That incredible CeramicSpeed drivetrain concept we showed you a few days ago was unquestionably intriguing, but the fact of the matter is that it stands little chance of ever becoming a real product. For sure, Rotor’s new 1×13 — that’s its formal name, by the way, not just a description — hydraulic single-ring drivetrain isn’t nearly as outlandish. However, you’ll actually be able to buy it within a few months.

Aimed at nearly every cycling discipline that has a use for multiple gear ratios (including road, gravel, cyclocross, and mountain), Rotor claims the 1×13 groupset gives you everything: generous range plus pleasantly small gaps between ratios, all without the redundant ratios of conventional two-ring drivetrains. The system uses the same hydraulic design as Rotor’s current Uno 2×11 road groupset, too, so it should be fairly reliable, and it’s quite light as well.

But there’s a catch. Rotor can’t fit all of those sprockets on a standard Shimano/SRAM freehub body, so the full 13-speed system will only fit on Rotor’s own Rvolver rear hub, which shares the same spline, but has a freehub body that’s about 2mm longer than usual.

As if that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, SRM revealed more information on the power meter pedals it developed with Look, HED’s Vanquish range of disc-brake aero carbon clinchers grows from one model to three, Hayes unveiled a promising new mountain bike disc brake design, WTB showed off a complete revamp of its popular tubeless aluminum rims, and Edco previewed a new aero carbon fiber spoke profile.

For all this and more, set aside a few minutes of your day and scroll away.

HED released its first-ever fully carbon clincher, the 60mm-deep Vanquish 6, last year. Now joining the Vanquish family are the 40mm-deep Vanquish 4 and the 80mm-deep Vanquish 8. As with the original Vanquish 6, these are designed for disc-brake use only. Claimed weight for a set of Vanquish 4 wheels is 1,151g; the Vanquish 8 comes in at 1,799g per pair. Retail price for any of the Vanquish wheelsets is US$2,500.

Common to all HED Vanquish carbon clinchers is a 21mm internal rim width; external width is 30mm. According to HED, the tubeless-ready profile performs almost exactly the same in the wind tunnel with 23, 25, or 28mm-wide tires – and that’s in reference to labeled width. Actual inflated width will likely be about 2mm larger given the generously broad tire bed.

The hubs are the same as what HED uses on the Vanquish 6, including Center Lock splined rotor interfaces, cartridge bearings, and standard J-bend bladed stainless steel spokes.

Look and SRM have partnered for new power measuring clipless pedals, based on the former’s KeO platform.

The rechargeable batteries on Look and SRM’s new Exakt power meter pedals are claimed to last for up to 100 hours of riding. They’re quite light at just 155g per pedal, and have the same wide platform as other Look KeO pedals. Interestingly, though, SRM’s marketing materials don’t mention anything about data accuracy, which has historically been the claim to fame on SRM’s power meter cranksets.

SRM’s “Origin” power meter range is the latest incarnation of the German company’s iconic training tools. The modular system allows mixing and matching of different crankarms and spiders so that riders can choose the configuration that works best for their needs. Note the magnetic attachment for the rechargeable battery.

Want power data and also have a huge pile of cash burning a hole in your pocket? Well, let SRM alleviate your burden with something like this, including carbon fiber arms from THM-Carbones and carbon fiber-and-titanium chainrings from Italian outfit Carbon-Ti.

Rotor’s new 1×13 drivetrain is definitely intriguing, and offers some real benefits on paper – namely, the tighter gaps between gears that current single-ring drivetrains don’t offer, the security of a clutched rear derailleur, and the simplicity of having just one derailleur. Getting the maximum benefit requires a considerable commitment in terms of cost and equipment, however.

Rotor is actually offering is 1×13 drivetrain as both a 13-speed and 12-speed setup. Both use identical spacing between the sprockets, so the same shifters, derailleurs, and chains can be used. But the 12-speed configuration won’t require users to purchase a dedicated hub and wheel.

The rear derailleur operates on the same general principle as Rotor’s current Uno hydraulic road rear derailleur, with indexing built into the derailleur, not the shifter. The same derailleur is used for road, gravel, and mountain bike setups.

Rotor’s new single-chainring transmission uses just a single shift lever. The right-hand road lever is shared with the current Uno groupset.

Just like Rotor’s road-going Uno groupset, the new 1×13 drivetrain is fully hydraulic, with no cables to wear out or get dirty, and no batteries to recharge.

The shifter uses the same mounting standard as SRAM, meaning shared compatibility with the wide range of integrated mounts already on the market.

Rotor hides the sensitive indexing mechanism inside this aluminum box, however, to provide better protection from dirt and debris.

All of the aluminum bits are machined in-house at Rotor’s headquarters in Madrid, Spain.

Much like what SRAM does on its Eagle 1×12 rear derailleurs, the Rotor 1×13 rear derailleur has a straight parallelogram design that only moves the lower pivot knuckle inward and outward, instead of using the motion to simultaneously follow the profile of the cassette. To keep the chain tracking the sprockets in each gear, the upper pulley is highly offset from the cage pivot.

Rotor’s new 1×13 drivetrain is obviously designed with 13 distinct gear ratios in mind, but requires a unique rear hub to fit all of those sprockets. Riders who don’t want to keep their existing Shimano/SRAM 11-speed rear hubs can instead user Rotor’s 12-speed cassette, which will be offered in 11-36T, 11-39T, and 11-46T sizes. And sorry, SRAM, you no longer hold the title of largest cassette sprocket. The biggest 13-speed option from Rotor goes up to 52T.

The Rotor 1×13 cassette is a marvel of modern machining capabilities. The steel sub-assembly is bolted to the aluminum inner half, but it’s the splines in between the two that actually shoulder the load while pedaling.

Four different options for Rotor’s new 13-speed cassette should suffice for most users. Smaller sizes provide smaller jumps than what current 1×11 systems can provide on the road or trail.

A small ridge machined into the backside of the largest sprocket on Rotor’s new 1×13 drivetrain should help keep the chain from falling in between the cassette and spokes in the event of an overshift.

Rotor’s 1×13 Rvolver rear hub uses the same overall width as current disc-brake hubs, but a slightly longer freehub body to make room for the 13th sprocket. It’s very much a question how willing riders will be to make such a commitment for the claimed benefits, though.

Rotor’s hydraulic transmission is a closed system, meaning changes in temperature can affect the overall fluid volume, and thus, the overall tune of the drivetrain. This inline volume adjuster is meant to provide easy fingertip access if a quick tweak is required.

WTB has revamped its entire collection of rims. There’s a huge range of internal widths available to suit everything from all-road to Plus-sized mountain bikes, and they all use a new center channel design that requires just a narrow plastic rim strip to make the rims airtight. Gone are the days of migrating or torn tape, at least according to WTB.

WTB has carried through the “Light” and “Tough” descriptors from its tire range over to rims. The Light rims use standard single-cavity profiles, while the Tough ones are three-cavity designs with two reinforcing ribs running throughout the inside of the rim for increased stiffness and impact durability.

Pinion has slowly been making inroads in the market, and its latest gearbox drivetrains are smaller and lighter than ever.

That said, there’s still an awful lot of steel in a Pinion gearbox, which means a lot of unavoidable weight, and also a lot of gear interfaces, which mean a lot of additional friction relative to a conventional drivetrain.

Hayes wasn’t the first to bring mountain bike disc brakes to market, but it was the first company to earn widespread use at both the OEM and aftermarket levels. Hayes has since fallen well off the pace since those early days, but hopes a return to glory is in store with its new Dominion A4 model. The four-piston forged aluminum caliper is said to be the stiffest one Hayes has ever produced, thanks in part to a pad retention pin that actually forms part of the structure when installed.

The Hayes Dominion A4 lever sports adjustable reach and a clever linkage that quickly brings the pads to the rotor when the lever is pulled, but then increases the leverage ratio for more power at the caliper with less finger effort.

The Hayes Dominion A4 caliper also features not the usual one, but two bleed ports at the caliper to help ensure all the air is evacuated from the system. Oftentimes, it’s at the sharp corners and crevices inside the caliper body where small air bubbles can lurk. To ease caliper adjustment and setup, Hayes’ ingeniously simple Crosshair feature uses set screws to precisely locate the caliper body against the mounting bolts.

According to Hayes, the new Modal Resonance Cancelation (MRC) rotors utilize a special shape that helps minimize howling and vibration.

Edco previewed a new range of lightweight carbon clinchers at this year’s Eurobike show called the Chronosports series, all of which will be built with carbon rims, aero carbon spokes, and aluminum hubs. The first one to be developed is the shallow-profile Julier, whose ultra-low weight, 17mm-wide (internal width) tubeless-compatible rims, and rim-brake format will obviously be aimed at climbing specialists.

The textured sidewalls track promises confident braking. Note how the carbon spokes have metal ends bonded to them so as to work with standard nipples.

The profile of the aero carbon fiber spokes is quite interesting, with each one bearing small raised ridges down the entire length.

DT Swiss has lacked thru-axle endcaps for Campagnolo freehub bodies in recent years. We’re not sure exactly when they were added, but it’s about time.

Think belt drives are only used by townies and mountain bikes? Think again. Team Schindelhauer-Gates is using belt-driven fixies in the wild Red Hook Criterium series. Oh, but what are those anodized aluminum bits attached to the drivetrain?

A laser mounted up on the seatpost projects a line downward…

…which helps you get a perfectly straight chainline (beltline?).

Magura is celebrating its 125th anniversary with these truly gorgeous four-piston hydraulic mountain bike disc brakes.

The matching Magura MT1893 brake levers can’t be polished since they’re made of molded fiber-reinforced composite, but there’s still a shiny silver applique to dress things up. The HC3 lever blades offer a unique leverage ratio adjustment for yet another way to fine-tune the feel.

Ever the tease, FSA displayed its elusive WE wireless electronic yet again at this year’s Eurobike show, this time on a disc-equipped TT bike.

The base bar levers shown here are meant for use with cable actuated brake calipers, not hydraulics.

A close-up look at the rocker-type shifter buttons on the base bar levers.

Up top, the shifter units at the ends of aero extensions are fitted with two buttons each.

The British CNC machining masters at Hope Technology are well known for their wide array of anodized colors. If you really want the personal touch, you can mix and match the caliper body and piston cap colors however you see fit.

The United Kingdom isn’t exactly known for being consistently dry and dusty, so it’s no wonder that Hope has gained a reputation for durable weathersealing. These RS4 hubs are similar to Hope’s legendary mountain bike offerings, but with less friction in the ratchet mechanism for quieter and smoother running. Hope offers these in six colors for rim-brake and disc-brake applications, and for use with either straight-pull or standard J-bend spokes.

Industry Nine’s six-pawl rear hubs are unabashedly loud, but the 60-tooth ratchet ring and two-phase pawl arrangement offer an ultra-quick three-degree engagement speed that’s prized by trail riders.

Portuguese drivetrain component manufacturer Miranda is slowly becoming better known. Keep an eye out for these guys.

Chainring design is a landmine in terms of patent protection, but Miranda seems to have gotten around any existing intellectual property issues with its 3D Chain Flow tooth profile for single-ring drivetrains.

The post Eurobike 2018, part four: New drivetrains, wheels, and brakes appeared first on CyclingTips.

Shimano’s single-sided PD-A600 SPD road pedal isn’t new; far from it, in fact. First introduced in 2010, it was originally billed as an Ultegra-level alternative for roadies who wanted the stability of a traditional three-bolt system but the walking convenience of a recessed two-bolt cleat.

Roadies are a finicky bunch, however, and so the A600 has only been modestly successful from a commercial standpoint. Shimano hasn’t even bothered to update it since it debuted eight years ago. However, the rise of gravel riding has brought the idea back to the forefront since two-bolt pedals and walkable shoes are much friendlier in that environment than any of the usual road options.

In that context, the Shimano A600 offers a tough-to-beat package that combines a sleek appearance, relatively low weight, outstanding bearing durability, and a very approachable price point.

One of the biggest motivations for sticking with a traditional three-bolt road pedal system is the larger contact surface area it provides. Under harder pedaling efforts — and especially on longer rides — this helps distribute the load over a greater portion of the shoe (and thus, your foot) for greater comfort as the kilometers tick away.

Wider platforms also help stabilize your feet to keep them from rocking out of plane, which not only helps with power transfer, but can potentially alleviate joint stress for riders that are more sensitive to that sort of thing.

Shimano’s PD-A600 SPD road pedals have never managed to be much more than a niche product, but the rise in gravel riding is making them more relevant than ever.

The A600’s standard Shimano SPD SH-51 cleat is positively tiny as compared to the road variants from Shimano, Look, or Time, though (and even Speedplay’s lollipop-like design has more cleat-to-pedal contact area than this). As a result, one might assume that the A600 would feel like a wobbly mess. However, Shimano gets around this by instead supporting the tread blocks on shoes with recessed two-bolt cleat pockets.

Taking that into account, the A600’s support platform is actually fairly wide. The four degrees of free float also feels rather, well, free — not quite as silky-smooth as a set of fresh and clean road pedals and cleats, mind you, but not too far off, either.

Granted, there are caveats. That stability and rotation performance are heavily dependent on how well the shoes interface with the pedal, and perhaps not surprisingly, shoes designed for cross-country MTB racing work best in that situation given they’re usually made with fairly hard tread blocks and stiff carbon fiber soles that provide added support.

The Shimano PD-A600 pedals offer excellent support and stability when paired with the right shoes, but it’s not hard to see how things can be less-than-optimal otherwise. The quality of the interface will also degrade over time as the shoe lugs – and the pedal body itself – wear.

The A600s also provide a reassuringly secure hold, they’re as easy to engage as conventional road pedals since the body always hangs at the right angle, there’s ample tangible and audible feedback from the entry and release, and there’s a good range of tension adjustment on tap as well.

Truth be told, I’ll put my hand up as one of those roadie snobs who once wouldn’t be caught dead in treaded shoes on a proper road ride. But in all honesty, the difference in performance between these A600 pedals and good XC race shoes, and dedicated road shoes and pedals, was impressively subtle in my six months comparing the two setups.

Even better, the cartridge-style axle assembly is well sealed and very easy to service, with proper steel ball bearings throughout instead of plastic bushings that will wear out over time. The forged aluminum bodies have proven impressively tough, too. Whereas some carbon fiber or plastic pedal bodies would explode on even moderate impacts, these A600s have shrugged off a number of direct rock strikes.

The cartridge-style axle assembly is widely used in Shimano’s pedal range, and offers well-proven durability. When needed, it’s also very easy to service.

The A600 pedals even manage to impress on the scales. Actual weight for a pair is just 292g, plus another 51g for the cleats. For comparison, a set of current Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 pedals and cleats weighs in at 305g — a saving of just 38g with a huge increase in cost.

Granted, that doesn’t take into account the fact that treaded shoes are also heavier than road-specific ones, so the effective difference is larger. Taking the Specialized S-Works 6 road shoes vs. the S-Works 6 XC MTB shoes, for example, you’re looking at another 126g, for a more significant total gain of 164g. But if you were to instead compare the A600s to more budget-minded road pedals, it’s almost a wash.

There are other downsides to note, too.

As with every road pedal (Speedplay excluded), the A600’s single-sided format is trickier to get going from stoplights and on sketchy terrain than dual-sided designs, and unlike some of Shimano’s earlier attempts at roadie-friendly, single-sided SPD pedals, this is a true single-sided design with a rounded undercarriage that feels unquestionably sketchy if you try to stand on it. And while the A600’s alloy construction is enviably tough, it doesn’t take long before the shiny dark painted surface — it’s not anodized, sadly — starts looking beat up.

Road pedal performance is often heavily influenced by the the shape and amount of contact between the cleat and pedal. The cleat on the Shimano PD-A600 pedals is miniscule, but the wide pedal helps make up for that by supporting the lugs of properly chosen shoes.

It’s also a little disappointing that, unlike on Shimano’s more recent upper-end pedals, the A600 does without stainless steel wear plates on the platform; the shoe tread instead sits directly on the painted aluminum surface. That will wear over time, degrading the quality of the pedal-to-shoe fit (and, subsequently, the stability of the system). The fit quality will also degrade as the shoe tread wears. My advice would be to choose your shoes wisely — look for harder-durometer rubber around the cleat pocket — and then tread lightly.

But why even bother with a single-sided SPD pedal, anyway? Good question.

Providing a platform this wide in a dual-sided pedal would not only make for a lot of aluminum (which would make the pedals heavy), but also adversely affect pedal clearance through corners. Getting a set of dual-sided SPD-type pedals this light would also mean spending a lot more money. Whereas retail price for a pair of A600s is just US$110 (and the street price is much lower), only Shimano’s XTR Race pedals are similarly svelte, and those retail for US$180. Sure, lighter dual-sided MTB pedals exist outside of the Shimano catalog, but few offer the same combination of pedal body and proven durability. Replacement cleats are dirt cheap, too, and they’re infrequently needed, anyway.

So what do we have here in total with the humble Shimano PD-A600 pedals? Good performance, sleek looks, outstanding durability and toughness, and a low price to boot. Sign me up.

www.shimano.com

Shimano first introduced its SPD two-bolt pedal retention system way back in 1990 with the original PD-M737 mountain bike pedal. Although the design has evolved since then, its basic interface is much the same as it once was.

Dual-sided pedals certainly offer more convenience, but the single-sided format allows for a wider platform, better cornering, less weight, and lower cost.

While it may not seem like it at first glance, the platform width of the Shimano PD-A600 is actually better than many dedicated road systems out there. There isn’t much support lengthwise, though, so it’s still important to pair these pedals with stiff carbon-soled shoes.

The open architecture allows the system to still be fully functional when caked with mud, snow, and debris, which definitely isn’t the case with traditional road pedal systems.

The rounded underside looks sleek, but it makes for a sketchy surface to stand on if you try to rush away from a stoplight without being properly clipped in.

The SH-51 cleats are not only easy to find, but also cheap and supremely hard-wearing.

The post Shimano PD-A600 pedal review: Single-sided gravel goodness appeared first on CyclingTips.

The quest to minimize aerodynamic drag has driven the majority of equipment changes in pro racing, from airplane-like frames and wheels, to bullet-like helmets and skin-tight clothing. We’ve already seen the move to narrower handlebars in recent years for the same reason, and now we’re seeing two more positioning trends designed to help riders move more efficiently through the air: shorter crankarms, and saddles with less rearward offset.

Aero equipment unquestionably lets today’s racers move faster than non-aero gear. At typical racing speeds — and even on shallower climbs — the vast majority of a rider’s energy is spent overcoming air resistance, and so it’s completely logical to want to reduce the weight of that anchor as much as possible. But while all of that fancy equipment certainly helps, it’s still the rider who comprises the biggest line item in the equation, and so it’s even more logical that the most attention should be paid there.

But whereas designers have plenty of liberties when shaping down tubes, rims, and helmets, altering the human body isn’t so simple. Riders can’t do much to change the way they’re shaped, after all, and changes in position made in the aim of aerodynamic efficiency still have to be balanced with physiological efficiency.

Extreme forward saddle positions are hardly unusual on time trial bikes where nearly every rider is bumped right up against the UCI positioning limitations.

However, outside of Lotto-Soudal’s Adam Hansen, such forward saddle positions are far more unusual on standard road bikes. But that trend may soon be changing. Pictured here is the setup of Niki Terpstra, who adopted the more forward position a few seasons ago.

One of the biggest limitations in that sense is a rider’s hip angle, or the angles the upper leg makes with the lower torso when the pedal is at the 12-o’clock and 6-o’clock positions, and it’s critical to maintain a fairly narrow window in both of those extremes for proper pedaling mechanics. Lowering a rider’s handlebar might reduce frontal area and drag, for example, but if doing so brings the legs too close to the torso, the rider can’t pedal or breathe properly, thus negating any aerodynamic gains with losses in power.

Saddle setbacks have long held their customary positions for a variety of reasons, including (but not limited to) postural balance, muscle group activation, and just plain tradition. But as strong a motivation as tradition may be, that still pales in comparison to the prospect of going faster.

Two men’s teams that have embraced this philosophy are Quick-Step Floors and Trek-Segafredo, both of whom are running less saddle setback relative to several years prior. The change is more visually dramatic with Quick-Step, with at least half of the road bikes of this year’s Tour squad sporting a zero-offset seatpost and saddles that are positioned relatively far forward on the rails — quite the departure from the huge offsets once considered to be “pro.”

Nearly the entire Quick-Step Floors team were spotted on more forward positions at the start of this year’s Tour de France. Pictured here is the new Specialized S-Works Venge of Julian Alaphilippe.

Yves Lampaert used a Specialized S-Works Tarmac, not the Venge aero bike pictured here, en route to his third-place finish during the chaotic Stage 9 of this year’s Tour de France. But he was likely still running the same forward position.

Quick-Step star sprinter Fernando Gaviria is yet another Quick-Step rider who has adopted a more forward position.

83mm of saddle setback may seem like a lot to some, but consider that this is the bike of Tim Declercq, who stands at 1.90m (6ft 4in) tall. Put into that context, it’s actually fairly far forward.

Some riders, such as Trek-Segafredo’s Jasper Stuyven, have also switched to shorter cranks, too.

According to Trek Precision Fit program manager Matt Gehling, shortening the crankarms and moving the saddle forward means the rider’s legs aren’t coming up as high at the top of the pedal stroke, which then allows riders to drop down lower up front for better aerodynamics, all of which can be done without losing power.

“The big reason the team wanted to try it, and this was at first focused on time trial bikes, was to get their front ends lower,” he said. “A time trial position is the worst thing you can do on a bike for your hip angle, and that is why triathlon bikes come with steeper seat tube angles and shorter cranks; both of these things open the hip up more.

“Trek-Segafredo riders are limited by UCI rules so we can’t slam the seat forward, but shorter cranks are a decent option to try if we’re trying to get the athlete more aggressive.”

The position of Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) doesn’t look expecially unusual at first glance (especially given the offset seatmast head), but look at how far forward the saddle is clamped on the rails.

Of course, not every rider in the pro peloton has made the move (nor is it clear that the trend will spread). Shown here is the Scott Foil of Scott-Michelton rider Daryl Impey.

That said, old habits still die hard, even if there are real performance gains to be made, and especially when you’re talking about professional riders who have spent tens of thousands of kilometers in a position they already know well. The Quick-Step and Trek-Segafredo riders seem to be adapting to the more forward positions without too much objection, but there’s clearly a bigger hurdle with the shorter crank lengths.

“Adaptation is a real thing,” Gehling said. “You need to spin faster to maintain the same wattage since you’re spending less time in the pushing phase with shorter cranks. Some riders are able to adapt; some aren’t. [Trek-Segafredo technical director Matt] Shriver has found some interesting feedback from some riders that at certain wattages (around 350W), the cranks feel fine, but they don’t feel as good at the big efforts (400W+). This is likely because it is harder to maintain a high cadence at those higher efforts.

“When they are really suffering and want that extra leverage at the lower RPMs, they prefer the longer crank arms,” Shriver added. “So we have been back and forth. Some riders have stayed on the shorter arms, but most have crept back to longer cranks. Jasper Stuyven [who stands at 1.86m / 6ft 1in in height] has switched from 172.5mm to 170mm on his road bikes. He is having his best season yet. I believe it’s because he committed early on and adapted to the change.”

Riders have long been moving toward progressively lower and longer handlebar positions in search of aero gains. But there are other adjustment required in order to make those positions biomechanically viable.

It perhaps goes without saying that this sort of thing is nothing new to triathletes, who adopted those more forward positions ages ago. And Lotto-Soudal rider Adam Hansen has used this sort of position (and unusually narrow handlebars) at least as early as 2013.

Is this the start of a bigger trend? It’s too early to say, but given how things often go in the pro peloton, my guess is that we’ll soon see more riders moving in this direction. If history is any indication, all it takes for widespread change in those circles is for a handful of key influencers to make the move, and then the rest will follow.

The post Tour de France tech: Creeping saddles and shortening crankarms appeared first on CyclingTips.

If you’ve been following our coverage of the Eurobike show closely, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this year’s event was sorely lacking in complete bikes. To an extent, that’s true, as most of the bigger brands that once displayed here decided to opt out this time around, either in favor of their own in-house events or abandoning conventional trade shows altogether.

Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a bicycle trade show without bicycles, and even without most of the major labels, there were plenty of interesting machines to be found.

Look debuted its new 785 Blade RS aero road bike, for example, and Colnago showcased its incredible C64 Gold ultra-premium flagship. US companies Marin and Kona also continue to make inroads off-road with new gravel and all-road models, and a flurry of European brands previewed new disc road and gravel bikes, too. And what’s going on Ridley’s new Noah Fast aero road bike and Eddy Merckx? You’ll find all that and more here.

But surely you’re growing weary of checking out new gear at this point, aren’t you? No? Well, that’s good, because we still have more to share with you in the days ahead.

