Launched today, the Brooks B17 Utmost is a premium saddle featuring high-quality leather, a new internal rail design, and other small tweaks to one of cycling's most recognizable saddles. For more on this new B17, check out all the details belowThe post The Brooks B17 Utmost Is a Labor of Love appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Surprisingly, the 2026 ParisRoubaix and multiple Tour de France stage winner came out on top! Find out more about the Cube Nuroad C:62 EX gravel bike that Liam used to conquer the epic Marly Grav Race

Wout van Aert claimed victory on stage 5 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes after Team Visma | Lease a Bike helped turn one of the quietest days of the race into a controlled sprint finish in Villars-les-Dombes. After Quinn Simmons had denied the peloton on stage 4, the fifth stage brought a far more...

A nephew of a man who was killed while cycling has called Clare county councillors motion to criminalise anybody outside of cars not wearing high-vis.As reported recently, Clare County Council passed a motion calling on the Minister for Transport to make high-vis jackets mandatory for pedestrians and cyclists, with the threat of 120 fines for people in public without high-vis. The councillor, Cllr Pat Burke (Fine Gael), who proposed the motion, told Newstalk that it should apply to pedestrians even on footpaths and even in city centres.He became frustrated and let out an exasperated sigh when asked how it would work, and was questioned about the practicalities of making wearing non-high-vis clothing a criminal offence. Responding to the motion, Eoin Niallin said: This month the drunk/drug driver that mowed down and killed my uncle on a Clare road was sentenced for her crimes. Today, Clare County Council effectively victim blamed uncle Mike for his death at the hands of a drunk/drug driver. Furious doesnt cover my emotions right now.His 70-year-old uncle, Michael Lorigan, was described as a gifted teacher and cyclist. He was killed by Saoirse Lillis McMahon, who was found guilty by Ennis Circuit Court of dangerous driving causing his death on August 16th, 2023, on the N67 at Baunmore, Kilkee, Co Clare.According to a court report, Lillis McMahon was given a five-year sentence with the final six months suspended after the Court heard that she was under the influence of alcohol and a cocktail of drugs, including cocaine. She also had children in the car with her at the time of the fatal crash.Gardai also found that she was disqualified from driving, uninsured, and that the car was dangerously defective. She was driving at a speed of between 81-99km/h at impact and did not brake before impact.In another post on X, Niallin added: Attempting to absolve bad driver behaviour by shifting the focus to the right of other road users to exist is the wrong message. Driver behaviour is being worse, which stats show. That needs to remain the focus; not trying to criminalise non-drivers being on the road.When another user of the platform said: Sorry to hear about your uncle, but where in this article does it speak about your uncle? The motion was put forward after a close call by a Fine Gael councillor with a pedestrian recently. Niallin responded: Driver behaviour is the issue, not the existence of other road users. Saying other road users are in any way at fault for their own injuries/death for not wearing a hi-vis, when research shows thats not the case, is an insult. By the sounds of it, he was going too fast around said bend.

After a third-place finish in 2024, Laurens ten Dam is lining up at this year's Tour Divide with big goals. Learn about his Specialized S-Works Epic 9 build and why he thinks it might be the perfect bike for the route in his latest video here...The post Laurens ten Dams 2026 Tour Divide Bike Check (Video) appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Van Rysel has launched a new womens endurance range, which includes cycling shorts intended to support cyclists during their menstrual cycle and endurance-focused bib shorts. The Decathlon brand says that while womens cycling continues to grow, product development around comfort in the saddle and menstrual health has lagged behind. It also points out that many women adapt or skip exercise due to discomfort, fatigue or fear of leakage and Van Rysel wants to change that. lise Delzenne, womens engineer at Van Rysel, says: For us, this range started with a simple question; why are women still adapting their riding around their kit? We knew we had to design products that reflect the reality of how women actually ride, including moments that have historically been overlooked. It wasnt about adding features for the sake of it, but about removing friction, so riders can feel comfortable, confident and focused every time they get on the bike. Van Rysel EDR Menstrual Short Van Rysel says the Menstrual Shorts are to allow riders to stay focused on the ride, not on discomfort or logistics. Van Rysel The Van Rysel Menstrual Shorts (34.99 / 39.99) have a menstrual chamois pad, similar to those found in menstrual underwear. Van Rysel says the pad can absorb fluid while maintaining breathability and moisture management during efforts. The pad was tested by the SGS laboratory, experts in testing the absorbency of hygiene products, and can hold 12ml of fluid, which is equivalent to a super-plus tampon or night-time sanitary pad. The objective is simple: allow riders to stay focused on the ride, not on discomfort or logistics, Van Rysel says. The shorts were tested by 19 women over several weeks and the chamois pad is said to be long-lasting, maintaining full effectiveness even after 25 washes. Van Rysel adds that the shorts have a smooth fit across the stomach which accommodates period bloating. Van Rysel Ultra Bibshort The Ultra Bishorts have a chamois from Elastic Interface, which is said to provide comfort for more than seven hours. Van Rysel The second release in Van Rysels new endurance range is the Ultra Bibshort (99.99 / 119.99), which is intended for long-distance and ultra-endurance cycling. The shorts dont feature Van Rysels menstrual chamois, but instead have Elastic Interfaces Corsa chamois, said to provide comfort for more than 7 hours in the saddle. The Ultra Bibshort features a new innovation from Van Rysel, its Back Ease construction. The design is said to enable effortless comfort breaks without the need to remove your jersey or bib straps. Easy-pee features are common across many of the best womens cycling shorts, including the Iris Escape Bib Short, which Katherine Moore recently awarded a full-five stars. Elsewhere, the Ultra Bibshort features Italian fabric and a leg finish without elastic or silicone. [T]result is a bibshort that prioritises comfort, support and freedom of movement, even in the most demanding conditions, Van Rysel says.

