Our final tech roundup from the 2023 Taipei Cycle Show focuses on the Design Award winners. This isn’t all of the winners, just the most interesting ones (with links at bottom to some of the others that we’ve covered individually). From bikes to hubs to kickstands and batteries, these are the ideas that could shape the products we’ll be riding in the future.

The Trigon AR01 looks like most other modern aero road bikes until you get up close. Small protuberances on the frame, located on the sides of the headtube, downtube, and seatstay-seat tube junction, keep air flowing more smoothly over the surface to reduce drag.

It’s called Vortex-Tubing Technology, and they say it cuts a cylinder’s drag in half, and the protrusions allow for thinner (lighter) wall thicknesses than dimples would, so it’s a win-win.

We’ve seen strips and grooves from Ridley before, and Zipp’s known for their dimples, but Trigon’s design has the bumps, um, bumping outward, and has them spread across more of the frame. And, apparently, the UCI is OK with this.

Small fairings over the disc brake calipers smooth air more, but still leave plenty of room for ventilation. While the AR01 name suggests “Aero”, it actually means “All-Rounder”, offering lightweight and stiffness in addition to aerodynamics.

And it fits 700×32 tires, so “All Road” isn’t out of the question. It’s available as a complete bike with BLKTEC cockpit, Dura-Ace Di2 and Fulcrum Racing wheels for $8,990.

The Zephyr Route Oh La La is an “electric rally” bike designed to go far. It has two PowerTube batteries for a total 1500W of power. Combined with front and rear racks and a compact build, it looks like a sweet way to get around town, or up the mountain for a picnic, or exploring a new city all day…which was the point of the design. It’s inspired by the Tour de France, and with a 200km+ range, you could take it up the mountain for a day, watch a stage, and then roll around town celebrating all evening.

The upcoming KMC Racing Duo is a chain plus chainring combo with teeth specifically shaped for the chain’s rollers. They match up perfectly, maximizing contact and power transfer for a claimed 5% improvement…for as long as you can hold 400 watts, that is.

This rear hub design from Wei-Ting uses a SFE (Separate Floating Engagement) design that puts a ratchet ring directly on the freehub body, all the way at the outer edge. It clicks across individual pins that line the entire perimeter, with stepped engagement to offer quick engagement since only every third pin is engaged at any time. The design’s main benefit is that it can use larger diameter bearings and place them further outboard, making for a stiffer hub.

The AirShif auto-shifting derailleur is interesting in that it takes a concept more typically used with internally geared hubs and applies it to an external derailleur. Using the app, you input your gear combos and set preferences for cadence, with the ability to have several modes. Pick the mode you want and the system will shift for you to maintain a desired pedaling cadence range. (click to enlarge any photo for more detail)

Yes, this is basically the same system we saw at the 2019 show, but for some reason it’s now won a Design Award.

The Gouach Repairable e-bike battery system is a great concept. They say that in many cases, when a multi-cell e-bike battery fails, it’s often just one or two cells inside that have gone bad. And pretty much every e-bike battery is a multi-cell design (listen to our interview with Bosch about e-bike battery safety to learn why), with 20+ individual cells in each battery pack.

So, if one cell goes bad and then you need to replace your entire battery pack, clearly there’s a lot of waste happening. Gouach solves for this by making e-mobility batteries with user-replaceable cells. Much like you’d replace a remote control battery, you simply pop in a new cell where needed, no soldering or electrical engineering expertise needed – the system tells you which cell needs to be replaced.

They’re offering ready-to-install battery packs as OEM options for bike brands, plus developer kits (shown here, coming soon) for those who want to design their own system. They’ll do custom battery designs for brands, too.

Random Gadgets & Accessories

This section is going to be rapid fire… here’s a CO2 chuck with a bezel that lets you adjust the air pressure limit for your tire. Just twist it to the setting you want and it’ll inflate to that PSI rating.

If you need more air than a CO2 can provide, this Co-Luck AIr Turbo HP/HV mini pump switches from High Volume to High Pressure and will “easily” inflate to 300psi.

CL-Massload makes all sorts of accessories, but this AxleMount kickstand for e-bikes is brilliant. If you have an e-bike, chances are high that the bolt-on kickstand comes loose or has sheared the bolts and broken off entirely. This has happened to me on multiple bikes because the extra weight is simply too much for them.

This system attaches the kickstand directly to the thru axle, using a specific interface on the dropout. So, no, you can’t add this to your existing bike, but here’s hoping bike brands adopt the interface (shown in detail on their website) and start using the already robust thru-axle as the attachment point.

The Digirit Pedal Park has a strong magnet in it so you can stick your bike to any metal rack, rail, pole, fence post, wall, sign, whatever.

Wellgo is working on a Quick Release Device that lets you quickly take any pedal on or off the bike without tools. The pedal slots into the mount and, basically, uses the pressure of your weight on the pedal to keep it cantilevered in place, but with a sleeve that slides over the slot to physically capture it so it doesn’t just fall out at certain angles. Ideal for commuter and folding bikes where you may need to get your bike into tight spots, but not intended for performance bikes.

Velo’s Angel Revo saddle won an award for it’s eco-cred. From materials to construction processes, the nitrogen-infused foam and bio-plastic shell substantially reduce the emissions and energy when making it…and it’s also a very comfortable saddle, I’ve been riding one on my road bike since it launched.

