For a cross country mountain bike glove, the Roeckl 809 has quite a rugged look. Known for their strong and well padded fingerless road cycling gloves, Roeckl carry their brilliant construction and heavy gel padding into their mountain bike line. Despite their first appearances, the gloves do feature a lightweight full mesh back, with a [...]

For a company that’s been around for 30 years, I must confess I knew little about Bellwether before drawing together the full-length zip on the Californian company’s Distance jersey. But after several weeks testing out their Distance top and Forma bib shorts I’m pleased to report it’s been a pleasant introduction. The company started life [...]

Keeping your bike in one piece can be half the challenge in a demanding stage race. Depending on the mountain bike stage race you are in, you may be faced with mud, dust, sand, or all of the above. Add a lot of climbing and you will also add a lot of descending – increasing [...]

The Absa Cape Epic is a beast of a race. Every year it is hard. Even though the rate of attrition dropped from 2011 to 2012, that doesn’t mean it’s getting easier. Riders are just preparing themselves and their equipment better. And the Cape Epic is highly demanding of both the rider and their equipment. [...]

I remember chatting to a mate a number of years ago, who at the time was racing for a continental team in Europe. Our conversation fell to the topic of what happened to riders who got dropped from the peloton, especially in big races where team resources would be dedicated to those who remained in [...]

There’s nothing quite like the prospect of a new bike to add to the building excitement of the coming race season. So I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Bianchi Methanol 29 FS, especially with the ABSA Cape Epic just on the horizon. I would hesitate to call this a proper bike review, [...]

Mountain Bike tyres, commuting tyres, road tyres, cyclocross tyres – they are all different beasts yet have many similarities. The key one is that everyone has an opinion on them, and a favourite. Favouritism can be born from exceptional wear life, or traction, price or marketing. But just as we may have favourite tyres, there [...]

This is the third part of our series reviewing the design philosophy, performance and ride of the Kappius Components Hubs. You can see our first look, plus part one and part two by following the links. Much has been written about the Kappius Components Hubs since they were shown to the world at the 2012 [...]

New frame materials and progression in bike design have created more ‘standards’ across the bike industry than you can easily keep track of. Take a look at your bike and it’s easy to see where there are many changes in what is meant to be a standard. From the front end of your bike to [...]