Zwift’s “ZRacing” is the platform’s most popular ongoing race series, and June’s races send riders through Zwift’s most popular urban routes.

Read on for details about this month’s race routes and more!

June’s Routes

Here are the routes we’ll be racing in June:

• Stage 1 (June 2-8): Glasgow Crit Circuit
  • 6 laps (18.3km, 198m)
  • Powerups: Aero, Feather
• Stage 2 (June 9-15): Park Perimeter Loop
  • 2 laps (19.9km, 254m elevation)
  • Powerups: Feather, Draft
• Stage 3 (June 16-22): Richmond UCI Worlds
  • 1 lap (16.5km, 159m)
  • Powerups: Feather, Aero
• Stage 4 (June 23-29): London 8
  • 1 lap (20.8km, 259m)
  • Powerups: Feather, Aero

See upcoming Range 1 “Cityscapes” events >
See upcoming Range 2 “Cityscapes” events >
See upcoming Advanced “Cityscapes” events >
See ALL upcoming “Cityscapes” events >

GC Leaderboards

Zwift debuted new web-based leaderboards at zwift.com for tracking the Zwift Games 2025 GC, and an upgraded version of those leaderboards is now being put to work for use in the monthly ZRacing series.

Access June’s leaderboard at zwift.com/racing/leagues/zracingjun2025 >

Your GC ranking is based on your best finishing time for each stage, and you can race each stage more than once to try for a better time.

Choose Your Category

Zwift schedules three different flavors of ZRacing events in order to encourage “Fairer, more competitive racing for everyone.” They each use different racing score ranges for categorization and are titled Advanced, Range 1, and Range 2. Click banners below to see upcoming events for each:

Get the Badge

Each month’s ZRacing series has a unique achievement badge, which you can unlock by finishing every stage for the month. There are no makeup events, so if you miss a stage, you miss out on the badge and competing in the GC.

One and Done

Zwift has planned these events to deliver a solid 1-hour workout, so each race should only take around 1 hour to complete, including your warmup and cooldown.

Questions or Comments?

Post below! 

Canyon has partnered with DT Swiss to create a new gravel suspension fork. The F 132 boasts 40mm of travel with nine rebound settings, positive and negative chambers and cable-actuated lockout with a remote lever.

To test the new design, I rode the Traka 100km gravel race. In five hours of gravel goodness, I rode the F 132 over questionably technical rock gardens, down flowing descents and up steep climbs.

The thunderstorm count measured three, waist-deep rivers crossed stood at one, and my finishing position mattered not. Here’s what I learned.

• Best gravel suspension forks 2025 – plus our buyer’s guide
• Gravel bike suspension: the next frontier or costly gimmick?

Climbing with the DT Swiss F 132 – worth the weight?

Climbing with a gravel suspension fork when the lockout is open feels somewhat like a halfway house between a mountain bike and a rigid gravel bike.

On the MTB, such a gravel climb would be a simple act of pointing the bike up and pedalling.

On a rigid gravel bike, you have to pay attention to your line choice in an effort to maintain your momentum. 

While the F 132 soaks up smaller roots and rocks, I still had to avoid some of the larger obstacles.

The fork’s 1,340g is quite a significant increase over the Grail’s standard 380g rigid fork, and it would be remiss of me to claim this weight wasn’t noticeable when climbing.

DT Swiss’ design is also 20g heavier than the 50mm travel Fox Tapercast and 90g heavier than the 40mm Cane Creek Invert CS fork.

Girona’s gravel climbs are particularly steep in places. If you’re aiming to get up them as quickly as possible, a suspension fork might cost you a little time.

But with the F 132 in the open setting, climbing wasn’t noticeably slower than with the fork locked out.

The latter certainly feels more solid under me, especially out of the saddle, but I’d be very interested to see comparative climbing times for locked vs open and the energy cost of both.

While we’re on the subject of weight, you can add even more to your front end via the mounts for bikepacking bags. This is a first, Canyon claims, for a gravel suspension fork and each side will take a 3kg load.

Descending –

The F 132, and gravel suspension in general, starts making a lot of sense when descending.

I don’t claim to be the best off-road bike handler, but over Girona’s technical terrain with plenty of rocky sections, I felt fully in control.

While lightweight MTB forks often suffered fore/aft flutter, especially under braking, there was no sign of this on the DT Swiss fork. It’s impressive that the engineers have worked such good stiffness levels into the design.

I wasn’t suddenly shredding, but the confidence the fork gave allowed me to push my speeds and line choices beyond where I would usually ride. That is a tangible performance benefit, though more of this could have been exploited.

Two key parts of the fork’s build will influence this.

PlainGain is DT Swiss’ gravel adapted damping cartridge. The LineAir SL spring cartridge features a positive and negative air chamber.

With my fork pumped up to 106psi and the rebound set 6 clicks from open, the F 132 fork delivered just what I wanted on fast, flowing descents and slower technical sections.

The front tyre felt well planted when I found bumpy ground mid-corner. With a rigid fork, I would probably have been knocked off line, which does nothing for my confidence. 

When I found some bigger roots to hit, I felt the travel ramped up with a very nice progression and despite charging a little too quickly into some rocky sections, I never bottomed out. 

In fact, the assured feeling that the F 132 brought improved my experience of the Traka 100 immeasurably. 

My Canyon Grail test bike was set up in consumer-ready spec with 40mm Schwalbe G One RS tyres. Anyone with a weather app knew that a slick tyre was not the choice for such wet conditions, and I had some rather scary moments when hitting slick mud.

The fork enabled me to reduce my tyre pressure just a little more to squeeze out every last drop of grip. That said, I would have loved a wider front tyre.

The fork is also officially rated for 50mm tyres, though I saw pro setups with a 57mm tyre squeezed between the stanchions. 

Safe to say, I would have benefited greatly from a wider front tyre with a wet weather tread pattern. 

Pushcontrol lockout – work to be done

The only fault that I could find with the fork came at the lockout, which simply didn’t function well as the ride progressed.

Granted, the Traka 100km race took place in some of the grottiest conditions imaginable. Torrential rain began in the opening 10 minutes, turning Girona’s gravel roads into a sandy sludge.

It didn’t take many kilometres for the Pushcontrol lever to feel vague. Five hours and two thunderstorms later, and the remote lever had ceased to work at all.

Speaking to the other journalists on Canyon’s Traka press trip, this was a common issue which I hope DT Swiss addresses immediately.

While you may think me harsh for critiquing a component that failed in such conditions, gravel is often raced and ridden in adverse weather, so parts designed for the discipline must be up to scratch.

DT Swiss, however, may already have an answer. The brand suggested that integration into electronic shifters may be possible in the future. But until then, I hope a more robust mechanical system is developed.

Worth the price?

The DT Swiss F 132 is currently a Canyon-only product, though it will become a standalone DT Swiss product in 2026. It is also only available on the Grail CFR Rift at €8,999 (UK and USD pricing TBC). An equivalent rigid Grail CFR, with 2×12 GRX 825 Di2, costs £6,999 / $7,499 / €7,499.

This €1,500 price increase is significant, though I’m not sure how much it factors into the buying decisions of those with such deep pockets.

And given the proprietary design of Canyon’s steerer tube, you’ve no other option to add suspension to an existing Grail CFR.

The fork makes a clear improvement to my technical abilities on a gravel bike. That is worth a lot when it comes to the general enjoyment of a gravel ride.

I also like the sleek aesthetics, which look less jarring on a drop bar bike than most gravel suspension.

Cane Creek has done something similar with its Invert CS fork, but this still has an externally routed brake hose, which doesn’t look as good to my eye.

However, due to the current teething issues with the lockout lever, along with the significant price jump from the rigid Grail CFR, I would struggle to see myself buying the Grizl CFR Rift.

That said, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the 2026 aftermarket prices.

Your chosen bike frame and wheelset both affect speed in Zwift, so it makes sense for racers to do a little research and choose the best tool for the job.

Charts last updated May 22, 2025

Time Savings Over 1 Hour (300W)

We begin with a simple chart showing how much time a particular wheelset will save you across 1 hour of riding a road bike at 300W (4 W/kg) compared to the stock Zwift 32mm Carbon wheels.

The chart is sorted from the best-performing wheels to the worst, and you can sort based on flat performance or climb performance.

Time Savings Over 1 Hour (150W)

This chart is just like the one above, except the test was run at just 150W (2 W/kg). We would expect to see the flat performance rankings stay the same, while climb rankings may show lighter wheels moving up vs the 300W chart above.

Read all about Bike Upgrades here >

Use the toggle to sort based on flat performance or climb performance.

Takeaways

We don’t see any major rankings changes vs the 300W tests when it comes to flat performance, but that’s no surprise. At both power levels, on flat ground, aero performance is still the driving factor.

When you compare the climb rankings for 300W vs 150W, though, you’ll see quite a few changes. And this is what we expected: at 150W (2 W/kg) up Alpe du Zwift, a wheel’s aero performance doesn’t really matter, since you’re traveling so slowly (~7.7 kph). But at 300W your speed almost doubles (~14.8 kph), so aero performance is more of a factor.