TransX showed an adjustable height dropper seatpost. Just pull the lever up and you can adjust it’s height by up to 30mm independently of its travel. Good for bikes with multiple riders of different heights, it makes adjustments quicker and easier.

Fulchee’s QUIK Thru Axle has two tricks up its sleeve. First, it has an adjustable length, helping it fit more bikes with fewer SKUs. On the other end is a twist-to-lock nut. Rather than thread the axle in like normal, you slide it in, then twist the nut on the opposite side to capture the axle. Then close the lever to pull it tight.

The design not only prevents the axle from coming out if the lever comes open, but since would-be thieves won’t know how it works, it provides some security for your wheels, too…but takes just seconds to open and remove if you know what you’re doing.

This light-duty cable lock hides in your handlebar, just twist the lock out of the bar plug and pull it out. The cable end slides into the lock, working just like most of the cable locks integrated into hitch racks.

RideRever Arc hydraulic brakes are made for those with smaller hands, using a lever that sits closer to the bar but with a leveraged actuation so it doesn’t just pull into the bar under hard braking. It uses a twin master cylinder design to deliver plenty of power from a very compact design. Bleed ports on top and bottom mean you can use them on either side for Moto/UK or US brake placement, no need to swap hoses between them.

This disc brake piston return tool uses a grip lever to expand the plates, which you put inside your brake caliper to force the pistons to retract should you accidentally over extend them by squeezing your brake lever when the wheel’s removed. Compared to other tools that use a twist-to-expand design, this makes the job much quicker and easier.

Vincita’s Big Nash is an oversized rack bag meant to haul what you’d otherwise put into pannier bags, but designed for folding bikes or those with smaller wheels that sit too low to use traditional pannier bags. MSRP is $139, available in multiple colors.

Check out more fun stuff from Taipei Show in these roundups:

• 17 Weird & Wonderful Bikes
• Tech Randoms: Cockpits & Components
• Tech Randoms: Wheels, Drivetrain & VanLife

The post Taipei Show Design Winners: More Weird & Wonderful New Cycling Tech appeared first on Bikerumor.

Here’s more goodness from the Taipei Cycle Show floor, this time with plenty of wheels, hubs, rims and some interesting new drivetrain tech, plus a few things from Dirty Formosa’s outdoor pavilion showcasing a bit of the car camping and vanlife scene from the island.

BLKTEC’s C1D wheels had a quiet launch a few months back but had a solid presence at the show on multiple booth bikes. Aimed at road and all-road riders, the one-piece, full carbon construction uses thick, non-radial spokes for zero lateral or torsional flex, putting all of your power into forward motion.

The rims are hookless, so they’re tubeless-only, and have a 20.7mm internal width to fit tires from 25mm to 35mm wide. Rim depth is 40mm, and claimed rim-only weight is 380g, complete wheels are 695g (front) and 796g (rear). Rider+bike weight limit is 120kg (~265lbs). The only downside? A budget-busting $4,880 MSRP! We have a set of these on test.

Not yet listed on their website is this 13g carbon bottle cage, which makes it the third-lightest cage we saw at the show. BLKTEC is more known for their cockpits, which were displayed on a beautiful steel road bike in their booth (check that in our “Bikes Roundup” from the show).

FFWD was showing off prototype mountain bike wheels, their first ever from the traditionally road and triathlon brand.

Called “Outlaw” and coming later this year, they’ll have 20mm deep hookless rims with a 30mm internal width. Claimed (target) weight is 1,595g and price will be €1,499.

Jetset’s new rim design uses a unique ribbed internal profile. They say it allows them to make them lighter while increasing strength and stiffness.

They also had a new patented design for spoke holes that allows the nipple to act more like a ball-and-socket joint that keeps equal pressure on the entire nipple surface, even as it angles out from the rim toward the spoke. They say traditional designs end up resting one edge of the nipple on the rim’s eyelet or hole, which causes uneven forces that can bend or weaken the spoke and wear the nipple out more quickly.

Recon Components makes ultralight CNC’d cassettes, but only for traditional HG freehub bodies. Rather than reinvent the design and work their way around SRAM’s patents, they created (rather ingeniously, I might add) a sleeve that threads onto XD freehub bodies (the black bit on the end of the hub). Then you just slide their cassettes onto that, where the back slots into the notches made for XD-compatible cassettes, and tighten it on with a standard lock ring. Brilliant.

Hubsmith’s HS-G001R hub has typically come with a 60-tooth drive ring (shown above, on left) for a 6º engagement, engaging all six pawls at once. But they’re releasing a 90-tooth ring with new offset pawls to speed up engagement to 2º by keeping only three pawls engaged at any time.

The Hubsmith E001 is their first motorized hub designed for gravel and touring bikes. It can have up to 500W of power and assist up to 45km/h, depending on the OE customer’s specs. It can be laced to any typical rim, including lightweight carbon rims, and has a standard cassette fitment with, as best I can read it, torque sensing for smoother power delivery.

KT Taiwan has been making hubs for decades; they were one of the earliest drum brake manufacturers and a major supplier throughout the industry. With the patent expiration for star ratchets, they’ve ramped up production of those, saying their ability to do the high-precision machining gives them an advantage in offering 36- and 54-tooth star ratchet systems…and that business has been quite good over the past couple of years because of that.

