The future of gravel tech, an indoor bike, and a very expensive facility: Josh's Gear of the Year

Hello all, it's December again. For those of us north of the equator, we're just days away from the shortest day of the year, the day which we all say 'yay summer's coming' only to find that we still have all of January to get through. 

But here we are again. And although the year seems to have flown by, it's been a really busy one with a lot of exciting chapters.

I often find December to be a month of contemplation. Partly that's a result of needing to write this roundup of my favourite things, but mainly because in the calm that follows the Black Friday storm here at Cyclingnews headquarters, there's a lot of focus on 'next year'. 

As my ever-insightful wife said recently, "December is a time for thinking, not for doing," and although I'm not sure my bosses would agree entirely, there's a truth to it. You can't really plan for what's next without taking stock of what's been… so allow me a moment to recount my 2024. Like a Spotify Wrapped, but worse. 

On a personal note, I got married. Congrats to me! That is, of course, the highlight of the year, but truth be told it was just one of many really cool things that happened in 2024. On a personal front, I also ran my first half marathon and became a 'gravel racer', while on the professional side, we launched CN Labs and Cyclingnews won 'website of the year' here at Future Publishing.

The measurable nature of road running training, significantly more so than bike race tactics, really unlocked something in me. I set a goal of running a sub 1:30, and the process of breaking down the per-km pace, and training my ability to run at that pace while also trying to build the distance was really rewarding. 

I transitioned that approach into gravel racing later in the year. I raced the Gralloch (badly) in May, and that lit a fire of motivation in me which I carried through to the National Championships where I finished 4th, something I never expected. 

In contrast to 2023, 2024 was less abundant in the number of different bikes I got to ride, but it was no less filled with testing. The biggest content-based achievement for me in 2024 was the launch of our wind tunnel tests, hereon to be known as 'CN Labs', but I'll get to all that shortly. 

So without further ado, let's get into some cool stuff that made me smile in 2024. 

1. The Zwift Ride

This year was the year in which I spent significantly more time riding indoors than out. I don't love that fact in and of itself, but I lead a busy life and so getting time to ride is easier said than done. Riding indoors is more efficient, with less time spent worrying about where I'm going, what I'm wearing and cleaning my bike, and more time turning the pedals. As a time crunched 'athlete' (said in the loosest sense of the word), indoor cycling better aligns with my goals of training for racing. 

And to that end, the Zwift Ride was a constant throughout my summer of training. As I've explained in my Zwift Ride review, some of its benefits include multi-rider compatibility thanks to its adjustability, instant access to training, courtesy of not having to mount your outdoor bike before you ride, and added interactivity via the up-front controls. 

But one of the lesser-trodden benefits, for me, was the adjustable bike fit. If my lower back was feeling problematic, as it occasionally does, I could just whack up the bars a few CM and enjoy a more relaxed position. I could also mimic the bike fit to my gravel race bike in the weeks leading up to the race for extra specificity on the training. 

Ironically, I used it primarily in other apps aside from Zwift, but when in ERG mode - as I commonly am when following a workout - the singlespeed Zwift Cog and subsequent inability to change gears didn't cause issues. 

I marked it down for a few specific points, but overall I think it's a really good product that will help more and more people get into cycling. 

2. Dialed Health

Every year, I consider talking up 'strength training' or 'a physio' in my list, because each year I dabble for a few months at a time, reap the benefits, then life gets busy and my knee starts complaining again. 

But this year, not only did I go to the gym pretty much every week (barring work trips or illness) I also subscribed to Dialed Health. For $19.99, you get access to a library of workouts, as well as a host of training programs such as 'gravel' (which features an eye-opening amount of upper-body work), summer maintenance, off-season road, and so on. 

Via the integrated videos, Founder Derek Teel guides you through each exercise. Cycling-specific guidance (ie using a split stance to mimic your pedal position) provides familiarity and reassurance throughout. I really feel that each workout is working me towards being faster on a bike, rather than towards being a beefcake like the big boys in the freeweights section of the gym.

