While visiting the Belgian Cycling Factory, home of Ridley, Eddy Merckx, Nukeproof and Aeres Bikes, I spotted an interesting-looking 32in steel gravel bike. Im in Belgium checking out and getting an exclusive first ride of the new prototype Ridley aero gravel bike, one of the new bikes we spotted at The Traka but more on that later. While wandering around the BCF's Bike Valley complex, I spotted the new 32in gravel bike being pored over bike by the companys head of R&D, Pieter Potters and Pieter Vanheeswijck, communications manager for Eddy Merckx Bikes. So, being the nosey tech journo I am, I went in search of more details. Potters explained the 32in steel bike is a research mule a proof of concept he'll be riding over the coming weeks. He hopes to prove his 32in geometry works, and green-light the project. Read more: Ive tested gravel bikes since their inception and the 32in-wheel debate makes me think they have a size problem New 32in steel fork The 32in prototype was built in steel to validate the geometry and assess the ride. Warren Rossiter / Ourmedia Potters gave away few details about the bike, although he was at pains to say BCF has fabricated a new 32in steel fork for the mule. He explained that using an existing 32in mountain bike fork would upset the steering geometry. The idea behind the design was Potters wanted to keep the handling performance as close to current 700c gravel bikes as possible, while getting the benefits of the larger 32in wheel size. Potters is an experienced gravel racer, who used the unreleased Ridley RSS (Ridley Speed Shop) aero gravel bike in this year's 350km Traka. It's a bike we initially thought was called the RS2 (the logo on the frame stands for Ridley Speed Shop). The prototype even has a machined Merckx logo seatstay bridge, a signature of the brand's production metal bikes. Warren Rossiter / Ourmedia I managed to get a 10-minute ride on the mule bike, but only in civilian clothes and with flat pedals. No gravel was involved, just a few hundred metres of Belgian cobbles. While it took a few pedal strokes more than a 700c-wheel gravel bike to get up to speed, the 32in mule held speed very well and rolled over the rough Belgian cobbles magnificently. I expected the steering to feel barge-like and sluggish thanks to the increased wheel diameter, but it didn't at all. However, the real proof will be getting a bike off-road with a few singletrack sessions and a bit of elevation. The fork is an all-new fabrication because Merckx didn't want to compromise the geometry by using an off-the-shelf 32in fork. Warren Rossiter / Ourmedia I asked Potters if the bike goes into production whether it would be made from steel, titanium or even carbon. He replied, "Youll have to wait and see". I cant wait!

5 of the biggest tech highlights from Aprils episodes of Off The Back, featuring the Tarmac SL8, Shimano Dura Ace Pedals, and more

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe has just conducted what is perhaps one of the most important signings of its season - but it is not that of a rider. The German team has hired Tim Heemskerk, the coach who trained Jonas Vingegaard for many years at Team Visma | Lease a Bike. We are pleased to welcome Ti...

The 2026 Pinyons and Pines is a self-supported 413-mile bikepacking race that starts and ends in Flagstaff, Arizona, and follows some of the best terrain in the northern part of the state. Ahead of tomorrow's grand depart, we gathered details for nearly 50 race rigs, featuring bag and gear highlights for each. See them all hereThe post Rigs of the 2026 Pinyons and Pines appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG have had a disastrous stage 2 at the 2026 Giro d'Italia, having seen five of their riders crash, and three of them withdraw as a result. During stage 5, there was a collision between Tudor Pro Cycling Team's Mathys Rondel and the UAE car, resulting in a broken rear windshield...

