Gear of the year: Josh Ross' favourite products in 2023

The word that springs to mind as I think back on 2023 is gratitude. Honestly, it's overwhelming how grateful I feel. Every day I wake up I think about the amazing opportunities I have and the amazing content I get to create and I'm just so grateful. 

That gratitude starts with the audience that's reading this right now. The two of us are working in concert and it's a beautiful dance. I do the absolute best job I can to put products to the test and tell you what works and what doesn't. I also go on adventures and tell you about it. In exchange, you read that content and you support it. Thank you.

It's also worth mentioning that sometimes I get messages via email and social media in response to the content I create. Just so we are clear, I love hearing from you. If you've got a question, please never hesitate to reach out. I always try to respond and you aren't bothering me. 

Along with the audience support, I'm also grateful for all the brands that have furnished me with test gear. While it's true that I ride my bike more than most, that's not what allows me to tell you the unvarnished truth about products. Instead, my superpower is that when I tell you about the best products it's because I've experienced every possible option in a category. I am able to tell you what works because I've tested it against everything and picked the best. 

With all that in mind, I see in my gear of the year 2022 I talked about breaking free of my routine. I did manage to do that but I continue to be the endurance specialist on the team. I like products that let me look my best and feel comfortable for rides lasting anywhere from 6-24 hours. Here's some of my favourites from 2023 in no particular order. 

Google Pixel 8 Pro

Phones are at a point these days that they aren't that exciting anymore. Or maybe it's that I'm old. Either way, I'm not that excited about the latest and greatest. A mid-range phone does everything I need in terms of processing power or screen quality. These days even getting a new phone isn't that exciting since everything seamlessly transfers from the old one to the new one. 

As I've pushed my rides longer though, I've noticed I do have some endurance athlete specific needs. 100 miles is fine with whatever phone but start going to 200 or 300 miles and a mid range phone doesn’t cut it anymore.

The Pixel 8 Pro is a new addition that fixes that challenge and fills every need I've got. I always prefer the fast software updates and lack of duplicated apps that come with a Pixel phone. Now I've got all that plus enough battery power to almost never need to charge while riding. When things really get long (no phone lasts forever) there’s also wireless charging. 

Wireless charging allows me to charge in my jersey pocket while riding with no cables to mess with. All I have to do is stack an Anker 533 Wireless Power Bank behind the phone and keep riding. I might not need the fastest mobile processor but long lasting battery life is key. 

The Pixel 8 Pro also means IP68 water protection if I get rained on and a camera so good I don't need anything else. Of course beyond the battery, camera, and water protection, I do keep discovering cool new tricks. There’s things like a sleep tracker better than my Garmin watch and a slew of small operating system updates that are great. Still, as much as I like that stuff, what I really like is knowing that I can ride for 24 hours and even if it rains I’ll always have a working phone for emergencies or music. That's a huge piece of mind.

Garmin Edge 1040 Solar 

I've written pretty extensively about the 1040 Solar but it continues to outpace everything else by orders of magnitude. Like a phone, I need to know that no matter how far I ride I'll have a working head unit. I don't want to think about it, I just want it to work. That's what I get with the 40 hours of battery the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar offers.

Of course, like a phone, there are a slew of other interesting features as well. If you really want details, I covered everything in detail in my full Garmin 1040 Solar review but what I tend to use most are only a few things. I love having the climbing screen to tell me the details about a climb but more importantly to tell me how many climbs there are in a route and which one I’m on. I also occasionally use the power pacing feature to keep myself riding at an intensity that makes sense for my training. 

Again though, like the phone, it’s really the battery life that matters. With the Garmin 1040 Solar I know that no matter how far I ride I’ll have a working head unit to keep track of my ride and provide routing. That’s a huge piece of mind, again.

Garmin Varia RTL515 

Actually, there is one feature of the 1040 that I find myself pretty amazed with but isn’t mentioned in any of my reviews. When I create a light network with the Garmin Varia rear light, I never have to turn it on or off. I have things set so that when I press start, the light starts flashing. When I press stop, it turns off. Magic!

That's just a small part of why I always ride with a Garmin Varia though. The real reason is that it adds safety to every ride. That all starts with being a great rear light. It’s visible from crazy far away and the irregular flash pattern is attention grabbing. On top of that, the battery life is incredible. I use day flash and the official spec says 16-hours in that mode. What that doesn’t take into account is the ability to sometimes use your head unit to turn the light off during a ride. Keep the light off during the day and you can easily ride 24-hours without charging. 

