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Shimano has updated its iconic two-bolt SPD cleat system for the first time in “nearly 30 years”, enabling riders to clip in to SPD pedals from multiple angles.
Built around the same two-bolt design as Shimano’s existing SH51 SPD cleats (which launched in 1995), the new CL-MT001 cleats feature a modified leading edge.
This is claimed to enable riders to connect to the pedal from multiple angles, rather than needing to lead with the front edge.
While that’s still an option, Shimano says the CL-MT001 cleats enable riders to clip in by engaging the rear first, then the front, or to “simply stomp straight down” on the pedal.
Launched alongside a new set of flagship gravel cycling shoes, the S-Phyre RX910s, and a new XTR PD-M9220 trail pedal, Shimano says the CL-MT001 cleats offer a number of advantages for off-road riding.
Enduro, cross-country, gravel and cyclocross riders, for example, “will appreciate the quick re-engagement that is critical after dismounts or foot dabs in technical terrain”, Shimano says.
The Japanese brand also says the new cleats should make the experience of using clip-in pedals more intuitive, and says the multi-entry engagement offers “added peace of mind”.
Because the new CL-MT001 cleats use the same two-bolt mounting system as existing SPD cleats, Shimano says the new cleats are “fully backwards compatible with all existing two-bolt Shimano SPD pedal and shoe systems”.
This means riders can upgrade their existing systems simply by replacing their cleats.
A Shimano spokesperson told BikeRadar that there are no plans to phase out the existing SH51 cleat. The CL-MT001 will be an additional option for two-bolt SPD pedal systems but Shimano is “confident it will become the new standard for clip-in pedals.”
The new Shimano CL-MT001 cleats are available now and cost £19.99 / $20 / €22.99.
Chris Froome was airlifted to hospital following a “serious training crash” in the south of France on Wednesday
The four-time winner of the Tour de France, and Great Britain’s most successful Grand Tour rider, was flown to the hospital by helicopter after crashing near Toulon, 170km away from his Monaco home.
While it’s unclear what caused the crash, Froome’s team said “no other cyclists or vehicles were involved” and that he was “stable”.
Israel-Premier Tech’s statement also confirmed that Froome had sustained a pneumothorax, five broken ribs and a lumbar vertebrae fracture. He will receive surgery today (Thu 28 Aug).
French newspaper L’Equipe reported that Froome remained conscious after the crash and was able to speak to those around him.
It’s a blow for the 40-year-old, who was dominant on our screens between 2012 and 2017, winning everything from Grand Tours to Olympic medals.
Froome suffered a heavy fall at the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2019, which saw him taken into intensive care.
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Garmin has revealed its latest software update, which includes bringing new mountain biking features to the Edge 1050 bike computer.
Launched in June 2024, the Garmin Edge 1050 was billed as the company’s “brightest and smartest” bike computer yet with the ability to offer ride-specific routing for mountain biking.
The bike computer has now received a host of updates, which should make it even better for mountain biking, courtesy of a free software update.
Garmin says its flagship Edge 1050 bike computer has received five mountain biking updates, which first debuted on the Edge MTB that launched in June.
Like the Edge MTB, the Edge 1050 will now feature Garmin’s timing gates function. This lets you set timing gates through a trail or course to track split times and “better understand your performance in real time.”
You’ll also be able to see more detailed information about upcoming forks in the trail thanks to improvements to the forksight mode. These improvements include seeing the distance left on a trail, the elevation profile and the distance to return to the trail’s start.
Garmin has equipped the Edge 1050 with two new ride profiles, too. The enduro ride profile tracks total ascent and descent from each run and for the overall ride.
The downhill ride profile automatically laps when completing each run. Garmin says this means returning to the top of a shuttle or ski lift won’t affect your ride stats.
Finally, the Edge 1050 will now support faster 5Hz GPS recording so you can view trail lines in great detail.
Garmin’s latest software update will also bring a host of new features to its smartwatches, including the new Venu X1.
These are mostly targeted at runners, with new features such as running tolerance and running economy that first appeared on the latest Garmin Forerunner watches.
However, cyclists might be interested in the new evening report and smart wake alarm features.
