N-1wsletter #6: The week in bicycle tech, December 6, 2024
Winter clothing visibility, a controversial Colnago, Campagnolo is back, Wahoo thinks big, and some interesting alternative sunglasses.
Featured in this week’s tech round-up:
Why isn’t winter cycling clothing made from brighter colors so drivers can see us?
Colnago still isn’t afraid to push the envelope.
Maybe Campagnolo isn’t dead after all.
The new Wahoo Elemnt Ace computer is… big.
Chris King goes two-tone.
Strava Live Segments comes to Coros.
CHPT3 is no more.
Garbaruk’s new 1x TT chainring is awfully pretty.
Stinner makes a stick.
Alternative-fit sunglasses that genuinely offer an alternative fit.
It’s probably time to replace your SPD cleats
Apple cinnamon sourdough bread is really, really yummy.
Ok, all the Thanksgiving leftovers have finally been eaten, and it’s time to resume our regularly scheduled programming. We’re just shy of two weeks out from the winter solstice (or the summer solstice for those of you south of the equator), and one thing that often comes to my mind around this time of year is clothing – specifically, why so much foul-weather cycling kit is still mostly only offered in darker colors when safety and visibility are such huge concerns.
I spoke with several clothing brands, and it basically boils down to numbers.
“Most people prefer to buy darker or more neutral colors,” Castelli European brand manager Steve Smith told me. “They vote with their dollars. We offer both but sell considerably more darks and neutrals all year long.
“We offer most every model in some sort of a visibility color,” he continued. “It sells ok, but usually isn’t the favorite color. My opinion is that someone who looks for visibility would never even consider a dark color, while a lot of people prioritize fashion so would never consider brights. They’re really two different worlds with little crossover.”
US-based brand Velocio used to be pretty good about offering fall/winter clothing in brighter hues, but a look at the current catalog reveals primarily single, darker options. Just like at Castelli, sales figures apparently dictated the change.
“People don't buy winter gear every year but they aim for longevity and simplicity,” said Velocio co-founder Andrew Gardner. “Monochrome still sells the most likely due to people who have concerns with stains, matching, etc.”
Ok, so most people prefer darks. What about the apparent minority who feel otherwise?
Thankfully, the cycling apparel market is flooded with options. Like Castelli, most major brands offer at least a few pieces in brighter hues (like these from Rapha and Assos, for example), and alternative brands like Le Col, Santini, Gore Wear, Capo, and others are often plenty happy to fill in the gaps that their competitors leave behind.
Interestingly, Smith suggests the winter visibility thing maybe isn’t even quite as big as concern as some might think.
“Counterintuitively, during the winter a lot of people aren’t often riding in low light situations. Today, for example, I’ll head out just after noon to catch the warmest part of the day. It’s a full sunny day so visibility calculations are closer to summer cycling wear. A lot of people might ride in full daylight on weekends then use the trainer at night. Or if they do ride at night they do like me and light themselves up like a Christmas tree.”
Ah, yes, lights.
Bright clothing or dark, I’m still a big fan of daytime running lights, preferably with lots of lumens and staggered flashing patterns that draw more attention than steady ones. This should by no means be taken as victim blaming, but I’m still surprised by how many riders I see in my area who don’t use them (or are using DRLs that very obviously aren’t nearly as visible as they think they area). To each their own, of course, but I certainly like to stack the deck in my favor whenever possible.
Stay safe out there regardless.
On to the news – and there’s a lot of it this week.
(And pssst, here’s a reminder that if you don’t want to read this in your email app, you can also access this directly in a browser window).
In the news
Colnago stirs the pot
Have you caught wind yet of this new aero road racing bike from Colnago? It’s apparently called the Y1Rs, and images of it leaked recently on the Weight Weenies forum (which is always worth perusing, by the way, not only for the spy shots but also the wealth of intelligent discussion). Colnago has remained mum on the topic – presumably pending some official release – but it seems to safe to say it’ll be more aerodynamic than Tadej Pogačar’s current tool of choice, the V4Rs.
