Eurobike 2019 gallery, part three: Zipp, Tune, Praxis, Prologo, and more
Eurobike has increasingly become a show devoted to e-bikes, utility machines, and indoor training instead of outdoor riding, but with over 1,400 exhibitors in attendance, there’s still plenty of room for products aimed at more traditional styles of riding.
This round-up features a wide variety of goods, including new saddles and shoes, some slick drivetrain updates, and an insanely burly repair stand that does the heavy lifting for you.
Zipp’s new Service Course 70 XPLR handlebar features a modest 5° flare, 11° of outsweep, flattened tops, and drops that are shaped for a smooth transition to the hoods. The new shape is offered in both aluminum (shown) and carbon versions, both with a 70mm reach and shallow 115mm of drop.
Zipp’s philosophy on the new Service Course 70 XPLR handlebar shape is that you’ll spend most of your time cruising on the hoods, but will want the added leverage and control of the flared and outward swept bars when on more technically demanding terrain.
Praxis’s flagship Zayante Carbon road crankset gets a major chainring redesign for 2020. The new rings grow in thickness to 5mm for improved shifting under load, and following the lead from Shimano, the spacing between the two rings grows a tad as well so as to prevent rubbing at more extreme chainlines. The carbon arms themselves are unchanged. Claimed weight for the set is a competitive 625g, and retail price is an aggressive US$325 / AU$475 / £300 with chainrings.
Sadly, the excellent Zayante hollow-forged aluminum crankset has disappeared from the Praxis lineup, and has now been replaced by a lower-end version of the Zayante Carbon that costs a modest US$250 with chainrings. The arms are the same as what’s used on the top-end Zayante Carbon, but the Carbon S gets heavier chainrings and steel hardware instead of the flagship model’s more aggressively machined set and aluminum bolts. Also new for 2020 is an “X” version of the solid-forged aluminum Alba.
Shifting performance between the two versions of Praxis’s new LevaTime II chainrings is identical, but the more liberal machining on the higher-end version obviously shaves a few grams. Praxis will offer the nicer set as a complete package with the new spider for current Zayante and Zayante Carbon owners for US$160.
Praxis was one of the earliest proponents of the T47 system, so it’s no surprise to see the format supported here.
New bottom bracket cups from Praxis feature internal guides to prevent tool slippage.
Prologo showed off a new line of saddles called Scratch M5 with a new zonal padding design and a claimed weight of 149g for the top-end version. Saddles will be offered with and without cutouts.
Prologo says that the Multi Section System zonal padding design “creates five zones working in a smart and individual way favoring the natural movement of the pedaling phase both of pushing and pulling, absorbing the vibrations that the fiber body transfers to the over-saddle.”
Is Northwave making a return to the wild colors that it popularized in the 1990s? Let’s hope so!
Whereas most of the cycling footwear brands seem content to go with Boa’s closure options, Northwave continues to go it alone as seen on this Revolution 2 road shoe.
The carbon composite sole (with woven carbon fiber reinforcement plate) helps keep the claimed weight of Northwave’s Revolution 2 road shoe down to a respectable 312g. Northwave continues to be one of just a few brands to offer dedicated compatibility with Speedplay cleats, too.
The Northwave Extreme 2 shoes use a more pared-down wraparound design on the upper instead of a traditional tongue. Claimed weight is 274g per shoe.
Offset wire-type closures are growing in popularity these days thanks to the way they help shift pressure away from the top of your foot.
Tune’s new Skyracer saddle is wickedly light at just 69g. Then again, it also looks like it’d take some getting used to, given the total lack of padding and noticeably stiff shell. Don’t expect this one to break in over time, folks.
Tune molds the Skyracer saddle in a single piece, including the shell and rails. Tune claims that the thermoplastic resins used here make the saddle 100% recyclable, too. What’s the price, you’re wondering? Well, as the saying goes, if you have to ask…
Rema is best known for its superb inner tube patches (seriously, they’re noticeably better than anything else out there), but the company also offers a full line of bike care products.
Rema also displayed a seriously burly repair stand that literally does the heavy lifting for you.
Rema’s method of attaching the bike seems a bit unusual, but it arguably makes more sense given the growing popularity of heavy e-bikes.
Selle SMP’s new VT30C saddle features a more traditional profile than what we usually expect to see from the brand.
Selle SMP enjoys a cult following for its distinctively shaped saddle range, with many swearing it’s far and away the best they’d ever used.
Selle SMP is clearly very passsionate about the concept, too, with every saddle – regardless of discipline – following a similar philosophy.
So. Many. Saddles.
Want to do some real-world aerodynamic drag testing, but don’t want to spend a ton of time (and money) in a wind tunnel? Just pick up a Notio and start doing the testing on your own roads, on your own schedule. It works in conjunction with a direct-measurement power meter to give you drag data in real time.
Fidlock’s best-konwn product is likely the magnetic buckle that’s used on a number of high-end helmet brands. The brand has a remarkably diverse range of products, though, all with the common theme of connecting parts together.
This Fidlock buckle is finding its way on to a number of bags and panniers. It seems to hold just as securely as traditional buckles, but it’s notably easier to release.
Fidlock’s new smartphone mount uses a combination of a powerful magnet and a bit of suction for a secure hold.
USE has a couple of neat options for riders wanting to run clip-on aero bars on their road bike, including both high-rise and low-rise formats along with your choice of extension shapes.
The clamps look to be nicely machined.
As always with clip-on aerobars, though, you need to check with your drop bar manufacturer to make sure it’s safe to clamp something here.
SRAM bought Powertap a few months ago, and while there have been no obvious changes to the product since then, it’s surely just a matter of time before things start getting revamped.
When it comes to waterproof cycling bags, Ortlieb is the brand that most often comes to mind. However, Basil is another brand that’s well known in Europe and worth a closer look.
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