New Arrivals – December 21, 2004 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. Look KG481SL frame Look 481SL frame Look's 481SL frame is one of the most under-stated carbon fiber frames we've seen. While many carbon frames go for big tubes and sweeping curves, the 481SL looks from a distance like a very conventional lugged frame, and it's only when you get up close that you realize it's not steel or aluminium, but carbon fiber. Our 481SL came with Look's HSC5 SL all-carbon fork which at a mere 300g is the lightest fork we've measured, and is reliably reported to be among the lightest in existence. Also included in the package is Look's intriguing Ergopost 2 Ti seatpost. The Ergopost has three placements for its single-bolt saddle cradle, allowing for a huge range of seat position adjustment. More info: www.lookcycle.com; US importer: www.veltecsports.com Related story: It's not all about weight - Look's president talks bikes and grams Look Keo pedals Look Keo pedals Look pioneered modern clipless pedals (which, for the generation that also can't remember vinyl records, are so called because they lack the 'clips and straps' that used to attach to metal cage pedals). But over the last few years Look's design has started to seem a bit long in the tooth, and has come under pressure from various lighter alternatives. The Keo pedal is Look's answer and - on first impressions at least - it's a good one. It's functionally very similar to Look's previous pedals, so long-time Look users won't find it alien, and uses the tried and true three-bolt cleat attachment. It's been slimmed and trimmed and uses a carbon fiber body with an option of a titanium axle to hit claimed weights of 190g/pair for the titanium version and 230g/pair for the steel-axle incarnation. In fact we measure the steel version at 225g/pair, which is extremely respectable and with the 70g cleats makes them the lightest steel-axled pedals we've seen. Cyclingnews will have a review of the Keo pedals in the next few days. More info: www.lookcycle.com; US importer: www.veltecsports.com Related story: Tweaking a standard: Look's Keo designer talks pedals & It's not all about weight - Look's president talks bikes and grams Shimano's new Ultegra group Shimano Ultegra group As sure as night follows day, the introduction of a completely new group at the top of the Shimano component ladder is followed a year later by new gear on the next rung down with most of the features, a bit more weight and a lot less wallet-damage. And so, as late 2003 saw a completely new Dura-Ace group, as 2004 draws to a close the first batches of new Ultegra start to hit bike shops. At first glance it's really quite hard to tell the new Ultegra from Dura-Ace. Similarities abound, from the two-piece chainset to the reshaped brake/shift levers and the adjusters on the brakes. And of course, like its big brother, the new group has ten rear sprockets rather than nine. When you throw the parts on the scale the differences are more clear, and it turns out that Dura-Ace is still where Shimano's gram-counting attention is - Ultegra sees a few small gains here and there, but for the most part large amounts of mass have not been shed compared to the previous incarnation. We'll have a deeper look when we've got these parts on a bike, in the new year, but for now here are numbers for the weight-weenies out there: Brake calipers 330 Brake lever/shifters 490 Chainset 840 derailleur, front 90 derailleur, rear 205 Hub, front 145 Hub, rear 355 Seatpost 215 Skewer, front 60 Skewer, rear 65 More info: www.shimano.com Shimano WH-R550 rear wheel Shimano WH-R550 wheels Shimano's latest wheels sit at the 105 level in the company's now-extensive hoop line-up. This means there's rather a large gap between the WH-7800 Dura-Ace wheels and the R550's, but given the features the new wheels share with Dura-Ace, the under US$300 asking price makes them excellent value compared with the Dura-Ace wheels at about US$800. Features that the R550s share with Dura-Ace include bladed steel spokes, 20R/16F spoking, 24mm low-profile rims and straight-pull spokes. Of course you don't get something for nothing and the downsides of the R550s are weight and distinctly less-smooth bearings (though experience with Shimano components suggests that careful adjustment and a bit of break-in wear soon has them running smoothly). Nevertheless, they look like a solid candidate for training and commuting wheels. More info: www.shimano.com Park Tool PRS-15 Park Tool PRS-15 workstand There's something slightly sad about getting excited over a workstand, but if I were still wrenching for a living (and I admit it's been a long time since I wielded a spanner professionally) I'd want a PRS-15 in my quiver of bike-fettling bits. The position of the PRS-15's new Extreme Range Clamp is height-adjustable from 102cm to just over 150cm and will grab a frame tube from 24mm to over 75mm across, a combination that means you should be able to work on just about any bike with the PRS-15. Five points of contact with the ground (two adjustable for stability) mean it sits steadily on any surface and there are four attachment points for accessories such as the BTK-1 bucket and tool kilt, TS-1 truing stand attachment and PTH-1 paper towel holder. More info: www.parktool.com Park Tool BTK1 Park Tool BTK-1 bucket and tool kilt An accessory for the PRS-15 workstand, the BTK-1 consists of a large polyethylene bucket surrounded by a nylon tool holder with 40 pockets. The bucket can be used for cleaning bikes, or just as a handy place to dump parts as you work on a bike in the field, while the kilt should provide enough storage for any mechanic's tool