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TECH NEWS
eps 12 SR-EPS_cambio-2020The most exciting new products... that you can't quite buy yet
There are loads of cool new bikes, components and accessories on the way from many big brands, and here are the most exciting of them. Although you can't buy any of these products yet, the good news is that you're not going to have to wait long – just a few days in some cases.
New shoes and clothing from Rapha
Rapha has some interesting new products in the offing, including two new shoe designs. One of them is a laced model called the Explore and it's designed for trails as well as the road.
"The Explore Shoe is light and stiff with a sole that incorporates a grippy natural rubber tread with high-performance carbon and flex in just the right spot," says Rapha.
The shoes in Rapha's teaser pic (above), which are laced too, look like the Classic road shoes mentioned on the brand's website.
Both will be available from 21st March 2019.
Rapha is launching a collection in April in honour of US champion and Olympic medallist Nelson Vails. The pics so far supplied, such as the one above, don't give a whole lot away.
Check out our story on Rapha's new season products
Campagnolo reveals 12-speed Super Record EPS
Campagnolo has just revealed the electronic version of the 12-speed Super Record groupset. It'll be landing with UK distributors in early April, so you'll be able to get your hands on it soon... As long as you can afford it.
Naturally, 12-speed Super Record EPS is available with both rim brakes (standard and direct mount) and hydraulic disc brakes. The shifters have the same shape, ergonomics and looks as the mechanical versions.
Campag claims 11-speed EPS can last somewhere in the region of 2,000km on a single charge, and they've increased that by 10% with a new battery for the 12-speed version.
Read all about Campagnolo Super Record EPS here
Pre-order the Mason InSearchOf
Mason unveiled the InSearchOf last September but it's still available as a pre-order only. ETA is mid-April on new orders.
The InSearchOf follows on from Mason's existing Bokeh and is said to have an even bigger appetite for off-road terrain and wilderness adventures. It features a new steel frame that's designed around 29er wheels with huge tyre clearance, a long carbon fork that can be swapped for a 100mm travel suspension fork, dropper post compatibility and a new custom front mudguard and rack accessory.
Read our review of the Mason Bokeh
The InSearchOf will be available in various builds which you can finetune to your requirements, with options for wheels, tyres, lighting and certain build components available on order. The SRAM Force 1x version is £3,490.
Find out all about the Mason InSearchOf here
Edco Brocon wheels are nearly here
Edco has a new carbon spoke wheelset called the Brocon that will be available in early April (you can currently pre-orders them by contacting info [at] edco-wheels.co.uk).
Edco says that it wanted to create a top-end carbon fibre wheelset that could be used all day, every day. The carbon spokes, developed exclusively for Edco, are designed in such a way that you can adjust or replace them, as you would with standard wheelset. Edco reckons that this is an incredibly durable wheelset.
The hubs are a brand new design while the tubeless-compatible rims have a 17mm inner width and a 28mm depth. The similar Cereda wheelset has 35mm-deep rims.
Edco claims a weight of 1,328g for the rim brake wheelset (£2,800) and 1,471g for the disc brake version (£2,900).
Read our review of the Edco Brocon wheels
Genesis Equilibrium Disc 2020
The Genesis Equilibrium Disc is getting an update for 2020 – yes, we're talking about model year 2020 bikes already – that is 'coming soon'.
The Equilibrium is a longstanding model in the Genesis range, designed as a four-season bike for UK conditions.
Read our review of the Genesis Equilibrium Disc from 2014
"The Reynolds 725 frame has also been future proofed with the addition of flat mount disc brake mounts and full internal Di2 cable routing which makes the Equilibrium Disc frame one of the most adaptable steel road bikes out there," says Genesis.
The bike comes with a full Shimano 105 groupset, including hydraulic disc brakes, and has a £2,199.99 price tag.
New eyewear models from 100%
100% has new models on the way. The S3 combines elements of the current S2 and Speedcraft, so you get a huge amount of coverage with no frame at the bottom of the lens to interrupt your vision.
Read our review of the 100% Speedcraft SL glasses 
The Slent is a new style with an allusion to ice/snow glasses with the frame at the sides of the lenses extending slightly backwards towards to the face.
Both of these new models will become available in May.
The new Hakan glasses should be available any time now.
100% is also introducing fast-to-react (13-15 seconds) photochromic lens options throughout its range, and a new lowlight lens that gets progressively darker towards the top.
New road bikes from Cannondale, Lapierre and Orbea
We know of several new road bikes on the way because, although they've not been officially announced yet, they have been approved for racing by the UCI and so are included on the list of approved models of frames and forks.
Among the new and/or updated bikes included on this list are:
Cannondale CAAD13
Liv Avail Advanced Disc
Kuota KU-R23 (rim brake and disc brake versions)
Lapierre Pulsium Disc
Orbea Orca
We've been invited to several other road bike launches later in the year but info on those is embargoed. There's some big news on the way, though.
Cannondale CAAD13: find out what we're expecting
Orro Venturi set to arrive... finally
We've told you about the Orro Venturi several times over the past year but it hasn't been widely available yet. That's set to change soon with the UK brand about to receive stock by the end of March (all of which is already sold), with more to follow in mid-to-late April.
The Venturi is one of an increasing number of aero road bike that are disc brake-specific. It's optimised for 28mm tyres, Orro motivated by the desire to run lower pressures, improve grip and reduce rolling resistance.
The Venturi is made using Sigmatex spread tow carbon, the idea being to reduce weight and increase stiffness.