With that said, it’s worth mentioning that wheel choice matters more on the flats than the climbs. The difference in time savings of the top 10 climbing wheels is very small (5.1 seconds at 150W) vs a flat performance gap of 13.6 seconds at 150W.

Time Savings, Stacked (150W vs 300W)

Next, we have one of our favorite charts, ranking wheels based on total time savings across our flat and climbing tests on road bikes. This chart lets you easily see the best all-around performers, and whether their performance leans to the aero or climbing side.

Use the toggle to see data at 150W vs 300W.

Takeaways

As you toggle between 150W and 300W, what you see is the more “aero all-arounders” moving up the list a bit, while the lighter, less aero all-arounders get bumped down.

Notice how the disc wheels’ heavy weight and poor climbing performance pushes them well down this list. This is why, if your road race includes any significant climbing, you’re probably better off going with a lighter non-disc wheelset.

Time Savings at 300W (TT vs Road)

So far, all of the charts you’ve seen have been based on results using a road bike frame. But Zwift’s March 2025 performance adjustments included something we’ve never seen before: Zwift made disc wheels perform better on TT frames than road frames. Specifically, the wheels have a lower CdA on TT frames than on road frames.

So if you’re picking a wheelset for a TT or TTT race, you’ll want to pay attention to this chart, as it shows the boosted performance of the disc wheels. Wheelsets are ranked by their flat (aero) performance, since that’s where we see the variation caused by the CdA changes.

Takeaways

The big takeaway here is that disc wheels make sense for flat and rolling TT races, while they probably don’t provide enough of an advantage on road frames to be used in anything except the flattest races.

Compared to the fastest non-disc wheels (ENVE 8.9), the fastest disc wheels (Zipp 858/Super9) are 13.9 seconds faster across an hour of flat riding on a TT frame. That’s a big time gap. But on a road frame, the disc wheels are only 1.8 seconds faster, a difference which is easily overshadowed by the ENVE 8.9 wheels being almost 11 seconds faster across an hour of climbing.

Testing Methodology

The data above was generated using our standard bot testing procedure. Our bot rides alone on Zwift, set to 75kg weight, 183cm height, using the Zwift Carbon frame for road bike tests and the Zwift TT frame for TT tests.

The aero (flat) test route is Tempus Fugit, the flattest course on Zwift, while the weight (climbing) test is done on Alpe du Zwift since it’s a long, steep, and fairly steady climb.

All of the data used by these charts comes from our public Google sheet of test data.

Questions or Comments?

We’d love to know what you think of these charts, including suggestions for improvements. Share your comments below.

Your chosen bike frame and wheelset both affect speed in Zwift, so it makes sense for racers to do a little research and choose the best tool for the job.

Charts last updated May 22, 2025

Time Savings Over 1 Hour (Stage 0 Frames)

We begin with a simple chart showing how much time a particular frame will save you across 1 hour of riding at 300W (4 W/kg) compared to the stock Zwift Carbon frame. These are “stage 0” frames, meaning no performance upgrades have been applied.

The chart is sorted from the best-performing frames to the worst, and you can sort based on flat performance or climb performance.

Takeaways

When sorted by flat performance, you can easily see that the top 10 frames are very close on flat ground, separated by less than 3 seconds across an hour. There is also a big chunk of bikes near the low end (26 of them, in fact) which are all rather slow on flats, but perform within 2 seconds of each other. Our guess is they all have the same frame CdA value in Zwift, and any time differences are due to frame weight variation.

If you sort by climb performance, the speed falloff from one bike to the next is more even across the board. The S-Works Tarmac SL8 is king of the hill, but remember, this is before any performance upgrades. Let’s move on to the next chart to see which fully-upgraded frame climbs fastest!

Time Savings Over 1 Hour (Stage 5 Frames)

This chart is just like the one above, except these are “stage 5” frames, meaning all possible performance upgrades have been applied.

Read all about Bike Upgrades here >

Use the toggle to sort based on flat performance or climb performance.

Takeaways

We don’t see any major rankings changes in terms of flat performance, but that’s no surprise. The Bike Upgrades system is structured in a way that increases performance differences between different frame types as upgrades progress.

So climbing bikes become even stronger climbers, and aero bikes become even more aero.

Sort the results by Climb Performance and you can see obvious evidence of this. The all-arounder S-Works Tarmac SL8 is no longer king of the hill at stage 5, as the Aethos has received more weight reduction upgrades than the Tarmac.

The other two climbing road bikes (Bridgestone Anchor and Trek Emonda) move up dramatically in the rankings compared to their stage 0 counterparts, handily beating the S-Works Tarmac.

The takeaway? If you want a true, pure climbing weapon in Zwift, you’ll want to upgrade the S-Works Aethos.

Time Savings, Stacked (Stage 0 vs Stage 5 Frames)

Next, we have one of our favorite charts, ranking frames based on total time savings across our flat and climbing tests. This chart lets you easily see the best all-around performers, and whether their performance leans to the aero or climbing side.

Use the toggle to see data for stage 0 frames, or fully-upgraded stage 5 frames.

Takeaways

The non-climbing bikes don’t move around a lot between the stage 0 and stage 5 versions of this chart, and this makes sense, since they all receive the same upgrades.

What you do see, though, is the climbing bikes moving up the rankings by several slots for stage 5, since they gain so much time on the climbs thanks to their weight reduction upgrades.

Time Savings for Climbing (2 W/kg vs 4 W/kg)

Some readers have asked us to compute time gaps at lower power numbers, which is a perfectly reasonable request. Making this change has the interesting effect on climb times of making lightweight bikes move up the rankings while the more aero-focused bikes drop.

This is because, as you reduce your climbing speed, having an aero bike delivers less benefit.

Below we’ve charted climb time gaps for both 2 W/kg and 4 W/kg, and you can toggle between those two power levels to see how the rankings change. (The 2 W/kg time gap is compared to the Zwift Carbon frame at 2 W/kg, while the 4 W/kg time gap is compared to the Zwift Carbon frame at 4 W/kg). Times given are for stage 0 (un-upgraded) frames.

Takeaways

At 2 W/kg, the pure climber S-Works Aethos just barely outclimbs the slightly heavier (but more aero) S-Works Tarmac SL8. Bump it up to 4 W/kg, and the aero gains of the Tarmac bring it over the line ahead of the Aethos.

If you’re a lower-powered rider, this chart may help you decide to focus on lighter-weight frames for races or PR efforts where significant climbing is involved.

What About the Tron Bike?

The Tron bike (Zwift Concept 1) is not listed above because it’s impossible to test the Tron frame without also testing the Tron wheels, since they are inseparable.

What we do know is the Tron is not a strong climber, but it’s among the fastest setups for flat and rolling courses.

Here’s a post comparing the Tron bike against top-performing frames + wheel pairings >

Testing Methodology

The data above was generated using our standard bot testing procedure. Our bot rides alone on Zwift, set to 75kg weight, 183cm height, using the Zwift 32mm Carbon wheels. The aero (flat) test route is Tempus Fugit, the flattest course on Zwift, while the weight (climbing) test is done on Alpe du Zwift since it’s a long, steep, and fairly steady climb.

All of the data used by these charts comes from our public Google sheet of test data.

Questions or Comments?

We’d love to know what you think of these charts, including suggestions for improvements. Share your comments below.

Name: Gökçe Paul

Hometown: Hannover, Lower Saxony in Germany 

How did you get into cycling? My partner introduced me to cycling and got me my first road bike in 2019, but I didn’t really start cycling regularly until the Covid pandemic, when my gym was closed and my partner set up Zwift for me instead. Then I started enjoying races and going all out, which was a new experience for me. 

How many years have you been racing on Zwift? I started racing on Zwift in 2021, so almost four years now. In April 2021 I did my first round of ZRL in a women’s B team. 

Are you part of a Virtual team? I am a member of Team Coalition and my elite racing team is Coalition Alpha.

What do you love most about racing? I like the varying intensity and adapting to the different efforts. Especially if it’s a hilly or rolling terrain.

What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? I find points races the most interesting. 

What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? I liked the Iceni Race series and the Tour de Boudicca.

What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? When I did my first Iceni Race series in 2022, it was spring and during that time I already started riding outside again. So I could enjoy some nice weather outside and race on Zwift at the same time. 

What is your favourite food to eat post-race? I don’t have a favourite food to eat after a race, because most of the time I don’t really feel hungry, so I usually have my regular dinner, but nothing that has a special connection to racing or working out. 

What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Focus on the first few minutes and don’t give up too early, it will get easier later (most likely…)

Don’t expect to win races from the very beginning, it takes practice to understand the Zwift mechanics. Also, if you come from road racing, you have to get used to the totally different efforts on Zwift. It’s more comparable to cyclocross in terms of the physical stress. 

Where can people follow your racing adventures? I am active on Strava and Instagram.

