Eurobike gallery: The best tech from Europe’s biggest bike show
Eurobike gallery: The best tech from Europe's biggest bike show
Eurobike is a wrap for another year. After missing 2020 due to the pandemic, the trade show made a welcome return last week with close to 19,000 visitors across the four days descending on the halls of the Messe Friedrichshafen.
While many of the biggest brands now skip Eurobike, and the show is smaller than in previous years, and while the focus has very much shifted to e-bikes and cargo bikes, there was still plenty for us to feast our eyes on.
We have some of the newest and most exciting products on show at this year’s Eurobike in this gallery. While we covered many of these products at launch on CyclingTips, nothing beats getting hands-on and grabbing some snaps of our own. And if you’re after more from Eurobike, we also have plenty of news on wind tunnels, on-the-fly tyre pressure management, 930 g wheelsets, and videos to sink your teeth into.
Elite Rizer
Elite announced its new Rizer gradient and steering simulator back in July. It’s similar to the Wahoo Kickr Climb that we’ve reviewed previously.
This was the first time we saw the Elite in the metal, and as far as indoor training accessories go, it is a thing of beauty. With an aluminium tower, steel and aluminium base, and a leather carry handle, it seems wrong to douse it in sweat.
The Rizer connects to a range of Elite trainers for automatic incline and decline simulation and features a refreshingly simple button control unit on the tower for manual gradient control. The fork mount slides vertically to simulate up to 20% inclines and -10% descents, while the base slides horizontally to maintain the wheelbase length.
The Rizer adds a new dimension to Elite’s indoor training eco-system. 
Up, up and away. 
The gradient is manually adjustable if you so wish. 
The base provides a solid platform. 
An LED indicates the system is operational.
Gebiomized’s new range of saddles, insoles, and TT products
Bike fitting specialists Gebiomized offer pressure mapping technology and online courses for bike fitters around the world. The German brand uses saddle and shoe pressure mapping tools to create custom saddles and insoles. Gebiomized has now expanded on these custom offerings with a range of “off-the-shelf” saddles and semi-customisable insoles.
Gebiomized leant on its 15-year bike fitting experience and data from more than 50,000 saddle pressure mappings in creating its three saddle lineup. The Stride is Gebiomized’s new time trial and triathlon saddle offering, but it was the company’s Sleek and Area road offerings that caught our attention.
The Sleek is Gebiomized’s performance saddle for those who prefer a flat perch, while the Area is for riders seeking comfort on longer rides. Gebiomized is offering two widths in both saddles: 135 mm and 145 mm for the Sleek and 145 mm and 150 mm for the Area.
Both saddles are available with either a cut-out or a central pressure relief channel and the option of Gebiomized’s V or T shape. This is where things get interesting. Gebiomized claims the two shape options are designed to better suit how riders load the saddle. The tapered and slightly rounded V shape is said to better suit riders who load the pubic area, while the flatter T shape design is for riders who sit further to the rear of the saddle and load the ischial area.
Gebiomized’s new range of “off-the-shelf” saddles. 
Gebiomized also had its new heat mouldable insoles on show. The insoles are available with three arch support heights, each named after a famous climb in cycling for a quick and easy way to understand the support levels. The Poggio is the lowest level of support, followed by the Sa Calobra, and the Galibier. No prizes for guessing which is the tallest, but small, medium, and large would probably work just as well.
Lastly, Gebiomized had its new 3D-printed TT elbow pads on show. These pads are in the final stages of development and Gebiomized plans to offer a custom pad created from the results gathered with its pressure mapping analysis technology. 3D printing allows Gebiomized to vary the shape and density of the pad, and even build in wedges to offer greater contact with the rider’s arm, spreading the load over a larger area on the arm.
Gebiomized is also planning to offer custom-shaped, 3D-printed TT arm cups, again designed specifically for each individual using the same pressure mapping systems.
Ultegra R8100 Di2
Shimano announced its long-awaited new Dura-Ace and Ultegra Di2 groupsets last week. We covered those launches extensively with the full story on both groupsets, a review, a video, and a podcast with Shimano. With all that information on the new groupsets, there isn’t much I can add in this gallery, but we thought it might be nice to give you another look at the new Ultegra R8100 which will most likely be the most popular of the two new groupsets.
Shimano had a Canyon Aeroad assembled with the new groupset on its huge stand in one of the first halls at Eurobike. Shimano also had the groupset’s individual components lined out and locked down on a display stand. Feast your eyes on this 12-speed goodness.
Pro Stealth Curved Team saddle
Pro introduced a curved version of its popular Stealth saddle back in June, alongside a refresh for the original Stealth. Pro had both saddles on show, side-by-side in the Pro corner of the huge Shimano stand.
