Fizik’s new £94.99 Gobi XM Muzzle is essentially the company’s hugely popular Gobi XM saddle with a detachable rubber protector at the rear and manganese instead of kium rails.
The rubber shield is designed to protect your saddle from crash damage, plus it’ll keep it in good nick during uplifts and provide general scuff protection.
We reckon it could be useful for cyclo-cross racing too, helping to protect against the wear and tear caused by frequent dismounts, and providing a little extra grip for muddy shorts. Claimed weight for the Gobi XM Muzzle is 255g.
Torm clothing
Torm are a new UK-based company who are producing short- and long-sleeve jerseys, as well as base layers, made from Sportwool – a high-performance mix of merino wool and polyester.
There are six jerseys to choose from. The short-sleeved T1, T2, T3 and T4 are all made from a 39 percent merino, 61 percent polyester mix and cost £45 each. The numbers simply denote different jersey patterns. The long-sleeved T5 and T6 cost £50.
Torm's T4 Sportwool jersey looks like a good spring/autumn option
Torm’s £15 armwarmers have silicone grippers to prevent slipping, flat-locked stitched seams to prevent irritation and are made from fleece backed Roubaix fabric. Look out for full reviews of the Torm kit on BikeRadar soon. For more information, head to Torm.cc.
These armwarmers remind us of a certain other British clothing brand's wares
Castelli clothing
If you haven’t already done so, you’ll be reaching for the winter clothing very soon in the UK and US, and Castelli have sent us a couple of their cold-weather garments to test. The £175 Mortirolo jacket is made from Gore Windstopper fabric at the front, has two zipped chest vents, three external rear pockets and two rear reflective tabs.
Mortirolo jacket
Castelli’s £160 Sorpsasso bibtights are built for the cold and wet, using Thermoflex fabric for insulation, a Progetto X2 seatpad for comfort and metallic ankle zippers with reflective tape for night-time visibility.
Gore Ride On brake and remote lever cable
Gore Ride On have released a new road bike sealed brake cable set, as used by pro teams including Astana and Saxo Bank. The £45.99 kit – available in white, black, blue or red – uses a combination of coated cables, lubricated compressionless housings and Gore’s grub seals to deliver top-notch performance. It’s designed for use with SRAM, Shimano or Campagnolo brakes.
For the off-road crowd, there’s a new £18.99 Gore Ride On Remote Lever System too – suitable for suspension and adjustable seatposts. Designed for use with all remote lever systems that use a standard 1.1mm derailleur cable and 4mm housing, it comes in white or black and uses the company’s patented coated cable and full-length housing to protect it from the elements. We’ll have full reviews of these products soon on BikeRadar.
Gore have new sealed cable kits for road bike brakes and mountain bike remotes
Curve rain jacket
Custom clothing company Curve (yes, the same folks who did all those CNC-machined mountain bike bits back in the day) have announced the release of a limited-edition rain jacket that they claim is virtually identical to the ones worn by some pro riders.
Key features on the made-in-Italy Proline Professional GT Rain Jacket include waterproof and breathable nylon fabrics with a microporous polyurethane coating and taped seams, a Velcro front closure instead of a full zip, stretchable fleece cuffs and a soft collar lining, stretch armpits, and reflective piping for visibility (a good thing since it's black).
The full Velcro front is said to be easier to put on – and take off – while you're on the bike
Company principal Henrik Nejezchleb says what really sets his jacket apart, though, is its cut. "The combination of patterns, materials and construction makes it a very unique piece," he said. "As far as I know (from the factory), this construction and pattern is only available for the ProTour teams.
"They're making a special run for us with that same team spec. The factory has many patterns that aren't sold at all, and they've agreed to let Curve use them for some special order items."
Curve's new Proline Professional GT Rain Jacket supposedly uses a just-for-pros pattern that the factory is now making available to the public in limited quantities
This exclusivity will cost you – to the tune of US$200 – and the prepaid orders must be placed before 12am MST on 22 October, with delivery scheduled right around the end of the calendar year.
"Probably a fairly small market will be interested, but a lot of the pro team stuff really is quite different than what's sold to the general public," Nejezchleb said. "So we're trying to offer some true pro level items. I don't know if we'll sell that many but it's super-cool gear so that's mainly why we're doing it."
Clif Bar release their annual holiday flavours
With Halloween just around the corner and winter fast approaching, Clif Bar have seen fit to release their latest round of seasonal flavours in the US. This year's batch will include Cranberry Orange Nut Bread, Iced Gingerbread and Spiced Pumpkin Pie, all with Clif Bar's usual blend of mostly organic ingredients and useful mix of carbohydrates, proteins and fibre.
Clif Bar will donate one percent of net sales to the Winter Wildlands Alliance, a US national non-profit organisation dedicated to "promoting and preserving winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snowsports experience on public lands".
Clif Bar have released their range of seasonal flavours for the year
Clif Bar have also revamped their gel range, with a new maltodextrin and cane-juice-based formula for a less intensely sweet taste, longer-lasting energy delivery and a thinner consistency that's easier to swallow.
The new packaging is a bit slimmer and has more rounded corners than before while still retaining the clever 'Litter Leash' design to cut down on trailside trash. For an even bigger kick, Clif Bar have added a 'turbo' version of their popular gel, too, with a whopping 100mg of caffeine.
The new 'turbo' range of Clif Shot gel has a whopping 100mg of caffeine – roughly equal to a single shot of espresso