Oh, happy days! We’ve hit that point in the calendar where we plan for the year ahead while looking toward a few weeks of winding down. As in years past, it’s also an opportunity to look back, reminisce about the past 12 months, and hopefully figure out how to do more of the good things. And given we’re all a bit (a lot) cycling-mad, it’s a chance to look back at some of the products that were along for the ride.
Truthfully, it’s been a hell of a year … hardships in the family, broken bones for my partner, seemingly endless bouts of sickness, and what felt like a long spell of unseasonal rain. All that has contributed to my riding being terribly inconsistent. Still, amongst all that, the bike continually broke through the clouds and brought sunshine into my life. My distances weren’t significant, but the positive impact the riding had sure was.
The items on this list are the type of products I look forward to using while also being things I can comfortably recommend to others. Looking back at the previous years of these lists shows almost all of the selections stand the test of time, and I could quite simply hit the republish button on my 2023 Favourite Things list and have it all remain true for today. I won’t do that, and so here are six new (admittedly premium) products that made me pause over this past year and think, “yeah, these things are excellent.”
Shimano S-Sphyre XC903 shoes
Going off-road has always been where my heart is. Whether for gravel or cross-country riding, I’ve long loved the efficient feel and secure hold of a high-end cross-country race shoe. And very few seem to fit my average-width feet as well as Shimano.
I’ve used a variety of Shimano’s top-end cross-country shoes over the past two decades, and the latest S-Phyre XC903s (review by Caley Fretz) feel like home with new artwork on the walls. The familiar last and more-supple microfiber upper holds my feet with a gentle grasp. That sole is wonderfully stiff to mimic a road shoe and the rubber tread blocks are of a good height to be stable against an SPD pedal.
When the pedals stop turning, the shoe’s decently grippy tread design spans the full length. However, in an effort to reduce weight, an unprotected area near the bridge of the foot will quickly suffer from cosmetic wear – it is the only part of my shoes that shows some cutting.
Mine are white and that is certainly a polarising choice in a shoe made for going into dirt and grime. Truthfully, I love the look of them, but a single step into a giant mud bog was enough for me to regret choosing white. Thankfully they’re also available in black, blue, or a limited-edition camo. Still, from a fit, feel, and function point of view, these shoes set a high bar.
Price: US$450 / AU$600
Project321 G3 hubs
Hubs are surprisingly tricky business. They look simple – many high-end rear hubs use a similar pawl or ratchet-based drive mechanism and then roll on four rows of bearings within an aluminium shell. And yet, there’s so much nuance in them that only a few have been able to make hubs that stand the test of time. It’s too early to tell whether Project321’s new G3 hubs will eventually hold such legendary status, but early signs are looking good for the now Toronto-based company under new ownership.
The hubs show a deep understanding of where some succeed and others fail. For example, the bearing preload of the rear hub is easily adjustable while it’s bolted into a bike. The rear hub has two big double-row bearings on the driveside, the point where many other hubs fail first. Meanwhile, the eight, three-step pawls provide a lightning 288 points of engagement and aren’t sprung like most hubs but are instead magnetic. Not only does this make a buzzy noise that isn’t too loud, it offers less drag while coasting when compared to most other high-engagement hubs, too. And better yet, it’s all simple to open up and service with basic hand tools.
On the outside, you’ll find the company’s clever six-lock design that allows either centerlock or six-bolt rotors to be used on the same hub. Strip out a rotor bolt thread and it’s just a small replacement part, or ruin the centerlock thread and you have an alternative option. The icing on the cake is an array of vibrant colours, with the option to chop and choose whether the end caps match, too.
In Boost spacing, my hubs weighed 176 and 320 g, front and rear respectively (with six-bolt adapters, MicroSpline freehub). That’s about 120 grams more than a pair of DT Swiss 240 EXPs, and so it’s not the hub I’d pick in building a racing wheel for XC, gravel, or road. But beyond what the scales show, they’re tough to fault.
I’ve been using the mountain bike hubs for nearly a year, and Project321 has since released a narrower gravel version of its G3 hub. These are well worth considering if you’re seeking some hand-built wheels on a premium hub.
Price: US$210 (front), US$440 (rear).
SRAM Red AXS E1 shifters/brakes
SRAM updated its Red AXS 2x road groupset earlier this year, and then shortly followed it up with more a revolutionary release of its 1×13 Red XPLR AXS for gravel. Those two groupsets share the new “E1” Red AXS shifter/brake lever, and it’s easily the most tangible update to the system.
By rethinking the ergonomics and internal structure, SRAM has created a vastly simpler design that sets a new benchmark for light-action braking. It truly is night and day compared to the honey-like drag of the company’s previous dropbar hydraulic brakes. One-finger braking is now a reality, and while it makes the biggest difference on a gravel bike, it’s still a pleasure on the road.
Add in the extra bonus buttons at the top of the hoods, the revised lever shaping that no longer pinches your fingers when braking from the hoods, and a clever detail on the rubber covers that allows for easy setup, and there’s a whole lot to like here.
Perhaps my favourite part of the new shifters is that they’re backwards- and cross-compatible with anything else carrying the AXS branding. If you’ve currently got Apex/Rival/Force/Red AXS shifters, you can simply upgrade to these new Red AXS shifters and brake calipers (they’re only sold together) and benefit from vastly better brakes. Certainly not cheap, but it’s one of the few groupset components that makes an appreciable difference to the ride. I can’t wait to see this new design trickle down to more affordable prices.
Just be warned: the new levers do add approximately 5 mm to your reach, just enough that those sensitive to fit will notice the difference.