Developed in conjunction with Team DSM’s Søren Kragh Andersen, the new curved version of the Stealth features a curved profile across its width and a narrower nose. Pro claims this shape is better suited for riders who rock side to side in the saddle.
Pro had the carbon-railed Team variant on show, but also offers a Performance option with stainless steel rails. The Curve is available in 142 mm and 152 mm width options.
Pro Vibe Evo handlebars
Sticking with Pro for a second, the brand recently unveiled its new Vibe Evo cockpit. The one-piece bar and stem are designed for optimal aerodynamics and integration, with satellite shifter integration, adjustable stem angle shims, plus internal, semi-internal, and external cable routing options.
Taking aerodynamics and integration to the extreme, the new Vibe Evo handlebars feature replaceable anti-slip grips on the tops and aerodynamically profiled drop-grips to eliminate the need for bar tape, offering the ultimate marginal gain. Thankfully the drop-grips are optional, so traditional bar tape is an option for the drops.
Aesthetically, the new cockpit screams aero and stiffness, with aggressive and angry-looking shapes in a matte black finish – sure to be worth a few watts and a little extra space from scared-off competitors in the peloton.
The Pro Vibe Evo complements the integrated front end of a modern aero bike. 
Di2 satellite shifter integration on the new Vibe Evo bars is about as neat as it gets. 
The drop-grips also offer neat sprint shifter integration. 
The Pro Vibe Evo is delivered with a range of stem angle spacers, a computer mount, and the drop-grips.
Challenge Strada Bianca
Schwalbe brought its new 34 mm-wide tan walled Pro-One TLE to Eurobike but was not alone with its ultra-wide tan wall offering. Challenge had its classic-looking and -sounding Strada Bianca tyre on show in 33 mm, 36 mm, and 40 mm options. While the Strada Bianca is a gravel tyre rather than a performance road tyre like the Pro-One TLE, it does provide another option for those after a wide tan-walled tyre. Plus, it looks fantastic.
Wide. 
Wider. 
Widest! 
Pure tan-walled gold for gravel. 
Merida Scultura Team
Merida announced its new Scultura Team on the eve of Eurobike, immediately after the announcement of the new Shimano Dura-Ace Di2. Our own Dave Rome brought us all the details of the new Scultura Team that the Bahrain Victorious team has found many victories with since it was first spotted at the Dauphiné in June. To recap, the new bike is said to be lighter, faster, stiffer, and more comfortable than before and now features fully internal cable routing with a new cockpit.
While Merida wasn’t at Eurobike itself, the German distributor had the new bike on show at its stand.
Victorious by name, victorious by nature. 
Plenty of tyre clearance. 
Merida includes disc coolers to combat overheating. They are removable. 
Vision Metron 45 and 60 SL wheelsets
We first speculated Vision might have some new wheels on the way at the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Brest back in July and it wasn’t long before they were made official. Below is a refresher of the newly announced Vision Metron 45 (45 mm) and 60 (60 mm) SL wheels.
Vision set out with a goal to create “the most aerodynamic and performance-enhanced wheels in the world.” To achieve this the Italian company has opted for 45 and 60 mm rim depths, aero-bladed double butted spokes, a 21 mm internal rim width, and optimised the external width for use with 28 mm tyres. To increase stiffness and reduce weight, Vision inserted “space-derived foam” between the carbon layers.
The hub features a new 72-tooth engagement system for a smoother power transfer, Shimano and SRAM freehub options, and is centre lock rotor only. An adapter for six-bolt is available. In some bad news for the rim brake faithful, Vision will not offer a rim brake option. Both the 45 SL and the 60 SL are available in clincher and tubeless or tubular setups, priced at €2,058 for the 60 SL and €2,006 for the 45 SL.
Vision’s new Metron 60 SL. 
Going aero, getting deep! 
The new Merida was equipped with the new Metron 45 SL wheelset. 
FSA’s new cranksets
Vision’s sister brand FSA added new cranksets to its lineup. The FSA K-Force Team Edition crankset is a lightweight carbon crankset weighing in at just 557 g for the 172.5 mm crank including 39/53 chainrings. To achieve this low weight, FSA used hollow-arm carbon cranks and a one-piece double chainring with both rings derived from one alloy block. FSA will offer 53/39, 52/36 and 50/34 pairings for 11-speed setups and 53/40, 52/39 options for 12-speed systems.
The crank features a 30 mm BB386EVO spindle and direct mount chainrings. Priced at €799, these cranks are certainly for the dedicated weight-weenie.
FSA’s new lightweight K-Force Team Edition crankset. 
Vision doesn’t agree with those that say 39/53 is dead.