“Limited edition” isn’t always so limited, but Colnago’s C64 Gold most definitely fits the bill. Only 64 of these will be made, and they will only be available as complete bikes in the paint scheme shown.

The Italian tricolore is featured on the back of the seatpost as well.

The special build kit includes custom Carbon-Ti chainrings, an SRM Origin power meter crankset, and a CeramicSpeed OSPW kit mounted to the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 disc groupset. Wheels come courtesy of Lightweight.

Amazing. And amazingly expensive.

The tubes aren’t aero-inspired on the Colnago C64 Gold, but are instead shaped more for stiffness and ride quality.

Colnago continues to stand out amongst the crowd with the lugged construction on the C64.

The lobed tube profiles have been a long-standing hallmark of Colnago road frames.

A bit more gold.

Brake hoses and the Shimano Di2 wire are all hidden beneath a cover on the underside of stem, then feed into the frame for a fully internal setup.

A small engraved plate reminds onlookers just how rare these will be.

Colnago’s integrated aero road cockpit looks pleasantly tidy, while still allowing for bar rotation as needed.

Colnago says its Concept aero road bike can go head-to-head in terms of aerodynamic efficiency with the mainstream brands.

Colnago is getting into the gravel game as well with the GRV.

Colnago is marketing the GRV as a gravel machine, but tire clearance looks fairly snug on these 33mm-wide Vittorias.

The vestigial riveted-on front derailleur mount also suggests that the bike wasn’t originally designed with 1x drivetrains in mind.

Ridley has updated its aero race bike for 2019, which is now called the Noah Fast, and is available with either disc brakes or rim brakes. The new bike is the result of extensive wind tunnel testing, something that Ridley has no problem achieving with a new cycling-specific low-speed tunnel located in the same business park as its head offices. Perhaps the most obvious change is the simpler fork design. According to Ridley, the old split fork was designed to pull air away from the front wheel, but that’s no longer needed with advancements in aero wheel design.The new bike was benchmarked against market-leading aero bikes such as the Canyon Aeroad, Trek Madone, and Specialized Venge (a number of which have also been updated since).

The Noah Fast is said to be a ground-up redesign on the previous Noah SL. Ridley apparently looked at the bike as a complete module, refining the aerodynamic efficiency of the whole integrated frameset first, and then working backward to engineer how the individual components would split and interact. The fork shape is a clear example of this approach. It’s said the widening frontal shape stops air turbulence forming behind the fork.

The new Noah Fast uses Ridley’s F-Surface Plus technology across the bike. The small grooves are meant to create micro-turbulence to help keep air close to the frame, and are used on the frame, fork, seatpost, and even the headset spacers.

F-Surface is found on the seatpost and seat tube of the bike, too. This seatpost is thinner than the previous version, something that along with the new chainstay design, is said to add more compliance to the frame. Apparently, Andre Greipel remarked on the new comfort without having been told about it.

As seen on the Pinarello F10 and Scott Foil, Ridely is using its own version of fork flaps to trick the wind.

That new integrated cockpit offers an amazingly slim profile to the wind. The disc brake version sees all cables routed internally.

Like many modern aero road bikes, the new Noah Fast was built with mechanics in mind (at least to some extent). Those headset spacers split, meaning handlebar height can be adjusted without pulling everything apart.

The new Ridley Noah Fast frame is said to be a little stiffer than before, the aerodynamics have been improved, and it’s more comfortable, too. In addition to all of that, the frameset is approximately 250g lighter than the previous Noah SL.

Ridley bought the Eddy Merckx brand last year, and both brands now fall under the parent company of Belgium Cycling Factory. Ridley is growing into a comprehensive bike brand, catering to all market segments similar to the likes of Scott or Trek. Meanwhile, Eddy Merckx is becoming a somewhat modern retro brand, sticking to the road where the name is best known.

Recent time has seen just “Merckx” plastered across the down tube, but the new direction sees the Cannibal’s full name return to the frame, just as it was in the early days. In addition to working towards overhauling the existing range, there are plans to get the name back in the pro peloton. It’s expected we’ll see the first wholly new Eddy Merckx, as designed by the Belgium Cycling Factory, at next year’s show. 2020 will be the year for this name to make waves.

Pictured is the first new bike to have been produced under the Belgium Cycling Factory’s control. This endurance road bike was mostly complete prior to the purchase, with the new owners just tweaking a few things. This model is called the Lavaredo 68, named after Merckx’s famous Giro d’Italia Stage 12 win on the famous climb, on his way to his first of many maglia rosas. This stage win was the first Grand Tour stage win for Belgium and of course, Merckx himself. With each bike model named after a momentous occasion in Eddy Merckx’s career, the company has a very long list of potential model names.

It’s a good thing Ridley is working to completely overhaul the Eddy Merckx range, because frankly, this carry-over aero disc road bike is an eyesore.

Look debuted its new 785 Blade RS aero road bike at this year’s Eurobike show.

Sorry, Look, but given how refined other aero road bikes have become in recent years, this cockpit looks decidedly cluttered.

The seat cluster treatment on Look’s new 785 Blade RS is certainly intriguing. Normally, this sort of shaping would be meant to let the seatpost flex more easily over bumps, but that sort of movement is unlikely given the deep cross-section.

The rear brake sits on a short carbon fiber stub.

The bolt-on top on the seatpost will allow for different offsets.

Scott’s road range hasn’t changed much for this season, but the new colors are stunning.

Scott is also moving away from its racer-like aesthetic on some models, instead using a classier look that includes more earthtones and muted logos.

The matte and gloss bronze finish on this Scott Foil is truly striking.

Interestingly, Scott is fitting its Foil aero road bikes with 28mm-wide tires straight from the factory.

Scott has finally started adding disc-brake bikes to its Contessa range of women-specific road bikes.

Kona now has a full-carbon gravel and adventure bike, named the Libre. The bike pictured is the cheaper of the two on offer, priced at US$2,999.

Cage mounts on cage mounts.

Pictured is the top-tier Kona Libre DL. That green seems a little boring next to the cheaper sparkly option.

The Libre fits 700x45c rubber with spare room for fenders.

The Libre offers an impressive seven bottle cage mounts (not all of which have to be used for holding bottles). Some of those were made possible with a new fork design. Like the frame, the fork uses a 12mm thru-axle and a flat-mount caliper interface.

The new Marin Gestalt X11 is an updated gravel bike with a number of unique features. It offers space for 700x40c tyres.

There’s some wild tube shaping on the premium aluminium Gestalt frame.

One trend we’re seeing is more dropper seatposts on gravel bikes. Marin fits one as stock on its Gestalt X11. The height is controlled via a modified SRAM shifter, something we were told manufacturers were only recently allowed to use without voiding the SRAM warranty.

The Marin Four Corners is the company’s 4130 steel adventure bike. It offers multiple cage mounting points.

Those cage mounts can be used to carry the essentials.

The Marin Nicasio Ridge is the Californian company’s Plus Road platform. This model can handle both 700c or 650b tyres, the latter going as wide as 47mm.

Wilier Triestina joined the long list of brands to release a disc-equipped aero road bike in July. The new Cento10 Pro is an update on its predecessor, the Cento10 Air. The new bike is a little stiffer than before and available with either rim or disc brakes.

The disc version features a fully integrated cockpit, with internal cable routing from the bar through to the flat mount brake calipers.

The Cento10 Pro uses truncated aero profiles throughout. The flat-backed tubes are almost a given on a modern aero road bike.

The disc bike features 12mm thru-axles front and rear.

Claimed frame weight for the new Wilier Triestina Cento10 Pro is 990g.

An integrated seatpost clamp and wind-cutting seatstays are found out back. The Cento10 Pro Disc is said to fit up to 30mm-wide rubber.

You likely haven’t heard of Arc8 Bicycles, or the engineering mind behind it, Jonas Mueller. But as one of the talents working behind the scenes at the factory end for other major brands, there’s a good chance he’s had a hand in some of the bikes you’ve ridden. The Escapee all-road model is designed to fit tires up to 30mm wide, is available in both disc-brake and rim-brake versions, and boasts a claimed frame weight of just 750g. Pricing is extremely aggressive, too.

In addition to the Escapee all-road model, Arc8 also offers a 100mm-travel full-suspension cross-country mountain bike.

The seatpost clamp is neatly hidden inside the top tube.

The integrated cockpit design of the Arc8 Escapee is definitely interesting. The clamp is analogous to how brake levers are held on to handlebars (and similar to a design WTB pioneered in the 1990s).

Split headset spacers make it a little easier to adjust the bar height given the fully internal cable routing. Inside the head tube, the steerer tube sports a flattenened forward edge so that the cables can fit in between the fork and upper headset bearing.

Argon18 showed off this limited-edition Nitrogen SE model, built specifically for fast lunch rides on flatter terrain.

But why the disc brakes if the Nitrogen SE is meant to be used primarily on flatter roads? According to Argon18, it’s because the anticipated speeds will be higher.

The Fortuneo-Samsic Pro Continental team recently (and suddenly) switched bike sponsors from Look to BH.

The Vision Metron 5D integrated aero carbon cockpit sits atop a profiled headset spacer.

BH is taking a conservative approach to gravel with the new Gravel X, offered only with an aluminum frame for now.

BH says the new Gravel X aluminum gravel machine will handle tires up to 40mm-wide.

The Simplon Pride aero road bike is one of the more distinctive-looking in the category.

Is Simplon’s split stem really more aerodynamic than a conventional single extension? Maybe, maybe not.

The cutout in the back of the seatpost is meant to provide some rider comfort over bumps.

The post Eurobike 2018, part five: Bikes, bikes, bikes appeared first on CyclingTips.

Cycling shoes and helmets garner a disproportionate amount of attention when it comes to other related gear, such as groupsets, wheels, tires, and other hard goods. Is it because of style? Is it because they’re wear items that frequently require replacement? Or is because it’s just such an easy way to express ourselves while riding, without even saying a word?

Whatever the reason, shoes and helmets were some of the most common items at this year’s Eurobike show, with dozens of new models (and colors) on tap. Whether you prefer flashy or demure, inexpensive or pricey, road or mountain, or anything in between, there was definitely something for everyone in the halls of the Messe Friedrichshafen.

Louis Garneau’s Course Air Lite II road shoes won a Eurobike award last year thanks to its clever stretch inserts that boost rider comfort.

Whereas the majority of the shoe is intentionally stretch-resistant, the “X-Comfort Zone” inserts are designed to stretch so that the shoe can adapt more readily to riders’ different foot shapes.

The HRS-400 injected nylon external heel cup combines with the cat’s-tongue fabric liner to grab firmly on the back of your feet.

Boa IP1 dials aren’t anything new, but these clear covers are neat because they leave the internals fully exposed.

An additional non-stretch panel is laminated into the medial side of the shoe. According to Louis Garneau, this lets the shoe hold more securely without having to overly tighten the Boa dials.

The carbon fiber sole has flow-through ventilation channels and replaceable heel treads.

Louis Garneau has now added its X-Comfort Zone feature to the mid-range Carbon LS-100 model, too.

Since etry-level riders shouldn’t have to put up with foot pain, either, Louis Garneau has even added the X-Comfort Zone feature to the Copal II and Cristal II shoes as well.

Interested in comfier trail shoes? Louis Garneau isn’t quite finished with these yet, but the X-Comfort Zone stretch panels will soon find their way into the new Cobalt Boa shoes as well.

Louis Garneau will equip the new Cobalt Boa trail shoes with a natural rubber outsole, which supposedly offers a better grip than synthetic compounds.

And yep, X-Comfort Zone is even being incorporated into Louis Garneau’s kid-sized cycling shoes as well.

POC is aiming the new Omne Air Spin helmet toward all-road and urban riders, but it looks like it’d be a good option for general road riding as well with its sleek shape and comparatively generous coverage.

The shell design focuses on flow-through ventilation with deep internal channeling that funnels air through the interior of the helmet.

Rear coverage is refreshingly generous on the new POC Omne Air Spin. Hidden from view here are POC’s Spin elastomeric helmet pads, which promise similar functionality to a traditional MIPS low-friction plastic liner, but with better ventilation.

Why restrict this to just the all-road and urban crowds, POC?

Gaerne’s redesigned G.Stilo road shoes sport a more refined upper with two-zone Boa adjustability, and a new heel cup design that promises a firmer hold.

Heel hold hasn’t always been a strength of Gaerne’s road shoes, but the new external heel cup promises to change that.

There’s also a new Gaerne G.Stilo MTB model, built with the same basic construction as the road-going G.Stilo, but with additional reinforcements on the upper and a fully treaded sole.

Michelin is now supplying a growing number of shoe brands with its grippy rubber.

Gaerne offers its G.Tornado Lady women’s road shoes in this insanely sparkly finish in addition to the standard colors.

The new Gaerne G.Chrono shoes look particularly sleek with their one-piece uppers and partially hidden heel cup.

The injection molded heel cup is elegantly integrated into the upper on Gaerne’s new G.Chrono shoes.

The carbon fiber sole has flow-through air channels and a replaceable heel tread.

The hybrid plate on the Gaerne G.Chrono uses a carbon fiber reinforcing plate in the middle of the fiber-reinforced nylon frame.

Giro’s new Aether MIPS road helmet may be commanding all the attention lately, but it’s the new Syntax MIPS mid-range model that will ultimately find its way on to far more heads.

It’s unusual to see this many polycarbonate shells on a mid-range helmet like the Giro Syntax MIPS.

The retention system and MIPS liner are molded as one piece on the new Giro Syntax MIPS.

There’s also a version of the Giro Syntax MIPS that’ll accept a small visor for off-road use.

Giro’s new Privateer lace-up shoe looks like a fantastic option for cross-country and gravel riding.

The fully treaded sole should provide plenty of grip when on foot. The elegantly understated colors look good, too.

Giro has added some fresh new colors to its range of knit cycling shoes.

Bell’s new Z20 Aero uses the same basic design as the current Zephyr Z20, but with a more solid shell for better aerodynamics. Claimed weight on the new Bell Z20 Aero is 274g for a medium size.

The Bell Z20 Aero boasts just a single vent up front, plus four smaller ones on the side. Whether that’s enough to keep a rider’s head cool will likely depend on the speed of travel, the ambient temperature and humidity, and the rider’s tolerance.

Rear vents are fairly sparse on the Bell Z20 Aero, too. There’s quite a bit of internal channeling to help guide air across the rider’s head, though.

The mid-range Bell Formula helmet was already in the lineup last year, but this new version is all about visibility.

It’s not just about the fluorescent yellow colorway, though. The new retention system directly incorporates a bright LED flasher.

Also featured on the Bell Formula LED is the company’s superb Sweat Guide pad design, which very effectively keeps sweat from streaming down your face and into your eyes. Instead, that little tabbed extension redirects perspiration to drip harmlessly in front of your glasses.

Abus makes a wide range of helmet models, for road, off-road, and everything in between. Shown here is the more ventilation-focused Aventor (right) and the more aero-minded GameChanger (left).

Whereas many aero helmets focus on pulling air into the front of the helmet to provide ventilation, Abus emphasizes the large upper scoop, which supposedly funnels air down and out the back of the helmet. According to Abus, this simultaneously pulls air in through the front as well to help keep riders cool.

The polycarbonate internal structure of the Abus Aventor allows for larger vents than would otherwise be possible without it. In fact, it holds the back of the helmet together entirely, seeing as how the foam liner is practically in two halves back there.

Abus previewed a new helmet at Eurobike, too, which looks to blend aspects of the Gamechanger and Aventor models

Other helmet brands, such as Giro and Bontrager, have used plastic mesh screens like this before as a way to help keep air flowing around the outside of the helmet for better aerodynamics, while still allowing heat to escape from inside.

Abus’s new road helmet is chock-full of vents out back and on the sides, too, and there’s also plenty of internal channeling.

Northwave is replacing the single-dial RR road shoe after only a short year and a half. The new Extreme Pro offers two dials for greater customization of fit, but retains the crossed webbing and hidden loops of the RR. The microfibre upper is now lighter and said to be completely resistant to stretch. Despite adding an additional dial, the shoes are also said to be approximately the same weight as before.

The sole of this new top-tier shoe offers the biggest change in Northwave’s new patented “Power Shape” arch support. This new arch support is designed to prevent the foot from collapsing inward under power. It’s a welcomed change given the lack of support we noted in our review of the RR.

Sitting equal to the Extreme Pro on the mountain bike side in Northwave’s new range is the Ghost Pro. It receives a number of updates as well, including a move to two dials and a new construction technique that should ensure the grippy dual-compound Michelin tread never delaminates from the carbon sole. Apparently, the new Power Shape arch support is not included here.

Northwave being “edgy”.

Limar says its Air Speed model is the most aerodynamically efficient aero road helmet ever tested in the Magny-Cours wind tunnel in France. It’s also quite light, with a claimed weight of 235g in a medium size.

The profile of the Limar Air Speed is highly tapered and mostly smooth, but with clear paths for air to flow into, through, and out for good ventilation at speed.

The HJC Furion aero road helmet supposedly uses “Venturi Dynamics” to help actively pull air into and through the helmet for better ventilation. Perhaps more impressive, however, is the fact that it’s offered in ten different colors.

Endura developed the convertible AeroSwitch aero helmet with Drag2Zero. With the front shield and rear tail fitted, it’s a full-blown time trial or triathlon helmet.

But once those bits are removed, the Endura Drag2Zero AeroSwitch becomes a more conventional aero orad helmet.

The Koroyd liner is supposedly better at absorbing impact energy than conventional expanded polystyrene foams, but in this case, it also allows Endura to decrease the frontal area of the helmet to reduce drag.

Endura has been paying close attention to the rising popularity of higher-end kids’ bikes, and previewed a new higher-end, kid-sized trail helmet to match.

Alpina’s Rootage trail helmet definitely wins the prize for the most carbon fiber on a non-DH lid – and maybe for the biggest visor, too.

The carbon panels aren’t just for looks; Alpina claims they aid in impact protection as well. Coverage is impressively generous around the back of the head.

Crazy Safety certainly had the wildest assortment of helmets on hand at this year’s Eurobike show. Would your kid think these are rad or terrifying? There’s only one way to find out.

The post Eurobike 2018, part six: Shoes and helmets galore appeared first on CyclingTips.

Vincenzo Nibali’s Merida Reacto

Team Sky is once again asserting its dominance in this year’s Tour de France (although perhaps not quite in the way people expected). With one week remaining in this year’s edition, the final general classification looks to be a three-way race (or maybe four?) between Sky co-captains Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, and Sunweb team leader Tom Dumoulin. Sadly, many of the other main protagonists are already out of the picture, including Rigoberto Uran, Richie Porte, and 2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali.

Nibali’s Merida Reacto should have been the perfect machine to suit the Italian’s strengths, with its sculpted aero tube shapes and impressively low frame weight, made all the lighter by its mostly raw finish (paint is heavy), plus a trick spec highlighted by SRM’s top-end Origin carbon fiber power meter crankset and a few bits of feathery exotica from Carbon-Ti.

Actual weight is just 6.89kg, putting it bang on with the UCI’s minimum weight limit once the SRM PC8 computer head is removed.

A careless fan’s errant camera strap unfortunately brought Nibali’s dream to a hasty end on the upper slopes of l’Alpe d’Huez, leaving us to wonder how the former champion could have animated the race in its final few days.

Merida cleaved a heap of weight off the original Reacto when crafting the latest version. But the one belonging to Bahrain Merida team captain Vincenzo Nibali is even lighter yet, thanks to its raw finish. Actual weight as shown is 6.86kg (15.12lb), including the SRM PC8 computer.

Lots of dorsal fins are circling on the down tube (and top tube) for the Shark of Messina.

Bahrain’s entry into pro cycling certainly hasn’t been without its share of controversy.

Nibali’s bike is chock-full of lightweight goodies.

The SRM Origin power meter is based on a design from THM-Carbones, featuring ultralight carbon fiber arms and a carbon fiber spindle hidden inside the oversized bottom bracket shell.

Like most modern aero road bikes, Merida makes use of flat-backed tubes for the latest Reacto.

The 120mm-long FSA OS-99 stem sits atop a profiled headset cover.

Exposed cabling of any sort is rapidly beginning to look dated on aero road bikes.

The cutout on the back of the seatpost (and its elastomer filler) is designed to provide a bit of comfort.

Also rapidly becoming standard-issue on modern aero road bikes are wedge-type seatpost binders tucked into the top tube.

Fulcrum supplied Nibali with darker silver decals on these carbon tubular wheels to match the frame.

Disc brakes are slowing creeping into the pro peloton, but Nibali is sticking with lighter-weight rim brakes on his Merida Reacto.

Continental tubulars are the most popular choice amongst the pro peloton. 25mm-wide casings are now about the narrowest you’ll find, even on time trial bikes.

Sprint shifters are fitted to Nibali’s FSA K-Force handlebars.

Having a cool nickname affords all sorts of opportunities for neat personal logos. Note the Shimano direct-mount rear brake caliper mounted underneath the chainstays, too.

Given that the rear brake isn’t accessible from the saddle, Bahrain Merida mechanics have to fit an inline adjuster (with built-in quick-release) to the rear brake line.

Fitting in well with the lightweight theme are Elite’s Leggero carbon fiber bottle cages, which supposedly weigh just 15g apiece.

Quick-release skewers come courtesy of Italian weight-weenie brand Carbon-Ti (which also supplies the headset top cap and compression bolt).

The unpainted finish leaves nothing to hide (at least on the surface). Depending on the color and design, paint can often add a couple hundred grams of weight, so it makes sense to leave Nibali’s frame bare.

There’s still one week remaining in this year’s Tour de France but, sadly, Nibali won’t be involved.

Taylor Phinney’s Cannondale SystemSix

That Taylor Phinney is at the Tour at all is something of a miracle in and of itself. At the 2014 US national road championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Phinney was forced to swerve around a race moto on the sinuous, high-speed descent of Lookout Mountain. He crashed heavily into a guardrail, suffering a compound fracture of his left lower leg and a severed patellar tendon.

But four years later, here he is — in his second consecutive Tour de France.

This time around, Phinney is aboard Cannondale’s new SystemSix, the company’s long awaited — and long overdue — aero road bike. Phinney’s bike isn’t nearly as light as Nibali’s however, in part due to the fact that the Coloradan is far taller than the former Italian champion, and rides a 60cm frame. Phinney’s bike also wears a lot more paint (again, paint is heavy), and the bright pink and fluorescent green finish is certainly much more visible.

The icing on the visual cake is the team-exclusive direct-mount rear derailleur hanger, which is not only stouter than the stock version with its burly CNC-machined aluminum construction, but also impossible to miss given the bright pink anodizing.

Taylor Phinney of EF-Education First Drapac p/b Cannondale is one of the tallest riders in the peloton at 1.9m (6ft 5in). Shown here is his new 60cm Cannondale SystemSix aero machine for this year’s Tour de France. Total weight without computer or bottles is 7.91kg (17.44lb).

It was only just in 2014, after a horrible crash at the US national road championships, that Phinney wasn’t even sure if he’d ever be able to ride again, let alone race. But here he is, back in prime form, at the Tour de France.

Cannondale’s new SystemSix uses flat-backed aero tube profiles. Note how the fork crown is blended into the surrounding frame shape.

The pink paint accentuates the shaping on the rear end of Phinney’s Cannondale SystemSix.

The down tube is obviously shaped with water bottles in mind.

The Shimano Di2 junction box is conveniently located in a dedicated spot inside the down tube.

Team bikes are equipped with special direct-mount rear derailleur hangers, whereas stock bikes come with standard hangers instead. The burly CNC-machined construction makes these stiffer than factory units, and the fin prevents chains from getting jammed in between the cassette and frame in the event of a missed shift. The pink anodized finish is a nice touch, too.

Cannondale and Shimano are the two last remaining major holdouts with their hollow aluminum crankarms. Independent third-party tests indicate there’s really little motivation for either company to switch over to carbon fiber, either.

Whereas the rest of the team places their hands on Vision’s Metron 5D one-piece aero carbon fiber cockpit, Phinney makes do with a separate aero carbon bar and machined aluminum stem since Vision doesn’t make a size to fit him.

Phinney’s standard Garmin computer mount is attached to the stem with a single o-ring.

No unusually high levers for Taylor Phinney.

150mm-long stems were once the realm of mountain bikes in the early 1990s and late 1980s. But they’re still fairly common among top road riders.

25mm-wide Vittoria Corsa tubulars and Vision carbon tubular wheels for Taylor Phinney.

The EF-Education First Drapac p/b Cannondale team will be sticking to disc brakes on its aero road bikes at this year’s Tour de France.

Phinney sets himself atop Prologo’s stubby NDR saddle.

Cannondale pioneered the BB30 press-fit bottom bracket format more than two decades ago, and continues to stick by it today.