A Venturi frameset is £1,999.99 while a Shimano Ultegra (mechanical) build is £2,599.99. The Ultegra Di2 model is £3,299.99.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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16 comments
Not necessarily confirmation bias: there are several Audi and BMW models in this list of 'most likely to speed', and speeding = dickhead driver in my experience:
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/96663/the-top-10-cars-most-likely...
Funny seeing so much confirmation bias displayed here.
I've written a paper on such statistical bias.
100% of you will love it....
I have had three run ins with stupid motorists recently, all three were driving Audis, all three were white Audis. I don't know what that says nationally but to me it says that 100% are twats. My opinion of course, from experience. Also, check back on near miss of the day, I think number 227. This was another white Audi who decided to try to take me out on my commute. A few days later I had a run in with a woman who insisted on texting whilst driving her....wait for it... white Audi. When asked to stop, she ranted and cursed, and carried on texting.
A close contender to the crown is the BMW 3 series and 1 series. Both usually driven by dickheads too.
just a run of bad luck, really, your name coming up repeatedly in the White Audi Ninja-Knights Eradicate Roadies Society lottery like that.
This shouldn't surprise anyone. What kind of people buy BMWs and Audis anyway?
All white van drivers are twats. All Ford drivers are chavs. All BMW drivers are drug dealers. All Merc drivers are wannabes. All Volvo drivers are snobbish tits. All cyclists are heroes. All pedestrians are ignorant ninny's. All meat eaters are tossers. All vegans are condescending bigots. Blady-blaah...
Come ON. You can find statistics and supposed correlations for anything and make it fit your unconscious bias. It's only your attitude that matters. There will always be good, bad and indifferent types for EVERY single one of these categories. Anyone that says otherwise is prejudiced and / or has an agenda. Or is this just boredom-induced trolling...??
I have driven Toyota's all my life. I only just bought an Audi. Because I researched and found that they had a better NCAP safety rating than the other equivalent priced brands. I have a wife and one-year old daughter that I cherish more than anything in this world. I would like them to be as safe as possible. That's all. And I love my cycling. I also walk. I'm a considerate cyclist. I've been hit twice. Once by a BMW. Once by a Vauxhall. I don't really think I'm that special either and I'm sure a large cross-section of society dip into many different categories.
Now label me.
Two instances of complete driver dumfuckery in the past few days...
Driving home in a 40mph zone, car in front decelerated at great speed out of the blue causing me to hit the breaks, the driver then pulls a right turn (without indicating) into oncoming traffic, to get into a local park. It was an Audi A6.
Waiting to cross the road to take the dog for a pee, it's a 30mph zone on a quiet Sunday night. Two cars coming from my left, the rear car decides to gun it past the front car into a blind corner (must have hit 50mph at least) just as oncoming traffic appears. Oncoming cars have to take evasive action. It was one of those Audi Sportback efforts.
Back in the 80's the Audi was such a desirable car and it came with a bit of status. Now it's the Chavs choice of motor, hired out on PCP while they live at home, probably for the rest of their lives.
Vorsprung Durch Dickheads.
Hired out? Don't they take PCP anymore? Has ketamine replaced it?
(Yes, of course I'm aware that PCP's also a bizarre kind of car rental.)
I've only been knocked off properly once. It was an Audi driver turning right, into my lane and I went through his windscreen.
Now when I see an Audi, I assume they're going to drive like a c*nt until I've seen otherwise.
I've never been knocked off yet, but of course, have had close calls, but have noticed two things. One - Audi drivers are greatly over-represented in terms of how often my life is placed in jeopardy and two - any remonstration on my part - no matter how low-key - almost always results in an escalation to the point of threatening violence, or actually employing it.
Because I am somewhat inured to the Selfish Twats that are British drivers, many times, my only reaction to a close pass will be a look and a shake of the head. Most drivers will shout, or sound their horn, or give the finger and then drive away. The Audi driver will very often swerve his car in front of me to block me, or try to grab my handlebars by leaning out of the window or - as in one particular example - display a firearm as a threat.
I have just seen the new audi advert, swimming pool, during F1 highlights.
Apparently, if the arsehole driving it passes far too close, the mirror will pull itself in.
Previous ads have implied of them being driven by clowns, and another asked of the drivers "if only they had a brain?"
At least that's what I got from them. They are probably not aimed at me.
The ads that is, as for the cars....
I drive an Audi. I also ride bikes. I'm a considerate driver
Stereotypes are not cool
Y'see, the thing is that 'considerate driving' is like racism. Very few people actually think that they're racist. And most Audi drivers are probably like you: they think that they're 'considerate drivers'.
Personally, I have never found myself with an Audi behind me, without that vehicle tailgating me. And I'm sure that if he were to be pulled over by the police (excuse me a second .. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! ... that's better. Where was I. ....?), he would say, 'What? Tailgating? No way was I tailgating!'
Then he'd probably mention something about how with his lightning fast reflexes and ABS, 3 cm was more than enough distance at 60 mph.
Alas, the overwhelming majority are not 'considerate drivers'. There is something about the big four (Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Lexus) that attracts complete c-nts.
You may be a 'considerate driver'. But if you are, you're in the 0.00001% who are.
85% of all statistics quoted in comments sections are made up on the spot.
Your wild exaggerations don't enlighten anyone.
Oh, all right. I might have added a zero...
PS let me guess - Audi driver?
We decided to put this to the test during a jaunt to the B&Q in Eltham a little while ago. During the ten minutes we were in the car going there, we were tailgated by 21 car drivers and one scooter rider. Of the drivers, 19 were in an Audi, one was in a Lexus, and one was in a big VW. We didn't see an Audi behind us whose driver didn't tailgate us.