Look, if youre rocking a Tailfin bikepacking system on your steed, theres a good chance you bikepack fast or ultra. Like, you need your bikepacking gear minimal and strapped high and tight on your bike. Well, recently, Tailfin teased us with some work theyve been doing in their R&D Kitchen thats for the bikepackers out there who arent in a hurry to get to where theyre going.Now, this is a one-off, prototype bag setup. And as of right now, it will not be going into production. So try not to get too excited.That fender line, though. Sexy AF!Slowing Things DownTailfin is best known for making bikepacking gear lighter, faster, and generally more aero than your average sleeping bag. So its kinda cool that its latest project is about slowing down, bringing a fishing rod, and not being in any hurry.The project came out of Tailfins R&D Kitchen, a couple-times-a-year side gig for Tailfins prototyping department. The workshop sits next to the kitchen at HQ, so therefore R&D Kitchen. The departments day job is building prototypes for the R&D Division, which is the brands group of ultra athletes. The Kitchen projects have no commercial target. Theyre about experimenting and having fun. For this one, the team skipped the usual lighter and faster goal. Instead, they asked what theyd actually want to take on a trip built around the stops rather than the distance. Their answer was extra time and extra luxuries. For the Love of Waxed CanvasThe bags are the star here, as they should be. Product team member Theo designed a front bag designed around holding a film camera, complete with a pocket for a real paper map for the romance of it. So far, I love thisMolly turned one pannier into an insulated cool bag for cold beers and a refrigerated picnic. What? She also made a separate bag for a small espresso maker. This is turning out to be spectacularSoft Goods Prototyper Callum redesigned the frame bag with flip-top closures instead of zips. And its split vertically rather than horizontally, with access at the front so you can dig around in it while riding. 1960s Japanese Touring!The inspiration came from Callums research into 1960s Japanese touring photos, which led back to the French constructeurs, who built bikes, racks, and bags as one integrated system. Japanese builders refined the idea over the following decades. The bags arent an afterthought, Callum said. The result is a British take on that tradition.But what about the bike? The bags are built around the new Singular Peregrine Mk5, a lugged steel bike from Sam Alisons Singular Cycles. Alison launched the Peregrine in 2008, and it was arguably a gravel bike before the category had a name. Tailfin made its own versions of two touring classics for it: low front panniers and a randonneur handlebar bag. Both use British waxed canvas that weathers naturally, plus the same mounting hardware and stability engineering as Tailfins race gear. Bristol tailor David Darby Minns, a friend of the team, supplied fabric samples and vintage tailoring inspiration.This bike and bag system hits me right in the feels so hard. The color, the aesthetics, the fenders I am a sucker for a good-lookin randoneurring rig. But sadly, its not a product thats in development. Boo!!!(Photos / Tailfin)However, the light at the end of the tunnel is that Tailfin expects ideas from the project to inform future work. So, hopefully we will see some more waxed canvas. Where to See It?Kendal Mountain Festival, 1922 November 2026, Kendal, UK.Velofollies, 2224 January 2027, Kortrijk Xpo, BelgiumHit the link below for Tailfin products that are in production and ready to go. TailFin.cc

Now that it is time to announce the winner of the Meh-Roica contestSponsored by Dumonde Tech, the spa day in a bottle for your chainI find myself paralyzed by indecisionor, more accurately, laziness.So for inspiration I headed out upon my own Meh-roica bike:And Im pleased to report that in doing so I remembered something important. See, I purchased this bike back in April for a paltry sum, and after giving it a moderate amount of attention it boasts an elevated ride quality that is wildly out of proportion to its lowly price. Even so, few would give it so much as a second look, the main reason for this being that it is made out of that aluminumor, as the British call it, aluminimum:Of course its really aluminum alloy, and while the Artificially Intelligent Webernet tells me what its alloyed with is stuff like magnesium and zinc and silicon, what its really imbued with is something far more profound: pathos.See, aluminum has less in common with other popular bicycle frame materials than it does with the band the Spin Doctors. In fact, they followed exactly the same trajectory. Both were huge in the 90s, then their popularity dropped off precipitously, and today people hardly even think about them, even though theyre still very much around. As a washed-up bike blogger I also relate to aluminum personally, since we both went from being featured on the pages of cycling publications to residing deep in the chopped liver files.For this reason I realized that I should give preferential treatment to aluminum bicycles for the purposes of this contest. And one company that is synanimous sinonamous made a crapload of aluminum bikes is Cannondale:The above bicycle is one of two in a two-bike submission. Here is two of two:The owner obtained both on the used marketfor a total of Seven Hundred American Fun Tickets.Wow.Yes, it is a buyers market for Meh-roica bikes in general and aluminum bikes in particularunless they have a pedigree, such as spending a whole racing season sitting on top of a car, in which case the price can be a bit higher:[From here]And heres another Cannondale:This one has just a dash of JBARA, but the owner has in fact BARA, so this bike is no longer in regular service. But it was, from 1995 to 2020. Thats [counts on fingers and toes and then five of someone elses toes] twenty-five years, or a quarter of a century, or 2.5% of a millennium. Not too bad for a bike once derided as a Crack-n-fail, and from the looks of it theres easily another quarter-century left in it.As for