Colnago has clearly taken advantage of the latest changes in the UCI’s technical guidelines. The oddly kinked down tube and radically staggered seat tube both closely follow the outer radius of the wheels, the wild integrated cockpit is reminiscent of what Cervelo does on its S5, and the truncated telescoping seatpost attaches to a barely-there stub jutting out from the seat cluster. I’ve seen more than a few references to an old Kestrel 4000 LTD.
Any real performance benefits are purely speculative at this point given the lack of official information. What I’ve found particularly interesting has been how much of the discussion revolves solely around its aesthetics – and let’s just say the mob is not happy.
Should it matter what this thing looks like? This isn’t an art piece after all; it’s a tool built for the job of winning races, and apparently designed to push the boundaries of legality. Shouldn’t that be considered a good thing? Or is the road racing world so mired in tradition that developments like this that are ostensibly intended primarily for sponsored riders – not for us – can’t be appreciated for what they are?
Colnago has a long and storied history of wild experimentation when it comes to performance technology, so if anything, this V1Rs is almost more of a return to the old days rather than a dramatic departure from the company norm.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below.
Campagnolo is back in the World Tour
Well, it’s now official: after a one-year hiatus, Campagnolo is returning to the World Tour after signing a four-year sponsorship deal with the Cofidis team. The agreement covers both groupsets and wheels for the men’s and women’s road and time trial bikes – and presumably some cash given how modern sponsorships work these days.
If nothing else, this is an encouraging sign of life from the iconic Italian brand that many – myself included – have assumed to be on the brink of insolvency given the near-complete lack of OEM spec and an extreme rarity even in the aftermarket. I recently heard rumors that despite a lot of complaints in the media with its latest offerings, Campagnolo is perfectly happy with its numbers internally. And since the company is still privately owned (and thus doesn’t have to disclose sales figures), maybe that really is the case.
Regardless, let’s hope that this partnership provides some additional motivation for Campagnolo to ratchet up its product development game. Campagnolo certainly has a lot of heritage and brand loyalty behind it, but that sort of equity only goes so far before it runs out.
Wahoo goes big with the new Elemnt Ace computer
This one was hardly a secret given all the leaks in recent months, but Wahoo Fitness has now officially launched its latest flagship GPS cycling computer, the Elemnt Ace. As expected, it packs in a lot of new features, including a larger 97 mm (3.8”) TFT full-color display, an integrated wind sensor, a much more capacious battery with up to 30 hours of claimed run time, more memory (64 GB), and even a digital bell.
That new display is also the first time Wahoo has incorporated a touchscreen into one of its computers, but yet the new Ace retains the same physical button layout as the smaller Roam and Bolt models, and it’s designed to work in conjunction with Wahoo’s existing smartphone app for more of the more advanced functions. Anyone upgrading from another Wahoo computer should feel right at home.
It’s also Wahoo’s most expensive bike computer to date at US$600 / AU$1,000 / £550 / €600, although it’s perhaps worth mentioning that’s still a fair bit less pricey than Garmin’s latest Edge 1050, and hardly outrageous given everything else out there at the moment.
And have I mentioned yet it’s positively huge? Like, bigger than an original iPhone huge, and weighing more than 200 g (nearly half a pound).
All of that aside, the most important question is whether the new Elemnt Ace can actually justify that cost, size, and weight by living up to its flagship billing. I can’t answer that for you as I don’t have one on hand at the moment, but at least at initial launch, the reception seems to be decidedly… mixed.
I’ll let the king of sports electronics – DC Rainmaker – take it from here.
CHPT3 closes its doors
Well this was a bit unexpected.
Former Scottish road pro David Millar launched CHPT3 almost ten years ago, offering its own clothing line (made in partnership with Castelli) and partnering with a bunch of other companies for various co-branded products like bikes and shoes. The company also just launched its new Transit urban shoe this past August, but it seems there was financial turmoil behind the scenes as this message was posted to the company web site just a few days ago.
Best of luck with whatever comes next, David. That was a heck of a run.
