Shipping Notice: Due to high order volume, shipping will take approximately 1 week after placing an order (excluding transit time). Please consider this timeframe before ordering. Thank you for your understanding. Contact customer service with any questions.
2022 Sea Otter Classic tech gallery: Thule, Aeroe, Lizard Skins, and more
2022 Sea Otter Classic tech gallery: Thule, Aeroe, Lizard Skins, and more
Lucky last! Our tech coverage of the 2022 Sea Otter Classic comes to a close with the below gallery. Within you’ll find a bunch of interesting new products from major brands including MicroShift, Giro, Stages, Met, Thule, Reynolds, Crankbrothers, Lizard Skins, and more. Enjoy!
Reynolds has a new range of gravel wheels in the form of the G700 (700C) and G650 (650B). The hookless carbon rims offers a 25 mm internal width and 26 mm depth. The wheels roll on Sun Ringle SRX Center-Lock hubs (3-pawl ratchet design), and Reynolds includes both Shimano and SRAM XDR freehubs in the box. The G700 is claimed to weigh 1,545 grams and retail at US$1,450. The carbon rims carry Reynolds’ lifetime warranty, which includes banging them on rocks.Manitou’s latest dropper seatposts are produced by experts Bike Yoke. Pictured is the Manitou Jack, effectively a Bike Yoke Devine with a different actuator that holds a cable head versus the original method of clamping the cable. This 90 mm travel version is available in 30.9 and 31.6 mm diameters.Cannondale had its new Topstone Carbon on display. One thing I hadn’t previously seen in person was how the SmartSense battery docks to the frame. It clips in place with ease. Cannondale Synapse Carbon and Topstone Carbon models without SmartSense come with this strap-based carrier. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it keeps your spares secure and the weight at a low point. #aeroiseverything. Aeroe is a young New Zealand-based company looking to bring a point of difference to the bikepacking, commuting, and flash packing market. Many years ago its creators were first movers in the space with a product called the FreeLoad, something that was acquired by Thule. The Aeroe is a versatile injection moulded cradle that can be mounted to the handlebar or placed on Aeroe’s own seatstay-mounted rear rack.
The Aeroe Handlebar rack and cradle weighs about 400 grams and allows you to carry any cylindrical shaped bag or item on the front of the bars. It works with both mountain bike and drop handlebars.
Aeroe also sell its own drybag for use with its cradle system. However just about any drybag, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, growler, or tent can be carried. The Spider rear rack is designed to fit onto the seatstays of any bike, as long as its not a super light carbon thing with pencil-thin stays. From there the modular design allows you to mount a cradle on top or one on either side. The rack is rated to carry up to a 16 kg load on any terrain, and adds under a kilogram to the bike (one cradle included). The whole system feels extremely rigid, is easy to attach, and is designed to reduce the swing weight compared to having a loaded saddle. Now here’s something I hadn’t expected to see. It’s Crankbrothers’ new flagship HighLine 11 dropper post that employs a carbon fibre shaft in an effort to produce what’s easily one of the lightest infinitely adjustable (not fixed dropper heights) dropper posts. The carbon shaft saves 80-100 grams, has no weight limit and carries the same four year warranty. It’s currently only available in 30.9 and 31.6 mm diameters. The 30.9 mm version is quoted to weigh under 400 grams. Crankbrothers has really expanded its range of cleats since the days of it having just a single choice. The company now has four different cleat options between 6°/0° float, and 15°/10° release angle. Jagwire has updated its Pro Dropper cable kit to be even easier to route and slip through tight internal bends. The kit now uses a dropper-specific 3 mm housing and .8 mm inner cable. I’ve been a fan of this product ever since I personally experienced how much easier it can be to route a smaller diameter cable through an impossible bend, And the fact that it makes those bends with less resistance means the action at the remote is typically lighter, too. Kate’s Real Food. I sampled the peanut butter dark chocolate, and it was real good. All of the bars are organic and gluten-free, but most importantly, they taste like real food. I’ll have to try to pick some of these up when I’m next in the USA. Did you know Oury grips is now owned by Lizard Skins? Gone is the holographic sticker that the grips came with for the past 20+ years, but otherwise they’re still the same classic. Lizard Skins doesn’t have anything new going on in the dropbar world. Meanwhile, mountain bikers now have another single-side lock-on grip in the Strata. The multi-direction rubber pattern sure felt comfortable in hand. The Lizard Skins Strata is available in a bunch of colours. Lizard Skins’ DSP was arguably the first rubber-based grippy bar tape on the market (it pre-existed Supacaz, if memory serves).
The company has really bolstered the range of DSP products in recent years, one such example being the Lever Grip which is intended to be stuck to your brake levers. Currently the company doesn’t do a dropbar-specific version, but I suspect the mountain bike grippers would work just fine. Lizard Skins has branched out beyond cycling with its DSP bar tape products. I’m told the Baseball category has proven to be a hit. Even Gamers can run Lizard Skins tape. Gu seemingly never attends a trade show without a new flavour in tow. The latest is salted lime Roctane, a combination that Gu claims has the benefit of reducing the feeling of thirst. Read More