Having been banished to the mountains to jot down about MTB and Gravel bikes for sister website Bike Excellent, I returned to the Cyclingnews workforce in October after a four-year-long hiatus. Though the vast majority of my time away was spent sliding round on singletrack, I’ve nonetheless been clocking up loads of drop bar miles too, albeit with out the stream of street bike goodies passing over my desk that I used to be as soon as accustomed to.
Using has been a bit hit-and-miss this yr when it comes to mileage (thanks for reminding me Strava), but I’ve nonetheless managed to accrue loads of actually nice days on bikes. Insert “High quality not amount”, or “no unhealthy days” or another boring adage, however in actuality the beginning of my yr was marred with a two-month niggling knee damage after a moderately formidable self-imposed Festive 500 problem. What was meant to kick begin my 2024 left me chasing to atone for health however this stuff occur and 2024 will nonetheless go down as a really memorable yr of driving for me for a lot of causes.
When the driving was good, it was actually good and here’s a record of issues that helped make my 2024 rides even higher.
1. Albion Ultralight Jacket
I began utilizing the Albion Ultralight Insulated Jacket final winter and it has turn out to be an indispensable piece of biking clothes since. At 99g and ultra-packable, it is a mid-layer that may simply be popped in a jersey pocket or handlebar bag and significantly will increase heat when on the bike far past its weight. The Ultralight Jacket is flexible too, it’s slim sufficient to suit beneath a water-resistant to lure cosy air retaining you very cosy or worn over a jersey to take the sting off chilly summer season evenings. The minimal perforated insulation panels across the chest and shoulder sections are particularly tailor-made for driving which helps regulate temperature. It is not going to maintain you very heat on mid-ride stops or post-ride hanging out however that is not likely what it is designed for.
It’s not low-cost however contemplating the way it appears to be the proper choice each time I attain for a mid-layer I feel the Ultralight is nicely well worth the funding. Fellow Cyclingnews tester Will Jones favored the Albion Ultralight Insulated Jacket a lot when he reviewed it that he included it within the greatest winter biking jackets information.
2. Shimano RX801 sneakers
I received a pair of Shimano RX801’s to interchange my previous, excessive mileage and moderately abused RX8s. The RX8’s have lengthy been considered one of my favourites with regards to the greatest gravel sneakers for quick driving. Shimano’s newest RX801’s retain nearly precisely the identical design. There isn’t actually something new to say about these sneakers, apart from the brand new silver fade color appears to be like nice, however contemplating they’ve been on my toes for almost all of my gravel and street driving this yr I feel they deserve a shout-out on my gear of the yr.
3. Favero ASSIOMA PRO MX1 pedals
One of many the explanation why I’ve worn the Shimano RX801’s a lot this yr is as a result of I invested in my first energy meter. I’ve used energy meters geared up on take a look at bikes up to now however this might mark the primary constant stint of driving with energy. I opted for the two-bolt SPD Favero ASSIOMA PRO MX1 as I needed to make use of them for gravel and a few XC driving.
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Now I’m not going to say that driving and coaching with energy has been transformative to my expertise on the bike, however having the information readily available throughout and post-ride has definitely added one other dimension to my driving. I’m now capable of higher tempo an enormous trip, do some extra targeted coaching intervals and I’ve extra juicy stats to pour over post-ride.
Though driving with energy has been a “good to have” moderately than a necessity, the seamless integration of the Favero ASSIOMA PRO MX1 pedals is what has impressed me probably the most. Setup was so simple as registering an account on the app, pairing all my gadgets and becoming them to a motorcycle. They’re pedals so there aren’t any points utilizing them on all my bikes apart from sometimes committing a fake pas by sporting my gravel sneakers on a street trip. Charging is equally straightforward, I don’t have to have a stash of coin batteries, I merely cost the battery utilizing the charging cable and a battery pack and it lasts for ages. Then comes the worth, the Favero ASSIOMA PRO MX1 pedals are significantly cheaper than different energy pedal choices. Undercutting the Garmin Rally XC and coming in considerably cheaper than the Look X-Monitor Energy pedals, they have been tempting sufficient for this frugal bike tester to half together with his personal hard-earned money to get some.
4. Cargo pockets
Pockets are nothing new on bib shorts, coming from gravel the practicality has turn out to be a must have on any trip. Having amassed sufficient bib shorts to trip a full week after which some with pockets, and made an excellent dent in my winter wardrobe too, I merely discover it inconceivable to return to a non-cargo model. The mad factor is I don’t really use them that a lot.
