Best Of Bicycle Times

By Justin Steiner

The Cadent, along with its female counterpart the Alysa, make up the “Performance Hybrid” portion of Raleigh’s on-road lineup. These bikes fit squarely between Raleigh’s road bikes and their more casual, more comfy, less sporty hybrids.

By Justin Steiner

By Eric McKeegan

I’ve always been interested in internally geared hubs, but other than servicing a random few in my shop days, I’ve had little riding time with them until we started Bicycle Times. Over the last year I’ve spent many of my commuting and utility miles on Shimano’s Alfine group.

By Adam Newman

Fold It

Working in the cycling industry requires quite a bit of travel. We go to press camps, trade shows, bike shows, festivals, and, some- times, just-for-fun trips. Bringing a bike with you on your trip has never been simple. You can box it up and ship it ahead of time, or you can pack it and fly it in an oversize case. Both methods have their drawbacks. Enter Bike Friday.

By Karl Rosengarth, photos by Justin Steiner

By Justin Steiner

The Electra Bicycle Company believes a bike should be more than just a tool for transportation; it should be a fun and functional extension of your personal style. As a result, they’ve carved out a niche for themselves as purveyors of posh and pleasurable cycles.

Randonneuring is long-distance, unsupported, noncompetitive cycling within prescribed time limits. The events—called brevets—are 200km (13.5 hour time cut-off ), 300km (20 hours), 400km (27 hours), 600km (40 hours), and 1000km (75 hours). Grand Randonnées are 1200km and riders must finish in 90 hours or less.

By Karl Rosengarth

By Jon Pratt. Photos by Jon Pratt and Justin Steiner.

By Justin Steiner

Specialized classifies the Crosstrail series of bikes within the “fitness adventure” category, which is an apt description given their aptitude on mixed surfaces. My Crosstrail Sport Disc retails for $830, making it the second least expense disc brake equipped model in the lineup. Only the base Crosstrail Disc is cheaper at $630.

By Eric McKeegan

Thinking more about fast group rides, maybe a bit of racing, or even some light touring? Let’s take a look at the Secteur, which is the aluminum version of Specialized’s Paris Roubaix-winning (and creatively named) “Roubaix.”

By Adam Newman

Electra, the southern California seaside cruiser bike company acquired by Trek in early January, is introducing the Moto—one of its more accessible models–in November. Two models (a singlespeed and three-speed internal) will retail for $549-$659. The company calls the Moto a “blend between a cruiser, mountain bike and a BMX racer.”  The Moto has 29-inch wheels, disc ...

Editor’s note: Here at Bicycle Times we are as mindful of price as you are. So we gathered together a group of six very diverse bikes to showcase what you can find right now at the $1,000 price point. See our introduction here. Marin describes the Lombard as having been “Birthed from cyclocross and touring ...

Editor’s note: This review originally appeared in Issue #32 of Bicycle Times. To make sure you never miss a bike review, order a subscription and you’ll be ready for the everyday cycling adventure. The Specialized AWOL Comp ($1,950) is an adventure bike, and a darn good one at that. What’s most surprising about the AWOL ...

Editor’s note: Here at Bicycle Times we are as mindful of price as you are. So we gathered together a group of six very diverse bikes to showcase what you can find right now at the $1,000 price point. See our introduction here. All-surface road bikes are what the popular kids are riding—especially here in ...

We recently got a pair of unique bells in the office, a U.S.A. made model from Spurcycle that may be the best bell on the market, and the tiny Roadie from Osaka Bells, which may be the most versatile bell on the market. Spurcycle Bell By Emily Walley A bicycle bell goes unacknowledged until needed, and ...

Since the 1970s Blackburn has been making high quality touring equipment that has traveled the world over. A resurgence in the popularity of touring in recent years has led to a renaissance in products from the brand, including the new Outpost front rack. Unlike traditional low-rider racks that mount to dedicated eyelets, the Outpost can ...

The Aurora series has been part of the Jamis stable of bikes since the late 1990s and has included the Elite build since 2008. The Aurora Elite comes outfitted with all the basic building blocks for a bike that could be used in any number of ways: full aluminum fenders and aluminum rear rack, both painted ...

