Best cycling gear 2022 | road.cc recommends episode 12

If you’re looking for the best cycling gear in 2022 then we’re on hand every month with a roundup of the best products we’ve reviewed over on road.cc. There’s all kinds of cycling gear on the show this month: A posh road bike, an e-bike, two sets of wheels, a helmet… even a cookbook! Make sure you check out the other road.cc recommends shows too.

Check out the full road.cc recommends list: https://road.cc/recommends

Our New Forest figure of eight: https://www.komoot.com/tour/678904370
The Woods Cyclery: https://www.thewoodscyclery.co.uk/
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#cycling #recommended

0:00 Intro
1:27 Specialized S-Works Prevail II Vent
2:09 Val 7l Seat Pack
3:40 Endura Pro SL 3 Season Jacket
5:00 Albion three season tights
5:56 Route of the month
6:54 Tenways CGO600 e-bike
7:49 Hunt 36 Carbon Aero Wide wheel set
9:02 Buying advice: Carbon wheels
12:42 The Cyclist’s Cookbook
13:55 Giant Power Pro Ultegra power meter
14:46 Specialized S-Works 7 lace up shoes
15:54 Nopinz Endurance bib tights
16:37 Cafe of the month
17:32 Factor Ostro VAM frameset
18:46 Product of the month!
20:19 Outro

i’m back defeated covered good to have you back and i’m talking with your own cc recommends is back with the biggest and best cycling products that you need to know about this month we’ve got wheels clothing helmets and a beautiful bike to boot that’s alongside some top quality buying advice that you need to see before you invest any money well hey becca long time no see for both of us actually yeah we’ve dropped in here a couple of months we’re back how’s growing the human uh harder than expected slight challenge um but still cycling just about getting on the turbo at 32 weeks pregnant now third trimester well underway uh stack height stem spaces like this that offends me hopefully we can get a nice little insert picture there how are the six xl bibs yeah they’re fitting well yeah yeah give it giving a lot of pancake room yeah less room for pancakes now the baby’s taking over but you know what is the baby is it donuts probably yes baby needs doughnuts yeah right so we’ve got back to the video that you’re tuning in for we’ve got a lovely selection of products in this month’s row cc recommends there’s also the regular features of the cafe of the month a route that you should definitely go and take a look at if you’re ever in the vicinity and some top buying advice about one of the most popular upgrades to make becca should we dive in yeah let’s uh well the specialized s-works prevail to vent is a better ventilated version of the company’s top-end s-works prevail too it’s cool and comfortable and you get safety technologies that could help you out should you come off so i really liked the previous version and i’m a big fan of this one too the difference is with the vent that specializers use these kind of like aramid beams to make well the vents are absolutely huge now uh personally i don’t know why they didn’t just make this a prevail three because who buys a vented helmet that doesn’t want more venting anyway it’s comfortable it’s as safe as you can get with the mips uh yeah really nice high-end helmet vel’s seven liter seat pack also really impressed us both in quality construction a user-friendly design and good stability on the bike this is definitely one to look at if you’re planning a longer riding trip this summer yeah we know what a uk summer can bring so it is nice to have uh the knowledge that the boat material that vel uses to make the bag is also waterproof um seeing as the bag is gonna be right in the firing line of road spray that’s good news for whatever you’re packing inside the purge valve makes it easy to squeeze any air from the bag when rolling it up and the two straps to compress the bag are on a loop so they pull tight but don’t have any excess dangle no one likes dangle the area of the pack closest to the seat post has the most reinforcement and the strong material forms like a box section so this is great for packing in heavier items like tools and co2 cartridges uh leaving you with room for more the pliable end of the bag for uh like squashy items like clothing would you take this on a bike packing trip though liam i mean are either of us going to get our hair dryers in that really cordless um straight like dice and travel straighteners like we could probably have you got that new thing yeah but i think we should move on i don’t think we are joking of course both of us are very hardy cyclists that love nothing more than heading out in grim weather so the endura pro sl three season jacket would be perfect for us right well it’s probably not a product i’m gonna need right now i’ve definitely spent the winter indoors on the turbo trailer for obvious reasons but if your bunker’s enough to relish sideways rain which some are of course then you’ll appreciate the clever shaping quality construction and attention to detail that this jacket brings so in full winter mode a primaloft chile clips into the jacket via three poppers and that keeps your core nice and warm even on very cold right so you can use this down to about minus two with just a thermal base layer and about minus four if you put a jersey on top of that too remove the jelly and the jacket can cope with double figure temperatures it’ll cover you up to 12 degrees c with just a short sleeve jersey and you can expect to stay comfortable up to