The evening report is similar to Garmin’s morning report, but it suggested the amount of sleep you need, along with details about the following day’s suggested workout, plus weather and events.
The smart wake alarm provides gentle vibrations to help you “wake up at the optimal time and feel more refreshed.”
Ahead of the GNOME 49 release candidate being announced in the days ahead, today marked the “49.rc” tagging of the GNOME Shell and Mutter compositor components. Some last-minute user-facing changes have landed along with other improvements for polishing ahead of next month’s GNOME 49 stable release…
Cargo bikes are a great way to transport goods, your shopping and even cycle around town with your kids. But they’re no small investment, with many of the best cargo bikes costing at least a few grand.
This is something Argo Cargo Bikes wants to change with the new Argo Fy, a flat-pack conversion kit that it says will turn any bike into a cargo bike.
Scott Taylor, founder of Argo Cargo Bikes, based in Denver, Colorado, said: “We’re part of a new wave in cycling that’s taking inspiration from companies like Rad Power Bikes, who democratised electric bikes by shipping direct and making them accessible to everyday families.”
“We saw what they accomplished for e-bikes and asked: why can’t cargo bikes work the same way?” added Taylor.
Taylor introduced the Argo Fy concept to his newsletter subscribers and previous customers. Argo Cargo Bikes said it sold “hundreds of units” across the world before this public announcement and sale.
“We’ve proven that people who know what one is, want cargo bikes – they just need them to be approachable, affordable and accessible,” said Taylor. “The challenge is that you take a risk when you order a cargo bike without riding it first. With the Argo, we’re not changing the size or fit of your bike. You already know that it fits – we just add massively what you can do with it.”
At $1,399 / £1,100, the Argo Fy uses standard components for easy repair and maintenance, with bolts you can pick up from hardware shops, alongside standard bearings and components that are serviceable by bike shops.
“When something needs repairing, people shouldn’t have to wait weeks for proprietary parts or pay premium prices. You should be able to walk into your neighbourhood shop and get back on the road,” said Taylor.
This isn’t the first time Argo has released a cargo bike conversion kit. There was a previous version simply called the Argo Cargo Bike Kit. But the company says the Fy improves the previous design based on user feedback.
The Fy now has a 6061 aluminium frame which it says offers “enhanced durability against weather and salt while improving control through increased stiffness.”
Protection against the elements is also aided by a new plywood front box which is waterproof, paint free and also more sustainable.
The Fy also has a hydraulic brake system, which Argo says is compatible with electric bikes for “enhanced stopping power”.
It now works with a wider variety of forks, including the carbon forks, making it compatible with many of the best road bikes and best gravel bikes.
A motorcycle-style kickstand will hold your bike and its load upright.
Argo says its mission is really about cultural change, not just selling products, and it wants to normalise cargo bikes in the way a certain children’s bike has become commonplace.
“Remember when balance bikes were niche?” said Taylor. “Now every parent knows about them, that’s our vision for cargo bikes – moving from specialist cycling equipment to everyday family transportation.”
Team Velos is a longstanding Zwift club and racing team that aims to help riders of all abilities improve their fitness while having fun and competing in a supportive environment.
The club hosts nine group rides weekly, including beginner-friendly events that engage riders in entertaining ways, a competitive sprint training event with monthly winners and prizes, a climbing-focused event to develop “Grimpeurs” (cycling’s climbing specialists), and Poursuite de la Lanterne Rouge: a C-paced ride that includes optional challenges including a chase of the red beacon and featured as one of the Great Group Rides on Zwift.
Team Velos also hosts three weekly races: an individual time trial, a chase-style race, and the Monuments Race inspired by pro cycling’s Spring Classics and stage races.
To learn more about Team Velos, go to: teamvelos.co.uk
Velos launched the Pretzelfest on 2 November 2024 as a weekly 2-hour group ride with an ‘After Party’ to encourage those wanting to complete all the Pretzel routes on Zwift. The event soon evolved to encompass all of Zwift’s epic routes, and now features a rotating monthly schedule of increasingly difficult routes to keep the event varied and interesting for its many regulars. Although the Pretzel ride officially ends after two hours, many riders stay on to support one another in completing the longer routes.
