- Welcome to the GCN Tech Show.
This week, we've got a bike made of pi,
more disc brakes and a whole heap load more of tech.
(upbeat digital music)
Well, what's hot in the world of tech this week then?
Well firstly, Specialized have just launched a new bike.
It's the SL6 Tarmac Disc bike
and we got a quick glimpse of that actually
at the Volta a Catalunya, where I've just got back from,
and I managed to take a look at Bob Jungels's machine.
So that is actually gonna be this Saturday's pro bike
here on the GCN Tech Channel.
But I'm not gonna leave it there
because I've got some more information for you on it.
So you can fit 30-millimeter wide tyres
and the chainstays are just five millimetres longer
than its rim brake sibling.
In fact, all sizes
are just using 410 millimetre long chainstays.
Also, it's as aerodynamic apparently
as the original Venge Aero bike from Specialised.
So that really hasn't come a long way
compared to that first bike.
And one final little bit,
there's 200 pieces more carbonply used in this frame
than in the SL5 Disc.
So, they've done that
and they've actually managed to keep it the same weight
as the SL6 Rim Brake frame.
That's impressive.
Very impressive, I think.
Now after all of that, I fancy some pie.
No, no, no, not that sort of pie.
This sort of pi.
So two designers, Martijn Koomen and Tadas Maksimovas,
they actually designed a bike
based upon a Malaysian artist's drawing
of a pi-shaped bike.
And, well, it actually works.
Now that is science.
Actually, it's maths, but you know what I mean.
Now they actually started off
by making a small cardboard model of the bike
before making it in wood,
and then actually carbon fibre.
And it actually rides,
which I think is fantastic.
But admittedly it doesn't have brakes or gears,
so essentially it is a track bike.
All we need now is for the UCI to relax those rules
and maybe we'll see it hitting the boards
of a Velodrome soon.
Who knows.
I think it'd look really cool though.
Hot topic this week then.
The UCI's rule book,
or the technical rule book for bikes specifically.
So first up, let's look at our friends in triathlon.
They actually really do lead the way
in aerodynamics and technology
because they don't have to conform
to the three to one ratio ruling
with regards to frame tubes.
And also they don't have to have
a double diamond style frame.
They have actually introduced to road cycling
loads of different innovations,
the most famous, of course, being tri bars.
And what about mountain bikers?
They've got all sorts of different geometries,
different wheel sizes.
They're ahead of us too.
Or are they?
So gravel bikes, touring bikes, adventure bikes,
whatever you wanna call them,
they've got some technology involved in them though
that we don't have.
So, take for instance, Canyon and their new Grail bike
they launched last week with the hover bar.
And then you've got the Jones bars, the super flared bars.
Even Doddy on the GMBN Tech Channel,
he's got 55 centimetre wide handlebars
on his Nukeproof Digger.
I don't have that.
Whereas road bikes, well, functionally,
they largely look the same, don't they?
And it pains me to actually say that.
The last real head turner was probably Giant,
back in the mid-90s, with their TCR frame,
so a sloping geometry.
And then of course, we had the UCI introduce
a minimum weight limit for a bike, 6.8 kilogrammes.
Now don't get me started on that.
No, in fact, I am gonna start on that.
The biggest question is though,
why do we, the paying public,
actually care about the UCI rules?
Now I don't know about you,
but I'm not planning on doing
any professional bike races any time soon.
So why can't I get a six kilogramme super bike
that's super aerodynamic,
that the world's biggest bike companies can make?
So Trek already actually do it.
It's the Emonda SLR 9.
It weighs just 5.88 kilogrammes.
But the options are few and far between.
I think a lot of us, maybe we don't say it out loud,
but we still dream of being a professional cyclist.
So our buying decisions are possibly influenced
by what our heroes on the road are using.
So take for example, you're a Kittel or a Quintana fan,
you may be slightly more inclined to buy Canyon
than another brand.
So maybe we don't care about the UCI rules.
But we care about the bikes that the pros ride.
