged resolution to: 1) spend no additional monies on it whatsoever; and 2) refrain from excessive tinkering and futz with it only on an as needed basis.Having overhauled the drivetrain there wasnt much more it needed, either, though the rear wheel was running a bit rough and since acquiring the bike Id been itching to get in there. Unfortunately, the little preload adjustment collar thingies on both hubs are cracked, and Ive been afraid to disturb them lest they disintegrate completely. As any Campyphile will tell you over and over again until you punch them in the face, the best thing about Campagnolo is that everythings rebuildable, but spare part availability for this stuff in 2026 is not what it once was. For example, so far Ive found this, which Im pretty sure will work, but with the shipping a pair of them would cost over $120, which is considerably more than my budget of $0:Nevertheless, with the bike running so smoothly otherwise the rumbly hub was preying on my mind, and so I decided to say Fuck it and fill it with Dumondespecifically grease for the bearings:Erl for the freehub:And liquid grease, which basically works on everything:Its the Cholula of bicycle lubricants.The idea here wasnt to completely overhaul a 20-something year-old wheel, and I wasnt concerned with the condition of the races or the ball bearings or anything like that; this was just about opening everything up, taking a look to make sure everything looked OK, wiping away any obvious crud, and then lubing the crap out of everything. Fortunately, pulling this style of Campagnolo hub apart is extremely easy, even for someone like me whos too much of a woosie to open up a mountain bike shock:And I was in there quicker than an unneutered cat:Oh, heres one of the cracked preload thingies:It held together and its still doing what its supposed to do, though looking more closely at the photois that another crack?Who knew being cheap could be so much work?

"I want to warn others to stay vigilant these scams are getting more convincing and sophisticated," the cyclist said

Movistar Team and Ivn Romeo have agreed to extend the Spanish national champion with the Spanish World Tour team through 2030, cementing his role as a cornerstone of the Spanish squads long-term project, avoiding their new jewel from slipping into the transfer market. Romeo, who joined the team...

Is coffee outside an excuse to get out on a morning ride, or the gateway drug to a local overnighter? Cass ponders how small rituals encourage us to slow down and linger, as the Oaxaca Caf Afuera Crew heads out to the newly opened Caf Cruz de la Pea, lured into a 6,000-foot climb by the promise of the best sunrise coffee and conversation in town... The post Cafe Afuera: All Wheels Welcome at Cafe Pico appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

As the GB track legend retires, Cycling Weekly takes a look back at some of her greatest hits

The 2026 Tour de Hongrie kicks off on Wednesday, May 13th, boasting a strong startlist that features seven World Tour teams. Star riders such as Tim Merlier, Luke Plapp, Jakob Sderqvist and Benot Cosnefroy are set to take to the line for an exciting race. Soudal - Quickstep hoping that sprint lead...

Its hard to imagine a cargo bike much smaller than the new Ten07 Unicorn Pony. It started with their original Unicorn, a utility bike designed to fit into small apartments and hallways, but Ten07 wanted something even smaller. Naturally, they named it the Pony.It uses a mixed wheel setup with a 20-inch front and 24-inch rear wheel, creating a shorter wheelbase gives it both a small footprint and agile handling. The small front wheel also keeps the cargos weight lower for better stability.Compared to the standard Unicorn, this one uses a smaller rear wheel and non-stretched frame, keeping the fork directly under the handlebar rather than using a linkage system. As a bonus, the smaller Pony version adds fork mounts and more rear rack mounting options, too.Key features are:Dynamo front light mountInternal routing for dynamo through fork and left/right chainstay for front and rear lightsInternal dropper post routingInternal front derailleur routingFront wheel 20, rear wheel 243-pack mounts on fork and down tube for extra cargoStandard + custom rack mountsBelt drive compatibleSliding dropouts (thru-axle or quick release)Swappable thru-axle inserts on fork (12mm & 15mm); for 100mm hub widthDouble kickstand supportThe bike handles cargo up to 50kg (110lbs), riders up to 100kg (220lbs), or a combined rider+cargo load of up to 130kg (286lbs). The one-size-fits-all frame design uses adjustable cockpit height to accommodate riders from 1.5-2.0 meters tall (410 to 66).The Unicorn Pony is available in three colors Confetti (because, of course), Night Rider, and a limited edition Raw. MSRP is 999 for the frame and 2.249,00 for a well-equipped build (but not exactly what you see herethis is their dream build). Its available now for pre-order with shipping planned for November.ten07.ccThe post Ten07 Unicorn Pony is a Proper Cargo Bike, Just Smaller appeared first on Bikerumor.