But this hub (shown above) shows off another use of their machining prowess – a 6-pawl ratchet with 204 points of engagement from 102 teeth and an offset 3 on/3 off pawl design. That translates to a less-than-1º engagement for ultra-quick pick up.

The Fun 5º bottom bracket has a unique way of keeping bearings in line while also making them very easy to replace. Each bearing, and the “cup” in the BB’s shell that they fit into, is angled at five degrees. So, rather than requiring special tools to remove and a press to put new ones in, you just pull them out and pop them in. Super easy. The BB itself comes in a press-fit and a thread-together design, with a custom tool (that looks very much like something most shops will already have) to aid in installation.

I snapped this because I didn’t realized Hope Tech made derailleur pulley wheels. They’re available in four size combos and six colors to fit a variety of modern rear derailleurs. Not quite as extreme as the Token Shuriken I spotted, but still very cool.

SunRace’s MZ12 group gets more polished since we last saw it, with a full black finish. The latest version uses a horizontal parallelogram movement with offset upper pulley to better handle modern wide range cassettes.

They also make a variety of cassettes that fit HG freehub bodies and a new Microspline-compatible model that drops down to a 10-tooth small cog and 51-tooth big cog. There’s even a shifter if you wanted to build a budget 12-speed group.

Lezyne’s tubeless tire pluggers get a minor update, coming in a mix of diameters to fit more holes, with a revised shape to make them easier to use. These seal a puncture from the inside, using a stick-on base that’s similar to a tube patch, but stuck to your tire with the plug poking through to the outside. Once installed, just trim the excess off the outside and it forms a permanent repair.

I have two totally random things to share before we get to the vanlife stuff. Above are the Ziyu inflatable shoe insoles. Remember Reebok Pump shoes? These work similar, with a tiny pump letting you adjust the air pressure and support/cushioning level.

Abus let me in on a little secret: Many (most?) e-bike brands use their lock cores to secure the batteries in models with a removable battery pack. If you give them the key code (which you’d normally use to order replacement keys), they can create matched bike locks, too, so you have one key that works for your bike and any locks you want.

Dirty Formosa is a Taiwanese group that promotes outdoor experiences and off-road cycling. Surprisingly, given the terrain and forests (and cultural norms), mountain biking is still a relatively small sport there. But people and groups like this are helping to change that, and car camping is a thing there. This setup shows a killer arrangement for the smaller vans popular in Taiwan.

Wild Land makes a wide range of rooftop tents, racks, and other car camping equipment, plus outdoor camp furniture, ground tents, etc.

Wares from Barebones and Monterra displayed from a local outdoor gear shop.

Thule was showing off their Tepui rooftop tents and accessories, too…

…and this giant add-on storage that was attached to a folded-up bike rack. These types of things are more popular in Europe (and I guess Taiwan? Asia in general) where smaller cars are more popular and people just stick these on for weekend trips.

For more tech and products from the 2023 Taipei Cycle Show, check our Cockpits & Components Roundup.

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After looking at the bikes and frames, our attention turns to the cockpit and component array at the Taipei Cycle Show. Like the bikes, much of what’s here is to showcase a manufacturer’s capabilities. Some of it might get relabeled under a brand we know, some will be sold directly from the factory, and some is just showing off technical prowess or introducing a new design idea.

The Windner Brachii crankset uses opposed oblong carbon tubes to mimic your forearm bones, providing stiffness in all directions. They’re also wicked light at under 400 g for a set (excluding the spindle):

It’s a Red Dot design winner with a modular design that lets you use different spiders. That makes it compatible with analog and electric bicycles. It’s still undergoing certification, but considering SRAM’s new T-Type XO crankset has holes in it, it’s not such a wild idea.

Windner also makes full carbon saddles with little texture nubs under the clearcoat to keep you from sliding off. And carbon fiber shoe horns with gold leaf, of which I am now a proud owner.

VAZALAB’s B3F Formega seatpost uses an elastomer damper under the saddle clamp to provide three-axis motion (video here).

It absorbs shock and lets the saddle tilt and sway under you, but without bobbing in ways that could sap power from your pedal stroke. If you’ve ever ridden behind someone who seems to be sitting off-center (you know you have) or you feel like you’re always putting more pressure on one side than the other, maybe this solves that.

Deda Elementi and Selle Italia have combined forces on their ID Match concept.

Introduced with insoles, the ID Match lets bike fitters place different shapes and widths and stuff on a fit bike (or your bike in a fit) to ascertain the best parts for your anatomy and flexibility.

Once your fit is dialed, the Deda Gera gravel lineup expands from the original cockpit parts to forks, offering two options for gravel, adventure, and bikepacking rigs.

The Gera Curvy DCR above is the more equipped option, with rack, fender, and accessory mounts, plus these sweet offsets that let you bring the gear forward (or backward?) to slim the profile, clear other accessories, or just accommodate different shape bags.

The shapely legs clear a 29 x 2.2″ (700 x 57) or 27.5 x 2.6″ tire. Dynamo and brake hose routing are fully internal, part of their DCR design:

Compatible cockpits, which it makes plenty of, can run hoses and cables and wires inside the handlebar and stem, through the headset, and then into the frame … or fork:

A flattened front edge of the steerer tube makes room for control lines to sit in front of it, and ports just above the taper are where dynamo wires and brake hoses enter.

