One of the top tips in our recent guide to winter cycling was to keep your bike properly maintained. But what does this involve?

While you might be able to get away without doing very much in the summer, in the winter you do have to a do a little bit more. The reward is that your bike will carry on running smoothly, and in the long run, you’ll save money by extending the life of your components.

You can do most winter bike maintenance yourself, but always take your bike to a professional if you are not sure.

Wipe your bike down after every ride

When you go out on your bike in the winter, there’s a good chance that by the time you get back it’s going to look... less than spotless. Water, grit, and worse still road salt, are bad news for your frame. Especially if it’s steel or aluminium rather than carbon fibre.

For this reason, even if you don’t have time to fully clean it, you should give your bike a quick wipe down after every ride. Above all else, make sure your bike is dry before you put it back in the garage.

Ideally, give your bike a more thorough clean.

Clean your bike regularly

We discussed this in our winter riding tips post, and touched on it above, but it’s worth saying a third time. Keeping your bike clean is the number one thing you can do to prolong the lifespan of your components and avoid problems when out on the road.

At least once a week, give your pride and joy (or even your winter beater bike) a full clean with warm, soapy water and a bike-specific cleaning product. A clean bike is a fast bike. And as an added bonus, they look better too.

When you’ve finished cleaning your bike, take the time to re-lube your chain and check key components for wear. If you’re buying some bike degreasers and cleaners, make sure you get some oil and grease too.

Use wet lube and regrease often

There are two main types of lube. Wet, and dry. Although dry will not pick up as much dirt as wet, you’ll find that it’s quickly washed away by even the slightest bit of rain. As a result, you’ll need to keep reapplying it throughout winter. In fact, it may not even last for the whole duration of your café spin or winter training ride.

If you plan on riding whatever the weather, we recommend using wet lube. Wet lube will keep you going for even the longest of winter rides, and provides a little extra protection against snow or slush.

The downside is that because wet lube is a little ‘stickier’ than dry lube, it will pick up dirt more quickly. In winter, the roads are always muckier than in summer - even on a fairly dry day. This can quickly result in thick black grim accumulating on your drivetrain. To avoid this and keep your bike running smoothly, you will need to degrease and re-lubricate your chain every couple of rides.

Check your brake pads and cables

Doing lots of winter riding will wear down your brake pads more quickly than normal. These are cheap enough to replace, but if you leave dirt and grit on them, they’ll wear down your rims too. New rims are much more costly. Always check and clean your brakes after cycling in the winter.

Checking disc brakes is a bit more involved as you will often have to remove the pads to see how worn they are, but is still worth doing. Cables too, can become gummed up with road dirt if not kept clean. Keeping on top of this, and adding a drop of oil if required, can help expand the life of your cables.

Check your chain and cassette

Brakes aren’t the only part of your bike that wears down faster in the winter. Your chain and cassette will also need replacing sooner.

If you replace your chain in time, you should be able to get two or three chains per cassette. Fail to do so, and your cassette will need replacing sooner. A new cassette costs a fair amount more than a new chain, so trying to prolong the lifespan of the latter is a something of a false economy.

You might not notice that your chain is stretched (unless you let it get so bad that it starts jumping and skipping) so use a measuring tool to determine when it’s time for a new one.

If you don’t have one of these, a rough method is to put your bike in your biggest chainring and pull one of the links. If you are able to move it more than a few millimeters from the chainring, the chain is stretched.

Inspect and grease your bearings

Bearings will also need more attention in the winter. Before the weather turns, make sure they are all well greased. This helps keep water out. After winter, it's a good idea to either repack the grease or buy new sealed cartridge bearings. This applies to the bearings everywhere on your bike: in your hubs, headset, and bottom bracket.

You may need to take your bike into a bike shop to get this done, particularly where the bottom bracket is concerned.

Got any other winter maintenance tips? Leave them in the comments below.

Everyone finds cycling more difficult in the winter. The weather’s colder, it’s usually wetter, and visibility is poorer. Sometimes it’s really not much fun.

But before you give up and stash your bike away til spring, take a look at some of our winter cycling wisdom. Because with a few minor adjustments, your winter ride can be significantly improved.

Whether you’re cycling as a commuter or riding for leisure, here are our top tips to help you brave the cold this winter.

Wear the right clothes

Simply wearing the right gear can make things a lot more comfortable when cycling in the winter. Pay special attention to your extremities - your hands, feet, and head. Investing in some decent cycling gloves is essential.

Consider doubling up on socks to stop your feet from turning to blocks of ice. In rainy weather, shoe covers do a great job of keeping your feet dry, especially if you’re going to be wearing them all day at work. If you’re cycling for a reasonable distance in cooler conditions, knee warmers can help prevent injury by keeping your ligaments warm. But when the temperature really drops, we would recommend using full-length winter bib tights for that additional warmth and comfort.

Resist the temptation to wear a heavy coat on your torso, favouring a breathable windproof and waterproof jacket to keep out the worst of the elements. This, combined with a breathable base layer, should help you to maintain a consistent temperature without getting too sweaty.

Fit mudguards on your bike

When it comes to winter cycling, mudguards (or ‘fenders’) are a must. In wet weather, the volume of water that your tyres will pick up and dump directly onto your back is not to be underestimated. A rear mudguard will stop rain and snow shooting up from the road and covering your backside in cold, dirty water.

Fix a mudguard on both your front wheel as well as the back. A front mudguard will go some way to saving your shoes from filling with water. Mudguards will also keep your bike that little bit cleaner, deflecting grime that would otherwise get sprayed all over your components, shortening their life. So, save yourself a whole lot of misery, and make sure you don’t venture out in wet conditions this winter without mudguards.

Make yourself visible

Make cycling an all-around more comfortable experience for yourself by ensuring that you are super visible to motorists. Visibility is worse in the winter than it is the rest of the year. Rain, fog, and fewer daylight hours mean that you need to be kitted out with hi-vis clothing and a minimum of one good set of battery powered cycling lights.

Making yourself visible not only reduces the risk of accidents, but it can also help your nerves. Of course, you can never be too careful, but knowing that you are doing all you can to be visible does provide a certain peace of mind, taking a bit of the edge off those grisly winter weather conditions.

Fit wider tyres

Winter road cycling is no time to be thinking about marginal gains. Skinny, super aerodynamic tyres might help you when you’re racing against your friends on the weekend, but they’re not going to help anyone when the weather turns and the roads become slippery and wet.

Grip is the most important thing you want out of winter cycling tyres. Fit some 25mm or 28mm tyres, and pump them up to a slightly lower pressure for extra traction. Don’t skimp on cheap tyres that will easily puncture. Even if you aren’t going to get as much use out of your bike in the winter as you would in the summer, the last thing you want is to be fixing a puncture on the side of the road in the freezing cold. But if you do fall victim to the dreaded puncture, make sure you are prepared with the right tools to fix the issue. Equip yourself with a quality mini-pump, tyre levers, and a spare innertube.

Keep your bike clean

The winter weather will take its toll on your machine, so take a little bit of extra time to stay on top of your bike’s health. Don’t leave your chainset dripping with rainwater if you can at all avoid it. After a mucky ride in the rain or snow, sponge off the dirt with some warm water. The grit that’s used on roads in icy conditions can be corrosive, so you don’t want that stuff building up on your bike.

Invest in a good all-around cleaner like Motul. It’s a bit of extra work, but putting in the time to give your bike a quick clean in the winter months will ultimately keep your ride safer and more comfortable, as well as increasing the life of your bike.

Double up on grip tape for comfort

A little tip to make your winter ride that little bit more comfortable is to add an extra layer of handlebar tape. Will it make you warmer? No. Will it make you safer? No. But when it’s bitingly cold, your fingers are turning numb, and the rain is pelting at your face, that extra bit of comfort on your hands does make a difference.

Put your usual spartan self on mute and reward yourself for braving the cold. Add a bit of extra comfort to your bike this winter by doubling up on grip tape.

Plan your route

Finding the optimal route in the winter can be tricky. On the one hand, you probably feel inclined to stick to those quiet backroads where motor traffic is minimal and you have the road to yourself. But quiet roads are less likely to be gritted in the winter, increasing the likelihood that you will encounter ice.

So considering rerouting on bad weather days. You might need to extend the time you leave for your journey when bad weather strikes, but if you take the necessary precautions, a well-planned cycling route is often more reliable than other forms of transport in the winter months.

Eat and drink the right stuff

If you’re heading out into the cold, a hot drink just before you leave can ease the transition. Having something warm in your belly just before you set out makes a difference. Stay hydrated during your journey too. Even when the weather’s cold, it doesn’t mean that you’ve stopped sweating out fluids.

The right sort of foods can also help with winter cycling. Thermoregulation and increased inefficiency created by adverse weather conditions mean that cycling in the winter can use more calories. Remember that the temperature of the food and drink you’re consuming makes a difference. Consider warming up whatever you put inside you, and keeping energy bars in a warm pocket. Not only is cold food less appealing, but it can cause a dip in your body temperature.

Lower your saddle

If you’re cycling to work in snowy and icy conditions, lowering your saddle is an easy way to improve stability. By lowering your centre of gravity you make balance easier in icy conditions. A lower saddle will also prevent you from riding at your top speed, which is no bad thing when weather conditions are poor.

Keep your bike maintained properly

Get off to a good start by making sure your bike is in ship shape at the start of winter. You need to inspect the bearings, check the chain and cassette for signs of wear, and check all brake and gear cables. You don’t want core components to let you down on a cold, wet November commute. Make sure to keep your chain clean, dry, and greased with a heavy lube.

Winter weather conditions make stuff go wrong with your bike, so keep an eye on all your components. If in doubt, head out for a professional service to ensure everything is in tip-top working order.

How do you make your winter ride better? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Belmont Hill

Appearing in Tour de Britain for the second year in a row, Belmont Hill is a category two climb near Newport. With a brutal 15% section to get your legs working and destroy any hope you might have had of settling into a good rhythm for the whole 800 metre climb, Belmont Hill has an average gradient of around 9% and is not to be underestimated.

The climb is very near to where Geraint Thomas grew up; if you ride up hills like this every day, there’s always a chance you could go on to win the Tour de France.

Challacombe

Challacombe is as steep as it is narrow. The climb starts near the sea with a very modest incline, but if you raise your head and look ahead, you’ll see that it quickly ramps up to nearly 25% with little respice for the next half a mile.

Cyclists living in Devon should test their legs on this climb as soon as they can.

Whinlatter Pass

The Lake District is full of incredible climbs. Whinlatter Pass featured during a team trial in the 2018 Tour of Britain, and twice more the following day. The incline hits 13% in parts going West to East, and is even more challenging if tackled the other direction, with gradients reaching in excess of 20%.

If you don’t live in the Lake District, it’s worth a trip up for Whinlatter Pass.

Cheddar Gorge

Tactically, Ashton Hill is more important climb for the 2018 Tour of Britain, but Cheddar Gorge is tougher. If it sounds familiar, that might be because it also featured in the 2007 National Hill Climb Championships.

It’s quite easy to plot a nice route out and up Cheddar Gorge from Bristol, and you could always fit in Ashton Hill on the same day, whether or not you follow the exact route that the race took.

Previous Editions of the Tour the Britain

Other climbs from previous editions of the Tour of Britain include the aptly named The struggle. The race tackled this challenging, and in places windy road, up from Ambleside in the Lake District in 2016. The good news for amateur cyclists is that there’s a pub at the top. The even better news is that the obvious route down is a fast descent down Kirkstone Pass.

While in the Lake District, you would be remiss not to attempt Honister Pass, which featured in the 2013 Tour of Britain.

From the 2015 edition, our favourite climb was Hartside Fell. Unlike some of the others we’ve listed that have sharper gradients, Hartside Fell is long and steady. If you’ve ever done a coast-to-coast, you may have already been up it, as the route through the north Pennines takes you over the top.

The 2014 route saw a mountain finish on top of The Tumble in Wales. Fortunately no one did tumble, but take care when it comes to descending from the summit of this climb.

Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments.

None of the climbs we’ve listed should be underestimated, but you can always make your life a little easier with a lightweight 2018 road bike. Browse our range today.

0-9

105, Shimano’s very popular mid-range groupset. Shimano 105 sits above Shimano Claris, Sora, and Tiagra in the hierarchy and below Ultegra and Dura Ace.

27.5 mountain bike,a mountain bike with 27.5 inch wheels (also known as 650b) which is ideal for smaller riders or those who want a more nimble and responsive bike.

29er,a mountain bike with 29 inch wheels. These roll better than bikes with 27.5 or 26 inch wheels, but are less agile.

A

Aero bike,a road bike designed to have minimal air resistance. Areo bikes are characterised by low profile components, small wheel clearances, deep section wheels, areo bars, and frames designed to have the minimum possible aerodynamic drag.

Aero bars, handlebars that protrude outwards to allow the rider to assume an aggressive aerodynamic position.

B

Bidon, the French word for a cycling water bottle.

Booties, overshoes that keep a cyclist feet warm and/or dry. They may also offer an aerodynamic advantage.

Bottom bracket, the component that allows your crank arms and chainring to turn smoothly. There are many different types of bottom bracket. They are subject to a considerable amount of wear and will therefore need replacing from time to time.

Braze-on, any fitting on a bike frame: a braze-on could be a cable holder or a mount-point of a rack or mudguard.

C

Cassette, the rear set of cogs. Separate to the freewheel.

Chainset, also known as cranksets. The chainset consists of the crank arm along with the front cogs.

Chainstay, the tubes that run from the bottom bracket to the rear dropouts.

Chamois, the pad in cycling shorts. Historically this was made from chamois leather, but synthetic options now provide much more comfort.

Chamois cream, cream designed to help with saddle sores. Chamois cream was originally used to soften the hard leather pads found in cycling shorts.

Cleats, the extruding part on the bottom of clipless cycling shoes that lock with the pedals.

Clincher, tyres with a bead that attaches them to the rim of the wheel. Clincher wheelsets make it easy to remove or replace the tyre in the event of a puncture.

Clipless pedals, bike pedals which, confusingly, you clip into. The successor to toe clips and straps, hence clipless.

Cyclocross or Cross bike, a rigid bike that looks like a road bike but has a geometry suited to off-road riding and quick dismount. Features wide tyre clearance that allow for large tyres to be fitted for use in muddy conditions.

D

Deep section rims, oversized rims which are more aerodynamic when cycling into or against the wind.

Derailleur hanger, the part of the frame that the rear derailleur screws into. Often this part will take a lot of the impact in a crash, so it is sometimes a replaceable part.

Di2, Shimano’s electronic cable-free gear shifting technology, found on high end road bikes (the SRAM equivalent is eTAP and the Campagnolo equivalent is EPS).

Disc brakes, a type of brake with pads that squeeze a separate metal disc rather than the rims of the wheel. Bikes on which they are found are commonly referred to as ‘disc’ models.

Dropout, the slot into which the axles fit. Various designs of dropouts exist: a single speed bike might have horizontal rear dropouts for example to allow the chain to be made taught without the use of a derailleur.

Dropper seatpost, a hydraulic seat post that can be lowered for descents (and raised again afterwards) without getting of the bike.

Dura Ace, Shimano’s top of the range groupset.

E

E-Bike, a bike with a (non-hidden!) electric motor to assist with pedalling. E-bikes are not just for commuting and are becoming an increasingly common sight.

F

Fender, another word of a mudguard. Primarily used in American English.

Finishing kit everything on the bike that’s not the frame, groupset, or wheels: the stem, handlebars and handlebar tape, seatpost, saddle.

Frameset, the bike frame and fork without any of other components. The starting point of anyone wanting to build a completely custom bike.

Freehub, a freewheel built into the rear hub.

Freewheel, the mechanism which allows the wheel to keep turning when you stop pedalling. Nowadays part of the freehub.

Front derailleur, the front gear change mechanism.

Fixie, a fixed gear bicycle - one with only one gear and no freewheel.

G

Granny gear, a really low gear such as that found triples. Handy for if you’re carrying lots of luggage, but not found on racing bikes.

Gravel bike, a bike thats similar to a cyclocross bike but usually a bit more road-like in it’s geometry.

Groupset, the essential mechanical components one the bike: the crankset, STI levers (or seperate gear changers), derailleurs, brakes, cassette, chain, and bottom bracket.

Guru bike fit system, a state of the art professional bike fitting service, available from Cycle Division.

H

Hardtail, a mountain bike with front suspension but a rigid frame at the rear.

Headset, the bearings and associated parts that allow the handlebars and front forks to rotate in the frame.

Hub gear, a gearing system which is contained within the rear hub. Found on some touring bikes and many town bikes in Europe.

Hybrid bike, a bike that is neither a full road bike or mountain bike. Popular with casual cyclists, a hybrid bike is ideal for commuting or tackling mixed terrain including towpaths and other cycleways.

J

Jockey wheel, the small sprockets in a rear derailleur. Like any other sprocket, these will wear out over time, and will eventually need to be replaced.

M

MIPS, or Multi-directional Impact Protection System. Found on high end cycling helmets, the design protects against rotational forces as well as impacts.

MTB, a mountain bike.

P

Pannier, a bag (or pair of bags) attached to a rack on the front or back of the bike. Used by commuters and touring cyclists.

Powermeter, a device that measures your power output in Watts and passes the data onto a sophisticated bike computer or GPS unit such as a Garmin. Riders use powermeters for both training purposes and to ensure peak performance and pacing during a race.

Presta valve, the type of valve most commonly found on road bikes. Alternatives to schrader valves.

Q

Q-Factor, the distance between the pedals on a bike. Affects the bike fit.

QR, or quick release. Axles that can be removed and replaced quickly and without tools.

R

Rear derailleur, the mechanism that shifts the gain between rear sprockets and keeps the chain taught.

Roubaix, a type of fleecy lining found in winter cycling tights.

S

Schrader valves, car type valves found particularly on children’s bikes.

Sealed cartridge bearing, bearings encased in a sealed ring. Since they are more weather proof, sealed cartridge bearings last longer than cup and cone bearings. They are replaced as a single unit.

Seatstay, the tubes that run from where the seatpost comes out of the frame down to the rear dropouts.

Soft-tail, a full suspension mountain bike.

Speedplay, SPD, and SPD-SL, types clipless pedal. SPD are most commonly found on mountain bikes and SPD-SL and Speedplay are popular among road cyclists.

Stem, the component that attaches the handlebars to the steerer tube. Available in different lengths to allow riders to fine tune their bike fit.

Steerer tube, the tube that sticks out from the forks and goes through the frame.

STI, or Shimano Total Integration. A gear shifting mechanism integrated into the brake levers, commonly found on road bikes.

Strava, the most popular social network and training app for cyclists. Join the Cycle Division community.

T

Thru axle, a more rigid and secure type of axle that screws into the frame itself. Particularly effective on bikes with powerful disc brakes.

Travel, the amount that a mountain bike suspension system will compress.

Triple crankset, a crankset with three rings rather than the two found on compact or semi-compact cranksets. Popular among touring cyclists and on entry level mountain bikes.

TT bike, an aero bike designed for time-trials. The aggressive position means that it is important to get a good TT bike fit done to avoid discomfort.

Tubeless, an alternative to clinchers which do not require an inner tube. More puncture proof, but changing a tyre is a little harder.

Tubular tyres, tyres with an inbuilt inner tube. Able to be ridden at both higher and lower pressures than clincher tyres.

Turbo trainer, a type of indoor cycling trainer, usually with variable resistance and sometimes with smart features that allow it to be used with various software packages.

U

Ultegra, a high-end Shimano group set found on many road bikes.

W

Wheelbase, the distance between the front and rear axles.

Winter bike, a secondary road bike specifically for use in the winter. Usually fitted with mudguards and more basic components than a summer bike.

Workstand, a stand to hold your bike up while you work on it. Workstands save you from back strain and allow you to turn the cranks and wheels with the bike held in the air.

Z

Zero pivot system, found on high end mountain bikes, zero pivot rear suspension is more efficient and stiffer than cheaper pivot based systems.

Did we miss any? Leave them in the comments below.

Don’t win the Giro d’Italia

The favourite for the yellow jersey in this year’s Tour de France was four time winner Chris Froome. With a track record like that, a third place finish in the general classification was something of a disaster for Froome. But unlike his teammate, two time Olympic gold medallist Geraint Thomas, Froome raced and won the Giro d’Italia just two months before the grand départ. It is perhaps understandable, then, that Froome seemed a little tired by the time the tour headed into the alps.

Only seven riders can claim to have won the Grio-Tour double, Froome among them. Prevailing wisdom is that unless you’re a truly exceptional rider, if you want to win the Tour de France, you need to spend your entire year working towards it.

Stay out of trouble

An early crash this year put Chris Froome on the back foot from day one, and an accident during stage 9 took general classification contender Richie Porte of BMC out of the running altogether. Geraint Thomas himself is no stranger to misfortune, a bad crashed forced him to abandon the Paris-Roubaix in April, and an incident like that could have easily ended his Tour de France campaign.

Staying towards the front of the pack requires a greater energy output, but it also means that you can avoid any accidents in the peloton, which can hold up the entire group. Despite the reduction in team size this year, the Tour de France can be crowded at times.

Not all trouble can be avoided of course, and if you’re as unlucky as Nairo Quintana was when he punctured both wheels just 400m from the start of the neutral zone at the end of stage one, you’re not going to be leading the race into Paris however strong you are.

Ride the right bike

He may not have been after the overall win, but Mark Cavendish complained about his bike several times before he was eventually eliminated in stage eleven for failing to make the time cut.

It might not be essential to have a bike worth skywards of $10,000 on a Sunday café ride, but if you want to win the Tour de France you’d better have a state of the art 2018 road bike that matches those being ridden on other teams.

Eat the right foods

Professional cycling teams consist of more than just cyclists and directeur sportifs. Next to the team mechanics, the dietritions are perhaps the most important people in the team bus. While on tour, every meal is planned with recovery and on-the-day performance in mind.

During the race, there’s no time for riders to tuck into some pasta. Energy gels, particularly SIS energy gels, are the go-to fuel.

Be on Team Sky

From their famous marginal gains approach and their devotion to cutting edge sport science, to world class domestiques who would easily be the leader on any other team, it’s not surprising that Team Sky have won the yellow jersey six times in the last seven years.

They get a lot criticism thrown at them for their racing style and overall approach to the sport, but whatever Team Sky are doing, it’s clearly working.

Be the Team Leader

On the best teams, every rider has a clear and well defined roll for each stage. Movistar had three leaders this year (Nairo Quintana, Mikel Landa, and Alejandro Valverde) but this tactic didn’t seem to produce the results that they were after.

There’s one very obvious notable exception to this rule though. 2 time Olympic gold medallist Geraint Thomas started the 2018 Tour de France in the service of Chris Froome. The Welshman maintained that he was not acting as team leader nearly all the way to Paris, despite the yellow jersey on his shoulders. Whether or not Thomas will be riding as a domestique to Froome in the next Tour remains to be seen.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

The Tour is by far the most popular cycling competition. An impressive 3.5 billion people tune in to watch events unfold on TV and 12 million people line the roads each year to catch a glimpse of the peloton as it goes past. With more media coverage and bigger sponsors, the profile of the race continues to grow each year.

Here are six Tour de France facts, past and present, that you may not know.

1. The Tour was Originally Set Up to Sell L’Auto Newspaper

Before there were cameramen on motorbikes and in helicopters, all media coverage of the Tour de France was in print form. The newspaper L’Auto started the race in 1903 to boost circulation, with enormous effect.

There aren’t too many references to L’Auto left in the modern Tour, but the famous yellow jersey gets its colour from the yellow newsprint of the paper.

2. Cheaters used to be a bit less subtle

In early days of the Tour de France, cheating was rampant and surprisingly explicit. The winner of the second edition, for example, was disqualified for having taken a train ride to get ahead of his rivals.

Other riders in the same Tour are said to have been towed by cars. This is certainly one step up from drafting behind a team car, which Tom Dumoulin was penalised for by the UCI in stage 6 this year.

3. Riders used to “dope” by getting drunk

The use of performance enhancing drugs is not a new problem. Alcohol and ether were the original drugs of choice in the early days of the Tour, and as recently as 1967 when Tom Simpson died on Mont Ventoux after (allegedly) drinking Brandy.

Brandy might not sound like the best performance enhancer, but it was effective at numbing the pain and this allowed riders to push harder than their rivals. Then again, riders would also share cigarettes before climbs to “open up their lungs”. Not recommended.

Modern drug testing is strict, but Therapeutic Use Exemptions for drugs like Salbutamol (as with the recent and now dropped case against Chris Froome) are still causing debate.

4. Cyclists were not always allowed to ride together

The familiar peloton has not always been a feature of the Tour de France. Originally riders rode for themselves, and staying together in groups was forbidden. The introduction of teams completely changed the tactics of the race.

This year the team size has been reduced to eight from nine in an attempt to improve the safety of the peloton. Based on the race so far, it doesn’t seem to have been successful.

