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TECH NEWS

7 cool new products from MRP, Exposure Lights, Rotor, POC and 3T

1000 lumen lights, new cranks, lightweight cassettes, adventure suspension fork and more new stuff

Would you believe it, we're still trawling through thousands of photos from our recent visit to Eurobike, but the end is in sight and here's a final barrage of new products from the world's biggest bike show. We've got 1000 lumen lights, lightweight cassettes, a neat modular chainset, an adventure-specific suspension fork and a few more interesting things.

MRP launches Baxter gravel and adventure suspension fork

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Another gravel and adventure-specific suspension fork was on show at the recent Eurobike showing, joining the Lauf Grit and Fox AX. It’s the Baxter from MRP and uses a 32mm chassis, like the Fox, and has 40mm of suspension travel, weighs a claimed 1,540g and is compatible with 700x40mm and 650bx2.5in wheels and tyres. It’ll be available in 15 and 12mm thru-axle options. There’s a three-position compression damper providing open, medium and firm settings for different riding scenarios. No word on when it’s available or how much it’ll cost yet.

Rotor Aldhu modular chainset

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Rotor has been busy this year. This is the Spanish company’s all-new chainset called the Aldhu and it’s interesting because it’s a modular design intended to provide full compatibility with any configuration of chainrings you may want to run. The one-piece chainrings and separate crankarms attached to a splined bottom bracket that allows 1-degree adjustment with Rotor’s non-round Q-Ring chainrings. There’ll be a full range of chainring combinations as well as conventional four-arm options.

Rotor’s cassette for the weight weenies

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As part of the development into its Uno hydraulic groupset, Rotor has developed one of the lightest cassettes in the world. The biggest sprockets are machined from aluminium and the rest of the cassette is made from a single block of steel, and the two are then joined together, with retaining bolts and an interlocking interface to prevent slippage. The result of all that is a low claimed weight of just 135g for an 11-28t, and 11-30t and 11-32t options will be available soon.

3T unveils new handlebar and stem

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The Apto is a new stem from 3T which the Italian company tells us has a sleek design that harks back to the glory days of elegant Italian design. Part of that sleekness is down to the reverse faceplate bolts which trade convenience for cleaner looks.The red logo section in the middle of the faceplate is actually removable and a Barfly computer mount can be fitted. It’ll be available in a wide range of lengths and angles and will cost €65 for ht Pro version and €100 for the Team model, which saves weight with titanium bolts.

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Designed to complement its Exploro aero gravel bike, the new SuperGhiaia joins the growing category of flared dropped handlebars aimed at providing increased control and leverage when riding off-road with a heavily laden bike. It combines the SuperErgo centre sections with Twist-Drops that start out straight to put the hoods in a normal position before twisting out to provide the flare for improved control. It weighs 200g and will costs €310 and come in 40 and 44cm widths (measured hood-to-hood).

Exposure Lights offer coloured Joystick 1000 lumen lights

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Exposure Lights has updated its entire range of lights for the upcoming winter, and we’ll have a full story very soon, but we’ve picked out these cool coloured Joystick lights as a highlight. The Joystick has long been one of the most useful and versatile lights in the British company’s range, and this 12th generation model is now putting out a staggering 1000 lumens. And to mark this marvel of progress the Joystick will be offered in a range of colours for a limited time only. It weighs just 88g and the maximum run time is 1.5 hours but can be extended out to 36 hours and costs £159.95.

POC puts a spin on safety

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We got to have a look at Swedish company POC’s new take on helmet safety at the show. It’s called SPIN and is intended to offer similar rotational impact benefits to the popular MIPS, but does it via a series of squidgy gel pads that appear to be more comfortable and don’t compromise the fit as much as the plastic liner of the MIPS system. No news on when a road-specific helmet with the Spin tech is available but we’d imagine it’ll happen soon enough. For now it’s only available in the company’s mountain bike lids.

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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2 comments

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BarryBianchi | 6 years ago
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The lights are generally fine, I have a Diablo and a 6-Pack that make all year round night riding off-road totally do-able, and a Sirus that is an excellent mixed commuting tool, though the flash and flare lights are especially unreliable - I've been through 4 that have just packed up, though they do just hand over a new head unit if you tip up at the warehouse with the broken one.  That underseat bracket is hopeless.  Plastic is too brittle, especially in the cold - I gave up after two broke off where the light attaches.  They also need to come up with a decent helmet mount for the Flare. 

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Chris Hayes | 6 years ago
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Front and rear exposure lights have been some of the best investments I've made for city cycling in winter - and (tempting fate but) robust compared to some of the other lights I've used (are you reading Moon and Lezyne Reps?).

 You can get the 800 lumen light for about GBP80 with the aid of a search engine - this is enough for a 'see' and 'be seen' mode and I'm not sure I'd pay twice as much for an extra 200 lumens.  BTW the rear light has a very next clamp that fits under the seat for those who  don't like ruining the lines of their bike with lights...

I have a NiteRider that gives more focussed light for riding in the dark on  country roads, but it's heavy, complicated and has its own battery pack (and long wiring tends to lead to resistance problems over time). It was also consideraby more expensive.... 

So, I guess my point is you have to spend a lot of money to better Exposure ligjhts... 

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