around 16 degrees c with uh vents open too so that is really ideal for like october through to april around here yeah the fit is great too and you don’t feel like you’re wearing a stupidly bulky jacket oh i tell you what i hate feeling like the michelin man on a winter ride with all that clothing let me tell you about me i can’t even get a winter coat zipped up right now but you know anyway i think i’ll deal with my my issues more snuggly kit now with the albion three season tights these are warm comfortable water resistance offering everything you could possibly want from a pair of bib tights to fend off the worst of the uk’s winter weather the fabric consists of a mixture of panels each serving a purpose specific to their location a mid-weight thermal fabric around the waist and thigh keeps you warm without getting too hot while windproof panels at the knee protect the all-important area from chilling at speed below this there’s a lighter weight ruby backed section covering the lower legs and at the ankle area a silicone gripper keeps this firmly in place so the material actually has a dwr coating which means that it will keep out light rain and road spray though i’m sure as a good cyclist you’ve got mud guards on your bike for winter i’m sure everyone has i haven’t i’ve just got a big slack high and a turbo trainer but anyway enough about me next up with that we’ve got our reach of the month let’s take a look this month we’re heading down to the new forest for a great gravel loop you’ll often hear it said you don’t get proper gravel riding in the uk but in the new forest you can ride for hours on fantastic graded trails through ancient woodland and open heaths the hard packed surfaces in the area run fast and dry all year round too even when it’s really wet there’s loads of wildlife to see roaming ponies deer and even pigs at the right time of year a while back we tried a winter overnight around the forest and that was a lot of fun but there’s so much great scenery around the area that it’s well worth being able to see it this route heads out from lindhurst and does a loose figure of eight around the forest taking in some of the best trails and views two-thirds of it is off-road so most of the time you can forget about traffic just concentrate on having a good time on your bike oh a lovely one from the new forest um and that would be lovely for a weekend ride but one bike that is more suited to the daily urban commute is the ten ways cgo 600 made in lithuania and then distributed from holland 10 ways might not be a brand that you’ve come across before but in the cgo 600 they have a sleek city e-bike with a smooth motor and a gate belt drive system that we always love to see the motor is not one that our reviewer had come across before but they were suitably impressed the harder you push the more power you get basically it really is a very sophisticated feeling ride it’s nice to ride without the power on two and the belt drive doesn’t feel too different to a regular chain drive the 16.11 kilogram weight also helps in this regard and also if you need to carry it up steps well for me becca honestly the belt drive just makes so much sense on a bike like this yep no maintenance oh and no oil stains on your jeans or fourth cat hats it’s always good okay inspiring our buying advice this month is the hunt 36 carbon wide aero wheel set which is among the best bang for your buck options that you can get for your rim brake bike these 36 mil deep rims measure 27 millimeters wide externally and 19 mil wide internally offering near enough the maximum width you can comfortably get away with on a rim brake road bike so the 36 carbon wide arrows excel on longer and steeper climbs while on flat roads the 36 millimeter rim depth results in stable if slightly unspectacular speed the stability though is an asset on the descent the lack of texture in the brake track means that in the wet the pads can take just a millisecond longer to bite if you haven’t used them for a while you know and suddenly you’re pulling on the brakes in an emergency but uh there is plenty of power when they do bike at 749 they are a very tempting upgrade and if you haven’t guessed this month’s buying advice is all about that big upgrade that loads of us look to make to our bikes it’s a jazzy set of carbon wheels so off to anna on the tech team to talk you through buying a set thanks guys i think this area is absolutely in need of some sound advice because i know the feeling of spending endless hours trying to choose a new set of carbon hoops there’s a little bit to cover so we’ll jump right in we’re going to look at room depth and internal width as these are both key performance factors rim depth is quite simple the deeper the wheel the faster it should be in a straight line that’s of course a very basic rule of thumb but you can use room depth to gauge whether a wheel set is going to be right for you if you like climbing lots of hills then going for a shallower wheel set between 24 and 40 millimeters is going to offer the low weight you want for punchy climbs and accelerations for a mix of riding a 40 to 60 millimeter wheel set keeps most of these weight savings but throws in some very tempting aero performance that will help you out on the flats this depth also strikes a nice balance for aesthetics and then if you’re just going to be riding on the flat a super deep will set up to 80 millimeters is gonna help you go as fast as