So they're constrained by the rules,
so we're constrained by the bikes that they ride
because we want to kind of ride what they do too.
However, not me, I'm an absolute unashamed technical nerd
so I want to ride the absolute best bike I can.
So give me a bike that weighs five kilogrammes,
looks like the Batmobile, costs under 1,000 pounds,
and is super aerodynamic and I'll be happy.
But what about you?
Should that 6.8 kg minimum weight limit be removed?
Or what other UCI rules should be scrapped?
Technical ones, this is.
Let me know in the comment section down below.
I'll be really, really excited to read them.
Come on, tech nerds, get stuck in.
Last week, Si and I spoke to you about gravel bikes,
and basically we think they should deserve a different name
from the, frankly, uninspiring and boring word, gravel.
And you've been getting stuck into the comments, as ever.
So here's some of my personal favourites.
First up, Gavin Moore.
He suggests an alternative name for the gravel bike
is a Swiss Army Bike or a Jack Bike.
So a jack of all trades.
Quite nice that.
You might have some problems there with the copyright
of using Swiss Army, but you never know.
Edward Thomas, the new name for gravel bike
is spectrum bikes.
Of course, Si and I said that somewhere on the spectrum
each bike does sit.
IdontAlwaysCommentButWhenIdoYouLikeit says,
"Gravel bikes are most accurately described as
"sport touring bikes."
Sport touring bikes.
You are very, very lucky that Si's not here
because he doesn't particularly like touring bikes it seems.
Duraath, all terrain bike would suffice.
Another interesting one.
I mean, that's what we used to call mountain bikes.
Or in fact, I remember back in the day,
we used to call mountain bikes mountain bikes
and some mountain bikes all terrain bikes or ATBs.
I still don't know actually what the difference is though.
Ludwig Friman says, gravel bike is a multi surface bike.
That actually sounds as dull as gravel,
to be perfectly honest with you.
Multi surface is what I think of
when I want to clean a work surface.
So not that inspiring for me personally.
Maybe others do like it though.
Kaliburation wants to change a gravel bike
to adventure bike.
So there we are, going out on your adventure.
Any ride can be an adventure, remember.
And finally, Michael Cohen.
He calls his gravel bike the omnivore
because it eats everything.
So what is hot in tech this week?
Well, firstly, Specialised and power metre brand 4iiii
have announced a partnership.
I'd like to think I got a little bit of a scoop on this
back at the Tour Down Under in January
when I spotted some units on the bikes
of both Bora Hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floors.
Now, one of the most impressive things
about this announcement
is that they've integrated
the dual sided power metre into carbon cranks
for apparently the first time in the commercial world.
Now the name is gonna be called the S-Works Power Cranks.
Not really that exciting, is it?
However, the weight is.
440 grammes for that.
Now that is super lightweight.
Sticking with power,
well, in a way anyway,
what about a joystick controlled bike?
That's right.
You can get a joystick controlled recumbent e-bike now.
So it does away with traditional handlebars.
Essentially you have one joystick,
which allows you to steer,
also operate the e-bike motor,
as well as operating the bike computer.
Yep, you heard it here, possibly first.
Now this is a Kickstarter project
and it's going to cost you two and a half thousand euros,
but let me know if you want one.
I'll be keen to read people's thoughts on that.
Just have a look at it.
Now how about a fully integrated carbon fibre bike?
Well Stebles have launched this.
Check that out.
So, it's got integrated mudguards and bottle cages.
You've got internal storage solutions as well as cabling.
This could be the ultimate commuter, couldn't it?
It weighs just eight kilogrammes.
I thought, looking at it, with all that extra carbon fibre,
it would weigh a lot more.
It is gonna cost you 6,000 pounds though.
So moving on, a little bit more about integration here.
There is a patent at the moment
floating around the internet
and this is from Shimano.
And it's a disc brake cover,
to protect you from those razor sharp disc brake rotors
that we all fall victim to.
Only joking.
Well, I'm not joking about that disc brake rotor cover.
Maybe we'll see it actually introduced
because people possibly are still thinking
that they're gonna get cut up from them.
