This week we've enjoyed some very affordable mountain bikes, such as the Pinnacle Iroko 1 and the Saracen Mantra Trail, we've marvelled at road superbikes like this insane Argonaut and we've got the lowdown on the best indoor training apps.
The holiday season is looming, and we're already keeping on top of the best Black Friday deals for cyclists here, as well as kicking off our Christmas gift guides with some great ideas for women mountain bikers and some hot tech for the gadget-obsessed among you.
It's Friday, and that means fresh product to salivate over, so read on for the best bikes and kit to have landed at BikeRadar HQ this week.
- Aqua Blue Sport unveil 3T Strada for 2018
- 100% launches new Speedtrap glasses, as worn by Peter Sagan
Specialized Women’s S-Works Tarmac SL6
Are you tired of hearing about the new Tarmac yet? Sorry. We can’t not include this though, it’s just too pretty. This ladies’ spec S-Works weighs just 6.3kg in a 54 with Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 Di2 and Roval deep section carbon wheels.
With those skinwall tyres and that delightful fade effect on the down tube logo it truly is a lovely thing to behold.
The new Tarmacs have unisex geometry, so the frame itself is exactly the same under the skin as the men’s version, while the paintjob and some of the finishing kit choices are different.
- £8,500 / $9,500 / AU$13,000
Rapha Brevet Insulated Jacket
Rapha produces some quite traditionally styled kit, but the brand also does some slightly left-field technical stuff, like the Brevet Insulated Jacket.
Made with breathable but warm 'Polartec Alpha' insulation material, this shiny top is designed for changeable weather. It has a DWR coating for water resistance (as used by many manufacturers) and it's intended to be fast drying and reasonably packable.
- Price: £112.50 / $165 / AU$191.25
CamelBak K.U.D.U. Protector 20
Like Hoover, Biro and Blu Tack, when many people say CamelBak they mean hydration pack. But for decades now riders have been filling their reservoirs with their favourite liquid refreshment and heading to the hills — and often with a pack of the Camel variety.The K.U.D.U. was launched a couple of years ago with a focus on trail and enduro riding — plenty of secure storage, helmet and chin quard carriers, loops to hold knee pads and a double chest strap for ultimate fit adjustability — but at Eurobike we were shown its latest version, which we've now got in to test, that has an integrated yet removable back protector.
The storage area is zipped onto the back protector in normal use, but should you wish to go pack-less, you can remove it and run the back protector stand-alone. There are even a couple of stash pockets on the back and waist strap to keep your essentials with you.
Two volumes are available: the 10L for £170 / $200 and the 20L, which we have here that's £190 / $230. Both come in two pack sizes, depending on your torso size.
- Price: £190 / $230 / AU$TBC
Fox Attack Pro Water Jacket
Down here in our Bristol office we reckon Autumn, thus far at least, has been pretty kind. But having uttered those words, we've now summoned the Rain Gods, who're now henceforth going to cast their watery precipitation all over the south-west of England for the next six months. Sorry.Handy then that Fox has sent in its latest waterproof jacket, the Attack Pro.
For the money, we're a bit sad not to see a branded waterproof fabric, but proof is in the pudding and that's not to say that it'll perform any worse than the big names.
On top of being waterproof and breathable, Fox says that there's a stain-resistant Teflon coating, so it should stay looking fresh that little bit longer. The material itself has a small amount of stretch to it and the seams are all taped too.
Waterproof zips are present as are vents. Reflective detailing will come in handy on dark, dank road transfers, while the scuff protected elbows should hopefully mean it won't come out of a fall torn to shreds.
- Price: £200 / $300 /AU$TBC
661 Reset full-face helmet
The high-end, carbon full-face helmet market is a tricky one to enter, and that was 661’s intention, so when your dealers mention that it’s going to be tough, they’re worth listening to. And so 661 went back and completely changed tack.
661 has traditionally focused on value, and sold plenty of (great) open-mold full-face lids, but it was the same as many other budget offerings.With development of a carbon helmet already taking place it used this knowledge to build a bespoke entry-level lid, the Reset.
There’s 10 vents to keep you cool, an enlarged, er, face hole, to make goggle fitting easy and again improve air flow and at around 1100g it’s pretty light all things considered.
- Price: £75 / $100 / AU$TBC
Olfi one.five action camera
While we suspect GoPro’s dominance in the action camera market is pretty unshakeable (at the moment at least), there’s always someone out there trying to take their chunk of the market from the big boys.The Olfi one.five is one such camera. It does all the things you’d expect from a camera too: apparently high-quality footage, waterproofing, decent battery life and compatible with all your Android and Apple kit.