Cannondale’s new SystemSix frame and fork are equipped with Mavic’s SpeedRelease thru-axle system. The double-lead thread design requires half as many turns as usual to remove the axle, which presumably makes for faster wheel changes.

The seat tube and chainstays closely follow the profile of the rear wheel.

So. Much. Room.

Race number holders are attached the back of the seatpost with a mix of silicone glue and zip-ties.

Matching pink bottles, of course.

Cannondale’s nosecone-like shaping on the front of the new SystemSix is a result of the company not wanting to run lines inside the upper headset bearing. Headsets take a beating in WorldTour racing given all the washing, and mechanics certainly aren’t happy if they have to remove all the lines completely to replace a single headset bearing.

Aerodynamics play an important role in road racing, but arguably more so for someone as tall as Taylor Phinney, whose body and bike punch a bigger hole in the air than usual.

Daryl Impey’s Scott Foil Disc

Few things justify an elaborate custom paint job more than a national championship, and Michelton-Scott super domestique Daryl Impey is taking full advantage of the occasion with his Scott Foil Disc.

“For the artwork, I drew inspiration from the Ndebele people,” Impey said in an article on the team’s website in June. “I chose this artwork because nobody has done this before on a bike and it represents our rainbow nation of full color. Then we have some finer details, like the warrior logo on the handlebars because in Zulu, Impey means warrior.”

Keen-eyed fans will note that Impey wasn’t actually riding this particular machine when he was in the breakaway on Stage 14, though. Each Michelton-Scott rider has their choice of three bikes for any particular stage: the Foil Disc, the rim-brake Foil, and the rim-brake Addict. Impey went with the rim-brake Foil that day, likely due to the decidedly lumpy course profile. Or then again, maybe he just didn’t want to risk scratching that lovely finish.

Daryl Impey’s Scott Foil Disc is shown here, but each of the Michelton-Scott riders have their choice of three bikes at this year’s Tour de France: the Foil Disc, the rim-brake Foil, and the rim-brake Addict.

Impey is flying the colors of South Africa as that country’s current road champion.

Words of encouragement on the top tube for Daryl Impey.

More embellishment can be found on the inside of the chainstay.

The Michelton-Scott team is rolling on Pirelli tires this season.

This surely has to be the most visible component logo to ever appear on an integrated aero carbon cockpit to date.

The small extension behind the fork tip presumably helps smooth airflow over the front disc-brake caliper.

Yet more South African colors are featured on the fork.

Scott was the first major brand to embrace the PF86 press-fit bottom bracket format on the original Addict. Noteworthy here is the fact that the Michelton-Scott team is using bottom bracket cups that thread into each other to help keep creaking at bay.

Word around the team pits is that Shimano’s Dura-Ace disc rotors are in short supply, so most Shimano-equipped teams are using a mix of rotor models.

Saddles may be creeping forward for some riders in the pro peloton, but not for Daryl Impey.

The Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 rear derailleur is fitted to a direct-mount hanger. Note how the wire is fed through the hollowed-out center of the hanger.

Impey runs Shimano’s new dual-side Dura-Ace power meter.

Paper-thin bar tape for Michelton-Scott rider Daryl Impey.

Interestingly, Impey uses a standard stem mount for his Garmin computer instead of an out-front setup.

What’s especially interesting about that choice is the fact that his Syncros integrated aero carbon cockpit has dedicated holes for an out-front mount, too.

The post Bikes of the Tour de France: Vincenzo Nibali, Taylor Phinney, Daryl Impey appeared first on CyclingTips.

As we draw near the end of our expansive coverage of this year’s Eurobike show, we now focus our attention on some of the smaller bits that caught the eyes of our tech staff. Some of the highlights include some nifty storage solutions from Lezyne, an intriguing new suspension platform from DT Swiss, carbon fiber fenders (yes, really), Bluetooth-powered locks, a slew of new tires from Schwalbe, Maxxis, WTB, Challenge, and others, and much, much more.

And if you haven’t yet grown tired of all the new bits we captured from the world’s largest bicycle trade show, never fear: there’s one more round to go.

Tacx previewed its Neobike indoor training bike at last year’s Eurobike show, and arrived at this year’s event with a proper production version. It’s basically the existing Neo indoor trainer, but built into a standalone system so you don’t need to transfer your own bike. Retail cost will be €2,600 when the Neobike arrives in stores in October.

Up front is a built-in computer head, a universal tablet holder, and two fans that are not only adjustable for aim but can be programmed to alter the fan speed based on speed, heart rate, or power.

The levers have integrated shift buttons that initiate simulated gear changes.

Whereas most indoor bikes have Q-factors that are wider than that of a standard road bike, Tacx’s Neo indoor training bike replicates the fit of the real thing.

Crank length is adjustable between 170, 172.5, and 175mm.

The four-point platform is quite wide, and looks plenty stable for hard workouts. Built-in wheels aid in moving the big beast around.

Tacx has revamped its Flux to create the Flux 2. The newer version now has more clearance for long-cage rear derailleurs, and can simulate a 15% grade instead of the original version’s more modest 10% figure. Tacx hopes to have the Flux 2 in stores around October.

SKS already offers its RaceBlade fenders in a faux carbon fiber finish, but also previewed a true carbon fiber version at this year’s Eurobike. No additional information was available, though, so we have to only wait and see if these become reality.

SKS’s latest RaceBlade brackets fit more securely and are more easily adjustable than earlier ones.

Wera isn’t a bike-specific brand by any means, but the German tool maker nevertheless enjoys a fervert following in the industry amongst professional and amateur mechanics alike. One of the brand’s specialties is handy compact kits, such as this one, which combines a variety of bits and sockets with both screwdriver and ratchet handles.

If you’ve ever peered inside the tool box of WorldTour professional mechanics, there’s a good chance you’ve spotted Wera’s colorful hex wrenches.

Zipp says its new Service Course SL carbon fiber seatposts are specifically designed to flex more on bumpy terrain to provide greater rider comfort relative to most other composite posts. The forged aluminum head is bonded into place, and offered in both 0mm and 20mm setbacks.

Zipp’s new Service Course SL-70 Ergo aluminum handlebar boasts the same variable-radius bend as the carbon fiber version, plus flattened tops and just a bit of backsweep for added rider comfort.

WTB is continuing to expand its range of gravel tires, with the new Nano 40 (left) and Cross Boss 35 (right).

The WTB Riddler 45 was already one of the most capable mixed-terrain tires on the market, and it’s now available in a smaller 40mm-wide version.

WTB’s new Judge (right) is the company’s most aggressive mountain bike tire to date, with tall and widely spaced knobs, a new triple-durometer tread compound, and small nubs in between the primary knobs to help keep mud from accumulating. The Vigilante (left) has been updated as well, with a more open center pattern and a more pronounced shoulder tread for better cornering performance in loose terrain.

WTB previously offered its mountain bike tires in two casing varieties, but the faster one was often deemed too fragile, and the more durable one too heavy and slow-rolling. New for 2019 is an in-between version that promises good durability without having to resort to a full-blown downhill construction. A new Slash Guard nylon casing insert beefs up the sidewalls, too.

WTB’s popular Silverado saddle model is finally now available in multiple width options.

Wippermann’s Connex CKS synthetic chain lubricant is supposedly fully biodegradable and won’t pollute water sources.

VDO’s LED rear light only claims daytime visibility up to 400m away, but then again, it also only weighs 18g.

Pro teams have been using expensive custom jigs for several years in order to precisely replicate a cleat position on new shoes. Selle Italia showed off a more reasonably priced version that might even be sufficiently inexpensive for shops and individuals to purchase for themselves.

Selle Italia’s new SP-01 Boost T316 Superflow saddle sports a wide and flat shape, a cutout that runs nearly the full length of the saddle, hollow titanium rails, and a clipped nose. Claimed weight is 191-194g, depending on width.

Selle SMP’s new F30 (background) and F30C (foreground) saddles retain the company’s trademark full-length cutout, but have flatter profiles from front-to-rear than usual. The F30 and F30C are mostly similar to each other in terms of shape, but the “C” version has a shorter nose that’s more in keeping with saddles such as the Specialized Power, PRO Stealth, and Prologo Dimension.

Sigma’s new Rox 12.0 Sport GPS cycling computer looks seriously capable, but also easy to use with a user interface that more closely resembles an Apple iPhone than a typical bike computer. The screen even uses the same Corning Gorilla Glass as an iPhone, too.

One of the coolest features on the new Sigma Rox 12.0 Sport is the ability to draw a rough desired route right on the screen with your fingertip. The computer then figures out the details from there.

Few bag and pack brands emphasize weatherproofing as adamantly as Ortlieb.

Argon18’s Notio Konect mobile wind tunnel device can provide incredibly useful information regarding the aerodynamic performance of both rider and bike. It’s cost you, though with a heady retail price of approximately US$1,000.

You’ve likely heard of Retül, but that’s not the only 3D motion capture bike fitting system in town. Motion Logic uses a similar set of hardware, but claims its system is much less expensive to buy.

Motion Logic’s software creates an on-screen avatar of the rider being fitted so you can see how things look in real time. Also optional is a saddle pressure pad to help further dial in the fit.

Schwalbe redesigned its popular Hans Dampf mountain bike tire (far left) earlier this year with 50% larger tread blocks that promise greater cornering stability thanks to reduced knob squirm under load. New for 2019 is a 24×2.35in size for more aggressive junior riders. Also new are the Racing Ralph (far right) and Racing Ray (second from right) front- and rear-specific models for cross-country applications.

Need yet another sign that e-assist road bikes are coming in a big way? Schwalbe has just released the E-One road tire, using the same tread pattern as the standard One, but with additional casing reinforcement to handle the additional weight and load.

Lezyne continues to grow its range of GPS cycling computers with the new Mega XL and Mega C. One neat feature of both is the ability to mount the unit in either landscape or portrait orientations.

Lezyne’s Torque Drive compact torque wrench operates on the same torsion principle as Silca’s Ti-Torque.

Lezyne’s new Flow Storage Adapter provides handy on-bike storage of basic repair items underneath a standard bottle cage.

Another new on-bike tool storage option from Lezyne is the Flow Storage Cage, which tucks a CO2 canister on either side of its side-access composite cage, and tire repair bits inside the small plastic container at the base.

Inside the plastic case, there’s enough room for a CO2 inflator head, glueless patch kit, and a small multi-tool.

Magura’s heated grips are powered by an e-bike’s primary battery, so there’s no need to attach a separate power source. They get surprisingly toasty, too.

Maxxis’s new Rekon Race tread is laser-focused on cross-country competition with its more tightly spaced and pared-down center tread relative to the standard Rekon. Claimed weight on the standard tubeless-ready 29×2.25in version is just 610g, with the optional EXO sidewall reinforcement adding another 60g.

DT Swiss’s new F535 One fork promises to bring the company back into the suspension game, with a coil-and-air hybrid spring for improved small-bump sensitivity, a position-sensitive oil damper that is said to provide much better mid-stroke support and bottom-out control than standard damper designs, and a sleek new structure.

The capped recess in the fork crown offers a nicely finished appearance on DT Swiss’s new 160mm-travel F535 One suspension fork.

Low-friction wiper seals supposedly allow the DT Swiss F535 One suspension fork to take full advantage of the supple coil spring inside the aluminum stanchion.

Covers are used down at the dropouts, too.

Joining the new DT Swiss F535 One suspension fork is the R535 rear shock, which doesn’t seem quite as feature-packed with its more conventional air spring and damper design, and a common three-position compression adjuster.

Challenge has been steadily expanding its range of all-road and gravel tires. This tubeless-ready 36mm-wide Strada Bianca looks particularly interesting.

Tubulars for dirt and gravel road riding? It sounds crazy, but Challenge insists that the greater casing suppleness actually results in fewer flats, not more of them.

The Challenge Gravel Grinder tread pattern is basically identical to the company’s Chicane cyclocloss tire, with both featuring a pronounced shoulder tread and a fast-rolling center.

Bryton apparently isn’t content to let Wahoo Fitness be the only company to offer an “aero” GPS cycling computer. Meet the new Bryton Aero 60.

Bryton indeed crafts the Aero 60 GPS cycling computer with a pleasantly sleek shape, with an included out-front mount to match.

The 2.3in monochrome LCD screen is reasonably crisp, and can display up to 10 customizable screens. Preloaded maps come courtesy of the OpenStreetMap platform, and Bryton claims a maximum battery life of 32 hours.

Abus has a new program allowing riders to purchase multiple locks that all use the same key. Very handy.

Abus also showed off a new lock concept that is controlled by a smartphone app via a Bluetooth connection. The idea affords some potentially useful features, but still seems a bit more complicated than necessary.

German bicycle travel case company B&W International doesn’t have as high a profile as better-known brands such as Evoc. But it offers a huge assortment of case options, such as these two models, built specifically for travel bikes. Prices are very competitive, too.

B&W International’s new Bike Case II is a hybrid-type travel case built with a rigid plastic base and a soft padded upper section.

A sliding foundation in B&W International’s new Bike Case II allows bike frames to rest safely on a thick bed of foam, while straps keep it firmly in place in transit.

Velcro-backed foam pads can be placed in multiple areas of the case to prevent paint rub.

Foam blocks and Velcro straps are also included to secure seatposts and handlebars, helping to prevent anything from floating about inside the case.

Traditional hard-sided bicycle travel cases usually weigh at least 11kg, but B&W International’s Bike.Guard Curv cuts that figure by about a third, meaning you’re less likely to get hit with an overweight baggage charge, and more likely to be able to fit more accessories inside.

Internally routed derailleur housings and brake hoses often have an annoying tendency to rattle inside the frame tubes unless they’re somehow padded or secured. This company was peddling a foam liner kit to help keep things quiet.

Giro’s new Studio Collection comprises a continuing run of limited-production kits, shoes, and helmets. Retailers will get first dibs at the new gear once Giro announces a new edition. Afterward, customers will be able to order directly from the Giro web site.

German company KineticWorks showed off one of the most interesting suspension designs we’ve seen in recent years.

The multi-link design supposedly combines the efficiency of a cross-country bike with the suppleness and control of a downhill rig. We’ve heard that before, of course, but it’s intriguing nonetheless.

The threaded link allows for adjustable frame geometry.

The post Eurobike 2018, part seven: Odds and ends appeared first on CyclingTips.

It wasn’t all that long ago that aluminum was considered largely obsolete as a frame material: too soft and heavy relative to carbon fiber, not as much zing or “life” as steel or titanium. But the material is nevertheless enjoying a strong resurgence, and Trek is the latest major brand to add fuel to that fire. The new Emonda ALR aluminum road family is reasonably competitive with carbon fiber in terms of weight and stiffness, and new manufacturing methods make it drop-dead gorgeous, too. It’s also comparatively cheap. But alas, there’s still a price to be paid.

The Emonda ALR by the numbers

On paper, it’s hard to argue with Trek’s new Emonda ALR.

At least as far as the scale is concerned, the Emonda ALR is nearly on-par with the carbon fiber Emonda SL. Claimed frame weight for the disc-brake is 1,131g, and 1,112g for the rim-brake edition — just 40g heavier than its fancier (and more expensive) cousin. And according to Trek, the Emonda ALR’s chassis stiffness figures aren’t far behind, either, thanks in no small part to the fact that its 300-Series Alpha Aluminum hydroformed tubes use nearly the same shapes as the upper-end Emondas.

The top tube gets notably wider and more rectangular up at the head tube. Torsional stiffness of the frame is very good.

Both rim-brake and disc-brake versions are on tap — naturally — and tire clearances are in-keeping with trends in the road space. Maximum official tire size on the rim-brake version is 25mm; 28mm for the disc-brake models. That sounds decidedly behind the times at first, yes, but keep in mind that Trek’s internal rating for maximum tire size is unusually conservative. Whereas most companies abide by international standards for clearance (at least 4mm of space on all sides of the tire at the closest point), Trek adds another 2mm on top of that, so comparing apples to apples, the rim-brake Emonda ALR will comfortably handle 29mm-wide tires, and the disc-brake bikes will fit 32mm-wide ones. Much better.

Handling-wise, Trek has carried over the same frame geometry as on the carbon Emonda models, which, in turn, were derived from the highly evolved figures of the long-standing Madone range. In other words, it promises truly neutral characteristics, with stable manners at high speeds, a seemingly contradictory willingness to carve through sinuous descents, and reasonable agility at low speeds without having the front end feel too floppy. Trek hasn’t changed its bread-and-butter road geometry much in ages, and that’s a good thing.

In terms of rider positioning, though, Trek will only offer the Emonda ALR in the tamer H2 fit with its slightly taller head tube. Riders who are specifically after a more aggressive posture will still need to look at the top-end Emonda SLR range.

Trek conservatively claims that the disc-brake Emonda ALR will fit tires up to 28mm-wide; the rim-brake one will only go up to 25mm. But if you go by how most other companies measure, you can tack another 2-3mm on top of those figures.

Other features include partially internal cable routing (just through the down tube), 12mm front and rear thru-axles and flat-mount caliper interfaces on disc-brake models, quick-release dropouts and direct-mount caliper mounts on rim-brake models, PF86 press-fit bottom bracket shells across the board, tapered steerer tubes on the full-carbon forks, standard 27.2mm-diameter round seatposts with conventional external seatpost clamps, and a small pocket built into the non-driveside chainstay for Bontrager’s DuoTrap wireless speed and cadence sensor.

None of this sounds remotely groundbreaking. And the focus on stiffness-to-weight means there isn’t a smidgeon of aerodynamic shaping to be found here. There’s not a single mention of wind tunnels or grams of drag or yaw angles in any of Trek’s marketing collateral. In an ever-expanding world of sleek two-wheeled machines that are starting to look more like airplanes than bicycles, the Emonda ALR might seem like a throwback.

But oh, man, you just have to see the thing.

Invisible Weld Technology

The way aluminum bicycle frames are welded hasn’t changed much in decades. With few exceptions, tubes are mitered at the joints and held together in a jig for a close fit, and then the intersections are basically just melted together at high heat, with an additional bead of similar material — the weld bead — added on top for additional structural reinforcement. Sometimes welders take two passes over the joint, and sometimes it’s just one, and sometimes the bead is filed down for a smoother look. But by and large, the process is the same today as it was when people thought Jeff Bezos was nuts for thinking he could sell books over the internet.

Specialized legitimately moved things forward a few years ago with the introduction of Smartweld. Normally, those mitered aluminum tubes fit together kind of like how you would join empty rolls of paper towels together in a grade school art project, with the end of one tube carved out to fit tightly against the unaltered wall of the other tube.

Trek’s new welding process is similar to Specialized’s SmartWeld concept, and offers similar claimed benefits, such as improved joint strength and reduced chassis weight. From most angles, it’s difficult to tell that this is a metal frame. The lustrous paint only further helps to disguise the weld beads.

But Smartweld is more like holding the bottom of two soda cans against each other. There’s a natural trough that the welding rod can fill, there’s more surface area to join together for better structural integrity, the weld itself is moved away from the areas of highest stress, the adjoining tube walls can be made thinner and lighter, and the resulting joint ends up more flush with the surrounding tube wall for a smoother finish. There’s more hydroforming work required to initially create that sort of interface geometry on the individual parts, but it’s a brilliant idea that Specialized has used to great effect.

Trek is now doing something similar, calling it “Invisible Weld Technology.” The concept is much the same, at least in terms of the weld joint geometry itself, but whereas Specialized moves the weld further up on the tubes, IWT uses the same weld location as a standard mitered joint.

Details aside, the result is visually stunning. For example, Trek has formed the head tube and top tube of the new Emonda ALR with the same shapes as the carbon fiber Emonda SL and SLR, and unless you look very closely, you can’t even tell where one part ends and the other begins; it’s truly seamless as far as your eyes are concerned.

Up front is a full-carbon fork. According to Trek, the total frameset weight for the new Emonda ALR aluminum model is nearly identical to the Emonda SL mid-range carbon chassis.

Other areas of the frame are joined using more conventional welding techniques, and the Emonda’s press-fit bottom bracket shell is a far cry from the bulbous and hollow two-piece clamshell that Specialized uses on the Allez Sprint. But it’s important to note that Trek is just getting started with the IWT concept, and it’ll be very interesting to see where it goes from here.

Off-the-shelf, or build to suit

As good as the Emonda ALR platform sounds, Trek clearly isn’t interested in having it cannibalize sales from the carbon fiber Emonda families based on the build kits on tap. Just five complete models are available, all of which focus more on value than outright performance. Complete Shimano groupsets are featured throughout, along with hydraulic brakes for all disc-equipped models. The one exception are the Tektro brake calipers on lower-end rim-brake models, since Shimano doesn’t make a direct-mount caliper at that price point.

At the lower end are the Emonda ALR 4 and ALR 4 Disc, built with Shimano Tiagra and Bontrager Affinity TLR tubeless-ready aluminum clinchers. The rim-brake version costs US$1,360 / AU$1,500, and the disc-brake version (which won’t be brought into Australia) costs US$1,680.

At the upper end are the Emonda ALR 5 and ALR 5 Disc, built with the same Bontrager Affinity TLR tubeless-ready aluminum wheels, but with Shimano’s 105 groupset. Retail price for the rim-brake version is US$1,580 / AU$2,000, or US$1,890 / AU$2,400 for the disc-brake version.

There will also be a sole women-specific model, the Emonda ALR 5 Disc Women’s. Basic spec is unchanged, and it’s built with the same frameset, but touch points are altered to promote a better fit and feel. Pricing is the same as the standard Emonda ALR 5 Disc, but like the Emonda ALR 4 Disc, Trek doesn’t plan to sell it in Australia.

Trek still isn’t ignoring the performance potential of the Emonda ALR, either; there’s also a bare frameset available for riders that might want to do a higher-end build. Retail price is US$960 for either the rim-brake or disc-brake version, but neither will be imported into Australia.

Pricing and availability for other regions is still to be confirmed.

The entry-level Trek Emonda ALR 4 is reasonably priced with its Shimano Tiagra groupset and Bontrager Affiinity TLR aluminum wheels. Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation.

Kudos to Trek for featuring hydraulic disc brakes even on the entry-level Emonda ALR 4 Disc. Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation.

The Trek Emonda ALR 5 looks to be a pretty good value in a mid-range aluminum road bike. Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation.

The new Shimano 105 hydraulic disc levers on the Trek Emonda ALR 5 Disc are a huge improvement over the previous version. Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation.

Just one women-specific Emonda ALR is featured in the lineup. Spec is identical to the standard Emonda ALR 5, but the Emonda ALR 5 WSD will come with different touch points for a better fit and feel. Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation.

Trek will also offer the Emonda ALR in bare framesets, depending on region. Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation.

Trek will offer the Emonda ALR Disc frameset in more sedate colors than this one, but this option is definitely the looker of the bunch. Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation.

Bones, shaken

I rode a custom-built Emonda ALR for several hours on the roads surrounding Trek’s global headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, where the rolling hills and seemingly endless expanse of sparsely populated roads provide plenty of opportunity to test a bike’s mettle. Rather than set us up on stock models, Trek went the DIY route, outfitting the frames with Shimano’s latest Ultegra mechanical groupset, low-profile Bontrager Aeolus XXX 2 carbon clinchers, 25mm-wide Bontrager R3 tubeless tires, and an assortment of Bontrager carbon fiber finishing kit. Total weight for my 52cm sample was just 7.4kg (16.31lb), without pedals, but with bottle cages and Blendr accessory mounts.

True to claims, the Emonda ALR felt satisfyingly stout under power, and plenty eager to squirt up short and punchy climbs. Front-end torsional rigidity is good, too, although not quite on-par with top-end carbon models, with some flex detected when you’re really wrenching on the bars.

The new Trek Emonda ALR is the most advanced aluminum road frame yet to come out of the Wisconsin brand – and furthers the argument that modern aluminum bikes can still compete with carbon fiber ones in many ways.

As expected, handling is picture-perfect, like a well-trained horse that almost doesn’t require any physical input from its rider before doing exactly what you want it to. Set those numbers in stone, Trek.

But as pleasant as Trek’s home roads are, the asphalt is distinctly coarse and lumpy, and the pavement seams impossible to ignore. Trek has successfully showcased other bikes on this stage before, but for the Emonda ALR, it might have been better to choose somewhere with better-quality roads.

The Emonda ALR seems to put up a good fight against more expensive carbon bikes in terms of weight and stiffness, however it’s simply no match in terms of ride comfort. Even with the tires inflated to a modest 70psi or so under my 70kg body, the Emonda ALR offers a rough ride, with little vibration damping to speak of and plenty of impact harshness traveling up through the handlebar and saddle. If anything, it only highlights further the uncanny comfort of the new Madone.

The chainstays don’t appear to be particularly large in width or height, but the back end of the new Emonda ALR still feels plenty stiff. Perhaps too stiff, in fact.

