Tech

I'm watching a machine print some dropouts. It's an expensive machine; if you want one for your shed you'll need to front about half a million pounds. It's printing them in super-hard 6Al/4V titanium alloy, and the design is such that they couldn't be produced any other way. They're optimised for the process, hollow, finite-element-analysed on the computer to be stronger and lighter than anything you could produce on a CNC machine.

This coming Sunday (April 8th) the pro peloton will be pounding its way across the infamous pavé in this year’s Paris-Roubaix road race. Last Sunday (April 1st) the amateurs had a chance to sample those same jagged cobblestones, thanks to the Paris-Roubaix Challenge sportive. Given the date, it might have seemed a foolish idea to ride 95 miles across northern France on a zig-zag route with 19 pavé sections, but it turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable - though unsurprisingly tough - day out on the bike.

Fixed gear is now a recognised part of mainstream cycling, just as it was way back in the ‘40s and ’50s. However, for a long time it was firmly out of favour with the exception of a few hardcore riders who remembered the benefits of riding fixed through the winter. Among those riders was a guy by the name of Will Meister.

This Specialized CruX Elite was tested a while ago and turned out to be a great race-ready bike that was a bit held back by some of the parts fitted to meet its friendly £1,000 target.