Author: John Dodgin

 

Launched today! – the all-new Cannondale Topstone Carbon. Now nothing is impassible…

The original Topstone Carbon was one of our most popular gravel bikes here at Wheelbase and it’s great to see this new version which has had quite a makeover for 2022 and reflects the ongoing evolution of gravel riding. There’s a significant number of design improvements compared to its predecessor and our first impressions, before we even got into the technical aspects, were that this new Topstone looked hot! There’s a faster, more agile vibe to the bike’s silhouette and it looks ready for more fun even when it’s stood still; this is mainly down to the changes to the frame which is now more compact, with a dramatically increased slope to the top tube which just looks more in proportion to their unique rear triangle featuring the Kingpin pivot point.

The all-new Cannondale Topstone Carbon’s frame is more compact that its predecessor and just looks right. 

 

We’ll get into the specifics regarding tech in a minute, but first there’s two stand out factors to us which we think is worth identifying. First off is the raft of key improvements over the previous iteration of the Topstone Carbon. It’s clear that Cannondale have listened to both customers and retailers who’s gravel riding has evolved in recent times and have acted accordingly to make the bikes even more user friendly and functional as the demands of modern gravel biking continue to diversify.

Cannondale have clearly listened to their customers and have made some very logical and user-friendly design changes to the all-new Topstone Carbon.

 

Secondly there’s the versatility of the new Topstone Carbon, with much more choice within the range; this isn’t just a case of same frame and fork throughout with just the choice of groupset to decide. Reacting to how gravel biking continues to diversify with individuals focusing on different types of riding from Bikepacking adventures to flat-out mixed terrain rides where speed is key to more singletrack-focused riding where agility is more important Cannondale have offered a wider choice of configurations to meet the needs of a wider gravel audience.

Cannondale recognises how gravel biking continues to sub-divide into different riding styles and spec their Topstone Carbon bikes accordingly.

 

Within the Topstone range there’s a bike for every gravel style; for example choose the Topstone Carbon 2 Lefty for rowdy capability on the trails thanks to that super-plush 30mm travel front fork or the Topstone Carbon 2 L for a more Bikepacking-focused setup allowing you to head out fully laden with your Bikepacking luggage for a multi-day adventure. This particular model features Cannondale’s unique SmartSense system developed in partnership with Garmin and first seen on the road-going Synapse which launched earlier this year; SmartSense is ideal for those epic adventures that see you riding long into the night, when you need a powerful light source and benefitting from the SmartSense radar system which increases your awareness of traffic behind you as well as alerting drivers to your presence further up the road.

Epic Bikepacking adventures that extend into the night are made a little easier with Cannondale’s SmartSense system featuring on key bikes in the range.

 

Key Features In The Topstone Carbon Range…

Kingpin Suspension You’ll most probably be familiar with Cannondale’s iconic Kingpin suspension system from the original Topstone Carbon. For the new 2022 version the same rear suspension now features a low-friction bushing which is more durable than the previous model’s cartridge bearing setup. This simple system which relies on the engineered flex of the carbon fibre rear triangle gives 30mm of rear travel and takes the sting out of rough terrain without adding any extra weight or complexity and is completely maintenance-free.

Cannondale’s Lefty goes big! Whilst Cannondale previously offered their Lefty suspension fork on the Topstone Carbon in combination with a 650b wheel size this is the first time that the Lefty fork has been designed around the larger 700c wheel size. This all-new Lefty Oliver fork with its unique one-sided upside down telescopic configuration provides 30mm of bob-free travel and gives an even faster ride thanks to that larger-diameter 700c wheel which can accommodate a gravel tyre up to 45mm wide.

OutFront Steering Cannondale have continued to tweak the geometry of the Topstone Carbon with their OutFront steering providing confidence-inspiring handling for a stable ride in the chop when things get a little rowdy while remaining light and nimble when you’re winding your way through tight singletrack or are pointing the bike uphill.

SmartSense All of the new 2022 Topstone Carbon models are either equipped or are ready to upgrade to Cannondale’s SmartSense system which includes ambient reactive front and rear lights as well their rear-facing radar system which alerts you to traffic approaching from behind.

Superior Carrying Capability Cannondale have done everything possible to encourage you to spend longer on your gravel bike. Instead of doing your usual out and back ride in ‘a oner’ why not load up your Topstone Carbon with everything you’ll need for a multi-day adventure. There’s plentiful gear and water bottle mounts on the frame and fork (on the non-Lefty models) for all of your Bikepacking luggage.

Proportional Response Cannondale have included their Proportional Response principle to the construction of each frame size in the Topstone Carbon range. Size-specific construction, with different carbon layups specific to the size of frame and fork means that every size of rider experiences exactly the same ride quality.

Increased Tyre Clearance and Greater Wheel Compatibility For the new 2022 version of the Topstone Carbon Cannondale have made two significant changes when it comes to their wheels and available tyre clearance. Gone is their unique Ai wheel and frame system seen on the previous Topstone; this set up meant that the wheels had to dished differently to conventional wheels and swapping out wheels from one bike to another was more complicated than it had to be. Now all wheels are standard dished for easy interchangeability; the other improvement is seen in the mud-shedding clearance capability of the new Topstone. Thanks to that new dropped drive-side chainstay you can now run up to 45mm wide tyres and still benefit from 6mm of clearance between tyre and frame.

Dropper Seatpost Compatible All of the new Cannondale Topstone Carbon gravel bikes will accept an internally-routed 27.2mm diameter dropper seatpost making this bike even more capable when your gravel biking gets rowdy on technical trails.

The all-new Lefty Oliver suspension fork is specific to the 700c wheel diameter for the first time, giving a faster ride and providing 30mm of travel.

 

The Topstone Carbon features a neat StrapRack tool holder, internal routing for a dropper post, an all-new low-friction Kingpin bushing and a threaded bottom bracket.

 

That Kingpin pivot gives 30mm of rear travel; some models feature Cannondale’s SmartSense system, without it the frame’s recess acts as a cradle for the StrapRack tool holder. If you want to run a single chainring the front derailleur hanger mount is removeable.

 

Topstone Carbon 1 RLE RRP £8,000.00

Key Features:

• Lightweight Topstone Carbon frameset with Kingpin suspension
• SmartSense Radar & Light equipped
• SRAM Force eTap electronic 12-speed groupset
• FSA K-Wing AGX Carbon bars
• HollowGram 22 carbon wheels with 700x38c Vittoria Terreno Dry
• Rear Travel: 30mm
• Wheel/Tyre Size: 700x38c

 

Full Specification:

• Frame: Topstone Carbon, Kingpin suspension system, SmartSense equipped, 12x142mm thru-axle, 27.2 dropper post ready, BSA 68mm threaded BB, DirectLine internal cable routing,removable fender bridge, multiple gear/bottle mount
• Fork: Topstone Carbon, 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ steerer, 55mm OutFront offset, flat mount disc, internal routing, 12×100 thruaxle, triple bottle/gear mounts, fender mounts
• Rims: HollowGram 22, Carbon, 700c, 24h front, 28h rear, 22mm deep, 25mm IW, tubeless ready
• Hubs: (F) HollowGram, sealed bearing 12x100mm, centerlock / (R) HollowGram 12x142mm w/ DT Swiss internals, centerlock
• Spokes: Formula Grand Forza
• Tyres: Vittoria Terreno Dry, 700x38c, tubeless ready
• Crank: SRAM Force Wide, 43/30
• Bottom Bracket: SRAM DUB BSA Road 68 Wide
• Chain: SRAM Force, 12-speed
• Rear Cassette: SRAM XG-1270, 10-36, 12-speed
• Front Derailleur: SRAM Force eTap AXS Wide, braze-on
• Rear Derailleur : SRAM Force eTap AXS
• Shifters: SRAM Force eTap AXS, 12-speed
• Handlebar: FSA K-Wing AGX Carbon
• Grips: Fizik Solocush Soft, 3mm
• Stem: FSA SL-K Stem, Alloy, -6°
• Headset: Integrated, Carbon, 1-1/8″ – 1-1/2″
• Brakes: SRAM Force eTap AXS, 160/160mm CenterLine centerlock rotors
• Brake Levers: SRAM Force eTap AXS
• Saddle: Fizik Terra Argo X3, kium rails
• Seatpost: SAVE Carbon SmartSense, 27.2, 350mm (XS-L), 400mm (XL)
• Connectivity: Cannondale Wheel Sensor
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Colour: 1 Black Pearl w/ Meteor Gray and Graphite (BPL)
• Extras: SmartSense with Lights, Garmin Varia Radar, Edge Power Mount and Trainer-compatible thru-axle

 

Topstone Carbon 2 Lefty RRP £4,500.00

Key Features:

• Lightweight Topstone Carbon frame with Kingpin suspension / Lefty Oliver gravel suspension fork, 30mm travel
• Shimano GRX 800/600 11-speed gravel groupset
• DownLow dropper seat post
• WTB KOM Light rims wheels with Vittoria Mezcal 700 x 44c tyres
• Travel: 30mm front / 30mm rear
• Wheel/Tyre Size: 700x44c

 

Full Specification:

