Chinese bikes are coming and slamming your stem won't make you faster — 10 things I learnt whilst making 101 cycling videos in 2024

It’s been a busy year in the world of bikes and I’ve been lucky enough to try out loads of new cycling tech, so just like a Spotify Wrapped or Strava’s year in review, I thought I’d sum up my year on the bike and let you know which tech trends I think are here to stay and some things I’ve learnt along the way. Some of them might be a little bit more controversial than others…

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Wind beating tech is coming but it’s not there yet

I am a self proclaimed data nerd and so when we got wind…no pun in intended…of tech that could tell you how slippery you are I was pretty excited! Over the year, I tried out the Aerosensor system, I then tried the Body Rocket system which sort of expands on that with more sensors and then recently I’ve been playing with the huge Wahoo Elemnt Ace which kind of tries to package all of this tech into a more user friendly brick for your bars…

All three of these devices showed plenty of promise, more than enough to convince me that aero tech is going to be big business…in 2024 though…we’re just not quite there, the Aerosensor isn’t overly user friendly and needs near perfect riding conditions, the Body Rocket system shows that you can get an accurate CdA outside of an expensive wind tunnel but it’s still prohibitively expensive and at the moment only for TT bikes and the Elemnt Ace’s wind sensor, well that just feels a bit unfinished.

So, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see whether 2025 is the year that at home aero testing becomes a mainstream reality.

Van Rysel means business

If I had to choose one brand that I think has had the most success in 2024 then it’s got to be Van Rysel, and from what I’ve seen don’t be surprised if it continues it’s upwards trajectory over the next few years. 

You see, back in 2023 Van Rysel openly said that it wanted to be one of the top 5 bike brands in the world and plenty of us said well, yeah, we’re sure you do! This year though, I think that Van Rysel has proven that it has all the ingredients to actually make this a reality, it has the huge financial backing of Decathlon, it has some bloody good bikes both at the top end and more budget ends of the spectrum and having visited their headquarters it’s safe to say that they’ve got the resources to keep them coming!

2025 looks set to be another big one for the brand and we already know that Decathlon AG2R will have a new aero bike to play with, the RCR-F and we’ve also spotted a new gravel bike being used by Van Rysel’s ambassadors so look out for an official release of that!

The differences between top end bikes is miniscule

One thing that has been becoming increasingly clear to me this year is that nearly all the top end bikes are just so similar, in fact, we made a video asking whether the latest Canyon Aeroad is proof that modern aero bikes are boring…Now, Colnago might have bucked the trend with their new Y-1RS, but I still maintain that of all the very nice bikes that I got to ride in 2024 there’s very little to separate them.

Over the last year, I’ve ridden the new Pinarello Dogma, the Specialized Tarmac SL8, the Cannondale Supersix, the aforementioned Canyon Aeroad, the Van Rysel RCR Pro, a Colnago C68 and the latest Giant TCR and to be perfectly honest with you I’d happily take any of them.

Yes, if you ride them back to back then each has it’s unique handling characteristics but the truth is, if you parting with cash for one of these bikes then just choose the one that you like the look of, or the brand that resonates with you because the only people who the performance is actually going to make a difference to is the people who don’t have to buy them…

3D printed custom bike parts are coming

You might have seen our recent video on the Fizik One-to-one saddle which is easy to dismiss as just another piece of overpriced tech at £500. However, I think that this is just the start of a wave of bike accessories that are designed for your individual needs rather than for the masses.

3D printing has always promised this kind of customisation as it's the same process to create 1 product as it is a 1000 unlike high volume production methods such as injection moulding.

Canyon also partnered with Magic5, a custom swimming goggle manufacturer to try and bring this tech to the world of cycling. We haven't seen the fruits of this partnership yet but I'm pretty sure this Fizik One-to-One saddle is just the start of a tidal wave of customised bike parts.

1x really is great

Last year pros such as Jonas Vingegaard and Wout Van Aert rather controversially used a Sram 1x groupset at the Criterium Du Dauphine and Tour de France, to find out if this was just a marketing stunt I've been using a 1x groupset on my personal road bike for the entirety of 2024 and I have to say I'm converted!

There's a lot of talk about a 1x groupset not offering enough range, well, I've been using a set up with a 48T ring at the front and an 10-36T cassette at the back and have found it just as usable as the semi-compact 2x setup that it replaces. In fact a 48/10T combo offers a higher ratio than the 52/11T fitted previously.

I was also worried about the gaps inbetween the gears and whilst I do see this as a negative I've found that I'm willing to sacrifice close gaps for the simplicity and lower maintanence of the 1x system. In 2025 I reckon we'll see a lot more mainstream brands releasing road bikes with 1x groupsets especially at the lower budget end of the spectrum.

Hydration is as important as carbs

When looking at performance on the bike it's easy to fall in to a rabit hole of marginal gains and tech that will make you 0.01% faster. I've known for some time that proper fuelling will make a far bigger difference to how fast I can ride than even expensive upgrades for my bike but up until now my main focus has been on carb intake.

That is until I visited Precision Fuel & Hydration and after not very long in a heat chamber realised that proper hydration is something I've overlooked for years. In the video above you'll see how I learnt that I'm not only a salty sweater but that I need to be taking A LOT more electrolytes than I think!

One bike doesn't rule them all after all...

When Specialized killed off the Venge, Pinarello doubled down on the Dogma F and Cannondale made the latest Supersix quite a bit more aero it looked as though the days of seperate lightweight and aero bikes were gone.

2024 though has seen the remission of this one-bike-to-rule them all approach, with the exception of Trek who killed off the lightweight Emonda, brands have been releasing dedicated lightweight and aero bikes galore: The new Aeroad, the Van Rysel RCR-F, the Scott Addict RC, the Colnago Y1RS, the Wilier Verticale all suggest that in 2025 we'll see other brands following suit.

All-road bikes are great

One of my highlights of 2024 has been getting to ride a plethora of bikes that appear to be designed especially for amateurs and UK back roads. Gone are the days when manufacturers can get away with marketing the bikes that they make for their pro athletes to riders who have no intention of sprinting or climbing a mountain. 

All-road bikes for me are the ideal solution for the majority of UK cyclists, they're comfortable on the road, will fit wide tyres even with mudguards and can cope with light gravel such as tow paths or fire roads. Above you'll find a round up of some of our favourite all-road bikes from the last few years.

Making your bars lower won’t make you faster!

Slam your stem - it'll make you faster! Well, it turns out that actually that's probably not the case! During one of our visits to Synergy Performance Luke pointed out that lowering your bars will have very little impact on the angle of your back if you're not flexible enough, all that will happen is that you'll straighten your arms a bit more, potentially only increasing your frontal area.

Think of it this way, TT riders are now putting their arms higher and higher, I don't think it will be long before road riders start doing the same.

Direct to consumer is coming

In 2024 we've seen the continued rise of Chinese direct to consumer bikes, groupsets and wheels and it's showing no sign of slowing down...

Over the year, I've been riding the Wheeltop EDS TX groupset which although not quite at the level of Shimano 105 Di2 or Sram Apex AXS is pretty darn close for a first effort. Chinese direct to consumer wheels seem to have already caught up with western named brands and in 2025 I think that DTC bikes will be big business as Astana bring X-Lab bikes to the World Tour stage.

Click the video above to see just how much punishment our set of Chinese wheels took! 

Let me know whether you agree or disagree with my learnings and ramblings from 2024 in the comments below. See you in 2025 for more messing about on bikes!