For most, breaking the one-hour barrier up Alpe du Zwift is quite the feat. But what does it take to break the 40-minute barrier? Find out in this week’s top video.

Also included in this week’s picks are videos featuring solo breakaways, sprint finish tactics, a first ride on a DIY smart frame, and a guide to powerups.

Got a Great Zwift Video?

Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!

Team Ineos Grenadiers is set to ride a special limited-edition Pinarello Dogma F on stage 14 of the 2025 Giro d’Italia.

The custom paintjob has been created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brand’s first Grand Tour stage and overall classification win, taken by Fausto Bertoglio at the 1975 Giro.

The Italian won for the Jollj Ceramica team aboard a Pinarello frameset on the stage 14 individual time trial that year, before triumphing overall.

He went on to hold off Spanish climber Francisco Galdós for the Maglia Rosa, battling to the top of the Stelvio Pass to cross the line 41 seconds ahead. A sign of the quality of the field, Felice Gimondi (+6:18) and Roger De Vlaeminck (+7:39) finished a distant third and fourth in the general classification.

Saturday’s stage was chosen to unveil the bike, given the flag is scheduled to drop outside Pinarello’s factory in Treviso after the usual ceremonial roll out.

Team Ineos will ride the blue-and-off-white framesets (‘Gloss Midnight Blue’ and ‘Borealis Luxter Venice’, according to Pinarello), the colours chosen to resemble Bertoglio’s original blue steel frameset.

In line with the team’s suppliers, the full build features a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 drivetrain and custom-painted Princeton CarbonWorks Wake wheels to match the frameset.

Customers have a choice of buying a frameset or a complete bike from tomorrow (Saturday 24 May), but must place orders through a Pinarello dealer by Sunday 15 June. 

Pinarello says this Edizione Speciale is the first of a run of limited-edition bikes, set to celebrate moments in the brand’s history. We’ll wait to see which moment it chooses next.

This weekend we’re featuring two very different group rides which are both hosted on France’s newish Knights of the Roundabout route. We’ve also got two chase races on our list, and we round it out with a charity event.

DWGZ Hot Hundo – Get Gritty!

Bikealicious Climbalicious

RiZZRL Memorial Day Race

LEVEL Racing – Chase Race – Outer Scotland

Spin & Win – Support our BIKEPARK + KLUB kit unlock

How We Make Our Picks

We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:

• Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
• Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
• Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
• Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
• Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
• Is it for a good cause?
• Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
• Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?

In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!

Smartwatches are a great way to record your bike rides, with many featuring built-in heart rate monitors and the ability to connect to ANT+ and Bluetooth accessories such as power meters.

While they’re not as specialised as bike computers, their versatility means they can be used on or off the bike – whether that’s checking health metrics or tracking runs and hikes.

There are different types of smartwatches, with slimmer and lighter designs typically catering more toward data capture, while larger designs usually feature navigation.

We’ve trawled through Amazon to find the best deals on smartwatches, so if you’re in the market, check out the selection below.

Amazon smartwatch deals – quick links

• Garmin Forerunner 255 – save 29% (US) / 33% (UK)
• Garmin fēnix 8 – save 17% (US) / 14% (UK)
• Apple Watch Series 10 – save 23% (UK only)
• Garmin Venu 3S – save 22% (US) / 24% (UK)
• Suunto 9 Peak Pro – save 26% (UK only)
• Garmin Instinct 2 – save 32% (US) / 18% (UK)

Garmin Forerunner 255 – $349.99 $247.50 (save 29%) £299.99  £201 (save 33%)

While the Forerunner 255 has been replaced by the Forerunner 265, it still offers plenty of up-to-date features, including HRV status and Garmin Pay, which means you can leave your card at home.

It uses GPS, Glonass and Galileo satellite networks tracking, so it should be accurate in recording your rides and activities.

Garmin says the watch provides up to 14 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 30 hours in GPS mode.

• Buy the Garmin Forerunner 255 for $247.50 from Amazon.com
• Buy the Garmin Forerunner 255 for £201 from Amazon UK

Garmin fēnix 8 – $1,199.99 $999.99 (save 17%) £949.99 £821.05 (save 14%)

The fēnix 8 is Garmin’s latest adventure watch, which features full navigation and GPS, Glonass and Galileo satellite network connectivity.

This generation of the watch features an AMOLED touchscreen and tactile buttons for easy navigation, gloved or ungloved.

Garmin says the watch has up to 29 days in smartwatch mode, and up to 84 hours in GPS mode.

If you’re heading out into the unknown this summer, then this Fēnix would make a great partner.

• Buy the Garmin fēnix 8 for $999.99 from Amazon US
• Buy the Garmin fēnix 8 for £821.05 from Amazon UK

Apple Watch Series 10 – £429.99 £329.99 (save 23%)

If you’re already hooked up to the Apple ecosystem, then this watch makes an excellent companion for activity tracking and day-to-day use.

Apple has focused more on fitness aspects with the Series 10, with ECG testing and GPS tracking being the tip of the iceberg.

The brand has also given the latest model 50m of water resistance, meaning this could be your partner for any upcoming triathlons (or freedives, if you’re so inclined).

Away from the fitness side of things, you can expect this watch to offer great usability and connectivity to your iPhone.

• Buy the Apple Watch Series 10 for £329.99 from Amazon UK

Garmin Venu 3S – $449.99 $349.99 (save 22%) £449.99 £344.09 (save 24%)

The Venu 3S is more of a lifestyle watch, with a sleek design that wouldn’t look out of place at a formal function.

However, it packs a fitness punch with built-in sports apps to help you get the most out of your sessions and GPS tracking for your rides.

The AMOLED touchscreen should make the watch clear and easy to navigate, with 8GB of storage enabling you to download your favourite songs to play while out on your ride without a mobile connection.

Garmin says the Venu 3S lasts for up to 10 days when in a lower power-consuming mode.

• Buy the Garmin Venu 3S for $349.99 from Amazon US
• Buy the Garmin Venu 3S for £344.09 from Amazon UK

Suunto 9 Peak Pro – £270 £199 (save 26%)

The 9 Peak Pro is a minimalist GPS multisport watch that has a claimed 300 hours of continuous workout recording and a water resistance of up to 100 meters.

It is built from high-quality materials, with sapphire glass and stainless steel used in the construction.

The 9 Peak Pro has navigation built in and can record 95+ sports.

• Buy the Suunto 9 Peak Pro for £199 from Amazon UK

Garmin Instinct 2 – $299 $205 (save 32%) £219.99 £179.49 (save 18%)

Garmin claims the Instinct 2 is shock-resistant and waterproof down to 100m, making it a seriously tough watch.

It has a built-in 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter, plus it uses multiple global navigation satellite systems, including GPS, GLONASS and Galileo.

Garmin says it should last up to 28 days in smartwatch mode, and up to 30 hours in GPS mode.

If you’re looking to record multiple sports, the Instinct 2 could be a good option for riding, running, hiking and more.

• Buy the Garmin Instinct 2 for from Amazon US
• Buy the Garmin Instinct 2 from Amazon UK

Carbon fibre has found its way into every corner of the cycling world – from frames and wheels to bottle cages, headset spacers and even tyre levers, cyclists the world over are gripped by composite mania.

But this new addition to Ekoi’s range might be the most fabulously unnecessary yet: meet the Ekoi Carbon Pen.

Retailing for £39.99/$49.99 – or bundled free with purchases over $180 – this lightweight scribbler is designed in “genuine carbon fibre.”

• The best gifts for cyclists in 2025 – for every budget
• Why are cyclists obsessed with carbon fibre? Check out our guide comparing carbon, aluminium, steel and titanium frames

According to Ekoi – a brand better-known for its extensive range of cycling kit, helmets, shoes and accessories – the pen features “a racing design” that “champions lightness, efficiency, and control.”

The rubberised grip is said to be inspired by the “profile of a bike tire, ensuring optimal comfort with every use.”

Fittingly, the pen is manufactured in Taiwan, home to the world’s foremost experts in composite manufacturing.

Po-faced marketing speak aside, the pen is delightfully silly – nobody needs a carbon fibre pen, but I know many cyclists who would delight in owning this slightly daft composite ephemera.

Sure, you could buy roughly 159 pens – enough to write several lifetimes’ worth of stories about cycling accessories – from fellow French pen maker Bic for the price of one Ekoi Carbon Pen. But that’s hardly the point.

If you’re looking for a gift for the cyclist who claims to have it all, they’re wrong, because they don’t own this pen yet.

See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.

Orbea claims its new flagship Rallon is not a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of two.

The Rallon is a big-hitting enduro race bike, but the latest generation boasts downhill credentials too, winning a World Cup piloted by Tahneé Seagrave before its official launch.

But can one frame boast the capability to be a world-beating downhill bike and be pedalled uphill as an enduro bike?

Wheel of fortune

The first Rallon was introduced in 2013 and it has been revamped numerous times, most recently in 2024.