Price: US$675 / £675 / AU$1,160 (per side, including hose and brake caliper).
GripEdge hex keys
It wouldn’t be a Favourite Things list from me without at least one tool, and this year, it’s the hex tools from GripEdge that impressed me most. Previously marketed as stripped/rounded bolt removers, the American company’s star-like design is claimed to allow more torque on new or damaged fasteners by 50% and 400% respectively. More torque on a new fastener may sound pointless, but it should go a long way to prevent rounding a bolt head in the first place.
While the unique and premium-priced GripEdge tools haven’t fully replaced my daily drivers, I do find myself reaching for them whenever I feel less than confident in the condition of a fastener head or if the fastener doesn’t undo as expected. Similarly, I now reach for them in working with fasteners that I know can be prone to rounding, such as when torquing Shimano crank pinch bolts to the 12-14 Nm range (I use a GripEdge 1/4″ socket on a torque wrench for this application).
Perhaps most telling is that in the time I’ve had these, I’ve managed to avoid needing any of my more complicated and hit-and-miss bolt extraction tools. For tiny rounded fasteners I still prefer the tools from Sock-It-Out, but for anything 3 mm hex and up, the GripEdge hex tools have proven to help avoid issues. If you find yourself constantly rounding out bolt heads, first check your technique, secondly use a torque wrench, and thirdly consider getting some professional-quality tools that hold tight.
Price: US$140 / £140 / AU$217 (for a full set of T/P-handles as shown, individual tools also available).
Silca Endurance Chip
I’ve been singing the praises of melt-on (submersion) chain wax since 2017, and it’s been more than impressive to see what new entrants like Silca have done for the product category since then. Today wax is easier to set up, faster-running, and longer-lasting than ever before, but I’ve still never got anywhere near the claimed distances off a single application.
While many hot-melt waxes are largely (or entirely) based on paraffin wax, Silca uses a blend of four different waxes. Silca’s new Endurance Chip is an additive that changes the balance of the stock blend, adding in more of the longer-lasting waxes. You add one (or two) of these chips to your wax (doesn’t have to be Silca wax) and the wax pot is then changed for all subsequent applications.
While you can add up to two of them, just a single Endurance Chip in my wax pot has resulted in less frequent rewaxing without any notable change to how efficient it feels (we’re talking less than a percentage point in efficiency terms). Similarly, a friend noted that they went from needing to wax every 200 km when commuting with Molten Speed Wax to suddenly getting a little over 300 km between applications from that same pot of wax with a single Endurance Chip added in. Admittedly the distances I’m getting are still well shy of Silca’s claims (up to 550 km), but it’s easily good enough to call it a win.
The pessimist in me wishes Silca would just offer two to three pre-configured waxes which would make it a cheaper and simpler purchase. However, Silca justifies that them being standalone chip-based products allows you to pick and choose how durable and/or fast you want the wax to be, and how far you want to push that expense. Whether I like that approach or not, the Endurance chip offers a noticeable boost in a way that matters and the cost is pretty easy to stomach once you consider its lifespan.
Price: US$29 / £29 / AU$55
Santa Cruz Stigmata
Lucky last is the Santa Cruz Stigmata that I reviewed earlier this year and then couldn’t bring myself to send back. Instead, I bought it.
While gravel riding means something different to everyone, for me, it’s often about mixed-surface rides that combine stretches of road with an endless sprawl of service trails in the bush. Often steep and rough, these trails are intended to provide access for fire trucks or other emergency vehicles, and a more progressive-geometry bike like the Stigmata handles them without hesitation. Add in the optional gravel suspension fork (which its geometry is designed around) and it hauls speed where more traditional gravel bikes can feel unnerving.
A growing number of gravel bikes offer a comparable geometry, but the Stigmata balances that with a more compliant-feeling frame, good tyre clearance (700 x 50 mm), wide-open parts compatibility, a regular headset, guided cable routing, a universal derailleur hanger (UDH), and well-considered internal frame storage.
It feels rather perfect for how I use a gravel bike, but of course, it’s not the perfect gravel bike for everyone. It’s priced at the premium end. It doesn’t offer mounting points for multiple bags or carriers. And its geometry is certainly better matched with 40 mm+ tyres. Still, for those who love to do adventures (mine are single-day) on a wide variety of terrain, a bike like this is joyful.
(Note: The picture shows the original build as tested. Currently the bike is set up with the new Red XPLR AXS groupset, an Easton EC90 seatpost, the pictured Reserve 25|GR wheels, and a rigid fork. I plan to experiment with various types of front suspension soon.)
Price: Complete bikes starting from US$4,000 / AU$6,000
Honourable mentions
Want more? Here are a few from my shortlist that felt wrong to wholly ignore:
- Specialized Tarmac SL8 Pro – A highly enjoyable road bike I would potentially own today if the frame stack was marginally taller.
- Remco Bike Tools Bike Lift – Bringing an electric bike stand to a more affordable price point. The electronic/lift aspect is fantastic, but I’m keen to see what the company does with offering its own clamp (coming next year).
- Abbey Bike Tools LL Chain Wear gauge – It’s not often that a new tool makes me rethink a whole topic.
- RockShox SID Flight Attendant suspension – Not perfect nor something I’d want for leisure rides, but it’s quickly proving to be a game-changing product for cross-country race bikes.
Got any thoughts or shared experiences related to the products picked? Anything you feel I missed? Let me know in the comments.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling out a bunch of these articles from others on the Escape Collective team. Iain Treloar is next.
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