N-1ws #22: So many new wheels, big e-bike updates from Bosch, and a funky pedal shape
Also: maybe the e-bike output arms race we’ve been expecting isn’t going to happen after all.
Featured in this week’s tech round-up:
Hunt has revamped its popular Aerodynamicist collection of aero carbon road wheels.
Flat, concave, or… Wave?
Bosch ups its game.
Fulcrum shows up with the aluminum goods.
Woom is bucking the bike industry trend.
The US bike industry asks for help.
Fizik’s new Kudo Aero road helmet looks (and feels) hot.
A small trick to lessen the headache of flat-mount brakes.
“The relentless pursuit of perfection.”
That was the tagline Toyota used in 1989 when it introduced its then-nascent Lexus brand of luxury automobiles. It was meant to evoke the idea that no detail was too small, no improvement too insignificant, and no enhancement too intangible. Lexus thankfully also had the products to back up that image, too. The company’s initial offerings were not only better vehicles than what competitors were offering at the time, but they also undercut them on price. Not surprisingly, Lexus was a runaway success.
Similar mottos are in the back of every diehard engineer’s mind. After all, why settle for good when it can be great? Perfection might not actually be attainable, but there’s no reason you can’t get perpetually closer. Forever forward.
That thought has circulated in my head for as long as I can remember. Constant tweaking, constant analysis, constant tinkering. Rinse and repeat. Regardless of how good something seems to be, it can somehow always be improved.
That thought also bounced around in my head during my usual Tuesday evening group mountain bike ride earlier this week, particularly since I’d just installed a new rear derailleur, a new shifter, and some fresh tires.
How was the shifting under load? (Pretty good)
Was the chain movement smooth? (Sort of)
How well did it handle multiple shifts? (Not bad, but inconsistent)
How did the lever feel on my thumb? (Kinda cheap, but acceptable)
What was the cornering grip like up front? (Outstanding)
Climbing traction? (Better than my legs that night)
Rolling resistance? (A fair bit of it, but a worthwhile tradeoff given where we were riding)
I was on a personal bike (a Pivot Switchblade) that I often use for testing various bits, and since I’m so familiar with it in general, I usually turn off that gear-tester part of my brain after logging requisite mental notes. This time around was a little different. My buddy that I was riding with was considering a used Switchblade frame he’d seen listed for sale nearby, and relaying the experience with mine got me thinking about why I liked so much.
The fit and handling are exactly what I want out of a longer-travel bike. As I’ve so often found with dw-link bikes (and I’ve owned several of them over the years), the rear suspension pedals so well that I never use the climb switch – even on tarmac. Even so, it’s admirably supple on trail chatter, far more capable than I am on big stuff, and incredibly supportive on everything in between. It also feels sufficiently robust that I don’t worry too much when I invariably case a landing, I love that there’s room inside the main triangle for a large-sized water bottle and an inline mount for my OneUp EDC pump, and I even like the way it looks.
But as I thought about it more, what I ultimately decided was the frame’s most valuable trait to me was how I often don’t think about it at all. It just does what I want it to do, all the time, every time, like it’s an extension of my body. I started focusing more on how much fun I was having driving the tires through the corners. On how well someone had cleaned up a previously sketchy steep downhill bit. I thought about how the main road below looked so small and quiet on the traverse back to the fire road climb. And the way my lungs were on fire after the second steep pitch of the evening.
Is my Switchblade “perfect”? Of course not. I’m still a recovering weight weenie so I wouldn’t mind if it were a touch lighter (though that might compromise the robustness). Would internal frame storage be nice? Maybe, but aside from a spare inner tube (which I just strap to the frame), almost everything I need is already in my OneUp pump that I’m guessing wouldn’t fit inside the frame, anyway. Some more heel clearance on the rear end? Meh, my shoes already don’t rub as is.
My inner engineer tells me there’s always more that can be done (which I’d imagine Pivot will one day incorporate into a next-generation Switchblade). However, a big part of me also says that when it comes to bikes, the definition of “perfect” can sometimes just mean gear that does its job so well that you don’t have to dedicate any thought to it at all.
