April 2018

Has your love of cycling gone too far? Here are some of the tell-tale clues...

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This week we’re issuing a warning. You know your love of cycling has gone too far when…

We’ve been trawling kickstarter for the best and the worst innovations, plus you have the best news stories from the world of cycling. 

This week also saw an amusing if slightly tragic story hit the headlines here in the UK as it emerged that a police officer was forced to resign after he was busted for being on a cycling holiday in Mallorca while at the same time claiming that a chronic back injury was keeping him off work. 

Note to self, Strava can lead to incriminating evidence. But at least he’s probably got some mega form now. KOM central! 

I think he deleted his account. Modern technology does make bunking off work to ride a problem. If you don’t Strava and you don’t instagram is there any point riding? 

It’s a very good point. I can barely remember my ride from Sunday. 

Anyway, it got us thinking though, at what point does your love of cycling actually go too far, and maybe you need a healthy dose of reality? 

If you'd like to contribute captions and video info in your language, here's the link 👍 

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Giro D’Italia Preview Show 📹 

Music: 
Viper Creek Club - Because I Know (Instrumental)
Jonas Elander - Afternoon Swing 3
Magnus Ringblom - Gold Rush 1
John Ahlin - Life Of A Jet Set 2
Gavin Luke - Building Tension 1

Photos: © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Bettiniphoto / 

The Global Cycling Network puts you in the centre of the action: from the iconic climbs of Alpe D’Huez and Mont Ventoux to the cobbles of Flanders, everywhere there is road or pavé, world-class racing and pro riders, we will be there bringing you action, analysis and unparalleled access every week, every month, and every year. We show you how to be a better cyclist with our bike maintenance videos, tips for improving your cycling, cycling top tens, and not forgetting the weekly GCN Show. Join us on YouTube’s biggest and best cycling channel to get closer to the action and improve your riding!

Welcome to the Global Cycling Network | Inside cycling

Warning! Your Love Of Cycling Has Gone Too Far When... | The GCN Show Ep. 277

While at the recent Bespoked Bike Show in Bristol, we were lucky enough to get to chat with one of the biggest legends of cycling tech, Chris King! Find out his opinions on freehub noise, getting started in the industry, and bottom bracket standards.

Chris King components are always instantly recognisable, and even if you can't see them, you'll always hear Chris King hubs coming.

We were lucky enough to get to pick Chris King's brain for a while at the recent Bristol Bespoked Bike Show. Discussing everything from the first headset he made, to what should be the only bottom bracket "standard", we really could have stayed and listened to Chris all day. 

Which other legends of the cycling tech industry would you like us to speak to next? 

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📹 The Latest GCN Tech Show - 

Music: Epidemic Sound
Blue Hills - Yellowbase
Liar's Den - Yellowbase

Brought to you by the world’s biggest cycling channel, the Global Cycling Network (GCN), GCN Tech goes deeper into the bikes, kit and technology stories that matter.

GCN Tech is utterly obsessed with seeking out and showcasing the best in bikes, tech, products and upgrades. Everywhere. Every week. From news and rumours, first ride exclusives, how-tos, the weekly GCN Tech Show, pro bikes, set-up tips and more, we geek out over the tiny details that can make the big differences to you. 

With years of racing and industry expertise, we also bring you instructive maintenance videos to hone your mechanical skills, as well as behind the scenes factory tours and in-depth analysis of kit chosen by the pro peloton to keep your finger on the pulse of cycling’s latest technological innovations.

Engage with us every week on the channel and across social media – we’re here to answer every question you’ve got on mountain biking tech.

Ask Chris King Anything | Ceramic Bearings, Freehub Noise & Bottom Bracket Standards

Spring is finally here, for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere anyway, and it's a perfect opportunity to give your bike a good spring clean and get rid of that winter muck.

Focus on your drivetrain first, you want to give the degreaser time to really work its way into all the rollers.