Like it or not, you feel everything on the Trek Emonda ALR. Again, stiffness and weight were the primary design objectives here. But compliance? I’m guessing that was further down on the list. Granted, switching to a more flexible seatpost and tires with more suppleness than the rather stiff-bodied Bontrager R3s of my test bike help, but there are limits to how much you can mask a stiff-riding frameset. As is, the Emonda ALR wouldn’t be my first choice for a long day in the saddle on less-than-ideal road surfaces.

This isn’t to say that I wasn’t impressed with the Emonda ALR overall. I’m a big fan of aluminum bikes in general, and I’m definitely excited to see Trek (and others) devoting more attention to the genre. The Emonda ALR is light and stiff, and an unquestionably good value from a mainstream brand. Privateer racers will unquestionably find much to like here, as will anyone prioritizing stiffness and low weight, and living in areas with good-quality roads.

But just as perpetual motion machines, fountains of youth, and fusion reactors are still the stuff of folklore, the Emonda ALR isn’t quite a tale of getting true carbon fiber performance at aluminum pricing. If you enter into the arrangement with realistic expectations of what you might be getting, you’ll probably be happy with it.

As much as some of us might like to believe otherwise, material properties are what they are, and as good as the Emonda ALR is, you still don’t get something for nothing.

www.trekbikes.com

Although impressively light and efficient, one area the Emonda ALR falls distinctly short on its carbon fiber peers is ride quality. If you run over a paper clip on the road, rest assured that you’ll feel it.

Is this paint job blue or purple? That depends on where you’re standing. This particular color-shifting finish is only available in bare Emonda ALR framesets, and harkens back to the old Klein brand that Trek purchased back in the 1990s. It’s utterly gorgeous.

Trek foregoes its usual BB90 press-fit bottom bracket format in favor of the more common PF86 setup that’s more amenable to metal frames like the Emonda ALR. While some will undoubtedly be disappointed that Trek didn’t use a standard threaded shell here, keep in mind that that would have made impossible to push the chainstays as far as they are here, along with the added tire clearance they allow.

The 27.2mm-diameter seatpost and skinny seatstays suggest a smooth ride, however the Emonda ALR is anything but.

Tube profiles are borrowed from the Emonda SLR wherever possible.

Not surprisingly, the new Trek Emonda ALR is a pretty darn good value. Bare framesets will go for a very reasonable figure, and will invariably be popular with privateer racers.

The forged dropouts are sleek and tiny.

The non-driveside chainstay features a small pocket for Bontrager’s DuoTrap wireless speed and cadence sensor.

Cable routing is internal through the down tube. All of the lines hug the frame nicely for a tidy appearance, but there will be lots of paint scuffing unless owners are careful to apply some clear protective vinyl tape.

Cables exit just ahead of the bottom bracket. Given the short path through the down tube, I’m not sure why Trek even bothered. The end result looks a bit tidier than it would with external routing, but this seems to really complicate maintenance with minimal aesthetic benefit.

One of the most common contamination points for a mechanical transmission is the rearmost loop of derailleur housing. On the Trek Emonda ALR, the loop is still as exposed as ever since the cable doesn’t run through the chainstay as would be the case with many carbon fiber frames.

The down tube sports a very subtle curve as it travels between the head tube and bottom bracket shell.

The rear flat-mount brake interface is built directly into the rear dropout.

The round 27.2mm-diameter seatpost is secured with a conventional external clamp.

The top-end complete Emonda ALR is fitted with Shimano 105 so as to minimize overlap with upper-end carbon Emonda SL and SLR models. But the performance of the chassis warrants a higher-end build, which Trek thankfully makes possible with the bare frameset option.

Trek clearly isn’t yet on-board with the idea of 1x road drivetrains. The Emonda ALR’s front derailleur mount is permanently riveted to the seat tube.

It’s not a surprise to see that Trek manufactures the Emonda ALR in China. More surprising, however, is the fact that Trek has quietly moved all of its frame production overseas in recent years.

The post Trek Emonda ALR first-ride review: Light and fast, but best on smooth roads appeared first on CyclingTips.

Walking the halls of Eurobike quickly reveals just how widespread product innovation is these days. While much of the product can look the same as the next, a closer inspection will often reveal an element of refinement and progression.

This gallery looks at a broad variety of parts discovered while wandering the seemingly endless halls of Eurobike. Among the items showcased in our final round of coverage is a new custom gravel bike from Ireland’s FiftyOne, some new hoops from Fulcrum, and a bunch of 3T’s innovative products that are now ready for sale. There’s also a clever disc-specific aero wheelset on the way from Hunt, Elite is looking to fit within a classic modernistic home with its new trainer bike, and a few other tidbits that might strike your fancy.

Grab your favourite bean-based beverage and enjoy the scrolling.

Enve typically invites a number of smaller makers to fill its booth with droolworthy bikes, one of which is FiftyOne’s first gravel bike. This one is soon headed to its new owner, Jamie Wilkins, a former deputy editor at Procycling magazine.

FiftyOne doesn’t do model names, but rather each individual custom bike has a theme. This one is named the Steinès, after Alphonse Steinès, assistant to original Tour de France organiser Henri Desgrange. Steinès was sent on a reconnaissance trip to the Pyrenees prior to the 1910 Tour. Long story short, he ended up lost and in a bad way while traversing the Col du Tourmalet, and was luckily found the next morning. Despite the mishap, he sent the following telegram back to Paris: “Crossed Tourmalet. Very Good Road. Perfectly Passable.”

The paint work on the FiftyOne bikes is always world class. This bike was built with Enve tubes, and like all other FiftyOne bikes, it’s fully custom.

Wilkins has elected to go with the new Rotor Uno hydraulic groupset. It makes for an impressively lightweight bike.

Not a country you’d typically associate with handcrafted carbon framesets.

It wouldn’t be an Enve colloboration without a healthy dose of the carbon goodness.

The new gravel bike has space for up to 42mm-wide rubber, and that’s with a normal double crankset.

The down tube hosts William Ernest Henley’s famous Invictus poem. No question, that would have been tedious to paint! Best watch those rock chips.

Feedback Sports’ new Range torque wrench puts the torque element at the bottom of the tool, allowing it to used as a regular ratchet multi-tool for tightening and loosening bolts. When you need tightening accuracy, the 0-10Nm spring-indicator torque wrench provides 1Nm increments and easy zero setting.

The Feedback Sports Range is set to sell for US$80, including a 14-piece S2 steel bit set and a smart storage case.

Elite has updated the Drivo direct-drive smart trainer, which now claims a power accuracy of +/-0.5% – twice as good as before. The folding legs are more refined, too, and it’s now available in a dirt-hiding black (it was white before). This new model is simply called the Drivo II.

The lower-cost Elite Direto receives similar tweaks. Its power is said to now be accurate to +/- 2%.

Keen for the complete indoor training experience but can’t stand it ruining your post-classic modernistic interior styling? The Italian-made Elite Fuoripista is just for you. This 120kg training bike hides all the features of the Direto within its hand-carved wood, chromed metal, and glass construction. With a projected price in the vicinity of €12,000 to €14,000, you’ll want to be sure your cleaner keeps that glass spotless.

Elite has designed the Fuoripista for real-world (digital) use. It offers a decent amount of adjustability and of course, full electronic training control. If you ever wanted a talking piece, this is it.

Topeak’s new CubiCubi modular light range adjusts the lumen output depending on the chosen battery size. The batteries double as USB power banks and can be interchanged between light heads. They’re designed for Topeak’s modular mounts, allowing use of popular computers and cameras on a shared mount. The three battery sizes produce maximum outputs of 500, 850, and 1200 lumens. Did I say modular?

Topeak continues to grow its Ninja integrated storage range. The range is quite extensive, with many pieces based around different types of bottle cages. From there, you can elect to attach multitools, inner tubes, or similar commonly needed accessories. The names come from the shape of the bottle cages, so the X-Series is defined by the bottle cage’s X shape. The Z cages form a Z, and the SK is for side access.

The advancement of tubeless tyre accessories shows no sign of slowing. Topeak will soon offer this compact charge chamber to work with any floor pump. Just pump the reinforced chamber over 100psi and then use it like a giant CO2 canister to seat a tubeless tyre. Credit goes to English company Airshot for the initial idea, but Topeak’s version is certainly more solidly built (and noticeably heavier). Given it has a direct connection to the valve, I suspect this one will work extremely well. There’s no word on price just yet.

Don’t like being uncertain of your pressures when repairing a flat? Topeak will soon offer a CO2 inflator with a pressure gauge. For me, its size defeats a key benefit for carrying CO2, but to each their own.

Thomson now has a range of 35mm handlebars and stems. The larger diameter is an increasingly common sight in the gravity segments of mountain biking.

Hutchison is getting closer with its tyre pressure sensor. Due to be ready for early 2019, the sensor is designed to sit inside the rim and around the valve. It will have two sensors: one to measure the force of a tube pressing down on it, and another to measure air pressure if used with tubeless tyres. Apparently, it’ll be unaffected by tyre sealant and should add just 10g per rim. The Bluetooth-enabled device will work with an app to provide tyre pressure data during use, along with low-pressure notifications. The sensor will measure pressure to a tenth of a PSI. Battery life is still to be confirmed as the company is currently finding the balance between longevity and weight, but a year between battery changes is likely. Projected price is US$100 for a pair. In our minds, the key user group for this product is recreational riders who rarely check tyre pressure, as an automated notification would be extremely useful.

Hutchison has joined the stylish tan-walled tyre game. Currently it’s slim pickings for the stylish colour, but gravel riders may find joy in the Overide rubber that’s available in both 35 and 38c. It’s tubeless-ready and features an aggressive file tread pattern.

Hutchinson’s new Skeleton race tread has been spinning circles at recent cross-country World Cups. The lightweight, fast, and tubeless 2.1in rubber also looks great for use as a 650b gravel tyre. It, too, is available in a tan wall.

Hunt Wheels is a fast-growing consumer-direct wheel company out of England. The owners of the young company were walking around the show with a prototype disc-specific aero rim in hand. With a former aerodynamics engineer from Campagnolo now on staff, this 48mm-deep rim was optimised for use with a 28c tyre. The 22.5mm internal width is a far cry from the 35.5mm external width. But instead of adding redundant material mass at the edge of the rim to make up that bead thickness difference, Hunt has a new patent-pending technology that uses a resin filler that’s a quarter the density of carbon fibre or similar structural material. The design is said to save 50g per wheel while providing the ideal aerodynamic properties. Such a design is only made possible by the use of disc brakes and is just the sort of innovation needed for discs to be widely adopted in races. The new wheel is expected to be out by the end of the year.

Mitas tyres, formerly known as Rubena, can be a rare sight outside certain parts of Europe. The X-Road offers a versatile and fast-rolling tread pattern good for tackling rough gravel. The 38c version of this tubeless tyre is claimed to weigh 455g. There’s a 33c version, too.

The XC259 29er mountain bike rim is the lightest hoop Reynolds has ever produced. Claimed weight for the complete wheelset is just 1,380g, and the rim has a 25mm internal width.

The Thule Upright roof rack doesn’t touch the bike’s frame. While not the first of its kind, it works by clamping the front wheel tightly, keeping the bike upright and in place. It’ll work with just about any bike and should be ideal for transporting that delicate carbon fibre rig or complex full suspension mountain bike. We’ve got one of these inbound for review.

The Thule Upright rack hides an integrated lock at the back.

Birzman has a new dual-sided bottom bracket tool. It’s designed for use with common threaded 30mm bottom brackets. Made of aluminium, it features a large 1/2in square drive.

This lightweight Birzman aluminium tool tackles both Shimano Hollowtech bearing preload caps and the 16mm hex retaining bolts on some cranks. Both sides are broached for a 5mm hex key if more leverage is required.

Kool-Stop does plenty of in-house testing on all of its pads. The claim is that the company won’t make a brake pad unless it tests better than the market leading options. This new city rim-brake pad is interesting as it does away with the extremely common water chevrons and wear indicators. The bigger surface area of the solid pad is said to be superior for both brake performance and durability.

Kool-Stop didn’t see the point in throwing away your whole disc brake pad when all you need to replace is the braking surface. These Aero Pro pads split the cooling fin plate from the brake pad, allowing you to replace the worn pad and re-use the cooling fin plate.

Nino Schurter won the World Cup round in Val di Sole, and his winning bike was on display the very next morning. This retro-inspired ride was designed to celebrate Scott’s 60th birthday. Nino, way to add the icing on the cake. Sitting ever so slightly out of picture is Scott’s first mountain bike from 1990, the Pro Racing.

Fulcrum had a number of new wheels on display. The Racing Zero Carbon DB is the Italian company’s latest lightweight disc-brake road wheel.

Fulcrum’s ARC Technology features woven carbon patches to reinforce the spoke holes. All up, the 30mm-deep wheelset tips the scales at 1,450g and has a 109kg rider weight limit. The company has settled on a 19mm inner width across many of the road and gravel wheelsets.

The Racing Zero Carbon uses Fulcrum’s solid rim bed design, sealing it for tubeless use without the need for tape. Fulcrum must be extremely confident in its manufacturing capabilities to use such a design. If a spoke replacement is ever needed, the nipple must be guided through the internal rim wall with a magnetic tool. Any loose compaction bladder or wrinkles will make such a repair a real nightmare.

First seen last year, the Fulcrum Racing Zero DB is now available. This alloy disc-brake wheelset should be a popular pick as it weighs 1590g, is tubeless compatible, and uses the same outstanding cup-and-cone ceramic bearing design as Campagnolo. Like the Carbon version above, this Fulcrum Racing Zero passes the ASTM Two category, effectively meaning it’s been tested for use as a cyclocross and gravel wheelset (and of course, is great for road use).

Here’s an interesting little tidbit: Fulcrum can apparently skirt around having to pay Shimano’s Center Lock licensing fee by making some slight changes to the spline and the way the rotor is held in place. Shimano’s patent secures the rotor with an internally threaded lockring, similar to that used for cassettes, whereas Fulcrum uses an external thread.

Fulcrum now has a 650b disc-brake road wheel for use on gravel or smaller road bikes. It’s just an entry-level item carrying a Racing 7 label, and like the previous two wheels, this one features a 19mm internal rim width. The claimed weight is a reasonable 1,670g – not bad for a wheel of this price. Check out our recent comparative review of the Fulcrum Racing range (rim brake) for insight of the finer details between the models.

Eurobike is divided into seven main halls, interlinked by paths and outdoor space that also showcase exhibitors, The halls generally follow themes or categories, and so it was a little odd to find Fulcrum sitting amongst a bunch of e-bike offerings. As it turns out, the Italian wheel company is investing big in the e-MTB space, with a whole range of wheels specifically built for the purpose, including front- and rear-specific rims, stronger nipples, reinforced hub ratchet mechanism, and much more.

Announced just weeks ago, 3T added a front derailleur tab to its Strada disc-equipped aero road bike and called it the Strada DUE. It’s very much the same bike, but with some 35g of extra carbon to handle the front shifting forces. It’s for use with electronic drivetrains only.

3T co-owner Gerard Vroomen (a founder of Cervelo) is a key person behind the 3T Strada and still strongly believes in 1x shifting on the road. However, he also admits 3T’s push for single-ring drivetrains is a few years early.

3T is another handlebar maker to offer a flared drop bar for gravel use. However, 3T goes about it in a very different way. Where nearly every brand flares the drops at the ends of the tops, 3T kinks the drops just below the shifter. It’s a trickier shape to make, but it means you get the same familiar hoods-forward position, but with the additional width and hand comfort when in the drops. As Vroomen pointed out, both Shimano and SRAM already kick out their lever blades, something that coincidentally works perfectly with such a bar shape. Expect to see this bar shape widely copied in the future.

3T’s Torno LTD crankset is now available. Proving what can be achieved with a blank sheet of paper, the 1x-specific road crank is supposedly the most aerodynamic crank on the planet, and at just 330g (without the ring), it’s only 35g heavier than the weight-leading THM-Carbones crank. In fact, this aero crank is actually made in Germany by THM. The proprietary chainring is made in the US by Wolf Tooth Components, and is available in 36, 40, and 44T sizes.

It’s pretty obvious what such a thin crank profile achieves. However, what’s less obvious is that the thin profile provides a super low Q-factor of just 142mm without introducing chainstay clearance issues.

3T owns THM-Carbones, the German carbon maker of crazy light components. Displayed on the Strada DUE was this 81g Tibia stem with the new 149g Ulna bar. Both items carry a 110kg rider weight limit (it’s European law to provide a weight limit). The bars feature a subtle aero shaping, but it’s done more for comfort and not reduced drag. Such impressive pieces of carbon don’t come cheap; the bar and stem are priced at €449 each.

CatEye’s latest lights join a growing trend of lights that communicate with other electronic accessories. Named Sync, these Bluetooth-enabled lights pair with each other and allow joined control. If you turn one on, they all go on; and if you change the light settings on one, they all change. Neat.

The Sync range consists of two rear lights and one front. The Kinetic rear light is designed for the bike and the other model is for the rider. The Kinetic features an accelerometer that lets it act as a brake light, too.

Of course, there’s an app for CatEye’s new Sync lights. The app allows you to control the settings and power remotely. It’ll also show battery health.

CushCore is a foam insert that sits inside the rim channel to support the tyre sidewall. With the sidewall reinforced, the tyre can be run at super low pressures without squirm or tubeless burping. It’s a technology that’s used by many mountain bike racers in the Enduro World Series and may find favour in other disciplines, too. Such an insert does make fitting a tyre a whole different process and carries an approximate 250g weight penalty, but that comes with vastly improved control and little risk of rolling a tyre. CushCore released a new 27.5in Plus version at the show, designed for 32-45mm inner width rims.

Saddles are always a tough one to write about. All the tech in the world doesn’t mean it’s going to fit your anatomy. However, Ergon is one company founded on scientific ergonomics and its new performance road saddle range uses OrthoCell inserts (a product from the medical world) at critical soft tissue points. The channel on the men’s version (top) increases in depth from front to rear, and not just in terms of the padding; the shell channel shape changes, too. The women’s version is shown at the bottom, and you can see the huge difference in gender-specific design. For example, those OrthoCell inserts sit more rearward on the men’s version to match soft tissue. Pictured are the men and women’s SR Pro Carbon models, which aim to bring that comfort to a competitive weight and stiffer shell. These saddles will be out in early January and will cost US$190.

Want your saddle to match a pair of Adidas Boost shoes? Ergon can make that happen with its ST Core Prime saddle. The ST Core Prime saddle has a thick layer of Infinergy foam sandwiched between two saddle shells. It’s not as silly as it looks, providing suspension at the saddle without a loss of stability or structural integrity. It’s a concept we’ll likely see more of in the future.

Do you travel through airports like a pleb with a bike case that’s mis-matched to the rest of your luggage? Evoc is here to help.

For 2019, the Evoc Bike Travel Pro bag will include the internal bike frame that was previously an optional accessory, and secures the bike by its dropouts. The price is set to go up slightly, but it’ll still be cheaper than buying the bag and frame separately.

Carbon Works is a small German carbon company that’s new to the scene. This bottle cage weighed less than the single page pamphlet. The bottle is held in very securely – perhaps too securely.

The post Eurobike 2018, part eight: Closing it out with a little bit of everything appeared first on CyclingTips.

Take a stroll through the pits of any professional road race and you’ll only see mechanics working with cradle-type repair stands. These stands differ from those with a tube clamp commonly found in bike shops in that they support the bike from beneath, and the only part of the bike that is clamped are the wheel dropouts. Along with offering a more stable and arguably safer hold of the bike, race repair stands are built to allow 360-degree access to the bike without having to move and are better suited to tight spaces.

Market leader Park Tool recently updated its Team Issue repair stand, an item you’ll see the likes of BMC, Sunweb and Katusha using, and one we were interested in knowing more about. How good is this stand, and does it make sense for the home user? CyclingTips’ Australian tech writer Dave Rome has been putting this stand (and the previous iteration) through its paces.

Starting from the base, the PRS-22.2 uses a wide-legged folding tripod design. In the case of this light 5.51kg stand, the uniquely hexagonal-shaped legs are made of thin-walled aluminium coated in Park’s recognisable blue.

The legs surround an aluminium center tube, which holds the stand’s main beam, another piece of anodised aluminium. It’s this 82cm long beam that shows the biggest changes from Park’s previous generation, the PRS-21. It’s now wider with a more versatile system of clamps for frame and fork dropouts that can be easily adjusted to suit a range of wheelbases and bottom bracket shapes.

Without question, the closest competitor for this stand is the Feedback Sports Sprint from the ‘other’ American company with a strong following in the workstand market. These two stands are quite similar, and it could be argued that the Park borrows a number of design cues from Feedback. At US$270/AUD$410/£300, the Feedback stand is cheaper than the PRS-22.2, which sells for US$340/AUD$550/£300, but it is a more basic offering. In both cases, carry bags for the stands are sold separately.

Folding into use

Fully folded, the PRS-22.2 is 82cm tall (the length of the main beam) and about 17cm in diameter. It’s Park’s most compact and lightest stand to date.

To unfold, you start by loosening a small knob to allow the legs to span out. These don’t extend under their own weight, and so you’ll likely need to pull opposing legs.

Once the stand is on its own three feet, it’s time to set up the beam via the quick release lever. It’s perhaps the one part of the stand I’m least fond of as it can be a fiddle. Here, the quick release doesn’t function as quickly as expected and you need to turn the nut on the opposite side to produce enough tension for the beam to lock in place. According to Park, this was a difficult decision, and in the end, they purposely went this route in order to prevent accidental (and potentially damaging) release of the beam with a bike on it. Still, I feel a more elegant solution could have been found.

Beneath the beam is a small knob that easily allows you to adjust its fore-aft position in relation to the rest of the stand. This is an important feature as it allows you to best balance the weight of the bike over the tripod legs. It’s something that I’d approximate when unfolding the stand, and then dial in once the bike was fitted.

You then have two quick release collars to adjust. The first adjusts a collar on the sliding shaft of the stand, which when closed, causes a firm stop which prevents the stand from dropping in height. With this, stand rotation is now left solely to the lower quick release lever, and can be left completely open for easy swiveling without fear of the bike sinking in height, or closed to stop the bike from spinning. Both quick releases are quite large, but the lower one is perhaps counter-sunk a little too neatly, making it tough to undo if tight. My solution is to not close them all the way, instead, leaving a finger gap to use.

Now assembled, you can adjust the position of the dropout holder and mount the bike. This is done by selecting which end of the bike’s dropouts to clamp, removing the respective wheel and then tightening the big quick release down. Spacers are included so that 100, 130 or 135mm dropouts are not an issue. Likewise, the provided quick release can simply be replaced with your bike’s thru-axle, whether that be 12, 15 or 20mm – with such a size adjustment done with a simple tool-free pin. Unlike its predecessors and competitors, no thru-axle adaptors are needed for this stand.

With the fork or rear dropout clamped, you then just need to ensure the bottom bracket cradle pads are supporting from the right spot. This is especially important for bikes with cable guides, bottom bracket-mounted drivetrain batteries or older power meters. Here, Park’s new stand really shines, offering far more adjustability than any other stand on the market. The tall bottom bracket pads are independently adjustable in length, angle and width to clear just about any problematic bottom bracket design, cable placement or accessory.

The only catch is that you’ll need to use a 4mm hex key to undo the three bolts holding each one in place. Yep, another fiddle, made more difficult since the bike needs to be held out of the way, or removed from the stand altogether.

If you own just one bike, or multiple similar bikes (e.g. all road bikes, in your size), then this race stand is most likely a set-and-forget affair, as it is for professional race mechanics working on a fleet of near-identical bikes. However, if you’re constantly working on a variety of bikes, home mechanics may find a workstand with a tube clamp offers more utility (more on this below).

While it’s possible to clamp the rear of the bike to work on a headset or adjust/bleed a front brake, the majority of road bike owners will probably only ever clamp the fork. Removing either wheel to work on a bike can be a bit of a hassle (another point in favour of workstand with a tube clamp), but removing a front wheel is always the easier of the two.

PRS-22 vs PRS-22.2

The PRS-22.2 sees the two quick releases split across two clamps. The upper one is used to lock in the height setting, the lower controls the rotation.

The PRS-22.2 is nearly identical to the PRS-22 stand that we originally reviewed April 2017. The most notable update concerns the height and swivel collar. Previously, this was a single plastic piece with two quick-release levers, and now, it is two separate pieces. It’s a fix that Park has “borrowed” from its closest work stand competitor, Feedback Sports, and it’s a welcome change. In our original review, we found this collar fiddly to use and not all that secure.

It’s the tolerance in this joint that bothers me most. According to Park, the new PRS-22.2 offers tighter tolerances.

