Can this ‘SUV of bikes’ replace your car? You might be surprised

pros and cons

Pros
  • Massive hauling capacity
  • Superb design
  • Effortless shifting
Cons
  • Finicky getting into a bike rack

more buying choices

The best gear marries design and functionality into a seamless package, and the exemplars of any class do this in an iconic way. It has to look good, make you look good, and do a lot of work to meet the challenges of daily life. This applies equally to personal computers, tennis racquets, and toaster ovens.

At the risk of falling into romantic opining, great gear is also increasingly hard to find. How many things have you purchased recently that you expect to be giving you good service in a decade? Two decades?

That high-handed preface is leading to an equally high-handed thesis: I found a cargo bike that solves a major conveyance problem for me and my family. It is from an OG brand, technically refined, completely rugged, and absurdly tailored to our particular use case. It is also designed and built with an old-school ethos: Make good stuff that will work well for a long time. 

Importantly, this review will be from the perspective of that use case, from my particular body type and riding style, and you should pay close attention to those particulars, which I elucidate below and which may differ in important ways from yours. This bike is perfect … for me. And while it is a Swiss Army knife of a machine, it most definitely is not one-size-fits all.

Review: The Cyrusher Ranger had me flying off-road, grinning from ear to ear

Read on to find out why, and if you’re considering a cargo bike, this review should help you dial in on the relevant considerations, opportunities, and pitfalls. 

Specifications

Rider Height Min/max 5’0″/6’6″
Bike Length 212cm
Bike Weight 67,9lbs
Frame Mundo V6 Electric Cr-Mo Thru Axle w/Disc Tab
Brake Magura MT32 Hydraulic or RideRever Attack-XU Hydraulic
Motor System N/A
Rear Derailleur Shimano RD-M2000 Altus 9-Speed or S-Ride RD-M310 9-Speed
Cassette Shimano 11-36T 9-Speed or S-Ride 9-Speed Nickle 11-32T CS-M300
Rims WTB SX23 (36H Front | 36H Rear)
Tires Schwalbe Big Ben Plus 26″ x 2.15″
Max G.V.W.R. 550lbs

Yuba dock rider

Setting off from the dock to the daycare!

Greg Nichols / ZDNET

Rider profile

My family lives outdoors. I mean that almost literally … we call a big old sailboat home and live dockside in a marina in Southern California.

Living on a boat is great, but living on a boat with two kids requires some planning. Kids need to move, and even though our WWII-era sailboat is a beast designed to carry troops, cargo, and tons of fish, the reality is we need to get off the boat early and often to keep our sanity. That means frequent outings to parks, the beach, farmer’s markets, school, and every variety of sports practice,

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Classic Motorcycles Book Review [32 Bikes Road Tested]

Over the years, author Lester Morris has ridden some of the world’s rarest, most expensive, and highly exotic motorcycles and written comprehensive road tests on them. His latest book, Classic Motorcycles 32 Great Bikes and their Road Test Reports, compiles updated road tests of some of the most interesting bikes.

When I got in touch with Morris about the book and found it included his road test impressions of the 1970 Triumph Bandit prototype, that was it, I wanted to get a copy. Of course, I knew I’d be interested in the other 31 classic reviews, but the saga of the DOHC 350cc twin that was to have been marketed as the Triumph Bandit and BSA Fury is a story I’ve been interested in for some time.

Classic Motorcycle Book Review: Triumph Bandit 350
Morris did a retrospective ride review of the 1970 DOHC 350cc Triumph Bandit in 1984, and that fascinating story is included in his latest book.

Indeed, I wrote about it here six years ago in “The Sad Case of the Triumph Bandit/BSA Fury 350: What Might Have Been.” When I wrote that article, I knew of only two period reviews of the pre-production prototype—one by Bob Braverman in Cycle Guide and the other by Bob Greene in England’s Motorcycle Sport Quarterly. Then, in 2019, a comment from none other than Mr. Morris himself appeared below my article, informing me that he also wrote a retrospective review of a Triumph Bandit 350 that was published in 1984. Here’s what Morris had to say in that comment:

I carried out a carefully detailed road test report on a prototype 350cc DOHC Triumph Bandit for the Australian motorcycle magazine ‘Two Wheels’, the report published in 1984. I found the small machine to a be a mini-rocket ship (for a 350, it must be remembered), with great handling and powerful brakes – yes, including the rear anchor – but also suggested the gear change lever’s travel was far too great, but the riding position was perfect for my diminutive size of just on 1.6M (5′ 3″). The rockerbox covers fouled the top frame rails, and the gearbox filler could not be used unless the carburettors were removed, but both these problems, in particular the ‘long travel’ gear change, were minor quibbles and would assuredly have been attended to before production began. It was a monumental tragedy for Triumph that its senior management were too dumb not to have the little bike’s enormous potential. It would have blown its Japanese competition sideways. How sad it all was, how very sad! 

So, it turns out that Morris—a noted moto-journalist who actually got to ride a Triumph Bandit—came away with the same feeling that I had about the positive impact the bike might have had on the long-term fortunes of the foundering BSA-Triumph company.

