It’s the end of another week, which means it's time for the latest edition of First Look Friday – our weekly round-up of the best new kit to arrive at BikeRadar.
Before we get onto that, though, let’s have a quick recap of the week just gone.
On the road side of things, the big news of the week was the launch of the new Colnago Y1RS aero road bike.
Its radical looks have divided opinion, but the Italian brand claims it's faster than anything currently available. We’re sure once Tadej Pogačar swings a leg over one, that will turn out to be true.
On the same day, Van Rysel finally launched its RCR-F aero bike. First spotted by BikeRadar's head of content, George Scott, at last year’s Tour de France, the RCR-F looks like a beefed-up version of the RCR Pro – the brand’s lightweight all-rounder race bike.
Although presumably a bit heavier than that bike, we’ve no doubt the RCR-F will find favour among the sprinters, rouleurs and classics specialists on the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale WorldTour team.
As his transfer saga from Ineos Grenadiers to Q36.5 concluded this week, it was announced that Olympic cross-country MTB star, Tom Pidcock, will ride both Scott and Pinarello bikes next year – Scott for road and Pinarello for off-road.
On the subject of riding off-road, Rob Weaver sparked debate this week by proclaiming “Everyone will be riding an ebike in five years” – at least for mountain biking, anyway.
Do you agree with him? Let us know what you think in the comments below – once you’ve watched the video – and if you want to hear more from Rob, Tom and the MBUK team, why not subscribe to their new YouTube channel? It doesn’t cost a penny, and the team is putting out new videos every week.
If riding indoors during the winter is more your thing, I’ve been hard at work in recent weeks testing some of the latest smart trainers.
This week, my review of Van Rysel’s D100 Home Trainer was published. At only £259.99 / €299.99 with a Zwift Cog and Click shifter included, it’s one of the cheapest ways to get a direct-drive smart trainer and offers great all-round performance. If you can live with the low maximum power specs, it’s definitely one to check out.
With all that out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the shiny new swag to arrive at BikeRadar this week.
Shimano RX801 gravel cycling shoes
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Having launched its RX8 cycling shoes back in 2019, Shimano refreshed the model line-up in 2022 and we’ve finally got our hands on a pair.
Compared to the originals, the RX801 shoes feature updated, multi-directional Boa Li2 dials and refreshed colour options.
There’s also a version with an integrated gaiter – called the RX8R – designed to keep debris out of your shoes, if that’s been a problem for you.
Updated dials and colour options aside, the RX801s appear identical to the original RX8s, with a carbon fibre sole, wrap-around uppers and narrowly spaced rubber lugs.
Shimano rates the stiffness of the RX801 sole at 10 on its own internal scale, which is 2 less than the 12 rating given to its flagship road cycling shoe, the S-Phyre RC903.
Compared to the Japanese brand’s off-road shoes, the XC7s have a carbon-reinforced sole rated at 9 on the stiffness scale, while its S-Phyre XC903 shoes feature a full-carbon sole rated at 11.
As always, it’s worth remembering these ratings are both unitless and arbitrary, so while they may help to steer purchasing decisions, they can’t be used for inter-brand comparisons.
On the scales, our set of size EU45 Shimano RX801 shoes weighs 621g, for an average of 310.5g per shoe.
That’s a respectable 139g less than the size EU46 XC7s we tested in 2022.
- Shimano RX801 shoes: £229.99 / $275 / €229
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Vittoria A Dugast Rhino TLR tyres
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Having acquired A Dugast in 2021, Vittoria has now released its own versions of the Dutch brand’s legendary cyclocross tyres.
Available in tubular and tubeless-ready form, both are made using Vittoria’s latest cotton-casing technology (as found on its flagship road bike tyre, the Corsa Pro TLR), with a neoprene coating applied to prevent the tyre absorbing moisture in muddy conditions.
The Rhino is designed for muddy conditions, with tall tread knobs to aid grip. Vittoria claims the open tread design helps the tyre shed mud and debris quickly, leading to lower rolling resistance.
The tubeless versions are compatible with hookless rims and have a maximum inflation pressure of 72.5psi / 5 BAR, although we imagine most CX riders won’t go anywhere near that high.
When BikeRadar’s road and gravel presenter, Liam Cahill, tested the Dugast Typhoon TLR cyclocross tyres last winter, for example, he went as low as 11psi / 0.75 BAR in some races
Available in a single 700x33c size, the Vittoria A Dugast Rhino TLR tyres are claimed to weigh 420g each.
- Vittoria A Dugast Rhino TLR tyres: £85 / €89.95
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Koo Hype sunglasses
Koo says its new Hype sunglasses have been designed with “maximum ventilation” in mind.
The Hypes feature a one-piece lens, made by famed optical specialists, Zeiss, with the look of a two-piece design – thanks to the large ventilation hole above the nose bridge.
Along with vents at the edge of the frames, this is designed to keep fogging to a minimum.
According to Koo, the polycarbonate Zeiss lens uses a “double-curvature shape”, which is designed to prevent optical distortions for the clearest possible view.
The nose bridge pads are interchangeable, with Koo including two sizes in the box, and there are nine frame and lens colour combinations available.
The frames are also compatible with Koo’s optical inserts for prescription lenses.
- Koo Hype sunglasses: £180 / $215 / €200
Halo Hi Flow tubeless valves
Halo says its Hi Flow tubeless valves are designed to “eliminate the ‘faff’ from tubeless setups”, as they allow a claimed “300 per cent greater airflow” than standard Presta valves.
This, the brand says, should help with seating the beads of stubborn tubeless tyres, because the tyre can be filled with air faster – without the need to resort to a dedicated tubeless inflator.
The valves also allow most tubeless sealants to be injected through them without any risk of clogging, although Halo recommends sealants with larger particles, such as Silca’s Ultimate tubeless sealant, should still be added directly to the tyre.
Made from CNC aluminium, Halo’s Hi Flow tubeless valves feature less tech than some competitors, but this means they're relatively light at 10g for the 44mm versions.
- Halo Hi Flow tubeless valves: £22 / $29.99 / €28.99