That iteration could be run as a full 29er or as a mullet setup with mixed wheel sizes, so it’s no surprise to see the latest Rallon enduro bike with 29in wheels fitted. There’s also the option to run a mullet setup by fitting a different shock yoke (which Orbea is calling a Gravity Link).

Strangely, though, the DH version is only available with a Gravity link for a 27.5in rear wheel, despite the chainstays and all other architecture being ready to accommodate the larger wheel.

Travel options

The new Rallon can run either 170mm travel for enduro and bike-park riding or 200mm for full downhill duties. The travel is changed via the Gravity Link, which is a plate that bolts into the frame to form the lower shock mount.

This plate is the key to the Rallon’s versatility. It’s used to change the geometry, wheel size, suspension travel (with a different shock) and suspension progression.

The enduro-specific Gravity Links (providing 170mm travel with a 205×62.5mm shock) have four possible adjustment positions – high/low bottom bracket height, and greater or lesser progressivity in the shock actuation ratio.

The downhill Gravity Link works with a longer shock to provide the full 200mm (eight inches) of suspension travel we’ve come to expect from a downhill bike. It does not offer adjustable BB height, but the shock actuation can be switched between 30% and 25%

Adjustment

Orbea says this is the most adjustable bike it has ever made and that there are around 250 setup combinations. In addition to the three Gravity Links on offer (DH 27.5in, Enduro 27.5in and Enduro 29in), there are also multiple headset cups offering 0.75 degrees of head-angle adjustment either side of the straight-cupped middle setting with 63.7 degrees.

Suspended animation

Orbea’s OOLAB technicians have tuned the bike with the help of long-time enduro and downhill team rider Martin Maes and are proud of the results. The Rallon has minimal pedal kickback thanks to low anti-squat numbers, which help the bike in the rough terrain; the anti-rise characteristics are designed to help it remain neutral when braking, just offering enough anti-rise to assist the bike in holding its shape under heavy braking.

Like the outgoing bike, the suspension on the new Rallon sports a single-pivot axle path, defined by the position of the main pivot above the bottom bracket.

The bike sports a concentric pivot on the dropout to help manage the bike’s braking prowess in the rough stuff. A rocker link actuates the shock, providing 170mm travel with the shorter shock on the enduro bike or a DH-capable 200mm with a longer shock.

Weighing in

The new Rallon features a shuttle to add weight to your bike, with options for one, two or three weights (395g, 95g, and 93g respectively), which bolt to the Gravity Link where the lower shock mount attaches.

We saw Tahnée Seagrave’s race-winning Rallon in downhill guise at the first round of the downhill World Cup in Poland, and it’s suspected that she’s running over half a kilo of ballast in the shuttle. 

Increasing the amount of weight low down on your bike can improve stability thanks to lowering the centre of gravity.

Adding weight to the frame also increases the ratio of sprung to unsprung mass, which should in theory reduce the input required from the rider when the bike hits a bump, improving how well the suspension works.

Martin Mae’s testing on a heavily modified Wild eMTB test mule revealed he was fastest with 1kg of weights bolted above the BB.

We don’t know the weights of the new bikes yet, but the 2024 bike weighed 15kg, so we’re expecting it to be heavier but in the same ballpark.

Size matters

The new Rallon is available in small, medium, large and XL. The large offers 474mm reach in the DH setting and Orbea tells us each size will be larger or smaller in 25mm increments from there.

The downhill setup sees the bike with a 63.7-degree head angle in the middle setting, whereas in enduro guise, with the enduro Gravity Link for either a 27.5in or 29in rear wheel, the Rallon has a 28mm BB drop and a 64.25-degree head angle, with the steepest angle-adjusting headset cups fitted.

There are two chainstay options, which you can specify when you buy the bike – the shorter and ‘more playful’ 442mm or the 450mm racer option.

Interestingly, these are not specced according to the size of the bike. Instead, the downhill bikes will come with 450mm chainstays and the enduro bikes will ship with 442mm chainstays (unless requested otherwise).

This suggests both chainstay options will fit 27.5in and 29in wheel sizes, because the enduro bike will ship with 29in wheels front and rear as standard, and the downhill bike will only be available with a mixed wheel-size setup, with a 27.5in wheel at the rear.

Orbea’s engineers shared that using flip chips is impossible at the rear (thanks to the concentric pivot) and it would create potential structural issues to attempt this on the front of the chainstay where it bolts to the frame pivot.

Orbea is proud of the Rallon’s low standover height and ‘steep and deep’ seat tube, saying all riders should be able to run a 240mm dropper post using this bike.

The seat tube angle is the only part of the Rallon that looks out of place on a DH bike, with most downhill rigs’ seat tube angles coming in considerably slacker than the Rallon’s 79.1 degrees.

The Rallon also has in-frame storage, which Orbea calls the LOCKR.

Smart shocks

Orbea is keen to stress how effective the Fox Neo is when paired with the Rallon on the top spec E-LTD model.

When the Neo shock is activated, sensors in the brake calipers can unlock and open the suspension’s damping in the blink of an eye. Orbea says this enables the Rallon, with its downhill credentials, to ride efficiently on flatter or ascending sections of trail, while meaning it shines on the rough stuff too.

Bonus features

Orbea has incorporated a storage box into the Rallon’s carbon down tube, which is useful for enduro riding but perhaps looks out of place on a downhill bike.

In the enduro guise, a multi-tool with 2, 3, 4 and 5mm Allen keys fits magnetically onto the Gravity Link and there is a 6mm Allen key in the rear axle.

The three weights that bolt onto the Gravity Link are included with all builds (both enduro and DH).

The frame runs on sealed bearings, but Orbea has handily incorporated some tough-looking external rubber seals to provide extra protection from dirt and water. There are smart protective covers over the chainstays and the Gravity Link under the BB shell.

Orbea Rallon spec and pricing details

Four models are available in the new Rallon range: three enduro builds and one downhill spec.

The enduro builds start with the most basic model, the E-10, followed by the E-team and the top-spec E-LTD, which includes the electronic Fox Neo suspension.

Orbea Rallon E-10: £5,399 / $5,699 / €5,399

Orbea Rallon E-Team: £6,899 / $7,199 / €6,999

Orbea Rallon E-LTD: £9,999 / $9,999 / €9,999

Orbea Rallon DH-LTDL: £7,899 / $8,299 / €7,999

Zipp’s new 303 SW and 353 NSW wheels blend aero technology, redesigned rims and an electronic tyre pressure sensor, making them the brand’s fastest all-round wheelsets to date.

The 303 SW and 353 NSW replace Zipp’s renowned 303 Firecrest and 353 NSW wheelsets.

With revamped rims that have been made tougher and lighter, plus the new integrated wireless electronic tyre pressure sensor system, are Zipp’s new wheels the sign of tech to come or a step too far in data-driven riding?

That’s something I aim to find out as soon as my test set of the new 303 SWs arrives.

• Zipp and Goodyear release 40mm road tyres, joining cycling’s latest trend 

Zipp 353 NSW – sawtooths and sensors

The new 353 NSW comes with an evolution of the undulating ‘sawtooth’ rim shape. It’s the latest iteration of Zipp’s waved inside edge, inspired by the tubercles of a Humpback Whale fin.

Zipp says the rim, which changes from 35mm to 40mm deep, is a shape that brings the aerodynamic benefits of a deeper rim. The effect is increased control in crosswinds, associated with a smaller rim sidewall.

The design follows the previous-generation wheels, with a varied dimple surface. Zipp claims these patterned dimples improve performance in crosswinds and straight-line speed.

So far, so similar. It is, however, what’s under the skin that brings the performance improvements, according to Zipp. The 353 NSW comes with a revised carbon layup and design. Zipp claims it has been able to improve the rim impact strength by 16%.

The rim is a hookless, flat-sided shape with a 25mm internal width. Zipp says this is optimised for 30mm road tyres. The 353 NSW has a claimed 1,310g complete weight (including rim tape, sensor unit/valves and lockrings).

The 353 NSWs also get a new ZR1 SL hubset, which is 30g lighter than its predecessor’s hubs, with stainless steel bearings as standard (ceramic is an option).

The wheelset sports a 66-point engagement freehub, along with a new, lighter hub body.

Zipp hubs

For the first time, Zipp is making the ZR1 SL hubset available aftermarket with the ceramic bearing option. Zipp has stuck with J-bend spokes rather than shifting to straight-pull, a decision that should appeal to wheel builders.

The ZR1 hubs are approved for use with light-assist electric bikes for road or gravel, if the motor’s torque does not exceed 60Nm.

The hubs are available with SRAM XDR, Shimano HG11, Shimano Microspline and Campagnolo N3W freehubs, with 20-, 24- and 28-hole options.

Prices are £250 / $250 / €280 / AU$380 for the front hub and £450 / $450 / €500 / AU$680 for the rear hub.

Zipp 303 SW – tech-laden go-anywhere hoops

The 303 SW comes with a new rim profile that follows on from the massively wide 303 XPLR design.

The new rim remains 40mm deep with a broad 25mm internal width. Zipp says this is optimised for 30-35mm road tyres.