Who knows.
But if it gets more people riding bikes, I'm all for it.
I don't think they're gonna look particularly ugly
by having a cover on them.
In fact, if some cases,
they may even look better on some people's bikes.
Now sticking with patents, interesting stuff.
I jest.
Campagnolo have also got one out there floating around.
This time for 12-speed drive trains.
So maybe, just maybe, we will see 24 gears
back on road bikes again.
This time though, not using a triple chain set.
So yep, we're going to keep our eyes peeled for that.
And as ever, we'll report any information
as soon as we hear it to you.
Now finally, a couple of weeks back,
Dan and I spoke about the world's lightest bike
that had disc brakes,
and in particular, one of the components on it
did save quite a lot of weight over a standard part
was in fact the cassette.
And I've managed to get one here.
It's made by a company by Recon
and believe me, this is mega light.
Now it's made of aluminium, so it's got three pieces,
so you've got here the chunk of it.
And then you've got the 11 tooth
and also a lock ring.
Weight wise for 11-28 is 117 grammes.
So that's 76 grammes lighter than Shimano Dura-Ace.
And the price, $180.
I think, if you're looking to save
a lot of weight on your bike,
maybe that's the one for it.
I mean, admittedly, made out of aluminium,
it's possibly not going to be that durable,
but if you are going for ultimate lightness,
why not treat yourself?
More tech next week.
It's now time to induct another product
into the GCN Wall of Fame.
Last week we inducted the Lotus 108 fixed-wheel bike,
but this week, I'm going to allow some free wheeling
because it's time to induct the Freehub.
Do you know what?
Contrary to popular belief,
Shimano didn't actually invent this,
although they did patent the word Freehub.
The actual original design
came from a company called Bayliss Wiley back in 1938,
that attached a sprocket cluster,
not onto the actual hub shell itself.
However, the Freehubs or cassette bodies
that we commonly use today,
they're actually a more recent design
and in fact come from Shimano in 1978,
which was really the first commercial success of a Freehub.
So if we fast forward 40 years,
we've got the modern day Freehub or cassette body.
Obviously Freehub is patented by Shimano.
So it's axially splined.
The reason being then you simply slide on your cassette
and then it's locked in place with a lock ring.
The Freehub is also worth mentioning.
It is kind of supported in place there as well by the axle.
And then, you all know the familiar sound.
(spokes clicking)
Some people love a loud one.
Some people want a quiet one.
Let me know what you like in the comments down below.
Interestingly as well, the first cassette hub that I had
or Freehub that I had
was actually a Shimano Uniglide
that didn't use one of those lock rings.
Now if you know why,
let me know in the comments down below too.
We'll see who else is a real geek out there.
And remember as well to leave your nominations
for the GCN Wall of Fame down there in the comments.
Who knows, maybe we'll pick yours.
So it's time for bike of the week,
where we put together two bikes head to head
and you have to vote for your favourite.
So let's have a look at last week,
where we had the Scott Foil of Mitchelton Scott,
and it was up against the Merida Scultura of Bahrain Merida.
And yep, I've been busy again,
counting through all of your votes and the winner is
the Scott Foil with 76% of the votes.
Oh, wow.
So this week, what have I got for you?
Well first up in the red corner,
we've got the BMC SLR01
and that's got a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset.
You've got the Shimano dual-sided power metre.
And a Fizik saddle to top it off.
But what's it up against?
Well in the blue corner,
we've got the bike of Quick-Step Floors.
It's the specialised Tarmac SL6 Disc bike.
So brand new, this one.
So a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset too.
You've got that new power metre too.
Well, the new announcement anyway.
It's the Specialised 4iiii unit
and also there's Roval wheels.
But you know what to do.
You've gotta vote for your favourite up there,
and next week, we'll reveal the results
and have another battle of the bikes.
Giveaway results time.
So recently we gave away three
of the brand new POC Ventral Aero helmets
with that spin technology inside on GCN Tech unboxing
and the good news is if your name is on screen right now,
you're one of the lucky winners.