On the left is the Gera EDG DCR fork, the racier of the two options. It slims down tire clearance a bit to 700 x 45 or 27.5 x 2″, and loses the accessory mounts but keeps the internal dynamo and brake routing. Both forks are €625 each plus VAT. More details at DedaElementi.com.

Sister brand Selle Italia’s new Novus Boost EVO 3D Kit Carbonia SuperFlow has a super long name and a new 3D-printed design on its cushioning. Compared to the SLR introduced at Eurobike 2022, this one uses varied density from front to rear to improve comfort for lighter riders.

Denser latticing at the rear supports sit bones, but more space toward the front gets squishier under the soft tissue as you lean forward to climb or get into the drops. This will probably launch this summer. Its size is 145 x 248 mm, coming first in full carbon with 7 x 9 carbon rails.

After launching “short” versions of its saddles last summer, Selle SMP follows up with a gravel lineup based on its VT20C, VT30C, and Well models. Other than the attractive gray clay color, I’m guessing the difference is padding material, but … well … I didn’t ask. The “C” refers to Compact, which is the shorter 255mm length, versus a very long 283 mm for its regular versions.

ReadyGO’s Lumis LF01 Glow Bike Fender won a design award from the show for integrating a light underneath that bounces the illumination off the bottom of the fender to give the rider a larger visual presence at night.

LightSKIN has been making handlebars and seatposts with integrated lights for years, but now it’s making them brighter. As in, bright enough to see where you’re going, not just help drivers see you.

The update brings a new lens element, cleverly displayed here like a diamond ring, that has 40 distinct angles on its face to direct the light where it needs to go — on the ground, in front of the bike. That lets it comply with European, and German in particular, standards. Max output is 50 Lux of clear white light. Coming soon for regular and e-bikes, the former is getting a new dual-battery system for longer run times, and the latter is powered by the bike’s battery.

IB Grips 1.0 version has integrated turn signals with stealth buttons on the inboard side that let you turn them on and off, and indicate your change of direction. The arrows face backward too, so drivers behind you can see what you’re planning to do.

Running lights add a bit more visibility, and accelerometer-based brake lights provide more safety and communication to those around you. The 2.0 version is coming soon and will add sound to the turn signals, with an amber color for the signal arrow so it’s more discernable. It’ll also add the ability to be dynamo or e-bike powered.

Ebon is a handlebar tape supplier (one of many) that had some cool designs. You’re unlikely to see them in shops under its brand name, but these show just a few of the prints it can do.

CICLOVATION, however, had a retail website for its very colorful, metallic, reflective, and shiny tape. There are tons of options; note the reflective ends on the top right.

Ridenow makes some incredibly lightweight TPU tubes, with a lot of folks claiming they’re thinner and lighter than Tubolito. At just 24 g for a road bike tube (other versions are available, and with black valve stems on all of them, they might be worth a try … if you don’t mind ordering from abroad. And they’re cheap, as low as $5 each if you search around.

In the U.S., RockBros is basically an Amazon brand, however, it seems to get good marks. Its display collection of frame and saddlebags use Fitgo dials (like BOA, but not) to tighten the straps around the frame, saddle rails, etc., to attach them to the bike. These aren’t on its website yet, but they definitely look like a step up from current offerings.

The white looks good too (until it doesn’t), and bungee straps along the outside let you shove small, soft things in there without having to stop. It might be an affordable way to dabble in bikepacking once these launch.

Stay tuned for more roundups and tech from the 2023 Taipei Cycle Show!

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There’s no shortage of weird at the Taipei Cycle Show, but when it comes to bikes, it’s a mix of pure concept to show what a frame manufacturer can do and some “normal” bikes to court distributors. Sometimes, it means going to extremes, like with a 540g full carbon road bike frame. And in the case of this gorgeous blue Ioklin Frameworks Columbus steel gravel bike, some are custom builds to showcase a supplier’s parts.

Built to show off BLKTEC’s integrated handlebar and stem, the bike’s paint scheme appears rough and rusted in spots, but it’s all paint, and it looked fantastic. If I could’ve taken one bike home with me, this was probably it. Word is, Ioklin will be exhibiting at the MADE Bike Show this fall in Portland.

Ora Engineering is a Taiwanese titanium bicycle manufacturer, offering shaped tubes …

… and maybe even custom racks! Noticed a trend yet? Full internal routing and cockpit cables are a thing now — and won’t be going away anytime soon.

While we’re on metal, Speedvagen’s reps were showing off a few of the latest. The Wavy Road is an all-road bike with a groovy paint scheme.

The Rugged’er Road fits big tires and adds a suspension fork … I’m not sure if they painted the bike to match the fork or vice versa, but it looks good.

The Urban Racer probably has Ron swooning right now. It looks retro, but the details from its road bike (swoopy seatstays, integrated seatmast, paint-matched frame pump) would make this just as much at home with some fat slicks as these full knob mountain bike tires.

Rear coaster brake yields to a front disc brake in emergencies, and an integrated chainguard levels the whole thing up to Show Bike status. This model’s not listed on the Speedvagen website, though.

The Tommasini Mini T is, well, a road bike with tiny wheels. Go figure.

The Trigon ARO1 won a show design award (we’ll have details on it in a roundup post for all award winners) thanks to cleanly integrated and novel aero features like dimpled surface textures across much of the frame, brake rotor fairings, and more.