possible but as you go deeper you tend to get pushed about more by frost winds just one thing to bear in mind internal rim whip is also really important most disc and room brake wheels now come with 19 to 21 millimeter internal whips some disc brake road wheels even go up to 23 millimeters and wheels designed for gravel go even further the idea is to optimize the shape of the tire that you’re going to be running 19 millimeter rim whips work really well with tires around 25 millimeters then if you jump up to a wheel boasting a 21 millimeter internal width you’ll find that tires between 26 to 30 millimeters sit with a lovely profile above this larger gravel tires really benefit from a wider internal width as it prevents the tyre from forming a light bulb shape when inflated the wider rims allow you to run lower pressures to give you more grip while also getting improved rolling resistance to give you an example our preference for road riding is a 21 millimeter wide rim with a 28 millimeter tyre that generally results in a fast comfortable and grippy setup though your riding situation and weight will have an effect on that and then if you’re on rim brakes you’ll also need to think about the braking surface some wheels use a flat surface which in the dryer at least gives the most power in my experience it must have something to do with the contact patch on the brake pad other brands will use what is often known as a basalt surface think of some paper here and you won’t be surprised to learn that these tend to be the best for initial bite and then finally some brands such as campagnoli and zip have used groove surfaces on their brake tracks these grooves are designed to help clear water from the braking surface and so they tend to be very good for riders that need wet weather braking performance in terms of how much money you need to save up good wheels are available from around the 500 pound mark but we think the sweet spot sits at just under 900 pounds if you have more money to spend you can drop a cool three grand on a set of hoops but just don’t expect them to be significantly faster than the 900 pound ones right back to you in the studio thank you very much for that buying advice anna now the cyclist cookbook by former team sky nutritionist nidal mitchell is a brilliant resource for fueling a hungry cyclist that is living more of a normal life than a pro now what we mean by that is that the recipes are really nicely balanced between performance nutrition that you might want to use after a big training session or you know the night before an event and those meals that are just a bit more basic but the family are going to love yeah let’s be honest you need some of these easy recipes because walking around town trying to find a niche ingredient it’s fine occasionally but it can get frustrating and really put you off the recipe yeah that’s one thing that is great about this book there aren’t too many ingredients that leave you wondering where you’re going to find them and most use just a handful of ingredients which helps cut down on prep time yeah it is good because i do as i said i can easily put off motivation to cook something comprehensive so this is way on my street oh prep is the worst i i just want to eat the food right if you’re if you’re gonna eat your way through this cookbook and i strongly suggest that you do you’ll probably need to burn off a few calories and training with a power meter such as the giant power pro is the most effective way to do that very nice segue leo he’s one of my best good work essentially what you’re getting is the same thing as what you’d get from the likes of stages and four eye the main difference is that the giant system uses rechargeable battery whereas both the competitor systems use a simple 2032 coin cell on either side so the cranks are dual bluetooth and amp plus compatible so they should work with pretty much any gps head unit or indoor training system that you care to mention to be honest there’s not a huge amount to say about this power meter it gave us consistent and reliable data and it’s based on a shimano crankset that we love so your shifting is still going to be brilliant i i really like this i just think it’s a very neat design anyway moving on and the specialized s works seven lace shoes it impressed us with their comfort stiff sole and well gorgeous looks it’s important lace-up shoes are so annoying if your fingers get absolutely frozen in the winter or you want to adjust the shoe tension while riding but it has to be said they look lovely they really do they do indeed and these should stay looking lovely as specialized has included metal eyelets for four of the six pairs of lace holes to prevent any tearing of the upper and there’s an elasticated band that runs across the tongue to provide you know a secure place to you know tuck away those laces the upper combines engineered mesh with areas of tpu and despite not being very thick at all it certainly doesn’t feel like it stretches when you pull up the upper well that is also supple and flexible enough that various foot shapes can get an excellent fit i guess if you’re a fan of the classic look then these are well worth considering on now to our final product before we take a look at a lovely cafe that you really should go to visit the no pins endurance women’s bib ties are a great fitting option for winter endurance riding with a very good seat pad for the price a hydrophobic