Take a look at our top trending stories from this week, covering the latest bikes, tech, pro racing and more in the cycling industry.

MOTOKI COLNAGO’S FAT PRICE

Thanks Colnago. Thanks for making our lives even harder when we try to rationalize the high price of  road bikes with those who can’t understand why any bicycle should even cost more than $2000.  $19, 200?!  Sure, among the bike geeks we normally surround ourselves with, a bike that costs easily as much as a car or motorcycle, can be discussed in somewhat rational terms, but that’s only because over the years we’ve become numb to such exorbitant pricing of other limited edition bikes.

$19,200? Reminds us of the silly price paid years ago for a McLaren Specialized back in 2014. Although with that bike a pair of shoes and a helmet was included – but $20,000 for a Specialized?!

While it’s true that  for the last few years we’ve been witnessing escalating prices for production bikes that just don’t seem to make sense, among the tifosi at least, paying so much money for a Colnago is made only somewhat more palatable because at least it’s handmade in Italy, and of course, bears the name of one of the sport’s most venerable designers.

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STAY LIT STAY SEEN: BONTRAGER VS OUTBOUND

With the shortest days on the calendar now behind us, many are looking to eke out some miles to burn off the extra calories gained over the holidays or simply get some time to ourselves with whatever opportunity arises. With daylight saving time months away, night riding offers often overlooked possibilities to put in some much-needed time in the saddle.     

While powerful lights are more accessible than ever, power alone is not always the best solution. Smartly designed lights are what’s preferable to prevent blinding other cyclists and road users. Industry-wide, the latest updates to cycling lights have aimed to improve visibility, minimize the share of valuable handlebar real estate and extend battery life. 

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BIKE TEST: CERVELO S5

By Dan Cavallari

During last year’s race season, Cervelo’s redesigned flagship aero bike, the S5, flew under the radar of many race watchers for a good long while because it was hard to notice any changes with anything less than a deep look. Of course, as the bike of choice for the Jumbo-Visma team, quick glances were all many could get since the bike was among the most successful on the 2022 WorldTour calendar. Eventually, careful examinations revealed the type of subtle details that matter a lot at the highest levels of the sport.

Those changes included a claimed 65-gram drag reduction over the previous S5, with 1.5 percent more surface area for aerodynamic optimization and a lower weight—all of which were an obvious boon to team riders like Wout van Aert and Primoz Roglic. But, what’s the impact for the everyday cyclist? 

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WHAT TO RIDE INSIDE

Whether you jumped on the indoor cycling train or watched it come and go over the last three years, of the many positives that the boom in popularity the stationary segment brought forth, it simply got more people spinning pedals in situations they otherwise couldn’t—and that’s a good thing. The structure, efficiency and safety that indoor riding provides have boosted the popularity of the historically overlooked segment. There’s no doubt that the mass popularity of indoor riding has calmed in these post-pandemic days, but there are still a number of innovations in the industry for those looking to begin or update their pain cave.

To get a good understanding of the latest indoor cycling trends, it can be helpful to look at how the evolution of outdoor riding has branched off into focused segments of race, gravel and endurance bikes. And now indoor tech has crept into its own form of segmentation focused around three main categories—trainers, smart bikes and stationary bikes. Cycling brands have remained in control of the first two segments of trainers and smart bikes, but longtime fitness brands have upgraded their stationary bike catalogs.

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ZAP’S COLUMN

Like many boyfriend/girlfriend weekend getaways, this one, too, was preceded with a silly argument. The all-important topic of debate? Just what was the correct dress for an early-morning ride? Up until that moment when we were driving down the main street of the picturesque central California town of Cambria, all things were good. I hadn’t been back through Cambria since I last participated in the Golden State’s own version of the Italian-inspired Eroica California gran fondo in 2019. 

As we slowly drove through the picturesque town festooned with an array of Christmas lights and decorations, I recalled how I’d witnessed many riders lined up at the start of the ride who were drastically over-dressed to help fend off the morning chill. I next commented on what a glaring mistake it was to do so, and how for so many years I had done my best to warn against such a practice. 

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WATCH: UCI CX WORLD HIGHLIGHTS

 

The battle had been brewing between two of the world’s best road racers for months. Ironically, it was a battle to be fought during the off -season on a muddy cyclocross course in Holland at the 2023  Cyclocross World Championships. The protagonists were none other than the two wunderkids from Belgium and  Netherlands; Wout  van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel respectively.

And so it was that it all went down on a sunny day in front of thousands of partisan fans with the two riders going shoulder to shoulder until a wicked finish sprint by van der Poel made the decisive move with a wicked sprint to gap his always awe-inspiring Belgian competitor. For Mathieu it was his fifth world title and a reminder to many that it was his father Adri who won the same title in 1996.

Fem van Empel led a Dutch one-two-three in winning the women’s title at the cyclo-cross world championships on Saturday. With compatriot and defending champion Marianne Vos out injured, Van Empel took full advantage to lead home Puck Pieterse and Lucinda Brand.

On a memorable day for the Dutch, the home side had seven riders in the first eight places — only Italy’s Italian Silvia Persico in fourth broke the stranglehold. The turning point of the race came on the fourth of seven laps when Pieterse crashed, losing control of her front wheel on a fast corner.

Van Empel then accelerated away to defeat fellow 20-year-old Pieterse. “I put the gas on when I realized that Puck had slipped,” said European champion Van Empel whose road power trumped the technicality of mountain bike specialist Pieterse.

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BIKE OF THE WEEK: DE ROSA MERAK

As we all know, if there is one country that best defines the essence of cycling passion, it would be Italy. And within  the confines of that beautiful country remain some of the greatest, most historically noteworthy bike brands. DeRosa is one of them.

After starting the brand in 1953, Ugo De Rosa went on to earn a reputation for his precision craftsmanship and artisanal production of high-end racing bikes. Over the last 70 years, the brand has moved on from its origins crafting steel frames and has since moved on to producing a range of carbon racing bikes. Today the 89-year-old’s legacy remains intact as Ugo’s two sons continue to run the company with a catalog full of different models (of which only four imported into America).

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