It’s been a very busy week at BikeRadar. Product launches are coming in at a feverish pace. This week, we took a look at the radical new lines of Specialized’s redesigned Stumpjumper and compared it to the longer, lower and slacker Stumpjumper EVO.
We also saw the release of a new version of the RockShox BoXXer for 29in wheels and checked out Garmin’s small and refreshingly affordable Edge 130 GPS.
We’re not done yet though, take a look through this week’s round-up for the latest gear to arrive at BikeRadar’s Colorado offices.
Castelli Tempesta Glove
The Italian clothier has seemingly dozens of gloves, but the Tempesta is designed specifically for riding in the rain.
Unlike the traditional neoprene rain glove — which is fine until you try to take it off in the rain, or it gets cold and clammy — the Tempesta feels more like a cold-weather glove, with some loft to it.
The key thing here is the OutDry breathable waterproof membrane, which is bonded to the inside of the shell, with a thin layer of insulation underneath that.
The Stretchy Nylon exterior has 3M Scotchlite reflective material on the pinky fingers and the back of the hand.
A big neoprene cuff Velcros on around your jacket.
- £84 / $89
Nuun Immunity tabs
Nuun Immunity is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory tablet designed to dissolve in 16oz of water. Like other Nuun tabs, Immunity has electrolytes and minimal calories.
Immunity is Non-GMO Project Verified, certified vegan and gluten-free, and certified Informed Choice — Safe for Sport.
It comes in Orange Citrus and Blueberry Tangerine. You can find it online, at grocery stores such as Whole Foods, bike shops including REI and Performance Bikes, and other grocers and bike shops.
- 10 tablet tube: $7 / £N/A
Assos T.Equipe EVO Bibs
The Équipe bib short has a chamois with a few somewhat unique features. For one, the pad has big ventilation holes at the front, plus Assos’ so-called Golden Gate construction where the pad is only stitched into the shorts in certain areas, allowing it to move semi-freely with the rider.
The chamois also has two moon-shaped portions of memory foam that are bonded underneath the chamois.
- £125 / $219
Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance Tubeless Ready
Hutchinson has tweaked its Fusion 5 tubeless tires with a new 11Storm compound, claiming improved rolling resistance, wet grip and durability without compromising other characteristics.
Hutchinson already had fully tubeless tires; now it has tubeless ready tires, too, which are lighter and easier to get on and off the wheel.
Tubeless ready also requires sealant, whereas fully tubeless can be used without, Hutchinson claims.
This new, silica-based compound is used in the three Fusion 5 models: the lightweight Galactik, the highly durable All Season and the Performance, which sits in the middle.
The Fusion 5 Performance comes in 25 and 28mm widths.
The tubeless ready Fusion 5 Performance weighs a claimed 245g for 25mm and 270g for 28mm
- £54 / $69
Time Xpro 10 pedals
These French carbon pedals have chromoly axles, steel bearings and Time’s I-Clic engagement system.
Stack height is a claimed 13.5mm and the wide-platform pedal offers 2.5mm of lateral float and 5 degrees of angular float
Total platform surface area is a claimed 725 square mm.
Each pedal weighs 113g. The Xpro 15 weighs a claimed 87g, but a pair of those will set you back $600.
- £149 / $250
Shimano Dura-Ace 9170 C40 TL wheels
Shimano has been making highly durable wheels for years, and this disc-brake wheel looks to be no exception. The 37mm rim height is designed to be the Goldilocks of low aero drag and low inertia.
With a full carbon rim, the tubeless wheel weighs a claimed 721g at the front and 865g at the rear.
The rims measure 17mm wide internally and are laced with 24 spokes front and rear.
Per Shimano tradition, the hubs roll on cup-and-cone bearings instead of cartridge bearings, which is what most wheel companies use.
- £1,666 / $1,999
Silca Seat Capsule Premio
Sometimes you need more than a single tube for peace of mind on long road rides, or maybe you need to carry a high-volume 29er tube for your off-road adventures. Silca developed the Sea Capsule Premio to meet those needs.
The Sea Capsule Premio has a thermoformed shell, similar to a sunglasses case. This seat pack tucks tight against saddle rails and uses a BOA closure.
Inside, there’s room for two 700x30mm tubes or one 29x2.35in tube along with tire levers, a CO2 cartridge and inflator, and a multi-tool.
- £46 / $46 / AU$76.95
Stan’s NoTubes Sentry MK3 29er Wheelset
Mountain bike tire widths are all over the board these days. NoTubes’ Sentry MK3 wheelset has an internal width of 32mm and is designed to work with tires that range in width from 2.5in trail bike tires to full 3in-wide “plus” tires.
The tubeless-ready alloy rims are constructed from 6069 aluminum. These 32-hole rims are laced to the company’s Neo hubs with Sapim Force Spokes. The complete wheelset weighs in at 1,963g.
We have the 29er version in for test. If big wheels aren’t your thing, you’ll be glad to read that NoTubes offers the Sentry wheelset in 27.5 and 26in versions as well.
- £520 / $699 / AU$1,149
Giro Riddance mountain bike shoes
Giro just unveiled these new mountain bike shoes for flat pedals.
What makes these new kicks special? Giro worked closely with the rubber experts at Vibram to develop “Megagrip ISR”, the stickiest rubber compound the company has ever used for an outsole.
In addition to the sticking outsole, the Riddance features an EVA midsole, which Giro claims has been optimized for vibration damping.
There are rubber reinforcements at the toe and heel to ward off impacts and a breathable microfiber upper to keep your feet from overheating.
- £110 / $129 / €129 / AU$189
Smith Session MIPS helmet
The Session is Smith’s latest trail helmet.
This new lid has 15 large vents to keep the wearer cool. While Smith’s helmets gained attention for the use of honeycomb-like structures known as Koroyd to provide reinforcement, Smith has left many of the vents open to improve airflow and relied on Koroyd cells in critical impacts zones along the sides of the helmet.
The Session has a three-position visor and comes equipped with the MIPS system to mitigate rotational impacts.
- £140 / $160 / €160 / AU not available
Race Face Turbine R dropper seatpost
Race Face is reentering the dropper seatpost market.
The component manufacturer didn’t start from the ground-up, but rather adapted technology from its parent company, Fox, to bring a Race Face-branded version of the Fox Transfer to market with a small but important improvement — a better 1x-specific dropper seatpost lever.
The Turbine R dropper will be available in 100, 125 and 150mm strokes and offered in 30.9 and 31.6mm diameters.
- Seatpost: £TBC / $249.99 / AU$TBC
- Lever: £TBC / $69.99 / AU$TBC
- Available soon
