Tech of the month: A recap of August at Cyclingnews – Cyclingnews

Peak summer, memories associated with rain jackets and numb toes barely even a blip in the collective memory of the northern hemisphere’s cycling community. Heatwaves, ultra grippy tyres and tarmac, tan lines, and the Vuelta an España .  

We’ve been making hay while the particular sun shines this month, if by ‘hay’ you mean ‘premium quality cycling content’. We’ve brought a person a review of the new Garmin Edge 1040 Solar , perfect for long sunny days plus riders who forget to charge everything. Also, given the particular shortages in the supply of nearly everything nowadays we brought you a list associated with bikes with Shimano 105 Di2 that you can actually get your hands on.

We’ve got a load of tyres queued up for the coming months, and as a primer, we’ve put together a guide to TPI (threads per inch) and why it’s important, as well while a list of the particular best tyre levers so you may actually get the things on and off your rims without resorting in order to coarse language.

But that’s not all. In fact , while all of us thought July was the busy 30 days thanks to the Tour de France, August has been just as packed.  

For example, Zipp launched a new pair of deep aero wheelsets . The 808 Firecrest and the 858 NSW. The latter could really shift the needle of what’s expected from a deep wheel, with its impressive weight of 1530g. Cadex did a similar thing using its new 50mm deep 50 Ultra Disc wheelsystem , which we all weighed at just 1316g. Elsewhere, Cannondale also put one of its products on a diet, this time the SuperSix Evo, with the launch of its 90g lighter Leightbau edition .  

The other big breakthrough this month was through British time triallist (and performance engineer at INEOS Grenadiers) Dan Bigham, that toppled Victor Campanaerts from his World Hour Record throne along with a distance of 55. 548km. He did so on a prototype Pinarello with some wild aero considerations.

(Image credit: Sam Gupta)

Talking of aero considerations, our tech editor Josh went to the particular wind tunnel with a car full of wheelsets and put them through their paces. The particular resulting road bike wheels aero test was hugely popular among our readers, even if the results do lead to just as many questions.  

One associated with those questions was whether you need to spend big money to get the best wheels, plus that’s a theme we’ve continued throughout other areas of biking. For instance, we pondered what the differences were between cheap and expensive bike computers , as well as wondering whether there’s a safety concern when comparing cheap vs expensive bicycle helmets

Elsewhere, Josh also had a chat with Wahoo’s Head of Sports Science, Neal Henderson, where they dove into the future of bicycling training in Wahoo, plus how the particular evergrowing number of sensors could be used to create effective algorithm-based training plans.  

That was before he flew to Switzerland to ride 275km inside the Alps for the biggest Chasing Cancellara sportive of the season. There’s plenty of updates to come from that will within the coming days.  

It’s safe to say we’ve been busy, and that’s without going into the particular host of other product reviews and buyer’s guides we’ve been working on. Actually coming from been therefore busy that we’ve not been able to give the airtime we wanted to everything that landed from CN HQ this month, so we’re going to use the rest of this article to do just that will. Scroll down to see what they are.  

Chunky, purple, and bombproof (Image credit score: Will Jones)

Paul Klampers

Generally speaking the cycling world is moving towards disc brake ubiquity, along with the consensus being that hydraulic systems are superior to cable actuated ones. Personally I’m still a fan of rim brakes in certain contexts, but that’s not really a hill I’m going to die on today.

Despite the prioritisation of hydraulic systems with the high end of the particular market, Paul Component Engineering has resolutely stuck in order to its conviction that cable discs can, if made properly, compete with the best disc brakes .

Do cable discs still have a place on the performance table? (Image credit: Will Jones)

Constructed through 6061 aluminium they’re certainly a masterful piece of machining, and there is some well executed design features too. The callipers are modular, meaning that if you swap from short to long pull, or to Campagnolo, you simply swap out the actuation arm rather than having to replace the particular whole body.

Brake overheating leads in order to brake fade, but given the sheer volume of metal in play here that will shouldn’t be like much associated with an issue; they’re no lightweight, but they are a brilliant heat sink, plus even if they do obtain hot there is no chance of the plastic bushings usually found in cable disks melting because Paul has used needle bearings instead.

There’s enough material that they may extremely stiff (Image credit: Will Jones)

Yes, they are expensive, but they look incredible (especially if you love 90’s anodised parts) and if you loathe the particular drudgery and faff of bleeding hydraulic systems then these may well represent the best alternative.

