The People behind GRVL.CC are first and foremost riders. I know this because I’ve been riding with them. What they also have is years of experience designing sportswear for other companies, some of them very big in the sports world. you’ve probably worn some of their designs but don’t know it.
The GRVL guys though wanted to produce products with more sustainability, in factories that are enviromentally friendly but still give the quality that they demand. All that is a tall order right?
They sent me out a pair of their GRVL bib shorts to try and I’ve been riding short and long distances in them over the last couple of months to see if that list of demands they’ve made for themselves translates into something comfortable to wear, because you can have the most ethical clothing in the world but if it doesn’t feel good when you ride you’re not going to keep wearing it.
The first thing you’ll notice is that these shorts look like they have a baggy short included and they kind of do, but its sewn into the traditional lycra leg and joins at the inner thigh seam. So it’s not a lycra short inside a baggy one, it’s permanently fixed too. GRVL say it’s to give the rider extra protection from the weather, dust and mud. The GRVL logo appears on one leg, this is actually a nightmare for photos because it’s the non drive side leg (otherwise known as the left) and all shots of the bike should be from the driveside, that’s an unwritten bicycle marketing rule right there. I kinda like they’ve gone against the rules, lets hope it’s deliberate!
The logo shows up in a couple of other places and is embossed on the shoulder straps and the bottom of the legs and is a nice stylish touch that makes them stand out from other shorts in this price bracket.
There are two rear pockets which I’d say were perfect for small snacks and gels etc. I did manage to get my phone in there (pixel 6) but had to position it sideways and stretch the pocket as in the vertical postion the pocket only just reached half way up the phone and it didn’t feel secure. Not really a fail on the shorts though as a phone isn’t what every rider stuffs in the pack pocket.
The fit is excellent, I usually take an XL size and these were a good fit, I’d have liked to try the next size down for a little more compression on the legs but when riding they felt spot on.
When I first posted a picture on my instagram account of these shorts I received a direct message from someone who had tried the shorts and said they wanted to warn me of the minimal padding on the chamois. GRVL say the chamois is for “comfort for rough terrain and big adventures” You can see from the picture that the padding isn’t as thick as some shorts on the market. I didn’t find this a problem when riding up to 60+ mile and lots of shorter rides. Not to be too graphic but my backside is well used to riding long distance on my saddle so it is a bit “hardened off”. A beginner rider might have a different view on this but I will say that too much padding is as bad non at all. The chamois does seem to breathe well though and I’ve been glad of this the last few weeks of high tempertures in the UK.
These shorts are not cheap, currently (July 2025) they retail at £185, not the most expensive shorts out there by any means but also not the most affordable. However, they are comfortable and the materials feel like quality. After numerous washes and abrasions from riding they still look good so GRVL have achieved that part of their wish list, the ethical side I take their word for as as I mentioned, they aren’t a faceless corporation, they actually go riding and I’d trust that over any fancy marketing campaign .
The extra baggy short look i’m not sure about. After a long time cargo pocket sceptic but now adopter I missed the leg pockets when riding.
The GRVL.CC bib short is comfortable over long distance, excells in it’s price bracket and manages to look different in a sea of similar looking bib shorts. Given the knowledge that they are striving for sustainability and if the integrated baggy short look is your thing then I’d definately consider these over a big name brand who just care about the profit margin.
Cyclists get a lot of flak from the non cycling fraternity for wearing the “uniform” of lycra shorts, tight fitting hi-viz yellow jersey (or dayglo/aero, add your own social media insult, usually from a post reporting a collision between a motor vehicle and a cyclist, their clothes somehow proving it was the riders fault!) and a cap and it’s a shame that even though lots of us don’t wear that outfit for riding we get grouped into the same tired stereotype.
However, one item on that list I’d say while not essential to riding, can enhance the experience much more than the latest carbon wheelset or electronic shifting gizmo. That item is the humble cycling cap or if you want to be really pretentious, a casquette.
Caps are great for wearing under a helmet when it’s cold, hot, when it’s wet or when it’s sunny. they also work for all these reasons without being under a helmet. At the cafe stop, the pub, the campsite etc etc. i take one on every ride in case I need it for any of the above reasons and not just because I’m folically challenged. I also did the same when i had enough hair to flick out of my eyes…..did i say they’ll keep hair and sweat out of your eyes too?
Uncle Pete THIS IS UNCLE PETE on instagram sent me a message asking if I’d like to review one of his handmade cycling caps. Being a big fan of the humble cap I of course agreed. Pete asked me to measure my head where the rim of a cap would normally sit, easily done with a tape measure and a mirror or a piece of string and a rule. Even easier if you have someone to measure it for you. He asked me what colour/pattern material I wanted and to look at his Etsy site for ideas. Now, I am lazy and colour blind so I said I’d leave it to him to decide.
A few days later a parcel arrived for me and the cap in the pictures was the result. This navy blue cap is very understated, i was expecting something much more jazzy but I have to say it looks classy and not out of place in the non cycling side of my life, then i checked the lining material which was covered in a skull and crossbones material! A hidden treat.
The cap is super soft with a shallow stiff brim, I much prefer the smaller brim, it fits with helmets much better and looks so more stylish than the usual long brim seen on most caps which i always find hinders vision when on the bike unless you push your helmet too far backwards. The cap doesn’t have an elasticated rim because it doesn’t need one, it’s made to measure. This cap wins massively over off the peg caps because of this. Off the peg caps in my experience are either too big or too tight if you don’t possess an average size head and not many of us do.
