Friday News And Views

 Today's "News And Views" is going to feature a lot of press release material. There has been an uptick in activity here since the Taipei Cycle show is coming up soon. Okay, on with the FN&V!

Shimano announced new eyewear. (Image courtesy of Shimano)

Shimano Releases New Technium and Twinspark Eyewear:

Shimano announced three new pairs of Sunglasses for all disciplines of cycling on Wednesday. Included in this announcement were the Technium half-framed models, the Technium and lighter weight Technium L, and the full-framed Twinspark. These are in addition to the SPhyre models released last year.

Featuring Shimano's Ridescape lens tech, the glasses come with three lens options and each of those is paired with a clear alternate lens which can be swapped in for low-light or night riding conditions. The glasses have reversible nose pads for a customized fit and also feature "Arkema Rilsan® clear G850 Rnew® 45% bio-based materials that help reduce carbon emissions during the manufacturing process.", according to the press release. 

Prices are $100.00 USD for the Technium models and $65.00 for the Twinspark model. 

Comments: Shimano debuted the Ridescape lens eyewear last year and....I hate to say this, but I was not impressed. (You can read my take on them HERE) I looked to see if Shimano had said anything concerning an update to the lens but I did not see that. (Confirmed by my Shimano contact) I liked everything else about the glasses, but the clarity was....off. Hopefully my pair were an outlier and not representative of the main output of these glasses. 

ABUS Wall Anchor bike storage/security idea. (Image courtesy of ABUS)

ABUS Wall Anchor Secures Bikes In Storage:

A new and interesting idea from ABUS allows you to store a bicycle in a garage or elsewhere that there is a wall and secure it with your cable lock. 

Using a steel angled plate which is held in place by two lag bolts, the Wall Anchor is meant to hold your bicycle in an upright position against a wall by the pedal. A steel loop then allows you to lock the bike to the anchor which has two ball bearings that fit into the fastener heads which are there to prevent anyone from removing the wall anchor. There also is an angled plate which can be placed under the rear wheel to keep the bike from wanting to pivot from the Wall Anchor's pedal grabbing hook. 

In this snip from ABUS' YouTube video, you can see how the bike is supported.

This could be a great solution for those with garage storage of bicycles, an apartment dweller, or for those who have Summer cottages, etc. You can watch a You Tube video explainer HERE. 

The Wall Anchor costs $79.99 and is made in Germany.

Ama Nsek (Image courtesy of Scuderia Pinarello)

Ama Nsek Joins Scuderia Pinarello Team:

USA Cat 1 Elite road race champion Ama Nsek announced he was joining the Scuderia Pinarello Team as an "athlete ambassador" for the 2024 season. Pinarello sent the announcement on Tuesday of this week. 

Nsek will join Scuderia Pinarello's other athletes in a three-tiered team setting consisting of Competitor, Community Leader, and Adventurer categories. 

In all, there are eight riders on the Scuderia Pinarello Team who will be doing competitive events on road and gravel courses while organizing group rides, coaching, and creating a "more inclusive cycling community" while off the bike. 

Other Scuderia Pinarello athletes on the team are Cicily Decker and Ethan Overson (Competitive), Mari Holden and Anthony Carter (Community Leader), and Hillary Allen, Jamie Bestwick, and Johnny Collinson. (Adventurer)

Comments; It is notable that now several brands are skirting the traditional means of athlete/team sponsorships and going into gravel and unsanctioned "adventure/ultra-endurance" cycling events. Specialized pulling sponsorship from athletes notwithstanding, this newer means of aligning a brand with cycling's current hot segments of gravel, social awareness/inclusiveness, and adventure cycling seems to be gaining traction. 

On the athlete side it is interesting that now riders seem to have to piece together a patchwork of sponsors and endorsement deals to make a living at riding a bicycle competitively or on the coattails of gravel and adventure cycling. For some it seems to be working, but I've noted it seems that some are struggling to make ends meet, if social media posts are anything to go by there. 

Courtesy of Panaracer's social media

Let's Speculate!

On Wednesday Panaracer posted a social media short indicating that they will have a new tire, (presumably it is a tire), coming on March 1st. 

Assuming it is another addition to the Gravel King range, what can we draw from the images Panaracer showed in their post? Well, to do that you have to understand what was shown. 

First off they showed a paved road. Then most of the rest of the content was a fast overview of what you see here, which to my eye looks like dirt, or sand. Maybe a desert? Whatever they are showing, it is NOT crushed rock, or as we all know it, "gravel". And maybe it isn't even a "gravel" king tire. Maybe it is "Sand King" or something. So maybe this is not really a gravel tire at all. Still, it may seem odd to many to call it a 'gravel king' if that is what Panaracer is doing here.

But that never stopped Panaracer before. Some of you may remember Panaracer's first "Gravel King" tires which were not anything I'd ever want to ride on "gravel", if we are talking crushed rock roads. Those were 23mm, 25mm, and 28mm tires back in 2013. Crazy, right? Then in 2014 Panaracer came out with a (gasp!) 32mm Gravel King! The brand may have been first to market with a "gravel" tire, but others beat them to producing a "real", 38mm+ width tire for crushed rock roads. So, if this is something on the fringe of what you would consider "gravel", don't be surprised. This brand is known for that. 

Not a criticism of Panaracer at all. Just an observance of what they have done used to speculate about what the brand might be doing. We will see March 1st!

New Podcast Episode:

In the latest "Guitar Ted Podcast" sponsored by CORE4, we attempt to answer the question inspired by Dave Pryor of unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley fame, which is: "Did gravel cycling save racing?"

We also get into how to grow cycling effectively, plus we gab about nuclear testing, bazaars in Iraq, and tour cycling through Hokah, Minnesota.  Yes. Really. 

You can find the latest episode at your favorite podcast provider or you can listen by clicking THIS LINK. 

The "Guitar Ted Podcast" is sponsored by CORE4. Thanks for listening!


 Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!