Utilising a wide rim design results in high aero efficiency and low rolling resistance on a wider tyre, according to Zipp. It’s designed for modern road riding at lower tyre pressures.

The rim’s profile provides low drag and an improved transition between rim and tyre. Zipp also claims a wide-rim stance means less tyre deflection, helping to reduce rolling resistance.

Zipp tells us the benefits are increased volume and lower pressures to smooth out the ride. That means they absorb the shakes and bumps rather than transmitting them to the rider, resulting in less fatigue.

The 303 SW has also seen improvements to the carbon layup and rim design. Here, it results in a 10 per cent improvement in impact strength. The wheels also have a refined sidewall shape that Zipp claims helps to shield the tyre from impacts that would otherwise cause a pinch flat.

The 303 SW has an updated ZR1 hubset with an all-new stainless steel bearing set for improved durability. The claimed weight for the 303SW, including tubeless tape, sensors and valves, is 1,440g.

Sensors built in

Both the road-specific rim of the 353 NSW and the all-road-ready 303 SW are equipped with a Zipp AXS wheel sensor, a development from the original Quarq TyreWiz.

Rather than the sensor being attached to the valve, however, here it’s housed in the rim itself via a pocket. As the name suggests, the Zipp AXS sensor integrates seamlessly into the AXS ecosystem.

However, because it has a Bluetooth transmitter, it can transmit to any Garmin, Wahoo or Hammerhead head unit. Hammerhead, like Zipp, also comes under the SRAM umbrella, which means the Hammerhead Karoo gets a native-specific screen. This shows independent tyre pressures, with graphic depictions alongside the key data.

Data analysis

This system enables you to both monitor and record tyre pressures over a ride. This means you’ll get fair warning if something isn’t right, a slow puncture, for instance. Or, if you hit a pothole hard, you’ll be able to tell instantly whether you’ve lost pressure.

It will also enable riders to experiment with and fine-tune pressures on their setup, with post-ride analysis comparing speeds and pressures, for instance. It will be great for cobbled courses and gravel routes.

The sensor unit also has an LED light built in, so you can tell the status of your tyres in an instant. If the LED is green, it’s at the pressure you set, and you’re good to go. If it lights up red, you’re too low. It also means you don’t need a pump with a gauge. The sensor light will simply turn green when it gets to your optimal pressure.

The sensor is powered by a CR2032 coin cell, the same as AXS shifters. The battery has a larger capacity than the original TyreWiz. Zipp claims more than 400 days of use thanks to a larger battery size and firmware upgrades to the original TyreWiz program.

The valve is specific to the sensor because it features a small cross-drilled port from which the sensor takes its readings.

Not tubeless-only

Although the wheels come set up for tubeless with these valves, if you aren’t a tubeless fan, both the 353 NSWs and 303 SWs can be run with tubes.

You will need Zipp’s TPU smart tube, which comes with the same cross-drilled valve. A single tube is included with the wheels, plus a sealant syringe with a needle adaptor that helps the sealant bypass the valve and go straight into the tyre.

Zipp says the valve won’t get blocked up and doesn’t need cleaning because of the Venturi effect created by the valve design.

The 353 NSW comes with a 114kg/250lb maximum system weight (rider and bicycle). The 303 SW has a 120kg/265lb maximum system weight.

Prices

The wheels are available with XDR or Shimano freehubs as standard, with a Campagnolo driver body sold separately.

The 353 NSW wheels are priced at:

• Front wheel, including sensor – £1,550 / $1,950 / €1,750 / AU$3,350
• Rear wheel including sensor – £1,950 / $2,350 / €2,150 / AU$4,040

The 303 SW wheels are priced at:

• Front wheel, including sensor – £800 / $1,050 / €900 / AU$ 1,600
• Rear wheel including sensor – £900 / $1,150 / €1,000 / AU$ 1,750

Zipp’s 454 NSW and 858 NSW get minor upgrades

Zipp’s aero-optimised deep-section wheelsets, the sawtooth-profile 454 NSW and 858 NSW, have both received upgrades to the new ZR1 SL hubset with ceramic bearings as standard.

The remaining specification and pricing remain the same, while the upgrade to the wheelsets sees a 30g reduction in overall weight across both models.

Lifetime warranty

Zipp’s lifetime warranty covers you against impact damage under normal use. So, the 353 NSWs, as purely road wheels, are fully covered – provided you don’t head for your local trail centre or skatepark and start launching them skywards.

The 303 SW is classified as a road/all-round/gravel wheelset, so in theory it’s covered for more rugged riding.

Zipp’s latest collaboration with Goodyear sees the introduction of a pair of new models, including a 40mm slick road tyre in line with the recent trend for wider rubber.

The Indiana-based wheel specialist has announced the new tyres alongside the arrival of Zipp’s new 353 NSW and 303 SW wheels.

The Goodyear Vector R XPLR is a new wide road option, while the Eagle F1 Z29 Aero is an aerodynamic racing tyre. There are also more size options for Goodyear’s existing gravel tyres.

• Zipp’s new wheels feature built-in tyre pressure sensor – is this a sign of bike tech to come?

Goodyear Vector R XPLR

The new Vector R XPLR is aerodynamically optimised for Zipp’s super-wide 303 XPLR wheels with their 32mm internal rim width. However, Zipp says the Vector R XPLR is compatible with the 25mm internal width.

It’s a lightly textured slick race tyre based on the Vector R but expanded to a 40mm width. The tyre uses a supple 120 TPI casing, and lightweight R: Shield and M: Wall protection layers, with the surface made using Goodyear’s Dynamic: UHP compound.

The Vector R XPLR has a claimed weight of 440g and a price of $90 / $90 / €100 / AU$155.

Zipp says it’s the ideal fast tyre for cobbles and demanding road surfaces. Could Zipp athletes choose this option over standard road tyres in next year’s classics?

Goodyear Eagle F1 R Z29 Aero

The all-new F1 R Z29 Aero, as the name suggests, is 29mm wide and aerodynamically designed. The tyre has been produced exclusively for the 23mm internal-width TSS rim, as found on the 404 Firecrest and 454 NSW wheelsets.

The tyre is designed to integrate seamlessly with this rim profile. It features a first for Goodyear and Zipp’s tyre ranges, with an aerodynamically optimised shape where the tyre meets the rim.

Aero Lip

Zipp claims this smoothed-out shape eliminates the depression usually found on the tyre and rim interface, greatly reducing aero-drag. It’s an idea we saw on Mavic’s CXR 80 in 2012, although Zipp and Goodyear’s design is an integral part of the tyre design rather than a clip-in insert.

Zipp claims the Aero Lip technology not only improves the aerodynamics, it also enhances the durability, providing a buffer to protect the supple sidewalls from pinch punctures.

Like all of Zipp’s tubeless tyres, the Eagle F1 R Z29 Aero also features the dual-angle bead to make tubeless setup easier and improve pressure retention.

The tyre construction includes a new short-ply 180 TPI (threads per inch) casing that’s claimed to make for a much more compliant tyre. The tyre is protected by an R: Shield anti-puncture belt and uses the Dynamic: UHP compound for a tyre that weighs 270g and measures up exactly 29mm wide on the 404/454 wheelset.

Zipp claims that under its testing with the 454 wheels, the Eagle F1 R Z29 Aero measured lower rolling resistance than a 28mm Schwalbe Pro One, Pirelli P Zero and Vittoria Corsa R between 60 and 70psi.

The tyres are available in 29mm only and priced at £90 / $90 / €100 / AU$155 each.

New gravel tyre options

In response to the trend towards wider tyres for gravel racing, Zipp has added more sizes to the XPLR range. The Zipp Goodyear XPLR Slick now comes in 40 and 45mm options, with the more all-rounder focused XPLR Inter gaining 45mm and 50mm options.

We’re coming up on 2 years since Zwift launched the popular Climb Portal feature at the end of June 2023. Since that time, the library of climbs has grown to 45, with 1-2 typically being added each month.

Riders enjoy the Climb Portal for various reasons: it’s fun to ride GPS-accurate versions of famous climbs, it’s a great way to earn extra XP, and the built-in percentile ranking gives us endless carrots to chase.

But what else could Zwift do with the Climb Portal? How could they make it more compelling? I have some ideas…

Climb Portal Choice

I’ll be the first to admit that some of the suggestions below are minor niggles – small improvements that may not move the needle on Climb Portal engagement.

But there’s one common request from Zwifters that would certainly increase engagement, and that is Climb Portal choice. Just as Zwifters have asked for years for an easy way to access “off-schedule” maps/routes, they’ve been asking for ways to access off-schedule climbs.

It’s good that Zwift features just two climbs, because you always know you’ll have company on those climbs. But climbing is a more solitary event than flattish group rides, and many riders are more interested in completing particular climbs than they are looking for a social experience. We should be able to choose any climb we’d like, from the entire growing library.

Events on Climb Portals

This is related to the suggestion above, and possibly even the easiest way for Zwift to give us Climb Portal choice. Let us create Club events or Meetups for any climb in the library!