The cap has served me well the last few weeks and is so comfortable and it’s been tested in some of the best weather the UK has had in a while. It’s kept my head from being sunburnt and you can see from the pictures it’s been sweated in a few times. It’s made of cotton with a cotton liner and so is quite breathable but obviously in really hot weather the cotton does soak up any moisture. It does however wash really well.
I really wish I’d taken the time to choose a brighter colour as this cap has quickly become my favourite and it deserves to shout “look at me!” the quality and finish is top notch and many many times better than the run of the mill caps available. Yes, its currently £30 for a cap, but thats only £5-10 more than the will it/won’t it fit cap with a big brand name on it that probably cost pennies to make in china.
I’ve even experimented with wearing it with the lining on the outside!
The quality of construction, the comfort, materials used and the fact it’s specifically made for your head by hand is worth every penny, just choose your colour and pattern wisely and treat yourself.
I recently got invited to visit the Brooks England factory in Smethwick, Birmingham as they were having an open weekend and conducting tours of the factory. Of course I accepted, especially as the premises is only a 14 mile pedal from my house using the extensive local canal system.
It wasn’t until I looked into the intinery and the history of the company that I realised what an opportunity this was. Brooks haven’t opened their factory to the public for over 150 years so this literally could be a once in a life time visit!
Brooks have a long long history in cycling, if you are seriously into your cycling then you have probably heard of Brooks and their leather saddles. If you are not into cycling at all and are asked to describe or draw a bicycle saddle i guarrantee you will picture the traditional Brooks B17 saddle that has been in continous production for over 100 years.
Brooks B17
It said that Brook’s founder John Boultbee Brooks, a horse saddle manufacturer since 1866 when the company was founded was unhappy at how the wooden saddle on his bike felt (we can all sympathise I’m sure) and decided he was going to make a better one out of leather and the first patent was filed in 1882. The company has been making saddles since then, it has been bought, sold, rescued and is now owned by Selle Royal who make all the non leather saddles in Italy but the Smethick factory continues to hand make saddles to this day.
The Day started with coffee and pastries in the factory loading bay and a tour of the bike makers and designers set up in the courtyard who were all known for their use of Brook’s saddles on their bikes. its the best coffee I’ve had in a loading bay ever! The factory is just how you’d expect one to look dating back that far, it could have been a movie set but all the old boxes and stock on the shelves were there for a reason, even the toilet block should be a listed building it was so authentic!
We then began the tour, guided by Steve who had been at the factory since he was 16 and he explained later he’s done pretty much every job in the factory from tea boy to machine press operator, even a stint in HR!
The tour progressed from the very vintage presses which were very loud to the cutting out of the leather which is soaked in water to soften it before it’s put into a press/shaper. Some of the machines were over 100 years old and i asked one of the guys, what happens when one of these machines that hasn’t been in production for so long breaks? He said, we just make a new part from scratch for it and if we can’t do it Birmingham’s renowned jewelry quarter is a couple of miles away and there are small factories there that can make anything you want.
Everything is done in house apart from the tanning of the leather which is done in Belgium. No UK company can cure the British hides to Brook’s exacting standards
The sights, sounds were outstanding but the smells in the factory were what made the experience so visceral.
we saw springs and saddle frames being bent into shape using, quite frankly lethal looking machines which undoubtedly back in the day didn’t have all the safety guards they do now attached to them.
we went from raw materials through to the finishing touch of riveting the Brooks logo, also stamped in house, to the saddles. At every stage there was a human operating the machinery, it was mass production but on a much smaller and personal scale than I’d expected before visiting.
As we walked around I took the time to chat to the staff working there and I asked one candidly if they were amused that all these people were interested to see and photograph all the small parts of what must be a mundane everyday job to them and he said, no, he was proud that there was interest and he loved being there and what they do, of the people i chatted to the shortest time working there was 16 years, so they must like it!
It was an incredible day, i can honestly say one of the best things I’ve done as part of running UKGRAVELCO, I could have stayed there watching the process all day and not been bored. totally not how i thought it would be. The day was so well organised, fascinating and the people so friendly, open and warm.
No robots, no CNC machines just skilled craft persons shaping metal and leather into some of the best cycling products on the market. What made it great for me was being able to chat to the people on the factory floor and despite it being their day job the enthusiasm and pride in the company came through.
You can get a bit blasé when you read the phrase “hand made” but now I know the true meaning and value of that label. With Brooks England though I think that also includes pride and maybe a little love in every product too.
Massive thanks to @brooksengland and @extra_uk for inviting me. you can see all the products that Brooks manufacture here Brooks england and if it doesn’t take another 150 years for them to open the factory to the public again make sure you are on that tour!
all the black and white professional pictures were taken by Dan Phillips Photography the less professional colour ones by me!
British brand Altura have long been known for good value practical clothing and kit. This season they have expanded their “all roads” collection and these items seem perfect for commuting, gravel biking and riding in general so to see if what’s written on paper is true I tried a few pieces out to see if they lived up to their billing.
altura all road cargo shortsaltura all road cargo shorts
All roads Cargo Shorts. First up then is an essential, in my opinion, part of any cyclists wardrobe if riding medium to long distance and that is a pair of padded shorts. I was a long time sceptic of bib shorts with pockets on the legs but since trying them I’ve become a complete convert and now wouldn’t consider a pair of bib shorts without some sort of storage option.
The Altura Cargo shorts actually have 5 pockets. two on one leg, one on the other, two rear pockets in a similar spot to where jersey pockets would be and also a loop at the rear which I found perfect to store an Altura rain pullover jacket.