• Frame: Topstone Carbon, Kingpin suspension system, SmartSense compatible, 12x142mm thru-axle, 27.2 dropper post ready, BSA 68mm threaded BB, DirectLine internal cable routing, removable fender bridge, multiple gear/bottle mounts
• Fork: Lefty Oliver, 30mm travel, lockout, Chamber Damper w/ All-Over tune, ISO High-Ride air spring, tapered steerer, 700c, 55mm offset
• Rims: WTB KOM Light i23 TCS, 700c, 28h, tubeless ready
• Hubs: (F) Lefty SL, 6-Bolt / (R) Formula cartridge bearing, 6-Bolt, 12x142mm
• Spokes: Stainless Steel, 14g
• Tyres: Vittoria Mezcal, 700 x 44c, tubeless ready
• Crank: Shimano GRX 600, 40T
• Bottom Bracket: Shimano BSA 68
• Chain: Shimano HG701, 11-speed
• Rear Cassette: Shimano SLX, 11-42, 11-speed
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano GRX 810, Shadow RD+
• Shifters: Shimano GRX 800, 11-speed
• Handlebar: Cannondale 2 ShortDrop, 7050 alloy, 12 deg flare drop
• Grips: Fizik Solocush Soft, 3mm
• Stem: Cannondale 2, 6061 Alloy, 31.8, 7°
• Headset: Integrated, Carbon, 1-1/8″ – 1-1/2″
• Brakes: Shimano GRX 800 hydraulic disc, 160/160mm RT76 rotors
• Brake Levers Shimano GRX 800 hydraulic disc
• Saddle Fizik Terra Argo X5, S-alloy rails
• Seatpost: Cannondale DownLow Dropper Post, 27.2, shifter-integrated lever, travel – 60mm XS-S / 80mm M / 100mm L-XL
• Connectivity: Cannondale Wheel Sensor
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Colour 1: Gold Dust w/ Silver (GDT)
• Colour 2: Laguna Yellow w/ Butter, Mango, and Jet Black (LYW)
• Extras: StrapRack toolholder

 

Topstone Carbon 2 L RRP £4,500.00

Key Features:

• Lightweight Topstone Carbon frameset with Kingpin suspension
• SmartSense Light equipped Shimano GRX 800 11-speed gravel groupset
• SAVE Carbon seatpost
• WTB KOM Light rims wheels with 700x38c Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres
• Rear Travel: 30mm rear
• Wheel/Tyre Size: 700x38c

 

Full Specification:

• Frame: Topstone Carbon, Kingpin suspension system, SmartSense equipped, 12x142mm thru-axle, 27.2 dropper post ready, BSA 68mm threaded BB, DirectLine internal cable routing, removable fender bridge, multiple gear/bottle mounts
• Fork: Topstone Carbon, 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ steerer, 55mm OutFront offset, flat mount disc, internal routing, 12×100 thruaxle, triple bottle/gear mounts, fender mounts
• Rims: WTB KOM Light i23 TCS, 700c, 28h, tubeless ready
• Hubs: (F) Formula cartridge bearing, 12x100mm, centerlock / (R) Formula cartridge bearing, 12x142mm, centerlock
• Spokes: Stainless Steel, 14g
• Tyres: Vittoria Terreno Dry 700x38c, tubeless ready
• Crank: Shimano GRX 800, 48/31T
• Bottom Bracket: Shimano BSA 68
• Chain: Shimano HG701, 11-speed
• Rear Cassette: Shimano HG800, 11-34, 11-speed
• Front Derailleur : Shimano GRX 800, braze-on
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano GRX 810, Shadow RD+
• Shifters: Shimano GRX 800, 11-speed
• Handlebar: Cannondale 2 ShortDrop, 7050 alloy, 12 deg flare drop
• Grips: Fizik Solocush Soft, 3mm
• Stem: Cannondale 2, 6061 Alloy, 31.8, 7°
• Headset: Integrated, Carbon, 1-1/8″ – 1-1/2″
• Brakes: Shimano GRX 800 hydraulic disc, 160/160mm MT800 rotors
• Brake Levers: Shimano GRX 800 hydraulic disc
• Saddle: Fizik Terra Argo X5, S-alloy rails
• Seatpost: SAVE Carbon SmartSense, 27.2, 350mm (XS-L), 400mm (XL)
• Connectivity: Cannondale Wheel Sensor
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Colour: 1 Chalk w/ Black (CHK)
• Colour: 2 Jade w/ Sage, Pine, and Jet Black (JDE)
• Extras: SmartSense with Lights

 

Topstone Carbon 3 RRP £3,200.00

Key Features:

• Lightweight Topstone Carbon frameset with Kingpin suspension
• SmartSense Ready / Integrated Cannondale App connectivity
• Shimano GRX 800/600 11-speed gravel groupset
• WTB ST i23 TCS wheels with 700x45c WTB Riddler TCS Light tyres
• Rear Travel: 30mm rear
• Wheel/Tyre Size: 700x45c

Full Specification:

• Frame: Topstone Carbon, Kingpin suspension system, SmartSense compatible, 12x142mm thru-axle, 27.2 dropper post ready, BSA 68mm threaded BB, DirectLine internal cable routing, removable fender bridge, multiple gear/bottle mounts
• Fork: Topstone Carbon, 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ steerer, 55mm OutFront offset, flat mount disc, internal routing, 12×100 thruaxle, triple bottle/gear mounts, fender mounts
• Rims: WTB ST i23 TCS, 700c, 28h, tubeless ready
• Hubs: (F) Formula cartridge bearing, 12x100mm, centerlock / (R) Formula cartridge bearing, 12x142mm, centerlock
• Spokes: Stainless Steel, 14g
• Tyres: WTB Riddler TCS Light, 700x45c, tubeless ready
• Crank: Shimano GRX 600, 46/30
• Bottom Bracket: Shimano BSA 68
• Chain: Shimano HG601, 11-speed
• Rear Cassette: Shimano HG700, 11-34, 11-speed
• Front Derailleur : Shimano GRX 810, braze-on
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano GRX 810, Shadow RD+
• Shifters: Shimano GRX 600, 11-speed
• Handlebar: Cannondale 3, butted 6061 Alloy, 16 deg flare drop
• Grips: Fizik Solocush Soft, 3mm
• Stem: Cannondale 3, 6061 Alloy, 31.8, 7°
• Headset: Integrated, 1-1/8″ – 1-1/2″
• Brakes: Shimano GRX 600 hydraulic disc, 160/160mm RT64 rotors
• Brake Levers: Shimano GRX 600 hydraulic disc
• Saddle: Fizik Aliante Delta, S-alloy rails
• Seatpost: Cannondale 3, 6061 Alloy, 27.2 x 350mm
• Connectivity: Cannondale Wheel Sensor
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Colour 1: Tinted Black w/ White (CRB)
• Colour 2: Quicksand w/ Black Cherry and Smoke Black (QSD)
• Extras: StrapRack toolholder

 

Topstone Carbon 3 650b RRP £3,200.00

Key Features:

• Lightweight Topstone Carbon frameset with Kingpin suspension
• SmartSense Ready / Integrated Cannondale App connectivity
• Aggressive 650×47 “Road Plus” wheels & tyres
• Shimano GRX 800/600 11-speed gravel groupset
• Rear Travel: 30mm
• Wheel/Tyre Size: 650bx45c

Full Specification:

• Frame: Topstone Carbon, Kingpin suspension system, SmartSense compatible, Proportional Response construction, 12x142mm thru-axle, 27.2 dropper post compatible, BSA 68mm threaded BB, DirectLine internal cable routing, removable fender bridge, multiple gear/bottle mounts
• Fork: Topstone Carbon, 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ steerer, 55mm OutFront offset, flat mount disc, internal routing, 12×100 thruaxle, triple bottle/gear mounts, fender mounts
• Rims: WTB ST i25 TCS, 650b, 28h, tubeless ready
• Hubs: (F) Formula cartridge bearing, 12x100mm, centerlock / (R) Formula cartridge bearing, 12x142mm, centerlock
• Spokes: Stainless Steel, 14g
• Tyres: WTB Sendero TCS Light, 650bx47mm (47-584), tubeless ready
• Crank: Shimano GRX 600, 46/30
• Bottom Bracket: Shimano BSA 68
• Chain: Shimano HG601, 11-speed
• Rear Cassette: Shimano HG700, 11-34, 11-speed
• Front Derailleur : Shimano GRX 810, braze-on
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano GRX 810, Shadow RD+
• Shifters: Shimano GRX 600, 11-speed
• Handlebar: Cannondale 3, butted 6061 Alloy, 16 deg flare drop
• Grips: Fizik Solocush Soft, 3mm
• Stem: Cannondale 3, 6061 Alloy, 31.8, 7°
• Headset: Integrated, 1-1/8″ – 1-1/2″
• Brakes: Shimano GRX 600 hydraulic disc, 160/160mm RT64 rotors
• Brake Levers: Shimano GRX 600 hydraulic disc
• Saddle: Fizik Aliante Delta, S-alloy rails
• Seatpost: Cannondale 3, 6061 Alloy, 27.2 x 350mm
• Connectivity: Cannondale Wheel Sensor
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Colour: 1 Tinted Black w/ White (CRB)
• Colour: 2 Quicksand w/ Black Cherry and Smoke Black (QSD)
• Extras: StrapRack toolholder

 

Topstone Carbon 4 RRP £2,800.00

Key Features:

• Lightweight Topstone Carbon frameset with Kingpin suspension
• SmartSense Ready / Integrated Cannondale App connectivity
• Shimano GRX 600/400 10-speed gravel groupset
• WTB ST i23 TCS wheels with with 700x38c Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres
• Rear Travel: 30mm
• Wheel/Tyre Size: 700x45c

Full Specification:

• Frame: Topstone Carbon, Kingpin suspension system, SmartSense compatible, 12x142mm thru-axle, 27.2 dropper post ready, BSA 68mm threaded BB, DirectLine internal cable routing, removable fender bridge, multiple gear/bottle mounts
• Fork: Topstone Carbon, 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ steerer, 55mm OutFront offset, flat mount disc, internal routing, 12×100 thruaxle, triple bottle/gear mounts, fender mounts
• Rims: WTB ST i23 TCS, 700c, 28h, tubeless ready
• Hubs: (F) Formula cartridge bearing, 12x100mm, centerlock / (R) Formula cartridge bearing, 12x142mm, centerlock
• Spokes: Stainless Steel, 14g
• Tyres: Vittoria Terreno Dry, 700x38c, tubeless ready
• Crank: Shimano GRX 600, 46/30
• Bottom Bracket: Shimano BSA 68
• Chain: KMC X10, 10-speed
• Rear Cassette: Shimano HG500, 11-34, 10-speed
• Front Derailleur : Shimano GRX 400, braze-on
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano GRX 400, Shadow RD+
• Shifters: Shimano GRX 400, 10-speed
• Handlebar: Cannondale 3, butted 6061 Alloy, 16 deg flare drop
• Grips: Fizik Solocush Soft, 3mm
• Stem: Cannondale 3, 6061 Alloy, 31.8, 7°
• Headset: Integrated, 1-1/8″ – 1-1/2″
• Brakes: Shimano GRX 400 hydraulic disc, 160/160mm RT54 rotors
• Brake Levers Shimano GRX 400 hydraulic disc
• Saddle: Fizik Aliante Delta, S-alloy rails
• Seatpost: Cannondale 3, 6061 Alloy, 27.2 x 350mm
• Connectivity: Cannondale Wheel Sensor
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Colour: 1 Smoke Black w/ Jet Black, Stealth Gray, and Silver (SBK)
• Colour: 2 Olive Green w/ Black (OGN)
• Extras: StrapRack toolholder

 

 

 

 

The all-new Cannondale Topstone Carbon range is an intelligently-put-together collection of bikes which are clearly in-step with the ongoing evolution of gravel biking. Within this range there’s pretty much a Topstone Carbon to suit everyone; from riders looking for a fast & agile singletrack slayer with the capacity to take on rough, technical terrain at speed to those of us who are looking for a reliable gravel grinder that can be fully-laden with Bikepacking luggage and be ridden late into the night thanks to Cannondale’s SmartSense system. There’s been plenty of updates to the 2022 Topstone, helping the bikes function more efficiently while being more user friendly too; the versatile Topstone Carbon gravel bike has had a significant makeover for 2022 and we like it!

The Cannondale Topstone Carbon has has a significant makeover for 2022 and we like it!

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

 

Have you seen our Fast Bike Friday feature? Missed some of our best bikes? You can now see all of our featured bikes in one place over on Pinterest where you’ll find links to each of our Fast Bike Friday Blogs too!

Click the link below and search our archive…

It’s time to go racing! Finally after a long winter that followed a year of stop-start racing in 2021 thanks to the Coronavirus we can now all look forward to a full season of our preferred cycling discipline. For some people though, one form of bike racing is just not enough; bring on Lucy Bell, Wheelbase’s own multi-discipline cycling star who thinks nothing of mixing up a year of racing that includes gravity-focused Downhill and Enduro racing or swapping the big travel bike for the superlight cross-country MTB and taking on long-distance mountain bike marathon events. How’s about the curly bar bikes? Yep, she’s into them too and it’s not unusual to see her onboard her gravel bike taking on the latest, most grueling gravel event on the race calendar or even lining up for her local time trial on her aero road bike. It’s this open-minded attitude to riding and racing which keeps her equipment sponsor Cannondale happy as there’s always a cycling-themed challenge to overcome and a story to tell…

 

I was looking forward to kick-starting my racing calendar again and after a productive off-season which saw me spending a lot of time on my big travel Cannondale Jekyll Enduro bike I was super-keen to get myself to my local gravity event to see exactly how my form was. I’ve really taken to the Jekyll and it’s given me a renewed motivation for racing downhill and enduro events this year.

Lucy’s spent a lot of time on her Cannondale Jekyll this winter, honing her skills ready for the new season. (Pic by James Vincent)

 

Hamsterley is my local trail centre and it’s packed full of technical downhill trails which I ride all the time so I was stoked to be able to take on the Hamsterley TT run by the Northern Downhill as my first race of the season; the event staged two timed runs down the well-known Transmission-Accellerator-Nitrous tracks and would prove a challenging but enjoyable early-season tune-up.

Hamsterley is Lucy’s local riding spot and made a great race venue to kick off her season.

 

There was a little more motivation to head to Hamsterley too; after really getting into his riding this winter my 12 year old nephew would be making his racing debut, this made it all the more special for me and it was good to see just how excited he was to compete for the first time. Although this event was deemed a downhill race I’d spent the week before practicing the course onboard my Cannondale Jekyll enduro bike and decided that this would be my weapon of choice particularly as I knew there were some seriously pedally bits.

Lucy rails the berms.

 

The weather was kind to us on race day with dry hard-packed conditions which encouraged me to swap out my Maxxis DHR rear tyre for a semi slick and add some tyre pressure in the hope I’d gain some ‘free speed’. I wanted my Jekyll to be as responsive as possible on this relatively short course so tuned my suspension with a little more pressure too; the track was damp but not slippery and actually provided more grip than if it had been completely dry and dusty.

On a fast but pedally course Lucy’s Jekyll benefitted from a couple of tweaks to her setup.

 

I did one practice run to ensure I’d sighted any changes to the taping of the track and then it was time to race! My first run went OK, I felt like my big 170/160mm travel Jekyll coped pretty well on a fairly pedally course which even included a small portion of uphill fireroad which required me to sprint as hard I could out of the saddle. Learning from how I’d felt on my first run I tweaked my rear shock, adding a little more pressure and on my second run I finished 4 seconds faster coming away with a 3.50 run and finishing 2^nd behind Helen Gaskell in our race category as well as 3^rd overall female. The Hamsterley TT was a great way to start the season and has got me itching for more! I’m glad to see that my form is improving and I’m super-keen for more Enduro racing this year!

An excellent 2nd place gives Lucy plenty of confidence going into Enduro season.

 

Written by Lucy Bell

Photos by Digital Downhill

 

Read more about Lucy’s Cannondale Jekyll 1

(Pic by James Vincent)

We’ve got new hardtail mountain bikes coming into stock every day at WHEELBASE, here’s just a selection of some of our latest arrivals from the World’s best brands…

 

 

 

We’ve got new road & gravel bikes coming into stock every day at WHEELBASE, here’s just a selection of some of our latest arrivals from the World’s best brands…

 

Here at Wheelbase we’ve shown how keen we are on adventure cycling and the sub-genre that goes hand in hand, wild camping. Here’s a short story from a recent trip I took with the all-new Mondraker Crafty RR on a Lake District Bikepacking journey, to see how it fairs in what I would deem to be an unconventional form for this EMTB. This bike is most definitely designed to conquer tight, technical single track and suchlike and will very easily take that sort of riding in its stride, but how would it fair as a fully-laden pack-horse?

This trip was the first time that the Mondraker Crafty RR e-mountain bike took on Bikepacking duties.

 

With fuel prices currently rising I’m always thinking about ways I can experience bike-themed adventures straight from my front door; the Lake District National Park is a mere five miles or so from my doorstep, so there are plenty of fantastic mountain bike routes to tackle nearby once my cycling legs have warmed up.

By carrying the minimum amount of equipment required we travelled light and were able to gain elevation quickly.

 

Now, when Bikepacking and wild camping there’s a certain etiquette I like to stick by when heading high up into the hills and I have a few examples. Here in England, there are two rules I stand steadfast to; my first one is to arrive late and leave early. Doing this is just considered good practice when wild camping for no particular reason other than being considerate towards others and keeping a positive outlook on the wild camping community. The second and most important rule adheres to the ‘leave no trace’ movement, packing out all of your rubbish AND any more that you may have found. All that should be left on your departure at dawn is a flat piece of ground where your tent was once pitched.

The Apidura Bikepacking luggage comfortably fitted my Mondraker Crafty RR for a practical but lively ride.

 

On this particular Bikepacking trip we arrived late, about an hour before sundown and found a flat spot on the side of the fell where we pitched the tents and cooked tea. In the north of England your evening meal is always referred to as ‘tea’ rather than dinner but we can debate that another day! When I’m camping out on the hills I generally take dehydrated meals which are super easy to pack, are calorific and cause minimal fuss – just add boiling water for a quick and convenient meal.

Dehydrated meals are quick and convenient when you’re Bikepacking in remote areas.

 

Setup your camp late, depart early and leave nothing but a small patch of flattened grass.

 

The weather settled down early in the evening and made way for crystal clear skies once the sun had set, with minimal wind. Up high on the hills the deafening silence was only broken by the tent flapping in the wind and the resident sheep bleating to each other  in the distance. As I settled in for the night I’m pretty sure I heard some owls hooting as they started their nocturnal night shift.

A beautiful, still night was our reward for risking camping out so early in spring.

 

We woke early doors to frost on the tent and a still, calm, cold morning in the Lake District. A tactical coffee was made in an attempt to defrost the extremities and then we quickly broke camp, packed up and adopted our usual policy of departing early, leaving no trace. As we headed off onto some of our favourite trails the early morning sun lit up Windermere and the surrounding fells; what a crackin’ start to the day.

What a stunning morning, with a light frost and a beautiful sunsrise.

 

A quick coffee to warm us up and bring us back to life ready for our ride off the hills.

 

I often get asked the question – what do you get out of sleeping outside in a simple shelter such as a tent or a bivvy? My response is generally something along the lines of me not having an agenda, having no phone signal, only my camera and a book to keep me occupied. It’s something I do to lift me out of the rat-race of everyday life where we’re constantly connected to everyone and everything at the few touches of a button on the Smartphone. Bikepacking gives me such a sense of adventure because more distance can be covered in a shorter amount of time, enabling access to most places where bikes are permitted in the lakes. Parts of this ride had to be pushed but it’s well worth a short section of hike-a-bike for sunrises and sunsets on fells such as these.