Just as we can create Meetups and events for off-schedule maps today, I believe we should be able to create Meetups or events for any Climb Portal.

Gamified Strava Clarification

If you ride a 50% or 75% scaled version of a Portal climb, your entire activity will be tagged as “gamified” on Strava, and all Strava segment matching will be excluded. That means all Strava segments for your entire activity, not just the Climb Portal portion.

It’s good that the scaled-down efforts aren’t being added to the main Strava leaderboards for each climb, but gamifying the whole activity is rather unintuitive. While this is a Strava limitation and not something Zwift can fix, perhaps the popup text could be changed to something like “If you enter the Portal at the selected difficulty, your entire activity will be hidden from Strava Leaderboards.”

So if you want your activity to match with Strava segments, don’t mix in a scaled climb portal effort!

More Accurate Time Estimates

The details that pop up when you select a climb on the homescreen include a time estimate that says it’s the “duration for most riders”:

I see two issues with this estimate:

• It’s the same for everyone, whether you’re a 5 W/kg powerhouse or a 1 W/kg beginner. (For the record, Zwift’s calculation seems to be based on a holding around 2.5 W/kg.)
• It doesn’t change based on the scaling you choose (50%, 75%, 100%, or 125%).

With Zwift now computing personalized route time estimates, applying the same algorithms to this screen seems like a quick and easy upgrade.

Power to the Portal Fix

Zwift unveiled the Power to the Portal route in December 2024, but it seems like every event held on this route has been confusing and buggy.

The idea is a good one: an actual event route that can include whatever Climb Portal you’d like, opening up the possibility to host races on any of the Portal climbs. But in its current state you can’t see which climb is set up for the route for a given event, so you don’t really know what to expect. It’s also unclear where the finish line will be (atop the climb, or at the end of Power to the Portal, which ends in downtown Watopia?) Lastly, Zwifters report being routed to the wrong climb in some events.

Optional Pacerbots

Yes, Holoreplay works in the Climb Portal. But that only gives me a ghost of my previous efforts or the current leaderboard leader.

It would be handy if I could click a button to enable a Robopacer who rides at a steady W/kg for the duration of the climb, giving me a carrot to chase. Bonus points to Zwift if they could make the bot post motivating messages like a coach riding with me during a workout:

• “You’re holding good steady power in the sweet spot zone.”
• “Only 500 meters left. Empty the tank!”
• “Your heart rate is near your max. Are you sure you can keep this pace to the finish?”
• “You’re only 3 seconds behind your PR of 8:45. Want to push it and set a new record?”

2 Kilometer Fix

This one bit Zwift in the butt when they recently featured the Cauberg climb, which at only 800 meters long is the shortest Portal in the game. Riders were spawning in Watopia, which means you’ll reach the top of the climb in under 2km. And as any Zwift nerd knows, the minimum activity length in Zwift is 2km. If you save your ride there at less than 2km, it disappears into the ether!

I think there’s an easy fix for this: just disable the “Save” button and show a warning when you try to save an activity that is less than 2km long. Something like: “Warning: your ride is less than 2km long, and cannot be saved. Please go a bit further if you want to save your activity.”

(It’s a bit baffling, actually, that we’re 10+ years into Zwift’s existence and still able to hit “Save” on a ride that is under 2km and won’t be saved.)

More Useful Maps

The climb profile and overhead views only show nearby portions of the climb – basically about as much road as you can see on the main screen:

This really isn’t terribly useful. In fact, if you look closely, you’ll see that half of what is shown is the portion of the climb I’ve already ridden!

I’d like to see the full climb profile (much like we now have full route profiles) in the minimap, and perhaps a clickable/zoomable overhead map view so I can zoom out if I’d like.

Heroic Unlock

Climb Portal scaling is a cool feature, allowing you to ride the climbs at 50%, 75%, 100%, or 125% of the actual gradient. It’s a handy way to modify the difficulty of a climb to suit your needs or schedule.

The 125% version is locked until you complete the 100% version. There’s one niggle, though, which really only matters on shorter climbs: after completing a Portal climb at 100% difficulty, Zwift won’t let you ride the heroic 125% level unless you quit/save your activity and start a new ride.

As one Zwifter recently told me, “Not a big deal, but a bit annoying if you’re trying to knock out multiple difficulties of a shorter climb in the same ride.”

Different Background Sounds

This one is, admittedly, a bit picky. But I find the ambient background sounds in the Portal too somber, too heavy, for my taste. Listen in below:

That said, I usually ride with Zwift sounds turned off and music or a podcast in my ears, so this isn’t a big deal.

More Portal Achievements

There are three achievement badges for Portal climbs (shown above), but why not give people a badge and even a small XP bonus the first time they complete a particular climb, like we get for completing routes?

(Taking it one step further, I’d love to see smart badges that count how many times I’ve finished each climb. Wouldn’t mind this for routes, too!)

Companion Leaderboards

The Companion app shows your historic times for each leaderboard segment in Zwift. Why not add Portal climb times, so you can see your historic performance on each climb, and your percentile rank?

(Note: Zwift Insider collaborated with Veloviewer to create leaderboards for the Climb Portal.)

Enable Fan View and Teleporting

You can’t fan view or teleport to a rider who is on a Portal climb, which seems a bit silly. I can only assume this was disabled because of how the Portals were designed, but surely there’s a way to make it happen so Portals work like the rest of Zwift, letting riders find each other and ride together.

Better Preview Map/Graphics

The homescreen’s cards for the climb of the day and month are the same image with different colors. Clicking one of the cards brings up the same generic image:

It would be nice if the climbs were graphically represented individually, perhaps with a full climb profile and overhead map like you see for routes:

Got More Ideas?

These are all the good Climb Portal ideas I’ve come up with, or seen from other Zwifters. What about you? Which ideas are your favorite, and do you have other good ideas? Comment below!

Strava has acquired The Breakaway, a cycling training app that offers personalised training, gamification and progress tracking.

The deal follows a period of “accelerated growth” for Strava. Last month, the app acquired Runna, a UK tech company that develops training plans and provides coaching for runners. Yesterday, we learnt of Strava’s huge AI-powered update, which included cracking down on leaderboard cheats.

Strava says The Breakaway aligns closely with its “mission of motivating people to lead an active life”.

It says The Breakaway users who are already connected to Strava upload twice as many activities compared to other Strava cyclists, thanks to its “personalised cycling training, innovative ride analysis, and achievement tracking tools”. 

The training features will be available to Strava subscribers. 

• Revealed: why Strava applies a ‘tax’ to round down your ride distance

“Jordan Kobert, Kyle Yugawa and team have built a brilliant app for cyclists who want to improve and achieve their cycling targets, making it a perfect fit for the Strava subscription, which helps users accomplish their goals,” says Michael Martin, chief executive officer at Strava. 

“When Strava was founded more than 16 years ago, it was created initially for cyclists – these users remain important members of our global community, and we are excited to enhance their experience through this acquisition.”

Strava says this announcement is another signal of the app’s growth, commitment to innovation and its “continued investment in its developer community and open API, which enables third parties to connect and build new experiences for athletes”. 

The Breakaway was ‘incubated’ by Y Combinator, a US startup accelerator and venture capital firm, which has been used to launch more than 5,000 companies. 

• Why I’ve got a big problem with Strava and will never use it again

Unbound Gravel will be streamed live on YouTube for free this year, with the seven-hour show covering the men’s and women’s 200-mile races in full, according to event organisers Life Time Grand Prix.

Coverage of the world’s premier gravel race was limited to social media after FloSports stopped its coverage in 2022. But now Unbound Gravel will be broadcast around the world for free for the first time on 31 May, with the action sandwiched between pre-race analysis and post-race interviews. 

Kimo Seymour, Life Time senior vice president of media and events, says it represents a “major step” in the company’s mission to elevate cycling.

“With real-time storytelling, expert commentary, and a global audience tuning in, we are committed to making this iconic race more accessible and engaging,” Seymour adds. 

Now in its 19th year, Unbound Gravel offers five race distances from 25 to 350 miles and brings more than 4,000 athletes to Kansas’ Flint Hills, including pro gravel racers and WorldTour riders. 

• How Unbound became the most important gravel race in the world

The 200-mile event is the flagship event and the most hotly contested. Last year, the men’s event was won by Lachlan Morton and the women’s event by Rosa Klöser. 

Morton plans to race the longer 350-mile event this year, while Grand Tour stage winner Thomas De Gendt will take on the men’s 200-mile event for the first time. Klöser will return to defend her title. 

Commentary will be provided by injured gravel racer Payson McElveen, US cycling legend Meredith Miller and former professional Bill Elliston.

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame rider Nat Ross and former pro Lauren Hall will provide live updates from the course. 

The show will be broadcast from 10am CT (4pm BST) on Saturday 31 May, on Life Time Grand Prix’s YouTube channel.

Extended highlights of the men’s and women’s races will be published on the YouTube channel within days of the event concluding.