Tech tidbits
There’s a whole bunch of smaller pieces of tech news this week to share, too.
Following up on its new seatpost clamp, Chris King has announced a new two-tone black-and-pink finish called Black Punch, featuring a matte black base with bright magenta graphics. Chris King plans to offer its complete range of products in the eye-catching finish, but only in a single production run – meaning once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.
I’ve had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Coros Dura GPS computer since I first started using it in late June. On the one hand, the integrated solar panel works a treat out here in sunny Colorado, and I’ve yet to plug the thing in once for recharging (it’s currently sitting at 28%, which at this rate, might get me through to springtime). The click wheel could certainly stand to be a lot clickier, but the touchscreen works well and the crisp graphics are nicely legible. The navigation function left an awful lot to be desired at launch, but regular firmware updates have been bringing it more up to speed.
The latest update adds Strava Live Segments – and in fact, it’s not only been added to the bike-specific Dura computer, but also to Coros’s Pace 3, Pace Pro, Apex 2/2 Pro, and Vertix 2/2S watches. I don’t use Strava Live Segments a ton myself but I know plenty of people who do, and it’s often a handy way to provide a little extra motivation in the middle of a ride if you feel like spicing things up a bit. Either way, I still hold the opinion that the Dura holds promise even if the initial offering was half-baked, and kudos to Coros for continuing to make improvements.
Time trial riders looking to go 1x on Shimano’s latest Dura-Ace R9200 crankarms already have several options, but seemingly all of them are milled from flat plate and then require additional bits to smooth the transition from the profiled spider arms. Instead, Garbaruk’s new 1x chainrings incorporate that shaping directly into the chainring itself for a direct drop-in solution that looks impressively clean straight out of the box. Such a design requires a much thicker hunk of aluminum to start with so the US$142 cost is likewise higher than most of the other options out there, but my guess is if you’re serious enough about racing that you’re in a position to go 1x in a time trial, another few bucks isn’t going to matter all that much.
Just go ahead and admit it: you like to take pictures of your bike every now and then while out on a ride. But how do you get your bike to stand up if you don’t want to resort to the mundane #BAAW shot? Find a random stick? Wedge your water bottle or helmet under the pedal? Surely you can do better, no? Stinner Frameworks has produced another run of its nifty photo sticks – this time in both powder-coated steel (US$60) or raw titanium (US$80).
The “sticks” should perhaps instead be described as “stands” since they form a Y shape when assembled, helping to not only prop up your bike, but also keep it from rolling forward or backward on reasonably level ground. Vinyl ends prevent slippage, and the two base supports unthread from the body to easily fit the whole thing into your jersey pocket or photo bag. Is it a niche product? Oh heck yeah, it is. But I love it so.
TL;DR review: Journey Optics Bommer sunglasses
Yeah, I know, I just reviewed another pair of sunglasses a few weeks ago. But just as those Goodrs were worth covering because of how affordable they are, I promise these are worth knowing about, too – at least for some of you, anyway. I’ll explain.
Many cycling eyewear brands offer so-called “Asian fit” or “alternative fit” variants, usually incorporating some sort of adjustable nosepiece to accommodate riders with flatter faces and/or lower nose bridges. This approach reduces the cheek rub that often comes with aggressively curved lenses in those situations, but moving the entire lens away from the rider’s face creates a different problem since there’s now a big gap up top to let in irritating wind and sun.
It’s the eyewear equivalent of jamming a square peg in a round hole. You might be able to get it to work, but the result probably won’t be pretty.
I’ve encountered a handful of cycling-targeted sunglass models made with flatter lens curvatures, such as the Smith Optics Bobcat and Tifosi Sanctum. But instead of presenting a onesie/twosie solution to the problem, upstart brand Journey Optics was conceived from the start to cater exclusively to riders with flatter faces. Currently, Journey offers just four sunglass styles in total – two for casual wear, and two for cycling (or other sports). The Bommer is the brand’s lone single-shield model, and that’s what I’m reviewing here.
