Gear Break: In this week’s ‘Gear Break’ we have a big mix of top and inventive kit. The new CHAPTER2 AO Gravel bike and the electric ÖSA bike by CAKE, take the biscuit. The Trek-Segafredo team will be using Pirelli tyres in 2020 and you can help the Australian wildlife with DeFeet, get some new bar tape by Silca with a crash replacement policy and check-out the D1x electronic shifting conversion system from Archer Components.
CHAPTER2 Presents the AO
First seen at Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA in April 2019, AO which means earth in Maori is CHAPTER2’s first foray into the rapidly growing Gravel Bike Category. 18 months in development, R&D and testing, to discover gravel’s DNA, the AO takes inspiration from New Zealand’s gravel trails that wind their way throughout its rugged landscape and spectacular coastline.
The Gravel Category encapsulates a multifaceted array of riding styles. Whether you are looking for an all-road bike that can keep up with your local “bunchie” (kiwi for group ride), or and outright gravel or adventure bike, the various features and performance attributes engineered into the AO will suit all your off the beaten track requirements.
Designed to accept both 650B and 700C wheels, the AO can take tires up to 47mm (650B) to 42mm (700C) allowing you to really get down and dirty with knobbly tires, or you can fit a 25-30mm rubber and hit the tarmac with your buddies.
In order to ensure that you not only have good tire width and/or wheel size choices, the rear centre can also be adjusted by up to 15mm in 7.5mm increments to dial in the ride quality you want. At +7.5mm you can tune it for adventure/endurance rides where comfort and control are paramount, whereas at -7.5mm, you can make the AO steer quickly around those gravel trails when speed and agility are on the daily menu.
Versatility had been at the core of the design brief for the AO. With ample bottle (5 in total),
pannier, fender and bento mounting options, we are here to take you on your next adventure. But we haven’t forgotten the need for speed, handcrafted in 100% Toray T700 and T800 carbon, with directional 3K carefully laid into the headtube and BB, the AO can deliver the thrills and performance you expect from all Chapter2 frames.
Taking the versatility ethos further, the frame is compatible with 2x and 1x chainsets, with a factory-supplied chainguide for those rugged 1x moments or you can install a third-party 31.6mm diameter dropper post and connect it all the through to your shifters to give you an on the fly saddle position control.
With the AO frameset, you can build the bike just the way you want. 650B wheels with flared bars – no problem! 700C with a fast set of carbon wheels and our carbon MANA bar for a race-ready build – no problem! The only thing stopping you from building your dream build is your sense of adventure.
AO FRAME SPECS
Carbon: Frame 5 Sizes: Fork 2 Sizes: Frame Weight: Fork: Seatpost: Stem: Headset: BB: Electronic Shifting:
Battery Type: Tire Clearance: Brake Type: Disc Thru-Axle Spec (not included):
Safety Standard:
Toray® T800, T700 & 3K Directional Carbon XS, S, M, L & XL XS, S, M (55mm offset) and L, XL (50mm offset) 1040 Size M +/- 3% 427g Uncut +/- 3% 210g +/- 3% 80mm, 90mm, 100mm, 110mm and 120mm (+/-7°) CHAPTER2 Tapered 1-1/8” – 1.5” BSA Threaded English SHIMANO® Di2, SRAM® eTAP & Campagnolo® EPS compatible Di2 SM-BTR-2 and EPS V3 Battery compatible 42mm (700c) and 47mm (650B) Disc Only Flat Mount FR 12x100mm, RR 12x142mm E-Thru M12x1.5mm EN ISO 4210:2014
GEOMETRY
Size XS S M L XL A. Top Tube Length 509 529 548 567 587 B. Head Tube Length 105 125 155 179 209 C. Seat Tube Angle 73.5° 73.5° 73.5° 73.5° 73.5° D. Head Tube Angle 69° 70° 71° 72° 72° E. Seat Tube Length 460 480 500 530 560 F. BB Drop 74 74 74 74 74 G. Chainstay Length 420 420 420 420 420 H. Wheelbase 998 1010 1021 1026 1047 I. Front Center 599 601 613 617 638 J. Fork Offset (2 Forks) 55 55 55 50 50 Stack 521 548 576 605 634 Reach 355 366 377 388 399 Seatpost Setback 15 15 15 15 15 Stem 80 90 100 110 120
Note: All dimensions are in mm unless otherwise noted.
Prices:
1/ GBP 2,499.00
2/ USD 2,699.00
3/ EUR 2,749.00
4/ AUD 3,559.00
5/ NZD 3,749.00
* Frameset price (frame, fork, seatpost, stem, headset and chain catcher)
* Prices above are inclusive of shipping and taxes (except EU)
* Prices in EU are +Euro 20.00 and +Euro 40.00 for delivery.