Your feature writer and Bikepacking aficionado – Andrew Barlow.

 

The Mondraker Crafty RR e-mountain bike has quickly proved itself as a reliable power-charged Bikepacking machine.

 

Want to get into Bikepacking and wild camping? Stay tuned as we put together a comprehensive list to help you along your way should you want to strike out on your own mini adventure…

 

Written by Andrew Barlow

Photography by Andrew Barlow

 

Have you seen our Fast Bike Friday feature? Missed some of our best bikes? You can now see all of our featured bikes in one place over on Pinterest where you’ll find links to each of our Fast Bike Friday Blogs too!

Click the link below and search our archive…

 

 

 

What do you get when you have two time-pushed Dads struggling to find the opportunity for a proper mountain bike ride, goaded by some of the best mountain biking in the Lake District right on their Wheelbase HQ doorstep? You get two e-mountain bikes and you hurriedly hatch a cunning plan for a dawn raid…

…At 6.30am on a Saturday morning guaranteed to be cloudless with blue skies Toby Dalton, Wheelbase Operations Director and I (Johnny Dodgin, Wheelbase Digital Marketing man and author of this feature) headed out of Glenridding on the shores of Ullswater and in the shadow of Helvellyn with a plan to summit the mountain before breakfast and then take on the challenging but super-fun descent of Sticks Pass.

With a plan to get to the top of Helvellyn as quickly and efficiently as possible the Scott Patron eRide 910 easily met the brief.

 

Just a week before this ride Toby could be seen manning the bike cleaning hose for two full days, helping to keep the wheels turning at our busy Wheelbase BIG DEMO Weekend while I was running around with DMTWO Media making a video to capture the vibe of this brilliant event. As we collected our thoughts after the manic weekend we realised that yet again, we’d been too busy to get the chance to ride some of the very best mountain bikes and eMTBs from our favourite brands. Happily our friends at Scott Sports UK had left us with a very special demo eMTB – the brand new Scott Patron eRide 910. It was a chance too good to miss; I would pilot this powerful eMTB to the summit of Helvellyn while Toby would jump on a very capable Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 HPC Action Team 625.

The Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 HPC Action Team 625 made short work of the arduous climb.

 

We’d promised our families that we’d be back by mid-morning so a dawn raid with EMTBs allowing us to cover the uphill terrain a little more efficiently was an inspired plan; I was interested to see exactly how much more rideable the route to the summit of Helvellyn would be on an eMTB compared to my usual ‘acoustic’ mountain bike. I’ll admit that on previous Lake District adventures I find the ‘hike a bike’ stretches that inevitably occur when negotiating this kind of terrain on a non-e mountain bike less than inspiring. It doesn’t matter how fit you are, when the gradient reaches a certain steepness and the ground beneath you gets particularly loose and rocky the laws of physics come into play and before you know it you’re dabbing your feet and getting off to push. In some cases it just starts to feel like you’ve taken your bike out for a walk!

Two time-pushed Dads on top of the World!

 

On this eMTB-fueled ride those uphill frustrations just never materialised; both Toby and I managed to climb up the valley and onto the infamous switchback climb up to Keppel Cove feeling fresh and carrying plenty of momentum into this difficult stretch of super-steep, loose track. Compared to previous efforts on our non-eMTB bikes we were able to hold traction and hold our line through even the blockiest, roughest tight turns. There was one corner which caught us both out as we spun out but otherwise the route to the VERY windswept ridge of Keppel Cove was completely rideable!

The switch from open terrain at the top of Helvellyn to the tight singletrack trails of Sticks Pass was a bit of a wake up call…

 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of being a mountain biking purist and to dispel eMTBs as something that ‘cheats the system’ and I’ll admit, I’ve been guilty of that sort of mindset in the past. However, a ride like this encouraged me to reconsider my stance; is riding an e-mountain bike physically any easier? Is it lazy? No, not really. As my Garmin Connect files can attest, my heart rate was just as high as on any non-eMTB ride and I was definitely riding hard. The clearest way I can break it down is this – it’s still a hard and rewarding ride, it’s just that you’re able to ride more efficiently with the eMTB making terrain that you may have previously deemed unrideable as rideable; the eMTB made this grueling mountain climb a realistic goal. Suddenly I was having as much fun trying to ride cleanly to the top as I would be trying to ride smoothly downhill.

…and I rather inevitably had the odd ‘bobble’ on the way down.

 

We then turned left and climbed up over Whiteside Bank, fighting against some unbelievably strong winds and onto the steep, precarious climb up Lower Man. It was at this point that we both had to use ‘Turbo’ mode on our Bosch powered eMTBs and the affects were almost unbelievable; both of us couldn’t help laughing out loud at just how capable these bikes were as we continued well past the point where we’d expected we’d have to dab a foot and begin to push. Admittedly a final couple of tight bends caught us out but setting the eMTBs to ‘Walk’ mode meant there was a useful amount of assistance while pushing the bikes, meaning you never had to deal with the dead weight of the bike.

The Scott Patron eRide 910 was super-fun on the downhills and definitely enhanced my descending abilities beyond what I’m normally capable of.

 

Shortly after we peaked the summit, captured the views for the ‘Gram’ and headed back down toward the super-fun Sticks Pass descent. This technical singletrack pitches steeply downhill in sections and includes plenty of tight, rocky turns to keep you focused all the way back down to Glenridding. The Scott Patron eRide 910 had already proved its self on the uphill thanks to that powerful Bosch motor, but when I pointed it downhill I quickly appreciated just how capable this 160mm travel trail bike was. On that note lets take a closer look at the bike…

Heading back down on dry trails, bathed in sunlight and it’s only 9.00am. 

 

At our recent Wheelbase BIG DEMO Weekend the Scott Patron eRide 910 was most certainly one of the ‘stars of show’ garnering loads of attention and facing a very long queue of pre-booked test rides over the two days. That long queue of expectant riders extended beyond our customers to a whole bunch of Wheelbase Lake District staff eager to get a feel for this cutting-edge eMTB.

So why did this bike pique so many people’s interest? Well, just look at it! The Patron eRdie 910 has a unique appearance and a very stylish aesthetic thanks to some clever integration and Swiss engineering. First off, let’s talk about the ‘invisible shock’ stowed neatly into the Patron’s top tube; in a similar move to Scott’s Spark cross country mountain bike the rear shock has been placed internally, giving 160mm of smooth travel while being protected from the elements.

Photo by James Vincent

 

At the heart of this capable eMTB is Bosch’s Performance CX motor controlled by their Smart System via a Bosch LED Remote & Kiox 300 display. With Eco, Touring Plus, E-MTB and Turbo modes users are able to dose the power to the motor intelligently through their ride, using just the right amount of pedal assistance for each riding scenario. Scott have fitted the Patron eRide 910 with Bosch’s biggest 750Wh PowerTube internal battery; this latest iteration of Bosch battery increases capacity and ride range encouraging you to explore further on one charge. It’s interesting to note that on our ride up to the summit of Helvellyn and back down to Glenridding the efficient 750Wh battery on the Patron was left with a whopping 55% of charge!

Some of you may have noticed that on some rival eMTBs from other brands when a 750Wh Power Tube internal battery is spec’d the frame configuration can look a little janky; as batteries become more powerful they inevitably have to get to bigger, or in this case longer. To compensate for this Scott came up with a clever solution to keep the look of the bike right. By simply rotating the Bosch Performance motor Scott were able to drop the longer battery lower, placing it underneath the motor at the bottom bracket. This is not just an aesthetic solution though, this clever configuration also re-distributes weight creating a lower centre of gravity for enhanced handling and a more stable ride quality, something I can attest to having got some serious speed up on the loose, rocky tracks off the top of Helvellyn.

Photo by James Vincent

 

 Legendary mountain bike industry stalwart and YouTube reviewer Guy Kesteven test-rode the Patron at our Big Demo weekend. Check it out!…

 

Scott Patron eRide 910 2022

Full Specification:

• Frame: Alloy Frame & Link, Virtual 4 link kinematic VLK, 29×2.6 / Boost 148x12mm UDH, 160mm travel / Bosch Gen4 / Integr. removable Battery, 1.8″ Headtube, Central Kickstand Mount, Integr. Cable
• Travel: Front: 160mm / Rear: 160mm
• Rear Shock: FOX Float EVOL eRIDE Trunnion, 3 modes / Lockout-Trail-Descend DPS / Reb. Adj. Travel 160mm / 205x60mm
• Fork: FOX 38 Perf. Air / eMTB+ / FIT4, 3-Modes with low Speed adj. / QR Axle 15x110mm axle, 44mm offset / tapered steerer / Reb. Adj. / Lockout / 160mm travel
• Remote System: SCOTT TwinLoc 2 Technology, Suspension & Dropper Remote, 3 modes
• Drive Unit: Bosch Performance CX, EU: 25kmh / 15mph
• Battery: PowerTube 750Wh
• Display: Bosch LED Remote & Kiox 300
• Charger: 4A Charger
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT / 12 Speed
• Shifters: Shimano SL-M8100
• Crankset: FSA CK-745 165mm / 34T
• Chain Guide: e*thirteen / e*spec Slider
• Chainring: FSA WB604 / 34T / DM / Steel
• Chain: Shimano CN-M8100
• Cassette: Shimano CS-M8100 / 10-51 T
• Brakes: Shimano SLX / BR-M7120 4 Piston
• Rotor: Front & Rear: SM-RT70 CL 203mm
• Handlebar: Syncros Hixon 1.5 / Alloy 7050D.B. 12mm rise / 9° / 780mm
• Grips: Syncros Pro Lock-on
• Handlebar Stem: Syncros AM1.5 / 7050 Alloy, 31.8mm / 4° / 1 1/8″
• Seatpost: Syncros Duncan Dropper Post 2.5, 31.6mm / S size 125mm / M & L size 150mm / XL size 170mm
• Saddle: Syncros Tofino 1.5 Regular, Titanium rails
• Headset: Acros / 1.8″ ZS66 OD74 / integr. Cable
• Hub: (front) Formula CL-811 / 15x110mm
• Hub: (rear) Formula ECT-1481 / Boost 148x12mm
• Spokes: Stainless Black
• Rims: Syncros MD30 / 32H / 30mm / Pin Joint, Tubeless ready
• Front Tyre: Maxxis Dissector 29×2.6″ 120TPI Foldable Bead, EXO+ / TR Tubeless ready, 3C Maxx Terra
• Rear Tyre: Maxxis Dissector 29×2.6″ 120TPI Foldable Bead, EXO+ / TR Tubeless ready, 3C Maxx Terra
• Lights: Bosch Light Cable pre-installed F&R
• Approx Weights In KG: 26.10kg
• Approx Weights In LBS: 57.54lbs
• Max. System Weight: 128kg The overall weight includes the bike, the rider, the equipment, and possible additional luggage.

