Tech of the week: New product from Rapha whilst Wahoo builds with another acquisition
Plus new vegan energy bars and new wheels from Specialized
Fitness tech company Wahoo has announced its acquisition of Californian pedal brand, Speedplay. It’s Wahoo’s second takeover this summer, having brought indoor training brand The Sufferfest under its wing in July this year.
Earlier this month, Wahoo – the brand responsible for best selling computers like the Elemnt Bolt and the Wahoo Kickr turbo trainer – also released its first exercise bike.
Whilst unconfirmed, the pair up certainly looks like a step in the direction of a new power meter pedal on the market.
Rapha has partnered with Gore-Tex to release three new jackets, including two which use Shakedry technology.
Gore-Tex Shakedry technology features a waterproof membrane on the external facing two-layer construction, which means that water simply beads off the fabric. It has long been used in jackets made by Gore and Castelli because it has benefit of keeping the riding dry due the lack of a saturated jacket.
This is the first time that Rapha has used such technology and it’s releasing three new jackets, including a Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex jacket, a Pro Team Insulated Gore-Tex jacket and an Explore Hooded Gore-Tex Pullover.
Outdoor Provisions launch eco friendly energy bars
Inspired by a love of outdoors adventure Outdoor Provisions energy bars are the brain child of friends Luke Douglas and Christian Smith, who, after a particularly enduring mountain bike racing season, whereby a significant amount of energy bars were consumed, decided that they could do much better themselves.
“We started mixing up prototypes in my kitchen in Salford” says Christian. “I had a solid idea of what the base or chassis of the product should be, but it took a moment of inspiration and a prod from my better half to come with the National Park flavour portfolio we have now”.
Each bar is vegan, uses organic ingredients where possible, contains no refined sugars and aims to deliver a balanced release of energy. Cherry Bakewell (Peak District National Park) and Choc Kendal Mint Cake (Lake District) are available to buy now, with Parkin (Yorkshire Dales) and Bara Brith (Snowdonia) following on shortly.
Individual bars can be brought for £1.90 from independent retailers such as, Business As Usual in Bristol, Peak district National Park Visitor centres, Alpkit stores and Coed y Brenin visitor centre, or £1.50 if bought in 18 boxes direct from www.outdoorprovisions.co.uk, with 30% off your first order.
Specialized launches new wheels
An all new Terra CLX and Terra CLX Evo wheels were launched earlier this week, which Specialized calls Road-light, Mountain-tough and smooth as butter.
It is claimed that the Terra CLX, which comes in 700c only is the lightest gravel wheel on the market with 25mm internal rim width.
The Terra CLX Evo will be available in both 700c and 650b size with a huge 30mm internal rim width, suggesting it will be able to handle a 2.1 tyres.
Lifetime warranty and a no fault crash replacement is available on the new wheels, too. Prices for the Evo wheelset is £1850, with the Terra CLX front costing £750 and rear £1100.
Reviews this week
As ever, the Cycling Weekly Tech Team has been hard at work reviewing cycling kit of all types:
- Lezyne Micro Drive 600Xl and KTV Pro lightset
- Bontrager GR2 Team Issue gravel tyre
- Rapha Cargo bib shorts
- Knog Mid Cobber lightset
Be sure to keep an out on the website for the latest product news and reviews.
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Symon Lewis joined Cycling Weekly as an Editorial Assistant in 2010, he went on to become a Tech Writer in 2014 before being promoted to Tech Editor in 2015 before taking on a role managing Video and Tech in 2019. Lewis discovered cycling via Herne Hill Velodrome, where he was renowned for his prolific performances, and spent two years as a coach at the South London velodrome.
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