"Perfect" handlebar will be cycling's "biggest aero advancement" in 2025, claim creators... plus the £200 Ineos-approved recovery socks, a new social media app for cyclists + more

We've got a belter of an edition of Tech of the Week to bring you this week, not least because of some folks making some pretty big claims about their products. Yep, we've been told about the "perfect" handlebar that will be the "biggest aero advancement in road cycling" next year... perhaps, and some "cutting-edge" £200 recovery socks that are "changing the landscape of performance and recovery" having already caught the eye of British Cycling and Ineos Grenadiers.

Elsewhere, we've got out weekly dose of Kickstarter cycling products to bring you, some updated wheels from Ere Research, a new social media app for cyclists, and a battle royale between some very special bling bikes. Let's get into it...

"Perfect" handlebar will be cycling's "biggest aero advancement" in 2025, claim its creators

Well, the people behind Avec Bikes are pretty confident in these new handlebars anyway...

The fledgling brand, which appears to be affiliated with UK bike fitting specialist Soigneur, posted a video on Instagram of them, featuring their 10 degrees of UCI-approved tilt, writing: "Our handlebar will be the biggest aero advancement in road cycling 2025. Thank you for following our journey in developing the perfect aero handlebar that does more than just look pretty.

"Are you ready to be your fastest in 2025? We'll be dropping it soon!"

There's not much more info at this point, unfortunately, although according to the website the Avec Aero Handlebars are already sold out. No surprise if the listed £0 price is correct. If I stop being facetious for a second, it's just a holding page and the bars will be available soon, Avec saying it's the culmination of "three years of intensive research" and the ergonomic design has been "engineered to be the world's fastest".

 

 

 

 

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We couldn't help but chuckle at the top comment under the Insta post... "This all looks fantastic, but isn't your outfit going to negate the aero gains?" Avec's social media wizard replied... "Still faster than riding with 42cm wide handlebars..."

The "game-changing" £200 recovery socks for cyclists used by Ineos and British Cycling

We've heard plenty about the watt-saving qualities of aero socks in recent times, not least when Mark Cavendish rocked NoPinz's £1,000 (sorry, £999.99) Project 35 socks at the Tour de France. Well, once you've finished your riding you can stick these £198 Isobar recovery socks and £168 calf sleeves on, products the brand is confident will "revolutionise the market" and are "changing the landscape of performance and recovery with its breakthrough approach to personalised compression therapy".

Arguing that traditional compression sportswear is "limited by standard sizing", Isobar offers customers "the world's first AI-powered body-sizing app" that has been designed specifically for the purpose of creating an accurate 3D-scanned model of the individual via a 40-second smartphone video. 

Isobar says this ensures "perfect" fit and unlocks a host of performance gains that are backed up by science, its custom compression garments "clinically proven to reduce venous transit time by 59%, improve muscle oxygenation, and accelerate post-exercise recovery".

Ineos Grenadiers and British Cycling are just two of the pro sporting outfits using Isobar's products. Dr Steve Faulkner, a training scientist with British Cycling, is impressed and said the products had "maximised our riders' capacity to recover from and adapt to training and racing" in the build up to this year's Olympics and Paralympics.

 

 

 

 

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Isobar offers an Active Calf Sleeve, designed to give mild pressure during exercise, training and competition to "reduce fatigue, increase blood flow and help remove metabolites that can lead to muscle cramps".

The other products, the Travel & Recovery Sock (£198) and Recovery Calf Sleeve (£168), are for use after exercise, the latter providing firm pressure "targeted calf compression" for "ultimate recovery compression" when used in conjunction with the medium pressure socks.

"Off-the-shelf compression wear is available in standard sizes and often compromises actual compression performance," said Clive Gunther, CEO of Isobar. "Traditionally these products are made for a broad range of limb sizes, using limited sizing dimensions and making the effectiveness of compression therapy unpredictable. Without knowing specific limb sizes, manufacturers cannot accurately deliver the right compression levels, leading to inconsistent results."

We're going to get a pair via the intriguing app and will report back if I turn into Emma Finucane or Tom Pidcock.

Find out more over at Isobar's website...

A bicycle pump "revolution"... says maker of self-dubbed Incredible Pump

It wouldn't be Tech of the Week without a peek into what's happening over on the often bizarre world of Kickstarter...

This week, that means the Daysaver Incredible Pump, a "superior usability" pump for MTB and gravel that can store a couple of tools inside it. It launches on the crowdfunding site on October 22, Daysaver offering two sizes featuring a "compact design and yet effective pumping", either direct at the valve or via an "innovative pump hose".

One of its selling points appears to be that the larger size offers space for two of the brand's tools to be fitted inside, although the pump hose apparently takes up one space, but you can then still put one of its IncredibleX multitools inside. The pumps are only Presta compatible, but Daysaver suggests you can still pump up through Schrader valves... if you use the pump hose head that "features a Schrader thread without push-pin in the middle. This allows to use 'to'-Schrader adaptors which are not relying on a pin in the head, this includes some tubeless valves for which a 'to'-Schrader adaptor is required". Right... 

A new social media platform for cyclists

"Front Pack is the antithesis to what social networks have become," founder Scott Baldwin tells us, explaining the concept for the new social media app for cyclists and endurance athletes. Users can build their profiles, add other social links, start conversations, post questions and chat with other users, all with "the freedom of understanding who it is they are speaking with" in a "community built around real people, not anonymity".

Scott tells us it's completely free and has a few hundred athletes already signed up in its first 30 days. Each Wednesday there are livestreams with experts, coaches and athletes. Find out more if you're interested...

Ere Research updates Omnia CLR45 wheelset

Ere Research's best-selling Omnia CLR45 has been upgraded to the Omnia II CLR45, the newly updated wheelset now featuring a 36-tooth star-ratchet system, replacing the 4-pawl freehub system. The new Ere Iona S hubs with Ere custom Industrial bearings provide "quicker and more consistent engagement with every pedal stroke", Ere tells us.

There are also some new graphics, "giving it a fresh modern look". Evolutionary rather than revolutionary changes perhaps then, but we're always happy to hear about upgrades, especially if they don't come with a price hike, Ere confirming the Omnia II CLR45's will remain priced at €999 (£837).

Battle of the bling bikes

Il Lombardia today. Tadej Pogačar vs Remco Evenepoel. World champion edition Colnago V4Rs vs Olympic champion edition golden S-Works Tarmac SL8? 

In case you missed it this week:

• Pashley launches new Pathfinder collection featuring 3D-printed lugs and frame parts

• Wheels featuring self-inflating/deflating tyre system used by Marianne Vos to win Gravel World Championships now available to pre-order priced from £3,200

• What is the best power meter system?

• Everything you need to know about bike cameras

• "Banned" bike shop claims Shimano won't let it inspect Hollowtech cranksets as part of "inspection and replacement" programme due to failing 100% of them

• Strava no longer allows you to add links to uploads and deletes all old ones: frustrated users hit out at social fitness giant that claims "ongoing situation" of URL removal "necessary to protect the community"