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TECH NEWS

Eurobike 2012: Hottest new products from Campagnolo, Bont, Mavic, 3T, Enve, Specialized, Exposure and loads more

Some of the newest clothing, parts and accessories from the show

Judging from our coverage of Eurobike you might be mistaken into thinking there were only new bikes on display, but there was just as much new product from clothing to accessories to look out.

Here's my roundup of things that caught my eye, from lightweight jackets to dynamo-powered LED lights and much more.

British brand Exposure Lights showed their exciting new Revo, a dynamo-powered LED light, which is going into production as you read these words. Dynamo-powered lights have been around for ever and Exposure's Revo brings it bang up to date with the very latest technology.

What that means is a light that produces a staggering 800 lumens - more than enough for riding dark country lanes in the winter. You might be thinking that's all well and good, but what happens when you stop pedalling? Their clever Stand Light Technology ensures that 200 lumens are still produced.

The Revo will cost £200 and they're offering a package that includes an Exposure branded PD-8 hub made by Shutter Precision. There'll be 28 and 32 spoke options with a 36 on the way, and there's a disc brake version too – they're aiming it at mountain bikers as well as road cyclists, though with the increase of disc brakes on cyclo-cross bikes and touring/commuting bikes, it's an interesting option.

The Revo light is a tiny unit with four Cree XPG R5 LEDs packed into the CNC-machined unit. Smart Port Technology means you can charge a phone or GPS device from it, or power a rear light. It weighs just 87g.

Exposure continue to hone their range of battery powered lights with the addition of the new Sirius light, which is essentially a more affordable Joystick. It provides 360 lumens of illumination with a two hour battery life on the highest setting (six on low) and costs £114.95.

The road-specific Strada is now in its 4th generation and output has been increased to 800 lumens (from 645) yet it still costs the same. And they've managed to squeeze a bigger capacity battery in there too so battery life is extended, with 3 hours on high and anything up to 36 on the number of lower settings.

New to the light is Optimised Mode Selector (OMS) technology. On paper it's a little tricky to get your head around, but after a little playing with the light and flicking through the modes, it soon makes perfect sense. It's very easy to use; you press and hold the button until the desired number of LED lights on the rear of the unit are illuminated, corresponding with the modes handily printed on the underside of the light. It gives you a greater choice of lighting modes that better suit different riding situations or tastes.

With the autumn rapidly approaching it will soon be time to turn our attention to clothing to protect us from the elements. Showing on Sportful's stand was the brand new Hot Pack Ultralight, an water repellent jacket that weighs 50g. Yes, that isn't a typo, this is one seriously light jacket. 

It's designed to be so compact, folding into its own little pocket, that you won't have any excuse for getting caught in the wind or rain without a jacket. It could be ideal for the unpredictable weather we get at this time of year. To achieve such seemingly impossible levels of lightness, Sportful use a fabric with yarns as fine as seven denier – one square metre weighs just 30g. And because it's so thin, it can be weaved very tightly which makes it windproof. It's coated with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish to keep rain out. There's strategically placed vents to minimise overheating. It's not going to be cheap though - it'll be £130 when it is released early next year.

KCNC, makers of super light components available in a wide range of colours, showed this exotic looking brake callipers.

Looking to carry more than just a water bottle on your next ride? This bottle cage can expand to accommodate any size bottle. Including this bottle of beer.

You see everything at Eurobike, but I don't recall ever seeing a snow bike quite this mad before. If we have a heavy snowfall this winter, I'll be on the phone to the manufacturer requesting a test bike!

Deda expand their range of 35mm handlebars with the new Superleggera range. Deda are the first company to adopt wider 35mm diameter bars from the world of motocross, and have been championing their advantages for a couple of years. Advantages you say? Stiffer and lighter, as the handlebar diameter is greater the wall thickness can be decreased without compromising stiffness. The carbon handlebar pictured here weighs a claimed 180g (42cm width).