Rearview radars for cyclists can help you keep alert to vehicles approaching from behind.

For a long time, the Garmin Varia rearview radars were the only option, but now there are numerous radar tail lights available.

A type of smart bike light, all radar bike lights work in the same way and can be paired using either ANT+ or BLE to a range of cycling computers, smartphone apps or other devices, which alert you to what, if anything, the radar has detected.

We’ll run through how rearview radars work and who sells them, present some of the best options, and cover the pros and cons of running a cycling radar.

Editor’s note: this article was updated on 21 May 2025 with information on Wahoo’s Trackr Radar

How does a rearview radar work?

Rearview radars all use similar tech to the Garmin Varia, which was the first rearview radar for bikes, launched in 2015.

The rearview radar unit usually also houses a rear bike light and is angled to point more or less horizontally backwards when mounted to your seatpost.

The rearview radar emits a millimetre wavelength radar signal, which bounces off objects behind you. A detector collects the returning radar waves and analyses them. When it detects an object such as another vehicle moving towards it, it sends out a signal over ANT+ and BLE using a protocol defined by Garmin.

This signal can be picked up by a head unit such as a cycling computer, smartphone or smartwatch.

It’s interpreted by functionality in the head unit to provide an audible, visual and possibly a haptic alert. Most head units have a visual display of vehicle proximity and will provide approach speed information by colouring their display red or amber.

Multiple vehicles can usually be detected and their positions displayed simultaneously. This is dependent on being able to see past the first vehicle, which might not be the case if this is larger than the following ones.

Once no further approaching vehicles are detected, the rearview radar will send a notification to the head unit, which will in most cases display a green all-clear alert on screen and sound an all-clear alert.

The technology works with vehicles approaching at an angle, not just from directly behind, typically over a 200-degree-plus arc. It also works in the rain. Most units are IPX7-rated, meaning they have good water resistance – a necessity for electronics that are in the line of fire for spray from your rear wheel.

Quoted detection ranges are usually just over 100m, but can be significantly further than this on straight, flat roads. Motor vehicles are usually detected before you can hear them.

Rearview bike radar options

Garmin Varia

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The original Garmin Varia was quite a clunky affair, which Garmin acquired when it bought the manufacturer iKubu.

It sat horizontally across the rear of the bike’s seatpost and included an array of not-very-bright red LEDs, which emitted only 15 lumens, although at 28g it was not heavy.

Garmin has revised and expanded its range of Varia radars and now has three options, all of which mount vertically to the bike’s seatpost for a more streamlined look.

They use a Garmin quarter-turn mount that attaches to the seatpost with a rubber strap and angles the light close to horizontally, so that it’s best able to detect events behind.

The base model Varia RVR315 includes only the radar without a taillight and weighs a claimed 51g.

The Varia RTL515 includes a taillight with a maximum 65-lumen output in day flash mode and weighs 71g.

The latest Garmin Varia RCT715 incorporates a 1080p/30 camera and an SD card, and weighs 147g.

All the Garmin Varia rearview radars have four mode options: high and low constant, day flash and night flash.

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Bryton Gardia R300L

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There are relatively few non-Garmin rearview radars available, but Bryton and Magicshine have recently introduced units with integrated tail lights, both of which we have reviewed.

There is also a unit from iGPSport, which we have not used. All have a similar vertical orientation to the current Garmin Varia series.

The Bryton Gardia R300L has five modes, including a 73-lumen day flash mode, and weighs 70g. It can also change lighting patterns as a vehicle approaches and operate as a brake light.

The Bryton includes an ambient light sensor, which switches it from day flash to night flash mode. Its mount incorporates an in-built ladder strap, which feels a bit more secure than the separate rubber strap used by Garmin.

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Magicshine Seemee 508

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Magicshine’s rearview radar is the Seemee 508. It weighs 62g and has a total of six output modes as well as radar-only operation. It can be set up to switch to brighter constant illumination when you brake and also to shine brighter as a vehicle approaches.

Magicshine’s app enables you to change the lighting pattern and the unit’s behaviour, and update firmware.

The iGPSport SR30 radar taillight has a claimed 70g weight and five mode options, plus radar-only operation. Its claimed battery life is up to 20 hours with a tail light and 25 hours in radar-only mode, longer than the run times quoted by any other brand.

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Wahoo Trackr Radar

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Wahoo has also released its Trackr Radar, which is designed to pair with the brand’s own bike computers – although it is said to also work with “other compatible Bluetooth or ANT+ bike computers”.

Wahoo says that upon detecting an approaching vehicle, the built-in rear light powers up its flash pattern and brightness to increase rider visibility.

It also features an accelerometer, which detects braking, upping its output and flashing more aggressively when the rider decelerates.

Cannondale includes a Garmin rearview radar in its SmartSense integrated lighting on its endurance road bike, the Synapse.

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Head unit options

As well as a detector, you also need something to alert you that an approaching vehicle has been detected.

Garmin defined the protocol to communicate the data from your radar to a head unit. That might be a cycling computer, with all of Garmin’s current range and many of its legacy designs including the ability to display vehicle proximity.

You can download a widget to Garmin’s smartwatches that enables them to provide notification of detection. It’s a feature supported by a wide range of current and past models.

Garmin also sells a standalone bar-mounted head unit, which displays vehicle information via a series of LEDs. It additionally offers the Varia phone app, which can display vehicle proximity information on your smartphone.

As with the rearview radar itself, other brands have incorporated radar compatibility into their cycling computers and most recent releases have this. Popular examples include the Wahoo Elemnt and Hammerhead Karoo 2.

Bryton, Magicshine and iGPSport have phone apps similar to Garmin’s, which can be used to display proximity for approaching vehicles.

Rearview radar benefits

There’s no doubt that having a constant view of what’s happening behind you, rather than relying purely on your own eyes and ears, is of great benefit when riding on the road.

Although brands typically claim a detection range of just over 100m, it often appears to be significantly greater than this.

On flat open roads, a rearview radar can help you concentrate on your riding and on what’s happening ahead of you.

It’s also useful when descending or riding fast, when wind noise and the need to concentrate on the road ahead can make it difficult to detect a vehicle about to pass you.

Radar units typically claim around a 40-degree detection angle, so vehicles approaching from oblique angles are usually detected.

Most, if not all, rearview radars can also be set to change their lighting pattern as a vehicle approaches, which is designed to alert drivers. This might be a swap from a flashing to a constant mode, an increase in brightness or both.

There’s often an accelerometer built into the rearview radar unit, which enables you to use the rearview radar as a brake light and may also act as an incident detector if you have a fall.

If you’re using your rearview radar as an aid to safety, you want to be sure it’s working, so computer head units will usually display an alert when the radar is first connected up. An icon in the corner of their screen while riding indicates the radar is still operational.

If your battery starts to run low, most radar units will switch to a lower-power mode. You’ll usually receive an audible and visual alert on your head unit to notify you that the radar has a low battery and another when it is about to switch off. Your head unit will usually also provide an alert that the radar has been disconnected.

Rearview radar disadvantages

The main downside of rearview radar technology, which applies to all designs regardless of brand, is that detection relies on the difference in velocity between you and the approaching vehicle.

That means any other road user travelling at the same speed as you will not be detected. This most typically happens when a driver slows down, waiting for an opportunity to pass, when you will often get an all-clear signal on your head unit.

Depending on the circumstances, the vehicle may or may not reappear when its driver decides to overtake. If there are multiple vehicles behind you, subsequent vehicles may still be travelling at your speed, and so not appear on the radar until they choose to overtake.

On a twisting road, following vehicles may repeatedly disappear and then be re-detected as obstacles, such as tree trunks or banks, get between you and them.

Thus, you can’t assume that because there’s no alert on your head unit there’s nothing behind, nor can you assume that because one vehicle has passed you there are no more following.

You can also get false positives from the radar. These most typically seem to happen on windy days, when the movement of tree branches can lead to an alert, then an all-clear signal. Again, check behind to make sure you know what’s happening. Occasionally, a rearview radar can give you a false positive for no apparent reason.

If you’re riding parallel, or even at an angle to another road, you may get alerts for vehicles that are travelling on that road, not yours.

Occasionally, a vehicle might not be detected. The reason for this is unclear, but it does appear to happen more with some brands of rearview radar than others. Staying alert and not relying on your radar is key to its safe use.

Rearview radar battery life

Most users will want to use the tail light built into the majority of rearview radars and it is this, along with use as a brake light, which is the major determinant of battery life, rather than the radar itself.

There are a wide variety of claimed run times for these units: Garmin quotes between three and six hours for its top-spec Varia RCT715 camera/light/radar unit and up to 16 hours for the RTL515 radar tail light; Bryton claims between eight and 17 hours; Magicshine between four and 18 hours; and iGPSport around 20 hours.

Used only as a radar, the claimed battery life is a few hours longer.

Rearview radar cost

Rearview radars remain a more expensive option than a typical tail light, even a sophisticated one. But the cost differential isn’t huge and the outlay is comparable to or lower than many higher-powered front lights.

