The bike world is bursting with launches so we have a ridiculously packed edition of Tech of the Week for you, including a zillion (we’re rounding up here) new wheels from Zipp, Vision and Reynolds, cool shoes from Fizik and Pas Normal Studios, and a rare foray into the cycling arena for the late reggae star Bob Marley – no, really – but we’re starting with news of the “world’s strongest folding lock” which has a Sold Secure Gold rating and smashed its Kickstarter target in under an hour…
Check out the “world’s strongest folding lock” which smashed Kickstarter funding target in an hour
US company Seatylock has just launched what it calls “the most robust folding lock ever created”, the Foldylock Elite coming with a Sold Secure Gold rating and smashing its Kickstarter funding target almost immediately.
“The Foldylock Elite is made out of six hardened steel links over-moulded by a reinforced-military grade-UV treated polymer,” says Seatylock. “It is constructed from anti-drilling, hardened, rust-free components, so it is built to resist the most violent abuse as well as to withstand extreme weather in the harshest environments… It is, by far, the strongest folding lock you can find.”
The 6.5mm-thick bars are made from hardened steel and the 9mm stainless steel rivets are said to be “drilling-proof” and “protected against sawing and cutting attacks”.
Although there are a few locks out there that are designed to be angle grinder-resistant, Seatylock doesn’t make any claims in this direction. That said, a Sold Secure Gold rating does mean that the Foldylock Elite offers “a high level of resistance against a dedicated thief.”
Seatylock says that the advantages of the Foldylock Elite are that it can fit around larger objects than a U-lock (sometimes called a D-lock) because it’s not limited by the width of a rigid shackle and that it folds neatly and compactly (4.7cm x 6.9cm x 23.8cm) into its own case which you can mount to your bike or store in a bag. The claimed weight is 1.9kg.
You need to pledge $105 (which converts to about £84) to be in line for a Foldylock Elite (the full RRP is $140/£112). As we always point out, pledging money through a crowdfunding site isn’t the same as buying from a retailer, but Seatylock has reached its funding target almost immediately and it has successfully delivered five Kickstarter projects in the past, so we’d say that you’re on pretty safe ground here. Delivery is planned for July.
The most unexpected collab of the week: State Bicycle Co and Bob Marley
State Bicycle Co, which has collaborated with the likes of Wu-Tang Clan and Ozzy Osbourne in the past, has been at it again. This time, it has produced a collection that’s designed to celebrate the music and culture of the late reggae artist Bob Marley. You didn’t see that one coming, did you?
The range includes special editions of the State Bicycle Klunker ($499.99, which converts to about £400)…
…and the flat handlebar 4130 Road+ ($599.99, which converts to about £482),
There’s a whole bunch of clothing too.
Jack Wolfskin introduces new bike commuting range
High Street outdoorsy brand Jack Wolfskin has introduced a new range of cycle commuting kit.
The new range includes the “lightweight and weatherproof” Bike Commute 2.5L Jkt in both men’s and women’s cuts (£180). Jack Wolfskin says that the outer material is made from used clothing and cutting scraps from textile manufacturing, and the membrane is made of cutting scraps too.
There’s also a windproof Bike Commute Wind Vest (£110), shorts (£80) made from Texashield fabric that’s said to block wind and repel water, and even a pannier (£90) and handlebar bag (£80).
“The entire apparel collection is made from recycled materials,” says Jack Wolfskin. “The collection features durable products manufactured from a single material, which makes them far easier to recycle when they reach the end of their useful lifespan.”
Reynolds debuts new 25mm road wheels
Reynolds has introduced new 25mm-deep road wheelsets with claimed weights as low as 1,251g.
There are three wheelsets in the range, all using the same DET 2 rim with a 21mm internal width and a 30mm external width. Despite the shallow depth, Reynolds says that the profile is intended to improve aerodynamics, but doesn’t offer data to support that claim. The hooked design is said to be optimised around 28mm-wide tyres.
Reynolds says that its top-level CR6 laminate used for the BlackLabel 25 Pro DB and BlackLabel 25 Expert DB allows it “to reduce weight while ensuring optimum durability and power transfer”.
The BlackLabel 25 Pro DB (£2,200, claimed weight: 1,251g) comes with Reynolds/ Industry 9 hubs while the BlackLabel 25 Expert DB (£1,800, 1,286g) and AR25 DB (£1,350, 1,432g) have SunRinglé hubs.