See CHAPTER2 Bikes at: chapter2bikes
Pirelli Partners with World Tour Cycling Team Trek-Segafredo
World Champion Mads Pedersen and Vincenzo Nibali Will Ride with Pirelli Tyres and Contribute to the Development of the Range
Pirelli signs a partnership agreement with the prestigious US cycling team. Athletes will provide feedback that benefits Pirelli road racing tyre development, ultimately giving amateurs an increasingly performing product.
Pirelli accelerates its strategy towards an ever-growing involvement in professional cycling and announces the partnership with the prestigious World Tour Team Trek-Segafredo. Its first official presence after signing the partnership is now underway at the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia, where the team’s athletes, including the reigning UCI world champion Mads Pedersen, are riding on Pirelli’s P Zero Velo Tubular tyres.
Sports Spirit of Pirelli
Competitions at the highest levels are part of Pirelli DNA, which boasts over 110 years of sporting history in which it has supported athletes and teams in the most important challenges. The partnership with the Trek-Segafredo team fits into this context: the team has made technical choices a flagship, such as pioneering the 100% conversion of one of its racing bikes to disc brakes. This technological evolution explains Pirelli’s choice to be present in competitions that act as open-air laboratories to develop products at, which then become standard and commercially available. In addition, the Trek-Segafredo team is one of the most active in the world of women’s professional cycling, ranking among the top five in the Union Cycliste Internationale.
Cycling to Promote Sustainable Mobility
With this new partnership Pirelli continues its path in cycling at the highest levels, which it began in 2017. This continuation in the bicycle sector is a natural step for the company: bicycles are a sustainable medium with zero environmental impact, which aligns with Pirelli’s strong key values, as Pirelli is a world leader in sustainability and was named in 2019 as the number one leader in the automotive sector.
The technological aspect is at the core of this partnership with the Trek-Segafredo team, as it will also see a continuous comparison and technical development on the product, with particular emphasis on the new P Zero Velo tubulars. The result of this process of performance testing and validation, which will continue race after race, will lead to an improvement of the product which will then be made available by Pirelli for all fans.
After the Mitchelton-SCOTT World Tour team, which was also renewed for 2020, Pirelli will outfit another great team from the top UCI circuit, preparing to face a 2020 season of great cycling.
Find out more about the Pirelli range at: www.pirelli.com
DeFeat Aireator 6″ Australia Relief by DeFeet
All proceeds from the sales of this sock will go to WIRES. WIRES is Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organization. With the catastrophic fires currently happening, WIRES is focusing its efforts on increasing the capacity to rescue and care for individual animals, as well as help wildlife more broadly, by partnering on projects to improve the long-term outcomes for native animals.
*Pre-Order: This item will begin shipping in 1 – 2 weeks. Any items ordered with this sock will be held until the full order is available to ship.
All proceeds from the sales of this sock will go to WIRES. WIRES is Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organization. With the catastrophic fires currently happening, WIRES is focusing its efforts on increasing the capacity to rescue and care for individual animals, as well as help wildlife more broadly, by partnering on projects to improve the long-term outcomes for native animals.
● The original DeFeet sock, the Aireator has been consistently upgraded and remains the gold standard of cycling socks.
● Affordable and incredibly durable, Aireator’s are the most popular cycling sock the world has ever known.
● DeFeet Aireator mesh for superior breathability and comfort, the first sock to incorporate this type of open-mesh construction.
● Eco-friendly: Made from recycled water bottles in North Carolina, USA.
● Great for running, hiking, and on the bike
● Machine wash cold, tumble dry low. No bleach, softeners, or harsh detergents.
● 60% Nylon, 39% Recycled Polyester, 1% Lycra
PRICE:$14.99
Order at: defeet.com
Archer Components’ D1x Electronic Shifting Conversion System
A New Kind of Shifter
The revolutionary technology behind the D1x Trail Shifter transforms nearly any mechanical 1x drivetrain into a high performance electronic shifting machine. The D1x Trail is a programmable shifter. Let that sink in a sec…
The bike you rode today could be digitally tuned and shifting smooth tomorrow. Any number of gears, any rear derailleur. This is a new kind of shifter.
SHIFT EVERYTHING
Mix and match components and everything just works. Bend your hanger or roast your derailleur and keep your shifting smooth with individual gear adjustments on the fly. The D1x Trail is designed to SHIFT EVERYTHING.
Simple Setup
Don’t know your shifter’s pull ratio? Me neither! Use the Archer app to quickly setup and tune your gears. No special tools or technical skills required. Set the number of gears from 2 to 20 and dial in each gear position to 0.25mm precision. Then use the app to gain total control of how your electronic shifter runs.
