(mechanical whooshing) (light techno music)
- This week, I'm here in France, on the ground
for that big race that happens in July.
So I'm gonna be taking a look inside
of the team's trucks, as well as the pros' bikes.
But in the meantime, this is the GCN Tech Show.
(upbeat electronic music)
(mechanical whooshing)
So what's hot in tech this week then?
Well, first up, because it's the Tour de France,
we do start to see a lot of products getting released,
and spy shots, too, of them, leading up to the big event.
And firstly is a new helmet from Giro.
This is the Aether.
Now, this is a road standard helmet,
as opposed to a road aero-type helmet,
so I think this is gonna be
a replacement for the Synthe helmet.
Now, what I really love about this helmet
is that it uses different densities of EPS foam
in different areas of the helmet
to actually help with both saving weight,
as well as help with any impacts,
should you be unfortunate enough to encounter any.
And sticking with impacts,
in the unfortunate incident of any impacts,
well, this helmet actually uses the MIPS Spherical System.
So, the standard MIPS liner is essentially
a plastic inner shell, very, very thin bit of plastic,
which is held on with these rubbery-type inserts.
So if you were to have a crash and hit your head,
it does in fact reduce the chance of any rotational impacts.
Now, the MIPS Spherical System is actually
in between two layers of EPS foam.
Now, you may ask, why would they, in fact, do that?
Well, it's gonna help give you a better fit of the helmet,
because you're not gonna have that plastic liner
on top of your scalp, as well as aiding ventilation.
I do like a nice helmet.
Now, this next really hot bit of tech
that I've heard about this week,
at first, to be honest with you,
I thought it was a late April Fool's joke.
But I did in fact speak to Shane Cooper,
the owner of the company, and he tells me that
this product is, in fact, totally real.
It's a pair of $5,000 socks from company DeFeet.
$5,000 for a pair of socks.
Now, these socks are made from, I've been told,
a very rare spider silk, the Madagascar Golden Orb spider,
to be exact, but why have they done it?
Well, apparently, why not, in fact.
But they have done it, in fact, for a very good reason,
that reason being to celebrate the 20-year anniversary
of sponsoring the Quick-Step team.
So I have heard on good authority they are actually gonna
present the team a pair of these $5,000 socks
inside of a nice cabinet that they can then store
in their service course headquarters of the team.
Now, $5,000 for a pair of socks,
you're not gonna wanna snag a toenail on those, are you?
Anyway, more tech for you later on.
(mechanical whooshing)
So this week, having nobody here to argue, sorry,
discuss anything with, this week the question is actually
gonna go to you at home, and I'm gonna read
all of your comments to see what you think.
But where am I going with this?
Well, there is an age-old saying with bikes:
Strong, light, cheap, pick two.
Yeah, normally you can't.
So I need you to go into a hypothetical situation.
Come on, let's do it.
So this hypothetical situation,
you're about to buy yourself a new bike,
and there's three different characteristics
to look at, in this situation anyway:
lightweight, aerodynamic, and comfortable.
So which one are you gonna sacrifice?
Let's start with lightweight.
Well, certainly you're gonna notice that climbing,
and with any accelerations, and also it's gonna be
good for your mind too, because after all,
cycling is a pretty psychological sport,
after all, when you're really, really suffering.
Aerodynamics, well, we all know what that means, don't we?
Maybe it's gonna help you get to the cafe faster,
it's gonna help you win a race,
or it's just gonna get your average speed up.
And then there's comfort, some think which,
in some cases, doesn't in fact matter.
Take, for example, a track bike.
Well, you don't really care about comfort on that, do you?
Because generally a velodrome
has ever such smooth wooden boards.
But the question to you is, which of those three
would you sacrifice if you had to?
Let me know which one and why
in the comment section down below,
and next week I'm gonna use those,
certainly, for a bit of a discussion point.
(mechanical whooshing)
Now, with the Tour de France just a couple of days away,
it is very interesting, in fact, to hear that a team
is gonna start using a new product
for arguably the biggest race of the year.
Step forward, Mitchelton-SCOTT, who are going to be using
Pirelli's P Zero Velo tubular tires for that big race.
Now, I'm quite disappointed myself
that my stalking qualities have not necessarily
been that good, because I haven't noticed them in use.
Apparently, though, they have been using them,
but an unbranded version, but I reckon
they've probably been using them in training,
that's why I've not got to notice it.
Anyway, over the next few days,
I do hope to get a closer look at them
and bring you a closer look too.
Now, another product I'm hoping
to get a closer look at is, in fact, Joystick tape.
And no, that's not something for
a games console or anything like that.
In fact, it's from company Joystick,
who sponsored team Dimension Data.
