Cycling Weekly test a lot of road bike cycling tech and a lot of it is really good. Most products made today have very little which makes them bad, but there are some products which we feel are universally loved by all cycling journalists the world over.
Sam Gupta has rounded up 8 products which he thinks represent the best of what the cycling industry has to offer us road cyclists.
What else would you add to the list?
Sam Gupta has rounded up 8 products which he thinks represent the best of what the cycling industry has to offer us road cyclists.
What else would you add to the list?
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00:00There's no doubt, cycling tech journalists are a pretty lucky bunch. You get to ride
00:04and test brand new kit, often in exotic locations. What is not to like?
00:10And while you get the occasional miss, most of the tech we review is pretty good. It's actually
00:15quite hard to make a bad product these days. It's just a matter of teasing out the small
00:20differences that may matter to us, and of course, you, the viewers. However,
00:25there are still products which stand out from the crowd being universally loved
00:30by cycling journalists the world over. They may not always be the most exciting products, but
00:36this really is the best of the best. So, let's get into them.
00:45If you've spent time reading reviews from the likes of Cycling Weekly, or Cycling News,
00:50or watching them on this very YouTube channel, then you may have heard us mention the law of
00:54diminishing returns. And by that I mean, basically, the more you spend, the less you get.
01:00This applies to lots of products, like wheels, pedals, frame sets, and finishing kit. However,
01:05one of the biggest offenders has to be group sets, which brings me neatly onto the godlike
01:11Shimano 105. If you're unaware, 105 is Shimano's mid-tier group set. There's two versions above,
01:18and then three that sit below. Crucially though, 105's performance bears a much closer
01:24resemblance to Shimano's top-tier Ultegra and Dura-Ace group sets, while costing much less.
01:30And by less, I mean a lot less. Prices can vary depending on region and whether you're buying
01:36online or from a physical store. But a top-spec Dura-Ace Di2 group set will set you back around
01:44two and a half grand, while mechanical 105 can be found for as little as £500.
01:50If you want to spend a little bit more, then you can get the electronic 105 Di2 group set
01:55for around £900. Obviously, being so much cheaper means 105 will be heavier,
02:02less refined, and miss out on some of the bells and whistles of Shimano's higher-tier group sets.
02:08But again, in terms of pure shifting performance, it's pretty close,
02:13and this newest version looks the part as well.
02:16As you can probably tell, I love 105,
02:19and I'd wager you'll struggle to find a cycling journalist who doesn't.
02:28Ask a cycling journalist to recommend you a fast, all-round bike tyre, and you're likely
02:33going to get some umming and ahhing before they give you two or three options. Now,
02:39those options may throw up some curveballs, but I bet nearly all of them would recommend
02:44the Continental GP5000s, the successor to the legendary GP4000. Now, the 5000 caused quite a
02:53stir when it was released back in 2018, and since then, it's won many cycling fans over the world.
03:00Why, I hear you ask? Well, it's not the fastest, the grippiest, the lightest,
03:05or the best value, but it does seem to offer the best balance of all of those key factors.
03:11A kind of jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none for the bike tyre world.
03:15Despite being such a fast tyre, we've also found it's got pretty decent puncture protection,
03:21no doubt thanks to Continental's newly improved Vectron Breaker layer. And for such a popular
03:27tyre, Continental have made sure to cover nearly every option that you can think of,
03:32including tubeless, clincher, wide sizes, thin sizes, and Tamils. The list really does go on.
03:39Not to mention the special variants like the ASTR for all-season riding, the TTTR for out-and-out
03:45speed, and the STR for more all-round road race situations. So, chances are, there will be a GP5000
03:54to suit you, no matter how niche your requirements are. And of course, being so popular means there
04:00are some good deals to be had if you shop around. So, what are you waiting for?
04:045. Shimano M520 Pedals
04:08Next up on our list is another great value, yet high-performing product from Shimano. I am,
04:14of course, talking about its M520 pedals. A quick Google of the M520 pedals will tell you two
04:21things. Number one, they're very affordable, retailing for around £28. And number two,
04:28they're pretty much universally loved, with pages of glowing five-star reviews from journalists and
04:34paying customers alike. Pros include their ease of maintenance, durability, all-round performance,
04:40and aforementioned pricing. While these pedals are mainly aimed at off-road riders, we found
04:46they suited road riders as well, particularly for those who like to be able to walk around
04:50in their riding shoes, which the recessed cleat on the M520 pedal does allow for.
