Decent budget bib shorts for general, middle-distance riding but cut still merits revision

Jasper Philipsen won Stage 2 of the 2026 Renewi Tour after launching the sprint from the front in Ardooie, while crash-hit race leader Jonathan Milan was lapped by the peloton in an extraordinary end to his yellow-jersey defence. Philipsen was guided into position inside the final two kilometres bef...

Irish Rail said it is starting a six-month pilot catering trolley service on selected trains and routes from Monday onwards. It is to start with three services each way daily on the Dublin Heuston to Galway route, with what the company calls the potential to extend to more services and other routes during the course of the pilot.The lack of food and drinks available on trains since Covid has been repeatedly criticised by a number of politicians around the country, especially on longer routes in Mayo and Sligo. As IrishCycle.com reported earlier this year, the Department of Transport blamed other agencies, but a Freedom of Information request showed it had directly vetoed funding for the catering service. The new trial is being run with Sambos.ie, a Kildare-based fresh food and catering business. This afternoon, Irish Rail said: The pilot will be for a period, on a commercial basis without Public Service Obligation (PSO) funding to help determine the potential viability of such a service on the Intercity network.Iarnrd ireann has undertaken extensive market engagement to identify innovative solutions which may enable on-board catering to be provided more extensively on the Intercity network, on a commercial basis, in response to customer demand, the Irish Rail said. A spokesperson for Irish Rail said:We know how much our customers value an on-board catering service, and with record demand for our train services, we appreciate that it has been frustrating that it has been limited to Dublin to Cork, also benefiting most Limerick and Kerry customers, and Dublin to Belfast routes over recent years.We will undertake this pilot with Sambos.ie to help determine the potential for more extensive catering operation on a commercial basis, which will be decided upon completion of the pilot, in consultation with the NTA, the spokesperson said.Irish Rail said that, for staff training, some trolley services will be provided on services over the coming days ahead of the pilot commencing.The State-owned company said that catering services have been provided on the Dublin to Cork and Dublin to Belfast routes since May 2023 within the PSO funding envelope.Timetable for trolley services from Monday:Monday to Saturday07.35 Heuston/Galway* 11.05 Galway/Heuston09.25 Heuston/Galway 13.05 Galway/Heuston11.30 Heuston/Galway 15.05 Galway/HeustonSunday08.00 Heuston/Galway 11.00 Galway/Heuston10.30 Heuston/Galway 13.40 Galway/Heuston11.40 Heuston/Galway 15.00 Galway/Heuston(*Fridays only change at Athlone)

Boulder, Colorado-based Mosaic Cycles has launched the GT i55 32, a 32-inch wheel gravel bike.The GT i55 32 is handmade in titanium and Mosaic says its designed to take advantage of a larger wheel. Its the first 32er gravel bike you actually want to ride - its fast, nimble, and fun,Mosaic says.It suggests that many 32in bikes just adapt an existing frame for the larger wheels.In contrast, it says its designed the new bike from scratch around the larger wheel size to deliver higher performance. You may like: We hoped they wouldnt be as good: what the bike industry really thinks about 32in wheelsDesigned around 32in wheels The Mosaic GT i55 32. Mosaic Mosaic cites the advantages of 32in wheels for gravel as their better roll-over on rough ground, due to a lower angle of attack when encountering obstacles, and greater momentum and stability.But it suggests that potential disadvantages include a higher stack, longer wheelbase, possibly increased toe overlap and longer chainstays. It claims that these factors can result in a cumbersome ride feel, rather than fast.Mosaic says that its solution is to tuck the wheels under the rider as tightly as possible. Mosaic's custom-designed fork helps keep the stack low. The curved seat tube and a 3D-printed chainstay yoke help keep the rear triangle tight. Theres a purpose-designed gravel fork from Zero Components, a new component company from Mosaics founder Aaron Barcheck.The fork has a 60mm offset and space for 55mm/2.2in gravel tyresthat Mosaic says minimises front-end height and avoids excessive toe overlap. It says that its design allows the GT i55 32 to provide a fit for shorter riders, not just tall ones.It offers the same tyre clearance at the rear, which it has kept tight by using a curved seat tube that delivers chainstay lengths between 440mm and 445mm across frame sizes.3D printing at the chainstay yoke allows Mosaic to offer tyre clearance and a standard gravel chainline with space for a 46-tooth chainring. Thats despite a move to Boost axles, 148x12mm at the rear, 110x15mm at the front.Mosaic offers the bike in its custom programme, so the fit can be tailored to the rider, but will subsequently introduce a batch built option. Prices start at $5,000 with semi-integrated brake routing or $8,250 with full internal routing, both with custom geometry.32in bikes largely felt like experimentsMosaic claims that the first crop of 32in bikes largely felt like experiments. To some extent, thats a view wed concur with; 32in wheels were hot at the Bespoked show in April, with almost every exhibitor seeming to have a 32in bike or 32in mullet on its stand.Russel Stout of Stout Cycles told BikeRadar that its hardtail MTB was quickly bashed together and that it was an opportunity to offer something not on the high street.Several major brands have told us theyre experimenting with 32in wheels without committing.Scott expressly labelled its 32in gravel bike a prototype that will never go into production when it unveiled it ahead of Unbound 2026, despite Robin Gemperle winning Unbound XL on the bike. Read more: Just because bike tech is new, you dont have to use it but please dont knock it until youve tried it