Each week, two pace groups start together, with the yellow beacon averaging 2.5 W/kg, and the red beacon 2.0 W/kg. The mass start enables everyone to participate in the ride chat and move between the two pace groups. A rider might start wanting to push a harder pace, then ease back to the red beacon group and finish at a gentler pace; or set off easier, then push higher watts to reach the faster group. A single field promotes camaraderie between the two pace groups, and others in the red beacon crew function as traditional sweeps supporting struggling riders.
During each Pretzel ride, the Yellow Beacon messages on a wide range of performance issues including cycling endurance training, nutrition, strength training, and related topics. This is interspersed with plenty of entertaining chat, including joke contests and quizzes to help the time fly with lots of laughs.
The Pretzel endurance ride was conceived by longtime Velos teammate and Yorkshire resident David Pickles, General Manager of The Gym Group — one of the largest fitness centers in England. David is also a certified personal trainer and owner of OnelifePt Coaching. David leads the Yellow Beacon group, and started the event with teammate Alicia Caron who leads the Red Beacon group. Alicia is a long-time cyclist in Massachusetts, working as a physical therapy aide trained in injury prevention, recovery, and performance. A lifelong athlete, she has extensive experience in strength and conditioning.
Says David Pickles: “Helping people collect hard-to-reach route badges is part of what we do, which sometimes results in our team riding 5+ hours because someone needed to complete The PRL Full. This event was designed to attract riders who want endurance training and enjoy an element of cycling that many avoid due to boredom. While the ride was founded with the idea of enjoyable zone 2 training, it has created a lively following that helped us grow together. Beyond our two pacing groups, there are bad jokes, silly quizzes, practical tips to improve training, and a team who loves helping others. Not only has the ride evolved, but so has the team. This has been the first Velos event for some riders, many of whom became regulars and so comfortable they joined our lead/sweep crew. Our two sweep teams never give up, since helping others is sewn into the fabric of Velos. We simply try to extend that to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hour of your training rides.”
Velos owner Stephen Whitcombe adds: “Velos launched its first endurance ride, the Routebagger Challenge, in February 2022, and it immediately gained a following since ticking off the tougher badges is so much more fun with company. But we were able to support that ride only once a month, so the Pretzel event was a perfect evolution since it offers something for everyone: two pace options, a great endurance session for those with limited time, and fantastic support to the end for those wishing to complete extremely tough routes like the Four Horseman, PRL Full, 25 Volcano laps, and Uber Pretzel. Feedback has been tremendous, and many Zwifters make this a must-ride event on their weekly schedule.”
The last week of every month is always the toughest route, and August features one of the most challenging in Zwift: the Uber Pretzel (128.8km, 2335m of elevation)!
The ride is on Saturday, August 30 at 11am UTC/7am ET/4am PT. Sign up here:
The covers look to have been taken off Specialized’s upcoming Demo downhill bike at the Les Gets UCI World Cup.
An Instagram post from Finn Iles revealed the unreleased bike, which appears to be fitted with an unreleased Öhlins rear shock featuring a black plastic housing that we assume suggests electronic adjustability.
The Canadian racer’s bike has been under the spotlight for a while now and was only recently the test bed for Brembo’s new disc brakes.
For the past couple of years, the Specialized Gravity team has been using a test mule made from carbon tubes and alloy lugs, leaving many to speculate the direction the American brand would take.
Now it appears the downhill bike has moved into the carbon fibre stage of development, suggesting that the production model isn’t too far away.
The enlarged bottom bracket area from the latest prototype has carried over to this monocoque frame, which many initially believed was a gearbox. While it’s not confirmed, the design enables the chainring to be positioned away from the cranks, allowing engineers greater control of anti-squat characteristics.
While the cranks have a small chainring, it appears the drivetrain chainring is connected internally to the cranks.
The suspension system appears to use Specialized’s UBB (Under Bottom Bracket) layout, which has been seen on previous test mules.
Öhlins has long been a partner of the Specialized Gravity programme, and it has been speculated that the brand is developing an electrically controlled.
Button’s on the prototype Demo showed up nearly two years ago, with many believing this allowed the rider to select different shock tunes to eke out as much performance on a single run.
Those buttons are still present on Finn Iles’ bike, although it now appears the shock is in a more refined stage of prototyping.
