Weekend Watch: Peter Sagan Goes Mountain Biking!

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Wet or Dry? Ceramic or Hydrodynamic? What Is the Best Bicycle Chain Lube for You?

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Winter, summer, off-road, on-road, gravel, mud, rain, and heat… all these things can affect the best choice of bicycle chain lube for your type of riding, in addition of course to your budget. So, what is the difference between wet lubricants and dry lubricants? What is Hydrodynamic lubrication? Are Ceramic lubricants an appropriate choice? I try and answer these maintenance questions… What Is Chain Lubrication For? Before getting into the details of types of bike chain lubrication, it is worth considering what exactly chain lubrication does. Principally, it reduces the level of friction by creating a layer of lubrication between the chain rollers and plates; it is what prevents that horrible grinding and squeaking sound that you get with an unlubricated chain—a sound that is predictably highly inefficient. However, chain lubricant adds an element of inefficiency itself, called 'stiction'. Stiction is the stickiness factor that chain lube creates; the feeling you would have tr
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SwissStop Disc Brake Pads Comparison Test Review – Are All Disc Brake Pads Made Equal?

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The market for disc brake pads for gravel bikes, mountain bikes and road bikes is saturated; there are hundreds of different brands producing disc brake pads claiming to last longer and perform better than the competition. So, what is the difference between a set of low cost disc brake pads from eBay/Amazon versus the high-end pads from SwissStop? Are SwissStop disc brake pads worth the extra money? To find out, I have been doing some extensive disc brake pad testing over the last few months. October to February is obviously a period of wet winter riding, and I have been testing the following list of brake pads on road, gravel and mountain bikes—to create the ultimate test for any disc brake set-up. The disc brake pads on test:  SwissStop Disc 34 RS (Shimano Road/Gravel)  SwissStop Disc 32 RS (SRAM Road/Gravel)  SwissStop Disc 31 E (MTB SRAM Avid)  Superstar Sintered Shimano Road Disc Brake Pads (Shimano Road/Gravel)  SOMMET Resin and Semi-Metallic Disc Brake Pads (SRAM Road/Gravel
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This traditional flapjack recipe is packed full of energy for long days on the bike. The oats supply a great low-GI fuel source, while the dried fruit offers instant energy and sweetness. Whether on or off the bike, these flapjack bars are a great high-energy snack for cycling. You can adapt the recipe by adding in other dried fruit, seeds, nuts, and spices to make these even more varied and flavoursome. I particularly like pumpkin seeds and chopped crystallised ginger added to the mix. Ingredients 200g butter 100g brown sugar 1 tbsp golden syrup ½ tbsp black treacle 300g porridge oats 100g raisins 75g soft-dried figs 50g soft-dried apricots Method Set the oven to 150°C or 140°C for fan-assisted oven. Place the shelf in the middle Stick a big pan on the scales and measure in the butter and brown sugar Heat the pan on the hob until the butter and sugar are all melted Add a tablespoon of golden syrup and half a tablespoon of treacle to the mix Add the porridge oats and y
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