So, you’re kinda still married to riding that old Trek carbon racer from 1998, the one with the garish red, white and blue graphics and a Shimano rear shifter that doesn’t work that well anymore? While it was fun watching you-know-who dominate the Tour de France for seven consecutive years, it’s time to step up ...

For decades Trek has offered its model 520 steel touring model, specced with bar-end shifters, a rear rack, braze-ons for fenders and low-rider front rack, and clearance for chubby tires to tackle any terrain. For 2015, two new models are joining it in Trek stores: the rugged 920 adventure bike and the lightweight 720, both made ...

Being around the industry as long as I have I know a lot of people, many of whom congregate once a year in a different location to look at the fashionshow we call The North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Where artisan framebuilders show off their latest and greatest creations, which are judged and given giant ...

In an era when consumers can research and purchase almost anything online and have it shipped directly to their door, bicycle consumers must take the extra steps to visit their local bicycle retailer to get bikes from major brands. It isn’t as though consumer direct sales are impossible for something like a bicycle—similarly high-risk products ...

Every day is a good day for an adventure bike! This one comes to us by way of REI. Say hello to the steel Novara Mazama, designed for bikepacking, grinding gravel and all of your off-the-beaten-path adventures. It seems to work well on the plain-old road too, just in case you were wondering. At first ...

What the heck is this thing? It seems completely out of left field. It’s a mountain bike with drop bars, right? Not even close. So it’s an adventuremobile gravel grinder? Wrong again. Cannondale labels the new Slate as a “new road” bike, and I’d say it leans heavily toward just that: roads. Dirt roads sure, ...

Drawing on Scott Sports’ European sporting and racing heritage, the Evo 20 is designed to be an urban bike that is well-suited to its environment and fun to ride. In practice, I found it to be a very well-thought-out bicycle that had just about everything you’d find yourself needing to navigate through your city’s streets ...

This is an opinion essay from our editor-in-chief. Let’s call this what it is: a mass murder. On June 7, a 50-year-old Michigan man drove his pickup truck into a group of cyclists outside Kalamazoo, killing five and injuring four more. The tragedy has garnered national news but despite the horrific violence committed on these ...

Tester: Eric McKeegan Price: $1,500 Weight: 22.4 pounds Sizes: 43, 45, 51, 54, 56, 58 (tested), 61 More info: Felt Bicycles V85 Felt makes a lot of drop-bar bikes: race, endurance, aero, cyclocross, track and women’s. This V85 is the middle child of the adventure branch of the Felt drop-bar family. What makes this bike ...

The first Sequoia bikes were designed by Tim Neenan as a road bike with an adventure attitude. The second generation, designed by Jim Merz, evolved into a full-blown touring rig to take you around the world. The name appeared on a series of, let’s say, “less-than-exciting” hybrids and city bikes through the years, but has ...

Tester: Justin Steiner Price: $620 (frameset) Weight: 7.1 pounds (frameset) Sizes: 50, 52 (tested), 54, 56, 58, 60, 62 cm I’ve always been a sucker for bicycles that offer heaps of versatility. Sure, some folks will argue that aiming for versatility results in a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none” scenario, but in reality most of us ...

The market is awash with a huge assortment of very well-made bikepacking bags to fit in every nook and cranny of your bike. One of the simplest, and often over-complicated methods of transport is strapping a load to your bicycle’s handlebars. If it’s a small, light load you can get away with very little: I’ve ...

Adventure outlet REI is ushering in spring 2017 with their new bike line, Co-op Cycles. This new line of bicycles increases their focus on adventure products by placing a slightly increased emphasis on the popular, and growing, segment of gravel and adventure inspired bikes. Feedback from a co-op members survey directed REI’s decision making after ...

By Adam Newman We’re excited to see more bikes coming around for the kind of riding we love the most: rambling adventures from the city to the mountains. The Giant AnyRoad might not have an innovative name, but the design is perfect for a huge segment of the bike-riding market. The aluminum frame offers a ...

The Co-Motion Divide’s rugged looking frame is hand-built in Oregon using oversized Reynolds 725 chromoly tubing. Co-Motion’s tandem expertise is evident in the massive chainstays and the 40-spoke wheels, built using DT-Swiss 540 tandem hubs (with 145mm rear spacing for a dishless wheel) and Velocity Cliffhanger rims. The stout 44 mm-diameter head tube on the ...