For a professional cyclist, signing a new equipment sponsor is hardly unusual. For Dylan Johnson, signing with a tyre sponsor is different.The professional gravel racer, coach and YouTuber has spent his career purposefully unattached to any one tyre brand, preferring the freedom to test, scrutinise and race whatever he believed was fastest."I purposefully have not had a tyre sponsor for my entire career because I think that tyres are probably the most important equipment choice that gravel cyclists make," Johnson told Cycling Weekly. "And I didn't want to compromise by being beholden to one brand."That changes now.Johnson has signed his first tyre sponsorship with Silca as the Indianapolis-based company launches Protocol, its first-ever collection of road and gravel tyres. The contract runs for the remainder of this season and the following two years, Johnson says. But his involvement with the project dates back to 2024 when the brand first approached him. Johnson is well aware of how the move might look coming from someone whose brand agnosticism has been central to both his racing and his reputation."To make this switch, hopefully my audience won't be like, Oh, Dylan finally sold out, because I had quite a hand in the development process of these tyres," Johnson said."I wouldn't be signing to a tyre company if I didn't think it was the best tyre on the market, genuinely."It also wasn't a case of Johnson simply being handed a finished product along with a sponsorship contract. He says he was involved from the projects early stages, testing prototypes and providing feedback on everything from tyre volume and casing construction to ride feel and tread patterns.That distinction matters for a rider who has built a considerable following by obsessing over equipment choices.(Image credit: Silca)When we interviewed Johnson in early 2025, he described himself as an "optimiser", interested in finding the lightest, most aerodynamic and most efficient set-up possible. And his willingness to question conventional gravel equipment put him at the forefront of the gravel discipline's move toward much larger tyres.After his own real-world and wind-tunnel experiments, Johnson turned to large-volume, thin-casing cross-country mountain bike tyres for gravel racing long before it became trendy. He argued that, counterintuitively, those tyres could roll faster over rough gravel while offering better puncture protection than many conventional gravel tyres.Johnson remembers 2024 as the season when the wider trend took hold."2024 was the year when U.S. gravel racers made the switch from 45s to mountain bike tyres," he said. At Mid South early that season, he recalls only a handful of racers making the choice. By Big Sugar that fall, "it seemed like nearly everybody that could fit mountain bike tyres on their gravel bike was on mountain bike tyres."The bike industry has quickly caught up. Tyre clearance has continued to grow across recent gravel launches, with most 2026 releases easily accommodating mountain-bike-sized rubber. Specializeds latest Diverge and Crux clear a 55mm tyre, for example, while Factors new Sarana goes to 57mm and the new Open W.I.D.E clears a gargantuan 66mm.For Johnson, being sponsor-free had been central to his experimentation, and his tyre choices changed according to the course: a Continental Race King for rougher events, a Schwalbe Thunder Burt for courses where lower rolling resistance took priority, and a narrower gravel tyre only when a course contained enough pavement to alter the equation.So when Silca approached him for input back in 2024, Johnson says his demands of a gravel tyre were clear. He wanted significant volume combined with a thinner casing, essentially retaining the lessons that had drawn him towards XC tyres in the first place."It needs to be wide, probably 55 millimetres, and it needs to be a thinner casing than most of these gravel tyres are," Johnson recalls telling Silca. The response, he says, was that this was already exactly the direction the company was pursuing.Meet SILCA's Protocol line of tyres(Image credit: Silca)Rather than starting with a traditional road-tyre construction and adding more material and volume for gravel, Silca says it worked from the principles of cross-country mountain bike tyres towards a high-efficiency gravel platform. The company calls it an "inverse proportional" design approach: pairing larger tyre volumes with thinner, high-density 120 TPI casings.At modern, lower inflation pressures, Silca claims the construction allows the casing to deflect around impacts more effectively, with the aim of reducing rolling resistance and weight without compromising puncture protection."For years, the industry approached gravel tyres by just slapping thick, heavy rubber onto traditional road tyre carcasses," said Silca CEO Joshua Poertner."By optimising casing ply angles, tread profiles, and material science together, we've created a tyre platform that is faster, lighter, and more supple without sacrificing durability."Silca's entry into the tyre market consists of three gravel models and one road tyre.