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?
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ONE MAN'S OBSESSIVE CRUSADE TO Take Down Zwift Cheats
Indoor cycling and virtual racing are booming, and so are the ranks of digital dopers abusing the platforms.
WHAT I LEARNED WHEN LOST IT ON A MOUNTAIN BIKE
A lifelong roadie tries singletrack for the first time. It did not go as planned.
THE UNLIKELY HERO WHO RECOVERED OVER 200 STOLEN BIKES IN ONE AMERICAN CITY
It was a sunny day in the summer of 2022. There were some things I had to move into the house, so I left the garage door open. I was gone less than 15 minutes.
YOU CAN BE MORE THAN JUST A CYCLIST
I'VE ALWAYS HAD A LOVE FOR SPORTS, starting with the usual team ones such as football and baseball. But that faded in favor of more individual pursuits. Watching my dad roll down the driveway to go for a ride, I wanted to do the same. The bike was my first taste of freedom, a freedom to do it my way.
THE RIGHT SADDLE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
UP UNTIL RECENTLY, I WAS, AT BEST, A TWICEa-month cyclist.
HOW TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE RIDER YOU USED TO BE
CYCLISTS OF ALL LEVELS GO THROUGH various phases or eras over the years they spend in the saddle. For the vast majority of riders (myself included), these things happen privately, without fanfare.
BIKES MAKE THE WORLD A MORE INCLUSIVE PLACE
LIFE'S A BEAUTIFUL PUZZLE THAT COMES in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD CYCLING SCENE, ANYWAY?
I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF INVOLVING myself in a few populous and dramatically different cycling communities.
CHOOSE GEAR THAT INSPIRES YOU TO HAVE FUN E
EVEN THOUGH I TEST LOADS OF CYCLING gear for a living, sometimes I get locked in on particular items and find it difficult to enjoy competing products, even if those products have obvious advantages.
WHY YOU DESERVE A CUSTOM BIKE
Custom. The word evokes passionate opinions about what constitutes a custom-made bike and who gets to ride one. There's this idea that they're wildly expensive pieces of functional art meant only for the fittest, fastest riders.