The Garmin Varia RCT715 is considerably more expensive than the alternatives, but does include a camera.

Newer entrants are lowering the cost and there are often discounts to be found too.

You’ll also need something to display the data from the radar tail light, and some are costly. But if you already have one, many cycling computers have the functionality built in. It can also be added to many Garmin smartwatches.

If you’re a more casual rider, loading an app to a smartphone is a lower-cost alternative. There are many phone mount options to attach your phone to your bike’s handlebar.

XP (experience) points are what get you to higher levels in Zwift, and higher levels mean access to more virtual equipment and roads. Our calculations show that a rider can typically expect to earn 500-700XP per hour.

But are there ways Zwifters can earn XP faster? Of course! Here’s a definitive list of strategies for boosting your XP earnings.

Ride Short Climb Portals

Climb Portals can be “gamed” to earn XP at a higher-than-normal rate because each climb is broken up into 10 equidistant sections with a powerup arch at the end of each section. That means you can receive 10 powerups during the course of completing each Portal climb.

Doing repeats of a short Portal climb like Oude Kwaremont lets you more than double your typical rate of XP earning. In fact, this method is so effective that I wrote an entire post dedicated to it! Be sure to check out that post, as it contains helpful tips to maximize your XP earning.

Related:
XP Farming on Zwift’s Climb Portal – the Ultimate Guide
All About Zwift’s Climb Portal

Ride New Routes

The first time you complete an official Zwift route, you’ll earn the badge for that route, which includes an XP bonus equal to the regular XP you earned while riding the route. That means you effectively double your XP earning rate when riding new routes, assuming you actually finish the route.

Related: All About Cycling Route Achievement Badges in Zwift

Assuming you’re riding around 35kph, that’s a bonus of 700XP per hour if you’re just riding new routes. As of May 2025, if you tally up the XP bonuses from riding every route on Zwift, you get 102,217XP. That’s a whole lotta XP – enough to move you from level 30 to 45!

Note: a small number of event-only routes tdo not include an achievement badge/XP bonus. If you’re unsure, look up the route on our master list and see if it includes an achievement badge with bonus XP.

Ride a TT Bike

If you’re on a time trial frame, you won’t receive speed-boosting powerups when you ride through arches. Instead, you’ll receive the 10XP bonus. Every time!

Combine the TT bike with a short route that includes one or more lap banners and you’ll accumulate XP faster than you would riding a typical route on a road bike in the draft. Here are some suggested routes, sorted in order from frequent banners to least:

• Watopia’s Jarvis Island loop (2.9 miles, 3 banners per lap)
• Watopia’s Seaside Sprint (4 miles, 2 banners per lap)
• Crit City’s Bell Lap or Downtown Dolphin (event only – 1.2 miles, 1 banner per lap)
• New York’s LaGuardia Loop (event only – 1.6 miles, 1 banner per lap)
• Watopia’s Volcano Circuit or Volcano Circuit CCW (2.6 miles, 1 banner per lap)
• Richmond’s Fan Flats (3.1 miles, 1 banner per lap)

Ride Flat Routes

XP is based purely on distance (20XP per kilometer/32XP per mile), so you’ll accumulate it faster if you keep your speed as high as possible. All other things being equal (effort level, drafting status, etc), your average speed will always be faster on flat routes than hilly ones, which means you’ll earn more XP per minute on flat routes.

Join Double XP Events and Challenges

Sometimes, Zwift holds events where riders earn double XP. That is, each kilometer you ride earns you 40XP, and if you’re using imperial measurements you’ll get 64XP for each mile.

Tour of Watopia is a popular annual event that includes double XP. Zwift has also been holding “XP Express” events awarding double XP.

Find double XP events here: zwift.com/events/tag/doublexp

There are also various in-game Challenges that Zwift holds which include XP bonuses. This includes their recent “Route of the Week” rollout, as well as short-term mini challenges like “Hell of a Route Chaser Challenge“. Working these Challenges into your workout plans can quickly add 500-1000XP to your workout.

Participate In Group Rides

As I already mentioned, the faster you go, the faster you’ll earn XP. Participate in group rides to enjoy the increased speeds of the group draft, and watch that XP add up!

Hack Your Workout

When you do a structured workout in Zwift, XP is calculated differently than the standard 20XP/km distance-based method. I’ve already written about this thoroughly here, where I share some hacks to maximize XP earnings via workouts, including changing interval length, doing workouts up the Alpe then free-riding down, and using workouts for your easy rides since you’ll likely earn more XP than free-riding.

Related:
How Zwift Calculates XP for Cycling Workouts
Level Up Faster On Zwift: GPLama’s XP Farming Alpe Workout

An additional bonus related to doing workouts up the Alpe: the spinner at the top awards XP if it lands on a prize you’ve already received. You’ll get 1000XP if it lands on the Lightweight Meilenstein wheels and you already have them, or 250XP if it lands on anything else that you already have.

Enjoy the Downhills

Any cyclist worth their chamois knows you don’t end a ride at the top of the hill – you earned that descent, so enjoy it! Your route may end at the top of a hill, but go ahead and take that descent: you’ll earn XP for the distance with little or no extra work.

Earn Achievement Badges

There are lots of achievement badges in game. Many are visible under Menu>Badges, but there’s a whole list of hidden achievements as well. Every one of those achievements includes an XP bonus, so grab those badges!

Related: A Complete List of Zwift Achievement Badges

Maintain Your Week Streak

Zwift rewards you with bonus XP when you ride at least once per week:

• Week 1: you’ll earn 300XP just for starting your streak.
• Week 2: extended your streak to 2 weeks? You’ll earn 400XP.
• Week 3+: every time you extend your streak past week 2, you’ll earn a 500XP bonus.

Related: All About Week Streaks on Zwift

So this one’s easy: just make sure you ride at least 2km (1.25 miles) each week. This can take place on Zwift, or outside if you have your Wahoo or Garmin account connected to Zwift.

Get On the (Rubber)Bandwagon

“Banded” rides in Zwift keep all riders together, regardless of effort level. As long as you keep pedaling, you’ll stay with the pack!

If you’re a rider who tends to rides at lower power (say, 1.5 W/kg or less), joining banded rides should significantly increase your average speed, which in turn will increase your XP earning rate.

See upcoming banded rides at ZwiftHacks >

Combining Strategies

For the ultimate in high-XP riding, combine two or more of the strategies above. (Simple example: choose a group ride on a route you haven’t completed.)

The achievement badges for multiple Volcano Circuit laps earn a big XP boost – you get bonuses for 5, 10, and 25 laps. The 25 lap bonus is 1000XP! Why not do a ride that gets all three, along with the 100km badge. Then keep going and get the 100 mile badge while you’re at it! Do it on a TT bike and you’ll be racking up XP points each time you ride through the lap banner.

What About You?

Got more tips for earning XP? Share them below!

Strava has taken aim at leaderboard cheats by removing 4.45 million activities in a bid to “rightfully restore KOMs and QOMs to reflect true performances”.

Announced as part of a raft of app updates, Strava says it has fast-tracked the application of the machine learning model launched in February to “reprocess the top 10 spots on ride and run leaderboards”.

February’s update was designed to protect the integrity of Strava’s leaderboards by identifying unrealistic speeds, GPS errors and “other anomalies that could skew leaderboard results”.

Strava says every activity is now automatically analysed by a machine learning model, which looks at 57 different factors, such as speed and acceleration. 

“Strava is reinforcing its commitment to helping athletes compete fairly and perform at their best,” reads Strava’s latest press release. “The updates allow users to push harder this summer, with the confidence that leaderboards reflect true performances.”

• Revealed: the infuriating ‘Strava tax’ that means your rides aren’t as long as you think they are

Other key app updates include:

• New AI-powered routes
• Tappable points of interest
• Point-to-point routing

Strava says the updated route functionality, which, like leaderboards, is only available to premium subscribers, now utilises AI to “offer smarter, intuitive suggestions by leveraging Strava’s global heatmap, so riders can run, ride or walk like locals wherever they go”. 

The result, according to Strava, is routes that are more flexible and reliable, based on where existing cyclists ride. These can be generated from your current location or a custom starting point.

Strava has also introduced tappable points of interest, such as cafes, restrooms and viewpoints. Strava says you can tap to discover more information, generate a route there, or suggest a route that includes the point of interest.

Elevation, distance and estimated time of arrival will be present, and the points of interest will be accompanied by photos uploaded by Strava users “within the maps tabs in the Strava mobile app”. 

This feature, available from June, brings Strava a little closer to Komoot, one of its competitors and rivals for the crown of best cycling app. Komoot enables riders to add photos to user-generated highlights, as well as tips describing the highlight.

• Strava vs Komoot – which cycling app is best for you?

Finally, new point-to-point routing will, according to Strava, provide “the most efficient, activity-specific route from A to B”. This, Strava says, is based on a new routes engine, informed by the global heatmap.

“Starting in July, simply drop a pin and go with point-to-point routing on mobile,” Strava says.