In his review of the Bandit, Morris goes into great technical detail on the design and workings of the machine, its performance on the road, and how it did in some play racing against

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Specialized Diverge STR Expert review – Gravel Bikes – Bikes

The Specialized Diverge STR retains the excellent ride quality and impressive versatility of the previous-generation bike, adding a rear ‘suspension’ system that, while divisive, is genuinely effective.

Setting up the Future Shock Rear system is a slightly fiddly and involved process but, once dialled in, it offers a smooth gravel riding experience unlike anything else.

Some will baulk at the complexity of the system and, while it performs perfectly, this base model’s build isn’t competitive for the price.

That aside, the Diverge STR is a hugely versatile and comfortable gravel bike that will be equally at home cosseting the delicate rear of bike path trundlers or spicy go-fast gravel racers.

What is the Specialized Diverge STR?

The Diverge STR is a ‘full-suspension’ gravel bike.
Jack Luke / Our Media

The Future Shock is a small suspension system that sits between the stem and head tube, improving comfort by suspending the rider’s hands.

Specialized first introduced the Future Shock with the Bike of the Year-winning 2016 Roubaix. It then ported the tech over to the Diverge gravel bike in 2017

Future Shock is very good.
Jack Luke / Our Media

I was initially sceptical about Specialized’s claims regarding the system, but was won over after riding the last two generations of the Diverge. It really is very good at reducing fatigue and, in certain scenarios, improving control, winning plaudits among many testers.

The Diverge STR introduces Future Shock Rear. As the name implies, this is a suspension system designed to suspend the rider’s backside, improving comfort.

Brands build rear-end compliance into gravel bikes through a variety of means. Dropping the top tube to expose a large amount of seatpost that can easily flex is the simplest way to accomplish this.

The STR takes this concept to the extreme, essentially turning the whole seat tube into an extended flexible seatpost.

With Future Shock Rear, a conventional seatpost slots into a flexible ‘frame post’. This is clamped low down on the frame and is designed to provide up to 30mm of rearward flex.

This, in turn, is connected to a hydraulic damper integrated into the top tube. This controls the rebound and compression of the system.

That’s only a brief overview of a moderately complex bit of tech – head to our original news overview for an in-depth look at how it works.

Specialized Diverge STR spec overview

The entry-level build gets a GX Eagle/Rival AXS mullet build.
Jack Luke / Our Media

The Specialized Diverge STR Expert is the base model in the Diverge STR range.

For that, you get a

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Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS RSV Coil review – Full-Suspension – Mountain Bikes

This review has been republished as part of our Headline Bikes test, where we put eight trend-setting mountain bikes for 2023 through their paces. Read more about the bikes setting the trend for the year ahead. 


The Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS RSV is designed to tackle everything from big bike-park lines to enduro racing.

This latest sixth-generation version of the Nomad is slack, rugged and ready to rip.

With a mullet-wheel setup, the gravity-focused bike is intended to be more versatile than previous incarnations.

Changes to the suspension kinematics and geometry are intended to deliver a balance between long-travel bike stability and the kind of agility Nomad riders have come to expect.

Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS RSV Coil frame

The carbon frame is available in Santa Cruz’s C or CC construction.
Andy Lloyd / Our Media

Available in carbon fibre only – with the choice of Santa Cruz’s C or lighter CC construction – each frame size has a specific layup that influences its stiffness.

A Glovebox storage port is built into the down tube, containing two tool bags.

Maxxis provides an Assegai for the front and a Minion at the rear.
Andy Lloyd / Our Media

The new mullet wheel setup (29in front, 27.5in rear) improves rollover and traction.

This is combined with lower anti-squat, to minimise harshness over square-edged hits (at the sacrifice of a little pedalling efficiency) and a lower starting leverage rate. This is intended to better support body-weight movements and maintain geometry stability.

Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS RSV Coil geometry

All sizes share the same 63.8-degree head angle. In the ‘low’ setting, our large frame has a 472mm reach, 77.6-degree effective seat tube angle, 343mm bottom bracket height and 444mm (size-specific) chainstays.

A flip chip on the lower link of the VPP suspension enables you to steepen the head angle by 0.3 degrees and the seat tube angle by between 0.2 and 0.3 degrees. You can also add 3mm to the bottom bracket height and reach, and lop 1mm off the rear centre.

Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS RSV Coil specifications

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The GX AXS RSV Coil is one of the pricier builds in the new Nomad range, coming with SRAM’s GX Eagle AXS wireless shifting and Santa Cruz’s Reserve carbon wheels.

You also get a Fox 36 Performance Elite fork and a RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ Coil shock. SRAM Code R brakes control your speed, while DoubleDown-casing Maxxis rubber is there to ward off punctures.

Santa Cruz Nomad C GX AXS RSV Coil ride impressions

The Nomad was given a thorough workout at the bike park and on some gnarly trails.
Andy Lloyd / Our Media

I put the Nomad through its paces

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Canyon Endurace AL 7 review – Road Bikes – Bikes

The Canyon Endurace platform has been a value standard-setter for the past five years or so. Back in 2017, the rim brake version of the previous-generation Endurace AL won our Budget Road Bike category for Bike of the Year, while just this summer Simon Withers called the Canyon Endurace CF 7 eTap “a near-faultless endurance road bike”.

