We've finally made it to the weekend and what a week it has been. In case you've just surfaced from your off the grid cabin in the woods, we've been at Eurobike all week taking a look at the coolest kit and gear heading our way in 2018.
Eurobike is always a whirlwind of new bikes and tech, and we took a look at Scott's new Foil Disc as well as Giant's new Propel Disc.
Stages also finally lifted the veil on its double sided power meter and Garmin did the same for its Edge 1030 and the Vector 3.
We also saw Giro's Empire Fly Knit and Vanquish MIPS helmet as well as Wahoo's Kickr Climb.
With all of that new gear on the horizon, it's time to check out the latest kit to roll through the doors of our UK and Australian HQ.
Schmolke TLO 30 Tubular Wheels
Schmolke is another high-end German carbon specialist that makes some of the lightest components on the planet. Its new TLO (the lightest only) wheels weigh a mere 942 grams on the BikeRadar scales of truth.
The finish is pretty stunning with a matt bare-carbon effect, and with a weight limit of 105kg, they’ll hopefully be plenty stiff, even for powerful riders. These are going on a very special hill climb build, so keep your eyes peeled for a feature soon.
- €2,220 / £TBC / AU$TBC
SKS Chromoplastic 65mm Mudguards
Picture the scene, you’ve bought your trendy gravel bike, put some big tyres on, but have no mudguards to keep your lovely kit nice and dry.
There are plenty of expensive alloy mudguards that will do the trick, but for budget conscious riders SKS has its 65mm Chromoplastic mudguard set.
These will fit on tyres up to 42mm wide, and being SKS they should last a long time.
These are fitted to staff writer Jack Luke’s tandem, ready for an epic multi-day trip around south Wales.
- £39.99 / $TBC / AU$TBC
Ritchey WCS Evo Max bars, C220 stem and one-bolt seatpost
Finishing kit is such an important part of a bike, but is often forgotten when we all tend to focus on the sexier stuff, such as groupsets and wheels.
Handlebars are one of the easiest upgrades you can make to your bike, and in our eyes, you should really be approaching them with the same level of pickiness as a saddle because they can drastically change and improve how a bike rides and fits.
Keen to try something new for his upcoming Bowman Palace rebuild, Josh has got a hold of these super subtle and rather handsome alloy Ritchey EvoMax bars. We reckon the modern shape, with a short reach and ovalised top section should make for some serious all day comfort.
The WCS C220 stem features Ritchey’s signature 220-degree wraparound clamp, which is said to provide a more secure interface that is less prone to damaging lightweight bars.
As an aside, the stem and bars are described as ‘blatte’, a combination of the words black and matte and without doubt our new favourite marketing portmanteau.
Lastly, the WCS carbon 1-bolt seatpost should drop a bit of weight over any stock alloy post while allowing for a wide range of adjustment thanks to Ritchey’s funky SideBinder clamp design. This claim is also interchangeable, so it should work with all popular rail sizes.
- Ritchey WCS EvoMax bars: $94.95 / €99.99
- Ritchey WCS C220 84D stem: $89.95 / €94.99
- Ritchey WCS carbon 1-bolt seatpost: $199.95 / €219.99
UK and Australian pricing unavailable.
Scott Vanguard compression suit
Compression suits (or body armour if you prefer) seems to have fallen by the wayside in recent years, with the majority of downhill racers eschewing them in favour of a pair of knee pads and the occasional neck brace. Scott wants to change that with the launch of its Vanguard compression suit.
This is nothing like the body armour of old, which tended to be no more advanced than a mesh suit with inflexible plastic pads sewn onto it.
This mesh suit has a large, very flexible D3O back protector, and shoulder inserts that should help go some way to keeping you from bashing yourself up too bad should you spill.
The suit also features a handy little pocket on the back to stash your pump or multi-tool.
No pricing available at this time.
KuaiFit Sport Headphone and Cycling Sensor
Ever wanted to hear the voice of your coach barking out orders while riding? Neither have we, but with the KauiFit Sport Headphones you can achieve something similar.
These neat, but slightly ungainly headphones can be linked up to your smartphone/bike computer/power meter etc to create live voice alerts around your chosen session.