(Image credit: Silca)Protocol RCG-1 for fast hardpack and mixed-surface gravelProtocol RCG-3 for all-around rough-terrain gravelProtocol RCG-4 for adventure, mud and loose trailProtocol RCR for high-volume roadSilca positions the Protocol RCG-1 as its fastest gravel option, intended for smoother hardpack and mixed-surface courses. It pairs a low, ramped directional centre tread with taller side knobs intended to add bite as the bike leans into a corner.The RCG-3 moves towards rougher gravel, with tightly spaced centre knobs that increase in size towards the shoulder and additional puncture protection beneath the tread. Silca positions it for demanding, rougher courses such as Unbound and Big Sugar.For mud, sand, loose rock and more adventure-oriented riding, the RCG-4 gets considerably more aggressive, widely spaced lugs, along with bead-to-bead puncture protection.Finally, there is the Protocol RCR, a high-volume road tyre. Silca says the RCR similarly uses increased air volume for impact absorption rather than relying on additional layers of rubber. The 29mm version is optimised around modern 25mm-internal hookless rims, while the 38mm model maximises volume within UCI regulations.Across the Protocol range, Silca uses its new Pulsar rubber compound, carbon-fibre beads and size-specific rim compatibility. The company says its casing geometry and asymmetric tread designs are intended to minimise energy losses while improving stability, braking and cornering grip.For Johnson, however, the spec sheet alone wasnt enough.He says Silca has put the tyres through both rolling-resistance and puncture-resistance testing, the two factors he personally considers most important for gravel, using both indoor and outdoor methods."They did drum testing and then John Karrasch, who does all the outdoor testing, he has done outdoor testing," Johnson said. "So it's been tested indoors and outdoors."Karraschs testing provides an increasingly popular counterpoint to traditional laboratory drum tests. His outdoor work uses the Chung, or Virtual Elevation, method to calculate rolling resistance on pavement and several grades of actual gravel. Some tyres that perform quickly on a drum remain fast on real-world, off-road conditions, while others do not. (Image credit: Silca)During the past year-and-a-half, Johnson has also experienced the less glamorous side of product development, riding prototypes through multiple iterations some better than others. The final versions, he says, have resolved any issues he encountered along the way."I think the tyres feel great," he said, describing the handling as predictable and the traction in line with what he would expect from the tread designs.The RCG-1 and RCG-3 have now effectively replaced Johnsons previous two favourite race options. The Schwalbe Thunder Burt had been replaced with the RCG-1. And for chunkier terrain, higher puncture risk and races where cornering traction matters more, the RCG-3 takes over from the Continental Race King.There is, inevitably, reputational risk in that declaration. "I do realise the risk of signing a tyre deal after I've been Mr Tire Agnostic Guy for so long," he said. "I hope my audience can recognise this."His own involvement aside, Johnson's confidence comes partly from watching Silca enter product categories in which it previously had little experience, pointing specifically to the companys chain wax and tubeless sealant. That track record, he says, made him more comfortable racing on a first-generation tyre from a company that had never previously made one.Ultimately, though, his argument is simpler: no sponsorship cheque is worth using equipment that he believes could cost him a result."It's not worth a paycheck to be on an inferior product to me," Johnson said. "For me personally, it's not worth a paycheck to be on a product that's gonna cost me race results down the line."To that end, he left us with one final endorsement: I've not punctured a Silca tyre yet."(Image credit: Silca)The Silca Protocol range is priced at $99 USD / 99 / 119 / $149 CAD / $159.95 AUD and is now available from Silcas website and select retailers.

