Robert Thorpe Cycling Blogs

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EDITOR IN CHIEFROBERT
THORPE

Words on Paper

Blogs and Reviews by Robert Thorpe

It’s always fascinating how cycling is constantly evolving, and how we as cyclists interact with the cycling industry. In truth, we’re not just one, but several linked sub-cultures. Cyclists take their riding quite seriously – even if we won’t admit it! With this in mind, I thought that it would be kind of interesting to share a few editorial thoughts, across a range of cycling related subjects. Off you go then, and have a read – and thanks! Your support for our website is really and genuinely appreciated, by all of us.

Words on Paper

Editorial blogs by Robert

Choosing the best road and offroad cycling shoes

Finding the best cycling shoes in the world is a challenge. Ultimately, we're all built differently, and that includes the uniqueness of our feet and how we use them. Add to this, that brands can't easily shout out that they probably make the best cycling shoes, then we've got an additional barrier. Time then to look at what does make a great cycling shoe even greater.
January 6, 2025/by Pedalnorth Website

Inspired by cycling friends

It's been over two months since I rode a bike. To some people, that may not sound too bad. However, when I tell you that it's because of a life-changing health issue that isn't too good. Thankfully, I'm constantly inspired by some amazing people...
December 8, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Is this the best gravel bike brand in the world

The explosion of gravel bikes globally brings us to the question: ‘what is the best gravel bike in the world?’ Yes, we know about Kasia and Matthieu and Nico and all those top riders. However, in terms of the mass participation gravel bike races, which bike beats all the rest in performance, durability and the all-important style.
October 22, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Which indoor bike trainer is right for me

With the continual advancement of AI and cycling industry tech, including training apps; how can an ordinary novice cyclist, or indeed and experienced club cyclist choose the indoor interactive cycling trainer, or the right SMART trainer for themselves.
October 16, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

VOTEC Gravel Fondo Route – Heidelberg Germany

Heidelberg is home to the oldest university in Germany, a splendidly historic church and several nearby castles. Alongside the Neckar River, it's a great place to explore by gravel bike.
October 9, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

3T Bikes at Cycle Store Zurich 2024 UCI World Championships

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October 3, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Regensburg to Kelheim Gravel Ride

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the 12th-century stone bridge at Regensburg is the starting place for this day trip to Kelheim along the river. Taking you into the heart of Bavarian history and culture, with all the facilities of Regensburg on hand for a weekend trip into cultural Germany
September 30, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Munich to Starnberger See Gravel Ride

This route is adapted from the well-known Bayern-Grevet series of events. It's an opportunity for a long one-day adventure, or more sensibly a two-day trip out to the beautiful Lake Starnbeger. With over 2 thirds of the route on gravel or cycle trails, it's a super route for an off-road adventure, exploring the forests and trails.
September 22, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Buying a bike that fits you properly

When sitting in a car for the first time, we adjust several aspects to increase our comfort. However, we frequently go to the same level of detail in buying a bike - yet we really ought to. Time then to examine the importance of identifying our own uniqueness when buying a new bike
September 17, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Mittenwald-Ehrwald from Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bike Route

It's time to explore the beautiful cycling routes around Munich, as we ride out to Tegernsee and the lake. This magical place in the hills is the gateway to the Bavarian countryside, and close also to the magical town of Bad Tölz, on the Isar River. A great day or two on the bike.
September 16, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Munich to Tegernsee with Bad Tölz gravel bike route

It's time to explore the beautiful cycling routes around Munich, as we ride out to Tegernsee and the lake. This magical place in the hills is the gateway to the Bavarian countryside, and close also to the magical town of Bad Tölz, on the Isar River. A great day or two on the bike.
September 16, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Bavaria 5 Rivers Cycle Route

The 5 Rivers cycling route in Bavaria is an easy muti-day cycling route in Bavaria. However, it has along its way, some of the most captivating cultural history in Bavaria to explore.
September 15, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Munich exploring castles and Bavarian Mountain views

This cycling route in Bavaria takes you from Munich and into the countryside of Bavaria, passing several castles along the way, and heading into the Bavarian Alps. It's a bikepacking trip in Bavaria that we suggest you ride by gravel bike over a few days.
September 13, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Rudy Project Skudo cycling helmet

