Life In The Saddle

In my 'Ride Upgrades' series I look at changes you could make to your bike that make a real difference to comfort and performance. In this post, I consider the trend of using wide flat handlebars and negative drop stems on 29er mountain bikes. About 'Ride Upgrades' Nobody can accuse me of shying away from gradients; in 2018 I rode over 400,000 metres of elevation gain—the equivalent of climbing Everest from sea level 45 times. Yet, I have never been a 'gear geek—I am happy to ride last year's bikes, and I ride components into the ground rather than replace them prematurely. It would appear I am an ambassador for "don't ride upgrades—ride up grades". However, I know full well that there are upgrades that make a notable difference to comfort and performance. This blog series looks at those enhancements that could provide you with a notable marginal gain. 'Wide and Low' I am a huge fan of 29ers. I remember when the big w...

The Stan's NoTubes Grail S1 Wheelset is designed to be a go-anywhere, ride-anything set of disc brake wheels. Combining robust mid-depth aluminium rims, laced with a high spoke count onto Stan's NEO hubs; this is a strong and reliable set of wheels for mountain bike, road, and gravel riding. I have previously tested and extensively used the Stan's NoTubes Crest S1 Wheels — both on MTB and gravel bike. The Crest has a lower profile rim, and a slightly lighter overall weight than the Grail; branded primarily as an MTB and Gravel wheelset. The Grail S1 is branded as a do-everything wheelset. It uses the brand's slightly narrower (24.1 mm width) deeper section rim (24.5 mm depth), which are more aerodynamic and rated to a higher pressure than the Crest wheels. Consequently, the Grail wheels are deemed more suitable for road cycling as well as off-road adventures. I set up the Stan's Grail S1 wheels with tubeless 40c tyres. This is always easy on Stan's whee...