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Louis Barre delivered a perfectly timed late attack to win stage 1 of the 2026 Deutschland Tour in Schwabisch Hall and take the race leaders jersey from Isaac del Toro. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider escaped from Paul Magnier inside the final two kilometres and powered clear on the rising appr...

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 UCI and Warner Bros. Sport announcedyesterdaythat 2026 will be the last year of the UCI Enduro World Cup.The cancellation follows a tricky period for thesport, butread the press release announcing the end ofEDRandyou'llfind a lot of words doing a lot of work.Enduros future,weretold, will be best served through a structure designed specifically around the formats unique identity, one that offers greater flexibility in its operating framework, more room for innovation and a stronger focus on participation and community engagement.Or put in simpler terms:Enduro was too expensive and toomuch of a headacheto broadcast, sonow itsgone.The trouble with broadcastDownhill and cross-countrymountain bikingshare the same qualitiesthat make them easier to show to the world.They both happen on one track, at one venue with one finish corral.Thatmeanssetting up cameras for a broadcast is straightforward. Getting fans in one spot issimple and so is selling hospitality tickets.Enduro is the total opposite.A race will have multiple timed stages scattered across a mountain range, andsometimes over multiple days. To cover it all wouldrequiremultiple crews in multiple locations.It costs more to produce and delivers less of thecoveragebroadcasterswant a continuous live feed with a clock ticking down.So, theEDR suffered.It was characterised by delayed highlightsandpatchy coverage. That treatmentdoesntgrow adiscipline;it quietly starves it. Riders lose visibility, sponsorsthen pull out of teams and eventually teams pull out of enduro.Butweveseen how it can be doneHere'sthe part that annoys me most:we'veall seenhow it can be done.The Enduro World Series(EWS)became a UCI event in 2023.But before cyclings governing body got involved, EWShadbroadcastfigured out. The coveragewasntlive, and nobody cared, because it was made by people who clearly loved thediscipline. The highlights that landed on YouTube a few days after around were mega. You got a sense of what theracingwasactually like, who was struggling,who was pinning it orwho'dbinned it on stage three.Idwaiteagerly for the new EWS highlights video to drop on YouTube.Idlook forward to them more than I looked forward to watching the downhilland the downhill had the live feedandthe commentary team.That tells you something. Enduro coverage wasnever impossible. It just needed people who wanted to make it, rather than acorporationtrying to force it into a template built for something else.Wellhave to wait to see what happens next.The UCI and WBD Sports that a path forward is still being definedto ensure Enduros future.Hopefullythe UCI realises that there is a solutionto EDRs broadcast problemsready and waitingin the wings.

The race has had many names attached to it over the years, and currently it is sponsored by Renewi. The Renewi Tour takes place from the 19th to 23rd of August. 2005 was its first edition, and it was immediately won by American Bobby Julich. The race, right from its first year, had a major internati...