The two pockets on one leg i found a perfect size to hold a phone and some gels and keep them separate from each other and the other side perfect for a bag of walkers! The two rear “jersey” pockets are sized just like jersey pockets so anything you’d be able to stuff in a top you’ll be able to fit here too. Bear in mind though that whatever you stow here will be nearer the heat of your body so chocolate bars are probably out but gels should be easier to swallow when warmer! Obviously if you put something heavy or unwieldy in the pockets they will drag the short legs down but trial and error is your friend here.
altura all road cargo shortsaltura all road cargo short pad
The pad in the shorts is comfortable for short and medium rides without any chamois cream for me, anything over 50 miles I’ll be slathering on the cream to stop any hot spots, but this is the same for any padded short regardless of cost.
The sizing is realistic, I usually take an XL to feel comfortable at over 6ft tall and XL in these shorts was spot on. numerous washes haven’t made the shorts baggy or tight so I can say with confidence they are worth a place in your wardrobe and may end up as your go to shorts.
All Roads Shorts At the other end of the spectrum are the Altura All Roads “baggy” shorts. I’ve put those quotation marks in as although the shorts are baggy compared to bib shorts they are quite fitted and so look “normal”, more quotes but what I mean is you could wear these as everyday shorts and no one would bat an eyelid. Ride to work and wear them all day or in the pub. Personally i’d add a padded short too if going any distance as these shorts have no padding. What they do have tough is a stretch fabric so pedalling is easy in them with no pulling.
altura all road shortsaltura all road shorts adjuster
The shorts have waist adjusters and three pockets. The rear is zipped for security and the two side pockets are very useable in that you can ride with a phone in the pocket without it interfering with pedalling action. The material is lovely and soft to the touch but maybe a little thick to wear on the hottest of days. Sizing again is realistic and large for me with a 34″ waist was spot on.
altura all road shortsaltura all road shorts and shirt
All Roads Cycling Shirt The ubiquitous check shirt, sometimes known as a flannel. Well Altura’s verion is not flannel at all. It’s a technical fabric more akin to a cycling jersey and is made of a polyester ripstop material, very handy when riding through the UK’s overgrown bridleway network. It has a lovely amount of stretch to the fabric has two chest pockets and snap button (or press-stud if you’re old enough) which makes venting on climbs very easy. Because it’s not flannel it folds up compactly so is great to stow away on your bike for pub stops or bike packing when you’ve made camp and are sitting around the fire…ok, maybe eating rehydrated cardboard dinners and hiding from midges but you know what I mean. The shirt also has some reflective detailing if the check pateern isn’t enough to get you noticed.
altura all road cycling shirtaltura all road cycling shirt front
A shirt like this should be in every riders kit as it’s so versatile and comfy to wear.
Altura Esker Cave Trail Hoody Hoodies for bike riding? doesn’t the hood just fill with air and act as a brake? sometimes yea in a high wind or speed situation but it really is just occasional and the benefits outweigh that drawback massively. The Altura Cave hoody (not sure what the Cave bit is about if i’m honest) is a soft feel jacket with high loft fleece areas on the chest and outer upper arms, just where windchill will make it’s presence felt. because of this it’s really an early or late in the day or an Autumn-winter-spring garment. The two zippered front pockets are big enough to stash a phone and the hoody is treated with a water repellent coating to shrug off spray and a light shower. And the hood? it’s actually elasticated so it’ll fit over a helmet and not fly off.
altura Esker hoodyinside altura Esker hoody
This hoody has been so comfortable and because the test period co-incided with the hottest spring for years has seen more use off the bike than on. That just shows it’s versatility though.
altura Esker hoody and all road shortsaltura Esker hoody and all road shorts
Altura Esker Waterproof Packable jacket Riding in the UK you will need a waterproof jacket at some point unfortunately. In my mind there are two types of waterproof cycling jacket. One that you wear when it’s already raining when you leave the house or one that you take with you, tucked away somewhere on you or the bike incase it starts raining when you are already mid ride. This Altura jacket is for the latter and it works pefectly in this respect as it is very packable and will fold away into it’s own pocket.
altura all roads waterproof jacketaltura all roads waterproof jacket
It is full waterproof with taped seams and has vents front and rear to aid breathability and an integrated hood. the hood has a drawstring adjuster to tailor the fit and prevent it blowing about. the jacket is cut for cycling and has sleeves that are longer to account for the cycling position. The cuffs are also partially elastic to stop draughts blowing up the sleeves. Again the fit is real world.
altura all roads waterproof jacketaltura all roads waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers
As with any waterproof jacket, even the most expensive, you will get warm riding in this jacket in warm humid conditions, that’s unavoidable but this jacket is no worse in that respect than jackets costing three times as much.
An essential waterproof jacket that takes up no room at all so you can take it with you for when you need it….and you will!
Altura All Roads Packable Waterproof Trousers Do you really need waterproof trousers? I’ve always thought this as all the waterproof leg wear I’ve tried in the past has been franly, horrible. Rustlely, clammy and hot is my experience with waterproof trousers so I put these on in trepidation, prepared to absolutely hate them but, what a revelation, these Altura waterproof trousers were truly excellent.
Altura All Roads Packable Waterproof TrousersAltura All Roads Packable Waterproof Trousers side zip
I picked a day when it had been raining for a couple of days and was still raining to give them a proper test. First thing to note is that the zip “fly” is off set to one side so no bunching up when you bend over and there’s a waist adjuster to get the fit just right. there’s also a side pocket that these trousers actually roll up into and are of small enough bulk to stash away on the bike making them perfect for bike packing or commuting.
