As far as helmet manufacturers go, Smith is a relative newcomer to the bike market, having launched its inaugural Forefront MTB lid in 2013. Having made his name making ski goggles, founder Bob Smith patented anti-fog lenses 60 years ago and the company has been innovating ever since.

The Dispatch MIPS is the brand's premium commuter helmet and Smith's snowsports heritage comes through in the design. There are even special vents to help stop your glasses steaming up. Classic Smith.

With a £155 RRP, the Dispatch sits at the higher end of the e-bike-specific helmet range, but there’s a lot to like. The integrated light, NTA 8776 certification and magnetic Fidlock buckle are just a few of the standout features.

I’ve been using the Dispatch MIPS on my e-bike school run and during battery-free commutes into the office. Admittedly, I’ve not had much snow to deal with, but I get the impression the Dispatch would be more than equipped to cope.

Design and aesthetics 

The Dispatch is a stylish, durable commuter helmet with a subtle urban aesthetic. Leaning into its snowsport heritage, Smith has created a lid that wouldn’t look completely out of place on a ski lift, with a minimal domed shell, small vents and an inbuilt Microbrim visor.

The Microbrim is essentially an enlarged section with a very subtle lip at the front of the helmet that both shields your eyes and also facilitates the additional AirEvac vents. These inlets integrate with Smith eyewear and generally help prevent misty specs. The rear vents also allow for the attachment of an integrated light, which comes included with the helmet.

There are plenty of other smart additions to the design, including a Fidlock magnetic buckle and Smith’s own Koroyd protective material used alongside EPS in the liner.

Despite the abundance of features, Smith has kept the shell nice and sleek and the helmet isn’t overly bulky. There aren’t many contours or gaps, which only adds to a solid overall feel. The brand logo is subtle and even with the light attached, the helmet has a stripped-back silhouette which looks high-end.

If stripped-back is your thing, you’ll be pleased to know that Smith has kept things simple when it comes to colour options, too. The latest iteration of the Dispatch comes in two options: black or white.

Components and build 

The first thing you notice about the Dispatch is how solid it feels. There are no creaks or flexes and nothing feels remotely in danger of snapping off should it get dropped. It’s a military-grade piece of kit. So much so I wouldn’t be surprised if Smith launched a matching flak jacket.

The helmet uses MIPS, a system which protects the head from rotational forces during a crash, and uses Smith’s own Koroyd technology in combination with a traditional EPS liner. Koroyd is used “zonally” within the Dispatch, rather than all over, which effectively creates crumple zones that will absorb impact in targeted areas where it’s most likely to be needed.

To back this up, the Dispatch comes with the e-bike-specific NTA 8776 certificate, which means it's been tested at higher speeds and provides increased head coverage compared to regular helmets. It doesn’t, however, currently come with a Virginia Tech rating, although similar Smith helmets do boast all five stars from the reputable testing lab.

Smith’s Vaporfit cradle claims to offer 270-degree adjustment, which should mean less chance of particular pressure points. The system also provides three settings at the rear so you can tune the fit.

Smith haven’t gone overboard with the padding, with none at the rear, but what’s there does come with Ionic+ antimicrobial lining. The fabric contains silver, which actively reduces bacteria and therefore helps keep odours and stains to a minimum.

The straps come complete with a magnetic Fidlock buckle, which means you can unclip with one hand. This might not seem like a huge advantage, but for anyone used to carrying a bag or a child, then actually having one hand free can be a game-changer.

To keep your head cool on warmer days or longer rides, the Dispatch comes with eight vents. At first glance, these don’t seem like much, as the shell is mainly one smooth dome, with vents feeling very much secondary to the overall design. The whole thing weighed in at 394g on my scales, which is pretty impressive given the aforementioned rock-solid feel.

The most unique feature on the Dispatch is the Microbrim visor, which uses Smith’s custom AirEvac vents to channel additional airflow down through the lip of the helmet. With Smith’s ski and snowboard helmets, the vents are specifically aligned to match their own eyewear but, assuming you’re not commuting in ski goggles, as long as the browline of your glasses is quite flat, it should work well whether you’re in Smith specs or not.

Included with your helmet, you’ll find Smith’s integrated LED light, which attaches to the vents at the back. The light takes a Micro USB, rather than the modern USB-C, so you’ll need to keep that charger in the drawer for a few more years yet. You can set it to either a solid red light, a fast flash or a slow flash. The light adds another 28g grams to the total.

Alongside the light, you’ll also find a helmet bag with a drawstring that doubles as shoulder straps. Probably not something that will convince you to splash the cash, but a nice addition nonetheless.

Performance

Overall, the Dispatch was a pleasure to test. The biggest compliment you can give a helmet is that you completely forget you’re wearing it, and that was the case here. It was very comfortable and due to its relatively low weight, it remained pretty inconspicuous to me, even on my 40-minute pedal-powered commute.

Smith claim that the VaporFit dial gives you 270 degrees of adjustment, mitigating any particular pressure points in the cradle. These claims stood up to the test and I didn’t suffer the same pressure I’ve had testing other similar products. My head is large from front to back, meaning I often end up with a pressure point at the front of the cradle and a red mark on my forehead. I didn’t get that with the Dispatch. Of course helmet comfort is quite subjective, so I would always recommend trying for size or double-checking a store’s returns policy.

The height adjustment makes getting the fit right even easier. I found the lowest setting helped make the fit feel more secure. The higher setting will probably help when it comes to ponytails, although it does make the dial a bit harder to adjust.

In terms of aesthetics, the Dispatch isn’t nearly as bulky as some of its peers in the e-bike helmet subgenre, which contains some absolute whoppers. Despite looking quite bulbous in the pictures, when in position it’s much more streamlined. The look definitely borrows from some of Smith’s snowsports cousins, but has clearly been tweaked for the streets.

The shell looks and feels like something that is built to last. It withstood a few little bumps and scuffs during testing and just seems like a solid piece of kit.

The vents are pretty minimal and I was worried they wouldn’t be sufficient enough to keep my head cool on warmer rides. Despite not looking like much, especially compared to more traditional road helmets, these little inlets worked well on my commute. The vents being on the smaller side also helps keep your hair from getting soaked if the heavens open.

I’m also a big fan of the Fidlock buckle. It might seem like a nice-to-have feature rather than something genuinely game-changing, but try telling that to someone trying to remove a helmet whilst also wrestling a clingy one-year-old on the way into nursery.

The light, which Smith describes as “integrated”, clips on to the upper rear vents of the helmet. I’d say integrated is overselling it a bit, as the light is definitely a separate entity, but the clip-on process is very smooth. While in situ, the light works well and is easy to activate while riding. The button protrudes enough making it easy to locate, so you can feel confident you’ve hit the switch if you decide you need some extra visibility mid-ride.

From a performance point of view, it’s difficult to find too many faults. The fit will be something you’ll ultimately need to test yourself, but in terms of design and functionality, this is one of my personal favourite commuter options.

Value

The Dispatch is undoubtedly a premium helmet and comes with a hefty price tag, but after putting it to the test, the performance definitely justifies the expense. The engineering behind both the helmet and its components means you’re getting something that works well, will last you a considerable amount of time and gives will keep you safe in the unfortunate event of a collision.

However, if you’re looking for a similar style of product but want to keep the cost down, there are some options out there. The POC Crane has a similar urban look but comes in a little cheaper at £110 RRP. The POC also has the benefit in having a fluorescent orange option, as well as the black and white available with the Dispatch.

Also in the same bracket aesthetically is the Bern Hudson, which comes with a detachable fabric visor. This one officially comes in at around £137 but is currently reduced to £102 via the brand’s website.

At £99 RRP, the Lazer Verde also has a few more colourways to choose from and is both made from recycled materials and designed to be recycled. The POC, Bern and Lazer all come with the NTA 8776 seal of approval.

Verdict

Overall, this is one of the best e-bike helmets on the market. It ticks all the boxes you’d want and expect, with the addition of some really nice additional features.

It’s a good-looking lid as well. The Matte White colour I tested gave me additional Stormtrooper energy at the lights on my commute. The only other available colour option on this latest model is black, which is a bit disappointing given the previous model comes in the slightly more interesting Slate and Sunrise colourways.

The Dispatch feels extremely durable and offers excellent protection, with the necessary certification to prove it, but it isn’t overly heavy or bulky. The ventilation isn’t excessive, so shouldn’t let too much rain in, but together with Smith’s breathable Koroyd technology it should keep you cool enough on the commute.

The visor venting is a nice touch, as is the Fidlock buckle. While there isn’t an abundance of padding, the Dispatch feels secure and the VaporFit dial helps you dial-in the fit without creating pressure points.

Where you might feel the pinch is when you come to payment, as this is at the top end of the commuter price bracket. However, the overall performance here justifies the price tag.

Enter the Elara, then, with that whopping fork clearly derived from the design principles of the Factor ONE. Our own wind tunnel testing concludes that it is the fastest gravel bike out there, at least of those that we've managed to lay our hands on, and having given it a thorough run out on everything from fast, flat, well graded gravel to what can be best described as ‘adventurous terrain’, I’m happy to report that chimes with my own experiences.

It is, like the ONE, an unapologetically race-oriented machine, with no concessions to non-race utility, but unlike the ONE it’s actually a lot easier to see it in use as a training machine if speed and performance on the rough stuff is your goal. It’s not necessarily the right bike for me, but I have very much enjoyed riding it.

Design and aesthetics

I have a feeling that if the ONE hadn’t paved the way already then the Elara would have received a much more frosty reception in the visual department. The front end is certainly arresting, but hold your thumb over that front end for a second and tell me it doesn’t look like a pretty standard gravel bike everywhere else.

I have actually really warmed to the aesthetics of it, in a way I haven’t with the ONE. I think the fact that gravel is free for the most part from the clutches of the UCI (not to suggest that this bike is illegal in any way - it isn’t) I’m happier to see machines that are very much non-traditional. The fork, with its gaping maw, looks evil in this raw carbon finish, and while it’s slightly at odds with the svelte build of the rest of the frame I think it balances out well once you slot in the massive Black Inc. Sixty Four Gravel wheels and some 50+mm rubber.

I do need to address the tyre clearance claims early on though. Factor claims a 57mm clearance, something which I decided to put to the test early on by fitting a set of 2.25” Maxxis Aspens. The rear swallowed this fine, and the stiffness is sufficient that it wouldn’t have caused me any worry, but the fork, while wide enough, wasn’t tall enough to cope with a tyre that measured 57.6mm on my calipers.

Factor says it’s all based around the Continental Dubnital (or Race King, as it was during development), and while a 57mm Dubnital might fit (I don’t have one to hand so cannot check), the fact a 57mm Maxxis doesn’t leads me to conclude that 57mm isn’t a true clearance for the bike. You'll get a 55 in, but you’ll have so little room for mud buildup I suggest you just run 50s as it comes and leave it at that, unless you swap to something very low profile like a Schwalbe G-One RS Pro.

I’ll delve into the geometry a little more in depth later, but as well as being the most aero gravel bike we’ve tested it’s also the most aggressive in terms of geometry. The designers wanted to keep that back end as short as possible, which they have achieved to their credit with a 423mm chainstay; quite something with the ability to cram a 57mm tyre in at the back. This, combined with a 72.3º head angle and a correspondingly steep 74.5º seat tube angle make it the most aggressively angled gravel machine I’ve personally come across. This, as you might expect, lends it quite a sporty handling.

Rather unusually, it retains the ability to run 2x, something very much against the grain. Factor says this is because it doesn’t want to limit its riders to one or other system, but I cannot remember the last time I saw anyone racing gravel on a 2x and I can’t help but feel this is something of a redundant feature. If you want to use it as a road bike, or an all-road bike perhaps, then I will admit I prefer 2x gearing, but it will limit your tyre capacity, which will then hamstring you on the proper gravel for which this bike was designed.

Given we know already that it is more aero than any other gravel bike I shan’t over egg the pudding. It’s clearly designed with aerodynamics in mind, with the fork being the most obvious example, and it’s worked. The fork, interestingly, was a late addition, added after full carbon prototypes had already been produced for wind tunnel validation and we saw these in testing in the real world, too. During testing with a more normal fork the designers crammed a fork from the ONE into the frame to see how it would affect the aero, found it was measurably faster, and had to redesign the front end to accommodate. It is, I am told, a different fork entirely to the ONE, despite looking the same. The latter has a bayonet fastening for one thing, but the lowers are different, designed to be optimal at the slightly slower gravel speeds.

Despite a fork that a child could easily play Hot Wheels on, the whole bike weighs not very much. My size 56 with SRAM Force tipped the scales at 8.76kg, with a single bottle cage, but no pedals; which was exactly the same as the Fara GR4 I tested just before it, which had the same tyres, too. In terms of spec you can have Force like me, Red if you’re feeling particularly flush, or the new Campagnolo Record. Sorry, Shimano, nothing here for you.

As is often a gold star in the Factor copy book, you can spec the Elara pretty well at point of sale. Two seatpost setback options (0mm or 20mm) are outdone by three crank lengths, and these both pale in comparison to the 21 cockpit options, spanning 36cmx80mm up to 40cmx140mm. 36 x 140 is about as aggressive as you’d probably want to go unless you’re going very much outside the norm, but the steerer is round so you're not completely restricted and aftermarket options may work.

Geometry

The Elara is about as aggressive as gravel bikes get from a geometry point of view. It’s not miles more so than the likes of the new Specialized Crux, but overlaying the two on Bikeinsights.com (a great site for sure) we can see that the Elara is steeper in the head tube and seat tube by 0.8º and 0.5º respectively. It’s 2mm shorter in the chainstays, 2mm lower in the bottom bracket, has a 4mm shorter wheelbase and a 7mm longer reach. It has a 3.6mm lower trail figure in the fork, too. These are all modest numbers in comparative terms but I back the Cyclingnews audience to understand the impact the aggregation of modest changes can make.

Now, I haven’t ridden the latest Crux, so for a little more context I also ran the numbers versus the Fara GR4, which I sent back a couple of days before the Factor arrived at the office. I very much enjoyed the GR4, but compared to the Elara the numbers are very different. The Elara is 1.1º steeper in the head tube, 0.8º in the seat tube, 10mm lower in stack, 2mm longer in reach, and a 19mm longer wheelbase that is primarily derived from a 4mm greater fork rake and the slacker head tube. Happily, to confirm the numbers do actually mean something, I can say they feel like very different bikes.

My colleague, Josh, is a vocal proponent of the fact the Crux would make a great do-everything machine with a set of road wheels. In theory I don’t doubt it, and in theory the Elara would be an even better candidate, with geometry a hair closer to road bikes and a superior aero package. I object to this on geometry grounds more than anything else; gravel bikes may be able to hack it on the road with the right tyres in terms of just going fast enough, but they don’t feel like a road bike. Looking at the difference, just visually, between the Elara and Factor’s Ostro VAM road bike it’s clear to see they’ll feel noticeably different on the tarmac. However, later on I’ll slap some road wheels in the Elara and report back as to whether my preconceptions have been shattered, as everyone loves a bit of low level tension in a bike review.

Performance

If you want the full deep dive into the aero numbers then I implore you to read Josh’s run down of our wind tunnel testing. The short version is that The Elara is the fastest gravel bike we tested as a bike only, and with the margins of error it could lay claim to being the fastest with a rider, too. It’s rapid, but with a rider it’s basically indistinguishable from the Crux and the Wilier Rave. Taking into account the fact it has much larger tyres, the fact that it’s only 10.45 watts more draggy as a bike only than the old Look Blade, a WorldTour level road race bike, is really quite impressive.