We've been busy recently, testing the latest road cycling and gravel biking helmets from Italian brand, Rudy Project. Their Skudo cycling helmet sits neatly in the mid-range for price, performance and quality, making it a great choice for all riders.
September 4, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website
Rudy Project Kilion Impact X sunglasses in white, with photochromatic lens

Rudy Project Kelion Sunglasses with Impact X 2 Lens

Rudy Project have surpassed themselves with the latest ImpactX® 2 lens used in their Kelion road cycling sunglasses. Yes, I know, the lens is always an important element to road cycling sunglasses – that’s plainly obvious. Read on however, and find out why we really like these new high performance sunglasses from Italy
August 25, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Rudy Project Egos Road Cycling Helmet

Rudy Project is renowned for producing great cycling safety products. They’ve been doing so for a long time, from their base in Italy, and are trusted across the global cycling community. Their latest Egos ‘road cycling helmet’ typifies their adherence to excellence, and has that unique Italian styling too.
August 25, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Benefits of a professional bike fitting session

There are a number of ideas why all keen cyclists – and regular commuters by bike – should get a professional bike fit from a bike fitting expert. Most of us simply walk into a bike shop and try a bike for size without actually knowing what a correctly fitting bike feels like. SQ Lab have been creating products to help bike fitters to help out cyclists, since 1992. Time to take a look at the 6 key benefits of a professional bike fit
August 16, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

SQ Lab and the Appliance of Science in Cycling Excellence

SQLab is probably one of the most established and long-term technical brands within the cycling industry, that you really ought to have heard of. Since it’s infancy in the early days of the mountain bike revolution of the 1990s, this group of cycling scientists from Germany have been setting the standard for innovation and excellence that still defines SQLab today.
August 15, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

The Positive Benefits of a Bike Fit and the Science of Bike Fitting

Bike fitting looks at every aspect of how we are built, how we move, how we sit and and how comfortable we are when cycling. Bike fitting should be as normal for us as cyclists, as stopping to enjoy coffee and cake is. However, the new science of bike fitting is still developing, despite World Tour riders and teams using it for many years.

Rudy Project Tralyx+ Sunglasses with Photochromic lenses

There’s something comforting about Rudy Project for me. You immediately know that the product will be of the highest quality, well designed, extremely comfortable and perform superbly. Yes, that ultimate balance that all cyclists and athletes seek in any product.
August 4, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

3T Bikes – Innovation and Excellence

Since its inception in 1961, over 60 years ago, when Mario Dedioniggi founded 3T in Torino, this eclectic brand of artisan cycle makers have produced exceptional bikes for riders all over the world.
August 3, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

What’s the Best Mountain Bike Lights

Mountain biking at night adds a different and exciting dimension to trail riding. On late summer evenings and those warm autumn days; riding into the darkness with friends is food for the soul. Thinking about this, we wanted to share our thoughts with you about our favourite mountain bike trail lights
July 23, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Cycling Industry Technology and Innovation

Cycling technology and innovation is having a huge impact on cycling participation. In our daily lives, commuting by bike, and for leisure and sport, science and technology in cycling is allowing more and more people to get out cycling, making the most of a healthy lifestyle
July 21, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

SQ Lab Cycling – Maximising Performance & Comfort

SQ Lab are a group of very clever scientists, based in the heart of Bavaria, who are passionate about helping you and all cyclists to find the perfect fit for your bike. Using their well-researched and detailed software and measuring tools, they'll not only tell you what's required; they also design and create innovative solutions to optimise your ride.
July 18, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Best European MTB Events

Cyclists are looking for new adventures, and there's an explosion of events all over Europe. We put our experts to work, listing the very best of European mountain bike events. Off you go then - join the adventure revolution!

