The Best Bike Accessories for Road and Gravel Riding (and Racing)

From OutsideOnline.com

By David Kennedy

These biking accessories and tools will help you work smarter, not harder, on two wheels

From mid-ride hydration mixes to ride-saving tools to simple storage solutions, we’ve gathered a selection of the best bike accessory needs and wants to make the most of your next ride. Looking for a new kit that will keep you airy and comfy over hundreds of miles? An activity tracker that delivers real-time ride data? A handheld massage tool for post-ride recovery? You’ve come to the right place.

At a Glance

 

Image courtesy of SpeedSleev

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How Long Will It Take to Ride a Century?

From Bicycling.com

By MOLLY HURFORD

I remember the first time I rode a century: I was still in college, reluctantly part of the Rutgers Cycling Team in order to improve my biking as a triathlete. Every Sunday in February, the ragtag team of 10 or so riders would roll out from New Brunswick, New Jersey—rain, snow, or sun—and pedal for 100 miles.

These were truly the best of times and the worst of times. Numb fingers, toes, and noses were the norm. We never packed enough snacks. We’d swarm coffee shops and gas stations like gremlins, hunting out the most calories for the least amount of money. These rides often took upward of 10 hours, thanks to multiple stops, flats, and quite a few missed turns. And I had the time of my life.

If you’ve never ridden a century—or 100 miles—it can be a daunting concept. If you’ve been training consistently and are ready to hit triple digits, the big question becomes: How long will it take me to ride a century? It can be hard to plan your day when you’re not sure if you’ll be out for seven hours or 14. So we compiled the data on average finish times and what you need to know to estimate the length of your own 100-miler.

How many people ride centuries?

First of all, a round of applause for even attempting such a feat: According to Strava, in 2023, only four percent of cyclists on the platform did a ride that was 100 miles or more.

Nervous about making the attempt? Consider starting with a metric century, which is about 62 miles, if you haven’t done a ride that long yet. Even at 100 kilometers, you’ll be riding longer than 87 percent of your fellow cyclists on Strava. In 2023, only 13 percent of riders hit 100 kilometers in any ride—and in the U.S., the number is even lower, with only 9 percent of cyclists going that far.

Photo by Martin Magnemyr on Unsplash

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Pro On A £100 Bike VS Killer Climb!

We gave a pro-cyclist a £100 bike and then sent him up the steepest climb we could find. Will he get to the top? How long will it take? Will the bike survive, or is it just as good as a super bike? Join Hank and Conor to find out!

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What are the latest bike tech trends that you should know about?

The bike industry is never stagnant with new tech and trends emerging all of the time. Here, we take a look at the top five current trends

By Alex Hunt

Bike tech continues to grow and expand into new areas, pushing the boundaries of cycling further and further. The cycling industry is not one to be caught resting on its laurels and just when you think there might be a momentary lull, something new becomes the latest trend to spawn development and progression.

Although the gravel bike revolution is far from over, a new bike trend is currently taking the limelight. All-road bikes are becoming more and more versatile, representing a bike that can masquerade as a road bike one day and a gravel bike the next. With brands pushing tyre clearances to the max, it is becoming hard to separate where an all-road bike ends and a gravel bike begins. It doesn’t just end there though, with plenty of other developments continuing to drive the industry forward.

Here we have our top-five trends of the moment that we think you should know about.

All-road bikes

Although not necessarily new, the all-road bike is something that a lot of brands are now doubling down on. Essentially an all-road bike occupies the grey and undefined area between a road bike and a gravel bike. The latest generation of all-road bikes such as the ENVE Fray, BMC Roadmachine and Parlee’s Ouray all blur the boundaries between what we consider a road and gravel bike to be.

This latest batch of all-road bikes are developed not for the rigours of WorldTour racing, nor are they optimised in every way to be as efficient as possible at 50kph. Instead, they are built for cyclists who ride for fun and might want to explore beyond the tarmac from time to time.

Photo courtesy of Canyon

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Cycling’s Silent Epidemic

From Bicycling.com

TOO MANY WOMEN STOP RIDING THEIR BIKES BECAUSE OF LABIAL SWELLING AND PAIN. HERE’S WHY IT HAPPENS, WHAT THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT, AND HOW TO PREVENT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

BY

When Caroline Worrall discovered cycling at the age of 40, it was like discovering a superpower. On group rides, she was faster than others to the point where she sometimes wondered why everyone else was going so slow. Riding flat pedals on one of her early outings, she beat a group of men in a sprint. About five years in, after she’d progressed to regular 50- to 60-mile rides, she began to notice pain and swelling in her labia that forced her off the bike for stretches of time, even as long as a month. She tried at least 30 saddles over the course of a decade—none helped. Meanwhile the tissue grew thicker until she could no longer wear padded shorts on long rides. She briefly contemplated surgery. She rode mostly with men in Gainesville, Florida, where she lived. She had no one to talk to about it.

In 2009, Jacqueline McClure, then 26, got on her mom’s old steel Panasonic with down-tube shifters and rode 100 miles on California’s Highway 1. Her first elite racing team gave her a men’s Specialized S-Works saddle, which she rode for almost two seasons even though she was plagued by sores. She eventually switched saddles, but her problems persisted—and the sores progressed to permanent swelling on one side. When she told bike fitters, who were almost always men, they stared at her wide-eyed. Once a gynecologist asked, “What happened to you?” She responded, “I ride a bike all day.” Now 40, McClure hasn’t raced for three years, and rides much less than before, but until recently her labia remained lopsided. “As a woman,” she says, “it makes you feel a little damaged.”

 

Photo by Coen van de Broek on Unsplash

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