04:56Lastly, the M520s have legendary mud-clearing abilities, and it wasn't uncommon to see pro
05:03cyclocross racers using them in particularly muddy races. So, if this £28 pedal is good
05:10enough for the pros, then chances are it will be more than good enough for us.
05:19There's no doubt, owning and riding a fancy carbon race bike is one of the true pleasures
05:25of cycling. What's less pleasurable is what you do with said carbon road bike
05:31when the weather turns nasty. Sure, you can keep riding it while keeping on top of the cleaning,
05:36but many of us don't have that kind of time. And as most carbon race bikes don't come with
05:42mudguard eyelets, finding something to keep you and your bike clean can be tricky.
05:48Fortunately though, SKS have you covered with their clip-on race blade mudguards.
05:53While clip-on mudguards of the past would often just be flimsy and need constant adjustment,
05:58and be prone to breaking, the race blades are rock solid, and are made of strong, stiff plastic.
06:04They're also easy to fit, and will work on frames with both round and aero tube profiles.
06:10It's worth noting they won't offer quite as much mud protection as a dedicated eyelet-attached
06:15mudguard, with a bit of spray usually managing to work its way up your backside, but they will
06:21protect your bike, and surely that is the most important thing. Finally, if you like your tyres
06:26wide, then SKS has you covered with their XL model, which works with 700c wheels,
06:33up to 32mm on the rim, and disc brake bikes.
06:41Sometimes, the best cycling products do their job so well that you hardly ever notice them at all,
06:47and nowhere is this more apparent than with your bottle cages. The best bottle cages will do exactly
06:54as they should, namely, hold your drink no matter the surface you're riding on. The worst will fill
07:00you with doubt as you never know when you might lose a bottle during a ride. And if you want the
07:05best, then I think you can't go wrong with Elite. They have a huge variety to choose from, and
07:10cater to different budgets. You can also choose between carbon, metal, Elite's eco-friendly
07:16material, and their fibre-reinforced material, so again, lots of options. A quick look online will
07:23tell you everything you need to know, with lots of 5 or nearly 5-star reviews. When we tested their
07:29Vico Carbon bottle cage, we found it provided a firm, rattle-free hold while weighing just 28g.
07:36Costing only £26 at the time of testing, it also represents fairly decent value for money,
07:42considering it's made out of carbon.
07:45Search online for cycling socks, and you will find an almost limitless array of styles, colours, lengths, and thicknesses to choose from. So, which do we recommend?
08:00Well, if you like your socks in either white, black, or grey, then you can't go wrong with
08:06Rafa's Pro Team Socks. They've been around in some form or another for a long time,
08:11which goes to show how popular they are with cycling journalists and everyday riders. My
08:17personal favourite are the standard socks, but for taller riders, there is an extra long version for
08:23that trendy high cuff look. Socks may not be the most exciting of products, but these really do the
08:29job quite well, keeping your feet cool during the summer months, and not slipping down your
08:34legs during riding. It's worth noting, the Rafa have you covered in the colder months as well,
08:39as they have a winter version of the Pro Team Sock. So, what's not to like?
08:49Supercars makes a bold statement on their website, and I quote,
08:54we boldly claim that Super Sticky Kush is the best bar tape ever, and that's backed up by being the
09:00world's number one selling bar tape. Now, whether or not that's true, well, I don't know. But what I
09:07do know is that it's an incredibly popular product loved by riders the world over. As you'd expect,
09:15it's seriously grippy stuff, even when wet and not wearing gloves. So, you shouldn't need to worry
09:20about slipping from the bars. It's also quite thick at 3.2 millimetres, so will be well suited
09:26to riders who value all day comfort. Thick bar tape can sometimes be trickier to wrap, but we
09:33found the Super Sticky Kush tape didn't present us with too many issues. Finally, it's available
09:38in a wide variety of colours, so you should be able to find something to match your bike.
09:48Last on our list, but by no means least, is Park Tool's P-Handle Hex Wrench Set. Now,
09:55these hex keys or allen keys, depending on where you come from, have the distinction of being loved
10:00not only by cycling journalists, but also by bike mechanics. And they're a familiar sight in
10:06workshops the world over. As you'd expect, they're made from super high torque industrial steel that
10:13will last for years to come. They're also available in all the popular sizes for when it comes to
10:18working on your bike. And there's a small ball head right there on the long side for those hard
10:23to reach places. Lastly, you get a neat wall hanger mount thingy, meaning no more rummaging around in
10:30drawers or toolboxes. So there you have it, eight products almost universally loved by cycling
10:36journalists. But do you have any recommendations of your own? As always, let me know down below.