Hey there, bike riders. Happy Friday. Take a break from your work and get the weekend started off right with a nice visual dose of bike gear. Here are 10 pieces of the best and most interesting gear that showed up at the BikeRadar offices this week.
New mountain bike gear
Birzman Zacoo Salut shock pump
Most of us will have a shock pump that came with our bike or fork, but they don’t last forever. The Birzman Salut is a high quality alloy shock pump with a maximum pressure of 300psi. The valve simply threads in place and a special ‘Airlock’ valve ensures no air escapes from the shock when disconnecting. A bleed valve sits recessed into the back of the 1.6in gauge, something that doubles as a hand hold too.
£40 / US$TBC / AU$TBC
Bell Super 2R MIPS
We were impressed with the amount of coverage the original Bell Super provided when we tested it several seasons ago. Bell has just introduced an updated design that incorporates the MIPS system to offer riders even more protection.
MIPS stands for Multi-directional Impact Protection System. It uses a break-away liner intended to reduce rotational forces on the skull — and more importantly, your brain — during certain types of impacts.
This MIPS-equipped halfshell features overbrow ventilation and a removable camera mount. It can even be turned into a full face with the addition of Bell’s Super 2R chin-bar.
US$155 / £125 / AU$250
Osprey Zealot 15
Osprey’s Zealot 15 aims to meet the needs of enduro racers and bike park riders. The Zealot can carry body armour, a full-face helmet and has a separate zippered compartment on the bottom of the bag for tool storage — there’s even a removable tool roll for trailside repairs.
The Zealot 15 now features a clamshell-style main compartment that opens wide to allow access to your essentials as well as to the hydration sleeve, so there’s no need to remove the three-litre reservoir when it’s time for a refuel.
The S/M size pack we have in for test has 13l of storage capacity, while the M/L version is slightly more voluminous at 15l.
US$150 / £60 / AU$95
SRAM Direct-Mount X-Sync chainring
SRAM has expanded its narrow/wide chainring line to include direct mount rings. These CNC-machined aluminium direct-mount rings offer two important benefits over the four-bolt design used for XX1, XO1 and X1 cranks: increased gearing range and decreased weight.
SRAM's new direct-mount chainrings for 1x11 drivetrains give riders a wider range of gearing options. They're compatible with all three of SRAM’s 1x11 mountain bike groups and range in size from 26t to a massive 40t option. The claimed weight savings of the direct-mount rings ranges from 25-50g, depending on chainring size.
US$99 / £75 / AU$ TBA
Kitsbow Power Wool long sleeve baselayer
Power Wool is a new material from Polartec that has wool on one side of the fabric and polyester on the other. Merino wool goes against the skin for softness and warmth — even when wet — and the synthetic fabric on the exterior pulls moisture from the wool for evaporation.
Made in the USA, it comes in yellow or grey.
US$115 / €89 / £40TBC / AU$TBC
New road bike gear
Castelli Free Aero Race bibs
Castelli first introduced the Free Aero Race back in 2007; this is the first redesign.
A new Progetto X2 Air chamois has a seamless cushion layer underneath with viscous inserts under the sit bones. The leg band now has a wide, thin-mesh gripper to distribute pressure – thus the packaged sausage look.
Castelli has also beefed up the Lyrcra for a little more compression and added dimpled fabric to the sides in a nod to aero design.
US$199 / £140 / AU$TBC
Clif Bar Organic Energy Food
Coming in four varieties, the new Organic Energy Food is slurpable pouch that contains sweet or savoury contents. The flavours are:
- Banana Beet with Ginger
- Banana Mango with Coconut
- Pizza Margherita
- Sweet Potato with Sea Salt
The fruit styles have glucose and fructose for energy, and the Pizza and Sweet Potato have a little fat, protein and sodium, for longer-duration training and racing.
Sweet flavours (90g) US$2.29, savoury flavours (120g) US $2.99
CrankTip pedals
CrankTip pedals' dual swingarm design effectively adds leverage on the downstroke, increasing power and efficiency with a notable reduction in heart rate, the company claims.
Weighing 780g a pair, the pedals move the rider's foot 12mm lower and 16mm further forward than a standard pedal. You'll want to lower your saddle accordingly.
US$400 / £TBC / AU$TBC
Birzman Maha-Apogee III floor pump
The Maha Apogee III is the latest version of the winning pump in our recent best floor pumps for road cyclists feature. The CNC alloy barrel is now longer, but the big story is in the new Snap-it Apogee pump head, something that works with a quick press and twist onto Presta or by threading onto Schrader, the latter of which works with suspension forks too. Removing from a Presta valve is even simpler – sliding the gold collar back releases the head.
£49.99 / US$76 / AU$100
Koobi 232Sprint saddle
Last spring Koobi introduced a 232T time trial/triathlon saddle with a deep relief channel, short 232mm length and wide nose. The new 232Sprint is basically a more padded option with softer foam and a more flexible base.
US$149 / £TBC / AU$TBC
Check out the gallery above for more images of all the gear.
