This week we have some new wheels for the deepest wallets. Staying on the road, may we recommend the latest wheels from Lightweight, which manage to lose 130 grams compared to their predecessors? Yours for just £8,799/$10,895.
If you prefer gravel, DT Swiss has two new rim profiles to suit your riding style, each of which is lighter and more aerodynamic than its predecessor. Slightly less expensive than Lightweight’s offering, but still quite eye-catching for a wheelset that can take a beating.
In case you haven’t noticed yet: the Giro d’Italia has ended, although that hasn’t stopped the flood of pink sections. You can have Tadej’s pink sunglasses, or, even more intimately, his pink chamois.
That could fit well on the retro Concor saddle released this week by Selle San Marco in collaboration with l’Eroica.
Lightweight in name, not in price
(Image credit: Future)
Lightweight has a new wheelset: the Fernweg Evo Pro. If your lightweight wheels aren’t light enough, the new wheels manage to lose 130 grams over the non-Pro version, plus they add CeramicSpeed bearings. There are the same carbon spokes and you can choose from three logo color options.
You can also have a 65mm or 85mm deep profile, both of which Lightweight says are designed to improve crosswind stability. The 65mm deep wheels weigh an estimated 1,565 grams, while the 85mm deep rims increase that to 1,665 grams.
Lightweight reckons the new wheels will be just as stiff and strong as their predecessors, despite the weight loss, and says they are aimed at road riders who want the best, rather than triathletes and time trialists.
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Prices start from a potentially ruinous £8,799/$10,895. For that kind of money you can buy a whole Van Rysel RCR Pro…
DT Swiss adds new aero gravel wheels for adventurers and racers
(Image credit: Future)
DT Swiss has divided the gravel world into adventurers and racers and has a new set of wheels for each – or six sets, actually, as there are two hub grades plus a 650b option on each hub, all sharing one of two new carbon rim profiles.
The GRC Dicut 50 is designed for gravel racers, with DT claiming aerodynamic benefits for the 50mm deep rim over the previous generation GRC 1400 Spline 42 wheelset. The new rim profile is also said to be more stable in crosswinds. On the flashy 180 Dicut hubs, the GRC 1100 Dicut 50 wheelset has a claimed weight of 1,567 grams and a price tag of $2,990.80 / £2,299.98 / €2,499.80.
For bikepacking and less competitive use, the GRC Dicut 30 wheelset has a lower profile rim, still with claimed aero benefits and a weight drop to 1,350 grams, but with the same price tag. It is available in diameter 650b and 700c. As a bonus, there’s a new HGC 1400 Spline 30mm deep wheelset, reinforced with extra rear wheel spokes and stronger hubs for electric gravel bikers.
DT has switched to hook rims with an internal width of 24mm for the new wheels, so the entire range of road and gravel wheels is now hooked. It says that hooks provide better support and security for gravel tires and are also more aerodynamic.
You can read our first ride review of the new GRC 1100 Dicut 50 wheelset here.
Seat cushions and sunglasses turn pink
(Image credit: Future)
If you suffer from Corsa Rosa withdrawal now that the Giro is over, fear not, as a steady stream of pink merchandise is trickling out. Witness the pink edition of the Teosport chamois, which Tadej Pogačar and the rest of the UAE Team Emirates team rode for 3,400 kilometers.
The Teosport TruFlo Air Light pad is claimed to be breathable, lightweight, ergonomic and innovative, with a light supportive foam core.
Teosport doesn’t assume you want to tear your own chamois out of your shorts and sew in a new pink one, so it supplies the chamois already pre-sewn into a pair of Pissei bib shorts, again as worn by Pog, but in black in instead of pink. It is attached to the shorts at three points, which Teosport says adds comfort, improves ventilation and ensures quick drying.
(Image credit: Future)
If you want more overt Pog branding on your ride that’s easier to show off to your ride buddies, we recommend Scicon’s limited-edition pink fluorescent sunglasses. Perhaps a little too pink to match the rest of his outfit, the pink frames are available in the Aeroscope, AeroShade XL and AeroShade Kunken models, with the glasses coming with a spare lens – pink of course.
A retro saddle for your bicycle for the Eroica
(Image credit: Future)
Take a look at any bike from the 1970s and chances are the steel frame with non-indexed downtube shifters will be fitted with a distinctive wavy saddle, the Selle San Marco Concor. It’s actually been 50 years since the Concor was first introduced, with its new shape holding you in place better than the flat, smooth, unpadded numbers that preceded it.
To celebrate this, the Italian saddle brand, founded in 1935, has launched the Concor 50 Eroica, a co-brand with the Eroica vintage bike tour series. If your 1970s bike needs a new San Marco Concor saddle, this is available in limited quantities on the Selle San Marco website, at Eroica outlets and in some bike shops.
Selle San Marco quotes a weight of 300 grams for the leather-covered saddle, which is 265 mm long and 140 mm wide. It sits on suitably retro carbon steel rails – no fancy titanium or carbon fiber here. The recommended retail price is €124.90.
Selle San Marco has a line of retro parts, with the more widely available Concor Supercorsa Le Rino also taking Concor form. You can complete your retro build with a matching roll of Bottega Leather handlebar tape.