The 2023 Argon 18 Dark Matter gravel bike is out now and has more mounts than almost any other non-bikepacking specific frame I’ve seen.

Three mounting points on the fork legs, two on top, four on the seat tube, two on each seatstay, and six on the downtube. Some are pretty close together, making them better for small accessories or just fine-tuning your bottle cage’s position, but still …

Sitting next to it is this mystery bike. It’s not online yet, but it looks like an all-road bike borrowing features from the brand’s performance and endurance road frames and the Dark Matter gravel bike, then adding an internal storage compartment opened with a low-profile lever that would sit flush against a bottle cage. I’ve reached out for more info, and will update as they arrive.

The Giant Revolt X Pro gravel bike adds a suspension fork to its top carbon frames, plus a dropper seatpost.

This cargo e-bike caught my eye for the design, and then I saw the wireless charging spot it’s parked on. From Voltraware, it can deliver up to 150 W of juice from 15 cm away. As the sign says, don’t put your cell phone anywhere near it.

This Santillo e-road bike has a very distinct look, and it’s also available in human-powered versions. It has a Polini drive system …

… which is named E-P3 — branding that’s suspiciously similar to Shimano’s EP8 at a glance.

I couldn’t find a website for Travix, but its HAMR folding fat-tired e-bike looked rad. Full suspension, fenders, front basket, and cleanly integrated battery in the seatpost powering a hub motor — very nice.

Travix’s mid-drive Powerkat e-bike with moto-style fork and handlebar looks like fun too.

Second to last is this full suspension prototype from Aryen Motor & Aeronautics Co, Ltd., which has a Taiwanese address on its card but Google says is an Indian company making motors and pumps. Such is the mystery of trying to find some of these things after the show.

The model is, I think, called the Fronbital. This one’s a proper test mule it used to figure out geometry and suspension kinematics. Note the different mounting points for the linkage (and the comically short rear shock), but my favorite part is the wooden rockers:

They told me it allowed them to more quickly test different pivot positions than machining a part from metal, and it worked just fine for kinematics work in the lab. No explanation for the downtube friction shifter, but it looked cool and could be a fun way to provide a rear shock remote lockout without adding an MTB lever to a drop bar layout.

Finishing off this roundup is a frame (technically #18, consider it a bonus) from Grat Co. Ltd. With a claimed weight of just 540 g for the standard version, and 614 g for the one with a seatmast, it’s rated for a rider weight up to 220 pounds (100 kg).

The front triangle uses a low headtube with space for an inset top tube cover to keep it clean. Both the top and down tubes have shaping to add torsional rigidity, and the round BB tube can be 68 mm or 86 mm wide depending on the customer’s spec. As shown, it’s 100% carbon with no metal inserts. The rear dropouts are hollow carbon fiber.

Stay tuned for more fun stuff from the 2023 Taipei Cycle Show!

The post 17 Weird & Wonderful Bikes From the Taipei Cycle Show 2023 appeared first on Bikerumor.

Maxxis is starting small, but it’s pulling a bit more plastic from the seas with their upcoming Green Recycle tire casings made from recycled fishing nets. The environmental benefit is (theoretically) doubled considering it’s not producing new plastic to make its nylon casings too.

The new casings will come on base-level commuter and city tires first as Maxxis increases testing to make sure they’ll meet expectations for higher-performance mountain bike tires, but the plan is to use them across most of its portfolio.

The process starts by pulling lost and discarded fishing nets from the ocean. About 12.7 million tons of marine debris is formed annually, and about 640,000 tons of that comes from fishing gear. Called “ghost fishing gear,” it can damage reefs, kill sea life, and generally pollute.

The plastic nets are collected and cleaned, then turned into fresh nylon plastic pellets. Seawastex says its process, performed with Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corporation, creates a product with the same tensile strength, impact resistance, and weather resistance as virgin material. They provide recycling collection methods to help prevent the waste from getting left in the ocean in the first place too.

Those are melted and extruded into yarn, which is then woven into the casings. Effectively, it should work just like virgin nylon, but Maxxis is doing long-term testing to ensure the performance characteristics are the same.

From there, the casing is laid up with other materials to form the tire’s carcass before being heat-molded into shape, forming the tread patterns, and bonding everything together to create a rideable tire.

Maxxis.com

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Topeak’s Taipei Cycle Show booth had the newest stuff of any booth I saw, and there are a lot of very interesting new ideas, gadgets, and tools here — all of which are as yet unreleased, with minimal info available, but there’s a lot to be known simply from the photos.

It was the ultralight collection of water bottle cages that caught my eye first, ranging from just 10 g up to 15.5 g for road, gravel, and mountain bike use, so we’ll start there.

The new Feza Light bottle cage line is led by the R10S 10g Kevlar-reinforced tubular carbon fiber bottle cage. This one’s for road bike use only, but …

… the Feza G12 is a 12g bottle cage for gravel bikes. Also carbon fiber with Kevlar, it’s presumably just a bit stronger or holds tighter. Or both.

The heaviest of the bunch is the MT16, a 15.5g mountain bike bottle cage that’s also a Kevlar-reinforced carbon fiber material. I think I could suck it up for that matte-black finish and put this clunker on my road bike too.

