Hello and happy Friday! Welcome to this week's edition of 11spd, your regular dose of fresh bike gear to kick off the weekend. Today we've got your road and mountain needs covered with a new dropper seatpost, enduro grips, gnarly fat bike treads and speedy road rubber, a helmet with an integrated tail light, a thermal jacket and more.
New mountain bike gear
Race Face Turbine dropper
The dropper seatpost market is heating up for a growing number of competitors. Rather than start from scratch with an unproven design, Race Face opted to use trail-tested internals developed by 9point8 and integrate them into its own seatpost. This bodes well for the Turbine’s performance, as we’ve been very impressed by the reliability of the 9point8 Fall Line we’ve been abusing for months.
The internally routed Turbine uses a quick-connect system, allowing it to be easily removed for travel or to easily swap between bikes. It comes with a universal lever that can be mounted on the right or left side of the handlebar. Race Face also offers a 1x specific lever that mounts in place of the front shift lever.
The Turbine is available in 30.9 and 31.6mm diameters with 100, 125 and 150mm of drop.
$469 / £350 / AU$727
Ergon GE1 Slim grips
Ergon’s GE1 grips are designed for an aggressive 'elbows out' riding posture. The new GE1 Slim grips have a smaller diameter better suited to riders who wear small or medium-sized gloves. These grips use a single inner collar to lock onto the bar and have an ergonomic contour designed to lessen hand and arm pump
$34.99 / £30 / AU$50
Dakine Oakridge Flannel
We’re not sure there’s such a thing as an enduro-specific flannel shirt, but Dakine’s Oakridge shirt certainly comes close. At the very least, it will keep you warm on chilly rides and keep you looking presentable enough to swing by the bar for a post-ride beer.
The Oakridge has relaxed fit and is constructed from 100% polyester.
$80 / £57 / AU$ TBC
Scott Shr-Alp RS shoes
These boots were made for shralpin’.
Behind the funny name is a promising trail shoe. The Shr-Alp RS has a more relaxed fit than the company’s cross-country shoes to put a few more millimeters between your toes and rock strikes. Speaking of protection, there’s additional layer of material around the edges of the shoe and a high inner cuff to protect your ankle from crank-arm kicks.
Inside the shoe you’ll find Scott’s ErgoLogic insole with adjustable support for the arch as well as the metatarsal button.
The Shr-Alp is built on a nylon sole with a generous amount of flex and sticky rubber lugs that should make hike-a-bike sections easier.
$179 / £154 / AU$ TBC
Bontrager Gnarwhal studded tires
We highlighted a trio of new Bontrager fat bike treads in recent edition of 11spd including the 26x3.8in Gnarwhal.
How do you make an aggressive fat bike tire even more gnarly? Well, adding 160 tungsten studs to the Gnarwhal clearly adds a lot more gnar, not to mention a lot more bite in icy conditions.
This additional traction does come with a weight and price penalty, however. The studded Gnarwhal tips the scale at 1,360g, which is 85g heavier and about $100 / £70 more expensive than less studly Gnarwhal.
$224 / £159 / Aussies don’t need this
New road bike gear
Abus Hyban
This new commuter helmet by the German lock giant is all about practicality, from the bug mesh in the front vents to the removable visor to the large reflective strips to the integrated LEDs and rain cover.
It comes in multiple styles at a reasonable price.
$79 / £49
Spy Daft
The Spy Daft sunglass features a tall, frameless shield for good coverage without any peripheral clutter.
It comes in four frame colors, each with two lenses – one dark and one light.
$200 / £115
Zipp Tangente Course
The Zipp Tangente Course was redesigned to lower rolling resistance, but contains a puncture-protection strip for durability, too.
Zipp’s website contains front and rear pressure suggestions based on weight and conditions.
$55 / €49
Endura FS260-Pro SL Thermal Windproof Jacket
A race fit, thermal insulation and four-way-stretch windproofing combine in this Scottish jacket. The jacket is cut for the cycling position; the fronts of the shoulder feel a little tight when standing up, but lean forward to put your hands on the bars and the fit is dialed.
The tall collar has a soft interior with a secondary short internal collar for windblock when the neck is unzipped. At the wrists, flat cuffs slide easily under the tops of gloves.
Reflective elements pop under car lights.
It comes in black, red or hi-viz green.
$224 / £129
SRAM PG 1170 cassette
SRAM’s PG 1170 (Force level) cassettes come in five options, from the racy 11-25 up to the whopping 11-36. We find this 11-28 to be the sweet spot.
In addition to being much cheaper than the top-end XG 1190 (Red level) option, this PG 1170 is also quieter, thanks to a more open design.
$100 / €104
Lazer Tonic
Helmets don’t have to cost the earth. This new Tonic from Belgian brand Lazer comes in at a reasonable $80 / £49, in three sizes and six styles (white, black, yellow, orange, red/black, red/blue).
We like the add-on four-LED dial that doesn’t stand out by day but offers a little extra safety at night.
$80 / £49