In addition to the updated clamp, Park state they have tightened the tolerances between the pivot bracket and the beam bracket. This too, is a welcome change, since the original design, as evident in my sample, is prone to a light knocking during use as the stand’s beam tilted back and forth (which occurred even when the central clamp was torqued up tightly).

For owners of the PRS-22, they can obtain the updated height and swivel collar by ordering parts #2707.2 (US$21.80) and #2737 (US$16.40). At this stage, there is no (cheap) way to replace the beam hinge for the newer version with a tighter tolerance.

Wrenching on the PRS-22.2

Once the PRS-22.2 is configured to suit a bike, it takes about 30 seconds to remove the wheel and install the bike on the stand, which is plenty quick for most home mechanics.

On flat ground, the tripod stand is very stable, with little risk of toppling. If you’re out in the garden or working at the races where the ground is uneven, you’ll need to pay closer attention to the fore-aft placement of the main beam to ensure the bike is well balanced over the base.

The PRS-22.2 is really well suited to working in tight quarters, and provided the tripod is secure, and the bike well balanced, the bike remains secure when making forceful adjustments or removing tight components. It’s a different sensation compared to a regular clamp stand, where the bike can bounce and bob around the point of attachment.

For those looking for more security, a rubberised strap is supplied with the stand for securing the downtube to the stand. This will stop the bike from lifting at the bottom bracket but it can get in the way. I found it was more useful for keeping everything together when the stand was folded up for storage.

The stand also works well for cleaning bikes, and for most buyers, this is when it will get most of its use. The bike can be positioned at a good working height (76cm-114cm) then rotated as required to keep the spray and muck from flicking back on the mechanic. In this regard, the new adjustment collar for the PRS-22.2 is a great addition because it is easier to use and more effective than the original design.

Having used the PRS-22 for over a year, there are just two aspects that stand out as weaknesses. The first is that play in the center post mentioned above, which no amount of torque on the clamp can remove. If Park has managed to eliminate this with their new tolerances for the revised PRS-22.2, then I’ll be ready to cheer. At the moment, I haven’t been able to test this aspect of the updated stand but I’ll provide an update once I have.

The other shortcoming concerns the steel bolts that hold the bottom bracket cradle pads in place. After a year of use, they now have some surface rust on them, which is unsurprising given that water always ends up pooling in this area when a bike is washed. It’s an obvious oversight, but at least it’s an easy fix with a new set of stainless steel bolts (I’d recommend paying more for marine-grade bolts, just to be sure).

Bottom bracket cradle or tube clamp?

For me, as a home user, this was the main question I had when reviewing the first PRS-22, and then the PRS-22.2. Would I buy this over a workstand with a tube clamp?

The benefits of a cradle-type repair stand, like the PRS-22.2, are pretty obvious. The bike is extremely stable and well supported, something that’s especially important for the latest generation of ultra-light (or weirdly shaped) composite machines. The bike typically sits at a more comfortable working height and you can swing it so that the opposite side of the bike comes to you. Additionally, the working footprint is noticeable smaller, which is essential for working in cramped spaces (like a small shed or an apartment balcony). Lastly, these kind of stands provide a convenient point of reference for handlebar and saddle adjustments, so there’s plenty to like.

Still, my preference still sits with tube clamps (for grabbing the seatpost, never the frame). To start with, it is much quicker and easier to install the bike in the stand. This is something that has become more noticeable as disc brakes have become widespread. The latest wide-opening and stubby clamps will also work on just about all aero and weirdly shaped seatposts, so it only ever takes a moment to get the bike off the ground. Plus, there’s little risk in (gently) clamping a carbon seatpost.

This alone probably accounts for why work stands with tube clamps are preferred by mechanics at MTB and CX races. I also appreciate the fact that it is easy to adjust the working angle of the bike. This is not always necessary but it can be the secret when working on internally cabled frames or hydraulic disc brakes.

If you’re shopping for your first stand, then you’ll find that stands with tube clamps are also cheaper than the PRS-22.2. Park Tool’s PRS-10 is built around a tube clamp and it remains high on my list of recommendations. Not only is it quite affordable, it is easy to use, stable, and it’ll last forever. I can say similar things for Feedback Sports entry-level stands too.

Moving up to the price of PRS-22.2, there are a few more options with tube clamps, including Park’s Team Issue PRS-25 and the Feedback Sports Pro Elite, both of which I’ve used extensively and strongly recommend.

Conclusion

If you’re like WorldTour pro mechanics and like the compact size and support of a cradle-type workstand that has a convenient carousel function for spinning the bike around, then Park’s PRS-22.2 is an impressively solid choice. It will provide a sure and secure hold on most bikes (tandems are a different story) while providing a great working height, and it’s built to last a lifetime.

Despite being somewhat of a fiddle to set up, a number of new features means this stand will accommodate a wider variety of bikes, including those with power meters and thru-axles. My loyalty still lies with stands that have tube clamps, but the Park Tool PRS-22.2 is very good — dare I say the best — if you’re set on this style of transportable stand.

Fully folded, the PRS-22.2 (PRS-22 pictured) is Park’s lightest and most compact stand to date.

Road, mountain, gravel, TT, cross bike or whatever else, the PRS-22.2 will work.

The stand can be adjusted in height, right up to 114cm (bottom bracket height).

The Park Tool PRS-22.2 (PRS-22 pictured) next to the PCS-10

It’s a commonly asked question. Race repair stand or tube-clamp workstand?

The tall and widely-adjustable bottom bracket cradle is a big step above other options on the market.

Fitting a thru-axle to this stand requires no additional parts. You just need your bike’s thru-axle in place.

Clamping a quick release fork is simple – just pay attention to the orientation of the provided spacers

The PRS-22.2 was built with lightweight road and time-trial bikes in mind, however, it’s capable of holding much more.

This pin decides what size axle can be fitted. Pictured in the middle slot, it’ll work with either the provided quick release or a 15mm thru-axle. Move to the pin for either 12 or 20mm thru-axles.

Another view of that main beam.

A folded view of the new PRS-22.2 clamps.

This quick release holds the main beam upright. It’s a bit of a fiddle to find the ‘sweet spot’.

The original PRS-22 featured these two quick releases on the same clamp. One for the height and the other to allow the beam to spin. I originally found them difficult to use.

The bottom bracket cradle pads are independently adjustable. You can slide them any way you want, angle them and even flip them for wide or narrow spacing.

Simply undo the knob to remove the quick release assembly and install a thru-axle

Full view of the main beam.

This provided strap can be used to secure the bottom bracket to the stand, but I rarely found the need for it.

Price: US$329.95 / AUD$550
http://www.parktool.com/

The post Park Tool PRS-22.2 Team Issue repair stand review (updated) appeared first on CyclingTips.

Giant’s previous-generation Defy range broke new ground in 2014 by being the first complete range of endurance road bikes from a major manufacturer to exclusively offer disc brakes. It was also a very nice bike, period, but also more of a toned-down road racer than a machine that was purpose-built for performance-oriented comfort. That’s all changed with the new Defy Advanced family, which rides much more smoothly and is a little more versatile than before, and now even includes a Giant-developed dual-sided power meter as standard equipment on the top-end model. But even so, it’s still a high-performance rig that can keep up just as well as before.

Going ultra-cush, with a capital D

One of the core features of the Giant Defy range was its D-Fuse seatpost. Seatpost flex has long been identified as a key contributor to rider comfort, and the D-shaped one on the Defy, with its flat-backed profile, was designed to flex more on bumps. Giant may not have been the very first to use the idea, but it’s since been adopted by many other companies for the same reason that Giant did: because it worked.

The top-end Defy Advanced Pro 0 (there is no SL model, at least not for now) is an impressively sharp and wickedly comfortable machine. The Defy family is the “bread and butter” of Giant’s road bike range, and given the improvements, that trend will certainly continue moving forward. Photo: Sterling Lorence.

Not surprisingly, then, the new Defy Advanced continues on with the idea, but with more refined shaping throughout the rear end so the entire seat tube is even more flexible and can provide even greater comfort than before. A very slight curve in the slender seatstays has been added to further promote that movement, and the offset seat cluster (which has also been proven to promote desirable rear-end movement) continues on as well. The compact frame design that Giant pioneered in the 1990s is especially fitting here, too, since it exposes more seatpost than frames with moderately sloping or level top tubes.

What was missing before, however, was that same level of comfort up front; like the original Trek Domane, the previous Defy could still feel jarring through the bars. But how to tackle that without copying the flexy steerer tube design of Trek’s Front IsoSpeed, or the dedicated FutureShock coil-spring element of the Specialized Roubaix?

Simple: turn the seatpost sideways.

Giant has carried over the D-Fuse seatpost concept over to a new D-Fuse handlebar on the new Defy. Made in both carbon fiber and aluminum versions, the tops feature a D-shaped profile that provides a noticeable amount of give on less-than-perfect tarmac. Photo: Sterling Lorence.

The 2019 Defy Advanced’s new D-Fuse handlebar uses a similar D-shaped cross-section on the bar tops, with the same end goal as on the seatpost — and it’s supposedly good for up to 12mm of movement at the end of the drops. There are aluminum and carbon fiber versions of the new bar, and Giant says the flex characteristics of each has been tuned to mirror the rear end. The amount of compliance can also be adjusted by rotating the bar in the stem clamp so as to change the orientation of that D-shaped cross-section relative to impact forces, and since the lower part of the bar tops is rounded as usual, it remains stiff when pulling upward, like in a sprint or steep climb.

It’s an obvious solution in hindsight, and like many good ideas, Giant isn’t the only company to come to a similar conclusion. The flattened stem on the new BMC Timemachine Road is intentionally shaped to do the same thing, for example, and Trek claims similar benefits on the integrated cockpit of the latest Madone. But what many riders will invariably find appealing about the D-Fuse bar concept is its straightforward design.

“We’ve always erred towards simplicity in our designs,” said Giant global product marketing manager Andrew Juskaitis. “We’re not a fan of gimmicks.”

Giant officially pegs the maximum allowable tire size on the new Defy Advanced range at 32mm – or 28mm when fenders are fitted. Pictured here are 28c Giant Gavia tubeless clinchers mounted on 17mm-wide Giant SLR 1 carbon clinchers.

Adding further plushness are newly upsized tires. Giant equipped the previous-generation Defy with 25mm-wide rubber, with a maximum allowable tire size of 28mm; that’s now increased to 32mm, with 28mm-wide tires included stock. Riders in wetter climates will be glad to hear that Giant has built front and rear fender mounts into the new frameset, too (although when fitted, the maximum recommended tire size is 28mm).

But still maintaining an edge

As much as Giant focused more keenly on ride quality this time around, the company still didn’t want to give up the performance that many riders prized in the old version.

One direct benefit of isolating the comfort aspects of the bike to the seatpost and handlebar is that it allowed frame designers to concentrate more on stiffness for the rest of the Defy Advanced chassis. Aside from those super-skinny seatstays and the pared-down seat tube, the rest of the carbon fiber frame is notably big and bulbous like a purebred climber. Down below is Giant’s trademark “PowerCore” bottom bracket — basically its moniker for PF86 — with all the adjoining tubes flared out to the edges of the press-fit shell to boost low-end rigidity. The down tube is, well, giant, and while the top tube starts out fairly slender at the seat tube, it flares substantially as it approaches the tapered head tube.

Giant’s decision to build much of the Defy Advanced’s ride comfort into the handlebar and seatpost means the the front triangle can remain quite stout for good torsional stiffness. The down tube is truly enormous, yet the bike rides exceptionally smoothly.

The end result, according to Giant, is a pedaling stiffness measurement identical to the new Propel aero road racing bike, and although the company didn’t provide figures for front-end torsional stiffness, that likely isn’t too far off, judging by the size of the main tubes. Adding to that is the OverDrive 2 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in tapered steerer tube on the all-carbon fork for the upper-end Defy Advanced Pro models; standard Defy Advanced frames get a more conventional 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in tapered steerer.

In an age when seemingly everything is going aero to some degree, it might seem odd that Giant hasn’t bothered to incorporate a lick of wind-cheating shaping into the new Defy range, instead concentrating solely on ride quality without worrying about the marginal effects of a little more drag. Truth be told, most Defy buyers probably won’t care how efficiently they move through the air; they just don’t want their hands and butt to hurt. Aero wheels, helmets, and clothing contribute more in that regard than aero frames, anyway, so it’s hard to argue with Giant’s approach here.

But that said, the new Defy Advanced Pro models still borrow a page from the Propel’s playbook with the new Contact Stealth SL stem. Derailleur and brake lines are routed from the bar along the top and down the back of the stem, before entering the frame behind the headset. Bolt-on cosmetic plastic caps keep all of that concealed for a neat and tidy look, along with split headset spacers similar to what’s used on the Propel.

Similar (but not identical) to the system that Giant uses on the Propel aero road bike is a capped stem that hides the internally routed cables. It conceals the lines, yes, but it also adds visual bulk elsewhere, especially if you need to run a tall stack of spacers.

Other features include flat-mount disc brakes instead of the post-mount ones on the previous version — the entire Defy range is once again disc-only — 12mm front and rear thru-axles, and very wide-range gearing with 50/34T chainrings up front and 11-34T cassettes on all models.

Interestingly, Giant hasn’t introduced a new flagship-level Defy Advanced SL chassis like on the old Defy range. Giant didn’t announce any plans to reintroduce something at such a premium end of the spectrum, with its integrated seatmast and paltry 730g claimed frame weight, but that’s not to say that it won’t be added later.

So for now, the Defy Advanced Pro will be the torch-bearer for the new Defy family, built with Giant’s second-tier blend of carbon fibers and a little extra heft as a result. Claimed frame weight is 920g for a painted medium frame. The standard Defy Advanced uses the same frame shape and fiber composition, but with the aforementioned downsized steerer tube dimension on the full-carbon fork.

The all-carbon fork uses slender legs (also with flat-backed profiles) to further enhance ride comfort. All Defy Advanced forks feature tapered steerer tubes with 1 1/2in lower diameters, but while the standard Defy Advanced uses a 1 1/8in diameter up top, the Defy Advanced Pro gets the OverDrive 2 treatment with its bigger 1 1/4in diameter.

Standard Defy Advanced models also make do with more conventional stems and partially exposed cabling, although the routing is still similar overall.

Geometry tweaks

The Defy has always been among the more sporting of major-label endurance road bikes, with handling and positioning that were only mildly toned-down relative to the more racing-oriented TCR family. That mostly hasn’t changed, but Giant has still added a little more stability — well, sort of.

Bottom bracket drop has increased from 70mm to 75mm for a more planted feel at high speed, and a more planted composure through corners. But that’s been offset somewhat by slightly altered head tube angles. Save for the smallest size, trail by decreased a scant 1-2mm across the board as a result to make the front ends a touch more agile. In fact, the trail numbers are now even closer to those of the TCR than before, but that dartiness is tempered by the Defy’s longer chainstays, longer front-centers, and longer wheelbases.

Adding to the redesigned Defy Advanced Pro’s incredibly supple ride is the offset seat cluster, another strategy that an increasing number of companies have employed in recent years to promote frame flex over bumps.

Also new — and long overdue — is an XL size for taller riders.

Stack and reach dimensions remain only subtly relaxed relative to the TCR family. Across the small, medium, and large sizes, the stack on the Defy is a fairly modest 17-24mm taller, while the reach is just 4-12mm shorter.

A standard-issue dual-sided power meter

Several bike brands have begun including power meters on their upper-end road bikes, and Giant is now the latest company to toss its hat into that ring. And like Specialized, the new Giant Power Pro power meter is branded as an in-house item. But according to Giant, its power meter was wholly developed in-house, including all hardware and software, with no outside collaboration (Specialized worked with 4iiii Innovations for the S-Works power meter).

One might assume, given the appearance, that Giant partnered with Pioneer to develop its new Power Pro power meter. But Giant says the new dual-sided meter was developed completely in-house. It will be included as stock equipment on the Defy Advanced Pro 0 (as well as a few other select road models for 2019). Claimed accuracy is +/- 2%.

The crankarm-based Giant Power Pro offers independent dual-sided measurement with advanced features such as left/right power balance and force angle. Accuracy is pegged at +/- 2%, and claimed battery life is 150 hours or 1,500 miles of ride time. Like most dual-sided devices on the market, the two sides of the Power Pro aren’t physically connected, so each unit has its own ANT+ and Bluetooth-compatible wireless hardware and battery, the latter of which is recharged with a proprietary magnetic dongle.

An associated smartphone app allows for easy battery monitoring and calibration, and Giant claims that the Power Pro is weatherproof to the IPX7 certification standard.

The Power Pro will be included as standard equipment on the top-end Defy Advanced Pro 0 and a few other of Giant’s more premium road bikes to be announced for 2019. Aftermarket sales are scheduled to follow in about a year or so, with the aggressive pricing you’ve come to expect from the Taiwanese company. Target price will be around US$849-899 for the Ultegra model.

Models, prices, and availability

Giant will offer up to seven carbon Defy Advanced models for the 2019 season, depending on region.

The top-end Defy Advanced Pro 0 is built with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 disc-brake groupset, the Giant Power Pro power meter, a Giant SLR-0 carbon clincher wheelset, and the carbon fiber Giant Contact SLR D-Fuse handlebar for US$5,300.

The US$3,600 Defy Advanced Pro 1 swaps the Ultegra Di2 groupset for the mechanical version, and the Defy Advanced Pro 2 moves to a Shimano 105 mechanical transmission and the aluminum Contact SL D-Fuse handlebar; pricing on that model is still to be confirmed.

From there, the Defy Advanced range moves to the standard OverDrive fork and non-stealth stems.

The Defy Advanced 1 (US$2,400) comes with a mechanical Shimano Ultegra transmission, Shimano Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes, and Giant P-R2 aluminum clinchers. Certain regions will see an alternative Defy Advanced 1 that substitutes the Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes for Giant’s own Conduct SL mechanical-to-hydraulic disc brakes.

The Defy Advanced 2 (US$2,000) also uses Giant’s Conduct SL hybrid disc brakes, but with a Shimano 105 transmission, and finally, there’s the Defy Advanced 3 (US$1,750) with a Shimano Tiagra transmission and Giant Conduct hybrid disc brakes.

Availability is still to be confirmed across the board, along with pricing and specific model availability for various global regions.

The Defy Advanced Pro 2 comes with a Shimano 105 mechanical transmission, Shimano 105 hydraulic disc brakes, and Giant’s SLR-1 carbon clinchers. Pricing and availability for all regions is to be confirmed. Photo: Giant Bicycle.

Suffering on the Gavia

Giant chose to debut the new Defy Advanced range at the foot of the legendary Gavia pass in northern Italy, where the roads are unevenly paved and littered with frost heave and potholes, and the corners transition inconsistently from slightly banked to off-camber to crowned. Climbing either side isn’t exactly easy — we did both over two successive days on the top-end Defy Advanced Pro 0 model — and the descents demand a deft hand and keen attention.

In other words, it’s a fitting crucible for quickly getting a good feel for what the new Defy Advanced range has to offer. And for the most part, it’s a fantastic bike.

The new Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0 is a very capable machine on long, hard climbs, but also a joy to thrash on fast downhills, too. Photo: Sterling Lorence.

As promised, both the D-Fuse seatpost and D-Fuse handlebar visibly and tangibly move on a wide range of road imperfections, helping to cancel out smaller road buzz as well as dull the harshness of unexpected potholes. Combined with 70-75psi in the 28mm-wide tubeless tires, the Defy Advanced Pro 0 is the proverbial couch on wheels, even in the small size that I rode. Even better, the ride quality is finally very balanced from front to rear.

Also as promised, the new Defy hasn’t lost the snappiness under power that characterized the old model. Sections of the Gavia kick up into the mid-teens in terms of gradient, and rising out of the saddle and swinging the bars back and forth reveal little undesired bottom bracket sway or rear-end wag, but plenty of eagerness to accelerate forward. That D-shaped handlebar really does do an admirable job of resisting movement when you pull upwards on the hoods or drops, too, and even though Giant hasn’t graced the Defy Advanced family with its best carbon fiber, the complete bike is still pleasantly light at 8.22kg (18.12lb) with a set of Time Expresso 4 pedals, a pair of Giant carbon cages, and a chunky integrated computer mount attached to the stem faceplate — not bad, especially when you consider that the Ultegra Di2 groupset isn’t exactly renowned for its wispiness.

All Giant Defy Advanced and Advanced Pro models are fitted with compact 50/34T chainrings up front and wide-range 11-34T cassettes. The 1:1 low gear ratio was most welcome while climbing up the south side of the Gavia.

Handling manners on the Defy are fantastic, with both superb high-speed stability upwards of 70km/h, but yet a willing eagerness to dive into corner apexes. Sure, it still doesn’t quite snake through turns or alter its line as readily as the TCR, but short of criterium racers, I’m not sure many riders will care.

And as for that power meter, well, it produced numbers on the Giant NeosTrack head unit that seemed believable enough. I didn’t have any way of verifying the system’s accuracy, though, and also didn’t have the bike for enough time to monitor its long-term consistency. The jury’s still out on this one, but let’s hope Giant did its homework.

A few reservations, and questions to answer

I’d be lying if I said the new Defy Advanced was all flowers and rainbows, though.

For one, I can’t say I’m a big fan of the Contact SL Stealth stem concept. While the concealed cabling is nice in theory, the bolt-on plastic caps and bulbous headset spacers add back a bunch of visual clutter and bulk. It also makes it tricky to change handlebar height or stem length, since the lines need to be cut to precise lengths for everything to work inside the frame and fork.

Removing spacers definitely improves the visual balance of the new Giant Defy Advanced Pro. Otherwise, the front end looks rather ungainly and top-heavy, especially when contrasted with the svelte rear end.

Perhaps compounding that issue is the D-Fuse handlebar’s extremely short reach, shallow drop, and clipped ends. That sort of shaping is clearly aimed at more casual riders, but I couldn’t get over the sensation that I was riding a kid’s bar with too much cut off of the ends. The minimal reach also makes for little difference in posture when your hands are on the tops vs. the hoods. If you’re listening, Giant, please expand the D-Fuse handlebar concept into something with a more conventional shape.

Moving on to finer details, I also don’t quite understand Giant’s decision to spec 140mm-diameter rotors front and rear. While Shimano does declare such a thing to be safe, I frequently found myself wishing for more braking power when approaching the countess tight-radius downhill switchbacks that punctuated the sinuous descent down into the quaint little ski town of Santa Caterina Valfulva. On the plus side, the brakes never once made a peep, even when hot, although conditions were bone-dry for both days of riding so I can’t say if that would have been the case in the wet.

Giant has curiously opted to equip the Defy range with 140mm-diameter rotors front and rear, rather than a more forgiving (and more powerful) 160mm one up front. It’s thankfully an easy switch for riders that want more braking performance. Riders that prefer rim brakes are out of luck, though; the Defy is once again disc-only across the board.

Finally, I appreciate that Giant is following the lead of other companies in incorporating some accessory integration into the range. The new saddles have little ports on the back for things like LED blinkers, bags, and mini-fenders, but the faceplate-mounted computer perch just looks big and clumsy to my eye, adding to the inelegance of the cockpit area in general. It also lacks angle adjustment, and I kept wishing I could tilt the screen down a bit from where it was.

Otherwise, though, Giant has done a really nice job here, and I truly look forward to spending more time on a long-term sample. In all honesty, if I were in the market for something like this, I’d seriously consider buying one.

www.giant-bicycles.com

Giant sought to make its Defy range of endurance road bikes more comfortable and more versatile than before. It sure feels like it succeeded.

Giant first introduced its “D-Fuse” D-shaped carbon fiber seatpost on the previous-generation Defy, claiming the flattened trailing edge made the seatpost more apt to flex over bumps. Giant wasn’t the first to use the concept, and certainly hasn’t been the last, and it’s both tangibly and visibly effective.

Giant’s compact road frame design is well suited to a comfortable ride, too, given that it exposes more seatpost than a semi-compact or traditional profile.

The Defy is more capable than before – it now officially clears 32mm-wide tires – but Giant is quick to point out that Defy is still very much meant to be ridden on paved (or maybe smoother dirt) roads. This is not designed as a gravel machine.

Cables are mostly hidden on the new Defy, but not completely so.

Riders can tune the ride feel of the bars, too, based on how they’re rotated in the stem (which changes the orientation of that D-shaped profile relative to impact forces). Of course, doing so will also alter the fit of the bar, too, so that’s something to keep in mind.

Granted, the Giant Defy is more likely to find favor toward riders that want a less aggressive position than the more racing-oriented TCR. But even so, the D-Fuse handlebar still sports a very unusually short reach and shallow drop. The D-Fuse concept clearly works as intended, but some other bar shapes would be welcome.

The profiled headset spacers are split so it’s a little easier to make handlebar height adjustments. The profiled cap still requires you to cut the steerer mostly flush, though. The rear half of the headset spacers are made of a soft, rubbery material so as not to damage the cables that are hidden inside as the bars are turned.

