When is an amazing view not an amazing view? When it is blighted by a rubbing disc brake, that's when. I spent three days last week riding around the coast of Kent in southern England, on the Cantii Way cycle route, it is, under most circumstances, rather lovely.My experience of it would have been better, I'd imagine, if my rear brake hadn't started dragging heavily somewhere around the middle of the second day, without anything I could do about it. On our return the bike was banished to the naughty corner of the garage and is currently awaiting sale for scrap aluminium unless my mood improves.I'd heartily recommend the Cantii Way. It's not too challenging, it's an adventure and it's beautiful in places. Something else I'd heartily recommend is making sure your hydraulic disc brakes are not going to throw a wobbly halfway round. They need to not be just 'OK', or 'fine', but absolutely perfect. Either that or make sure you're carrying all the tools, all the spares, and a whole pannierful of patience.At least 30 minutes of my adventure was spent with the bike upside down on a small patch of grass in central Hythe. Thirty minutes that were, it transpired, entirely wasted. Sadly, the lack of pliers, Q-tips and isopropyl alcohol in my panniers found me out. Given I'd spent 90 minutes the day before I left, cleaning sticky pistons and checking pad wear, I assumed I'd be OK. I was at first, but it didn't last.Ultimately, the piston was stuck again, and would not be budged. I ended up riding the second half of the Cantii Way with a rear wheel that came to a stop in less than three rotations, even when spun heartily by hand. I tried not to think about it.If you're still running rim brakes, feel free to ignore all this blathering. Unless you're very unlucky, your worst case braking-related scenario is that you run the pads too low. And that is pretty unlikely to happen, given how easy it is to check on wear even as you're riding. You can laugh at the hapless Hythe village disc brake idiot, safe in the knowledge you won't be found with the bike upside-down, swearing at the sky, messing about with miniscule hex keys and fiddly clips, expecting at any moment to feel a jet of warm DOT 5.1 decorate your face.I should have known. After all, less than a week before I'd found myself with a bike upside-down different bike this time, if you can believe that in the grassy entrance to a Hampshire field, slowly covering myself with road filth as I inspected the remains of a rear disc brake pad assembly. Having taken out the rear wheel and employed a Torx key so small it could probably have doubled up for acupuncture purposes on my creaking back, I was finally able to make an unrepeatable but nevertheless accurate assessment of the situation.One bit of metal had sheared off, missing in action; another was twisted beyond redemption, and the pads themselves appeared to have all the stopping power of a carpet slipper. At least I wasn't at the farthest point of a four-hour ride. Oh, hang on Yes I was.All this despite the fact that, would you believe, I'd checked pad wear before I left. That itself involved Houdini-like contortions as I craned to get the closest look that my ageing, long-sighted eyes would allow.The pads had worn low enough, it transpired, that the retaining clip had caught on the disc and snapped. It was a long ride home with just a front brake. Admittedly, if I'd been a bit more proactive on the pad replacement front, this particular incident could have been avoided. But at 10-20 a wheel, these aren't the sort of items you want to discard prematurely.There is no doubt that discs brakes are powerful, and offer remarkably good all-weather braking. Some would even have you believe they're largely maintenance free. They kind of are, but that doesn't mean you can just forget about them and hope everything will be OK. Two bikes in two rides have served as a salient reminder that, eventually that approach will bite you in the butt. And it will hurt.All that said, I've just been reminded that Tadej Pogaar won Milan-San Remo this year with a rubbing disc brake a race that was longer than my entire three-day trip on the Cantii Way.I'll get me coat.

Robust bag with good protection from the elements, but does it justify its price?

Guillaume Martin will leave Groupama - FDJ United at the end of 2026 after signing a one-year contract with Lotto-Intermarch, seven years after his first spell in Jean-Franois Bourlart's Belgian structure came to an end. The 33-year-old arrives with considerably more than a road-captain role in mi...

Commuter groups, opposition parties, and others are encouraging people to join a protest against public transport fare hikes this evening in Dublin outside Leinster House at 6pm.The planned protest comes after the Government was criticised for 15-35% increases in public transport fares from 2027, and the National Transport Authority yesterday confirmed further hikes are likely if inflation continues to rise. The fare increase announcement happened at the same time as the Government confirmed the price of fuels at the pumps would be protected According to RTE, Hugh Creegan,deputy CEO of the National Transport Authority, said that future increases will Be decided on a year-by-year basis All were flagging is that there will be future fare increases.There are zero decisions made on what they might be, he told Sinn Fin TD Louis OHara at the NTAs appearance before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport.It was also reported yesterday by TheJournal.ie that the NTA expects that for every 10% fare increase, passenger numbers will fall by 3%.The protest today is supported by Sinn Fin, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats, the Green Party, People Before ProfitSolidarity,the national collective of Commuter Groups in Galway, Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Drogheda, Friends of the Earth, the National Womens Council, Irish Doctors for the Environment, South East on Track and a number of student unions.Jason Cullen, chairperson of the Dublin Commuter Coalition, said: Its outrageous that public transport has been underfunded so badly that campaign groups are required to take to the streets and demand that Government keep sustainable travel affordable.