5. The average speed of the Tour has increased by 60%

Overall, the average speed of the Tour has got faster and faster over time. In 2017, Chris Froome rode at an average speed of nearly 41 km/h (about 25 mph).

We can only imagine what speed famous riders of yesteryear would average if given a 2018 road bike which weighs about half as much as the steel bikes that they rode.

Image from wikipedia

6. Four riders have won the overall classification five times

Namely Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. That number could soon increase to five if Chris Froome, currently with four overall wins under his belt, takes the yellow jersey again this year.

The record for the number of stage wins is 34, held by Eddy Merckx. This record might have also fallen this year, but Mark Cavendish (who is currently sitting on 30 stage wins) was elimated in stage 11 for failing to finish inside the time limit.

 Do you have any other interesting facts about the Tour De France? Leave your comments below

This solidifies Froome as one of the most successful riders of all time; he has now taken successive wins in three Grand Tours: the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España, and the Giro d’Italia.

A welcome, but not altogether unusual, change from the race controlling tactics often seen from Team Sky, Chris Froome took the win with a certain amount of flare.

His performance in stage 19 in particular will go down in history alongside some of his other memorable moments in recent Grand Tours (remember his famous descent perched in an aerodynamic position on his top tube in the 2016 Tour de France?).

Sat in fourth place overall and over 3 minutes behind Simon Yates (who was riding a 2018 Scott road bike and was one of our riders to watch in our Giro d’Italia preview article) of team Mitchelton-Scott, Froome’s options were limited. In a show of strength over all the other riders, Froome attacked and rode solo for 80km on the Colle delle Finestre.

The result: the stage win, the pink jersey, and a considerable and ultimately tour winning 40 second lead over Tom Dumoulin of Team Sunweb.

Even BMC Racing sports director Valerio Piva was impressed:

“I don’t remember anything like this in recent grand tours, you have to return to old times. [...] When you consider a comparison to Froome’s ride, you talking about another era.”

“You just have to say ‘chapeau’ to Froome.”

The nature of the Giro d’Italia means that, although there are of course some clear favourites, it is not entirely clear who is going to walk away with the pink jersey.

Here’s a quick run through of everything you need to know before the race begins.

2018 Giro d’Italia Route Preview

The start of the race will take place outside of Europe for the first time since the event began in 1909. Controversially, the opening 9.7 km individual time trial will take place in Jerusalem.

Despite this decision, however, the organisers want to distance the race from any political issues; speaking to the Associated Press race director Mauro Vegni said that they “want it to be a sports event and stay away from any political discussion”.

The race will move back to home territory for the 4th stage and will stay in Italy for the remainder of the 21 stage, 3,551km race.

For a Giro d’Italia, the course this year is relatively flat. That still means eight summit finishes, however, and an array of challenging climbs; the majority of which are packed into the final week. One of these is Monte Zoncolan, which riders will tackle in stage 14. Stretching out across 10km with parts reaching 22%, the mountain is arguably the hardest ascent in Europe.

The route continues to take the race over the mountains until the final stage, consisting of 10 laps around Rome, which will favour the sprinters.

Stages and route

• May 4, stage 1, Jerusalem, 9.7km (individual time trial)

• May 5, stage 2, Haifa – Tel Aviv, 167km

• May 6, stage 3, Be’er Sheva – Eilat, 229km

• May 7, rest day

• May 8, stage 4, Catania – Caltagirone, 191km

• May 9, stage 5, Agrigento – Santa Ninfa, 152km

• May 10, stage 6, Caltanissetta – Etna, 163-km

• May 11, stage 7, Pizzo – Praia A Mare, 159-km

• May 12, stage 8, Praia A Mare – Montevergine, 208km

• May 13, stage 9, Pesco Sannita – Gran Sasso, 224km

• May 14, second rest day

• May 15, stage 10, Penne – Gualdo Tadino, 239km

• May 16, stage 11, Assisi – Osimo, 156km

• May 17, stage 12, Osimo – Imola, 213km

• May 18, stage 13, Ferrara – Nervesa Della Battaglia, 180km

• May 19, stage 14, San Vito al Tagliamento – Monte Zoncolan, 181km

• May 20, stage 15, Tolmezzo – Sappada, 176km

• May 21, final rest day

• May 22, stage 16, Trento – Rovereto, 34.5km (individual time trial)

• May 23, stage 17, Riva del Garda – Iseo, 155km

• May 24, stage 18, Abbiategrasso – Prato Nevoso, 196km

• May 25, stage 19, Venaria Reale – Bardonecchia, 181km

• May 26, stage 20, Susa – Cervinia, 214km

• May 27, stage 21, Rome, 118km

Riders to watch

The clear favourite to win the Giro d’Italia is British rider Chris Froome for Team Sky.

Should he succeed, Froome will become the first rider to take successive wins in three Grand Tours, after winning the 2017 Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.

Competing riders are not the only threat to Froome though, as the legitimacy of his use of salbutamol at the Vuelta a España is still under question, and it is possible that he could receive a ban. Froome denies any wrongdoing.

Threats on the road include last year’s winner Tom Dumoulin, the Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, and Italian Fabio Aru. Vincenzo Nibali, Italy’s usual favourite, is not riding the Giro this year so that he can focus on the 2018 Tour de France.

Another to watch is Manchester’s Simon Yates of Michelton-Scott. Backed up by his teammate Esteban Chaves, riding a 2018 Scott road bike and a strong climber, Yates stands a good chance of achieving a podium position.

Italian rider Matteo Trentin crashed hard, taking him out of the race. The 28 year old received immediate medical attention and has suffered a fracture in the thoracic region, but thankfully is in a stable condition.

2016 Paris-Roubaix winner Mat Hayman, meanwhile, finished 22nd. Speaking after the race, Hayman said he “was having a fairly good day but then just ran out of legs.”

“I was able to follow those key guys but I wasn't able to make a difference. That's Roubaix, you spend a lot of energy getting through important sectors and then the race really starts.”

“When Sagan went I was still looking for some opportunities at different points and you do never know in this race. At one point we were not very far from that chase group, maybe just 10-15 seconds, but that didn't happen.”

Mitchelton-Scott's History in the Paris-Roubaix

Mat Hayman holds the record for having ridden the most editions of Paris-Roubaix, 17 in total. He took his 2016 win on a Scott Foil road bike, a lightweight aero machine.

His decision to ride an aero bike flew in the face of convention wisdom when it comes to the classics; riders typically choose endurance model fitted with wide tyres and other modifications to cope with the harsh cobbled sections.

Versatility is perhaps the hidden secret to the Scott Foil though, and one that has certainly been carried forward to the 2018 model thanks to the continued focus on compliance. Around the seat tube the Scott Foil 2018 has 86% more vertical compliance than previous versions of the bike. The result is a comfortable ride even on rough roads.

A redesigned frame specific to the disc models prevent the bulkier disc calipers from adding a drag penalty and, impressively, only adds 40g to the final weight of the bike.

The Scott Foil 10 2018 is equipped with Shimano Ultegra Di2 and the Scott Foil 20 2018 comes with Shimano Ultegra Di2.

The Flandrian climbs may not be as long as the Alpe d'Huez or as trecherous as the Stelvio, but what they lack in length and accumulated height they gain in severity. 

The climbs on the Tour of Flanders and indeed in all of the spring classics in Northern Europe are normally between .4km and 2.5km in length with varying degreees of difficulty; both in terms of average or maximum gradient but also with the road surface, with many of the climbs being on narrow, cobbled roads. 

Here we take you through our top 5 Flandrian climbs in celebration of the Tour of Flanders:

Koppenberg

Length: 0.7km 

Avg Gradient: 11.6%

Max Gradient: 22%

The Koppenberg is truly an icon of not only the Tour of Flanders, but cycling in the entire Ardennes area. The climb is covered entirely with uneven cobbles and is narrow enough to only allow 4 or 5 riders to ride abreast of each other. 

Not that they do, with the severe 22% max gradient ensuring the climb is tackled in near enough single file with riders often taking to the very edge where the cobbles are more worn and the effects felt less.

The Koppenberg featured every year from 1976 to 1987 when Danish rider Jesper Skibby was accidentally run over by the commissaire's car as the driver tried to get out from behind him on the climb. After refurbishments to widen and re-pave it, the climb was included again in 2002 but was withdrawnb yet again in 2007 due to deteriorating conditions. 

It featured the year after though and since 2008 has been a key addition to the race. 

Paterberg

Length: 0.4km

Avg Gradient: 12.5%

Max Gradient: 20%

The Paterberg is another fabled climb that came about in 1986 when a local farmer wanted the race to come nearer his house, so he paved the hill with cobbles.

A very short climb at only 400m may make it seem like it should be simple for professional cyclists, but the maximum gradient of 20% goes on for 100m of the climb which make it extremely difficult especially in race conditions. Usually the Paterberg is a key point in the race and is frequently used as a launch point for key attacks.

The crowds at the Paterberg are always large which make them hectic and noisy, adding to the difficulty the rider face whilst trying to race up them. The climb often features in the race more than once, with the final climb usually being one of the last which makes for a great spectacle after more than 250km of racing.

Oude Kwaremont

Length: 2.2km

Avg Gradient: 4.2%

Max Gradient: 11%

The Kwaremont doesn't have the leg-breaking gradients of the Paterberg or Koppenberg, but the technical nature of the climb along with some steep gradients up the ascent make it a crucial part of a race.

The first 600m of the Kwaremoent are on a narrow lane which will make the fight for position beforehand crucial as being caught out at the back of the peloton could cost you vital seconds or even minutes if a bottleneck occurs, should there be a crash or a rider suffer a mechanical. 

The next 1600m are cobblestones and include the most difficult gradients on the climb, with the surface being uneven and difficult to negotiate for even the best bike handlers.

Although the gradient evens out considerably towards the top the cobbles still make it a tough climb and as it often features more than once in a race, one that is guaranteed to sap energy and be a flash point for attacks from strong riders.

Taaienberg

Length: 0.8km

Avg Gradient: 7.2%

Max Gradient: 18%

The Taaienberg is a climb that may not be the steepest, or longest, but iften has stretegic importance in the races around the region due to it's location on the course. 

Sometimes the Taaienberg is one of the first climbs of the day which make it a great place for a breakaway to go and the first attacks to come; but in recent years it has enjoyed a place near to the end of the races where it can be used as a launch for a decisive attack or to thin out the select group to contest the finish. 

The Taaienberg rarely features alone, often being part of a threesome of climbs in a key point in the race which makes for an excellent spectacle and for attracting large crowds.

Kruisberg

Length: 1km

Avg Gradient: 6%

Max Gradient: 9.8%

The Kruisberg has been part of the Flandrian races since 1973 and since 2012 hasenjoyed status as a fixed climb in the Tour of Flanders race.

Whilst not the most difficult race of itself, the Kruisberg's p[osition at the end of the Tour of Flanders makes it an important strategic point in the race as it comes before the Kwaremont and Paterberg as part of the final trio; often being the climb where initial attacks from riders hoping to win the race start to happen. 

Of the 1000m of climbing there are 450m of cobbles, although the gradients are relatively gentle compared to other climbs in the race but after 250km of racing up and down these climbs, the Kruisberg can often be the place where riders finally crack and drop out of the peloton or group of favourites.

Whilst most places locally won't have a Koppenburg or a Mur de Huy, there are still certain things you can do to get a taste of the classics in your own back yard - although you aren't likely to win a keg of beer for doing so!

Plan a Route

Whilst the fabled cobbled climbs may not be too prominent around the UK, there are plenty of short, steep slimbs that you can build into a route to make your very own DIY classic. 

Combine these short, sharp climbs with making the route longer than you would normally ride and you have most of the ingredients for a classic on your hands.

Let it Rain!

Get out in the wind and rain. Northern France and Belgium experience similar climates to the UK, with low temperatures, rain, wind and even snow making regular appearances in the classics.

Choose a day when you normally wouldn't go out to ride your classics route and experience the face-numbing, foot-soaking expereince you envy of all the professionals for yoursef. Just be sure to wear appropriate cycling clothing - there's nothing clever about going out in low temperature in the raind and wind with just shorts on. If it's cold take a cycling jacket with you and consider arm and leg warmers.

Get Chased

If your'e part of a club get your clubmates involved and make it a fox and hounds race to the finish. This will let you experience the thrill of being chased along the route or the excitement of a pursuit so you can pretend you're part of an epic breakaway in Milan -San Remo or the Tour of Flanders. 

Simply get one group to set off early - just how early depends on your abilities - and then the other group sets off in pursuit. You could even change it up and do it again a couple of weeks later with the groups swapped around to experience both sides.

Get Muddy!

If you're into cyclocross riding then you're much more likely to find terrain that is similar to the spring classics or even some dirt roads like Strade Bianchi, adding another element to your DIY classic by ensuring you'll end up filthy.

If you're a roadie through and through you can try and build in some lesser-ridden tracks which are bound to be muddier than regular roads to give yourself a taste of the muddy lanes of Flanders.

Here's our top 5 tips to structuring your event calendar for the cycling year to give you the best chance to be performing at your peak.

1. Time to Recover

Whilst it may be tempting to enter two or three events in a short period of time, you should consider two things. 1, if you are ready physically to taken them on; and 2, will you have enough time to recover between the events.

Entering too many events without giving your body time to recover will mean you put yourself at risk of an injury in the worst case scenario, or your performance will suffer in the best case. Try to leave a few weeks between events to give yourself chance to return to peak performance. 

2. Relate them to training

Choose events that are in line with your training goals and what you are working to improve. If you've worked on improving your climbing ability, then choose events that will challenge you abilities to climb.

If speed has been your main objective, then choose an event that will encourage you to work to your target average speed - in this case an event with a lot of climbing may not be the best option. Aligning your events with your training goals will help you monitor your improvements in the real world as well as on trining rides.

3. Choose similar events

Mixing and matching the kind of events you choose to take part in may provide some variety but they may be useless for your training goals. 

Make sure that you are choosing the same kind of events that will help you to improve in your target areas, that way over the year you will be able to compare your results accurately and monitor your progress and improvements. 

4. Don't go too big

Choosing too hard an event too early in the season can have negative effects both on your body and your attitude. If you've been working on improving your climbing and take on a massive climbing event which you are either unable to finish or have to step pff and walk, you will take a hit to your confidence and morale. 

You also risk causing yourself and injury by pushing your body too hard, the best thing to do is scale your events up so that you are building up the difficulty, eventually reaching peak performance when you can take on the big events. 

5. Consider geography

There are hundreds of cycling events up and down the UK, from short sportives for all abilities to criteriums for seasnoed racers. When you are looking to fill your event calendar for the year it's important to consider where the events take place. 

If you are looking at somewhere far away then there are travel arrangements that also need to be considered, along with the financial implications of that. There is also the weather element which must be taken into account when booking any cycling event.

Even if you have braved the roads throughout the British winter you will no doubt be looking forward to some more mild weather as you look to increase your training workload to get race fit, or even just to consolidate on the work you have put in over the winter.

Base miles are great for maintaining fitness in the colder months, but now the real work begins. It's likely that you have already set your goals for the year, you may already have completed some events if you are into MTB or cyclocross, but for roadies the majority of goals will be centred around the spring and summer. 

Here are our top tips for starting to ramp up your training plan:

Check your race/event calendar

Depending on your yearly goals, you need to weight your training appropriately so you peak at the right time. If you have a main objective set for September, there's no point training super hard in March, April and May as you will have already peaker by the time the event comes around. 

Work out your calendar of events and then structure your training accordingly, taking time to make sure you have enuogh training sessions to reach peak performance again between events.

Increase workload gradually

Going from doing 2 rides of base miles at around 20-30 miles each per week to training 5 days a weak with HIIT and FTP sessions will not do you any good and you are likely to give yourself an injury.

Gradually increase your training workload at a comfortable pace, ensuring you leave enough time to recover between training days. These sessions should be light at first to stimulate your body to get used to simply being on the bike more often, before eventually incorporating a higher intensity ride into your calendar.

Interval training

Interval training is an excellent way to get yourself race fit, and can be built into base mile rides as you look to increase your efforts in training. Start with a few short sprints - Strava might even be able to help you out here with some sprint segments that are already on your training route.

Eventually the aim is to develop dedicated interval sessions which would be short, intense rides designed to get yoru muscles used to short periods of intense effort.

Group rides - Race Scenario and Racecraft

Group rides will help get you used to riding in a group again. It may be that you have ridden with the club throughout the winter, but if you've ridden alone all winter this is a great way to get used to the peloton environment again. 

These rides also allow you to creare a race style scenario to help you with your racecraft for manouvering inbetween riders and getting the best position for cornering, sprint finishes etc. Many cycling clubs do a 'chaingang' ride which helps to develop these skills on a fast ride.

Rest and recovery 

With all this extra training it is important to account for rest days to let your body recover. Training for 5 days in a row without a recovery day is pointless as you will exhaust yourself and any gains made in the week will be lost.

Recovery should be supplemented by your diet which should also be changed as you increase your workload. Eat more protein to help your body recover and, if you still want to lose a few pounds before the race season, cut out carbohydrates to get to your race weight.

Cycle Division and Cero Wheels are delighted to announce the appointment of Dan Fleeman as a brand ambassador, bike fitter and product expert.

Dan joins the team at an exciting time following Cycle Division’s recent relocation to its new store premises in Barton under Needwood. Our new location is right in the heart of Dan’s training roads.

Dan’s results and experience speak for themselves. Having ridden at the highest level in cycling his strengths and knowledge will be a tremendous asset to the team at Cycle Division and Cero Wheels and, most importantly, our rapidly expanding customer base.

We’re particularly excited about Dan taking on the role as our in-house bike fit expert. We know he will bring a great deal of passion and expertise to customers wishing to optimise their bike position using our state of the art GURU fit system.

The Guru Fit system enables cyclists of all ages and experience levels to find the perfect bike and riding position to match their personal preferences to. In store a bike finder fit is also available where many leading brands can be selected and multiple frame sizes can be ridden back to back. This allows riders the chance to compare geometry and set ups in fine detail to find the perfect frame or position. 

Dan is extremely well respected on the cycle scene both locally and nationally. With recent successes such as winning the international Rutland Cicle Classic (one of the UK’s biggest one day UCI races) just last year we can’t wait for him to pass on this experience to our customers. Dan has also run the well-respected Dig Deep Coaching company for the past 7 years and will continue to do so alongside Cycle Division and Cero wheels.

We’re sure people will be delighted to have someone of Dan’s calibre available to offer advice in store and out on the nearby roads should they require it. Having Dan on board with us gives our customers a really unique opportunity to develop further. If you see Dan out and about, or indeed any of the other members of the Cycle Division team, please feel free to ask us for any tips and advice about any cycling related products you may have in mind.

Dan will also be working behind the scenes to help develop and test new products for CERO wheels range. This will be in conjunction with former Milk Race winner Chris Walker and Cycle Division manager Kieran Frend. This team have the experience to bring plenty to the table to ensure CERO continues to develop its reputation as an innovative and market leading wheel brand. The knowledge they’ve gained from years of high level competition will to set us apart from other brands and continue to give our customers a great choice of amazing products.

Following his appointment as brand ambassador Dan commented: “It’s great to be joining the team at Cycle Division and Cero Wheels after watching them go from strength to strength over the past few years. I’m really impressed by the professionalism and attitude they have towards providing quality products at great value prices. After years of being on sponsored teams it’s nice to now have some of the freedom the consumer enjoys and I’m really looking forward to riding some of my favourite products in the marketplace and discussing these with other local cyclists who share my enthusiasm. I’ve also always had a great interest in bike fitting as I see this as so important to the performance and comfort for cyclists at any level. It really does make a world of difference being set up properly on the bike and the GURU fit system is the ideal way to achieve this.”

The Cycle Division team, alongside Dan, are looking forward to seeing many of you out on the roads soon, hopefully starting with our first shop ride on Sunday 18^th February from Rosliston Forestry Café at 10am.

Keep your eyes out for more exciting news and developments as we get to work with our newly appointed ambassador, Dan Fleeman.  

Contrary to popular belief though, cyclocross has been around for almost as long as competitive cycling, with the first cyclocross races believed to haev taken part in 1902 in northern France. 

Originally called 'Steeple Chasing', these races were common around the French Ardennes and throughout Belgium and the Netherlands as a method of winter training for road cyclists; who would try to race across farmer's fields by hopping over fences and hedges with their bikes as they raced from town to town - or steeple to steeple.

Whilst it was being done throughout northern Europe throughout the first half of the 20th century, gradually growing in popularity, it wasn't until 1950 when the UCI officially sanctioned it with its own World Championships. At this point, national championships had been contested in France for almost two decades.

How Does Cyclocross Work?

Cyclocross is a discipline that combines fine bike handling skills with athletic skills, namely cycling and running (in cleats, usually). The races take part on circuits that are usually between 2-3km long and often draw large crowds in the areas they are held.

Where road racing criteriums are held in cities and on road courses, cyclocross races are held in the countryside and combine many different kind of terrain that all demand a different riding style.

It's not unusual for cyclocross courses to include sand, mud, dirt and gravel along with tarmac and flatter road surfaces. The terrain isn't limited to flat routes either, with short hills often a feature. 

Another commopn feature is steps, fences or hills that are desnigned to be too steep to ride of involve obstacles that mean you have to dismount and climb over them.

The riders wear the same kind of attire that road cyclists do, with sponsored teams taking part although cross racing is a much more individual effort than the peloton-nature of road racing.

What About Cyclocross Bikes?

Cyclocross bikes look very similar to road bikes at a glance, with the dropped handlebars and quite aggressive gemoetry that is so typical of a thoroughbred racing bike. 

Take a closer look though and you will see that the bottom bracket tends to be thicker and wider, making the frame much stuffer and allowing it to comfortably take on the kind of terrain you encounter on a cyclocross course. The geometry of the frame may also be slightly different to a pure road racer, with a tighter back triangle and more compact reach that makes the bike handle better.

There is a much larger clearance between the frame and the wheel which allows for mud, snow, sand or otehr clumpy materials to pass through without affecting the bikes performance, especially when braking. 

The tyres too are different, usually featuring treads like you would see on a mountain bike although not as prominent. The wheels the tyres sit on are much the same as standard road bike wheels, although they may be made from tougher materials to account for the performance needed over rough terrain, rather than being built to be fast.

Depsite several bans in competition in both World Tour races and smaller domestic leagues throughout the cycling world, manufacturers continue to produce them and they continue to be adopted by leisure cyclists at an increasing rate. Manufacturers like Scott and Cannondale continued to produce disc road bikes in 2017 despite these risks.

Are they dangerous to riders? The main concerns are the risk they pose to riders in an accidents - namely the potential the spinning disc has to cut the rider or the heat generated by the disc to cause a burn.

One of the highest profile complainants in the professional peloton was Movistar's Francisco Ventoso who claimed a deep gash on his leg was caused when a disc rotar sliced him during a crash in Paris-Roubaix - one of the hardest one day races on the calendar.

Spinning Rotar=Razor

The discs that are used to provide better stopping power are designed to be air cooled to prevent them overheating and the hydraulic fluid from getting too hot, something that would affect performance. 

But how fast do they spin? They rotate with the wheel so the disc will be spinning faster in a descent or run in to a sprint which is when ost crashes occur. 

However in order to cause harm the disc would need to line up at the correct angle to the skin, something that in the chaotic nature of a crash isn't beyon the realms of possibility but you would have to be very unlucky to be injured in such a situation. 

How can the risk be reduced?

Many manufacturers are now manufacturing rounded edges to the brake discs used on their systems whcih makes it more likely that, should the disc edge come into contact with the skin, it will slide over rather than into the rider.

This has limited effect though as the discs themselves are usually no thicker than a spoke's width, so even a completely rounded edge would have a limited impact.

Disc Burn

Much more likely is the heat generated by the braking action causing a burn on the rider, although there is no case of this being claimed as reason for an injury in pro cycling.

As with any spinning disc, the amount of heat generated to stop a bicycle depends on how fast they are going and the weight of the rider, but given the low body weights of the professionals and the light weights of the machines the heat generated is more likely to be at its most dangerous when sprinting or descending. 

This is much more likely to cause an injury than a 'slice' from the disc edge as it's much more likely a rider will come into contact with the disc rotar in a crash than it is they will hit the rotar at such an angle to allow it to pierce the skin.

How can the risk be reduced?

Some manufacturers - including SRAM - have advised that they are looking into potentially creating a cover for the rotar to protect against the threat of cutting an d burning, but this would need significant research and development to prevent it from affecting performance.

So, Are Disc Brakes Dangerous?

As with any element of cycling there is the potential to injure with disc brakes; but the risks aren't especially prominent in this case. 

The same 'cutting' argument could be said of chain rings which are effectively spinning cogs with teeth and have the same potential to injure riders in a crash.

The fact is that cycling can be dangerous. Descending down mountains at almost 60mph on a bicycle is inherently dangerous and the likelihood of being injured by a disc brake is minimal in comparison.