Its Bike To Work season once again, and while the idea of riding a bicycle is confusing and frightening to most people, fortunately theres local news to ease them into the concept:Its a good thing they explained that riding a bike to work is more than just cycling around town, because too many potential bicycle commuters just get on a bike, cycle around town, and then give up because they never randomly wound up at work. Hopefully this year more people will get on bikes and make the mental leap that they actually need to ride them towards their workplaces. I look forward to their next helpful article, Why Making A Tuna Sandwich is More Than Just Staring at a Can and Some Bread.Meanwhile, when you last heard from me, Id opened up my new-to-me wheel like a can of tuna in the office kitchen, much to the chagrin of your coworkers:Which I had been hesitant to do lest I completely destroy the cracked-and-now-scarce preload adjustment thingy:Well, the preload adjuster thingy did survive. However, in Greek myth theres the story of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun. The moral of this tale is that, uh, you should never fly too close to the sun, or something. And sadly I flew too close to the sun when I then moved on to the front wheel and the cracked preload adjuster thingy crumbled like any number of obvious similes, including but not limited to:A cookieA yellowed piece of paper with your great-grandmothers cookie recipe written on itThe now-unrealized hopes and dreams of my youthThough in retrospect its a good thing this happened, because it made me realize how stupid Id been to be riding around on a pair of wheels with cracked preload adjuster thingies. I mean they were barely holding on, and I now realize that if one or both had fallen apart while I was riding the result could have been very unpleasant indeed. (Without the bearing preloaders the wheel can definitely shift enough on the axle for things to get ugly.) Speaking of which, Id like to compliment Campagnolo on the shrewd decision to make an important piece of hub hardware like this out of plastic, because Im sure it saved them a few Euro-cents per wheel that was better spent on stupid decals that say PROTON on them.In any case, Campagnolo used this part across many hubs and wheels in the past, including on the Record and Chorus hubs, where it is made from metal:[Im 73% sure this is interchangeable with the broken ones on my wheels.]Alas, these are now very difficult to find by themselves, though it seemed a shame to retire a pair of otherwise perfectly good wheels (their paucity of spokes notwithstanding) for want of such a simple part. Until now my efforts to source replacements had been unsuccessful (Id been looking ever since I first got the bike), so I was very close to buying a pair of used pair of hubs just for parts when it hit me:Of course! How could I not think of Bens Cycle? Theres a banner right here on this blog for chrissakes!So I emailed Drew at Bens, who graciously took the time out of his busy day to locate a small part so a desperate bike dork could keep a pair of 20 year-old wheels rolling (assuming they fit, which again, Im 73% sure that they will):[Photo: Drew from Bens]As for the EAI motherlode, a lot of it is listed on eBay, and its quite astonishing:But you wont find highly specific stuff like what I was looking for that way, and if youre looking for stuff like that too you should reach out to them directly. Anyway, I really hope these new metal preload adjuster thingies do fit, because if they dont Im going to have to build a bike around them, and thats going to be expensive.So yes, keeping an older bike running can sometimes require you to be resourcefulas does keeping your toilet clear:A reader by the name of Ben (whats with so many Bens coming to my rescue these days?) shared this video with me, and I now have a favorite YouTuber. I also have a great product idea for Silca, and its a plunger that mounts like a frame pump:This just goes to show that AI will never truly take over, because The Algorithm just serves me crap like this:Whereas it took an actual human being who reads my blog to alert me to content I find genuinely compelling:By the way, if you think riding around with plumbing supplies strapped to your bike looks funny, this guy says, Hold my plunger!Remember how BikeRadar said if you buy a gravel bike that doesnt have clearance for at least 50mm tires youre an idiot? Well it turns out you dont need 50mm tires after all:The Festka Spectre Gravel shows a fast gravel bikedoesntneed 50mm+ tyres.Amazinglylow weight and finessed handling make this Czech superbike frighteningly quick everywhere.Provided of course the bike costs over Eighteen Thousand American Fun Tickets:I haventexperienced many race-ready lightweightgravel bikesthat are this versatile and this much fun to ride. However, it comes at a price very few will be able to afford.This fully custom bike would cost13,900 / $18,553 / 16,900, including the preliminary consultation and full bike-fitting service.I wonder if that preliminary consultation involves helping you pick out a clown shirt:So yes, in case you havent been keeping track:Buying a gravel bike with less than 50mm of clearance: dumbBuying a gravel bike for $18,553 and using 40mm tires on it: geniusAnd Im not even going to address the boutique Aerospokes, because Id prefer to believe they dont exist.

E-bike users were also found to have more difficulties in storing their bikes in the home, as one insurer says the storage problems give prospective commuters "a reason to opt out" of cycling

Mauro Vegni came to be known as the 'patron' of the Giro d'Italia and is the architect behind the iconic grand tour since 2002 before his retirement earlier this year. With his fingerprints all over the 2026 route despite stepping back, Vegni opened up about the special moments, difficult situations...

The latest bag maker to take advantage of Old Man Mountain's FLiP OEM program is Rogue Panda in Flagstaff, Arizona, with their new Buckskin Mini Pannier. We tested a prototype on a small segment of the Arizona Trail and got to check out the production version ahead of today's launch. Find our first look at the Rogue Panda Buckskin Mini Pannier hereThe post Rogue Panda Buckskin Mini Pannier: For FLiPs Sake appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Tim Merlier took victory with a dominant sprint to claim stage one of the Tour de Hongrie. The Belgian sprinter comfortably took the win after a chaotic run-in that featured two crashes and a failed late attack by Jakob Sderqvist. With just over 150 meters of climbing, fans were set for a blisterin...