This is also borne out on the road; it’s wicked fast. Part of this is, I’m sure, down to the superior aerodynamics, but on that front it’s not necessarily faster than the Crux or Rave. It feels fast though, and I think that comes down to a combination of stiffness and geometry. That really tight, snappy rear end and steep front make it feel like a road bike when you’re off-road, and while the rear end is actually pretty comfy in relative terms, the front end is very stiff indeed, meaning you get plenty of feedback that makes you feel like you’re hammering along. On flat sections it’s sensational, and the systemic stiffness from the frame, wheels and cockpit means it gobbles up sprints with only the tyres protesting every now and then.

One thing I did notice was that the very short back end had a tendency to leave the ground when really going hard over dried out shallow puddle craters. Not to the point I’d have to back off, but enough to pick slightly different lines sometimes or lean into it and get a little airtime for the whole bike (a very little, this isn’t Red Bull Rampage). It’s something I notice sometimes when doing hill sprints on very tight road bikes, but not something I've ever come across in a gravel bike.

Josh criticised the ONE for being too stiff in the front end, something I also knocked the Incolor SSR for, and while it’s hard to compare those to the Elara the front end stiffness here is moderated to a great degree by the 50mm tyre in the fork. I needed to dial the tyre pressures in more than usual here, and I estimate I was 5-7psi less than I’d normally run, but once it was all on-song it wasn’t an uncomfortable place to ride. It’s less comfy than the Fara GR4, and if I was personally doing a 7hr gravel event I think I’d be erring on the side of comfort, but if you want something that feels razor sharp and don’t mind a bit of fatigue at the end of the day you’ll be alright. In an ideal world I think I would run the tyre pressures lower still, but in order to do that comfortably where I live I’d need tyre inserts.

That tight geometry pays dividends in twisty sections, and it actually puts me more in mind of an old school cyclocross bike in many ways, except without the unstable high bottom bracket. It’s beautifully nimble, with a bottom bracket that’s low enough to not make it feel unbalanced. Like a cx bike it’s also a little twitchy when the going gets slippy, something gravel bikes with longer, more stable geometry don’t suffer with. If you’re happy playing fast and loose sometimes when things get slick then you’ll be absolutely fine, and it’s actually quite a lot of fun if you know what to expect, but it’s a different experience to many other gravel bikes in this regard.

Descending is exhilarating, again as a result of the geometry. It’s not necessarily what I’d call confidence inspiring, but if you’re already confident it’s very rewarding. The cockpit is a lovely place to lock into in the drops to slam down a gulley, and while it is a little twitchy it’s stable enough until you get to steep MTB-lite trails. For gravel racing courses it’ll be absolutely golden, which is what it was designed for after all.

In much the same way as I found the Ridley Noah to be a surprisingly good climber, I had the same experience here, though to say ‘surprisingly’ good is perhaps doing it a disservice. The steeper seat tube and position that’s more over the front of the bike mean rear end traction on steeper stuff is great as you can stay seated for longer. It also means there’s more traction on the front tyre in cornering, and if you get your tyres pressures right it’s really very good here, too.

While it’s a very good performer, I was actually struck by how un-extreme it felt in many situations. It looks wild, but I think I’d rather have this as a general use gravel bike than the Factor Aluto; it’s more capable on rough ground and so in my view is better as a gravel bike, it’s faster, and it feels less of an impediment on road, meaning it makes a better surrogate road bike if you must do that, but more importantly for me it makes the transition phases of a gravel ride that must be spent on tarmac feel engaging still, which is a huge bonus.

While I haven't had the opportunity to test the wheels independently they're certainly on-trend and bang up to date. Having smashed them about on some extremely rocky descents I can attest that they're pretty sure-footed, and considering the giant size of the forks in which they sit I didn't find them too blustery in crosswinds either. They're also the fastest wheels as per our latest wind tunnel test of gravel wheels, so it's very hard to fault them from a performance standpoint. We did use the Elara as the test rig, so there is the caveat that they may will have been designed in tandem with the frame, but still... fast wheels.

The Factor Elara as a road bike

Can you use an aero gravel bike as a road bike, freeing you from the burden of owning a beautiful racy road bike and allowing you the pleasure of constantly swapping wheels? You can, obviously. But should you?

Well, I slapped on a set of the Only SRAM wheels I had at my disposal, a pair of Zipp 202NSW climbing wheels (sub-optimal in terms of vibes I think it's fair to say) making the poor Elara look like it's skipped leg day in the gym. In an ideal world I'd have fit a set of 42mm road tyres to them from the latest crop, something I'm told Romain Bardet does with his Elara, but time is of the essence so 30mm GP5000s will have to do.

Does it work? Well, as with all good results the answer is a bit of yes and no. It feels fine, though perhaps a little low slung on such comparatively skinny tyres. It handles absolutely fine and you really do feel in many respects (especially along the flat and non-technical riding) that you could just be on an aero road bike, especially looking down at that fork crown. Sprints, too, are a delight. It's so stiff for a gravel bike that it just eats up high wattage efforts with ease, but isn't so stiff that its hugely uncomfortable on tarmac either.

The main drawbacks come in terms of handling. Having hopped back onto the Elara after a wonderful road ride aboard the new Look 795 Blade RS, a bike with a gorgeously sharp front end, riding the Elara on the road still feels really quite slack. The rear end helps keep things snappy but it still feels in many respects like being on a (admittedly very fast) endurance bike with quite leisurely geometry. This will afflict all gravel bikes used as road bikes in my view, and in fairness the Factor is the best of the bunch on the tarmac, but don't kid yourself that you'll be getting a proper road bike experience just by swapping the wheels.

Forget the 2x, but with 42mm slicks on it would be a pretty sensational all-road machine, able to stay fast and still get up to mischief.

Value

With SRAM Red the Elara is a full £1,400 (or $2,000) cheaper than an S-Works Crux, but £1,850 (or $1,500) dearer than a similarly equipped non-S-Works machine. In the guise I tested, with SRAM Force, it’s not really comparing like with like. The Elara with Force is basically the same as with Red, just with a different groupset, whereas the Force tier Crux has worse wheels to drop the price further still.

Comparing framesets the Factor is more expensive by £650 (or $800), but you get a cockpit here, so they’re roughly equivalent. My feeling is that the S-Works Crux is a little overpriced, but the standard Crux, in Red tier at least, is a slightly more compelling offering than the Elara, but there isn’t a great deal in it, and considering the options you can spec on the Elara vs the Crux it might actually tip the balance in favour of the Elara.

In this tier, with a Force groupset, it's a a slightly harder value proposition. You do get the superior aerodynamics, and you do get the fastest wheels, but is it $1,500 better than the Fara GR4, which weighs the same though has (presumably) worse aerodynamics, or $1k better than the Argon18 Anti Matter, that comes with a dedicated frame bag and a similar weight? I think if you're actually entering a series of gravel events and trying to do well in them then it might be, I'm less convinced, and I think most of that price differential is all in the wheels.

Verdict

If you want a gravel race bike then this absolutely has to be up for consideration. It is certainly not as fit for fast adventuring as the likes of the Fara GR4 in my view, but as a single minded machine it fulfils the brief exceptionally well without being so specialised in its purpose that it alienates a great proportion of the user base, as I suspect is the case with the ONE. It's actually a hell of a lot of fun to ride on the proviso you like your handling extremely sharp, and if ever there was a case for a gravel bike to be used also as a road bike it's probably this one, though I remain unconvinced on geometry grounds.

I do think if you aren't actually racing gravel, and are just after a gravel bike to smash about on very fast, then the Crux or GR4 might be a better generalist, depending on your choice of geometry. Comfort is a factor here, and over rough ground fatigue sets in earlier than with other machines, and if you're targeting particularly rough courses and you really want to max that tyre capacity out then you may want to look to something like the new Canyon Grail that can actually take a 57mm tyre in the front.

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iGPSPORT's competitively priced bike computers have made me sit up and take notice this year.

iGPSPORT was founded in 2012, and its products are now available worldwide. It caught my attention earlier this year when it began sponsoring the FDJ WorldTour team.

I reported on that news at the time, as a pair of Chinese computer brands entered the top flight in the form of iGPSPORT with FDJ and Magene with Astana.

Like various other sectors, such as the automotive and coffee industry, this is another strong example of Chinese products challenging established Western brands.

I called in the BiNavi unit to test and to see if the performance, along with the price, justifies a seat at the big table alongside the likes of Garmin, Wahoo and Hammerhead in our best bike computers guide.

The BiNavi retails for £219.90 / $239.90 / €239 and possesses a spec list that on paper takes the fight to the big manufacturers.

The unit sits amongst the ‘bike navigator’ section of the brand’s computer offerings, alongside the six-unit-strong ‘GPS computer’ section. The Bi Navi units just place a little more emphasis on navigation.

There’s a colour touchscreen, app, 32GB memory, claimed 35+ hour battery life, certainly everything the average rider and this tech writer wants in a unit.

I’ve used it exclusively for several months and for the odd hill climb event. I’ve been impressed and won over; this review will be enough to help you leap to an unfamiliar system if you like the look of the unit and the price tag

Design and aesthetic

The BiNavi arrives in a neat box, and the standalone unit comes with a charger cable, tether, O-rings for mounting to a bar or stem, and something I’ve never seen before in a bike computer: a silicone case and screen protector to install to keep the screen looking fresh,

The brand also offers a BiNavi Air unit, which you might spot. It has a slightly smaller screen and costs a little less, but has a similar spec list.

The unit has six buttons and, size-wise, is roughly the same as the Hammerhead Karoo; official dimensions are 101×60×14.5 mm. There’s a picture comparison with a few units below for you to look at.

In terms of specifications, the BiNavi on paper at least is pretty much up there with various premium smart computers on the market, and it makes a strong opening case for the amount it costs. The full spec list is here, but the unit has a 3.5" colour touchscreen, a claimed 35-hour battery life, 32GB of memory, USB-C charging, an IPX7 waterproof rating and supports dual-band GNSS GPS.

In terms of additional desirable add-ons, there's music control, smart notification updates, Komoot, TrainingPeaks, and Strava integration, along with DJI, Insta360, Aerosensor and Tymewear, etc.

There's also training support, and the unit provides training analysis and training plans if you want to try and tackle more structured work.

This is the brand's navigation-focused unit, but its nav capabilities are on a par with a range of other smart computers. Routes can be planned or created from rides in the app and sent to the device; POI navigation can also be used, and you can see and access other local routes created by iGPSPORT users in the recommended route section.

Voice navigation for turns is also an option as long as you are connected to the app, and you can choose to have Chris Froome's (a global brand ambassador) voice as an option via your phone speaker/headphones, which I obviously tested out. You can have the multiple Grand Tour winner as your SatNav man/lady, it's a fun feature.

iGPSPORT has an app, and this is used alongside the unit using Bluetooth, just as you would with Garmin Connect or apps from any other brand. Activities are stored in the app, and routes can be transferred across to the BiNavi unit

The unit takes about two seconds to power up, and once on, you are met with the main home screen; 12 widgets take up the sreen from navigation, training, group riding, and weather, etc. Along the top is where you can select your ride profile screen; there are seven stock options for you to customise and set up. I've used two of them: one for my general road riding with lap screens, etc., and a pared-down race version.

There are two theme options to choose from, which dictate the layout of the computer (pictured below). I found the ‘dynamic widgets’ option a lot better than the ‘colourful cards’; it would be my recommendation and is a bit more like your average smartphone layout.

Slide down from the top on any screen, and a kind of settings screen comes up; from here you can toggle screen brightness using a slider bar, access your sensors and pairings, check the weather, etc.

Operating the unit and using the touchscreen to scroll through pages is very easy; the touchscreen is great and works perfectly, but the unit is very fast too; there’s no waiting for it to do anything. It’s great to use.

Performance

So, is it any good, and is it worth spending your money on? I would say yes, absolutely, but there are a couple of points to consider.

I’m well over 700 miles into my testing period with the BiNavi now and have been very impressed with the unit. I’ve used it for all my riding and training and a local hill climb.

It’s easy to use and generally very fast; the touchscreen is great, it charges quickly, and it does everything I need it to. There isn’t much to not like about it; I’ve bumped into two riders locally recently who use iGPSPORT units too, and they are converts.

My very first impression was that the screen wasn’t as bright or vivid as the other well-known units on the market. It’s more than fine, and I adapted within days, but it's just not as bright.

I found it easy to set up my pages, adjust them on the fly and set up a new one for a hill climb where I just wanted power and time on the screen for the short, all-out effort. It’s on a par with the Karoo for how easy it is to customise ride screens.

One detail I really like is the speed at which laps can be executed, and the lap ‘interval start’ screen is removed from the display; hit the lap button; the message comes up on screen; simply touch the screen to remove it, and it’s gone straight away.

I’ve found this a really agreeable feature in training. Don’t forget the unit is also compatible with TrainingPeaks, so your sessions can be uploaded to the platform straight away as well.

Battery life is quoted at 35 hours, though the brand says it will, of course, depend on your own use case. For my roughly 8-ish hours a week of riding, I haven’t come close to being caught out by a low battery; I've also found charging to be very fast. It will start to get used up quicker with all sorts connected and navigation on, but it will be fine for pretty long rides.

I've had a couple of ride upload issues to Strava where the device seemed to get the date wrong; rides I completed on a Monday came out as being done on a Sunday at a different time. I couldn't figure this out, and it seemed to be a glitch.

Navigation is generally good using the BiNavi, and I like the clear map layout, even preferring it to the Garmin format, I think. The device gives you turning warnings in advance, and you can customise nav screen metrics like speed and power.

There are a few points on navigation worth mentioning; the first thing that caught me out was that you can't use the touchscreen to zoom in on the map; instead, you have to use the + and - buttons on the screen.

The device froze on me once whilst calculating a route start; I was struggling for a few minutes before finding that hitting the power button sorted it out. Niggles can happen on any device, and it was isolated.

You can also only use the iClimb climbing metric feature whilst riding a pre-loaded route; again, no biggie, but it's not as comprehensive as something like Wahoo Summit can provide climbing metrics for every climb you ride.

You can navigate a pre-ridden route from the device, but you will need the app to save a route and send it across to your unit. It’s done in seconds, though.

I didn't find the one-click navigation function amazing in the app either; this is where you can search for a location and route to it. A simple search for a McDonald's (we've all been there) would only throw up one 100 miles away (there's one three miles from my house), but the unit located the nearby cycling track successfully, for example. The system seems slightly hit-and-miss and could be an issue on a bleak winter ride for some riders.

Verdict

At £219.90 / $239.90 / €239, this computer offers fantastic value for money; it’s on a par with units twice its value, and personally I’d take it over the Garmin Edge 550 due to that excellent touchscreen and save myself some cash.

The screen isn’t as vivid and bright; that’s it. I quickly got used to that though, and it’s not an issue.

Some of the navigation and UI performance from the unit and/or app seems slightly subpar, but for the price and overall performance, it doesn't bother me too much.

Verdict

For the amount of money it costs, I think this is a really solid computer unit from iGPSPORT. It's very fast and easy to use; the touchscreen is good, and it does all I need it to for my riding.