If youre looking for a lower-priced alternative to a groupset from the major names, there are some much cheaper alternatives emerging from Chinese challenger brands. One of these is L-Twoo, which sells a wide range of groupsets for road, gravel, MTB, time trial, folding and electric bikes.The company describes itself as "China's largest bicycle transmission manufacturer". In contrast, the range offered by another competitor brand, Wheeltop, is less extensive, but we reckon Chinese groupsets could soon be competing in the pro cycling ranks. Read more: 11 Chinese cycling brands you dont know about, but should L-Twoo history L-Twoo is based in Zhuhai in Guangdong, China, and was founded in 2016. L-Twoos founder, Liu Chunsheng, spent a decade working for SRAM. Back then, there were few well-performing domestic brands in the drivetrain sector. There were no original products or core patents, and many counterfeit products hurt the reputation of domestic brands. I saw great potential in this field, Liu says. Liu highlights the three- to four-year development time for a new groupset, coupled to the need to avoid infringing patents owned by established brands. L-Twoos breakthrough into international markets came with the Covid pandemic, when Shimano and others experienced supply chain issues, with L-Twoo stepping in to fill the gap. It launched its first road bike groupset in 2022 and its first electronic system, eRX, in 2023. L-Twoo still doesnt sell a complete groupset, but like Wheeltop, it sells shifters, derailleurs and hydraulic brakes. Buyers need to source a compatible crankset, cassette and chain from other suppliers. L-Twoo groupsets key facts Road, MTB, gravel, folding and ebike groupset options Electronic and mechanical groupsets In-frame battery for road and on-derailleur battery for MTB/gravel electronic systems No third button on electronic levers Not sold with crankset, cassette or chain Prices quoted without import duties L-Twoo road bike groupsets explained The L-Twoo eRX groupset is comparable in weight to Shimano 105 Di2. Stan Portus / Our Media Three electronic and six mechanical options In-frame battery for electronic groupsets Mechanical groupsets have Shimano or Campagnolo-style shifters L-Twoo eRX electronic road groupset L-Twoos top-spec eRX electronic road groupset has two rear-derailleur options, designed to work with 11-32t and 11-36t cassettes with 10, 11 or 12 speeds. Quoted weights are 288g and 295g. The front shifter can handle chainrings up to 54 teeth and includes a USB-C plug to charge the in-frame battery. The claimed weight is 140g. The battery has an 800mAh capacity, weighs 60g, and has a 16.8mm diameter and 155.5mm length. These dimensions are comparable to a Shimano Di2 battery, although the stated capacity is larger than the 500mAh of a Di2 battery. L-Twoo uses an in-frame battery that's similar to Shimano's in its electronic road groupsets. Warren Rossiter / Our Media The shifters operate wirelessly and are each powered by a standard CR2032 battery. They have a composite body and carbon brake lever, with two shift buttons on each shifter, positioned behind the brake lever, as is the case for Shimano. Theres lever reach adjust and they incorporate a hydraulic cylinder for L-Twoos brakes, which use mineral oil as hydraulic fluid. L-Twoo quotes a 234g weight per shifter. There are two dual-piston brake caliper designs, one compatible with 140mm rotors and one with 160mm rotors. L-Twoo sells six-bolt rotors to match, but theres no Center Lock option. ERX also offers electronic time trial and flat-bar shifters. Weight-wise, its comparable to Shimano 105 Di2 and SRAM Rival AXS. L-Twoo ER9 time trial groupset The ER9 groupset only has time trial/triathlon bar-end shifters and is also compatible with 10, 11 and 12-speed cassettes with 11-32t compatibility. Other components are similar to those used by eRX and use the same in-frame battery. L-Twoo ER7 groupset ER7 includes the same range of components as eRX, but with alloy brake blades, and is powered by the same in-frame battery. The rear-derailleur cage is also alloy, rather than the carbon outer plate of eRX. L-Twoo RX mechanical road bike groupset L-Twoo has levers with a thumb shifter as well as a Shimano-style shift option. Warren Rossiter / Our Media The top-spec mechanical groupset option