Altura All Roads Packable Waterproof TrousersAltura All Roads Packable Waterproof Trousers
The main thing I loved about these trousers was the fit. most cycling trousers tend to not have the correct articulation at the knee and the pedalling action pulls the trousers down when the knee grips the fabric. No such thing happened here, even standing up i didn’t have to adjust the waist height everytime. The material has a waterproof coating which made water bead off them and despite riding for a couple of hours in the rain in them I didn’t feel like i was over heating.
Fit again is good but I’d like to improve a couple of things, first the length. I’d like the legs to be longer, when riding there was a gap between trouser leg hem and shoe. easily rectified with a waterproof sock btu if you were using these as an emergency rain stopper them water will run off them into your shoes. the other thing is also hem related. the hem is elasticated and this ensures minimal trouser-chain interfaces but they fit so well here it’s definately a shoe off situation to get them on in that emergency deluge situation.
Those two things are far outweighed by how good the trousers perform and also how quiet they are when pedalling. no annoying rustle of the fabric. Invest in some waterproof socks, buy a pair of these altura all roads waterproof trousers and go and play in the rain!
Altura Esker Eco Trail Trouser winter riding sucks right? Its cold, dark and motivation is at an all time low. bib tights are just not cutting it in the single digit temps. That’s my feeling anyway so I bought the old version of these trousers and wore them with bibs and knee warmers underneath and they kept me toasty and able to extend rides because of the warm and how comfortqble they were.
Altura Esker Eco Trail TrousersAltura Esker Eco Trail Trousers adjuster
I was keen to try this new version to see if they were still as good and what differences there might be. The ECO part of the name is the result of using recycled materials in the fabric. there’s a water repellent coating that works well and the fit is great. the waist is a wrap around design with the adjuster over to one side so it doesn’t stick in your belly when in the cycling position. The material has a great stretch to it and it doesn’t hamper pedalling at all. Altura say there’s enough room at the knee for low profile knee pads, not something I’ve ever used but this room means the knees are free to move and don’t pull the material down. the close fitting hem length means there’s no flapping that might put the material into the chain.
Altura Esker Eco Trail Trousers hemAltura Esker Eco Trail Trouser raised rear
The fit is just as good as the original pair i bought and they pedal equally as well. If you hate riding through nettles and brambles in summer then these trousers are your go to. Despite me wearing mine in winter i have tried them in more clement conditions just to see how they faired and you won’t feel like a grain of rice in a boil in the bag sachet. They also pack up fairly small too so definately an option for bike packing.
The Altura Esker trail trousers are still my favourite full length riding trews!
This is just the tip of Altura’s clothing iceberg, they do road specific , commuting and MTB stuff too but these pieces above seem to cross all genres and so fit gravel riding perfectly.
The Altura All roads and Esker clothing range is good value, has realistic, real human sizing and is carefully designed by people who know about UK riding. Definately check them out when looking for kit to go riding in.
here’s a link to altura’s website, it’s not an afiliate link so I don’t get any money for this review, I do however get to keep the kit that they sent to me, afterall, no-one would want those bib shorts now would they?……hmm, maybe of of those specialist websites!
Ultimate Sports Engineering (U.S.E) have been making bicycle components for many years, I had one of their suspension seatposts on my mountain bike back in the 1990s. Together with the other arm of the business, Exposure lights, they have a well earned great reputation for well thought out and reliable components with excellent after sales service too.
I tested the modern equivalent of that original seatpost and you can read it here U.S.E now have a suspension stem in their line up and I was lucky enough to be sent one for a few weeks to try out.
The stem is available in two lengths currently, 70 and 90mm and unlike other similar stems on the market is rated for use on drop or flat bars. It is constructed of aluminium, weighs194g for the 70mm version I tested It consists of one main pivot point that squeezes a changeable elastomer that allows the stem to move up to 20mm. The stem also has adjustment for rebound and compression, something I’ve not seen on any other suspension stem I’ve tried so far.
The first thing to say is that it looks like an ordinary stem, which to my mind makes it a much better prospect than some of the huge parallelogram style suspension stems on the market which are quite ugly in my opinion. When riding and you look down it looks good and is not something you’d want to hide!
As with most suspension stems, you need to dial in the stem to suit your weight and riding preferences. U.S.E. include 4 interchangeable elastomers that allow you to do this. The stem does have to be taken apart to swap the elastomers though. Happily there is a comprehensive guide included in the box and it’s on actual paper! no downloads needed. It’s pretty straightforward to swap, just make sure you put the stem back together as the U.S.E. guide states. U.S.E. also include a little tub of grease in the box which is a great touch.
Set up with a yellow elastomer as per the rider weight guide and all bolts tightened to the correct torque I went for a series of rides to test out the stem, I’ve included a video below that shows the stem in action, please take a look (and subscribe to my youtube channel if possible, it’s free!)
So, does the U.S.E. Vybe suspension stem work, well yes and no. Firstly and this is the same as with any “suspension” stem, do not think of it as suspension like a suspension fork, it dampens the vibrations coming off the trail through your front wheel and rigid fork, it doesn’t suspend the rider from big hits. What it does by dampening those vibrations is reduce fatigue on you hands, arms, shoulders and upper body allowing you to ride further and recover more quickly. The U.S.E. Vybe stem does this brilliantly but there is one drawback and this is affected by your riding style.
Because the pivot point on the stem is very near the steerer of the fork the nearer your hands are to that pivot the less the stem moves. What this means when riding on drop bars is that the maximum compliance of the stem is achieved when riding on the hoods. Riding with hands on the drops and therefore further back than on the hoods mens the stem moves significantly less. So if like me you spend a lot of time on the drops for technical descending then you won’t really benefit from having that 20mm of travel. If you ride on the hoods you’ll get much more cushioning as you move along. So pedalling long sections of rough trail like forest fireroads or towpaths that are ridden on the hoods is where the stem really shines. I know for a lot of riders this is exactly what gravel riding is. Others like myself who don’t have that kind riding on our doorsteps and ride XC trails will find less benefit.