Similarly, these spring-loaded doors on the stem’s cosmetic cap are also in place to prevent cable damage when turning the bars. To access the stem clamp bolts, the cap is simply removed completely.

The plastic top and rear caps also make the stems look much longer than they really are, for better or worse. This one looks like it could be a 130mm, for example, but the axis of rotation is actually roughly in between the two bolts holding on the rear stem cap.

Giant offers an integrated computer mount that attaches to the lower pair of stem faceplate bolts. The upward angle makes it easier to view the screen, but some riders might find it to look a little funny.

Clearance through the fork is definitely quite generous with the stock 28mm-wide tires.

The fork blades have a somewhat bowlegged stance.

Down below is Giant’s long-running “PowerCore” press-fit bottom bracket – otherwise known as a common PF86 setup with adjoining tube sections that are pushed far out to the edges of the shell to help enhance frame stiffness. Press-fit fitments are still viewed unfavorably by a large portion of the discerning market, but in fairness to Giant, PF86 is genereally less problematic than most narrow-format press-fit designs, such as BB30 and PF30.

The top tube gracefully grows in both width and height as it approaches the head tube.

Cables are fully hidden on stock bikes, but the new Defy Advanced and Advanced Pro can still be used with conventional stems and cockpits if desired, and cables can be fed into the head tube if desired.

Whereas the two sides of Shimano’s Dura-Ace power meter are physically connected and share a single battery, Giant is going with separate units, each with their own wireless transmitters and rechargeable batteries. Claimed battery life is 150 hours or 1,500 miles of riding, and recharging is done with a proprietary magnetic dongle.

Giant is continuing to outfit its bikes with tubeless clinchers as stock equipment. Tires are premounted from the factory, and dealers only have to inject sealant during assembly. Defy models are equipped with 28mm-wide tires across the board.

Flat-mount brake calipers and 12mm thru-axles are fitted to both ends.

Front and rear fender mounts are neatly hidden on the Defy Advanced (and Advanced Pro) frame and fork. Not shown is the removable seatstay bridge.

Manufacturers of higher-end road bikes often balk at including fender mounts for fear of detracting from a performance-minded look and feel. Needless to say, these don’t seem particularly offensive.

The seatpost is held in place with an aluminum wedge-type binder, which usually resides under a tidy rubber cover.

The front derailleur mount is removable for riders that might be interested in switching to a single-chainring setup at some point.

Giant’s new Contact SL saddle sports a more agreeable shape (at least for me).

New Giant saddles are fitted with a neat port out back that can accept a variety of accessories, including rear lights, bags, flat kits, and mini-fenders.

The non-driveside chainstay has fittings for Giant’s wireless speed and cadence sensor.

Shimano’s Di2 bar plugs are proving to be a popular option for OEM brands.

The holographic down tube logo is a nice touch. In most situations, it just looks black.

The post Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0 first-ride review: Super smooth, power meter included appeared first on CyclingTips.

Strava has announced that it is replacing its one-size-fits-all Premium subscription service with three à la carte options tailored to individual users’ needs.

Under the title “Summit,” Strava has separated its Premium service into three specific packs — Training, Safety and Analysis — available as an all-inclusive bundle or individually.

As the name implies, Summit’s Training Pack provides training tools and insights into performance data. Focused on goal setting and metrics, the Training Pack is suited for all types of athletes, whether preparing for a race or just getting in better shape. Features include Training Plans; Real-Time GPS Tracking for smartphones; Custom Goals by time, distance, power or segment; Race Analysis to break down pace fluctuations and splits; Filtered Leaderboards by age and weight; and breakdowns of KOM and PR attempts on athletes’ favorite Strava segments.

The Safety Pack helps members plan adventures on (or off) well-traveled routes, enjoy unique visualizations with Personal Heatmaps, and stay safe while exploring. With Beacon, a real-time tracking tool for athletes to privately share their location, Summit members select safety contacts who get to see where they are during an activity in real time on a map – and if they’re running late because they’re still hanging out at the coffee shop or because they’re stuck on the side of the road and need help.

The Analysis Pack provides detailed insights such as pace zones and lap data for workouts; Fitness and Freshness to assess the impact of workouts over time; Live Segments to compete against personal best efforts or others in real time; Power Analysis to decode powermeter data and assess performance and fitness; and Relative Effort to help athletes train consistently and stay in the sweet spot for safely building fitness.

“Strava is a community of athletes helping each other achieve their goals,” said James Quarles, CEO of Strava. “Ninety-two percent of Strava athletes who set goals remain active 10 months later. Summit Packs are designed to better tailor and personalize our features to members’ needs. Whether your goal is returning from injury or training for your first marathon, Summit Packs provide the performance tools you need along the way.”

Annual Strava Summit memberships will cost US$60 per year for all three packs, or US$24 per year for an individual pack. Monthly memberships provide flexibility to try a single pack (US$3 per month) or the full menu (US$8 per month). Existing Strava Premium athletes retain access to all advanced features at their current pricing, which is also currently US$60 per year or US$8 per month.

Whether an athlete chooses one Summit Pack or all of them, each member gets expedited assistance from Strava’s Support Team as well as discounts and other Summit Perks from Strava’s partners and industry friends.

For more information about Strava Summit, visit www.strava.com/summit.

The post Strava replaces Premium package with three individual Summit options appeared first on CyclingTips.

The Diamante has been the premier carbon road frame in Basso’s catalogue for several years, however it has always been a largely traditional offering. That is until 2017, when the company unveiled the Diamante SV, an aerodynamic version of the flagship model, followed by the addition of disc brakes for 2018.

In terms of keeping pace with the market, Basso’s entry into the aero road bike realm is obviously late, and as Matt Wikstrom discovered, it trails behind what the best of the market has to offer.

Basso Bikes is a proud Italian company that celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017. Founded by Alcide Basso, the company grew out of the garage where he started building his first steel frames in 1974. He had the help of his two brothers, the oldest of which was Marino, winner of several Grand Tour stages and the 1972 World Road Cycling Champion.

Basso soon developed a strong reputation for the quality of its steel frames and continued using the material into the ‘90s before embracing aluminium, titanium, and eventually carbon fibre. Alcide enjoyed experimenting with the new materials, but his primary drive was always focussed on improving the performance of Basso’s products.

When other proud Italian brands such as Colnago, Bianchi, and Pinarello started looking to Asia for help with manufacturing, Basso Bikes remained steadfastly committed to maintaining its facilities in the north of Italy, near Vicenza. In an era when “made in Italy” does not always mean that the frame is actually constructed in an Italian factory, Basso’s fleet of carbon bikes are all local products.

Adding an aero race bike to the range

As mentioned above, the Diamante has been Basso’s flagship road bike for several years, and in that time it has undergone a few revisions. We reviewed one of the earlier versions in 2013 while the latest iteration was unveiled at Eurobike this year. Throughout it all, the Diamante has remained a racing thoroughbred, though very few allowances were ever made in the name of aerodynamic performance.

“Aero is everything” has become a familiar catch cry in the current road bike market and enthusiasm for marginal gains has overtaken the professional peloton. Race bikes are now sleeker than ever and there is something of an expectation that any performance-oriented bike needs to slip through the air with the help of Kamm tails, integrated seatpost clamps, and hidden cables.

As a small manufacturer, it’s easy to understand why Basso was slow to respond to enthusiasm for aero road bikes. After all, it’s one thing to present the market with a new bike, but it’s another to expect shoppers to pay for it.

As late as Basso was to the aero road bike party, it did not rush the development of a suitable bike. According to the company, two years were devoted to creating an aerodynamic version of the Diamante, which was dubbed the Diamante SV for its 2017 debut.

“Super Veloce” is what the SV stands for, which translates to “super fast” in English. That alone is enough to sum up how Basso feels about the new bike, however the company is quick to point out that it never wanted to create a bike that was aero at all costs. Aesthetics, weight, and serviceability were all overriding concerns, which meant Basso was only prepared to go so far to improve the aerodynamics of the new frameset.

Be that as it may, the Diamante SV exhibits many of the touches that have come to define modern aero road bikes. A broad Kamm tail serves as the down tube of the new bike, with another slimmer version for the seat tube and post and an integrated clamp to preserve its sleek shape. The lowered seatstays are also a familiar sight, as is a seat tube that follows the curve of the rear wheel.

Kamm tails are used for shaping the down- and seat-tubes of the Diamante SV.

According to Basso, a NACA algorithm was used to design the aerodynamic profiles incorporated into the Diamante SV, however no wind tunnel testing was carried out to prove the efficacy of the design. There’s no data from benchmarking studies either, which will disappoint aero-weenies.

Interestingly, independent testing by Tour Magazin determined that 220W was required to drive the rim brake version of the Diamante SV with a 50mm carbon wheelset at 45km/h. By comparison, the same publication reported 207W for Cervélo’s S5; Giant’s new Propel came in at 209W; Canyon’s Aeroad, 211W; and Scott’s Foil Premium, 215W. At the other end of the spectrum, Trek’s Émonda required 239W; Giant’s TCR Advanced, 235W; Scott’s Addict, 229W; and Canyon’s Ultimate, 226W.

Thus, on the basis of these results, it appears that the Diamante SV is a modest aero performer, offering buyers some free speed, true to Basso’s claims. In absolute terms, though, the Diamante SV is not quite as sleek as some bikes, so aero-weenies won’t be wooed by Basso on this occasion.

The finer details

There is more to the performance of a bike than simply cheating the wind, though. One look at the change in direction for the design of the new Venge is all that is needed to confirm this notion. For Basso, it was important that the bike remained stiff and light, hence the use of Torayca high modulus fibres (T800 and T1000) throughout the Diamante SV Disc. According to Basso, a size 53 weighs in at 820g without paint, which has to be counted as a pretty feathery result.

The specifications for the Diamante SV Disc are familiar by modern standards: the headtube is tapered with a 1.5inch lower headset bearing and a tapered fork steerer to match; BB86 shell; 12mm thru-axles, front and rear; flat mount disc brakes; and internal routing for the brakes and gear cable/wires. For the last, the frame is supplied with interchangeable fittings to suit both electronic and mechanical groupsets.

The frame makes use of a proprietary seatpost design with an integrated clamp that sits at the rear of the seat tube. Dubbed Basso-3B, the patented system is akin to a large brake pad that grips the seatpost. A pair of grub screws takes care of adjustment, while a third bolt keeps the “pad” in place when the post is removed. Finally, a rubber gusset surrounds the post with the promise of reducing vibration.

Basso’s integrated seatpost clamp is very neat but tiny grub screws can become problematic.

With a long and low front end and short chainstays (400-406mm, increasing with the size of the frame), the geometry of the Diamante SV Disc is aggressively race-oriented. Buyers have a choice of seven sizes, as shown in the table below:

The stack of the Diamante SV Disc can be moderated by 20mm by fitting Basso’s “comfort kit” that is included with the frameset. This is a moulded spacer that fits neatly into the upper bearing race of the head tube and integrates with the top tube. Basso doesn’t provide any numbers for the stack and fit of the frame with the comfort kit in place, but a 20mm increase in stack should decrease the reach ~6mm for every frame size.

Also missing from Basso’s geometry charts are details on the fork rake/trail and bottom bracket drop, and a request for this information was ignored, so the company clearly considers it proprietary knowledge. Interestingly, Basso makes use of the same top tube length, head tube angle, and seat tube angle for all of its road frames, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the trail and drop were also part of a time-proven formula.

Basso’s “comfort kit” allows the stack of the frame to be increased by 20mm for a more relaxed fit.

The Diamante SV Disc has an imposing, muscular presence that almost demands a mid- or high-profile wheelset to complement its bold lines. The heavily fortified junctions of the frame add to this effect and raise expectations that the chassis will be stiff and unyielding. As for the finish, Basso currently offers four choices: pastel white (tested), black-anthracite, blue-orange, and white-Italia.

The weight of the 56cm frame sent for review by Basso’s Australian distributor, Dawson Sports Group, was 1,288g (without thru-axle or headset). That’s significantly more than the promised 820g for an unpainted 53cm frame mentioned above: the luxurious gloss finish probably accounts for most of the extra weight along with the seatpost clamp, rear derailleur hanger, and cable guides that were included in the weight of the sample frame.

The uncut fork supplied with the frame also suffers with the weight of paint, weighing in at 420g. The combined weight — 1,708g — is a lot for a modern race chassis, even after allowing for the extra weight associated with disc brake fittings and thru-axles.

Basso adheres to the current trend for road disc bikes by utilising 12mm thru-axles and flat mount disc brake callipers, front and rear.

The Diamante SV Disc frameset is shipped with a seatpost, headset and spacers, comfort kit, and an alloy stem. There is only one option for Basso’s proprietary seatpost — 15mm offset — while there is a choice of lengths (90/100/110/120/130) and two angles (0° and 11°) for the stem. The latter is not a strict requirement since any standard threadless stem can be installed on the bike (though at least one spacer will be required to cover the upper the upper headset bearing).

For this review, the Diamante SV Disc frameset was assembled with a SRAM Red eTap HRD groupset (including a Quarq Dzero power meter), alloy FSA bars, Fabric Scoop saddle, and Industry Nine’s i9.65 Disc wheelset fitted with 28C Vittoria Rubino Pro tyres and butyl tubes for a final weight of 8.08kg (without pedals or bottle cages). A switch to i9.35 wheels brought the weight of the bike down to 7.88kg, but that’s still a fair bit of heft given the calibre (and expense) of the parts used for this build.

As for the other important number, the price, the Diamante SV Disc frameset is expensive: AU$7,125/US$5,895/£3,750/€4,439. That price includes the frame, fork, headset, seatpost, thru-axles, and stem, plus a three-year warranty.

Stiff and Sturdy

I really enjoyed my first encounter with Basso’s Diamante, so I was looking forward to riding the Diamante SV Disc. Based on looks alone, I was expecting a stiffer and more robust bike, and that’s exactly what I found.

From my first moment on the bike to the last, it was incredibly sturdy, and yes, very stiff. But this was not just a matter of how sure the bike felt under load when I was sprinting out of the saddle. The front triangle was just as rigid as the bottom bracket area, so the steering response was always immediate and direct. It afforded the bike a certain poise that could not be perturbed, regardless of the terrain or the amount of energy I was expending.

The Diamante SV Disc was surprisingly smooth and silent. In this regard, the rubber gussett for the seatpost may have had a role to play, because the bike rarely rattled with vibration. Once again, that unshakeable poise was in effect, and it made the bike very easy to ride.

With that said, bumps, ruts and cracks all slowly took a toll. On short rides, I was untroubled by the bike’s inability to soak up these kind of hits, and if I chose my route carefully, I could spend three hours on the bike in relative comfort. Beyond that, the effect was much like sitting on an un-cushioned chair: time seems to pass easily until a soreness starts to seep into the body, then no amount of wriggling and re-adjustment can alleviate the discomfort and fatigue.

I spent the majority of the review period using 28C tyres inflated to 60psi, and while there was ample clearance for those tyres in both the frame and fork, I didn’t experiment with larger tyres. A swap to 25C tyres (inflated to 70psi) added a distinct edge to the ride quality of the bike, which really wasn’t needed, so I returned to the 28Cs after just a couple of rides.

The weight of the bike hampered its agility and responsiveness. Rather than lively, the Diamante SV Disc was somewhat dull, even when a set of lighter wheels were fitted to the bike. If Diamante SV Disc wasn’t pitched as a race bike, then the absence of this kind of energy might have been easy to forgive; instead I was left wanting, and my enthusiasm and excitement on the bike suffered because of it.

With that said, I have no trouble imagining just how effective and satisfying this bike could be for bigger and more powerful riders. I’ve seen these kind of riders really struggle with lighter and less robust bikes; I’ve also seen the way that these kind of bikes can suffer under the load of those riders. In this instance, the effect was the exact opposite, because I was struggling with the bike.

It’s also worth noting that the 56cm frame provided for this review was larger than my ideal size. The low stack of the frame and the 11° stem allowed me to achieve plenty of handlebar drop, but I had to resort to a 100mm stem to achieve my preferred reach. The net result was a noticeable change in weight distribution, which left me feeling like I was perched on top of the bike rather than nestled within.

To my mind, the combination of the two is enough to explain why I had trouble getting the best of the Diamante SV Disc. It was simply too much bike for me.

One of the things that impressed me about the Diamante that I reviewed in 2013 was the quality of the steering and handling. That bike was supremely stable and encouraged high speeds when descending. As for the Diamante SV Disc, it also had the same kind of handling, and it too, encouraged me to attack tricky descents with more speed.

The steering was close to neutral, which was a good match for the well-mannered poise of the bike. Yes, the bike could run wide out of corners, but rather than fight it, I was happy to give it some extra room and enjoy the speed.

Judging the aerodynamic performance of any bike is always difficult in the real world, but having just finished riding Chapter2’s Rere, which was a noticeably quick bike, I couldn’t help but be underwhelmed by the Diamante SV Disc. It just wasn’t in the same league as the Rere or some of the other bikes that have been proven to shine in this realm, such as Canyon’s Aeroad or Merida’s newest Reacto.

Basso makes use of a BB86 shell for the Diamante SV Disc, which is best suited to cranks with 24mm steel axles like SRAM’s GXP.

The Diamante SV Disc was largely trouble-free during the review period, though the thick gloss paint interfered with the fit of the wheel hubs and the flat-mount disc brake callipers. Once the paint started flaking off the inner face of the dropouts, it was easier to install the wheels, but I would have preferred to see these areas masked during painting to avoid the problem altogether. Likewise, the mounting surfaces for the disc callipers, because it made fine adjustments for aligning the brake pads very difficult.

The thru-axles that are supplied with the frameset employ a quick-release lever to ensure a tight hold on the wheels, but it was difficult to judge when to stopping winding the axle and use the lever. More often than not, I had to back off the axle so that the lever could be fully closed. I also noticed that the curve of each lever brought it very close to the rotor once it was closed, so that if it was ever bent, there’s a chance that it might make contact. A thru-axle with a cap head and hex-key fitting would be a better choice.

The seatpost clamp was effective and easy to adjust, but I wasn’t impressed with the small grub screws that were chosen for it. Small hex fittings (and keys, for that matter) are prone to rounding out quickly, and if any of the grub screws ever seizes in the frame — a seeming inevitability given they are located at the rear of the seat tube where road spray collects — they can be nearly impossible to remove. At least it will be an easy matter to apply some tape to protect them from the weather, though most owners are likely to overlook this simple measure.

Summary and final thoughts

Basso is obviously proud of the Diamante SV Disc, but when it is compared to what the rest of the aero road bike market has to offer, it falls short of being “the ultimate machine”. It is simply too stiff, heavy, and sluggish to satisfy that claim, especially considering the high-end asking price. That isn’t to say that I think it is over-priced; rather, it is a matter of it being over-pitched to the growing number of riders considering an aerodynamic race bike.

The bike still has some appealing strengths, such as its superb handling and sure-footed poise, along with the potential to satisfy the demands of big, powerful riders that have struggled with under-built frames in the past. This may be a small niche, but I can’t think of many aero road bikes in the current market (Scott’s original Foil is one bike that comes to mind, though) that can match the sturdiness and robustness of the Diamante SV Disc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of clearance for this 28C tyre that measured 29mm at 60psi.

Same goes for the rear of the bike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Basso Diamante SV Disc review appeared first on CyclingTips.

Supported by

You may have listened to our Tour de France podcasts over the three weeks of the race. Each day we covered all the action, from the gossip to the controversies and yep, even the press buffet. But there was one podcast in particular that seemed to grab the attention of the many tech-heads amongst us: our team time trial episode.

Team time trials always throw up a gaggle of tech for us dissect and check out. But on stage three of the race, we managed to get a bunch of time with Josh Poertner, who many of you may know from Silca. He’s the man that only a few years back rebirthed what was once an industry leader in cycling pumps, but over the years floundered and nearly became defunct.

Since Josh bought and took the reins at Silca it has risen from the ashes. Under his leadership, it now not only produces state of the art pumps but a variety of tools and accessories that, year-on-year, keep receiving multiple design and industry awards.

Silca, though, is only the tip of Josh’s CV.

What you may not know is that Josh is also incredibly savvy when it comes to aerodynamics, so much so that he’s been a consultant to many of the big teams on the WorldTour circuit, helping them cheat the forces that slow us down. Currently Josh is consulting for the reigning world road cycling champion’s team, Bora-hansgrohe.

Before Silca, Josh was one of the minds behind many of the aero wheels that came out of Indianapolis-based wheel company Zipp, including the groundbreaking 404. Josh had been poised to enter the racing car industry after studying aerodynamics and engineering at university, but a love for cycling and chance encounter with the then-owner of Zipp caused him to shift his course in life.

Caley walked the pits with Josh back on stage three of the Tour. With the feedback we had from that podcast, we thought it a waste not to add some moving images to a chunk of the conversation. So on stage 20, Dave dashed around the pits of the individual time trial and gathered as many shots of what Josh was chatting about as possible.

The video only skims a fraction of what Josh and Caley chatted about back at the team time trial. It’s well worth taking the time to listen to the full podcast segment. That’s over an hour of delightful tech geekery, even if we say so ourselves.

The post Walking the Tour de France time trial pits with aero expert Josh Poertner appeared first on CyclingTips.

Nick Martin was an aspiring pro cross-country mountain bike racer in the mid-2000s, competing for the Trek-Volkswagen team and driving the official Volkswagen Touareg to events with the trailer towed behind it. “Home” was an old Volkswagen bus parked in the front yard of a house that belonged to his fellow racing buddy, Ross Schnell, in Fruita, Colorado.

“We had a garage, we had a bathroom, and we really were just spending all of our time tinkering and riding bikes and traveling to races,” he fondly recalled. “It’s not like I was spending a whole lot of time at home, anyway.”

Like many athletes in his situation, he struggled to keep money in his bank account, and had to be creative in putting food on the table. eBay was just starting to become popular, and Martin quickly embraced the platform as a way to sell his bikes and gear at the end of each season. He got so good at hawking used bikes and gear on eBay that fellow teammates, and even other teams, started having him sell their stuff, too. And eventually, Martin realized that he might actually be able to make a decent living doing that sort of thing.

Before long, that’s just what he decided to do, and The Pro’s Closet was born.

Fast forward more than a decade, and business is booming. The Pro’s Closet now leases a substantial warehouse space, provides full-time employment to more than four dozen people, and is widely regarded as the top reseller for used bikes and other related equipment. Martin no longer has to live in his old Volkswagen, needless to say, and has recently been able to feed his love for vintage items.

“I am a firm believer in buying used, buying things that already exist, extending the life cycle of things that already exist, and not buying new just for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses,” he said. “I buy vintage things, I’m passionate about vintage things, I like things that are high-quality that last a long time.

“My motto that me and my partner, Elizabeth, talk about all the time is, ‘buy it once, use for a lifetime, and it gets better with age.’ Things that you can fix and have a relationship with inspire me, whether it’s an office chair or a bike or vintage vinyl or old cars. There’s a lot of technology that comes and goes, but there are certain things that are consistent, like a watch or a pen.”

Photo: Chris Motta/The Pro’s Closet.

“One of the benefits of running the largest used bike company in the world is that you start to see a lot of really cool bikes come through the door,” Martin continued. “I started to have a real appreciation specifically for vintage mountain bikes. They have unbelievable craftsmanship that was built to last a lifetime, and they had a lot of creative thinking that pushed our sport forward.

“These guys did not have the internet; they did know who was building what. They were literally sitting in their workshops trying to figure out how to solve these problems.”

Martin has now acquired dozens of historically significant bikes, which the company displays at its headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, and regularly writes about on its website. Among these are Juli Furtado’s original world championship Yeti, an old Eddy Merckx owned by Davis Phinney, Tinker Juarez’s Klein Attitude, and on and on. But for Martin, who stands at 1.93m (6ft 4in) tall, there weren’t many opportunities to ride the vintage bikes he was collecting. Save for one or two, they just didn’t fit him.

But there was one bike that he knew was out there.

Martin had learned from a local collector that early mountain bike pioneer Joe Breeze had built two extra-large bikes back in the late-1970s/early-1980s. But whether either of those two bikes were still in existence was a mystery, as was their whereabouts even if they were. As fate would have it, though, Martin didn’t have to look hard for one of those bikes. In fact, he didn’t have to look at all; it found him.

The original owner passed away and gave the bike to his son, who later took it with him when he moved to Germany. He then gave it to his neighbor to use as a commuter, with neither of them realizing the bike’s significance.

“This bike was spotted on a bike rack in Germany, and a collector left a note saying they’d love to buy your bike,” Martin recalled. “So this person in Germany started researching, and found one of our articles. He reached out to me and — these are my favorite emails to get in the world — was like, ‘Hey, man, I’ve got this Breezer and would love to learn a little more about this thing.’

