00:00There's no doubt, cycling tech journalists are a pretty lucky bunch. You get to ride
00:04and test brand new kit, often in exotic locations. What is not to like?
00:10And while you get the occasional miss, most of the tech we review is pretty good. It's actually
00:15quite hard to make a bad product these days. It's just a matter of teasing out the small
00:20differences that may matter to us, and of course, you, the viewers. However,
00:25there are still products which stand out from the crowd being universally loved
00:30by cycling journalists the world over. They may not always be the most exciting products, but
00:36this really is the best of the best. So, let's get into them.
00:45If you've spent time reading reviews from the likes of Cycling Weekly, or Cycling News,
00:50or watching them on this very YouTube channel, then you may have heard us mention the law of
00:54diminishing returns. And by that I mean, basically, the more you spend, the less you get.
01:00This applies to lots of products, like wheels, pedals, frame sets, and finishing kit. However,
01:05one of the biggest offenders has to be group sets, which brings me neatly onto the godlike
01:11Shimano 105. If you're unaware, 105 is Shimano's mid-tier group set. There's two versions above,
01:18and then three that sit below. Crucially though, 105's performance bears a much closer
01:24resemblance to Shimano's top-tier Ultegra and Dura-Ace group sets, while costing much less.
01:30And by less, I mean a lot less. Prices can vary depending on region and whether you're buying
01:36online or from a physical store. But a top-spec Dura-Ace Di2 group set will set you back around
01:44two and a half grand, while mechanical 105 can be found for as little as £500.
01:50If you want to spend a little bit more, then you can get the electronic 105 Di2 group set
01:55for around £900. Obviously, being so much cheaper means 105 will be heavier,
02:02less refined, and miss out on some of the bells and whistles of Shimano's higher-tier group sets.
02:08But again, in terms of pure shifting performance, it's pretty close,
02:13and this newest version looks the part as well.
02:16As you can probably tell, I love 105,
02:19and I'd wager you'll struggle to find a cycling journalist who doesn't.
02:28Ask a cycling journalist to recommend you a fast, all-round bike tyre, and you're likely
02:33going to get some umming and ahhing before they give you two or three options. Now,
02:39those options may throw up some curveballs, but I bet nearly all of them would recommend
02:44the Continental GP5000s, the successor to the legendary GP4000. Now, the 5000 caused quite a
02:53stir when it was released back in 2018, and since then, it's won many cycling fans over the world.
03:00Why, I hear you ask? Well, it's not the fastest, the grippiest, the lightest,
03:05or the best value, but it does seem to offer the best balance of all of those key factors.
03:11A kind of jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none for the bike tyre world.
03:15Despite being such a fast tyre, we've also found it's got pretty decent puncture protection,
03:21no doubt thanks to Continental's newly improved Vectron Breaker layer. And for such a popular
03:27tyre, Continental have made sure to cover nearly every option that you can think of,
03:32including tubeless, clincher, wide sizes, thin sizes, and Tamils. The list really does go on.
03:39Not to mention the special variants like the ASTR for all-season riding, the TTTR for out-and-out
03:45speed, and the STR for more all-round road race situations. So, chances are, there will be a GP5000
03:54to suit you, no matter how niche your requirements are. And of course, being so popular means there
04:00are some good deals to be had if you shop around. So, what are you waiting for?
04:045. Shimano M520 Pedals
04:08Next up on our list is another great value, yet high-performing product from Shimano. I am,
04:14of course, talking about its M520 pedals. A quick Google of the M520 pedals will tell you two
04:21things. Number one, they're very affordable, retailing for around £28. And number two,
04:28they're pretty much universally loved, with pages of glowing five-star reviews from journalists and
04:34paying customers alike. Pros include their ease of maintenance, durability, all-round performance,
04:40and aforementioned pricing. While these pedals are mainly aimed at off-road riders, we found
04:46they suited road riders as well, particularly for those who like to be able to walk around
04:50in their riding shoes, which the recessed cleat on the M520 pedal does allow for.
04:56Lastly, the M520s have legendary mud-clearing abilities, and it wasn't uncommon to see pro
05:03cyclocross racers using them in particularly muddy races. So, if this £28 pedal is good
05:10enough for the pros, then chances are it will be more than good enough for us.