D1x Trail with Micro-Adjust Remote
Price $389.00
Silca Introduces New Nastro Bar Tapes – The Thickest and Thinnest Available
Also Launches First-of-its-Kind Crash Replacement Policy
Silca’s two new Nastro bar tapes offer both the cushiest handlebar wrap and the slimmest grip available, perfect for gravel riders looking for more comfort, or racers looking for aerodynamic grip on their track and time trial bikes. Additionally, Silca is backing the Nastro family (now comprised of four premium bar tapes) with a one-year crash replacement program, the first program of this kind.
Nastro Cuscino bar tape adds a new level of comfort for drop bar riders, with a 3.5mm thickness of Silca’s 3-layer construction providing the most cushioning available.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Nastro Aero, a 1mm thick tape offering the best possible grip in a super-thin package to retain the wind-tunnel tested aerodynamics of track, triathlon and time trial bikes.
Nastro Tech:
In traditional bar tape materials the tape is extruded as-is, or molded to develop a thin skin of non-expanded foam at the surface. The designer must choose between competing parameters: more durable foams are harder, more cushioning means less grip and so on.
By using a laminated design, SILCA engineers can put the exact material in the exact right location. The outer Ply of SILCAthane is tuned using the same materials used in high performance eyewear for maximum grip, durability, and cleanability.
SILCAlon was developed from the same foam technology recently used to shatter marathon records, offering ultimate cushion and rebound behavior for maximum comfort and speed. SILCAlon is 10-15% softer than most bar tape foams, while offering 10-15% higher rebound rates than any previous foams. This means that the foam transmits less shock and vibration to your body, and it does it more efficiently than previous generation foams.
With two top layers of low-damping materials, SILCA uses a 3M Viscoelastic damping adhesive below to put the perfect amount of damping right where it needs to be in order to reduce handlebar ‘buzz’ without sacrificing comfort.
Silca’s Bar Tape Crash Replacement Policy:
Not only is crashing bad for your bar tape, but dangerous handlebar damage can hide beneath scuffed and torn tape, making replacement an effort toward safety as well as style. To encourage riders to be safe and look good at the same time, all new Silca bar tape purchases are now backed by a crash replacement policy, offering discounted replacement tape in the event of a crash. https://silca.cc/pages/silca-nastro-bar-tape-crash-replacement
Nastro Cuscino
● 3.5mm Thick, tri-lam construction cushions like it was 4.5 thick
● MSRP $50
● https://silca.cc/collections/bar-tape-1/products/nastro-cuscino-bar-tape
Nastro Aero
● 1mm thick- the thinnest tape available.
● MSRP $15
● https://silca.cc/collections/bar-tape-1/products/nastro-aero-bar-tape
CAKE ÖSA, Gets you to the Trail and Completes your Zero Emission Ride.
ÖSA, is the clean and efficient commuter vessel with an integrated power station and off-road capabilities.
ÖSA, apart from being a light, clean and quiet electric motorcycle, serve for a new means of transportation, towards a zero emission future. The working bench, around since ever, to serve people making things, has been the inspiration to the uni-bar, modular, clamp-on, off-the-grid system, constituting the ÖSA.
Transportation and Commuting
The obligation to change, to avoid an environmental melt down is shared by all and everyone. Transportation is one of the evident ones, where combustion vehicles are being replaced by electric, gasoline and diesel are being banned and cars will be excluded from the urban landscape.
The Differentiated Needs
The variety of work and need for transportation has never been greater. The needs in terms of what to bring and carry along is a palette, from the office worker to the craftsman. The roads towards destination varies from highways to trails.
The Solution
The electric and modular utility commuter with off-road capabilities and integrated power station.
Off the Grid Independence
Thanks to the powerful battery with multiple outlets, it’s about a power station on wheels, taking you to wherever, to do your thing, independently off the grid. The carpenter or gardener can bring and charge their power tools anywhere to execute their work, off the grid. The rock guitarist or DJ may do a gig or a forest rave, bringing their gear in the middle of nowhere. UPS or the pizza delivery may execute clean last mile deliveries in cities around the world.
CAKE is a Swedish company that develops uncompromising high performance electric off-road motorbikes. CAKE’s mission is to inspire towards a zero-emission society, combining excitement with responsibility. All components are made from scratch to optimize the riding performance in this new category. Every little detail is elaborated for perfection, while considering the perspectives of sustainability. It’s all about the outdoors. Explore with respect.
CAKE, the Swedish manufacturer of lightweight electric off-road motorbikes are now launching their new utility bike at Ispo Munich 26-29 January 2020 (Hall B4, Stand 512) and Outdoor Retailer in Denver, Colorado January 29 to 31.
The Ösa can be preordered now at: https://ridecake.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.