Cannondale today, like so many other bike companies theyre now just another name:One of many swallowed up by the Crimson Permanent Assurance:Their tenuous connection to Connecticut finally severed, theyre now basically just some people in random places around the globe having Zoom meetings about decals:The restructuring will bring Cannondales global leadership, brand and marketing, product management, and other central functions together in Woudenberg, the Netherlands, where the companys European headquarters is already located. Its research, development, and engineering operations will remain in Freiburg, Germany.Sorry, they probably do more than that, but Im a bike blogger, not a journalist.Meanwhile, Trek wanted to be the one doing the swallowing, and recently CEO John Burke reflected on how they bought like nine million bike shops:Heres the interview:RF: Do you have regrets on how you navigated the first few years after 2020? Perhaps overbuying into that demand, putting too much money into expanding retail spaces for a demand that wasnt going to sustain itself?JB: Yes.Well, theres some more stuff in there too, but thats the gist of it.I must say I dont envy any bike shop owner, whether its a single proprietor or a big bike company like Trek:Was the Trek employee following some sort of smarmy Burkian sales philosophy playbook that he devised after skimming 52 books a year and summoning bullshit artists he finds intriguing to his office? Probably. Still, Ive got enough retail experience to read between the lines, and I took the Trek employees side as soon as I read this:Im not a biker, Ive probably ridden a bike 10 times in the past 10 yearsSo Im going to go ahead and assume he went in there feeling extremely defensive and insecure and he didnt want to look like a schmuck in front of his wife so he argued with the salesman about pretty much everything and demanded things like different tires after doing four seconds of G**gling and reading the first paragraph of a Bicycling article before he hit the paywall.Speaking of the cycling media, they should really work on their headlines:I clicked on this immediately because I assumed the road raging driver actually broke out of prison and a maniac was on the loose, but it turns out that, while a maniac is indeed on the loose, he simply avoided going to prison in the first place:When handing down the sentence, Sheriff Fergus Thomson told the defendant he had inflicted significant injuries, and explained that he was avoiding a custodial sentence by the narrowest of margins.Instead Hedley received a two-year supervision order, and he will also be tagged and given a 12-month overnight home curfew, meaning he cant leave his place of residence between 7pm and 7am for the next year.I dunno, unless they took away his Internet, not being allowed to leave the comfort of your own home from 7pm to 7am sounds like a reward to me.

The mens 2027 Tour de France starts in Edinburgh on Friday 2 July and the usual team presentations take place at 6.30pm on the evening of the Wednesday, before the race heads out for Carlisle.The team presentations will be held at Edinburgh Castle and are slated to take 90 minutes. But whereas the last three team presentations were free to attend, this time theres a charge, starting at 27 and rising to 99 for the best seats on the castle esplanade. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday) at noon.If you want to see the riders, but dont intend to fork out 27, the teams will ride to the presentation along the Royal Mile from Holyrood Palace, where you can attend free of charge and without needing a ticket. The 2027 route presentation in Paris had a strong Scottish theme. A.S.O./Maxime Delobel The presentations are rolled into a display co-ordinated by the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, so you do get a bit of value-add for the ticket price. The main Tattoo takes place over three weeks in August and ticket prices start at around 40 and head up to 450 or more, so the Grand Dpart tickets could in theory be something of a bargain.The venue is relatively small too, with a total seating capacity of just over 8,000 for the main Tattoo performances.65m cost for the two UK Grands Dparts Welcome to Yorkshire is reported to have paid ASO 4.2m to host the 2014 Tour de France Grand Dpart. The economics of the Tour de France and indeed professional road racing in general are complex, with few opportunities for the Tours organisers, ASO, to monetise in-person attendance. Instead, revenues stem mainly from the sale of television rights, with a global audience claimed at 3.5 billion, and from sponsorship rights. The Tour caravan is another money-making enterprise for ASO.Theres a further fee paid by the towns and cities that host stage starts and finishes, which in 2023 an ASO spokesman reported to be 90,000 and 130,000 respectively. Sponsorship rights make up a large chunk of the Tour de France's revenues. A.S.O./Laure Boutiot Hosting a Grand Dpart is a lot pricier and guarantees three days of coverage for the host region. Its estimated that the six days of racing in the UK across the 2027 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes will cost 65m, with central government footing 32m of the bill.The 2024 Grand Dpart from Florence, Italy, was reported to have cost the city 3 million, while last time the Tour was in the UK in 2014, Welcome to Yorkshire was reported to have paid 4.2 million to ASO, with additional costs such as road repair and security increasing the estimated total bill to 29.4m. Florence estimated a 20m net benefit to the city from the 2024 Grand Dpart. MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images Hosting regions reckon the cost of the Grand Dpart is worth it though. Florence estimated a net benefit of 20m from the 2024 Grand Dpart, from accommodation and general expenses for those directly involved in the race.The estimated benefit to the UK regions hosting the three UK stages of the 2014 race was even greater at 128m.The race has even been credited with reducing the drift to the far right in French towns through which it passes.

