SOMETIMES, SELECTING BICYCLING'S BIKE OF THE YEAR IS EASY, BUT THIS YEAR, NOT SO MUCH. OUR TEST team evaluated dozens of models to crown 2024's best. We held several meetings-and a few spirited debates on the topic. After weeks of deliberation, each test team member made a presentation on their preferred bike and the committee handed down its decision.
The final three bikes were the Ritte Esprit, BlackHeart's revised Allroad AL, and the Enve Fray. All three have some key elements in common. They are bikes from slightly smaller, more niche brands. And they have abundant tire clearance for a road bike, with the Ritte being the most limited at 35mm, and the BlackHeart and Enve topping out at 40mm.
Drop-bar bikes with generous tire clearance are certainly nothing new. The modern endurance road bike has been around since 2003, when the original Specialized Roubaix was launched, and randonneuring bikes existed for many decades before that. But this new crop of bikes is enticing and exciting because it keeps getting closer to the ride feel of racier bikes, without sacrificing features like more-accessible geometry and room for wider tires.
Bikes in this category are sometimes termed all-road or endurance bikes, though other names for them pop up every few years-often coming from brands' marketing teams. The basic premise of the category is to take a road bike, add tire clearance, give it lower gearing, and tweak the geometry to make it more upright and comfortable than bikes intended for racing.
While these terms are still around, they feel misleading. After all, what is an all-road bike if some dedicated race bikes can clear 35mm tires? Or what is a race bike when a bike that clears 40mm tires can be built to be as light and nearly as aero?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Summer 2024 من Bicycling US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Summer 2024 من Bicycling US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
GETTING A FLAT CAN MAKE YOUR RIDE BETTER
ON A BEAUTIFUL LATE-SUMMER RIDE UNDER a cerulean blue sky, I got my second flat in three days.
THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY BIKES TO CHOOSE FROM
\"PERFECTION IS ACHIEVED, NOT WHEN there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.\"
THE CASE AGAINST STRAVA
I'LL BEGIN BY SINGING SOME PRAISES: Without Strava, I'm not sure I'd have re-engaged with cycling at the level I did. Coming from just occasionally messing around on mountain bikes as a teenager to trying my best to race at an elite level, Strava has played a role in pushing me to PR, hunt KOMS, and ride faster and harder than ever before.
LOOKING FOR CYCLING'S CAITLIN CLARK
WOMEN'S PRO CYCLING MUST FOSTER A COMMUNITY THAT WILL FEEL INVESTED IN THE SPORT FOR YEARS TO COME.
THE UPSIDE OF GETTING YOUR CAR STOLEN
AFTER I PARKED AT THE LAFAYETTE COLLEGE track for my workout, I did what I always do: I put my phone and wallet in the center console of my car and took the car key off the ring so I could fit it into the tiny pocket inside my running shorts.
UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF CYCLING'S SUPER AGERS
MEET THE SWEDISH SENIORS WHO PROVE YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO RIDE HARD.
BIKE PACKING AMERICA'S LONGEST MULTIUSE TRAIL NETWORK
Even the slightest rain can sound thunderous inside a tent--and this was not slight rain. It came down in buckets, just as my partner Maggie and I were settling into our sleeping bags.
TWICE AS GOOD
WHY A DISCO-BALLINSPIRED DOUBLE UNICYCLE MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BIKES OF THE YEAR
THE ALCHE MISTS
They led a cycling revolution in Afghanistan where women were forbidden to ride. When the Taliban returned to power, their only hope was a harrowing escape to an uncertain future.
COUNTDOWN - TO YOUR FIRST CRIT
ONE INTREPID MEMBER, ONE WORLDCLASS COACH, ONE INCREDIBLE BIKE-THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME.
