Cycling Weekly - April 01, 2021

Bob Jackson Audax Club

Popular classic from a Leeds brand that was big in America

MY TRAINING SPACE: David Rhead

I used to store all my bikes and kit inside the house, but as I was amassing more and more, my wife’s tolerance was getting stretched. Shopping around for garden rooms, I was being quoted prices of over £20,000, and I thought, ‘Hang on a minute, I can build this myself ’. So in 2016 that’s what I did – for about a quarter of that cost.

GIRO GASTRONOMY: A FEAST FIT FOR A GRAND TOUR AFTER-PARTY

To celebrate an action-packed, albeit unpredictable Giro, chef Hannah Grant lays on a carb-crammed Italian spread

Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar £549

Garmin’s near range-topping Forerunner 955 is not so much an activity tracker as a complete wrist-based diagnostics tool. Aside from tracking your riding, running or whatever activity you wish to partake in, the GPS watch measures a staggering amount of data, via light reflection, to feed back on your recovery, health, training readiness, optimal training zones, stress levels and more. You can also add the altimeter, barometer, compass, pulse oxidation, respiration, sunrise and sunset times, music player controls, race calendar and more.

Coros Apex 2 Pro £499

The most striking benefit of the Apex 2 Pro is its incredible battery life. Coros claims 30 days of regular use per battery charge, equating to 75 hours of GPS-enabled activity – it only needed charging twice in two months of use.

Amazfit Falcon £499

Amazfit is a smartwatch company based in Hong Kong which specialises in fitness wearables. The Falcon features a titanium body, a 42mm sapphire crystal touchscreen, four buttons and liquid silicone strap. We used the buttons rather than the touchscreen when wearing gloves and they performed well.

Garmin Forerunner 225 £299

The Forerunner 255 is the cheapest watch on test, and by some margin. Naturally something has to give, and when it comes to the 255 it's the lack of any mapping.

Apple Watch Ultra £849

The Apple Watch Ultra is designed to be rugged and features a screen constructed from sapphire glass, which apparently is second only to diamonds in terms of its 'hardness'. A bold claim, but one substantiated through our experience. The watch is also dustproof and waterproof to 40m.

Specialized Allez goes disc only

US company's longest-running production road bike has waved goodbye to rim brakes

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

British Cycling replaced all four track head coaches last year. With a home World Champs and then Olympics fast approaching, Tom Davidson finds out how they're getting on