This is why we need a theory test every five years. They want us to use the cycle lanes then do this rubbish, local councillor and cyclist Adrian Chapmanlaw said

Tadej Pogacar is beginning to plan a 2027 season that could revolve around three major goals: winning a sixth Tour de France, reclaiming the rainbow jersey and returning to the Vuelta a Espaa. UAE Team Emirates XRG is in Abu Dhabi this week for its planning meetings, where the Slovenian and team of...

Rogue Pandas latest project reimagines how frame bags attach to bikes. The innovative new Rogue Panda DoubleTrack system uses carbon rods and TPU spacers to address common issues with traditional mounting systems. Neil and Miles have been testing the DoubleTrack system on custom frame bags to see how it holds up to real-world use. Find their two-in-one review hereThe post Rogue Panda DoubleTrack Review: The End of Hook-and-Loop? appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Indoor cycling is a fantastic way to stay fit when the weather turns grim, but you will need a few key pieces of kit to get started. In this guide, I'll break down what you actually need, from the best smart trainers to comfort upgrades - across a range of budgetsThe real draw of indoor training is that, once set up, its a remarkably 'faff-free' pursuit suited to riders of all levels. For newcomers, it offers a safe environment to isolate skills like clipping in and out or riding out of the saddle without worrying about traffic or the dreaded red-light topple.For experienced riders, it eliminates variables. Taking wind, rain, and junctions out of the equation provides clean, repeatable data to build form for spring. It's also an incredible time-saver: a structured 30-minute high-intensity cycling workout can deliver serious training adaptations from the comfort of your spare room or garage.Smart Trainers(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)A smart trainer is the centrepiece of any indoor setup, but choosing between mount types, footprint, and app connectivity can feel daunting.Trainers fall into two main categories:Wheel-on trainers clamp your rear wheel against a roller. They remain the most wallet-friendly and best budget smart trainer options, though you will generally need a hard-wearing dedicated trainer tyre to avoid shredding your fast road tyres.Direct-drive trainers require removing the rear wheel to mount the trainer directly to your frame. Direct-drive offers far greater power accuracy, smoother resistance changes, and zero tyre slip. That precision makes using the best indoor training apps, such as Zwift or Rouvy, significantly more immersive, turning what used to be dull turbo sessions into engaging, structured workouts. Wahoo Kickr Core 2 w/Zwift Cog and Click The Wahoo Kickr Core 2 is our expert's top-rated smart trainer. It offers great value, accurate data, and excellent Zwift integration, making it ideal for everyone from indoor training newbies to veterans. Wahoo Kickr Snap For pure simplicity, wheel-on trainers are still a quick, very affordable way to get indoor training, and thanks to some smart features, Wahoo's Kickr Snap remains the best option. Tacx NEO 2T Smart Trainer Naturally, as one of the most expensive trainers we have ever tested, it offers more features. By charging such a premium, Tacx has set a very high bar for itself. However, once set up, the Tacx Neo 2T delivers a unique riding experience unmatched in recent years. Cooling & ClothingKeeping cool and managing your body temperature is the single biggest hack to level up your indoor riding. Some coaches argue that hot, sweaty indoor sessions can mimic the physiological stress of altitude training, but to hit your target numbers on hard efforts, you need to stay cool.Outdoors, forward momentum creates a constant breeze that evaporates sweat instantly. Indoors, with little to no natural airflow, heat builds up rapidly. As your core temperature climbs, your body diverts blood away from working muscles to the skin to dump heat, sending your heart rate soaring for the same wattage.That is why investing in dedicated