Of course that begs the question, why would you keep a light off during a ride? In this case, the light isn’t the main feature. What really makes the RTL515 great is the Varia radar feature that tells you when a car is coming from behind. Instead of constantly needing to stay on high alert for cars, you can enjoy your ride. When a car approaches, you’ll get both visual and audio confirmation on your bike computer (Garmin not required). 

Although the RTL515 has been around for a while now, it just works and there’s nothing better out there. I’ve tried every alternative option from the competition and Garmin always outpaces them. It’s got more battery life and it never misses a car or gives a false positive. It’s as reliable as a mirror. Garmin also offers a version with a rear camera that does have a number of updates but for me, I’d rather have the battery life. I honestly can’t imagine not wanting to have the info I get from my Garmin Varia unit. 

Zwift 

As long as I'm talking about things I can't imagine not liking, let's talk about Zwift. Occasionally people will tell me they don’t really get it and while I can put on my reviewer hat and empathise with that, in my life it doesn’t make a lot of sense. For me, Zwift is just riding my bike. 

I've never been one to care about indoor vs outdoor riding. A lot of the time it's great riding outside and when I can, I will. Sometimes though, it gets dark at 4:30 and it rains incessantly. I've paid my dues in the rain and cold, I've got nothing to prove. I still want to ride my bike so I jump on Zwift. 

It's inside but the experience isn’t inherently different from riding my bike outside. The sense of accomplishment at completing a route is the same indoors or out and there's plenty of variety either way. If I want to go for time and distance The Über Pretzel and the final climb up Alpe Du Zwift take me about five hours including an hour of climbing at the end. There are also longer routes but I like the pacing of that one so I’ve done it a lot. 

Also like outdoors, I can ride with other people on Zwift. If I want to hammer for a few hours there’s a 100k Sunday ride that requires serious effort. Alternatively, I can take the slower version of the same ride and do a bit more chatting. Of course If I really want to push there's always a race available too. I tend to save those for mid-week rides though as an hour race is perfect for a high-intensity day. 

I won’t pretend I love everything about Zwift. In fact there’s a lot of things I find slightly maddening. As I considered this article though, I thought about how those annoyances happen because I’m such a fan. I’ve spent a crazy amount of time riding on Zwift over the years and I only want the service to continue improving. 

My favourite cycling kit 

There have been times in the past when I’ve gone for months during the summer only reviewing kit. These days the team has expanded and I haven’t had as much opportunity to cover kit options. Despite that, I still care deeply about the quality of cycling kit and I continue to test a huge range of options. 

As with other things on this list, I also have a slightly unique take on the details that matter. For one thing I need kit to work as well at hour 12 as it does at hour 2. I also want stylish design and the tailoring should help you look your best when wearing it. With all that in mind, it was incredibly hard for me to narrow it down to a reasonable selection of a few pieces. There’s so many options I want to highlight but I managed to narrow it to three outfits I absolutely love. 

Starting from the left is the Q36.5 Gridskin jersey paired with the MAAP Pro bib 2.0. There’s basically nothing that Q36.5 makes I don’t love. I actually highlighted the Q36.5 Unique bib last year and I continue to wear it. You can basically consider the Gridskin jersey an addition to that recommendation but this time it’s the un-reported aero advantage I enjoy pairing with the aero detailing of the MAAP Pro bib 2.0. As far as the MAAP bibs, everything is excellent but I especially love the design on the lower abdomen that does a great job keeping me looking perfect. 

The next pairing I have is the Adicta Lab Valent Jersey with the Castelli Free Aero RC bib short. I covered these Castelli bibs so you can read more details but the weight of the fabric and lack of leg grippers is a real leap ahead of the rest of the industry. I’m also a huge fan of the Progetto X² Air chamois. Paired with that is a jersey I got late in the season from BMC brand Adicta Lab. I love the style and it fits just right with plenty of pocket space. Hard to ask for more. 

Unfortunately the summer doesn’t last forever. Maybe I need to move south to alleviate that but, for now, I have to have options when it cools off. I have the best winter cycling jackets buyers guide but this outfit is what I tend to grab a bit before most of those jackets come out. When it’s a little cool but still nice, I reach for the Q36.5 Woolf 2.0 Bib Shorts and the Castelli Perfetto RoS 2 jacket. It’s a combination that handles a lot while both looking and feeling fantastic. 