“It was built for this guy named Fred Peters,” Martin would eventually learn, “who owned the diner in Sausalito called Fred’s Place where Joe and Otis Guy would have lunch. Fred was one of the first people Joe ever built a bike for, and it has the only custom head tube badge Joe ever did himself.”

Martin eventually had to buy a camper trailer in trade for the Breezer, and the German man who spotted the bike on the rack commemorated the occasion by using the bike’s serial number for the trailer’s license plate.

“This is the second time I’ve had to buy a vehicle to get a bike,” Martin said. “The other one is a ’57 Chevy Nomad.”

Despite the bike being almost four decades old, and having seen a few years as an all-weather commuter in outdoor storage, it’s in remarkable condition. There’s a bit of patina in the plating on the frame and fork, but aside from the tires and pedals (period-correct replacements were sourced from another collector), all of the parts are original and in good working order.

As you’d expect, it’s also very heavy, neither the old Mafac wide-profile cantilever brakes nor Suntour drivetrain work nearly as well as modern stuff, and those old Carlisle tires just don’t grip the ground like current rubber. But that’s all part of the charm, according to Martin.

“I like the slowed-down experience of riding vintage. It’s different. It gives you a chance to slow down and smell the roses. It’s a very tactile experience.”

Joe Breeze only made about 20 or 25 of these “Series II” mountain bikes, and even fewer still of the Series III models that followed. Given Breeze’s role as one of the founders of the sport of mountain biking, it’s no surprise that Martin’s score is worth a pretty penny. By his estimates, it’d sell for somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000. Not that he’d ever part with it, though.

“It’s one of the most collectible mountain bikes in the world. This is my holy grail. I don’t have to look for another bike. I won’t ever sell it. It represents too much, and I’d never be able to find another one. This is it.”

The post Bikes of the Bunch: 1979 Breezer Series II appeared first on CyclingTips.

Welcome back to CT Recommends, a new series where we take the experience of our team and trusted contributors and force them to choose their favourite product in a particular category.

For this second instalment, we sent the following question to our global team via Slack: “If you could only have one pair of road cycling shoes, what would it be?” Some tried sitting on the fence, while others didn’t hesitate to call out what they consider the best road cycling shoe.

In the end, Specialized was the obvious winner, selected by a fair few of the team. Giro, Shimano, Bont and Lake all received votes, too. The varying choices go to prove that fit is everything when it comes to cycling shoes and so it’s certainly a good idea to try before you buy.

Road cycling shoe basics

The shoes picked here are traditional road cycling shoes, designed for use with road cycling pedals. The outersole is always telling for such a shoe, offering just minimal tread at the toe and heel, and typically relying on the cleat as the prominent walking surface. All the shoes picked feature the common three-bolt cleat mounting surface, which is notably different to the two-bolt system found on mountain-bike, gravel, touring or similar cycling footwear.

Lower-end shoes typically feature nylon soles. Most CyclingTips staff ride with more expensive carbon-soled shoes.

When looking at budget road shoes, expect to see a sole made of nylon or similar plastic. Almost all of our team selected shoes that sit at the higher-end, meaning a (usually) lighter and stiffer carbon fibre sole.

Upper material can vary greatly in cycling shoes, with many brands choosing to use synthetics (often microfibre) for the ability to engineer exact qualities. However, there is variety in choice, with some high-end shoes made of real leather (such as the kangaroo leather used in top-end Lake shoes), or even newer knitted material. Take a look inside the shoe and many higher-end models will feature advanced lining materials to keep your heel snug and an innersole with more considered or adjustable arch support.

These days, Boa is a dominant force in premium cycling footwear retention, but it’s not the only pick.

Shoe retention is just as varied as the material itself, with the popularity of laces having a notable resurgence of late. At the low end, velcro straps are the most common retention method, with dial- and wire-based retention systems, such as those from Boa, taking over as prices go up.

When looking at high-end shoes, Boa systems, or similar offerings, dominate the market, with laced options from a few brands offering an alternative. While velcro straps are available in premium shoes as a low-weight pick, very few in our team rate them.

Shoes with strong ventilation ensure your feet stay dry on hot days, and it’s something even high-end shoes can fail to offer. Stack height is another aspect of shoe design rarely spoken about it, but the closer your foot can be to the pedal, the better your pedaling stability will be.

Our favourite road cycling shoes

Unlike our last CT Recommends feature on bike travel cases, which broke our favourites down into five categories, cycling shoes are simpler, and obviously, a whole lot more personal. Unfortunately, as we all have different-shaped feet, what works for one staff member may not work for you. I’ve tried to provide basic insight into foot shapes, but it’s a topic we’ve barely dipped a toe in here.

Specialized S-Works

Specialized S-Works road shoes are used by a number of CT staff, and for good reason. James Huang, CyclingTips’ US tech editor, chooses the S-Works Sub 6 because they “work extremely well for me with the tight-fitting and narrow heel, relatively squared-off and roomy toe box, and medium volume. The varus angling works well for me, too.”

James describes his foot shape as being typically Asian: flat, wide, low-volume, narrow heel, very low instep. He also gets along well with Shimano shoes, and so-so on Giro, but describes the likes of Fizik, Sidi, Lake and Mavic as being too narrow in the toe box and lacking heel support.

The S-Works 6 and the newer 7 are quite similar. A few actually prefer the snugger fit offered by the 6’s.

Our leader, Wade Wallace, is another who picks the Specialized. With an “average” width foot, Wade finds comfort in most cycling shoes, but prefers the S-Works 6 (and now the 7) as they “fit like a glove”.

“Everything keeps in place, especially the heel,” Wade says. “They’re nice and snug without ever getting uncomfortable if my feet swell.” Wade notes that Shimano S-Phyre RC9s are a close second, but in that position simply because they “don’t feel as snug.”

Andy van Bergen, our customer experience manager, and Mr Hells 500, is another S-Works 6 user. “Lightweight, and comfortable. I’ve done a couple of Everestings in them now, so I figure if you can ride 20 hours straight in them they must be ok. I really like how snug it is on the heel.”

Andy also rates the Bontrager XXX, giving some indication of the fit for those shoes. This aligns with James’ thoughts on Bontrager, that they’re a “fairly similar overall fit to Specialized, although with a wider heel and more volume overall.” Andy doesn’t rate the velcro straps on his Bontragers, however, and so he has Specialized on top.

James is not alone in liking the laced Sub 6.

One last nod for the Specialized S-Works 6s comes from Mitch Wells, a key person behind the CyclingTips Emporium. “Add me to the list on liking the heel-cup-hugging feel of the S-Works,” he says. “I still run two pairs of the older Boa dial S-Works 5s as my everyday pairs. And I like the lace fitting of the S-Works Sub 6, but white is for dry days only.”

Giro Empire ACC and SLX

Giro’s laced shoes earn two votes from the team.

First is from our senior US editor, Caley Fretz, who, with a self-described narrow foot, picks the laced Giro Empire range. “Huge Giro Empire fan here. The last just works for me and I like laces,” he says. “E70 knits are my current summer favorite. I have a high instep which is why laces are so good. I can leave the middle of my foot pretty loose.”

The Giro Empire is the cycling shoe responsible for a resurgence in laces.

CyclingTips’ production editor, Iain Treloar is also a fan of the Giro Empire ACC and the lighter SLX.

“I’m all about laces. When I use other closures I just find that I can’t get as precise a fit,” Iain says. “Although, the VR90 are a pain to get dry after muddy rides.” A user of orthotic inserts, Iain has long had trouble in finding shoes that fit him. “They’re the only road shoes I could get comfortable with after trying on about 30 different models. I thought I was a wide foot, but who the hell knows, because I keep seeing them referenced as a narrow fit.”

My take on Iain’s fitting success, backed by James, is that Giro’s flat sole, with its somewhat lacking arch support, works perfectly with the orthotics, while the construction of the shoe and the laces mean there’s little pressure against the ball of the foot. James isn’t a fan of the Giro Empires, citing “the fit is kinda meh for me. Heel is too wide, the toe box is too narrow (especially in the Empire line), and there’s no built-in arch support (beyond what the innersole offers).”

Shimano S-Phyre RC9

Shimano’s S-Phyre range is now in its second year.

This is my pick. The S-Phyre RC9s just give me so little to complain of. They offer an impressively low stack height, are super easy to get in and out of and have one of the most widely adjustable cleat mounts of any shoe on the market.

For me, the Specialized S-Works 6s (I haven’t used the 7s) are awesome, but I have mixed feelings about the locked-in heel that Wade, Mitch, Andy and James love. I appreciate the feel of it, but I’ve also had it blister me where it wraps around the Achilles (an element that’s apparently more relaxed in the new S-Works 7). I also don’t love the aesthetic of the tall toe box.

I totally understand why Wade and James have put the Specialized S-Works as their top pick (and, notably, mentioned Shimano as their second), especially given they’re lighter, more supportive and just feel like a more premium shoe. But in the end, the more relaxed hold of the Shimano S-Phyre hasn’t caused me any pain.

Lake CX401

Our roving reporter Dave Everett is a bonafide fan of Lake shoes, despite no longer wearing a pair. “I get terribly uncomfortable feet: frozen toes, hot feet, they even keep me awake at night,” he says. “I can tell you the day it started to get like that: 2008 Marmotte in the Alps. My feet blew to bits in the heat on the Galibier.

“Since then I’ve struggled with shoes but the best by far were Lake CX401s matched with a Solestar insole. Super supple, and the standard version just fit perfectly. But I destroyed them in a crash and they’re crazy money to replace.

“Since then, I’ve found the Bontrager XXX with their customisable insoles good. But nothing touches the Lakes.”

Dave’s love for Lake is repeated by our new development hire, Josh Kadis. Josh casually commented “Lake 4eva”, before suggesting that, while a novelty, the kangaroo leather is amazing.

James is another that’s tried Lake, but didn’t get along with them, stating they suffer from the “same arch curvature issue as Fizik — too much volume for me.”

Bont Vaypor S

Matt’s pick is a pair of Bonts.

Our Australian tech editor, Matt Wikstrom, picks the Bont Vaypor S shoes. These Australian-designed shoes are a strong example of Bont’s different approach to shoe design which sees the carbon sole nearly envelope the whole foot. As a result of the design, Bont shoes are typically extremely low in weight and high in stiffness.

“So much room for the toes, so much hold on the heel, and very hard wearing,” Matt says. “Plus no cardboard inner to get smelly when the shoes are wet. I don’t wear anything else.”

Matt suggests his foot shape is about average and with a low volume when shopping for normal street shoes. When it comes to cycling shoes, he’s on the cusp of a wide fit. Worthy of note, like Iain Treloar, Wikstrom uses orthotics inside his cycling shoes, although his cover the arch and heel only.

Be warned that the fit of the Bont Vaypors is notoriously polarising. For example, James says: “Ironclad hold around heel and ankle, tons of room in the toe box. Have to closely match last with foot shape, though, since the built-in arch support is so aggressive. Sometimes can’t find them comfortable on long rides in hot weather. They’re too stiff in that situation.”

Fizik R1 (older model)

CyclingTips’ US editor, Neal Rogers, has forever widening feet as a result of collapsed arches. Those collapsed arches also result in fairly consistent hot-spot pain in trying many popular shoes. Neal keeps returning to his old pair of first-gen buckle and velcro Fizik R1s, stating they just work for his feet. He also finds favour in an even older pair of Sidi Megas, but states the Fizik are better in comfort and durability.

Funnily enough, Neal also likes Bontrager shoes, stating the RXLs are nicely comfortable for him, but despite that, prefers to use the older Fizik R1 (note: these are discontinued and Fizik has since changed its last shape).

In Neal’s case, his feet just did not get along with Specialized S-Works’ offering, nor Giro’s.

Shimano Sandals

Our senior Australian editor Matt de Neef suggested his favourite road cycling shoes are Shimano SPD sandals. “Unrivalled ventilation for those hot days, quick to dry, and wonderfully stylish as well!” He claims he was joking, but regardless, I decided it was safest to remove him from the conversation.

What road cycling shoes do you use and why? Or are you part of the growing crowd to ditch road pedals altogether and move exclusively to mountain bike cleats?

The post CT Recommends: Our favourite road cycling shoes appeared first on CyclingTips.

Oh, how times have changed. I remember working in bike shops where the only people requesting bar bags were wearing fluorescent yellow vests and wanting to carry seemingly unnecessary items on the front of their hybrids. Back then, you had a few options, and all the good ones were from traditional (and typically German) touring luggage brands. And yet, here we are in 2018. Bar bags are somehow cool, adopted by the fashion-forward gravel and all-road riders who either don’t want to ride with jersey pockets and/or want to ride with trendy items like a mirrorless camera, beers, or a burrito.

I was never one for riding with accessories, and back from my weight weenie days, I learned to be an absolute minimalist. All I usually carried was some food, the simplest multi-tool, a CO2 cartridge, and a spare tube – all I needed for any ride. However, the see-the-sights gravel boom and the freedom of riding in more casual attire had me wondering: Perhaps there’s a reason people are attaching these things to the front of their handlebars?

Held on with two Velcro straps and a single tether cord, the Ornot Bar Bag is a simple item to fit, and an even simpler item to use. With a number of comparable options from the likes of Yanco and Road Runner also coming out of California, Ornot partners with San Francisco-based Rickshaw Bag Works, to create this quality item that fits just about any bike. The Bar Bag is not the first of its kind, but it’s certainly one of the more considered options.

What fits inside

The Bar Bag is capable of carrying a day’s worth of fun with a claimed internal volume of four liters. At 20cm-wide and weighing 233g, it’s small enough to fit between ultra-narrow drop bars, and can also be moved to flat bars if desired. The Velcro loops are long enough to fit some seriously fat bars, and the tether cord can be anchored from loops at three different heights to wrap around stems, steerers, or head tubes (protective tape is suggested in the event of paint rub).

A plastic sheet is sandwiched between two layers of material, and gives the bag its shape.

A removable plastic insert gives the single internal pocket its cylindrical shape, and also provides a little protection for whatever is held inside (hot tip: don’t remove the plastic insert as it’s a pain to get back in). Personally, I found the bag comfortably sized for carrying a FujiFilm X-E3 mirrorless camera, fitted with a 23mm lens. Doing so left space for some food, a few spares, and a lightweight jacket. Alternatively, you could easily carry a sandwich, snacks, warmers, a few packets of Haribo, and similar items inside. Mesh pockets on either side keep a mobile phone, a stroopwafel, some gels, and other smaller items within easy reach.

The Ornot Bag Bag won’t hold a huge pile of stuff, but that’s just fine as that’s not its intent. Rather, it’s the equivalent of an adventure daypack amongst the huge-capacity backpacking options. It’ll hold a decent number of things for a day trip, but there are many bigger and better bag options if you’re planning on sleeping out somewhere.

It works exactly as you’d think

Built to last.

The Bar Bag is a real no-nonsense product and offers just a touch of the block colour styling expected of California-based Ornot. Made predominantly from nylon canvas, it’s built solidly and to a high standard. Its US$90 price may seem steep – and let’s face it, it’s a lot of money for a basic bag. But that figure is inline with many competitors that are made overseas, and when you look at the details, it becomes a little easier to see why the Bar Bag costs what it does. For example, the tether cord and zipper pull feature reflective detailing, the Velcro straps are heartily reinforced, and the large zipper is from the zip-manufacturing specialist YKK, instead of some no-name brand that might be more prone to failure down the road.

The Bar Bag takes just seconds to fit, and I had no issues with it shifting or bouncing, even over rough gravel. Items inside can bounce noisily around against the plastic liner, though, and I found myself using either a jacket or bubble-wrap to keep things still and silent. It’s no issue on smooth tarmac, but the rattling is something to consider when packing if you’re riding rough gravel.

Like any bar-mounted accessory, you will also need to think about what else may be in the way. For example, many out-front computer, camera, and light mounts might interfere with the Bar Bag, and you’ll have to get creative for cycling events that require a front number plate.

Larger items, such as this camera, can be a fiddle to remove.

When it came time to use my camera, I found the zipper and rigid plastic frame made for a slim opening that was tight enough that I preferred to come to a stop before attempting to pull it out. No doubt, my camera pushes the size limits, and slimmer items are much less a fiddle to get in and out. Accessing small items from the side pockets was without issue, even when unclipping the holding strap and grabbing a phone on the move.

If you are carrying anything prone to weather damage, keep in mind that this bag isn’t waterproof. The plastic frame will ward off a light shower, but the zipper and sides will leak through during heavy precipitation. For this, I kept my camera sealed in a large zip-lock bag for where rain and water crossings were expected.

Bag it

Whether a bar bag is for you is something I can’t answer. What I can answer is that if you don’t mind the new-age look of a bag hanging off the front of your bars, and seek a little extra carrying capacity, the Ornot Bar Bag is a super high-quality item with plenty of practicality. Its simple form factor has some practical limitations, but it does exactly what it claims to do, it’s nicely made, looks pretty good, and is of sufficiently high quality to justify its asking price.

Mounted and ready to use. The bar bag is intentionally slim so as not to hinder access to the drops.

Small loops are included on the front for attaching other items. I didn’t find much use for them myself, but YMMV.

The four-litre capacity doesn’t sound like much on paper, but a look inside reveals that it actually can go quite far.

The Ornot Bar Bag is a simple accessory that does just what it needs to.

The exterior pockets are designed to hold small items, including a phone.

The bag may be made by Rickshaw Bag Works, but the design belongs to Ornot.

The tether cord is long enough for plenty of versatility. Just be careful of paintwork, and use tape where required.

The Velcro straps easily adjust to fit nearly any handlebar shape.

Looking from the side, the small Bar Bag doesn’t protrude far beyond the bars.

The zipper pull is reflective and the zipper is from YKK. It’s all quality stuff.

The post Ornot Bar Bag review: Storage for the everyday ride appeared first on CyclingTips.

In this edition of Bikes of the Bunch, Sydneysider Sean Lybrand tells us about his new custom English Cycles steel road bike that was picked up in person from US-based builder Rob English.

Growing up in Townsville and riding bikes with my twin brother, my bike was my freedom machine.

Moving to Brisbane in the early 1990s and riding across town to university was a good way to see a lot of the city. Brisbane in the ’90s offered a strong showing for custom builds (both frames and wheels) and while off-the-shelf bikes were common (or, for me, rebuilds of whatever bikes and wheels I could afford), the keen guys spent their money on Van Werkhovens (Gold Coast-based, gone), Llewellyns (Brisbane, thriving in the custom scene), or Sorensons (Gold Coast, also gone).

I still recall a friend’s Sorenson in purple and green, and thought it was a beautiful combination. And at some stage in my life, I decided that a custom steelie, in the same colours, was going to be for me.

I’ve been on a lot of bikes since then: mountain, road, cyclocross, and more recently gravel, although a custom build stayed a long way out of reach due to cost. Responsibilities of growing up and buying a house ensued, then kids, and while bikes have always stayed a central point in my life, they have always been production varieties (albeit with a fair amount of customisation in recent times).

The human element was a key drawcard for a custom bike.

Reading quite a number of online sources like CyclingTips, The Radavist, Bikepacking and others somewhat perpetuates the interest in tinkering, and over the years I’ve enjoyed watching the resurgence of custom, and steel, against a societal backdrop that seems to have returned to an interest in craftsmanship and the origin of things.

American inspiration

At the beginning of 2017 I could see the light at the end of the mortgage tunnel and started to think about a bike to mark the milestone of leaving debt behind. Two of my bikes from the past 20 years have stuck with me – a 1998 Cannondale R300 and a 1994 Marin Pine Mountain. Both mark important milestones in my life and are hanging in the shed as rebuild opportunities.

I bought the Marin during a working holiday in the US, and carried it with me on a drive from one corner of the US to another. It came with a White Industries front hub and crank, which I have always looked at as uber-cool. For some time I’ve had these two parts in a custom build list as an homage to this bike and trip.

The Cannondale was purchased when I quit work and went back to study a Master’s degree. It was my only form of transport for some time. It was a US-made frame, and it has hung around (literally) for many years after its demise as a functioning bike (back when it seemed easier and cheaper to buy a new bike than to rebuild one).

English is not a name you commonly see out on the roads.

Discovering Rob English

I first came across Rob English while surfing the NAHBS galleries on CyclingTips, and decided to do some further investigation. Baum had been right up on the list, as had a number of other Aussie manufacturers, but I decided that I wanted to get something that was going to be fairly uncommon, and to come from a small business (to be fair, Aussie builders fit the bill on both counts).

Rob English makes each bike himself, with only painting outsourced, which fit my interest in supporting low-volume production. The fact that we had a great conversation about bikes, riding philosophy and preference was a further tick.

The deal was sealed after making contact with Rob, and subsequently making a visit to his home in Oregon for a discussion and fit in March 2017 (including a stay at their other business, Velo B&B). The long lead time provided a chance to plan my savings, become debt free, and most importantly, consider what the build list would be.

The bike was fitted up according to the type of riding I was planning on doing, and accounted for my relatively short stature by using 165mm cranks to prevent undesirable toe overlap.

Something that had been bubbling in my mind was a paint job Rob had previously created: a two-sided bike, with one primary colour on each side. On testing the idea with riding buddies, I found myself at the receiving end of a lot of unkind comments!

USA! USA!

The core of the build brought together the three things I had long dreamed about: a green and purple paint job; a custom steel frame; and a MUSA [ed. Made in the USA] build. The 165mm crank options were addressed by White Industries, and to add to the hubs and bottom bracket that were already available, the Californian-based company released matching headsets during the build year.

Also during the build year, Rolf Prima released their Astral Rims brand, and being made right in Eugene, Oregon — the very same town as Rob — they became a natural addition.

Full Americana. That was always the intention.

I wanted to try an aero handlebar, mainly as I find that flatter bars tend to treat my hands better than round ones (after some unfortunate incidents with kitchen knives and resulting nerve damage.)

While not made in the USA, SRAM eTap was the only real choice for the American-themed build, with the other upside being a significantly simpler cable run and much cleaner front end. The Cane Creek eebrakes were an indulgence and Speedplays are my usual choice of pedal. A set of titanium King Cages were a natural choice. Paul skewers were a fun addition, another product from California in an appropriately high-polish finish.

Well before Rob started on the frame, I spoke with Mick Peel of Busyman about combining the Union Jack on the seat and saddle bag, mainly to reflect Rob’s company name and heritage. Following a few samples from Mick, I settled on a grey leather, something that set the tone for the silver centreline of the bike. After a few design choices and few months, I went to Melbourne and collected Mick’s contribution to the project. Subsequently, I had Fetha make up a set of bar ends to reflect the English theme.

When the time came to build and paint the frame, Rob kept me up to date with photos. We decided to do a few sample sprays as I was a little concerned my primary green choice wasn’t going to work out as I’d hoped. Rob posted me painted poly tube samples, and I was super thankful for this as my originally requested green was nowhere near what I was after. I can’t quite imagine turning up to see a new bike that wasn’t the colour I was expecting.

An ovalised “aero” seattube.

Rob’s handiwork is all on display here, including the custom-made stem with Paragon parts, the polished Paragon dropouts (as I wanted to ensure I didn’t end up cracking the paintwork with the skewer heads), and the custom tube ovalising and butting. Being somewhat known for crashing my bikes from time to time, I figured a replaceable hanger was a prudent investment.

I had Rob make the frame with the aero downtube and oval seatmast to show off the paintwork, rather than for the aero benefits. The carbon insert for the headtube was purely ornamental, a nice piece of detail work to absorb with the rest.

I went back to Oregon in May 2018 to pick up the bike, a trip that coincided with the Oregon Grand Fondo. My first impressions were that it was both beautiful and fast-feeling. With a shorter wheelbase than my existing road bike, it was whippy on the road and sharp on the descents, and I could pick up the significant differences in ride feel with a lively steel chassis.

The Oregon Grand Fondo ride was a great day out in the mountains with, ultimately, very few people around at the latter part of the race. I had anticipated that I would be a little stiff in the shoulders moving to a steel frame with greater drop, but that certainly didn’t eventuate. I finished both comfortable and certainly very satisfied with the comfort and ride quality.

Now back home, it’s my Sunday bike. The build sits at 8.16kg (18lb) with pedals, cages and saddlebag. I didn’t build the bike with a specific focus on weight, and if there’s any weight to be lost, it’s probably easier, healthier and less costly for it to come from me.

Performance-wise, it is yet to get a screaming workout on a complex downhill, but from what I have been willing to try, it’s as precise as any bike I can remember. Having dreamt about such a thing for almost half my life, I really couldn’t be happier with the build. The memories that are beneath my hands are all good with me.

