Friday has finally arrived, and what a week it has been for gear! We got our hands dirty with a pretty fancy chain scrubber, took a look back at the Tour de France jersey winners' special edition bikes and our man Russell vented about Presta valves. But before you head off to the weekend, check out the latest gear to roll through the doors of our Australian and UK offices.
- Top 5 Tour de France pro gear coverups
- SpeedX updates the Leopard and looks to 2018
- Ride tested: Castelli hot-weather gear
Maap All Conditions Phone Pocket
Australian outfits Maap and Bellroy have once again teamed up to produce a riding wallet, the All Conditions Phone Pocket.
A bit classier than your classic zip lock bag, it’s made from water resistant leather and the YKK Aquaguard Zipper is semi sealed to keep moisture out as well.
The case is lined with soft microfiber and there are internal pockets to keep your cards, cash and whatever else you may be carrying organised.
The new larger size is designed to hold an iPhone 7+ or similarly sized device and comes in a new Arctic Blue colour.
In working with Bellory, Maap also wanted to create something that could be used off the bike. MAAP's director said: "When I ride, I want a functional wallet that protects your phone but can also act as your primary wallet off the bike. The All-Conditions Phone Pocket definitely achieves this."
- £94.50 / $119.99 / AU$159.99
Cateye Volt 400 XC
Cateye has just updated its Volt range of lights, and we’ve just received the new Volt 400XC. The light sees a sleeker aesthetic, reduced weight and size, and a new 360 rotatable rubber band mounting bracket.
With up to 400 lumens on offer it has a claimed 2.5 hour battery life at full power or up to a claimed 110 hours on the flashing mode. Weighing just 95g by our scales, the light has four flashing modes on offer and comes with a mini-USB lithium ion rechargeable battery.
- £50 / $40 / AU$69.99
The Sufferfest App
Created by David McQuillen, The Sufferfest has evolved from just a series of training videos to a full blown training suite.
With a subscription to the app you not only get access to the full library of cycling videos (37 in total), but a full series of cycling yoga, guided by Abi Carver of Yoga15.com, as well as training plans for road, MTB, CX and triathlon hosted by Neal Henderson and Mac Cassin of APEX Coaching.
You'll also get a nutrition plan designed by Alan McCubbin from Next Level Nutrition and a new mental training program from APEX Coaching and Lifesparq's sports psychologists.
The app is available for Mac, Windows, and iOS and connects to your powermeter, smart trainer and heart rate monitor via Bluetooth or ANT+. Should you not have a powermeter or smart trainer, the app can also utilise data from speed and cadence sensors for virtual power.
A subscription to the app costs $10 a month and one subscription works across all your devices. If you’re not totally sold, there is a seven-day free trial available.
- £7.68 approx / $10 / AU$16.62 approx
Trek Super Commuter+ 9
The Trek Super Commuter+ 9 e-bike has won a rare award at BikeRadar towers, and that’s before we’ve even ridden it.
Basically it’s the only bike we’ve ever had that is too heavy for our scales to weigh, and they max out at 25kg. But this bike has got a motor, so as long as you stay within that 25kph speed limit, it should pedal along quite nicely.
The gears are pretty clever, using a grip shift style throttle to handle those inevitable changes in gradient on your commute.
As e-bikes go, we really like the look of this one with plenty of smart and practical integration. If any bike is going to be a replacement for your car, this could be the one.
£4,000 / $N/A / AU$N/A
Blackburn Switch Mini Tool
As a more stylish alternative to the traditional multi-tool, Blackburn’s Switch is a two-fold case with four dual-headed bits that should have you covered for basic adjustments. The included handle allows for T or L configurations for increased leverage, too.
The Switch weighs 98g, which in comparison to a normal multi-tool (our Topeak Mini 20 came in at 148g) isn’t too shabby. Plus you get a decent little case with pockets for your money.
- £18 / $N/A / AU$N/A
Bold Cycling B4R Wheelset
Bold’s B4R wheels were designed as its all-round wheelset with a 45mm rim depth, front and rear, and 17.5mm internal width.
We suspect these rims are open mould, but don’t let that put you off. As proven by the Flux 350R wheelset, they can perform as well as or even better than some of the big name brands out there and for considerably less money.
The rims are built to Bold’s own six pawl hubs that come with an anti-bite strip to stop your cassette from digging into and damaging the free hub body.
We weighed the B4Rs at 1,548g (697g front and 851g rear — with rim tape, but without skewers) and each wheelset comes supplied with its own carbon specific brake pads, titanium aero skewers and spoke tension graphs for future reference.
- £700 / International pricing not currently available
AbsoluteBlack SS Cogs
AbsoluteBlack is probably known for its striking looking chainrings, but in addition to those it makes a whole load of other well engineered components.
AbsoluteBlack sent in these singlespeed chainrings for Reuben’s latest build project, a singlespeed conversion because his current hardtail MTB is currently sitting in bits looking sorry for itself.
This is a way to breath some life into a forgotten bike and plus, he’s never ridden singlespeed so he thought it’d be fun.
The neat thing about these cogs is the width. With a 7mm base thickness, they’re designed specifically to not dig into the freehub body.
Made from 7075 aluminium, AbsoluteBlack claims they’re the strongest tooth design on the market and are designed to fit almost every hub on the market too.
The SS Cogs are available in 16, 18 or 20t configurations.
- £29 / $40
Fox Float DPX 2
We’ve already covered Fox’s Float DPX 2 shock and expectations are high for this big player in the suspension game.
It now comes in this fetching purple colourway for all those riders who can’t stand orange.
Our testers will be keen to put this shock through its paces, so look out for a full review on BikeRadar in the future.
- £589 / $549 / AU$829
Continental Mountain King Protection 29x2.3
The press release that came with Continental’s all new Mountain King describes it as an “all mountain tyre with slight Enduro handling”.
We’re not sure what slight Enduro handling might feel like, but these 29er tyres come in a relatively wide 2.3 size and feature Continental’s Black Chilli Compound.
The tyre also has decent sidewall protection and a softer 240tpi compound on the centre tread for that all important grip.
This may sound super weird, but being Continentals also smell pretty nice straight out of the box, Mmmmmmm rubberrrrr………
- This tyre is so new, there’s no price available yet
Deda SL 38c
Component giant Deda Elementi also makes wheels and its new SL 38c represents its take on an all-round carbon clincher. They weigh 1,542g on the BikeRadar scales of truth, making them light, but not super light.
Combine this with a width of 26mm, tubeless compatibility and ceramic hubs, and it means they tick all the fashionable wheel boxes.
- £1,319 / $N/A / AU$N/A
Reynolds T-shirts
Steel bikes can attract a certain type of loyal following, and now you can show your love of ‘real steel’ with these Reynolds T-shirts.
Each design is based around Reynolds tubing, and for cycling clothing we think they’re tastefully done.
The fit is spot on too, not too long and not too short, with a slim(ish) cut. Perfect for casually showing off your cycling leanings at the local pub.
- £25–£34.99 / $N/A / AU$N/A