Steven Kruijswijk had to forget about racing Tour de France after crashing out of Critrium du Dauphin along with teammate Dylan van Baarle. Now the Dutchman hopes the streak of bad luck for his team is coming to an end.Kruijswijk suffered a broken hip - an injury that will see him stay away from a...

Toolmaker Fix Mfg has a new 224 TorqueWrench that strikes a nice balance for the home mechanic with lightweight simplicity, a wide working range, and a reasonable price. Plus, if you pre-order one now, youll save another 20% to make sure youre not gonna be over-torquing lightweight parts on your bike late this summer.Fix Mfg 224 affordable, easy-to-use torque wrench(Photos/Fix Mfg)Now the new Fix Manufacturing 224 TorqueWrench isnt really anything revolutionary. Its just an affordable ratcheting bit-based click-type torque wrench. But for owners of bikes with lightweight components (or really any responsible modern bike owner), you really should have a torque wrench at home to make sure you are properly tightening but not overtightening most of the bolts on your bike. And the 224 offers a wider range than most, at a more affordable pricepoint than most, and in a neat & easy-to use package.Proper Torque SettingsFixs 224 offers a wide 2-24Nm of torque settings, meaning its about 1/3 wider range than most torque wrenches. Sure, most lightweight cockpit components are in the 4-6Nm range. But occasionally, I find a component or suspension torque spec up around 20 that exceeds most compact wrenches, and end up adjusting by feel. And yes, there are still higher torque settings when you get into pedals, cranks & bottom brackets, so this wont solve every on-bike tightening need. But it looks like a wider than most workable range, especially for lightweight components. Tech detailsThe Fix 224 TorqueWrench features a simple rotating 2-24Nm torque adjustment, but with easier-to-read-than-most setting. Spin the lower handle to align with even torque settings on one side, then odd numbers on the other. Less guesswork whether lines match up under or over your desired torque setting. Then, just tighten away at your bolts til it clicks. (Then, dial it back down to zero, when youre done.)The 224 features a mostly all metal construction for long-life durability, with a 72T ratcheting head for easy work in tight spaces. The light 150g wrench is 20cm long with an ergonomic-shaped handle for good leverage & grip.The Fix 224 TorqueWrench comes in a full metal case with 10 hardened S2 steel 1/4 hex & torx tool bits, plus a 60mm bit extension. Fix says the 26cm x 6cm x 4.5cm metal case will be the crown jewel of your workbench. But that also means you are less likely to lose that key bit you need most.Fix 224 TorqueWrench Pricing & limited edition availabilityIf you pre-order now through next weekend (after July 4th), Fix Mfg will knock the regular $120 price tag down to $99.95. Plus, the first 300 of their 224 wrenches get their cases individually numbered. Fix Manufacturing is also working on an affordable calibration service, so this will be a lifetime tool. Ultimately after tightening around 5000 times, its generally recommended to recalibrate a torque wrench. Thats a lot of wrenching for the home mechanic, but maybe 6-12 months for a working mechanic. In either case, Fix hopes to have the recalibration service available for about $20-30 for the 224. So youll always be sure of how tight youre going.FixMfg.comThe post Fix Mfg 224 Torque Wrench Hits Easy-To-Use Sweet Spot, Light & Affordable in Pre-Order appeared first on Bikerumor.

City councillors and campaigners have questioned the last-minute intervention by a junior Government Minister seeking to delay the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan a Pathfinder plan aimed at accelerating climate action around a month before it is planned to be rolled out.RTE reported that Emer Higgins, Minister of State with responsibility for business, employment and retail, is to ask Dublin City Council to postpone the plan until at least 2025.The intervention comes days after the State broadcaster repeated misleading claims of Dublin City Traders Alliance, spreading misinformation about the spending power of city centre visitors by mode of transport. The Traders Alliance is heavily linked to car park owners and operators.RTE reported that a lobby group cited the National Transport Authoritys Dublin City Centre Shopper Survey 2022 which it said indicates that car users spend significantly more than those using public transport, but the 2022 survey found that Sustainable modes of transport account for 75% of daily spend in the city centre with car drivers accounting for 24% of spend.Minister Higginss intervention was criticised this morning by councillors and campaign groups.Dublin Commuter Coalition, a sustainable transport users advocacy group,said: This is absolutely unacceptable Ministerial overreach by Emer Higgins. We need our Transport Ministers to ensure the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan goes ahead as scheduled not delayed because of a well-funded lobby of a few prominent businesses.The group added: We expect all Dublin City Council councillors of government and non-government parties to quickly come out and show their support for the Dublin Transport Plan, given they agreed to it in their governing group just a week ago.I Bike Dublin, a campaign group, said: This is an outrageous attempt by Emer Higgins TD to override the democratic processes of local governance in Dublin City Council. We trust the ruling pact will reject it and abide by their commitment to safeguard and implement the Dublin Transport Plan.Cllr Cat ODriscoll (Soc Dems) said: We just elected 63 councillors to represent the city of Dublin, so why is a minister now overstepping us to undo our work which meets the goals of our statutory City Development Plan? Emer Higgins [needs to] sit down with us councillors to learn about the damage traffic does to Dublin.Cllr Donna Cooney (Green Party) said: The Delivering for Dublin agreement by Dublin City Council ruling group has all agreed plans to be delivered. This is a government climate action Pathfinder project. Dublin City Councillors already voted against a motion to delay the project. Retail will most likely see an increase, as happens in every other city and town when people are given priority.She added: People will still be able to use all transport (including cars) into the city. But those driving through the city, whose destination is not the city centre, will be diverted. Minister for State should not be trying to unduly influence against the local government democratic process and a senior Ministers climate action pathfinder project.ALSO READ: Lets be honest: People can disagree with Dublins traffic plan, but anybody who didnt hear about it was living under a rock

Now that's a ride worthy of some kudos...

Tom Pidcock has previously declared that he won't aim for GC during this year's Tour de France, but that doesn't stop the 24-year-old Brit from testing to see how far he can go with the best in the first week. The opening stage didn't see much action, which was ideal for Pidcock, who can now set his...