New Arrivals – June 30, 2005 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. FSA RD-600 front wheel FSA RD-600 wheels FSA's striking-looking RD-600 wheels have three hub flanges rather than the usual two, with the addition of an extra flange in the middle of the hub. The idea is to tuck a third of the spokes into the line of the rim so that they are sheltered from the airflow, improving the aerodynamics of the wheel. FSA RD-600 rear wheel Rims are 30mm deep, aluminium units for clincher tyres while the hubs have 7075 aluminium bodies. The front wheel has 18 Wheelsmith® Fedelini™ stainless spokes, while there are 24 in the rear. The Fedelini spokes have a 1.3 x 2.1 mm section in the middle, but are 2mm at the ends and have the nipples hidden in the rim for, as FSA puts it "wind, weather, weight, and beauty." Speaking of weight, our pair weighed a total of 1805g with FSA's Scatto skewers. RD-600s are available with freehub bodies to take either Campagnolo or Shimano sprockets. More info: www.fullspeedahead.com Typical price: US$700 Weight: F: 745g; R: 915g (Scatto skewers - 70/75g) FSA C-16 front derailleur FSA C-16 front derailleur FSA is one of the shakers in the compact crank movement, supplying the compact cranks Tyler Hamilton used in the 2003 Tour that got the whole thing started, and FSA's Ric Hjertberg tells us that CSC and Liberty Seguros will be using compact cranks on a selected basis in this year's Tour; CSC's Ivan Basso used his compact extensively at this year's Giro. It's no surprise, then, to see a front derailleur from FSA that's specifically intended to work with compact cranks. Shimano front derailleurs have stated capacities of just 14 teeth between small and large chainring, while FSA's new offering is designed to handle the 16-tooth difference most commonly found in compact cranks. Our braze-on version tips the scales at 90g; a clamp-on unit is also available. More info: www.fullspeedahead.com Typical price: US$49.95 Weight: 90g Arundel Chrono cage Arundel Chrono bottle and cage Here's a modern take on an idea that has lain dormant since the original aero craze of the 1980s - the aerodynamic water bottle. Back in the day, if memory serves, both Shimano and Campagnolo made flattened bottles like these for use on time trial bikes, but the idea has fallen by the wayside in recent years. This is odd, as in theory at least anything that fills the space inside a frame will improve airflow over the bike and provide an aero advantage. Arundel's aero bottle has the same capacity as a standard small bottle, has a standard large, round cap and clips into a carbon fiber holder. More info: www.arundelbike.com Typical price: $59.99 Weight: 120g Fulcrum racing 1 front wheel Fulcrum Racing 1 wheels While the name is a new player in the wheel field it's an open secret that behind Fulcrum Wheels stands the might of component manufacturer Campagnolo. This means that Fulcrum is able to offer Campagnolo's undoubted expertise in hubs and especially bearings in an additional line of modern wheels. Fulcrum racing 1 rear wheel The Racing 1 wheels shown here are the Shimano-compatible version, with a freehub body shaped to take a Shimano ten-speed cluster. (Campagnolo also offers Shimano-compatible wheels, but doesn't make a great deal of noise about it, as you'd expect). With 16 aluminium spokes up front and 21 spokes in the rear, the Racing 1s weigh a total of 1755g per pair, which is competitive with Shimano Dura-Ace wheels and Mavic Ksyriums, both clearly wheels that Fulcrum has in its sights as competitors. In case you've done a double-take, yes we did say 21 spokes in the rear wheel. There are 14 on the drive side and 7 on the left side and the spokes have a deep aero shape that gets broader closer to the rim, where the spoke will be moving faster and there is more to be gained from aero shaping. More info: www.fulcrumwheels.com Typical price: US$1100 Weight: F: 740g; R: 900g (skewers - 55/60g) Maxxis Larsen TT UST Maxxis Larsen TT UST tyres Maxxis' Larsen TT is one of the most popular tyres among cross-country and endurance MTB racers for its sensible weight, fast rolling, and toughness (we know one rider who is hard on tyres who uses the UST version with tubes to reduce his tendency to destroy tyres by trashing the sidewalls). But it's not just our mountain bike crew that's fond of Larsens. This is the tyre that Olympic champion Gunn-Rita Dahle used in Athens last year and our experience gels with Dahle's - this is a great tyre for dry, dusty situations. More info: www.maxxis.com Typical price: $55 Weight: 805g Maxxis Re-Fuse tyre Maxxis Re-Fuse tyres Maxxis marketing guy Brad Klipping admits the Re-Fuse isn't a sexy tyre. It's not "race ready or light weight," he says, explaining that this is a very practical 60tpi casing tyre with a diamond file tread. "What is special is that it is virtually indestructible yet has a (relatively) supple ride," says Klipping. "It incorporates both our silkworm technology and a Kevlar belt for puncture resistance, but we have located the puncture resistance under the tread, leaving the sidewalls flexible." In other words what we have here is an eminently practical training tyre, and, at 280g the weight isn't actually too bad, and neither is the US$28 price tag. More info: www.maxxis.com Typical price: US$28 Weight: 280g Maxxis High Roller UST Maxxis Larsen High Roller TT tyres According to Maxxis, the High Roller is the company's most popular UST mountain bike tyre. An all-rounder with deeper, wider tread than the Larsen, the High Roller probably owes some of its popularity to its availability in a wide range of sizes as well as its cornering ability. Maxxis' Brad Klipping says the High Roller doesn't roll quite as well as the Larsen, but corners well, especially on leaves. The High Roller UST is available in 1.9 and 2.1 widths with Maxxis' eXCeption 62a durometer rubber and in 2.35 and 2.5 widths with 42a Super Tacky rubber, for downhill and freeride applications. More info: www.maxxis.com Typical price: US$55 Weight: 660g