Laurence Kilpatrick

1 week ago | cyclist.co.uk | Laurence Kilpatrick

It can be a long hard winter for the pro-focussed hacks on Cyclist.co.uk. Robyn and Ewan have made it through the famine of the off-season, started pecking away on some springtime snacks to build up their strength, but it’s June, the sun is out, and it’s officially time to make hay because the big cycle around France is about to begin.

1 week ago | cyclist.co.uk | Laurence Kilpatrick

SRAM has updated its mid-tier Force and Rival AXS road groupsets, bringing what it claims are braking and shifting improvements down from its top-tier Red AXS groupset plus mechanical changes across from its premier gravel groupset Red XPLR AXS. Headline changes include lever shapes that now mirror those of Red, bonus buttons for Force shifters, faster front shifting, visually chunkier but lighter crank arms, a variety of power meter options and a wider choice of chainring mount arrangements.

1 month ago | cyclist.co.uk | Laurence Kilpatrick

Things creep up on you in May. One minute you’re covering every radiator with wet clothes and wearing a base layer to bed, the next, you’re trotting out Giro predictions, slathering factor 50 on in the Peak District (of all places), watching Coventry concede 123rd minute heart-breakers in the playoff semi-final and panicking about your summer riding plans.

1 month ago | cyclist.co.uk | Laurence Kilpatrick

Ribble has launched its new Ultra Race all-round race bike to replace the Endurance SL R Disc.   Though the two bikes retain plenty of similarities, the Ultra Race is positioned as more performance focussed. Jamie Burrow, Ribble’s head of product, says the bike ‘bridges the gap between pure aero and lightweight race models’.

1 month ago | cyclist.co.uk | Laurence Kilpatrick

Three generations does not a dynasty make, but after less than a decade and just three iterations, the Basso Diamante SV has come to the end of the line. Its replacement, titled simply SV (sempre veloce, whichmeans ‘always fast’ in Italian), incorporates the racy and aero elements of its predecessor while falling into line with some more versatile design trends. It will sit alongside the Diamante, Basso’s lightweight climber’s bike, and the all-road Astra.