A fellow tech editor friend and I once used to joke that the most underhanded compliment you could write in a product review was to say that it “did nothing wrong” – as in, its greatest virtue was only that it had no faults. Looking back, though, is that a bad thing? Does something really have to be a superstar in some way to stand out? Why can’t something just do what it’s supposed to do and nothing more?
Mind you, I haven’t completely let go of that “relentless pursuit of perfection” thing. Heck, just yesterday I played with the oven temperature to try to get a better crust on my sandwich bread. But I exert enough mental energy on other stuff in my life as it is; I’m not sure I always want to include my own bikes on that list, too.
Just like with beauty, “perfect” is in the eye of the beholder, anyway. Run what you brung, strive for more if you want, and enjoy the hell out of whatever you’ve got now. And don’t let anyone – myself included – tell you that “good enough” isn’t good enough if it’s good enough for you.
In the news
Hunt goes wider with revamped Aerodynamicist road wheels
The spiel: Hunt has announced a redesign of its Aerodynamicist range of carbon disc-brake aero road wheels to accommodate the wider tires that have become increasingly popular in recent years. Whereas the previous Aerodynamicist wheels were designed around 25-28 mm tires, they’re now optimized for 28-30 mm ones.
The new range consists of three models: The 34_34 Aerodynamicist, 44_46 Aerodynamicist, and 54_58 Aerodynamicist. All three feature 22 mm internal rim widths, hooked tubeless-compatible tire beds, Hunt’s latest star ratchet-style H_Ratchet 40T DBL hubs with Enduro ABEC-5 steel cartridge bearings, and bladed spokes in your choice of triple-butted stainless steel (20h front, 24h rear) or carbon fiber (18h front, 20h rear). Hunt even claims its latest thermoset carbon fiber rims feature a special resin that makes the rim easier to recycle.
“The Aerodynamicist Range paired with a 28 mm Schwalbe Pro One tire offers on average a 1.4-watt (2%) savings compared to respective previous generation models,” reads the Hunt press release. “When aerodynamic drag-to-weight and aerodynamic drag-to-depth ratios are considered, the entire range significantly outperforms the relevant competitive set.” (The complete white paper can be found here).
The 34_34 Aerodynamicist is the lightest of the three with matched 34 mm front and rear rim depths, 28.4 mm external rim widths, and a claimed wheelset weight of just 1,264 g with steel spokes or 1,175 g with carbon ones.
The 44_46 Aerodynamicist is the first staggered-profile model with a 44 mm-deep front rim and 46 mm-deep rear. They’re also notably wider than the 34_34 with a 31 mm external profile up front and a 30 mm one out back. Claimed weight is 1,346 g for the steel-spoked version and 1,274 g with carbon spokes.
Finally, there’s the most aggressive of the trio, the 54_58 Aerodynamicist, with its staggered 54 mm front and 58 mm rear rim depths. The rear rim sports the same 30 mm external width as the 44_46, but the front one is even wider at 31.7 mm. Despite all that carbon fiber, the claimed weights are still pretty low at 1,468 g with steel spokes or 1,391 g with carbon ones.
Steel-spoked Aerodynamicist models range from US$1,449-1,499 / £1,149-1,199 / €1,399-1,459 per set, while carbon-spoked ones range from US$1,949-1,999 / £1,549-1,599 / €1,899-1,959.
My take: Hunt has always scored high on the value scale, and these new wheels look to do the same while pushing forward on the aerodynamic efficiency front – hardly a bad thing, though I’m not sure the improvements are big enough to warrant replacing what you’ve got now unless you’re more than a few years behind the curve and were already shopping. Hunt’s latest freehub design also bodes well in terms of durability, mimicking the bomber dual star ratchet setup championed by DT Swiss for decades (that patent recently expired).
Bonus points for the hooked rim formats, too, which not only allow for a more generous selection of compatible tires, but also a bigger safety envelope of inflation pressures and more peace of mind overall.
Weight weenies will be tempted by the carbon fiber spoke option given the roughly 80-gram savings. However, keep in mind that I’ve yet to ride a carbon-spoked wheel that didn’t ride noticeably firmer than its steel-spoked equivalent.
OneUp Components’ Wave pedals introduce a novel platform shape
The spiel: Historically when it comes to flat pedals, you’ve had two main choices in profiles: flat or concave. OneUp Components now adds a third option called Wave that’s sort of a hybrid of the two.