FSA also announced an addition to its Powerbox range of power meters in the form of a budget-friendly left-side-only power measurement option priced at just €385. The new power meter has a claimed accuracy rating of less than 1% and an estimated left/right balance, although FSA did not provide any details on how this balance is calculated. The power meter transmits with BLE 5.0 and FSA claims a 450-hour run time with a CR2450 coin cell battery.
The power meter pod sits within a recessed cavity in the left crank to provide greater frame clearance. The power meter pod adds just 20 g to the Gossamer cranks – a good thing given the Gossamers are already far from the lightest crank option. FSA will offer the left crank separately and it is compatible with any FSA BB386 drive-side crank.
The new Powerbox SC alloy power meter. 
All the magic is in the left crank only … 
… but it was top capped to the wall so I couldn’t get an external side photo at the time I visited the booth.
Storck’s Aerfast 4 Pro and Aerfast 3 Pro
German bike brand Storck had two of its Aerfast aero bikes on display at Eurobike. The Aerfast platform is an aerodynamically optimised frame developed in partnership with SwissSide, featuring all the aero profiles and truncated tubing you would expect from a modern aero bike.
The Aerfast 4 is Storck’s latest update to the range and features a fork that pushes the new UCI aero and frame rules, measuring 80 mm at the widest point. This increased width is said to improve the airflow over the fork for increased aerodynamic efficiency where the wind first meets the frame. The aero gains don’t end with that increased width though. Storck integrated the front calliper mount into the fork to hide the calliper from the wind and further enhance the front-end aerodynamic efficiency.
Storck also developed a new one-piece cockpit for the fork steerer and a profiled head tube. Along with truncated tubing, dropped seatstays, and internal cable routing, Storck claims this is one of the fastest frames ever tested. (By whom? Under what conditions? We certainly have questions about that.) The Aerfast 4 Pro starts at €5,299 with SRAM Red Etap AXS and DT Swiss ARC 1600 wheels as pictured, priced at €7,299.
Yes it looks aero, but more importantly that green looks fabulous. 
Forks so wide they knock on the UCI rule-makers’ front door. 
Not much tyre clearance with these Continental Grand Prix 25 mm. 
Storck also had its Aerfast 3 Pro bike on show. The Aerfast 3 features the same frame design as the Aerfast 4 but misses out on the new fork and cockpit setup. That’s not to say this bike is exactly standard either – with flared fork legs, an integrated cockpit, internal cable routing, and the same frame design, the Aerfast 3 is every bit the modern aero bike.
The price, though, is only slightly more manageable, starting at €4,999 with SRAM Rival Etap AXS. Storck has not yet confirmed the pricing of the R8100 Ultegra Di2 variant pictured.
The Aerfast 3 Pro is every bit as aero and tidy-looking as the 4 … 
… but with slightly closer-to-standard forks. 
The Aerfast 3 still has all the truncated tubing you would expect on an aero bike.
CeramicSpeed lifetime warranty
While Ceramicspeed didn’t have any new product offerings on show, it did have one important news announcement to share: all of CeramicSpeed’s coated products and all Over Size Pulley Wheel (OSPW) systems are now covered with a lifetime warranty. Better still, this lifetime warranty applies to all products purchased since January 1, 2021. Furthermore, CeramicSpeed is offering a free crash replacement for OSPW cages to alleviate the fear of breaking this costly component.
One word of caution though: owners must register products within 21 days of purchase to avail of the lifetime warranty, and the warranty is reduced to six years for second and subsequent owners, provided they can produce the original owner’s proof of purchase.
Classified 2x hubs
We first heard of Classified’s Powershift 2x wireless internal hub gearing in July 2020. The Belgian company has been busy in the past 12 months and now has three wheelset options featuring its front-derailleur-killing technology and its own 11-speed cassette.
Classified believes in the benefits of 1x but wanted to keep the gearing options of a 2x. This was the motivation for creating its hub-based system. The wheelset range features a 30 mm-deep GF30 suitable for road and gravel, a 35 mm rim Classified says is best suited to road riding, and a 50 mm deep wheel Classified has classified (pardon the pun) as an aero-road wheelset. All three wheelsets feature tubeless-ready carbon rims.
All three wheelsets are priced at €2,399 and are available online at Classified-cycling.cc with delivery and fitment through the Classified dealer network. Fitting these wheels to a bike is as easy as with any other thru-axle wheels, but Classified does insist on the initial setup through one of its dealers.
Whether you’re riding time trials … 
… gravel, or road, the Classified Powershift system has benefits for all riders and bikes. 
Classified now has three wheelset offerings … 
… but all the witchcraft still happens in the rear hub. 
The 50 mm aero-road offering from Classified/ 
A classic minimalist look for the Classified rims. 
Last but not least, I couldn’t leave without showing you this one-off full-suspension wooden e-mountain bike. I’ll let you unpack this one.
