Before the school run madness begins on Monday, why not sit down with a coffee and treat yourself to a lovely little round-up of shiny new bike tech for half an hour or so? You might even be able to do the school run using the product that’s first on our list…
The Argo Fy can convert nearly any bike into a front-loading cargo bike for under a grand
If the latest electric cargo bikes are just a bit too spendy and specific for you, this nifty creation from US brand Argo Bikes might fit the bill if you need to increase your carrying capacity.
The Argo Fy Cargo Kit 2 (as in cargofy your bike, but without the letter ‘c’ because the brand is Argo, we think) uses conventional parts that are widely available, and bolts onto the front of ‘most’ bikes, including e-bikes.
It won’t work with mid-drive motors or children’s bikes, and we’re told some modification will be needed to get it to work with drop bar road bikes. The Cargo Kit 2 comes with its own hydraulic disc brake and flat bar lever, but for drop bar bikes, a longer hose for hydraulic brakes and a longer cable and housing setup for cable brakes will be required.
The kit comes flat-packed, but Argo says 90% of it is already assembled. The box has a carrying capacity of 68kg, which means it can house a couple of toddlers or a helluva lot of shopping with ease.
The price? The Cargo Kit 2 has an RRP of $1,399 (just over £1,000), but the current ‘pre-sale’ price is $1,099 (£816). Assuming import duty of around 14% and no trip to the bike shop needed (a fair few might need to though), UK customers could make the Argo Fy theirs for just under a grand all in based off the pre-sale price.
We’ll be asking for one ourselves, so check back for a review in the coming months.
Swiss Side launches a range of aero road race clothing for “maximum speed without compromising comfort”
Best known for its wheels (and proprietary wind tunnel), Swiss Side has launched its first range of aero cycling clothing.
Utilising its wind tunnel to the full extent, Swiss Side says it has tested the kit rigorously with various elite athletes, and that it is ideal for “both competitive racers and performance-driven cyclists.”
Swiss Side also aims to keep its prices competitive, and while none of it’s cheap, it’s around what we’ve become accustomed to for high-end aero kit: which is €175 for the AERO Jersey, €195 for the AERO Bib Shorts, and €349 for the AERO Road Suit Ultimate (men’s sizes only for the skinsuit).
The kit is available through the Swiss Side website now, and numerous retail partners.
Strava announces new power skills, training zones and route builder updates
Maybe Strava watched our latest video, and decided to give our sassy video editor Liam another few reasons to carry on his subscription?
Liam – plus fellow Strava subscribers or free users alike – will be pleased to know that Strava has released some fresh features during “a period of accelerated innovation” from the social fitness giant: there are updates to the Power Skills feature, Training Zones and Strava’s Route Builder.
The Power Skills update and Training Zone updates will allow you to view your heart rate, pace and power zones over time, which in theory should give you a clearer idea of your progression. The date range is fully customisable, so you can track short or long-term progression.
The Route Builder updates has seen a bit of a redesign which allows other users to more clearly see where others have logged rides: “This update will also allow subscribers to see enhanced route details, edit waypoints and switch sport-types mid activity”, says Strava.
Finally, Strava reckons it has deployed machine learning models to “detect and remove 4.45 million irregular or improbable activities from Leaderboards”, removing e-bike (and motorbike) rides from KOM and QOM leaderboards. We’ll believe it when we don’t see it…
The latest OTT TT helmet hits the WorldTour: Scott’s barmy new Split Mips Helmet gets official debut at the Vuelta
Another martian-looking TT lid has had its official unveiling, this time Scott’s new Split Mips as worn by Tom Pidcock’s Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team at the Vuelta.
While not quite as outlandish as the Giro number being used by Vingegaard et all this season, the Split Mips has a pretty unique modular design, with two interchangeable rear ‘skirts’ that attach to the back of the helmet for different riding scenarios. The LHP Skirt is for the most aggressive set-ups that call for “low, aerodynamic riding positions typically seen in time trials” while the HHP Skirt is for more upright head positions, more suitable for triathletes and long-distance time trial riders.
While Scott admits that “no one helmet is fastest for every rider”, it claims that in aggressive TT set-ups, the Split Mips saved 2.8 watts at 50km/h and 0° yaw, and was up to 8.1 seconds faster over a 40km time trial at 350 watts.
“By prioritising aerodynamic efficiency and real-world fit over traditional aesthetics, we created a helmet where performance leads and design follows”, boasts Scott.
“One of the project’s greatest challenges was integrating the modular ARC system — visor, helmet, and interchangeable skirts — into a unified aerodynamic structure. The result is seamless, and the bold black line across the shell highlights exactly what this helmet represents: a clear break from the ordinary.”
We’ve no prices for this lid, yet, but we’re fairly certain it’ll be a break from the price of your ordinary bike helmet too.
Carradice unveils new Brompton bag range
The Lancashire-based handcrafted bike bag and box specialist has introduced two new products to its Brompton range, the Weekender roll-top and the Brompton Box.
The Weekender bags (available in 10L or 17L sizes) are fully waterproof and said to be ideal for the commute or weekend bimbles. The are made with 600D Black Denier Polyester Laminate with PVC reinforcement, and feature a Corex back plate for support. Available in black or olive colourways, the 10L is priced at £89.95, and the 17L is £99.95.
The Brompton Box (£94.95) is rigid and compact with a 5L capacity. It has an elasticated storm lid and a front pocket for essentials, said to be perfect for “streamlined commuting” or light travel.
An important SchArt update
It’s not even an update to be honest, just another picture of this crudely-named concept bike after we first got a sniff of it on our Wednesday blog… but what cycling tech round-up would this be without a second shout-out for the rudest bike in existence? The creators were apparently parading it around the MADE bike show in Portland, USA last weekend, and it’s received plenty of praise on the gram for the design and the moniker so far.
Missed the rest of this week’s tech news on road.cc? Here’s a handy list if you want to extend that coffee break further…
- “We messed up”: Rapha issues refunds after major typo spotted on 10-year anniversary kit
- Knog recalls early production Blinder 900 and 1300 lights over battery safety concerns
- Wahoo says new firmware fix “should resolve GPS time issue” after V1 Bolt and Roam bike computers reset to 2006
- Bike brand halts US imports over Trump’s 50% steel tariff
- Shimano updates its two-bolt SPD cleat for the first time since 1995
-1024x680.jpg "“Clear anti-cyclist bias”: Lawsuit filed against Toronto police after cop doored cyclist… before ticketing rider over incident")
2 thoughts on “Make (almost) any bike a cargo bike with this nifty sub-£1k conversion kit; plus new Swiss Side aero clothing, Strava news, another important SchArt update + more”
A thousand quid for a cargo
A thousand quid for a cargo conversion? Come now…
This guide is a fantastic,
This guide is a fantastic, straightforward resource for transforming any bike into a cargo bike. It is super handy for city dwellers in large cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. I really appreciate how it allows us to carry more without shelling out for a brand-new bike. It’s perfect for maximizing the use of what we already have. Thanks for sharing!