I entered our workshop the other morning straight into an in-depth discussion between a client and one of our mechanics about the merits of a brands new aero wheelset. It can save me 20 watts, and it's 20g lighter than last year's, for only 3,000. I couldnt help but think that swapping his ancient saddle bag full of spanners for a multi-tool and getting an aero jersey would probably have the same effect for a fraction of the price.This type of attempt to buy speed is endemic among cyclists, and brands certainly play up to it. So often, clients come in asking about buying the latest carbon aero bike, while the bike that would probably suit them best sits quietly in the corner, largely ignored. Cyclists are, generally speaking, terrible at buying bikes.Now it's not because they are uninformed, far from it. Cyclists are some of the most fervent researchers you'll ever meet, often to their own detriment. They consume reviews, compare specifications, watch endless YouTube videos, and spend evenings disappearing down internet rabbit holes. Anyone who has had the courage to venture into a time trial forum online will understand just how zealous cyclists can be in the search for the next best thing. As someone much more erudite than me once said, the problem is a feast of information but a famine of knowledge.The bicycle industry hasn't helped, of course. Like most leisure industries, marketing bikes has become an exercise in selling numbers. Weight, tyre clearance, gear range, aerodynamics, carbon layup, stiffness. Every new product is accompanied by a list of measurable improvements because measurable things are easy to market but largely meaningless in terms of the potential enjoyment of that bike or product. How many riders really understand what difference having a higher-strand Toray carbon layup provides?Unfortunately, the things that make a bike enjoyable to ride aren't always the things that fit neatly into a comparison table.Ride quality doesn't have a specification. Confidence doesn't appear on a geometry chart. The feeling you get after four comfortable hours in the saddle is difficult to reduce to a bullet point. Instead, we compare the things we can measure.Weight is perhaps the best example. Riders will happily spend hundreds of pounds to save a couple of hundred grams, then head out carrying two full water bottles, a mini pump, multitool, snacks and enough emergency equipment to survive a trip round the world. That's not to say weight doesn't matter; weight has an influence, but its importance is often wildly exaggerated outside the world of elite racing.I've seen countless riders buy aggressive race bikes when what they really wanted was to spend longer riding in comfort. Six months later the sleek aero bike has acquired a slightly higher stem, 50mm of headset spacers and tyres as wide as the frame will allow. They're quietly modifying it into the endurance bike they probably should have bought in the first place.(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)Geometry rarely gets the attention it deserves because it isn't glamorous. It's easier to get excited about carbon lay-ups or ceramic bearings than stack, reach and wheelbase measurements. Yet geometry has far more influence over how a bike feels than whether the rear derailleur is electronic or mechanical. It's a bit like buying a house based entirely on the kitchen taps whilst ignoring the floor plan. The irony is that the best buying decisions are often the least exciting. None of us need a bike that costs more than around 1,000 after that point it becomes an emotional purchase. A bike that fits properly, tyres suited to the roads you actually ride and sensible gearing. None of these features dominate glossy advertising campaigns, but they have an enormous influence on how much you'll enjoy cycling. Its refreshing to see some brands start to create frames with sensible geometry but with a race bike aesthetic, like the Pinerello X, Pearson Forge and the Factor Monza. Perhaps the biggest lesson I've learned after years around bikes is this: the specification sells the bike, but the ride keeps it. Long after you've forgotten exactly how many grams your crankset weighs or whether your handlebars are one piece or two, you'll remember if the bike encouraged you to take the long way home. That's the specification that really matters.

Primoz Roglic is currently one of the faces of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, however his three-year stay at the German team has not quite bore the fruits the team managers would have imagined - despite a 2024 Vuelta title. That's why, for next season, the 36-year-old Slovenian remains without a contr...