And don't worry, we'll be in touch with you very soon
to arrange delivery.
Now time for that part of the show,
it's the bike vault,
where bikes are either nice or super nice.
So with no further ado,
I'm going to crack on this week.
First up, Alistair Lovitt and this Lynskey.
And yep, do you know what,
that's actually a mural on the wall,
it's not a actual barber shop,
but enough of that.
So that's a Lynskey.
He's got himself a Shimano Ultegra drivetrain
with some disc brakes.
Titanium they are, those Lynskeys.
It's a very nice, I like that seat post as well,
the way it curves back.
Straight away, first up, it gets a super nice from me.
That's a lovely looking bicycle.
(siren wails)
And do you know what, Si and Dan,
in fact, no one else here can tell me otherwise.
I've got the horn, yes.
Next up, Florian Bon and this is in Majorca,
and this is the Colnago VR1.
That is a nice looking machine,
and I do like the way
he's actually taken the angle of that photograph.
The only thing is, it could have,
I mean I've been to Majorca plenty of times, Florian,
and you could have got
definitely a better backdrop than that.
It's a nice looking machine.
I bet you had some fun out there on the roads.
Let me know your PB up Sa Calobra.
That's a nice bike, a very nice bike, Florian.
Next up, Jordan Mifsud
on the Great Ocean Road in Australia.
This is his Trek Project One.
That, that is very nice again.
In fact, I'll go as far to say as that's being super nice.
You've got a SRAM Red groupset, eTap as well, cheeky.
You've got a Quarq parameter, there's Bontrager wheels,
and you know, you've had that paint work done
and it's not over the top.
Sometimes people have paint work
and it just goes a little bit crazy.
I'm not a fan of it.
But you, yeah you've deserved that, yeah super nice.
So...
(siren wails)
You've got my horn again.
Right, Craig Haver, a 1985 Specialised Rockhopper.
Wow, are they that old, those bikes?
Anyway, that machine looks like a real adventure bike.
Or maybe a spectrum bike.
A multi surface bike.
Who knows, but I'll tell you what.
You're gonna have a lot of fun on that.
Look at the springs on the back of that Brooks saddle.
Every ride is gonna be in pure comfort with that one, Craig.
WTB tyres.
It does look a little bit odd, that bike,
but you're gonna have so much fun on it
and everyone's gonna be turning their head,
so it gets a super nice.
(siren wails)
Super nice.
Right, finally, Aro, I'm not even sure
how to pronounce your surname.
I'm just gonna call you Aro, from Finland,
and this Konga.
That is a lovely looking bicycle again.
SRAM Red groupset.
Taken in what looks like some sort of urban forest
if that makes sense.
It looks great.
Envy wheels.
But, and this is gonna probably upset you, Aro,
it's not gonna get a super nice, I'm afraid,
because look at the gear you have left it in.
The big ring and I think almost bottom sprocket
at the rear.
You're breaking the cardinal sin there,
or what some people say, anyway.
So, a nice bike there, Aro.
Now to submit your bikes into the bike vault,
send them to the email address on screen right now
and please do include also where you come from.
It's really helpful,
as we love to know what corner of the globe you are from.
Next week, more bike vault.
Now, unfortunately it is nearly time
for the end of the show.
Yep, I can hear the groans from here.
But, what is coming up?
Well, on Saturday, we've got a very special pro bike.
It's a brand new bike in fact.
It's the bike of Bob Jungels of Quick-Step Floors
and I just got to grips with,
and then on Sunday,
we've got an unboxing of Met helmets with Dan.
Monday, back in here for the maintenance set,
and then on Wednesday, we've got the GCN Tech clinic.
Now, do remember as well to give this video
a big thumbs up
and share it with your friends out there too.
Tell everyone all about us.
And now also remember to check out the GCN shop
at shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com.
You can buy all sorts of garments from there.
Now for another great video this time,
what grease, lubricant, anti-seize,
or thread lock you should use,
click just down here.