Belgian bounces back from training crash with sprint win

Twenty-four hours after Wout van Aert had been left sprinting for minor places behind a successful breakaway, Team Visma | Lease a Bike made sure stage 5 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes ended on their terms. Van Aert won in Villars-les-Dombes after Visma helped bring the race back together, then de...

The UCI has found another thing to measure. This time, its bike computers.Starting January 1, 2028, in UCI races (not your local races, only UCI ones), pro race head units will be limited to a maximum size of 126 71mm. The UCIs reasoning? Rider safety and cognitive load.However, thats not exactly a tiny screen, but what it does is put a hard ceiling on the direction computers have been heading lately: bigger displays, more data, more maps, more alerts from social/phone/WhatsApp, more numbers, more everything. (Photo/Garmin)In normal human speak, riders already have enough to look at while going 60kph in a bunch. They probably dont need a tablet strapped to the stem showing 19 metrics, a live climb profile, a WhatsApp message from a friend in high school, and their sweat rate blinking in red. And for those SRAM conspiracy theorists thinking the UCI might have an axe to grind with unfinished gearing restrictions. The Hammerhead Karoo measures a cool 102.8 61.66 21.1 mm within the UCI ruling, safe for now. The Wahoo ACE is a big unit and only comes out for navigation during my rides. (Photo/Jordan Villella)The End of The Big Head Unit?This rule doesnt appear to nuke any of the current big-name computers immediately. Most modern head units fit under the proposed limit. The Wahoo ELEMNT ACE is basically right up against it, which tells you where the UCI drew the line: current big is okay, future bigger is not.So this isnt really a ban on todays tech. Its a preemptive wall before head units keep creeping toward smartphone size. The UCI is saying, more or less, Thats enough screen.With the latest Wahoo update, you can now see heat zones, fluid loss, and more with the right sensors. (All Images/Wahoo)And honestly, you can see how we got here. Bike computers are no longer just speed, distance, and heart rate. Theyre navigation devices, power dashboards, climb predictors, weather tools, nutrition timers, gear indicators, live trackers, sensor hubs, and occasionally tiny anxiety rectangles.Add in modern sensor data: body temperature, sweat rate, hydration info, aero sensors, drivetrain data, and the front of a race bike can start to look like a cockpit. Which, to be fair, is kind of the point. But the UCI is asking whether that cockpit is becoming a distraction.HammerHead Karoo integration with Rock Shox Flight Attendant suspension. (Photo/SRAM)Is Screen Size Really the Problem?The UCI says the concern is the amount of data available to riders during competition. More data means more decisions. Wahoo just released a slew of updates with lots of new data sensors, so this could be part of the too much they are citing. More decisions mean more mental load and less time thinking about the road ahead. According to the UCI, increased mental load can contribute to crashes. But you know what else does? Rushing to put a rider back on their bike, and into the bunch after a crash without having a medical look over themBut I digress. Fine. That logic tracks (for the computer size), at least in theory.All the Wahoos (Photo/Cory Benson)But does limiting the computers physical size actually solve that? Maybe, but maybe not.A smaller screen can still show plenty of chaos if the software allows it. A larger screen can also make important information easier to read with a quick glance. Anyone who has tried to read tiny turn prompts, tiny power numbers, or tiny route warnings while getting bounced around in a bunch knows that bigger is not automatically more distracting.Garmin Edge 130 (Photo/Jordan Villella)The real question is probably not How big is the screen? Its What are riders being shown, when are they being shown it, and how much are they expected to process while racing?But screen size is easier to regulate than software behavior, data page layout, or team tactics. So here we are.Glucose and Lactate Still OutThe bike computer rule sits inside the wider conversation around onboard tech. Riders can already display plenty of physiological information, including heart rate, body temperature, and sweat-rate-related data. Glucose and lactate monitoring (such as Supersapiens)remains banned during competition.That puts computer brands in an interesting place. The next generation of devices will still chase better displays, better battery life, better mapping, better touchscreens, better sensor support, and cleaner software inside a 126 71mm box.(Photo by Sprint/UAE Team Emirates)Front Jersey Pockets Are NextThe UCI also took aim at another modern aero hack: front jersey pockets.From July 1, 2026, pockets on the front of jerseys will be banned, except for a possible pocket used only to hold a race radio.(Photo/Ekoi)Teams and riders have been playing with front-loaded nutrition, radio placement, hydration bladders, and body-shaping tricks for a while. Why? Stuffing the front pocket can change the riders torso shape and sometimes make airflow separate more cleanly around the body. That can reduce drag. The UCI says it has seen riders using internal front pockets filled with nutrition products that were difficult, or basically impossible, to access during racing. Translation: the snacks were not really snacks. They were shape modifiers.The result? Pockets go on the back, as intended for cycling. Unless its for a radio.UCI-approved frameset from Chapter 2 (Photo/Chapter 2)More Fines, More PenaltiesThe UCI is also updating sanctions around non-compliant accessories and equipment. That means fines and sporting penalties can be applied more consistently when riders or teams show up with gear that doesnt meet the rules.Thats probably the part teams care about most. A new equipment rule is one thing. A new equipment rule with actual consequences is another.For manufacturers, the computer-size timeline gives some breathing room. A January 2028 start date means brands can adjust future designs without immediately scrambling. For clothing brands and teams, the front-pocket ban lands much sooner, right before the summer racing block.Sock-gate, but for headwear. (Photo/Tirreno Adriatico)Whats Next?The bike computer size cap is classic UCI: partly reasonable, partly weird, and very measurable.Theres a real conversation to have about rider distraction. Theres also a real conversation to have about course safety, race radios, motos, road furniture, downhill sprint finishes, and the thousand other things that make modern racing sketchy before anyone even looks down at a head unit.But the UCI can measure a computer. So the computer gets measured, just like the socksLets see what happens at the 2026 Tour de Suisse (June 17 to June 21, 2026), and we can play guess the fines together. The post UCI Says Bike Computers Are Big Enough, Moves to Cap Head Unit Size appeared first on Bikerumor.