is RX, which has hydraulic disc brake and cable-operated drop-bar brake and hydraulic-only time trial options. The drop-bar levers are available in two formats. One is analogous to Shimano STI lever logic, with the brake lever and a second shift lever controlling shifting. The second is like Campagnolo, with a single lever behind the brake and a thumb shifter on the hood. The rear derailleur has an 11-28t to 11-32t capacity and alloy cage sideplates; the front derailleur can handle a 56t maximum-sized chainring and 16-tooth total capacity. L-Twoo R9, R7, R5, R3 and R2 mechanical groupsets R9, R7 and R5 follow a similar spec to RX, only with slightly greater weight and dont include a time trial shifter option. R3 and R2 only offer Campagnolo-style shifting. L-Twoo gravel groupsets explained L-Twoo offers an extensive range of 1x gravel groupsets. Oscar Huckle / Our Media Single electronic system is 1x only with non-removable battery in derailleur Mechanical 1x options with between 9 and 13 speeds Compatibility with cassettes up to 11-50t L-Twoo EG Series electronic gravel groupset Theres only one L-Twoo electronic gravel groupset, which is designed for 1x systems only. It shares many of the features of the eRX groupset, with a right shifter with two shift buttons behind the carbon fibre brake lever. The shifter is compatible with 10, 11, 12 and 13 speeds. It matches a 'dumb' left lever, which just operates the hydraulic disc brake caliper again, with the same 140mm and 160mm rotor compatibility options as eRX. Theres also a flat-bar shifter option. While eRX has an in-frame battery, EG has a non-removable rear derailleur battery with 400mAh capacity thats charged via USB-C. The derailleur has an alloy cage and 11-42t to 11-50t cassette compatibility. There are two versions, with one adding 13-speed compatibility and the other stopping at 12-speed. The EG rear derailleur has a 333g claimed weight thats comparable to a SRAM Force XPLR AXS derailleur, which has a 336g claimed weight, including the battery. The 234g per shifter claimed weight is also comparable to Force AXS. L-Twoo GRT13 mechanical gravel bike groupset GRT13 comprises only the rear derailleur and brake calipers L-Twoo doesnt show compatible mechanical shifters, so its unclear how one would build a functioning groupset from L-Twoo components. As the name suggests, the derailleur is compatible with 13-speed cassettes with 11-50t maximum capacity. There are versions with and without a clutch, the latter saving a few grams in weight. L-Twoo GRT, GR9, GR7 and GR5 mechanical gravel bike groupsets The L-Twoo GRT mechanical gravel groupset offers clutched and non-clutched rear derailleurs. Warren Rossiter / Our Media GRT is 12-speed compatible only. As with GRT13, it is also 1x, but this time L-Twoo shows a Shimano-style right shift/brake lever and brake-only left lever on its site. Again, there are clutched and non-clutched rear derailleurs with the same 11-50t maximum cassette-range compatibility. Further down the gravel range, GR9 is an 11-speed analogue with the same cassette range, while GR7 is 10-speed. Finally, GR5 is 9-speed and only offers a non-clutched derailleur. L-Twoo mountain bike groupsets explained As with the EG gravel groupset, eTX has a 1x rear derailleur with an internal battery. L-Twoo One electronic groupset and two mechanical groupset families, all 1x Electronic groupset powered by non-removable battery in derailleur and 10- to 12-speed compatible Mechanical groupsets with 8- to 13-speed compatibility As with road and gravel, L-Twoo sells electronic and mechanical MTB groupsets. Theres only one electronic groupset, eTX, and two mechanical groupset ranges: the performance T Series with two options and A Series with no fewer than seven options, which are aimed at budget MTB and city bikes. L-Twoo ETX electronic MTB groupset ETX is designed for 1x drivetrains only, with a shift switch that operates the rear derailleur wirelessly and is powered by a CR2032 battery. The rear derailleur has similar specs to the EG electronic gravel derailleur, with a non-removable battery charged via USB-C and with 10, 11 and 12-speed 11-42t and 11-50t cassette compatibility. Theres a clutch and an impact-protection system with automatic rebound to restore function. ETX offers long and short-lever brakes, which