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Riding Photos by Toby Dalton

 

Have you seen our Fast Bike Friday feature? Missed some of our best bikes? You can now see all of our featured bikes in one place over on Pinterest where you’ll find links to each of our Fast Bike Friday Blogs too!

Click the link below and search our archive…

 

We are extremely proud to launch the Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli road racing team for 2022. After two tricky seasons of Covid-19 impacted competition we’re back for our 15th year and are looking forward to lots of fast, frenetic racing all over the UK. Despite certain logistical difficulties around the pandemic 2021 turned out to be our most successful season yet with one of our team riders taking an impressive 3rd place at our local elite race – the grueling Lancaster GP, part of the national-level Premier Calendar race series. Elsewhere we saw one of our longest-serving Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli racers take the gold medal and Rainbow Jersey of World Masters Cyclocross Champion as well as one of our youngest riders taking a senior win at the National Trophy Cyclocross series before finishing on the podium in the overall series standings.

With the impact of Covid-19 on racing now a thing of the past we head into 2022 with renewed confidence and more passion than ever to support our young squad of racers in their pursuit of racing success throughout a busy season of road racing. Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli is now the longest-running team in the British road racing peloton; we’ve always classed ourselves as a stepping stone team, helping our young riders gain valuable racing experience in the UK’s most challenging races. Over the years we’ve seen a number of our team riders gain national exposure before going on to bigger international teams at the highest levels of professional road racing and last year we celebrated local Cumbrian lad and former Wheelbase team rider Mark Donovan completing his first Tour De France.

 

Watch our Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team launch video…

 

We enjoyed a successful team launch event on a sunny early-spring day at Wheelbase HQ in the Lake District, with our riders travelling from Scotland and the north of England, coming together for the first time this year to get to know each other better and to familiarise themselves with their new highly-spec’d Cannondale SuperSix EVO Disc Ultegra Di2 race bikes before getting decked out with their brand new 2022 Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team kit.

We kicked the day off with a team briefing hosted by Team Manager Toby Dalton and Directeur Sportif Stu Reid which covered a brief history of the team and our ambitions for 2022; our young team will be doing the new British Cycling Under 23 National Road Series as well as a mix of National A races and we’ll also be making an appearance at the televised Tour Series too. We’ll also take on the National Crit Series with its elbow to elbow city-centre racing and on a more regional level our racers will tune up their race fitness by taking on their local circuit races and time trials.

When it comes to building experience and developing some solid race craft the young riders can tap into with wealth of knowledge and expertise from their road captain Davie Lines; with over twenty years of racing experience Davie shows no signs of slowing down on the bike and will be at the sharp end keeping the team organised and effective in their racing. Off the bike Stu Reid will act as our Directeur Sportif, driving the team car and making mid-race decisions that benefit the whole team; he too can call on years of road racing experience and read a race like the very best DS’s in the business.

During the ride which also encompassed a team photoshoot and plenty of filming for our launch video the personalities of our young team very quickly started to shine through. As well as reporting on their race results throughout the season we look forward to getting to know each rider a little more and will be checking in with them in the coming months to find out more about each of them.

Wheelbase would like to publicly thank our generous sponsors for their continued support which makes all of the racing and team organisation behind the scenes possible, contributing to the successful development of our young riders by providing financial support as well as suppling us the very best bikes and kit available. BIG thanks to Cannondale bikes, Cabtech Bespoke Interiors, Castelli cycling clothing, Spatzwear extreme weather cycling gear, Giro helmets, P.V. Dobson car dealership and 11 Degrees urban fashion brand.

UNITE. FIGHT. BELIEVE!

 

The Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team launch was a chance for the riders to get together for the first time this year.

 

 

Some familiar faces and some new recruits; this year’s team features a healthy mix of experience and raw passion for racing.

 

Team Manager Toby Dalton and Directeur Sportif Stu Reid introduce the launch day and run through the year ahead.

 

Our squad listen to the team’s plans for the year, identifying key targets throughout the season.

 

Riders are kitted out with Castelli cycling gear; they’re going to look great this year thanks to our long-term clothing sponsor.

 

Callum Thornley tries his new helmet on for size. Thank you Giro for supplying us with these hot-looking helmets that match our team kit.

 

Wheelbase marketing man Johnny Dodgin interviews Logan Maclean for our short team launch video produced by DMTWO Media

 

Fraser Martin answers some quick-fire questions.

 

After a bit of faffing we finally get the team out for their group ride.

 

Callum was excited to get out on some of the more grippy roads of the South Lakes.

 

The squad knows how to ride smoothly as a group; note the upcoming pothole being pointed out mid-pack.

 

Team Manager Toby Dalton has put an enormous amount of energy into running our Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team over the past 15 years.

 

Special thanks to P.V. Dobson for supporting us with our Volvo team car for this season; give us a wave is you see us out on the road!

 

We were blessed with some crackin’ early spring weather for our team launch in the Lake District.

 

Our dedicated DS Stu Reid was already spotting some good signs of early season form within the pack.

 

Despite the steep climbs the conversation was high with plenty of banter on the ride.

 

Logan Maclean had just returned from a two month training camp in Spain and was displaying great form going into early season.

 

Team captain Davie Lines (right) not only gets amazing results on the road but also acts as a fantastic mentor for our younger riders.

 

We’re blessed here at Wheelbase HQ with great roads and stunning landscapes like this only 10 minutes from our Lake District store.

 

We’re stoked to welcome our first international team rider Matty Fox from Australia.

 

Davie Lines chips off the front, showing the young lads how it’s done.

 

The Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team get a feel for their race-ready Cannondale SuperSix EVO Disc Ultegra Di2 road bikes.

 

Fraser’s feet are kept warm and dry thanks to these team-issue Spatz Legalz 2 overshoes from one of our faithful sponsors Spatzwear.

 

Callum Thornley captures his hot new Cannondale SuperSix EVO Disc Ultegra Di2 ‘for the Gram’.

 

Lightweight, responsive and aerodynamic the SuperSix EVO is a great all-rounder race bike.

 

Callum fine tunes the fit of his new Cannondale SuperSix EVO Disc equipped with Shimano’s UltegraDi2 electronic groupset.

 

Cannondale SuperSix EVO Disc Ultegra Di2 Team Bike

Full Specification:

• Frame: SuperSix Evo Carbon, integrated cable routing w/ Switchplate, 12×142 Speed Release thru-axle, SAVE, PF30a, flat mount disc, integrated seat binder
• Fork: SuperSix Evo Carbon, SAVE, integrated crown race, 12x100mm Speed Release thru-axle, flat mount disc, internal routing, 1-1/8″ to 1-1/4″ steerer and 55mm offset (44-54cm), 1-1/8″ to 1-3/8” steerer and 45mm offset (56-62cm)
• Headset: Integrated, 1-1/8″ – 1-1/4″ (44-54cm), 1-1/8″ – 1-3/8″ (56-62cm)
• Bottom Bracket: Cannondale Alloy PressFit30
• Chain: Shimano Ultegra 8100, 12-speed
• Crank: Shimano Ultegra R8100, 52/36 for 12-speed
• Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8150, braze-on
• Rear Cassette: Shimano Ultegra R8100, 11-30, 12-speed
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8150
• Shifters: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8170, 12-speed
• Brake Levers: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8170
• Brakes: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8170 hydraulic disc, 160/160mm MT800 rotors
• Hubs: (F) HollowGram KNØT, sealed bearing 12x100mm centerlock / (R) HollowGram KNØT, 12x142mm centerlock w/ DT Swiss 350 internals
• Rims: HollowGram 45 KNØT, Carbon, 20h front, 24h rear, 45mm deep, 21mm IW, tubeless ready
• Spokes: HollowGram, 2.0/1.8/2.0, straight-pull
• Wheel Sensor: Cannondale Wheel Sensor
• Tyres: Vittoria Rubino Pro Bright Black, 700 x 25c, reflective strip
• Bar Tape: Cannondale Bar Tape, 3.5mm
• Handlebar: HollowGram SAVE SystemBar, Carbon, 8 deg. pitch adjust
• Saddle: Fizik Tempo Argo R5, 150mm width, S-Alloy rails
• Seatpost: HollowGram 27 SL KNØT, Carbon, 2 bolt clamp, 330mm, 0mm offset (44-48cm), 15mm offset (51-62cm)
• Stem: HollowGram KNØT, Alloy w/ cable cover, -6°

 

Get the Cannondale SuperSix EVO Disc Ultegra Di2 Team Bike is available now from only £131.25 per month…

 

The Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team are brilliantly equipped thanks to our sponsors and are ready for a full season of road racing in the UK.

