Dare releases "beast of pure speed" aero bike first seen at Tour de France, with framesets starting at £4,000; plus Rapha's new print, a £600 aero skinsuit, curiously-shaped wheels + loads more

We're back with another edition of Tech of the Week, interrupting your weekend with all the best new bikes, kit and accessories we've seen over the past seven days. From a "beast" of an aero bike that was raced at the Tour de France and has just been made available to the public at £4,000 a pop, through to fresh releases from Rapha and Cinelli, curiously shaped wheels, a Kickstarter bar bag and a very expensive skinsuit  — it's a varied bunch this week.

We'll start by giving a quick shout-out to the big tech news of the week, the currently unrelease Wahoo bike computer that was leaked and appears to have a built-in wind sensor, a 3.8" touchscreen, claimed 30+ hours of battery life and an audio speaker. Very interesting, unless the leak was all some kind of big hoax... 

Anyway, you probably already heard about that one, on with what you're here for...

Dare releases "beast of pure speed" aero bike seen at Tour de France, frameset costs £4,000

One of the more intriguing bikes of the pro peloton this year is the Dare being ridden by Uno-X Mobility. No, they're not riding it for a dare, it is a Dare, a VA-AFO to give it its proper name.

That all stands for Velocity Ace-AFO so it's no surprise to hear the staff and riders are pretty happy with their aero machine. In fact, team manager Thor Hushovd, the former world champion who knows a thing or two about riding fast, said the bike has achieved "peak quality" and they are "very satisfied" with it.

Likewise, Alexander Kristoff reckons "with the same wattage, riding VA-AFO is 1.5 times faster". Well, the previously unreleased aero bike has been launched by Dare, opening it up to the wider cycling public and, at £4,000 for the frameset, it's turned a few heads this week. 

Dare says it is "beast of pure speed" and the "cutting-edge" design has been optimised in the wind tunnel to ensure it is 11.4 watts faster than the previous generation VSRu and is "on par for aero performance with the best brands on the market". Of course those savings are at 45km/h, the saving five watts at 35km/h and 21w at 55km/h, according to Dare.

The VA-AFO in 'Swift Black' is priced at $5,200 (£4,000) for the frameset, which includes the V:C1 Aero cockpit, V:P1 Aero seatpost, an "aero bottlecage" and CeramicSpeed's SLT headset bearing. No full bike option has been announced, although if you want one of 50 limited-edition VA-AFOs in 'Silver Lightning' colour that will cost $5,580 (£4,290). A size medium weighs 1,073g.

Check it out over on Dare's website.

Rapha's new print

Here's something brighter from Rapha at the end of a week when we broke the news that the premium cycling clothing company had posted its seventh consecutive year in the red, its losses almost doubling to £22.7m amid a 20 per cent drop in UK turnover.

The Pro Team Print Pack adds a colourful splash to the popular Pro Team range, which Rapha says was inspired by data. We'll leave the explanation to them... "Data allows us to understand our limits and surpass them. It quantifies the sensations we feel when pushing ourselves to the edge. It illuminates what our bodies might achieve. This print has taken the data associated with our best achievements and translated it into a visual representation of our effort, showcasing what's possible when we go beyond."

Fair enough, us being simple just thought it looked quite cool.

A very fast £600 skinsuit and three-figure aero socks

Aero clothing specialist Rule 28 has two new collections out, its Neo range the "result of years of research and development" and "the fastest kit we've ever brought to maket", according to founder Sam Calder. You'd hope so if you are planning on shelling out £600 on the Neo TT Suit or £550 for the Neo Road Race Suit.

You'll be quicker if you do though, Rule 28 is pretty confident of that, telling us the new suit boasts a 10-watt improvement at 40-50km/h over the existing Neo Suit 1.1 and Base Layer combination ("previously worn by both men's and women's Tour de France champions", the brand adds). 

Calder continued: "Neo is the result of years of research and development — we're finally able to unveil the pinnacle of our offering, and the data to support it. This is the fastest kit we've ever brought to market. It's a logical progression from our top-end suit and base layer outfit — to combine these items into one refined garment and apply this concept across the range. The fabrics we're now using in the Neo range test faster than anything currently commercially available, and we've made it our mission ahead of next season to bring World Tour level tech to the public."

The range also includes £100 aero socks, because who doesn't love expensive socks? Bargain when comapred with the four-figure price tag of Nopinz's 'Project 35' aero socks worn by Mark Cavendish.

A BIG bar bag

Over on Kickstarter, Route Werks has received almost £110,000 in pledges from 727 backers for its double-sized handlebar bag, more than three times the original £31,000 goal.

It's twice the size of the brand's Original Bag and has six litres of space, three mounts for tech and two storage inserts. Phone, GPS, camera, you can run all three. 

Oh, and to prove the point about it being BIG, there's a picture of it holding two burritos and a four-pack. Nice.

Cinelli releases Winter Racewear collection

Winter kit klaxon. Cinelli has its Supercorsa winter range "at the pinnacle of the collection" with premium fabrics and a race fit. The Tempo collection, the brand suggests, "focuses on endurance and bold design". Either way, as you probably guessed considering this is winter kit, comfort and warmth are top priorities here. Bib shorts, long-sleeve jerseys, vests, bib tights, jackets and accessories, there's a bit of everything. Check it out on Cinelli's website.

A curiously shaped front wheel from Ron Wheels

Here's something a bit different...

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Triathlon Carbon Wheels (@ron_wheels)

That's 105mm with what Ron Wheels is calling: "An innovative wavy shape." Not just for aero gains, the brand says the design provides excellent stability, even in crosswinds and is the "perfect balance of aerodynamics and stability".

In case you missed it:

• New Wahoo bike computer leaked that appears to have a built-in wind sensor

• Win! Ultimate Rouvy indoor training bundle worth £430, including 1-year free subscription plus jersey, bib shorts + more

• Is Muc-Off's Hey Dipstick! the most useful tool going for tubeless tyre users? Plus PEdALED's performance sunglasses (that don't fold), terrific titanium from Ribble + more

• Orbea launches new Avant alloy-framed endurance bike with refined geometry and "Service Box" to stash your stuff

• I've got an hour to train. How much cycling can I do?

• Decathlon's electric family cargo bike can carry up to four kids

• MiRiDER adds larger wheeled folding e-bike to its range – and it's available with that unusual three-speed gearbox