Specifications

Frame: Custom English Cycles road
Headtube: True Temper, custom machined, cutout and Enve carbon tube added
Downtube: Columbus Life Aero
Seattube: Custom externally butted 4130, ovalised post-machining. Cap machined and shaped to match
Toptube: Nova 28.6mm (similar to Columbus Zona), 0.8/0.5/0.8. Custom bi-ovalised
Seatstay: 9.5mm, 0.7mm wall 4130, custom shaped
Chainstay: Columbus Zona s-bend
Dropouts: Paragon Machine Works stainless
Bottom bracket: Custom internally butted 4130
Fork: Columbus Futura SL 50mm rake
Paint: Colorworks, Eugene Oregon. House of Kolor Organic Green/ Violette/ Platinum
Groupset: SRAM eTap shifting, White Industries crankset, Cane Creek eebrakes G4
Wheels: Astral Cycling Radiant rims, CX-Ray spokes, White Industries polished T11 hubs, built by Rob English.
Tyres: Schwalbe Pro One 28c tubeless
Seatpost: Custom ovalised seat cap with Enve component head
Saddle: Selle Italia Turbomatic Gel Flow with Busyman custom leather
Handlebars: Zipp SL-70 Aero
Bar tape: Busyman custom leatherwork
Stem: English Cycles custom stem with Paragon Machine works compo

Gallery

The post Bikes of the Bunch: A truly American English Cycles appeared first on CyclingTips.

Moots is best known for its premium titanium bikes, all of which have been made by hand for over a quarter-century in the idyllic Colorado mountain town of Steamboat Springs. Going strictly by the numbers, nothing Moots produces can compete performance-wise with modern carbon fiber. But numbers aren’t everything, and the timeless design, unique feel, small-batch production, custom finish and geometry options, and the promise of a lifetime of dependable durability are more than enough to lure a thousand happy owners each year.

With few exceptions, most of those buyers unfortunately only get the see the final product, not the processes that lead up to it. There’s a saying that you usually don’t want to see how the sausage gets made, but this isn’t just any sausage, and you absolutely do want to see what happens in this kitchen.

This is where the process starts for every Moots frame. All of the company’s seamless 3/2.5 titanium tubing is sourced exclusively from US mills. According to Moots PR man Jon Cariveau, this yields more consistent quality and fewer issues down the road – some of which could potentially end up costing far more than whatever the company may have potentially saved on the tubing from less reliable sources.

All of the tubing arrives at Moots in straight lengths, which are then chopped up and bent in-house as needed for each frame.

If Moots doesn’t have stock in Bridgeport, maybe it should consider getting some. Here is where all of the tubes are cut, mitered, and bent.

Moots designs and manufactures its own machining jigs in-house, and given its considerable production volume – roughly 1000 frames annually – it’s more efficient to leave the jigs set up on each machine whenever possible to minimize machine down time.

Each process has its own jig. And given how many different processes are in play to handle all of Moots’ various frame models, the company ends up needing a lot of jigs.

Where possible, Moots will pre-make certain frame components that it knows it will need in the near future. This reduces lead times, and also makes better use of slow periods.

Pre-made frame parts are carefully labeled and stored.

Each of these cardboard sleeves contains the start of someone’s dream frame. At this point, it’s all basically just a pile of titanium tubes.

Stress relief?

Heaven forbid.

The folks at Moots definitely have a good sense of humor.

Sometimes, complete assemblies can be made ahead of time. Some Moots frames are built with wishbone-style seatstays. Those can often be made in advance, since all that’s required to get them ready for a frame is trimming the ends of the tubes.

More partially prepped tubes stacked up in neat little wooden bins.

Tubes are very carefully mounted in frame jigs when it comes time for mitering.

A beer can happens to be just about the right length to serve as a temporary spacer here.

Mistakes happen. This set of V-blocks has clearly seen its share of minor mishaps.

Head tubes are one frame component that can be completely prepped ahead of time, at least for stock frame geometries where the lengths are pre-determined.

There’s a lot of titanium inside the Moots factory.

See that fuzzy-looking ball on the shelf? That’s a huge pile of titanium chips. And it’s sharp.

Moots had this building constructed specifically for its own needs in 2001. Production happens on the first floor, offices are on the second floor, and then there are three apartments up on the third floor. But even though the structure was custom-built, Moots has grown enough since then that it still needs to get creative to store all the tubing.

According to Moots, roughly 85% of its production is made in stock frame sizes, with only 15% built using custom geometry.

Moots earned its reputation with mountain bikes and road bikes, but gravel models are taking over. The standard Routt – such as this one pictured here – is now the company’s top-selling model.

Moots has been having a lot of fun with anodized finishes in recent years. This employee bike is obviously made to pay homage to a certain fizzy beverage.

See the bubbles in the logo?

Some people would consider spilling beer to be a sin.

Moots is synonymous with titanium today, but actually got its start with steel frames.

It wasn’t until Moots started development of the YBB softail in the early 1990s that it moved away from steel. A then-cutting-edge data acquisition system, developed with the Colorado School of Mines, confirmed that steel wouldn’t provide the fatigue life Moots needed to pull off the concept. But titanium would fit the needs perfectly, and the company switched from steel to tubing almost overnight – and never looked back.

Once the tubes are cut and mitered, they eventually make their way into the welding area.

The ends of each tube are lightly scuffed to remove surface impurities before they’re cleaned more thoroughly.

Every titanium tube takes a trip through an industrial ultrasonic cleaner to make sure every bit of contamination is removed. Even a tiny bit of oil (from human fingertips, for example) can ruin a weld.

All clean, shiny, and ready to weld. Gloves are absolutely required from this point forward.

Once the tubes come out of the ultrasonic cleaner, they wait here for the welders.

More frame kits in process, and one step closer to being a frame.

Hey, Jace Calderas, this is your new Moots frame! Well, almost.

When Moots was founded, most of the employees were young and childless. But many of them have grown up along with the business, and with more than three decades on the clock to date, there have been quite a few employee kids that have left their mark on this wall.

Frames are first fusion welded here, where the ends of the tubes are basically just melted together. There are no welding rods used just yet.

Every step in the process is critical. Even if the alignment is only slightly off here, there’s a good chance it can’t be corrected later on.

Do you know what you don’t see in this area? A coffee machine. Steady hands, please.

TIG-welded titanium joints need to be backfilled with inert argon gas so as not to contaminate the weld area. Not surprisingly, a company the size of Moots goes through a lot of argon. Whereas once it would just cycle through a whole bunch of smaller tanks as needed, it now has a much bigger tank (that resides outside), which is refilled periodically instead of replaced.

It’s not enough for every weld to look perfect. It’s also critical that the joints are welded in specific orders and directions to avoid warping the frame. There’s an incredible amount of heat being introduced here, and a careless order can ruin what might have been a beautiful bicycle.

The seat tube-to-bottom bracket joint is fusion welded all the way around, not just tacked and covered up by the down tube. According to Moots, it’s this sort of small detail that not only helps its frames last, but prevents mystery creaks from popping up down the road.

A little bit further along here. Even the initial fusion welds are pretty.

Looks like there’s a budding American Ninja Warrior within the walls of Moots.

Moots employs some of the most talented welders around. But even the most experienced craftspeople have their limitations.

“Sparky” is a welding fixture developed by former Moots employee Brad Bingham (who later went on to take over Kent Eriksen’s smaller custom titanium operation not far away). It allows builders to more easily and consistently weld around the entire circuference of a cylindrical joint, such as what’s found at the top of a seat tube. The motor at left rotates the tube at a constant (and known) speed, so every weld comes out perfect.

Spotless.

Moots currently has 24 full-time employees, including eleven dedicated soley to production. On any given working day, three welders are making the magic happen.

Moots also produces its smaller titanium fittings in-house, such as bottom bracket shells, cable guides, and most of its dropouts.

Titanium candy.

These steerer clamps will eventually be turned into gorgeous titanium stems.

Moots recently started using 3D-printed titanium dropouts, specifically to address the alignment challenges created with the advent of flat-mount disc brakes. Whereas most titanium builders will first weld the mounts to the inside of the chainstay, and then weld that sub-assembly into the frame, Moots prefer to maintain its proven process with dropouts that already have the mounts formed directly in place. It removes another chance for heat-related warping, and helps maintain consistency. The dropouts also look really cool.

Moots uses some of its scrap tubing to make limited-edition noisemakers around the start of each cyclocross season.

Titanium is both heavier and less rigid than carbon fiber, and also doesn’t provide as much design flexibiliy. But there’s just something about it that still generates an emotional response with many riders.

Once the frames are fully welded, they move into the finishing area.

Serial numbers are stamped into each frame by hand.

Every Moots frame is fully reamed, faced, chased, and honed as needed to make sure every component fits as it should.

Moots currently offers both threaded and press-fit bottom brackets, but has no plans to add T47 to the list. According to Moots, the format just isn’t conducive to medium-volume production like this.

If many of Moots’ machines look old, that’s because they are. But in many instances, the older ones are more highly cherished than newer ones. With proper maintenance, they can last nearly forever, too.

These frames are all awaiting finishing work, such as blasting, decaling, and/or anodizing.

These final welds haven’t yet been brushed, but you can already see how impeccably even they are.

After welding, every frame is checked on the alignment table. Given titanium’s stubborn resistance to cold-setting, it’s far better if the frames are already straight by the time they get here.

Incredible.

For anodized logos, Moots first polishes and anodizes the entire area. A mask is applied, the whole frame is media blasted, and then there’s a brilliant logo left behind once the mask is removed.

Moots sponsors the Alpha Bicycle Company cyclocross team, but one of the beauties of titanium is that racers don’t need new frames every year. A batch of team frames was currently getting refinished in preparation for the upcoming season.

A blast from the past. Moots’ Malcolm X full-suspension mountain bike was short-lived, but showed the company’s willingness to experiment.

Moots founder Kent Eriksen left Moots in 2005 to start up another titanium frame company, Kent Eriksen Cycles, that was aimed more toward fully custom builds. Eriksen has since retired, and that company is now being run by head welder Brad Bingham, who served long stints at both brands.

Moots houses its two media blasting chambers in a separate room to help keep the rest of the facility clean.

Media blasting is messy work, so the room in which the blasting chambers are housed has its own air management system.

Anodizing is simple in theory, and requires very little in terms of equipment.

Getting anodized finishes to look this brilliant is easier said than done, however. Getting the precise colors you want in a repeatable fashion is a bit of an art form, too.

Hey Ryan Trebon, your new Moots is almost ready!

CNC machining has long been an important process within the Moots factory, but it’s taking on an even bigger role these days.

Moots makes as much as it can in-house, which means the CNC machines are generally kept quite busy.

Why use a head tube badge when you machine the logo right into the head tube?

Seatpost collars in process inside the CNC mill.

All of the aluminum and titanium scrap is sent off to a recycling facility.

Fresh and shiny Moots frames, almost ready to be sent off to their partner dealers. Someone’s dream is about to come true…

Few brands occupy as many cyclists’ wish lists as Moots – and the Routt RSL gravel bike is certainly a good reason why that would be.

The post Tech gallery: Moots factory tour appeared first on CyclingTips.

It’s been a while since I’ve penned a genuine rant, but dammit, I’m fired up right now. It’s because of e-bikes.

Not because I think the people who ride them are “cheating”, or because “it isn’t real bike riding”, or because e-bikes are a scourge on society. Quite the opposite. I’m sick and tired of all the baseless hate I’m seeing out there. I’m totally over it. And you should be, too.

This sentiment has been brewing in my mind for some time now, but the final straw was a video that an industry acquaintance recently posted on his Facebook page showing someone riding an e-bike along the streets of a major US city. I’ll refrain from revealing his name — I’ll just refer to him as “Sleepless in Seattle” — or sharing the actual post, but it came with the following caption:

“This is a bike how? Credit to the guy for figuring out how to beat the commute and get out of car but that’s a motor scooter in a bike lane. The pedals are just for show. And now us cyclists have to deal with it, as if cars weren’t dangerous enough.”

Sleepless has since de-friended me on Facebook after I called him out on this close-minded attitude, but having anticipated that move, let’s just say that Quicktime’s screen recorder function is a wonderful thing.

Perhaps you’re seeing something I’m not, but to my eyes, the rider in question is moving at a very reasonable speed, he’s where he’s supposed to be on the road and traveling in a predictable manner, he’s wearing a helmet, and he doesn’t appear to be endangering anyone. He’s also wearing a backpack, and there’s a bouquet of flowers peering out of the top of one of his panniers. This is hardly the image of a rogue cyclist tearing through a crowd of hapless pedestrians.

In short, he doesn’t seem to be doing anything wrong. He’s just someone peacefully pedaling his way to where he needs to be — on a bike equipped with an electric motor, yes, but a bike nonetheless, instead of a car.

And yet the reaction from this industry acquaintance is to skewer him on social media because he’s on a “scooter”? To frame this as an “us” vs. “them” situation? This is the perfect embodiment of everything that is wrong with the infighting the cycling community is experiencing with regard to e-bikes, and it’s beyond stupid.

They’re bicycles, end of story

One of the most common arguments against e-bikes is the sentiment that their electrically assisted powertrains make them more akin to motor vehicles than bicycles. Sure, that might apply to the unregulated e-bikes out there equipped with throttles and massive amounts of power, but the far more common pedal-assist e-bikes (also known as pedelecs) require you to, you know, pedal. From there, a center- or hub-mounted motor amplifies the rider’s power to provide boost, but by and large, what you have here is still just a bike.

A growing legion of non-bike companies are getting into the e-bike game, not so much because they’re into bikes per se, but because they see e-bikes as the future of personal mobility.

The vast majority of e-bikes you see out there fall into the Class 1 category of the industry’s three-tier classification system, meaning they’re limited to motor-assisted speeds of just 25km/h (15mph) in Europe, or 32km/h (20mph) in the United States; other countries vary. Steady-state motor outputs of 250 watts are the norm, with peak power spikes limited to 750W.

That’s a fair bit of power, yes, but the speed limits are quite reasonable, and well below what even moderately fit riders can sustain on most terrain. In short, these things just aren’t going that fast.

Getting more people on bikes is a good thing — end of story

Far more important to my eyes are that these e-bikes are being ridden at all, along with how they’re being ridden.

The National Institute for Transportation and Communities in Portland, Oregon, recently conducted an exhaustive survey of e-bike owners in North America. One of the takeaways was that the vast majority — 93.4%, in fact — of e-bike riders were already riding non-motorized bikes as adults before making the switch. And perhaps not surprisingly, those people ended up riding their e-bikes more often than their non-motorized bikes, and frequently cited a desire to use their cars less often as a primary reason why they bought an e-bike in the first place. E-bikes didn’t create that desire, mind you; that was already there. But according to the survey, those helpful motors eliminated the perceived obstacles that kept them from ditching their cars earlier, such as hilly terrain, excessive distance, medical conditions, and the lack of utility that usually comes with bikes that are geared more for sport.

Cargo bikes are arguably the best application for e-bike technology, since their heavy loads and cumbersome sizes stand to benefit the most from the added power of an electric motor. Would these bikes be as popular as they are were it not for e-bike technology? Almost certainly not. And it’s practically a guarantee that every one of these on the road is replacing an equivalent trip in a car.

But what was more telling to me — and arguably more critical to cycling being able to grow as an activity — is what happened to the remaining 6.6% of survey respondents who said they previously did not ride a standard bike regularly. After purchasing an e-bike, 93.5% of them reported riding them either daily or weekly.

In short, most of the people riding e-bikes were already riding bikes, just like the rest of us. But even better, the other people riding e-bikes previously didn’t ride bikes much at all, but now they do. And that’s certainly a good thing.

Riding in someone else’s cycling shoes

None of us have to be convinced why cycling is an enjoyable activity. But those reasons aren’t entirely obvious from the outside, and that only changes once someone actually throws a leg over a bike and starts pedaling. Exposing more people to the joy of riding bikes is something that can only be celebrated.

If an e-bike is what breaks down the barrier in someone’s mind to tackle a bikepacking trip or all-day adventure, is that a bad thing?

When more of those newcomers are riding for the purpose of commuting, it carries a double benefit. Those people — at least in the United States, where this survey was conducted — would normally be getting to their destinations by car. Since they’re now doing so by e-bike, that means one fewer motorized vehicle on the road, and one less potentially distracted driver behind the wheel. Reckless e-bike riders are dangerous, no question. But even more dangerous are distracted (or worse, aggressive) drivers behind the wheel of a 4,000lb SUVs — no question.

Some of those e-bike riders even end up shunning cars altogether.

A former co-worker of mine at BikeRadar, Warren Rossiter, recently told me about an e-bike that he bought for his mother. Although she rarely rode before, she’s now planning to sell her car and has been asking about trailers she can use to facilitate running various errands. This is an extreme case, of course, but a real-life success story nonetheless and almost certainly not the only one like it.

I’ve been testing Trek’s Crossrip+ e-bike on and off for the past several months, and recently loaned it to Josh Crane of The Coffee Ride. Every week, he loads up 100-120 bags of freshly roasted coffee and delivers them by bike throughout the city of Boulder, Colorado. He’s now seriously contemplating buying an e-bike of his own. Photo: Josh Crane.

Even if someone doesn’t fully commit to going car-free, there are other lessons to be learned when pounding the pavement by bicycle.

While those newer riders may be experiencing the joys of riding a bike, they’re also getting a firsthand taste of what it’s like to feel vulnerable. It’s easy for cyclists to ask drivers to be considerate when behind the wheel, but if that driver has never been buzzed by a close-passing truck while riding on the side of the road, how much can they really empathize? That all changes once you’ve felt the panic of a near-miss for yourself, and that sensation is something that might just carry with them the next time they hop into a car and see a cyclist on the road ahead of them.

And finally, there’s also the very real chance those e-bike riders might continue to be lifelong cyclists, and could potentially ride non-motorized bikes in other situations. Say that e-bike rider is commuting to work, then sees someone on a sleek gravel bike ducking into the woods with a big grin on their face. Seems fun, no?

But yes, regulation and education are necessary

If you make the argument that cyclists on e-bikes aren’t really that different from cyclists on non-motorized bikes, then it unfortunately also has to be said that there will be people misbehaving on assisted bikes, too. But I think it’s important to make the distinction between someone being a jerk because they’re on an e-bike, and someone being a jerk while they’re on an e-bike. The distinguishing factor here is the rider, not the bike, and any ire from the rest of the cycling community should be directed at the person, not the machine.

Granted, many people in the e-bike industry are doing the community no favors in terms of dispelling the notion that they’re little more than motorcycles in disguise. Stuff like this is absolutely not helping.

That said, I also think the industry is doing itself no favors when it comes to e-bikes. That 250W of steady-state assistance is already plenty of power, but do you really need 750W of peak power? That seems like an awful lot, and definitely crosses the threshold of what many cyclists can produce on their own. Do e-bike really need to be as powerful as they are? And why do American e-bike riders get to go faster than everyone else, anyway? Someone in marketing looking to make e-bikes as appealing as possible to the masses likely has their own answers, but I’d argue that even just cutting back on the peak power would go a long way toward settling everyone else down a little. E-bikes are fun, and going fast on e-bikes is even more fun, but there’s a certain level of responsibility that should be associated with that speed and power, too.

Speaking of which, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of education out there when it comes to e-bikes. Do e-bike buyers need to be instructed on riding etiquette? Well, I guess that depends. Again, I’d argue that that sort of education should be dependent more on the overall experience of the rider in question, not what sort of bike they’re riding. But that said, there is something to the argument that fitness is often correlated to skill level and experience. When you simply buy that fitness off-the-shelf, those other two traits aren’t included.

And what about the batteries? What happens to them when they’ve exhausted their useful lives? Why aren’t the motor units more readily serviceable? How much training is there for e-bike service and maintenance, anyway? Yep, these are all valid concerns and issues — but they’re all solvable.

As a display piece to attract attention, this beast from Alligator obviously got the job done. But it doesn’t exactly help reinforce the idea that e-bikes are just another kind of bicycle.

Finally, there’s the entirely separate issue of so-called unregulated e-bikes. Not long ago, for example, we mentioned in an edition of the Daily News Digest a DH-flavored downhill e-fat bike that could be purchased with as much as 7,000W of power and boasted an assisted top speed of 45km/h, all with no pedaling required. Is that person likely to tiptoe through the forest and be respectful of other riders, or are they more apt to wring as much performance as possible out of the thing? Regular Class 1 e-MTBs — and I’ve ridden a fair number of them at this point — are anything but the roost-prone moto-wannabes they’re made out to be. These other machines, on the other hand, are a whole different story.

To every company peddling those overpowered beasts: you’re not helping. In fact, you’re a big part of the problem. And to anyone out there terrorizing the rest of the community on hot-rodded e-bikes: I curse you with a lifetime of double pinch flats — and maybe even a (small) battery fire.

Listen to James discuss ebikes on this week’s CyclingTips Podcast:

Check your egos

All of what I’ve discussed so far is rooted in simple logic. But sadly, much of the hate I see directed at e-bikes is based more in emotion — and even worse, it’s coming from other cyclists. In short, all too many cyclists are simply offended by these things, as if the very existence of e-bikes threatens their way of life. It’s only “cheating” if someone on an e-bike is trying to pretend they’re on a regular bike in a competition; otherwise, they’re only out for a ride, just like you.

But you know what? This isn’t an either/or kind of situation, and it’s not an us vs. them battle. As I’ve already said, people on e-bikes should just be viewed as other cyclists, and the fact that they’re going the same speed as us (or maybe faster) while exerting far less effort just shouldn’t be an issue.

E-bikes are rapidly growing increasingly sleek. From a distance, you can barely tell this gravel e-bike is anything other than a regular bike.

Think of it this way: If someone rolls up to the group ride on a bike that’s far, far nicer than your own, do you instinctively turn your nose up to it? Are Pinarello reviews littered with commenters saying to “kill it with fire before it lays eggs!”? Similarly, what’s your reaction when you see someone driving a car that has way more horsepower than yours? Is it hate, envy, or indifference? Why should any of this matter?

It shouldn’t.

I’ve dedicated far too many brain cells to this subject over the past weeks and months, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion: It all boils down to ego, specifically of the rider on the non-powered bike who just can’t seem to stomach the idea that someone else is having a good time without having put in the same amount of suffering they did to “earn” the speed.

Say someone on this bike passes you on a climb. Should your ego really be bruised because of that? No, it should not. Photo: Josh Crane.

Seriously, who cares? Get over it, I say. If someone passes me on an e-bike — be it on the road or trail — that doesn’t make me any slower than I already am, nor does it make me any less of a rider. But you know what I do notice when I see people on e-bikes? More often than not, they’re smiling. Is it wrong to have fun? Isn’t that the point of all of this?

We should all be in this together

I can’t stress enough the need for all of us to band together, not fight amongst ourselves. The cycling world already is sorely lacking in any sort of cohesive power, and what we have here is a grand opportunity, not a looming danger.

Consider this: many of the companies involved in the e-bike world hail primarily from the automotive world, not the bike world: Bosch, ZF, Brose, Goodyear, just to name a few. Bosch alone is a US$60B company, roughly 30 times the size of Shimano. What happens to the e-bike world if the non-motorized cycling world pushes them away? Instead of helping define the rules, we’ll watch the automotive world claim yet another victory and get to call the shots as they see fit, not how we collectively as cyclists think they should be for our own benefit and safety.

Quality Bicycle Products – by far the largest industry distributor in the United States – recently debuted its first e-bike as part of the Civia brand of urban bikes. If something like the new Parkway model is what gets someone riding more, I’m all for it. Photo: Civia Cycles.

I’ve said an awful lot at this point, so I’ll finish this column with some sage words by an old industry friend of mine, Dave Koesel. He’s now the Leader of Components at Specialized (yes, that’s really his official job title), and said this in response to yet another e-bike hating Facebook post. Allow me to paraphrase:

“We now have an entirely new crop of bicyclists that will bring their buying power, advocacy, and potential lobbying ability. Let’s embrace them. Families with young children are already the exposed at-risk trail user amongst cyclists, inline skaters, joggers, and idiots. Let’s not use a few anecdotes as data. The mountain resorts face this same battle in the 80s with snowboarders and skiers squaring off on the slopes. The ‘careless’ snowboarders were ruining the experience for skiers in the minds of those consumers who had used the mountains and snow for enjoyment. As it turns out, the new sport of snowboarding brought investment from outside the endemic brands. In economic and environmental downtime, [snowboarding] may have saved a resort or two. In no plausible scenario does growing the pedal equipped two-wheeled transport hurt cycling as a whole. I’ll take a novice on a bike at a US assisted speed regulated to 20mph all day long, but I’m less optimistic that the influence of the bicycle curmudgeon will wane so quickly. Enthusiasts are genuinely threatened by e-bikes and their riders.”

Let’s not feel threatened, but instead, ask ourselves why we feel threatened. Because maybe — just maybe — things aren’t actually all that scary, and what we’re really afraid of has more to do with us, not “them”.

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