Journey builds the Bommer with an unusually flat 5-base lens curvature – barely more curved than most everyday corrective glasses – and the lens also supposedly has a more upright angle to further help keep the lens off of the rider’s cheeks (although to be honest, the angle didn’t seem hugely different to me from other cycling sunglasses I have). Three interchangeable nose pads are included to fine-tune the fit even more, the earpieces are rubber-coated to minimize slippage, and the tall format is designed to offer an unobstructed view of the road or trail ahead when in the head-down position.
Journey offers the Bommer frame in black or grey, but there’s just a single grey/green lens tint available (a second clear lens is also included). Retail price is US$125 (Journey is currently only shipping to the United States and Canada).
I don’t have an especially flat face (or low nose bridge), but the unusual lens curvature is immediately noticeable. Even with the standard nosepieces fitted, I can only just barely make my cheeks touch the lower edge of the lens – and only when I contort my face in an exaggerated Cheshire Cat-like grin.
Optical clarity is excellent, and despite what I expected from the flatter lens, distortion is virtually non-existent, even out at the edges. The taller lens profile does an excellent job of blocking the wind during high-speed descents (particularly since there’s also less of a gap up there), and the single vent does well to minimize fogging, too.
Contrast is also quite good with the grey/green lens when riding road or gravel. Whenever Journey gets around to expanding the catalog, swapping lenses is pretty easy, although the process is more akin to ski goggles and requires a lot of finger contact.
I’ve generally found the Bommers to be pretty impressive for a first-year offering, but Journey’s inexperience in the segment nevertheless reveals itself in a few areas.
For one, the styling isn’t particularly noteworthy. The shape is highly functional, and while I’m sure some will appreciate the understated aesthetics, the overall look still strikes me as a little uninspired. Some brighter frame colors could work wonders here, however Journey doesn’t have anything planned for the immediate future.
Speaking of colors, having just the single lens tint is quite limiting. The stock option works well for bright and sunny days, but the 85% transmission rating is just too dark when there’s even a moderate amount of cloud cover. And although the contrast is pretty good with that hint of green, I’d like to see a more dedicated version for trail use like Oakley’s Prizm or Smith Optics’ Chromapop catalog.
Thankfully, Journey says that although there aren’t any additional frame colors pending, additional lens tints – including polarized and photochromic options – are coming in a few months.
“We are open to requests for lens colors, frame colors, and future frame styles from the community if they aren’t seeing what they would like in order to buy,” Journey Optics founder Bryan Tarn told me. “We are 100% bootstrapped so self funding has been interesting.”
There are some downsides inherent to the flatter lens shape, too. Whereas I usually can barely make out the outer edges of more aggressively shaped sunglasses, the thicker frame of the Bommers were always slightly visible in my periphery – not so much that it was by any means a deal breaker, but enough to provide a subtle sensation of being a little closed-in. Might it be possible to have a flatter curve through most of the lens, but more of a wraparound shape out at the edges? I’m not an eyewear designer so I’m not sure, but at least in my head, that might be a solution (albeit one that I’m guessing would add complication and cost). And one minor issue: the earstems are pretty long. Combined with their straight shape, they can interfere with some helmet retention systems.
Overall, I’d say Journey Optics is off to a pretty solid start here, and I’ll be curious to see where this all goes. Keep your eyes on this one.
In the works
Fingers crossed that Mother Nature doesn’t unleash a banner snow year in town this winter, because I clearly have a lot of testing to do.
Hot on the heels of that fancy new ultralight Scott Addict RC road bike I wrote about last week, I’ve just requested from consumer-direct brand Ari Bikes a sample of its new Suncrest, a similarly climbing-oriented machine with a claimed frame weight of less than 700 g but a vastly more attainable retail price. How attainable? Try US$8,000 with a complete SRAM Red AXS groupset (with power meter!), Zipp 303s carbon wheels (with options for Firecrest and NSW versions), Zipp carbon bars, and 30 mm-wide Continental GP5000s tubeless tires. Will this be a David vs. Goliath tale, or will the big brand offer a clear performance advantage? Either way, it really sounds like I need to be careful around the dinner table this holiday season as I’ve got some climbing to do in my near future.