We’re unsure whether this shock will take the same automatic approach as RockShox Flight Attendant or Fox’s Live Valve, or whether it’ll remain programmable with the buttons on the bars.
If you’ve cycled for many years, you’ll likely have been through different phases of your two-wheeled adventures, where your goals, aspirations and interests shift up and down, and side to side – and may eventually change out of all recognition.
What you did as a teenager on the bike – had fun, rode fast and dreamed of the endless possibilities of where this machine might take you – will be very different from where you might find yourself in your 70s, still riding for the sheer pleasure of it and the memories it evokes from a life on the bike.
Because of the possibilities that this simple contraption promotes, your relationship with your bike constantly shifts. Not to mention how your life, the responsibilities it brings and the time it eats up, affects your time in the saddle.
Few cyclists experience this gearshift quite like a professional when the time comes to retire and hang up their cleats.
Many will have been on the pro pathway from an age that they can barely remember. Some may have had all the talent but had the enjoyment for the sport squeezed out of them, as their childhood hobby turned into a pressurised job, one that the livelihoods of many others depended on.
For others, their life as a professional becomes such a part of their identity that life on the other side of retirement is impossible to fathom.
Would they ever be able to relocate the simple pleasures of riding a bike again, after years of compromising it through fame and fortune?
Retired British three-time Olympic team pursuit champion Ed Clancy is a poster boy for how bikes can remain as the fulcrum of a life through changing times.
“My love for cycling is as alive today as it was when I was three or four years old, scuttling about on balance bikes,” he tells me over the phone from the office of one of his new day jobs, which you can probably guess is tied up with cycling (he’s South Yorkshire’s active travel commissioner).
We’re chatting because he’s got a new book to promote, which he’s written with flexibility expert Lexie Williamson.
Full Gas Forever: A 40+ Cyclist’s Guide to Riding Further and Faster is a practical manual that capitalises on the trend for midlife cyclists to push themselves harder than at any time in history.
Clancy just about qualifies to write such a book, having turned 40 in March. It’s filled with hard-won advice from the pair on the training, nutrition, recovery and off-bike conditioning required for a long life on – and off – the bike.
Clancy and Williamson complement each other well, bringing their own expertise from very different backgrounds. “Bloomsbury, the publishers, approached me about it and with turning 40 this year I thought it sounded like a great idea,” Clancy adds.
“But I was honest with them about the things I was interested in – the technical side of bikes and the technique of riding them – and the things I didn’t have the first clue about.
“Things like stretching and nutrition – things that I managed to miraculously avoid as a pro rider. And why it made an awful lot of sense to partner up with someone [Lexie] who was better and smarter than me in every regard.”
The last time I rode with Clancy was on a Club Med press trip last summer in Alpe d’Huez, where he was bounding up and down the high mountains of the French Alps with the enthusiasm of a newborn foal.
Three years post-retirement, he was in fabulous shape. Not any better or worse than when he was propelling himself around a 4,000m track race. Just different. Lighter, less muscled and better prepared for this new chapter of his life.
The particular physicality of his old job on the track left him with worn-out discs in his back that required surgery. These days, the ability to simply ride, as opposed to train, frees up his body and soul.
“We’re all going to get older – that’s a given. But it’s also a given that cycling is the absolute best thing for us,” he says.
“Who wants to be trying to play stop-start sports like football in your 50s, 60s or 70s when there’s the option of riding a bike.
“I’m clearly very biassed but cycling is the best sport, leisure activity and means of transport – add all that together and it’s the best way to age gracefully.”
While hitting 40 might be a time when some cyclists decide it’s time to start racing at master’s level, for an ex-pro such as Clancy, who’s been riding bikes at full throttle from a very young age, organised racing is low on his agenda from this point onwards.
He wants to experience new things on a bike – which at times has overlapped with his old career.
“I ‘won’ the Fred Whitton this year,” he says to explain how his love for cycling has never been stronger.
Won is a strong word, he clarifies, because the event is a sportive (albeit the most competitive of its kind in the UK), but he got a thrill out of it nonetheless.
“2,500 riders do that event, whippersnappers in long-sleeve skin suits who take it dead seriously,” says Clancy.