Now, this tape apparently is made from
a lightweight vibration-damping material.
It does, in fact, have, like, a chevron-style pattern on it,
which does help with your grip as well,
particularly if you get a bit of sweaty hands.
Now, they do have a wide range of colors,
and then there's two special colors coming out, as well:
Dimension Data green, obviously for the team,
and then also a yellow model soon.
Now, will we see Mark Cavendish get to use that
on his bike during this year's Tour de France?
Let me know what you think about that
in the comments down below.
Now, something we looked at earlier on in a week
is, in fact, Cannondale's new SystemSix Aero Bike.
I'm not gonna spoil the surprises.
You're gonna have to wait until you finish
watching this video to click through
and see Si's look at that brand new bike.
Looks pretty special to me, and yet, I reckon we're gonna
see the riders of EF Education First Drapac
presented by Cannondale, think about that, right,
use it for this year's Tour de France.
Now, moving away from the Tour de France,
under something quite different, bikepacking,
and who can forget Si's little trip out there to Morocco,
where he had a night under the stars.
Now, there is, in fact, a Kickstarter campaign
going on at the moment from Aeroe,
and they are making some aerodynamic bikepacking bags.
So if you want to get somewhere faster
on your bikepacking journey,
maybe they are an option for you.
Personally, I'm not sure if there is a real need for it,
'cause I didn't think bikepacking was all about that, is it?
I don't know, let me know what you think of it
down there in the comment section down below.
The only time I think really you need to get Aero
when bikepacking is to escape a rainstorm,
'cause no one likes to get wet on a bike.
Now, sticking with bikepacking for a moment,
some of you, I'm sure, will have seen
my one buy hack video where I turned a bike into a bike
which I could use a lower-ratio cassette on,
so something with a pretty low-bottom sprocket on there.
I've managed to get a 36 tooth,
and still using my short cage rear derailleur.
But how do they do that?
Well, they use those derailleur hanger extenders.
And well, there's quite a few companies
getting onto the bandwagon of it,
I guess, right now, but why are they doing it?
Well, none of the manufacturers of groupsets actually
recommend using a derailleur where it's not suited for.
So a short cage rear derailleur is not suited
for one of those 32, or 36, or even more, rear cassettes.
So Wheels Manufacturing, a company who currently have
a massive range of derailleur hangers
and bottom bracket options, they've just launched
a derailleur hanger extender too.
This one puts your rear mech 21 millimeters lower
so you too can use an extra low-ratio cassette.
More tech next week.
(mechanical whooshing)
Competition time.
Good news, we've got a winner of a Zipp 404 unboxing
that we did here on the GCN Tech Channel.
(audience applause and cheers) Brian Catuccio of the USA,
you're a very lucky boy.
You've got yourself some new Zipp 404 wheels.
We'll be in touch with you very shortly to arrange delivery.
Now, if you missed out on that, well,
Brian was the only winner, let's face it.
We've got another competition for you to enter,
and the link for that is in the description down below,
and it's for one of those Topeak bike boxes,
so make sure you get involved,
and maybe you will be as lucky as Brian.
(mechanical whooshing)
Wall of Fame time.
I absolutely love this, gets me reminiscing.
So last week, Lasty inducted the Breezer Number One,
essentially the first mountain bike.
I'm gonna take it, though, a little bit more recent,
only a little bit though, and it's time for a product
that was used by plenty of professionals in secret,
and also lots of discerning cyclists out there.
It's time for the Royce Titanium Bottom Bracket.
Oh yes, a bit of beauty.
What is it, though?
Well, it's a square-taper bottom bracket,
so these were the norm, basically, before we've got now,
like, the outboard-style bottom bracket bearings
or press fit bearings.
Well, what was so special about it, then?
Well, for a start, there was a titanium axle,
and the actual cups were aluminum.
So there's considerable weight savings
compared to a standard component
from one of the big groupset manufacturers.
Then, of course, it came in a massive variety of options.
So you had English threads, Italian threads.
Axle widths went from
80 millimeters wide up to a whopping 135.
So if you had a bike with as narrow a Q factor
as Graeme Obree or a triple chainset,
they had a bottom bracket for you too.
And then, I think super impressive
was the fact that it had sealed cartridge bearings,
which, back in the early '90s, was something of a novelty.
And, in fact, they still make it to this very day,
and even they incorporate some carbon into the mix too.
How cool is that?
Now, back in the day, it was a 120 pounds,
which in the '90s seemed, well, astronomical,
to be perfectly honest with you.
And everyone who had one tended to give the game away
by putting a sticker on their bike
that came with the actual bottom bracket, saying,
"Royce Titanium Bottom Bracket."