Canyon has launched the third generation of its Grail gravel race bike, increasing tyre clearance from 42mm to 57mm, which enables the use of 2.25in tyres.The new Grail's aerodynamics have been reworked for the larger tyres and typical 35km/h gravel racing speeds.There are three frame grades: CFR, CF SLX and CF, with the top-spec CFR AXS bike having a 7.9kg claimed weight and 7,600 / $8,999 / 8,000 price tag. Canyon Grail CF SLX 7 Di2 review: more aero, more clearance and more fun this is the most complete gravel bike Canyon has made Pro and amateur needs coincide The new Grail is aero optimised for 35km/h ride speeds. Canyon points out that Ted Kings winning time for the mens 2018 Unbound 200 (then called Dirty Kanza) was 10 hours 44 minutes. In 2026, Mads Wrtz Schmidt won the race in 9 hours 14 minutes, despite the mud.King rode a Cannondale SuperX cyclocross bike with 38mm tyres; Schmidt rode the recently updated Specialized Crux 5 with 50mm tyres.Canyon says theres less of a disconnect in gravel between the requirements of the pros and what amateurs need than on the road. It says the design of the new Grail was heavily influenced by gravel pro Rosa Klser, who made clearance above 50mm a stipulation when she discussed joining Canyons roster.That in turn required a 1x-only design, as well as a solid driveside chainstay to provide sufficient clearance, a first for Canyon. The frame has a PF86 bottom bracket, which it says it chose for tyre clearance and stiffness, as well as minimal issues with the standard on its previous bikes.Canyon reckons there are issues with bonding BSA threads into a carbon frame that mean it's not a remedy for all bottom bracket ills, despite its increasing adoption.Race-pace aerodynamics Tyre clearance increases to 57mm front and rear. Canyon says it has tuned the Grails aerodynamics to a gravel-race pace of 35km/h, using its pedalling mannequin to simulate riding across yaw angles of up to +/- 20 degrees. It used the GST wind tunnel to test the new Grail against the now-superseded Factor Ostro Gravel, Cervlo Aspero-5 and Rose Backroad FF, with the Grail coming out fastest when all were set up with the same 50mm-deep wheels and 45mm tyres.Against the generation 2 Grail with 40mm tyres, the new Grail was up to 5 watts faster. It was still faster when it was fitted with 55mm tyres.As with its predecessor, Canyon will sell the generation 3 Grail in three carbon grades: CFR, CF SLX and CF. It quotes a raw size-M frame weight of 989g for the CFR, 1,095g for the CF SLX and 1,128g for the CF, which it says is heavier than the second-generation bike, although the extra tyre clearance and aero profiles make it faster in reality.All specs come fitted with 45mm Schwalbe G-One tyres, although Canyon states this is a baseline, enabling riders to go wider should they wish. The CFR and CF SLX include in-frame storage, while the CF SLX and CF can accommodate Canyons Defend mudguards.New Pace cockpit variant The Control drops add a flare to the Pace cockpit. Canyon says that since the gen 2 Grails geometry was well received, it has only made small changes to the new bike, adding 10mm to the wheelbase to allow the wider clearance, but keeping the handling dynamics the same. Mid-sized frames have a 71.5-degree head tube angle and 69mm trail. It says that, paired with the wider tyres, this enables its sponsored athletes to push harder through technical sections.It has, however, lowered the stack by 15mm, while keeping the frame reach the same and fitting shorter stems. There's no suspension fork option, because Canyon claims it's not needed with the wider tyres.The CFR and CF SLX frames are fitted with Canyons Pace variable-width, adjustable-height cockpit. Theres a new drop shape though, called Control Drops, offering 17 degrees flare and 370mm, 395mm and 420mm widths at the drops.The Control drops join the Classic, Race and Compact drop shapes compatible with the Pace cockpit, together enabling riders to choose a different drop shape, which will adjust the effective reach by 10mm. The Gear Groove continues, enabling the addition of bar extensions, lights or a computer.Canyon has ported over its VCLS Aero seatpost to the new Grail, as used on the new Endurace CFR, which it claims increases compliance by 25% over a rigid post. For hardcore racers, the Race cockpit from the Endurace CFR is also compatible with the Grail.New lightweight packs Canyon says the new Cyclite frame bag weighs around 100g, which is 200g less than the gen 2 bike's bag. Canyon has looked to keep the race-ready bikes weight low by partnering with Cyclite to design