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| Image courtesy of Singular Cycles |
Last week word came down concerning the new drop of titanium Singular Kite frames and forks. While titanium is often used as a frame material, it is less often seen used for a fork.
I don't mean to gloss over the beautiful Kite model here, because it is a stunning bicycle. However; the fork is pretty amazing, and this comes down to its mode of construction.
The drop outs and the fork crown are 3D printed, which allows for the exact placement of material for strength, and for aesthetic purposes, which cannot be achieved using traditional titanium stock and joinery methods.
The Ti fork has a tapered steer tube, and it may not work for every bicycle, but if you have something compatible with this fork, you can purchase it separately HERE.
I know, it's been a Singular Cycles week here. But I thought the fork on this Kite model was amazing.
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| Image courtesy of Dangerholm Facebook page |
Your Rims For Gravel Are Wimpy!
The athlete known as "Dangerholm", Gustav Gullholm, has produced a rim for gravel racing which he thinks will revolutionize the sport . Gullholm is a proponent of wide, 29" rubber for gravel and thinks rims are just not where they need to be for these wider tires.
Working with a company called Faction Bike Studio, Gullholm is saying these 45mm inner rim width rims with a sort of "shark tooth" aero treatment will be the fastest wheel set on gravel in the coming year. For comparison, the rim on the left has a 30mm inner rim width.
Gullholm feels the wider rim gives a better aero profile with the wider tires he prefers. Saying the 70mm depth profile and overall 52mm width works best with 29" X 2.2" - 2.25" tires, Gullholm claims these rims have proven themselves in simulations done by Faction Bike Studio.
Comments: While I have been a proponent of aero for gravel, this seems a bit extreme. How much do these rims weigh? I have no idea and Gullholm isn't saying at this point. But whatever they weigh, the weight has to be something of a negative here, one could easily assume. We may find out soon enough as Gullholm says these are rideable prototypes and the bike they will be going on will be unveiled at the Dresden Bicycle Show soon.
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| Image courtesy of Factor Bikes |
Factor Bikes announced on Thursday their newest gravel bike, the Aluto. Meant for longer days and rider comfort, the Aluto design is a bit different than Fator's Ostro model.
Eschewing the move by many companies to stuff in larger tires, Factor has designed the Aluto to be optimized around a 45mm tire. Maximum tire clearance is 52mm in the front, but the rear is maxed out at 47mm.
Factor also went against the grain with a shorter front/center and short reach for the handle bars shipped with this bike. Their reasoning is due to the longer hood length of modern gravel-oriented shifter/brake levers and for better rider comfort during longer rides.
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| Image courtesy of Factor Bikes |
Factor also states it shortened the rear center, and it steepened the head tube a bit over their Ostro model. Finally, a bit lower bottom bracket height rounds out the tweaks to this gravel bike.
The de rigueur down tube storage and internal everything routing is here as well.
The Aluto is available as a frame set. with SRAM Force AXS XPLR, or Red AXS XPLR. The frame is also 1X or 2X compatible. (Electronic only) Prices are $3,999.00 frame set, $6,999.00 Forsce AXS XPLR, and $8,699.00 Red AXS XPLR USD.
Comments: Yeah, this is cool and all, but shorter chain stays and steeper head tube angles? Seems a step backward in terms of rider comfort, in my opinion. (Or a bicycle aimed at roadies coming over to gravel) This bike was ridden by Factor's Brand Director, David Millar at Unbound this past June. He being a former road Pro, it would make sense to me if the Aluto was a more "fast-feeling" bike, and not necessarily an actual advancement in "rider comfort for longer rides" type bicycle.
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| Oakley Meta Meta Vanguard Prizm. (Image courtesy of Oakley) |
Your Sunglasses can now be "devices". Oakley has released their new range of "Meta-Enabled" smart-glasses. The new Meta Vanguard Prizm is the model in this range aimed at cyclists.
You can pair these with a Garmin device, take images with the embedded camera, and listen to tunes via the onboard speakers. The Vanguard Prizm goes for about $500.00 USD and the battery will last "up to nine hours", according to Oakley..
Comments: They will sell every pair they can make. People are "device-mad" these days and I see no end in sight. Yeah..... I don't know man.... I cannot get away from having to charge this and that fast enough as it is. I'm in the camp of "Lithium-Ion batteries are The Devil" now.
So, for me? Not so much. But these are amazing technology and Oakley eyewear is pretty much the standard for activities in the Sun to protect your eyeballs.
That's a wrap for this week. Get out and ride those bicycles!
7 comments:
The marketing on that Factor Gravel bike confused me. When I first read about it yesterday and saw "comfort" I was sure it was going to be the other Factor prototype that Ben Delany covered with David Millar back at Unbound (Ben has a video covering it). That bike had much larger tire clearance at the very least.
The last thing I need is another drop bar bike (I don't ride mine enough as it is) but that Ti Singular is a very fine and fun looking bicycle.
so that shark tooth rim idea? Is the thought about burping the air around the tire to create a air pocket that reduces the drag? Is it like a exhaust fan for cooling that has an un even fan blade positioning to create an air burp for pull?
That rim width is ridiculous. It may be aero, but that doesn’t matter if the tire rides like a brick (using enough pressure to reduce pinch flats) or the sidewalls are shredded
If those Oakley's are anything like every other pair I've ever worn, they are gonna get scratched on the first ride. I almost think they come from the factory that way and the wind blows the material out of the scratch on the first ride. Not sure what it is about "quality" sunglasses but the inexpensive ones seem to get scratched less easily.
Oh and that fork is insanely hawt.
I saw that Kite and the MADE show last month. Its gorgeous. It looks better in person than in the photos. Its definitely on my wishlist.
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