fixed wheel

Focale 44 is a fixed/commuter bike brand from BMX Groupment, an Andorra-based company that – you guessed it – specialises in BMX. This is the third year of producing fixie bikes, and there's a range of models, which seem to all be built around the same basic frame. This test bike is the Focale 44 Relax, a flat-barred commuter bike that the company places in the middle of its range.

Ok, I am out of my depth. I have signed up for my cycling clubs ten mile Time Trial, having never done any trialling against time. I have no idea what training to do, bike to use, time to aim for, bike set up to deploy, what to wear... AGHHHH

With an asking price around the £200 mark, Miche’s Xpress are a very worthy wheelset for mid to upper end road fixer builds. They might lack the outright rigidity of a deep section aero rim but machined sidewalls and super smooth CNC machined hubs complete with sealed cartridge bearings mean they’ll laugh at the grottier months- they’re good enough to double as track hoops too.