L-Twoo equates to two-finger and three-finger usage. These can be paired with two-piston or quad-piston brake calipers. The eTX rear derailleur has a 426g claimed weight. Thats lower than a GX Eagle AXS Transmission, which we weighed at 491g or even an XX SL Eagle Transmission derailleur, which SRAM says weighs 440g. The Shimano XTR M9200 derailleur weighs 390g and the XT derailleur 450g, including battery. L-Twoo T Series mechanical MTB groupsets L-Twoo sells two- and four0pot calipers for road, gravel and MTB use. L-Twoo The TX system offers a 12-speed shift lever and a rear derailleur with 11t minimum and 46t to 52t largest sprocket compatibility. T7 has similar specs, but operates with a 10-speed cassette. It can handle a slightly larger 54t maximum sprocket. Neither T Series groupset shows brake levers or calipers. L-Twoo A Series mechanical MTB groupsets The AX13 shifter and derailleur are, as youd expect, 13-speed compatible. The derailleur can handle a largest sprocket between 42t and 52t. AX drops this down to 12 speeds. There are shifters with and without a gear indicator window and the derailleur has the same largest sprocket compatibility as the 13-speed groupset. A9 drops to 11 speeds, A7 to 10 speeds, A5 is nine speeds and A3 eight speeds. A5 and A3 include short and long-cage derailleur options, although L-Twoo states the same 42t to 52t largest sprocket for both cage lengths. Other L-Twoo groupsets and components L-Twoo sells this device that converts electronic to mechanical shifting. Warren Rossiter / Our Media In addition, L-Twoo sells a wide range of groupsets for folding bikes, including electronic and mechanical options and speed ranges from three up to 12-speed. Theres a rear-hub motor for ebikes and a complete suite of ebike flat-bar mechanical shifters, derailleurs and hydraulic brake calipers. Finally, theres a converter that can be mounted to the chainstay and converts the signal from a wireless electronic shift button to operate a mechanical rear derailleur. There is an option powered by its own battery and one that is powered by the ebike battery. Theres a compatible wireless shifter and the system can be used with from three- to 13-speed setups. L-Twoo app L-Twoo's app has similar functionality to tune your electronic shifting to that offered by Shimano and SRAM. It's available in English, too. L-Twoo The L-Twoo app is designed to work with the brands electronic groupsets for firmware updates, configuration and issue-solving, much like the Shimano E-Tube and SRAM AXS apps. Its available for Android and Apple devices. Where can I buy L-Twoo groupsets? Panda Podium focuses on L-Twoo road and gravel components. Panda Podium If you want to buy an L-Twoo groupset, you have a choice of several sites online. Panda Podium Panda Podium has a dedicated L-Twoo section, priced in US dollars, selling the brands road and gravel groupsets and components. An 11- or 12-speed front derailleur costs around $30 and a rear derailleur is priced at just over $50. Complete 11- or 12-speed road and gravel groupsets, including brake calipers, cost around $300, while electronic road and time trial groupsets start at around $650. eBay Theres a wider range of individual L-Twoo components on eBay than on Panda Podium, although fewer complete groupset options. MTB flat-bar shifters and derailleurs cost as little as 13 and, for European buyers, are sourced from Germany. AliExpress L-Twoos groupsets sell on AliExpress from as little as 20 for a flat-bar shifter and rear derailleur, while mechanical road and gravel systems start from a little over 120, including hydraulic brake calipers. The eRX electronic road bike groupset, including hydraulic disc brakes, is listed at just over 1,000, but that was discounted to 750 as of May 2026. Installation and warranty L-Twoo provides reasonably comprehensive English language installation instruction for its range of products, which are on a par with those offered by Shimano. Theres also a range of how to videos on YouTube. Although the brand supplies contact information for after-sales service, theres no explicit mention of any warranty on its products.

The RCR-Pro has proved its aero capabilities and straight-line speed in the Giro, winning the Team Classification with the Decathlon Team, and is now at its best-ever price with 33% off