The forward half of the Wave’s forged aluminum body curves upward slightly to help cup the ball of your foot for more stability while pedaling, while the rear half droops downward to match the heels-down stance many riders prefer when descending. OneUp claims the shape of the pedal body offers a more natural hold than just relying on pins, but the company has paid some attention there regardless.
Each pedal sports 10 pins per side, and they insert from the bottom into recessed holes to protect the hex heads so you can still remove a damaged pin without major surgery. If and when you do manage to kill one, they’re standard M4 bolts that should be easy to source.
Anchoring the Wave pedals are chromoly steel spindles that rotate on a combination of Igus composite bushings on the inboard side and sealed cartridge bearings on the outboard side.
OneUp has historically offered its flat pedals in a choice of aluminum and composite bodies, but the brand apparently wants to keep the Wave as a premium offering. “There is nothing in the pipeline to make these available in composite,” OneUp’s product communications specialist, Gavin Francis, told me.
Claimed weight for the Wave pedals is 355 g per pair, they’re offered in eight different colors, and retail price is US$160 / £150 / AU$TBC / €175.
My take: I’ve found over the years that a rider’s choice in flat pedals mostly boils down to personal preferences, riding style, and their shoes. I’ve gravitated toward concave shapes myself in recent years, but I have plenty of friends who prefer flat-profile pedals instead. This new Wave hybrid profile is intriguing, but I’d have to actually get a pair underfoot to see what they feel like.
That said, I’ve purchased a number of handlebars, pedals, pumps, and dropper seatposts from OneUp over many years, and I can’t say I’ve ever been disappointed. It’s not always the stiffest/lightest/least expensive/whateverist, but it’s always been solid stuff that’s worked well over the long haul and was easy to service. Hopefully these new Wave pedals are more of the same.
Big e-bike updates from Bosch
The spiel: Bosch has been the outright leader in the e-MTB game when it comes to motor systems and batteries, but it’s stepping up its game big-time this year now that it’s been confronted with real competition in the form of DJI’s light-yet-powerful Avinox platform.
Headlining Bosch’s suite of updates is a new Performance Line CX-R motor with impressive maximum output claims including 100 Nm of torque (nearly matching the Avinox’s 105 Nm figure), 750 W of power, and up to a 400% boost in rider pedal output. New higher-resolution torque and cadence sensors integrated into the motor housing promise better responsiveness, too, while additional sensors will capture inclination, tilt, and vibration information.
A magnesium housing, titanium spindle, and hybrid ceramic bearings help bring the claimed weight for the drive unit down to 2.7 kg – 100 g lighter than the standard Performance Line CX and just 180 g heavier than DJI.
Bundled with the CX-R motor is a model-exclusive Race mode with a more aggressive assist curve that’s quicker to deliver maximum boost for competition situations. Race mode also incorporates a longer overrun feature that Bosch calls Extended Boost to “provide additional thrust when overcoming obstacles.”
The standard fifth-generation Performance Line CX motor gets a power upgrade as well courtesy of a firmware update that’s scheduled to be released in July. This will increase output from the existing 85 Nm of torque, 600 W of power, and 340% of boost up to 100 Nm, 750 W, and 400%, respectively – the same as the new flagship CX-R. The CX motor won’t get the CX-R’s Race mode, but both models will see a new eMTB+ mode with a boost curve that falls somewhere in between the standard eMTB and Race settings. As usual with Bosch, all of the boost modes can be customized via the eBike Flow app.
Furthermore, Bosch’s partnership with TRP has spawned a new eShift M+ mode, which automatically shifts the rear derailleur only while the rider is freewheeling; otherwise, shifting is manually controlled while pedaling. Bosch has updated its mind-blowing anti-lock brake system, too, with a more precise inclination sensor, a more accurate brake pressure sensor, and a more cleanly integrated design.
Finally, Bosch has announced a new top tube display called the Kiox 400C. The full-color LED screen is apparently Bosch’s brightest to date for better visibility in full sunlight, and there’s a new optional (and customizable) dynamic mode that automatically changes the displayed information depending on the riding situation. The unit will now provide audible prompts if you’re using navigation, and there’s even a power bank function should you want to use the main e-bike battery to charge other devices while you’re on the go.
