Happy Friday and happy holidays from all of us at BikeRadar! We hope you’re already feeling festive and reclining by the fire with eggnog in hand after logging some pre-Christmas miles. We hope Santa brings you carbon, not coal. So while you wait to find out if you’ve been naughty or nice, have a look at the latest gear to land at BikeRadar’s Colorado offices.
New mountain bike gear
Enve SWP Bar
If you like to get low (and not just on the dance floor) then Enve’s SWP might be for you.
This flat bar has 9-degrees of sweep with 5-degrees of 'tilt' to improve ergonomics. Enve has widened this bar to 760mm to suit the needs of modern cross-country racers. If your trails are heavily infested with trees you can even trim it all the way down to 680mm.
The weight for this carbon fiber handlebar is a very respectable 190g.
- £150 / $160 / AU$299
Blackburn Barrier Mud Guard
In need of a front mudguard to make your mountain bike look more enduro? Blackburn has you covered.
Rather than rely on zip-ties, the Barrier comes with velcro straps to make it easy to install and remove as needed.The topographic pattern comes in six colorways to make color coordination easy.
Blackburn also makes an XL version suitable to plus and fat bikes that retails for the same price.
- £10 / $15 / AU$20
Wolf Tooth GC 49t kit
If you want more range from your 1x drivetrain but aren’t ready to splurge on a 12-speed group, the upgrade specialists at Wolf Tooth may have a solution for you for your wide-range woes.
Wolf Tooth’s latest wide-range kit is designed to work with 11-speed Shimano XT and SLX as well as Sunrace 11-42t cassettes. It’s also compatible with SRAM’s entry-level NX cassette, which uses a Shimano-style freehub, rather than SRAM’s XD driver.
The kit consists of a massive 49t aluminum cog, an 18t cog, inner derailleur cage plate and an offset upper jockey wheel.
- £100 / $130 / AU$170
Specialized S-Works XC 6
We’ve been impressed with past iterations of Specialized’s high-end cross-country race shoes. So what did the Big S do to make them better? Shed weight and boost stiffness
These new XC kicks tip the scales at 270g per shoe (size 42). Weight saving was achieved by using an upper constructed with Cubic Tech fabric and the use of a titanium cleat plate.
The S-Works XC 6 uses a full carbon sole with a stiffness index of 13, making them the stiffest shoe in Specialized’s off-road line. Fit adjustments are handled by a pair of S2 Snap BOA dials.
Unlike many other race slippers on the market, Specialized has opted to use a softer rubber compound at the toe and heel to improve grip during hike-a-bike sections.
As with any S-Works product, this lightweight performance comes with a price tag to match the performance.
- £280 / $400 / AU$550
BioLite PowerLite Mini
The PowerLite Mini can help you master your commute or come in handy on your next bikepacking trip. It can be a front or rear light, a lantern or a back-up power source for smartphones, tablets and e-readers.
The integrated clip allows the BioLite to hook onto a backpack strap and doubles as a stand when used as a lantern.
- £36 / $45 / AU$60
New road bike gear
Spurcycle Key Clip
Spurcycle is best known for its boutique bell with the perfect timbre to politely clear your way. Its latest product is intended to replace that imitation carabineer you use to carry your keys. After all, you’re not summiting K2, you’re riding to the pub. Speaking of which, the Spurcycle Key Clip doubles as a bottle opener — cheers!
Each Key Clip is laser etched from a 1/4in stainless steel plate that is then put through a tumbler to smooth the edges and give it an industrial finish. The spring-loaded gate is also constructed from stainless steel.
Not high-end enough for you? Well, there’s also a titanium version, too.
- £25 / $34 / AU$50 (for the stainless version)
ENVE SES 4.5 AR Disc wheels
Do you want to ride wide road/all-road tires or have an aero wheelset? Or do you want to replace the 'or' in that previous sentence with 'and'? If it's the latter, then ENVE's new SES 4.5 AR Disc wheelset is for you.
ENVE engineered these wheels to work with 28-30mm tubeless tires, both in terms of a wide-stance structure to complement the casing and in terms of aerodynamics, with a smooth airflow from a wide tire across a wide rim.
They're light (1,570g), they've got sweet Chris King hubs that work with all the axle standards and they're cheap. Oh, wait — they are only the first two of those things.
- £TBD / $2,700
Via Bicycle Cafe custom water bottles
Specialized has a standalone business for custom water bottles. BikeRadar has its own bottles, but we also appreciate seeing cool new styles, like these we bought at Via Bicycle Cafe in Estes Park, Colorado, during a big ride for a Cycling Plus feature.
If you have a club that wants to go in on a minimum order of 50, you can design your own, too.
- Prices vary based on type of bottle and number ordered.
Zevlin skincare
Zevlin, makers of custom handlebar tape in Texas, now has a line of skincare products for cyclists.
Zevlin’s BYOT spray is designed for cleaning up after a ride when you can't immediately get to a shower. The rinseless body wash contains aloe juice, essential oils and other natural extracts.
Legs is a paraben-free shaving cream with aloe. Chances are, you can also shave your face with it. You know, if you're into that kind of thing.
- £N/A / $14 BYOT / $10 Legs
Sako7 / Grupetto coffee
Sean Sakinofsky started Sako7 socks in his native South Africa and found social media success with his tireless promotion. Now Sakinofsky has partnered with former POC bike division head Peter Appleton and the pair have jumped into coffee. Because, well, coffee.
This new label may be branded Sako7, as arrived at BR headquarters, or it it might be called Grupetto. Either way, you're likely going to be seeing it soon on Instagram and, possibly, in your mug.
- Prices not yet available
Showers Pass Hi-Vis Elite jacket
The Showers Pass Hi-Vis Elite jacket comes with four LED lights that run on coin batteries and snap into the arm cuffs and bottom hem of the jacket.
The waterproof, breathable main body has a rear vent flap that is complemented by chest vent zips.
The black side material features reflective elements in a map pattern.
- £N/A / $279