If this means much to you, it’ll do 4K video at 25fps, 2.5K at 30fps and 1080p and 720p at even higher frame rates. There’s also a HDR setting, and it uses a Sony sensor.
The little screen on the back looks initially to have a reasonable quality and the buttons are all easy to press. We'll be giving it a full test in the coming months.There’s a range of accessories too and they’re GoPro compatible, which we reckon is a smart move.
- Price: £150 / $180 / AU$TBC
Focus RAVEN2 Pro
Ever wanted to out-run your mates on their XC whippet bikes, but lacked the fitness, or carried too much excess? Well now you can thanks to Focus, who has just fired over the Raven2. The Raven is its World Cup XC race hardtail, and if you add a motor and battery into the down tube you get the Raven2.
We’ve seen a lot of trail-orientated e-bikes out there, but this is the first of a possible new breed of XC focussed bikes.
E-bikes traditionally aren’t the lightest things in the world, but at 15.6kg this is flyweight by comparison.
Focus uses the Fazua Eviation System motor, giving up to 250W of power, with a 250Wh battery — about half of what most e-bikes come with. This obviously will decrease range, but also accounts for a lot of the weight saving.In true XC style, the Raven2 Pro comes with a smattering of top-end, lightweight kit: a carbon frame, Fox 32 Float StepCast forks, a Shimano XT drivetrain and DT Swiss wheels shod in very fast rolling Continental Speed King tyres.
One thing is for sure, we'll be 'riding light' to keep those tyres from flatting...
Sadly it looks like our US and Australian readers might have to miss out on the chance to slay those XC miles aboard the Raven2 though.
- Price: £5,999 / $TBC / AU$TBC
Canyon Inflite AL 9.0 S
The aluminium Inflite from Canyon isn’t actually a new bike, in fact, it’s the ‘old’ Inflite now as we recently saw the launch of a whole new carbon platform bearing the same name. It is, however, a very attractive thing that’s extremely relevant to this time of year as the nights draw in and the roads refuse to dry out.
The Inflite AL is a sorta-CX bike that’ll do a bit of everything. It ships with full mudguards for winter training or commuting but if you whip those off and fit some knobblies, it’s perfectly capable of taking on a bit of casual ’cross racing. With Shimano RS685 hydraulics, Ultegra shifty bits, Rotor cranks and DT Swiss PR 1850 Spline db wheels, this versatile machine weighs in at 9.3kg.
- £1,649 (EU market only, sorry folks!)
MaXalami tubeless repair kit and multitools
In an ideal world, tubeless punctures self-heal every time. In reality, there are limitations to what sealant can handle, and that's where MaXalami comes in. This tubeless tyre repair kit uses "tyre worms" which strongly resemble meat products — hence the name, we assume — to plug holes.
The needle/rasp tool is used to clean out the puncture (this step is optional), and then the worm is inserted using the applicator.
MaXalami also makes two multi-tools which include the repair worm applicator. Called the K-13 and K-22, these weigh 95g and 161g respectively, with the latter including a chain tool.
- MaxiPack repair kit: £15.95 (pricing in other territories not available)
- K-13 multi-tool: £30
- K-22 multi-tool 161g: £50
Coros OMNI Helmet
Coros launched its first smart helmet, the Linx, last year. For 2018 the new OMNI takes up the mantle, claiming to be "smarter, lighter and safer" than its predecessor.
The OMNI weighs 364g in large on our scales, and it includes a whole host of tech.
Bone conduction headphones built into the straps let you listen to music, navigational instructions, or phone calls (there's a microphone too) without blocking your ears (yes, like those Aftershokz headphones) and some functions can be controlled via a bar-mounted remote.
There are rear-facing LED lights built into helmet too, along with an impact sensor that's designed to detect crashes and notify your loved ones that you've fallen off your bike.
The OMNI will be sold in four colours. Pricing and availability is yet to be confirmed, but you can register for updates on the Coros website here.
Park Tool bits and bobs
We love tools, and so it's a good day when the lovely people at Park Tool importer Madison send us some of the big blue tool company's latest offerings.
- FWS-2: £34.99 / $28.29
- Buy now in the US from Amazon.com
- Not yet available as a set in the UK
- SKT-6: £59.99 / $57.95
- HMR-8: £19.99 / $16.95
- TRY-1 tray: £19.99 / $19.95
- FR-5.2G: £9.99 / $8.95
