We get our hands on Bamboo Bikes’ first ever drop-bar bike. Is this cross machine just as happy playing in the woods as on tarmac? It’s time to find out…
bikes & gear
Bianchi Vertigo 105: First ride
Bianchi is the oldest bike brand in the world. Unsurprisingly, it knows how to design a mid-priced road bike
Dynamic Sidekick 8 review £525
Shaft drive, hub gear and folding? That’s a lot of practicality to cram into one bike… the Dynamic Sidekick 8
BH Prisma 7.3 £1899.99: First ride
BH’s sportive special from sunny Spain comes from a company boasting big-race credentials
7 of the best: Insulated bottles
When it’s freezing out you fancy a hot cuppa and when it’s roasting you fancy cold refreshments, right? Choose the right beverage receptacle to get optimum liquid libations out on the bike
B’Twin Tilt: Shape Shifter
Matt Lamy speaks to Jean-Philippe Rode, the product manager for B’Twin’s brand new Tilt line of folding cycles — an enterprise that includes a long list of impressive integrated innovations and possibly Foldingbikeland’s funkiest and most-desirable frame
7 of the best winter gloves
Nothing ruins a ride so quickly as freezing, numb fingers but sweat-soaked palms aren’t exactly an invitation to ride either. So how should you keep your hands happy this winter? Read on…
Cube Peloton Race: First Ride
Available in size and gearing options to suit all, Cube’s Peloton Race looks every part the square deal for £1079
Giant Defy 4: First Ride
Giant’s road stalwart doesn’t seem to have anything too outlandish about its design – and that’s just the way we like it
Raleigh Sojourn: First Ride
Can the iconic brand’s new tourer do justice to 125 years at the heart of British cycling?
Orbit Summit Rohloff S&S tandem £4,500
There’s no ‘I’ in couple — and a tandem is perfect for sharing pedalling effort with a partner. Orbit’s new Summit is a bicycle made for two-up touring
Creme Glider: First ride
Classic looks with truly modern equipment – is the Creme Glider the perfect meeting of past and present?
Isla Bikes Beinn 20: First Ride
What every girl wants — a lightweight, perfectly proportioned bicycle in hot pink
Clean and pumped
New cleaning kits from Weldtite to help you and your bike through the winter months
£1,000 bikes: A very British bike test
What better way to celebrate our Olympic cycling glory than to put four British contenders through their paces
£1,000 British bikes: Charge Juicer Hi £999.99
Charge Juicer Hi £999.99: One of four British bikes in our grouptest for under a grand
£1,000 British bikes: Ribble Evo Pro Carbon £999.99
Ribble Evo Pro Carbon: One of four British bikes for under a grand
£1,000 British bikes: Verdict
We present the verdict in our four-way test of British bikes that cost under a grand
£1,000 British bikes: Forme Longcliffe 1.0 £999.99
Forme Longcliffe 1.0: One of four British bikes for under a grand in our grouptest
£1,000 British bikes: Raleigh AirLite 400 £975
Raleigh Airlite 400: One of four British bikes for under a grand in our grouptest
Cannondale Trail SL 29er 2 £999
They may have started out as a sideshow but 29in wheels are edging towards mountain biking’s centre stage. So what difference does an extra three inches make? The answer comes courtesy of Cannondale…
Seven of the best: GPS watches
If you want to monitor and record your rides via satellite tracking, a GPS watch allows you to do just that, without the expense and technical complexity of a bar-mounted, map-plotting unit
Dedacciai Nerissimo: First Ride
Dedacciai’s Italian-designed Nerissimo is also available in black, funnily enough
Corratec Shape Pro: First ride
Mountain bike strength combined with road bike speed — classic German efficiency
7 of the best road shoes
You work hard pushing your pedals round, so you don’t want any of that energy wasted because of flimsy soles. Militate against that risk by investing in a pair of securely-fitting, rigid road shoes