In the meantime, if you’re curious, head to the Paul website to find out more.

The new Parcours Alta keeps a very similar silhouette to the outgoing model (Image credit score: Will Jones)

Parcours Alta Gravel Wheelset

Having recently published the review associated with the Rink Alta 650b gravel tires the British brand released the latest iteration from the Alta gravel wheelset, featuring what it calls Impact+ technology. In essence this is the use of a slightly more flexible resin at the edge in order to better take impacts that come from lower pressure tyres or rougher terrain.

This is music in order to my ears as my local gravel trails often take the particular appearance of a fashionable 1970s rock garden rather than the beautifully graded gravel tracks that we all dream about. They’ve been fitted up to my long termer, the particular Fairlight Secan, and as well seeing that being under test in their own right are providing a capable check bed with regard to my stack of 700c gravel tires.

The edges from the rim use a more flexible resin to aid impact protection (Image credit: Will Jones)

24mm hookless internals keep points modern, plus optimal regarding 38-50mm tyres, though a person can push the extremes up to fifty five and straight down to 28 if you so wish. Interestingly this is 1mm narrower than the previous model, bucking the trend somewhat intended for ever-widening internals.

The 36mm rim depth however will be 1mm deeper than previously in the satisfying conservation of total millimetres, representing a semi-aero all rounder. They’re not going to challenge the true aero specs associated with something like a 55mm set, however they will cut through the air better than shallower options.

Will they end up upon our list of the best gravel wheelsets ? Only time and some big days out in the hills will tell.

Tight centre knobs to get speed, and wider on the shoulder in order to bite within the turns (Image credit: Will Jones)

Challenge Getaway Pro Tyres

Our listing of the greatest gravel tires is awash with choices that will certainly cover a person from bad tarmac via to deep mud, and most are constructed within the traditional way, i. e. the vulcanised rubber body using the tread created using a mould.  

Challenge, along with some other tyre manufacturers, does things a little differently with it’s pro range. These tyres feature the latex-impregnated cotton casing along with a bead sewn in, with the tread glued on afterwards. This natural cotton construction leads to a tyre with a much higher thread count than can be achieved with other methods, 260TPI in this case, which allows the tyre to a lot more easily deform over inconsistencies in the particular road or even trail surface and therefore improve grip plus reduce rolling resistance.

Sandy trails are exactly where these are claimed to excel, so that’s exactly what I’ve been seeking out (Image credit score: Will Jones)

This improvement in grip is the reason why you’ll see 100 % cotton cased tires, or even silk cased in some cases, wrapped around the rims of the best cyclocross racers in the world, but is there a case for cotton for gravel riders as well?

The getaway from Challenge is a fast gravel tyre with closed spaced knobs in the centre in order to keep the particular straight line rolling unhindered, and wider spaced larger knobs around the shoulders to bite within softer landscape.

I’ve been using these pertaining to a while now on mixed surface area rides, taking in dry sandy trails, tarmac, plus some more loamy offerings. A full review will be landing shortly.

Has Endura made the mid variety set of shades that will can problem high end options? (Image credit: Will Jones)

Endura Shumba II Sunglasses

Having tested a load associated with extremely premium sunglasses over the last few months I thought I’d try something a little more affordable before the rains arrive: Enter the Shumba II through Endura.

While not cheap, these occupy the middle ground in price terms among cheap bicycling sunglasses as well as the more costly premium offering in our list of the best cycling glasses . If you want in order to know exactly why some bicycling glasses cost so much more compared to others then have a read of our guide to cheap vs expensive cycling glasses . You might find it eye opening.

I’m a big fan of the colour: A little bit 80’s but not too much (Image credit: Will certainly Jones)

I’ve been riding in the Shumba II for a few weeks, in the tail finish of a good UK heatwave and along the Cote d’Azur too, including a roasting, shadeless hour up the Col du Madone prior to flying down the other side. I think they punch above their own weight, yet you’ll have to wait for the full review to hear why.

As much as anything else I think these people look great. If you’re considering a pair you should definitely go for the particular high-vis yellow option; will be certainly something slightly 80’s Americana about them that the frequently seen Pit Vipers try to hit in an over the top way. Think double stonewash denim, a moustache, and the perm and then channel that energy.