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

Video by DMTWO Media

 

Have you seen our Fast Bike Friday feature? Missed some of our best bikes? You can now see all of our featured bikes in one place over on Pinterest where you’ll find links to each of our Fast Bike Friday Blogs too!

Click the link below and search our archive…

 

The Wheelbase BIG DEMO Weekend returned to our Lake District store for 2022 and was bigger and better than ever, with all of our top brands being represented within a huge fleet of demo bikes; we had the newest mountain bikes and eMTBs from Trek, Cannondale, Scott, Focus, Nukeproof, Mondraker, Whyte, Kona and Yeti.

The BIG DEMO weekend was a chance for riders to get a feel for the latest tech and shred on some of the most exciting new bikes, with each group expertly guided by the Cycle Active guiding team on some of the most iconic trails in the south Lake District. With so many of the world’s hottest bikes in one place we took the opportunity to shoot some of the event’s most sought-after mountain bikes and eMTBs…

 

Scott Patron eRide 910 2022

We were super-keen to take a better look at the all-new Scott Patron eRide 910 and to take it out for a ride on some of the most challenging trails in the South Lakes. This big travel eMTB boasts 160mm of front and rear suspension travel, a powerful Bosch Performance CX motor and an efficient 750Wh PowerTube internal battery for a considerably longer range. Cast your eyes of the bike’s chassis and you’ll be excused for any confusion regarding the location of the bike’s rear suspension; Scott have cleverly stowed the rear shock within the frame. There’s a lot of tech to squeeze into the Patron eRide but the Swiss brand have done a brilliant job here, with that long 750Wh battery stored in the downtube alongside the Bosch motor which has been rotated from its typical position to keep the bike’s geometry sweet and the centre of gravity as low as possible.

Scott Patron eRide 910 2022 RRP £6,349.00

 

Scott Patron eRide 910 2022 RRP £6,349.00

 

Legendary mountain bike industry stalwart and YouTube reviewer Guy Kesteven test-rode the Patron at our Big Demo weekend. Check it out!…

 

Yeti 160E T1 2022

The YETI 160E T1 was easily one of the most popular eMTBs at the Big Demo Weekend. Silverfish only had a small amount of these bike available at the event and they were definitely one of the most prized bikes for riders to get their leg over during the weekend. There’s plenty of great tech on this eMTB which Yeti took their time in developing and on its release YETI billed it as the first truly race-focused eMTB with the 160E T1 built specifically to meet the demands of Enduro racing. To find out lots more including the motor spec and clever suspension configuration read our detailed product launch feature HERE.

Yeti 160E T1 2022 RRP £11,899.00

 

Cannondale Jekyll 1 2022

We were stoked to see that Cannondale had brought a good number of the Jekyll 1 long-travel enduro mountain bike with them to our Big Demo Weekend. Aimed at super-fast Enduro racers and trail riders who love to push the boundaries and conquer steep, tight, technical singletrack and wide-open super-fast tracks peppered with high-speed berms and huge gap jumps the Jekyll 1 features 170mm of suspension travel upfront complimented by a plush 165mm of rear travel. Riders were coming back off the hills to Wheelbase HQ with huge grins on their faces having taken the Jekyll down some of our rockiest, most challenging local trails. To read a full review of the Cannondale Jekyll 1 click HERE.

Cannondale Jekyll 1 2022 RRP £6,750.00

 

Mondraker Raze Carbon RR 2022

Whilst there was a huge appetite for eMTBs at our Big Demo Weekend with the majority of favoured mountain bikes featuring some sort of pedal-assist motor there was still a lot of interest around some key ‘acoustic’ non-motor mountain bikes during the event. One such bike was the Mondraker Raze Carbon RR; the Raze is one of the most recent arrivals at Wheelbase and we had a number of our staff queuing up to ride this bike after the event too. Talking to some of them on their return to Wheelbase HQ the general message was that this was an extremely versatile trail bike which is able to hit that illusive sweet spot of being an efficient climber with a spritely feel on the uphills while also being very capable when the trails point downhill. Mondraker have very kindly left a Raze with us for a long term test, so watch this space for a detailed Fast Bike Friday feature coming very soon.

Mondraker Raze Carbon RR 2022 RRP £6,799.00

 

Mondraker Raze Carbon RR 2022 RRP £6,799.00

 

Focus JAM2 7.0 2022

German brand Focus were well represented at the Wheelbase Big Demo Weekend with the JAM2 7.0 eMTB being one of their most popular bikes. With 150mm of suspension and a powerful, efficient Shimano EP8 motor the JAM2 7.0 has been unashamedly been built for the sole aim of having more fun on your mountain bike. The feedback from riders as they headed back into the Wheelbase HQ yard was the proof in the pudding – smiles were wide and tales of speedy ascents and even speedier descents down some of our most technical, rocky downhill trails were being traded with enthusiasm. Take a more detailed look at the Focus JAM2 7.0 HERE.

Focus Jam2 6.9 2022 RRP £7,499.00

 

Focus Jam2 6.9 2022 RRP £7,499.00

 

Focus JAM2 6.9 2022

The Focus JAM2 6.9 was another popular eMTB from the Focus demo fleet. The JAM2 6.9 features a powerful Bosch Performance CX Gen 4 motor and a 625Wh battery compared to the Shimano Steps motor and larger 720Wh battery seen on the JAM2 7.0 There was no shortage of riders waiting to take this agile trail bike out onto the hills which features 150mm of plush suspension travel front and rear.

Focus Jam2 6.9 2022 RRP £5,399.00

 

Focus Jam2 6.9 2022 RRP £5,399.00

 

Nukeproof Megawatt 297 Elite 2022

There was plenty of talk about the Nukeproof Megawatt 297 Elite eMTB in the Wheelbase Big Demo area, with this being the first time for many of us – both staff and customers to really see the bike in the flesh. Even better, for the chosen few lucky enough to get a ride booked on the Megawatt there was a chance to get a real feel for how this amazingly capable eMTB rides. The ‘acoustic’ Mega has already got a huge fan base thanks to its long travel ‘super-enduro’ suspension and geometry configuration; the addition of a powerful Shimano Steps motor makes this sort of bike even more versatile and accessible when it comes to longer, more intrepid rides. For a detailed look at the Megawatt click HERE.

Nukeproof Megawatt 297 Elite 2022 RRP £5,999.99

 

Nukeproof Megawatt 297 Elite 2022 RRP £5,999.99

 

Whyte E-180 S 2022

British brand Whyte are always a favourite amongst our Big Demo Weekend riders. With a solid reputation for building mountain bikes specifically designed for typical UK trails and conditions their eMTBs and mountain bikes excel on such terrain and always garner positive feedback when our event attendees return to Wheelbase HQ. The Whyte E-180 S boasts a long-travel chassis with stable geometry and low centre of gravity thanks to the Bosch Performance Line CX motor being cleverly positioned, eliminating any potential for negative handling.

Whyte E-180 S 2022 RRP £6,399.00

 

Whyte E-180 S 2022 RRP £6,399.00

 

Guy Kesteven’s cherry-pick of the best demo bikes…

We were lucky enough to have MTB industry journo and prolific YouTuber Guy Kesteven in attendance for the whole of the Big Demo Weekend this year. Guy’s been professionally test riding bikes for UK magazines and global websites for 25 years. His channel takes you along for the test rides and technical evaluations of the latest bikes and kit so you can see exactly how they perform and feel on the trail. Guy’s renowned for his straight up Yorkshire honesty based on over two decades of relentless, all weather, head to head test riding making him the ideal candidate for a no-nonsense run through some of the best bikes at our Demo Weekend…

 

Trek Rail 9.9 XX1 AXS 2022

Rubbish video about a brilliant bike! Is Trek’s fully SRAM Wizz and Wireless AXS gear equipped new Rail 9.9 the Ultimate Hi Tech E-MTB? I tested it at the Wheelbase Demo Weekend and was massively impressed as you’ll see. Apologies for the failing GoPro battery that kept cutting the video clips short but I’m definitely going to try and get this bike back for a proper video. Hopefully at the Hamsterley Wheelbase Demo so see you there for that.

 

We’d like to thank all of our fantastic brands for supplying us with the world’s best bikes for two days of testing on some of the Lake District’s most enjoyable trails. Missed the event? Check out our video below to see all the action from the Wheelbase Big Demo Weekend 2022.

Check out our BIG DEMO Weekend video…

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

Video by DMTWO Media

 

Have you seen our Fast Bike Friday feature? Missed some of our best bikes? You can now see all of our featured bikes in one place over on Pinterest where you’ll find links to each of our Fast Bike Friday Blogs too!

Click the link below and search our archive…

 

Here at Wheelbase Lake District we’re celebrating a fantastic weekend and reflecting on two successful days of demo riding for over 200 visitors to our BIG DEMO WEEKEND 2022.

Yes, finally after a COVID-19 induced break in 2021 the legendary BIG DEMO mountain bike and eMTB event was back and was better than ever for customers attending the event as well as our hard working colleagues from the very best brands available. 2022 saw a huge fleet of demo bikes to ride from Trek, Cannondale, Scott, Focus, Nukeproof, Mondraker, Whyte, Kona and Yeti.

The big demo weekend was a chance for riders to get a feel for the latest tech and shred on some of the most exciting new mountain bikes and eMTBs; with each group ride guided by fully-qualified, certified mountain bike guides from the Cycle Active team our customers got to take their dream bikes out onto some of the most iconic trails in the south Lake District before heading back to Wheelbase HQ for refreshments and a quick bike change before heading out again for more fun!