There's the January blues, residual hangovers from Christmas and New Year, the extra few pounds you've put on due to all the festive food; and to top it all off the horrendous Winter weather which can all combine to make going out on the bike seem like a chore rather than a joy.

January training is about getting in the 'base miles' - ie riding yourself back into some semblance of form before beginning a more structured training plan in February that is specific to your season goals. 

Here are our five three Januaruy training tips to help you make the most of the bluest month of the year.

1. Small Structure

Whilst January is about building your fitness back up by getting loads of miles in your legs, it can also be worthwhile to add some more intense efforts every few days. Try an HIIT session on the turbo trainer, or do some sprint intervals out on the road to help introduce your body back to those efforts. 

2. Pastures New

Repeating the same old training loop day in day out can be tedious and harm your motivation over the long term. Try mixing it up with newer routes and different rides to add some variety to your training. This has the added benefit of adjusting the terrain to make it varied with each ride, ensuring you put out different efforts regularly.

3. Save The Goods

If you have gotten cycling gear for Christmas this can be a great motivator to get you out on the bike in January. use it as an opportunityh to try out the new gear or kit and enjoy the experience of using something new. 

For added benefits don't use all your new kit at once. Try a new piece of kit every few days and really make it last, or rotate the new kit to make the most of the novelty throughout the whole month.

It's not just the general classification riders either, there's plenty of admiration for Michal Matthews' Giant Propel - a bike that was ridden to victory in the points classification at the Tour de France; and Simon Yates' Scott Addict SL which he rode to victory in the young riders competition in the Tour.

General Classification

There's only two bikes to speak of in this section as Chris Froome became the first Briton to win both the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana in the same year, with Dutchman Tom Dumoulin becoming the first rider from the Netherlands to win a Grand Tour at the Giro d'Italia.

Tom Dumoulin's Giant TCR Advanced SL

The Giro d'Italia winning bike belonging to Tom Dumoulin is one of Giant's top of the range machines, retailing at a cool £4,499 which gives you one of the best all-rounders on the market. 

The TCR Advanced SL is made from Giant's advanced composite carbon fibre to make it super light on the climbs, but with a compact shape which makes it ideal for technical descents, of which there are plenty in the Giro.

Using Giant's own finishing kit, the bike was ridden by Dumoulin with a mix of Shimano's Dura Ace 9000 and 9100 depending on the day's demands.

Chris Froome's Pinarello Dogma F10

Pinarello have become synonymous with Team Sky, their clean black colour and signature frame design standing out in the peloton.

Chris Froome has ridden Pinarello bikes to all of his Tour de France victories and the F10 is the latest model to have this honour bestowed upon it. Kitted out with Shimano's latest Dura Ace groupset, the unique thing about Froome's bike is the osymmetric chainrings which he uses to increase pedalling efficiency - which ciomplements his high-cadence style.

The bike is all about the aerodymanics, with flat-back downtubes to shield water bottles from having an impact on the aerodynamics and increases the lateral stiffness which makes for faster acceleration when attacking.

Sprint Competitions

Sprinters bikes are usually stiff machines which focus on better power transfer and handling than the lighter machines which may focus on climbing ability. That's not to say they're not light though, as many of these bikes are still from the top range of machines from manufacturers.

Fernando Gaviria's Specialized S-Works Venge

The Italian had a dream debut on his fiorst Giro, finishing the race with fours stage wins and comfortably winning the purple sprinter's jersey.

The Specialized S-Works Venge he rode to victory is one favoured by sprinters and has been used by several of them over the years including Mark Cavendish. Specialized are the bike sponsor of Gaviria's QuickStep team which has set itself up as a stage hunting team with several key sprinters. 

The S-Works Venge uses state of the art carbon fibre technology to optimise aerodynamics along with oversized tubing and a tapered head tube, all leading to a stuff frame which has little flex to allow the best power transfer to the road when sprinting for the line.

Michael Matthew's Giant Propel Disc

The first bike with disc brakes to win a sprint competition at the Tour de France, the Giant Propel is an aerodynamic road bike that's designed to be fast, whatever the cost. 

The bike uses Giant's AeroSystem shaping technology to improve aerodynamics and the frame is made from their own advanced grade composite, creating a super light bike.

The bike is stiff enough to take the most powerful accelerations without excessive flexing of the frame because of the oversized headtube which creates a stiff front end to help keep the line of the sprint, and the large, wide bottom bracket to ensure flex is kept to a minimum.

Kings of the Mountains

The King of the MOuntains classification is one that favours the best climbers in the peloton, often finding themselves rubbing shoulders with GC contenders.

The climbers are usually very light themselves - Nairo Quintana weighs in at just 58kg - which means the bikes they ride need to be as light as possible to help them fly up the climbs.

Mikel Landa's Pinarello Dogma F10

As Pinarello is the bike sponsor for Team Sky and with Mikel Landa being Froome's main domestiques it is fitting that the Dogma F10 is ridden by the team, and Landa was able to get the team their first grand tour jersey of 2017 with victory in the mountains classification at the Giro d'Italia.

Warren Barguil's Giant TCR Advanced SL

As a potential GC contender and noted climber, Barguil was riding the same bike that Tom Dumoulin won the Giro d'Italia on when he won the polka dot jersey at the Tour de France, the strong all-rounder TCR making light work of the highest peaks in the hands of Barguil.

Davide Villella's Cannondale Supersix Evo

The Cannondale-Drapac rider helped what has beena  poor season for the team with victory in the King of the Mountains classification at the Vuelta a Espana. The Spaniard held the lead in the competition from stage 3 where he took it from Nicolas Roche, managing to keep it all the way to Madrid.

The Cannondale Supersix Evo is Cannondale's top all-rounder, benefiting from an integrated design that saves hundreds of grams to make the machine much lighter than many competitors. Everything about this bike is designed to make it lighter and faster, with even lightweight bearings being used in the headset and aerolite spokes in the wheels. 

Many professionals use carbon handlebars but there are a significnat amount that prefer the older style aluminium handlebar - so why would you upgrade to carbon handlebars? 

Carbon Handlerbars: The Pros

The increase in popularity of caron fibre, along with the technological advancements that go with it, mean that carbon fibre handlebars can be an excellent upgrade option. 

The manufacturing process of carbon means that the handlebars can be moulded into any shape the manufacturer wants, leading to better aerodynamics and the ability to closely integrate with other components such as the headtube to a much better effect than standard metal casting.

The other benefit of carbon handlebars is the weight difference. Aside from the frame and wheels, the handlebars are the heaviest metal object on the bike so there is a lot of potential for saving weight. To put this in perspective, a standard set of Deda alloy handlebars weighs 248g, compared to a mid-range set of Deda carbon handlebars which weights 220g. Whilst not a huge difference, in the world of marginal gains this speaks volumes about about the popularity of carbon bars. 

A third benefit of carbon handlebars is it's ability to be created specifically for a purpose. Unlike aluminium or alloy bars, carbon bars can be ceated using different carbon lay-ups to allow for different characteristics. They can be created to be stiffer to handle the power of sprinters pulling on them, for example.

Carbon Handlebars: The Cons

Whilst carbon is increasing in use, even amongst the professional peloton there is a significant number of riders and teams that are still using aluminium and metal alloy bars on their top end bikes. 

One of the advantage aluminium has over carbon is its durability - carbon handelbars are much more likely to break in a crash or bump, even something as inconsequential as accidentally dropping the bike can cause the carbon to crack, rendering the bars useless.

There is also the financial cost to consider - whilst aluminium bars can cost as much as carbon bars, the top level aluminium versions are significanlt cheaper than their carbon equivalents. Considering that many cyclists won't be considering the 10-20% weight differential as a crucial factor, the high cost of carbon handlebars could be the decider. 

From a professional racing perspective, the lighter weight of carbon handlebars can actually be a hindrence to many teams in the peloton. UCI regulations state that all bikes must weigh a certain weight, a weight which already has many teams adding weights to the riders bottom brackets and pedals to meet due to the advancements in component technology. Adding more weight-saving components, for these teams, means more hassle to make the bikes meet the weight regulation.

Conclusion

So, should you buy carbon handlebars? If you want to get the best upgrades technologically, then yes. Carbon handlebars are the latest in handlebar technology, so if you like having the latest innovations on your machine then go for it.

If you are considering them for the lighter weight, but aren't a competitive cyclist, then the extra cost of carbon handlebars is more likely to outweight any potential improvements the weight saving makes to your riding.

It can be made more interesting by watching TV or a film, or even by using training videos such the ones ones from The Sufferfest or any online turbo trainer video online but even these can get repetitive after more than an hour on the bike.

But turbo training doesn't need to be soul-scukingly boring - you can use Zwift.

Zwift: Online Gaming For Cyclists

Zwift is an online platform that allows users to move a digital version of themselves around a virtual course. The platform has grown exponentially over the past couple of years and now has three courses with over 30 different routes to cater for all cyclists. 

You could challenge yourself on the climb up to a radio tower through a Mont Ventoux-esq moonscape or you could test your srint prowess on the London circuit.

All this pits you against other cyclists, on their very own turbo trainers around the world, allowing you to ride in a multi-national peloton with riders of all ages and abilities. 

Get Competitive

You don't need to race - but you can. This tantalising aspect of Zwift adds an extra element to your turbo training session, with regular races and events giving you the opportunity to take part in a real life race with other riders. An entire community has sprung up around Zwift racing with results of races being posted and prizes being given out to winners. 

These events are categorised by the Watts p/kg of the rider and run from Category A to Category D, depending on your ability. The events will often have different start times for riders of different categories and there are even chase events where Category D riders set off then minutes later Category A riders pursue them.

What Kit Do I Need?

Whilst you could go all in with a Wattbike, or get technical with a direct drive smart trainer, in reality you only need a turbo trainer, a bike and a spped/cadence sensor. 

Zwift uses it's own algorithm - zPower - to determine the w/kg of riders who arent using smart trainers and transmit it accordingly based on your weight/height stats.

Adding a HRm will give you more data and help you train more effectively but isn't a necessity to get started. 

Winter Training Sorted

Wether you want to train and race on Zwift or if you just want to ride around a virtual island, the different maps and scenary you get to take in is way more interesting than the wall you are facing and you get to cycle with genuine other riders.

There is a chat button to allow you to communicate with the riders on the course and you can even set up discourse groups or meet with your friends on Zwift to ride together - making it perfect for cycling clubs to ride together in Winter when the weather may not be suitable for a club run.

1. Light it up

Although you may be riding in the daytime visibility can quickly be reduced, especially if you are riding when the weather's changeable ot if you commute regularly. 

Add a front and rear light to your bike, even if you don't turn them on every ride it's better to have the option should a raincloud suddenly appear and give you cause to need them.

2. Shell out

Shell jackets are perfect peices of cycling clothing for the autumn months when it's not cold enough for woolen jerseys and cycling jackets, but you are still likely to get caught in the rain.

The beauty of the shell jacket is that they are thin and light enough to fold down into a jersey pocket but will still provent you from getting soaked through tot he skin if you get caught ina  rain shower. Always worth having one of these in your jersey pocket in autumn.

3. Mudguards

Mudguards will not only help save the jersey or jacket you ride in from getting splattered with mucky wateer on wet roads, it will also prevent the guy riding behind you from getting a faceful of mucky water too. Most Scott bikes and Cannondale bikes will take mudguards, but there are plenty of clip on mudguards you can use if your bike doesn't have eyelets on the frame.

Mudguards are an accessory that are well worth investment, given the soggy autumn weather we often have in the UK where the roads may be wet even if it doesn't rain on yoru ride. Preventing too much water from getting on you and the components will help them to last longer too.

4. Leaf Lookout

With the falling of leaves comes a hazard which many cyclists may fail to adjust to - wet leaves on the road. Whilst they may not be a problem on main roads, on country lanes they can cause you to lose your traction when climbing or even worse - lose control when braking.

To avoid these becoming an issue try to ride in the middle of the lane where safe to do so and take time to extend your braking distance so you're not pulling the brakes too hard.

5. Puddle Trouble

Although you may have mudguards on that doesn't mean you have carte blanche to speed through puddles on the road with glee. Whilst on mountain bikes this may be fun, their wide, treaded tyres mean they aren't susceptable to the same hazards a road bike would be.

Puddles can hid potholes, drains or any number of hazards that you would normally avoid - not to mention that you risk soaking yourself through regardless of any mudguards, ruining the rest of the ride.

Turbo trainers are for short, intense sessions indoors when the weather's rainy and miserable, but for those milder days when the sun is shining you need a decent bike to handle the outdoors. 

In Winter many cyclist opt to have a separate training bike which is often built to a lower spec than their summer bike. The whole concept of a winter/summer bike is so you are using your best bike - with top end componetns, wheels and accessories - in the warmer weather where they're less likely to be exposed to rain, dirt and road 'grime'.

Winter bikes are the workhorses, and here we list the most common kinds of winter tarining bikes you will see on a jaunt outside in colder climes. 

The Commuter

Usually adorned with mudguards - an absolute essential in winter months where the roads are almost always wet - the commuer is a machine that is no stranger to the rain, wind and appaling weather. 

It's used to being ridden in all conditions and comes with a plethora of lights, reflectors and usually pannier racks; although if used as a training bike the panniers should be absent unless being used for some masochistic weight training.

These will commonly have wider tyre profiles and may have flat handlebars, allowing for a sturdier ride in wet or windy conditions. 

The Hybrid

Hybrid machines are perfect for winter riding. They usually have flat bars and a more relaxed geometry to the frame which makes them more upright, ideal for comfortable long rides at a low intensity.

Hybrids will have wide tyres profiles and a chunkier tread - similar to a mountain bike but more often than not they are more the size of a road tyre than an MTB.

Also a popular option with commuters, they are likely to be festooned with lights and flashy bits to help make them visible on the murkier days where visibility may not be great.

The Cyclocross

Cross-bikes are eaily identifyable by their riders, who are usually covered with mud and soaking wet but still have a smile plastered on their faces. Distinguishable from MTB riders by their road helmets and lycra gear, cross riders thrive in the winter months which coincides with the start of the cyclocross season.

Cyclocross bikes are similar to hybrids but have the aggressive geometry of a road bike, with drop handlebars and stiffer frames to help deal with the trials of riding off road.

These are perfect for winter for the seasoned cyclist, with wider profile and chunkier tyres along with frame clearance that's more akin to an MTB bike making them ideal for those who like to ride the trails in winter, despite the slush, mud and dirt.

The MTB

Mountain bikes make excellent winter bikes, although they're more useful for riding trails and downhill than they are for long days in the saddle that you would expect from a road bike. 

Mountain bikes live for the mud and dirt, making them ideal for riding on or off road in the winter months. Many road cyclists swap out their road bikes and long days eating up the miles in favour of an MTB and trail riding in winter as the two seasons complement each other and they don't have to spend winters on an indoor trainer.

Mountain bikers can be identified by their grins, much like cyclocross riders, but they wear looser clothing, different helmets and often some form of body armour - essential if you're throwing yourself off a mountain at speed.

The Fat Bike

A sight that causes every reaction from guffaws to awes, fat bikes are a phenomenon that are becoming more popular on British roads and are actually useful for winter riding. 

Whilst the don't have the suspension or profile for downhill or trail riding, or the geometry and comfort of road bikes for long days in the saddle, the fat bike has carved out a niche of its very own to take it's place in the world of cycling. 

Fat bikes have massive tyres which make easy work of snow, mud or adverse conditions. Their low gearing makes them easy to ride but only over short distances, making them more of a short journey option rather than a viable training steed.

We've picked our top 3 most expensive bikes - all of which you will be able to buy from selected retailers, none of them being unique one-off works.

From concept bikes for traithletes to Grand Tour winning bikes ridden by professionals, this list is the ultimate wish list for any roadie if they happen to win the lottery!

If you can't quite stretch to these then you could take a look at our range of Cannondale and Scott road bikes thata re currently in the sale.

Cervelo P5X eTap

Price: £13,499

New Car Equivalent: VW Polo

The Cervelo is built for pure speed for traithletes - it is designed for triathletes as it doesn't fit the strict regulations for road racing set by the UCI, mainly due to the lack of seat tube or stays.

The bike is designed to be completely aero, with integrated storage for food and bottles that ensures limited aerodynamic impact, aero bars and low profile handlebars for maximum aerodynamics. 

The PX5 comes with SRAM Red eTap - SRAM's top groupset - along with ENVE SES 7.8 deep rim wheels to add to the space-age style looks.

BMC Teammachine SLR01 2018

Price: £10,000

New Car Equivalent: Renault Twingo

Swiss manufacturers BMC have created a masterpiece with their latest Teammachine, always known for being an innovative model in road bikes. 

The 2018 version may look like a standard road bike but is packed with more features than Batman's utility belt. Look closely and you will not see any cables - from brakes or gears, any calipers or any stem - it's all integrated. 

An integrated handlebar allows for increased aerodynamics, along with hidden brake and gear cables through the frame and direct mount brakes which are fitted into the frame. Neat.

Pinarello Dogma F10

Price: £9,250

New Car Equivalent: Toyota Aygo

The F10 has won several Grand Tours - mostly underneath Chris Froome. The latest of these are his 2017 Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana wins where he became the first British rider to do this Grand Tour double - the third rider in the sport's history to do it after Anquetil and Hinault.

 The bike comes with Shimano's top level Dura Ace Di2 groupset with electronic shifting, the integrated cables ensuring there isn't a messy cable in sight to spoil the attractive geometry of the frame. 

The carbon fibre frame itself takes advantage of flatback tube profiles which have been shown to have increased aerodynamic benefit. Whether that's true or not, it's definitely on our hit list.

But there's not many posts that tell you HOW to eat on the bike, a skill that can take some getting used to to perfect and can be quite dangerous if you get the wrong technique.

Here's our guide to several of the most popular foods to take on the bike and how to eat them. 

We should say before you continue that if you aren't comfortable eating whilst moving, take a break at the roadside and eat off the bike. 

Bananas

The age old favourite. Who of us hasn't set off with a banana stuffed precariously into the jersey pocket? It's the sign of a long ride and a note to other road users that you're serious about your nutrition. 

But how to peel them on the move? The traditional top-down peeling method is tricky whilst trying to ride unless you're proficient at riding with no hands, so we favour the twisting method which is much quicker. The downside to this is that you have to stuff most of it into your mouth at once.

Of course you could always chop up the banana beforehand and take them in a seperate bag, which leads us on to...

Bagged Snacks

Bagged snacks include everything from raisens and dates to jelly beans or M&Ms, depending on your individual taste. The main isue here is that they come in bags which are fiddly to open on the move.

The easiest way is to keep them open in your back pocket so you can dip your hand into your jersey and pull out a handful. The only problem here is the rain which can ruin a good snack, or the perils of the low-profile aero position which could send raisens tumbling down your back.

Gels

The pro's favourite, gel bars can be a quick way to get some much needed carbs into your system before a big climb or if you're on a long ride and don't want to carry pockets full of food.

The best way to eat a gel on the bike is to rip the tab off with your teeth (don't forget to catch it and pocket it), stick the opening in your mouth and keep squeezing until it's finished.

The real finesse of eating a gel on the bike is ensuring you don't squirt it all over your face, fingers and bikes in your haste. Lest you have stickyness on the rest of your ride.

Bars

In a similar vain to gels, these are often seen amongst the pros but are a little more gastro-friendly than their gel counterpart. Bars aren't as easy to eat on the bike as they require more effort than just placing and squeezing, but their dense, often chewy nature makes the tricky to consume. 

The easiest way is to break the bar into pieces before the ride whilst in it's packaging so that when you come to open it, you can remove a piece then put the rest back hassle free.

Watch out for crumbs though, they're not very comptaible with gears and oil.

Saddle position, however, is one of the most crucial elements to ensure you can ride comfortably and efficiently on your bike - no matter what your discipline. 

If your bike saddle isn't positioned correctly it can lead to a number of issues, some of them major like knee and hip problems and some minor like poor pedal efficiency and loss of power.

Getting Saddle Position Wrong Is Easy

It's way easier to get your saddle position wrong than it is to get it right, which is why we would always recommend getting a bike fit when you upgrade your saddle or get a new bike (shameless plug: see our high-tech Guru bike fitting service to get an unrivalled fit!).

There are so many ways to get it wrong mainly due the number of axis that can be adjusted. As well as bike saddle height, there's the angle of tilt and the fore/aft position to consider to create a position that's supportive, efficient and comfortable. 

If the nose is pointed too far up this causes bad posture and could lead to hip problems, to far down and there's more pressure on the neck/shoulders which could lead to more problems.

If the bike saddle is too far back then this could lead to knee pain as you don't have enought weight over the pedals - which will lead to you needing to stand out of the saddle to transfer power whilst climbing. To far forward and you will be using your upper body too much which can lead to more shoulder, neck or back issues.

How To Get Saddle-Happy?

There are a few techniques you can use to ensure your saddle is positioned correctly; none of them will be better than a correct bike fitting but they're easy fix solutions to saddle position woes. 

The 'Balance Point Method' is a way of judging the correct fore/aft position and involves pedalling at a tempo pace (a pace that could be sustained for an hour) in the drops. It's best to do this on a turbo trainer with a friend present to prevent injury, but once you are pedalling in the zone, remove your hands from the drops and swing them behind you buttocks. If the position is correct you should be able to balance in this position without having to grab the drops again.

The 'Knee Over Spindle Method' is another fore/aft technique which uses geometry to help you find an appropriate position. Sat on the bike with your pedals in a 9 o'clock/3 o'clock position and hold a plumb bomb (or coin on a string, anything that is straight and weighted will do) in front of your forward facing kneecap. The line created downwards should intersect the pedal spindle for a correct position, adjust accordingly.

Tilt position is a little more complicated, but the best advice is to start with a level saddle. If the saddle is flat like a Fabric Scoop Pro then this is easy, but with more profiled saddles like the SMP 4 Forma you need to aim to get the middle third of the saddle level. Once you've got that sorted it's a case of making small, incremental adjustments to fine tune the position and not change it too drastically.

Oh Wait, There's More...

Whilst bike saddle position is important, it goes hand in hand with saddle height and handlebar position. To take a professional example, most pro cyclists 'slam' their stems, meaning they don't use any risers or spacers which allows them to get an aggresive, low profile even when riding on the hoods. This will mean the saddle position needs to change to ensure the rider's weight is supported appropriately. 

Your ideal saddle position depends not only on the fore/aft and tilt angle, but the height and how your handlebars are positioned, so to find the absolute perfect saddle position for comfort and efficiency, all these elements need to align.

But there are several ways to get speedier faster and perhaps make the ride marginally easier along the way.

Upgrading components is a sure-fire way to save seconds off your ride, allowing you to beat that PB or even claim the KOM on a strava segment. Here's our top 3 upgrades to make your bike faster, and your wallet thinner.

1. Wheel-y Good Idea

Wheels are often the best upgrade you can make to go faster, quicker. This is mainly because many bike manufacturers include their stock wheels as a way of reducing the overall cost of the machine. In many lower end road bikes it's not uncommon to find heavy, aluminium rims as standard.

Whip those out and stick on some real wheels. You could go top end carbon like our Cero RC45's or get some alloy wheels like our Cero AR24's. Getting lighter wheels made from lighter materials means there is less weight for the wheel to rotate, meaning more speed. Many top end products also have lower spoke counts, which reduces air resistance for more speed; but also makes the strength of the wheel slightly weaker.

2. Don't Get Tyred of Tyres

Tyres are another way of getting more speed out of your bike and they're a comparatively cheap upgrade compared to others on this list.

Similar to wheels, the tyres used on many road bikes are factory standard and may be heavy, have thick treads or be made of lower quality materials than branded ones. 

Slick tyres are the best option for speed but their lack of tread means you will compromise on the grip, especially in damp conditions. No tread means lower rolling resistance, which means more speed even if it is only marginal.

3. Aero Bar (Not the chocolate)

Although delicious, the chocolate bar is more likely to hinder rather than help your speed. No, we mean aero handle bars which can seriously increase your speed on the flats and downhill, providing you adopt the appropriate aero position.

A relatively recent addition to the world of cycling, aero bars are now becoming available to the general cycling population after initially being a pro-only innovation. 

Aerodynamic handlebars tend to have a blade-type profile rather than round one which carves through the wind easier. As the first point of contact with the wind, the handlebars are a great place for an aero upgrade. Just make sure your break levers are compatible with them before purchase.

These rules may be commonplace at the Tour de France, but they can also apply to other races, not just the big Grand Tours. Here are some of the more prominent ones that you're likely to notice whilst watching the race:

Leader's First

The race leader's team has responsibility for being at the front of the peloton at the start of the race. They are responsible for marshalling the peloton until the day's breakaway has been formed and the initial pace-setting, with other teams joining them later on. 

This isn't always the case but on most stages you will see the race leader and his team at or near the front for the race starts, unless the start is particularly unusual or a large number of riders are attempting to breakaway.

