Velo Digest: A One Gram Bike Lock, Cursed Courses, & The Most Underrated Racer of the Season

Aug 29, 2023 at 4:20
by Christie Fitzpatrick  

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THE TOP STORIES
from
ROAD & GRAVEL CYCLING
August 2023


What's going on in the curly bar world? Velo Digest showcases articles from our sister site, Velo. In each instalment, you might find endurance coverage, power-to-weight ratios, gravel bike tech and, of course, lycra.




Craig’s Tool product review: 40 years in the making
By: Troy Templin

Craig Edwards, founder of eecycleworks is the name behind Craig's Tool, the latest lightweight cycling tool.

(Read more.)
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The gravel bikes we found at MADE Bike Show 2023
By: Alvin Holbrook

Bikes from Argonaut, Seeker, Haley Cycles, Onguza, and more.

(Read more.)
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Trek Madone SL 7 Gen 7 bike review: IsoFlow + burrito is a perfect match
By: Troy Templin

The Trek Madone SL Gen 7 now completes the line matching the more expensive SLR and offers almost the same ride quality.

(Read more.)
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A turning point for women’s racing: Tour de l’Avenir Femmes makes its debut
By: Sadhbh O'Shea

Gaia Realini, Shirin van Anrooij, Fem van Empel, and Antonia Niedermaier are among the riders on the star-studded start list.

(Read more.)
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Feedback Sports Range Click torque wrench review: Portable accuracy
By: Alvin Holbrook

Feedback's latest tool adds more torque, an ambidextrous design, and an obvious click to their already-excellent torque wrench.

(Read more.)
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Canyon Endurace CF SLX review: It turns out that smooth is fast
By: Alvin Holbrook

The Canyon Endurace offers a novel adjustable handlebar, more aero, and excellent comfort. Aside from one hiccup it is hard to find a better endurance road bike.

(Read more.)
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Most underrated racer of the season? Mads Pedersen blows up Bemer Classic in sensational summer streak
By: Jim Cotton

Danish fast-finisher adds another victory to a 2023 palmarès that even Van Aert, Van der Poel would be stoked for.

(Read more.)
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The Hunt Hill Climb SL Disc is a sub-1000 gram climbing wheelset made for… tubulars?
By: Troy Templin

The Hunt Hill Climb SL Disc wheelset is the most specialized wheel that we have seen from the UK brand.

(Read more.)
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4iiii PRECISION 3+ power meter with Apple Find My tracking review: The power of modern tech
By: Troy Templin

The 4iiii Precision 3+ power meter adds value for cyclist of all levels. Power data and the ability to track a lost bike in one unit is a first for the industry.


(Read more.)
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Is 6 hours too long? Why distance matters in the world road cycling championships
By: Andrew Hood

The world championships are among the hardest, longest days of racing for a reason, and that's a good thing.


(Read more.)
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GT Grade Carbon X first ride review: Impressed with the ride and the event
By: Troy Templin

The GT Grade Carbon X is a gravel bike for the masses and makes gravel fun and predictable.

(Read more.)
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Safety first: 5 ways to inspect a bike after your next ride
By: Troy Templin

Be the best DIY mechanic with 5 ways to inspect a bike after your next ride.

(Read more.)
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The one gram bike lock from Hexlox | Eurobike randoms
By: Will Tracy

Also, a saddle with adjustable tension, a 4-in-1 bike bag design, Thule’s top new bike rack, and much more.


(Read more.)
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How an unscheduled toilet emergency wasn’t going to stop Mathieu van der Poel
By: Andrew Hood

Dutch star becomes world champion despite urgent mid-race nature stop in fan's house: 'I couldn't have carried on racing without their help.'

(Read more.)
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The bikes, tires, and gear people are riding – SBT GRVL 2023
By: Alvin Holbrook

What gravel bike tires do people ride, what bikes are they riding, and why did they choose that gear? Gravel race bike checks at SBT GRVL 2023 are here.

(Read more.)
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Is this Vuelta a España cursed? Crashes, deluges, tacks, and frayed nerves mark opening weekend
By: Andrew Hood

Improving weather should ease tension after an uneven and sometimes bizarre start to the 2023 edition.

(Read more.)
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Author Info:
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Member since May 21, 2017
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62 Comments
  • 9 0
 Using AirTags to track stolen bikes doesn't actually work, right? Last I checked AirTags notify anyone who is moving with them (e.g. a thief). This is an anti-stalking measure, so a creep can't drop an AirTag in a purse or car to track someone without their knowledge, but it totally messes up the anti-theft application. Does this also apply to the PM with FindMy?
  • 18 2
 maybe the thief has an android
  • 5 0
 I pop the speakers out of my AirTags (see YT video for a how-to) so the thief knows one is onboard but they cant find it quickly because it sounds no alarm. That said, I only use them for motor vehicles where there are more inaccessible hiding spots. Helps me remember where I parked, too.
  • 10 0
 @mior: Androids can detect rogue trackers
  • 6 0
 @suspended-flesh: learned something new thanks
  • 7 0
 @mior: Can confirm - My Google phone told me that I had an airtag following me on a trip, but it was actually just my friend's airtagged dog. What a time to be alive.
  • 3 0
 my understanding is that it does work but only on a short timeline because the airtag wont notify the thief with a notification or sound for a few hours at least. could be wrong though i read that online
  • 6 8
 And then what? Are you cowboys just gonna rock up with a posse? Guns drawn and ready to kill? To die?