We’d like to thank all of you who attended, our fantastic brands for supplying us with the world’s best bikes and the guides for getting everyone around the challenging trails safely. We can’t wait to do it all again next year; if you’ve got FOMO (fear of missing out) then pencil it in your diary for a similar date in March next year!

Wheelbase Northeast also be hosting a mountain bike demo day in Hamsterley Forest next month on April 23rd; more info to follow.

Check out our BIG DEMO Weekend video…

 

Over 130 mountain bikes and eMTBs from the best brands racked up and ready for a busy day of demo riding.

 

Wheelbase Lake District helped over 200 riders sample the very latest tech over the weekend.

 

A quick and slick turnaround between rides gave our customers the chance to test a wide range of mountain bikes and eMTBs.

 

The Cannondale Jekyll 1 was one of the most sought-after bikes in the Cannondale demo fleet.

 

Riders had the chance to test ride the Trek Rail long-travel eMTB.

 

That iconic colour can mean one thing – Yeti were in the house with a large fleet of high-spec trail bikes as well as a couple of their new 160E eMTB’s.

 

Steve from Cannondale was on hand to help set up each bike, ready for the next rider.

 

Legendary Mountain Bike tester and prolific YouTuber Guy Kesteven was with us for both days; look out for his excellent videos from the event!

 

Josh from Scott Sports was kept busy setting up the much-sought-after Scott Patron eRIDE 910 eMTB.

 

There were plenty of riders keen to ride Focus’ powerful big travel Sam2 6.9 eMTB.

 

Each bike was quickly and expertly set up to suit each rider individually. 

 

UK brand Whyte bikes are always popular with riders looking for a bike which has been specifically developed with UK riding in mind.

 

Each group of riders was categorised by ability and was guided by a fully qualified, certified mountain bike guide.

 

Riders sign in before heading out onto some of the best trails in the South Lake District.

 

Guy Kesteven heads out on a stunning Mondraker Crafty eMTB.

 

Smiles were wide as riders headed out onto some of the best trails around, directly from our Lake District store.

 

Despite the rain our local trails drain quickly and ride well regardless of the weather.

 

There were some super-fun downhill trails to ride on our most technically-demanding routes.

 

Jon Chalmers of Cycle Active helped his team provide expert ride guidance throughout the weekend.

 

What goes up most come down, FAST!

 

Lucy from Cycle Active shows us how it’s done.

 

As riders returned to Wheelbase Lake District our staff were on hand to listen to their feedback on their ride.

 

Adam, Manager of our wheelbase Darlington store made the trip over to the Lakes to help host the event.

 

A packed day of riding called for a super-organised bike wash setup.

 

There was plenty of Muc-Off used over the two days to keep all of the stunning bikes looking fresh.

 

Wheelbase’s Operations Director Toby Dalton led by example and spent the whole weekend grafting on the bike wash.

 

UK MTB legend Nick Craig from Scott Sports was on hand all weekend to talk through the range of brilliant Scott mountain bikes and eMTBs.

 

More happy customers return from their guided ride in the South Lakes.

 

It wasn’t just the humans having a great time; there were plenty of very content dogs in attendance too.

 

Thanks for coming! See you all again next year!

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

Video by DMTWO Media

 

Have you seen our Fast Bike Friday feature? Missed some of our best bikes? You can now see all of our featured bikes in one place over on Pinterest where you’ll find links to each of our Fast Bike Friday Blogs too!

Click the link below and search our archive…

 

 

Garmin’s wide range of products come together to give you an enhanced cycling experience; over the years the brand have cleverly integrated all of their tech to work together as a whole, bringing you a wealth of information and features that can improve your performance on the bike as well as helping you to explore new rides with confidence while increasing your visibility to motorists and helping you to be more aware of what’s going on around you. I was recently joined by Adam Cooper from Garmin UK for a winter ride in the Lake District and took the opportunity to discuss the wealth of Navigation functions on the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus GPS computer, the versatility and training benefits of the Garmin Rally RK200 power meter pedals and run through the brilliant Garmin Varia RTL515 radar system which has been designed to help you ride with more confidence on the open road.

 

Click the link above to watch the video.

 

So Adam what would you cherry-pick as your top 3 functions on the Edge 1030 Plus?

For me it would be Navigation, Performance Training and also its connectivity with the Garmin Varia RTL515 Radar taillight.

The navigation function sounds interesting, what sort of thing can you do with that?

The 1030 Plus device comes pre-loaded with Garmin TopoActive Europe maps. With the Garmin connect App you’re able to pre-navigate yourself a route, transfer it onto the device and then follow the route you’ve planned on the 1030 Plus device.

So, I’m heading off to somewhere I’ve not ridden before, do I just pre-programme it on the App or on the 1030 Plus head unit?

As well as pre-programming it on the App you can also ask the head unit to give you a popularity-based route, selecting the most cycling-friendly route, taken from billions of miles of Garmin ride data already uploaded, with the 1030 Plus head unit selecting a suitable round trip back to your start location.

So once I’ve headed out onto unfamiliar roads how exactly do use the navigation function?

On the 1030 Plus you’ll click on the navigation folder and select your course, from there you’ll get turn by turn navigation. Also on the 1030 Plus is a function we call ClimbPro and what this does is provide users with visibility of the climb ahead.

So moving on from the Garmin 1030 Plus head unit down to the Rally power meter pedals, what’s the unique feature of those?

The most significant feature of the Rally power meter pedals is their transferability between bike to bike, with different pedal body options available meaning you can swap between your road bike to your mountain bike or gravel bike with relative ease. All your power data is transferred to the 1030 Plus head unit via ANT+® or Bluetooth® including current power, average power, left/right balance, seated vs standing and power phase which gives you a clear look at where you’re producing power in your pedal stroke.

I’ve been hearing a lot about the Garmin Varia Radar system and have recently had the chance to use it myself; what a gamechanger it is, can you explain how works?

The Radar will effectively provide the rider with eyes behind them, and the way it does that is the Radar system will pick up traffic approaching from the rear and display it on the Garmin head unit and you’ll be able to see the traffic approaching.

Yes, I’ve found it brilliant, it’s a really confidence-inspiring bit of kit; within a couple of rides it just becomes second nature to quickly glance down to the display when there’s an audio and visual signal.

It’s great for the rider who benefits from this audio and visual alert system letting them know what’s going on behind them but it’s also really helpful for the driver who’s approaching you; as the driver gets closer to you the Radar light will react and change its pattern to alert them. The Radar taillight is visible to drivers from up to a mile away.

 

NAVIGATION

The Garmin Edge 1030 Plus boasts a raft of navigation features to help make your riding feel more spontaneous and take some of the mental barriers of exploring new areas away. There’s multiple options when it comes to navigation and/or planning a ride including Garmin’s Trendline Popularity Routing function, which cleverly takes data from the billions of miles recorded on their devices by other cyclists and selects the most popular bike-friendly routes available.

Key Features:

• Ride-Specific Mapping
• Trendline Popularity Routing
• ClimbPro
• Trailforks App
• Forksight Mode
• Turn-By-Turn Directions
• Back to Start
• Create More Courses
• Nutrition and Hydration Alerts

 

Ride-Specific Mapping – The large colour display of the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus is clear and easy to read even when you’re riding hard. With Garmin’s Ride-Specific Mapping the 1030 Plus will tailor the map specifically to the type of riding you’re doing; regardless of whether you’re riding mountain, gravel or road you’ll be seeing key map information based on that particular ride type.

 

Trendline Popularity Routing – This function is a particular favourite of ours here at Wheelbase; if you’re planning a ride in a new area there’s no better way of finding the best cycling routes than tapping into local knowledge. With billions of miles of ride data already uploaded, the Edge1030 Plus will be able to identify the best on and off-road routes available wherever you’re headed.

 

ClimbPro – The ClimbPro feature on the 1030 Plus helps you to manage your efforts on any climb. As you ride you’ll be able to see key information on the display like the remaining ascent and the gradient coming up ahead of you. This is a great feature which really comes into play when you’re climbing on roads or trails you’ve never ridden before and you’re really trying to pace your efforts or maybe preparing to attack and drop your riding partners; knowledge is power as they say!

 

Trailforks App – The clarity of the large-sized Edge 1030 Plus display lends itself really well to the unique demands of ridding hard off-road; with a maximum focus required on the trail ahead of you there’s a minimum amount of time to take in the information on the display. With off-road riding in mind Garmin have partnered with Trailforks, the off-road-specific navigation app to give you the most accurate information on trail conditions.

 

Forksight Mode – Another useful feature when you’re riding with your Edge 1030 Plus off-road is Forksight Mode; when you’re using the Trailforks app this mode automatically displays upcoming forks in the trail to help you understand exactly where you are on the trail.

 

Turn-By-Turn-Directions – If you’re navigating unfamiliar roads or are trying to make your way through a busy, built up environment the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus will guide you with turn-by-turn directions and alerts that notify you of upcoming turns.

 

Back to Start – At any time in your ride you can return back to your starting point. Let’s just say you’ve over-estimated how far you were able to ride and needed to get back to your starting point in a hurry. By simply swiping down from the top of the screen at any time during your ride and selecting ‘Back to Start’ the device will navigate you back via the shortest bike-friendly route.

 

Create More Courses – There’s never been more ways to create courses on the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus; if you need to inject some new life into your regular local rides why not spend some time planning new routes on the Garmin Connect App, Strava or Komoot before syncing them to your device.

 

Nutrition and Hydration Alerts – You can set Smart Eat and Drink Alerts to notify you to eat or drink at strategic intervals based on the data from the current ride conditions. The smart alert function estimates when you need to eat or drink based on the temperature, elevation gain, speed, duration and heart rate and power data (when using the Edge 1030 Plus with a heart rate monitor and/or power meter.

