A wave of new gravel bikes, concept bikes, and carbon wheel tech from Canyon, Ridley, Winspace and Vonoa was on show at Eurobike 2026 - here are our top picks

Team TotalEnergies have confirmed their eight-rider lineup for the 2026 Tour de France, with Jordan Jegat set to lead the French teams ambitions in what will be their final appearance at the race under the TotalEnergies banner. The team will start their 27th Tour de France in Barcelona, with the ro...

In the second edition of Grinds and Gravela series focusing on coffee, bikes, and how the two connectNic takes a look at a familiar, local shop. Based in the heart of West Asheville, Cooperative Coffee plays an outsized role in both coffee production and providing a space for community. Explore this in-depth look at coffee, community, and bikes belowThe post Grinds and Gravel: Cooperative Coffee appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

The past weekend was a wet one:Fortunately Ive got a bike for that:Yes, it does have a disgraceful fenderline:But while they may look like a pair of poorly drawn eyebrowsthey are no less effective for it. Theyve also been on and off multiple bikes at this point, having started life a decade and a half ago on the Scattante:And by now theyre so bent and filthy I see no point going through all the trouble of trimming the stays and all that stuff simply to appease the fastidious among you. In fact, putting fenders on at all is one of the most tedious processes in all of cycledomone of those things youre always sure will just take you 20 minutes but somehow ends up taking at least two hours, like picking up something from Ikea. So once theyre on and not rubbing anything its very difficult to want to fine tune them. In fact its such a hassle I dismantled this entire bike, had the frame repainted, and completely reassembled it, and even then I still couldnt be bothered to align the fenders:[The Milwaukee pre-makeover.]All of this is to say that if I owned a bike shop Id charge $1,000 per wheel for the job and if you didnt like it Id tell you exactly where you could stick em. (That sounds harsh, but installing a fender into yourself is only marginally more painful than installing one on a bicycle.)And for the record, I can do a decent job installing a pair of fenders when it actually matters-, such as when its my wifes bike and not mine:But even then, when I do its absolutely nothing like this video:For one thing, instead of groovy music theres just the sound of me cursing. For another, the very first thing he does is this:Whereas my approach is to install everything, discover that the handlebars wont turn, and only then do I remove the front fender again in order to bend the tab, at which point I remember that this happens EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN TIME.But once theyre on its all worth it. Riding a bike on a wet road without fenders is like straddling someones face while they spritz you from below with a water bottle. And while I do appreciate that some people might enjoy that and in certain cases even pay good money for it (and no, thats not a dig at anybody who works as a crotch-spritzer, sex work is real work after all), I prefer to keep road spray to a minimum. Yet even I, a fender apologist, do find that once a bike is befendered I ride it less in dry conditions than I did previously. But why should this be? Well, one reason is that it reduces the bikes off-roadability. In fact, I was once riding the Milwaukee offroad with fenders, a stick got lodged in the front one, and I went over the bars and broke my thumbthough it should be noted that was a different pair of fenders without safety tabs:[Most plastic fenders seem to come with them these days, but if yours didnt you can add them.]But another reason I suppose is that subconsciously I think a road bike with fenders is somehow slower, and that it is compromised in some way that is not justified when there is no water to deflect, in the same way one might avoid riding a full suspension bike entirely on the road. But after riding the Milwaukee all weekend long, even long after the roads had dried out, I was reminded of how silly this is. The Milwaukee is my longest-serving bicycle and we are perfectly attuned; so not only did it feel fast, but it felt especially fast. Certainly part of that may be the Absence-Makes-The-Heart-Grow-Fonder Effect, but no less a personage than Jan Heine The Science Guy confirms that fenders do not slow you down:In fact, the front part of the fender even speeds you up (though I guess the back part of the fender cancels that out):Now I have no idea if any of this applies to my own wonky installation, but the bike was certainly zipping along, so I wonder if perhaps Ive accidentally hit upon some sort of cutting-edge fenderline that acts to enhance the bicycles aerodynamic properties. Also, the fenders Im using dont have mud flaps, which add drag. I know youre supposed to use mud flaps since its considerate to the riders behind you, but there are few things I care less about than the riders behind me.Also, Im slow, so any riders behind me will not be there for very long.And finally, I should address the term fenders versus its transatlantic counterpart mudguards, which like most cycling Britishisms is silly and wrong. See, a fender fends off moisture, whereas you wouldnt even want a fender on a muddy ride because it would get packed full of mud almost immediately. Its almost as annoying a term as mech, which I really cant stand because I always read it with the guttural throat-clearing ch the Internet tells me is called the voiceless uvular fricative, like the way an actual German person or a pretentious English-speaking person would pronounce the name Johann Sebastian Bacccccchhhhhhh. But for sheer pomposity nothing rivals the term seat pillar, whichcome on:Hey, wheres the dropper pillar?

