Sea Otter gallery, pt 4: Catlike shoes, Vittoria wheels and more road goods
There were plenty of new items to pique the interest of roadies
Australian shoe maker Bont showed off its new super premium sportif shoe, the Vapor +. At $459, these kangaroo leather kicks are not in any way cheap. Embroidered details, a heat-moldable features top this no-holds barred set of kicks.
The Vapor + will be offered in six different colors and will be available in six to eight weeks.
The new Cambium C13 from Brooks is the company’s first carbon rail saddle. It will be offered in a single width, retail for $220 and weighs 259 grams.
Spain’s Catlike brand is celebrating 20 years of making helmets but also produces a line of cycling footwear. The Whisper Road and Whisper Mountain shoes feature Boa closure, carbon soles and retail for $300 and $200 respectively.
New at Sea Otter was Catlike’s Cloud 352 helmet. The aero road helmet ships with two covers for ventilation options.
The Cloud 352 will be offereing in S, M, and L sizes and six colors. Retail is $250 and they will be available in the U.S. this summer (available now in Europe).
Catlike may offer the covers aftermarket allowing riders to customize their helmets to match team kits or personal tastes.
Catlike’s new pricepoint helmet is the Olula. At $200 is sits below the top tier $300 Mixino and offers a more subtle appearance.
Continental is offering its venerable Grand Prix 4000 4 Season in a Black Edition in North America. Available in a 25mm width only, they will retail for $140 per pair.
DT Swiss showed off a new disc version of its RR21 road wheel. The Centerlock compatbile wheels uses DT’s DiCut hubs and ships with axle caps for QR, 12mm and 15mm front, QR, 142×12 and 10mm rear fitment.
The RR21 DiCut Disc wheelset uses straight pull spokes and weighs 1,450 grams for the pair.
The tubeless ready aluminum rim has an inner width of 18mm and outer of 22mm.
FSA showed a new road brakeset, the K-Force Wide, designed to accommodate the latest wide-rimmed aero wheels. Pricing is TBD.
Hutchinson released three new road tires at Sea Otter. Among them is the Fusion 5 All Season. The line also includes the Fusion 5 Performance and Fusion 5 Galactik. The entire collection uses a new tire compound of varying thickness determined by model that lowers rolling resistance compared to the Fusion 3 line.
The Hutchinson Fusion 5 All Season has aggressive siping for better wet road traction. The Performance and Galactik use less tread and thinner treads. All three models are available in tubed or tubeless versions for $57 and $77 respecitvely.
Kitsbow is known for its high-end mountain bike apparel but recently launched a road line that includes a jersey, jacket, shorts and warmers. The Merino/poly blend Geysers’ jersey retails for $169. Excellent stitching and top notch materials compliment the garments low key aesthetic.
The Coleman Valley bib short retails for $179 and uses the latest generation of Polartec compression material, a 3D formed pad and lightweight mesh bib straps. The shorts are sewn in California.
Small pockets on the outside of the legs make for convenient gel and wrapper storage.
Lake unveiled its CX301 ultralight climbing road shoe at Sea Otter. The new shoe weighs a scant 186 grams, retails for $329 and comes in regular and wide sizes. Available in August.
Like many Lake shoes, the CX301 uses a heat moldable 3K high-modulus carbon last with a carbon lasting board that damps vibration and increases ventilation.
Mavic debuted its revamped Cosmic Pro Carbon SL wheels last month. Sea Otter was the first chance for many cyclists to see them in person. The $2,199 wheelset comes with 25mm Mavic tires and is available in 40 and 25mm depths, rim and disc brake options.
The new Cosmic Carbon Pro SL rim receives a laser-etched braking surface called iTg Max that Mavic says helps with heat dissipation and braking performance.
The Cosmic Carbon Pro SL wheels also feature a new hub design that offers faster engagement. The hubs are available in rim brake and disc brake with both 6-bolt and Centerlock varieties.
Northwave revamped its Extreme Road shoe with new uppers. The silver on the silver/green is all reflective material. Proprietary ratchets, Microfiber uppers, 235 grams and $375 retail top the features hit-list. The shoes are offered in the colors shown as well as black.
Hot on the heels of Chris Chance’s Fat Chance mountain bike revival is the new Slim Chance. The True Temper OX Platinum frames are made in Santa Barbara, California by Stinner. Frame, Enve fork, King headset will retail for $2,295 with the option of a segmented steel fork made by Chris Igleheart.
While the tubing is updated, the logo is the same Slim Chance we all know and love. The framesets will be offered in the blue pictured as well as a pale yellow, deep red and white. All will feature threaded English bottom brackets. Cable routing for eTap, Di2, EPS and mechanical shifting will be up to the buyer.
The head tube badge is slightly different from the orginial Slim Chance. So too is the head tube, this time round a 44mm diameter.
TRP is now producing its popular Spyre mechanical disc brake in a Flat Mount version.
The Hy-Road too gets a Flat Mount treatment. Both it and the Spyre are available now.
For time trials, triathlon and aero road bikes, TPR’s T860 direct mount front brake is an enticing option. It features independent arm adjustment to quickly accommodate rims of varying width.
The workings of TRP’s T860 brake are tidy and appear well-made.
In addition to the T860, TRP showed off direct mount rear brakes as well with center pull and side pull options. Both versions clear crank-mounted power meters like Pioneer and Stages.
Tire maker Vittoria is now in the wheel game with its Qurano clincher road wheels. Infused with “Graphene,” Vittoria claims that the material increased structural rigidity in the rim by 50% while also enhancing heat dissipation and impact resistance. The new line will come in 30, 46 and 60mm depths.
The SwitchIt hubs on Vittoria’s Qurano wheels make it easy to swap freehub bodies to quickly change wheels for wind conditions, the idea being that you purchase multiple pairs of Vittoria wheels
The Graphene infused Qurano rims are tubeless ready and use an assymetric rim bed profile to make mounting tires with a floor pump easier.
The Sea Otter Classic is a festival of cycling, from casual to competitive, and mountain to road. While the northern California event didn’t see any huge announcements to excite road riders this year, there were piles of new items to pique the interest of curious onlookers. Among them was the return of Chris Chance’s Slim Chance road bike, loads of new tires, new helmets, shoes, apparel and more.
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Check out the gallery above for a look at the road highlights.
Catlike may offer the covers aftermarket allowing riders to customize their helmets to match team kits or personal tastes. : catlike may offer the covers aftermarket allowing riders to customize their helmets to match team kits or personal tastes.
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Catlike may soon offer custom covers for its helmets