Respect The Jersey

It's bad form the attack the race leader when he suffers a mechanical problem or stops to take a nature break, and you will often see riders slowing or waiting for the jersey should there be a problem. 

This 'rule' has been controversial in recent years and ignored in the Giro d'Italia when the Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana attacked leader Tom Dumoulin at the foot of the final climb when he needed to stop for the toilet. It recently came into the discussion once again in this Tour when Fabio Aru attacked Chris Froome when he had a mechanical problem on Stage 9.

This one is often discussed as having a fine line between a sportsman-like agreement and preventing the race from happening in its natural way, but you will rarely see riders attacking a race leader who's suffered misfortune outside of their control.

The Sticky Bottle/Bumper Draft

A technically illegal way of getting back to the peloton after a puncture or receiving medical aid at the team car, the commissaire often turn a blind eye to this practice.

The sticky bottle is when a rider will reach for a bottle being held out of the team car, grab on to the bottle and hold it whilst the car accelerates a little before letting go and taking the bottle. 

The bumper draft is similarly where a rider will get right behind the team car as it accelerates through the cars back to the peloton.

Both of these are illegal but, providing they aren't abused, are only used for a short time, and have no impact on the end of the race the commissaires usually turn a blind eye; the most they will do is beep their horns at the rider/team car or issue a small fine.

When Nature Calls

With riders spending nearly 5 hours on the bike each day - sometimes more - it's natural that they will need to take a nature break at some point in the stage, especially with all the fluids and food they take on.

Often riders will discuss this in the peloton and decide to have a natural break, with large groups stopping together before rejoining the peloton with relative ease in their large numbers. 

This is especially the case with GC riders and their teams who will agree to stop during the race to prevent anyone needing it later on at a crucial moment.

When this happens you will see them lined up at the side of the road like they're at one large urinal; one foot still clipped into the pedals ready to jump back on at a second's notice.

The Gruppeto

Also known as the 'Autobus' this is the group of sprinters and riders who are struggling in the mountains that forms at the rear of the race. When the race goes ahead and the cameras focus on the GC battles and fight for the stage, the grupetto is only concerned with getting to the end inside the time limit.

There are masters in the peloton who can work out what the time limit is likely to be based on the stage distance and the average pace of the race, and consequently the time they need to complete the stage in to stay in the race. 

Once they know this then they can ride at this pace and come in under the time limit without having expended a lot of energy trying to ride their own race. The grupetto often features the main sprinters and several teammates, unless their team has a GC rider, who will help them get to the end.

As with any stage race there are several competitions running at the same time which will have difference riders competing for them thoughout the 3 week duration. Here we go through them to give you an idea of what each one is about.

General Classification

Margin of Victory: Time

Jersey Colour: Yellow (Jaune)

2016 Winner: Chris Froome

The General Classification - referred to as GC - is the main event, the one that every cyclist has dreamed of winning since the day they removed their stabilisers. Wearing the maillot jaune of race leader is as much a prestige as any in bike racing, with the exception of actually winning it.

The GC is the shortest time to complete all 21 stages cumulatively, with Chris Froome's winning time last year being 89 hours, 4 minutes and 48 seconds. Which makes it all the more impressive that the time gaps can often be mere seconds between competitors. This is the main competition that the race is all about and draws the best riders in the world such as Froome, Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde.

Points Classification

Margin of Victory: Points

Jersey Colour: Green (Verde)

2016 Winner: Peter Sagan

The Points Classification is usually awarded to the sprinters and is based on points awarded based on place-finished in stages, with minor points available for placings in the intermediate sprinters mid-way through stages. With several flat stages in each Tour de France for the sprinters to contest, there is usually a margin big enough for the leader to take into the mountain stages without worry of losing the jersey.

The points are awarded for the 1st to 15th placed finishers, with variations for the terrain of the stage. On flat stages 1st gets 50 points, 2nd 30, 3rd 20 and so on until 15th, which gets 2. On hilly.medium mountain stages the denominations are 30, 25 and 22 and on high mountain stages they're 20, 17 and 15. This classification attracts the sprinters such as Mark Cavendish, John Degenkolb and Marcel Kittel, although in recent years it's been puncheur Peter Sagan who had cleaned up the jersey with his ability to take points on mountain stages and finish consistently in the top 5.

King of the Mountains Classification

Margin of Victory: Points

Jersey Colour: Polka-Dot (a pois)

2016 Winner: Rafal Majka

The KOM Classification is a climber's jersey for the best climber in the race, once again based on points awarded based on place-finished on mountains throughout the stage. Most stages feature at least one climb of some category which means there are always points on offer to keep the competition alive.

There are several classifications of mountain, with highest categories awarding the most points at the summit. Category 4 climbs are the smallest and award just one point to the first over the top. Category 3 climbs award 3 points (1st - 2, 2nd - 1); Category 2 awards 11 points (1st - 5, 2nd - 3, 3rd - 3 etc) and Category 1 climbs offer 31 (1st - 10, 2nd - 8, 3rd - 6 etc). The Tour de France is unique in that it featurs Hors Categories climbs - or above categorisation. These monsters are usually the highest mountains in the Alps and Pyrenees and offer 25 points to the 1st over, 20 to 2nd, 16 to 3rd and so on right down to the 10th placed finish.

Young Rider Classification

Margin of Victory: Time

Jersey Colour: White (Blanc)

2016 Winner: Adam Yates

The Young Rider Classification works the same way as the General Classification, but only riedrs who are under the age if 26 compete in it. The nature of the competition means that often the young rider classification and the GC are interwined and contenders are a good shortlist of ones to watch for the future.

The winner of the classification ocassionally also wins the GC or features heavily in the fight for it, take Nairo Quintana who for the past few years has been on the Tour de France podium, and as a consequence has been leading the young rider's competition.

Team Classification

Margin of Victory: Time

Distinguishing Feature: Riders of leading team wear yellow helmets.

2016 Winners: Movistar

The Team classification works in the same way as the GC but instead of individual times, the times of the whole team are taken into consideration. The leaders wear yellow helmets as a distinguishing feature to mark them out amongst the peloton.

The classification isn't generally fought for as it is usually taken by one of the main GC teams as they look to always be putting riders at the front of the race to protect their leaders; who themselves can be so high up the GC that the time gaps make it difficult to gain on them.

Combativity Classification

Margin of Victory: kms in the breakaway

Distinguishing Feature: Leader wears a white number on a red background

2016 Winner: Peter Sagan

The prix de la combativité goes to the rider who has spent the most times on the attack in the breakaway, and is also known as the 'most aggressive rider' prize. A small prize is awarded each day but this is a minor classification that is often a consolation prize for breakaway riders.

The subject itself is often the talk of club riders' cafe stops - along with the benefits of compression socks and what the runner up of the 2003 Tour de France is doing now - but no longer will the mysteries of tyre pressure be kept from mere mortals!

This in-depth guide will explain tyre pressure, what it's measured in, the effects it has and how to choose the right one for you. No pressure.

What IS Tyre Pressure? 

Tyre pressure is basically the amount of air present inside the tyre at any one point, this fills the inner tube and consequently makes the tyre firm. The more pressure you put in, the more air you are putting into the tyre which makes the tyre firmer and the rider stiffer.

It is measured in PSI or 'pounds per square inch' which in real terms relates to force generated by a one-pound force applied to an area of one square inch. This is what many pressure gauges on pumps focus on, usually with a scale running from 20-120 PSI. There may also be a BAR/Atmosphere reading on the gauge which is just another way of measuring pressure, albbeit slightly older. 1 BAR roughly equates to ~14 PSI.

How Does It Affect Performance?

At the top level of bike racing, tyre pressure can be the difference between winning and losing. But in reality you might not notice too much difference in your performance on a day to day basis unless you do compete. 

The tyre pressure influences the amount of tyre in contact with the road - a lower pressure means more surface area is in contact with the road, ergo there is more rolling resistance and you will go slower, even if it is only marginally.

That doesn't mean you have to pump your tyres up until they're ready to burst though - it is recommended that in wet weather or on poor road conditions you ride with a lower pressure. This is because punctures are less likely at a lower pressure, even with the increased surface area. 

The lower pressure means the tyre wall isn't as tight against the tube as with higher pressures, reducing the potential for pinch-flats and for punctures related to poor road surface. For context, the professionals who race in the spring classics like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix often ride on lower pressures do to inclement weather and poor road surfaces.

How Else Does It Affect Me?

Tyre pressure doesn't only affect the performance of the bike, it can also have a significant effect on the ride quality and your comfort when on the bike. 

Tyre pressure that's too high will result in a stiffer ride which can be problematic if you're riding on poor quality roads. Higher pressure means harder tyres, and harder tyres absorb less which will magnify every bump and dip you roll through. This also increases the potential for punctures as we have covered above.

Tyre pressure that is too low can result in a bumpier ride which may lead to difficulty controlling the bike if the roads are particularly bad. Too low pressure can also result in a bumpier ride as the wheel rim may begin to make contact with the road through the tyre on the bumps. This can be disastrous, especially if you are running a premium wheelset like our Cero RC45s.

So What's The Correct Pressure?

The correct tyre pressure will be unique for every person depending on what makes their ride comfortable - some ride low, some high but the majority of riders keep it inbetween the two. 

One the tyre walls of your bike there will be a minimum and maximum recommendation for inflation - these should never be exceeded as to do so would be dangerous and would compromise the integrity of the tyre and lead to potential blowout.

Many tyre brands publish recommended pressures based on tyre size and width and body weight, see below for Schwalbe's recommended pressures.

The best thing you can do is find a pressure that's creates a comfortable ride that is within the min/max limits - for the majority of cyclists this usually hovers between 80-100 PSI but there is no wrong answer here as long as you're within those limits.

The professional riders like Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome make descending look easy, even when they are pushing themselves and taking risks, but descending is a skill which can be honed just like any other.

Sit Up And Beg

Of course, descending doesn't need to be all balls-to-the-wall racing style, you can just cruise down the other side of a climb at an easy, leisurely pace; but you want to go FAST, right?

Whilst sitting up and going slowly might be good enough to get you down the climb, it's not exactly going to be the most exhilarating experience and it certainly won't help you go quicker down the descents on future rides.

Toe The Line

As with motor racing, every corner will have a 'racing line' which is the fastest way through the corner. Whilst in a race situation this involves cutting the corner, this isn't practical for everyday riders who ride on open roads. 

There is still gains to be made though on the open roads if you ride smart. Make sure that you are riding through the corner on the inside line where possible, this will reduce the time taken to corner and over a lengthy decent this can take vital seconds off of your time.

Get Technical

The way you position yourself on the bike can have a big effect on the effectiveness of your descent. Whilst we can't all be Chris Froome and use his...unique...descending style, adopting an aerodynamic position will help you shave loads of time off of your descent, this can easily be achieved by simply riding in the drops if you don't want to get too crazy.

Your pedal position through the corner is also key to performing well on descents. Your pedal position is directly linked to your centre of gravity, which plays a part in how the bike handles through a corner. Ensure that the pedal on the outside of the corner is lowered, with the inside one higher - they should be at 6/12 on a clockface. This will make sure your centre of gravity stays central and prevents you from wiping out.

Time Your Effort

It's not all about technique, sometimes you just need power, but that power needs to be put on at the right time. If you're descending on a road with many technical corners then the best time to accelerate is once you are through the halfway point of the turn as you will take advantage of your cornering momentum.

If the descent is long and sweeping with just the odd corner, then a time trial mode if best where you try and maintain a constant power and pace for the entire descent rather than sprinting for 30" then freewheeling.

Brake Smart, Not Hard

Braking is a pretty important part of descending, but braking incorrectly can actually make descents more dangerous. When speed is the key it is very easy to leave braking until the last moment, slamming the brakes on to scrub off all of your speed into the corner.

This increases the potential of you locking your wheels and crashing, especially if the roads are a little greasy. The best way to use your brakes is to anticipate the corner and begin scrubbing off speed before you get to it. Don't lean on the brakes either, apply them gently as you approach the corner and consistently to gradually reduce your speed, which allows you to keep momentum through the corner.

Follow all of these tips and you'll see your descending improve in no time! Why not shave off even more seconds by treating yourself to a new, lighter bike? The Scott Foil 10 is a lightweight racing machine that provides a stiffness that will help your cornering as well as sprinting out of them.

All three have several competitions running at once: the general classification, mountains classification, points classification and team classification, with the Vuelta also having the combination jersey and the Tour having the best young rider's jersey.

As well as keeping track of these competitions there's how they're actually contested, is it time? Points? What about bonus seconds? Bonus points? Time and point penalties? It can be brain-frazzling just trying to keep on top of all these. So we have come up with several tips to make watching the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia super easy.

1. Pick a Competition

Most people choose the GC (general classification) as the one to watch as this is the main prize. The leader will be easy to spot as they will have a pink (Giro) yellow (Tour) or red (Vuelta) jersey on and quite often have the matching accessories. This is the competition that many pundits and highlights shows will focus on making it the easiest one to follow.

Focusing on on race allows you to appreciate the rest without getting bogged down in stats. If you choose the mountains competition you can focus on the climbers and their standings and be more involved.

2. Look for Battlegrounds

Even for the connoisseur, watching a stage race of a grand tour can be laborious. For a large part of the day nothing much happens for a breakaway going and the peloton slowly chasing them.

Study the stage profile and find the likely action points of the stage - these are usually the finish, the climbs and the sprints, and focus your viewing on those. This is also helpful if you've recorded the entire stage and plan to watch later, unless you're super into all the mundanities of stage racing.

3. Pick a Rider

Cycling's a strange sport in that there aren't often supporters of whole teams, in it's very nature it's a sport where a team of individuals race for their leader and share in their glory and failures. Picking a rider is a good way of following a race like the Giro as it allows you to follow their progress in competitions or the parts they play in helping their team. 

This only really works if the rider you choose is a big name though, like Chris Froome, Alberto Contador or Alejandro Valverde as you don't want to be following a domestique who won't be getting any airtime.

4. Don't Pick Anything!

Just watch the race for the sheer joy of watching bike racing. Don't worry about times, classifications, riders, sprint points. Just enjoy the chaos of not really understanding much of what is happening or why it's happening. 

It's quite liberating to free yourself of following anything about a race and just enjoying the spectacle of a grand tour.

5. Live for the Day

Whilst the classifications are there for the entire tour - all 21 days - every stage will involve it's own mini race in order to win the stage. This could be a mountaintop finish which will light up the GC or a flat stage with a bunch sprint for the sprinters to contest.

Watching each stage for it's merits without the concern of a longer competition is a good way to stay sane throughout the madness of the stage race and it will allow you to appreciate the efforts of the breakaway so much more.

There are plenty of brilliant hacks out there to save you money or help you out in a tricky situation - here's our list of 5 of the best/most genius.

1. Deflation-Busting Banknotes

Every carries spare inner tubes (or at least they SHOULD) in case of a puncture, but it's just not practical to carry a spare tyre on the off-chance you'll suffer a blowout.

But if it does happen what to do? A tear in a tyre wall is a disaster that will bring any ride to an immediate end and leave you calling for the service car (aka your spouse)...usually.

Happily, banknotes can help you out in this situation. A folded up banknote placed between the inner tube and the tear in the tyre can be enough to prevent the tube from coming out of the tyre and bursting. It won't win races but it might be enough to get you back home.

2. Hey Presta-O!

When you eventually throw away an inner tube - whether it's been repaired once too often or it's beyond repair - make sure you keep the valve cap.

Why? Because it can be turned into a very useful Presta-Schrader converter. This is especially useful if you find yourself with a flat and a broken pump or no more CO2 canisters. Simply chop off the top of the cap and screw it onto the valve, leaving the Presta valve open. This will then allow a Schrader valve to fit and will just about allow you to fill up with any pump or at any petrol station. 

Worth keeping a couple in your saddle bag as a precaution!

3. Wet News

Everyone has been caught out in the rain or cycles in rainy conditions often, especially in Britain. One of the worst things about this is having to deal with soggy shoes for the next ride.

Fear not! If you have some spare newspaper lying around then you can scrunch this up and put it inside your wet shoes to help dry them out quicker. For best results take the soles out too, you'll be riding dry in no time!

Just don't forget to stick the soles on the radiator or something to dry them out as well.

4. Bottled It

Sometimes your saddle bag can be so packed full of stuff, stopping to repair a puncture is more like an exercise in strategic packing rather than a quick fix.

If you're packing for every eventuality in your saddle bag then this hack is for you.

Take an old bottle that you don't use anymore or that you're willing to sacrifice. Fill it with excess gear such as tubes, repair kits, gels, keys, etc. Stick it in a bottle cage and away you go! Simple but effective.

Another excellent use of old bottles it to mix your degreaser in when cleaning the bike. Cut the top of the bottle off leaving it open, then when you've made up your mix you can use the bottle cage on the seattube to keep it in place whilst you apply the degreaser.

5. Hand-wash Your Hands

Cleaning your bike leads to dirty hands. Even the simplest repair job leaves you with hands that look like you've spent the day playing with a combustion engine.

Gone are the days of relentless scrubbing of your hands until there's nothing left but dirt down your fingernails, which is virtually impossible to get out. 

Mix a little washing detergent into the bowl and scrub as normal. Voila! Your hands will be good as new with no trace of oil or grime. Just don't do any washing at the same time....

Cycling is a sport that is somewhat obsessed with image, there are plenty of so-called 'rules' which say how cyclists should act. These 'rules' include everything from etiquette when passing fellow riders to the correct sock length - looking at you Velominati.

With this in mind, we tried to think of the flashiest upgrades you can add to your bike to make your clubmates green with envy. Although they might not improve your performance, we're pretty sure they'll get the rest of your pals talking.

1. Outrageous Bar Tape

Bar tape in of itself isn't too crazy, but there are some wild varieties out there that will catch the eye of everyone on the road as well as other riders. 

Block colours have always been popular in the sport as well as the classic look of black or white, but why choose a pattern to your bar tape? Or even mix it up and use a combination of two or three colours when wrapping tape - although this will test your skills when applying.

2. Upgrade to Di2

With more and more bike manufacturers taking on Di2 as their top end shifting mechanism, as well as the increase in uptake from professional cycling teams, rocking up to the group ride with Di2 on your bike will surely turn heads. The technology is now filtering down so that many 2017 road bikes have the option to include Di2 when buying.

Electronic shifting makes gear changes easier without having to rely on pesky cables and mechanics. Dazzle your club mates as you out-sprint them with your super smooth shifting action - but don't give the gears all of the credit, you still need to come first.

3. Spoke Lights

Now bear with us on this one. We're not talking your run of the mill, one colour spoke lights here. We're talking full on Blackpool illuminations level.

Imagine turning up at the club run in Winter with everyone cold and probably wet too, with a set of spoke lights that create a moving image when you're riding. They're not for everyone, and serious roadies won't even look at them twice, but they are literally one of the flashiest upgrades you can use in Winter.

4. Power Meters

Nothing says you're serious about your training than investing in a power meter. A device in the crank that measures your wattage when cycling and displays it in realtime on your cycling computer - what's not to love?

One for the real data junkies, wannabe-pros or serious trainers, the power meter is a great talking point on the club ride, just try not to bore everyone by giving a running commentary on your current wattage, or your max power on that last sprint.

5. Tri-Bars

Also know as TT bars or handlebar extensions, these are only for those truly dedicated to Time Trialling, that most masochistic of cycling disciplines. 

Often accompanied with a rear disc wheel and an aero helmet, tri-bars are a great addition to your bike if you ride TT's regularly, although care should be taken when riding on them on the road as they don't give you as much control as regular drops.

Not only are there physical benefits to cycling, there are loads of mental health positives as well as the fact that cycling is the most efficient way to travel around.

With so many benefits it ca be hard to find the most important ones, so here are our top 5 physiological effects on the body that cycling causes:

1. Lose Weight

Sounds obvious, but this is a common effect of cycling. The exercise helps you to burn fat faster, lowering your body fat percentage which is important not only to improve your cycling, but to improve your health.

Having more body fat means that there is more competition for the muscles for vital things like oxygen and fuel, reducing this will make you more effective as a cyclist and also significantly improve your health.

The average male should aim for a body fat percentage of between 15-18%, with the average female between 25-32%. Well-trained athletes like cyclists should aim for around 8-10% for men and 24-28% for women.

2. Bowel Control

Cycling regularly helps to work your core as well as your legs, helping give your stomach muscles a workout which they will thank you for when nature calls. 

Whilst you use your exterior core muscles to remain stable and upright on the bike, the increased heart rate and breathing rate will help to stimulate the contraction of your intestinal muscles.

Physical activity like cycling helps to decrease the time it takes food to be processed in the large intestine, also reducing the amount of water re-absorbed which results in softer stools which make number two's easier.

3. Lung Lifting

Unsurprisingly, cycling regularly helps to increase your lung capacity significantly, meaning that you are able to generate more oxygen per breath than those who aren't as active. 

This is double beneficial by improving the strength of your cardiovascular system, meaning that your body can deliver that boost in oxygen to the working muscles much quicker.

This increase in strength means that your body doesn't have to work as hard to deliver more oxygen, resulting in lower resting heart rates and meaning that exercise should become easier at lower intensities.

4. Gives You Heart

Whilst we have mentioned the boost cycling gives to your cardiovascular system, the effects of this on your body should not be understated. 

A lower heart rate and stronger cardio muscles are strongly linked with a reduction in heart disease, according to the British Heart Foundation every year there could be more than 10,000 fatal heart attacks prevented if people exercised for as little as 30 minutes a day.

Not only will strengthening your heart help make you fitter and a better cyclist, it can also cut your risk of heart disease to half at of sedentary individual.

5. Arms Your Body

Everybody gets ill every now and then, whether its a bout of man flu or a bit of cold; that's a fact of life. But cycling can help to significantly reduce the number of instances of illness you suffer from.

This is because regular physical activity, like cycling, makes immune cells more active which makes them much better at fighting infections. It is estimated that those who cycle for 30 minutes for at least 5 days a week take around half as many sick days as those who don't exercise as much.

Cycling can also help you live longer as it puts you at a significantly lower risk of things such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer to name but a few.

 Remember though that despite all these benefits, a poorly fitting bike can actually cause damage to your body. We offer the Guru bike fitting service at our workshop, come and see us to make sure you're riding correctly.

Team Sky used it to great effect with Ian Stannard winning the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Geraint Thomas taking victory in the E3 Harelkebe, breaking the team's WorldTour duck for the early season classics.

So, why has it taken so long for a road bike with suspension to come to the fore in professional racing? Purely from a manufacturer's point of view it has always been difficult to create a frame with enough rigidity to handle the flex created by suspension, especially within the weight limits and specifications of the UCI rulebook.

The K8-S was such an innovation because it was able to do this effectively thanks to modern carbon fibre technology, even though at it's heart it is a standard F8 frame with some modification.

The suspension module itself is a pretty simple elastomer creation - basically a piece of rubber inside a pod - which provides up to 10mm of travel. This has a significant dampening effect on the road, especially over cobbles which the classics are famed for.

The real groundbreaking technology is in Pinarello's 'flexstays'. Pinarello created a chainstay that was wider and flatter than the usual F8 frame that was able to handle the flex in the frame created by the suspension movement - reducing tension on the frame and making suspension road bikes a viable option for pro teams.

So was it a one-off?

Yes and no. The K8-S was one of the first generation of 'active' suspension systems, meaning it has the elastomer dampener which actively moves to absorb the road. But the far more popular kind of suspended road bike has been appearing in the form of carbon fibre manipulation.

This basically means using different grades and amounts of carbon in the manufacturing process in order to create a frame which is more flexible. This 'passive' system of suspension is often coupled with elastomer inserts in the frame which help to reduce 'road buzz' as well as improving the comfort of the ride.

Several bike manufacturers now employ this method for their top level bikes including Specialized, Lapierre and Trek; all with different variants.

The rise in interest in road bike suspension has also given birth to many products that can be bought to upgrade your standard road bike to make it more comfortable - with seatposts and forks being the two main areas these products are focusing on.

So it looks as though suspension road bikes are here to stay, but not in the obvious format of the K8-S - the suspension road bikes we ride in the future are likely to be a little more subtle.

Even then, it seems like it will be a long time before entry level carbon road bikes come with this technology.

Luckily, many of these can be easily fixed by yourself, either with some basic maintenance or by replacing parts. Here we list 5 common maintenance problems which you might encounter on the bike and how you can fix them.

Creaky Bottom Bracket

When pedalling you might notice a creak or a squeak coming from the bottom bracket. It could just be when you're riding out of the saddle so more weight is on the pedals or it could be happening when you're spinning along on the flat, putting out little watts. This usually means the bearings are wearing down in the bracket, especially if it is in a consistent point in the pedal rotation or constantly happening when pedalling. 

This usually means the bearings are wearing down in the bracket, especially if it is in a consistent point in the pedal rotation or constantly happening when pedalling. It's something that happens with wear and tear on the bike, which can be sped up if the bike is ridden often in the wet weather/left outside often.