EuroBike 2024 Day 1

EuroBike is a place where one day is simply not enough. I’m not actually sure that a week will be either. This year in particular, there are so many fascinating aspects to the cycling industry to see
July 3, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

High Performance Cycling Clothing

The cycle clothing market is awash with so many brands, that it's often difficult to determine which clothing to choose for true quality and performance. WE thought that it was about time we started to examine this for you. Let's focus of real quality and performance brands, and create a cycling revolution
June 27, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

On the trails of Triada – Transylvania epic ride

We're developing a new 4-day challenge route, for both gravel bikes and mountain bikes' It'll take you from the mountain resort of Paltinis in Transylvania, exploring the epic trails of Europe's last great wilderness. Join the ride, on the adventure revolution - with TRIADA mountain bike!
June 25, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Entering the age brackets within cycling

I don't weigh myself; I haven't done so for nearly 30 years. These days, if my trousers fit me, I know that I'm fine; and I have a deal with my wife: she promises to tell me when I no longer look good in Lycra - and, I know for sure that she will! At such a point, I'll never where tight cycling shorts and jerseys again 😉
June 13, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

ALE cycle clothing for wet summer rides

Wet cycling days seem to be more common than ever these days, which is why we wanted to give you a few ideas from our own selection of our favourite rainy ride kit options. Here's a few from Italian high-performance brand, ALÉ
June 9, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website
ALÉ cycle clothing

Grantley Hall Cycling Routes

Grantley Hall is one of the very best hotels in the U.K.. Situated within the actual Yorkshire Dales, on the edge of the National Park, it has some of the best cycling in the world, direct from the hotel.

Transfăgărășan Challenge 2024

It’s thankfully quite refreshing to know that there is still a place in the world, and an event to really challenge yourself on, and that actually means something – welcome then to the Transfăgărășan Challenge, and the opportunity to cycle up what is correctly described as the most spectacular ribbon of tarmac in the world – the Transfăgărășan Highway, in Romania.
May 31, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

ALÉ R-EV1 Hammer Bib Shorts

Bib shorts are a cycle clothing necessity that you have to get right. Thankfully, ALÉ are a brand that understands this and put all of their world tour expertise and years of research into this critical area of clothing. For me, the three main elements of the pad to get right are: the pad, the fabric, and the straps.
May 13, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

ALÉ Pragma Dinamica SS Jersey

ALÉ don’t simply make cycling clothing; no, they craft some of the finest men’s and ladies cycling clothing in the world, from their base in the magical and historic city of Verona, on the edge of the Italian Lakes and Mountains. It’s the city of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, and this ALÉ Pragma Dinamica ss jersey for summer, is definitely a cycling jersey to fall in love with.
May 13, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Elastic Interface Chamois Pad

Are you sitting comfortably? It’s an interesting question, especially for a cyclist. Far too often cyclistssimply choose their bib shorts based on design or the feel and compression of the Lycra, without considering the cycle chamois pad itself. And yet, when we think about it, the pad is the most important choice.
April 4, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Made in Yorkshire – Carbon Wasp

Carbon Wasp – artisans for the modern era

If you look hard enough across the internet, you’ll find a wealth of small and specialist engineers making bikes and bespoke bike parts in small workshops up and down the U.K...
March 28, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Mountain Biking in Romania – Europe’s last great wilderness

Transylvania, a fascinating and quite beautiful region of Romania, has been central to European history for centuries. In more modern times, we tend to think of it simply in terms of the quite false literary account of Count Dracula. In truth, there’s so much more to Transylvania than vampires
March 26, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

TRIADA and the Trilogy of the Trails

Transylvania has been described as Europe's last and most beautiful wilderness. It's also home to the inspiring mtb racer, Tudor Oprea, and he's got an all-new epic for you ride. Welcome to the 'TRILOGY OF THE TRAILS', the future of off-road adventures. This epic new off-road biking festival takes on gravel bikes, XC & trail mountain bikes, and e-mountain biking, over 3 epic weekend festivals in the Carpathian Mountains. Read here to find out more...
March 12, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Indoor Cycling – Training Through Injury

One understated benefit of interactive indoor cycle trainers, is how useful that they are when you're training through imjury. You need to ensure that you stay within performance parameters, and the data that you get from the 'My E-Training' app allows you to focus and to work at the right level. Robert writes about how Elite are helping him through such a period of injury.
February 20, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website

Officine Mattio Bikes partner with BePInk Cycle Team

Specialist and high-quality Italian bike brand, Officine Mattio has signed its first ever technical partnership agreement with the UCI Continental BePink women's team, for 2024. The Cuneo based cycle brand will provide the team riders with its top range Lemma RT model. Read more about the new partnership here
January 17, 2024/by Pedalnorth Website
VISIT THE TRILOGY WEBSITE

Ride Romania with TRIADA

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