Cycling Plus

Cycling Plus is the manual for the modern road cyclist. Whether you're cycling weekly, an occasional new rider or a Tour de France fan you’ll find everything you need. Each issue is packed with buying advice and tests of essential cycling gear - everything from bikes to bags! Cycling Plus is the place to find training advice, nutrition secrets and practical tips guaranteed to improve your bicycling. It's also full of inspirational rides, real-life cycling stories and entertaining riding-related features.

Ed’s letter • Issue 449 • September 2026

Subscribe & Save • Britain’s best-selling cycling magazine will come through your letterbox as if by magic every month if you become a subscriber. And it’s much cheaper than buying it in the shops. It’s a win-win!

The Big Picture

The joy of mechanical shifting • Why can’t Shimano offer the reliable tech on their performance road groupsets, asks Simon von Bromley

Unit 1 NEON smart helmet • £170 Five-star safety-rated urban lid with an LED light bar and crash-alert system

PEDAL-O-METER • WHAT’S SPINNING ALONG AT SPEED AND WHAT’S CRASHING OUT THIS MONTH?

Colnago C72 • from £14,999 The latest C Series addition is handmade in Italy with an “all-road soul”

The SPACE RACE • Bikepacking, stargazing and loving life in the Arizona desert

TUCSON • Essential info for getting to and from the area with so few clouds and so little rainfall that it coined the phrase ‘dark skies’

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN • CHRIS FROOME HAS FINALLY CALLED IT A DAY – BUT THESE RIDES WILL LIVE LONG IN THE MEMORY

FOR THE RECORD • Dr Sarah Ruggins reveals how she smashed the 6,000km European end-to-end world record just three years after buying her first bike

BIKE OF THE YEAR ’26 • Three categories, 21 bikes shortlisted, one winner – who will take our coveted Bike of the Year crown in 2026?

Intro • Whittling it down

Race bikes

Endurance bikes

Gravel bikes

Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0 Force XPLR AXS

Training zone • Expert advice on maximising your cycling performance

Boost your ride • Performance Q&A The big cycling questions answered by our team of expert coaches, nutritionists and riders

5 ESSENTIAL EXERCISES FOR OVER-50S

PERFECT YOUR CLEAT POSITION • Optimising your setup will change the way you pedal forever, say Wahoo

Workshop wisdom • Reasons to consider an aluminium bike

Cycling Plus

BEAT THE BONK • The science behind ‘hitting the wall’ and how to prevent it from happening

The science of dominance • Tadej Pogačar’s VO₂ max has been estimated, says John Whitney – and the number is beyond known limits…