Fix it by: Replacing bottom bracket or, if you know how, re-greasing the bearings inside to prolong its life.

Rubbing Brake Pads

Usually a sign that the bike has had a knock, which could come from an accident or if the bike has travelled such as in a plane or back of a car/van.

It causes an annoying rubbing sound as the pad rubs against the braking surface on every rotation. It's not only aesthetic either, it will notably affect your performance depending on how severe the rubbing is. It will also cause uneven wear of the pads meaning you have to replace them more often.

Fix it by: Loosening the brake calliper on the frame, align the wheel evenly between the two pads then tighten. Check often before ride.

Skipping Gears

Skipping gears is a classic sign of indexing issues. This occurs when you try to shift up or down a gear and the shift either doesn't happen until you shift again in the same direction, the shift moves up or down two gears, or the shift happens but then reverts after a few seconds. 

It's annoying when this happens as it affects your gearing pretty drastically; again it could be an indication of a knock to the rear derailleur. This knocks it out of line and means the derailleur is trying to shift the chain to a position between gears, causing skipping to happen.

Fix it by: Checking the indexing of the gears - easily done by rotating the bolts on the derailleurs. If you're unsure consult LBS or YouTube.

Loose Brakes

The last thing you want when braking is for the brakes to not work, and over time the cables stretch in the brakes which make the levers loose. This means you have to pull harder on the lever to engage the brakes - never a good thing if left too long. 

This is something that should be checked before every ride for safety reasons, but it is something that is easily fixed. 

Fix it by: On the calliper, open the brakes and use some pliers to pull the cable tighter, then close the brakes making sure they're aligned with the wheel (see rubbing brake pads). If you can't do this then the cables may need replacing, consult your LBS or YouTube.

Tyre Pressure

Is your ride a little bumpy? Having a problem with persistent punctures? Before you scrap the road bike and head off to buy a mountain bike with suspension, maybe you should check your tyre pressures. 

Something that could have entire volumes written about it of its own accord, tyre pressure is important to keeping your ride comfortable and efficient. Too much pressure and the ride can be unbearably stiff and too little and the ride gets wobbly and you risk popping a tube. 

Fix it by: Looking into the correct tyre pressure for your weight/tyre/bike size to ensure optimal performance. Invest in a track pump or a pump with a pressure gauge to check often.

The theory behind this is that by riding your bike (your winter bike, mind) steadily throughout the colder months, you will maintain your fitness for when the spring and summer comes, giving you more time to get race-fit and less time to try and get your fitness back. 

We should mention that this only works if you're fit in the first place. 

Base miles are a term bandied around between cyclists all the time, but what if you could actually IMPROVE your fitness in winter?

The rise in popularity of turbo training - aided by online platforms such as Zwift - has meant that base miles; ie trudging around your training route at a relatively slow speed in the freezing cold, become a lot less appealing. 

HIIT sessions have been shown to improve fitness just as much as long, low intensity rides that are a key characteristic of the base mile slog. The benefit of HIIT is that they don't take long - just 30-45 minutes usually - and can be done on a turbo trainer or rollers in the comfort (!) of your own home, or even in a gym.

Great for maintaining fitness! But wait, there's more...

Why not go further? If you can achieve in three 30 minute HIIT sessions the same benefits you can get in 3 2 hour, low-intensity rides; then why not do the unspeakable?

Why not train properly during the winter months?

Talk about giving yourself an edge over the competition! Watch your diet over the winter months, train regularly at threshold in HIIT as well as doing some low-intensity outdoor riding to keep in touch with the road and you will arrive into the Spring season not merely at a similar fitness level than you were in September, but better.

Which is all any of us really wants, right?

And what better way to reward yourself for a winter's work well done than with a new bike? Especially as we have the new range of 2017 road bikes from Scott and Cannondale in store!

But what's the best way to go about shifting that extra timber? Is it epic 5 hours sessions at low intensity? Replacing milk on your cereal with recovery shake? Eating nothing but your base metabolic rate no matter the ride?

Here are our five top tips for losing weight whilst cycling.

Fast Rides - Not the MPH Version

Fast to get faster! Morning fast rides are excellent ways to shift the fat because your body doesn't have as much food to burn as energy, meaning it will instead turn to fat reserves. Be careful though, if you ride att oo high an intensity you risk losing muscle mass instead of fat to fuel the ride - as a rule we recommend that fasted rides are no longer than 60mins at a light intensity or 30mins at threshold/high intensity.

Ensure you have a good breakfast lined up for afterwards with lots of protein and good carbohydrates to fuel your day, if you don't plan ahead you may find yourself binge eating at brunch, undoing all your good work!

Reward Yourself

Losing weight is hard, and achievements, however minor should be celebrated and rewarded. Not only does this help keep you motivated, it also stops you going stir crazy from cutting out everything that's good and bad for you.

You are much more likely to achieve your weight loss goals if you keep eating the things you love but in moderation and as a reward for reaching targets - cutting everything out is a recipe for failure. 

Set yourself micro-goals based on weight lost, miles ridden of even sessions completed based on your long term goals and make sure you recognise and reward each achievement - within reason!

Become Accountable to the Masses (ie Facebook)

On the 1st January everyone states their New Year's Resolutions but the majority of people won't stick to them - a way to ensure you're not one of the failures is to make yourself accountable to social media. 

Depending on how comfortable you are with using these channels, putting your goal out there for all to see and listing your micro-goals will help you to feel a dual sense of responsibility for reaching your goals - both to yourself and to your commitment online.

Add another element by allowing third party apps such as Strava or My Fitness Pal to post workouts/food diaries to Facebook so you can become even more accountable and encourage your friends to motivate you and ensure you keep it up.

HIIT It Hard

HIIT sessions - or High Intensity Interval Training - is a key part of any weight loss regimen and one that should be embraced as well as feared. 

These are usually short, hard sessions of around 30-45 minutes and should be undertaken at or near threshold. If you have a turbo trainer you can take advantage of the myriad HIIT videos on Youtube or if you are a gym member you can take part in a spin class, which are usually HIIT structured. 

These sessions actually burn a higher percentage of fat than long, low intensity rides; and their short length makes them much easier to fit into your day than a 3 hour low intensity ride.

Just Di-et

Whilst there are many fad diets out there most of them are just that - fad diets. The best way to make a real, significant change to your diet is to change your basic eating habits by controlling things such as portions or the macro-nutrients in meals. 

When losing weight diet is 70% of the battle, and engineering your diet for cycling can be a key factor in whether you are successful or not in reaching your goals. 

Cycling requires energy and if you are committing yourself to regular rides you will need to eat foods that provide you with the right fuel for the ride. Carbohydrates such as wholemeals and cereals will allow you to keep eating pasta and bread whilst increasing the amount of protein you eat will help your body repair itself and aid recovery. 

Our top tips to help maintain your performance will help keep you fresh and limit the impact of the festive period ready to begin training properly again in January. They will also help you to keep from gaining too much weight from all of the Quality Street you will eat (it's alright, everyone does it).

1. Turbo Turkey

If you don't already have one, invest in a turbo trainer. A turbo makes it so much easier to get on the bike indoors, meaning you don't have to get all wrapped up and go out in the cold. 

Turbo trainers are great workout tools as you can get a lot out of short sessions on them. It's often mooted in the cycling community that 30 minutes on the turbo roughly equates to an hour of road riding, mainly because there are no downhill sections to recover on and you have to work ofr the duration.

Static training will also allow you to watch films or play video games whilst spinning your legs - great for maintaining fitness levels and staving off the dreaded Christmas paunch.

2. Little and often

With all the family and friends around it can be hard to find the time for a long ride over the Christmas period, which can sometimes mean you forget riding altogether. 

It's much easier to find 30-45 minute time slots where you can do a quick lap or the local park or a short turbo stint. Finding time to do this every other day shouldn't be too difficult and will help keep you motivated and fit even if you're not going full gas every time.

To make it more interesting use Strava or a route builder to find a local ride loop that can be done in that time, then you have extra motivation to beat your time on the lap.

3. Gadgets from Santa

If you're like us, you will have asked for cycling stuff for Christmas. Be it gadgets or kit, having new stuff to try out is the ultimate motivator to get out on the bike.

This has the added bonus of gift giver satisfaction when they see your eagerness to use their gift and gives you the perfect reason to ride. The fact that you need to go on several more rides to calibrate the gadgets/break the kit in may not wash as an excuse for too long though...

4. Commit to friends

If you have family and friends that are into cycling then commit to a date before Christmas begins to ride your bikes over the holidays. If you are part of a club you will find that many of them do Christmas club rides between Christmas and New Year, but making personal arrangements is another excellent way to guarantee you get a good ride and keep your integrity.

You could even make it a Christmas tradition on the same day every year so every Christmas you have a guaranteed group ride with family and friends - whether you make it a race or a casual chat. This also gives you an opportunity to show off your fancy new Castelli clothing or shiney new gadgets.

5. Everything in moderation

Contrary to how people usually operate at Christmas (eat ALL the food!) it's a good idea to exercise some self-restraint over the Christmas period.

Not drinking as much or over-eating will mean you feel less lethargic and more likely to get on the bike - there's nothing worse than trying to cycle hungover and stuffed from the day's excesses. This will keep you sharp, stop you from putting on as much weight and mean you can hit January's training schedule without extra weight or lethargy associated with too much food and drink.

If you don't want to risk doubling up on kit or you want to avoid selling out and going the gift voucher option, here are five great cycling essentials which any cyclist will love to receive this Christmas:

1. Nutrition Products

You can't go wrong here, all you need to know if their likes and dislikes when it comes to food. Even then that's a stretch as most basic flavours are covered in most products. 

Things like a box of energy gels, a new mixing bottle or a nutrition 'selection box' of various gels, bars and tabs are all great gift ideas that will be unlikely to find themselves confined to the back of the kit drawer. Every cyclist needs them at some point and getting them as a gift is just as well received  as any other item.

2. Cycling Socks

We know, socks are a massive cliche but guess what - cyclists tend to go through socks really quickly. Between them getting holes in them and the washing machine eating one of each pair, socks are something that every cyclist can always do with more of. 

There are plenty of specialist cycling socks available online, if you know their taste in cycling club you can always go for a set of team issue socks or still to a safer area and get a recognised brand. Better than regular socks!

3. Bike Cleaner

Bike cleaner is something that is always needed, especially if your cyclist takes part in mountain biking or cyclocross. There are loads of gift sets from brands like Muc Off and Motul around at this time of year which will usually include bike cleaners, chain lubes and various other substances that you may not know what they do, but they will be useful. 

A great gift idea if you're really stuck and want to recognise their passion for riding, without going too far down the rabbit hole.

4. A Magazine Subscription

The gift that gives for 11 more months, there are loads of subscription plans for the various cycling publications out there whether it's for top end 'Cyclist' or 'Rouleur' or the weekly news digest 'Cycling Weekly'.

This is a great gift idea if you're stuck for an original idea and want to get something that he'll really appreciate; although it's best given if you know they follow professional cycling. Definitely best to research the publications first before buying the subscription.

5. A New Bike

Technically they don't have a new bike, so why not get them one? Any cyclist would tell you that you always need more bikes, there are never enough. 

Around this time of year, there are great deals to be had on most kinds of bike due to the Christmas sales and the release of next year's models. These two factors often combine to create some marvellous offers on machines that would please any cyclist! We have a range of Scott road bikes on sale - take a look here first!

Go on, do it for them!

With the nights beginning to draw in and the weather starting to turn colder, now is traditionally the time when cyclists turn to their trusty turbo trainers to keep riding throughout the winter in (relative) comfort.

But what is the advantage to using a trainer versus getting out on the road? For starters, turbo trainer sessions are more intense than road riding. This is mainly because there is a constant level of resistance on the rear wheel - meaning you don't get to get away with a cheeky freewheel on a decline which you would take advantage of on the road.

This has the added benefit of meaning sessions don't usually last as long on the turbo as they would on the road - roughly you can attribute 30 minutes of moderate work on a turbo to an hour of steady riding on the road. This makes them more efficient, especially for those with little time.

Turbo sessions are often used to get in base miles over winter; that is long, low resistance efforts to maintain your fitness levels throughout the winter before more intense sessions in spring. Recently though studies have found that short, intense sessions on the turbo can have a similar effect on fitness.

How to Get the Best from Your Turbo Sesh

Your workout on the turbo should depend on what you want to get out of your training. If you want to maintain or improve your endurance then it is a good idea to do longer sessions at a low intensity, making sure you mix up the cadence levels a little throughout to mimic road riding and to avoid hitting a plateau.

HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) hurts, but will make you faster and stronger for when the sportive and racing season comes around and has added benefits. Using HIIT workouts help to improve cardio strength as well as endurance and will give you more scope for improvement. Interval training is one of the most effective ways to improve and these short - often no longer than 1 hour - sessions will provide amazing results if coupled with low intensity 'recovery rides' in between.

Staying Motivated

Motivation is often what discourages cyclists from turbo training. Long hours spent staring at a wall or facing into a fan (pro tip: if you're riding a turbo indoors, buy a fan. You're welcome.) can be soul destroying, but there are plenty of ways to stay focused. 

Simple things like watching the Tour de France highlights or other bike races whilst on the turbo can be a welcome distraction, or catching up on your TV on Netflix. These are great methods of distracting yourself from the workout - especially if you are doing long base mile rides with little variation. 

Alternatively, there are plenty of training videos on the web that are worth looking into. These videos - popular ones include Sufferfest and Ride-Fit - incorporate visual elements and even storylines to the workout so you are engaged with the session. These are often HIIT sessions lasting between 30 and 90+ minutes, each workout catering to different goals such as climbing or sprinting.

Rst Tech X Multisport Ls Shirt

When you’re protecting yourself from the elements it’s sensible to start from the ground up. Ensuring you’ve got a reliant base layer means whatever you put on top ought to not go to waste. RST Tech offer the best of what you can find when it comes to a good and reliable base layer, they optimise each piece of clothing to ensure that the elements are kept out.

Continental Gp 4 Season Fold Tyre

This continental tyre is ideal for racing either early or late on the season, being just that little bit thicker and robust it offers some healthy puncture protection. Also, being foldable you may simply wish to just carry a spare as the seasons change, just in case you do get caught out, it’s hardly a bad idea for your back-up to be one of these.

Castelli Estremo Glove Black

Now it’s just that little bit frostier it’s probably wise that you replace those fingerless gloves, don’t you think? These cycling mitts from Castelli give you just what’s needed to make sure you aren’t faced with numb fingers half way through your ride. The insulation is predominately on the back and knuckle area, allowing for warmth, whilst not sacrificing control or feel.

Smart Lunar Lightset

As the nights grow darker keeping safe becomes even more important. This set from Smart Lunar ensures that you’re covered with regards to both front and rear lighting. It’s simple, effective, and necessary if you want to stay safe on the roads, through autumn and into winter.

Sis Go Hydro Gel Orange

As autumn comes around and it is colder you might find that even your regular rides seem trickier. This means your body’s sacking energy from your muscles, not only for energy but for warmth as well. With this in mind, keeping energised is vital and having something such as this gel from SIS will do just that on a long and cold ride. 

It only took four years for Castelli to buy out Gianni and rebrand, that’s truly where the story begins. The company began to supply equipment for cycling legends such as: Bartali, Coppi, Van Looy, Bobet, Bartali, and Anquetil. One reason Castelli was so successful in this sense was that he himself had raced, thus lending him a true understanding of what was needed by a cyclist. This understanding and knowledge within the brand can no doubt still be seen today.

Still, it wasn’t until 1971 that Castelli, as we know it today, came into being. As Castelli’s son rose through the ranks in cycling, it became clear that he would one day take over the company that his father had begun to build. However the younger had far more ideas for innovation, a rift occurred as a result and the founding of the Castelli brand occurred.

When Eddy Merckx set the world record hour record, he sported a refined version of the Castelli body suit. This goes to show how the excellence in Castelli’s clothing has run in tandem with the excellence in the world of cycling.

A true turning point for Castelli and the world of cycling as a whole was 1977. This was the year that Castelli innovated the use of Lycra shorts in order to offer a more aerodynamic approach to cycling.

Excellence didn’t only account for materials either, Castelli has always looked to make a statement. In 1981 at the Giro, Castelli offered a selection of riders Lycra shorts in a turquoise colour way. Now this might not sound very brave but at the time regulations permitted only black Lycra to be worn. A media frenzy ensued, forcing Castelli into the limelight once again!

Most recently in 2012, Ryder Hesjedal won the Giro d’Italia whilst wearing the Body paint 3.0 speed suit, another ground breaking innovation by Castelli.

To round off, it’s best said in the words of Maurizo Castelli himself, “I would never have been able to revolutionize cycling clothing if I hadn’t raced. It’s the only way to gain a true understanding of what’s involved.”

See our range of Castelli cycling clothing online to find some bargains.

Fortunately for Cannondale and anyone who is a fan of the handling that’s offered by Cannondale, the addition of disk brakes hasn’t sacrificed this as many feared it might. Also in the Cannondale Synapse Tiagra 2016 model, very little power is wasted thanks to a ‘power pyramid’ at the bottom of the bracket. As a result the side-to-side rigidity is increased meaning that optimal power is maintained from any down force on the pedals. Not only does this benefit the rider with regards to power, but this split in the frame ought to also mean greater stability on an uneven road, thus resulting in greater comfort and confidence when riding.

The new 2016 disc break model also incorporates the Synapse SAVE+ technology (Synapse Active Vibration Elimination) that fans and customers have come to expect from the Synapse over the years. Both the fork legs and rear stays are optimised and formed in order to provide the best form of compliance.

All round excellence is found with the Synapse thanks to the range of quality components that make up the collective bike. Featured on the bike are Shimano’s newly engineered RS685 mechanical shifters and hydraulic brake levers that mean the hydraulic system is more accommodating than ever.

Whether you’re riding to work or wanting to get into Ironman mode, this bike allows for both by offering comfort whilst not compromising on power thanks to a high specification that covers all aspects of your ride. It’s arguable that Cannondale took somewhat of a gamble by including discs on this model but it’s certainly a bike for the years with this addition that looks like it’s here to stay.  

Scott Cycling Shoes are a leading brand that uses and takes advantage of technology for cycling, and it can’t be denied that such an innovation has had an impact on the world of cycling to a healthy extent. Many claims it improves safety, time, comfort and efficiency, here we aim to look at the extent to which all this is true.

Starting from the ground up, it’s important to consider the development process and exactly what goes into making and optimising a Boa reel, for any purpose, not just cycling. When developing the reels, the design team at Boa conduct rigorous field testing to find the source and point of failure. This involves excessive strain and freezing temperatures. Once the point of failure is found, the team have to deem this acceptable in terms of it reaching such an extreme that couldn’t be reached in the field, or in this case, on the road.

The true purpose of Boa lacing and their reels are to provide optimal security and tension within the lace. Admittedly many people claim that whilst unlike conventional lacing you can’t tighten a specific spot, the overall security provided is much more absolute than with standard lacing. Besides, often the case is such that even if you were to tighten a specific part of your lace, it would only loosen after a short time. A Boa reel ensures that the whole lacing platform is secured and uniformly tightened, without any weak spots that could be exploited and lead to issues during your ride.

One common criticism of the Boa reel closing system is the issue with a potential broken wire or cord. Unlike with conventional laces, a new one cannot just be bought. This means that if the product is to wear out or fail, you have to be prepared to incur further cost. Nonetheless, this puts very few people off and isn’t considered a profound factor in not opting for or purchasing a pair of shoes that take advantage of the Boa system. 

Little changes, such as stem length and reach, can have a profound impact on performance and comfort.

Here are our top 5 reasons to get yourself a bike fit, whether you have a new bike or just want to make sure your current one is the best fit.

1. Are you sitting comfortably?

Being comfortable on the bike doesn't just mean having a comfortable saddle, although that is part of it. Your position on the bike is important for preventing those aches and pains you may get on long rides, or which may build up over time if you ride short rides regularly. 

2. Power position

Your position on the bike isn't only important to maintain comfort, it also has an effect on your performance. If your cranks are too short, your saddle too high or your cleats positioned wrong it can affect the amount of power you are able to transfer through the pedals - which could mean the difference between winning or losing a race. 

3. Everybody has a different body

Whilst there are guides online on how to set your bike up to be a perfect fit, many of them won't take into account your own body quirks. It might be that you have one leg slightly longer than the other, or have some medical issue that means you need to ride in a more upright position. A professional bike fitting will take all of this into account.

4. A data mountain

A proper bike fitting service - like our Guru bike fitting in Nottingham, Derby and the East Midlands - will provide you with a heap of data during the fit in various positions. It will show you what the best stem length and saddle positions are by testing a vareity of combinations. 

5. Buyer's market

Once you have your perfect fit, you can customise your ride to ensure you're getting the best out of your performance. Once you have this information you can also look into the market for a new bike with complete confidence about the sizing specifications you need, allowing you to buy with confidence and that you aren't compromising on both comfort and performance.

Models like the Scott Solace and Scott Addict which have long been popular top end road bikes now have the option to include disc brakes, along with other top names like Cannondale, Pinarello  and Orbea also producing models with disc availability. 

Fitting disc brakes to a road bike is a tricky business as teh forks need to be manufactured differently to allow for the rotor blades and braking mechanism to be accommodated. This often means that the forks thend to be a little wider, which can affect handling. 

Structural integrity is also an issue, as disc brakes apply much more force to the forks than the traditional cantilever brakes do. Whilst this allows you to stop much faster, the extra force can be an issue, which is why specific disc-forks need to be added to the bike if you are upgrading by yourself instead of as part of a groupset.

Whilst disc brakes are taking the cycling industry by storm, there have been issues in the professional peloton with concerns over the safety of riders. This is both due to the increased stopping power which could cause unnecessary crashs - especially as riders get used to them in a race situation - and the fact that the rotors get hot when used often, which could cause injury if there is a crash against riders' exposed skin.

These concerns - which culminated in a claim by pro team Movistar's Francisco Ventoso that he was injured in a crash involving disc brakes - have led to many race organisers banning disc brakes from use in their races. 

If you intend to race you shiny new disc-brake equipped road bike then you ned to check the rules of your local league as many leagues have banned them already and you won't be able to compete. At the moment this is only in a race situation, disc brake road bikes are still allowed in events such as sportives where there isn't as much pressure as exists in a race situation. 

It is also worth enquiring with your local cycling club to see if they allow disc brakes on their club rides, as these are often large mass rides that include riders of varying ability. There's no use upgrading to discs to show off if you can't use them anywhere!

At Cycle Division we have a great selection of bikes including the Cannondale Synapse Ultegra Disc which is the ideal bike to upgrade to if you want to stay with the times!

Making sure your bike is in the best condition is important to allow you to make it through the event safely and have the most enjoyable time - even if you end up losing out on the win in the bunch sprint!

Races are commonplace in the UK and anyone can enter category 3/4 races as long as they have the correct license from British Cycling. Races can be fast and furious so experience of riding in a group is essential, as well as the right kit for the race as many events won't let you enter without a helmet. More recently disc brakes have become a contentious issue, so it's best to check if discs are allowed at the event.

If you don't like to be too competitive or you don't feel like racing is for you then there are hundreds of 'sportives' throughout the country that will allow you to ride on closed roads and with meet cyclists in a more casual environment. Sportives are basically events that have several course options - usually between 20-100 miles - and have a feed station and sometimes bike cleaning facilities. Whilst often timed, Sportives aren't races and there is no prize for finishing first, it is just a useful measure to see how you fared against yourself or others. 

Audaxes and endurance events are usually long distance over many hours and are not for the faint of heart. These can be races or sportive type events but are usually geared more towards the serious cyclist rather than the casual ones. 

Whatever your event, there are a few simple ways you can ensure your bike is in perfect condition:

A clean bike is a happy bike

You should always keep your bike clean - this is especially true if you compete in races or do other events often. Dirt on the compenents can wear them down and severely reduce their lifespan, also making it more difficult to see signs of wear and tear which could lead to them failing in pressure situations, such as a long, steep climb or a sprint finish.

A clean bike also looks a lot better in those sportive/race pictures that are usually available after the event, and if you are racing you don't want to be known as the rider with the dirty bike.

Feel the pressure

Getting the tyre pressure right is important to get the best from your ride - too soft or hard and you may be in for an uncomfortable ride, especially if you're doing a 10 hour 150 mile Audax. Ideal trye pressure for most road tyres is between 90-110psi, depending on the size of you and the frame. 

Remember to take a track pump with you for before the race to top them up and a hand pump out on the road so you can fix any punctures easily - prefereably one with a PSI meter.

Check the checks

Before any event, even before any ride, you should be doing a bike check to ensure that there are no problems that will cause you grief on the road. Make sure your brake pads are sufficient and clean, that you can stop easily using both brakes, that the chain and components aren't cracked or rusty and that the tyres have no sign or weakness or wear in them.