coating helps protect against road spray and the soft fleecy lining keeps you very warm indeed sounds nice and cozy to be honest absolutely the main reason for this is that the tights use a ruby lined fabric that’s soft and fleecy inside the fabric also has a generous amount of stretch allowing you to move very freely ta sport provides the armadillo endurance pad which is a well-specced option for the price it provides excellent support with no pressure points or chafing on long base mile rides but for now we visited the new forest once and let’s go back now for the cafe of the month on the route if you’re going to the new forest to try out our route of the month or just to explore the area then lindhurst is an ideal base for exploring the wood cyclery is right in the center of town and the bike shop is a real hub for riding in the new forest the cafe has only recently opened but it’s a great place for a mid-ride stop or a coffee and cake at the end of your day in the saddle there’s a big emphasis on local produce including the coffee from bad hand in bournemouth who roasts ethically sourced beans in an old fire station it’s not the biggest cafe so if you’re coming with a club or in a big group it’s best to phone ahead so they can be ready to welcome you and of course if you’ve broken or forgotten something there’s a fully stocked shop right on site that does look like a nice cafe yeah we’re going to have to go to the new farm not too far away now it is a bit of a shame that we can only give out one product of the month award because our next item was absolutely fantastic the factor austro-van frame set is a brilliant way to start a custom build well you know if you can afford it its stiffness and geometry result in a bike that is super fast it tracks through high-speed corners beautifully and is comfortable enough for long days in the saddle you were quite smitten with this frame set weren’t you yeah i’m really quite so sad to say goodbye to a test bike are we gonna get them on chat let’s focus on intends this frame for racing and the ostrow van is easily stiff enough to handle well anything that i could throw at it uh the position is long and low and the weight is bang on for those uh kind of do it all frames a nice short wheelbase it’s also great for responsive handling you actually built the bike up from the frame set and you were saying how easy it was for an internally rooted bike yeah it it suggests that factors actually put some thought into it and the ride is equally impressive so the stiffness of the huge bottom bracket chunky down tube and deep chainstays results in a bike that loves to sprint and over broken ground the back end provides just enough comfort for kind of those longer days in the saddle well that just leaves our product of the money i do a drumroll yeah it’s been a while it’s the hunt 44 aerodynamicist carbon disc wilson yeah so we had a bit of a chat about this in the tech team and really we felt that the hunt wheels at 879 pounds were probably more relevant to most of you at home than the five grand frame set but it’s more the performance that you get for your money that’s really impressed us here the wide rim is stable in crosswinds and fast on mixed terrain they set up tubeless very easily and just float over harsh rows so this particular set of 44 millimeter deep carbon wheels strikes a balance between flatland speed handling and climbing ability very well as all-rounders they’re very capable and with a quick tire swap they can handle cyclocross and like gravel duties too what surprised me most when i reviewed the wheels was the smoothness over broken surfaces the 20 millimeter internal width kind of surely helps with this floaty ride and the width means that they’re optimized for between a 25 and a 28 millimeter tire you can run your 23s if you’re still kind of clinging to them and i fitted some 33 millimeter cycle cross tires too the acceleration is plenty fast enough from slow speeds they lose out slightly to a properly deep wheel on fully flat rides but if you’re looking to cover a range of riding i’d say this is an excellent option well last month’s recommends was absolutely jam-packed so you should check that out because there’s a ton of great stuff to have a look at isn’t that and seeing as our becca here is well quite quite pregnant right um our latest bump and ride video is well worth a look i have to say that i’ve loved watching them and i’m not even pregnant it’s it’s taught me many things i’m going to test you now what have you learned what have you taken away from the series first off six xl bibs are well worth the investment i can’t hang on i think it’s it’s three or four xl it’s not six i mean and also a serious one is that trimester two is actually like the time that most women feel able to go out and exercise the glow is it the yeah is it does it come with that sound effect as well yeah no it’s a myth it’s a myth but you can ride a lot more yeah um but seriously for a minute i just want to say a huge thank you to everyone here at road cc for allowing me to share that journey on the channel because well you know it has been overwhelming to hear other people going through what i’m going through really benefiting from the advice so thank you no problem well that is all from us for this month’s waitc recommends isn’t it we’ll be back next time and if you liked it give us a like and subscribe it really helps the channel for me and liam goodbye