Gear Break: Wheels, Bars, Socks & Masks

Gear Break: Another big mix of very different kit. Rapha/Allied ltd edition bike, Zipp silver bars and stems, Hunt wheels, Orange Seal, spring collection from Sock Guy and Scicon turn to making masks to fight corona virus.

Rapha / Allied ltd Edition Bike
For the Club’s latest collaboration, we combined with Dirty Kanza winner Colin Strickland and all-American bike manufacturer Allied to create the ultimate gravel bike, complete with a customized paint scheme designed with the man himself.

Membership of the Rapha Cycling Club comes with access to our most exclusive collaborations. With more and more members heading off-road, we are proud to present two hugely exciting projects. Later in the year, members will have exclusive access to a capsule collection designed for Colin Strickland, but not before we’ve unveiled a special edition of his Kanza-conquering bike.

Founded in 2016, Allied’s aim to make the finest bicycles is underpinned by an all-American approach. Every bike is designed and built from the ground up in the United States using only the highest-grade components. Fittingly, Colin’s landmark win at America’s definitive gravel grinder – as well as Amity Rockwell’s in the women’s race at Kanza – was the brand’s greatest success so far.

We are delighted to collaborate with Allied to bring RCC members a special edition of the gravel-specific Able frame. A titan among gravel bikes, the Able has a proven track record in races and a unique silhouette with a raised chainstay to allow for extra tyre clearance while keeping the bike light and nimble.

On top of the Able’s proven performance credentials is a unique, hand-finished paint scheme created with Colin. Fresh off the back of the 100-mile solo breakaway that landed him the win last May, Strickland had a clear vision for the design: “Being from Texas, I had imagined dry, earthy colors that would remind me of the roads I train on at home,” he told us. “The color striping takes inspiration from geological patterns in rock formations.”

While Colin provided the initial direction, the graphic was brought to life by Rapha designer Jess Money whose Texan connection helped her join the dots on the design. “That link definitely helped on this one,” Jess said. “Working on it took me back to the long road trips and visits to my grandparents in Texas, with big skies and the dry heat… It was a dream brief for me so the design direction was really intuitive.”

The rock-solid paint scheme features most heavily on the forks of Colin’s bike but his kit customization doesn’t end there. In defense of his Kanza title, he’ll ride in a special edition Rapha Custom kit with the same geologically-inspired pattern. The full collection will be available exclusively to members, on the eve of the race in May.

By that time, our limited run Allied Able frames will be long gone. Available only to members, this is the ultimate collaboration between two brands striving to produce the best for gravel riders around the world. Just 100 bikes will be built to be pre-ordered by members on a first come, first served basis.

Buy the bike here: www.rapha.cc/gb/en/rcc-rapha-allied

More info at: www.zipp.com

HUNT: 44 & 54 UD Carbon Spoke Disc
The final word in road / all-road disc-brake performance.
44 & 54 DEEP | 29 WIDE EXT. | 20 INT | FROM 1398G
Pricing for pairs from £1069 GBP | $1299 USD | €1229 EUR

TAPERLOCK SERVICEABLE UD CARBON SPOKE TECHNOLOGY TESTED BY CANYON DHB AT THE ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
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6% MORE LATERALLY RESPONSIVE THAN IDENTICAL STEEL-SPOKED WHEEL WITH SIGNIFICANTLY LESS WEIGHT.
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UTILISES THE HIGH FREQUENCY VIBRATION ABSORPTION CAPABILITIES OF CARBON FIBRE IN THE UD SPOKES AS WELL AS THE RIM. PLEASE SEE GRAPH IN FULL INFO.
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AERODYNAMICIST 29MM-WIDE RIM, EXCLUSIVELY ENGINEERED AND WIND TUNNEL TESTED
BY LUISA GRAPPONE, MSc AEROSPACE ENGINEERING, HUNT ENGINEERING MANAGER.
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HOOKED ETRTO-COMPLIANT TUBELESS-READY RIM DESIGN FOR FULL CLINCHER & TUBELESS TYRE COMPATIBILITY
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LIFETIME CRASH REPLACEMENT INCLUDED FOR FIRST OWNER

HUNT are to launch the 44 & 54 UD Carbon Spoke Disc wheels, utilizing the now-proven TaperLock carbon spoke technology, resulting in fully serviceable carbon-spoked wheels that can be trued like any other. With significant increases in lateral responsiveness (see testing info below), they have been engineered to provide a stiffness-to-weight ratio previously unseen on serviceable wheels.

Using an innovative spoke-seating method, the 44 & 54 UD Carbon Spoke Disc wheelset offers carbon spokes that are held purely mechanically, with no bonding required. We call this TaperLock, and it allows for carbon spokes that can be trued and maintained just like a normal steel spoke.