This can include whole training plans by professional coaches and athletes.
Being headphones you can obviously listen to music as well.
- £TBC / $209 / AU$TBC
Garmin VIRB 360
Back in May we told you about Garmin’s latest camera to join the party, the VIRB 360. We now have one in our hands and we’re keen to see whether 360 recording is The Next Big Thing™ in the world of cycling videography.
However, with a claimed one hour battery life it’s got a hard road ahead to prove itself. We know you’re not likely to be recording constantly, and the batteries are replaceable, so this could be a viable creative alternative for the action camera market.
Camera weight with a battery is a non-too-hefty 160g. For reference, a HERO5 Black with battery and memory card comes in at 118g.
We’ll be sure to play with the VIRB 360 so stay tuned.
- £650 / $800 / AU$1,100
Wolf Tooth Components Elliptical Chainring
Wolf Tooth Components says having an elliptical chainring is like two chainrings in one. At different points of the pedal stroke, this 32t chainring acts as both a 34t in the ‘Power Zone’ and a 30t chainring in the ‘Recovery Zone’.
There have been a lot of claims around elliptical and asymmetric chainrings from a more efficient pedal stroke to increased traction or a steadier torque. Whatever the claims, our man Jack Luke certainly liked them when he fitted them to his Bianchi long-term bike so that makes me keen to give them a go.
Our 32t chainring weighs in at 50g.
- £70 / $65 / AUS$N/A
Astute Star Carbino
According to Italian saddle maker Astute, its latest road perch, the Star, is designed for athletes riding in an aggressive position.
The shell is round and features a pressure-relieving channel down the centre and density memory foam padding, which gets progressively softer as you move towards the nose of the saddle.
At first glance, the shape is quite similar to the brand's off-road saddle the Mud, which has become a favourite around the Australian HQ.
In the Carbino trim, the saddle sees 7x9mm carbon rails, a fibre reinforced nylon shell, and tips our scales at 219g.
- £TBC / $TBC / AU$375
Oakley Windjacket 2.0 glasses
They’re large and they’re lairy. Oakley’s Wind Jacket 2.0s draw inspiration from the classic Eyeshade sunnies.
While they are technically positioned in the brand's lineup as a ‘goggle’, the triple layer face foam pad is easily removable and leaves you with well vented large sunnies that provide for oodles of coverage.
The aesthetic won’t please everyone, but Oakley has pitched them to us as a possible goggle replacement for enduro riders and big sunnies for the fashionable roadies among us. Our tester set also has a Prizm lens.
- £120 / $150 / AU$190
Pedla Spinners socks
Socks are a funny thing among cyclists, and wild and crazy foot tubes are all the rage at the moment.
From Melbourne outfit Pedal, the Spinners socks are pretty tame when you compare them to others on the market.
These six-inch socks are made of a mix of Coolmax and Lycra fabric with three ply nylon used on the exterior for added strength and durability. Who knew socks could be so technical!
- Price: £17 / $22 / AU$28
Knog PWR lights
Nowadays everything seems to have a battery, and if you’re anything like some of the BikeRadar staffers, your gadgets are always dead.
Knog may have found the solution with its new PWR lights that double as a power bank, with each light having a USB port for charging your device.
Divided into the Commuter and Modular lights, each are made with CNC machined aluminium and are water resistant.
The Commuter lights are 450-lumen and a removable rear cap reveals the charging port that can be used while the light is on.
The Modular lights, on the other hand, are a series of batteries and light heads, ranging in power from 600 to 1800 lumens.
All the heads are compatible with all the batteries, we’ve got the PWR Road with a 600-lumen head and 3350mAh battery pack, and a PWR Trail with a 1000 lumen head and 5000mAh battery — the 1800 lumen trail light will be released later this year.
Check out our hands on first look: Hands on with Knog's modular PWR lights
- PWR Commuter: £TBC / $54.95 / AU$74.95
- PWR RIder: £TBC / $64.95 / AU$89.95
- PWR Road 600l: £TBC / $89.95 / AU$119.95
- PWR Trail 1000l: £TBC / $119.95 / AU$159.95