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| Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles social media |
On Tuesday of this past week, Salsa Cycles dropped a teaser for a new bicycle which is said to be coming to their dealers in January of 2026.
Tagged only with the words "Curioser and Curioser", the silhouette of the bike is shown against a murky, forest-like scene. Perhaps this hints at the model's new name.
Comments: Whooo-boy! The comments on this are just what you'd expect from the mostly-negative peanut gallery. I won't get into their thoughts as they are not really going to do anything but be noise here.
What I will say is this looks like stab at a niche which may be pretty far off most folks radar. My guess is this is a "fast bikepacking" platform. But this is just a guess. I highly doubt it is a drop bar alternative for trail riding only, but obviously, it probably will be capable of doing just that. My first impression when seeing this was it could be a full-sus gravel bike, but I think the travel on the fork looks a bit long for this to be pigeon-holed as just a gravel bike. Besides, look at the height of the bottom bracket. This looks much more off-road than on-road.
I guess we will all find out together in January!
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| Image courtesy of Mondraker Bicycles. |
Mondraker Offers Arid Carbon Unlimited Frameset:
On Wednesday Mondraker Bicycles announced a new version of their Arid Carbon gravel bike called the Arid Carbon Unlimited. This new frame set is painted in a color-shifting "Eclipse" scheme which will look different depending upon the viewer's angle of sight and lighting conditions.
The frame also features a lighter version of the Stealth Air Carbon Fork which has the accessory mounts removed for a sleeker look and 60 gram lighter weight.
Prices in the press release were not given in US dollars, but looking at the listed retail pricing my guess is this would be around $2,500.00 before any tariffs. This is assuming it will even be available in the USA. With this in mind, I still think this is a high-end frame set worth seeking out for its geometry and promised smoother riding qualities.
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| Image courtesy of Castelli |
Castelli released news of a new Perfetto RoS jacket on Tuesday of this past week which uses a new fabric which may radicalize how we view rain wear.
The inside joke regarding any weather protective jackets has always been you get wetter on the inside than you would on the outside when wearing a rain jacket while cycling. I've tried several rain jackets and this has mostly been the case. I did have one Endura made, Niner Bikes branded soft shell jacket which was the only cycling jacket I ever had which kept me warm, dry, and was almost wind proof and had a little resistance to wetness. But yeah, most claims of "breathability" in rain wear is laughable at best.
To understand this one must know a lot of the details and tech behind poor weather wear for cycling. Most, if not all, rain wear has three layers. In the simplest terms, the rain is kept at bay while this three layer fabric supposedly allows your perspiration to find its way through to get evaporated into the atmosphere. Trouble is, this happens at such a slow rate in most jackets as to be largely ineffective.
Then Shakedry, a magical, single layer fabric came out around eight years ago or so which actually did the magic trick of being waterproof and kept you dry inside of it. However; it was difficult to make and was limited by its non-stretchy, and less durable nature. Then it was found to have high levels of PFC's which were being linked to cancer. A ban on PFC's in several countries has led to the discontinuation of Shakedry jackets. Back to the same ol'-same ol"? No.... Not according to Castelli.
Castelli went to Polartec and asked them to create a new fabric with no PFC's which would repel water and wind yet be actually breathable, not just breathable in theory. So, the claim is now being made. The new AirCore™ fabric, spun from recycled polyesters, is this new wonder-fabric which will breath and repel water and wind.
This fabric will be an exclusive to Castelli and its sister brand, Sporful, for cycling, but look for AirCore™ to show up in other brand's outwear this Winter. We will see if the mystical combination of weather-proofness and dry interior performance during active use will become a reality.
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| Image courtesy of Specialized Bicycles |
Specialized on Tuesday released details on a new version of the Diverge, their gravel bike, and there are several new features and tweaks to cover here.
First off, the Future Shock system gets an upgrade on the higher end models with hydraulic damping and adjustability for rider weight and preferences. The geometry has been tweaked by way of a longer front-center for each size matched up with a slack head angle and 5mm lower bottom bracket across the range. Tire clearance is up to 700 X 50mm, and alloy models now get down tube frame storage capabilities. Prices start at 2K and range up to 10K for the top-end model. Se the range HERE.
Comments: The social media commentary on gravel bikes, including this one, is hilarious. Many think 2017 MTB's are "old school", that gravel bikes are "just pretend flat bar hard tail MTB's", and seeing many trying to wrap their minds around an 85mm bottom bracket drop is particularly fun.
Anyway, this new Diverge was developed through feedback from Specialized sponsored Pro gravel racers, so anyone making comments on these bicycles being lacking, or dumb in any way are just not getting the message. Racers want what racers believe they need to go faster. Much of what they believe is data-driven, so this is not just a bunch of marketing hoo-ha cooked up to strip the riding populace of their hard-earned dollars.
Oddly enough, many of the details which the Pros seem to want in a gravel bike align with what I think works best for "just riding around", on gravel. Besides the lack of versatility which racers do not need or want, I'm in. This is the only nit I would have with the Diverge.
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| Image courtesy of Santa Cruz Bicycles |
Santa Cruz showed off this special colorway of their Stigmata gravel bike recently which can be had as a full-build or frame and fork. The frame and fork combo is listed at $2,799.00 USD.
The frame/fork combo can be seen HERE.
Comments: N.Y. Roll has an older Stigmata, and he seems to like it well enough to keep it around for now. I like this newer version, maybe as a more racy option for myself, at any rate.
The geometry on this is a bit longish and sizing this bike is a bit of a conundrum fror me. I think I'd opt for the Large but with a 52.5cm seat tube length it would require quite a lot of seat post extension. I suppose this is by design to accommodate dropper posts, which these MTB-centric brands like to put on their gravel bikes.
Cool colors, at any rate. I do like this about the new Stiggy.
That's a wrap for this week! Have a great weekend and ride those bicycles!
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