Head to Dialed Health to see more

3. Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub

Anyone would think I'm on commission given how often I bang on about it, but I'm really excited about the facilities at Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub and specifically the future of Cyclingnews' content using it.

I remember naively asking if we could do an aero helmet wind tunnel test in my first weeks here at CN in 2019, so this has been the goal for me from the start. When we had an opportunity to test wheels in 2022 with Team Uno X, the reader response was promising, but funding our own tests was a long way off.

Fast forward to spring 2024, when our editor Peter put the request out for premium feature ideas specifically for Cyclingnews subscribers, my hand shot up, and a few weeks later the first empirical lab-based test - a test of the fastest road bike helmets - was live. We've followed it up with four subsequent tests this year, including a wind tunnel test on 11 superbikes, a wind tunnel test on 18 wheelsets, a rolling resistance test on 24 road tyres, and a pressure-mapping test of bib shorts courtesy of Pedalling Perfection near Bristol. This is just the beginning. 

We have plenty more tests planned for 2025, so I have been steadfast in reading the forum posts, watching the analysis videos and listening to expert advice, frantically scribbling notes on how we can improve this series, because it's really exciting. 

It has even had the seal of approval from Annemiek Van Vleuten, who complemented the piece in an email to my colleague. That's career highlight stuff right there, so thank you Annemiek, and thank you Cyclingnews subscribers, because without you, this would never be a thing. 

The facility, while pretty costly, is open to all: Teams, athletes, coaches, professionals and amateurs alike. If you're interested in seeing more, head to Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub. And if you have any suggestions for things you'd like us to test - get in touch. 

4. Three in one! The Ridley ASTR RS, SRAM Red AXS XPLR, Zipp 303 XPLR SW wheels

Now to an actual bike. As I mentioned, I've not ridden that many different bikes this year, but the Ridley ASTR RS really left an impression. 

As I geared up for a tilt at the gravel national championships – age group, I'm not that good – it seemed like a missed opportunity not to try and source a bike that would be up to the task, and by a slice of luck, up stepped Ridley with a lightweight, aero gravel race bike with aggressive geometry, narrow bars, and massive 52mm tyre clearance. Perfect for the chunky surfaces that made up the course near Gatehouse of Fleet in Scotland. 

It's one of the first of its kind and I genuinely believe it's the future of gravel racing. I'm excited to see if any other brands take the same approach in 2025. 

My gravel race superbike build feature outlines some of the other changes I made to ready the bike for the big day, if you're interested in seeing more. 

The bike came equipped with SRAM's new Red AXS XPLR groupset, complete with the new shifters which are, in my opinion, the new gold standard in road shifter hood ergonomics and braking feel. 

I paired the bike with the crazy-wide Zipp 303 XPLR SW wheels with their 32mm internal channel, and although they were too wide to run inserts, the claimed aero benefits are plentiful and the improvement in handling characteristics was tangible.

It's the closest I've come to buying a test bike to avoid having to send it back. 

5. Healthy food and more sleep

This is a rubbish list of exciting tech, I'll admit, but another thing that really made a difference for me this year is an elevated focus on recovery.

As I upped the focus and intensity of my training this year, I was very conscious that I could be setting myself up for burnout. I know my 10-hour weeks aren't going to trouble a lot of riders, but given I was transitioning from 'riding my bike when I felt like it' to 10 hours of structured training, I wanted to do anything I could to empty my stress bucket faster than I was filling it. 

Though the race included a massive climb, I decided that trying to lose weight was a bad idea, and so focussed on maximising my carb intake both on and off the bike. I increased my protein too. But more than anything, I ensured that the food I was eating was not only plentiful but nutritious. I was putting my body through the ringer with dozens of extended Vo2 Max efforts per week, plus gym work and heat training, and I had just three months to get race fit. The last thing I could afford was a fortnight off the bike with an illness. 

I've no idea if the food I ate actually made a difference. I may have gotten through the training plan on pizza and chips, but I know I felt better mentally - placebo or otherwise - because of it. I felt better prepared and more ready to train, motivated to push harder, and that mental state was almost certainly beneficial to me hitting the targets I set and, in turn, landing the result I managed.