“Whatever happened to WakiFan69_420?”—“oh he went to retrieve his stolen bike…tracked it with an AirTag…”

I’ll stick with insurance, thank you very much!
  • 5 0
 the headlines are getting worse , i saw a headline one gram bike lock and a cyclist crying .....deducing someone had nicked said bike expecting a cool story bro.
  • 4 3
 @owl-X: If you only carry the state required Liability insurance, theft isn't covered. Insurance is a racket and the valuation on a 25 year old vehicle is negligible unless you use someone like Hagerty Classic Car Ins.. I have 3x the 'value' of the rig in mods alone. Some companies will honor receipts, some won't. What I do recommend is 3x or 4x your liability because if it is your fault the victim's insurance will crush you. The minimum required liability is way too low with the property and medical costs theses days. So yes, 1 simple gun if the cops aren't willing to help when I locate it. It's 50/50 here whether they will get involved. That said, R.I.P. WakiFan69_420 Gone too soon.
  • 2 0
 i use a tile, its much less widely used than airtag and apple products and therefore worse in terms of actually tracking stuff. but in my limited experience (mostly making sure my bike made it on the plane (spoiler alert, it didnt)), it works well enough

and as far as i know, if you have the tile app, and someone else's tile gets pinged off your phone, i dont think you get a notification. and even if you do, what kind of bike thief is going to have a relatively niche tag tracker app on their phone?
  • 2 0
 @suspended-flesh: haha dude what a weird car wreck you describe—where I lose my bike??? Insurance is definitely a racket, but talmbout renters/homeowners biz…I think a few will cover a bike theft away from your house even…although to be fair I’d make somewhere between zero and two calls to get any money from an insurance company for my missing bike. They got me.
But no way am I risking my life to get a bike back, you’re gnarly!
  • 2 0
 @mior: Apple and Android agreed to share togethers to anyone having ny kind or brand of AirTags can track it. It happened last years I think.
  • 4 2
 @owl-X: Totally agree - the idea that you are just going to pop round to the thief's house and demand your bike back is ridiculous!
Also I would predict that Police won't be too interested - they never are in stolen bikes.
  • 4 0
 @Paco77: I found my stolen 2003 Bullit for sale online and 'popped around' to the dude's house pretending to be a buyer and took that thing back and was prepared to fight it out if necessary. I did check in with the police in that town and they just said 'let us know if you have any trouble'. There wasn't any trouble but they guy had the nerve to ask me to reimburse him what he paid for it LOL hell naw.
  • 2 0
 @owl-X: Uh I went off on a non-bike tangent.
  • 2 0
 @suspended-flesh: no problem, it made for a funny scenario in my head, where I was at fault for having my bike stolen…(which I kinda do have some of those feelings, actually)

