{"id":230923,"date":"2025-10-21T22:06:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T22:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/230923\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T22:06:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T22:06:11","slug":"latest-gear-drivetrain-news-and-tire-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/230923\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest Gear, Drivetrain News, and Tire Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, and welcome to Bike Tech Tuesday. Your quick overview of the latest gear news, what we are currently testing, and the stuff Bicycling\u2019s gear team is buzzing about.<\/p>\n

In this edition: Drivetrain news from the three major players, saddle advice, winter clothing guide, and lots of tire testing!<\/p>\n

Stories You Need To Read\"s<\/p>\n

Trevor Raab<\/p>\n

‘ expand=” crop=’6×4’][\/image]<\/p>\n

Tara wrote a story that will help you find a more comfortable saddle. It\u2019s full of useful advice and lots of information to help you understand the different saddle shapes, styles, and widths. Even if you\u2019re happy with the saddle you have, it\u2019s worth a read because, eventually, you\u2019re going to need a new one. Many riders don\u2019t realize this, but saddles wear out. The foam breaks down, and the shell\u2019s support wanes. How long a saddle lasts depends on many factors, but if you\u2019ve been riding the same saddle for a few years and you feel like it\u2019s not as comfortable as it once was, it might be broken down.<\/p>\n

\"cyclist<\/p>\n

Trevor Raab<\/p>\n

Dan built a story to help you layer better for cold-weather riding. The lead image has me on the left with Dan next to me on the front of a Bicycling staff lunch ride<\/a>. And, yes, do I look like a water buffalo compared to the lean machine that is Speedy Dan. But I am wearing one of my all-time favorite winter jerseys<\/a>: Pearl Izumi\u2019s Pro Alpha Layer<\/a>. There\u2019s a handy quick reference guide at the bottom of Dan\u2019s story, too. For more winter riding tips from someone who lives in the mountains, check my story from 2022 with my favorite gear and best tips.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"shot<\/p>\n

Kobus Louw\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Who doesn\u2019t love a quiz? Check out Natascha\u2019s story and answer the questions to reveal your training age<\/a>, which \u201cprovides a reference point for your \u2018training age\u2019 as it relates to the quality of your movement and your level of mobility, not chronological age. Besides bragging rights, you can use this info to help you build a more effective training routine. I took the quiz and it pointed me towards \u201cBeginner<\/a>\u201d exercises. Ouch \u2026 but fair.<\/p>\n

\"Mountain<\/p>\n

Matt Phillips<\/p>\n

What We\u2019re Testing<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a quick rundown of some of the new gear that has come in for testing. Apparently, it is a bit of a tire fest for us.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Schwalbe sent me a set of their \u201cradial\u201d mountain bike tires in their Trail Pro casing<\/a>. Despite how they are promoted, they do not employ an actual radial casing \u2014 by definition, a radial\u2019s plies are 90 degrees to the direction of travel. But the Schwalbe\u2019s do use a different ply bias angle than standard bicycle tires. And it does result in a different feel and performance with Schwalbe claiming<\/a>, \u201cthe contact area increases by approximately 30 percent with the same air pressure.\u201d I\u2019ve ridden the radial tires with the Gravity Pro casing on bigger bikes, but I\u2019m eager to see how they perform on shorter-travel bikes.<\/p>\n

\u2022Tara received Schwalbe\u2019s Pro One Tubeless tires in all available sizes: 28, 30, 32, 34, and 38<\/a>. She\u2019s installing them on her Cannondale SuperSix Evo<\/a> \u2014 yes, she was able to fit the 38s into this race bike \u2014 to test how different-sized tires perform on road bikes.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Trevor took in Vittoria\u2019s T30 gravel tires in 45, 50, and 55mm widths<\/a>. He\u2019ll be conducting back-to-back speed tests by fitting the tires on the Argon 18 Dark Matter he recently reviewed<\/a> to try and find out if mountain-bike-width gravel tires really are faster.<\/p>\n

Drivetrain News and Rumors\"BicycleCampagnolo Super Record 13 Gets More Super<\/p>\n

Campagnolo\u2019s very well-received Super Record 13<\/a> group hasn\u2019t been out very long, but it\u2019s already getting an upgrade.<\/p>\n

As upgrades go, though, this is less about performance and more about leveling up what is already the most luxurious road groupset. They\u2019re calling it \u201cUltra\u201d which means we call this version of the group \u2026 Ultra Super Record? Super Ultra Record? FWIW, Campy calls it the Super Record 13 \u201cUltra\u201d, complete with the quote marks around the word \u201cUltra\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ultra is a three-part upgrade.<\/p>\n

First is a carbon fiber outer chainring with aluminum teeth, which saves 28 to 34 grams compared to the standard all-aluminum chainring.<\/p>\n

