As we reach the end of another week, it’s time for First Look Friday, our weekly round-up of the latest and greatest swag to arrive at BikeRadar towers.
Before we get into that, though, let’s recap some of the week’s biggest stories and reviews.
It’s been an action-packed week on BikeRadar, with the Tour de France understandably dominating many of the headlines.
This week, we’ve taken a close look at Caleb Ewan’s prototype lightweight, all-rounder Ridley, and the new ENVE integrated handlebar adorning Tadej Pogačar’s Colnago V4Rs.
Over on the BikeRadar YouTube channel, we’ve got coverage of the hottest custom bikes at this year’s race, as well as deep dives into some of the new and unreleased bikes we spotted at the Grand Depart in Bilbao, Spain.
Just in case you were curious, our team of experts also revealed who the tallest cyclist at the Tour de France is, and why it matters.
Away from road racing, BikeRadar’s senior technical editor, Alex Evans, has been dutifully testing mountain bike flat pedals, and this week saw reviews of the Pembree D2A and Race Face Atlas published.
A review of the Focus JAM2 SL 9.9 electric mountain bike also went live this week, with Alex praising the bike’s performance and versatility.
Over on the BikeRadar podcast, BikeRadar’s in-house foodie, Tom Marvin, spoke to celebrity chef and environmental campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
Joined by Darron Coppin, of Sven Cycles, and BikeRadar’s senior technical editor Warren Rossiter, the four talk about Hugh’s custom-built River Cottage Rambler electric bike.
Bont Vaypor 2023
It’s been a couple of years since Bont last updated the Vaypor, its flagship road cycling shoe.
The snappily named Vaypor 2023 continues with Bont’s signature bathtub-style carbon sole, but gets an updated and simplified closure system, sheds a little weight, and has some extra quality-of-life features.
Bont also says it has updated its last (the model foot around which a shoe is built) to suit a wider range of foot shapes.
Because of this, Bont says the Vaypor 2023 shouldn’t need heat-moulding for most people, though that is still an option for those who want to.
The new closure system features two BOA Li2 rotary dials, in a simpler arrangement than on the previous Vaypor S.
Bont has also introduced adjustable cleat bolt holes, a feature borrowed from its more budget-oriented Motion shoe.
This can be useful because it gives a much wider range of cleat positions, which can be important for an optimal bike fit.
In terms of weight, Bont claims the Vaypor 2023 weighs 200g per shoe in a size EU42. On our scales, our size EU45 pair weighs 442g.
As a point of comparison, the size EU45 Vaypor S Hologram shoes we tested in 2021 weighed 484.6g.
Available in white or black, the Bont Vaypor 2023s cost £369.95/$449.
- Bont Vaypor 2023: £369.95/$449
LifeLine Pro Bike Workstand
A dedicated bike repair stand is an invaluable tool for any home mechanic, so when my Aldi middle-aisle special workstand gave up the ghost recently, I immediately went looking for a replacement.
As with most products, there’s a wide range of options and prices available, but LifeLine’s Pro Bike Workstand seemed to tick most of the right boxes at a glance.
It has a rugged build quality, with plenty of metal and heavy-duty plastic. Each section of the stand is secured using quick-release levers for speedy operation, while the rotating head and jaws use metal levers.
It also folds up to a reasonably small size and has a claimed capacity of 40kg.
That’s more than enough to cope with every road bike I own (even the ones with disc brakes), and potentially electric bikes and beyond too, should I ever take the plunge on a true dad wagon.
LifeLine says the Pro Bike Workstand is suitable for people of varying heights, thanks to a wide range of adjustment from 120 to 198cm.
It also includes a detachable tool tray, with a magnetic section, for keeping tools and parts within reach while you’re using the stand.
Priced at £149.99/$199.99/€164.99, the LifeLine Pro Bike Workstand undercuts many of its competitors, such as the highly rated Park Tool PCS-10.
- LifeLine Pro Bike Workstand: £149.99/$199.99/€164.99
Santini Gran Depart Pais Vasco cycling kit
As the official jersey sponsor of the Tour de France, Santini produces a number of promotional kits for each edition of the race.
The Gran Départ Pais Vasco collection is dedicated to this year’s race start in Bilbao, Spain.
Given this, the collection reflects the green, red and white colours of the Basque flag, mixed with symbols and icons from the territory.
The rear of the jersey also includes the profiles from the opening three stages.
The Gran Depart Pais Vasco bib shorts are constructed from Santini’s ‘Thunderbike Power’ compression fabric, and have a wide printed gripper along the lower hem to keep them in place.
As you might expect, the kit is constructed using lightweight and breathable fabrics designed for summer use.
Completing the collection are a matching baselayer, socks, gloves and cycling cap.
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco jersey: £99/$135/€99
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco bib shorts: £140/$190/€140
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco baselayer: £29/$40/€29
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco socks: £15/$25/€15
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco gloves: £30/$40/€30
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco cap: £19/$25/€19
Kask Aero Pro visor
Many modern time trial helmets come equipped with a visor to help shield your eyes from the sun, wind and rain.
The Kask Aero Po visor – which fits the Bambino Pro Evo and Mistral TT helmets – has an extra trick up its sleeve, however, in the shape of a plastic barge-board style lip around the lower edge.
Those who follow pro cycling may have noticed this visor first being used by Team Ineos-Grenadiers (fitted to some unusually large helmets) at the opening time trial of the 2022 Tour de France.
Curiously, Kask is tight-lipped about the purpose and performance benefit of the Aero Pro Visor compared to the standard visor.
Despite the fact that Dan Bigham and Filippo Ganna both used it to break the UCI Hour Record, there was no official launch or press release from Kask claiming huge wattage gains at some ungodly speed, or that it’s “the fastest visor ever made!”.
Instead, it was just added quietly to Kask’s website as an accessory, priced at £135 for the clear version or £145 for one with a mirrored finish.
As far as we can tell, the flared lower lip is designed to help divert airflow around a rider’s shoulders and, in turn, reduce their aerodynamic drag. We couldn’t tell you by how much, though…
- Kask Aero Po visor, clear: £135