Also inbound is a long-awaited sample of Campagnolo’s flagship Super Record Wireless electronic groupset (mounted to a speed-minded Van Dessel Aero 65 frameset with Campagnolo Bora Ultra wheels). Having spent considerable time on every generation of Campagnolo EPS since its inception – and being a self-admitted Campagnolo fan – I’m pretty excited about this one, and eager to see where the legendary Italian brand sits these days.
Finally, the folks at German brand Vecnum recently reached out with a test sample of its intriguing FreeQence suspension stem. Unlike the Cane Creek or Redshift offerings, Vecnum uses a parallelogram-style linkage on the FreeQence so there’s no change in bar angle as it moves through its 20 mm of positive travel (there’s also 10 mm of negative travel to minimize top-out clunking). Regular readers of mine over the years will already know that I’m a big proponent of suspension stems for gravel riding, so we’ll see if this one justifies its more premium €300 price tag.
Tech tip of the week
I distinctly remember the thought going through my head as I flew over that tabletop with one foot sailing in the breeze, suddenly and unexpectedly attached to nothing: I really should make a point of replacing my cleats more often.
I’d already noted that particular Shimano SPD cleat was giving me issues during a mountain bike ride a few days earlier, but that one-footed landing provided more than enough motivation to look into the matter more carefully. I’ve mostly used SPD pedals off-road for the last 30+ years, but yet I couldn’t recall ever seeing any specific guidelines as to when those cleats should be replaced.
As it turns out, that’s because Shimano really doesn’t have any. Seriously, this is all the company officially has to say on the matter:
“Cleats and body covers become worn and need to be replaced periodically. When, due to wear, the cleat release starts to become too tight or too loose, immediately contact the place of purchase or a distributor and replace the cleats and body covers with new ones.”
Well, gee, that’s clear as mud.
In fairness to Shimano, that vagueness is perhaps just a matter of necessity as it can be very challenging to visually discern if your cleats are too worn. For example, take a look at these comparisons between a brand-new cleat (on the right) and the offending cleat I mentioned above (on the left).
There are certainly differences if you look closely enough. In particular, the old cleat has a couple of small grooves that have worn in around the center portion of the tail (which would make sense given how these have been prematurely releasing). But even with this much wear, it’s tough to tell just with the naked eye.
I don’t think I’ve ever found worn cleats to be harder to disengage than fresh ones as Shimano’s documentation suggests, but I’ve obviously experienced the opposite. One indication that your cleats are getting too long in the tooth is if you find yourself one day cranking up the release tension on your pedals despite making no other changes to your setup. But the big one for me is when you’re able to initiate a release by rolling your foot outward instead of pivoting about the body as usual. That’s when things get dangerous.
Unfortunately, this all means it’s purely down to the judgment of the user when it’s time to toss your old ones into the bin – and keep in mind that such a gradual degradations in performance are unlikely to be noticed over time.
My rule? Use that roll test from time to time, but when in doubt, toss ‘em out, because unless you opt for those fancy 3D-printed titanium ones from Silca, replacement cleats are pretty inexpensive – certainly a lot less expensive than dental work.
Recipe of the week!
Several of you have asked me to share recipes of some of the various baked goods I’ve posted to my Instagram account from time to time, and after thinking about it for a bit, that seems like a fun and lighthearted way to sign off on these newsletters (and it also motivates me to keep trying new ones). I can’t promise I’ll have a fresh one to share every week, but I definitely have one this time around.
This sourdough apple cinnamon bread I baked for our group gathering at Thanksgiving was a big hit. Peppered with the fresh taste of apple throughout and with just enough sweetness to feel special, this one’s now a staple in my household and is awfully easy to toss together. Speaking of which, I have a batch of dough to attend to.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week’s n-1wsletter. See you all after the weekend.
Campagnolo Super Record Wireless…
Finally a review in the works from someone I can rely on. Very keen on reading that one.
Who is this Campagnolo, anyway?