BQ 55 (Spring 2016)

The Spring 2016 Bicycle Quarterly focuses on the sense of exploration and discovery, from a trip across the world to a trip to get groceries. Mark Eastman explored a sense of history with his classic bike at Eroica California. The rustic roads, fine local food and wonderful camaraderie in sunny California beautifully evoke the Tuscan gravel roads of the mother event, the Italian L’Eroica.

Join Jan on a ride in the Cevennes of southern France, and on the roads where he became a cyclist as a teenager: “I revisited places that seemed unchanged over these decades. My bike and skills are different now, but the sense of discovery and the wind rushing through my hair feel as exciting now as they did then.”

We discover the camaraderie of young cyclotourists on a 1957 tour around Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, in our exclusive photo feature. All who were there agree that it was a fun trip!

We test MAP’s take on the ultimate urban bike. Is it possible to combine the speed and comfort of a randonneur bike with the versatility and ease-of-use of a city bike? Mitch Pryor of MAP Bicycles thinks so, and we test the prototype for his 650B Urban Randonneur Project to find out.

How good are modern carbon-fiber production race bikes? We climb the highest peak in Taiwan on a Giant to assess how it climbs and descends.

Our Specialized Diverge test bike is back for a long-term test. Has Specialized fixed the issues that marred our initial experience with this bike? What better excuse than to take the “BQ Team” on a fast-paced ride into the Cascade foothills?

A Flèche 24-hour ride in Japan evoked the travel route of a famous 17th century Haiku poet. Today’s challenges may be different from those he faced, but what we took away from the voyage was similar in the end.

While in Japan, we visited a few amazing bicycle collections. We saw super-rare (and beautiful) components and bicycles, including a René Herse that is the star of a comic book! Enjoy our exclusive studio photos of components that you didn’t even know existed, and read how these collectors became fascinated by bicycles and components.

Bicycle Quarterly always has a strong technical focus. In this issue, we look at the relationships between tire and rim width. Do wider tires need wider rims? The answer, as so often, is: “It depends.”

Of course, there is much more: a ride across the highest roads in the Cascades at cyclotouring pace, our “Skill” column about developing a good spin, the story of Bianchi’s celeste color…