That’s high praise, indeed, and different permutations of the bike over the years have never scored lower than four stars in testing.

Happily, the latest Canyon Endurace AL 7 is still one of the best aluminium road bikes you can buy, especially if you value a lively handling bike that you won’t feel a need to upgrade out of the box.

The Endurace AL 7 is an incredibly well-specced bike for the money, and can more than hold a candle to carbon-framed bikes with arguably racier aspirations, and which cost a chunk more cash.

Canyon Endurace AL 7 specifications

At this price, a full Shimano 105 R7020 groupset without compromise is a compelling deal.
Russell Burton / Our Media

The Endurace AL 7 frameset is constructed using double-butted tubing, which Canyon says contributes to low weight and high stiffness.

That’s a claim repeated by almost every bike brand time and again, but for the record it yields a claimed frame weight of 1,375g in a size medium. My test bike is a size large, and tips the scales for the whole build at 9.39kg.

What strikes me about the Endurace frame is how neat and smooth the weld junctions are. Canyon says simply it files and sands away offending welded segments to achieve a smooth aesthetic.

It might only be an aesthetic, and the result of what is a very simple solution, but you get an extremely well-finished frame.

The frame features partial internal routing of the hydraulic brake hoses and gear cables. The front brake hose enters into the fork shoulder and exits at the front caliper.

The rear brake hose and gear cable enter at the top section of the top tube in adjacent ports, running down the down tube until they exit together out of a vent-like hole on the underside of the bottom bracket.

From there, they split and run externally along the corresponding chainstays to their destinations.

The exit hole is capacious and, instinctively, I wonder if it leaves the inside of the frame (as well as the cable and hose housings) a little exposed to the elements, especially as the Endurace AL frame doesn’t include mudguard mounts.

The Endurace AL 7 benefits from the inclusion of bento box bosses.
Russell Burton / Our Media

The top tube houses something of a party piece – mounting points for a bento box, which you normally see on bikes geared more towards gravel riding.

Interestingly, the seatstays aren’t dropped one iota, joining to the top tube high up, as they do on the brand’s carbon Endurace and Ultimate range of bikes. Clearly, Canyon’s design ethos leads it to think such

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Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 review – Road Bikes – Bikes

The Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 is the latest flagship aero road bike from the Taiwanese behemoth.

While the previous Propel (which launched in 2018) went all in on aerodynamic efficiency at the expense of some added weight, this latest version is intended to offer the best of both worlds.

With an exceptionally low weight of just 6.91kg, the Propel is competitive on the scales with some of the best climbing bikes, yet appears to sacrifice little in terms of outright speed on the flats.

On top of this, smart refinements such as an increase in tyre clearance, an overhauled cable routing system and a new two-piece aero cockpit, make the new Propel a bike that isn’t overly specialised or difficult to live with.

While at €12,000 / $12,500 / AU$13,999 (UK pricing is yet to be confirmed) the price of this WorldTour spec race bike is predictably lofty, the Propel Advanced SL 0 is a true do-it-all road bike with few compromises.

Giant Propel Advanced SL frameset

Unusually for a self-styled aero road bike, the headline feature on the new Propel frameset is its low weight.

At a claimed 1,429.5g for a size medium frameset, the 2023 Propel is only 163.5g heavier than the latest Giant TCR Advanced SL frameset – an almost imperceptible difference.

It’s clear Giant isn’t lying about this either. Our size ML test bike weighs a feathery 6.91kg, including the new aero bottle cages and an out-front computer mount.

There are relatively few competitors in the aero road bike space that can come close to matching that weight figure (bikes such as the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7, Factor Ostro VAM and Canyon Aeroad CFR spring to mind).

In its top-spec guise, the new Propel is an exceptionally light aero road bike.
Simon von Bromley / Our Media

Of course, the new Propel likely gives up some aerodynamic efficiency compared to heavier, more aggressively aero-optimised bikes such as the Cervélo S5, Cannondale SystemSix,  Orbea Orca Aero or Trek Madone SLR.

But given the balance of comments we receive on the subject, the compromise struck by the Propel is likely closer to what most people want from a high-performance road bike.

Nevertheless, Giant claims the aerodynamic performance of the latest Propel surpasess that of the previous version as a complete bike by 6.21 watts at 40kph, equating to 27 seconds over 40km.

Notably, though, this figure includes the new Contact SLR Aero cockpit, Cadex 50 Ultra Disc wheelsystem and Cadex Aero Tubeless tyres (more on these later).

How much of that 6.21 watts improvement is attributable to the various component parts is unclear, but if you’re buying it as a complete bike, it arguably doesn’t matter.

Despite being significantly lighter than the previous version, the new Propel is nevertheless said to be more aerodynamic as well.
Simon von Bromley / Our Media

My only quibble with the Propel Advanced SL frameset concerns the integrated seatpost.

The flippable head that allows you to switch between -5 and +15mm

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