The bikes are finely fettled, the athletes are raring to go, the long wait is nearly over for the opening ceremony to commence… The opening of our bike garage, that is. Oh, what’s that, you thought we meant the Rio Olympics? Well yeah that’s happening too, but honestly, we’re more excited about the weekend’s riding.
- How to watch cycling at the Olympics
- 6 cool custom designs for the Rio Olympic Games
- Horses for the Course: Mavic Haute Route Rockies
This week we’ve got some tequila-themed trail tyres, something that combines protein with chocolate orange, a stealth phone charger for your bike that looks a bit like a truncheon, and some very nice casual cycling trousers. Enjoy.
New mountain bike gear
Vittoria Mezcal G tyres
The Vittoria Mescal is the dry-weather tyre of choice for 2015 XC world champ Pauline Ferrand-Prevot. The G in the name refers to graphene, a type of carbon that forms sheets that are only molecules thick, and can add — according to Vittoria — adaptive properties. When the tyre rolls straight it stays stiff. When braking or cornering the graphene softens to add traction.
These tyres can run tubeless and have a low-centre profile for low rolling resistance.
£46.99 / US$TBC/ AU$TBC
Flare Clothing Co. jersey and shorts
The Stage Enduro jersey and shorts by Flare Clothing have a striking green and blue design, and as the name suggests are designed around enduro and trail riding. The shorts are constructed from an abrasion-resistant four-way stretch fabric, with a zip fly and velcro closure strap, and the jersey has a cotton-feel polyester and 3/4 length sleeves.
- Stage Enduro Shorts £80 / US$TBC/ AU$TBC
- Stage Enduro Jersey £50 / US$TBC/ AU$TBC
Flare will ship internationally
USWE Airborne 3
With 3 litres of storage, the Airborne by USWE is a compact pack perfect for trail riding. In addition to the central compartment, there’s a smaller front section and an open section with stretch-mesh sides, and compression straps for stowing a shell or helmet.
This front pocket can be removed completely for a super-minimalist race pack and the pack also comes with an 1.6-litre reservoir.
One notable feature for those unfamiliar with USWE is the harness-like chest and shoulder strap assemblage. Rather than the usual vertical shoulder straps, held in place by horizontal chest and waist straps, the USWE Airborne has an x-shaped strap system with a central clasp — a little like a parachute harness. Or a super hero.
£79.99 / US$131.95 / AU$TBC
OTE Dark Chocolate Orange Protein Bar
Athlete-founded brand OTE, which focuses on creating products with natural flavours and user-friendly textures and consistencies, have added a chocolate orange flavour to their protein bar range.
OTE's Protein Bar packs 22g of protein into a 45g bar and have relatively little sugar compared to some other protein bars on the market, at 0.1g per bar.
We may have accidentally had a little taste of this, purely for research purposes, and it’s chewy but not in a glueing your teeth together kind of way, with a slight crunch — and the chocolate orange flavour tastes natural, alot, in fact, like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange.
£TBC / US$TBC / AU$TBC
Reverse Components Black One pedal
Aluminium pedals with CroMo spindles, the 309g Black One pedals by Reverse Components are, as the name suggests, black. Each pedal features 20 pins that sit 4mm above the 14.5mm platform, the pins are exchangeable too for when you loose a few getting a little too close to the rocks.
€119.90
New road bike gear
Kryptonite Keeper 695 Foldable lock
Kryptonite’s new foldable series of locks is designed to offer flexibility in three dimensions via its unique link system, which is made from hardened steel. It easily folds in on itself so it can be quickly stowed on your bike with the plastic bracket supplied.
We’ve been sent the Keeper 695, which is 95cm in length and includes 6mm hardened steel chain links. There’s also a bigger Keeper 810 Fold, which is 100cm in length and includes 8mm hardened steel chain links.
The steel chain links for both products are covered in high-quality neoprene webbing, which protects the chain links from scratching the bike frame.
£TBC / US$TBC / AU$TBC
Mavic Ksyrium Haute Route road shoes
Billed as “ the highest, toughest and most prestigious amateur cycling events in the world”, the Haute Route series will take you through some of the most stunning mountain rides anywhere on Earth: the Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites and now the Rockies.
As BikeRadar’s Ben Delaney found out recently, these rides are tough. Very tough. Mavic’s Ksyrium Haute Route road shoe is built for the unrelenting climbs you’ll face, combining rigidity and power with a comfortable fit.
There are a number of different comfort features. The upper has something called an Endofit tongue, which surrounds the foot and won’t slide sideways during a climb, and the Ergo Fit 3D Ortholite inner soles will keep your feet supported.
The Ergo Dial and Ergo Strap fittings should be quick and easy to adjust on the move, and if you’re climbing day after day you’ll appreciate the carbon outsoles for their solid power transfer. Oh, and these kicks look pretty good, too.
£135 / €180 / US$TBC / AU$TBC
Velocity men’s cycling trousers
What have we here, another pair of British-made cycling trousers designed to look good on and off the bike? Yes, yes we do.
This is a mighty nice pair of “pants” though, so they deserve a second look. They come in grey or black and are made from NanoSphere treated fabric to fend off water and stains. That fabric is 98% cotton and 2% elastane, and we can confirm that they stretch just enough for comfort when pedalling through town.
Elsewhere, there’s a reinforced diamond seat for comfort in the saddle, some articulated knees for ease of movement, a high back to prevent bum crack exposure, and reflective trim on the pockets… but the thing we like most about these trousers is how they don’t scream “cyclist”. Very nice.
£85 / US$TBC / AU$TBC
Revolights
We like this idea, a lot — it’s very Tron. Promising 360° visibility, Bluetooth connectivity and more, Revolights add lighting into your bike wheels for night riding; white for the front wheel, red for the rear. The makers say that they’re theft- and weather-resistant, and can work as both a front headlight and rear brake light.
A fork-mounted magnet and integrated accelerometer provide speed and orientation data to the rings, and power is supplied by two slim USB-rechargeable batteries mounted directly to the rings. We’re looking forward to trying them when the nights draw in.
£TBC / US$199 / AU$TBC
Notstrøm Bike Phone Charger
“Ride your bike and charge your portable electronics.” It’s a simple mission statement from this German-engineered product. We like simple. We can’t yet vouch for their claims that the Notstrøm Bike Phone Charger will keep going through all weather conditions, but it does claim a high IP67 waterproofing standard, meaning it can cope with being totally submerged in up to 1-metre of water for up to 30mins.
Coming in matt black with a 10.000mAh battery capacity, it has a strong 2.1A output that enables you to rapidly charge up to two devices with the same charging speed as an outlet. This means quick charges on the go for all your USB-enabled devices, from the smallest GPS device to the largest smartphone.
It weighs around 290g and fits to your bike’s down tube with the bracket supplied.
€89 / £TBC / US$TBC / AU$TBC
Anna's Legs women's tights
Fed up of boring black cycling tights, when jerseys and gym leggings come in every colour and style under the sun? Anna’s Legs is here to rescue you from the sartorial doldrums.
The range is the creation of Anna Glowinski and signals her return to the world of cycle clothing after her brand Ana Nichoola came to an end a few years ago.
The limited edition range consists of three padded tights with high backs and panelled construction. Prints include one inspired by sunset, and the return of the iconic Ana Nichoola star print. We also like the nod back to the original brand in the form of the three coloured dot motif on the ankle.
The tights come packaged like a present, and the slogan-emblazoned box is almost too cool to throw away, with ‘My legs made me do it!’ being one of our favourites.
Star print and Mountain Sunset print £105.00, US and Australian pricing TBC but international shipping is available