Rather than a beefed-up touring bike like the Co-Motion Divide we reviewed last week, the Fargo 2 is actually a drop-bar mountain bike, with a lighter compact frame, 2×10 drivetrain, tubeless wheels, and slacker geometry than the Co-Motion. A tall, 44mm head tube means a higher handlebar for comfort off-road, and suspension-corrected geometry allows a ...

The Crosstrail formula is simple: aluminum frame with generous tire clearance plus rack and fender mounts, 60mm-travel SR Suntour NEXi suspension fork, a 3×9 drivetrain, Tektro Draco hydraulic disc brakes, and wheels and tires on the heavy-duty end of the road spectrum. This package delivers a highly versatile bike that can be used for commuting, ...

Kona designed the Rove as a versatile machine, mixing the practicality of its commuter and touring models with the fit and geometry of its cyclocross heritage. The result is a bike that feels responsive, but still delivers versatility that will keep you rolling all year. It seems rim vs. disc brakes has superseded Campagnolo vs. ...

Trek’s CrossRip is part of the Urban Utility line. Two models are offered, the basic Crossrip and the upgraded Elite. Both are spec’d with a drop bar for versatility and comfort, and differ only in the parts package. The frame is made from Trek’s 100 series Alpha aluminum, with a Bontrager Satellite carbon fork. The ...

Let me answer this question first: no, this is not a Krampus with holes drilled in it. While ECR closely resembles its 29+ brethren, it is a completely different beast. The frame is different, the geometry is different, the build kit is different and the fork is different. Built for loaded touring, exploring and “Escaping ...

Misceo is a Latin verb that means “to mix or blend.” The idea behind the Raleigh Misceo Trail 2.0—a flat-bar, 700c bike decked out with disc brakes and a suspension fork—is to blend the performance and versatility of a mountain bike with the comfort and street-friendliness of a hybrid. This machine is designed to tackle ...

While many brands have introduced “endurance” road bikes over the last few years, few have taken the idea to quite the extreme as Trek. The Domane was developed with considerable input from Swiss pro cyclist Fabian Cancellara, who is known for his steam-engine riding style, using his massive power output to crush cobblestones in the ...

It’s a warm morning. The sun’s out and spring has sprung. I’m stepping out of my back door with Cannondale’s Quick CX 3 ready to start the 11-mile commute to the office. My neighbor waves “good morning,” and it promises to be a great day for a ride. My commute isn’t difficult. There aren’t many ...

Jamis, continuing on even after steel road bikes seem to have fallen out of favor. In fact, this 2013 model marks the 25th anniversary of the Quest name. Built with an oversize Reynolds 631 tubeset paired with a full carbon fork, this is a thoroughly modern take on the classic steel road bike. Jamis makes ...

Mountain bikes have been reaping the benefits of hydraulic disc brakes for years now, and while they were finicky at first, the products available now are virtually maintenance-free. When they first began appearing on road bikes, mechanical discs were the obvious stop-gap—a brake cable is a brake cable, after all. But now that discs are ...

The new year draws near, and for the first issue of 2015, we’ve rounded up six bike in the $1,000 range as a representative sample at this popular price point. We’ve found it to be common dollar amount for a first “good” bike, or adding a second bike (or third or fourth, etcetera) to the ...

First off, this is NOT Ui2. There is no such thing and never will be. A lot of folks think the “D” is for Dura-Ace, the trim level where the electronically-controlled shifting first appeared. It actually stands for “Shimano Digital Integration Intelligence” – Di2, get it? In the six years since it’s introduction, the concept ...

Editor’s note: Here at Bicycle Times we are as mindful of price as you are. So we gathered together a group of six very diverse bikes to showcase what you can find right now at the $1,000 price point. See our introduction here. I’m pretty stoked to be testing the Minnesota 2.0 fat bike from ...

Editor’s note: Here at Bicycle Times we are as mindful of price as you are. So we gathered together a group of six very diverse bikes to showcase what you can find right now at the $1,000 price point. See our introduction here. Way back in issue #2, I reviewed the Raleigh Clubman (with rim ...