The TaperLock UD Carbon Spokes are incredibly strong, achieving over 450 kgf (kilograms force per spoke) maximum tensile strength, compared to leading steel spokes which conventionally reach around 300 kgf.

For HUNT, aerodynamics and stiffness have to be considered as component parts of a more holistic understanding of performance componentry. That’s why we always design with serviceability and usability in mind, because there’s no point having a fast wheel you can’t use with your favorite tyre, or that you can’t easily maintain. For example, we will continue to use hooked rim designs. Whilst a little more expensive to produce, it offers far greater tyre compatibility and freedom of choice to you the rider.

The rim-brake counterparts of these wheels, the 36 UD Carbon Spoke, have been ridden at UCI World Championship level in Harrogate, by Rory Townsend, and tested extensively by the whole Canyon dhb team.

More info at: www.huntbikewheels.com

The Orange Seal Off-Road Team Launches “Family Seal” YouTube Series
Follow the Exploits of the Team’s Champions

This season, Orange Seal Off-Road is pulling back the curtain on the lives of their team champions as they ride and train on dirt and trail. Follow along with the team on YouTube, where they’ve just launched the first video in the six part “Family Seal” series, documenting life with the team.

With the current state of competition introducing an element of the unknown, who’s to say how the rest of the season develops. There’s sure to be struggle in this odd year as these top athletes strive to retain fitness and re-enter the global competitive stage when the time is right.

About Orange Seal
The industry leader in tubeless, Orange Seal produces sealant and accessories designed to help you enjoy your ride! From special sealant formulas to universal tubeless conversion kits, Orange Seal makes your tubeless experience even better.

More info here: orange-seal.echoscomm.com

Springtime Means New Sock Designs from SockGuy!

To those of you curious to see what the designers have cooked up this time…check out the new spring styles at HERE: www.sockguy.com/what-s-new.

They will brighten your otherwise bleak news day and some of them may even make you chuckle.

Scicon Sports Swaps Production to Develop Face Masks in Response to Global Demand
SCICON Sports, global leader in the production of cycling bags, has pivoted its production of bags and protective eyewear in light of the current pandemic to manufacture a selection of personal protection items that aim to support the improvement of public health.

Following the example of many other companies in the textile sector, SCICON Sports is joining the effort and has converted its entire production line to create protective respirator face masks and protective eyewear in response to the increasingly pressing request of companies, private entities and law enforcement agencies for protective equipment.

In addition to offering sports bags and protective eyewear, SCICON Sports also manufactures custom cycling clothing in-house under the Ftech brand (www.ftech.it) which has led to a wealth of experience and know-how in the field of apparel manufacture for over 10 years.

Located in Veneto, one of both Italy and the world’s most affected areas by COVID-19, SCICON Sports presents the first model of a protective respirator face mask following extensive prototype testing and the selection of various fabrics in collaboration with leading Italian fabric suppliers.

The new mask complies with FFP1 standards, even if it is not currently approved as such, as timelines simply do not allow rapid testing. An application with the Italian National Institute of Health has been made. As of now, SCICON Sports’ protective respirator face masks are considered as “filtering screens”, designed and manufactured on the basis of Article 16 Paragraph 2 of an Decree issued by the Italian Government on March 17, that authorizes the production and distribution of filtering masks without CE mark and excludes them from prepossession of commercial standards.

In addition to the newly developed protective respirator face masks, SCICON Sports also offers highly protective AeroTech eyewear equipped with clear lenses, the same model that is sported by 3 World Tour cycling teams.

Claudio Fantin, Marketing Strategist of the ASG Group, which SCICON and FTECH are part of, said: “We decided to try our best to help with our team at great effort. We have been developing high-performance products for athletes for 40 years now and we are convinced that many others can protect themselves. Technical cycling fabrics are ideal for masks and sports eyewear are very effective screens for protecting the eyes from saliva. We admit that we are at war and we must unite to win the fight against COVID-19. We urge all apparel manufacturers to follow our model and we are ready to provide as much insight as we can to help, from drawings, data sheets and information on materials, to tips and suggestions for anyone that wants to follow suit.”

SCICON Sports has not confirmed its daily production capacity, as the supply of raw materials and potential closure of productions of suppliers remains uncertain and relies on the enforcement of the latest decree issued by the Italian Government to further reduce the impact of the pandemic.

For more information visit www.sciconsports.com

Note: PezCyclingNews ask that you contact the manufacturers before using any products you see here. Only the manufacturer can provide accurate and complete information on proper / safe use, handling, maintenance and or installation of products as well as any conditional information or product limitations.