This combo bike stand and floor pump has fold-out legs that are long enough to counterbalance an eMTB’s weight. The clever design holds your bike while you pump up the tires, but I’m not sure the non-drive side pedal would clear it for spinning the cranks for minor maintenance, cleaning, or tuning.

It’s a two-stage pump, filling up high-volume tires quickly, then switching to a high-pressure pump for finishing off-road bike tires.

The Topeak Prepstand T3X is a three-axis frame mount that doesn’t clamp to your seatpost to hold your bike. Not sure how this works around any patents the SILCA-owned Hirobel mount may have, but it’s a safer way to hold your bike in the work stand without putting pressure on carbon tubes.

These TetraFender M1 and M2 mountain bike-size fenders use universal fit straps to mount to almost any bike and fork. They provide much broader coverage than the typical fork and saddle-mounted options.

Topeak’s collection of bikepacking frame bags, saddle bags, and mounts continues to grow, making a good argument for e-gravel bikes.

Topeak’s Pakgo line is expanding with a TT version for longer, weirder triathlon and time trial bikes. The built-in tray captures the fork’s axle and straps around the BB area to keep it secure, then adds Velcro-equipped pads and parts management to keep everything secure and rattle-free.

The Ratchet ‘n’ Roll tool roll comes with various Allen and Torx bits, a torque wrench, a ratchet driver, plus extensions. Straps let you mount it to your frame or stuff it in a pack or jersey pocket.

Lastly, a new series of saddle bag mounts combine accessory, tool, and light mounts into a modular system that lets you swap things in and out.

No word on pricing or availability for any of these products yet.

Topeak.com

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First developed with Magura brakes, the Bosch Antilock Braking System for e-bikes has expanded its partnerships to include Tektro and TRP models. The technology is the same, but now with more options for OEM partners. And with drivetrains now on offer, Tektro (and its high-performance TRP division) bring a lot to the table.

The Bosch ABS system got a big update in 2022 to a smaller form factor with improved performance. It’s intended for the front brake only and pairs with (and is powered by) a Bosch e-Bike drive system.

It works by having a sensor monitor the speed of an additional plate mounted to the brake rotor. If it detects lockup, it’ll pulse the brake caliper much as a car’s ABS system does, keeping the wheel rotating for improved traction and control. And no endos.

E-bike-specific forks, like the Fox AWL, have dedicated mounts for ABS systems, specifically to hold the brake controller and manage its wiring — though sometimes fender mounting tabs are borrowed for them too.

The brake calipers are the same as normal, and levers can be had with or without a sensor to trigger brake lights.

It’ll offer three systems at launch later this year: two Tektro versions for city and touring bikes (which include some lightly loaded trekking bikes popular in Europe) and a TRP version for eMTB and eATB bikes.

Bosch-ebike.com; Tektro-USA.com

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The lightweight e-bike trend usually comes with the compromise of lower power output, allowing the use of smaller motors and batteries to save weight. The new Giant Trance Advanced E+ Elite uses a new battery tech to deliver more power in a smaller package, allowing it to spec a full-power motor and let you choose when to let it rip.

The new EnergyPak battery system uses higher-volume Panasonic cells to pack 400 Wh into a battery that weighs just 2.3 kg — about half the weight of typical e-bike batteries — and 4 kg (~9 pounds) lighter than Giant’s prior model.

Admittedly, the heavier cells usually have 500-600 Wh of power, but 400 Wh is still a lot more than the ~250 Wh usually found on lightweight eMTBs. So, these new Giant and Liv bikes strike a balance between the two and pair with an 85Nm Yamaha SyncDrive Pro motor.

The result is a bike that weighs as little as 18.8 kg (41 pounds) in size medium — also a middle ground between the ~32-pound ultralights and 55-pound big bikes.

Giant says the larger battery cells make it more efficient and run cooler, but there’s no mention of a range extender external battery pack to boost playtime.

Able to provide up to 400% assist, the motor’s output is customizable with a companion app. Slide the torque adjuster up or down to match your needs and maximize output or range, or just try to match your buddy’s eMTB output so you can ride at the same level.

It’s not just the battery that’s saving weight. A full carbon frame with integrated one-piece 255g carbon bar-and-stem cockpits helps too, without giving up fit options.

The bar can adjust its mounting position to have an effective 40mm, 45mm, or 50mm stem length, and rotate the bar’s angle slightly too. Grips are size-specific as well, for an even more custom fit and feel.

The bike has a one-button mode/power control built into the top tube display that shows the battery level and assist level. The tiny Ergo 3 handlebar remote gives you more control over modes, and you can add a second Ergo 3 controller on the other side to give you control over lights or use the Walk Assist mode.

The bike uses Giant’s Maestro suspension platform to deliver 140 mm of rear travel with a 27.5-inch rear wheel. Up front is a 150mm fork with a 29er wheel.

Top builds get Fox Live Valve suspension powered by the e-bike’s battery…and come in at $10k and $14k. A third model shares the same full carbon frame without Live Valve to hit $7,200, and a carbon front/alloy rear base model runs $6,000. Full specs for all on Giant’s website.

Liv Intrigue Advanced E+ Elite Women’s eMTB

Using all the same tech and features but in women’s builds and sizing, including travel, mixed wheel sizes, and geometry-adjusting flip chip, the Liv Intrigue Advanced E+ eMTB gets three of the same builds ranging from $6,000 to $10,000. Full specs and details on its website.

