After our first full week back after the festive break, we had some pretty epic winds to contest with here in the south west over the weekend – but we ride on, there’s plenty of gear to be testing! Here are some of this week’s highlights…
£319.00
Shimano’s top-of-the-range road shoe has earned many a good review in the past, and this updated version is now even lighter with an improved heel cup. Shimano have also worked to lessen moisture retention by adding enhanced hydrophobic materials, and there’s an extra 11mm of cleat adjustment range for more choice when setting yours up. Is Shimano’s best road shoe now even better? Our full review is imminent.
freewheel.co.uk
£45.99
Pirelli launched back into the bike tyre market nearly two years ago now, and another year on the tubeless-ready, all-weather Cinturato Velo was shown for the first time. Offering what Pirelli claim to be superior puncture protection while still maintaining low rolling resistance, Pirelli’s patented ‘Armour Tech’ is responsible for toughening up the tyre. Aramid fibres are dispersed through it and get thicker towards the underside, so the top layer still retains low rolling resistance and grip thanks to Pirelli’s Smartnet Silica compound, while the base layer has a greater concentration of aramid fibres to guard against flats. It sounds impressive and has performed admirably in independent rolling resistance tests, but how did it fare on the road? Stu Kerton is riding them now.
extrauk.co.uk
Selle Italia SP-01 Boost Kit Carbonio Superflow
£274.99
Selle Italia have redesigned this high-end road saddle for 2019, claiming it offers increased comfort with all the weight-saving and stiffness benefits of carbon. Selle Italia call the design their “suspension link movement”, with an adaptive rear frame that has two parts. They they it works in a similar way to an automotive leaf spring, allowing a more natural movement of the pelvis when pedalling, which in turn increases pedalling efficiency. Big claims and a big price, but does it really do the trick? We’ll be hearing from Mat Brett for the full review in the coming weeks.
zyrofisher.co.uk
£999.00
This versatile all-rounder is on old Shimano 105, but available for an impressive knock-down price nowadays. It can fit up to 35mm tyres so you can also take it off-road briefly, and the triple-butted 6061 aluminium frame comes with a comfortable geometry for all-day riding. Hyraulic disc brakes and Mavic XM319 wheels finish the package, but is this Merlin a two-wheeled magician? Stu’s currently writing his verdict…
merlincycles.com
£150.00
The Kobe Thermo is a lightweight number, made to keep you warm during autumn and winter rides. The stretch fabric panels are supposed to offer breathability and plenty of range of movement, and the side and back panels has stretchy fleece added. There are also two big back pockets and the fit is described as ‘performance’ (i.e. tight). Can it challenge Castelli’s much-lauded Gabba thermal jersey? Elliot Barrett’s review will be coming soon…
pedaled.com
For all road.cc’s latest test reports, head over to our reviews section. If you need some more advice before splashing the cash, check out our buyer’s guides.
5 thoughts on “Five cool things coming soon from Pirelli, Shimano, Selle Italia, Merlin and PEdALED”
Interested in the review of
Interested in the review of the pirelli. I’m thinking that these are the tyres that will replace my gatorskins for a puncture proof tyre. Easier to buy than the irc tyres that are my current thought.
DoctorFish wrote:
Hopefully easier to buy than having to deal with the guy selling IRC at present. Check out the new Continental GP5000 tubeless. I’ve run IRC “X-Guards” for the last 4 months and apart from being much heavier than my Schwalbe Pro-ones (260gm vs 310gm for IRC), the IRCs are very wooden in feel and noticeably slower compared to the Pro-ones. Having said that they have not punctured… yet! I’ve been riding tubeless for several years now, mainly using Schwalbe Pro-ones as these are quite light (260gms/25mm), but these have still punctured and unless you keep topping up the sealant every 2-3 months you can still get punctures. Also, the sealant sticks to the inside of the tyre increasing the weight around the circumference, which is not good, so the more sealant you keep putting in the heavier the tyre/wheel becomes, slowing you down even more. Wish someone brought out a sealant that didn’t dry out and was as good as the top Orange sealant! Looks like the Pirelli is 290gm (25mm) and the GP5000 is 300gms (25mm) so for greater puncture protection looks like there is definitely a weight penalty to pay…
Biggus-Dickkus wrote:
Thanks for your post. I hate punctures, hence why I use the gatorskins. I’ve tried Grand Prix 4000 SII (which seems to be very highly rated by many) and the small flints around where I live just go straight in to them. So although I’m interested in the GP5000 I am a bit nervous of punctures.
I’m tubeless on my adventurebike, and use orange sealant in that. So far only had one puncture that wouldn’t seal (been using tubeless for about 18 months I guess).
DoctorFish wrote:
I have been using the Pirellis on my winter bike since December, I previously had Schwalbe Pro Ones fitted. They don’t quite have the same feel as the Pro Ones and are heavier but they are far more puncture resistant, very easy to set up and are a marked improvement over GatorSkins.
MrSimonMills wrote:
It is an improvement over the gatorskins that I’m looking for. They are great in terms of puncture resistance, but not so great in terms of roll resistance and comfort.
http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ has the GP5000 far ahead of either the gatorskins or pirelli in terms of roll resistance, but the pirelli trump even the gatorskin for punctures.