New Arrivals – May 13, 2005 Edited by John Stevenson Got Tech? Send press releases, news, and tech questions to the Cyclingnews tech-heads. Welcome to New Arrivals, a section showcasing the latest equipment that's landed on the Cyclingnews tech desk. Look out for reviews over the next few months when we've clocked up some saddle time with this stuff. Specialized S-Works Tarmac Photo ©: Specialized Specialized S-Works Tarmac Like everyone else, Specialized has been moving in the carbon fiber direction for the last couple of years, initially combining carbon with aluminium in the first incarnation of the Tarmac, and now going the whole hog with an all-carbon frame, the heart of this S-Works Tarmac. Our S-Works Tarmac is the Dura-Ace-equipped version, in Specialized's red and black 'Tour de France' colour scheme, with Mavbic Ksyrium wheels and a full complement of Specialized's carbon fiber components include bar, stem and seatpost. Without pedals, our 56cm test bike weighs 7.3kg. More info: www.specialized.com   Bontrager Race X Lite Pro Bontrager Race XXX Lite stem Bontrager Race X Lite OS carbon handlebar Bontrager Grippy Tape Bontrager Race X Lite Pro saddle It's pretty rare to see a bike component that actually weighs less than the maker claims, but that's what we find here: Bontrager's latest and lightest new seat is supposed to weigh 150g, but our sample tips the scale at just 145g. Of course, that's well within acceptable variation for saddles, where weights can vary with the thickness of the covering material and the amount of foam that gets stuffed into them on the day, but it's surprising how often things end up heavier than they're supposed to. The Race X Lite Pro has been designed to give maximum sit bone support despite being light, and one of the reasons for its low gram count is the use of Bontrager superlight foam, which Bontrager claims is as comfortable as regular foam but a fraction of the weight. Bontrager Race XXX Lite stem Somewhat reassuringly, many makers of lightweight stems are now recommending their wares for both cross-country mountain bike use, as well as attaching road bike bars to steerers, and that's the case with Bontrager's new carbon fiber stem. With a 31.8mm clamp it'll take both drop and flat bars and Bontrager says it has been raced by both the Discovery Channel road team and the mountain bike squads of Trek and Fisher. The body is high compression moulded carbon fiber, while the front cap is cold-forged aluminium with a four-bolt attachment. At 165g for a 105mm extension it's not the lightest stem we've ever seen, but there are some areas where you don't want to get silly with the scales. Bontrager Race X Lite OS carbon handlebar Clearly designed to match the Race XXX Lite stem, Bontrager's carbon fiber handlebar achieves a shape that would likely be impossible in aluminium. The top section is very wide and very flat, with short, tight transitions to the drops. There's a double cable groove for Shimano or Campagnolo bars and the drop is a short-throw shape, with a Modolo-style ergonomic grip. The bulge section is also tough enough to take a clip-on aerobar as long as it's "carbon safe" which means no sharp teeth or hinge style design. Bontrager Grippy Tape Finally from Bontrager (yes, a big box of Bontrager booty did land on the tech desk this week) Grippy Tape is a polyurethane tape that Bontrager describes as "great for all types of weather." as its texture and material make it grippy even when it's wet. More info: www.bontrager.com   Continental Leader Continental Leader Continental's new Leader mountain bike tyre is lightly treaded rubber for cross-country and marathon racing in dry conditions. The idea, according to Conti, is to keep down weight and rolling resistance, and at 615g in a wire-bead, 84tpi carcass version the Leader isn't excessively heavy. The Leader is also available in a lighter Pro version with a 170tpi carcass and folding bead; an anti-flat ProTection version and a tubeless UST version. More info: www.conti-online.com Carb Boom! Carb-Boom! Energy Gel Carb-Boom!'s sets its energy gel sachets apart from the pack by flavouring the base maltodextrin carbohydrate with real fruit. Each sachets contains 22-25g of complex carbs and 2-4g of simple sugars, for a taste Carb-Boom! Describes as "not too sweet" and that's claimed to be gentle on the stomach. There are five flavours: vanilla orange, chocolate cherry, strawberry kiwi, banana peach, and apple cinnamon. Vanilla orange and apple cinnamon are also available in Carb-Boom's 12oz multi-serving Big-BOOM container. More info: www.carbboom.com   Met Stradivarius II Met Duello Met Stradivarius II Stradivarius violins apparently took hundreds of years to attain their famous tone, but we're guessing Met doesn't expect you to store its new road helmet for centuries before you use it. This is the helmet of choice for the Gerolsteiner, Liberty Seguros and Saunier Duval teams and boasts in-mold construction, 17 big vents and reflective detailing. Two sizes are available: M, which corresponds to a 54-57cm hat size and L, 58-61. Our size M has gone to the smallest-headed of the CN crew; no smart remarks about the rest of us being big-heads please. Met Duello Met's newest mountain bike helmet uses a one-size-fits-all design, with a band round the inside of the helmet that's adjusted by means of the grippers in the occipital cradle. The cradle adjusts to fit 54-61cm heads and the Duello has 15 vents for cooling and a removable peak. More info: www.met-helmets.com SKF Bottom bracket SKF bottom bracket Bearing maker SKF's new bottom bracket comes in a wide range of road and MTB options for ISIS drive and square taper cranks, and boasts some interesting features designed to make it a tough and trouble-free unit. The bottom bracket has a one-piece outer shell to equally support both bearings, and newly-designed seals to keep out water - which SKF believes are good enough to provide a ten-year life for the unit. The spacing between the bearings is as wide as possible to increase stiffness and the right hand side is a roller bearing which SKF says is capable of better handling the loads of the drive side. A version with a beefier spindle - achieved by using a smaller bore - is available for mountain bike freeride and downhilling applications. More info: www.skf.com