New Arrivals – March 30, 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. Singletrack Cortina San Remo Chicane Specialized Optics 'Optics' is what Specialized is calling its new line of eyewear and the Morgan Hill company isn't just dabbling in sunglasses here - there are four models in the line-up to suit different tastes both in appearance and in application. All four models uses Adaptalite lenses that change shade with the light intensity. It's not a new idea, but as far as we know Specialized is the first to bring it to cycling eyewear. The lenses are made from NXT, a plastic Specialized claims is lighter and tougher than the polycarbonate commonly used for cycling eyewear. Two lens variants are available, a darker shade for road use and a lighter tone for mountain biking. Specialized's thinking here is that mountain bikers spend more time in relatively overcast conditions - in the woods and so on - and therefore have less need of a very dark lens. Both provide 100 percent UVA and UVB protection, as you'd expect (and as many countries require). The four models on offer are: San Remo, which as the name suggests is intended for road riding and has a large, full-coverage lens in the darker Road Lens colour; Cortina, with a smaller Road Lens; Chicane, the large-lensed mountain bike incarnation; and Singletrack, with small lenses, for mountain biking. All four Optics glasses features ventilation around the lenses to reduce fogging, and soft rubber nose pieces and ear grips. More info: www.specialized.com Price: US$139.99 Specialized S-Works Road shoes Specialized S-Works Road shoes The latest in Specialized's line of road shoes takes the Body Geometry ergonomics of last year's top-of-the-line Pro Carbon Road and combines it with the BOA rotary closure that's featured on many high-end sports shoes in the last couple of years. The BOA closure uses a Spectra cable instead of laces with a dial to tension the upper. As well as being convenient, it's claimed to better distribute tension across the top of the foot, making for a more comfortable shoe. Adding to both the techno-quotient and the bling bling factor is Specialized's carbon fiber composite sole, which now comes in silver. This is claimed to better reflect heat from toasty summer road surfaces. More info: www.specialized.com Price: US$249.99 Specialized Armadillo Specialized Armadillo tyre Usually tyre manufacturers make a big deal about the light weight, suppleness and low rolling resistance of their latest ultra high-tech wonder tyre. Specialized makes no such claims about the Armadillo. Instead, these are get-you-home tyres, designed to resist the sharp-edged rubbish that litters far too many roadsides. Armadillo tyres feature two layers of aramid fibre (the stuff that's used to make bulletproof vests) under the casing and tread, plus a synthetic cap ply material to prevent sidewall cuts. If anything gets through that lot, well, you number was on it. This incarnation of the Armadillo tyre nevertheless uses Specialized's All Conditions design, with a raised centre section in a harder rubber compound to reduce rolling resistance. More info: www.specialized.com Price: US$31.99 Specialized Alias Specialized Alias saddles Specialized's Alias saddle is the only seat we're aware of that's available in three different widths to accommodate different anatomies. The rather straightforward idea is that different bums will be comfortable on different widths of saddle, so why not make the same seat in different widths. It's one of those notions that seems blindingly obvious in a 'why didn't I think of that?' way. (The answer of course is that only product designers and very strange people sit around all day thinking about bicycle saddles…) Available in 130mm, 143mm and 155mm widths (the dimension is the total width of the saddle), the Alias has titanium rails, a carbon-reinforced hull and Body Geometry features such as a pressure-relieving central slot. More info: www.specialized.com Price: US$99.99 Arkel Seat bag Arkel Seat bag From Canada, where they know a thing or two about bad weather, comes this saddle pack, which features an ingenious two-part design. On the outside is a tough plastic shell that mounts to your saddle with reinforced Velcro straps. Inside is a waterproof PVC pouch with a roll-down buckle closure, like a scaled-down version of a kayaking dry-bag. There are also plenty of reflective highlights - on the rear flap, pull-tag and sides - to aid with night-time visibility, and the whole thing looks like it would resist anything short of direct nuclear attack. More info: www.panniers.com Price: US$29 Sportful Tour bib short Sportful Tour bib shorts Sportful's Tour bib shorts use a TMF Multi-Level Pad liner incorporating Swiss Hygienic fabric to improve comfort and reduce the risk of those annoying bacterial problems that can painfully afflict cyclists. Fabric is a soft-handling medium-weight Lycra and there's plenty of open-weave mesh at the back for ventilation on hot days. More info: www.sportful.com Cyclistats 4.0 Cyclistats 4.0 Want to keep track of how far you've ridden this year? How about how much you've ridden on the road versus mountain biking miles? Or the number of Calories you've expended this week? Cyclistats 4.0 is a PC application that helps you log and collate your riding in an easy-to-use custom database. Cyclistats also allows you to track training time by heart rate zones, and keep track of maintenance work on your bike - if you like to replace consumables such as chains on a regular schedule, here's a way of knowing that your chain has done its destined milage. More info: www.shastasoftware.com Price: US$49.95