Five Cool Things is on the road this week, as we preview a quintet of new bikes, components and curiosities that we’ll be looking to get hold of and review in full over the coming weeks and months. Let’s dive straight in with a gear shifting solution that is electronic, yet mechanical all at once…
Aventon is coming to the UK… and bringing a new take on the electronic shifting conversion kit with it
What if your bike with good old mechanical shifting could become electronic by adding a sensor and a couple of extra buttons? Aventon – an e-bike brand that is pretty huge in the US and is now coming to the UK – was showing off its own take on an electronic shifting conversion kit at the CIN show, already fitted to its Trava ADV urban e-bike that will be priced at £2,499 all in.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen a device that can transmit a wireless signal to your mechanical groupset (Chinese groupset manufacturer L-Twoo will sell you one for around £170), but it’s the first time we’ve seen it on an off-the-peg bike. Aventon is using a transmitter courtesy of Magene, and the shifter button up front is Aventon’s own, so we were told. You can control it all via the bike’s display and Aventon’s app, or turn it off if you’d rather shift mechanically. You can also release the battery cover and deploy a wheel lock via the app or on-bike display.
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When we shared the above clip on social media, a few people asked… why? Why not, would be my answer to that. If electronic shifting is more desirable than not to most people looking to buy a bike, and this contraption brings it down to a nicer price point, it’s going to appeal to some of us – maybe a lot of us.
Assuming Aventon don’t act on our recommendation and start selling the conversion kit on its own, we’ll be looking to get an Aventon e-bike to review so we can assess the 2-in-1 shifting alongside it. The brand also had its Current ADV mountain bike on display with a SRAM Eagle groupset. We were told SRAM wouldn’t allow Aventon to use the conversion kit with its components, so this was only fitted to the Trava ADV e-bike fitted with 10-speed Shimano CUES.
Moon brings the rear radar light to a nicer price point
With Garmin’s excellent Varia Rearvue 820 costing over £250, and even cheaper options from the likes of Magene priced well over £100, lights that give you a warning about what’s happening behind you are invariably much more expensive than regular rear lights. Moon is hoping to change that with the release of the Argus (£69.99) that removes some of the bells and whistles to bring the price down.
There’s no Bluetooth, apps or firmware updates with the Argus – it’s a powerful rear light paired with a detection system and brake light that gives off a very loud beep when a vehicle is approaching, so there’s no need for it to be connected to your head unit. You can actually use it without a head unit, which might be extra appealing to some commuters who don’t need to record their rides.
As a bonus cool thing, Moon also had the new Metis on display, a front light with an alarm system and bell plus an integrated computer mount. The alarm will sound (very loudly) if anyone tampers with your bike, and the bell is customisable with several rings that are much cheerier-sounding than the alarm. The light itself can pump out 1000 lumens on max, and also comes with a wireless remote.
We’ll be asking for both to review, so look out for the verdicts later in the year.
Bryton are also hitting a price point with the super simple new Rider E10
The chap on the stand described this new computer from Bryton as like an old Cateye, but with GPS. Designed for cyclists who just want to know how far and how fast, the Rider E10 won’t connect to Strava, measure your ‘cycling dynamics’ or try to tell you what your next training session should be. It is GPS enabled, has 30 hours of battery life and will show you three data fields per page (maximum 12 functions) all for £39.99, though.
Maybe the mood among cyclists right now is that there’s too much tech, and sometimes, knowing how far you’ve gone while getting a nice loud bleep when a car is coming up behind is all you really need.
Pog’s first bike sponsor is making waves in the UK
Before Tadej Pogacar started to win the odd bike race, he rode for the Rog–Ljubljana team in his native Slovenia. Pog raced on Gusto bikes then, and the brand still sponsors the team. The team is now known as Pogi Team Gusto Ljubljana and Pogacar is personally involved, so both brand and team make the most of the connection – they were even giving out Pogi Team Gusto Ljubljana baseball caps on the stand.
Gusto is a Chinese brand, and a big enough deal that the frames are proprietary rather than open mould. There are no direct-to-consumer sales, instead Gusto’s UK arm deals directly with bike shops and small distributors. Usually how it works is that shops who also offer more expensive brands from Europe or the US can point the customer at Gusto bikes if their budget is tighter, according to the man on the stand.
And you get quite a lot for your money: the Cobra EVO endurance bike starts at £1,849 with a Shimano 105 12-speed groupset, and the GTR aero racer starts at £3,049 with Shimano 105 Di2 and carbon wheels. All frames are carbon.
Here’s a link to the current list of UK dealers.
Tannus are back… but did they ever really go away?
I can’t say I particularly enjoyed my time on a Tannus airless road bike tyre when I reviewed one almost nine years ago – but since then, Tannus appears to have made them simpler to fit and added some new products to its range for those who want more puncture protection without the harshness of a completely solid tyre.
Tannus still sells the airless tyres (shown above) but sizes now range from 23-40mm for 700c rims, plus various options for folding bikes, city bikes and wheelchairs. It claims they can now be fitted in around 10 minutes per tyre with a bit of prep.
Tannus has added more products to its line-up in recent years, including Armour tubeless inserts and Armour for inner tubes, and its own range of tools including the P-Type mounting device, and its own tyre levers. The levers are said to be a fair bit tougher than your usual, and have a chain breaker on the other side.
To see all the latest and greatest cycling products we’re reviewing right now, head over to our reviews section. For more advice before spending your cash, check out our buyer’s guides