The map quality and navigation itself are good, and if you don't make new routes several times a week and really ask a lot of your computer's navigation tech, I don't think you will have much to worry about. If you're the sort of rider that generally knows your routes off by heart, and every so often downloads a GPX route for an event, you will be laughing.

At final count: over 800 miles of riding have properly tested the BiNavi. Some aspects of the overall system and app are slightly clunkier and less refined than some competitors in places, but there isn't too much in it.

Excellent performance at a very attractive price point; what's not to like. iGPSPORT deserves a seat at the big table.

I recently reviewed the Kärcher OC3 Foldable Mobile Cleaner and absolutely loved the compact portability of this wonderful low-pressure washer, which makes it one of the best pressure washers for bikes. As much as I rated the Kärcher highly, it did have limitations in pressure and reservoir capacity.

So, if mobile washing is a priority and you want some extra grunt for cleaning power, the Muc-Off Mobile Pressure Washer is worthy of your attention. However, there is a major flaw that turns what is a brilliant bit of kit into something less impressive, and some may consider it a deal-breaker.

The Muc-Off Mobile Pressure Washer launched back in 2024 as an upgrade and mobile variant of the brand’s mains-powered bicycle pressure washer. The unit features a self-contained 20-litre water tank, its own internal power source, a max pressure of 45 bar (approx. 652 PSI), and a rapid four-litre-per-minute flow rate. Impressive stats, and as a Muc-Off fan, I was keen to test it out.

Design and aesthetics 

Firstly, the Muc-Off Mobile Pressure Washer is very easy on the eye. Dressed in the brand's signature style with a sleek black-and-subtle-pink colourway, it really stands out, especially if you ever find yourself in a car park pressure washer standoff.

It is constructed primarily from high-grade, heavy-duty plastics, resulting in a solid build designed to withstand being bounced around in car boots, dragged across gravel, and exposed to the elements.

Considering it houses a 20-litre tank, it’s fairly compact. Its squat shape makes it resistant to tipping, but not impossible. The sturdy wheels, a basic towing handle, and a robust carry handle make it easy to manoeuvre even when fully loaded.

Muc-Off includes four lances with this basic Starter Bundle: a lower-pressure bike lance, an adjustable lance, a full-power motorbike lance, and a snow foam lance. The box also includes a bottle of Muc-Off bike cleaner.

The unit is driven by a 500W electric motor powered by a 40V lithium battery. This setup claims to offer 15 to 24 minutes of runtime depending on your selected mode (Boost or Eco) and recharges fully in three to four hours. The motor, internal pump, and water-sealed battery compartment are all safely contained inside, with a dedicated watertight door making the battery easy to remove.

The hose is a generous five meters long. While longer hoses always have tangle potential, not being tethered to a mains power cable makes this less of an issue, and the extra reach lets you move freely around your bike without constantly dragging the unit along.

This brings me to a curious design flaw.

The main lid isn't watertight. While this makes filling simple, but placing a full tank in your car or van means water will inevitably slosh out while driving. For me, this isn't a deal-breaker because I wouldn't transport a full tank anyway; doing so adds considerable weight and risks dumping 20 litres of water into my boot if the washer ever tipped over.

Muc-Off officially advises against travelling with a full reservoir. They even sell a separate 20-litre Water Tank for transport, though buying extra kit somewhat defeats the point of an all-in-one system. They also offer a waterproof Dry Bag Mobile Holdall to catch leaks and suggest filling the main tank no more than a quarter full if you absolutely must travel with water inside.

Empty, the unit weighs 7.7 kg (17 lbs). Filled to its 20-litre capacity, it tips the scales at a hefty 27.7 kg (61 lbs), a significant weight to haul around, particularly given the lack of a watertight seal.

Performance

Having owned several mains-powered, high-pressure washers, I was expecting big things from the Muc-Off and its power numbers, and it doesn’t disappoint. Thanks to a self-priming function, water pressure is instant the moment you pull the trigger, packing enough kick at full power to lift the lance if you're holding it one-handed.

I used the full-power nozzle on my bike’s tyres and gave the frame a general blast to shift the bulk of the muck. Just be cautious around sensitive areas like bearings and bottom brackets, as this unit will force water past bearing seals without a doubt.

The Snow Foam Lance is brilliant, quickly coating your ride in a thick blanket of Muc-Off Nano Cleaner or your preferred bike wash. Once the foam has worked its magic, you can switch to either the adjustable power lance or the full-power version for rinsing. I stuck mostly to full power, but the adjustable option is great if you want to dial back the force around delicate components, even if it's slightly less effective on stubborn dirt. The motorcycle lance packs the heaviest hit, and I used it on my bike with no problems; it's not advised, but useful for multi-purpose use.

Muc-Off claims a continuous battery runtime of 15 minutes in Boost mode and 24 minutes in Eco, plenty of time for a thorough clean. I found this accurate in testing, easily emptying the entire water tank well before showing any sign of battery drain. The unit also features a clear charge indicator displaying your remaining battery level.

The hose and lances are well-engineered, locking together with a satisfying click. While the hose feels quite long, perhaps slightly excessively so, it is robust and durable. When empty, everything stores neatly inside the unit, keeping all your accessories organised in one place.

Storage is another important factor to consider. Dimensions come in at 39 cm (15.3 inches) high, 32 cm (12.6 inches) wide and 43 cm (16.9 inches) long. Living in a first-floor flat makes storing and carrying the unit downstairs a bit of a slog when full, but certainly not impossible.

However, if you have a garage, shed, or nearby outdoor tap, or plan to use it exclusively for car park washdowns, this won't be a major issue. If you're using it at home, then having it filled, charged and ready to go works great and allows for a swift clean-down post-ride.

Returning to the washer's lid, it has to be mentioned and impacts overall scoring. If you want to transport the washer and water, your options are to either buy extra water-carrying accessories or use a waterproof bag (which doesn't really fix the root problem). Without a proper seal, water will spill while driving.

So the word mobile could be slightly misleading; it's definitely mobile, but just not as a water-filled mobile unit. Saying that, the convenience is no doubt a plus for use at home, meaning no hooking up hoses and running power from a mains supply.

Finally, like most portable washers, hot water is not recommended. I used lukewarm water for extra cleaning power, staying well within its maximum rated temperature of 40°C (104°F).

The power is impressive, but this level of output also makes the unit fairly noisy, sounding much closer to a full-sized mains pressure washer than quieter, low-pressure units like the Kärcher OC3.

Value

The Mobile Pressure Washer Starter Bundle is currently priced at £250 on the Muc-Off website. I think it offers decent performance for the price. However, considering you can buy a mains-powered unit like the Kärcher K2 Classic, which offers higher pressure, for just £75, it's something to weigh up.

Of course, traditional pressure washers require an outdoor tap, hose, and power outlet, none of which I have outdoors. If your requirements demand a punchy cleaner with built-in power and water storage, the investment is well worth it.

By contrast, the Kärcher OC3 Foldable is a fantastic low-pressure option. While it offers less power and water capacity, it is highly recommended for basic washdowns and is priced at just over £100.

Verdict

Overall, the Mobile Pressure Washer is really good; I enjoyed using it, and it performs brilliantly. The elephant in the room is that non-watertight lid, but is it actually a deal-breaker? If you don't fill the tank prior to transport, or if you don't travel with it at all and simply need all-in-one functionality, it's just no issue whatsoever.

However, if you do attempt to transport it full, prepare for a wet vehicle if you don't transport your water in a separate container. As far as cleaning power goes, it's right up there and does a great job of shifting stubborn dirt, especially on gravel and mountain bikes. It's arguably a bit overkill for a road bike, but it doubles up well as a general-purpose power washer – I've even used it to wash my car.

Ultimately, if it fits your specific setup, I have no hesitation in recommending the Muc-Off Mobile Pressure Washer. It has the lid design flaw and comes with a premium price tag, but it looks cool and performs brilliantly.

In the women’s race, Villafañe and 2025 champion Melisa Rollins were forced to chase back to the lead group following an early crash, just 25 minutes into the 40-mile race. Villafañe was up quickly and time trialled back to the front group. Sarah Lange launched an attack on the approach to the single-track section, then Villafane made an early pass to win that hole shot.

She was followed by Karolina Migoń and Cécile Lejeune and the trio took turns at the front. Across the top of the climb on Fire Tower climb, Villafañe went solo, crossing the finish line alone in a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, 11 seconds, Migoń and Lange completing the podium 16 seconds behind her.

Speaking after the race, Villafañe, said: "Chequamegon is always such an unpredictable race. I found myself on the ground after a mud puddle due to losing traction and sadly taking out my good friend Melisa with me. I was able to make it back to the front of the peloton, but she was not.

"At Fire Tower, I made sure to lead as I knew I could likely be fighting for traction as well, and near the top I was solo as Karolina had to unclip due to losing traction. After that, I was solo and had a consistent effort to the finish.

"Chequamegon is a race where you can plan the way you want to race, but sometimes the course decides for you. I’m super happy to win my third Life Time Grand Prix event this year. I will be skipping Little Sugar and looking forward to the battle to come at Big Sugar."

The Life Time Grand Prix overall is still wide open heading into the final two events. Behind leader Villafañe, just 12 points separate the riders from second to sixth place, with Lauren Stephens in second place.

Leadville runner-up takes charge

In the men’s race, it was Martins Blum who took the early lead, opening an advantage of 1:30 over the rest over the first 13 miles.

Wilson was the man to give chase, the Leadville Trail 100 MTB runner-up launching an attack up Fire Tower climb. The New Zealander was brought back but continued his efforts, eventually moving clear with three other riders, all in the Grand Prix - series leader Keegan Swenson, Andrew L'Esperance, and Brendan Johnston.

The chasing quartet worked together to close the gap to lone leader Blum, and as the quartet made the catch, Wilson launched the race-winning move, surging clear to finish around a minute ahead of the chasers.

Johnston recorded a season's best result in the series finishing in second, with Swenson finishing just two seconds behind the Australian to round out the podium and retain his overall series lead.

"I tried to get away on the Fire Tower climb, Keegan and I got a good gap and thought we might be able to stay away, but unfortunately the whole group came back. But it gave me the confidence going into the final climb of the day," Wilson said.

"I gave it a nudge on the final climb, and four of us got away but I felt like I had the best legs in the group, so I kept riding hard, and I was able to get a gap and went full gas to the line and not look back.

"It feels so good after being so close to winning at Leadville; I was pretty determined to get a win. The only way to prove yourself after coming second is to win."

The fourth round had Swenson still in the lead, but the gap closed to eight points ahead of Johnston and Lange sitting in joint second and Chequagemon winner Wilson just two points further back heading into the penultimate round.

Results

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The Mammoth TUFF took place in the mountains of Mammoth Lakes in California, flanked by the Sierra Nevada, with long climbs, descents, and rough and sandy roads combining with the altitude to make for a gruelling day of racing.

Despite all that, the silver medallist at US Gravel Nationals averaged 20 mph across the 89-mile course to take victory by more than three minutes. Ben Byra was second, with Lance Haidet rounding out the podium.

In the women's race, Quiñones enjoyed an even bigger winning margin, finishing some 6:37 ahead of last year's winner Jennifer Tave. Third place wen to Kira Stock.

It was a busy weekend of Gravel World Series racing, with events the Sea Otter Europe and Tartu Bike Marathon taking place on the same day.

Results

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for comprehensive race coverage of both the UCI Road and Gravel World Championships, alongside the final monument of the season, Il Lombardia. Subscribers get unlimited access to exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.

It was a busy weekend of Gravel World Series racing, with events in Girona and in California on the same day.

This was the 29th edition of the Tartu Bike Marathon but the first time it had been included on the UCI's premier gravel series, attracting a strong start list with the promise of rankings points and qualification chances for the UCI Gravel World Championships.

Cromwell is on the verge of retirement, with the World Champs on home Australian soil next month to be the final act of her 18-year career as a professional cyclist. She proved she's still in top form with a dominant solo ride in the women's race in Tartu, winning by more than three minutes over the 123km route.

Last year's winner Karoliina Leinonen was consigned to second place, while the reigning Estonian gravel champion Aidi Gerde Tuisk rounded out the podium.

The men's race was a different affair, with five riders still in contention as they neared the line. Lukas Malezsewski came out on top in the sprint, ahead of the Estonian rider Kirill Tarassov, and Maris Bogdanovics.

Malezsewski is now in the lead of the elite men's UCI Gravel World Series, say the organisers, with the ranking neck-and-neck between the Belgian and Petr Vakoc.

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Klöser, the Traka 360 winner, claimed the victory in a time of 3:23:18, crossing the line 2:41 ahead of second place, Larissa Hartog (Canyon x DT Swiss All-Terrain Racing). Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) took third with a time of 3:29:47.

Klöser and Vos pulled away soon after the first climb, and worked well together for one hour before being caught by a men’s group, causing an acceleration which Vos could not match.

Klöser continued on solo as multi-time world champion Vos dropped back to battle for second place with a surging Hartog.

“I'm of course super super happy and proud. I actually found out two weeks ago that I had a parasite, so this is my first race post-antibiotics and everything. So it was really like a wonderbag today so I didn't really know how my shape was, but then in the end, I decided to just race aggressively,” Klöser said.

“And at the first climb in San Juià, I put some pressure on the other girls, and I got away with Marianne Vos. And then the two of us really committed. We really worked well together, and I think we were leading the race for more than an hour together, the two of us. And then in the end, some men groups came from behind, and I guess then it was a bit more survival mode.”

“Maybe I had a bit better snap at one moment, so I could manage to get away, and then in the end it was really a solo TT for me to the finish line. I was so scared that someone would come from behind with another men's group and catch me, so I was really happy when I finished the finished first.”

“You know it's going to be hard in the start with the climb, and then we were away with the two of us, but when the man caught up, the speed got up,” Vos said. “Had to let the group go, and I was on my own. So then it's a difficult fight.

Kaiser sprints to victory in men's race

In the elite men’s race, Kaiser was first across the finish line in a time of 3:03:57, outsprinting runner-up Paul Voss (Rose Bike). Rabian Rabensteiner (Torpado Kenda FSA) took third, ahead of Georg Egger (Orbea x Speed).

The four riders pulled away in the first 40 kilometres and, working well together, built up a gap of over three minutes to the closest chaser by the time they crossed the finish line.

Kaiser claimed his first win on his second gravel race of the season. His first race was two-stage Santa Vall by The Traka, where he finished a close runner-up on the second stage.

“I'm so happy. I think my last and also my first gravel race was in February, also here in Girona - Santa Val - and I think on their second stage I was just second, and I wanted to come back and win. I came back with a new bike from Avona, 32 inch, and winning, I think, I'm super happy,” Kaiser said.

“I think before the first feed zone, the group was made. I think then we were kind of good together, and I knew that my sprint is pretty good, but I suffered. I suffered so much during the race. But then, Georg Eger made a lead out for me, and then the last part of to the finish was super rough. But with the new bike, it was kind of ‘I just pedaled through’ and won. It was like kind of the perfect race for me.”

This year’s race featured a revamped 109km course with 980 metres of elevation gain. The route is considered less demanding than in previous editions, with significantly less climbing than last year, which organisers were hoping that it would encourage fast racing and allow larger groups to remain together deeper into the race.

