OUR FAVOURITE TECH OF 2021

CW’s product testers run through their highlights of the year

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TECH EDITOR

Michelle Arthurs-Brennan

The past 12 months have been transformative, in terms of where I’m riding and how I’m riding. Firstly, I moved counties – I’m now closer to the sea, which gives me the natural alarm clock of seagull cries that I’ve always wished for.

As with any location move, a change in habits often follows, and in my case there’s been a lot less intensity to my 2021, and more off-road gravelling. That’s a trend we’ve seen across Cycling Weekly’s audience, so it’s likely not something I need to explain: there’s something about a global pandemic which encourages you to reassess your priorities, and just loving my time on the bike has been more important than FTP increases.

That’s not to say that I haven’t put plenty of miles in, and these are some of the key pieces of equipment that I’ve ridden and rated this year…

GARMIN EDGE 830 £349.99

Moving to a new area means building a completely new internal Sat Nav. For someone who is already – shall we say – geographically challenged (an A* in GCSE geography means nothing if you can’t reliably pinpoint which way is north), a cycling computer with mapping capabilities has been an essential.

In my 2020 list, I included the Garmin 1030 for much the same functions (in this case, due to cancellations of club runs). However, the 830 I’ve been using more recently is so much better.

The primary reason for this is the improved touchscreen. This was the only quibble I had with the 1030, and on the 830 it’s infinitely better – and almost as good as a phone screen.