 

RALLY RK200 POWER METER PEDALS

When we talked to Garmin UK’s Adam Cooper about the Rally RK200 power meter pedals the biggest message, when it came to their ‘unique selling point’ was just how versatile these pedals were. If you’re an avid user of a power meter, training and racing to power to be a more efficient racer then you may well find yourself moving from one type of bike to another, for example road bike to time-trial bike, or road bike to gravel bike or even a mountain bike. First off, by housing the power meter in a pedal rather than a bicycle crank changes are quick and convenient between bikes rather than having to swap out power meters housed in the cranks for example.

Garmin don’t stop there though; with riders swapping between road and mountain bikes the issue of needing a completely different shoe and pedal system for off-road riding rears its head. With this mind Garmin developed their power meter pedals to feature a transferable spindle (the part which actually contains the power meter) so it can be installed within the Rally RK (Look KEO compatible) and Rally RS (Shimano SPD-SL compatible) road pedals or the Rally XC (Shimano SPD) mountain bike pedals (sold separately). Garmin UK have kindly supplied me with the Rally XC pedal bodies along with the Rally RK200’s I’m currently using, so I’m looking forward to swapping them out in the coming weeks and running them on my MTB.

Key Features:

• Dual-sensing power meter taking accurate left/right data
• Rally RK200 installs like any other pedal and is easy to swap from bike to bike
• Transferable spindle allowing you to swap pedal bodies for road and/or off-road rides (sold separately)
• Edge® cycling computer compatibility makes software updates and data uploads easy
• Sync data to your favourite apps for even more analysis and data sharing
• Measures left/right balance
• Seated vs standing recorded
• Up 120 hours of battery life
• Measures average power
• Measures power phase
• Measures total power
• Measures cadence

Garmin Rally RK200 power meter pedals are dual-sensing (left & right pedal data)

Garmin Rally RK200 power meter pedals are compatible with Look Keo cleats.

With transferable spindles you’re able to swap the Garmin road pedal bodies for these XC mountain bike versions (sold separately).

 

VARIA RTL515 RADAR

As I’ve already mentioned earlier in this feature, I’ve been using the Garmin Edge 1030 Plus GPS computer in unison with the RK200 power meter pedals and Garmin’s clever Varia RTL515 rear light and radar system for a few months. In conversation with Adam from Garmin UK (see video) he highlighted just how effective this piece of tech is and after using the Varia for a while now I can wholeheartedly agree.

With the Varia RTL515 paired via Bluetooth to my Edge 1030 Plus head unit I was quickly able to tune into this extra piece of information on my handlebars. Within a couple of rides it became second nature to quickly glance down to the display whenever there was an audio signal from the head unit. Looking down at the display I would see that the edges of the display had turned red and a small white dot on the right hand side of the screen would creep upwards exactly in sync with the vehicle approaching me from behind until it had safely passed me whereupon the head unit’s screen edges would turn green.

The Varia RTL515 signals to the Edge 1030 head unit, with the edges of the screen turning red and a small white dot moving upwards on the right.

 

In certain riding scenarios it proved really helpful and confidence inspiring to have that extra level of information on my handlebars, without the need to crane my neck and look over my shoulder to see what was going on behind me. On one occasion when I was riding hard on long, flat roads with high winds whipping around me I was completely unable to hear what was going on behind me; the first I was aware of vehicles approaching me was when the Edge 1030 Plus head unit signalled. It’s impressively accurate too, with the display showing multiple white dots approaching at the same time if there was a group of cars waiting to overtake me.

Once the vehicle has safely passed you, your screen edges temporarily turn green.

 

On the whole I also found that drivers seemed to be more considerate when I was using the Varia RTL515 rear light & radar system and there’s a solid bit of science behind the reason why this might be happening. As well as the Radar alerting you the rider to oncoming traffic from behind the Varia RTL515 rear light also reacts, changing to a distinct flashing pattern and change in tone (brighter) as the vehicle approaches. Tests have shown that bicycle lights with an alternating flashing pattern are better at attracting the attention of drivers; factor in that the Radar rear light also reacts to vehicles in real time and it’s fair to say that drivers are reacting to this change and slowing down to overtake when it’s safe to do so. There’s plenty of warning for them too with the Varia RTL515 rear light being visible to drivers up to a mile away. If you like the sound of this clever piece of kit but don’t own a Garmin head unit, fear not, you can pair the Varia RTL515 with your smartphone to increase your awareness with visual signals and vibration alerts, so this really is a confidence-inspiring tool that can be used by anyone.

The Garmin Varia RTL 515’s rear light is visible to motorists up to a mile away.

 

As a vehicle approaches from behind the Varia RTL515’s flashing pattern changes to alert the driver.

 

Key Features:

• Daylight visibility up to 1 mile.
• Small and easy to mount.
• Provides visual and audible alerts for vehicles approaching from behind up to 140 metres away.
• Battery Life: 16 hours of battery life in day flash mode.
• Peloton Mode: Provides a low-intensity flash that is kind to other cyclists’ eyes when riding in a group.
• Compatibility: Works with Garmin Edge bike computer or compatible smartphones.

The Garmin Varia RTL Radar rear light is compact but super-bright, even in daylight hours.

 

 

GARMIN EDGE 1030 PLUS GPS COMPUTER

Full Specification:

General:

• In-Ride power compatible (via Garmin charge battery pack, not included)
• Dimensions: 58 x 114 x 19mm
• Touchscreen
• Colour Display
• Display Size: 3.5” (88.9mm) diagonal
• Display Resolution: 282 x 470 pixels
• Weight: 124 grams
• Battery Type: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion
• Battery Life: 24 hrs
• Battery Save Mode Included
• Water Rating: IPX7

Maps & Memory:

• Ability to Add Maps
• Basemap
• Storage & Power Capacity: 32 GB Internal Memory
• Waypoints/Favourites/Locations: 200
• Navigation Routes: 100 Courses
• History: Up to 200 Hours

Sensors:

• GPS (Global Positioning System)
• Glonass (Global Navigation Satellite System)
• Galileo (Satellite Navigation)
• Barometric Alimeter
• Accelerometer
• Ambient Light Sensor

Daily Smart Features:

• Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+
• Connect IQ (Downloadable watch faces, data fields, widgets and Apps)
• Smart Notifications
• Text Response / Reject Phone Call with Text (Android Only)
• Weather
• Virb Camera Remote
• Smartphone Compatibility: iPhone, Android

Safety & Tracking Features:

• Livetrack
• Group Livetrack
• Rider-to-Rider Messaging
• Incident Detection
• Assistance
• Bike Alarm
• Weather Alerts
• Inreach Compatible

Activity Tracking Features:

• Calories Burned

Training, Planning and Analysis Features:

• Customisable Screen(s)
• Auto Pause
• Interval Training
• Advanced Workouts
• Downloadable Training Plans
• Daily Workout Suggestions
• Auto Lap
• VO2 Max (Run)
• Training Effect (Aerobic)
• Recovery Advisor
• Virtual Partner
• Race an Activity
• Segments
• Auto Scroll
• Physio TrueUp (keeps physiological data in sync between devices)
• Physiological Measurements (requires heart rate strap and power meter)

Outdoor Recreation:

• ClimbPro Ascent Planner

Cycling Features:

• Alerts (triggers alarm when you reach goals including time, distance, heart rate or calories)
• Courses
• On-device Course Creator
• Garmin Cycle Map (routable cycling-specific street map)
• Cycling Dynamics Compatible
• MTB Dynamics
• Integrated Trailforks Trail Data
• Power Meter Compatible
• Compatible with Varia Radar (rear-facing Radar)
• Compatible with Varia Lights

Connectivity:

• Edge Remote
• Varia Remote
• ANT+ Electronic Shifting
• Shimano Di2 Synchro Shift Integration
• Smart Trainer Control

In the Box:

Standard (Device Only):

• Edge 1030 Plus
• Mounts (standard and flush out-front)
• USB Cable
• Tether

Bundle:

• Edge 1030 Plus
• HRM-Dual
• Cadence Sensor
• Speed Sensor
• Mounts (standard and flush out-front)
• USB Cable
• Tether

 

GARMIN RALLY RK200 DUAL-SENSING POWER METER

Full Specification:

• Weight: 326 g
• Water resistance.: IXP7
• Cleat type: KEO
• Q-factor: 53 mm (55 mm with provided 2 mm washer)
• Stack height: 12.2 mm

In The Box:

• Rally RK200 pedals
• Cleat hardware
• 55 mm Q-factor washers

General Garmin Rally Dual-Sensing Power Meter Specification:

• Battery type: LR44/SR44 (x4) or CR1/3N (x2)
• Battery life: up to 120 hours
• Maximum rider weight: 105 kg
• Accuracy: +/- 1%
• Field calibration
• Adjustable release tension
• Measurement location: spindle
• Communication: ANT+® and Bluetooth®

 

 

GARMIN VARIA RTL515 RADAR TAIL LIGHT

Full Specification:

• Dimensions: 98.6 x 19.7 x 39.6 mm
• Weight: 71.0 g
• Modes: solid, peloton, night flash, day flash
• Lumens: 20 solid, 8 peloton, 29 night flash, 65 day flash
• Battery life: 6 hours solid, 8 hours peloton, 6 hours night flash, 16 hours day flash
• ANT+®: Yes
• BLE: Yes
• Water rating: IPX7
• Viewing angle: 220 degrees

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Digital Media Production by Dave MacFarlane

 

Have you seen our Fast Bike Friday feature? Missed some of our best bikes? You can now see all of our featured bikes in one place over on Pinterest where you’ll find links to each of our Fast Bike Friday Blogs too!

Click the link below and search our archive…