“Brightest, smartest and most connected… for how long?”: Cyclists complain of “crazily priced” Garmin computer with shorter battery life; Driver faces prosecution after not giving way to cyclist on bike lane; MS Paint cycling kit? + more on the live blog

“They wonder why the cycling industry is on its a***?”

These words don’t belong to your live blogger but a Facebook commenter — and to be fair, the truth is the cycling industry hasn’t been on a purple patch lately (by lately, I mean the last 2-3 years), to put it kindly. And cyclists, like many consumers in this capitalist society, are getting frustrated with the state of things, and looks like the latest brand to bear the brunt of that ire has been Garmin.

> What the hell is going on in the bike industry? Wiggle Chain Reaction turmoil discussed plus pro cycling's idiot problem on the road.cc Podcast

If you missed it, the Swiss-American company which makes fitness and sports equipments such as smart watches and cycling computers, released its latest, upgraded version of the latter yesterday: Garmin Edge 1050, its top of the line device that succeeds the Edge 1040, and is the company’s first new cycling computer since the Edge 540 and Edge 840 were unveiled together more than a year ago.

And to start off the list of complaints road.cc has already seen about the product which was launched just a day ago, is the price. It costs £649.99 — a price point at which you buy entire bikes (my Decathlon RC500, which I absolutely love, costs the same amount).

The list only begins there, more things that seem to be bugging cyclists is the lack of a solar option and shorter battery life — to compensate for the brighter screen, needing a new mount, and Garmin Pay — which allows you to make digital payments with your cycling computer — is unsupported by many UK banks.

> Cyclists blame "utterly ridiculous bike prices" for brands' ongoing struggles, after Giant's sales slashed again

Here are some words from road.cc readers:

muppetkeeper: “Careful of this one, GPlama on YouTube points out that the half turn mount has moved, and this unit is most likely not to fit on your existing mounts... FFS, idiots. How many of us have K-Edge or integrated mounts.   I bought a1040 today, now just about affordable.”

Secret_squirrel: “What are Garmin up to?  Didnt the 1030 go on for years before the 1040 was released?  Personally I prefer a slightly crapper screen and almost double the battery life.
They must feel threatened by the Karoo?
I'd pay for a 1040.5 at about £399-£450.  Might keep a lookout for discounted 1040’s…”

ravenbait: “Garmin pay is almost completely unsupported by banks in the UK, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting used to paying with your computer.”

60kg lean keen climbing machine: “£600 pounds for a bike computer,  I would not have any cash left to buy much coffee and cake if i spent that amount on a bike head unit.  I have spent less than that on a whole bike, and it works and does the job that any bike should do just fine.   My current computer is Bryton 420 (£80 - £100) That does every thing I want for over 6 times less. Yes if you got the cash then "fill your boots!!" but realy are we just being marketed ever more functions, tinkering at the edges, and then paying top money for only a little more?”

However, it wasn’t all bad blood…

Jetman’s Dad: “Garmin Pay supports Starling, I haven't paid with anything other than my Forerunner for the last year or so and it has worked flawlessly. The only place I was unable to use it was a small car park in Cornwall that also refused to accept a contactless payment from my Co-op visa debit card. 

I'll give you that support across UK banks is poor, but it is not a "shit function thats almost entirely of zero use”.”

mark1a: “For every halo bike or top of the range accessory, there are many alternative options below it. Nobody is forcing you to buy anything, or indeed post a comment telling the class that you don't need it. Yes you can spend north of £12k on a bike, but equally there are many models below £1k.

One could also argue that the top end products contribute to the functionality of mainstream stuff with trickle-down technology. Do you think that mechanical 105 would be as good as it is now without the Dura-Ace of 10 years ago? Do you think Garmin Edge 130 (currently £140) would be as good as it is without the likes of 1030, 1040, 1050 sales funding the development?”

> “I’ll see you in the winter”: Zwift accused of “taking subscribers for granted” as monthly subscription rises from £12.99 to £17.99 – but company says price hike “necessary” for platform’s development

Over at Facebook, things were a lot less meticulous, and a lot more snappish, here’s a choice of comments…

“Seriously over hyped & priced. Will not pay so much for minor improvements”

“So it's easier to remove your Garmin from your bike mount to pay at the cafe than the phone you have in your back pocket… Genius”

“Has the battery life improved ? Brightest / Smartest / Most connected … for how long?”

“I see more and more competition in this market. So, do these benefits outweigh the negative aspects like limited battery life?”