05:19There's no doubt, owning and riding a fancy carbon race bike is one of the true pleasures
05:25of cycling. What's less pleasurable is what you do with said carbon road bike
05:31when the weather turns nasty. Sure, you can keep riding it while keeping on top of the cleaning,
05:36but many of us don't have that kind of time. And as most carbon race bikes don't come with
05:42mudguard eyelets, finding something to keep you and your bike clean can be tricky.
05:48Fortunately though, SKS have you covered with their clip-on race blade mudguards.
05:53While clip-on mudguards of the past would often just be flimsy and need constant adjustment,
05:58and be prone to breaking, the race blades are rock solid, and are made of strong, stiff plastic.
06:04They're also easy to fit, and will work on frames with both round and aero tube profiles.
06:10It's worth noting they won't offer quite as much mud protection as a dedicated eyelet-attached
06:15mudguard, with a bit of spray usually managing to work its way up your backside, but they will
06:21protect your bike, and surely that is the most important thing. Finally, if you like your tyres
06:26wide, then SKS has you covered with their XL model, which works with 700c wheels,
06:33up to 32mm on the rim, and disc brake bikes.
06:41Sometimes, the best cycling products do their job so well that you hardly ever notice them at all,
06:47and nowhere is this more apparent than with your bottle cages. The best bottle cages will do exactly
06:54as they should, namely, hold your drink no matter the surface you're riding on. The worst will fill
07:00you with doubt as you never know when you might lose a bottle during a ride. And if you want the
07:05best, then I think you can't go wrong with Elite. They have a huge variety to choose from, and
07:10cater to different budgets. You can also choose between carbon, metal, Elite's eco-friendly
07:16material, and their fibre-reinforced material, so again, lots of options. A quick look online will
07:23tell you everything you need to know, with lots of 5 or nearly 5-star reviews. When we tested their
07:29Vico Carbon bottle cage, we found it provided a firm, rattle-free hold while weighing just 28g.
07:36Costing only £26 at the time of testing, it also represents fairly decent value for money,
07:42considering it's made out of carbon.
07:45Search online for cycling socks, and you will find an almost limitless array of styles, colours, lengths, and thicknesses to choose from. So, which do we recommend?
08:00Well, if you like your socks in either white, black, or grey, then you can't go wrong with
08:06Rafa's Pro Team Socks. They've been around in some form or another for a long time,
08:11which goes to show how popular they are with cycling journalists and everyday riders. My
08:17personal favourite are the standard socks, but for taller riders, there is an extra long version for
08:23that trendy high cuff look. Socks may not be the most exciting of products, but these really do the
08:29job quite well, keeping your feet cool during the summer months, and not slipping down your
08:34legs during riding. It's worth noting, the Rafa have you covered in the colder months as well,
08:39as they have a winter version of the Pro Team Sock. So, what's not to like?
08:49Supercars makes a bold statement on their website, and I quote,
08:54we boldly claim that Super Sticky Kush is the best bar tape ever, and that's backed up by being the
09:00world's number one selling bar tape. Now, whether or not that's true, well, I don't know. But what I
09:07do know is that it's an incredibly popular product loved by riders the world over. As you'd expect,
09:15it's seriously grippy stuff, even when wet and not wearing gloves. So, you shouldn't need to worry
09:20about slipping from the bars. It's also quite thick at 3.2 millimetres, so will be well suited
09:26to riders who value all day comfort. Thick bar tape can sometimes be trickier to wrap, but we
09:33found the Super Sticky Kush tape didn't present us with too many issues. Finally, it's available
09:38in a wide variety of colours, so you should be able to find something to match your bike.
09:48Last on our list, but by no means least, is Park Tool's P-Handle Hex Wrench Set. Now,
09:55these hex keys or allen keys, depending on where you come from, have the distinction of being loved
10:00not only by cycling journalists, but also by bike mechanics. And they're a familiar sight in
10:06workshops the world over. As you'd expect, they're made from super high torque industrial steel that
10:13will last for years to come. They're also available in all the popular sizes for when it comes to
10:18working on your bike. And there's a small ball head right there on the long side for those hard
10:23to reach places. Lastly, you get a neat wall hanger mount thingy, meaning no more rummaging around in
10:30drawers or toolboxes. So there you have it, eight products almost universally loved by cycling
10:36journalists. But do you have any recommendations of your own? As always, let me know down below.
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