needs. More info: www.parktool.com Continental GP Attack Continental GP Attack & Force tyres Front and rear tyres do quite different jobs, even on bicycles where there isn't the dramatic difference between the driven and undriven wheel that you find on, say, motorbikes. Nevertheless, it makes sense that, for example, the tyre that takes the larger load would be fatter. Continental's new force and Attack tyre pair are designed as a complementary duo of front (Attack) and rear (Force). In back, the GP Force is 23mm wide for traction and comfort and uses a five-layer carcass for puncture prevention (rear tyres get more punctures than front because punctures happen when a piece of glass is flipped up by the front tyre and so presents a sharp edge to the rear tyre.) Its upfront companion, the GP Force, is slightly narrower at 22mm for better aerodynamics, has a slick centre for reduced rolling resistance and a four-layer carcass. Continental GP Force Other differences include a stickier rubber compound for the GP Force, and differences in the tyre profiles for their specific purposes. Both tyres are available in four colours - red, blue, yellow and anthracite - so you can get a match for your bike's colour scheme. Australian readers will also be interested to learn that the GP Force and Attack are covered by Continental Australia's 'Performance Tyre Guarantee' which provides a discounted replacement for any tyre that suffers a penetration puncture in the first three months after purchase. This is a trial scheme in Australia only at the moment, though Continental Germany will be reviewing it in mid-2005. Worldwide, the company offers a similar 'Safety System Guarantee' on its Contact range of puncture-resistant touring and city tyres. More info: www.conti.com.au Giordana Tenax Laser shorts and jersey Giordana Tenax Laser bib shorts and jersey Giordana's tenax Laser jersey and bib shorts are some of the most advanced we've yet seen in terms of the attention to detail that goes into their construction. Both feature Moovix fabric that Giordana says provides consistent compression and stretch in all directions, and have laser-cut perforations in the fabric for cooling. Moovix is a hollow micro-fiber with a honeycomb structure, that incorporates nylon and DuPont Lycra. It can stretch equally in all directions, not just the two and four way stretch of standard 'spandex' materials. It's opaque to UVA and UVB rays and the honeycomb knit means that it is very efficient at moving moisture away from sweatyareas of the body. It also features an antibacterial treatment to help prevent it getting smelly. Our set came in white with black and red detailing, a colour scheme that you'd have to be pretty self-confident to carry off - one Cyclingnews staffer remarked that it was very Cipo. For the more modest, there are black and red versions too. More info: www.gitabike.com Descente Genesis women's jersey Descente Women's D-Lite tech T & Genesis sleeveless jersey Descent D-Lite Tech-T Photo ©: Paul Mirtschin Spring might seem a while away, but it'll soon be warm again and time for the summer wardrobe. Descente's line for 2005 offers an extensive selection of women's clothing including these two shirts, the road-styled Genesis sleeveless jersey and the more casual/mountain bikey D-Lite tech T. The Genesis is made from Descente's H2Zero moisture-wicking fabric and has two rear pockets and a tapered collar for a better fit. It's available in five striped and floral prints and in sizes from S to XL. The D-Lite tech T also features H2Zero fabric and a high neck to keep the sun off for those all-day off-road rides. It's available in three colours: cardinal (red), Periwinkle (Pale blue) and Mocha (brown). More info: www.descenteboulder.com The latest Zero Gravity brake (left) Zero Gravity 2005 The latest version of Zero Gravity's featherweight brakes boasts a new cam design for increased braking power. Zero Gravity designer Ted Ciamillo came up with the new shape after an preliminary review on Cyclingnews commented that the Zero Gravities provided good stopping power, but weren't as powerful as the best conventional dual-pivot brakes. Shortly after that review appeared, Ciamillo wrote to Cyclingnews, saying, "After your review, I re-visited the travel vs. power problem and had an exciting idea; surely great travel comes at the price of reduced power, but what if the power and travel were dynamic through the stroke of the cam-lever? In other words, what if the cam-lever could be made to produce high gains in travel at the beginning of the pull and then gradually trade off toward high gains in power(or more accurately clamping force) at the end of the pull." Ciamillo calls this a 'kneeing' effect because, "it works similarly to the way the knees of your legs work. Think about the squat rack; you have a tremendous amount of strength in the last few degrees of extension of your legs but there is very little vertical movement." The new cam is a feature for the front brake only, as the rear has more than enough oomph to easily lock the wheel. More info: www.zerogravitybrake.com Bicycle: the history Bicycle: the history by David V Herlihy Stuck for a last-minute present for a cyclist? You could do a lot worse than this well-produced history of the bike, from a germ of an idea for human-powered vehicles in the late seventeenth century to modern road racing, touring and mountain bikes. At 470 pages and extensively illustrated, it's far and away the most attractive tome of it's kind that we've seen and from a brief dip into its pages so far, Herlihy's engaging, clear style is a pleasurable read. More info: yalepress.yale.edu or purchase from Amazon