Commuter bikes come in all shapes and sizes, because it’s all dependant on how you roll on your way to work. It makes the bikes of this month’s group test such a mixed bag; from flat tops to drop bars, big and small wheels, steel and aluminium, we’ve got your daily ride covered with bikes as wildly different as the Genesis Equilibrium and Airnimal Joey Endurance Plus.
Two considerably bigger beasts lock horns in our other bike test – and they both come from the same brand. Specialized's S-Works Roubaix and Tarmac bikes aren’t quite as far apart in design as they once were and we put them head-to-head. We’ve also tests of Ribble’s disc-braked CGR steel all-rounder, Bergamont’s Grandurance, Rondo’s Booz, Cube’s electric road bike. Tech writer Robin Wilmott also reviews his long-time favourite, the BMC SLR01 Disc, which gets an electronic makeover, in the form of Shimano’s Ultegra Di2 complete with Stages power meter.
Bikes are a complicated business to keep in fine fettle and this month we’ve a masterclass from our very own workshop manager Will Poole, who shows how you can fix many common bike problems like a pro – and save yourself money.
In Features, we examine the science of cycling’s currency, suffering, and show you how to manage it and use it to your advantage. We also take to the rough stuff of Britain’s biggest gravel ride, the Dirty Reiver, and look at youth development in Britain through the lens of two British Tour de France winners; firstly we going behind the scenes at Maindy Flyers, Geraint Thomas’s first bike club, and then speak to Sir Bradley Wiggins, who owns his own British development team. In Big Ride, Trevor Ward takes a trip to North Wales to sample a taste of the rough stuff and retrace the footsteps of pioneering roadie Walter MacGregor Robinson, aka Wayfarer.
This month we’ve also got two gifts with issue 356: a 48-page guide to next month’s Tour de France and a showcase of the bikes of the biggest race of the year.
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