I'm a fan of Specialized's S-Works Road shoe, I just get on really well with the shape, fit and BG (Body Geometry features) gubbins. The company's top-end race shoe has been updated for 2013, with changes concentrating on making it lighter, with a new upper material, and stiffer, with a new FACT carbon sole.

The shoe has been two years in development and Specialized started with a clean sheet of paper, and took things right back to basics. They showed some early prototypes on their stand including a crazy 100g sample, just one of nearly 40 prototypes that led to the final production model.

Making the most of their partnership with McLaren allowed Specialized to develop this super aerodynamic time trial helmet.

Easton's new EC70 SL3 carbon handlebar makes one of the most trusted names in carbon fibre more affordable - although we don't have an exact price just yet. A 42cm bar weighs just 230g.

One of the most striking new products was Giro's Empire shoe Taylor Phinney was given a pair of custom shoes during the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, and now you can buy a pair - we'll have loads more on these in our upcoming shoe round-up.

We're told that just the black and silver colours will be available, which is a shame as the selection of colours they showed was really eye-catching.

POC were showing the new Tempor helmet. POC designed the helmet by viewing the riders as one body mass, instead of just concentrating on the head, which is the reason for the helmets sculpted rear section – it's designed to fit perfectly with your time trial position on the bike. 

Bont shoes get a glowing endorsement as the shoe that won the Tour de France and Olympic time trial.

Cyclo-cross season is nearly upon us and Ritchey have just released their new WCS Shield Cross tyre. It's designed for dryish conditions with a fast rolling low-profile tread pattern. A tightly packed and aggressive row of shoulder lugs should give it a good ability to tackle corners at pace. Available in 35mm width it weighs 374g.

Brit firm Hope Technology will add jockey wheels to their 2013 line-up, available in a choice of colours that should complement any drivetrain.

Enve are quick to answer the needs of manufacturers looking to get in on the road bikes with disc market that is slowly increasing in popularity and demand. It follows in the footsteps of the Cross fork with one-piece net-moulded carbon construction, using continuous fibres from the dropouts through the crown into the 1.5in tapered steerer. Weight is a claimed 435g with a 350mm steerer. A carbon fibre clamp band keeps the hydraulic hose neatly in place.

Want a suitably retro road bike that harks back to the black and white days? Your prayers have been answered...

Shimano's PRO brand launched a new saddle concept that aims to make the whole process of choosing the right one easy. It's not an entirely new process, with strong similarities to Specialized's fit bone measuring saddle program.

Here Tech Ed Mat gets his sit bones measured... We think he was just looking for an excuse to sit down after traipsing around the huge halls of Eurobike.

Once you've got your sit bone measurement, you can narrow down your choice and the PRO website makes it straightforward to work through the available options and choose the saddle that, hopefully, is perfect for you.

And here's the range of saddles to choose from. There are three basic shapes: the Falcon, Turnix and Griffon.

We had a lot of interest in Mavic's podium shoes when we showed them last year. If you've been crying out for a pair, here you go...

They'll be available to buy in the 2013 range (see comments below).

K-Edge make smart CNC-machined GoPro mounts and they now also make this neat Garmin Edge mount. If you're running out of space on your handlebars, or don't want to fit it on the stem, then this is a good solution. It places the Garmin in a very central position forward of the stem, which could make it easier to view when in the drops.

Speaking of mounts for your Garmin, here’s 3T’s carbon Integra stem which comes with one incorporated in the design, as used by Team Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda.

The 110mm version (10°) should be available in the UK from October at £259.99 with other lengths hitting the shelves from January. 3T give a weight of 178g for that 110mm version. If you don’t want to use your Garmin, you can fit a shroud over the mount.

We’ve covered the Campagnolo bar-end EPS controls before but this is the first time we’ve seen them in the flesh (since we caught sight of them when we visited Campag a year ago and they banned us from mentioning them).

