UAE Team Emirates - XRG CEO Mauro Gianetti took in the emotions in Paris on Sunday after his team sealed a Tour de France yellow jersey, white jersey and two riders on the final podium. A dominant Tour de France saw the team take six stagewins - five for Tadej Pogacar and one for Isaac del Toro. Ba...

For the past several years, the gap between gravel and XC mountain bikes has been ever narrowing. Taking it a step further, weve seen many riders creating their own drop bar mountain bike setups for endurance races like the Leadville Trail 100. Combining the aerodynamic and comfort benefits of drop bars with the suspension and geometry of an XC mountain bike certainly makes sense on some courses. But it seems Life Time didnt see it that way, and they announced a ban on drop bar setups at Leadville moving forward.With a name inspired by the infamous Leadville race, 5DEVs new Shredville Flatbar XC Hood Mounts are a workaround for Life Times drop bar ban. These new mounts slide onto your flat handlebar, providing a way mount drop bar hoods, levers, and shifters on your flat handlebar. According to 5DEV, this allows seamless integration of drop bar hoods that gives you brake access from both positions.The new Shredville Hood Mounts are undoubtedly a novel approach to getting a best-of-both-worlds cockpit setup. While the hoods appear to be mounted at a fairly extreme angle, it looks like it makes it fairly easy to get a more aero position with the hands extended in front of the flat handlebar. At the same time, the rider still has the option to use the standard grips and flat bar hand positions for control and handling in more technical terrain.Or as 5DEV puts it, Optimize your position on the road, then keep flooring it through the chunky stuff without missing a beat. The clock isnt slowing down, so you cant afford to either.Weight, Pricing, and AvailabilityThe claimed weight of the Shredville mounts is 135 grams for the pair, and they are compatible with handlebars with a standard 22.2mm grip diameter. They retail for $199.99 and are available now through the 5DEV website.ride5dev.com

On this Monday's episode of the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rben Silva and Gavin Quinn discussed what's next for Tadej Pogacar. After winning his fifth Tour de France title, a record-equalling triumph leaves fans wondering what's next for the world champion. In the short-term, Pogacar has been heavily...

The new Durston X-Dome Pro 1+ features Dyneema construction and a double-wall design. Weighing just 780 grams, Durston claims it's the lightest in its class. Learn more here...The post Durston X-Dome Pro 1+: The Worlds Lightest Double-Wall Freestanding Tent? appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

The 2026 Tour de France is in the books, authored, once again, by Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian drew level with the historic record of wins in the Grande Boucle alongside Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurin, Bernard Hinault, and Jacques Anquetil. With the race over, its time to assess the UCI WorldTour Ra...

Mathieu van der Poel joins the many greats to have triumphed on Champs-lyses before him in 2026. And it was not just any victory - the Dutchman attacked early alongside Tadej Pogacar to hold off the remains of peloton using his final bits of energy. The Dutchman just about pushed past the finish l...

Silca introduced its Super Secret drip wax lube six years ago, and the brand has just launched an updated version called Super Secret 2.0. It builds on the low-friction performance of the original, with an updated formula that Silca says makes it the closest thing to hot wax ever put in a bottle. With claims of 350-400 km per application, improved wet weather performance, and 0.6 0.8 watt savings (compared to the original), the brand says its performance is now nearly on par with its own Hot Wax.Developed with Team Visma-Lease a Bike, Super Secret 2.0 claims to offer greater longevity, protection, and efficiency than its predecessor, and Silca calls it the winning wax of the 2026 Tour de France. Perhaps Super Secret 2.0 was Visma-Lease a Bikes secret weapon that helped propel Tadej Pogacar to his fifth Tour de France victory?Super Secret 2.0 DetailsAccording to Silca, the new formula still uses the brands signature Tungsten Disulfide (WS2) and emulsified wax base but includes a new blend of secret additives. The brand says this formula optimizes the chain surface to minimize mechanical friction. The reduced friction reportedly improves drivetrain efficiency with claimed savings of 0.6 to 0.8 watts compared to original Super Secret and up to 7 watts over other lubes.Additionally, Silca says the new formula results in a 20% improvement in longevity, now lasting 350 to 400 km per application. With a focus on wet weather performance, Super Secret 2.0 is claimed to adhere to the chain better and last twice as long as the original in muddy or wet conditions by using smaller wax particles and new fullerene friction modifiers. Combined, Silca says these performance gains bring Super Secret 2.0 nearly on par with that of its own Secret Chain Blend.Still, Silca says that hot wax immersion will always provide the cleanest and longest-lasting results, but the 2.0 formula is as close as you can get with drip-on convenience. Silca even tested Super Secret 2.0 against its own lubrication products; check out the graph below to see how it compares.Specs and Performance ClaimsImproved formula from Super Secret LubeLasts 350 400km (220 250 miles) or until it becomes noisy, based on conditionsBetter wet-weather performanceClean to the touchRepels dirt and debrisEasy to applySave up to 7w over other lubesFor the full wax treatment, see Secret Chain BlendSILCA Limited WarrantyIf youre interested in learning about the nitty-gritty technical details, Silcas Josh Poertner has an 11-minute deep dive covering the development of Super Secret 2.0.Pricing and AvailabilitySuper Secret 2.0 comes in a 100ml bottle only and retails for $25. It is available now direct from Silca.silca.cc