The Camargue from Velo Orange is a bike designed to extend the ride beyond where the pavement ends. Named after an ancient French horse breed, the Camargue is as rugged as its wetland-dwelling namesake and capable of taking you on adventures both near and far and in a style normally reserved for bikes with much ...

  “Adventure” is all the rage these days, but the scope definition and scope of these adventures varies greatly from source to source. In this case, Jamis defines adventure with a heavy dose of performance and a side of versatility for their new go-anywhere, do-anything road bike. The highly engineered Renegade joins a stable of ...

What would you say if someone took your favorite bike, swapped out your go-to compact gearing or reliable triple crankset, and installed a single chainring with a ginormous 11-speed cassette? Then, to pour salt into the wound, told you to climb nearly 3,000 feet of elevation on California’s central coast? On nearly 15 miles of ...

As the fat bike market matures it is inevitably diversifying into specific product categories. Just as mountain bikes now have categories for downhill, cross country or trail riding, fat bike riders are realizing one size does not fit all. The Farley model has been hugely popular for Trek, but it was being pulled in two ...

Like many gear-oriented guys I know, when I first got into cycling I went all in. I bought the spandex shorts, the fingerless gloves, and of course, those wacky clip-in pedals. But now that I’m a little older and wiser, or at least a lot more pragmatic, I’ve taken a shine to flat pedals for ...

Kona has been expanding away from its mountain bike background lately, and the sneak peak we got on the 2016 models takes things to the next level. Here are the four models that stood out the most to me. Private Jake – $2,000 An all new aluminum frame offers modern updates like front and rear thru-axles, ...

Deadwood Somewhat surprising is this 29plus touring bike that Salsa says will be produced in somewhat limited numbers. More evolutionary than revolutionary, it’s kind of like what you’d expect to get if a Fargo and a Mukluk enjoyed a little too much bourbon around the campfire before snuggling into a sleeping bag together. It’s built ...

From Bicycle Times Issue #36 What’s old is new again it seems (aren’t hifi stereos and albums grand?), but what never gets old for serious cyclists is the leather saddle. Prior to Avocet developing the first gel saddle in the 1980s, nearly all saddles sold were leather. While the company that John Boultbee Brooks founded ...

Seven years ago, I rode my bike across the country with nothing but a $13 red bike light strapped to my seatpost. It wasn’t very bright and functioned more as hopeful optimism than a true safety device. Now I’m pleased to see that daytime running lights for bikes are being taken more seriously. The Bontrager Flare R ...

From Issue #37 Bicycle touring has changed a lot over the past few years, and while riders once rejoiced for a smooth ribbon of asphalt, a rough and rocky road is now de rigueur. Right on the Trek website you see signs of this preference as the new 920 Disc is classified under the banner ...

Cycling-specific, cold-weather boots have long seemed like a luxury item to me. That changed when I decided to get a fat bike for riding on snowy trails and decided to suck it up and pedal around my Colorado hometown all through winter. Suddenly, no overshoe was warm enough and no casual snow boot stiff or snug enough. After spending ...

Photos by Jesse Carmondy and the author It was a pretty difficult prototype to disguise. When former professional racer Tim Johnson started ripping around on a modified Cannondale affixed with a Lefty suspension fork a few years ago it attracted quite a bit of attention. Would he race cyclocross on it? Was it even allowed? Was ...

This Raleigh with the classic name may in fact be the sleeper bike of 2015. At first glance, it’s a fairly conventional steel road bike but in fact it has a secret identity as a travel bike. At the heart of the Reynolds 520 butted chromoly steel frame is the Ritchey Break-Away system. Look closely and you’ll notice the double ...

Originally published in Bicycle Times Issue #31 OF BIRDS AND BIKES Titanium burst onto the scene in the 1950s in military aerospace applications. Favorable ratios of strength, durability and toughness to weight—along with its corrosion resistance and high temperature capabilities—made titanium the material of choice in airframes and aerospace hydraulic systems. The first bird to ...

Testers: Eric Mckeegan and Jon Pratt shared this back-to-back review in Bicycle Times Issue #38 Bianchi has been at the bike game for a long, long time. One hundred thirty years to be exact. Almost as old is Bianchi’s signature celeste green, perhaps the most recognizable color in cycling. While much of Bianchi’s history revolves around ...