“If you can ride fast then you would not need more than 5hrs of battery life…”

*cue to Remco Evenepoel getting dropped in the Alps and then waiting for his team car to get a change of Garmin…

New team name, new kit, new Twitter handle, erm... new replacement for Sergio Perez in Formula 1?

Now we know who will replace Checo 😂 pic.twitter.com/INGPIIsMS9

— Un grenoblois (@PGrenoblois) June 26, 2024

Yes, I know he just secured a two-year contract extension, but hey, with Helmut Marko at the helm, you never know! Imagine Roglič racing against Max Verstappen —  I mean, Primož in the driver seat and Max on the saddle, of course.

To add to my, and hopefully, your misery, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has live streamed its kit-unveiling, with Primož Roglič riding the SL9 in a Red Bull livery in front of an airplane, for some reason. The team is currently updating its website to show off pictures of its brand-new, very dark blue, very dull jersey...

There's my hopes of the leaked kit pictures being fake getting crushed in real-time. But maybe it's my fault for even holding out any hope that the kit will be anything other than dark blue given that Red Bull is becoming the team's title sponsor...

Watch out Primoz, don’t crash! 😂#TDF2024 🇫🇷pic.twitter.com/BOgpgzSceQ

— Domestique (@Domestique___) June 26, 2024

via GIPHY

I'm at least glad to see that my disdain is shared by other cycling fans.

Could it be any more boring and unrecognizable? Such a shame, Red Bull could've given us a splash of yellow like the F1 cars, or silver/blue like the cans, but no, just basic dark blue like every other team

— Arnaud_vds (@Nebrisbeef) June 26, 2024

The UK “continues to lag seriously behind its European counterparts” when it comes to safe, connected cycling infrastructure, a new global ranking of bike-friendly cities has revealed.

According to US-based advocacy group People for Bikes’ City Ratings(link is external), a data analysis tool ranking cities and towns across the world on how amenable they are to cycling, Cambridge tops the chart as the UK’s most bike-friendly city, but only sits 11th overall when compared to the rest of Europe, while 16 of England’s 20 highest-rated boroughs are in London.

> UK’s cycling infrastructure “seriously lagging behind” bike-friendly European cities, according to new safe cycling ranking

After suffering through Red Bull's dominance in Formula 1 and going through their liveries — which have basically stayed the same for the last 15 years — it looks like I'll have to bear with the team's boring design choices, if not their dominance in cycling as well now.

After initial drawings of the jersey did the rounds on the internet, now an image of the jersey on a mannequin has leaked, and the Austrian energy drink company looks like it's ready to announce its entrance to the pro cycling world with a bland, lifeless dark blue jersey to take over Bora-Hansgrohe's beautiful emerald/neon greens.

Será assim o uniforme da Bora Red Bull?

Pobrinho.#TDF2024 #ciclismonaespn pic.twitter.com/GULkkjcKCd

— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) June 26, 2024

> Bora-Hansgrohe confirm Red Bull merger and “joint venture”, which will “complement” existing sponsorship deals

Please, please, I cannot bear the sight of more blue kits in the peloton!

As we inch ever closer to the Florence Grand Départ (how are you all containing your emotions because I, for one, can’t wait to spend whole days glued to the tele with the Tour and Euros on), pro cycling continues to gift us with new kits for the Grand Tour.

Zoom sur un design auquel il faudra vous habituer ces prochaines semaines 👀😄🚴🏼‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/qByDArLrrI

— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) June 26, 2024

After yesterday’s horrific disaster of Alpecin-Deceuninck’s grey double denim, I feel the bar for a special jersey for quite low, and thankfully, Cofidis hasn’t lowered it with a perfectly fine, decent, passable kit — that looks like the rough draft of a fresh graphic design school graduate.

Okay, I’m being a little too harsh there. For what it’s worth, the jersey isn’t blue — unlike Visma-Lease a Bike’s “Renaissance” jersey, along with half the rest of the peloton.

At least the launch video’s alright…

Nouveau design et nouveau maillot @MobelSport pour @LeTour et @lavuelta !
Direction Florence dès samedi ! pic.twitter.com/9tWfTO3301

— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) June 26, 2024

It’s time for another hot or not, road.cc pre-Tour de France edition.

SuperSurvey

Say goodbye to your skipping gears, ticking chains and annoying rubbing noises as we diagnose and fix some of the most common issues with your road bike or gravel bike’s gears. 

> Shift like a pro: 10 reasons why your bike's gears aren't working as they should, and how to fix it