Assos RS LF Targa Summer gloves 

Assos makes incredible clothes and is always near the top of my lists for clothing options. That said, the brand didn’t have any big summer kit updates this year. I continue to love the Assos Equipe RSR Bib Shorts S9 Targa for the innovative fabric used on the inner thigh but I’ve already covered them. Instead I want to highlight something brand new that solves a problem no one else is even attempting to. 

I hate wearing summer gloves. I don’t like the way they look and I don’t like the way they feel when my fingers swell. I’m also not generally in love with lots of padding. At the same time, I do sometimes appreciate having gloves on long rides. In the past that meant I’d look at mountain bike gloves where you can find long finger options with no padding. Late this year though, I found the Assos LF summer gloves and I felt so seen.

Finally someone is making a roadie specific long finger summer glove and I love them. The fit is just right and actually makes me feel like I’ve got more control when wearing them. There’s padding but it’s subtle and never causes pressure points. The wrist is short enough it never feels odd. I could keep piling on the praise but ultimately it’s all just more ways of saying, I love that these exist and they are perfect for me. 

Zipp 353 NSW wheels 

For years I’ve highlighted Cadex wheels in this spot and the Cadex Ultra 50 disc continues to be one of my all time favourites. You can see I also continue to appreciate the Cadex tyres. Time marches on though and that wheel isn’t brand new anymore. More importantly, Zipp is offering real competition in the Zipp 353 NSW. 

You can read my full Zipp 353 NSW review but for most people the headline features are going to be the incredible 1307 gram weight (including rim tape and valves) and the funky sawtooth profile. I consider those details the cherry on top though. What’s really special about these wheels is that they are on the cutting edge of what makes a rider fast. 

Wider tyres mean more comfort and less watts wasted on fatigue. To keep a wheel aerodynamically fast with wider tyres you also need a shorter, wider, rim profile and that’s what the 353 NSW is all about. The 25mm internal width and hookless design means tons of air volume and the most comfortable wheel I’ve ever ridden. 

Zipp is clear that this is not the fastest wheel from an aerodynamic standpoint. The brand is less clear about exactly how much you are giving up. That said, I doubt it’s much and whatever it is, you get back a superbly stable wheel that is noticeably more comfortable compared to alternatives. On ultra distance rides, that’s worth a lot. 

Insta360 X3 360 camera 

I’ve covered a wide range of Insta360 cameras and each time one of them offers 360 shooting, I talk about what that means. If you want lots of details, look in my Insta360 X3 action camera review. To keep it brief though, a 360 camera does not mean ultrawide angles or weird effects. It can if you want it to but mostly, it just means recording everything all the time. You don’t have to move the camera around. The Insta360 X3 makes that even easier because of the shape. It’s long, thin and easy to hold on a bike. 

When I head out on long rides, I almost always carry the Insta360 X3 with me. From time to time I pull it out and press a single button then hold it still before putting it away. At home I connect wirelessly with my phone and this is another highlight of using Insta360 cameras. 

The Insta360 app makes it easy to select key frames and select what the viewer is looking at. Between the two frames the app will smoothly move the camera to the next point of view you select. Most of the time I take a few minutes to cut down my clips to the important parts, add a little movement, then stitch them all together. I can output 9:16 for instagram or 16:9 for YouTube and now I’m ready to show people my experience edited to something short and to the point. 

The ease of this workflow has changed my whole relationship with video. While I’m hardly an expert, I can make something worth watching and I can do it without disrupting my rides. I’m a huge fan.

POC Propel Sunglasses

The best sunglasses for cycling buyers guide is Will’s domain but I still managed to snag the POC Propel Sunglasses review. Essentially I begged for the opportunity because I loved them so much. That said, I’m not going to pretend they are the absolute best lenses. Will favours the Oakley Prizm Road lenses and I might be willing to agree. I don’t care though. 

The POC Propel glasses have fantastic lenses. Even if the Oakleys are slightly better, there’s more to it these than the lenses. Cycling glasses have to perform but they are about a feeling too. POC made glasses that happen to perfectly fit my sense of style and I’m hooked. 

The big headline was that the Propel sunglasses are aero optimised. Cool, how much faster are they? Well… about that… maybe a watt? Who cares though, I’ve got Silca neon pink aero optimised socks and matching EF colours in my aero optimised sunglasses. Isn’t that really what counts? Or maybe it’s the lenses so mirrored that they seem to distort reality in a picture? Whatever it is, I love it. 

Just so we are clear, the POC Propel glasses do also perform. You won’t get even a hint of wind around the lenses and they do a great job of sitting close, but not touching, an aero helmet. They don’t slide down my nose either. If POC had a photochromic lens option I’d probably never change glasses again.