Welcome along to the final First Look Friday of 2024 as we bring you a glimpse at the tasty tech treats that have arrived at BikeRadar HQ in recent weeks.
We hope you've had a merry and restful Christmas, Santa has bestowed upon you many lavish cycling presents and you're ready for a year filled with adventures on two wheels in 2025.
By now, you're probably bored of Christmas TV and down to the strawberry creams and Bounties in your Christmas chocolate boxes. So, feast yourself instead upon our seasonal selection of reviews, features and tech delights.
Over the past week, we've kept the content fire smouldering, with myself, Ashley Quinlan and Alex Evans rounding up our 2024 Gear of the Year selections and Alex making the bold claim that carrots are a better cycling snack than bananas.
Jack Luke reminded us of 6 winter cycling mistakes every road rider makes – and how he avoids them, while Oscar Huckle enlisted three bike fitters to deliver some home truths about integrated cable routing.
There was plenty more on the site, and our YouTube and podcast channels, to distract you from Christmas pudding, the Gavin and Stacey Christmas special and cringe-worthy cracker jokes. However, let's delay no further – it's time for my bountiful festive First Look Friday gifts.
Lazer Codax helmet
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The Codax is Lazer’s cost-effective all-round helmet. With its small integrated peak, it offers a nod to gravel riders and commuters alike.
It features Lazer’s take on rotational impact protection, KinetiCore, which rivals the most established protection, MIPS.
KinetiCore uses a series of tiny blocks on the helmet's interior. Lazer claims these controlled crumple zones protect your head in the event of a crash by redirecting and dissipating impact energy away from your brain and into the helmet.
For a sub-£50 helmet, the Codax looks good. It has a small profile and 19 generously sized vents, with the forward vents protected by an integral bug mesh. Add a structured cradle with its own TurnSys rotational dial adjustment and it's a well-featured affordable helmet.
The rear is compatible with Lazer’s universal LED and there’s even an optional winter kit.
The helmet weighs 270g and is available in one size, adjustable between 54 and 61cm.
- £49.99 / $64.99 / €66.99
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Madison winter road kit
Madison Clothing has built a fine reputation for performance bike wear at competitive prices. This trio of new winter 2024 pieces looks likely to continue that well-earned reputation.
Madison DTE Isoler Thermal Long-sleeve Jacket
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The new DTE Isoler thermal long-sleeve is where the thermal jacket and jersey meet.
Most of the jacket is made from a close-fitting, high-stretch polyester that’s complemented with a front panel and arms sections that use brushed Isoler Roubaix fabric. This helps keep warmth in and provides wind-resilient protection when riding in cool conditions.
The jersey is treated with a DWR (durable water repellent) coating, which should help keep road spray and moisture at bay.
With elasticated cuffs, a dropped tail, subtle reflective details, three large rear pockets and an inset zipped valuables pocket, the DTE Isoler is well appointed. It should be a great mid-season, autumnal outer layer, and come the colder and wetter months, make a great mid-layer under a waterproof jacket.
The DTE jacket is available in sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL and XXXL, and in a women’s specific fit.
- Madison DTE Isoler Thermal Long-sleeve Jacket: £69.99
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Madison DTE Thermal Bib Tights with EIT Pad
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Complementing the DTE jersey are these thermal bib tights.
Like the jersey, they feature a DWR coating and use the Isoler Roubaix fabric for the front panels. The bib section features mesh insert panels to help with moisture transfer and seamless elasticated bib straps for comfort.
The pad is designed for Madison by Elastic Interface, the Italian pad specialists whose premium pads are found in many top brands' shorts and tights. It's impressive to see a premium pad such as this in a price-pointed pair of winter bib tights.
The DTE bibs are available in sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL and XXXL, and in a women’s specific fit.
- Madison DTE Thermal Bib Tights with EIT Pad: £99.99
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Madison Roam Isoler Merino 4 Season Socks
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Finally, it's the Madison Roam Isoler Merino 4 Season Socks. These European-made socks use a blend of predominantly Merino wool (20 per cent) and Cotton (45 per cent), along with an Isoler insulated material.