Since posting this review I’ve had messages from readers who have seen reviews of the stem where the main pivot bolt came loose during a ride. I can say for the 4+ weeks the stem was on my bike over various rides that bolt remained tight.
The Ultimate Sports Engineering Vybe Suspension stem is a well made and thoughfully designed component with added features over other similar stems on the market. If you are a fireroad/towpath/rough bridleway and typical UK pot holed road rider then it’s an excellent way to reduce fatigue and lengthen time in the saddle. if you push the boundaries of what a gravel bike is supposed to do it maybe of less benefit but who doesn’t ride all the above to get to the juicy challenging routes? Might as well take advantage of that suspension for those section as it won’t hinder you on the downs!
you can find more information about the U.S.E. stem on their website here
This is going to sound obvious, but wheels are the most important part of a bicycle, after all it wouldn’t be a bi-cycle if it didn’t have a minimum of two wheels right? However the humble wheelset is often over looked when buying a bike. The shiny flamboyant (or drab, your choice obvs) paint job is the first thing you see right before you check out the gears and brake groupset that is on your potential purchase. Well, here’s the thing, bike manufacturers know this and so a fancy paint scheme and a chi-chi rear derailleur are added to turn the buyers head. The reality is the hidden bits, the bottom bracket, the finishing kit (handlebars, stem, seatpost etc) are never going to be more then functional unless you are spending a LOT of money. This is fine, all these parts are easily replaceable or upgradable in the future lifetime of bike ownership, they get the job done to start you off.
Unfortunately this lower standard of component also extends to those very important hoops that are your interface with the terrain you are riding on (apart from tyres, again, easily upgradeable when they wear out) and this is a shame as a good set of wheels can really improve the ride of a bicycle. Most original equipment wheels will come with basic bearings, heavy hubs and rims and may or may not be tubeless compatible should you choose to run without inner tubes.
So one of the first things I’d suggest you upgrade on a bike is the wheelset but this is going to be more expensive than swapping out a saddle or handlebars, not everyone is made of money so what you need to look for is affordability, build qualilty, ease of maintenance and ride characteristics.
Most of those wheels that come on a new bike will have been put together on a wheel building machine, these are wonderous things that literally take minutes to go from a set of hubs, spokes and rims to a fully built wheel and there maybe a cursory quality control check at the end of that production line but they will have been built to a price and will be nowhere near the quality or have the attention to detail afforded to them that a set of hand built wheels do. But hand built wheels cost mega bucks…dont they?
CES sport came to my attention when they followed me on instagram, I’ll admit it was the first I’d heard of the company and I did a bit of internet searching and read their bio and saw that after supplying wheels to the triathlon community they had branched out into gravel with their “Graean” wheelset. Unusual name you think to yourself, well not if you hail from Wales, which is where CES Sport is based “Graean” is the Welsh word for Gravel! I messaged Joe, the founder of the company and asked if he was willing to send a pair of wheels for review, with the usual caveat that It would be a honest review and that given the state of my local trails the wheels were not going to get an easy life. Joe was fully confident in the wheels and sent a pair out to me.
I asked that the only thing they should come with was tubeless valves as I intended to mount my own tyres. this is because I have a working knowledge of how those tyres behave so as not to muddy the water of the wheel review by getting used to a new tyre’s handling characteristics. I added tubeless tape, sealant and a pair of WTB Resolutes and then swapped rotors and cassette from my usual wheels, but before this I weighed both wheels (with valves) and they came out at 1670g. exactly the weight claimed on the CES Sport website, this was a first for a review!
There’s a choice when you buy the wheels of having Bitex hubs or DT Swiss 350 hubs, I let Joe choose these and they came with the DT Swiss. These hubs ran smoothly throughout the test period although they did freak me out a little as I’m used to the loud buzz of Hope hubs and the DT Swiss were near silent. Talking of which, these deep section 35mm rims were also silent. A lot of deep section carbon road rims emit a frankly horrific rumble on tarmac that you can hear from miles away. (how you can ride with that noise I do not know) maybe it’s the higher volume tyres on a gravel bike that quiet them down but either way I was relieved at this characteristic.
The rims are 25mm across internally and 32mm across externally. My 42mm tyres seated first time with a track pump and sat with a pleasing round profile. The rims are not hookless so you are not confined to a few compatible tyres. They are built with Sapin j-bend spokes and brass nipples….yes! This may not mean anything to you but it ensures the wheels are easy to maintain, spokes are easy to source if you break one and the nipples are external. Too many wheelsets have fancy, hard to find proprietory bladed spokes. They have aluminium nipples that can corrode (react with the steel spoke) and break and the nipples are sometimes hidden in the rim meaning its a tyre off scenario just to true a wheel. This approach by CES is to be applauded, it may add a few grams but I’d rather have ease of maintenance any day.
So on paper they sound good but how did they ride? Well I did not give them an easy life at all. My local trails are already hub deep in mud in places, soft ground and bridleways heavily used by our horsey friends see to this so they’ve had a baptism of fire mud. Mix this with a liberal scattering of leaves and a close fitting front mudguard and this saw the rim walls scaped with all sorts of trail detritus. I’m writing this in the garden now looking at the wheels drying in the pathetic bit of sun we have today after being washed and they look absolutely unscathed…..apart from a slight peel on a sticker, I’m told though that this is the demo wheelset and the stickers will be different on production rims.
