Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

TECH NEWS

For the cyclist who has everything: carbon-fibre tyre levers

They're lightweight, low bulk and durable, and you need them in your life, apparently

Solid carbon-fibre tyre levers could be yours if you back a project that’s currently running on – where else? – Kickstarter.

We all know that guy. The one who has to have carbon-fibre everything. Frameset: it goes without saying. Handlebar, stem, wheels: obviously. Seatpost, saddle, chainset: check. He probably has carbon-fibre fillings in his teeth.

Well, now he can have carbon-fibre tyre levers too.

Yes, there are already carbon-fibre tyre levers out there – injection moulded carbon-fibre – but we’ve never seen any that look quite so carbon-fibre-ish as these. They’re made from 15 layers of 2x2 twill woven 3K carbon-fibre, and they're very shiny.

“Finally a project making the most boring bike tool something that is beyond cool: a full carbon fibre bike tyre lever,” says Glen Alden, an automotive engineer with a cycling passion. “You know you have always wanted one.”

Have you always wanted one?

Alden carbon fibre tyre levers - 1.jpg

“If you are looking for the ultimate in cycling tyre levers, then this soon-to-be-classic is what you will want in your saddle bag,” says Glen.

I might be being slightly tongue in cheek here but, I have to admit, they do look pretty neat. Sorry, but they do! What can I say? I don't want to like them, but I can't help it.

Besides their appearance, why else might you be interested in carbon-fibre tyre levers. Well, they weigh just 12g a pair. For comparison, a couple of plastic Unior levers (£3.50) that I’ve been using for yonks are 32g. Okay, we’re still only talking about a saving of 20g but we all know about the aggregation of marginal gains, right?

The carbon-fibre levers are very low bulk – 105mm x 16mm x 12mm – and they’re said to be built to last forever.

You need to pledge at least US$20 to the cause to be in line for a pair of Alden carbon-fibre tyre levers (usual Kickstarter rules/conditions apply). That’s about £16.30. They're expected to ship in January 2017.

Alden carbon fibre tyre levers - 3.jpg

Our man John – clearly a man with too much time on his hands – has this concept called the Hairsine ratio. What the hell’s that? It’s the ratio between the weight saved by fitting a lightweight component and its cost (named after Jon Hairsine, an early British mountain bike racer. When asked how much he'd cut off a new carbon fibre handlebar to trim its size and weight, Jon said, "About five quid!").

Anyway, compared to the Unior levers mentioned above, you’re paying an extra £12.80 for the Alden tyre levers (the Kickstarter price, which is $5 below the RRP) and saving 20g. That’s a Hairsine ratio of 1.6g/£, which isn’t very high. On the other hand, you might think that’s worth it to be the only one in the chaingang who can whip out carbon-fibre tyre levers as soon as anyone gets a flat.

More hard hitting tech news on road.cc shortly.

Check out the Kickstarter project here. 

 

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
Beecho | 7 years ago
0 likes

Am still using good old metal levers probably bought in the 90s. I'm such as sucker for the latest superfluous gadgets, but these bad boys I will not replace.

Avatar
Redvee | 7 years ago
1 like

I'll stick to my Park tyre levers at 45g and face being overtaken by the weight weenie with these in his jersey pocket, not in the saddlebag cause that goes against The Rules.

Avatar
zanf | 7 years ago
2 likes

Having learnt the hard way by losing a tyre lever on Leith Hill a couple of autumns ago, I now have bright pink ones.

Doubt I'll ever go back to ones that camoflage themselves so easily on tarmac!

Avatar
gsavill90 (not verified) | 7 years ago
2 likes

I've got a more lightweight sollution - use your thumbs.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to gsavill90 | 7 years ago
5 likes

gsavill90 wrote:

I've got a more lightweight sollution - use your thumbs.

carbon fibre thumbs?

Avatar
gsavill90 (not verified) replied to wycombewheeler | 7 years ago
3 likes

wycombewheeler wrote:

gsavill90 wrote:

I've got a more lightweight sollution - use your thumbs.

carbon fibre thumbs?

 

Lets get a kickstarter page set up!

Avatar
Jack Osbourne snr | 7 years ago
1 like

No way I'd be relying on them to help me fix a flat in the middle of nowhere.

I can hear that crunchy ripping noise they'd make as they disintegrate with the first pry.

Luckily, my supermodel girlfriend will be following in my Lambo' so she can run me home.

Latest Comments