00:00There's no doubt cycling tech journalists are a pretty lucky bunch. You get to ride and test
00:05brand new kit, often in exotic locations. What is not to like? And while you get the occasional miss,
00:12most of the tech we review is pretty good. It's actually quite hard to make a bad product these
00:17days. It's just a matter of teasing out the small differences that may matter to us and of course
00:23you, the viewers. However, there are still products which stand out from the crowd being
00:28universally loved by cycling journalists the world over. They may not always be the most
00:34exciting products, but this 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 or watching them
00:50on this very YouTube channel, then you may have heard us mention the law of diminishing returns.
00:55And by that I mean, basically, the more you spend, the less you get. This applies to lots of products
01:01like wheels, pedals, frame sets and finishing kit. However, one of the biggest offenders has to be
01:08group sets, which brings me neatly onto the godlike Shimano 105. If you're unaware, 105 is Shimano's
01:16mid-tier group set. There's two versions above and then three that sit below. Crucially though,
01:21105's performance bears a much closer resemblance to Shimano's top-tier Ultegra and Dura-Ace group
01:28sets, while costing much less. And by less, I mean a lot less. Prices can vary depending on region and
01:36whether you're buying online or from a physical store. But a top-spec Dura-Ace Di2 group set will
01:43set you back around two and a half grand, while mechanical 105 can be found for as little as 500
01:50pounds. If you want to spend a little bit more, then you can get the electronic 105 Di2 group set
01:55for around 900 pounds. Obviously, being so much cheaper means 105 will be heavier, less refined
02:03and miss out on some of the bells and whistles of Shimano's higher tier group sets. But again,
02:09in terms of pure shifting performance, it's pretty close. And this newest version looks the part as
02:16well. As you can probably tell, I love 105 and I'd wager you'll struggle to find a cycling journalist
02:22who doesn't. Ask 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, those options
02:40may throw up some curveballs, but I bet nearly all of them would recommend the Continental GP5000s,
02:47the successor to the legendary GP4000. Now, the 5000 caused quite a stir when it was released back
02:54in 2018, and since then, it's won many cycling fans over the world. Why, I hear you ask? Well,
03:02it's not the fastest, the grippiest, the lightest or the best value, but it does seem to offer the best
03:08balance of all of those key factors. A kind of jack of all trades, master of none for the bike tyre
03:15in the world. Despite being such a fast tyre, we've also found it's got pretty decent puncture
03:20protection, no doubt thanks to Continental's newly improved Vectrum Breaker layer. And for such a
03:26popular tyre, 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
03:46speed, 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?
04:08Next 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 things.
04:22Number one, they're very affordable, retailing for around £28. And number two, they're pretty much
04:29universally loved, with pages of glowing five-star reviews from journalists and paying customers
04:35alike. Pros include their ease of maintenance, durability, all-round performance, and aforementioned
04:42pricing. While these pedals are mainly aimed at off-road riders, we found they suited road riders as
04:47well, particularly for those who like to be able to walk around in their riding shoes, which
04:52the recessed cleat on the M520 pedal does allow for. Lastly, the M520s have legendary mud clearing
05:00abilities, and it wasn't uncommon to see pro cyclocross racers using them in particularly
05:06muddy races. So, if this £28 pedal is good enough for the pros, then chances are it will be more than
05:13good enough for us. There's no doubt, owning and riding a fancy carbon race bike is one of the
05:24true pleasures of cycling. What's less pleasurable is what you do with said carbon road bike when the
05:31weather turns nasty. Sure, you can keep riding it while keeping on top of the cleaning, but many of us
05:37don't have that kind of time. And as most carbon race bikes don't come with mudguard eyelets, finding
05:44something to keep you and your bike clean can be tricky. Fortunately, though, SKS have you covered
05:50with their clip-on raceblade mudguards. While clip-on mudguards of the past would often just be flimsy and
05:56need constant adjustment and be prone to braking, the raceblades are rock-solid and are made of strong,
06:02stiff plastic. They'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 mudguard,
06:16with a bit of spray usually managing to work its way up your backside, but they will protect your bike
06:21and surely that is the most important thing. Finally, if you like your tyres wide, then SKS has you
06:28covered with their XL model, which works with 700c wheels, up 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 best,
07:05then I think you can't go wrong with Elite. They have a huge variety to choose from and cater to
07:11different budgets. You can also choose between carbon, metal, Elite's eco-friendly material and
07:17their fibre reinforced material. So again, lots of options. A quick look online will tell you
07:23everything that you need to know with lots of five or nearly five-star reviews. When we tested their
07:29Vico Carbon bottle cage, we found it provided a firm, rattle-free hold while weighing just 28 grams.
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. Search online for cycling socks and you will find an almost
07:52limitless array of styles, colours, lengths and thicknesses to choose from. So, which do we
07:59recommend? Well, if you like your socks in either white, black or grey, then you can't go wrong with
08:06Raffa's Pro Team socks. They've been around in some form or another for a long time, which goes to show
08:12how popular they are with cycling journalists and everyday riders. My personal favourite are the
08:19standard socks, but for taller riders, there is an extra long version for that trendy high cuff look.
08:25Socks may not be the most exciting of products, but these really do the job quite well, keeping your
08:31feet cool during the summer months and not slipping down your legs during riding. It's worth noting,
08:37the Raffa have you covered in the colder months as well, as they have a winter version of the
08:41Pro Team sock. So, what's not to like?
08:49Super Kaz 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 do
09:07know 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 3.2mm, so will be well suited to riders
09:27who value all day comfort. Thick bar tape can sometimes be trickier to wrap, but we found the
09:33super sticky kush tape didn't present us with too many issues. Finally, it's available in a wide
09:39variety of colours, so you should be able to find something to match your bike.
09:43Last 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 workshops
10:07the world over. As you'd expect, they're made from super high-torque industrial steel that will
10:13last for years to come. They're also available in all the popular sizes for when it comes to working
10:19on your bike, and there's a small ball head right there on the long side for those hard-to-reach
10:24places. Lastly, you get a neat wall hanger mount thingy, meaning no more rummaging around in drawers
10:30or toolboxes. So there you have it, eight products almost universally loved by cycling journalists.
10:37But do you have any recommendations of your own? As always, let me know down below.
10:43My hands aren't in shot here, are they? You can't see that? No.
10:46Good. Okay. Right, ready?
10:48What a muppet! What an absolute muppet!