My take: E-bike motor systems these days aren’t just about the numbers; how that power and torque are applied are equally important, as well as other key metrics like efficiency, battery capacity flexibility, noise, responsiveness, and just general feel. Based on discussions at e-Mountainbike magazine’s recent industry summit, self-imposed output caps may soon be implemented, anyway, which will only further highlight the need for more refinement rather than additional brute force.
DJI’s mighty splash has clearly lit a fire under Bosch’s butt, and the resultant acceleration in product development will only benefit all of us. Hopefully Shimano has something up its sleeve, too, because the e-MTB market is quickly shaping up to be a two-horse race.
Fulcrum unveils a trio of value-minded aluminum road and gravel wheels
The spiel: Fulcrum is probably best known for its collection of high-end carbon fiber wheels, but the Italian brand wants to remind folks that it does aluminum well, too. Newly announced are three new alloy wheelsets – two for road, one for gravel – that all sport some good-looking numbers and attainable price points.
Sitting at the top of the pile is the Soniq ALX, which features a 6082-T6 aluminum rim with a welded seam, a 33 mm depth, and 23 mm internal width intended for tires 30 mm-wide and up. Helping to set these apart from the pack are a solid outer rim wall (which means there’s no tape required for tubeless use) and some aggressive milling on the inner wall between the spokes to help save weight.
Triple-butted bladed stainless steel spokes and self-locking aluminum nipples are used throughout, arranged in a two-to-one lacing pattern to help even out tensions from one side to the other. The 24-hole aluminum hubs feature Fulcrum’s trademark cup-and-cone bearings with adjustable preload and Center Lock splined rotor interfaces with external threads (rather than the typical internal ones) that allow for larger and more durable bearing balls.
Claimed weight for the set is 1,745 g, and retail price is US$703 / £600 / €590.
Next is the Soniq AL, which features the same external rim dimensions as the Soniq ALX but with a sleeved joint, a more traditional drilled outer rim wall with pre-installed tubeless-compatible tape, and no additional machining. Round spokes and brass nipples are used this time around (still in a two-to-one lacing pattern) along with cartridge bearing hubs.
Claimed weight is 1,895 g for the pair, and retail price is US$476 / £400 / €399.
And finally, there’s the Rapid Red AL. These are also built with a sleeved aluminum rim, but with a more generously proportioned 25 mm internal width for use with higher-volume tires, as well as a shallower 24 mm height for a smoother ride on rough ground. An asymmetrical profile is used in combination with the two-to-one lacing to further help balance spoke tensions, and like the Soniq AL, these are built with round straight-pull steel spokes, brass nipples, and cartridge bearing hubs.
Combined claimed weight for the front and rear is 1,785 g, and retail price is US$529 / £470 / €470.
My take: On paper, these aren’t likely to set anyone’s hearts aflutter. That said, I’ve long been a proponent of good aluminum wheels, partially for their affordability, but also because they tend to provide a smoother and more comfortable ride than carbon fiber stuff (which, for many riders, is a more beneficial trait for performance than weight or aero efficiency). For example, the DT Swiss GR 1600 Spline 25 wheels are still some of my favorites for gravel riding.
Between Fulcrum’s two new road offerings, the Soniq ALX seems like the smarter choice. True, it’s a couple hundred bucks more expensive while only offering a modest weight savings. However, not having to deal with rim tape is a gift that’ll keep giving for years to come, and provided they’re properly adjusted, I love the smoothness and long-term durability of Fulcrum’s cup-and-cone hub bearings.
Woom is crushing it right now
The spiel: According to a recent report by industry publication Bike Europe, Austrian kid bike brand Woom has posted its strongest quarterly sales ever, with the €44m figure (across 124,000 units) representing a whopping 40% increase over Q1 2024.
“The company not only achieved a good sales increase in a still-declining bicycle market,” read the report, “but also continued to gain market shares in all segments it targets as a kids’ and juvenile bike expert.”
My take: I don’t normally bother much with reporting industry news as it strikes me as a bit too insider-baseball for most readers. However, Woom’s results are still eye-opening because of what it potentially means for the rest of the cycling business at large. Whereas most companies are perpetually fixated on trying to sell new bikes and gear to the same group of people year after year, Woom is instead achieving growth seemingly by focusing on bringing in new riders.
