Cero is an in-house wheel brand from UK retailer Cycle Division, and the AR30 Superlight alloy clincher is the debut model in the range. Cycle Division have been developing Cero hoops for the last 18 months, with deep-section carbon wheels among the new items being readied for launch this summer.
The AR30s certainly have the lightweight element dialled – the combined weight of 1,390g (760g rear/630g front) is more than competitive at £349.99. They're built with Cero hubs 20h/24h front/rear on a 30mm rim with Sapim CX-Ray spokes.
RST
RST deal mostly in motor racing clothing and protection, but their cycling range includes the Ventec helmet (£49.99). Weighing in at 241g (medium size, large also available) it features 30 vents, has a dial tightening mechanism and comes in gloss white and gloss black on top of the model shown below.
One Man and His Bike, by Mike Carter
Mike Carter's new book, One Man and His Bike, chronicles his decision to head straight past his London office and carry on pedalling. It suddenly dawned on him that if he followed the Thames straight out to sea and kept the water on his right, he would eventually arrive back at Blackfriars Bridge, only on the other side of the river.
The 5,000 miles in between would take him along the Northumberland coast and on to the Gower Peninsula, Land's End, Hull, Edinburgh and Liverpool – all from pedalling up Queen Victoria Street. His book details his reliance on the hospitality of strangers, the characters he met, random acts of kindness, plus his encounters with drunken priests and drag queens, gnome sanctuaries and hippy communities. It was a five-month journey, over which he rediscovered a level of happiness he thought he'd lost forever.
It seems like an audacious move by Carter, to have upped sticks and carried on cycling past his office on an impulse. But then we learnt that he was already an award-winning travel writer, and that this adventure was seemingly an extension of what he already does for a living.
The book will be reissued by Ebury Press on 7 June, at £7.99.
Kelly, by David Walsh
Irishman Sean Kelly was one of the most successful one-day professional cyclists of all time, and can count no less than nine of cycling's Monuments among his considerable palmares. He won many of the sport's biggest races at a time when continental Europe had a stranglehold on them, and was a guiding light for other British and Irish riders to follow in his wake, including compatriot and friend Stephen Roche.
First published during the heart of his career, David Walsh's biography of the softly spoken Kelly brings to life not only his career but pro cycling as it was in the mid-1980s. It also reveals Kelly's attitude to drug-taking and wheeling and dealing in races. The book has been reissued after the previous edition sold out, though no new chapters are included. It's priced at £19.95, and published by Mercian Manuals.
Look Mum No Hands
With the Tour de France just around the corner, London cycling cafe Look Mum No Hands have got in the mood with this Tour-themed cycling cap (£8). Apparently they sold out in minutes last time round, so you'd better move quickly to get your hands on one. A Union Jack cap to get you into the Olympic spirit is also available at the same price.
Challenge
Here's the latest tyre from Italian tyre-maker Challenge. It's called the Parigi-Roubaix open road tubular. Open tubs use the same technology as regular tubular tyres (non-woven threads give a higher thread count and suppler tyre, for example) with the convenience of a clincher fit. The tyres below come in 700x27mm with a TPI (threads per inch) of 260. The extra width and lightweight construction make them ideal for cobbled routes such as the professional course that inspired the name.
