Eurobike 2019 gallery, part eight: Abus, Urban Arrow, TRP, Yuba, and more
Well, folks, it’s finally time for us to wrap up our coverage of the 2019 Eurobike show, and we’re closing things out in style with our biggest gallery yet.
This one features a wide range of gear, including TRP’s new mountain bike transmission, the latest high-performance road helmet from Abus, and a couple of novel tech-laden helmets from Sena and Briko, along with some of the more notable cargo machines that were in abundance at this year’s show.
Briko showed off at this year’s Eurobike event a new helmet concept loaded with technology. Packed into the new Cerebellum are both front and rear-facing cameras, a rear-facing radar, daytime LED flashers, and an accident detection system that works with your smartphone.
While all of those features might sound appealing to the tech-minded, they also make the Briko Cerebellum quite heavy as well as very expensive. Target price is €390-450, and it’s only going to come in a single size.
The Briko Cerebellum doesn’t just record front and rear video footage; it’ll also automatically save it if it detects that a crash has occurred. And if you happen to have your smartphone mounted to your handlebars, the helmet will even transmit the rear-facing image in real-time to act as a rearview mirror.
I’ll freely admit that I’ve only spent appreciable amounts of time on fewer than a dozen different cargo bikes, but my time on the Urban Arrow was, by far, the most memorable. No joke – it’s the only bike I’ve truly lusted after in recent years.
The Urban Arrow’s trademark feature is the molded foam basket, which not only helps to keep things quiet, but also makes for a more comfortable ride for little passengers. And yes, there’s probably a safety element to it as well.
Bakfiets-style cargo bikes have to have some way of connecting the steering column with the front wheel, and Urban Arrow has opted for a straightforward linkage here.
Urban Arrow hasn’t yet begun to offer Bosch’s latest drive systems on to production machines, but the company is clearly already testing prototypes based on what was displayed at Eurobike.
Urban Arrow offers a wide range of accessories to ease the burden of year-round commuting. Going along with this rain cover is a matching poncho for the rider, which connects to the cover to create a fully protective barrier against rain.
TRP has long been rumored to be getting into the drivetrain business, and this year’s Eurobike was finally time to put those rumors to rest. The new DH7 is currently aimed at the downhill scene with just seven tightly-spaced gears and a short pulley cage, but more applications are soon to follow.
Inside the lower knuckle is a ratcheting clutch mechanism that can be easily turned on and off as needed.
The guts of TRP’s new rear derailleur pulley clutch features a toothed ratchet and friction plates.
Every rear derailleur on the market can freely rotate about its main pivot bolt, which can make for a noisy ride on more demanding terrain. TRP’s Hall Lock – named after Aaron Gwin’s personal mechanic, John Hall – features a lever-actuated cam that locks the derailleur into place.
Handy visual guides on the lower pivot help ensure that you’ve trimmed the chain to the proper length.
The matching shifter stacks the two levers vertically more than Shimano and SRAM with the idea that this layout requires you to move your thumb less. Ironically, it’s also more like Shimano’s original push-push Rapidfire before the company introduced the trigger layout of Rapidfire Plus.
The pull lever (meaning it pulls cable, not that you pull the lever) is adjustable for a customized feel.
TrueKinetix is a company based in Holland, and its TrueBike indoor training bike promises to truly replicate the feel of riding outdoors. Interestingly, the system does without a flywheel completely, instead relying on an ultra-fast sensor and electromagnetic brake to provide a realistic feel. Retail price on the home version is €3,000.
Niner’s full-suspension MCR gravel bike is clearly pushing the boundaries of where people expect to be able to ride these types of bikes.
Pinion’s collection of gearbox drivetrains is still among the most promising of the genre, but there are still issues of friction, engagement speed, and weight that need to be addressed before the format can really take hold.
Connex showed off some stainless steel chainrings that are specifically designed for use with high-output mid-drive e-bike motor systems.
Sena has long championed the idea of helmets fitted with cameras, microphones, speakers, and all sorts of other electronica.
Whether or not it’s actually a good idea to build all of that stuff into something like a bicycle helmet is another matter entirely.
All of the integrated electronics add significantly to the cost of a helmet, as well as the weight. And then there is the issue of incorporating all of this into something that is designed to destroy itself during a crash. But then again, it’s also likely less expensive to buy all of this stuff built into a single item as opposed to cobbling everything together separately.
It wasn’t long ago that Manitou seemed on its deathbed, with a brand name that was sullied for years by mediocre product. Those days are thankfully over, and the company’s product range looks extremely impressive thanks to excellent engineering work and superb performance on the trail.