“I haven’t touched a power crank or heart rate monitor since the day I got off the track in Tokyo [2021] but I still love riding bikes.
“I commute – I’ve cycled into the office in Sheffield today. Sometimes I ride to British Cycling in Manchester to do some work there.
“If I have a free Saturday, I’ll get on my electric mountain bike and head into the hills with people who have nothing in common except enjoying the fun and freedom of doing that.
“I have no desire to hit a certain weight, or coefficient of drag – I just love riding my bike.”
But let’s hear more about that Fred Whitton ride…
“I do some ambassadorial work for a company called CAMS [Cycling Accident Management Services, who help cyclists through the process of making a claim after a crash on the road]. One of their managers is Ian Bibby, a friend who I used to race with.
“We went up for the Fred, had a couple of beers the night before, and as is often the case, rumours start circulating around the village that the fast group is going to set off at 8.45 in the morning.
“So me and Ian sat on the back of the 8.45 train. Our tactics went out of the window after 30 minutes and we just went flat-out through and off for the rest of it. And we had a thoroughly enjoyable day out.
“The lad that really should have won it, I sat on him for about 90km, he was so strong that I couldn’t give him a turn. And then the poor lad got heat stroke on the final climb and I never saw him again.
“If I was a better man, I would have waited for him…”
That competitive instinct is clearly harder to shift than the legs sometimes.
“It’s just good fun,” says Clancy. “I’ve done a few of the big sportives. The Majorca 312 and I’m doing the Contador one [Gran Fondo Alberto Contador, in Valencia] later this year.”
Contador rode the 312 the same year as Clancy, in fact.
“And if you look at the results, guess who finished one place ahead of him. He did puncture, mind you…”
For now, back to the book. Although Clancy and Williamson each contributed their own expertise – sometimes independently in different chapters – one in which they both added their two cents was the section on strength training.
Off-the-bike strength exercises are under-utilised by so many cyclists, no matter their age or ability.
The home or gym-based location can seem boring and less stimulating than the great outdoors, and it requires more planning, knowledge and often motivation than riding a bike.
But it unquestionably reinforces our bodies for the one-dimensional activity of cycling, as well as reducking the risk of osteoporosis and boosting our testosterone production, which tails off in men with age without taking steps to remedy it.
“The book isn’t about me giving it the big Olympian – it’s about things I didn’t always get right,” says Clancy.
“I could have carried on my career if I’d been a bit smarter about things, and gym work was something I avoided.
“My asset as a team pursuit rider was that I was very fast and had good peak power. I took that as ‘great, I don’t need to do anything in the gym.’
“I can’t help but think I might have avoided those back operations and be in a better position to rehabilitate to the highest level if I was a bit more rounded.
“I am a classic example of someone who’s spent their whole life in a flexed position in one direction and probably suffered the consequences.
If there’s one thing Clancy took from writing the book – and hopes that readers take from it too – it’s that finding a balance, an equilibrium, is crucial to your enjoyment and achievement of cycling in midlife and beyond.
As an athlete, he says, you get more debriefs than you know what to do with, picking apart the minutiae of performance forensically.
“But one thing you never really did was helicopter out of the situation, step back and take a long-term, overarching look at how your training is going.
“In this book, we’re not necessarily talking about tiny marginal gains, like how to extract the nth degree of aerodynamics in a wind tunnel – it’s more about good solid, grounded advice.
“And I haven’t even been holding myself accountable to these standards, so it’s still possible to do alright on a bike!”
Raleigh’s latest electric bike, the Captus, features a premium Bosch motor but keeps the price to under £2,000.
Raleigh says the electric bike is “for riders who want proven, premium technology without the premium price tag”.
For £1,899, you get Bosch’s Active Line motor alongside a Shimano Cues drivetrain and Suntour suspension, with either a mid-step or low-step frame.
“By bringing Bosch e-system technology to a bike priced under £2,000, Raleigh is setting a new benchmark for value in the e-bike market,” the brand says.
“Riders can now enjoy the same level of safety, reliability and refinement found in higher-end models, at a price that makes switching to electric more accessible than ever.”
Alongside first-time ebike owners and people looking for a well-specced bike, Raleigh says the Captus is for “everyday city riders”, which matches up nicely with Bosch’s Active Line ebike motor.