All are built with Sapim CX-Ray spokes, come with tubeless tape installed, and are available with Shimano HGR, SRAM XDR, and Campag N3W freehub bodies
Kostüme launches pre-orders for Men’s Comfort Break bib shorts
Kostüme makes some excellent kit – to the extent that we gave its Bib Short our Editor’s Choice gong in the road.cc Recommends 2023/24 awards – so you might well be interested to hear that the brand has launched its first-ever non-artist release. The Kostüme ‘Spring 24’ Men’s Comfort Break Bib Shorts are now available for pre-order.
> Read our review of the Kostüme Men’s Bib Short
“With growing recognition as the go-to short for Audax, endurance and long-distance cycling, and the previous two drops long sold out, we have answered our number one customer request: a ‘plain’ version that matches with any kit,” says Kostüme.
“We have taken sartorial inspiration from a fashion classic – the ‘plain’ business suit with the eye-popping lining – combining its Klein Blue brand colour and Ü motif, and printing it on the reverse of the bib straps. The effect is unique since every strap is slightly different.”
Kostüme uses an Econyl regenerated nylon main fabric and an Italian-made chamois with “three different types of memory foam covered with a microfibre top surface with a permanent bonded nano-level aloe infusion, eliminating the need for chamois cream”.
Kostüme says, “Aside from helping to stop chafing and slip, it also helps to minimise mess when using the clip-less comfort break drop seat, designed to make bathroom breaks less of a hassle.”
The shorts are priced at £180, and shipping is expected at the end of May.
Vision releases SC45 and SC60 wheels
Vision Cycling has unveiled its latest SC45 and SC60 road bike wheels. Developed as part of the SC wheel range, these hooked carbon wheels draw inspiration from the brand’s premium Metron wheels but come at “a highly accessible price”.
> Review: Vision Metron 40 Clincher wheels
The SC45 and SC60, with rim depths of 45mm and 60mm respectively, both come with a refined aerodynamic profile with a 21mm internal width, optimised for tubeless tyres ranging from 28 to 32mm. These are laced with 24 spokes on direct-pull hubs.
In terms of performance claims, Vision says that its testing has shown that the SC45 has an 8% drop in drag compared to its predecessor, the SC40, while the SC60 has a 4% reduction compared to the SC55. The brand says that this reduction in drag not only allows for the use of larger tyres without aerodynamic penalties but also enhances stability in crosswinds by up to 21% for the SC60 and 15% for the SC40.
The new iteration wheels introduce tech updates such as an improved pawl system in the rear freehub, enhancing reliability and maintenance ease. With reduced weight due to updated carbon construction, the SC45 claims to weigh in at 1,590g/pair and the SC60 at 1,690g/pair.
Prices stand at £1,099 for both of the wheelsets.
Enve road and gravel wheels now available with Classified hubs
It’s been a while since we gave you any Classified news! This one is quite a short one… Just announcing that you can now get Enve’s road and gravel wheels with a Classified Powershift system. The system will also be available on Enve’s MOG, Melee, newly released Fray, and Custom Road bikes.
> Classified Powershift Kit & Wheelset review
If you’ve not heard of Classified Powershift before, it’s a rear hub shifting system also known as the “front derailleur killer” that allows you to shift gears instantly and under full load – and basically allows you to have the gear range of a 2x setup in a 1x guise.
Pas Normal Studios and Fizik collaborate on Mechanism road shoe
Danish “cycling kit pioneers” (it’s a self-bestowed description) Pas Normal Studios and Fizik have unveiled their latest collaboration – Mechanism PNS x Fizik – a new road cycling shoe. The shoe is very much performance-oriented, with a hefty price tag (£390).
What you get if you invest your hard-earned money in these silvery kicks is a “resilient” polyurethane-laminated upper material combined with a comfortable mesh for ventilation. There are two Boa Dual-Dial Li2 knobs for fit adjustment and a carbon fibre sole with a stiffness index rating of 10 – the same one found on the slightly similarly designed Fizik Infinito shoe.
Sizes range from 36 to 48 (37 to 47 also in half sizes) and the shoes are available now.
Kona’s new Ouroboros blends of gravel and mountain bikes
Kona has unveiled the Ouroboros, a gravel bike that defies the gravel bike category and opens the floodgates for people saying gravel bikes should not have suspension. Debates aside, the Ouroboros is aimed at the rougher end of gravel riding, and kitted with mountain bike components throughout, it promises to tackle rugged terrain with ease.
The Ouroboros comes in three builds: the range-topping Ouroboros Supreme features a RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR fork with 40mm of travel, Reverb AXS dropper post, Zipp 101 XPLR carbon wheels and SRAM Force eTap AXS/X0 Eagle Transmission. The Ouroboros CR/DL offers a more classic, rigid gravel experience with a 2×12 SRAM Rival eTap AXS drivetrain. The base option is the Ouroboros CR with a Fox TC32 40mm suspension fork and SRAM Apex shifting.