The sock bed features a Terry cushioning section, and the weave adds compression around the ankle and arch to provide support and comfort.
They are available in six colours and sizes.
- Madison Roam Isoler Merino 4 Season Socks: £9.99
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Santini winter gravel wear
Santini has added some winter designs to its understated Terranova gravel range, including new 3/4 bibs, a Merino jersey, and a Merino-based Polartec-Alpha lined gilet to keep chills at bay when hitting the dirt
Santini Cargo ¾ Bib Tights
These ¾ bibs are designed for winter gravel use. They’re made from Sitip’s Blizzard Thermofleece fabric, with an outer shell that's treated with Acquazero water repellency.
The braces are made from seamless elastic bands that flow into a raw-edge cut-back section designed to fit close and add warmth. The cuffs are also raw cut with a reinforced elastic to prevent them from riding up, and the knee sections are designed with ergonomically shaped sections to articulate alongside your pedalling movements.
Inside is a plush, endurance-biased GitEvo pad for shock absorbency and comfort on long rides. The flanks of the thighs feature high-stretch mesh pockets with reflective strips. At the rear waist are two large-capacity stretch mesh pockets.
- Santini Cargo Bib Tights: £135 / $168 / €140
Santini Impetus Wool Jersey
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The Impetus is a soft-touch long-sleeve thermal jersey made from ethically sourced Merino wool.
The higher-cut neck provides a bit of extra cold-condition protection. Santini claims the zipless design helps regulate your body temperature and the Merino wool is naturally breathable.
The simple design looks good on or off the bike and still has a bit of practicality with a hidden zipped valuables pocket on the side.
- Santini Impetus Wool Jersey: £105 / $132 / €110
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Santini Alpha Pack Vest
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Santini says the Alpha Pack Vest is perfect for adventurous cyclists, as well as hikes in the mountains and other outdoor activities.
The outer layer is gossamer-thin, but is a windproof shell.
Underneath is a thick Merino-wool based Polartec Alpha fabric, which Santini claims offers maximum warmth for minimal weight.
The offset zipper allows for a large chest pocket to carry your essentials. The pocket also doubles as a bag for the gilet because the thick fleecy material packs down small enough to fit inside.
The back of the vest has large reflective details, finishing off what is a very versatile essential for changeable days out.
- Santini Alpha Pack Vest: £160 / $204 / €170
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Santini Clever protective undershoes
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The Clever isn’t part of Santini’s winter gravel range, but I couldn’t resist getting hold of them. As the name suggests, these shoe covers look to be a very smart take on winter foot protection.
Unlike traditional overshoes, the Clevers are designed to be used underneath your cleats. It means no more struggling to get wet, mucky overshoes off at the end of a ride or fighting to stretch them over your shoes before setting out.
These half-covers simply stay on your shoes throughout winter, protecting the uppers and blocking out vented shoes at the same time.
The raw-cut edges fit smoothly around the upper, and the elasticated and reinforced toe and heel hold them in place. It means you won't have to put away those summer-only highly vented shoes come adverse weather – just cleverly fit these.
- Santini Clever protective undershoes: £47 / $61 / €49.90
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Connex 12Wax chain
Chain waxing has been a hot topic for 2024, but if like me you think life’s too short to be waxing chains when you could be riding, Connex’s new 12Wax might be just what you’re looking for.
The 12Wax uses Wipperman’s 12-speed Connex chain that's compatible with 12-speed drivetrains for road and off-road, and rated for ebikes too. However, it’s not advised to be used with SRAM’s flat-top road (AXS) chains.
The chain weighs in at 268g with 118 links and uses Connex’s link connector, a reusable quick-link to fit and remove your chain easily.
The pre-waxing treatment is a full hot-wax immersion at the factory and Connex claims the 12Wax will give you longer life for your drivetrain, cleaner running and more power efficiency. Plus it says the hot liquid wax treatment is more environmentally friendly than traditional oils.
The 12Wax is priced at £89.99 / $89.99 / €84.90 and Connex also offers the same pre-waxed process on 11- and 10-speed chains.