The wheels are noticably stiffer than my usual aluminium rimmed wheels, out of the saddle flinging the bike from side to side to try and flex them there was no tyre rub on that close fitting mudguard, something that is very noticable on my normal wheels. It gives you the feeling that all the effort you put on the pedals is being transfered into forward motion. I did drop the pressures of the tyres by a couple of psi as at 32-35 on really rocky ground it did become bumpy but that seemed to do the trick and they became as comfortable as my usual wheels but without any squirmy feeling.
When you ride a wheelset for the first time after its been built the spokes tend to ping and bang a bit as they seat and you should check for trueness, these wheels through did not do that. This I put down to attention to detail from the builders. This is the difference between those bog standard wheels that come on your new bike and a set of hand built wheels, someone has taken the time to check their work and taken pride in doing so. Yes, the components are off the shelf, the rims are almost certainly built to spec in China (the DT Swiss hubs almost certainly are) but here they are chosen for a job rather than the price point being the be and end all, the fact that this set of wheels come in at an affordable, compared to other carbon wheels, price of less than £1200 (less than £950 for the other hubs) makes them stand out of the crowd.
The CES Sport Graean Carbon wheelset rides and works well, They are easy to maintain, are comfortable but still stiff and with the build quality and ease of tubeless set up I can’t think of a downside……oh no wait, If they had a stealthier sticker they’d be spot on, I guess thats the triathlon influence!
you can find more details on the CES Sport website here (not an affiliate link)
Checkout the video review of the wheels below, If you like or dislike this video please take the time to subscribe to my YouTube channel. It costs nothing but makes a huge difference to me
I’ve been called many things over the years but probably the most annoying is that I’m an “influencer” Now you might say as I publish online reviews, you tube videos and have a instagram following that that is exactly what I am and up to a point I suppose you are right and also wrong, let me explain.
Back in 2018 I was working in the bike industry, selling and fixing bikes in a local bike shop. These new fangled “gravel bikes” had started to be a thing. Of course I wanted one and even tried to get as near to the concept as I could by adapting a hard tail MTB with narrow tyres and a rigid fork. A year later I was lucky enough to be allowed to ride the shop demo gravel bike, a Trek Checkpoint (check the dropdown above for a review of that bike) which I absolutely loved. At that time there were so many companies that were jumping on that gravel band wagon it was really confusing for the ordinary rider to know what was good, what was essential and what just wasn’t fit for purpose. No one really has the cash to throw away on a bike or product that the media tell you you need but in reality is so far from quality or purpose that you might as well just set fire to your pound notes (remember real money?)
So I decided to start UKGRAVELCO on instagram to share my pictures and repost others snaps to inspire people to ride and quite frankly to find people to ride with. I started to be inundated with messages asking my opinion on this or that bike, that wheelset, what should i wear etc etc you get the picture. At the time there was a lot of media attention for gravel, lots of articles online and in magazines (they existed back then!) and many pro riders and those with lots of followers recommending kit. All well and good you might think. However, working in the industry I’d had some of that kit that’d been recommended as essential in my hands and well I didn’t agree. It was then I launched ukgravelco.com to try and give an honest, balanced look and review on some of these items.
I started with bikes or kit I already owned and knew that worked or didn’t and this proved popular. I gained followers at a fast rate and traffic to the website was good. I was able to show this data and contacted a few companies and distributors to see if I could review some of their kit, always with the premise that it was at their risk. If i liked the product I would say so, but also if I thought it was lacking I’d put that in print too. It was a risky move, but I wasn’t doing it to make a living from the reviews, I was doing it to help others and yea, it was fun too. Luckily quite a few companies and marketing people had confidence in their products and sent them to me to try out.
“i bet you get to keep all that stuff you get sent” is a sentence I hear a lot and the answer is yes and a definate no. Understandibly no one wants clothing or shoes back after I’ve worn them for a few weeks, especially bib shorts! Bikes and wheels definately have to go back and a few times at my expense too. I’ve also agreed to review kit I can give away in a competition afterwards either in a straight free competiton with a random winner or by buying a ticket where all the profits go to a charity or good cause such as Nil’s Rider Resilience project.
“How much do you get paid to review stuff?” honestly, nothing, not a thing. Now this is really what inspired me to write this article really. This was because I recieive quite a lot of offers of product that comes with a ready written script from the manufacturer, that script is what they want you to write about their stuff. Basically a glowing review before I’ve even had the product in my hands. This comes usually with a sweetner of keeping the item or the promise of commission. I’ve even had emails asking how much I charge for a positive review! Needless to say I’ve always declined these offers. So have peace of mind that all the reviews on ukgravelco have not been paid for upfront or scripted by someone with a vested interest in having a good review.
I reviewed the ASS Saver Win-Wing last year after writing an email to see if they would send me one to review. I loved it, it’s such a simple idea that really works. I wrote a review and made a a video that got lots of attention. When Ass Savers produced the mark 2 win-wing they asked if I’d like to try one out to see the differences between the original and the new one. Of course I said yes. they liked the ensuing video so much they shared it and offered me a discount code to share with my followers. This was post review and not before it was written/filmed. This was something new to me and it came with what the industry calls a “kick back” This meant every time someone used my code ( GARYW_10 ) they would get 10% off their order and I would get a small percentage of that discount, This was a dilemma, would this compromise my neutrality? I decided that as i believed in the product so much and would recommend it anyway I would agree to it. After all the website hosting and domain does not pay for itself, plus a lot of the products I review I’ve paid for in full from my own money. So full disclosure, for one Ass Saver sale of £20.34 i receive £2.85.