indoor training fans and some of the best indoor cycling clothing makes such a massive difference. Technical clothing wicks sweat away from your skin, while airflow evaporates it. It wont feel like riding in a walk-in freezer, but keeping your temperature under control will make hard sessions far more comfortable and your workouts far more effective. Best budget fan Vacmaster Cardio54 Fitness Fan Previous Cycling Weekly Tech Editor Simon Fellows swears by the Vacmaster Cardio54 Fitness Fan, largely because the remote control lets him operate it from his bike. Wahoo Kickr Headwind Wahoo takes cooling to the next level with the Headwind, especially if you're part of the Wahoo Ecosystem. Once synced with your smart trainer, the Headwind automatically adjusts to your intensity. It also replicates winds up to 30 mph (48 kph), enough to probably blow most of your kids' art off the fridge door. You don't need an entirely new wardrobe to start; your lightweight summer cycling kit or breathable gym wear will do the job. If you have hot-weather jerseys or mesh baselayers, these will work perfectly to get you started. Castelli Insider Jersey While its name suggests it is best suited for indoor use, the Insider 2 from Castelli is also a great option for hot days outdoors, thanks to its rear pockets. Castelli Insider Bibshort The obvious choice to match with the Insider jersey, but not only that, Castelli manage to balance the cost nicely compared to some others we have tested from the likes of Assos. Indoor training shoesThe same logic applies to footwear: your standard and best road shoes are fine, but adding some of the best indoor cycling shoes could be worth adding to your arsenal. These dedicated shoes focus heavily on mesh ventilation and open soles to prevent hot feet in a static riding position. Many also feature recessed cleats or softer walking pads to protect indoor floorboards from scuffs. Shimano Shimano SH-IC501 Indoor Cycling Shoe If you could list everything you want in an indoor shoe, the Shimano SH-IC501 has it pretty much covered. It performs well , is lightweight and comfortable, and has a sole with plenty of grip on gym floors. Fizik Vento Powerstrap R2 Aeroweave The Fizik offers incredible performance, and its breathability is second to none. If you're a serious indoor rider, you may find stronger justification for the price by using them as both your indoor shoes and your best summer shoes. Best budget shoes Van Rysel Road Cycling Shoes Road 100 If you're struggling to justify the expense of indoor-specific shoes, then the Van Rysel is a great option. Although it's not specifically designed for indoor use, it has a dual-cleat option and offers enough flex and grip to walk from the changing rooms. Level up your setupIf you have the space, it could be worth considering one of the best smart bikes. Bikes like the Zwift Ride Frame utilise a standard Smart trainer, meaning you no longer need to bring your bike indoors. It's always set up and ready to ride. If you like CW's Steve Shrubshall and struggle to stay up in the winter, why not level up your skills and try riding rollers? The best bike rollers don't just train your legs; they force you to balance in a small space, ideal for breaking down the skill of riding on narrow trails, roads or even a peloton. Indoor training often involves high-intensity efforts that can take a toll on your bike, kit, and even your home. So beyond the basics- a trainer, fan, and kit- a few practical accessories can protect your home and bike from corrosive sweat while streamlining your setup. Here are a few key extras worth considering to round out your ultimate at-home training area: Elite Training Mat Wahoo Kickr Climb Zwift Ride With Kickr Core Zwift Ride Smart Frame Wahoo Kickr Desk 4iiii Viiiiva Tacx Antares Rollers

Enric Mas will head into the 2027 season in a very different position after winning the Vuelta a Espaa and rediscovering his best form in some of cycling's biggest races. The Movistar Team leader has shown that he can still compete for major honours, while his second place behind Paul Seixas at Il...

