Tour de France 2026: this is how you ride the legendary cols from Tourmalet to double Alpe d'Huez yourself
The 2026 Tour de France travels over five mountain ranges and ends with two days of Alpe d'Huez. Good news: you can ride almost everything yourself. A practical guide for the touring cyclist with ambitions.
Trek celebrates 50 years and looks back with the 50th Anniversary Collection
Trek Bicycle is celebrating half a century of bicycle innovation in 2026. With the ’50 Bikes that Built Trek’ collection and anniversary events, the Wisconsin-based brand is highlighting five decades of carbon, steel and mountain bikes.
Shimano report: 121 million Europeans cycle less due to poor maintenance, Dutch child safety drops sharply
Shimano's State of the Nation 2026 report exposes a European maintenance crisis. High costs and long waiting times at the bike shop inhibit bicycle use, while the Netherlands struggles with stagnating infrastructure and declining safety perception due to fatbikes.
absoluteBLACK HOLLOWcage V2: quieter OSPW cage for Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
The HOLLOWcage V2 from absoluteBLACK combines mono-plate carbon-polymer construction with full-ceramic bearings and patented noise dampening. Weight: 66g. Price: substantially lower than the first generation.
Basso Palta III: Italian gravel flagship dives below 820g
Basso launches the third-generation Palta with a substantially lighter frame, T47 bottom bracket, internal storage space and tyre clearance of up to 52 mm. On paper, a serious candidate as a gravel all-rounder.
Giro Eclipse Pro: new aero helmet for 2026 bets on speed and cooling
Giro Sport Design is introducing the Eclipse Pro for 2026, an aero racing helmet developed for WorldTour-level performance. According to Giro, this is the most advanced aero road helmet the brand has built to date, with measurable gains in aerodynamics, ventilation and protection. Developed in Giro's own R&D facilities and wind tunnel, the Eclipse Pro uses [...]
Eddy goes Titanium: new Merckx bikes made of high-quality Columbus titanium
Titanium frames. Meant for old men who want to buy a ‘lifetime’ bike. One of those that will never break down again. Or rather a fashion statement. Design. The one designer who always drives a Saab 9-5. Just because they should. Designers don't drive a flat-tuned Mercedes. The same goes for a titanium bike. There are [...]
Lazer Sphere KinetiCore: new all-round racing helmet with rotation protection
Lazer has presented a new helmet in the mid-segment of its racing collection: the Sphere KinetiCore. The model is intended as a versatile road helmet for riders who want to combine comfort, ventilation and safety with a sleek design. Central to this is the KinetiCore technology, where the EPS structure features integrated deformation zones that absorb energy and reduce rotational forces in a [...]
Van Rysel FTP² concept bike: extreme e-performance as a technological statement
We were at Velofollies last weekend and could already see what Van Rysel has now officially presented: his most ambitious project to date: the FTP² concept bike. One thing is for sure: this is a futuristic development bike not intended for sale, but for research into maximum speed, aerodynamics and full system integration. [...]
Unit 1 Aura Smart Helmet - outcome in the dark?
A smart helmet is not there to make you smarter. Alas, that would be another godsend. Helmet on, cycle and then suddenly step off the two-wheeler like Einstein. If only it were such a treat. No, a smart helmet, it actually helps with two things: 1. lighting and direction indication and 2. notifications give [...]