Aside from having my telephone able to fast draw for that spontaneous Instagram second on the transfer or shortly stashing a software or snack they continue to be nearly empty more often than not, and I hardly ever use the rear ones both. With that stated I’ve turn out to be completely reliant on my helpful leg storage that I am left feeling a bit bamboozled on the uncommon event I’m sporting a pair of shorts with out pockets. I’ve by no means skilled any discomfort, inconvenience or annoyance from pockets so why don’t all bib shorts and tights include cargo pockets?
Head over to our greatest cargo bib shorts information for all of your pocket wants.
5. MagicShine SeeMee 20 V2.0
I need to caveat this entry by saying Cyclingnews will not be a shill for Magicshine, it simply makes actually good lights. Will Jones examined the SEEMEE 300 as a part of the greatest bike lights information and hasn’t stopped speaking about that gentle since, even included it in his gear of the yr. He then misplaced it whereas commuting and favored them a lot that he begged Magicshine for a substitute.
I’ve the smaller SeeMee 20 V2.0 which I purchased with my very own cash. It was a spontaneous buy with next-day supply when my previous gentle broke mid-ride so I’d be capable of trip once more the next day. It is tremendous small and solely weighs 18g, the visibility angle is extensive and 30 hours of runtime ought to stop me from getting caught out at midnight. Though my first one continues to be going sturdy, I used to be so impressed I purchased a second backup gentle simply in case.
6. Reliable workhorse bikes (Privateer 161 enduro bike)
You probably have little interest in mountain biking then now could be the time to vary the channel. Admittedly Cyclingnews might be not the viewers that can get enthusiastic about an aggressive enduro bike however the causes I embody this in my Gear of the 12 months record have loads of parallels with the street and gravel world.
This yr I managed to wangle an enormous chunk of summer season vacation and launched into a Canadian MTB street journey of a lifetime. With a packed itinerary, my pal Joe and I travelled all through British Columbia masking nearly 900km of driving and a whopping 70,000m of descending. Our MTB pilgrimage took us to legendary MTB spots like Whistler, Squamish, the North Shore, Vancouver Island, Solar Peaks, Silver Star and extra.
A visit of such magnitude would require some critically sturdy instruments and I pulled a few trade strings and received my palms on Privateer’s 161 Gen 2 enduro bike. It is pitched as an reasonably priced enduro race machine and it’s a brute of a motorcycle. The stout alloy body has some very progressive geometry figures and the spec sheet is an inventory of reliable efficiency equipment chosen by somebody with the appropriate priorities. As an alternative of fancy carbon wheels, a gucci cockpit and a premium derailleur you get correctly aggressive MaxxGrip tyres, extremely adjustable Fox Efficiency suspension and Hayes A4’s that are among the greatest brakes round. After 24 days of back-to-back driving on among the most difficult terrain throughout British Columbia, the Privateer was nonetheless charging exhausting.
What’s this received to do with street and gravel bikes? Effectively, it is all too straightforward to get caught up with the most recent and biggest you overlook what makes a motorcycle enjoyable to trip. Having one of the best street bike is good but when it ends in you not driving it to your full potential then what is the level? I’ve been fortunate sufficient to trip some superbikes with wanton disregard they usually have all carried out spectacularly nicely. That stated, if I had paid my very own cash for a kind of machines I’d completely be considering twice about taking it out on days with threatening climate forecasts or charging across the pot-hole-ridden streets in the identical method.
Based mostly on Strava PR’s, one of many quickest bikes I examined throughout my first Cyclingnews stint was a BMC ALR which I received despatched because the testing platform for SRAM Rival eTap AXS when it was first launched. The bike itself was nicely geared up with entry-level digital shifting and base mannequin Zipp 303’s however not so costly that if one thing broke you would wish to remortgage your home to restore it. The outcome was a motorcycle that inspired you to trip it flat out, on a regular basis and it was infinitely extra pleasurable due to it.
So for those who’re eyeing up a brand new bike in 2025, perhaps take into consideration what the actual priorities are. Is spending a load of money on absolutely the top-spec bike you may really going to provide the greatest driving expertise or do you have to get a motorcycle you can hammer day in and time out? I do know which one I’d select.