If you ride often, many of these things you will have an intuitive knowledge of just by virtue of being a regular cyclist, but it's betetr to be safe than sorry. This is especialky true if you have travelled for an event and you've had to take apart your bike, or it's been in an aircraft hold.

Gear up!

Getting the right gearing for your event is crucial to whether you spend the day in major trouble on a large climb or cruising along and enjoying the scenary. If you have the option to change the gearing on your bike, take a look at the terrain of the event and decide which would be best suited for your abilities. 

If you're racing in a flat criterium, high gears is the way to go to keep up with the fast pace; but if you're taking part in a hill climb event then you'll want something that's easier to spin.

Put on your sunday best

If you have the luxury of owning several variations of compenents like wheels, gearhubs, drivesets etc then you will want to use them for these events. Proper quality cycling compenents, like Shimano Ultegra or our very own Cero AR30 wheels, need to be shown off and experienced to get your money's worth - and where better to use your best gear than in a race, where you might have a competitive advantage, or in a sportive, where it could mean a comfier and easier ride.

It’s not hard to see why they’re so popular. A pair of Cero AR30 wheels with 30mm rims weighs under 1400 grams, but doesn’t come with the price tag that you’d normally associate with wheels this light. The incredible lightness of this wheelset has not come at the expensive of stiffness and this makes Cero wheels ideal for racing and climbing.

Combined with a superior braking surface in all weather conditions, which can bring you to a comfortable stop after the even the steepest of decent, Cero AR30 wheels are great all-rounders. If you run a set of carbon wheels during the summer, considering picking up a set of AR30 wheels for your winter training rides.

Outside of the world of racing and sportives, superlight alloy clincher wheels are much better at dealing with potholes than carbon fibre wheels. They’re also much more comfortable and, given the state of many of the roads around the UK, this makes them a great choice for long distance commuters and touring cyclists.

We’re not the only ones to love our Cero wheels. The Cero AR30 wheelset received a 10/10 score on Cycling Weekly, who were impressed by their “lively, sporty, communicative feel with just enough give to take the sting out of rough roads”. Our customers love them too, so we can be confident in calling these the best road bike wheels you can get for the money.

Cero wheels are unique to Cycle Division. Visit our Cero AR30 superlight alloy clincher product page to find out more.

Peter was the man who created some of Scotts lightest and stiffest bikes, he then moved on to Cannondale and helped design the SuperSix Evo, a bike that when tested by rival company Giant beat every other bike in the world when it comes to bottom bracket stiffness.

For all weight weenies out there the Evo is one of the very best frames to own, the current 2016 Evo Hi-Mod frame weighs 777g and is accompanies by a 280g fork, the Evo frame isn’t just light and stiff, it’s also incredibly comfortable.

The Evo frame has its own proprietary speed save zones, micro suspension built in to the chainstay, seat stay and fork. The Speedsave system isn’t a gimmick, the frame has flattened sections built in to the rear that almost act like leaf springs, the fork is designed to flex more at the bottom to allow bumps in the road to be smoothed out.

Over the years all versions of the SuperSix Evo have won awards, the entry level frame that’s a very competitive 950g in its own right and shares most of the ride characteristics with Hi-Mod has been awarded bike of the year. The standard Evo frame has regularly been built up in to bikes that weigh as little as 6kg.

When it comes to handling the Evo is hard to beat, Germanys “Tour” magazine named it the best bike in the word.

Vincenzo Nibali was a huge fan and regularly dropped the peloton on downhills, often closely followed by team mate Ivan Basso.

For 2016 Cannondale employed Damon Rinard from Cervelo, he kept the same look and ride characteristics of the Evo but managed to drop the weight and tweak the geometry to ensure each size frame steps up in a uniform manner, the stack and reach both moving up equally. This makes the sizing of the Evo very easy to understand and makes the Cannondale range a dream for all bike fitters.

For 2016 the Evo range has some real stand out bikes, the Ultegra version at £1899 complete with the new SI Spidering chainset as a real gem.

The entry level Tiagra version represents real value at £1299, the frame alone is worth this and as a bike it’s perfect for upgrading in the future.

If you’re in the market for a road bike with world class performance, a rich history and a classic look that helps it stand out in the crowd the SuperSix Evo has to be a serious contender.

At Cycledivision we have a great range, all come with a free Guru bike fit.  

The Cannondale CAAD12 has quickly become a shining example of this resurgence. Its comfortable handling and smooth ride make it a joy to ride during those long journeys on country roads.

Despite the level of competition, Cannondale seem determined to take everyone on with the CAAD12. The high-quality alloys that are used on aluminium frame design are lighter than ever, which is a big part of the reason why it is so easy to handle. The frame itself weighs a meagre 1098g, making it a full 52g lighter than its predecessor the CAAD10.

It’s when you take this bike out onto the rough roads that you really experience its full potential. The strong alloy frame allows you to glide along the tarmac without having to deal with every bump and vibration on the road. This is one of the main reasons why it is the ideal choice for someone who enjoys endurance bike riding.

If you are in the mood for speed, then the CAAD12 is light enough to allow you to accelerate quickly and efficiently, with every turn of the peddle adding to the acceleration of the bike. Couple that with the impressive handling and you will not have to worry too much if you have to make a quick turn or a correction along the way.

With so many amazing qualities, it’s pretty clear that this bike is one of the most impressive that you can get this year, regardless of what material it is made from. While carbon bikes are still popular, it’s quite clear that aluminium is here to stay.

The Cannondale 2016 CAAD12 is one of the most impressive bikes in our range and is available for £1,499.99. This model is selling fast so make sure you get yours now before it’s too late!

But what does electronic shifting give you in comparison to regular mechanical shifting? We've compiled a list of the top five reasons to move to an electronic groupset - such as the Shimano Di2.

1. Better Efficiency

Electronic gears use internal cables and electric signals that delivers a precise movement every time. Whether you're mashing up a steep hill and want to change to a smaller gear or if you're in a flat out sprint with your club riders. Gone are the days of skipping gears and fiddling with the indexing after cable wear - once electronic shifting is installed it's there for good.

2. Less Wear and Tear

Although you will still need to maintain and replace the cassette and chain/chainrings every now and then, there is a lot less to worry about in terms of cable damage and wear. The batteries in a system like Di2 last for ages - one charge a month for a regular rider is more than enough - and will rarely need replacing over a system's lifetime.

3. Virtually No Weight Penalty

The technology is so good that most electronic systems will only add around 50g to the bike - and that's including the battery which is the heaviest part. If you are concerned about that 50g and the miniscule effects it might have, consider the added benefit a better efficiency is giving you, which more than offsets 50g!

4. Easy to Make the Change

Most modern bikes are ready to take a switch to electronic shifting with only a small parts exchange. Namely new derailleurs and replacing the cables with wiring. Older bikes may have to go through more to make the change to electronic gears which may make it easier - and less costly - to buy a new bike. If you have an older bike but want to move to Di2, view our range of Di2 bikes.

5. Bragging Rights

Lets face it, turning up on your regular ride with the club or your riding pals with a new groupset is always exciting. Imagine if you were the first one to upgrade to Di2, the admiring looks alone would be worth the cost of upgrading. The smooth, flawless shifting would allow you to leave the others in the dust as they struggle with their mechanical shifting on the climbs and as you breeze past them on the flats.

The Scott Solace is designed to provide a comfortable ride for long distances, without sacrificing and of the handling or power transfer benefits that you will get with the Addict or the FOIL. 

Whilst the Addict and FOIL are used in the professional peloton - with teams like Orica-GreenEdge and IAM Cycling having FOILs in their armouries - the Scott Solace is a much more laid back model that is appealing to the club rider or cyclist who wants to go a little above entry level.

To make it suitable for endurance, Scott have given the Solace's frame a geometry fitting to the endurance rider to allow for many hours in the saddle with a comfortable riding position. To achieve this, they have attached the seatstays to the top tube directly instead of fixing them to the seattube, as well as forgoing the bridge between seatstays that is often used to hosue the rear brake caliper.  They have also used a unique carbon layup at the front of the machine to ensure the fork dampens the effects of the road vibration, whilst remaining rigid enough to keep the steering sharp and resist braking forces. 

To get the most out of the power transfer, the Scott Solace has a quirks in the frame design. Most notably is the oversized downtube which is designed to counter the torsional forces of a rider - such as when riding hard out of the saddle - this provides a more rigid frame structure and prevents loss of power. This also applies to the large bottom bracket area, where more rigid framework is used to stop the frame flexing as much which results in reduced power transfer. 

The Scott Solace is an excellent bike and one which cause plenty of ooo's and ahh's when you turn up to the club run on Sundays. At Cycle Division, we currently have the Scott Solace 10 2015 on offer for the incredible price of £1,999.00. Check out this Scott Solace to reserve yours before they all go!

It’s the same old series of excuses, Christmas = lots of food and drink, cold nights = warm food, cold days = warm food, basically cold = warm food for me… so where I love to eat salad through the summer the thought of cold lettuce, tomato, cucumber etc from November to April is not in any way appealing.

So what gets in the way? What really prevents me from riding in the winter? I’ve boiled this down to one thing and one thing only… SLEEP.

Let’s look at the facts… To cycle to work I need to set the alarm for 6am. I need to have already prepared my winter cycling gear; a waterproof/warm/top-to-toe lycra based outfit. Here’s some of the winter cycle clothing I wear:

RST Premium Heavy Weight Rain Jacket

RST Premium Line Bib Tights 

RST Premium Line Winter Gloves

RST Premium Line Skull Cap

I need to have shaved and I need to have the bike ready with the lights, like these Smart lunar lightset and Garmin charged. I need to be sure I’ve got my work bag packed and ready, I use the RST Rucksack cover to make sure my belongings and warm change of clothes stay dry by the time I get to work! I then need to change into the above lycra, brush my teeth and open the garage without waking anybody else in the house.

Easy right? Not so…

Without an early-ish night with good quality sleep the 6am alarm is not enough motivation to get me out of bed. Without a clear head in the morning items of lycra are missing, work items are forgotten and teeth sometimes not brushed (don’t worry work colleagues, I have all I need at the office).

So for me it’s ‘Early to bed, early to rise makes a person Healthy, Wealthy and Wise’ – well 1 out of 3 is a start….

Here are our top tips for riding safe:

1. Thoroughly check the bike beforehand

This should really go without saying, but checking your bike over beforehand will be the best way to ensure you don't have any nasty surprises whilst on the trails - the last thing you need is a chain break or your brakes failing whilst flying down your favourite track.

2. Clean the bike after every ride - IMMEDIATELY

In winter there's a lot more grime and rubbish around on the trails which is usually a result of rain and other elements washing or blowing debris across it. As with most mountain bike rides you will get filthy and in summer when it's light and warm out it's easy to hose down the bike. In winter though it can be hard to stay motivated to clean the bike after every ride which can lead to a build up of filth and bad things that can really reduce the life of your components and easily lead to a failure on a ride.

3. Lights, Lights, Lights

Unless you venture out during the day between 10am and 2pm, you will need some lights on your bike. Mountain biking in the twilight or the dark can be just as thrilling as any other time, but more safety is required. The more lights you have on the bike the better - front lights with a high lumens count will allow you to see where you're going better and a strong rear light will stop your pals from running into the back of you if you have to stop suddenly. Lights are also vital for if you have to ride on a public highway to get to your trail.

4. Check the weather conditions

We know, this isn't usually something that puts mountain bikers off - some even prefer the wet conditions, more of a challenge you see. But in winter you can't take any chances with snow and ice. Even your favourite trail could have a perilous layer of ice on it that can see you come a cropper if you miss it. Better safe than sorry - you don't want to spend Christmas in a cast.

5. Dress for the weather

Even if you wear armoured clothes as standard when mountain biking, your favourite shorts and fingerless gloves aren't appropriate for winter conditions. Dressing appropriately will not only keep some of the mud off of your skin but it will keep your extremities warm - essential for manouvering around corners and handling the brakes. 

Like all forms of cycling, mountain biking in winter is best done with an older bike. Using your brand new, shiny carbon fibre mountain bike can only end up in disaster - be it broken components or broken bones. 

Follow these tips or leave your suggestions for other tips below to enjoy a safe ride on your mountain bike this winter.

The best way to keep your motivation high and to make winter cycling as bearable and enjoyable as possible is to have the correct bike and the right clothing. At Cycledivision we have the superb RST clothing range with something for all weather conditions, starting at the legs we’d go for super value RST premium line winter tights at £34.99 these will see you through the very worst of the winter weather, these are quite possibly the best value cycling bib tights available today.

Under them you need some comfy shorts, layers are all important when the temperature drops below zero.

Our best-selling cycling shorts are the RST Premium line bib shorts these work great with our tights and when the weather improves they’re ideal as a stand-alone item.

If you’re a commuter and the bicycle is your only mode of transports then it’s essential you’re protected, visible, warm and dry. The RST Heavyweight rain jacket is all you’ll need. It’s the best commuting jacket in our range and it really is a great value cycling jacket.

Under the jacket a longs sleeved cycling jersey is ideal, the RST Premium line long sleeved jersey is ideal, it’s a versatile garment that can be used as a base layer or spring/autumn jersey when things are a bit warmer.

The RST range is comprehensive and great value, we currently have a great selection of winter bundles with huge savings. These are ideal Christmas presents for any cyclists >>>.

If you want to ensure you get out as much as possible through the winter months then you need the right clothing, RST is the way to go. 

Even if you don't commute or only ride occasionally, these few simple tips will help keep your machine running smoothly and avoid the breakdown of any cycle components. 

1. Lube up

Ensuring your chain has an adequate amount of lubrication is essential for going out in the cold, but there are other parts of the bike that could do with some help too. The cold makes it more likely for moving parts to sieze up, so simply applying something like petroleum jelly to the mechanical parts can make a big difference. The springs of the derailleur are a perfect example, along with the springs inside your clipless pedals if they are open as many mountain bike pedals are.

2. Clean you chain often

If you go out in the Winter months regularly then you need to make sure your chain is attended to often. The increase in road debris and wet weather combine to make a rough road paste that will cover your chain and slowly grind down the cycling components if you don't clean it often enough. For the sake of 15 minutes every four or five rides, it's well worth it.

3. Mudguards.

Mudguards are essential gear if you are part of a cycling club as nobody wants to ride behind someone without them and get covered in spray for four hours. Many road bikes come with eyelets for mudguards but if not then there are plenty of clip-on options available. Not only will this help keep your friends dry but it will help keep your backside dry and also keep a lot of road spray off of your chain and crankset - which will prolongue their lifetime if you ride often.

4. Clean your bike

Nothing looks worse than a bike that's covered in weeks of road grime, rain smears and sweat drops (or tear stains depending on how hard you push yourself). Cleaning your bike often will help keep it free of corrosive elements that can affect the paintwork and keep rust at bay. You don't need to strip off the components and bar tape, just spend 5 minutes after each ride hosing the bike down and cleaning off the muck. It's better to spend 5 minutes per ride doing it than waste an afternoon scrubbing the frame to remove old, stubborn grime.

5. Be prepared

If you ride often in Winter, you will puncture eventually. You may even puncture twice, so being prepared for this eventuality is paramount to safe riding and avoiding being stuck on a moor miles from home with no signal and no tubes. Take a couple of extra inner tubes out with you, along with a chain breaker and spare link or two, and make sure you have a pump as well as a CO2 canister if that's what you regularly use. The added weight will be no detriment to your training in the Winter months and the preparation could actually save your life.

You can find a range of cleaning accessories and products in our maintencance section, or check our our range of Cannondale road bikes to find an ideal Winter bike to keep your carbon fibre bike safe from the elements. 

Although nobody will be setting any personal bests in winter – even on a fancy new carbon road bike – you still need to get the base miles in so you can maintain some fitness for summer. Here are our five most important pieces of winter road cycling clothing.

1. Gloves

Gloves are vital for cycling in wintery conditions, because they keep your hands warm and protected from the weather. The warmer your hands are, the more dexterous they are, meaning that you can change gear better and feel the brakes better.

A decent pair of gloves is a solid investment if you intend to go out on the bike in winter, as cold fingers on the bike are extremely uncomfortable and numb fingers are downright dangerous.

2. Overshoes

Even the best winter road cycling shoes become almost useless when they get soaked, so a decent pair of overshoes is a sound purchase for your winter rides.

The majority of overshoes available fit over all kinds of road cycling shoes, and they can be essential for those rides where it’s pouring it down and you still have miles left to get home. They will keep your feet dry – important for keeping them healthy and working well – and will also protect your shiny road cycle shoes from getting dirty.

3. Jacket

Nobody is foolish enough to go out on rides in winter without a jacket. Even though some cyclists ride hot and often end up taking the jacket off once they are warmed up, it would be folly to set off on a ride without one.

Many of them are windproof or even hydrophobic, so they will shrug off a slight shower and protect you from the cold wind. The wind can often be the worst part about winter riding, with arctic blasts cutting through you and chilling your body if you don’t have adequate protection.

4. Base Layer

Whether you ride hot and go out with a thin jacket and jersey, or layer up for your winter rides, a good base layer is a great purchase to help you retain body heat.

Most of them are moisture wicking to allow your skin to breathe whilst also keeping in your body heat to protect you against the elements. They are light and generally thin unless you go for thermal options, so they can be warm under a jersey easily to keep you warm on the club run or on individual rides.

5. Skull Cap / Headband

There are a variety of headwear products for cyclists out there, all of them designed to prevent your head from losing too much heat.

The ears are usually the first thing to go and with modern helmets having many vents the wind and rain can really affect your temperature unless you wrap up your head. These range from bands that go around your forehead to cover your ears to full skull caps that will give your head total protection.

All of them are wearable under your helmet, so you don’t’ have to compromise on the safety of your attire for the sake of comfort.

The 2016 Caad8 Cannondale road bikes have kept much of their specifications from the 2015 version, which won plenty of accliam for it's performance on the road. The Caad8 features innovative ideas from Cannondale such as their asymetrical chainstays which load the drivetrain side with more weight whilst shaving it off the non-drive side. This allows for more lateral stiffness and makes it a great bike for dropping your mates on the club run. Cannondale have also included their externally machined headtube which saves a significant amount of weight by removing excess material from the low stress points of the tube, allowing it to be one of the lightest bikes at this price point.

The 2016 Caad8 also features Cannondale's heads up technology although in a slightly more relaxed way than other out and out racing bikes like the Caad12 or Caad10 frame. The 2016 Caad8 has a slightly higher head set which makes it a bit more suitable to riders who may not be as into their racing but still want to keep that competitive edge. 

Cannondale have kept the Shimano 105 groupset on many of their models including the Caad8 and Caad12 105, although they have persisted with FSA's cranksets for them. The 2016 Caad8 has upgraded from the FSA Velo to the FSA Gossamer although this is one of the only distinguishing features when comparing it to the 2015 Caad8.

The 2016 Synapse Cannondale road bikes have also kept very similar features to their 2015 versions and continue to be one of the most versatile road bikes available on the market. 

The Synapse range is arguably Cannondale's greatest success, with an endurance frame that is equally at home on the race track and on those long sportives. For the 2016 Synapse range Cannondale have added more options, starting at just £599 for the Claris 8 and going up to £5,999 for the full carbon, disc brake-equipped bells and whistles version.

The 2016 Synapse has many models that feature Cannondale's patented BB30 bottom bracket system, which gives the bike extra stability and has led to Cannondale having the best reputation for stiffness on the market. Many models in the 2016 Synapse range also include disc brakes, although the Synapse frame is so versatile that they make an ideal blank canvas to build your own bike with. 

Browse all of our 2016 Cannondale road bikes at Cycle Division and treat yourself today.

Although the jersey is the only thins won by the riders, it is quite popular for World Champions to have custom made road bike shoes with rainbow stripes, some even colour their cycling components in the rainbow stripes such as carbon wheels or even their bike frames.

There are several events in the World Championships which usually last a week, all hosted in the nominated city on variants of the same course.

The most anticipated of the World Championship events are the Elite Mens and Elite Womens road race and individual time trial events. As well as these four premium races, there is also a time trial and a road race event for Junior Women, Junior Men and Under 23 Men. These races are good indicators for potential future stars and are often attended by scouts for trade teams.

There is also a Team Time Trial for Men and Women which is competed in trade teams and will allow the winning team to wear rainbow stripes in Team Time Trial events throughout the cycling calendar.

The World Championships are the only event in the cycling calendar where the riders compete for their Country instead of their trade team, making allegiances complicated and changing the format of the race somewhat.

The Worlds have often been marred with controversy, such as in the Worlds in Madrid in 2005 where Charly Wegelius and Tom Southam took money to work for their trade team leaders instead of their National team’s leaders, because they stood to gain more financially and increase their position in their trade teams.

Each Nation has a predetermined number of riders that are able to compete in the Worlds. This number is decided by the number of ranking points that have been accumulated by riders from that Nationality throughout the cycling season. This is to give each Nation a fair representation of the quality of riders in the race, with the maximum number of riders per team being nine.

The UCI creates a circuit in their chosen city which is then used for all of the races in the World Championships. This always involved multiple laps of a course around 20km long, to the Elite Men may complete the circuit 8-10 times for their road race, with the Elite Women and Under 23 Men completing the same course 6-8 times and so on.

This is to make the World Championships logistically simpler to organise than to create a unique course for each category of race, it also makes the races a level playing field as all riders will be competing on the same roads. 

After this you have sportive bikes, endurance bikes, aero bikes, winter bikes, cross or gravel bikes. Unlikely as it seems they’re all basically road bikes with a slight twist.

When all this is done you still have to take in to account gear ratios, specification options and of course you’ll have to pick a bike you like the look of and a brand that you’re familiar with or at the very least a brand that in your mind represents quality.

The good news is you can still get an excellent starter road bike for just over the £500 mark, at this price your bike should be capable and robust, as the price of the bike increases the strength doesn’t necessarily follow suit, an entry level road bike is usually made of tough stuff and should be equally as strong as a far pricier option.

The one area where you will lose out is weight, an entry level bike will weigh 19lbs to 23lbs and this will hamper you slightly on the hills.

If you’re riding primarily on flatter roads as long as your bike is well maintained and the bearings spin smoothly you’ll genuinely be at no disadvantage over far lighter and more expensive bikes.

At Cycledivision we stock Scott and Cannondale bikes and they both offer an extensive range of road bikes between £500 and £1000.

One of the best selling bikes for us last year was the Cannondale Synapse Disc 105, the price and spec are unchanged from the previous year but Cannondale have up the style points with a new “Ultra Blue” colour scheme.

This bike sold well as it sports the 11 speed 105 groupset that shares similar aesthetics and changing characteristics to the far more expensive Ultegra and Dura Ace groupsets.

The frame geometry of the Synapse is all about efficiency and comfort, yes it’s a race bike but the full Synapse range from £599.99 up to £5999.99 is built to ensure maximum comfort and speed at all times.

Another plus on this bike is the cable actuated disc brake system, this style of brake is relatively new to road bikes but it seems to be taking a strong foot hold in the market, discs give you more power and greater modulation than standard road calipers, when riding on wet roads disc brakes have a huge advantage over the standard calipers. There’s no doubt the Synapse 105 at £999 is a good value bike with solid well thought out components in all areas.

The bike has an 11/32 cassette with a 52/36 chainset, this gear ratio should be enough to get cyclists of any level up even the steepest hills whilst also allowing you to keep pedaling on fast downhill runs.

Cannondale Synapse Disc 105

The Synapse aluminium range is mirrored by the Caad 8 bikes, these have the same specification as the Synapse bikes (minus the disk brakes) but they have a slightly more aggressive riding position with a lower front end, if you wanted an aggressive bike where speed was your primary concern then you be more suited to the Caad 8 range.

With four bikes from £599.99 to £949.99 the Caad 8 series have a bike to suit all budgets, the full range shares the same quality aluminium frame and light weight carbon fork, as the price increases you progress up the groupset range and the top two bikes come equipped with a slightly lighter wheel set.

Cannondale CAAD 8

Scott and Cannondale are both excellent brands that should be high on anybody’s list when looking at your first road bike.

Scott’s entry level bike is the speedster.

The Speedster has a nice medium geometry to it, it’s not a super aggressive race bike or a full comfort machine it’s a bike the ticks both boxes.

For 2016 Scott have included disc brakes in to the Speedster line up and the Speedster 30 disc is a stand out bike to us. It comes with a Tiagra groupset including chainset which really looks the part.

The 10 speed Tiagra groupset is virtually identical to the old 10 speed 105 groupset, a groupset that was commonplace on bikes up to £2000.

With a finishing kit by Syncros and a stunning paint scheme the Speedster 30 disc at £899 is a beautiful bike that should be considered by anyone.

Scott Speedster 30 

Scott have also added flat bar options to the speedster range which can be a huge plus to those unsure about road handlebars, the flat bars certainly ad a level of stability and put the rider in a far more relaxed heads up position, ideal if you’re commuting through busy city streets or have postural issues.