That greenish thing up top is a floating piston, which compensates for changes in oil volume as the shock moves through its travel. Manitou worked with seal manufacturer SKF to devise a seal that incorporates a stretchable membrane in the middle of the seal to improve the shock sensitivity on smaller bumps.
Continental continues to promote its mid-drive e-assist motor business, and this model looks particularly appealing given that it directly integrates a continuously variable automatic transmission. It uses a similar concept to the well-proven Enviolo (formerly NuVinci) design.
LEM’s new MotivAir road helmet features liberal use of carbon fiber, which supposedly helps reduce the weight of the helmet without compromising its safety performance. We’ve got one inbound, so we’ll find out soon enough.
The interior of the LEM MotivAir has an encouraging network of channels that promise good airflow.
Ceepo’s Shadow R triathlon bike isn’t new, but it’s no less visually striking than when it first debuted last year.
Certainly the most outlandish feature on the Ceepo Shadow-R is the radical fork. Ceepo says the purpose was to eliminate the frontal area of the fork blades, and then to hide everything else on the bike behind this monstrous construct that replaced them. Just as you’d imagine, this sucker is heavy with a claimed frame weight of 2,230g and matching fork weight of 1,450g.
Brompton was careful not to describe its new build kit option as a “gravel bike”, but it’s definitely fitted with more dirt-friendly tires, and the frame is covered with a decidedly fashionable military green matte finish.
The Benno Bikes booth at Eurobike was hard to miss.
Benno Bikes has long touted the usefulness of mid-tail cargo bikes, which purportedly handle more like a “regular” bike, but still boast much of the utility of full-blown longtails like the Xtracycle Edgerunner, Surly Big Easy, and Yuba Spicy Curry.
Abus’s latest road helmet – the AirBreaker – is another model that occupies the middle ground between a true aero road helmet and one that only prioritizes low weight and ventilation.
The exterior of the Abus AirBreaker is riddled with large openings, which promises good ventilation at both high and low speeds.
Up top, however, is a honeycomb mesh cover that lets hot air escape on slow climbs, but supposedly keeps air flowing smoothly across the top at higher speeds for improved aerodynamics.
The interior of the AirBreaker features deep channels and lots of space for air to move around… but there’s no MIPS low-friction liner to be found.
Absolute Black chainrings certainly has a distinctive look to them. The company offers both round and oval rings for a wide range of crankset models, and thanks to some clever hardware engineering, there are some surprisingly small sizes available, too. Never thought you’d be able to run a sub-compact 48/32T and 46/30T combos on your four-arm Shimano crankset? Think again.
Bell’s new Avenue is aimed more at recreational road riders with its highly attractive sub-$100 price point, but its styling mimics that of the flagship Zephyr Z20 model.
Out back, Bell has incorporated a red LED into the retention system of the new Avenue LED. This one seems like it might be bright enough for daytime use, too.
Has the patent run out on DT Swiss’s Star Ratchet drive mechanism? That would seem to be the case given how many similar systems were on hand at this year’s Eurobike show. This one comes from Taiwanese company KT.
Bikes aren’t just used for sport and recreation in Europe; it’s a highly accepted means of transportation for the general public, so there was no shortage of utility machines to be found at this year’s Eurobike show.
Look abandoned its proprietary Quartz mountain bike pedal retention system a couple of years ago in favor of one that uses Shimano’s popular SPD design. It operates much more consistently as a result, and the cross-country model we’ve been testing for the past few months has proven to be a worthy competitor to Shimano’s own XTR. This X-Track Enrage model is aimed more at the trail and enduro scene with its larger platform and traction-enhancing spikes.
Yuba’s Electric Supermarche is one of the latest front-loader options to hit the market. We’ve already logged a bunch of time on one, so look for a full review on CyclingTips shortly.
Yuba offers several configurations for the cargo area of the Electric Supermarche, including a bamboo cargo box and this soft-sided setup.
Don’t want your little one to get wet on the way to school? Yuba has got you covered – literally.
The Yuba Spicy Curry is now in its third generation, with this one using Bosch’s latest mid-drive motor systems.
Bosch’s new mid-drive motors operate with less noise and friction than before, and without the overdrive gearing, they now use more conventionally sized chainrings, which makes for easier packaging on a variety of frame types.
Yuba claims the latest Spicy Curry has a stiffer chassis than its predecessor, which should make for more predictable handling when fully loaded.
Canada-based company Wike brought to Eurobike one of the most interesting machines of the show. In this form, it operates much like many other front-loader cargo bikes…
…but with just a quick push of a foot-operated lever, and literally a couple of seconds, it converts to a three-wheeled stroller.
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