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FSA’s AGX lineup gets more aero for gravel bikes and long-distance “alt road” adventures and is comfier with vibration-damping stems. It also showed off its massive array of integrated headset options, new aero wheels and cockpit pieces for road and tri, and a few other bits worth seeing.

FSA Aero Gravel Cockpits

The new top-level K-Force Loop AGX handlebar and carbon fiber aero extension are upgraded from its already extremely ergonomic K-Wing AGX handlebar. With sculpted grooves and indents for multiple hand positions, both the K-Wing AGX and K-Force Loop AGX offer very comfortable hand positions, but the new Loop bar goes wider with a massive 25º flare for a 50mm offset at the tops (double the Loop’s 12º flare and 25mm offset).

The bar comes in 42/44/46cm widths with 25º flare, 100mm drop, and 70mm reach. Weight is 320 g.

It includes the new bolt-on AGX Loop aero extension, which has a round nose for easy accessory mounting, and included pads and cradles give your forearms somewhere to rest. Combined, they should provide long-distance gravel racers and tourers with everything they need.

For alloy lovers, the new Pro-Wing AGX builds a bar and loop into a single piece for a 472g ergo/aero cockpit. Also in 42/44/46cm widths, it shares the same 25º flare, 50mm offset at the drops, 100mm reach, and 70mm drop. The drops have a classic rounded profile and round tubes, though, lacking the additional shaping of the carbon version.

The new VAS (Vibration Absorbing Stem) uses swappable polyurethane bushings to damp harsh vibes before they reach your hands. They come in 70a (gray), 80a (dark gray), and 90a (black) durometers that absorb up to 47% of vibration. Aftermarket stems will ship with all three, and OEM placements will get the medium-density insert.

The VAS stems come in 80/90/100mm lengths with -6º rise and have a 31.8mm clamp diameter. Claimed weight is 291 g.

New Vision Metron Wheels

Vision’s Metron aero wheel lineup expands with new 37mm deep climber wheels and a 91mm deep aero wheel for TT and triathlon pursuits. These add to the reasonably light Metron 45 and 60 that launched in 2021. At that time, those two replaced slightly shallower wheels while also dropping weight, so these could be replacing the 30 and 81 wheels. We’ve reached out to FSA for more details on these wheels (we will update as we get them).

All three get its Floating Ratchet Ring hubs, which disengage the toothed rings when coasting for less noise and drag.

Headset Integrations, E-Bike System, and Other Fun Stuff

FSA is a monster when it comes to OEM placement. Its headset offering goes way beyond the increasingly popular ACR integrated system for getting cables and hoses stealthily into the frame. Other things it makes include:

• HBS – Headset Block System to limit total bar rotation
• RAS – Reach Adjust System allows multiple headset positions for adjustable head angle and reach
• CBS – Control Bike System steering damper helps prevent speed wobble
• CBS – A self-centering version that returns the steerer to the center if you let go

With its ACR system getting spec on so many bikes, it has started offering a wider variety of custom cone spacers and top caps to blend into the design of major brands:

One size definitely doesn’t fit all, so it’s nice to see FSA offering more custom-fit options for their customers. They’re available for select Trek, Specialized, BMC, Cannondale, Cervélo, and Pinarello bikes for now.

While many brands will spec their own spacer with whatever stock handlebar comes on the bike, if you wanted to upgrade to an FSA handlebar or stem, these custom cone spacers keep the clean, integrated look while opening up more cockpit options.

The new KFX SIC ICR (Stable Integrated Cockpit, Integrated Cable Routing) mountain bike handlebar combines the bar and stem with full internal routing for the next generation of MTBs. It uses its ACR headset system to run everything inside the frame for a very clean cockpit and includes an out-front computer-and-accessory mount that’s attached to a spacer that fits under the bar.

Available in 65/85/105mm effective stem lengths, all are 780mm wide. The effective stem angle is -12º, with 9º backsweep, 5º upsweep, and 5mm rise. Claimed weights from 265 g to 315 g.

Its WE electronic shifting system finally gets the TT bull horn bar-mounted brake levers with integrated wireless shift buttons. They include the junction box that goes in the stem, and are compatible with any 22.2mm OD bars.

The FSA System is its integrated e-bike system. It can be had with an internal downtube battery, an external water bottle-size battery, or both … and both are 252 Wh. The hub motor is the high-tech bit, featuring a built-in speed and torque sensor that requires no additional, external sensors to clutter the bike, and it has very low friction so it should ride normal once you’ve exceeded the 25km/h assist limit.

While it looks like a bolt-on system, frame integration is required for the control pod, which gets embedded into the top tube, and a charging port that can go pretty much anywhere. And wires are run internally, so ports are necessary. The whole system weighs just 3.98 kg.

Unrelated, it also has a wider variety of 12-speed compatible chainrings for its cranksets now too.

FullSpeedAhead.com

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Of all the booths at the 2023 Taipei Cycle Show, KS Suspension had the deepest collection of as-yet-unreleased parts that we can’t wait to ride. From new gravel and XC/trail suspension forks to THREE new dropper seatposts, plus a very nice looking remote lever and carbon gravel drop bar, here’s everything it has launching this year …

KS GTC Gravel Suspension Fork

Much sleeker than the early prototypes it had shown previously, the new KS GTC gravel fork gets a mixed material lower with alloy at the bottom and carbon fiber uppers and brake arch.