The Association of Cycle Traders want to see targeted support for businesses to make it cheaper to hire younger, part-time workers

Chris Horner has warned that Jonas Vingegaard may already be racing for second place at the 2026 Tour de France, despite arriving in July as Giro dItalia champion. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader won the Giro and took five stages along the way, but Horner believes Tadej Pogacars Tour de Suiss...

As soon as I moved to the Whistler area, I quickly became aware of Chromag bikes. However, they only offered hardtails until recent years. Today Chromag has several full suspension MTBs, and the Throwdown is their first enduro/freeride model. With 170mm front and rear travel, its the biggest bike Chromag has made yet. I was curious to see how well it would ride, and came away very impressed with how theyve tuned its linkage.With enduro or park build options, the Throwdown is made for tacking rowdy, rough terrain. It features an aluminum frame, and rolls on MX wheels only. While weight is definitely a factor, the Throwdowns linkage keeps the bike climbing surprisingly well. The real fun begins when you point it downhill though, as the rear end did a great job dealing with all types of impacts big or small.Chromag Throwdown Key Specs and Frame FeaturesFor complete details on the new Throwdown lineup, check out my recent launch article. Heres a quick look at the bikes key specs:Throwdown frames are constructed from 6066 aluminum, and they run MX wheels only. The bike provides 170mms of rear travel, via a rocker-driven Horst Link linkage. Up front youll find 170mm forks on the enduro (Eagle 90) build, while the park build comes with a 190mm dual-crown fork. The Throwdown keeps things simple with fixed geometry and suspension kinematics.One thing I noticed right away is how short the Throwdowns seat tube is. Even with 180mm travel, the dropper post on my demo bike sticks out of frame more than any bike Ive tested. The mast was kept very short to ensure riders (especially park riders) can slam their seats nice and low. Chromag says even with the Throwdown park builds static seat post, there should be no issues with seat/wheel contact.For easy maintenance the Throwdown features external cable routing. This bike does not offer in-frame storage, but it does include a SRAM UDH derailleur hanger. Chromag gave the Throwdown one water bottle mount and an accessory mount.The complete Throwdown (with pedals) is the heaviest enduro bike I have yet tested on trails, hitting the scale at 38.32 lbs. Considering this bike is intended for bike park riding or enduro Im not surprised by the weight. Its only a smidge heavier than the current Devinci Spartan I tested earlier this year, which also topped 38 lbs.Ride Impressions: Suspension SetupTypically with test bikes I start by checking the suspension manufacturers recommended settings online. Most often this info leaves me at a good starting point, but Ill also make a few adjustments that Ive found work for me. When I went to set up the Throwdowns suspension, I wasnt able to get much info from SRAMs website. At first, I couldnt find any info on the fork at all, but I later found it higher up the fork leg than at the bottom where Ive found them previously. I set up the bike and hit the trails, but it was obvious some tweaks were needed as the suspension wasnt performing well.Thankfully, a friend who happens to service MTB suspension came to town! He confirmed my hunches that I needed the rear end rebounding a fair bit faster than recommended, and that I had too much air in the fork. With a few adjustments, the Throwdown was immediately offering not only proper, but impressive suspension performance. Given my short time with the Throwdown Im stoked my friend helped speed up the process of getting the bike dialed in. Thanks Brad!ClimbingGiven that this big bike is intended for enduro or bike park riding, I suspected the linkage may have been tuned on the softer side, favoring sheer bump-eating capabilities over efficient pedalling. Im happy to say Chromag proved me wrong, and this bikes linkage actually climbs quite well!On any non-assisted bike, I generally use the rear shocks Firm mode for climbing. The Throwdowns RockShox Vivid Ultimate shock has a very supportive Firm mode, and when in use the bike pedalled along eagerly and resisted wallowing into its travel really well. After many singletrack climbs, I never forced more than about 45-50% travel out of the rear end. Between pedalling efforts and bumps on the trail, the Throwdown with the shock firmed up offers a surprisingly supportive ride.As for ride qualities, the Throwdown behaved like most of todays trail/enduro bikes do. With the shock in Firm mode, you wont get a buttery smooth climb; you can feel the bumps from the trail, and the rear end lifting over rocks and roots. In Firm mode the Throwdown was very resistant to pedal bob and particularly bob in the saddle as you roll over humps while seated. I made a point of standing up and cranking hard on several climbs, but the rear end refused to wallow.I