Cory has been writing about mountain bikes, enduro, cyclocross, all-road, gravel bikes & bikepacking for over 25 years, even before the industry created some of these names. Prior to Bikerumor, Cory was a practicing Architect specializing in environmental sustainability, has designed bike shops & bike components, and worked as a bike shop mechanic.
Based in the Czech Republic for 15+ years, he is a technical mountain biker, adventurous gravel rider, and short & medium-haul bikepacker. Cory travels extensively across Europe riding bikes, meeting with key European product developers, industry experts & tastemakers for an in-depth review of what’s new, and what’s coming next.
Title: EU Tech Editor Location: Mountains of the Czech Republic
Expertise
Topics of Expertise: MTB, Enduro, Cyclocross, Gravel & All-Road cycling, Bikepacking & Adventure Touring, Technical Product Design & Engineering Development
Years in Expertise: 25+
Number of Products & Number of Hours Tested: 1000+ of new products in over 10,000 hours of ride testing
Education & Certifications
Education: M.Arch. in design & planning, Georgia Institute of Technology. B.S. in Architecture & Industrial Design, Georgia Institute of Technology & École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette.
Years of Writing: 25+
Certifications: Registered Architect, MTB/Backpacking Instructor and WAFA/Lifeguard (previous)
Club/Association Memberships: Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme
Previous Publications: Ride Lugged, The Voice of Reason
A Word from Cory Benson
Serving as Bikerumor’s EU Tech Editor allows me to leverage my design & engineering expertise to provide independent in-depth analysis of the cycling industry’s latest technological developments here in Europe. Riding, testing, reviewing & writing about these innovations allow me to share my unique technical perspective, combined with my personal love of all cycling disciplines.
I started sharing my strong opinions about technical developments in the cycling industry while a fresh wide-eyed designer, and then as a bike mechanic starting around 1996, sharing musings through a series of blogs & occasional contributions to local mags like Dirt Rag, at the time. It officially evolved into a full-time vocation with Bikerumor starting in 2013.
Any tool nerd like myself is bound to fawn over Wolf Tooth’s latest shiny iteration of the Pack Pliers chain master link tool. Their 6-in-1 function continues…
Trek and their accessories wing at Bontrager are making bold claims about revolutionizing bike helmet safety with the debut of their new WaveCel crumple zone…
Following their innovative anti-dive E18 enduro leaf spring linkage fork, Motion Ride just announced a new Flow Evo Coil shock is on the way to complete…
After meeting the founders a year ago when they were still talking prototypes, Sour Bicycles has now launched their young new German bike company. Founded on…
New tubeless-ready Bora WTO 45 & 45 Disc wheels from Campagnolo expand the Italian brand’s top, race-ready aerodynamic road bike wheel line-up with a mid-depth…
In a completely expected move, Campagnolo has updated their top-level Super Record EPS groupset for 2019 with the step up to 12-speeds following on their…
Italian hub & wheel maker Damil Components introduced a new set of high-performance machined aluminum road & mountain bike hubs promising a modular design that can…
Spanish superlight carbon cockpit maker Darimo is back with another new crazy light product. This time it’s the Ellipse Gravel carbon handlebar – designed to…
The Catan titanium Cargobike takes an entirely different approach to hauling, with a unique front steering linkage that leaves the bike with five headsets, plus…
Giro has brought back their retro styled Republic LX R shoes for commuter, gravel riders & bikepackers looking for a more classic look, now with updated…
Bianchi has made a number of special limited edition harkening back to their heyday with Marco Pantani dominating pro racing. This latest Specialissima Pantani Oropa goes…
Elian Cycles already had the uniquely high-performance Classic Cargo bike, with its signature hub steering design. Now working with premium Swiss bike shop & cargo…
Speedvagen’s stock, factory-build Ready Made series brought an update to their classic King OG road bike back in the fall. But now the steel Original Gangster gets…
Rapha has been cranking out premium road riding kit for fifteen years now, cementing a position among cyclists with typically understated designs, trusted performance, and…
Last year Selle San Marco added their latest Shortfit ergonomic saddle shape for cyclists looking for a wide, comfortable option for aggressive, performance bike fits.…
Last autumn Pole stretched out their all-new, fully CNC machined alloy mountain bike concept with the addition of a 180mm travel 29er Stamina that could…
Fans of lightweight gravel touring & bikepacking, Ass Savers founder Staffan Widell and designer Jesper Jonsson shared some inspiration overlooking the final stage of the Torino-Nice Rally…
After getting the scoop on Rotor’s new 1×13 hydraulic shifting single chainring 13-speed road, gravel & trail bike groupset last summer, we knew it was…
Vitus’s newest Zenium Carbon adds another affordable carbon drop bar bike to their line-up beyond the new adventure Substance CRX. Building on 2018’s alloy all-rounder road…
