After the buzz of Eurobike last week, some of us might have been hoping for a somewhat quieter week in the world of cycling tech. But alas, there’s newness galore, not to mention a certain lil’ bike race kicking off in Lille this weekend (check out our Tour de France content here, with plenty more juicy tech live from the grand departe).
From football and cycling crossovers to 292g titanium cranksets, 58g pedals, Canyon’s aero bike gets even more aero, plus more from Classified + Look, let’s dive in…
A 292g (and £1,250) titanium crankset from Wert Cycling
Netherlands-based manufacturer, Wert Cycling has launched its StW crankset collection, made from Ti-6Al-4V titanium, with weights starting from 292g. It comes in three different configurations: road, gravel and MTB.
Rico de Wert, founder and engineer at Wert, said: “Cyclists shouldn’t have to choose between lightweight performance and long-term durability. The StW crankset eliminates that compromise by harnessing titanium’s superior strength-to-weight ratio and fatigue resistance.”
The road crankset comes with a Q-Factor of 144mm and fits a SRAM 8-bolt direct mount chainring interface. The crank arms come in the following lengths: 157.5mm, 165mm, 170mm, 172.5mm, 175mm. Now how much will it set you back? Just the €1,449,53… the crank arms are only available to buy directly from Wert Cycling so there may well be import fees added on, too.
The world’s lightest road cycling pedals?
Apparently so, according to Tourelly Cycling, who released images of its claimed 58g road cycling pedals. The Tourelly Road Ceramic Ti pedals offer 360 degree entry, which means you don’t need to faff about clipping into the right side a la Speedplay, plus an adjustable Q-Factor of 52-55mm, and ceramic bearings.
They’re stainless steel in construction, and are designed and made in Austria. The pedals are expected to launch in May next year, will you be giving them a go? We’ll be asking for a sample soon.
AC Milan x Castelli… the crossover we all needed?
I’ve long since thought we should have football shirt inspired cycling kit. As a long-suffering Sunderland fan, what better way to show your allegiance in the Tyne-Wear derby than by wearing a red and white striped jersey? And apparently, Castelli agree. Not about Sunderland, but about football strips in general.
The Italian brand has just released an AC Milan-inspired collection, featuring the easily recognisable red and black stripes of the home kit, the white with red and black stripe away kit and a special mish-mash of AC Milan colours for a third jersey.
Castelli says it’s designed for the cyclists “who ride with Rossoneri pride”. That is, if you’re a bloke. Castelli is only releasing a men’s fit of the jersey and bibs, but have no fear, socks are unisex so us girls can jump on the bandwagon there. The jerseys cost £95 and the bibs £120, plus there are gloves, socks and a head thingy in the collection, too.
Kudos for being up on the memes if you got the Steve McManaman reference in the title. We would offer a prize, but our video guy Liam has blown the budget on wine and pastries at the Tour de France.
Canyon’s Aeroad CF SLX goes even more… aero
Aero is still the buzzword in the world of road cycling, no matter how much some of us try and avoid it. And Canyon is doubling down on it by making the Aeroad CF SLX even MORE aerodynamic by including new aero drops and deep dish wheels. Lovely.
There are two new ‘speed’ editions of the Aeroad CF SLX being launched, with pre-mounted aero drops giving riders a claimed 10mm longer reach compared to more traditional drops. Canyon even goes as far as to say this elongated position can save riders up to 14 watts.
The Aeroad CF SLX 8 AXS Speed edition (£6,499) will use SRAM’s newly launched Force AXS E1 2×12 groupset, as well as Zipp 404 Firecrest wheels. The other new model, the CF SLX 7 AXS Speed (£4,399), uses SRAM’s new Rival AXS E1 groupset and new DT Swiss 65mm ARC wheels. Both are available to buy now from the Canyon website.
Vision’s new SC wheels can take wider tyres and have a new hub
Ready to get excited about wheels? We know we are. Vision has launched two new wheelsets in its SC (service course) lineup: the SC 45 SL and SC 60 SL. The number denote the rim depth, so SC 45 is 45mm deep, and so on.
The new wheels come with a 23mm internal rim width to accommodate wider tyres and a claimed weight of 1,542g for the SC 45 SL set.
But that’s not all! Vision has also launched a new ratchet system hub called the V-600. It offers 54 points of engagement and weatherproof sealing. The wheels can come with either straight pull or J-bend configurations and cost £1,399 for the SC 45 SL, and £1,449 for the SC 60 SL.
Look unveils ltd edition 795 Blade with an expressive paintjob and a £10k pricetag
We love a good colourway here at road.cc, in fact, the whackier the better. So we really like this Look Cycles collaboration with London Glitch Pop artist, Jay Kaes. The ‘Art of Cycling x Jay Kraes’ framesets apparently fuse “French cycling excellence with artistic expression,” according to Look.
There are only 50 framesets being made available, and each ‘bundle’ includes a carbon frame and fork, carbon seatpost, integrated aero bar and stem, and ltd ed. Keo Blade Ceramic Ti pedals (also painted) and an A4 poster.
Each frameset bundle will set you back £10,000 though, so it’s time to tell the kids they’re not going to university. Or getting a car. Or food. If you are flush enough to buy one though, they’re available through Look Cycle retailers and on the Look website.
Classified’s Powershift Hub can now integrate with Shimano Di2 groupsets
In a move that’s pretty good for consumers wanting to mix and match components on their bikes, Classified has announced that its Powershift Hub tech can now work with Shimano Di2 groupsets.
This means you can now control the Powershift Hub directly from Shimano Di2 shifters, so you no longer need a separate button to do so.
The two-speed internal Powershift Hub can connect with all Di2 groupsets through the Classified app for free, and means riders with a 1x set-up can now utilise more gears and gear range without having to slap on an extra chainring.
4 thoughts on “A £1,250g, 292g titanium crankset, the “world’s lightest road cycling pedals”, plus… “Of course we’ll have a look!” Castelli does football with AC Milan cycling kit + loads more”
Nothing new about football
Nothing new about football kit inspired cycling jerseys, I have a whole range of Crystal Palace ones.
More strange cycling
More strange cycling crossover: Chas Roberts’s head-tube badge was originally based on Palace’s logo.
lesterama wrote:
I didn’t know that – that’s cool.
Long-suffering, aye, but us
Long-suffering, aye, but us are back in the Premiership now, lass!