Bosch says its Active Line motor is “ideal for city routes” and that its “finely balanced acceleration and barely perceptible pedal resistance over 25 km/h or in Off mode make every ride relaxing and leisurely – even in rush hour traffic.”
Raleigh has paired the ebike motor with a 40Wh battery for a range of up to 70 miles.
Raleigh’s claim that the Captus offers the premium Active Line motor for a more affordable price stacks up against other big-name brands.
For instance, it’s £700 cheaper than the Cannondale Adventure Neo 4 and £350 less than the TrekDistrict+ 1 Lowstep, which has a similar set of features.
The Captus is also cheaper than British brand Raleigh’s other ebikes, the Motus (£2,299) and Hockley (£2,699).
In fact, the Raleigh Captus beats many of the best electric commuter bikes on price. But whether it earns a place in our list will have to be seen.
Alongside the Bosch motor, Raleigh has fitted the aluminium Captus with more components from respected brands.
The bike uses a 9-speed Shimano Cues drivetrain alongside Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes.
The low-step version of the bike has a Suntour Nex-E25 suspension fork with 50mm of travel.
Raleigh has completed the Captus with integrated bike lights, a rack and mudguards.
Pro-Palestine protestors disrupted Israel–Premier Tech’s team trial effort on today’s stage 5 of the Vuelta a España.
The group of protestors blocked the road while holding Palestine flags a few minutes into Israel-Premier Tech’s time trial.
Police motorbikes pushed the protestors to the side of the road, clearing a way for the team.
However, the protest slowed Israel–Premier Tech who went through the first time check 47 seconds behind Ineos Grenadiers, the fastest team at that stage of the race. They finished 45 seconds down on stage winners UAE Team–Emirates XRG.
Pro-Palestine protestors have now disrupted all three Grand Tours of 2025, with incidents also taking place at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
��� | Oei! De ploeg van Israel-Premier Tech wordt vertraagd door een protest met Palestijnse vlaggen. ⏱️ #LaVuelta25
� Stream koers op HBO Max pic.twitter.com/P9nxHgjpTs
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) August 27, 2025
While no group has yet taken responsibility for today’s protest, in April the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions Movement called for peaceful protests against Israel–Premier Tech at this year’s grand tours.
Israel–Premier Tech is co-owned by Israeli–Canadian Sylvan Adams who has vocalised his support for the country.
In a statement published on its Instagram this evening, the team said: “Israel–Premier Tech respects everyone’s right to freedom of speech, which includes the right to protest peacefully, but we absolutely condemn the dangerous acts of the protestors on stage 5 of the Vuelta a España which not only compromised the safety of our riders, race personnel, but the protestors themselves.
“The team continues to work with race organisers and relevant authorities to ensure our safety at the Vuelta a España and all races, and ensure any protestors do not impact our safety, nor our right to race.”
This week, Zwift releases a new wheelset from ENVE: the SES 4.5 PRO. The real-life ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheels were announced in July of this year, and ENVE shared that the wheels were developed with direct input from Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates XRG over two seasons. When the wheels were announced, they had amassed 25+ victories this season alone … before Tadej won the Tour de France!
Here’s what the Drop Shop says about them: “Designed for the cyclists seeking the ultimate wheelset, where low weight, aerodynamics, and rolling efficiency meet.”
The wheels are now available in the Drop Shop, accessible at level 29 and above, for a price of 675,000 Drops. This is the only wheelset in the Drop Shop with a 4-star rating for both aero and weight, so we expected them to be both fast on the flats, and light on the climbs! Since Zwift’s 4-star rating system isn’t precise enough for our taste, we ran these wheels through our standard battery of tests to determine exactly how they perform in Zwift and stack up against other wheelsets in game. (Spoiler alert: they’re fast.)
Let’s dive in and learn all about the performance of this new wheelset from ENVE…
The ENVE SES 4.5 PRO is definitely in the upper echelon of aero performance in Zwift, with our tests showing that it is bested by only three non-disc wheelsets: the ENVE SES 8.9, ENVE SES 7.8, and DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65.