Never asking for it but sometimes you are…my bike is the first thing that gets put away—the fewer people that see it the better!
  • 1 0
 @suspended-flesh: a friend called me up a few years ago, wanted me to go with him to where he thought his stolen bike was for sale. I declined.
I’d be down for the test-ride dine n dash to get my bike back if I didn’t have a family, but unfortunately there’s just no justification for vigilante Biz at this point
  • 2 0
 @suspended-flesh: all my friends hate cops!
  • 1 0
 @owl-X: I hear you. I had kids at the time, too (they have since aged-out and I no longer own them). The guy who was selling my bike wasn't the thief, he was just in possession of stolen property ("bought it at a flea market" - he was a normie) and I had a ton of proof/photos, etc. with me. I didn't go in guns blazing, but a lot of crazy potential outcomes were going through my head leading up to the meet up. If it was a dangerous tweeker situation I was going to dump the gears and sprint for the finish line......7-speed Bullit with a Boxxer made that option dicey as they could've outrun me in the first 20 yards LOL
  • 2 0
 @owl-X:
This. Had a bike get stolen years ago. Renters insurance covered replacement value. It was easy.
Keep receipts and photos of your bike so you can prove what's yours. I've got pictures of my bikes in my garage. Whenever I lock my bike up somewhere, before I go inside I snap a picture of it locked up with an identifiable background. If it gets stolen, I'll gladly take moneys instead of chasing down thieves. Infinitely better system than an airtag.
  • 1 0
 @suspended-flesh: what happened to WakiFan69_420?
  • 2 0
 @DJ21111111: You'll need to get the details from @owl-X
  • 8 0
 Most underrated racer should be Keegan Swenson. Dude is unreal. Not even sure if he is human. He’s destroying everyone this year. I think he’s won every race entered.
  • 3 0
 nothing underrated about him. Everyone knows his level.
  • 1 0
 Anyone know if he will be racing Snowshoe XCO in October?
  • 2 0
 Wound be interesting to see how well he would do at the World Tour level.
  • 2 0
 @Snowytrail: As much as a love and praise the guy, I don't think he would do very well in a XCO after training for a 5+ hour racing where your pedaling cadence and power is basically a consistent line to XCO where it is sprinting an breaking for the entire 75 mins.
  • 1 0
 Bradyn Lange - us rider and 8th place finisher at the Leadville 100 finished 46th in his first WC XCO last weekend after moving up a ton of positions from poor start position. I think it’s safe to say Keegan could be a top 20ish guy right off the bat after earning some points
  • 1 0
 @cartersheley1: Don't forget he blew Blevins out of the water at the XC national championship last year racing the same schedule. I think he'd do just fine at Snowshoe.
  • 2 0
 @cartersheley1: He raced the XC World Cup circuit before he left to do the gravel/lifetime thing. I don't think he was particularly competitive, but all this endurance work could've helped him level up his overall fitness so who knows.
  • 1 0
 @jrfields: I know, just looking at his previous results and his power profile on strava compared to guys like pidcock, and how different their workouts are, it seems like night and day to me, and he just doesnt have the ability to dump sprints here and there are all the time, like is necessary in XCO and XCC. That being said I think he could be top 20, maybe top 10, but don't think he is XCO specific to be near the podium. I think he contest podiums if he actually focused on it.
  • 1 0
 @cartersheley1: he kicked the crap out of Blevins at XCO Nationals last year. He's the best American mountain biker.
  • 6 2
 The one gram bike lock seems like it only protects against the theft of your wheels and other bolt-on parts, but it doesn't stop anyone from just taking your whole bike. It also doesn't inhibit the functionality of your bike, so if you used this by itself, someone could still just ride off with your bike. You would need to use it paired with a traditional lock, which kinda defeats the purpose of calling it a one gram lock.
  • 14 0
 its going to piss off a bunch of LBS employees when they have to track down the customer and have them bring the key back to shop
  • 4 0
 Pretty good for stopping someone swiping your AXS seat post while the bike is on the back of the car though…
  • 3 0
 @SATN-XC: Can confirm.
  • 7 0
 How about an Enduro Digest for the race this weekend?
  • 2 2
 Yep. My thoughts exactly.
And why would PB write about road cycling anyway?
  • 1 0
 www.pinkbike.com/news/pinkbike-primer-everything-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-the-loudenvielle-edr-world-cup-2023.html
  • 3 0
 Honest question, would this article have been on Pinkbike 10 or even 5 years ago?

This comes across as Outside cross marketing…but perhaps I have it wrong… perhaps there are a large # of pinkbikes who actually do want Roady content and I’m just living in the past.
  • 1 0
 Of course Enve has to do a different approach to dropper posts. But seems a lot like being different for the sake of being different.
  • 1 0
 The article for what bikes people are riding at the grvl is so glaringly obviously written by A.I. and was a hard read. Why???????
  • 3 1
 Someone show me a torque wrench that isn't ambidextrous...
  • 4 0
 "Ambidextrous" is a dumb word choice, they mean bi-directional. This wrench measures torque in both directions, i.e. clockwise or counter-clockwise. Most only measure clockwise, i.e. righty-tighty. Not a ton of spots where you need torque measurement on a reverse-threaded bolt, but this has it covered.
  • 2 0
 @Drew-O: umm, all three rachet-style wrenches I have go both ways. As does every beam-style I've ever seen. All bidirectional. All ambidextrous.
  • 1 0
 @justinfoil: my last one was uni-directional. Its internals also exploded well below its rated max torque after barely a year, and it didn't get that much use.
  • 2 1
 @FaahkEet: so you're saying only crappy ones aren't bidirectional...
  • 2 0
 @Drew-O: and every bike has at least two reverse-threaded parts: bottom brackets, and pedals, and sometimes suspension main pivots. This little wrench doesn't have the range for them, but most torque wrenches do go both ways, so it's covered.
  • 1 0
 @justinfoil: probably, Venzo brand.
  • 1 0
 what happened to WakiFan69_420?
  • 3 3
 "makes gravel riding fun and predictable". Insert Doubt meme.
  • 1 1
 MvdP-PRD-QED
  • 3 6
 Bikes with tire width measured in 'C' shouldn't be on PB
  • 5 0
 "C" is not actually a unit of measure, and there are some folks with absolutely red hot takes on this; check out the comments on the "750D" wheel size!
  • 4 0
 @Drew-O: 29er and 700c is the same thing.
  • 1 0
 @Drew-O: I feel so seen Big Grin
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