WTB jumps on the aero hype train with three new tyres built with fancy 'vortex generators' and new casings

Ethan Hayter is reportedly closing in on a move to Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team for the 2027 season. The four-time British time-trial champion is expected to leave Soudal - Quick-Step when his contract expires at the end of the year. According to journalist Daniel Benson, several sources have in...

WTB has launched a range of three wide, high-volume gravel tyres, which feature patent-pending technology that is said to improve their aerodynamics and represent a major leap forward in gravel tyre performance.The three new tyres are the 50mm-wide Byway RS, 52mm Course and 54mm Macro.WTB says it has balanced traction, rolling resistance and flat protection to optimise ride quality and produce what it claims are the fastest gravel tyres possible. WTB's new tyres span widths of 50mm, 52mm and 54mm, with increasingly aggressive tread patterns. WTB has worked on the development of its new gravel tyres with aero road bike brand Stromm, which claims to make the fastest UCI-legal road bike. Theyre designed to pair with the now-typical wide gravel wheel rims and optimised for a 28mm internal rim width, although WTB says they will deliver benefits on rims from 25mm to 32mm.The new tyres have sidewalls that include vortex generators and trip strips, which WTB claims help control boundary layer separation and reduce the drag-inducing low-pressure wake around the wheel and tyre.WTB says it has used field testing at a velodrome against a control tyre with the same profile, but without aero features to validate the aero benefits at typical gravel speeds. It says its testing shows a 5.8-watt saving at 30km/h, rising to 9.3 watts at 35km/h and 13.8 watts at 40km/h.To achieve its aero aims, WTB says it has completely redesigned its tyre-production methods, with closer production tolerances and new materials. Theres a new 120 TPI casing that WTB claims is more supple and offers bead-to-bead puncture protection, which it calls SG2.The rubber used has also had an upgrade, with a low-drag compound used at the centre and high-friction shoulder lugs.WTB aero gravel tyre rangeByway RS 50 The Byway RS 50 is designed for speed on hardpack gravel and the road. As with the original Byway, the Byway RS has a slick central section with low-profile side knobs and is designed for speed on hardpacked gravel and tarmac. WTB claims a 620g tyre weight.Course 52 The Course 52 is designed as a gravel all-rounder. The Course 52 increases all-terrain capability, with a shallow central tread for rolling efficiency, and is geared to more varied off-road conditions. The claimed weight is 635g per tyre.Macro 54 The Macro 54 is WTB's widest offering and designed for the most demanding gravel conditions. Finally, the Macro 54 has the highest volume of the three tyres and is designed for rougher surfaces, with a more aggressive, more widely spaced tread pattern. Claimed weight is 640g per tyre.All three WTB aero gravel tyres are available with either black or tan sidewalls and are priced at 69.50 / $89.95 / 79.95. You may also have spotted the WTB carbon gravel wheel rims in the images of the tyres. WTB says theyll be arriving soon to complement the new aero tyres.

Matthew Brennan stormed to a historic fifth stage win at the Vuelta a Espaa on Wednesday, winning stage 17 in Seville.Visma-Lease a Bike's British sprinter became the first fast man to win five stages in the same Grand Tour since Marcel Kittel in 2017, and won for the second day in a row to boot. All in his debut Grand Tour. He is the youngest rider to ever win five Grand Tour stages, and the younger rider to win back-to-back Vuelta stages.The bunch sprint was closer than other days, with Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) looking good until being pipped at the last, with Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) finishing in third.21-year-old Brennan's win also marked Visma-Lease a Bike's seventh win of this Vuelta, their biggest haul ever, with Wout van Aert winning two stages. It was a slightly more complicated bunch sprint with previous days, with Brennan being dropped off by his deluxe leadout man Van Aert earlier, onto the wheel of Cort, before he fully opened up with around 150m to go and was not caught again. There were lessons taken after Van Aert finished second in a sprint in Seville in 2024, Brennan explained. "We discussed it in the morning, the bits where he went wrong," he said on TV post-race. "We didn't want to repeat that today, we wanted to make sure that we crossed the line first. He was there by my side the whole way, which was fantastic to see, and I'm very thankful for his support.""It's fantastic for me," Brennan added. "We're a long way into this race now and today was the day where we could make history in our team. In terms of the win again, it's really cool to do that. We did everything in our power to get there."More to follow...

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Giulio Pellizzari won the 2026 Giro della Toscana after attacking from a ten-rider leading group inside the final kilometre and holding off Jordan Jegat and Christian Scaroni in Pontedera. The Red Bull BORA hansgrohe rider opened a small gap with around 900 metres remaining after the decisive se...

WTB has released three new tires developed in partnership with Stromm, creators of the world's fastest UCI-legal road bike. With wider, more aerodynamic tires, WTB aims to offer something for riders across the gravel spectrum. For more on these new tires, read on below...The post The 2026 WTB Gravel Tires are Wider and More Aerodynamic appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

