Five cool things coming soon from Shimano, Rapha, 3T, Kask, and Santini

We have so much cool stuff being reviewed at road.cc at the moment that it’s hard to pick out just five products, but we’ll give it a go. These are just tasters to whet your appetite with the full reviews following over the next few weeks.

Shimano RC5W Shoes 

£139.99 

road.cc reviewer Steve Williams gave the men’s version of the RC5 shoes a glowing review last year, calling them “stiff, light, cool and comfortable”. Now Rebecca Bland has the women’s version so we’re expecting similarly positive results.

Although priced at a reasonable £139.99, the RC5W (like the RC5) takes a lot of design cues from Shimano’s high-end S-Phyre shoe, although the sole is carbon fibre reinforced nylon rather than carbon fibre composite, so it’s heavier and less stiff.

Check out our Shimano S-Phyre RC9 (RC902) Shoes review

The upper – made from mesh and TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) – is designed to be supple, breathable, and lightweight while a BOA L6 dial takes care of closure. 

It looks like you’re getting a lot for your money here, but we all know about the proof of the pudding so we’ll have to wait to hear what Rebecca has to say about the ride experience.

www.shimano.com

Rapha Men’s Brevet Gore-Tex Rain Jacket 

£265

Rapha’s Men’s Brevet Gore-Tex Rain Jacket is designed to be waterproof – obviously – but also lightweight and packable for storage when it’s not needed.

I can tell you how lightweight it is right now: our large-sized sample hit the road.cc Scales of Truth at 166g. For most other info, though, we’ll have to wait to see what our reviewer has to say about it. Stu Kerton – for it is he – has the very cool-looking Brick coloured option, although Dark Navy and Dark Yellow options are available too. 

The fabric used here is 2L Gore-Tex Paclite Plus and the jacket comes with an integrated loop to help keep it rolled up in your pocket, or wherever else you squirrel it away.

The chest stripes are reflective and the hem and cuffs are elasticated.

www.rapha.cc

Kask Protone Icon Helmet

£245 

Kask has just revamped its high-end Protone helmet and says that the new Icon version offers improved ventilation and aerodynamics.

We rated the previous Protone highly, praising both its comfort and its ability to keep your head cool, so it’ll be interesting to hear what reviewer Michael Stenning thinks of the updated model.

Kask updates Protone Icon aero helmet promising reduced drag and improved ventilation

As well as an altered shell design, one of the most noticeable new features is the improved Octofit+ fit system with a larger rubber-coated dial than previously for easier adjustment.

Kask claims a weight of 230g for a medium-sized Protone Icon although our review model came in slightly under that at 223g, which is unusual. Products are usually a higher weight than advertised, rarely lower. 

www.kask.com

3T Exploro Racemax frameset

£3,399 

Liam Cahill has been getting about the countryside lately on a 3T Exploro Racemax gravel bike and his review is due to drop soon. 

His bike is built up with a Campagnolo Ear 1 x 13 groupset. We’re not yet sure whether we’ll be reviewing it as a complete bike or as a frameset only – which would be the frame, fork, headset, and seatpost. 

3T launch 'faster and more aero' Exploro RaceMax gravel bike 

The 3T Exploro Racemax features dropped chainstays on both sides to give increased tyre clearance of up to 700×40 mm or 650×54 mm. 

Like the first Exploro launched back in 2016, it is designed to be aerodynamically efficient despite the fact that the down tube starts out at 46mm as it leaves the head tube and expands to a whopping 75mm a third of the way down. The idea is that it works in conjunction with the big tyres.

We’ll let you know what Liam thinks soon.

www.3t.bike

Santini Karma Kinetic Mens Bib Shorts

£140 

We’re nearly into summer in the UK so you’d better be ready for plenty of shorts and short-sleeve jersey reviews. Believe me, we have loads of kit out with different members of the team at the moment.

The Karma Kinetic bib shorts from Italy’s Santini are made with Polartec Delta bibs that are designed to be wick moisture away from your body quickly and dry fast. The fabric used for the lowers is said to offer a medium level of compression while printed grippers hold the legs in place.

How to choose the perfect spring cycling wardrobe

The shorts come with Santini’s GITevo chamois that features what’s called a Twist Gel silicone core to absorb shock for long-ride comfort.

Neil Gander is the man who is reviewing these.

www.santinicycling.com