Other key features of the Ouroboros include 180mm rotors, 31.6mm seatpost, clearance for up to 2.1in tyres, and front suspension. The frames boast geometry inspired by both gravel and MTB, with a 69.5º head tube angle and a 74º seat tube angle.
There is no lack of mounts for anything you might want to haul with you on your gravel adventures.
Pricing and availability? At the moment, we are unsure of those, and after the developments that sparked fear over Kona’s future at Sea Otter yesterday, we might just need to wait and see what happens.
Lost Dot is crowdfunding for Transcontinental Race book
Of all the ultra-endurance bike races out there, Transcontinental Race (TCR) is perhaps the best-known. Now Lost Dot, the organisers of the race, are crowdfunding to publish a book titled “Transcontinental: The race that changed cycling” – and it does look like a coffee table book that’s bound to impress any of your cycling pals.
The book’s 256 pages “will gather together the best stories from the first 10 editions of the race, from Kristof Allegaert, the first winner and Juliana Buhring, the first woman to finish the race, through to the achievements of Fiona Kolbinger, the first woman to win the race outright, and to Christoph Strasser, the current man to beat, via a thousand tales of determination, digging deep and pushing limits from the front of the pack through to the last woman and man.”
The funding goal is £30k and at the time of writing, more than £20k has been pledged. The book costs £38 (softcover) or £45 for a hardcover, and there are plenty of other accessories that go towards funding the project available, too.
POC debuts Procen Air road helmet
The Procen Air road helmet is based on POC’s existing Procen time trial helmet, using the same wind-cheating technology but in a UCI-approved road-going package. It gets the frontal vents of the TT lid that are designed to lower air pressure and help with cooling before moving out the rear using the Venturi effect to speed up airflow.
It also gets a detachable visor that uses POC’s clarity lens that can be stored on the rear of the helmet thanks to a series of magnets. The visor comes with a neat little tab on the brow to prevent finger marks on the lens. It comes standard with both a smoke mirror and a clear lens.
While its design and aesthetics might not appeal to all, it has been shaped this way to improve aerodynamics, which can be seen in the rather peculiar shaping on the flanks that partly shield the ears. This has been done to improve speed while reducing turbulence so as not to impede hearing.
According to POC’s wind tunnel testing, the Procen Air is between five and 18 watts faster than its Ventral helmet at speeds from 30 to 60km/h.
While there’s no Mips technology included, POC says the EPS liner provides the necessary protection in the event of a crash.
The POC Procen Air is available in three sizes and two colourways (Hydrogen White and Uranium Matt Black). POC claims a medium helmet weighs 350g (we registered a figure of 355g for our medium test sample). Pricing is pegged at £360.
Aaron, our resident TT expert, is currently testing the helmet and will be publishing his review in the coming weeks.
Zipp releases Super-9 Disc Brake Disc wheel
Believe it or not, the Super-9 disc wheel represents much of Zipp’s product development over the past 30 years. Development of the latest iteration started over a year and a half ago with the target of being ready to ride at the 2023 Tour de France. The wheel was used at the Tour but in pre-production prototype form. It was also raced at the 2023 Vuelta a España and World Championships in Glasgow.
Zipp says the main attribute it wanted to achieve with the new Super-9 was total system efficiency. As such, several areas needed work with a heavy focus on wind resistance, improving rolling resistance on the 23mm internal hookless rim, and ride quality. Some 32 hours of wind tunnel testing was carried out – equating to nearly 120km – using testing protocols that comprised wheel alone, wheel on bike and wheel with full bike and rider.
At 1,050g, the new Super-9 disc wheel is 125g lighter than the outgoing model. It’s been optimised around 28mm tyres and comes standard with a ZR1 hub with low-drag ceramic bearings. It also gets an integrated TyreWiz 2.0 air pressure management system.
According to SRAM’s statistics, the Super-9 is quicker than before. Compared to its predecessor and rivals, the big gains are seen on the drive-side (or dirty side) of the bike at between 2° and 8° of yaw. At these angles, there is a five-watt gain, says SRAM.
The Super-9 will cost £2,450 and ships with a valve cover (spare included) that slides into place like a remote control – no sticker like before.
There’s also a Super-9 Track Disc wheel available in clincher format. It’s optimised around 23-25mm tyres and comes with a 21mm hooked tyre bed. Available in both front and rear configurations, they weigh a respective 850g and 950g. Like the road-going Zipp Super-9, the Super-9 Track Disc wheel is £2,450.
In case you missed it earlier in the week…
