There’s been no shortage of things going on in the world of cycling tech this week, with numerous new bike launches punctuating the first week of the Tour de France and all the tech goodness that brings. To top it off we’ve also been sharing plenty of the best Amazon Prime Day cycling deals and had a go on quite possibly the weirdest saddle we’ve ever seen (I say ‘we’ had a go on it, we really sent Liam off to ‘enjoy’ that one).
Talking of Liam and new bikes, he was over in Lille for the Tour’s Grands Départ last weekend and spotted a new Merida Reacto aero model and Cervélo’s new unreleased R5 climbing bike. While those two aren’t officially announced, even if they’re being raced by the world’s best at the Tour, we got an extra new bike fix this week in the form of Van Rysel’s new carbon endurance bike and the launch of the Cervélo S5 we first spied back at the Dauphiné. So yes, it’s been a bumper week of new bikes.
It’s not all about the racing in France and we’ve got plenty of new stuff to bring you here that isn’t being raced by the pros, but of course it wouldn’t be a Tech of the Week round-up in July without a bit of Tour tech sprinkled in. Let’s get cracking…
Can these £50 socks really “enhance performance” and make you faster on the bike?
Socks that make you faster on the bike? Apparently so, and they’re not aero socks either. With that said we reckon these Stox Energy Socks probably don’t hurt your aero performance compared with ‘normal’ socks, but their main “performance enhancing” feature is rather the compression.
They’re hardly new, we’ve seen these sorts of socks sported in competition in the running community for a while, plus pro cyclists are no strangers to pulling on compression wear on the team bus after stages (in some cases £200 3D-scanned socks as worn by Ineos Grenadiers and British Cycling athletes).
However, Stox has now branched out from its running and general use compression socks, launching a brand new cycling collection. It’s received the Wout van Aert stamp of approval. Well, out of competition at least, the UCI would have a field day if you rocked up to the start line in these. They’re also priced between £34.95 and £49.95 which, while admittedly an absolutely extraordinary amount of money to spend on a pair of socks, is multiple times cheaper than the Isobar ones used by Ineos (even if that brand would undoubtedly point out Stox’s aren’t custom-made via a 40-second video).
At £34.95 you get a mid-calf sock, while for 5p shy of £50 you get the full calf-length sock. According to Stox they “enhance performance and recovery for riders of all levels” by “improving circulation, reducing muscle fatigue, and accelerating recovery”.
The brand claims the “graduated compression” supports muscles during efforts and accelerates recovery. They also say it reduces lactic acid build-up and improves blood circulation. Thoughts? All the info is on Stox’s website.
Tour de France: UAE Team Emirates wear “world’s first AI-designed helmet”
Cycling in 2025. The top dogs in the Tour de France peloton, a UAE-backed superteam, wearing a helmet designed by the UAE’s “leading AI and tech company”, resulting in the creation of “the world’s first AI-designed helmet”. We were quite excited to see what sort of whacky design AI would come up with, after all it can’t be any worse than this display during Wednesday’s time trial.
Sadly the AI only got set loose on the livery for the team’s Met lids, this the colour scheme it opted for and that was to be worn by the team’s riders on stage three. Unfortunately for Pogi, he was by that point in the King of the Mountains lead, meaning his helmet featured the famous polka-dots instead.
Rudy Project marks 40th anniversary celebration with 3D-printed titanium shades
If applicable, what did you do for your 40th birthday? Spend time with family and friends? Go on a bike ride? Both nice options, but when you’re Rudy Project the answer’s instead make 100 limited edition 3D-printed titanium sunglasses.
They threw a party too, we should probably add, but we’re obviously more interested in the eyewear. That’s ‘retro eyewear’, according to the brand, a modern reissue of its Aregentin model, limited to just 100 pairs. They’re individually numbered, that detail lasered directly on the lens alongside Rudy Barbazza’s signature. Now the part you’ve all been waiting for — €950. That’s how much a pair will set you back.
Specialized (S)works overtime for Remco + more Tour paint jobs
With Remco moving into the white jersey he was obviously going to get a shiny new S-Works Tarmac SL8, because how embarrassing would it be to not have a jersey-matched paint job? The horror!
Anyway, Spesh said it was “time for a little refresh” and “we wanted to be sure his S-Works Tarmac SL8 was ready for the occasion and matched the new attire”. His TT ride was pretty special(ized) too… I’ll see myself out, it’s been a long week.
A certain Mr Van der Poel has also been showing off something bling and colour co-ordinated from Canyon too. What a beauty.
One rider who didn’t get a jersey-specific colourscheme was Cofidis rider Benjamin Thomas. Why? Well, thieves broke into the team’s mechanics’ truck and stole 11 bikes. We’ve got the full story of how Look and Campagnolo scrambled to get the team fully restocked and ready to race just hours later, but unfortunately Thomas missed his day aboard a polka-dotted Look 795 Blade RS. By the time the bikes were recovered near the Belgian border, Thomas had ceded his King of the Mountains jersey to Tadej Pogačar.
Up close with Olympic silver medallist Anna Henderson’s Trek Speed Concept TT machine
It’s not all about the Tour, Ryan making the hipster move of heading off to the Giro while everyone else was busy with the action in France. While he was in Bergamo he got up close with Anna Henderson’s TT bike. As with the men’s team, Henderson’s bike sported SRAM’s 1x, Lidl-Trek one of the peloton’s biggest proponents of ditching front derailleurs for efficiency gains, all while reducing the chance of mechanical issues (especially in the cobbled classics).
MAAP has been working on its latest collab… but it isn’t cycling
HOKA and MAAP, two brands united in their love of fully capitalised names have collaborated on a brand new running shoe. I know, interesting strategy including a running shoe in a cycling website’s Tech of the Week round-up, but when MAAP’s involved it’s harder to ignore.
The Australian-based premium cycling clothing company has teamed up with running shoe specialists HOKA on the project, the partnership “bringing together the worlds of running and cycling, highlighting technical innovation designed for endurance sports while seamlessly transitioning into everyday streetwear”.
Marketing speak aside, it’s essentially a running shoe built around HOKA’s Tecton X 2 sole, in a “limeade” colourway. Returning to the marketing speak, the reflective detailing is apparently inspired by MAAP’s technical cycling apparel, while the “hot melt overlays and splatter paint details further elevate the shoe’s design, paying homage to MAAP’s instantly recognisable aesthetic. Oh, look, a bike!
The shoes are out today in MAAP’s physical stores (Melbourne, Los Angeles and Berlin), priced at £185, and will be launched on the brands’ websites next week (Tuesday 15 July).
In case you missed it:
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Cervelo says new S5 is “at least 5 watts faster than the bikes of our competitors”
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Will this time trial bike help Pogacar win another Tour de France?
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Will 750W peak power be the new legal e-bike motor standard? What would that mean in practice?
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Win! Fuel like the pros with 4 bumper TORQ cycling nutrition bundles worth £100+ each up for grabs
3 thoughts on “Can these £50 socks really “enhance performance” and make you faster on the bike? Plus some £800 3D-printed titanium shades and more top Tour de France tech”
DYFRS do some compression MTB
DYFRS do some compression MTB socks, I picked some up for gravel purposes, just for the designs rather than the compression. Can’t comment on performance but they feel reassuringly snug at least.
Can such socks survive our
Can such socks survive our vicious British vegetation though?
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That would suggest that “limeade colourway” is not marketing speak, which seems disputable.