What better way to celebrate the start of the Tour Down Under – which marks the start of the 2024 men’s and women’s WorldTour – than gabbing with fellow gossip gal and Getty race photo sleuth, Simon von Bromley on the BikeRadar podcast?
In our overview of the latest road tech scoops to grace BikeRadar, we discussed the release of a possible new Trek road bike, Kask’s unusual ear-covering helmet, the possibility of a new SRAM Red groupset and the implications of the UCI’s rule changes. If you love pro road cycling tech, don’t miss this one.
Don’t think we’ve forgotten about the #huck2flat shreditor crowd, though.
This week, we’ve brought you a first look at WTB’s oh-so-expensive fat bike tyres, Atherton’s lugged trail bike and looked back at the influence Orange Bikes – which is facing some financial jeopardy – has had on the lives of riders across the world.
Elsewhere, Oscar took umbrage with Evans Cycles’ plan to launch workshop-free bike shops and, as if you needed any more convincing, we laid out 27 reasons why you should take up riding.
If that isn’t enough to fill your winter cycling shoes, here’s this week’s edition of First Look Friday – phew!
Hulsroy bottle cages
Mads Hulsrøj Jæger is a Danish custom bike builder trading as Hulsroy.
He produces handsome bikes to spec, documenting his build process in a long-running (and excellent) thread on the London Fixed Gear Single Speed forum.
These bottle cages are Jæger’s first production product.
Constructed from silver brazed stainless steel, the cages have three options – left-hand sideload, right-hand sideload or standard central symmetrical access.
The cages are rock-solid, gripping bottles tenaciously. The malleable steel construction means the cages can be tweaked to fit different bottles, provide a lighter hold or, should they be damaged, can be bent back into place.
The steel cages are, of course, not as light as an aluminium or titanium cage, but that’s hardly the point – these are highly functional rock-solid cages designed to last forever and complement an appropriate bike.
For a small-batch hand-built product, they’re also surprisingly affordable at €40 (international shipping available).
That’s a lot of money for a bottle cage, but considerably less than similar options from the likes of Silca.
Elastic Interface Watt D200 InsoleTech insoles
Launched at Eurobike 2023, Elastic Interface’s insoles are made of the same material as the brand’s chamois and glove pads.
This means they are, unexpectedly, very squishy – if the original Shimano insoles are rough oatcakes, these are fluffy Scotch pancakes.
They're ever so slightly higher in volume than the stock insoles. This resulted in a tight initial fit with my size 43 Shimano shoes. Once the foam compressed and my feet settled, everything felt about normal.
I’ve used the insoles for several weeks now and love them. I’ve got gross, bony old man feet and the extra squish provides a soft bed for my gnarly tootsies.
I’ve also suffered from less numbness on long rides and they tend to honk less than the stock insoles after a sweaty ride. Should the pong become too overpowering, the insoles are machine washable.
The insoles will initially be available to cycling shoe manufacturers, with the potential to roll these out to consumers in the future.
- Pricing N/A
Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds
The Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds follow on from the Elite 7 Active, which we reviewed in November, awarding them 3.5 stars.
Jabra claims to have scanned 62,000 ears to “create the perfect fit for you” while developing the 8 Actives.
We had issues with the fit of the 7s, so we’ll be jamming these into the most unusual lugs we can find to put the brand’s claims to the test.
The headphones were independently tested by Force Technology for their ability to withstand, among other things, vibrations, temperature shock, humidity exposure and drop resistance. Jabra claims the results of this test, which is available to view on the brand site, illustrate these are the world’s toughest headphones.
Though our testing is led by Gary Walker – an incomparably talented managing editor and reluctantly knowledgable audiophile – headphones are a relatively new area for BikeRadar.
With that in mind, we’re keen to hear suggestions from you.
Our round-up of the best cycling headphones we have tested includes a range of brands and price points, but are there any models you would like us to test? Or is there anything else you’d like us to cover in our reviews? Please leave any thoughts in the comments below.
- £199, international pricing TBC
Bear Components Standard Steel Replaceable Hanger dropouts
After thousands of kilometres of happy riding, my beloved tandem snapped just in front of the driveside dropout on my last tour.
I’m not exactly sure why it broke, but the mountains of kit I pile onto the back of the bike while riding off-road probably had something to do with it.
Anyway, such is the beauty of steel, this failure didn’t spell the end of Cecil – swapping a dropout is a fairly easy job for a competent frame builder.
Having made a career as a fussy cycling tech diva, it won’t surprise you to hear I agonised over which dropouts to choose for the repair.
In the end, and with much input from Matthew of Rothair Cycles, who repaired the bike, I settled on a pair of Bear Components’ Standard Steel Replaceable Hanger dropouts.
I chose these dropouts for two reasons.
Dropping a loaded tandem is almost guaranteed to bend a hanger beyond repair, so I wanted something with a replaceable hanger. It’s much easier to bolt on a replacement hanger than go through the hassle of brazing on a new fixed hanger (and repainting your bike).
Secondly, as with all of Bear Components’ parts, the hangers are CNC-machined in the UK, and supporting a small local-ish business appeals to my worthy sensibilities.
Now, I realise including a small component used in a frame repair is hardly in keeping with the ethos of First Look Friday – a cavalcade of all things shiny and new – but I care not one jot.
The pleasure of repairing something and making it your own – all while getting to nerd out with intense research – is a greater joy than any ill-advised purchase could ever be. As with my resoled Five Tennies and stinky ol’ Patagonia running jacket, I will always celebrate opportunities to give favourite gear a new lease of life.
The repaired frame is now back in my hands with a resplendent new paintjob and a few extra additional braze-ons to boot. Stay tuned for a follow up to my BikeRadar Builds feature soon.
- £44.25, international shipping available
- Buy Bear Components' Standard Steel Replaceable Hanger dropouts
