The last 12 months have seen some huge leaps in tech.
With its direct-mount derailleur, SRAM’s new RED XPLR changed the game for slick gravel gearing. I look forward to SRAM trickling that tech down to a level I can afford soon!
On the bike front, Giant's new TCR reinforced its place at the top of the race-bike tree. Plus I got the chance to see what goes into building them at Giant’s GTM factory.
I was impressed by new gravel bikes at all price levels from Rondo, Giant, Kinesis and Marin – not forgetting GT’s brilliant Grade and rowdy Grade X.
I liked Q36.5’s premium clothing and shoes and, at the affordable end of the scale, Madison’s gravel-friendly Roam range caught my attention. Udog’s road and gravel shoes remain strong favourites.
That all said, however, my standouts for the year have (nearly) all come from my utility riding.
I’ve got performance trousers tough enough for the ride and smart enough for the office; pedals that offer SPD performance and a huge safety bonus, and a lock that’s as tough and secure as anything I’ve tested in 20 years of lock testing.
Lastly, it's Skarper’s unique click-on, click-off ebike conversion system, so I can commute on a performance bike without having to get a sweat on. The only outlier is Prologo’s innovative CPC bar tape, which gives comfort and grip like nothing else.
Skarper DiskDrive
The Skarper DiskDrive is a product I’ve followed the development of for the last few years. The engineering team behind it set out to make an ebike conversion kit that can match lightweight ebikes, yet can be installed and removed in seconds.
It sounded far-fetched when I first got wind of it, so I’ve been hugely impressed that Skarper has achieved that goal.
As good as Boost, Swytch and Cytronex kits are, they’re designed to be fitted and left in place – brilliant if you want to revive an old bike or pep up your commuter steed.
The DiskDrive can do the same, but you can fit it to your bike to make it an assisted commuter during the week and take it off again at the weekend. If you buy additional rotors, you can electrify as many bikes as you want.
- £1,495 or £1,895 for the 2-rotor kit
Prologo Onetouch 3D CPC bar tape
SQUIRREL_TEXT_13164686
Prologo’s CPC is a unique polymer material that's shaped into thousands of hollow volcano-shaped cylinders over the surface. These, by their nature of lifting you away from the main surface, help isolate you from vibrations, reducing fatigue.
Yet – and this is the clever bit – the hollow tubed volcano shapes have a vacuum effect, holding and gripping for better levels of control. This approach debuted on saddles over a decade ago.
Prologo introduced the same material in a bar tape this year, and it’s become my favourite tape for the road. The surface makes for incredible grip, especially in the wet, even with ungloved hands.
It’s also super-comfortable, massaging your palms and fingers as you ride. Given the prices of CPC-infused saddles, I think this tape is something of a bargain.
- £43 / $44 / €49
SQUIRREL_13164686
RedShift Arclight Pro pedals
SQUIRREL_TEXT_13090779
The original flat Redshift pedals made my 2022 Gear of the Year selection. Those robust flat pedals had clever in-built lights, flashing red at the back and white at the front.
Back then, I wished for an SPD version of the pedals and Redshift has obliged. The Arclight Pro contains a dual-sided SPD with a platform cage around it and uses the same magnetically locked-in clever lights.
You can also remove the cages and use the Arclight Pro as a lightweight off-road pedal. They live on my commuter bike and, with the spinning illumination as I pedal 30 miles home from the office, I definitely feel safer and lots more visible on the road.
- £149.99 / $159.99 / €174.99 / AU$254.99
SQUIRREL_13090779
Chrome Industries Brannan pants
SQUIRREL_TEXT_13085235
The Brannan pants combine great styling with a robust material that has plenty of stretch. They’re styled like a cross between classic denim jeans and smart, tapered slim-legged trousers.
I’ve worn them in the office regularly, paired with either CHPT3’s stylish Transit trainers or Quoc’s equally slick SPD-compatible Chelsea boots. I’ve ridden to work and back in them a lot, worn them out socially, to meetings, and everything in between.
The DWR coating has kept spray and grime off them, and the waterproofing has needed a refresh (thanks Nikwax), but the material has stayed looking great, pull- and abrasion-free. I’ll keep wearing these for many miles to come.
- £154 / $130 / €166
SQUIRREL_13085235
Litelok X1
This year, I conducted another of our mega lock tests, using the state-of-the-art test lab run by Abus in Germany. Since the previous test, a whole new type of lock has emerged – the angle-grinder resistant U-lock. I could easily recommend angle-grinder resistant locks we tested from Hiplok, Abus and Squire.
The X1, though, is my pick, it's incredibly tough – when I first tested it, it killed my own battery-powered angle grinder, overheating and burning out the motor. It made for quite an expensive test!
When we re-tested it against the competition in the German lab, it kept up with locks costing twice as much in our barrage of tests.
What I like about the X1 is that it’s light enough to be portable, the twist-and-lock frame mount is simple yet secure and the X1 has a reflective band around it, so when it’s mounted it provides a bit of side-on visibility.
It comes with a neoprene bag, so it won’t damage your stuff if you put it in your backpack. Restrap even makes a belt loop for it, so you can wear the lock courier-style too.
If I need to leave my bike anywhere, the X1 is the lock I reach for every time.
- £149.99 / $179.99