The Scott Speedster 10 at £1049 may stretch the budget but for a bike that comes with Ultegra 11 speed rear derailleur and shifters we think this one bike that’s definitely worth a look!

Scott Speedster 10

At £549.99 the flat bar Speedster 50 is a fantastic choice as a comfort based entry level/fast commuter bike.

Scott Speedster 50

The 11/30 cassette and triple chainset offer a huge gear range ensuring even the very steepest hills shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge.

The Sora groupset is dependable and efficient, it’s common place on bikes at this price for a reason; it works.

The alloy frame and fork along with the Syncros finishing kit combine to make this £549 bike an extremely sensible option.

There’s no doubt whatever your budget Scott and Cannondale will have a bike in their range to suit you.

Click here to view the full range of Scott Bikes and the full range of Cannondale Bikes

First held in 1935 but prevented from running for many of its early years due to the Spanish Civil War the World War Two, the race has been run every year since 1955.

In the same way as the other two Grand Tours the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, the Vuelta was inspired by the editors of a newspaper – Informaciones – to boost circulation.

Its first installment was 3,411km long and lasted for 14 stages around the country, finishing in the capital Madrid where the race has finished on every installment since. The first victor was Belgian Gustaaf Deloor, who also won the races second edition in 1936. The 1936 edition remains the longest in the races history, with his winning time being 150 hours 7 minutes and 54 seconds to cover a massive 4,407km.

Early editions of the race were held in the first part of the year, usually in April, but in 1995 the race moved to the latter part of the year to avoid conflict with the Giro d’Italia which was more popular at the time. The Vuelta is the hottest Grand Tour which makes it incredibly difficult, with even the thinnest road cycling clothes often cited as being too much with riders wishing they could ride in less to stay cool.

Since it’s move to later in the year it has become valuable training ground for the UCI World Championships which are held in October as riders can test their form racing the Grand Tour before they compete in the Worlds, although many of them drop out after a few stages to recover in time.

The leader of the General Classification in the Vuelta has worn many colours of road cycling tops, with the original being orange. It has since been orange on a few occasions, white, white with a red horizontal stripe and yellow. More recently is has been a deep yellow, or Gold, colour and was referred to as the Jersey de Oro, but since 2010 it has been red.

The Vuelta’s Points classification works in the same way as the other Grand Tours with points being awarded on the finishing line and at the intermediate sprints to tempt the sprinters to take part in the race. For a long time the leader of this competition wore a blue jersey that had yellow fish on it in a nod to Spain’s maritime and fishing industry although in recent years this has been changed to a green jersey similar to the Tour de France.

Also similar to the Tour de France jersey, the Mountains classification leader wears a polka dot jersey. This one though features dots that are much larger and are blue on a white background instead of red. The points in the Mountains are awarded according to the height of the summit and classification of the mountain with points being awarded to riders in order of crossing the summit.

The Vuelta is unique for offering a classification for the best rider across all three competitions, called the combination competition. This rider is usually a General Classification rider as they collect mountain points and finish points as a matter of cause whilst trying to win the General Classification. The leader in this competition wears a white jersey, although they are often trying to win one of the other classifications so this is often viewed as a consolation prize.

This isn’t a serious bike, it’s a bike you ride when you want to escape, that could be every day or every six months. This is a road bike you keep for years.

The versatility of the Slate is apparent, you really can go pretty much anywhere on it, the slick tyres won’t give you much grip in wet mud but you’ll get around, likewise the extra weight eliminates the possibility of super-fast Froome-esque road ascents but you’ll get there and it’s sure to be faster than a mountain bike.

Taking everything in to account the New Cannonsdale 2016 Slate bikes isn’t a slow bike, far from it. It’s just not built with pure speed in mind.

The Slate seems to have sprung from the fast rising gravel riding scene in the US and would be most at home in the adventure series here in the UK.

Whether people will spend their hard earned money on a dedicated fun-gravel bike remains to be seen, most serious cyclists these days have a fleet of bikes and we expect people will find room for one of these insane machines.

Taking all things in to account I will be purchasing one, I’m one of them guys just hitting 40, bored of racing, tired of the self-imposed pressure of training and keeping fit. I’m looking for a bike to ride for fun, on and off road. For somebody like me the Slate is perfect.

Truly a great top of the range road bike for an enthusiastic cyclist! 

From Ben
 

Cycle Division offer a great range of men's road bikes and women's bikes too. Get in touch with us to find out more about the Guru Bike Fit service we offer. Check out our online cycle shop and grab a bargain in the SALE where you can buy cheap cycle clothing and even cheap road bikes! 

Scott Bikes.

For 2016 Scott’s most exciting road bike is the new Foil, the old Foil was a great bike that ticked all the boxes, incredibly aero and light, the only weak point was the very rare complaint of a slightly harsh ride. Over the last few years aero bikes have become even more extreme, trickle down technology from time-trial and triathlon bikes has led to hidden brakes, integrated stems and deep section carbon wheels.

The new foil is far more extreme to look at than the old but we think they’ve got it right, it’s one of the best looking bikes to be released next year.

The foil is now stiffer, comfier and substantially more aero than its predecessor.

The colour schemes are a huge improvement and are sure to keep the masses happy, a stealthy base with bold flouro graphics is bang up to date.
 

Scott have now added a disc brake version of their awe inspiring featherweight the Addict, this has the same superb performance as before with the added bonus of predictable and powerful braking in all conditions.

Discs aren’t currently legal in road races but they’re soon to be reviewed, once they’re been given the green light we should see a flood of high performance disc machines.

2016 sees the introduction of a new cyclocross range and the unusual Addict gravel bike, the gravel bike is inspired by the US gravel racing scene, with a lower BB and longer wheel base than a CX bike these beauties are perfect for ripping up long gravel trails.

The CX bikes start with the range topping HMX Addict CX 10 disc, this bad boy comes complete with the SRAM CX1 single ring groupset. With a similar colour way to the Foil we’re sure this bike will be a big hit and we expect them to be at the sharp end of races all around the UK.

For our full range of current scott road bikes click here

  Cannondale Bikes

The boffins at Cannondale have had a very busy year, they’ve managed to better the seemingly unbeatable Caad 10, they’ve skipped the 11 and have gone straight to the Caad 12.

Lighter, comfier and stiffer and with a huge range encompassing SRAM, Shimano disc and caliper brakes Cannondale have shown that aluminium is alive and well with the Caad 12.

The range topping Dura Ace disc version is an eye catching bright yellow colour and weighs around 7kg, with a 25.4 seatpost ride comfort is enhanced, the new for 2016 hollowgram cranks provide a fantastic platform to get the power down. Unusually the disc version actually trumps the standard version in the weight department, we’re expecting quite a few of these bikes to fly out the door this year, with prices increasing from all brands the bang per buck delivered by the Caad 12 will this a smart choice.

The craziest bike next year has to be the Cannondale Slate, another dedicated Gravel Bike.

When it comes to innovation Cannondale are unbeatable and the Slate follows in the footesteps of the Hooligan, the Lefty and the Headshock.

An aluminium frame based on the Synapse, 650b wheels with 42mm tyres (giving the same circumference as 700c with 23mm tyres) a 30mm lefty front fork. This bike is a do it all machine with an aim directly on fast gravel trails, there are three different versions for the US market and they aren’t cheap, innovation comes at a cost. SRAM force, Ultegra and 105 with Cannondale’s own brand finishing kit.

The final new bike is the Supersix Evo that has improved in all areas of performance without any drastic cosmetic changes.

The Evo has been an award winner for the best road bike for the last few years and going forward we expect it to continue this trend, a subtle changing of the bottle positions give significant aero benefits.

The weight of the complete frameset is now down to 1303g which puts in the true weightweenie category.

The tubes now have a slight aero shape, it’s not hugely visible but in the world of marginal gains it all counts.

Comfort has been increased using a similar carbon layup to the synapse, the seatpost has been whittled down to 25.4mm and the new speed save fork gives 21% more compliance up front.
 

For the full range of current cannondale road bikes click here

Looking for a cheap road bike? Then see whats available in the Road Bike Sale!

If you have any furhter questions or want any advice on buying a new road bike then speak to one of the Cycle Division team! We have a great range of road bikes that suits every budget in our online cycle shop too!  

One of the best entry level road bikes at just over £1000 would be the highly regarded Cannondale CAAD 10, the entry level version has the world’s best aluminum frame that weighs in at 1120g and boasts a ride quality better than many carbon road bikes. The full build comes complete with the 11 speed Shimano 105 groupset, Cannondale C3 aluminum finishing kit and the bombproof and reliable Shimano RS11 wheels.

At £1299 this bike is a great choice, the iconic frame alone retails at £699.99 and even at that price we think it is something of a bargain!

You might be thinking that £1299 is a bit pricey for your first bike.  We would say a good road bike needs to have at least Shimano 105, SRAM Apex level gearing and reputable frame that’s proven to be reliable and deliver real performance. See what options are available for the best road bikes under £1000… 

There are lots of entry level road bikes from £500 to £1000 that are a perfect choice for recreational cyclists, the £999 Scott Speedster 10 comes equipped with Shimano Ultegra 11 speed shifters and rear derailleur, a nicely finished aluminum frame and a robust set of wheels with formula hubs and Syncros aero rims.

Another option is the Scott Speedster 20 (CD22) which is priced at £899.99. This Road bike features shape optimized double butted Alloy tubing and a race proven geometry that provides an aerodynamic advantage and outstanding performance. With the addition of an Aero Carbon fork, the Speedster 20 boasts F01 racing characteristics at a fraction of the cost.

A Road bike that’s a little more versatile and has a more relaxed riding position is the £999 Cannondale Synapse Disc 5 could be the ideal bike. The Cannondale aluminum frame has clearance for 32mm tyres and comes complete with all purpose disc brakes and the well proven 11 speed 105 groupset. A compact chainset and 11-32 cassette make this bike a capable machine on any road and it wouldn’t be adverse to the occasional voyage down bridleways and canal paths.

Another important factor to consider when buying a road bike are wheels. You need to know what the best road bike wheels are for you and your bike, but with a large amount available and in a variety of prices this can be confusing. Buying a better set of wheels can make all the difference. Whether you’re looking for road bikes wheels under £500 or even under 1K, Cycle Division has a great selection to make buying cycle wheels easy.

The Cero AR30 Alloy Clincher Wheelset is priced at £379.99 and after numerous hours of testing with various combinations, our CERO AR30 clincher wheelset are here, these are a super lightweight wheelset based around our CERO 20/24h hubs featuring Sapim CX-Ray spokes and a 30mm rim, built 2x at the rear and radial upfront this is one fast wheelset at a super competitive price point for such a light/stiff responsive set.

If your pounds can stretch a bit further than we recommend the Cero RC45 Carbon Clincher wheelset at £799.99. The RC45 benefits from a wider 26mm Torordial rim to improve the aerodynamics and the stiffness of the wheel. The real showstopper is the improved braking performance and heat tolerance capability of the wheel thanks to some innovative technology in the rim track that helps manage and dissipate the heat generated from braking.

Cycle Division are pleased to offer our road bikes on finance, so you can spread the cost over a period of time that suits you.

And finally and possible the most important factor when buying a road bike is the fit. You need to make sure that you have the correct size bike for you. You can take a look at the bike size charts from Scott and Cannondale and Trigon but why not get a faultless fit with the Guru Bike Fit. Cycle Division are 1 of 10 Retailers that house the Bike Fit. Guru Dynamic Bike Fit is the worlds most advanced fit-bike, providing an infinite range of motion and real-time adjustment to create the perfect ride for you.

If you have any other queries about getting into cycling then please come down and see us or just give us a call! We’re happy to help! :)

Written by Gemma 

L’Auto was established in 1900 as a rival to France’s most popular sports paper at the time, Le Velo. L’Auto was struggling to make up ground on its rival and the editors came up with an idea for a six day stage race across France, the scale of which had never been seen before.

The first Tour de France was in 1903 and included the cities of Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes before finally returning to Paris. The stages were extremely long, beginning in the afternoon and racing through the night to the stage finish, wherein the riders would have one rest day afterwards to recover.

This was before the days of professional cycling and carbon road bikes, and entrants including amateurs, club cyclists and even curious riders as the entry fee was only small and the prizes big. The first winner was chimney sweep Maurice Garin, who also won the second edition but was later disqualified for cheating.

For the first 19 years the winner of the Tour de France was awarded a yellow armband to signify their victory, this was because L’Auto was printed on yellow paper and it was their race after all. In 1919 the yellow armband was replaced with a yellow jersey which was presented after every stage and has since become synonymous with the Tour de France and General Classification success.

The General Classification is the most prestigious of all Tour de France competitions and is the aggregate lowest time a rider rides the entire Tour in, with the margin often coming down to seconds between positions.

The Mountains classification is the second oldest competition within the Tour and is awarded on a points based system to the rider who accumulates the most mountain points. Every categorized climb in the Tour has points awarded for positions on the line, with first over the summit being the highest number of points. These are then collated over the entire Tour with the leader getting to wear the polka dot jersey for each stage they are leading the competition.

No jersey was awarded to the leader of this competition until 1975 when the idea for a polka dot jersey was put forward, which has been worn since. This is a specialist competition and riders often come with super light carbon road bike frames to save weight on the climbs.

The Points classification was added to the race in 1953 in a bid to entice sprinters to come to the Tour. Previously sprinters had stayed on the track or on the classics races where the prizes were better, not being able to compete adequately in the Mountains competition or the General Classification.

Every stage has a number of points awarded for finishing positions on the line, along with intermediate sprints on the flat parts of each stage also having points attached to them. The leader of the Points classification wears a green jersey, as a nod to the first sponsor who were a lawnmower manufacturer. 

Cycle Division would like to recommend a few stand out machines from our fantastic range.

Whether you’re an experienced cyclist looking for an endurance bike, something great for climbing that offers superb comfort, or you’re looking at buying your first entry level bike, a superb value high performance machine without the price tag.

Some questions you’re probably asking are:

What’s the best road bike I can get for under £1000?

What is the most popular road bike?

What is the CycleScheme?

If you’re looking to find a great bike but don’t want to spend a small fortune then we’d recommend looking at Scott Speedster range. These bikes are available from £400 to the magic £1000 mark, they’re ideal for people new to cycling and are often used as winter bikes by more experienced cyclists.  The price range makes the Speedster perfect for anyone using the Cyclescheme.

If you’re thinking of saving some pennies and losing the pounds then why not join the cycle scheme.

You could be saving a minimum of 25% on the price of a bike! Your employer needs to be signed up for you to be able to join!

But swapping the car for a cycle means it’s better for you and the environment! For more information click here

One of the most popular road bikes available at Cycle Division is the Cannondale CAAD. The CAAD frame has been described as legendary, fast and aggressive along with great value! Prices range from £650 to £1799. This range of popular road bikes and frames is available online and in store now!

To see the range of Cannondale CAAD bikes click here 

If you’re looking a top level endurance bike with a sporty edge then take a look at the Cannondale Synapse Ultegra Disc 2015. Coming in at just under £2500, it’s an incredibly comfortable bike that’s ideal for long days in the saddle, the wide ratio of gears makes this bike ideal for hilly sportives or challenging mountain climbs. There’s a good reason the Synapse Ultegra Disc was named Cycling Plus Sportive bike of the year.

For the full spec of this Cannondale road bike click here 

Maybe you’re looking to purchase your dream super bike?? If you want to ride like a pro you’re going to need a super light carbon, top of the range bicycle. The range of Scott Addict bikes are built for speed, great performance and put every ounce of your power down on the tarmac when its sprint time.  

The Addict 15 Di2 2015 is ready to race and comes in just under £2700, at 7.4kg this feathery speed machine is the choice our RST race team. 

Whatever you’re looking for this summer you can buy your road bike from Cycle Division through our online bike store or our new and fast expanding shop!

Why not come down and visit us, our experienced team will make sure you’re on the right size bike that’s fit for the job.

Cycledivision uses the incredible GURU bike fit system, if a bike is purchased over £2000 we’ll throw the hour long fit session in for free.

You won’t need a bike size chart anymore! Using the most up to date technology can get the precise bike size and find the perfect bike too! For more information on the Guru Bike fit click here 

The mass of Scott, Pinarello and Cannondale road bikes that feature so heavily in these races will wind its way down to the Giro’s most Southerly stage -  Stage 9 from Benevento to San Giorgio del Sannio – before it climbs back up the East coast of Italy before crossing the Italian Alps and Dolomites then finishing in Milan on 31^st May.

The race includes two time trials, one team time trial on Stage 1 that is 17.6km on flat terrain and one individual time trial on Stage 14. The ITT is key because it is 59.2km long over undulating terrain: as it is also in the final week it is likely to shake up the General Classification for extra excitement. With all the latest road bike technology such as carbon and weight-saving measures, a light carbon bike frame and road cycling gear can make any rider competitive in these long time trials.

As well as the time trial stages there are seven flat stages with only two in the final week. Flat stages can be undulating and aren’t always pan flat, especially in terrain like the Alps. These stages tend to be viewed as transition stages or even recovery stages by the GC riders as they try and keep as much energy as possible for the mountain stages where the race will be won. The flat stages are hotly contested by sprinters such as Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel, if they are taking part, to try and win the red points jersey.

Of the 21 stages at the Giro, 12 are classed as mountain stages with seven of those classed as ‘medium mountains’, meaning they don’t feature category 1 or HC climbs, but often feature several smaller climbs which can make them just as difficult. The race features five summit finishes that are always the cause of fireworks in the General Classification and will be where many of the pivotal battles take place.

The summit finishes include iconic Giro climbs such as the Sestriere and the Madonna Di Campiglio, with the Cima Coppi award for the highest point in the race being placed atop the 18.4km climb of the Colle Delle Finestre which rises 2178m above sea level and sits near the French border.

The main General Classification riders to look out for are Alberto Contador, who is aiming to win a Giro/Tour de France double in 2015 after winning the Vuelta a Espana in 2014. Contador won the Giro d’Italia in 2008, his only Giro win after his win in 2011 was struck off after he was found to have doped.

Defending Giro champion Nairo Quintana and Movistar team mate Alejandro Valverde have yet to announce whether they are riding the Giro, although both have confirmed they will be riding the Tour de France.

Giro d’Italia 2015 Route

Sat 9/5 Stage 1 - San Lorenzo Al Mare > San Remo (Team Time Trial) 17.6km
Sun 10/5 Stage 2 - Albenga > Genoa 173km
Mon 11/5 Stage 3 - Rapallo >Sestri Levante 136km
Tue 12/5 Stage 4 - Chivari > La Spezia 150km
Wed 13/5 Stage 5 - La Spezia > Abetone Summit Finish152km
Thur 14/5 Stage 6 - Montecatini Terme > Castiglione Della Pescaia 181km
Fri 15/5 Stage 7 - Grosetto > Fiuggi 263km
Sat 16/5 Stage 8 - Fiuggi > Campitello Matese Mountain Finish188km
Sun 17/5 Stage 9 - Benevento > San Giorgio Del Sannio 212km
Mon 18/5 Rest Day
Tue 19/5 Stage 10 - Civitanova Marche > Forli 195km
Wed 20/5 Stage 11 - Forli ->Imola (Ferrari race track) 147km
Thur 21/5 Stage 12 - Imola > Vicenza (Monte Berico) Summit Finish 190km
Fri 22/5 Stage 13 - Montecchio Maggiore > Jesolo 153km
Sat 23/5 Stage 14 - Treviso > Valdobbiadene (Individual Time Trial) 59.2km
Sun 24/5 Stage 15 - Marostica > Madonna Di Campiglio Mountain Summit Finish165km
Mon 25/5 Rest Day
Tue 26/5 Stage 16 - Pinzolo > Aprica Mountain Summit Finish 175km
Wed 27/5 Stage 17 - Tirano > Lugano 136km
Thur 28/5 Stage 18 - Melide > Verbania 172km
Fri 29/5 Stage 19 - Gravellona Toce > Cervinia Mountain Summit Finish 236km
Sat 30/5 Stage 20 - Saint-Vincent > Sestriere Mountain Summit Finish 196km
Sun 31/5 Stage 21 - Turin > Milan 185km 

There’s no question that road bikes look cool, they are cool They’re fast light and more fun than a squirrel on crack but there’s one thing that makes a road bike even faster, sexier and more fun. Handlebar streamers! But if you can’t afford £6 for them then we have a second option.

The title of this blog gives you a good clue but if you’re a little slow on the uptake I’ll spell it out for you, a deep section carbon wheel set.

When it comes to carbon wheels there are plenty of choices out there, you can start at a few hundred pounds for something weighty but still aero (depending on the test results you read) or you can shell out some serious sausage on a full carbon super light drag defying doozy. We believe we’ve built a wheel that’s the perfect combination of value and performance. A perfect storm if you will.

When it comes to wheel development at Cycledivision it’s all decided on and overseen by Gareth Hewitt, he’s an ex elite racer (now 3^rd cat) who’s ridden alongside and beaten some of the nation’s greatest riders. When Gareth is fully satisfied with any product it’s run by cycling great Chris Walker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Walker_(cyclist)

The wheels have to be given the green light by Chris .Chris is in charge of the RST cycling teams and he likes the championship winning squad to sink its teeth in to all our in house creations. When they’ve finished eating our products he’ll then allow the dominating young army he’s assembled to race, ride, use and abuse the results of Gareth’s handiwork. The RST teams are out racing and training in all weather conditions, cyclocross, road and track and the RC50 wheels have withstood all the tests, helped us get the results and bring home the bacon.

We believe our RC50 wheel is the best value high performance wheel on the market, a full carbon 50mm rim with carbon breaking surface keeps the weight to minimum. And Japanese Ezo bearings ensuring a smooth spinning, sharp handling feel while providing rock solid dependency even on the harshest road surfaces.

Cycling weekly gave us a stand up score of 10 out of 10. http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/wheels/cero-rc50

There’s no better upgrade for your bike, they’ll transform an average bike in to a fast moving race rocket. They’ll improve the looks of any steed and help you turn that frown upside down.

If you’re looking to for the most bang for your buck upgrade then the RC50 wheels are just what you’ve been looking for!

Dan Storey smashing up Michaelgate climb in the Lincoln GP on the RC50 wheels. Trigon bike looking fast with the RC50′s. 

Buying wheels can be a bit of a mine field, even an entry level set of quality bike wheels will set you back over £100, a set of serious race wheels can cost well over £1000 so you have be sure you’re purchasing wheels that are fit for purpose.

I’ll be unbiased here and I won’t focus on our own Cero wheels.

Aero pros and cons

The faster you go the more benefit you get from aero wheels, on a long solo ride either flat or hilly aero wheels can save you significant amounts of time.

A few years ago you would get a 50mm V shaped rim that was very triangular with flat sides, in a straight line the aero benefits where there but once cross winds came in to play a lot of the benefit was diluted, V shaped rims also developed drag and the turbulence created around the wheel and frame would take away a little of the speed advantage.

Current aero rims have a U shape or a toroidal rounder profile, people are combining this with a wider 25mm tyre, this disturbs the air flow less, the trailing edge is smoother and drag is reduced, cross winds are smoothly directed around the rim rather than hitting a flat side and causing balance and steering issues.

The 25mm tyre retains its shape better than a 23mm tyre, grip is improved and imperfections in the road surface are ironed out.

A toroidal 45mm rim will give the straight line benefit of a V shaped 60mm rim while also having little trouble with cross winds.

An aero wheels set will generally come with quality aero spokes, these can make a slight difference but it’s not huge, the most important factor when considering spokes is quality and strength, over time spokes will weaken and can then eventually snap. The spoke is a part of the wheel where quality is essential.

As you go down in price there are shallower aluminium rimmed wheels on the market, these will still have a good aero benefit and the rims will accelerate quicker due to their lower weight.

As an everyday wheel these are a good choice for most cyclists as they have a little bit of everything, a quality set of 30mm aluminium wheel can perform incredibly well.

There are some very cheap aero wheels on the market, the weights of these can be extremely high but still on a flat road you’ll have an advantage over a lightweight shallow section wheel.

There are still negatives with aero wheels, they can be expensive due to the engineering and design costs, the materials used and often the brands themselves charge a premium.

If you choose to ride a full carbon rim the braking performance may be reduced, specific brake blocks are needed as standard rubber blocks used on aluminium rims can pick up debris that will score and scrape a carbon rim.

In recent years manufacturers have managed to develop brake blocks that work extremely well with carbon rims and performance is only slightly compromised. 

An old problem with full carbon wheels was heat buildup, on a long twisty descent with constant braking enough heat could be generated to soften the resin and deform the carbon rim, and once this happens the rim is permanently damaged and must be disposed of.

Newer technology is eliminating this problem, I can only speak about our own wheels but with the Cero RC45’s we have a very thin layer of tightly woven aluminium mesh in the surface of the rim, this disperses heat before it penetrates the surface, the carbon never manages to overheat and with the RC45’s carbon warping is now a thing of the past.