Daniel Bresnan (Greenmount CA) won the combined Elite and Masters race at the Munster Criterium Championships at Limerick Racecourse on Friday evening, out-sprinting Mike Storan and Daryl Kearns from a four-rider group.Greenmount Cycling Academy hosted their final criterium day of 2026 in warm, cloudy conditions, with a stiff northerly wind making the home straight hard work. Racing began at 6pm with the under-8/10 event and ran through the evening, with Munster championship medals decided across the adult categories.A cagey start to the combined race produced several attacks before a break went clear. Bresnan bridged across with help from Dermot Radford (Dan Morrissey Cycling Team) to join Kearns (Dungarvan CC) and Storan (West Clare CC) at the front. Behind, a second group of Stephen Gilman, Barry Meade and Daniel Lynch (OLeary Stone Kanturk), Paul Kennedy (Burren CC), Richard Quinn (CRNS) and Shane Fleming (Tralee Manor West) escaped the bunch. Both groups eventually lapped the field.Bresnan took the four-up sprint for the win from Storan and Kearns, with Meade coming through for fifth and the M40 bronze. Sean Buckley (The Cycologist Clonmel) bridged across late and sprinted to the M50 bronze. Tom Shanahan (Limerick CC) took M60 gold, while his son Stephen took C3 gold after a recent return to racing.Combined RaceMUNMunster Criterium Championships CombinedFri 14 August 2026 Limerick Racecourse1Daniel BRESNANGreenmount CA2Mike STORANWest Clare CC3Daryl KEARNSDungarvan CC4Dermot RADFORDDan Morrissey Cycling Team5Barry MEADEOLeary Stone Kanturk6Stephen GILMANOLeary Stone Kanturk7Paul KENNEDYBurren CC8Shane FLEMINGTralee Manor WestMunster Championship MedalsC1Category 11Daniel BRESNANGreenmount CAGoldC2Category 21Stephen GILMANOLeary Stone KanturkGold2Ross LEEBurren CCSilverC3Category 31Stephen SHANAHANLimerick CCGold2Aaron OCONNORU/A MunsterSilver3Sean LYNCHU/A MunsterBronzeM40Masters 401Mike STORANWest Clare CCGold2Daryl KEARNSDungarvan CCSilver3Barry MEADEOLeary Stone KanturkBronzeM50Masters 501Dermot RADFORDDan Morrissey Cycling TeamGold2Richard QUINNClub Rothaochta na SionainneSilver3Sean BUCKLEYThe Cycologist ClonmelBronzeM60Masters 601Tom SHANAHANLimerick CCGoldTMTeam Awards1OLEARY STONE KANTURKMeade, Gilman, LynchCombined1DAN MORRISSEY CYCLING TEAMRadford, Lyons, RussellMastersSupport RacesU16Under-14/16 Boys1Cullen MURPHYOLeary Stone Kanturk2Aodhan SHEPPARDGreenmount CA3Cillian CROWLEYGreenmount CAU12Under-12 Boys1Cormac SIMPSONGreenmount CA2Cathal BROWNOLeary Stone Kanturk CC3Matei TODORGreenmount CAU10Under-10 Fun Race 2km1Luke STORANGreenmount CAGreenmount Cycling Academy thanked the riders, parents, stewards and supporters who made the championships possible, along with Cycling Munster commissaires Theresa and John, Ed and Hugh on the finish line, Alan in the lead car, Colm and Shane on the back straight, and Margaret and the Limerick Red Cross. The event was supported by Cycling Munster, with club and race day sponsorship from Hinchys and Velo Revolution.Photography by Irish Cycling News

The 2026 Deutschland Tour will be held from the 19th to the 23rd of August, colliding with the Vuelta a Espaa but putting to the forefront a set of stages for the sprinters and classics specialists. The German race has consistently been held at a high regard since its recent return, and this year p...

The Volta a Portugal had been rebirthed in 2026, with a new race organization, fresh route, the presence of UAE Team Emirates - XRG and an international broadcast. An edition of 'A Grandssima' that looked to be for the ages has taken a dark turn when on stage 8, a vehicle entered the race route and...

With the Tour de France having come to an end, Lidl-Trek's Juan Ayuso has taken time off the bike and has returned to training. His goals for the end of the season will not include a return to La Vuelta; but instead a schedule packed with one-day races including the World Championships. After a few...