Chromag Bikes started building their brand on hardtail frames, but as components came along, they quickly became Whistler, B.C.s unofficial handlebar of choice, then put out some very popular seats. Back in mid-June, Chromag Bikes announced their new Limber seat. This saddle was designed to be easy to move around when youre standing up, but comfortable enough when youre seated for long rides.A few years ago I would have called Chromags Lynx DT saddle my current favourite, so I was stoked to try out the new Limber. Ive been riding the Limber since its release, and despite facing a tough comparison to my favourite seat ever (Ergons SMC Core), I found it perfectly comfortable. The Limber is a nicely supportive saddle that maintains a sleek overall profile and a reasonable weight.Chromag Limber Saddle Construction Features:Chromag says the new Limber was based upon their Lift saddle, but refined with a shorter profile and a broader center relief channel. The Limbers vacuum-formed construction enables a seamless finish and a consistent surface feel. It features a durable, weather-resistant synthetic cover, and its design leaves no exposed plastic or sharp edges. Chromag gave the Limber chromoly rails for strength and durability without excess weight.The Limber saddle offers a short 260mm length and movement-friendly shape to allow riders to shift around it easily, while a stable but not bulky 140mm platform width provides comfort when you are seated.This saddles padding is on the thinner, firmer side, but the Limbers design is all about proper support. Its platform was shaped to support the sit bones, where the bulk of your body weight hits the saddle. It also gets a widened center relief channel to keep pressure off sensitive areas and eliminate unnecessary discomfort.The Limbers cover features a semi-perforated texture on the rear part of the platform and on the nose for a little grip, and remains smooth everywhere else.When I installed the Limber saddle on my bike, I noticed the rails offer about 5mm less forward/back adjustability vs. the Ergon SMC Core seat I was previously riding (which is a larger seat). To match the Ergons position, I had to run the Limber as far forward as its clamp range allows, but that put it exactly where I wanted.Chromag lists the Limber saddles weight at 278g. Id call that honest, as my scale showed it at 279g. Thats 14g lighter than my old Lynx DT, and shaves 65g off the Ergon SMC Cores weight.Ride Impressions: ComfortMy first ride with the Limber saddle was a 1:45 long lap, and I was wearing my well-padded 7mesh MK3 chamois. Even after switching from a very cushy saddle, the Limber was more comfortable than expected. I attribute this to its shape more than anything; The rear half of this seat is wide enough to support my sit bones really well. I should note, Im a fairly slim guy, but the Limbers width was easily adequate for me.My next ride was with a slimmer chamois, and since I was still getting used to it, the Limber felt a bit firm initially. However, I quickly stopped thinking about it as I rode, and I remained comfortable throughout this hour and a half long ride.Just my third ride with the Limber was over three hours long. After two hours of climbing, my descent, and a lengthy pedal home, my butt was just starting to get a bit tired of sitting. Given I was still getting used to the Limber, I was pretty happy to complete this longer lap with no discomfort or soreness afterwards.At this point I have ridden countless loops with the Limber saddle, and Ive gotten familiar with it. Honestly, the Limbers lean padding simply wont match up to my Ergon SMC Core, which is amazingly cushy and comfortable. But since the sit bone support is excellent with the Limber, I still find it very comfortable and have no complaints about it. Through all my test rides, Ive never had any specific comfort-related issues with this seat. Also, I have luckily never had problems with this, but the Limbers wide center channel definitely kept my sensitive bits happy with no numbness at all.Shape:As stated above, my favourite thing about the Limbers shape is its supportive rear half. That said, the nose worked really well for me too. I dont like saddles with wide noses, and the Limbers is narrow enough that I found it perfectly comfortable to pedal with. If a seats nose is too wide, I will feel like its pushing my thighs apart, but this was not a problem with the Limber.While the Limbers nose is noticeably shorter than the seat I was riding, that doesnt seem to come with any sacrifice in comfort. The shorter nose also proved pretty good at not snagging the crotch of any of my various shorts or MTB pants. Ill attribute this to the shape, but also the synthetic cover material. Its grippy enough to not feel slippery, so when you plant your butt on the seat it doesnt shift around. Thankfully, the cover isnt grabby enough that it hooks up on clothing. Chromag wanted this seat to be easy to move around while you ride, and Id agree it is. Its just big enough to be supportive, and I never found it obtrusive or noticed my legs contacting it unexpectedly. The seats trim dimensions help it stay out of the way during stand-up pedalling sprints and on descents.Durability:Sorry, but I havent crashed hard or bounced my bike off a trail since installing the Limber saddle! After a few months of riding my seat shows no signs of damage, or excessive wear and tear. The rails are straight, the cover is fully intact, and I doubt anything would damage this seat except for a gnarly crash.The Limber saddle retails for $110 USD. It is available in Black/Sand (as tested) or Chocolate colors. Chromag covers all their components with a two-year warranty. chromagbikes.com

On this week's CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rben Silva and Gavin Quinn have discussed the evolution of Decathlon CMA CGM Team, who have signed several climbers this winter so as to boost Paul Seixas' chances of succeeding. But how far can the French team go at the 2027 Tour de France. The route was re...