While the degreaser is working its magic you can now take a look at the rest of the bike. Remove any accessories, lights, pumps etc. and then spray the frame with your bike cleaner before giving at thorough scrub down with hot water. It's important to remember at this point to start at the top of the bike, then work your way down. That way dirty water doesn't run onto parts of the bike you've just cleaned.

Do you have any special bike washing hacks? Let us know in the comments 👇

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Replace Cartridge Bearings 

Music: The Stylish Traveller 3 - Martin Landström

How To Give Your Bike A Spring Clean

Welcome to the GCN Racing News Show.  This week, the men’s WorldTour continues at the Tour de Romandie and the women’s on Chongming Island.  We’ve also got the Tour du Senegal, the Festival Elsy Jacobs, the Red Hook Crit in Brooklyn, plus, Paris Ancaster, over in Ottawa.


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Let’s start then with Tour de Romandie. Stage four played a major part in shaking up the general classification.  A superb performance by the prodigy, the phenomenon, the sensation that is Egan Bernal, saw him win the ten kilometre uphill time trial.  Quite the ride considering he broke his collarbone just a few weeks ago.  Team Sky’s Luke Rowe summed things up in four words:  Egan Bernal - Absolute weapon!

The Tour of Chongming Island is now in it’s 8th year, and marked the first stage race in the 2018 UCI Women’s WorldTour.  Located just of the east coast of China, the Island hosts a three day race totalling three hundred and sixty kilometres.
Being pretty much pan flat, it’s a race that generally suits the sprinters, and that’s exactly how we ended stage one, with former world champion Giorgia Bronzini emerging unscathed and with her arms aloft at the end of a crash marred final.  Kirsten Wild and Jolien d’Hoore were amongst those affected.

It’s fast, it’s furious, it’s dangerous, and it’s quite possibly the coolest event on the calendar - last weekend saw the first round of the Red Hook Crits take place in Brooklyn. The men's race was won by Filippo Fortin, and the women's by Raphaele Lemieux.

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Matt's Italian Phrases 

Tour de Romandie & Tour of Chongming Island | The Cycling Race News Show

The classics are over, and that can only mean one thing, it's time for the Grand Tours!! Check out our preview of the 2018 Giro d'Italia, including the key stages and the riders you need to keep an eye on.

3 weeks, over 3000km, 1 winner. This year's Giro is looking to be a more open race than we have seen for a number of years, with no obvious favourite. Although there are now three riders guaranteed not to win being hit with the GCN Curse.

Let us know who you think will wear the Maglia Rosa when the race finishes in Rome?

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Colle Delle Finestre 

Music: Italian Outdoor Cafes 4 - Magnus Ringblom
National Anthem Italy - Traditional
Italian Outdoor Cafes 4 - Magnus Ringblom
Italian Outdoor Cafes 1 - Magnus Ringblom

GCN's Giro d'Italia 2018 Preview Show | Race Favourites & Stages To Watch

After Emma's recent bike fit over on GCN, we thought it would be interesting to go into the detail and science behind a bike fit. How do the bike fitters know whether your saddle is too low or your reach is too short?

Saddle height and position doesn't just affect whether you get knee pain or saddle soreness, but it can also have a major effect on your weight distribution on the bike. This in turn will change the way the bike handles.

Crank length is something people should spend a bit more time thinking about. Most people just take whatever crank length their bike comes with, but different crank lengths can effectively change your saddle height, so it's really worth making sure you've got the right crank length for you.

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Emma's Bike Fit 

Music: Once Upon A Time In Detroit 2 - Axel Ljung

Emma's In-Depth Bike Fit | Geek Edition

Despite Emma's years of experience at the highest level of professional cycling, she has surprisingly never had a bike fit! Our long term partners Shimano invited us to their high-tech bike fitting facility in Maastricht to see how they conduct one.

Like many of us, Emma has always set her bike up using rules of thumb, and what sort of feels right on the bike. But these days bike fits have evolved from this, Shimano's involves a number of different steps and even some motion capture cameras! 

The upshot of this though is that bike fits can ensure that your position on the bike is perfect, and allows you to get the most enjoyment out of your riding.

Have you ever had a bike fit? Let us know!