The second upgrade is a new cassette with four (10-33) or five (11-36) cogs machined from a single piece of titanium. This saves 30 to 44 grams over the standard cassettes.<\/p>\n

The final upgrade is a set of ceramic bottom bracket bearings, which are three grams lighter than the standad BB bearings and feature, in addition to ceramic balls \u2014 sorry,I mean \u201csilicon nitride ball bearings selected according to international aerospace standards\u201d \u2014 redesigned seals and internal cages.<\/p>\n

Overall, the Ultra Upgrade can save up to 81 grams, and is available for the low, low price of \u20ac1,114, or about $1,300. As you\u2019d expect, the packaging is lovely: \u201cTo immediately underscore this exclusivity, the ULTRA kit comes in equally striking packaging, echoing the aesthetic finish of the groupset with an elegant chrome-plated metal plate and a contrasting black ULTRA logo,\u201d reads the press release.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, though, the Ultra upgrade costs $1,300 in addition to the $4,750 group price of Super Record 13.<\/p>\n

\"shimano<\/p>\n

Trevor Raab<\/p>\n

New Shimano Dura Ace in 2026<\/p>\n

Several industry insiders have told me that the next generation of Shimano\u2019s Dura-Ace is set to be released in 2026. Recent versions of the new DA have launched around the Tour de France, but sneak peeks at the new parts usually start appearing either at or just before the Giro d\u2019Italia.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d guess\u2014and patent filings (US 2024\/0246633 A1<\/a>, US 2023\/0348018 A1<\/a>, US 11,975,800 B2<\/a>) along with online chatter agree\u2014this version will feature front and rear derailleurs powered by individual on-board batteries. I believe Shimano\u2019s current Dura Ace Di2 battery system \u2014 where both derailleurs are wired to a single battery \u2014 is impressively user-friendly. However, I also think the market prefers a fully wireless system because it is seen as more advanced.<\/p>\n

Shimano has already introduced rear derailleurs with on-board batteries for mountain bikes (XTR, XT, Deore) and gravel (GRX) Di2 drivetrains, but I expect a different battery format for Dura-Ace.<\/p>\n

The reason is that the batteries in XTR and others are large and require a bulky rear derailleur, which I don\u2019t think would be accepted by the road cycling community. Plus, the current Di2 on-board battery is also too large and not shaped appropriately for a front derailleur. Of course, Shimano could implement specific battery shapes for each derailleur<\/p>\n

\"sram<\/p>\n

Trevor Raab<\/p>\n

SRAM Wins First Battle Against the UCI<\/p>\n

Back in a September Tech Tuesday<\/a>, I detailed the legal proceedings SRAM filed with the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) UCI to counter the UCI\u2019s regulations that would make SRAM\u2019s 10-tooth cog illegal for use in sanctioned competition.<\/p>\n

On October 9th, the BCA ruled in favor of SRAM stating<\/a>, \u201cThe BCA considers prima facie that the Maximum Gear Ratio Standard and the procedures governing its adoption by the UCI do not meet the required conditions of objectivity and transparency. The standard further generates disproportionate negative effects on a sports equipment supplier, namely SRAM.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, the UCI issued a brief statement that said, in part<\/a>, \u201cAs this ad hoc regulation has now been suspended, no limitations on gear ratios apply to events on the UCI International Calendar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Time will tell if this is the end of the UCI\u2019s attempts to restrict gearing in pro racing.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it for this week. Thanks for reading, and now go ride your bike fast!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

A gear editor for his entire career, Matt\u2019s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he\u2019s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling, Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you\u2019re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn\u2019t race often, but he\u2019s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hi, and welcome to Bike Tech Tuesday. Your quick overview of the latest gear news, what we are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[10968,139220,64,63,2071,139206,139207,139221,784,18188,139219,139217,139211,139222,139218,139224,139225,139213,139216,139209,20695,85,139208,139212,139214,139223,39556,139210,139215],"class_list":{"0":"post-230923","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-10968","9":"tag-argon-18","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-belgium","13":"tag-bike-tech-tuesday","14":"tag-campagnolo","15":"tag-cannondale-supersix-evo","16":"tag-cycling","17":"tag-cycling-gear","18":"tag-cycling-upgrades","19":"tag-drivetrain-news","20":"tag-dura-ace","21":"tag-gravel-tires","22":"tag-legal-ruling","23":"tag-pearl-izumi-pro-alpha","24":"tag-pro-cycling","25":"tag-pro-one-tubeless","26":"tag-saddle-guide","27":"tag-schwalbe","28":"tag-shimano","29":"tag-sports","30":"tag-sram","31":"tag-super-record-13","32":"tag-tire-testing","33":"tag-training-age-quiz","34":"tag-uci","35":"tag-vittoria","36":"tag-winter-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}