found traction in Firm mode was easily sufficient for technical singletrack climbs. Even in Firm this long-travel bike still uses enough squish to offer reliable traction over rocks and roots.When climbing in Open mode, the Throwdowns ride gets much more comfortable and the rear end absorbs impacts much better. This bike doesnt numb out or erase all trail chatter even when wide open, but it softens each impact considerably. Slight pedal bob is detectable in Open mode, and the Throwdown would now dip to around 70% travel after my climbs, but it was still impressively resistant to saddle bobbing. The one detrimental effect of climbing in Open is body position: As soon as you open up the shock, you sink into the bikes lengthy travel and your body leans back a little.Although I prefer the added efficiency from Firm mode, I did find the Throwdown still rolls along nicely when youre pedalling in Open. I tried a few sprints on paved roads, and while sitting the linkage held me high in the travel. Only when I stood up and cranked hard would the rear end dive much deeper.Knowing this bike was built for smashing rowdy descents, I was impressed by how well it carried itself uphill. However, it cant be ignored that the Throwdowns weight puts it in a class some riders would consider out of the question for a bike youll be doing a lot of climbing with. DescendingOnce I got the Throwdowns suspension dialed in, it was clear this bikes linkage was fine-tuned into something I found pretty impressive. Chromag hasnt been making full suspension bikes for all that long, but it seems their engineers have learned quickly!The Throwdowns rear end isnt too picky about impacts, it deals with just about anything quite well. It never felt quite as plowy as a high-pivot, rearward axle path bike, as it doesnt totally numb out the trail in any situation, even smaller bumps. However, Id say this was one of the best Horst Link bikes Ive ridden in terms of impact absorption.Where the Throwdown really seems to shine is dealing with repeated, medium-sized bumps. I think thats great, since large parts of many trails fit this description. Several times during my testing Id be in attack position speeding down a bumpy trail, and Id suddenly realize the Throwdown was just smoothing its way through, feeling solidly planted and dulling every impact in superb fashion. Its like the bike finds its own flow state! My local trails have tons of rooty, rocky sections and the Throwdown proved its composure on such terrain time and time again.Bigger, sharper hits never challenged the Throwdown much either. Once I had the rear end set up properly, I never provoked any nasty hits on the rear wheel despite my best efforts! While this bike wont give you the feeling of plowing right through big, sharp hits like a high-pivot bike can, it softened those harsh impacts better than most Horst Link or four-bar bikes Ive ridden.While the Throwdown is not a lightweight bike, Chromag was able to give it a pleasantly poppy ride, and maintain a lively feel with good mid-stroke support. Right from my first ride (even with my rebound set too slow) I noticed the bike popped off jumps nicely. This makes for a fun ride on any trail, but especially when riding bike parks.The Throwdown offers good mid-stroke support as well. While testing I sprang out of one particular corner really nicely, and suddenly remembered I hadnt made any notes on cornering support! After railing many more turns I can confirm the Throwdown is definitely supportive enough to pump through corners and pop out carrying speed. This bike takes all kinds of impacts really well, yet it maintains solid mid-stroke performance.I am a lightweight rider at about 140lbs, but I found the Throwdowns linkage gets quite progressive just before bottom-out. Its easy to hit 95% travel but takes a good thump to fully bottom this bike out. I finished a few laps on pretty rough trails and still had a few millimeters of travel to spare. GeometryAs for geometry, I was immediately comfortable on the Throwdown. The reach and rear end length are both within a few millimeters of my personal MTB (2022 Knolly Chilcotin 151) which Ive always felt fits me perfectly.Chromags sizing is up to todays norms, but they didnt go nuts making the Throwdown super long in the front or rear ends. Of course since they offer a M/L size, they can keep the mediums sizing more standard and offer a bigger fit with the M/L. The 465mm reach on the medium frame is roomy but not excessively long. The 27.5 rear wheel and 435mm chainstays are compact enough to feel nimble in corners, and both make it easy to lift the front wheel. The stubby rear end allows the Throwdown to remain fairly playful for an enduro bike.The 63.5 steering angle (and long travel fork) was noticeably nice on steep slabs, encouraging you to dive in with confidence. That slack head tube angle is definitely ideal for steep or rough stuff, and it does feel slack while climbing but its a small sacrifice Ill gladly make.The Throwdowns 78 effective seat mast angle is easily steep enough to put you in a good position for powerful