Bike guides, gear research, and recalls

Cycling recalls, matched to the parts riders actually own.

• DT Swiss Carbon Fiber Road WheelsA defect can compromise the wheel's structural integrity, posing a crash hazard to the rider.
• BMC Kaius 01The fork steerer tube can crack, break, or separate during use, posing a fall hazard.
• Canyon Bicycles USA Speedmax CFThe aerostem fork steerer tube can crack or break, posing a fall and injury hazard to the rider.
• SRAM 12-speed shift-brake leversThe clamp bolt on the brake lever can come loose, causing the lever to rotate or become unstable and posing a crash hazard to the rider.
• Specialized Supacaz OrbitronThe pedal body can detach from the spindle and/or the spindle can break, posing a fall hazard to the rider.
• Shimano 11-speed bonded Hollowtech road cranksetThe two bonded halves of the crank arm can separate and break, posing a crash hazard. CPSC reported 4,519+ separation incidents and six injuries (fractures, joint displacement, lacerations). Affected: Ultegra FC-6800/FC-R8000 and Dura-Ace FC-9000/FC-R9100/FC-R9100-P 11-speed bonded road cranksets.
• Shimano Ultegra FC-6800, Dura-Ace FC-9000, Ultegra FC-R8000, Dura-Ace FC-R9100, FC-R9100PThe bonded crank parts can separate and break, posing a crash hazard to riders.
• Pirelli P ZERO Race TLRThe tire bead can unseat from the rim, causing rapid air loss and loss of control, posing a fall hazard.
• Cervélo R5, Caledonia-5, ST31 LTThe handlebars can slip in the stem, causing the rider to lose control and posing a fall hazard.
• Trek Speed Concept SLR, Émonda SLR, Bontrager Aeolus RSL VR-CThe carbon fiber handlebars can crack, posing fall and crash hazards to riders.

How to do the job, and when to hand it to a shop.

• Waxing your chain
• Refreshing tubeless sealant

The decision behind the part — what's changing and what the evidence says.

• Should you go shorter?Across cranks from 120 to 220mm, maximum power moves about 4% — the lever was never where the watts were.
• Should you go narrower?Narrow is the new aero — and from 2026 the UCI is drawing a line at 400mm.
• Should you go wider?At the same pressure a wider tyre and a narrower one press the same-size contact patch into the road — the wider one's is just shorter and fatter, so the casing flexes less each rotation and wastes less energy.
• Should you switch to wax?A properly waxed chain can run thousands of gritty kilometres with almost no measurable wear, where a wet oil chews through more than a chain over the same distance — the real case for wax is drivetrain life, not watts.
• Do you still need the front derailleur?Dropping the front derailleur buys real simplicity and no fumbled front shifts — but a single cassette physically can’t give you both a 2x’s total range and its tight jumps, so you’re always trading one for the other.