After the start in Càrniques de Juià, the riders tackled an opening 5.2km climb averaging 6.2%, lead into the technical descent of Coll de Llumeneres at km 21, before reaching the faster section at kilometre 41. The Mas Llunas climb at kilometre 83, and a final short but demanding ascent at kilometre 100 provided the last opportunities to split the race before the finish at the festival.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for comprehensive race coverage of both the UCI Road and Gravel World Championships, alongside the final monument of the season, Il Lombardia. Subscribers get unlimited access to exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.

Results

When it comes to the best pressure washers for cleaning your bike, options and prices vary widely. The choice often comes down to your individual requirements and whether you need a gentle, bike-specific washer or a heavy-duty, general-purpose machine. You also need to keep in mind that high pressure isn't ideal for delicate paintwork or sensitive bearings.

Where you live matters too. I recently moved to a first-floor flat without an outside tap or mains power within reach, making post-ride cleanups a real challenge, and washing a filthy gravel bike in the bath is strongly frowned upon.

Will Jones’ review of the original Kärcher OC3 highlighted a potential solution, but its tiny 4-litre capacity meant it seemed that I'd be making constant trips back inside to refill and complete the job satisfactorily.

Enter the Kärcher OC3 Foldable. Built around an 8-litre collapsible water tank, it fixes the original’s biggest flaw while remaining easy to store and transport. This portable, low-pressure washer has been a total game-changer for post-ride cleaning. Even better, it doubles as a safe washing tool for muddy gear, cycling shoes, and even the dog, though Terry, my Lakeland Terrier, remains unimpressed.

Design and aesthetics 

Unboxing the Kärcher OC3 Foldable immediately reveals how compact it is, a massive plus for storage. Despite its tiny footprint, it genuinely holds 8 litres of water. The secret is its sturdy, accordion-style bucket that collapses down to roughly a quarter of its expanded size, making it easy to stash in a car boot or small cupboard while doubling the capacity of the original 4-litre model.

The tank is made from thick silicone (or thermoplastic elastomer) reinforced by a rigid plastic rim and base. The lid removes for easy filling and features a handy hook to clip onto the side during use, and the hose and pressure gun store neatly inside the collapsed tank afterwards. I initially questioned the durability of the flexible silicone, but after multiple uses, it feels tough enough to resist accidental punctures, leaving me with zero damage concerns.

Operation is intentionally minimalist. The front features a single rubberised power button, an LED indicator, and a USB-C charging port protected by a silicone plug. The battery sits safely inside the watertight plastic base, and that feels solid and well built.

Other thoughtful details include a sturdy handle that easily supports a full load of water, and an internal clip that keeps the hose from tangling, which is a generous 1.8-metre length. The pressure gun feels great in the hand, operating with a simple trigger pull.

Weighing just 2.2 kg (4.85 lbs) empty and 10.2 kg (22.5 lbs) fully loaded, it's easy to carry around.

Performance

Having owned several mains-powered, high-pressure washers, I didn't expect to get the same performance from the OC3 Foldable. I’m also currently testing the Muc-Off Portable Pressure Washer, which is double the price, far larger, and proving a bit of a storage nightmare, which really highlights the compact sizing of the OC3.

The beauty of the OC3 Foldable is that it collapses to almost nothing. At just 108 mm (4.25 in) tall when folded, a 60% reduction in vertical profile – you can easily store it in a small kitchen drawer or keep it in the car. Expanded, it stands at 271 mm (10.7 in), with a static footprint of 305 x 298 mm (12.0 x 11.7 in).

In operation, water flows instantly when you pull the trigger and stops the moment you release it. It is remarkably quiet, sounding more like a dishwasher or standard vacuum cleaner than a traditional jet washer.

While the nozzle spray isn't adjustable, its 5 bar (approx. 72.5 PSI) rating is powerful enough to dislodge stubborn mud while remaining completely safe around paintwork and bearings. The output feels like a strong household shower. I’ve even filled it with warm water to help lift mud. Kärcher rates it for temperatures up to 40°C (104°F); anything hotter risks degrading the silicone walls and internal rubber seals.

One word of caution: if you lean heavily on the bucket when filled, it will collapse and spill water. Accidentally testing this proved the power button's waterproofing works well. Kärcher also warns against submerging the base, so take care if filling it directly from a natural water source when out and about.

Kärcher says the OC3 Foldable has a continuous battery runtime of 15 minutes, and according to the spec sheet, a single charge gives you enough power to empty its full 8-litre tank about three to four times. That I found was pretty accurate, and in bike-cleaning terms, I got four or five cleans before the battery called it a day.

The LED starts flashing when the battery is running low, and a full recharge takes approximately 2.25 hours via its USB-C port.

Value

The Kärcher OC3 Foldable is currently available on Amazon for just £109, cheaper than the £119 standard OC3 model, and far less than the Muc-Off Mobile Pressure Washer starter bundle at £250. Given its performance and convenience, it offers, I think, exceptional value for money.

While it can’t compete with a full-sized pressure washer, it is a brilliant and incredibly useful piece of kit for cyclists with limited space. I absolutely love it; my flat and shower are both significantly cleaner as a result. While comparing it to the Muc-Off model will be an interesting exercise, the Muc-Off's double-the-price tag and much larger footprint make it an unfair fight.

Verdict

The Kärcher OC3 Foldable is perfect for washing your bike before loading it into your car or taking it inside your flat. It’s a viable solution for anyone short on space, lacking an outdoor tap, or travelling on bike trips, as it keeps trail filth out of your living space and vehicle.

At just over £100, it offers fantastic value. While similar cheaper alternatives exist, Kärcher’s reputation for superior build quality makes it worth the extra investment.

You could buy an entry-level, mains-powered unit like the Kärcher K2 for less, but there's little point in comparing the two; this is a specialised tool built for portability and space-saving convenience.

It handles basic grime effortlessly and fits my needs perfectly, especially for a quick rinse-down after a ride, or before loading the bike into the boot. If your cleaning needs sound anything like mine, I can’t recommend the OC3 Foldable enough. I've been hard-pressed to find a single fault in this brilliant piece of kit.

Like a lot of gravel bikes being launched right now, such as the Factor Elara and the Scott Addict gravel, the new 3rd generation Grail is a dedicated big-clearance, aero-focused gravel race machine.

We spotted what we believed to be this bike in prototype form at The Traka back in late April, speculating at the time whether the Grail would be joining the big gravel tyre club. We know now the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

As it did with the Grail RIFT, Canyon has flirted with its own embargo and has also been teasing this bike for over a week on social media, and by now, most will know the new Grail has arrived.

The Grail, regarded as one of the best gravel bikes for several years, was starting to stand out for its conservative official max tyre clearance of 42mm. Whilst there's nothing wrong with running a 42mm tyre, things are only going one way when it comes to gravel race bike tyre sizes and trends.

Now, it seems Canyon has answered in kind with 57mm tyre clearance front and rear.

The new bike isn't quite as light as the Gen 2 model. Canyon quotes 989 grams for a raw, medium-sized frame, 1095 for a CF SLX model and 1128 for a CF. It does make the point that overall the bikes are faster than the previous one, though.

There's more than just tyre clearance to go over here, though. We have all the new bike details, have logged several test rides on the new bike, and have verified the max claimed tyre clearance ourselves for you.

The 3rd generation Canyon Grail

We'll stay on tyre clearance for just a little longer. The Grail has 57mm clearance now, with a claimed 4mm ISO clearance around the tyre. Everyone will be happy, and the spec sheet will look good, but I get a slight feeling when listening to Canyon speak about the bike that it's still not completely on board with the big tyre philosophy.

It sounds like the clearance was partly just boosted because it was requested by pro riders like Rosa Klöser, who insisted that her future gravel bike would have to have big tyre clearances, and not because the brand was all in on big tyres.

Canyon says it 'watched, waited and listened whilst the internet debated whether wider tyres make you faster'.

The brand says the Grail was intended to be 2x compatible, which would have held clearance to a maximum 50mm figure, but riders like Klöser demanded bigger numbers.

To execute the 57mm clearance, Canyon has used a thin yet completely solid section of drive-side chainstay; it's the same workaround Lauf uses in its Seigla frame, which also has the same clearance number.

Bikes will come fitted with 45mm tyres. Canyon calls this a 'baseline from which riders can explore'. There will also be no suspension-equipped 'RIFT' models in the range. The brand explained that the large-volume tyres will take care of further off-road smoothing duties.

Canyon has also created a tyre pressure setup calculator with Pirelli, which can be found within the Canyon app to help riders dial in their optimal tyre pressures.

Aero testing

It's clear to see from looking at the Grail that aerodynamic performance has been a consideration, and it's a factor for any competitive gravel race bike launching right now.

Canyon makes the point that the longer you are racing, the more aero matters. This will certainly be a factor in events like the Traka 360.

The brand has tested at 35km/h, which it says is real-world gravel race pace. Testing occurred at the GST Wind tunnel in Immenstadt, Germany, and the brand uses a moving-leg dummy to replicate a rider's pedalling motion.

Let's start with a question many will want to know: how much faster is it than the old bike? A 3rd Gen Grail with 40,45, and 55mm tyres is faster than a Gen 2 bike with 40mm rubber. By up to 6.3 watts.

Canyon also tested against some competitors and listed them, something not every brand does when comparing to the competition.

You can see the table for yourself above, but the Gen 3 bike was faster by a few watts than the Rose Backroad FF, Factor Ostro Gravel and Cervélo Aspero.

Canyon tested each bike model with the same wheelset, leg model, and 45mm tyres. The wheels had a spec of 50mm depth, 27mm internal width, and 38.5mm external width.

Aside from aero testing, there's scope for rolling resistance to offer greater gains off-road; certain 50mm+ tyres can offer their own rewards when combined with the right tyre pressures off-road. The Grail's new clearance will allow riders to take advantage of those gains too.

Features and geometry

Canyon says that the Grail was well regarded in the handling department and didn't want to mess with its handling formula.

The bike's wheelbase has been extended by 10mm to accommodate the big tyres, and the chainstays are 10mm longer, but the brand says the 'handling dynamics remain the same as on the Gen 2 Grail' and the head and seat tube angles are the same.

The stack has changed and has been lowered by 15mm 'in response to gravel racing's rising speeds'; the reach number is the same, and shorter stems are specced on bikes. For instance, a medium arrives with an 80mm stem.

This generation of the Grail in CFR and CF SLX models has also received the Canyon Pace bar technology. This provides simple handlebar width and height adjustment of 50 and 20mm respectively.

Bikes arrive with Canyon Control handlebar drops, but these can be removed and switched out for several alternative options. Adjustable bar widths range from 370mm to 420mm.

There's also a new seatpost in the form of the SP0093 VCLS (vertical comfort lateral stiffness) unit, an aero-profiled post which Canyon says provides 25% more compliance than a rigid unit. Canyon also claims it offers the same amount of deflection regardless of a rider's seatpost height.

The frame uses a PF86 bottom bracket standard, primarily for clearance and stiffness according to the brand.

There are also some new frame storage bags for the Grail from the Bavarian brand Cyclite. Canyon has developed lightweight, top tube and frame storage bags for the Grail whch save a couple of hundred grams over the previous bags; they also don't affect aero performance much.

A few features aren't on every model. Load downtube storage can only be found on the CFR and CF SLX models, and the Fast Fender mounts don't feature on the CFR model.

Another new release comes from Canyon in the form of a new pair of carbon wheels from the brand. Canyon launched its own range of carbon wheels with the Grizl gravel machine last year.

The new 50 CF wheels will come on the CF 7 and CF SLX models, or retail on their own for €999. Spec-wise, the wheels have a 27mm internal width and 38.5mm external width. The 50mm rims are laced onto DT Swiss 350 hubs, and the overall weight is a claimed 1675 grams.

Initial riding impressions

I reviewed the previous-gen Grail, attended the launch of the suspension-equipped Grail RIFT and raced the Traka 100 on it.

I’m familiar with the Grail platform, and I really like it. Until now, I have considered the Grail a performance gravel bike that’s a strong all-rounder, user-friendly and fun to ride.

When I saw the new Grail, whilst I thought it looked good with its aero tube shapes and chunkier aero seatpost, I was hopeful that the previous Grail’s nimbleness hadn’t been done away with, despite the brand saying the geometry numbers and ride characteristics were very similar, though the Gen 3 bike is 15mm lower at the front.

Canyon sent me a Grail CF SLX 8 AXS model to ride in the eye-catching Strawberry Shake colourway. The bike as pictured comes in at €5,499, and my size small test model came in at 9kg out of the box with two bottle cages, a frame storage bag and tools, frame bags and sealant.

After my first ride on the bike, my fears had been largely allayed. In short, the Grail still feels like a Grail. The solid handling and manoeuvrability are still there; it's not just a point-and-shoot straight-line aero machine.

It's a little heavier; my size small at 9kg isn't exactly featherlight, but it doesn't feel like it holds the bike back particularly.

I don't feel much vibration damping from the aero VCLS seatpost, which I am also testing on the road with the latest Endurace; fans of the brand's older round leaf spring style VCLS post of old may be left wanting, and for me, that post did provide more compliance.

The ride is without a doubt solid, fast where it's needed and capable in the techy sections. The overall ride hasn't set my soul alight yet, though. This bike has been designed with speed in mind; I want to see what it's like to live with as a general gravel machine.

The bikes come stock with Schwalbe G-One R 45mm tyres, but I have fitted some 2.2" Continental Dubnital tyres to check clearances for myself, and can verify the big rubber does fit comfortably. Certainly more easily in the front than on the Factor Elara we recently tested. So if you want to go up to 57mm, you can.

Specs and pricing

Six Grail bikes will be available across three frame tiers: CF, CF SLX and the top-tier CFR bike. Two models will be available in each frame version, and there are eight colourways to choose from.

Access to the new range starts with the base CF 7 model, which starts at €2,499 / £2,499 for a Shimano GRX 610 mechanical groupset-equipped bike with Newmen wheels.

The CF CLX tier bikes start at €4,999 / £4,799 with SRAM Force XPLR and DT Swiss GRC 1400 wheels.

The top-spec CFR bikes start at €6,500 / £6,200 for a Shimano GRX R825 build with DT Swiss GRC 1100 wheels, and rise to €8,000 / £7,600 for the top-spec SRAM Red XPLR-equipped bike with the same wheelset.

The Cyclite bags are available separately; the Cyclite top tube bag costs €69,99 and the midloader bag €124,99.

Something to note: the CF bikes don't come with a frame storage hatch, and the CFR bikes do not have Canyon integrated fender mounts for the fast fit system.

This could be a fairytale ending to his remarkable 2026, an eighth season as a pro with Team Novo Nordisk. But in fact, the voyage to even ride this year has been more of a nightmare. Last year, one word changed his life - cancer.

Until 2025, type 1 diabetes was his health concern, but he said it was "not a barrier". He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 12 and turned to sports, racing as a junior in triathlons, then represented Australia at the World Duathlon Championships and later on the road, winning the New South Wales road race and criterium state titles. He joined Novo Nordisk for road cycling full-time in 2019.

He added gravel to his road programme in 2022 and two years later saw bigger results with a top 10 on a Tour of Hainan stage plus 10th at Gravelista, a UCI Gravel World Series event in Australia, 21st at Big Sugar Gravel and 24th at Unbound Gravel 200, even after a mechanical.

"Last year I put all my energy into doing Unbound well and then got my catastrophic failure that kind of ruined my race. I was really salty because I just put so much energy into it, and then for it to all be like just taken away in two seconds, it was a bit shit.