The ENVE SES 4.5 PRO is 5 seconds slower than the ENVE SES 8.9 wheelset (the most aero non-disc wheelset) across an hour of flat riding. If you include disc wheels in the picture, the ENVE SES 4.5 PRO is 10.8s slower than the fastest disc wheels in game, the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc.
The climbs are where this wheelset really shines. It turns in a time that puts it within a half second of the top climbing wheels (Zipp 353 NSW, Lightweight Meilenstein, and Roval Alpinist CLX) across an hour of climbing. All of these wheelsets trim 9+ seconds off of our stock Zwift Carbon wheels’ times in our tests.
So the ENVE SES 4.5 PRO is essentially tied with the best climbing wheels in game, while delivering much better aero performance than the other top climbing wheelsets.
Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using the Zwift Carbon frame.
These wheels show exceptional performance as climb-focused all-arounders. Perhaps the best way to see this clearly is to compare them to the best aero all-arounders in game, the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65. Consider this:
So if you swap from the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 65 to the ENVE SES 4.5 PRO, you’re essentially trading seconds gained on the flats for seconds gained on the climbs.
Another way to see it clearly: check out the Tron vs Top Performers chart, which we’ve just updated by swapping out the Zipp 454 wheels with these new ENVE SES 4.5 PROs, since the new ENVE wheels effectively replace the 454s as climb-focused all-arounders, beating them in our flat and climbing tests.
These wheelsets have been, or will soon be, added to the following posts:
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Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike’s performance relative to others may also change. We don’t always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
Brakes are one of the most important components on your mountain bike, with good-quality stoppers giving you the confidence to carry speed, knowing you’ll be able to slow down again.
Like many components, mountain bike brakes come in all shapes and sizes depending on the discipline.
Whether they’re going on a downhill or XC bike, upgraded brakes can make a big difference to your riding.
We’ve listed some of the best mountain bike brake deals on at the moment, just in time to get the most out of the last of the summer riding.
The MT Trail SLs are among Magura’s range-topping brakes, featuring high-end materials and dedicated front and rear callipers.
When we tested the MT Trail SLs, we gave them 4 stars, praising the incredible power, easy-to-control bite and lightweight.
With these savings, they’d be a great addition to any trail or all-mountain bike.
The Maven Ultimates are SRAM’s latest and greatest gravity brakes, replacing the Code line-up and delivering serious amounts of power.
We praised their consistency and impressive stopping when we tested them, ultimately awarding the brakes 4.5 stars.
Unlike a lot of other brakes, the Mavens feature contact adjust as well as reach adjust, giving you plenty of options to get the feeling just right.
While these brakes have recently been replaced by the M8200 in Shimano’s line-up, they still offer excellent performance and are now available at a budget price.
We’ve tested these brakes on various bikes in the past, and awarded their beefier four-piston siblings 4.5 stars when we reviewed them.
This model is great for those looking to shave a few grams off, while still getting great stopping power.
Hayes’ A4 Dominion brakes offer great stopping power with easy maintenance thanks to their Two-Stroke dual-port bleed system.
These four-piston brakes are designed for all-mountain and enduro riding, and use DOT 5.1 fluid to manage heat build-up.
We tested the brakes when they came out, and gave them 4 stars for their ease of setup and maintenance, progressive lever feel, and adjustability.
Magura is well known for making high-quality brakes, with the MT8s being no exception.
These stoppers use a two-finger aluminium lever blade that sits in a lightweight Carbotecture SL master cylinder, keeping weight down.
This set comes with everything you need, including two 160mm Storm HC rotors.
These M2 brakes from Clarks would make for a great addition to any bike currently running cable disc brakes.
This brake set comes with the front and rear brakes, as well as pads and rotors – meaning it should be an easy upgrade to make.
While they aren’t the most powerful brakes, for the money, they represent amazing value.
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Zwift’s “ZRacing” is the platform’s most popular ongoing race series, and in September, the series teams up with ENVE for a wheelset worthy of the spotlight!
Read about this month’s race routes below, along with more on the ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheels, including the real-life giveaway.
