James Bond was supposed to put in an appearance for this issue, but something cropped up. Such is life, I guess. Undeterred we reasoned it was time for a new approach, deciding to skip an issue and head to Hamburg for a doner kebab. Then we beamed ourselves back to the glorious era of Windows 98 and found the fastest race bike for 2018 down in Girona. It doesn’t just sound exciting – it damn well was.

  Group test – what’s the best road bike of 2018?  
  GRAN FONDO Race Session  
  Carbon or aluminium – which is best?  
  What’s the best GPS computer?  
  GRAN FONDO Prestige – apply now!  

This article is from GRAN FONDO issue #008

GRAN FONDO Cycling Magazine is published in a digital app format in both English and German. Download the app for iOS or Android to read all articles on your tablet or smartphone. 100% free!

If you’ve already got the App, you’ll be able to download the new issue directly. If not, now’s your chance to grab our free App for iOS or Android.


All bikes in this issue

3T Strada | BMC Teammachine SLR01 Disc Team | Canyon Aeroad CF SLX Disc 9.0 Di2 | Canyon Endurace AL Disc 8.0 | Canyon Endurace CF SL 8.0 | Corratec CCT Evo eTap | Fuji SL 1.1 | ROSE X-LITE SIX eTap 2018 | SCOTT Addict RC Ultimate Disc | Specialized S-Works Tarmac 2018 | Speedvagen Road | Standert Triebwerk Mach | Trek Émonda SLR 8 Disc Project One | Wilier Superleggera SL

Who builds the lightest, stiffest and most aerodynamic bike? When it comes to race bikes most brands will try and woe consumers with facts and figures, citing F1 technology and WorldTour podiums as proof of performance. But what really constitutes the best race bike, and how do you truly quantify real-world riding?


It didn’t end after eight days, the exhaustion of six test riders and the clocking of thousands of kilometres! In addition to our conventional testing, we also arranged a timed session to find out which bike is the meanest and fastest on descents.


Aluminium or carbon? It’s a question we’re sure many of you have wrestled with in recent years. To shine light on this contentious battle of materials, we’ve pitted the Canyon Endurace AL Disc 8.0 head-to-head against the Canyon Endurace CF SL 8.0. The carbon model comes with an €800-elevated price tag, so is it simply a toss-up between economy or efficiency or is there more to this debate?


Road cycling with the wrong GPS computer can suck. To make sure you invest in the right device and don’t waste too much money, we compared 9 of the most exciting GPS devices. How do Garmin, Apple, Wahoo & Co fare when we put them head to head?


This is the story about a sport that no-one wants to be the vice president in. We all want to be the fucking president, even if it’s of the smallest peloton in the world.


Just in case you’re thinking that we’ve now turned into Freemasons, we’ll sadly have to disappoint you. If there’s any cult that we have on our radar set on then it’s our own version – and we warmly welcome any new parishioners at this temple. So for now, join us in holy fervour with a twilight roam through Hamburg.

As of right now, all the exciting articles can be downloaded from our interactive tablet or smartphone app, and they’ll make their way onto the website over the next few weeks. Have fun reading!


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