It’ll offer a 40mm travel model with a 50mm option rumored.

It has an air spring with the negative chamber filled via a check valve as you set positive air pressure. An external low-speed compression adjustment with a lockout lever sits on the top of the right side.

A low-speed rebound adjustment is on the bottom, with holes for inserting a small Allen wrench as a lever for easier turning.

It gets a 12×100 thru-axle with a slide-out lever, giving it a stealth look but tool-free use. Claimed weight is 1,385 g with uncut steerer and without axle. Included weight with thru-axle is 1,445 g.

The release date is mid-summer with a $639 target price.

Rage-iS Suspension Dropper Seatpost

Aimed at both gravel and XC riders, this post is now available. We spotted this at Sea Otter a couple of years ago as a prototype, but now it’s added a 27.2 option in two travel lengths to fit more bikes.

The Rage-iS (integrated Suspension) combines a full air system with an air suspension spring to keep it light. A Schrader valve lets you use any shock pump to adjust the spring pressure, which gives lets you set the effective travel. More air makes it firmer, and less soft, delivering up to 30mm travel depending on how much pressure you put in there. KS recommends 15mm sag as a starting point.

The Rage-iS’ suspension works at all points in its drop travel too. Whether you’re topped out or sitting somewhere in the middle of its travel, the suspension is still active, and top-out and bottom-out bumpers keep it from bumping too hard in either direction.

It’s available in 27.2/30.9/31.6 diameters, with the 27.2 getting 65mm and 100mm drop options. MSRP is a very friendly $199 (without remote).

KS offers a variety of remotes, but the KG Drop 2.0 shown here ($59) is ergonomically amazing for drop bars, making it easy to use in multiple hand positions. Other remotes range from $50-75.

Ether Gravel Cockpit

KS has been making cockpit parts for a while, for both mountain bike and gravel. The forged alloy stem ($75) is basic-looking, but very lightweight at just 86-103 g, depending on size. It’s offered in 70/90/110mm lengths, with 6º and 17º rises for 31.8mm handlebars.

The Ether carbon gravel handlebar is more visually interesting and backs it up with impressive features, like internal cable and hose routing ports are large enough that you don’t need to cut the olive and barb off brake hose lines to fit them through. If you’ve ever had to do this, you know how nice of a feature this is.

The tops have a slight rise and rear sweep for an ergo, aero hand position when you want it, and 18º flare to the drops when it’s time to party. The Ether bar is $225 and comes in 42/44cm widths; claimed weight is 230-235 g.

KS M3.6 Inverted MTB Fork

Working on a basic inverted fork for eMTB, built on 36mm diameter lower stanchions for stiffness. Its chassis comes from a SASO design, which is typically sold as OEM for budget bikes (often unbranded), but this one gets the KS touch to bring performance up to enthusiasts’ standards.

Specs are slim as it’s still in development, but here are the basics …

The damping cartridge will have an external lockout switch (blue) with an adjustable blowoff platform (gold). Called a “sprint” lockout, the blowoff adjustment lets you set how much (or little) of an impact is needed to start the fork moving when locked out.

Low-speed rebound damping is externally adjustable on the bottom of the right leg. It’s a dual air spring, with independent positive and negative chambers that each get their own valves so you can fine-tune the initial feel and sag. KS is still deciding on travel specs, but leaning toward 80/100/120mm options.

LEV Circuit Wireless Dropper Seatpost & Everglyde Coating

The upcoming KS Circuit LEV wireless dropper post builds on the proven internals of its popular mountain bike LEV series but gives it a fully wireless control.

The post gets a removable battery pack, just pull it out to charge.

The remote itself uses a replaceable CR2032 battery behind its incredibly short-throw button. A flat thumb “lever” has its pivot far from the button underneath, and takes barely any motion to actuate it. There’s still a firm “click,” but it’s very quick to hit it with less overall thumb motion required to drop the post.

No word on price, weights, or availability for this one yet.

KS’ new Everglyde anodizing is impregnated with Teflon, which is more slippery and avoids seal stiction than typical anodized finishes. And it works with dry lube, so it stays cleaner.

KS could have done a variety of colors, but went with gold to match Fox’s Kashima forks (but it’s not a Kashima coating), helping its posts blend in on top-spec bikes. It’ll be available next spring 2024, across the entire LEV dropper post series.

A30 Carbon Youth Suspension Fork

As KS moves into a more complete suspension lineup, it hasn’t forgotten about the kids. Borrowing the carbon-over-alloy lowers design from the GTC, the A30 is a high-performance (yet affordable) fork for youth bikes.

It’s a simple air spring with basic adjustments but offers the tighter tolerances and smoother action of premium full-size forks we all ride. Available for 20-, 24-, and 26-inch wheel sizes, pricing and weights are TBA.

Original KS SuperNatural Dropper Seatposts

KS was one of the earliest brands to create a production dropper seatpost. Like any brand, early models started off with on-the-post remote levers followed by external remote cables hitting the top of the post.

Above, the first SuperNatural dropper post with a top-mounted lever. Great for dropping it before a big descent, but …

… the SuperNatural Remote 27.2 gave us a remote lever for more aggressive use without having to stop. Part of the mechanism was kept outboard to give it room to put the early tech into a slim 27.2 post.

KSSuspension.com

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