I always wanted one, I never had one,
but still, it's an absolute beauty.
Now, leave me your nominations for
the GCN Tech Wall of Fame down there
in the comments section down below,
and who knows, maybe we'll pick yours.
(mechanical whooshing)
Bike of the week time, and well, last week,
Lasty put two options for you to vote from,
and first up was Greg Van Avermaet's
Olympic-gold-medal-winning-inspired BMC,
and that was up against, this was a tough competition,
actually, up against Mark Cavendish's blinged-up Cervelo.
And the winner, 65% of the votes: Cav's blinged-up Cevelo.
(audience applause and cheers) This week, though,
I've got a couple of bikes for you.
Right, first up, there is that new
Cannondale SystemSix Aero Bike, their first ever,
and it's up against the Argon 18 Gallium Pro
of Jakob Fuglsang of Astana.
That has got a very, very fancy paint job indeed,
and it's got, well, half of his face painted on it.
So, you know, as ever, you know the score.
Vote up there for your favorite.
Next week I'll reveal the results.
Tell you what, I'm gonna vote for Fuglsang.
That bike, absolutely bling.
(mechanical whooshing)
Bike vault time, where we get to rate your bike
either nice or super nice, using the email address
where you submit them on screen right now.
So sadly, I don't have to bell with me,
because the customs officer at the airport confiscated it.
I personally think he was a really nice guy for doing that.
because he said he's never heard
or seen anything quite as hideous in his life.
So this week, it's either nice or super nice.
So let's start then, with Jill Copic,
who apparently is an Aussie in London.
This is her specialized Ruby, which, apparently,
she's had to replace quite a few bits on,
because it got quite a kicking on a flight one day.
So I just want to point out, well,
I think that bike looks absolutely stunning.
I do like the curve back on the seat post,
as well as, importantly, the backdrop.
Look at the ceiling and the reflection of that tiled floor.
Straight up, eight, super nice.
Bear with me. (slurps wine)
Strong stuff, this.
Right, next up, Joe Antony
from Lexington in South California.
This is Joe's Lynskey R240, so a titanium bike
with some matching Pacenti silver rims, some gold cables.
Now, this one, what is letting it down for me,
Joe, is, quite honest with you,
is the chainset and the way you've placed it.
So you have got that right-hand crank
in line with the seat tube, rather than 90 degrees
or in line with the down tube.
So that one, Joe, that's a nice bike.
Right, next up is Matthias from Osnabruck in Germany.
This is Mattias's Pinarello Dogma.
Beautiful-looking bike, that.
I think that looks like a gorgeous, basically,
riding your bike in the sunshine, with your mates.
No other bike in the background,
but I reckon Matthias has got some mates.
Super nice bike.
(slurps wine)
Hoh, all right, now, Philippe Carbonneau from Quebec,
and this is his giant TCR Advanced
with an Ultegra R8000 groupset.
That bike, everything about it is spot-on.
Even got a safety light on the back there,
so keeping yourself nice and safe out on the road.
It's in a good gear for the photo.
The valve stems are in the correct position,
the chain is, the cranks are.
Absolutely super nice bike, Philippe.
And finally is this one here from Roger Watt from Vancouver.
This is his 1965 Urago from France, which has been restored.
Basically, he buys new fits when he can to put on it,
so it just keeps getting newer and fresher parts on it.
So as you can see, it's completely in time with the period.
Perhaps saddle, maybe not quite 1960s.
That's a white Rolls.
I wasn't around the '60s,
so I couldn't tell you if it was or not.
But a Campagnolo groupset,
he's got a Campagnolo aerodynamic water bottle.
Pretty sure that wasn't around then,
but it does look the part on this bike.
Reynolds 531 frame, Schraube white tires.
This one looks absolutely stunning,
the sort of bike you wanna take out
on one of those perfect summer's days.
Super nice bike, and you lot are really
spoiling me this week. (slurps wine)
Now, as ever, you know what to do.
Submit your bikes for the bike vault
down here using the email address on the screen,
and include, obviously, your name,
where you've come from, and some information about the bike.
And who knows, maybe, just maybe,
we will be featuring your bike on the bike vault.
Now sadly, it's almost time for the end
of the GCN Tech Show this week, but don't worry,
we have got a whole heap of content
coming up for you this week, because, well,
it's the Tour de France starting, as well as Eurobike.
So if you haven't already clicked on
the bell notification icon, make sure you do
so that you are aware of every single video we're doing.
And also remember to like and share
this video with your friends too.
Don't forget to check out the GCN shop, where we've got,
for July, some special yellow-branded T-shirts.
And then, for another great video.
This time, Simon's looking at
Cannondale SystemSix Aero bike.
Click just down here.