Granted, that’s somewhat the natural business of selling bikes to kids (who are often by definition new to bikes entirely), but it’s impressive nonetheless that Woom has cracked the code – particularly given the sales growth also has to fight the resale market for kid bikes, which is generally pretty robust given how briefly these bikes are used compared to adult bikes.
US-based bicycle trade organization pleads with the Trump administration for tariff relief
The spiel: As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, the massive tariffs placed on goods (from China, especially) imported into the United States will likely have a disastrous effect on the bike industry. Many brands I spoke with at the recent Sea Otter Classic trade show told me they’re looking at dramatically reduced sales or shutting down entirely.
PeopleForBikes is the trade organization representing American bike brands, and it recently sent a formal letter to president Donald Trump requesting “targeted tariff relief” for bikes, components, gear, clothing, helmets, and other related accessories.
“Each bicycle may have 200 or more component parts that are all primarily sourced from sub-suppliers in foreign countries,” reads part of the letter. "Developing a domestic manufacturing base will take substantial time and capital investment at a time when capital is hard to come by and cash flow is tight. Even without new, additional tariffs, our industry was already projecting a 3.7% decrease in sales, driven by higher aggregate price levels and weaker consumer confidence.
“The current tariffs on complete bicycles and components used for assembly, imported from countries around the globe, will have devastating impacts on our industry if not adjusted in the near term. We are hearing concerns around additional layoffs and the risk of more companies closing their operations, including some of our few remaining domestic manufacturers.”
My take: Will this letter help? Your guess is as good as mine, but as the saying goes, you don’t get what you don’t ask for.
You can read the letter in its entirety here.
TL;DR review: Fizik Kudo Aero helmet
Italian saddle powerhouse Fizik recently burst out of the gate with its first collection of helmets that includes four new models: the fully ventilated Kudo for all-around road use and the closely related Kudo Aero for roadies prioritizing aerodynamic efficiency, the Kassis half-lid trail helmet, and the Kunee for time trials and triathlons.
Developed in conjunction with renowned San Francisco-based design firm Ideo, each of the helmets shares a common visual language as well as functional features like integrated ABS internal reinforcement bridges, MIPS Air Node padding, ultralight webbing (shared with several Fizik shoe models), and neat removable rear daytime running lights. Fizik also designed its own dial-based retention system with the usual adjustable circumference and height adjustments, but also a genuinely novel “crown adjustment” that promises multiple fit profiles – from a more oval one to a more rounded one – all with the same molded EPS foam liner.
I found the Kudo Aero to be the most intriguing of the bunch during the brand’s launch event at the Bike Connection Agency gathering last month in Massa Marittima, Italy, and I’ve been riding it regularly since then. Actual weight for my medium CE-approved sample was 295 g (or 305 g with the included clip-on rear light), and retail price is US$290 / £270 / AU$475 / €290.
First and foremost, this has been one seriously comfy lid.
Fizik’s crown adjustment thing sounds like yet another bit of hype, but it genuinely works as promised. The fit is noticeably more rounded like Bell and Kask when the anchors are snapped in the outermost positions, but moving them to the innermost spots makes it feel more ovoid like a Specialized. Innovation in the bike helmet world is tough to come by these days, so props to Fizik for coming up with this one.
The full-coverage MIPS Air Node padding also leaves almost no hard surfaces directly against your head, the rear cradle boasts a generous strip of soft foam, the adjustable strap splitters create a lot of room for your ears, and the low-profile webbing not only looks trick, but also sits nicely against the side of your face. Some might dock Fizik some points for not incorporating a Fidlock magnetic buckle, but I’d argue that’s more a matter of personal preference.
Fizik has also done a good job on the safety front. It earned a five-star rating from the Virginia Tech test lab, and while I’ve found many integrated rear lights to be pretty woeful in terms of visibility, this one is not only decently bright even in midday Colorado sun, but it also has a handy built-in USB-C plug with a fancy magnetic cover. The light is a bear to snap on to or remove from the helmet, but aside from that, no complaints from me.