"Then my whole perspective kind of changed."

Life changed one month after this disappointment in Kansas. He went on to finish the Baloise Belgium Tour and was at elevation camp with his team when he "felt a weird sensation in my groin" and scheduled a visit with his doctor. A scrotal ultrasound was next, but at a medical office in Girona, a non-English-speaking technician wasn't subtle with the news.

"He's saying 'no good' and then 'cancer'. I start bawling my eyes out, because I lost my mind," said Irvine.

"The next minute he's bringing in this young receptionist, and I've got like my pants around my ankles, and she's just kind of looking at the ceiling, embarrassed. 'He says that you've got cancer'. I'm just sitting there crying.

"Yeah, that kind of put a lot into perspective last year, like racing took a back step, and I just wanted to get healthy."

Catching it 'super early'

Irvine had said that his diabetes was not a barrier, but a cancer diagnosis was a whole new challenge. He was a student of how to take care of his body, and that knowledge helped him with a shorter recovery time, one that avoided chemotherapy.

His medical team ran tests to confirm the testicular cancer diagnosis and reviewed findings from results using three key indicators to determine the best treatment. While two of the markers were "fine", the CK level, or Creatine Kinase biomarker for muscle damage, was "really, really high". Chemotherapy was announced as the only treatment.

"I was like, 'Oh, look, I have this test really often because it's a test we do with the UCI and the team. This marker is also for muscle damage, and because I'm an athlete and I train really hard, this could be inflated, not because of the cancer, but because of the muscle damage.

"They were adamant that I was going to have to do chemo, and I said, 'Look, let's repeat the test in a week'. I'll have one week completely off the bike, and I won't do anything. I'll lay on the lounge, and I'll try and get this level down with no exercise'. I wanted to prove my point that it's exercise-induced, not cancer-induced."

A week later, the CK level was back to normal. That meant he would have surgery, but no chemo.

He was bed-bound for two weeks after surgery, his partner Courtney Wevers at his side in Girona for physical and emotional support. After taking three months off, Irvine was back on the bike at the UCI Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands, finishing 26 minutes off the winning pace of Florian Vermeersch (Belgium), yet ahead of 100 other riders.

"This race wasn’t about a result. My goal was only to put on the green and gold kit and get back on the start line, doing what I love, and I’m so happy to have done that," he said on social media after the Worlds.

The 2026 season had him back to routine business, on the road with Novo Nordisk at La Roue Tourangelle, where he was named most aggressive rider, as well as Tour of Turkey and Tour of Denmark. In between, he mixed in another Unbound Gravel 200.

"My doctor, she said, the biggest problem with testicular cancer is that when boys feel something's wrong, we just don't do anything about it. We caught it super early, that was what saved me."

There's no place like home

When Cyclingnews caught up with Irvine at this year's Unbound Gravel, he had unfinished business in Kansas, eager to avoid major mechanicals like the last two times and get through the mud in Kansas, cleanly. This time he competed in the open category to see how he'd do, rather than the elite division, and finished third.

He did not have any expectations to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup this spring, as he had road races on his calendar for the rest of the year. But he was proud that Australia had a "proper gravel" course for the competition.

"I think it's going to be the best world championship so far, because it's like 100% on gravel. It's a real race [for gravel]. Last year in the Netherlands it was kind of a Classics race, and also the previous year in Belgium. This world championship is going to be a real world championship [for gravel].

"It could be a good year for the diehard gravel guys to win the Worlds, because the last few years, it's been won by WorldTour riders. Three years ago in Italy, when America put a really good team together, Keegan Swenson still did well.

"I don't think a lot of the WorldTour guys will go, only the diehard gravel people. I think they're all freaking good guys, and the WorldTour guys do rock up to gravel races. It does kind of put in perspective the level that they're at."

His last stage race was the 2.Pro-level Tour of Denmark, where he helped team leader Filippo Ridolfo to a top-25 on GC, despite several crashes. He took some time off, and the team gave him the green light for more gravel. Now the Newcastle native has qualification, or at least a wildcard entry, to earn in order to make the long trip to Western Australia for the Gravel World Championships.

"My family's in Australia, my mum and dad and all the rest of my family. It's hard to reach, like the complete opposite side of the country where I come from," Irvine admitted.

"I'm just grateful that I'm still here and able to do it. I still like to race, and I want to push myself."

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As Campagnolo expands its gravel range and revitalises the entire Super Record groupset to include off-road electronic Super Record X, it brings with it a new gravel-focused iteration of the famous Bora wheels, the Bora X. The brand claims the new wheelset brings the best out of the new groupset, and vice versa, due to the synergy between components.

I can’t comment on that, having not tested the new Super Record X groupset, but after a lot of riding on the Bora X wheelset, I can confirm that it is a highly competent wheelset in many ways.

It’s lightweight for a 50mm deep wheel, although it is a little on the narrow side by some standards meaning it is perhaps better suited for 40-45mm tyres rather than larger. However, the greatest performance aspect of these wheels is the balance of stiffness. Lateral and torsional stiffness are easy enough to achieve, but to manage that with vertical compliance for a comfortable ride is sublime for gravel riding.

A hoard of high-quality parts, bags and accoutrements boost the value of these wheels, although they are still a shade under two grand. The cup and cone bearing system is perhaps not the preference for most, it works well if you look after it. Not to mention, the wheels frankly look stunning. They are a real winner in my books and a perfect addition to any gravel race bike.

Design and specifications

The Campagnolo Bora X wheels are built upon a unidirectional carbon rim that very closely resembles the Bora WTO rims used on the road. The 50mm depth is high for a gravel wheel, and closely on trend with the increasing focus on aerodynamics in the discipline. The width of the rim is where the changes are bigger, with a 27mm internal channel designed for 35mm tyres and larger, using hooked rims still giving some riders that added sense of security. Externally, the rim reaches 31.5mm wide, relatively narrow by some standards in today’s market.

The rim also features a solid rim bed, eliminating the need for tubeless tape, with spokes instead adjusted externally. Valves are supplied and are long enough for the 50mm depth, which is designed to make tubeless setup very easy time after time. A glorious gloss C Lux finish is present on the rims, offset with a mix of matte black and chrome logos, which personally makes this a stunning set of wheels.

Moving down from the rim, the spokes are laced in the iconic G3 lacing pattern. This uses sets of three spokes, one on the non-drive side at the rear and the non-rotor side at the front, two on the drive-side rear and rotor-side front. This results in a 2:1 ratio 21-spoke lacing configuration, with the seven radially laced, and the 14 using a three-cross arrangement. The spokes themselves are straight pull and bladed, but not all of them, some are rounded to balance stiffness and comfort for gravel riding.

The freehub is available for all standards from Campagnolo, SRAM, and Shimano, and uses NSW ceramic bearings, rather than the top-end CULT offering, with cup and cone rather than cartridge bearings. This requires a bit more maintenance, but if looked after, should last well. Lightweight lockrings are supplied as standard and attach externally. A nice bonus is the supply of both tyre levers and soft padded wheel bags large enough for wheels with 50mm tyres fitted. Claimed weight is 1,430g, but actual was 1,463g, although with lockrings and valves. Remove those, and the wheels still come in at 1,444g.

Performance

Tubeless setup for these wheels was one of the easiest I've done. The solid rim bed means no rim tape is required, just fit the valves, put the tyres on, and inflate with a track pump to seat. The Panaracer GravelKing ZX 45mm tyres inflated to 45mm exactly on these rims with the 27mm internal width and 31.5mm external. This is a bit narrow by some gravel wheelset standards, especially by modern wider trends, but it allows the versatility to run 35mm and upwards.

I have to say that the wheels look glorious. The C Lux finish combines a gloss carbon weave across the entirety of the rim with a mix of matte black ‘Bora’ logos with a chrome-finished ‘Campagnolo’ and winged wheel nut logo. They reflect the light in the sun and really make the frame pop. They do lose this once the dust from gravel riding gets them, but they’re easy enough to clean. I personally prefer this a lot to the standard matte black that is now all too common.

Of course, these are performance gravel wheels, and they are an impressively balanced set which have several features that really help them on gravel. The spoke lacing is heavily asymmetric, with a 2:1 ratio on the rear drive side and front rotor side to better deal with the asymmetric forces applied to the wheels. This results in the wheels having a superb level of lateral stiffness for out of the saddle accelerations and putting the power down, but also a great deal of torsional stiffness when accelerating and braking.

Impressively, this is balanced with a good amount of vertical compliance which gives them a more plush sensation when riding off road on rougher surfaces. Some of this is apparently to do with the carbon layup, but also the use of elliptical spokes alongside the bladed aero ones. Of course tyres and pressures make up a lot of the cushioning sensation you get, which is why I test with the same tyres and pressures on the same routes to keep things consistent. The Bora X, however, are noticeably more comfortable to ride than other gravel wheels on test with all other variables kept consistent.

A 50mm depth means these are a solid set of wheels when travelling at speed. At speeds around 35kph the wheels start to come alive. I’ve used these on the road a few times as well, and even on faster group rides the wheels feel pretty at home and not much of a compromise compared to road wheels with 30mm tyres.

Impressively, with this rim depth, the weight is competitive. Excluding the valves and lockrings, 1,444g for a 50mm wheelset is impressively lightweight. This is felt out on the trails when accelerating on steeper inclines. This, with the stiffness, means they get up to speed very competently and also brake effectively even on loose surfaces with heavier tyres fitted.

There are some concerns about the longevity of the bearings, however, as a cup and cone setup requires more user input to keep them running smoothly, but if you do this, they will run very well. Generally, cartridge bearings would be used with heavier external seals and potentially internal as well. A ratchet system is still used, but a 36-tooth engagement is on the lower side of teeth numbers. However it is sometimes seen as more resilient than high-tooth ratchets, and in practice the acceleration of the wheels was great even with a lower tooth count.

These wheels are also potentially a little on the narrow side. 27mm internal width works well for 35-45mm tyres, and can be used for wider. However, for using 50-55mm options, as is becoming more frequent, a lot of wheels are adopting a wider internal and external width. Meanwhile, the 31.5mm external width does mean the 45mm tyres used with this sit fairly wide. We’ve seen in wind tunnel testing that although wider tyres carry an aero penalty, this penalty can be reduced if the external width of the tyre is wider to better smooth the interface between tyre and rim. I can confirm that riding on tarmac surfaces, the likes of the Parcours FKT felt to roll a bit faster above 35kph, with a ballooning 40mm maximum external rim width.

Value

£1,999.99/$2,180 is an expensive set of wheels, putting it in the similar regions of the HUNT Limitless 40 UD Spoke with carbon rims, lower weight, and ceramic bearings. Of course, they are far behind the price of the likes of the Roval Terra Aero CLX (£2,998/$3,400) and the ENVE G SES 6.7 Pro (£3,500/$3,100).

My personal feeling with these wheels is that the versatility they offer is impressive. I like the inclusion of hooked rims, and with some 35mm tyres these would be great wheels on rough road surfaces let alone gravel. There is also no user weight limit, and a solid rim bed which makes future tubeless fitting a lot easier as tape won’t come loose while cleaning out old sealant.

Of course there are wheels that are cheaper, and not far off in terms of many performance aspects. The Scope R4G (£1,498/$1,798), for example, are superb, but the hub is like a siren while the Bora X are silent. Meanwhile, the Parcours FKT (£1,249 ) are great when rolling fast, but lack the same stiffness, compliance, and low weight that the Bora X offer.

I am also a big fan of the inclusion of the very lightweight external rotor lockrings, as well as the valves, tyre levers, bag for all of that, and some very high-quality wheel bags. It does mean that the wheelset as a whole does come with some additional value.

There is also the subjective element that I think these wheels look stunning, and that does add value to me. I like to look at the bike and think to myself that it looks great, and these wheels genuinely add to that. This is, of course, a highly individual and personal preference, but as are most aspects of value.

Verdict

The Campagnolo Bora X wheels have become my favourite gravel wheelset to ride. The balance of high stiffness for accelerations, braking, and cornering, combined with vertical compliance for comfort is fantastic. A deep rim depth and low weight also makes them wonderful to ride at speed or on climbs.

My only gripe is the relatively narrow rim width for tyres beyond 40mm, while the bearing setup will require more upkeep. But for the performance and included parts, not to mention looking stunning, the £2k price tag does not appear too high. There are better-value (around £1,500) wheelsets, but I prefer these.

From the best bike computers and indoor smart trainers to precision power meter pedals and rearview radar systems, Garmin’s lineup consistently earns top marks in our expert testing and buying guides.

Shop the Birthday Sale at Garmin.

The Garmin Birthday Sale runs until September 20, offering discounts across the majority of its cycling tech. Our best overall bike computer – the Garmin Edge 1050 has an impressive £70 off, down to just £529. It's the lowest I've seen this year on the flagship Garmin device. It also significantly undercuts the current Amazon Garmin Edge 1050 price of £614.

Below you'll find my top ten selections from the Garmin Sale, and these focus on the UK version. For Garmin US shoppers, the US Birthday Sale is live; sadly, there are more limited offers available.

Saying that, there are still some gems worth highlighting. Including $100 off the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar down to $599. So worth a look for those based in the US.

The Birthday Sale runs until September 20, but with Amazon Prime Day coming in early October, and then Black Friday in November, if you miss out now, there might be plenty of Garmin deals coming. Of course, we'll be highlighting all the offers as they appear, but if you have an eye on something now, why wait?

Below you'll also find the best prices on Garmin cycling tech from other retailers, relevant to your currency and location.

2025 Australian gravel champion and SEVEN winner Mark O'Brien, along with 2023 national champion Connor Sens, will be joining earlier announced starter Freddy Ovett in the elite men's field. Tasman Nankervis, who won the SEVEN UCI Gravel World Series round in Nannup in 2023, will also be on the start line as he bounces back from a mid-season training crash with a kangaroo.

All up, ten riders were named in the Australian men's elite squad to tackle a field where the confirmed rivals on the start line already include defending champion Florian Vermeersch (Belgium, Matt Beers (South Africa), European champion Mads Würtz Schmidt (Denmark), three-time Life Time Grand Prix winner Keegan Swenson (USA), former Mountain Bike Marathon world champion Henrique Avancini (Brazil) and Belgian gravel champion Daan Soete.

The most notable omission among the list of Australians is top gravel rider Brendan Johnston, who earlier in the year claimed victory at the SEVEN UCI Gravel World series event, run on a course that mostly replicated what's on offer for the rainbow jersey race. Not only that, but he also has claimed every one of the three Australian UCI Gravel World Series races this year, is a former national gravel champion and currently sits third overall in the prestigious Life Time Grand Prix series.

The World Championships, however, conflicts with an event in that US-based series, Little Sugar MTB, so he is left with a tricky choice, and expressed uncertainty over attending the World Championships when Cyclingnews spoke to him earlier this month. However, given he has already qualified for the race via his UCI Gravel World Series win, not being named on the team put forward by the Australian federation does not necessarily rule out a late entry. The registration deadline is October 4, at 1200 AWST.

In the women's elite field Oceania champion Nicole Frain, who after four wins in the 2026 UCI Gravel World Series is sitting second overall, and retiring Australian gravel champion Tiffany Cromwell were already among the confirmed starters. They will also be joined by 2022 Australian gravel champion Holly Harris, with the five-time national champion on the mountain bike having also swept up a world series win at The Devils Cardigan this year. Ella Bloor was also among those named in a six strong elite women's team announced by AusCycling.

