GCN Tech Show: Here's what makes the ultimate adventure bike

In this week's show, GCN's Manon Lloyd and Ollie Bridgewood are taking a look at what they think makes the ultimate adventure bike, along with news of some 3D printed bike tech, a new bike from Specialized and the latest Bike Vault submissions from the GCN app.

To kick things off though, Ollie starts to muse that for a true adventure bike that's capable of taking you to roads less travelled, the aero-optimised, super lightweight race machines that he's is usually so fond of, simply won’t cut it.

Instead it would need to be durable, rugged and dependable but also largely shaped by the locations and terrain it's likely to encounter. Much like the type of bikes that Si and Hank used in their recent Himalayan documentary over on GCN+.

• Read more: What bike kit do you need to survive riding in the Himalayas?

Although you can take steps to make any bike more ‘adventure-ready’, a bike that can be used both on road as well as off-road would offer the best all-round package for adventure riding. The ability to fit a range of specific bikepacking bags to the frame also becomes a key consideration, as it means carrying less on your person

With bikepacking becoming a growing trend across the cycling community, we'd love to hear from you about your ultimate adventure bike and your ultimate adventure rides. If you have any great stories, comment below this article or post a picture of your kitted-out adventure bike in the Bike Vault on the GCN app for a chance to be included in next week's show.

Elsewhere in this milestone edition, Silca has released a series of mech hangers that are made of 3D-printed titanium that is reported to be 12 times as stiff as a standard aluminium hanger. This should have the benefit of keeping your shifting crisp and aligned for longer. However, although they are incredibly stiff, they are still designed to be sacrificial in the event of a crash.

We also have some more tech news from the Vuelta a España with a closer look at yet another custom-painted S-Works for Remco Evenepoel as he went on to take the overall mountain classification at the race. On top of that, there is more news from Specialized which has announced an updated Roubaix endurance bike with the full run down available on the link below.

• Read more: Specialized releases Roubaix SL8 endurance road bike

Ollie and Manon also go through your comments of the week, including one that throws stiffness into the aero versus lightweight debate. Finally, in the Bike Vault this week there is a rather eye-catching Ridley that makes a return to the vault for redemption after only receiving a 'Nice' vote last week.

If you think you have a bike that is deserving of the Supernice accolade, submit it in the GCN App to see if we agree with you!