IrishCycle.com could not find any bicycle sheds designed for cargo bicycles measuring close to the allowed 3.5 square metres.Housing Minister James Brown has said that its not sensible for planners to be focused on issues like bicycle sheds and said he is laser focused on cutting red tape, reducing bureaucracy and streamlining systems, but the exemption on bicycle sheds at the front of houses will fail most people who need such a shed in their front gardens. The regulations are now signed by the the Departments Minister for State John Cummins exempting bicycle and bin storage at the front of houses from planning permission. But as covered by this website two weeks ago, the expetion only applies tor structures up to a maximum of 3.5 square metres and a height of only 1.4 metres.The square meter footage and height limitations of the regulations are significantly below many standard bicycle sheds and lockers which are designed for three or more bicycles to be accessed individually. The regulations are even more so out of scope for structures designed for cargo and adaptive bicycles and trikes, used by a range of people including families, disabled people and busineses.In its press release issued yesterday, Minister Browns Department said: A new exemption will provide for cycle or bin storage at both the front and back of the property, with enough space to hold either 3-4 adult-size bicycles, 2 cargo bikes or 3 wheelie bins.In the release, Minister Brown was quoted as follows: As Minister for Housing, I have been laser focused on cutting red tape, reducing bureaucracy and streamlining systems to get Ireland building better and faster. Engaging with our planning system has been a bug bearer for so many people, costing time and money for things that shouldnt be on the desk of planners in reality.He added: Sensible and considered planning guidance is absolutely necessary for communities as our villages, towns and cities grow and expand but not for things like bike storage and velux windows by and large.But IrishCycle.com searched a range of projects designed so that more than the bicycles are accessible and lockable without stacking or locking the bikes to each other, in a way that enables daily use by a family or household, and all of these would still require plannng permission at the front of houses.ExamplesAs an example, CycleHoop, a well-known UK manufacturer of bicycle lockers, has a standard Bikehangar product with a width of 2578mm and a depth of 2030mm, which equates to 5.2 square meters. Their cargo bike version is 5.8 square meters, and even the Mini Bikehangar, described as a compact version, measures 1838mm x 2030mm with an area of over 3.7 square metres. Other manufacturers also offer similar-sized products.Under the Bikebunker branding, Dublin City Council is rolling out these structures on streets outside houses without rear access, and in many cases without any front garden or yard. The Bikebunkers are mainly in city centre locations, whereas all reported planning cases relating to bicycle sheds at the front of houses were in more suburban areas with driveways or larger gardens.Other similar products, such as the Dutch-produced Fietslocker, would be of a similar area, and also slightly fall foul of the 1.4 metre height limit.Most square wooden or steel products are designed to hold three or more standard bicycles, with access to each bicycle individually, also break the height limit.These generally come in at 3.7 or more square metres. For example, the two sheds pictured below, sold by the Kildare-based company Coola Living, are between 3.7 and 4.1 square metres. These would also exceed the height allowance by more than 60 cm.This website could only find one such bicycle locker or shed of under that size from Sheds Direct Ireland, but this would still exceed the height allowance.A balanced and proportionate approachFor the recent article, a spokesperson for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said: A balanced and proportionate approach was adopted in framing the exemptions.The Department added: Larger structures, such as the one set out in the query [sent by this website], may still be accommodated where planning permission is obtained from the relevant planning authority.

Sepp Kuss will not hold too many positive memories of the 2026 Tour de France. The abandon of leader Jonas Vingegaard, his two crashes on descent from Col de Sarenne... And yet, the American is already looking forward to bid to ride his third Grand Tour of this season! "The more I think about it, th...

In recent years, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's project has attracted several of cycling world's top up and coming names. Led by Tour de France runner-up Remco Evenepoel, the team of Ralph Denk hopes to accomplish it's great objective of winning Grande Boucle. Ideally with a German rider. And Georg S...