11spd: This week’s best new bike gear
New gear from Shimano, Look, e*thirteen, Club Ride and more
Welcome to another edition of our weekly new gear round-up. This has been a busy week at BikeRadar. We bought, rode and promptly broke an incredibly cheap city bike and wrapped up a year of hard riding on Cannondale’s Scalpel Si Team.
We also reached out to cycling industry experts to get their take on the status of road disc brakes as we move further into 2018. Spoiler alert: rim brakes fading fast. And, yes, that was a pun…
So without further ado, kick back, relax and take a look at some of the latest gear to land at BikeRadar’s Colorado offices.
Bontrager Circuit MIPS Helmet
The Circuit is a mid-priced, high-value road lid, with a MISP liner and integrated magnetic attachments for a rear light and a front light or GoPro.
The Circuit uses a BOA dial for fit adjustments and has antimicrobial pads.
For our tester, it’s comfortable, too, both in fit and air flow.
If the day-glo scheme isn’t your thing, it also comes in black, blue, grey and white.
- Price: $149 / £115
- Buy now from Trek
Specialized Power Arc
Specialized’s popular Power saddle with its short nose and Body Geometry channel now comes in a new shape, the Arc, which has a slightly more rounded profile.
The Power Arc comes in three models, from the $130 Expert to the $200 Pro, up to the $300 S-Works model. More money means a lighter saddle.
This 143mm-width Power Arc Pro weighs 193g, and the 155mm model weighs 199g.
The saddle has a carbon shell, titanium rails and a SWAT rear mount for attached Specialized tool bags or extra water-bottle holders.
- Price: $200 / £175
- Buy now from Specialized
Rapha Pro Team Insulated Gilet
The windproof-front, stretchy-back formula isn’t new for cycling vests, but what is unique is the Polartec Alpha insulation inside the front of the Pro Team Insulated Gilet.
Polartec claims its Alpha insulation offers the warmth of down but without the bulk.
The vest isn’t waterproof but the front does have a DWR coating.
The $220 / £140 vest is on sale through March.
- Price: $128 / £80
- Buy now from Rapha
Stages Power L Dura-Ace R9100
The latest iteration of Stages power meters have a few improvements, including:
- +/-1.5% claimed accuracy
- Claimed six times stronger ANT+ signal
- LED indicator for battery life and confirmed zero rest
As with previous Stages meters, the Power L reads wattage at the left crank and doubles it for your total power number. Temperature changes are accounted for by the meter.
Cadence is handled via accelerometer, and there is no need to glue a magnet to your frame.
The meter adds 15g to the crank, which comes in 165-180mm lengths in 2.5mm increments.
- Price: $649 / £649
- Buy now from Stages
Look 785 Huez
Look’s 785 HUEZ is a cost-effective version of the 785 D’Huez RS. It’s made with the same mold as the high-end bike, but with a different type of carbon.
The 785 HUEZ frame weighs a claimed 990g (in an unspecified size). We weighted this size Large demo with Shimano 105 at 8.3kg / 18.3lb.
- Price: $2,500 / not available with Shimano 105 in the UK
- Learn more at LookCycle.com
Lezyne Out Front Mount
Like your Lezyne GPS computer but don’t like how high it sits with the included mount?
The Out Front Mount is a relatively inexpensive way of getting your computer in line with your stem.
It works with all the Lezyne GPS computers: Super, Micro, Mini and Macro.
- Price: $15 / £15
- Buy now from Lezyne
Club Ride Sprint Hoody (Women’s)
The Sprint Hoody was designed to be your riding companion on brisk days. It also functions as a mid-layer when bundling up for frigid adventures.
It’s constructed from a wicking polyester blend with mesh panels on the back and sides to keep you from overheating. Creature comforts include a single front zippered pocket, reflective accents and thumbhole cuffs.
Club Ride offers the Sprint Hoody in men’s and women’s versions.
- Price: £64.85 / $89.95 / AU$115
- Buy the Sprint Hoody from Backcountry.com
e*thirteen TRS tires
Component manufacturer e*thirteen rolled out tires to accompany its wheelsets — complete with matching decals — in 2016. The company recently revamped its already very capable tires with additional sidewall protection.
The TRS Race and TRS Plus tires share the same versatile tread pattern in a tubeless-compatible casing.
The Race version uses a softer, slow-rebounding rubber compound for the center treads with high-tack side knobs. This version also gets an additional Aramid layer to guard against sidewall cuts. Our 29×2.35in tire weighs 1,095g.
The Plus version uses the same sticky slow-rebounding rubber for the center and edge knobs. Since it lacks the additional Aramid sidewall protection, our 29×2.35in TRS Plus is slightly lighter, at 1,035g.
- Price: TRS Plus: £TBC / $99 / AU$TBC
- Price: TRS Race: £TBC / $144.95 / AU$TBC
- Buy the TRS tires from e*thirteen
Gore Power Trail WS Light Gloves
Sometimes you don’t need bulky insulation; you just need a windproof layer to block the elements. That’s Where Gore’s Power Trail WS Light Gloves comes in. A layer of Windstopper fabric on the back of the hands keeps your digits warm.
Gore included silicone strips on the fingers to improve grip. There’s also gel padding on the palms and plenty of soft material on the thumbs to wipe away perspiration.
- Price: £49.99 / $69.99 / AU$99.99
- Buy now from Chain Reaction Cycles
Shimano GR7 Shoes
Shimano’s gravity-oriented GR7 flat pedal shoe has a low-key look with plenty of technical features.
A neoprene cuff wraps around the ankle to keep debris out. Large mesh panels on the sides and a perforated toebox improve breathability. The GR7 gets its grip from a Michelin rubber outsole.
- Price: £99.99 / $145.99 / AU$177.99
- Price: Buy now from Chain Reaction Cycles
Otium Bluetooth Earbuds
If you’re the type of rider who likes to listen to music while you ride, you probably already know how expensive Bluetooth earbuds can be. This doesn’t always have to be the case, though.
Many times, you’re paying for brand recognition. If you couldn’t care less about which rap mogul endorses your earbuds, Otium’s Bluetooth Earbuds may sound sweet to your budget-minded ears.
These sweatproof earbuds have a claimed run-time of eight hours and look and perform like models that cost significantly more.
- Price: £14.50 / $19.99 / AU$25.50
- Buy now from Amazon.com