As with the drop bar shifters, you can perform multiple shifts by pressing and holding the shifter. When you stop pressing, the lever returns to the midpoint so it sits in the same position whatever gear you’re using.

FSA have given their entry-level Energy groupset a fresh lick of paint, with the smart new decals really lifting the cranks, stem, bars and wheels up a peg.

This is the new Air Profil FC02 pump from Zéfal. We’re seeing a few more small pumps that feature a hose these days to make like a little bit easier. The Zéfal’s hose doesn’t screw to the end of the extendable aluminium barrel, it lives in there and you just pull it out when you need to use it.

At the other end of the hose you get a chuck that does screw into place; one way around it fits Presta valves, the other way around it fits Schrader. The handle stays in place while you’re riding thanks to a magnetic closure.

Zéfal say it weighs 111g and will provide 116psi of pressure, but we don’t have a price on this one yet.

The idea of this Travel pump is that it’s less bulky than a track pump so it’s easy to take with you to events or store at home. Zéfal claim it’ll deliver up to 180psi although, again, a retail price has yet to be set.

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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12 comments

Avatar
Mat Brett | 12 years ago
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We have a reply from Michel at Mavic. He says:

"Three years ago we all wore a pair during the Eurobike show to showcase the yellow signature as the pro cyclists equipped with Zxellium. Then the athletes were the only ones to have the authorization to use them to climb on the box
without cleats (podium shoes) at races.

"For 2013, they will be available to everyone at £115. They have been adapted for walking, ultimate race winning look and showing the passion for the sport."

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Wooliferkins | 12 years ago
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Re the 3T stem. The actual Garmin mount is £35 extra on top of your £260. A more affordable alloy one is in the pipeline

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BBB | 12 years ago
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A homemade aluminium hood/peak (5 minutes job) will make most of front lights road/traffic friendly.
Give it a go.

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Mat Brett | 12 years ago
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We've fired a mail off to Monsieur Mavic to find out what the situation is there.

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TheHatter | 12 years ago
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can't believe a pro cyclist would wear lace up shoes?

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Alb replied to TheHatter | 12 years ago
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TheHatter wrote:

can't believe a pro cyclist would wear lace up shoes?

Someone should tell Brad!  16

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Mr Mike | 12 years ago
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Are the Mavic shoes for sale anywhere, I need some, no really I do!

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Tony Farrelly | 12 years ago
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Can't comment about the Exposure's directly as I don't use them - Mat likes his Strada - a lot, but then that's a road light with a suitably focused beam.

I don't thing bright lights in themselves are a problem so long as the beam pattern is right for the road - if you're using a very bright MTB light with a flood beam you are going to dazzle oncoming drivers… but then as the Highway Code advises in those situations the driver should slow down anyway which has the benefit of keeping everybody safe plus allowing ample time for the motorist to cuss you out for dazzling him/her as they pass by.

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notfastenough | 12 years ago
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I want a pair of Mavic podium shoes just for walking to the pub in - v cool!

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diego replied to notfastenough | 12 years ago
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notfastenough wrote:

I want a pair of Mavic podium shoes just for walking to the pub in - v cool!

+1

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Bez | 12 years ago
0 likes

+1 on lights (another ex-Exposure user moved to a German beam) - every light manufacturer outside of Germany and Holland is still fixated on quoting lumens and throwing them everywhere. Fine for the forest, but for the road, lux on the tarmac is what matters.

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STATO | 12 years ago
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Someone needs to talk to Exposure about their lights being used on the road. It would be nice to hear from them what their stand is on the legality issue and if they actually think their light are appropriate for road use (road.cc im looking at you).

I own 3 of their lights (MaxxD, Diablo and Joystick) and have switched to a dynamo Schmidt light for 95% of my road riding. The Exposures just dont cast enough light onto the ground without running them on the high setting, which is blinding to other road users (i commute the opposite dierection to another MaxxD user, it IS blinding!).

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