But is the Kudo Aero, well, aero? Aside from mentioning that the smooth shell, “promotes optimal air attachment, reducing resistance and drag,” and how the slick-looking translucent polycarbonate rear spoiler, “delays airflow separation, further enhancing aerodynamic performance,” Fizik doesn’t offer any hard numbers. Subjectively speaking, the almost completely solid exterior very likely does a better job of cutting through the air than a fully vented helmet, but to what degree – and how it stacks up against competitors – I can’t say.
I can, however, say that the ventilation performance leaves much to be desired.
As you’d expect given there are almost no ports for heat to escape, the Kudo Aero isn’t the best on slower climbs when there isn’t much air moving through the interior. But what was more surprising is how it’s not great when you’re moving at a healthy clip, either.
Helmet ventilation isn’t just about how many holes are punched into the outside; it’s also about how well air can flow through the inside, and it’s here where Fizik has fallen short. The Kudo Aero includes two small ports on the forward edge and two much larger ones on the back, but there’s no internal channeling to connect them together. Incoming air has nowhere to go as a result, and most of the heat that accumulates inside has no way to get out.
As such, I’ve found the Kudo Aero to be a good partner on cooler days when I was trying to keep my head warm, but I’ve mostly chosen to leave it at home otherwise as it’s just too hot to be comfortable. Making matters worse, sweat management is so-so at best, and there’s nowhere to stash your sunnies, either.
Think I’m being too harsh? This is an aero road helmet, after all, no? Nope, I don’t think I am. Other aero helmets like the Giro Eclipse Spherical, Specialized S-Works Evade, and Trek Ballista have proven you can have good airflow at even modest cruising speeds, so I don’t see why that couldn’t be the case here, too.
Overall, I’d describe the Kudo Aero as a good first effort, but one that could benefit from some more careful airflow management.
Maybe I should have gone with the regular Kudo instead. Oh, well.
Tech tip of the week
It’s been a full ten years since Shimano first introduced its flat mount disc-brake caliper mounting standard – and ten years later, I still don’t like it. Sure, it’s smaller and lighter than post mount, but it’s also a lot more finicky to set up than post mount ever was (and far more sensitive to out-of-spec frame and fork tabs), the hardware is harder to access, and it doesn’t allow for as much flexibility in rotor sizes.
Because flat mount leaves so little room for error, even the slightest bit of unwanted caliper movement during the setup process can be incredibly frustrating. Factory-installed thread retaining compounds don’t help, either, since tightening the bolts also tends to rotate the caliper.
I do a couple of things to prevent this unwanted motion.
First, I get rid of the factory-installed goop and use a liquid thread retaining compound instead. Second, I apply a small bit of grease between the bolt head and the underlying washer.
Getting rid of the thick factory-installed threadlock lets the bolt rotate more freely inside the caliper threads when you tighten things up, and the liquid retaining compound will still prevent inadvertent loosening once it’s cured. As for that tiny dab of grease, it’s just enough to allow the bolt to rotate freely against the washer as it should, instead of the bolt and washer rotating against the caliper body and causing it to “walk” a bit in the process (just be careful that grease doesn’t end up where it’s not supposed to be).
That’s it. Easy as pie.
In the works
I’ve been spending an awful lot of time on the road lately, but there’s some good stuff that’s going to come out of it.
For example, I recently visited KAV Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area to get better acquainted with its latest 3D-printed helmet R&D. Later, I went to Minneapolis where I did a deep-dive on Berd’s mind-blowing Trudi wheel truing system, and also got a preview of some new stuff HED’s got cooking.
Written articles and podcasts will be accompanying all of the above in the coming weeks.
Also on deck in the very near future are a whole bunch of reviews, including of the Pivot Vault and Argonaut Supernaut GR3 gravel bikes, the No.22 Drifter X all-road bike, Light Bicycle’s ultra-wide (and comparatively affordable) Falcon Pro carbon gravel wheels, some new value-priced sunnies from Tifosi, and a MAAPified version of Quoc’s Gran Tourer XC shoes.
Yeah, I’ve got a lot of writing to do.
And that’ll do it for another n-1 newsletter; 22 of these things in the bag now! Thanks to all of you for the continued support; I quite literally couldn’t do this without you.
Great tip with the caliper bolts. I picked up a trick from somewhere about using brass instead of stainless washers for the same reason. They seem to resist walking a little better, but I'm going to try the grease 👍
Always a good read. Well researched & presented article James. Thank you.