The group will be facing a fiercely competitive women's field, including 2024 winner Marianne Vos (Netherlands), two-time Unbound 200 winner Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Argentina), 2025 European champion Erica Magnaldi (Italy), The Traka 560 winner Maddy Nutt (Great Britain) and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (South Africa).

The announcement that Australia would host the UCI Gravel World Championships this year was made back in 2022, just as the nation was farewelling the Wollongong Road World Championships.

Elite riders can either qualify for the Gravel World Championships via the UCI Gravel World Series or a wildcard system, with national federations able to award a maximum of ten elite wild cards – five women and five men – but the home nation are also allowed to award an additional ten. Gravel national and continental champions also gain an automatic place, along with the defending world champions.

Australia's Elite Women's team

• Tori Barry
• Ella Bloor
• Sophie Byrne
• Tiffany Cromwell
• Nicole Frain
• Holly Harris

Australia's Elite Men's team

• Harry Bebbington
• Mark Chong
• Joel Green
• Oliver Johnston
• Tasman Nankervis
• Mark O'Brien
• Freddy Ovett
• Brent Rees
• Connor Sens
• Oliver Stenning

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It's clear that the multi-discipline rider who first turned professional at 30 as he committed to the US-based series has found his ideal fit and, with the plan being to continue the fine-tuning along the way through this season and beyond, the hope is that there are few limits to how high Johnston can rise.

"I'm still enjoying the process of of getting better," Johnston told Cyclingnews. "I mean, there is an element of versatility that you need for the Lifetime Grand Prix, which I enjoy."

"They are such different competitions, every single one of them you could say, in terms of what you need to be good there, and I think I just have this consistency that has me pretty good at at all of them."

That is evident by his finishing position in the series overall, which this year has six races delivering an even split between gravel and mountain biking events. Among the group of carefully selected off-road athletes, that represent much of the cream of the crop in the non-UCI sanctioned gravel world, Johnston finished seventh in his first year of competition in 2023. He was then fourth in 2024, ninth in 2025 – after Leadville and Little Sugar both ended with a rock related mishap that caused a DNF – while this season at the halfway point he is at an all time high of third.

A strong finish, is of course a big aim and the consistency he has been delivering is a hard-earned and crucial asset to achieve that end, but as he continues to regularly trek halfway across the world, away from home and his young daughter, Johnston is also looking for something more.

"I want to bag a bigger win," said Johnston when asked what keeps him motivated as he spoke to Cyclingnews in Australia before heading back for the Chequamegon round on September 19. "I have won a lot of races, but in my mind, none of them were at the pinnacle of the sport. I think, on the right day, I'm capable of doing that, but it hasn't happened yet."

Like many riders, a race Johnston has at the top of his winning wish list is Unbound Gravel but what he has that many others don't is a remarkably strong record at the race across the past two years as a proof of concept.

It's an event that he has long thought suited him, though the first year in 2023 was a tough beginning after the peanut butter mud effectively ended his chances 11 miles in. Still, the experience has helped in the build, with Johnston 15th in 2024, fifth in 2025 and fourth in 2026 at the race which rarely unfolds without significant obstacles along the way.

"We've had some dramas, but it's something I've come to enjoy," said Johnston of Unbound. "Also I think I've matured in terms of how I view it."

The seeming inevitability that things will, at some point, go wrong often makes the ability to react well when it does a crucial factor. Another part of that equation, that is becoming an ever more apparent reality, is that it can also help significantly to have strong teammates alongside when things don't run to plan – Keegan Swenson's move to give his Specialized Off-road teammate Mads Würtz Schmidt his wheel at Unbound this year being a perfect example.

"You have to put a lot in to be good there," said Johnston. "You have to build a squad and have the support and invest in all that. You can't start on the back foot, but even then I know that so much can go wrong, and it plays to have a cool head about how that race generally plays out.

"I think I'm at that point and next year Unbound is the main goal. I think I've proven that I'm consistent there and, if we get all the things right, then winning is not out of the question."

First, though, there is the rest of this season to get through and maintain or, ideally, even build on that third place in the Life Time Grand Prix series. Then, after that, the Giant-SRAM rider also has some big plans for the start to the new year in Australia. That includes taking on the Australian Road National Championships in Perth at the start of January and a fastest known time attempt on the 1,067km long Munda Biddi Trail.

The Australian Road Record Association of Australia has the current record for the charge along the trail from Albany to Mundaring at 2:12:15:00, with the mark set on November 27, 2023 by Jack Thompson.

Johnston's Munda Biddi pursuit comes on the heels of a brutal challenge at the start of this year, which makes Unbound look like a short effort. During the nearly 4,000km Perth to Sydney record chase Johnston faced vicious energy and time sapping headwinds which hampered his ability to chase the fastest known time (FKT) and also left him with a strained achilles.

Despite that tough experience, Johnston sounds excited about the prospect of going for another FKT.

"I just love to go to the depths and find the way out. And I think there's a competitive element to like fastest known times that I like."

Plus, a selective memory when looking back on the Perth to Sydney attempt also seems to be helping.

"When I first think about it, I've forgotten all the bad times, even though the majority of it was bad in terms of my experience – the pain and fatigue and injury and all that weather. But all I remember is riding in the sunset with with seven of my closest people with me, supporting me, and doing that for eight days in a row was was awesome," said Johnston.

"That's the part I remember. I don't remember things like my ass bleeding and a lot of a lot of bad things that happened. I don't I remember them until I seriously think about it. My first memories are all good ones."

The intensifying discussion and planning around the attempt may be bound to deliver a few more reminders of those painful memories, but Johnston jokingly quipped that "now that I'm saying it out loud I'm probably going to have to commit".

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On the final day, the standalone 'Fully Loaded Baked Potato' race, with 118 miles and nearly half of the elevation gain, all ears were on event founder Rebecca Rusch for an update on the event, while all eyes were on a new teammate for former WorldTour rider and gravel pioneer Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost).

Morton completed the course as a rider-coach for the Adventure For All non-profit, helping 20-year-old Christian Loafman finish in 10:54:03. This RPI event was not about winning or the four-hour deficit to men's stage winner Allan Schroeder, or the three-hour deficit to women's winner Britt Mason. It was about completing a challenge.

Loafman, a neurodivergent endurance athlete who has faced significant medical challenges since the age of two, now adds this high-elevation gravel stage race to his list of accomplishments, having completed Unbound Gravel 100 in May with Ian Boswell (Wahoo-Specialized-RCC).

"He was really determined. I was never questioning whether he could get it done. I recognised pretty early on we got a pretty similar mindset, and he committed to it. He was hurting, I've been in that place so I know what that feels like," Morton said about his ride partner.

"The roads are rough, high elevation, the course is always throwing something at you, and then we had a big headwind coming home. So plenty of challenges out there today.

"We had a definite low point on the new loop, on the far end. The headwind was like ripping off the mountain. I could see the body language, he was quiet. So I said we're gonna stop here, take the pack off, sit down, stretch for a sec, eat something and just do a total reset.

"It was wild, he really reset and then took off. From then I'm like we're gonna make it. He was in that [hurt] locker deep for probably six hours. It's not something most people can tolerate. Hard things suck because they're hard."

Rusch steps away from RPI

In 2027, Rusch, a seven-time world champion and celebrated endurance athlete, will step away from the event, which will be rebranded as The Big Lost, taking its name from a 'disappearing' river, the Big Lost River, that moved underground in the area.

"14 years ago, there wasn’t even a gravel culture. There wasn’t the equipment, the community, or the trails I now call home. I was the only one riding up Trail Creek. This weekend, we closed the final chapter of Rebecca’s Private Idaho, and I was overcome. Not with sadness, but with pride, for what we built together.

"So yes, this is the last RPI. But it’s a chapter, not the end of the book. The race lives on as The Big Lost, under new leadership, on the same trails you love," Rusch posted on social media, saying she would now focus on coaching and her podcast, What's the Rusch.

Sidney McGill and Rhett Bates win Canmore Cross

Former two-time U23 Canadian national champion Sidney McGill and 19-year-old rising Canadian talent Rhett Bates won the elite C2 races on Saturday at Canmore Cross in Alberta, the North American opener for the 2026-2027 cyclocross season.

McGill dominated the women's field in a time of 53:30, with USA's Amelia Shea finishing second, a little more than three minutes back, and Christiane Bilodeau another minute later for third.

Bates needed a strong kick at the end to distance USA's Ben Frederick, who was seven seconds off the winning time of 1:00:33. First-year U23 US rider Jack Billowitz completed the podium, holding off Mark Fagnan of Canada.

The upcoming weekend features the start of six UCI races that comprise the USCX series, one C1 and one C2 at each of the trio of events beginning with Rochester Cyclocross on September 19-20. Virginia's Blue Ridge GO Cross follows on September 26-27 and the series concludes with Charm City Cross on October 3-4.

Marles Mejías and Cade Bickmore best in sprint finishes at Bucks County Classic

Marles Mejías (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28) and Cade Bickmore (Team Cadence Cyclery pb Waldo Racing) won elite titles at Bucks County Classic in Doylestown, Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Now in its 22nd edition, the Bucks County Classic marks the traditional conclusion for criterium racing in the US. Early rain left the 1.4-mile, eight-corner course slippery for the Penn Medicine Doylestown Health Pro Women race, which saw a large crash on lap three split the field. From there, most of the favourites rode in a 16-rider front group which contested a final-lap sprint.

Last year's runner-up and 2024 winner Mejías took the lead on the final uphill straightaway and saw only daylight for the victory. 2023 winner Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) could not get around the Cuban rider and settled for second. WorldTour rider Barbara Guarischi (SD Worx-ProTime) swept past Arrielle Verhaaren (Automatic Racing) to grab the final podium spot.

“I love this race and I decided at the last minute to go, and I’m so happy I did,” said Marlies, who was joined by her family. “The race was really hard and the group got smaller, but I felt strong. I love an uphill power sprint, so when we came into the finish I knew I had a good chance. It was a really special win.”

It was a different scenario for the Thompson Pro Men’s race, with a group of five riders lapping the field with 11 circuits to go. Bickmore, Michael Reidenbach (Total Civil Construction), Daniel Uhranowsky (Visit Pittsburgh) and Kelly Benefits Cycling duo Julien Ruhe and Dillon Lee were all able to reconnect with other teammates to position for the charge to the line.

Using pulls on the final two laps from Sam Smith and Danny Summerhill, Bickmore edged Ruhe for the victory. Dillon then gave Kelly Benefits two riders on the podium with Lee riding solo for third. Reidenbach was fourth and Uhranowsky fifth.

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Kasper (PAS Racing) won a tight elite women's race after fending off Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM) in the finale, beating the Australian by four seconds. Local rider Elisa Serné finished in third place.

"I really enjoyed it. It's a super nice course - a bit of everything," Kasper said afterwards.

In the men's race, Kongstad topped a PAS Racing 1-2 ahead of Rasmus Bøgh Wallin after a long solo breakaway. Estonian Riko Tammepuu (UN Cycling Team) was third.

"It was a long day out there," Kongstad said. "The tactic today was to be in the front. Sometimes it plays out in the correct way and today I was lucky."

The 175km finish race takes riders through the Salpausselkä UNESCO Geopark. After leaving from Pajulahti the first 50km takes place on wider scenic roads and through forested sections, then it is onto what organisers describe as a "rollercoaster" with no long climbs but also no flat to be seen. After that is the 35km northern loop, with a mix of dual track rods and hardpack gravel deep in the forests. At Vuolenkoski the race then heads south to return to the Pajulahti start/finish line of the course which is 87% gravel.

The race was one of the late season qualifiers for the UCI Gravel World Championships, which is being held in Nannup, Western Australia on October 10 and 11.

Onweller won the elite women's race by just two seconds ahead of runner-up Sarah Lange and 5:29 ahead of third-placed Emma Langley (Ventum-DT Swiss-Kenda-Rule28-Monolith).

The 37-year-old attacked solo during some of the course's early climbs before being joined by Lange. The duo worked well together to build a lead before Onweller bested Lange in the sprint.

"I got her at the end but she really pushed me today," Onweller said afterwards. "Super proud to win."

Freeburn secured the elite men's title after crossing the finish line 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Cole Davis (SpeedStudio p/b Basso) and 21 seconds ahead of third-placed Griffin Easter (OpiCure Gravel p/b Orbea and Castelli SOG).

The men's race was an active and attritional one. Easter went clear in the closing stages before being caught by the elite chasing group. Freeburn then put in the decisive attack and stayed solo until the end.

"The day was great. It was very chaotic, lots of people up the road all the time," Freeburn said.

"I've never even been on the national podium before. So, really special to win. I've been thinking about this since last and I really wanted it."

Elite Women

Elite Men

Right now you can pick up the Lego Icons Road bike set on Amazon for under £100.

Although it's a fairly minimal discount, it means this brand-new Lego set is discounted to just £99.99, from the launch price of £109.99. Having covered loads of Lego deals on our sister sites, it's very rare to see any Lego sets discounted.

So if you fancy grabbing this road bike set, either for yourself or as an early Christmas gift for the cyclist in your life, then now's the time. Unfortunately, this Lego deal is UK-only, and the Icons Road Bike set remains at the full price of $129.99 on Amazon US.

The Lego Icons Road Bike (11380) is impressive in stature, measuring over 14 in. (36 cm) high, 23.5 in. (60 cm) long and 7.5 in. (19 cm) wide.

The final build comes with a stand, which is reminiscent of some of the best smart trainers, making it a brilliant display piece in the pain cave.

It's also a fully functioning road bike Lego build with front-wheel steering and a fully working drivetrain. The drivetrain features a functional chain made of individual Lego 'links' that rotate when you turn the cranks, and even more impressively, it features a fully working freewheel, allowing the rear wheel to spin independently for that satisfying real-world coasting effect.

Some notable details are the wheels, with more than a nod to some of the best road bike wheels like the Scope Artech 6.A, the fastest aero wheelset we tested in our recent wind tunnel wheel tests.

I particularly love the addition of a bidon and the rear light, which immediately reminded me of my favourite rear light of all time, the Magicshine SEEMEE300; sadly, as good as the Lego designers are, there's no brake light function or exceptional 300 lumens of brightness built in here.

Lego hasn’t said which road bike the set is based on, but our cycling tech experts reckon it leans heavily on some early Factor bikes with the familiar 'chunky' bayonet head tube design. Now where is that my credit card...

Boyle, who placed second in the elite road race at the 2025 USPRO National Championships after a string of top age-group showings, was originally suspended by USADA in December 2025 after three Whereabouts failures.

However, after a tip-off that the 22-year-old had ridden the Dust Bowl 100 gravel event in Eminence, Indiana, on July 25, USADA has imposed an extra period of ineligibility on Boyle, extending his initial suspension from 16 to 18 months.

While he has since been retroactively disqualified from Dust Bowl, his second place in the elite men’s 100 mile (161km) race is still showing on the event website, and a collaboration post on the event’s Instagram account is still showing.

A 'misunderstanding'

Boyle, who has accepted the additional two-month period of ineligibility, claimed he was not aware the Dust Bowl 100 is an event sanctioned by USA Cycling, which would bar the participation of any USADA-banned athlete. This defense was apparently accepted by USADA.

