ightweight vs aero is one of cycling’s biggest debates, and after all the love we’ve seen for the new lightweight Orbea Orca, it’s time to open it up again! Science says aero bikes are faster, even up climbs, but is that actually true? We’ve called on our resident hill climber, Andrew “The Twig” Feather, to find out which really is the fastest bike for climbing.
When it comes to road bikes, there are two main types: lightweight and aero. Lightweight bikes are designed to go faster up the climbs, whereas aero bikes are faster on the flat. But if you’re doing a ride that combines the two, such as a gran fondo, which bike is best for you? Ollie & Alex compare the two bikes over varied terrain to find out which is faster overall!
Over the past three weeks, Alex has been building a super lightweight hill climbing machine on just a £1000 budget. Starting with a cheap second-hand Trek Madone, he has sanded the frame (sorry again!) and bought a load of new budget parts. It’s now time to build the bike, find out how much it weighs and take it for a test ride. It’s super-light bike on a budget: part 3!
This week Hank and Alex are back for another (slightly chaotic) GCN Tech Show, and they’re talking about why we don’t see so much lightweight tech anymore! Also we have even more tech from Eurobike, comments of the week and the all important bike vault!