In recent years weve all had to adjust to the fact that Portlands (the one in Oregon) heyday as a cycling superpower is far behind it, but is Copenhagen meeting the same fate?If so, you can blame young people, who as we all know are ruining everything:This decline may seem modest, but at a population level it represents tens of thousands of fewer regular cycle commuters in a country where conditions are relatively favourable. Think bike lanes across towns and cities, cycling infrastructure on trains and on buses, and political support for cycling as everyday transport rather than a niche recreation.For young people aged 15-19, the decline in cycling to their place of education (at least three days per week) is even more pronounced: from 39% in 2020, to 32.3% in 2025. If this decline continues, the future of Denmark as a cycling nation is looking bleak.Though the writer says its because cars arent expensive enough:And this is perhaps where Danish politicians have dropped the ball in the past decade, as policy changes have made car ownership cheaper.And that cycling must be perceived as the easiest, cheapest, quickest and healthiest form of transport for short distances:If cycling levels are to grow, policies must also tackle everyday realities: time constraints, safety perceptions, workplace facilities, social norms and ingrained car dependence.To succeed, cycling must be perceived as the easiest, cheapest, quickest and healthiest form of transport for short distances.Hmmm. I dont know anything about Denmark, but this is the Internet, so thats not going to stop me from having an opinion. According to roughly half a second of popular search engine jockeying, Denmark is still among the most expensive places in the world to own a car, so I cant imagine thats the reason. And as for the thing about perception, that makes even less sense, since either the bicycle is the easiest, cheapest, quickest and healthiest form of transport for short distances, or its notand obviously it is. So Ill just go ahead and lay this at the feet of these goddamn fickle young people. Also, while Im at it, Ill also allocate some of the blame to Mikael Colville-Andersen, Denmarks preeminent urbanist and bicycle advocate:Here in America, bicycle advocates tend to alienate people because theyre huge dorks, though for decades now Colville-Andersen has proved you can alienate people just as effectively by going Full Douche:Ive always had trouble reconciling the slogan above with his stated mission, which is considerably more benign:Everything I do every project, every photo, every line on paper is driven by one simple mission: to do whatever I can to try and make cities better for the people who live in them.This is like a grocery store dedicated to selling healthy good choosing to go with motto, Eat Shit, Asshole.At this point its time to come to terms with the fact that bicycle advocacy in any form is a complete waste of time. What other conclusion can one possibly draw? Weve tried flattery, guilt, and even harnessed the power of relatable everyman David Byrne:Hey, if this guy cant get people out of their F-150s then nobody will.Weve even built thousands of miles of bike lanes, only for people to completely ditch their bikes in favor of small, high-speed battery-powered motor vehicles. So its time to face facts and embrace the only two segments of the population who are going to sustain cycling going forward. Who are they, you ask?Terminal Freds, gravelistas, and the assorted forces of weeniedom who ride simply because theyre obsessed and suffer from borderline personality disorder;People cycling for causes, because for reasons nobody really understands the bicycle is the preeminent vehicle for fundraising and for raising awareness.With regard to that second group, here is a typical example:And like most people raising money for a cause by riding a bike, theyre doing it in a wildly inefficient and self-indulgent manner:A man from Derbyshire is cycling 425 miles dressed as an orangutan in aid of the species.Peter McEvoy, from South Wingfield, started his ride in Sheaf Square, Sheffield, on Monday, and aims to finish the seven-day journey at the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday.McEvoy is cycling an average of 60 to 75 miles a day (97km to 121km) to raise 1,500 for the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS).Riding 425 miles to raise a measly 1,500 British Complacency Units?!? Couldnt he just have a yard sale or something? At the very least I bet he could have raised a hell of a lot more by having an actual orangutan do the ride:Just dont ask any cyclists for money to help save the orangutans, because theyd much rather spend it on plastic wheels:Here are the wheels in question:Yoeleo sent me their brand-new QianKun wheels, which sit at the premium end of the Yoeleo range, and theres some seriously impressive technology here. Most notably, you get carbon spokes rather than conventional steel spokes, a 23mm internal hooked rim, and a claimed weight of just 1,185g.Yoeleo is of course an acronym for You Only Ever Live Ever Once.To save the you the trouble of reading the article, the answer is, Yes, the carbon wheels absolutely transformed the bike. However, at no point does he address the orangutan in the room, which is the tires:He does mention that on the old wheels he was using Maxxis Detonator 28mm. According to Maxxiss website, thats a 27 TPI wire bead tire that weighs 310 grams. However, he seems to go out of his way not to mention what tires hes using with the plastic wheels. Fortunately theres also a video, and we can easily see for ourselves:So thats a Vittoria Corsa Pro, and it appears to be a 30mm. According to Vittorias website, it weights 285 grams and has a 320 TPI cotton casing. This is a massive differenceplus the new rims are wider, too:So do the wheels perform better because the carbon spokesadd so much stiffness (LOL)?Or is it because he made a simple tire swap thats equivalent to the difference between pleasuring yourself while wearing these:And wearing these?Factor in the additional rim width and its no wonder hes in Wanker Heaven:No doubt the lighter weight helps a bit too, but the tire change probably brought him 85% of the way there, and the slightly wider rim was good for another 10%.But sure, if youre looking for a smoother ride, absolutely you should start with a pair of $1,650 wheels, because theyre cheaper than western brands:Chinese brandshave been transforming the prices of wheels and bikes in recent years, and you can now get a set of carbon-spoke wheels for what a fairly standard set of carbon wheels from a western brand used to cost.Thats about what youd pay for seven pairs of Vittoria Corsa Pros.

Wout van Aert helped turn the lessons of his 2024 defeat in Sevilla into a record-breaking seventh Vuelta a Espana stage victory for Team Visma | Lease a Bike as Matthew Brennan continued his extraordinary Grand Tour debut. Brennan defeated Jordi Meeus and Magnus Cort to collect his fifth win of the...

Crashes, illness and injuries can quickly reduce the Vuelta a Espana peloton, with some riders abandoning during a stage and others only ruled out after further assessment once the racing has finished. This live 2026 Vuelta a Espaa Medical Reports and Withdrawals hub will be updated throughout the...