low-weight luggage for the new Grail.While it claimed the gen 2 Grails luggage made it more aero, its objective with the new packs was to avoid any aero penalty. It also wanted fast removal and attachment, so ground crews can swap out a pack quickly at a feed station, to refresh riders nutrition.The new Midloader frame bag is claimed to weigh around 100g, as against 300g for the gen 2 bikes bag. It's secured with a push-to-release mechanism, rather than the Fidlock system used previously and comes with internal organisers.Theres a different pack size to match each frame size and a matching top tube bag for extras or to carry lighter loads.New carbon gravel wheelsCanyon has also introduced carbon gravel wheels to match the new bike. The Canyon GR 50 CF wheels have a 1,675g a pair claimed weight and a 27mm internal/38.5mm external width hookless rim.They sit on DT Swiss 350 hubs, with Aerocomp II spokes and are delivered with an HG11 freehub fitted and an XDR freehub and valves in the box. They can also be set up Micro Spline.The new wheels come ready-fitted to the CF 7 AXS and CF SLX 7 Di2 specs and can also be bought aftermarket for 999. If youve bought a Canyon gravel bike with alloy wheels in the last three years, Canyon will offer you 10% off the price of its new wheels.New pressure calculator appCanyon points out that as tyre pressures decrease, the effect of a similar variation in pressure increases, so correct tyre pressure becomes more critical. It says a 20% tyre sag is optimal for a gravel tyre, although that's difficult for a rider to assess.It says many riders are still over-inflating their tyres, so it has worked with Pirelli to develop a customisable pressure calculator to help them set the right pressure and optimise bike performance.New Canyon Grail specs and prices The top-spec bike is equipped with SRAM Red XPLR AXS and DT Swiss GRC 1100 wheels. Canyon will sell the Grail in seven sizes, from 2XS to 2XL, which it says will fit riders from 158cm to 204cm in height. There are six specs available, as outlined below. As well as stock colours, EMEA buyers can use MyCanyon to opt for one of four additional colourways. They can also choose different wheels, including Zipp 303 XPLR SW and Scope Artech 4G wheelsets.Theres the option to choose a different cockpit model and dimensions, and a different saddle, crank length and chainring size, including aero options.Canyon says MyCanyon customisation will come to other geographies in future.Grail CFR AXS Groupset: SRAM Red XPLR AXS w/ dual-sided power meter Wheelset: DT Swiss GRC 1100 50mm Tyres: Schwalbe G-One RS Pro 45mm Cockpit: Canyon Pace bar with Control drops Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo X1 Claimed weight: 7.9kg Price: 7,600 / $8,999 / 8,000Grail CFR Di2 Groupset: Shimano GRX RX825 Di2 w/ 4iiii single-sided power meter Wheelset: DT Swiss GRC 1100 50mm Tyres: Schwalbe G-One RS Pro 45mm Cockpit: Canyon Pace bar with Control drops Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo X1 Claimed weight: 8.4kg Price: 6,200 / $7,999 / 6,500Grail CF SLX 8 AXS Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR AXS w/ single-sided power meter Wheelset: DT Swiss GRC 1400 50mm Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R 45mm Cockpit: Canyon Pace bar with Control drops Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo X3 Claimed weight: 8.9kg Price: 4,799 / $5,999 / 4,999Grail CF SLX 7 Di2 Groupset: Shimano GRX RX715 Di2 Wheelset: Canyon GR 50 CF 50mm Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R 45mm Cockpit: Canyon Pace bar with Control drops Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo X3 Claimed weight: 9.5kg Price: 3,899 / $4,999 / 3,999Grail CF 7 AXS Groupset: SRAM Rival XPLR AXS Wheelset: Canyon GR 50 CF 50mm Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R 45mm Cockpit: Canyon CP0039 Saddle: Selle Royal SRX Claimed weight: 9.1kg Price: 3,499 / $4,299 / 3,499Grail CF 7 Groupset: Shimano GRX RX610 mechanical Wheelset: Newmen Advanced G.34 28 CL Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R 45mm Cockpit: Canyon CP0039 Saddle: Selle Royal SRX Claimed weight: 9.2kg Price: 2,499 / $3,499 / 2,499

A fast, capable gravel race bike with excellent handling and tyre clearance, but the specification leaves room for improvement.

Mathieu van der Poel has wasted little time showing his road legs ahead of the World Championships, winning immediately on his return at the Tour de Luxembourg. Yet with Montreal looming on September 27, Bernard Hinault is not pretending the Dutchman has been handed his ideal course. I do not think...