All this is handled by an affiliate company. Usually an advertisement company or media company who handle publicity/promo codes and links for many companies at once. The company that handle ass-savers send out the codes and handle commission, if any and that’s not guaranteed. Most times when you see a link to a product at the end of a review it’s an affiliate link, if you click on it then either the reviewer or the website that is paying the reviewer to write the review gets a percentage kick back. This is why I’ve started putting a disclaimer next to any link I post that it isn’t an affiliate link.
It was while browsing the extensive list of companies on the affiliate website that I noticed that a good many of the accounts of “influencers” I follow on instagram had nearly all the cycling affiliate offers listed on their accounts. In some cases it was almost a carbon copy of the list. Taking a closer look at their content where they are saying “look at what I’ve been sent/this is the best thing ever” etc etc and seeing the long list of discount codes and links in their bio they are getting a kick back for every one. Honestly half the stuff listed i would not even give the light of day too. I get sent an email if there’s a new affiliate opportunity and It’s become a ritual to go to this account and see how long before they announce that they can’t live without that particular product and oh, here’s a discount code so you don’t miss out.
Is this influencing? I guess it is. I feel it’s wrong and this is why I do not like being called an influencer. I’ve had chats with a few cycle industry companies recently about reviewing the latest products and in all cases I own items they’ve produced in the past already, paid for with my own money and the subject of earning a kick back for reviewing their product has come up and I’ve said that I believe in their product and that I’d recommend it anyway regardless of kick back.
This is the only way I can go forward, I can’t continue reviewing without being totally honest. If there’s any offer code then I’ll be upfront about any kick back and I won’t be agreeing to that until I’ve properly seen and tested the item.
So choose your influencer carefully, there are genuine reviewers out there that will only take kick back on products they really believe can make a difference to your riding but unfortunately there are those who clearly are only in it for the money.
This may be old news to you, it may open your eyes and make you look at any review or influencer with a pinch of salt and if it’s the latter it’s been worthwhile writing this. No pictures on this one as I didn’t think it was fair to use unrelated pictures just to fill out the article and implicate any company, product or dare I say influencer wrongly
if you’d like to support these honest reviews and ukgravelco.com then please consider following this page, the instagram channel, subscribing to the youtube channel all of which are free to do or buying something from the ukgravelco shop, links below, non of which are affiliate
I recently noticed that Lake shoes had produced a cycling shoe that they had promoted as adventure ready. It looked a very interesting design and having had Lake shoes in the past, most notably their winter boot which has lasted for 8 years so far I really wanted to try them out. I shot the team at lake a DM and they agreed to send a pair out for me to review.
I’ll start first with sizing and this is because Lake are one of the few companies that manufacture cycling shoes that offer different widths, narrow, regular and wide. The fitting guide on the lake website is excellent, theres even a tutorial on how to measure your own feet. This involves a piece of paper, a tape measure, a pen and of course your feet! I measured mine and took advice from the guys at Lake. I usually take a EU44 and mostly find that size comfortable in most shoe brands. Lake suggested going a half size bigger with a narrow fit. I left the colour up to them, secretly hoping for the white pair as they’d stand out for the photos.
My wishes came true and a white pair of MX30Gs turned up and well, this is going to sound silly but they looked even brighter in real life than on the website. Maybe it was a bit of rare sunshine glinting on them that day, but they were a bit dazzling!
I was sent the clarino microfibre upper version, there is also a mesh version. I think the version sent is best for UK conditions. The material looks robust and equally importantly it looks like it would wipe clean easily. Which given the nature of UK riding (mud, more mud, water and if we’re lucky one day of sunshine) is a very important feature, especially when your shoes are that white! The toe box has extra material around it for reinforcement to take any knocks and the rubber sole extends slightly upward at the toe for more protection and to aid traction if walking. The heel is padded but not bulky and the tongue is soft and comfortable. The shoe is secured to your foot via two BOA dials, these have lots of adjustment by twisting one way or the other and release quickly when removing them. its easy to reach down and adjust the fit while riding too, an advantage the BOA system has over laces.
The sole is 100% carbon with rubber lugs to aid traction and the addition of two stud placements allows for an enhanced level of grip if needed. The cleat pocket is generously wide allowing lots of mud room.
The sole is plain carbon but there’s a little rubber coverage between the heel and cleat section. The cleat fitment section of the sole is fairly long and I was able to pull the cleat far enough back for me to feel comfortable. I’m definately a ball of the foot over the pedal axle kind of rider rather than on the toes so this was good news, so many other shoe brands don’t have this adjustbility
The Ride, i’ll be honest and say that when I took these shoes out of the box I was a little bit intimidated. The colour was the first thing. I always think if you’re going to stand out this much then your riding had better live up to the aura of greatness your shoes are emitting! The other was the level of stiffness. Grabbing the shoe by the toe and the heel and trying to bend the sole was an exercise in futility. These babies do not flex!
On my feet I found the sizing spot on, the micro adjustability of the BOA system was fantastic and they feel really comfortable. On the bike, the large cleat pocket meant clipping in and out of the pedals was easy and even in the mud they performed flawlessly, not clogging once. The rubber strip across the arch of the shoe is excellent to see, too many carbon or stiff soled shoes miss this out to get a lighter weight but this little strip of rubber can save your bacon. Unclipping for a tight turn and getting back on the pedal sometimes ends in missing the pedal with the cleat and you end up with the wrong part of your shoe on the pedal. A plain carbon arch means you can slip off the pedal in a panic moment (see also rocks, roots etc too). The MX30G offers up that extra grip here that could get you out of a sticky situation before you re-establish accurate contact with the pedal.
