It’s time for yet another Five Cool Things and what a week it’s been. Already SRAM has trickled down its Transmission tech to the GX level, and we’ve got more exciting kit from OneUp. Along with that very exciting news, there’s another set of brakes from Hayes, enduro rubber from Vittoria, and Ride Concept’s latest shoes.
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But before diving into the good stuff we can’t go anywhere without highlighting the most exciting stories of the week. First off, with Red Bull Hardline taking place this weekend, we recapped last year’s action in a look back at Red Bull Hardline 2022, the race where young gun Jackson Goldstone took the win. Then, South African brand, Ciovita launched a gravel-specific jacket, the Odyssey with promises to break into the UK market.
Our reviews, as always, have been rolling out with full force as this week we’ve seen the TruTune MTB Air Fork Insert receive 4.5 stars. It’s a sciency product with big claims, but it actually delivers. On top of that, we reviewed POC’s Tectal Race helmet, Kostume’s Women’s Short Sleeve jersey, and Altura’s Vortex Waterproof Seatpack, and Bolt-On top tube bag.
SRAM GX Transmission
£1,180
Oh yes. Just a couple of months after the launch of SRAM’s XX and XO drivetrains, the brand has trickled down that mech-hangerless tech to the GX level. With that, it comes with a number of changes, most notably in the location of its battery which now sits just underneath the hangerless interface.
The mech also gets a steel build as well as the skid plates that we saw on T-Type drivetrains prior, however, its pulley cage can be removed without the need for any tools.
Already, we’ve been testing this fresh drivetrain from SRAM and have a first ride review ready for you to delve into. However, we will be putting this through its paces over the coming months, so we’ll report back with our long-term test findings.
Ride Concepts Accomplice Clip BOA
£150
The Accomplice Clip Boa is the latest shoe offering from Ride Concepts. Coming in both clip and flat options, the brand has built this shoe for day-long trail comfort and gets a rather different build. It does away with the traditional tongue that we’ve seen on shoes time and time again, instead opting for a four-way stretch slip tongue, that seals all the gaps and dirt-inviting crevises found with normal tongues.
Elsewhere, there’s a Boa L6 dial with the aim of providing a hugged feel and the outer is complete with abrasion-resistant zones and a supportive heel counter with the former to fend off wear and the latter for comfort. Finally, this shoe is sorted with Ride Concepts’ Clip Grip Rubber outsole and a nylon upper.
Hayes Dominion T4 brakes
£340
We’ve reviewed the Hayes Dominionn A4 but the T4 variant promises to bring big stopping power to a lighter-weight package. It gets all of the goodness that we saw on its full-alloy sibling, however, it comes with a bunch of cool things that shed the grams, including carbon fibre levers, and a caliper with some extra machining. It’s also littered with titanium hardware.
Lined up for this brake is a very exciting project, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for that.
OneUp Components Carbon Handlebar
£149.50
OneUp’s Carbon Handlebar does things a little differently as it combines a 35mm clamp diameter and a special profile in order to blend the precise steering of the larger clamp with a level of flex in the name of comfort. This oval profile is said to reduce hand fatigue and arm pump simply by reducing the vibrations that are transmitted to the hands.
Available with 20 or 35mm of rise, this bar is shaped with an 800mm width as standard, an 8-degree back sweep, and a 5-degree up sweep. It’s then available in red, green, blue orange, purple and white colours.
Vittoria Mazza Race
£65
Last but not least is Vittoria’s Mazza Race tyre. With this, the tyre brand has brought a soft and tacky rubber to its much-loved Mazza tread pattern to give riders the most grip possible. Along with its sticky rubber, it gets a tough casing in order to shrug off potential ride-ending failures that may occur during race scenarios.
That means there’s a 60tpi casing that’s been reinforced with nylon and an extra protective layer that’s placed between the tread and casing. As for weights, this 27.5 x 2.6in tyre is claimed to tip the scale at 1,310g.
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