Rawland Cycles has been filling a niche in the bike industry for a decade now as a small brand that produces versatile models that don’t fit neatly into any particular category. “There’s this awesome new zone where I think the fun is,” said Rawland’s Creative Director and VP, Jeremy Spencer. If your idea of fun is getting off ...

The original inspiration for Soma’s Wolverine was “monster cross,” but this frame’s geometry, versatility and even the screaming orange means you shouldn’t save it for just one, specific purpose. This type of bike is becoming more and more common, and we’re out to discover what sets this beast apart. Soma currently sells its Wolverine as a ...

Photos: Emily Walley Marin designed the Four Corners and Four Corners Elite for the daily commute and the weekend adventure, and it couldn’t be more on point. I’m testing the lower priced model, with an MSRP of $1100. It offers all the bells and whistles for fully-loaded touring in an affordable package. The Four Corners is an ...

I was stopped on the side of the bike path, topping off a slightly underinflated tire. “Hey nice bike. What’s that extra tube for? Must be heavy duty or somethin’. Is it for extra weight?” The tube in question is the twin top tube on this here Kona Humuhumu. A retro/cruiser/mountainous/classic/singlespeed/bar-hopping/klunkish/commuter. Why is the extra ...

We just returned from a week at Press Camp in Park City, Utah, where several companies announced new stuff for model year 2017. Cannondale, GT, Blue, Ridley and component maker 3T all trotted out fresh bikes at the event for industry journalists to check out. Full disclosure, Press Camp is not a standard bike industry event, which ...

VP Components R62 Price: $90 Tester: Eric McKeegan I’ve ridden a lot of these clipless/platform pedals. They are my go-to pedal for bikes that might do double-duty on long rides and casual trips around town. I’ve been using these for over a year now, and you can color me impressed. I have a few pairs ...

We’re at Saddle Drive near Lake Tahoe this week checking out new bikes from Quality Bicycle Products (QBP), the parent company of Surly, All-City, Foundry, Heller and Salsa. Because of the proliferation of cycling events across the country, these companies aren’t launching all of their new stuff right away, but we did get a look ...

Salsa’s all-road/touring line received minor tweaks and updates for 2017. The most recent big news in this cycling realm was the previous launch of the Marrakesh flat/drop bar steel road touring bike, which became available this year. So while Salsa had no new drop-bar bikes to show the Bicycle Times audience at this year’s Saddle Drive, three staple models ...

Kona is pretty well known as a mountain bike brand, but it also has plenty of road-going products with finger-in-your-eye mountain bike attitude. While many companies start with road racing bikes and then branch out into adventure, travel and commuting, Kona focuses solely on the kind of bikes you’d expect to see in Bicycle Times.

This year is Marin Bikes’ 30th anniversary, and it marks the introduction of an all-new “utilitour” model, the Four Corners. The neutral gray steel frame gives the bike a timeless look, while disc brakes, wide tire clearance and an upright riding position keep pace with cyclists’ expectations for adventure touring and bikepacking.

Marin reintroduced this new Pine Mountain to celebrate its 30th anniversary and it harkens back to the early days of mountain biking, when exploration and adventure were coded into the DNA of the then-emerging sport. However, this is not a throwback reproduction bike. Rather, Marin produced an adventure-ready rig with a modern geometry and plus-sized ...

Last September, the town of Macon, Georgia installed a network of temporary bike lanes. In the two weeks that the lanes were up, bike traffic increased by nearly 900 percent, more city residents were inspired to ride instead of drive and many residents also visited places that they normally wouldn’t because of the ease of access.

I have a certain fascination with and interest in exploring abandoned manmade things. There’s a surrealness that comes with being in a place that is in between urban and wild, developed and natural. Rusty metal, crumbling concrete, smashed windows. The ruin, decay, and nature taking over, perhaps as it should have been all along. I love to wander ...

Surly has been coming out with a lot of new stuff lately, from the Pack Rat front-loader touring bike to the redesigned Pugsley fat bike. Here at Frostbike in Minneapolis, the brand launched yet another brand new bike, the Midnight Special. The folks at Surly describe the Midnight Special as a bike that can ride ...