Here are the routes we’ll be racing in September:
See upcoming Range 1 events >
See upcoming Range 2 events >
See upcoming Advanced events >
See ALL upcoming events >
The new ENVE SES 4.5 PRO wheelset makes its in-game debut in September’s races, with every rider automatically placed on these wheels for each event. Word is these wheels are fast, and Zwift says this month’s courses were chosen “to showcase their all-round dominance.”
It’s not just marketing hype, either: the IRL wheels were developed with direct input from Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates XRG over two seasons, and this year they amassed 25+ victories before Tadej won the Tour de France! They’re lighter and more refined than the standard ENVE 4.5, including new hub and bearing technologies.
Learn how these wheels perform on Zwift >
You can test the new wheels for free in September’s ZRacing, then head to the Drop Shop whenever you’d like to buy them:
Complete any stage for a shot at winning a real-life set of the new 4.5 PROs in ENVE’s official prize draw! (Zwift will send an email with an entry link…)
Zwift’s web-based leaderboards are used for tracking the monthly GC competition for the ZRacing series. No ZwiftPower registration or use is necessary.
Access the ZRacing leaderboards at zwift.com/racing/zracing >
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.
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:
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.
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.
Post below!
Back in May, Zwift introduced a “Route of the Week” challenge, where a different route is featured each week, and completing it earns a 500XP bonus. Learn more here >
Yesterday, two new weekly challenges have launched: a “Workout of the Week” featuring an ERG workout from Zwift’s library and a “Climb of the Week” featuring a climb portal. In simple terms, these work like the Route of the Week: simply complete the featured workout or climb to earn an XP bonus. But let’s take a closer look…
Click the Workout of the Week card on your homescreen to see the details of this week’s featured workout. Kicking it off? “Emily’s Short Mix”, a popular OG Zwift workout named after Emily Mullen, an early leader on the Zwift’s marketing team.
Finish the workout (I’m not sure what constitutes “finishing” the workout, as you definitely don’t have to earn all the stars), and you’ll see a banner on your screen:
Once you finish the workout, clicking the homepage card initiates a confetti party and a popup telling how much much bonus XP you earned:
Until this week, completing the Route of the Week would earn you a 500XP bonus. But Zwift has changed their XP bonus formula, giving different bonuses based on the difficulty/length of the featured route/workout/climb. On the weekly challenge forum thread, Zwift staffer Alex says, “The XP reward does vary based on the difficulty of the ride, though we’re still fine-tuning the reward for these.”
So Zwift isn’t sharing the exact formula yet, but you can see above that we get a 250XP bonus for the 30-minute Emily’s Short Mix workout, and a 750XP bonus for the longer Tourmalet climb. Alex also says, “We agree that the reward needs to be clear on the UI. We’re looking at some options.”
Click the Workout of the Week card on your homescreen to see the details of this week’s featured climb portal. Our first featured climb? The mighty Col du Tourmalet, with 1213 meters of elevation gain across 17.2km of riding.
Finish the climb (yes, finishing it at 50% scaling counts), and you’ll see a banner on your screen:
Once you finish the climb, click the homepage card for a confetti party and a popup telling how much bonus XP you earned. (The Tourmalet earned my test bot 750XP.)
Keen XP farmers will, of course, want to know how to maximize their earnings in these challenges. And there are certainly ways to do so! The trick is to figure out how to complete more than one of the three challenges (route, workout, and climb) in one go.
There really is no way to knock all three out at once, because you can’t do the Route of the Week and Climb of the Week at the same time. But you can certainly layer the Workout of the Week on top of a Route or Climb of the Week ride.
Alex from Zwift confirms, saying, “Yes, you can double dip! You just need to make sure you’re registered for both ahead of time until we update that.”
To register for a challenge, just click the challenge card on your homescreen. That signs you up for the challenge, and now, if you complete the route/workout/climb via another official pathway, it will still count.
(Note that it won’t always be this way. Alex also says, “You currently need to view each challenge to get credit for the ride, though you don’t have to start the route/workout/climb from the Challenge screen. We will soon change it so that you’re automatically registered for them on log in.”)
Two examples of double dipping (there are other ways to do this, but hopefully this illustrates how it works):
I don’t yet have the schedule of upcoming Workouts and Climbs of the Week, but I’ll share that ASAP in a separate post here on Zwift Insider. The Route of the Week schedule is available here.
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