"Following an investigation, USADA determined that Boyle participated in the event under the mistaken belief that his sanction did not prohibit his participation, as Boyle did not realize that the Dust Bowl 100 was a USA Cycling-sanctioned event," reads USADA's statement.

"Boyle’s misunderstanding was driven in part by the race materials’ and race website’s failure to mention that it was a USA Cycling-sanctioned event, although the event was listed on USA Cycling’s website."

Nevertheless, the anti-doping authority still felt an extension to Boyle's ban was warranted, stating: "As with all sanctioned athletes, Boyle was responsible for understanding and complying with the terms of his sanction."

Though he is not included on the UCI’s Registered Testing Pool, run by the International Testing Agency, Boyle is part of USADA’s Testing Pool and as such is required to provide whereabouts details, making himself available for out-of-competition testing. It was three breaches of this requirement, all occurring between July 16 and October 2, 2025, that resulted in his original suspension.

On the road, Boyle spent two seasons racing with the Hagens-Berman-Jayco development team racing all over the World. While he won a stage of the UCI Nations Cup race, Tour de l’Abitibi in Canada, riding with the USA national team in 2022, his best results came at USA Nationals.

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Hermolle claimed the win solo at Saturday's 113km elite women's race in Wales ahead of Abi Smith in second and Ruby Carleton in third.

Young was the elite men's victor ahead of Alentejo Gravel winner Lukas Malezsewski while Ben Thomas sprinted to third.

The race past Brenig Reservoir and through Clocaenog Forest was one of two UCI Gravel World Series races last weekend, with The Wolf also in Denmark. That was won by Romy Kasper and Andreas Stokbro Nielsen.

As part of the UCI Gravel World Series both races provided riders with the opportunity to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships, which is being held in Nannup, Western Australia on October 10 and 11. The top 5 elite men and top 3 elite women at Graean Cymru qualified.

After Saturday's contest in the Italian Dolomites, Swenson confirmed to Cyclingnews that he has added the lengthy travel to Western Australia for the UCI Gravel World Championships on October 11 to his schedule.

Still to be confirmed as a wildcard by Team USA, Swenson would modify his appearances for the Life Time Grand Prix series, racing Chequamegon MTB in Wisconsin one week after UCI MTB Marathon Worlds and Big Sugar Gravel in Arkansas one week after UCI Gravel Worlds.

A second trip to the Worlds for gravel would mean he has to miss Little Sugar MTB, but this can count as a 'drop race'. Each athlete in the invitation-only field must start five of the six races to be eligible for a share of the $350,000 prize purse, split evenly between top 10 women and top 10 men. It's a risk he'll take, as missing a start at either Chequamegon or Big Sugar would take him off the leaderboard completely.

Swenson has command of the elite men's rankings in the Life Time Grand Prix with half of the races still to go. The Utah native rolled off three consecutive Grand Prix titles before going fourth last year. He has a double-digit points lead over series challengers Bradyn Lange, Matt Beers and Brendan Johnston after winning Leadville Trail 100 MTB for a record-tying sixth time in July.

A trip to Primiero San Martino di Castrozza in Trentino to retain the title in the MTB marathon discipline had been a clear target; after all, he wore the rainbow stripes to victory in Leadville. There is also prize money for the top 3, and €5,000 for the elite winners.

Last year's XCM runner-up was Italian Samuele Porro, who finished just 26 seconds behind the US winner. The Italian squad will be hard to hold off, as they bring 21 riders to the start of the elite men's race.

Other contenders coming from the Life Time Grand Prix are Beers of South Africa, Andreas Seewald of Germany, Andrew L'Esperance of Canada and US riders Lange and Cole Paton.

Marathon Worlds will follow the same routes as used by the acclaimed Italian mountain bike race Mythos Primiero Dolomiti. Elite fields will compete on September 12 across 95.2km, with 4,000 metres of elevation gain. Two hors categorie climbs with gradients reaching over 12% pack a punch in the final 25km.

The XCM Worlds have been held since 2009, with the first winners from USA sweeping the elite podiums last year, Swenson going solo for the men and Kate Courtney also winning solo for the women. Courtney has since signed with FDJ United-SUEZ and will compete in Italy in defence of her world title.

Elite men start at 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, with elite women on course 30 minutes later.

The UCI MTB World Championships for cross-country, downhill and E-XC were held August 26-30 in Val di Sole, Italy.

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The multi-discipline giant who, as well as claiming the 2024 gravel world title, has another 13 elite world championships to her name, has chased the rainbow jersey in Australia before, coming close to capturing it on the road in Geelong in 2010 when she took silver, and she was 14th in Wollongong in 2022.

Her first time pursuing the gravel title in the nation will unfold in a familiar area, with the 39-year-old Dutch cyclist having come out to Australia multiple times to ride the Tour of Margaret River, which has passed through Nannup in the south of Western Australia.

"I want to go for the best possible result. Of course I'm dreaming of something beautiful, but I'm also realistic that it will be a challenge. I’ll give it everything I have and see what the day brings," said Vos in a statement from race organisers.

"I have such good and special memories of Western Australia, especially from the Tour of Margaret River, so it feels really nice to be going back."

The confirmation that Vos will attend adds another element to what has already been shaping up as a strong gravel field, with Sofia Gomez Villafañe among the early starters announcement, which sets up the potential for an intriguing competition between the dominant gravel specialist and the currently road-focussed master of multiple disciplines.

The women's elite race on October 10 will play out across 123.1km on a course that is more than 80% gravel and will deliver 3,100m of climbing spread across climbs race director Stephen Gallagher describes as Liège-Bastogne-Liège style – and that's a race where Vos has finished within the top 10 the last three times she has ridden it. The last of the climbs tops out at just 3.5km from the finish line.

"The landscapes look beautiful, and with so much elevation, I'm expecting a challenging and selective race. I'm looking forward to exploring the course myself," Vos said.

Her competitors will without doubt be trying to shed the Visma-Lease a Bike rider on the uphill sections as she's the type of rider that they won't want to be sprinting against should it come down to a small group. If Vos did manage to claim the victory, she would be the first rider to have claimed two elite victories at the event, which first ran in 2022.

Among the other riders who have already been named as expected starters are 2025 European gravel champion Erica Magnaldi, Oceania Champion Nicole Frain, a retiring Australian champion Tiffany Cromwell, 2023 Unbound 200 winner Carolin Schiff and fellow German rider Nele Laing who has only recently stepped into gravel racing but has made her presence felt with multiple UCI Gravel World Series wins and a third place at the Traka 200.

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For its Labor Day Sale, Garmin has sliced $250 off the entire Fenix 8 lineup. This rare holiday sale drops the flagship Fenix 8 AMOLED to $949.99 (down from $1,199.99), marking its lowest price of the year. The discount applies to all size options (43mm, 47mm, and 51mm) for both AMOLED and Solar displays.

Shop the Garmin Fenix 8 and save $250 this Labour Day.

Whether you are looking to treat yourself or upgrade your cycling setup this Labor Day holiday, grab this deal before stock runs out. Looking for a more budget-friendly option? Garmin also slashed $150 off the Venu 3, bringing it down to $299.99.

Garmin is renowned for producing groundbreaking cycling tech, and the Garmin cycling range includes some of the best GPS bike computers, plus the best power meters, smart lights with rearview radar, and of course, smartwatches.

The Labor Day Garmin Sale also has reductions across most of the Garmin cycling range, including our choice as the best cycling computer – the Garmin Edge 1050, reduced to $599.99, with a $100 reduction. The Varia RTL715 Radar Tail Light has a $100 off discount, down to $299.99 and is a recommended rear light that has a clever radar function, which alerts you to traffic approaching from the rear.

The Garmin Labor Day Sale deals are US-based, but our handy price checker below will give you the best up-to-date pricing on the Garmin cycling tech, including the Fenix 8 Smartwatch in your territory.

Saturday's event took place in wet conditions at times on a 54km loop, with the elite men tackling three laps and the elite women racing two laps of the terrain, which varied from wide, fast gravel sectors to more challenging forest roads. There was also a technical section early on that passed the moat of Voergaard Castle, which split the field.

Stokbro Nielsen claimed the elite men's race with a 50-second gap to Gustav Frederik Dahl (Team Give Steel) in second. He had sprinted to victory just ahead of Rasmus Bøgh Wallin (Team Cranks), who completed the Danish podium sweep.

Kasper claimed a solo victory in the elite women's race, with the German rider from the team based in Denmark crossing the line less than a minute ahead of Dutch rider Elisa Serné (KDM-Pack Cycling Team).

"Winning the UCI Gravel World Series race The Wolf in the very north of Denmark after 20 km solo in tough, wet and windy conditions. Exactly my kind of racing!" said Kasper in an Instagram post.

In third it was series leader Wendy Oosterwoud, putting another PAS Racing rider on the podium. Just outside the top-three was the first of the home nation riders, Klara Sofie Skovgård Hansen (Canyon Factory Racing).

The event's status as a UCI Gravel World Series race offered riders the chance to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Western Australia, which will be held on October 10 and 11.

It was an inaugural edition for the Belgian race, which was run across 160 km and 2,550 metres of elevation gain across the Ardennes hills.

Schreurs rode solo to win in 5:23:13 for her fourth victory in six GES starts, leaving Larissa Hartog (Canyon x DT Swiss ATR), Axelle Dubau-Prévôt (EF Education-Oatly) and Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing) to battle for the rest of the podium spots. The trio sprinted across the line 5:34 back, Hartog taking second, Dubau-Prévôt third and the former Unbound Gravel 200 winner was fourth.

"I felt good from the start and it didn't go super fast and I had a plan and I attacked after 55km on a kicker and I knew it would be fast after that. I thought I'd just put in a high effort and see if anyone could follow," Schreurs said in an interview put out on Gravel Earth series social media after the event.

"I quickly realised they couldn't close it so I just kept going and kept pushing and enjoying the course. It was great."

After sweeping the final competition in a trio of events – Oregon Trail Gravel, CORE4 and The River – Schreurs also won the pro women's title of the series with 210 points. Dubau-Prévôt was 31 points back in second and Hartog another 19 points back in third. Migoń, who won the GES in 2024 and was second last year, settled for sixth this year.

This is the third time in four seasons that Schreurs has finished in the top 10, going fourth last year and fifth in 2023.

European Champion Würtz Schmidt completed a run of five wins in five races in his series appearances to wrap up the men's title. At The River, he got away for a solo victory, like his teammate in the women's race, but not by as large a margin after illness hampered his run in to the event.

"Today was a bit unexpected, I got sick last week after European Championships and basically didn't train all week so I was 50/50 coming into this and I was riding a little bit more conservative and saving myself and not going my usual style," said Würtz Schmidt.

"Slowly I got better during the race and I could ride away, attack and win the race."

After Würtz Schmidt posted a time of 4:36:43, a charge of five riders followed three minutes later, Célestin Guillon (Gravel Nation) getting a late gap to go second and Nils Brun (3T Privateer) taking third ahead of Petr Vakoc (SK Velo Praha), Joel Suter and Nortje Tristan.

The two-time European Gravel Champion carried an impenetrable lead into The River, just needing to finish to take the pro men's title. His wins in the series included The Traka 360, contributing to a total haul of 220 points. Hugo Drechou (Gravel Nation) edged Petr Vakoč (SK Velo Praha), 146 points to 140, for second place.

This year, there were 12 races in six countries where riders could collect points in the elite women's and elite men's categories of the series, with the top 10 determined from best scores at The River and three other events. Those athletes share in a €25,000 prize purse.

The River Results

Gravel Earth Series final standings

The interval between the elite women and the 65-74 men in the race, which was also part of the UCI Gravel World Series, was just five minutes. The 60-64 group was also a further two minutes back, and the 55-59 riders also started within 10 minutes of the elite women.

That gave the top women battling for a European title approximately 2km of clear air before they started to mingle with the men's age group categories ahead, leaving a number among the elite women's field describing what unfolded next as more of a 'slalom' or 'game of Pac-Man' than a gravel race.

"I completely agree that the current situation can still be improved and that the concerns raised are legitimate," said Erwin Vervecken, UCI Gran Fondo & Gravel World Series manager, in reply to an email sent by Cyclingnews requesting comment on the situation.

"However, based on the feedback received from the elite women's survey and the practical limitations related to permits, road closures and available time frame, we currently believe that this was the best achievable solution under the circumstances."

"That said, this remains a topic that we continue to evaluate. Experience has shown that after several successful editions, local authorities can sometimes become more receptive to longer road closures and larger gaps between start groups. Wherever opportunities arise to further improve race conditions and safety for all participants, we will certainly explore them."

The survey Vervecken is referring to was one conducted at the end of last season, coming about after concerns were raised following Gravel One Fifty in the Netherlands, where the elite women started behind the elite men and ahead of the age group categories, leading to a situation that drew criticism after they were caught relatively early in the race by some of the nearest starting men's age group categories.

The survey question, shared by the UCI series, asked: 'In an ideal world, women have a separate race starting long before or after the men, but in reality, few organisers get the authorisation to close down roads for a long period. Given this remark, how would you suggest to best apply the starting procedure to have a fair and safe women's race?"

Of the alternatives offered, the one chosen most often among those who responded to the survey was "Women should start after all male age categories, with an interval as big as possible. It's better to pass slower men's age groups than being caught by faster men."

This was written into the series start procedure for events with more than 1,500 riders, the regulations stating that "women’s elite start must take place after all male age‑group starts, also those doing a shorter distance" and specified that the gap before the elite women's start "must be the largest possible, considering traffic-management limits and overlap-prevention".

The five minutes the elite women's field had as a gap at the European Championships, which had 1,800 riders, was the biggest of the starting margins between categories – they were mostly at three minutes – but it was also considerably less than at many key series events.

At Gravel One Fifty this year, the elite women's field started after all the men's age groups doing the same distance, which ends at the 55-59 age bracket, with a 13-minute gap. For another of the bigger events in the series, SEVEN, the gap was 15 minutes, while at The Gralloch it was closer to an hour, and other events even have a separation of days, not minutes.

"The ideal situation for the elite women's race is, of course, one where the athletes can compete in their own race with as little influence as possible from other categories," said Vervecken.

"Whenever this is organizationally feasible, such as at the UCI Gravel World Championships or at events held on separate race days like Graean Cymru (Wales), this approach is indeed implemented. Other events organised within fully controlled and closed venues, such as The Gralloch (Scotland), also have the possibility to start the women's race significantly earlier or later than other categories, as there is no impact on traffic management.

"At the same time, one of the greatest challenges in organising UCI Gravel events is securing sufficient road closure time from local authorities. In that regard, the situation has progressed considerably over the last few years. Where start intervals of only one minute between categories were common in the past, we now increasingly see gaps of three to five minutes between different start groups."

There have long been issues around mixed fields in gravel, where the increasing ranks of professional riders line up alongside amateur athletes and drafting or interference among categories is an issue of contention, with several solutions being proposed and implemented across the varying strands of the discipline.

"The success of gravel is due to the combination of elites and age group participants who all share the same road and course, and we want to maintain that concept for future years, but also expect some understanding from the top-level elites," said Vervecken. "The men's elite have overtaken lots of lapped riders in the last part of their race, but we never heard any criticism from them."

The elite men, however, faced different circumstances. They set off first, so had a clear full 47km lap of the course before hitting the then more spread-out traffic through their second and third laps, while the elite women's field had just a couple of kilometres before tackling the groups ahead which, that early in the race, had not had as much time to spread out.