If you’re doing a tight twisty circuit with constant accelerations a carbon rim will need to be slowed down and sped up hundreds of times where as a light shallow rim will take significantly less effort to stop and then to get back up to speed.

If you use an aluminium rim it won’t have quite the same aero shape as a formed carbon rim so aerodynamically the benefit will not be the same but the cost will be fraction of what you’d pay for a carbon rim.

Generally the more you spend on a carbon wheel set the more benefit you’ll get, brands like Zipp, Enve and Mavic produce lightweight aero wheels with all the latest technology.

Our own Cero RC45 wheels have the benefits of the big brand wheels and share much of the same technology but at less than half the cost, there are other even cheaper brands out there manufacturing their own carbon wheels but as the price gets lower the benefits and quality are reduced.

Light weight wheels pros and cons

A light weight will set comes in to its own on long steep climbs, there are no real benefits on the flat but on mountain roads or even a hilly UK sportive a lightweight wheel set would give an advantage.

Big brand names produce wheel sets the get down in to the 1200g range, there are high end and custom brands who go much lighter than that, these can cost £3000 or more and there are rider weight limits in place, some as low as 75kg.

A light wheel set generally has a great feel to it and even the slowest accelerations feel easier, these wheels are very minimalist and like aero wheels have a great look, light wheels can finish off a retro build nicely.

Light wheels can be excellent on the flat but they won’t have the speed advantage of a full aero wheel set, there are light wheels with rims up to 30mm deep, these can tick the aero and weight weenie box.

As with aero wheels you will find aluminium and carbon rims, there will always be a slight performance drop off with carbon braking surfaces but the lightest wheels produced all use a full carbon rim, a quality full carbon rim will be feather light and be over ten times the strength of steel

The lightest options out there often have tubular rims where the tyre is glued on rather than a clincher which has an inner tube.

Tubulars have benefits and problems of their own (too many for this blog) so I’ll look at that later.

Lightweight wheels can often be flexy, for heavier riders there is often little benefit to a super light wheel as the flex through the wheel can create brake rub.

Light wheels work best with lighter riders, if you’re a big guy you’ll need to choose your wheels carefully, most modern road wheels aren’t designed with 100kg+ riders in mind.

With aero and light wheels there are other things to take in to account, cup and cone hub or cartridge bearing, shimano still use the cup and cone while other brands tend to use push in cartridge bearings.

Cartridge bearings are usually smaller, they may wear out quicker but they can be replaced very easily and bought for a few pounds, ceramic options are available for just over £10 but the current general consensus is that they don’t give any real advantage.

A quality bearing set by SKS, EZO, NFK or Phil Wood is all you would need, you can get different seals, some spin easily and are great for dry conditions, if riding in wetter weather you’d need a thicker seal, this creates the tiniest amount of drag but the wheels will last you much longer.

Cup and cone hubs are very serviceable, you don’t need to replace the bearings as often, the balls themselves are larger and the load is placed over a bigger area.

Both hubs types are good and have been used at the highest level, it’s just two different ways of achieving the same result.

When everything is taken in to consideration there are quality wheels of all kinds out there, mass manufactured and hand built.

Only you know which set is right for you, if you choose carefully you should end up with something that brings miles of smiles and years of use. Don’t forget to check out our award winning Cero wheels, for the money there’s nothing better.

Here at Cycle Division Derby we have serveral services on offer to help you find a new bike. Book an appointment here with the GURU Professional bike fit service. Come and experience the high level of knowledge, technology and Service GURU and Cycle Division can offer you when buying a new bicycle. If you're looking for a bike fit in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire as well as the rest of the East Midlands click here now.

The Guru Bike fit system has the most real world use out of any bike fit currently on the market, there’s no human error placing of white dots or hand measuring of angles, trying to feeling around for joints and bones under the skin.

The Guru system adjusts beneath you, we can increase power resistance while you’re sat on the saddle, we can raise the saddle and bars and move them fore and aft as you pedal.

You can continue riding the bike as we raise the saddle, the feedback is immediate and the rider can feel every little adjustment and intuitively decide what feels exactly right for them.

Another huge advantage the Guru system has is the ability to tilt it up and down by 18%, you can stand up out of the saddle, put the power down and reduce cadence to the same as would be used on the road.

You can achieve a bike fit while grinding up an 18% hill, the opposite is also possible.

We can fit you descending an 18% hill with a super high cadence, we can put you on the hoods, the drops in or out of the saddle.

Every riding position, cadence and style is taken in to account and we can fit you focusing on the position that YOU prefer to ride in.

The Guru fit is a collaborative effort, we don’t tell you how to ride, we find the optimum position together.

Guru certainly have “the wow factor” with their system, when you have a fit it’s a real experience.

The big screen displays power, cadence and all relevant measurements, your body alignment is measured using a sophisticated motion capture system with the ability to read your exact height and body measurements.

Another plus is the bike finder side of Guru, you ride the bike and we adjust everything to find your optimum position, the system then automatically selects from a catalogue of over 50 brands a range of bikes that are nearest to your ideal riding position.

As a stand-alone option the bike finder is hugely valuable, you aren’t dictated to by looks. There’s no fiddling with bikes to get them to fit you, all guess work is eliminated.

Never have you been able to find the definitive bike for you, the bike finder saves you potentially thousands of pounds and years of riding the wrong bikes, with the bike finder you’ll find the perfect size and style of bike.

 The Guru system is the way forward, we understand there are experienced bike fitters out there who are phenomenal, fitters who can solve problems and put you in the perfect position, the Guru system is much more than this, it’s a fit system, a bike finder system, a dynamic testing tool.

Guru is the quickest and most effective way to set you on the right track to achieve all of your cycling goals.

The GURU Bike finder is a great way to help you find the perfect new road bike for you. With expert advice on hand as well as the best technology the GURU bike finder will not let you down! No need for confusing bike size charts and bike buying guides! GURU truly is your best friend when buying a new bike! Click here now for more information and too book an appointment 

The GURU bike fit system is housed in our cycle store; Cycle Division situated in Alfreton, Derbyshire and we welcome anyone across the UK to come and meet the team and get your GURU bike fit!

Long, dark nights and miserable weather can make it hard to get motivated enough to go out on the bike, not to mention the long set up required everytime you go out. Attaching lights, checking brakes and tyre pressures and then layering up all take longer when it’s dark and cold outside. Here are a few tips to make getting out in the winter nights that bit easier.

1. Easy Clip Lights

Attaching lights can be a pain, especially if you go out on the bike often and have to constantly put them on then take them off again. Investing in a set of lights where the lights clip on and off easily is a handy way to save some time.

These lights have a mount that stays attached to the bike and takes up minimal space, so it can be left on whilst you are riding in the daytime and you don’t need to spend a while attaching the lights again when you next go out in the evening.

2. Pre-Flight Checks

Brake checks, tyre pressure, seatpost clamp and light security. These are all essential pre-ride checks that need to be done before you set off to ensure that you are riding safe and secure. Especially if you are riding an expensive carbon fibre road bike.

Many riders go out after work in the winter evenings, so completing all these checks then getting ready then going for a ride can turn into a long, drawn out affair that can be difficult to motivate yourself for. Why not try completing these checks in the morning before work?

That way you can be sure your bike is all set to go as soon as you get in, and you don’t need to spend time eating into your ride doing the checks. For more intensive checks on your cycling components you can set aside some time at the weekend to ensure they are all in fine fettle so you don’t need to check them as thoroughly mid-week.

3. Saddle Bag Prep

Always keep your saddle bag with a multi tool, two inner tubes, tyre levers and any other essential items you may need to take with you handy somewhere you will always be able to access it.

Most saddlebags can be left on the bike, so you don’t even need to check their contents before you go for a ride, just make sure you check the integrity of the tubes every so often to make sure they haven’t torn, keeping them in a waterproof bag inside the saddle bag can help with this to keep them safe.

4. Tea in a Bidon

Cold nights mean hot drinks, and that can be extended to the bike ride too. Many professionals will be given tea with sugar in their bottle whilst on longer rides, such as the classics, as this will help keep you warm and provide you with energy – not to mention a morale boost.

It can be done with any warm drink on those especially cold nights, and can make that climb of the local hill much easier with some warm fluid in your stomach instead of cold drinks. Remember that tea is a diuretic though, so be prepared to need to take a nature break if you’re going on a long ride and always take a bidon of water along with you too for hydration.

5. Plan a Route

Planning a route and sticking to it is a great way to ensure you are getting the base miles in. If you have a bunch of local routes that you know you can get round in 45 minutes to an hour, it will be much easier to motivate yourself to get out than if you just want to ride and see where the road takes you.

If you have a bike computer this is also a good way of monitoring your progress throughout winter as you will be able to see how fast you are completing routes. 

BMC Teammachine SLR01

The Teammachine has a great heritage at BMC, with Cadel Evans winning his only Tour de France title whilst riding one, and BMC think that this is the bike’s best incarnation yet.

Although not a full carbon road bike, it does have carbon layups on the main flex points which make it much stiffer – 25% stiffer according to BMC – than the last generation of the Teammachine.

The SLR01 comes with internal cable routing and can be used in conjunction with Shimano Di2 – the electric gearing system which is taking cycling components manufacturers by storm as they race to keep up with the peloton.

The Teammachine has been the choice of BMC rider and former World Champion Philippe Gilbert since 2012, and he highly recommends it.

Pinarello Dogma 65.1 Hydro

Pinarello are renowned for making exceptional machines that are used by pros all over the world, and the Hydro 65.1 is no exception.

One of the first carbon road bikes for sale that included disc brakes as opposed to rim brakes this bike is guaranteed to give you some bragging rights on the club run.

The carbon road frame used by Pinarello is championed for its asymmetrical design that makes the ride comfier by absorbing bumps on the road. The ride is also improved by the Onda fork – which has become synonymous with Pinarello for its wavy style and bump-flattening ability, making the ride extremely comfortable.

Pinarello’s Dogma range is used by Team Sky, so you can pretend you’re part of the Sky train on the Hydro 65.1.

Cannondale Synapse Ultegra Di2

Cannondale’s Synapse range is the most affordable of this list, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive than the other machines listed here.

The range of Cannondale bikes 2014 unearthed was impressive, and none more so than the Synapse. The carbon road frame has taken aspects of mountain biking technology to make the frame better able to cope with bumps and cobbles like you will find at Paris-Roubaix.

They have helix-shaped seat stays to absorb impact as well as a thin seat post and wedge-fastening design. They also have a cutout in the bottom of the seat tube to minimize jarring and make the bike responsive and quick even on gravel and dirt.

This Cannondale road bike also comes with disc brakes, and it’s cycling components are compatible with Shimano’s Di2 electronic gearing system to make the most of the speed gained by making the rider comfier.

Cannondale road bikes were used by the Cannondale team in 2014, but they have since merged with Garmin-Sharp to become Cannondale-Garmin, who will still be using Cannondale bikes in 2015.

Cervélo R5

Cervélo carbon road bikes are known for being stylish and performing exceptionally well, and the R5 is no exception. Cervélo have taken lessons learned from their super-light RCA and applied it to the R5, making it extremely light and stiff despite this.

It has future proof internal cable routing, so you can be sure that it will work with whatever drivetrain you choose, although Cervélo recommend Shimano Dura-Ace for this carbon road bike.

The carbon road frame is stiff and string as well as light, meaning it handles well and doesn’t flex at the bottom bracket which can be the case with many lighter bikes where the carbon frame isn’t as stiff. The R5 uses their own ‘squoval’ engineering system to create their carbon road frame, which uses squares and oval shapes in the frame tube design to strengthen and stiffen the frame.

Cervélo bikes were used by Garmin-Sharp in the 2014 season but since Garmin’s merger with Cannondale, they are out of a team for 2015. They are rumoured to be linked with Fernando Alonso’s cycling team who will be racing in the Pro Continental Division if they are formed in time for the season to begin.

Scott Foil 20

Scott carbon road bikes are one of the most popular bikes you can find, but that is because of their excellent reputation and performance.

The Foil 20 is the best Scott road bike of 2014 and is a must have for any competitive cyclist, with a carbon bike frame that handles extremely well and remains stiff out of the saddle and comfortable in it.

The bike comes with Shimano Ultregra and the full carbon frame makes it extremely light and the aerodynamic geometry means that it’s also a fast bike, perfect for a club racer.

The bike uses Scott’s oversized bottom bracket technology, which adds lateral stiffness by dispersing the load put on the junction, meaning the frame can be made lighter without as much reinforcement.

The Scott Foil is used by Australian cycling team Orica GreenEDGE and was ridden by Michael Matthews to a number of stage wins in the Giro d’Italia and Simon Gerrans to win the Tour Down Under.

If you look around you’ll see an abundance of sweet hoops out there.The big players produce wheels covering all price points but there’s no doubt you have to shell out some serious sausage to obtain a race worthy set of spinners.Looking at the deep rimmed carbon options your talking £700 upwards for anything with a good reputation and that’s serious moolah.We set out to build a bodacious set of wheels, wheels that are light and aero, strong and eye catching.We also had a budget to stick to, we wanted wheels that would be from our point of view “Bunse” (Bunsen burner = nice little earner).

We started off by searching out production facilities that churned out top quality goods, after multiple test wheels were built up using different hubs, rims, bearings and spokes we settled on 5 wicked prototype test wheels. These wheels which on paper slayed the opposition needed to be put through their paces in all weather conditions to make sure they had the chops to back up their bragging.The wheels were handed out to my colleagues Vicious and Delicious AKA Dan and Gareth.These two young hotdogs know a thing or two about suffering and sacrifice, Delicious is a former national champ and he can still ride like a scolded whippet if needs be.

Vicious is a one man power plant, 59kg of twisted steel and sex appeal and he goes through wheels like a large mouse in a cheese factory. These guys hammered the wheels along the wide open lawless plains of Nottinghamshire, up north through the bandit county of Lincolnshire. They pushed on in to the wild Derbyshire Dales and through to some of Yorkshires most challenging climbs.Only two sets of wheels passed all the tests, they remained true and span with ease after 8 weeks in all weather conditions. These two lone survivors were then passed on to our junior team and management, these guys spent months giving it what for and both sets of wheels remained intact.

We had to decide on the final production model, with a cup of giddy up in one hand and Mili Vanilli’s 3^rd best song “girl you know it’s true” pumping out from the 3D super woofer we decided on the beast that eventually became simply known as Hoobenrooser, after much deliberation we realized this name was ridiculous and wouldn’t fly in the real world and we reluctantly settled on the still awesome AR30. The AR30 has spent a couple of years now as the weapon for our race teams and staff members, the reviews in Cycle Weekly said 10 on 10. We were matched up against Dura ace, Zipp and Mavic and we came up trumps.If you want the sweetest of hoops that don’t break the bank… Fast rollin cruise missiles then give us a call. The AR30 needs you now.

They’re currently used by Tour of Britain winners, riders who’ve beaten Lance Armstrong, Laurent Fignon and Bradley Wiggins and they’re highly regarded by the UK’s biggest cycling publication. For £350 we believe they simply cannot be beaten!…

Sportive / endurance bikes:

Bikes with an upright riding position for those who place comfort above all out speed. These bikes have a higher head tube (front end) and a shorter top tube, this is designed so the rider doesn’t have to be in such an aggressive stretched out position, they often come complete with a shallow drop short reach handlebar which increases comfort even more by making the drops on the handlebars more accessible.The gearing on these bikes will generally be compact, 50/34 chainrings up front with an 11/28 cassette at the back.

This gearing should be enough to get most cyclists up the toughest climbs in the UK.Sportive bikes start at around £600, the Cannondale Synapse and Scott Solace are two bikes in this category and both come in a range of specifications. The Scott has a unique forward thinking frame design with the rear brake located under the bottom bracket, this frees up the seat stays and allows them to act as a shock absorber. The Synapse is available in many models, aluminum and carbon and even with disk brakes. The Carbon framed version is one of the most versatile bikes currently available, it’s comfortable but also incredibly stiff and fast.

 Race bikes:

The race bike is generally an aggressive bike with a low front end and an extremely stiff rear, the stiff rear end is designed to make sure every bit of power is transferred to the back wheel and is turned in to speed. The race bike still needs to be comfortable enough to ride all day, fast up or downhill bike and have very responsive handling. Race bikes can be extremely light, they come with compact or standard gearing (53/39 chainset 11/25 cassette).Race bikes can be had from £400 upwards although the general consensus is if you wanted to race the bike you’d be looking at £1000 upwards, this isn’t a hard and fast rule though and it’s not uncommon to see £500 bikes on start lines across the country.

The Cannondale CAAD bikes are a great choice for the new racer, with a strong and light aluminium frame and race geometry they strike a great balance of performance and price.Carbon Evo bikes are the next step up with a 750g frame that’s supers stiff and yet strong enough to stand up to the rigors of the Tour De France Scott make the aluminium Speedster and the carbon race machine is the super light Addict, the Evo and Addict are ridden by professional teams around the world at the highest level, they’re also available from us.We also have the Trigon TR426 which is a fantastic race bike with 11 speed gearing and a carbon fiber frame set, this bike starts at £1600 and is an ideal race bike for anyone out there.

Aero bikes:

Aero bikes are the new kid on the block are built with aerodynamics and performance in mind, the tubes will be shaped to minimize drag and to cut through the air.These bikes work best on flatter roads but they will still perform extremely well on steeper gradients.You can expect standard gearing on these bikes and occasionally even deep carbon wheels.The front end will be low and there are features such as hidden brake calipers, integrated seat clamps and full internal cables.Aero bikes don’t have the same comfort levels as endurance bikes but they can still be used for long distance rides.

£1000 is the current starting price for these machines, they’re generally carbon but there are a few aluminum versions starting to appear although they are on the heavy side.The Scott Foil is an aero bike that performs as well as anything out there, they start at £2000 and are available in a variety of options.The bike is both light and aero and any version could be raced straight out of the shop.Trigon Trigon TR437 is their aero bike, with hidden brake calipers and aero wheels, it’s a true speed machine.The Trigon really stands out from the crowd, with high level carbon fiber and a vibrant colour scheme there aren’t many aero bikes available quite as exciting.

If you need any help or advice on bikes and accessories the team are here to help.

Ricky trying the bike and kit out.

At Cycledivsion we see many famous names from the world of motor racing, being under the umbrella of motodirect and part of the same company as RST motorcycle clothing rarely a day goes by when our offices, corridors and showrooms aren’t frequented by a motorcycle legend, a four time boxing world champion however is an unusual sight in our building.

Team member Dan (fancy pants) Storey was contacted by Ricky Hatton’s team asking if we could help them out with an audacious charity challenge. The infamous La Mont Blanc cycle, an epic 140km journey taking in some of Europe’s most challenging climbs and descents.

For most experienced cyclists this would be an extremely tough day in the chair and Ricky is taking the challenge seriously, he’s embarking on a grueling training regime to shed some extra muscle mass in order to complete the course as quickly and easily as possible.

Ricky popped in with his team to get fitted up properly for his first serious road bike the Trigon TR426 with 11 speed Shimano Ultegra gearing, this machine with its full carbon frame set and compact drive train should help Ricky in the thin air and mid-summer heat of the French Alps.

Ricky is taking on this challenge to raise money for the Manchester-based charity Barnabus.

Founded 23 years ago, Barnabus supports the homeless through its outreach, drop-in and collaborative projects.

The charity is able to help between 500 and 600 vulnerable people each week, but due to a sharp rise in demand, it now needs to raise £150,000 in order to extend its premises and improve its medical facilities.

Ricky has already commenced training, as all cyclists know January is never the easiest month to get the miles in, it takes real dedication to get out in the cold and rain,

Ricky needs to be applauded for his determination, he chooses to train before most are out of bed on quiet back roads like a real cyclist.

If you want to help support Ricky in raising money for a cause that he feels very strongly about follow the link http://www.justgiving.com/ricky-Hatton-MBE . He’ll be joined on the journey by Hatton Promotions head of boxing Richard Poxon and unbeaten Sheffield prospects Adam Etches and Scott Jenkins, who are all raising funds for the teenage unit at Weston Park Cancer Hospital.

 http://www.strava.com/activities/100457682

We’ve taken two new brands on this year, Cannondale (featured in our first blog) and Scott.

Scott have a rich history in cycling have been innovators from day one, they pioneered time trail (aero handlebars) in 1989 so they know a thing or two about aerodynamics and they’ve gone on to build some or the world’s fastest road cycles.

The CR1 which is still going strong in its current entry level version and the Addict, an incredibly stiff lightweight machine that helped Mark Cavendish dominate sprint finishes in the Tour De France for three years running.

The third bike in the Scott road range is the foil, this is their aero steed and it’s built with one thing in mind, pure speed.

This bike has been our biggest seller since the showroom opened late last year and we’ve had nothing but great feedback, we always like to hear what the customer thinks but we as retailers believe we should get to know the bikes ourselves.

In December Ben (Sportivist, occasional cyclocross and road racer) from our road department had a holiday booked in Lanzarote with his Wife (road and cyclocross racer) Sarah.

They decided to spend some time riding the volcanic islands highway and byways and took the opportunity to rent out a pair of the Scott Foils.

Bens spent the last year riding a comfy full carbon sportive bike, his only experience with aero bikes was 2010 when he owned the Cervelo S1, a bike he felt although fast was overly harsh and left you beat up after too long in the chair.

With current lower back troubles and the memory of the S1 Ben wasn’t sure how his body would handle the transition to the aggressive and stiff Foil.

After 5 days, 300 miles, lots of hills and hurricane wind he realized he needn’t have worried.

The Foil was no back breaker, it felt as complaint and smooth as any bike he’d ever ridden, perhaps it was the layback on the seat post or the carbon post itself but road buzz and back pain was never an issue, the foil had no problems on some of the islands bumpier back roads and was also hardly effected by strong cross winds on the mountain tops. (A big issue on the S1)

Sarah rode a 52 foil and she fell in the love the bike, she loved the handling and said it climbed like a scolded whippet (her words exactly). On the descents the sharp handling inspired confidence and the aero frame and awe inspiring power transfer made light work of the islands long straights and drags.

Sarah managed to bag herself some Strava QOM’s while out there and so enjoyed the bike that on returning home she purchased one for herself.

The bike did everything you would want it to and more, aerodynamically and at speed it was rapid and all day rides where handled with ease.

It would be ideal for racers or sportive riders, you can get the Foil in standard-11/25 option or compact with 11/28 so each end of the market is properly covered.

If you’re a man or a woman who wants a great looking bike with high performance levels the Scott Foil could be just what you’re looking for.

The Scott Foil 15 is available from cycledivision reduced from £3999.99 to £2399.99. Call in or drop us a line if you need any more information.

The team here at Cycledivision are all familiar with Trigon bikes as they’re raced by our current championship winning junior squad as well as our hugely successful senior team from a couple of years ago.

This last year has been one of huge growth for us and we’ve taken two new brands on to keep up with demand.

We decided on Scott and Cannondale, both worldwide brands with an outstanding reputation for innovation and performance.

New man on the team Ben has owned a Cannondale Caad5 and Caad 8 so was somewhat familiar with them, Gareth however has never had the opportunity to see what the hoopla is all about so with a holiday in Gran Canary booked for December he took the chance to spend a week riding the legendary aluminum Caad10 through the valley of tears and up the Pico de Las Nieves.

 http://www.strava.com/activities/103415557

 As an aluminum frame the Caad10 is as good as it gets but how good is that?

Extremely it turns out, the steep frame angles and aggressive geometry are designed with racing in mind and this bike handled as well as any carbon frame out there. On the 20km descents Gareth had no issues sticking with riding partner for the week Tom Stewart a current pro riding on the Maddison Genesis team.

On the Climbs Gareth had to work extremely hard to stay with Tom but never once felt the bike held him back, the bike climbs extremely well for an 8kg build. It felt much lighter than it actually was.

Cannondale have worked their magic and although this frame was super stiff and accelerated like a jet fighter it sailed over the bumps with very little in the way of vibration coming back to the rider.

After riding 600km in one week you get to know if a bike really is comfortable and this one truly is.

The frame has been developed over 15 years and it shows in all areas.

At 1150g with a 360g full carbon fork the weight is up there with carbon competitors.

As far as looks go the Caad certainly stands out with a more old school straight top tube and slightly larger main triangle, another plus with the Caad 10 is that most riders will fit 3 sizes, for a lower front end you can go with smaller size and a longer stem, if you prefer a more upright position then a size larger than normal with a shorter stem should see any cyclist right.

Gareth came back with nothing but positive praise for the bike, he’s ridden plenty over the years as an elite level rider based in the UK and Europe and he believes it’s the best aluminum frame he’s ever come across.

With a 105 groupset and Shimano RS11 wheels the bike was a solid build with the frame being the stand out highlight, it’s such a good frame that some of the Cannondale professional team have elected to use it in international competition.

Gareth had such high praise for the bike that staff member (deep pockets, short arms) Ben has actually bought one.

For any information or advice regarding the Caad10 or any Scott and Cannondale bikes see cycledivision.co.uk