pedalling. A nice touch for the park model in particular is how the frames short mast allows you to slam your seat down low.Up front a 633mm stack height offers a fairly low front end if desired, but my demo bike felt pretty comfortable with a few spacers under the stem. The bikes 713mm standover height left me a decent amount of clearance over the frame. The sloping top tube is higher near the head tube, but drops a fair bit towards the seat mast.Other Ride NotesIn terms of frame stiffness, I noticed the Throwdowns rear end does offer a bit of squirm. Being a lighter rider I detected this while speeding through chunky rock gardens. When I plowed the wheel into something that deflected it sideways, I could feel just enough flex to prevent me from getting harshly bounced around. The rear wheel could squirm enough to find good traction in such situations.Regarding weight, I found the Throwdowns heft easier to forget about than you might think as youre climbing or traversing. However, I was noticeably more tired after a lengthy climb on the Throwdown, just days after doing the same lap on my 1.7 lbs lighter, 29 wheeled Knolly. On descents, the weight does translate into a very stable ride. The only thing I didnt find too joyful was whipping the bike around in the air It takes some muscle to toss this thing around versus a lighter trail/enduro bike. If its your park bike though, the Throwdown would feel more playful than any DH bike.I havent ridden a bike with externally routed cables for quite some time, but I didnt notice any rattling at all from the Throwdowns cables and hoses.Water Bottle/Accessory CompatibilityOn the medium frame I rode, I was able to fit a standard small water bottle in the frame, but just barely. Without a little flex from the bottle cage the bottle will likely contact the underside of the top tube when coming in and out. I had my Silca bottle cage positioned as far forward as possible, and it cleared the rear shock with only a few millimeters to spare.As for accessories, I tried installing a Topeak Dock Tool on the Throwdown, and it fit just fine. The only thing Ill mention is accessing the rear allen bolt with a standard allen key was a bit tricky.Components:First I must note, there are three components on my demo bike that dont match the stock builds The ZEB Ultimate fork, the Maven Silver brakes, and the Chromag Lynx DT saddle. Consumer bikes will come with a 170mm RockShox Zeb Select+ fork, SRAMs Maven Bronze brakes with updated B1 levers, and Chromags Trailmaster seat. Since I rode different models of these parts I wont comment on them (except to say they performed perfectly well and suited the bike).One advantage of buying a bike from a company thats known for their quality components is you get those goods on stock builds! The Throwdown comes with Chromags OSX35 aluminum handlebars, 35mm HiFi BSX stem, Format grips, Trailmaster seat, and BA30 V2 wheels.One Chromag component thats not included on the stock builds, but was on my test bike, is a set of their Dagga pedals. I liked these pedals immediately. The Daggas shape makes it very easy to tell if your foot is positioned correctly. Between their concave bodies and the slight hump over the axle, your foot will naturally be most comfortable when its centered on the pedal. The bodies are just big enough to provide support to every bit of my size 9.5 foot, and the pins are on the grippier side.The ThrowdownsRockShox Vivid Ultimate rear shock offered smooth bump eating performance, and its Firm mode ensures good pedalling efficiency. Its easy to tell the shocks adjustments are functioning well As noted above, I had to play with rebound settings but produced very noticeable results with a few clicks.SRAMs Eagle 90 transmission performed flawlessly throughout all my rides with zero adjustment. There were no hesitant shifts, no skipping gears, and the shifter has a solid, crisp feel. A bashguard on the chainring is a welcome finishing touch for this rowdy bike.This bike rolls on Chromags BA30 V2 wheelset. I can assure you these rims are tough! On my first ride with my rebound set too slow I punished the Throwdowns rear wheel, repeatedly thumping it hard and burping sealant in several places. Despite that the rear rim has a barely noticeable wobble, no hops and no dents. The front wheel still looks brand new after all my rides.Chromag stuck with Maxxis trusty Minion DHF/DHR tires with a 2.5 front and 2.4 rear, both with DoubleDown casings. A common choice, but for good reason theyre solid all-around treads.The 180mm travel OneUp Components V3 dropper post was pretty sticky on my bike, but this is a test mule and I wasnt the first person to ride it! I previously owned a OneUp post for several years and it was flawless, so Im sure this one just needs a service. I am stoked to see a nice long travel post on a medium frame.The Chromag Throwdown (Eagle 90 build) retails for $5250. Check out all the details on Chromags website. chromagbikes.comThe post The Chromag Throwdown Eagle 90 is a Burly Enduro MTB That Takes All The Hits in Stride appeared first on Bikerumor.

