This week’s 5 cool things sees in some pretty fancy tech from Coros along with some of Rapha’s new winter kit. That’s not all as we’ve also got a new multitool from Wolftooth that looks to have absolutely everything you need for any trailside mishap. Oh, and it’ll be rude to forget that we’ve also wrangled some fresh hoops from DT Swiss.
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DT Swiss M 1900 Spline wheelset
£160 front £240 rear
Here we’ve got the brand spanking new DT Swiss M 1900 Spline wheelset in its 29″ guise with 30mm internal widths. New for the brand’s entry-level wheelset is that it gets a Ratchet LN freehub, rather than a pawl system, which is claimed to boost durability and is said to be easily upgradable if you’re looking to up the engagement.
The rims are now connected using internal sleeve joints, that sit within the hollow section of the rims to align the wheels. This has been done because it’s more effective in production than welded rims but offers the same performance, says the brand.
COROS VERTIX 2
£600
A little while ago we had CORO’s APEX PRO multisport watch and it didn’t take long for the brand to send in the higher-end VERTIX 2 for testing. On paper, it’s an impressive bit of tech with the capability to communicate with all five major GPS systems, measure your heart rate variability and COROS says it has the battery life to offer up to 140 hours of use with standard GPS tracking active.
Wolftooth 8-Bit Kit One
£145
Wolftooth’s 8-Bit Kit One looks to come with everything you’ll ever need to fix almost anything on your bike. It comes in the form of three separate parts one being a tyre lever and a rim dent remover, the second being home to a tubeless repair kit and chain tool with the final part being where you’ll find a range of Allen bits with a master link plier.
At first glance, its build quality looks rather great but it comes at a mighty price.
- wolftoothcomponents.com
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Rapha Trail Hip Pack
£60
Rapha’s Trail Hip Pack comes with the brand’s recently released off-road range and comes built with an adjustable waist strap, two external pouches for water bottles, and a three litre capacity. Adding to that carrying power is an external drawstring where you can stow a jacket or a pair of pads.
What’s great about this pack is that it’s made from recycled materials and can be worn under, or over a tshirt.
Rapha Trail Pants
£130
Finally, we’ve got a bit of a Rapha double header this week as the brand has also sent in a couple of pairs of the brand new Trail Pants from the winter range. We’ve got both men’s and women’s models on test with the former getting an adjustable waist, two zipped side pockets and a DWR treatment.
The women’s model also gets a DWR coating but the waist changes to a stretch waist. It gets two zipped side pockets too.