Power transfer, as you’d expect with a sole this stiff is direct. You feel like all your effort is going towards propelling the bike forward. Despite this stiffness I didn’t experience any heel slip which I’m guessing is all down to how well they fit and the shape of the heel. This though does have its downside. Walking is a bit of a chore, entering a cafe you will get the walking like a penguin effect and this also tells you how the shoe would feel if your route contains a good slice of hike-a-bike. The material the shoes are made of has proved to be hard wearing, shaking off all the knocks of off road riding and yes, they clean up well despite a liberal coating of mud and various farm yard effluents! I’ve bashed the BOA dials of roots and a gate post and they’ve remained as good as the first ride
Lake describe the MX30G as “pure and simple off-road adventure shoe” which I think is a little innaccurate, maybe pure and simple gravel race shoe would be better. This is all down to the stiffness. The all day comfort is there definately but that’s if you stay in the saddle. Prolonged walking would be a bit of a chore purely for the lack of flex in the sole. Lake’s other gravel shoe the MX238 is probably a better bet for bike packing (and cafes) with its “built in walkability“.
So it all comes down to what you want your shoe to do because material, comfort, durability and looks wise I can’t fault the MX30G shoe, it’s really, really good. My only criticism is of that one sentence on the lake website which might be a little misleading or maybe it’s just my idea of an adventure is different to theirs.
Oh and it also comes in a more subtle blue colour!
if you’d like to support these reviews and ukgravelco.com then please consider following this page, the instagram channel, subscribing to the youtube channel all of which are free to do or buying something from the ukgravelco shop, links below(not affiliate)
In a recent poll on my instagram channel @ukgravelco I asked what things put people off trying a gravel bike. Overwhelmingly the highest results, apart from the cost of a gravel bike, was that people didn’t want to have to wear lycra and didn’t want to use clip in pedals.
Well spoiler alert from the start, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WEAR TIGHT CLOTHING OR USE CLIP IN PEDALS if you don’t want to. That is part of the beauty of gravel biking, because it’s relatively new there are no rules and long may this continue! As a clip in pedal user on the gravel bike myself it got me thinking that maybe I should try riding on the gravel bike with flat pedals to back up my above statement. I do use flat pedals when riding my mountain bike so I’m no stranger to the concept but that is used for a majority of off road riding. Gravel riding has a lot more potential tarmac riding (where i live at least) so that could make a difference. there was only one way to find out.
The guys at Extra UK and Ison Distribution the distributors of Crank Bros and HT respectively agreed to send me a pair of pedals. I decided to try an affordable pedal, the HT PAO3A (not the snazziest of titles) which at time of writing costs £60 at full RRP and the Crank Bros Stamp 2 (see what they did there?) at £100 RRP to see what the difference would be by spending a little more.
Crank bros (right) HT (left)
the Crank BrosStamp 2 pedal is from their quite extensive flat pedal range which they have been producing for a long time, so they know what makes a good flat pedal. They come in two sizes, this version is the large and the basic rule of thumb is to size the pedals according to your shoe size, there’s a guide on the Crank Bros website for this. The Body of the pedal is made from aluminium. It comes with 10 10mm removeble pins per side, has a steel spindle and the pedal spins on an inner ignus bearing and twin cartridge bearings on the outside. They are only available in silver or black and have a 5 year warranty. They weigh 494g on my kitchen scales.
side view crank bros stamp 2side view HT PAO3A
The shape of the body allows maximum mud shedding room and if you look from the side the pedal is concave, so the outer edge is higher than the spindle allowing your foot to “sit in” the pedal for maximum grip and security from slippage. it’s quite difficult to photograph this but check the video below for a better example of this.
the HT PAO3A pedal in contrast is made of glass reinforced nylon with two in mould pins and 8 replaceable pins per side. Again HT make a huge range of pedals and these come with DU bushings and one dual sealed bearing. The platform is just a hair smaller than the Stamp but weighs less at 351g on my not very accurate kitchen scale. the platform also has the concave shape that is essential in a flat pedal. It comes in just about every colour you can think of and as its “composite” (plastic) there’s no worry about it looking tatty after a few rock or gravel strikes as there’s no paint to flake off.
In use both pedals have performed flawlessly offering up oodles of grip in all situations. Now, as a clip in pedal user usually on the gravel bike, i found myself automaticaly twisting my foot to unclip such was the amount of adhesion to my foot when dismounting.
Pedal dynamics wise there’s a theory that clip in pedals are more efficient and give more power as you can push down and pull up but in the real world unless you are racing or analysing efficiency to a microscopic level I don’t think there’s a great difference, not one that would bother me out for a leisure ride anyway. Both these pedals shed mud 100% better than a clip in pedal. If you ride in the UK this is almost a year round problem. Clogged pedals and shoes can stop engagement between the rider and the pedal, not what you want in slippery downhil situations. Both the Crank Bros and HT pedals were there and accessible in all muddy foot out, flat out scenarios.
So which is the best? well there’s not a lot in it to be honest, the bearings in the Crank Bros pedal seem nicer and spin well without stiction, the HT bearings feel smooth but spin the pedal and it soon stops, this maybe though because the bearing seals are so good. The Crank bros pedal does feel more robust being made of metal and looks like it’d take more knocks at the expence of a bit of paint and are approx 100g over the HT but it does come with a 5 year warrant.
Grip wise there’s nothing in it though. Both are at the top of their game, so i guess it comes down to that warranty and the slightly nicer bearing for me to prefer the Stamp pedal, but then I can put up with silver, if you want a colour and pay a lot less ££ then there are no drawbacks to the HT pedal.
check out the video below to see the pedals in action
UK GRAVEL COLLECTIVE 