Happy Friday everyone – it's that time of the week again when we showcase the best bits of tech that have come rolling through our doors. But first, how about you go see what our top 5 pro road bikes of 2018 are, or is a tri-spoke mountain bike wheel more your kind of thing?
And now, on with the show with our favourite 11 things that have turned up at BikeRadar this week…
Wolf Tooth Components CAMO Direct Mount Spider
The CAMO Direct Mount Spider from Wolf Tooth Components was designed to increase the ease of swapping over chainrings without having to fully remove your crank.
The CAMO spider comes in a monstrous range covering Cannondale, E13, Race Face, Specialized and SRAM cranks. Each of these is then broken down into a variety of offsets to fit your frame.
Ours is SRAM fit, -5mm offset that’s destined to live on in Matt Orton’s (Mountain Biking UK's art editor) bike-packing rig.
The weight is 117g for spider, bolts and 30t PowerTrac chainring. You also get a choice of four colours (black, gold, red and blue) to best suit your bike.
- $28 (spider only)
Specialized Torch 2.0 Road Shoes
The Torch 2.0 road shoe sits at the lower end of Specialized’s mid-range selection.
The shoe has a single Boa IP1 dial as opposed to its slightly bigger, more expensive and stiffer brother, the Torch 3.0, which has dual S2-SV dials.
Specialized rate all its shoes with a Stiffness Index and the 2.0s are rated at a 7.0. For reference, the Torch 3.0 are an 8.5 and the top-of-the-line S-Works 6 shoes are a 13.
The soles feel stiff enough in the hand though, but Specialized has considered all-day comfort with the Torch range. There is a generous amount of padding around the ankle and heel cup (although there's no cat’s tongue on the heel to prevent slippage).
Claimed weight per shoe is 235g in a size 42 and ours, in the same size, came in at 237g.
- £150 / $150 / AUS$200 / €160
Métier Beacon Gilet
Has technology gone too far? Do we need lights integrated into our clothing? British clothing company Métier thinks so with its two-item Beacon range that features its BrightRide LED system.
Both set of lights are controlled by a single, removal battery pack that sits in its own little pocket on the rear of the gilet.
There are three modes — slow flash, fast flash and constant. Both flash modes are claimed to last up to 72 hours with constant lasting up to 12 hours.
It comes as no surprise that the gilet comes with all the wind-resistant, water-repelling-but-breathable material claims as well. However, this isn’t a lightweight gilet, as it comes in at 299g for a size medium (its claimed weight was 280g).
Although there is no international pricing available, Métier does offer free worldwide shipping.
- £180
Look X-Track pedals
Look has been in the pedal game a long time and this X-Track model represents its latest and greatest MTB offering.
It’s a full reworking of its previous model and now closely resembles Shimano’s off-road pedals — in fact Look claims that Shimano and Look cleats are interchangeable with its new pedals.
However, where the Looks differ is it claims to have the best weight/contact surface ratio out there.
Marketing speak aside, this basically means the pedals have a large surface area, which should help transfer your precious watts into forward momentum and ultimately glorious victory against your cycle-based nemesis.
Keep an eye on BikeRadar for an in-depth review.
- £41.40 / $49.99 / AU$TBC
Scott AR BOA Clip Shoes
Scott’s AR (all round) BOA Clip Shoe is designed for, you guessed it, all-round riding, or, as we like to say 'generalist mountain cycling'. Well, perhaps we don’t like to say that, but there’s no doubting this shoe's trail/enduro credentials.
There’s a super-sticking sole to help with traction whether you’re walking or riding, and a tough upper for those untimely rock strikes. BOA dials do the job of keeping your foot secure and obviously it’s compatible with clipless-style pedals.
All in all it appears to be a sorted product and one we’re looking forward to spending more time on.
- £149.99 / $TBC / AU$TBC
Argon 18 Krypton CS Disc
Long known for making triathlon and road race bikes, Argon 18 has created a new line of endurance bikes.
This Krypton CS disc model has all the fashionable things you’d want from an endurance bike in 2018 with a more relaxed position, optimised carbon layups, disc brakes and tyre clearance of up to 30mm.
In non-marketing speak this means it’ll be nice and comfortable during long days in the saddle, and hopefully still pack a punch when you want to go fast.
This particular model will be getting a thorough thrashing during our 2018 bike of the year test, with the results being announced later on this year.
- £2999.99 / $NA / AU$NA
- Buy now from Tredz
Elite Fly Team bottles
Used by no fewer than 10 World Tour teams, Elite Fly Team bottles are the go-to for racing bottles.
At only 53g each, they’re super light, so even fully watered-up at 550ml of capacity, you’ll be confident in knowing you’re just a few grams lighter than your competitors.
- £6 / $8.33 / €7 / AUS$10.65
- Buy now from Evans Cycles
Deviate Cycles The Guide
This tasty number from the minds of Deviate Cycles is called The Guide, obviously the most striking thing about it is that it has a gearbox instead of a standard drivetrain.
Lots has been written about the perceived pros and cons of a gearbox drivetrain, with Deviate Cycles claiming zero pedal-kickback and amazing suspension performance from its bike.
But, as ever, the proof is in the riding, so before we jump to any conclusions, the thing needs to be tested, and test we will, under the powerful legs of our tester extraordinaire and physics graduate Seb Stott.
For those unfamiliar with his reviews, he’s not afraid to hold back if something’s not right, and he’ll be casting his critical eye over The Guide soon.
£NA /$NA / AU$NA
Cinelli Cork Camo crew jumper
Cinelli’s Cork Camo crew jumper is one part of a bigger range featuring cap, hoodies, t-shirts and bar tape if you’re into living a full trendy camo lifestyle.
The 'Melange Grey' garment also has super-soft material inside for post-fixie ride comfort.
£70 / $70 / €N/A / AUS$N/A
Fly12 CE
A few months back Cycliq updated its HD camera/light combos with an aesthetic makeover and a few nifty new features. BikeRadar has taken delivery of the first of the two lights, the front-facing Fly12 CE.
The new front-camera combo is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, tipping the scales at 197g (down from 240g) and it's got a new quarter-turn mounting system too.
The battery life of the new unit has gone from 10 to eight hours, and the company says it received tons of feedback from customers saying they prioritised a smaller lighter unit over battery life.
It's more powerful with 600 lumens, and the dimmer settings can either be accessed through the app via a bluetooth connection, through a Garmin headunit with the new ANT connectivity (like Bontrager and SeeSense), and of course on the light itself.
On the video side of things, the camera now features 6-axis stabilisation and can now shoot up to 1080p at 60fps, as well as 1080p 30fps HDR (High Dynamic Range), which in theory should allow for you to read license plates even if the camera is pointed directly into the sun.
- £255 / $279 / AU$399
SoLo Showerproof Rain Jacket
Kiwi outfit SoLo has sent over its showerproof rain jacket. Made from what the brand calls ‘S. Cafe fabric’ the waterproof laminated fabric is fairly stretchy and blocks both wind and water.
There’s a vent on the upper back to dump heat, as well as a huge reflective logo that sits on the drop tail for max visibility.
The seams are fully sealed, as is the zipper and its slim cut prevents flapping in the wind.
While it’s not likely to keep you totally dry in a deluge, it packs down pretty small and fits easily in a pocket as a just in case layer.
- £TBC / $TBC / AU$159.90