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Every month we collate the things that have impressed our expert reviewers the most, and nine products have made the most recent cut. This month’s selection is packed with lightweight summer kit, gravel tech and clever accessories.
The full nine are listed below and there’s some more info about half a dozen of them further down the page:
- Castelli Superleggera Bibshorts
- TentBox Lite
- SKS Speedrocker XL Mudguard set
- GripGrab PACR InsideGrip Full Finger Summer Gloves
- Roval Terra CLX III wheelset
- Madison Freewheel Mens Windproof Packable Jacket
- Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M High Performance tyres
- Felt Nexar FRD
- Tailfin HydroMount straps
Castelli Superleggera Bibshorts
At 146g for the size large we tested, the Castelli Superleggera bib shorts are among the lightest options available, but their low weight doesn’t come at the expense of durability. Designed for long, hot rides, they have held up well for reviewer Alex, who has worn them extensively and put them through countless standard wash cycles.
The pad is Castelli’s top-tier Progetto X2 Air Seamless, and it’s a winner. It’s 15mm thick at the ‘viscous comfort zone’ around your sit bones, and tapers towards the edges. It’s unobtrusive and for our reviewer, it did the job in all riding positions.
Read our review of the Castelli Superleggera Bibshorts
Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M High Performance tyres
Buy now for £60.99 from Winstanleys Bikes
The Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M High Performance tyres are one of the most versatile gravel tyres out there. The ‘M’ tread refers to a mixed terrain tread, which is great for the varied surfaces often found on UK gravel. The tread is deep and consistent across the whole tyre, leading to a fast rolling, round profile rather than a more angular shape with a hard shoulder.
The grippy compound and durable carcass make these a long-term investment, but their versatility means they can handle almost any gravel riding scenario. For many riders, they could be the only gravel tyres they ever need, and will last a very long time.
Read our review of the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M High Performance tyres
Roval Terra CLX III wheelset
Buy for £2,748 from Specialized
Another standout piece of gravel tech was the Roval Terra CLX III wheelset, which tipped our scales at just 1,070g, complete with tubeless tape and valves. It isn’t just the low weight that impressed either, with reviewer Matt writing, “performance is faultless across the board. Outstanding comfort, impressive stiffness and easy tyre setup leave very little to criticise”.
The Terra CLX III wheelset is hand-built around an updated, relatively shallow 25.5mm carbon rim. Weight savings are clearly a priority, but the wheelset remains modern with a 27mm internal width and a 38mm external width.
At £2,748 for a pair though, this level of performance is exactly what buyers should expect.
Read our review of the Roval Terra CLX III wheelset
Madison Freewheel Mens Windproof Packable Jacket
Buy now for £30.99 from Fawkes Cycles
The Freewheel Windproof Packable Jacket from Madison is great for showery summer days or just as a spare to stick in your saddlebag. The material doesn’t feel cheap and it packs down to a very small size and stuffs into its own rear pocket.
It has just enough stretch to accommodate various shapes and sizes without bagginess or tightness anywhere, and you can wear it off the bike without attracting any more funny looks than usual.
It carries an RRP of £40, which is pretty impressive in and of itself, but a few sites are selling it for less than this, which is frankly astonishing for such a decent and useful piece of kit.
Read our review of the Madison Freewheel Mens Windproof Packable Jacket
GripGrab PACR InsideGrip Full Finger Summer Gloves
The GripGrab PACR InsideGrip Full Finger Summer Gloves may have a mouthful of a name but they are the lightest and most minimal full-finger gloves of GripGrab’s lineup. These are fairly minimalist gloves with a simple, lightweight mesh fabric and a perforated and recycled microsuede palm.
They are impressively light at 33g for the pair, yet our reviewer still found them to be durable and sensibly reinforced in the areas of the glove most likely to wear.
“As someone who generally prefers riding without gloves on both drop and flat handlebars, I have consistently found myself choosing the PACR regardless of the weather or type of ride, from mountain biking to gravel and even road rides”, says Matt.
Read our review of the GripGrab PACR InsideGrip Full Finger Summer Gloves
Tailfin HydroMount straps
Tailfin’s HydroMount straps are a useful bit of kit to have with the most obvious uses being for adding a bottle on bikes with no third mount; working around an awkward frame bag; or for carrying spares on a gravel race bike. Carrying capacity depends on the strap configuration, with a 1kg limit for two straps and 1.5kg with three.
The HydroMount’s base attaches via TPU straps to create a standard 64mm cage mount on nearly any tube, and you get four lengths of bolt pairings for easy compatibility. While the Basic kit only includes two 18.5cm TPU straps, the Full (tested) has six: three 18.5cm and three 29cm for chunky tubes.
Read our review of the Tailfin HydroMount straps
To see the full archive of products that have been awarded road.cc Recommends badges over the years, head over to the road.cc Recommends section
