Dan Chabanov

1 month ago | bicycling.com | Dan Chabanov

There is no doubt in my mind that bikes today are, on every performance metric, better than the bikes of ten years ago. Take a Tour De France winning bike, a mountain bike World Cup winning bike, an Unbound winning gravel bike from ten years ago, and compare them to their current versions. Watt for watt, today's bikes will be faster. This was the thought I had while tackling a local mountain bike trail on my gravel bike the other day.

1 month ago | bicycling.com | Dan Chabanov

Whether you’re tackling tough intervals during a training session, pushing yourself to the top of a climb, or grinding into a persistent headwind, mental perseverance is a valuable skill for any rider looking to improve. For some riders, the ability to dig deep comes naturally. Others are motivated by direct competition. I have always been in the second group of riders, motivated by racing other people.

1 month ago | bicycling.com | Dan Chabanov

Hills, mountains, QOMs, cols, whatever you call them, conquering climbs is a huge part of cycling for many riders. Many of us will have riding iconic climbs on our bucket list, but what if you live nowhere near a hill? While it’s certainly easier to train for climbing by hitting some actual climbs, there are training strategies you can take advantage of to get yourself ready to tackle the hilly course you’ve been dreaming of. I won’t cover basic training and fitness building methods in this story.

1 month ago | bicycling.com | Dan Chabanov

Gravel riding and racing is as popular as it’s ever been and is still growing as a racing discipline for professionals and amateurs alike. The last few years of gravel bikes and equipment have seen mostly modest and linear changes. Not long ago, 40 to 42mm gravel tires seemed perfectly fine for racing. Heck, I rode the 200-mile distance at Unbound on 42 and 38mm tires front and rear just three years ago. But in the past year, the preferred tire size for gravel racing has ballooned dramatically.

1 month ago | bicycling.com | Dan Chabanov

There is this important and often overlooked category that fills the space between dedicated road and gravel bikes, most often called all-road or endurance. But other names for this group pop up or are proposed by brands’ marketing teams every few years.