Paul Sexias has said he is "ready to give everything I have over these three weeks" as his Tour de France debut was confirmed by Decathlon CMA CGM on Monday afternoon.His participation was revealed back in May, but a crash at the Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes briefly put this in doubt. He will be joined in Barcelona by Olav Kooij, with the Dutch sprinter also making his debut, Tiesj Benoot, Aurlien Paret-Peintre, Nicolas Prodhomme, Cees Bol, Daan Hoole and Matthew Riccitello.Seixas, just 19, will become the youngest starter at the Tour in 89 years as a result, and only the second 19-year-old to take part in the 21st century. However, Seixas will also be looking for a result in the biggest bike race of them all, a race a Frenchman has not won since 1985, although Pauline Ferrand-Prvot won the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift last year."After my crash and withdrawal from the Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, I was able to resume my preparation for the Tour de France almost as planned, with a few adjustments to some training sessions because of my injuries," he said. "With five days to go until the Grand Dpart, I feel ready to give everything I have over these three weeks and achieve the best result possible. "I am not setting myself a more specific goal because I am heading into the unknown, having never raced an event this long and demanding before. I hope I can play an active role in the race, continue to improve, and enjoy the experience along the way. It is the race I have always dreamed of, and I know how fortunate I am to be taking part in it so early in my career.""We approach the Tour with ambition, but also with humility, determined to build on the progress we have made over the past few seasons," Dominique Serieys, the team's general manager, said. "We have built a strong, well-balanced, and united team, featuring riders with the profiles needed to achieve our objectives. "Paul Seixas will make his Tour de France debut as part of this group, aiming to deliver the best possible result while continuing his development and gaining valuable experience. Olav Kooij, who will also be making his first appearance in the Tour de France, will have several opportunities to showcase his sprinting speed in the bunch finishes. "With this lineup, the team led by Luke Rowe, who will be making his Grand Tour debut as a sports director, will target the general classification while also aiming to claim at least one stage victory whenever the opportunity arises."Kooij started his season late after a virus took him out at the beginning of the year, but won a stage at the Baloise Belgium Tour earlier in June, after two at the Boucles de la Mayenne."The start of my season was not what I had hoped for, but we remained patient and kept working," Kooij said. "The victories I achieved in recent weeks, after returning to competition, have given me a lot of confidence. "I know the level of competition will be even higher because we will be racing in the biggest cycling event in the world, but our goals are clear, both for the team and for me: to help Paul finish as high as possible in the overall standings and to win at least one sprint stage. I am grateful to the team for the trust they have placed in me."

In a recent interview, UCI president David Lappartient that it is an idea that is on the table to increase the number of teams at the Tour de France, but potentially reducing the lineups to six riders also looking to create more uncontrollable and attractive races. Former team manager Johan Bruyneel...

The new LEGO Mountain Bike Adventure Van set combines three of our favorite things, vans, mountain bikes, and LEGO. Get ready to build a little two-wheeled fun for two with some wonderfully realistic features and functions.This 260-piece kit lets you build an off-road-ready camper van thats purpose built for getting your Minifig doppelgngers to remote trails. Drop the rear bike rack, give your MTBs a quick tuneup, then roll out on his and hers mountain bikes.The van build has chunky rubber tires, opening rear doors, and a sliding side door for easy access to the cargo bay. Or just pull off the roof to get at everything.The rear bike rack holds two bikes and folds down (just like the real thing!). The kit includes two minifigures with cycling helmets, a bike repair stand, and a crate with wrench, spare tire and pump.MSRP is a reasonable $19.99 and makes a perfect week-late Fathers Day gift. More of a roadie? Check out the recent LEGO Road Bike release, a surprisingly large, functioning kit, too!LEGO.comThe post LEGO Mountain Bike Adventure Van has Fat Tires for All appeared first on Bikerumor.