Vervecken said further meetings were being arranged with riders from the elite women's field to discuss the issue.

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Of all the secret machines on show, the one that lit up the switchboard the most was Factor’s gravel monster, which seemed to mate a somewhat normal gravel rear end with the absolutely outlandish fork of the brand’s ONE hyper-aero road bike.

Now, as we head toward the UCI Gravel World Championships, all the best gravel race bikes come back out on show for a UCI-sanctioned hurrah after being happily raced all over the more prestigious courses of the Lifetime Grand Prix and Gravel Earth Series.

And within said hurrah, Factor has now officially unveiled the aforementioned monster, and it’s called the Elara.

It’s another slightly poetic-sounding name to sit alongside the more multi-surface Factor Aluto, and the endurance-leaning Factor Sarana. Unlike those two bikes, which profess to offer usability beyond the confines of a race environment, the Elara has been created for the cut and thrust of the biggest gravel races on the calendar.

This isn’t Factor’s first aero gravel bike; the Ostro Gravel was one of the very first crop of aero machines designed for gravel races, but Factor is keen to stress that this isn’t just an Ostro Gravel with bigger tyres, but rather a complete redesign, even though it was internally known as the 'OG2' at Factor until relatively late in its development cycle.

Frame and geometry

It’s perhaps too easy to look at that gargantuan fork and just say ‘It’s just a Factor ONE with bigger tyres’, but besides the fork's wide stance, it - and the rest of the bike - is quite different, and even with the very wide and very deep legs, it eschews a bayonet design in this case in favour of a more traditional internal, and round, steerer tube.

The super wide legs claim to fit up to 57mm (as measured) tyres, though as I’ll go into in my initial ride experiences below, I think this may be pushing it and would suggest the maximum if you’re actually buying your own frames is more like 55mm.

The width isn’t an issue, but the height is, though at the back things seem a little more roomy, despite keeping the chainstays to a pretty short 423mm. Still, 57mm is the stated clearance, though this is only with 1x setups, and is claimed to be an industry first for ‘true race geometry’.

Against the run of play, Factor has maintained 2x compatibility for the frame with a direct-mount front derailleur plate for those increasingly few riders who want a double chainset. This will reduce the tyre capacity down to 47mm at the rear, due to derailleur clearance.

Geometrically, it doesn’t stray far from the other machines in Factor’s gravel range. It’s the lowest of the bunch, 5mm lower in stack than the Aluto and 13mm lower than the Sarana. It has the same chainstay length as the Aluto, and 2mm shorter than the Sarana, and the same BB drop as the Sarana at 80mm (the same as the Fara GR4, too - another bike designed around very large tyres). It’s 5mm longer than the Aluto, and 1mm shorter than the Sarana, but with a head tube angle steeper than both. In short, it has the most ‘race’ geo of the lot.

Aero claims and system weights

The Elara doesn’t come with any hard-and-fast wattage figures, despite its clear aero optimisation. It is "CFD-validated for 45-57mm gravel race tyres" however, and average speeds of 35km/h are mentioned too, so we assume this is the speed at which it has been tested.

Luckily for Cyclingnews subscribers, we've had it in the wind tunnel ourselves, so head to our Factor Elara wind tunnel results for the details there.

The brand also claims "comparable aero efficiency to modern aero road frames at equivalent yaw angles," and a "5-8% lower drag coefficient vs Ostro Gravel with a 47mm tyre."

The frameset weighs in at (claimed) sub-1,110g for a size M raw frame, while our test machine (a 56cm frame) tipped the scales at 8.76kg with SRAM Force XPLR.

New gravel wheels

Not to be outdone by the likes of Enve and Zipp, Black Inc., Factor's in-house componentry wing, has concurrently launched the Sixty Four Gravel wheelset, with a 64mm depth, a 40.25mm external width and a 30mm internal width with a hooked rim; the first of the big name brands to offer a hooked bead in this category.

This set has a claimed weight of 1,620g (excluding tape and valves), and runs on ceramic bearings as standard. Freehubs are swappable and available to suit the three main providers of groupsets, and engage with a three-pawl ratchet system.

New cockpit

As well as a new frame, and new wheels, the Elara also comes with a brand-new cockpit, the Black Inc. Aero Gravel Bar AB07, with 40/38/36cm widths available and stem lengths of 80- 130 mm. There’s a 17-degree flare, 75mm reach, and 114mm of drop.

Price

The Elara is available with either SRAM Red or Force, or Campagnolo Record, and with a choice of the new Black Inc. 64 wheels or the slightly cheaper 46 wheels.

First impressions

I’ve logged about 200km on the Elara so far, though a chunk of these were simply riding it to and from the office rather than on gravel, so I am not able to give a full account just yet. Before we go into how it rides, though, I must make a note on the tyre capacity: I am sceptical about the ‘true 57mm clearance’.

On taking delivery, I swapped the 50mm Continental Dubnitals out for a set of 2.25” Maxxis Aspens, which measured 57.6mm with my calipers, and when inflated to the pressure suggested by the SRAM tyre pressure calculator, they touched the crown of the fork.

Dropping the pressure made them rideable, but I wasn’t comfortable with the extremely limited sub-1mm gap and swapped the tyres back to a 50mm. I’d suggest a 52, and maybe even a 54 may be OK, and while the rear seemed to swallow the 57mm fine, the fork is not as cavernous as its width suggests.

This may be down to the specific tyre model, and in conversations with Factor it seems some athletes get away with a 57mm fine, but all the same, it’s 57 with caveats rather than a true 57 in my view.

As for how it rides, if you like road-like sensations with big tyres then you’ll like the Elara. The geometry keeps the handling lovely and sharp and poised, and it does match up to the claims of Factor that “we wanted the handling to feel fast again. A lot of gravel bikes have gone soft in the pursuit of comfort. We’re bringing back that sense of urgency.”

Going soft is a criticism that won’t be levelled at the Elara, which is hugely stiff. It is stiffer than the old Ostro Gravel, which was itself quite a stiff machine, but this is ameliorated to a great degree by the larger tyres. I did actually prefer it during my brief time on the 57mm tyres, and on rough terrain even the 50s can’t stop you from feeling a little rattled, but the flip side to this is that it never feels wallowy or anything less than immediate.

I also found it quite a competent climber, more so than I expected on rough, technical terrain, likely a function of slightly steeper geometry keeping your weight more over the middle of the bike.

In short, I think it hits Factor's internal brief, and I’d wager it’s more appealing to the gravel generalist than the ONE is to your enthusiastic road rider. The comfort is likely going to be the weak point, especially in the context of quite rough courses like Traka, but it needs more riding to tease that out. On fast, well-graded stuff, it absolutely rips.

Ahead of the bike's launch, my colleague Will has been testing it for an upcoming review. That'll come once he's back from his late-summer holiday trudging around the Scottish Highlands, but through a stroke of good timing, we were booked in at the wind tunnel last week, so we couldn't resist seeing how it stacked up against the likes of the S-Works Crux 5 and the Wilier Rave SLR we tested earlier in the year, plus the new race-ready Giant Revolt too.

We were also keen to see how the new super-deep Black Inc gravel wheels fared against the new Enve G SES 6.7 Pro, Zipp 303 XPLR and more. More on that later.

Despite our local van hire company's best attempts at blocking us by sending the smallest van in their fleet, I put my childhood Tetris obsession to good use, loaded it up to the hilt, and headed east from Cyclingnews HQ to the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub.

Protocol

To ensure a fair and comparable test against the bikes we tested back in May, we matched the protocol from that test.

I'll outline some of the important bits below, but to save going over the details of (and reasons for) the protocol and sending you half to sleep, I'd suggest heading over to that gravel bike wind tunnel group test, where the details are outlined in full for those who want to get nerdy.

What's important to know here is that everything was tested in exactly the same way as before, against the same baseline bike on each day to get an accurate comparison of how aerodynamic each gravel bike is relative to the others.

This meant testing at a wind speed of 35km/h, and at seven different yaw angles (the angle at which the wind hits the bike): -15°, -10°, -5°, 0°, 5°, 10° and 15°.

It also meant using the same position as all other gravel bikes we've tested, as well as using the same tyres (45mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RH), bottles (Elite Fly), saddle (Ergon SR AllRoad), and anything else that can be controlled.

And as ever, we tested each bike in three ways:

• With a rider, with the stock wheelset
• Without a rider, with the stock wheelset
• Without a rider, with a pair of 'control' wheels (Enve G-SES 6.7 shod with 50mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres)

A few quick caveats and disclaimers

Like many of today's gravel race bikes, the Factor Elara is designed around tyres wider than the 45mm and 50mm tyres we tested with here, and this could adversely affect the results in comparison to a bike designed around narrower tyres. We don't know for sure by how much, if at all, but it's a caveat worth mentioning. Unfortunately, our time in the wind tunnel is limited, so we can't test every bike with every tyre size.

In time, we will likely adjust our gravel testing protocol to focus more on these wide-tyred race bikes. I think anyone interested in the aero data of gravel bikes is going to primarily be interested in 'gravel race' bikes, which as a category is converging towards wide tyres as the norm.

And with all that said, we're aware that aero data is only one piece of the puzzle of defining whether a bike is good or bad. Weight, tyre clearance, comfort, price, serviceability, reliability, and brand aftercare are just some of the other factors (no pun intended) to consider when buying, all coupled with the purpose and type of riding you plan on doing.

Results

I'll get stuck right in with the headline result: The Factor Elara is the most aerodynamic gravel bike we've ever tested, by a pretty significant margin, in both of our bike only tests, and it's on the podium in our 'with rider' test too.

The coefficient of drag at each of the seven yaw angles, for the three tests, looks like this:

I appreciate that's not the most visually useful graph, since the with-rider test and the two bike-only tests are quite far apart, but if you're nerdy enough to care about the specific values, you can hover over and you'll get to see the exact CdA at each yaw point. Otherwise, keep scrollin', as I've already done the calculations that help to show what that means.

Using an average of those seven points, weighted according to the methods set out by Nathan Barry's 2018 paper – A New Method for Analysing the Effect of Environmental Wind on Real World Aerodynamic Performance in Cycling – I have solved for watts using the following equation.

I did this at two speeds. Firstly at 35km/h, as this is the wind speed we tested at. Then again at 40km/h, so we can compare it against the road bikes we've tested too.

The point of this is to see how much energy (in watts) is required to overcome the aerodynamic drag (aka, the wind) in an average real-world riding scenario. If Bike A requires less energy than Bike B, we can deduce that assuming all else is equal (tyre drag, weight, drivetrain friction, etc), then you will be faster on Bike A for the same amount of effort.

And for context, when comparing aerodynamic drag in watts, the differences between bikes will shrink at slower speeds; if there's five watts between bikes at 35km/h, it'll be around three watts at 30km/h, and two watts at 25km/h. This is because power grows to the cube of speed (as shown in the equation above).

It goes the other way too. For a fun example, if something is a mere two watts better off at 25km/h, it's not 20 watts better at 250km/h, it's actually 2000 watts better! This is because you're increasing the speed by 10x, so you need to increase the watts by 10 to the power of three, or 1000! Good luck riding a bike at 250km/h though.

Sorry, I promised not to bore you half to sleep… shall we look at the results in detail?

With its stock wheelset - the Black Inc Sixty Four Gravel - shod with the 45mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RH tyre, and in the 'bike only' test, the Factor Elara is 9.64 watts more aerodynamic than our baseline bike (an old Trek Emonda ALR road bike that stays unchanged between all tests).

As a more useful comparison, that's 2.97 watts better (at 35km/h) than the next most aero gravel bike we've tested, Argon 18's Anti Matter. And compared to the least aerodynamic gravel bike we've tested, the Lauf Seigla (with round bars and external cables), it offers a huge 22.38 watt gain.

The results with a rider (me) atop the bike place the Elara in third place behind the S-Works Crux 5 and the Wilier Rave SLR ID2.

It's important to note that adding a rider into the equation reduces the accuracy of the test (since the rider can't hold a perfectly still position). We've calculated an error margin of 2.8 watts on the day, and with that taken into account, the Elara can still lay claim to top spot, even if it wasn't the outright most aerodynamic in the raw data.

It's also worth adding that the Elara is a heavier bike than the Crux 5, but I've intentionally not quoted the weights because the Elara we tested here was a SRAM Force-equipped model, versus the SRAM Red equipped Crux.

And in our third test, which swaps out the Black Inc wheels for a pair of 'control' wheels that lets us see how the frames alone compare, the Elara is on top once again. This time with a slightly smaller margin. This essentially tells us that the frame alone is the fastest of all that we've tested, but that the Black Inc wheels are pulling their weight in making the bike faster too.

In fact, when you look at how each bike tests with their own wheels against the Enve wheels, the Factor Elara was affected the least. There was a 1.79 watt improvement when switching wheels (and, remember, we've swapped tyres too) which is the smallest gain of all the bikes we've tested.

Compared to road bikes

Since we test all bikes against our baseline Trek Emonda, we can also see how the Factor Elara stands up against the road bikes we've tested too, including the mega-aero Factor One, which is the fastest bike we've ever tested.

It won't be that fast, let's not get excited, but it's an interesting comparison nonetheless. Given the Elara's aggressive position, we can gauge if it could hold its own as a one-bike-does-everything solution.

Out of context, the graph above makes the Elara look quite poor, but remember, it's the fastest gravel bike we've tested, and we've tested a lot more road bikes than gravel bikes to date.

Importantly, it comes in just 10.45w slower than the Look Blade 795 RS we tested in 2024. That's really impressive considering the Elara was tested with 45mm knobbly gravel tyres, versus the Look's 25mm road tyres.

If we were to test both with a 32mm road tyre (which, to prevent lawyers coming after me, wouldn't be ETRTO compliant given the width of the Black Inc wheels), I imagine that deficit would mostly (if not entirely) disappear. Next time we're at the tunnel, I'll figure out a way to test this theory.

And finally, with the rider on the bike, that deficit grows to 20.06w between the Elara and the slowest modern road bike – the Cinelli Aeroscoop. However, this is because the position of the gravel bikes is different to the road bikes, putting the rider in a more upright (and thus, less aerodynamic) position, so there's more rider drag in the equation.

Compared to Factor's ONE aero bike, we're looking at a deficit of 33.99 watts. However, if we were to roadify the position of the Elara to match that of the ONE as closely as possible, we'd be able to reduce that gap. Exactly how much by, though, is unknown.

Conclusion

Based on the spec sheet and our wind tunnel test results, it's safe to conclude that the Factor Elara is a best-in-class gravel race bike at the time of its launch. It's the most aerodynamic gravel bike we've tested in both bike only tests, and can lay claim to top spot with a rider, too. Meanwhile, the clearance is rated for 57mm tyres (according to the brand) and the wheels are bang up to date with the gravel race trend, thanks to their 64mm depth and 30mm internal width.

As mentioned up top, my colleagye Will has the bike in for testing. He's penned his early impressions in our Factor Elara launch story, but will wrap up the review in the next couple of weeks, so we can see how the aero data translates to the real world, and get his perspective on stiffness, comfort, and what it's like to live with. You can expect his in-depth write up, followed shortly thereafter by a video review, which will go live for Cyclingnews subscribers ahead for early access, before later going onto the new Cyclingnews Tech YouTube channel.

Give that a follow, if you're not already, and we'll see you next Thursday for more wind tunnel test results of another new bike that I'm afraid I can't name right now.