SRAM has announced that it will be expanding its production in Europe, with a new 25,000 square metre factory in Coimbra, Portugal, slated to open in 2028 and be fully operational by 2032. The American company is moving production to the new facility from Taiwan. It cites a number of advantages, not least lower emissions from transport and shorter lead times and says that it will enable it to produce, test and quality control its entire catalogue of over 7,500 components. The move supports one of the companys stated key responsibilities, namely, to do its part to reduce its overall environmental footprint in lasting ways. According to SRAM CEO Ken Lousberg: "Expanding our manufacturing footprint in Europe allows us to work more closely with our European OEM and aftermarket partners, improve sustainability, and operate with greater speed and resilience across our global network." You may like: SRAM calls for reform as UCI loses its gearing restrictions appeal in "groundbreaking" ruling 500 additional employees SRAM already has a factory in Coimbra, where it makes thousands of kilometres of chains each year. SRAM SRAM already has a plant in Coimbra, which employs around 300 staff. This assembles Zipp wheels and Time pedals and makes around 15 million metres of SRAM chains each year. It expects to hire an additional 500 employees when the new 57.5m factory opens. Isabel Gomes, SRAM Portugals general manager says: A second facility here confirms what our team has built over decades and it means European riders will get more SRAM products faster, with the same quality standards they've come to expect. SRAM already makes all its Time pedals in the current Coimbra factory. Warren Rossiter / Our Media Situated around halfway between Lisbon and Porto, Coimbra has a population of around 150,000. The surrounding area is already home to a number of other cycling brands, including wheel maker Rodi, Polisport which makes a range of components and child's seats, and InCycles which offers bike design and manufacturing for third parties as well as selling bikes under its own portfolio of brands. Onshoring is becoming a hot trend in bicycle and component manufacture, with Canyon now making some of its carbon handlebars in Europe and several Italian brands moving more of their production and assembly back in-house. At the same time, theres a burgeoning of Chinese bike brands and own-brand Chinese manufacturers of everything from wheels to groupsets that looks set to disrupt the global cycling market.