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New Arrivals – February 19, 2004Edited 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.
Arundel carbon bottle cagesRegular aluminium bottle cages weigh about 60g, but unless you only ride your super-light wonder 10km or so at a time (or between pubs) you can't really do without some sort of bottle cages. Enter Arundel Bicycle Company with these high-pressure-moulded carbon cages, the fruit of a testing and development process that goes back to October 2000. Arundel claims that as well as weighing just 30g (we make it 28g, but what's 2g between friends?) they hold the bottle in place against all adversity. Price: US$39.95
FSA Superlight road crankWeighing in at a feathery 515g on the Cyclingnews scale (172.5mm length with 53/39 chainrings) FSA's Superlight road crankset certainly lives up to its name. The FSA Superlight boasts a one-piece carbon fiber crank and spider and is available in 170, 172.5 and 175mm lengths to fit Shimano Octalink or ISIS bottom bracket axles. The Superlight takes 130mm bolt circle diameter chainrings, mounted with 7075 aluminium Torx bolts. Price: €658
FSA Platinum Pro Ti bottom bracketWhat else to go with super-light cranks but a titanium bottom bracket? FSA's Platinum Pro Ti weighs 207g with its aluminium alloy bolts, which, incidentally, are 14mm across the threads to allow for a thicker-walled axle than FSA's chromoly bottom brackets. This is a smart bit of design, given that for the same size and shape of material, even the strongest titanium alloys are not as strong as the steels used for bottom bracket axles (which in turn explains the alarmingly short lifespan of some square-taper titanium axles). Price: €115
FSA RD-400 wheelsFSA's RD-400 wheels combine old and new ideas about wheel-building into a lightweight pair of hoops. From the old school comes the standard spoking (that is, not paired) with 20 radial spokes up front and 24 in the rear (two-cross on the drive side and radial on the left). More moderne are the aero spokes and hidden-nipple design, which sees the spoke nipples tucked inside the Orca rims. The nipples are fitted upside-down and a special spoke key (included with the wheel) is used to reach down the spoke well to tension them. Each pair of RD-400 wheels is built by hand and individually numbered. Other design features include an aluminium alloy cassette body that can be swapped to convert from Shimano to Campagnolo compatibility and an unusual rounded rim shape. Price: €490
Wrench Force Shop grade greaseGrease - it's fabulous stuff. But the additives and oils in grease aren't generally very good for your skin, and the stuff gets messy quickly if you don't get it exactly where you need it to be. Wrench Force to the rescue with a pressurized can of grease that includes a nozzle so you can put the slippery stuff exactly where it's needed - and nowhere else. Of course, it might not suit everyone. As a comment we saw recently on a women's mountain biking list put it: "There's something really lovely about being wrist deep in grease." Quite. Price: US$8.99
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