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Bike Fit Geek Edition 

Music:  Blue hills - Yellowbase
Currents - Mhern
Wondrous Things - Mhern

Emma's Bike Fit | Saddle Position, Handlebar Setup & Pedalling Technique

Emma has got another commuter training session for you to help prepare for big sportives like the Maratona dles Dolomites. It's not immediately obvious how to prepare for endurance events when you're short on time. But the use of fasted training sessions can be really effective. 

Fasted training means training when you’re in a carbohydrate depleted state. This helps your body to adapt to a fat burning metabolism which can help you when you take part in endurance events. In fact, fat burning is one of the components of endurance that a long ride can help you to train. 

But if you start out in your training ride already low on carbohydrate, you’ll get these fat metabolising adaptations in much less time! In fact, just 60-90 minutes is enough - perfect for fitting into a commute or pre work ride.

How To Train On Your Commute | Fasted Endurance Training

In 2012 Tsgabu Grmay made history when he became the first Ethiopian professional cyclist ever by signing for MTN-Qhubeka. Grmay signed for Trek-Segafredo in 2018 and was kind enough to let us have a look at his training bike!

Frame and forks: Trek Emonda SLR Disc
Wheels: Bontrager Paradigm Elite TLR
Tyres: Bontrager AW3
Handlebars: Bontrager RL
Stem: Bontrager Pro Blendr 
Seatpost: Trek Emonda 
Saddle: Bontrager Montrose Pro
Shifters: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9170
Brakes: Shimano Dura Ace R9170 Discs, 140mm rotors
Front Mech: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9170
Rear Mech: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9170
Chainset: Shimano Dura Ace R9100-P
Pedals: Shimano Dura Ace
Chainring size: 53-39
Powermeter: Shimano Dura Ace R9100-P
Cassette: Shimano 11-28

Bike weight: 7.18kg
Saddle height: 73.5cm
Reach: 56.5cm
Bar width: 40cm
Stem length: 11cm
Crank length: 172.5mm
Tyre width: 28mm

Finishing touches: Bontrager Blendr computer mount, Bontrager XXX carbon bottle cages, bonded race number mount

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Alexis Ryan Pro Bike 

Tsgabu Grmay's Trek Emonda SLR Disc Training Bike

Ask is back to answer your cycling questions - and in this episode we've got Emma and Lasty on hand to talk pro cycling. When is it too late to become a pro?

If you have some cycling questions for us, make sure you leave them in the comments with the hashtag #torqueback!

What does a typical training week look like for a pro cyclist?
What's the most important race in the calendar? Tour de France, Olympics or the World Championship?
Why are pros allowed to litter?
Why don't other teams listen in on other race radios?
Is it legal to grab onto your teammates saddle? 
How do you stay at the front of the peloton at a race?

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The GCN Ebay Challenge 📹 

When Is It Too Late To Become A Pro? | Ask GCN Anything About Cycling

It's nearly time for the 2018 Giro d'Italia, so we thought we'd run through some important Italian cycling phrases and even teach you how to pronounce them!

Essentially the Italian equivalent of the French word Rouleur, the ‘Passista’ is a type of rider who is generally, but not exclusively, of a larger more muscular and powerful build, suited to spending hours riding hard on the front of peloton on flat and rolling terrain, rolling a big gear and making it look effortless. An Italian ‘Passista”? Think Francecso Moser. There’s also the ‘Passista Veloce’.. The rouleur who can sprint.. Think Peter Sagan..

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Iconic Climbs of the Giro 

GCN's Italian Cycling Phrases Vol.1 | 6 Types Of Cyclists

It's the GCN Tech Show. This week we're discussing tech that we don't need, and some bits of tech that we really couldn't do without.

We love a bit of tech here at GCN Tech, but there are some bits of tech that we really could do without. Whether that's frame pumps or front derailleurs.

There are a few bits of tech though that we really couldn't handle riding our bikes without. Like would you go and ride a long climb without clipless pedals??

Let us know what piece of tech you could do without in the comments below!

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Bespoked Bristol 

April 2018

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