Take a look at the best of our trending stories from this week January 19, about the latest road bikes, tech, pro racing and more in the cycling industry.

ALAPHILIPPE’S NEW BIKE

 

 

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A post shared by Julian Alaphilippe (@alafpolak)

Images are flowing in of two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe’s 2022 Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7. In collaboration with Specialized, Alaphilippe designed an elegant gloss white frame with blacked-out decals and subtle rainbow stripes on the seat tube. The frame features lightly-colored swirl patterns that require a closer look to identify.

“I am very proud to have a unique and personalized bike. It gave me great emotion when I discovered it because it’s the bike I’ve always dreamed of and which corresponds to who I am. It is as I had imagined it: simple but with small details that are important to me. I’m glad I had the chance to collaborate with the Specialized team to make it happen”, said Alaphilippe.

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WHAT IS SRAM XPLR?

SRAM has been on the leading edge of 1x drivetrains since the introduction of the original Force drivetrain in 2014. Now with the launch of the all-new, gravel-oriented XPLR component line, they continue to push 1x technology forward. 

However, in addition to SRAM’s drivetrain legacy, as the parent company of Zipp, RockShox and Quarq, the Chicago-based brand has now grouped together a range of products from those brands to create a complete XPLR product family as a way to indicate that the products are targeting gravel. 

The new offerings are 1x-specific drivetrains from SRAM across all of their electronic AXS tiers—Red, Force and Rival. Rockshox has launched with two suspension forks, the Rudy Ultimate and the regular Rudy (OEM only). Rockshox also released a Reverb AXS wireless 27.2 dropper post. Last is that Zipp has brought their Moto wheel tech from mountain bikes to the gravel bike with the Zipp 101 XPLR. The XPLR branding has also been added to existing products like Zipp’s G40 tire and Service Course flared handlebars.

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BATTLING THE CARBON GOLIATH

By Zap

From the long-ago days we shared on the NORBA National mountain bike race circuit, David Turner and I have enjoyed many moments together—he, as a between-the-tape racer, and I, as a standing-on-the-sidelines journo, and even up to the more recent days of him lapping me in one too many local cyclocross races, 

Over the years, I have not only lauded David as one of the smartest guys in the industry, but also one of the more dedicated and persistent, as evidenced by his ongoing David-versus-Goliath effort to keep his eponymous bike brand alive and kicking in the face of light-switch evolution of modern mountain bike technology. 

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4 COMMON TRAINING MISCONCEPTIONS TO AVOID

By Chris Carmichael, Founder and Head Coach of CTS

I have always enjoyed getting to know people and hearing their cycling stories during group rides, and it’s also interesting to listen to the advice riders give to each other in the pace line or at the coffee stop. Most of the time it’s good advice but there are several cycling training misconceptions I commonly hear repeated at ride after ride. So, when the rider next to you gives you the advice below, just smile, nod your head and take it with a grain of salt.

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BIKE OF THE WEEK: STEIN&FENTON F1

Blake Young is the man behind the Stein&Fenton brand. The idea to start the brand came about three years after he founded SLF Motion, known for their custom oversized pulleys and cages for rear derailleurs. His goal all along was to build a brand that defined luxury with frames made in America.

The F1 road bike has combined modern performance with the Titanium reliability we have all come to love. All Stein&Fenton frames are built by hand in Colorado (USA) using “USA Made”, 3/2.5, Grade 9, Seamless cold-worked tubing, and come with a Lifetime Warranty.

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