The latest at-your-desk exercise bike hits Indiegogo; Kogel launches condition-specific bearing seals; a bike caravan; new Hutchinson prototype tyres? + loads more tech news

We've been kept busy with the finale of the road.cc awards this week, the winners of our money-no-object, road bike and overall bike of the year announced. Elsewhere, leaked images surfaced appearing to show SRAM's new 2025 Force AXS road groupset — while Campagnolo launched its updated Shamal wheels, now complete with the on-trend wavy profile.

That all means plenty of other tech news to bring you in yet another bumper edition of Tech of the Week, including some very fancy (and expensive) ceramic bearings, a bike caravan, shifters for door handles and plenty more. But first...

Ever wanted to get a workout while you're sat at your desk? Cycplus (thinks it) has the answer...

The "world's first" self-powered mini pedal exerciser has gone live on Indiegogo, courtesy of Cycplus. Essentially, it's a mini pedalling machine, that you can 'work out' on whilst sat at your desk, watching TV or just sitting down pondering the universe. 

There are different levels of resistance, and the brand - that also makes this mini electric pump that got a rave road.cc review - even says there's a built-in power meter and cadence sensor so you can get your workouts in efficiently. It's also apparently compatible with things like Zwift and MyWhoosh, and of course there's also an app - the CYCPLUS fitness app where you can set up workouts. We can almost see the Ian Botham sponsored adverts on daytime TV now. 

The 'world first' claims we're assuming are in reference to the self-powered bit of the product description, because this certainly isn't the first exercise bike designed to be used while you have your Teams meeting on mute. There's this one on Amazon that looks somewhat similar but more basic, and back in 2017 we even reported on a whole exercise bike with a desk built in. This particular one doesn't appear to be available on the FlexiSpot UK website anymore, but there are similar products from other brand out there. 

Anyway, back to the Cycplus take on the at-your-desk bike: all the earlybird slots have been claimed, but you can still grab one for £113 which is 30% off the RRP of £161. The brand expects to begin shipping in March, and it's already reached over 700% of its initial target on Indiegogo. 

Save half a watt with condition-specific seals for Kogel's new £270 corrosion-resistant bearings

Kogel Bearings has some new CR bearings out. That stands for corrosion resistant, and we're told the new bearings are the "first ever" to combine a hardened, corrosion-resistant steel race with ceramic bearings and condition-specific seals.

That's right, if you choose to drop £270 on a CR ceramic bottom bracket (they were £322 but appear to have been reduced on Kogel's site), you get the choice of Cross or Road seal. Kogel says the Road is better for race day or summer use and will save you half a watt on the Cross seals that'll serve you better for winter or wet, muddy, or overly dusty conditions. The seals are user replaceable and swappable, allowing you to cash in that half a watt whenever you feel you're going to need it.

"Kogel has always offered different seals for wet or dry conditions, and we’ve always used chrome steel for our ceramic bearings," says founder Ard Kessels. "With our new proprietary, hardened stainless steel races, we can now offer cyclists the longest lasting and smoothest, best-protected bearings available."

Kessels says most bearing brands choose between standard chrome "bearing" steel, which is ultra hard and durable, or stainless steel, which won't rust but is softer and wears faster, particularly with ceramic bearings.

Kogel's new CR bearings use stainless steel treated with a proprietary hardening process, producing what it describes as a rust-proof bearing race that's hard enough to hold up to the brand's premium ceramic bearings.

"This combination provides riders with a perfect solution for any condition, with a bearing that'll last for many, many years no matter where you ride," says Kessels.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Kogel Bearings (@kogel_bearings)

The new Kogel CR bearings will be available as an upgrade in all bottom brackets and ship as standard in all of Kogel's aftermarket pulley wheels and the oversized pulleys in their Kolossos oversized derailleur cage. All CR bearings come with a new, longer three-year "very few questions asked" warranty.

Check out all the info on Kogel's website.

Wilier adds Verticale SLR to its Infinitamente platform, offering unique customisation and colourschemes

Wilier's Verticale SLR, the brand's "ultimate climbing bike" is now on Infinitamente, Wilier's customisation platform that promises users the "bike of your dreams". To mark the launch there's a new colour palette called Graphite available, which Wilier says has "nine glossy hues" and adds to the customisation options available.

Buyers can also now pick Glitter, Sparkling Glass and Flat colour ranges, all available in a matte or glossy finish. In short, you can design a Wilier with pretty much any colour and finish imaginable, and that's before mentioning the transmission, wheels and graphical details. It's probably easier just to visit Infinitamente and use the new configurator that gives a realistic 3D view, rather than us trying to describe colours, hues, glitters, mattes and gloss...

Are old gear levers-turned-door handles the latest must-have fashion accessory for your bike shed?

This got a shout-out on our live blog on Wednesday but it's too good not to include again here. road.cc editor Jack’s mate Tom has come up with a novel, groundbreaking door handle design that could – ahem – shift the parameters of shed aesthetics for years to come...

Is a bicycle caravan the next best thing in bikepacking? 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Alexandre Calvez (@alexandrecalvez)

Okay so we might be a bit late to the party on this, but a reel on Instagram from user 
@alexandrecalvez caught our eye, and we had to investigate a little further. The reel shows a caravan-like contraption attached to the rear of a bicycle, which then unfolds into a mobile tiny house. 

The good news is we found one just like it from Wide Path Camper, the bad news is it costs €4,599.99 excluding VAT. But hey, can you put a price on relatively luxury after spending all day lugging a 92kg mini camper around on your bike? Apparently so. Any takers?

Are Intermarché-Wanty riding Hutchinson prototype tyres at the Tour Down Under?

The Hutchinson Blackbird tyres came to fruition last year, and were cited as the brand's "fastest-ever" road racing tyres. But, fast-forward a year and it looks like the partnership with men's WorldTour team Intermarché-Wanty has led to some new prototypes being ridden at the men's Tour Down Under stage race in Australia. 

According to the Hutchinson website, the new tyres are debuting "unofficially" at the Tour Down Under...

"The team is testing prototypes of next-generation race-specific tyres. These tyres, designed to meet the toughest demands of elite cycling, enhance the speed and grip found in Hutchinson’s performance road tyre lineup.

"Set to debut unofficially at the Tour Down Under, these prototypes represent the future of cycling technology and will soon be available to riders worldwide as official Hutchinson products, bringing WorldTour-level performance to cyclists everywhere."

We don't know when we'll see the more official announcement of the tyres, nor how the prototypes differ from the 2024 versions. But, isn't it exciting getting a sneak peak of something new?!

And also too good not to share again...

...is this home trainer from the 19th century, dubbed 'Ye Olde Watte Byke' on our Friday live blog. It's still for sale on Facebook Marketplace despite our plug, so if you have $600 (about £483) and a strong dislike for all that modern smart training malarkey, you might want to get yourself over to the US with a massive truck to make this bad boy yours. 

Whether it's indoors on a 130-year-old block of cast iron or out in the fresh air, enjoy your weekend rides folks! 

In case you missed it:

• We reveal the road.cc Recommends Bike of the Year 2024/25
• road.cc Recommends Bikes of the Year 2024/25: the best road bikes
• Five reasons why we hope this isn't the future of race bikes (and five reasons we like it)

• "The world's most accurate hydration sensor": Flowbio makes some big claims, plus more cool things coming soon from Factor, Scribe, Sidi and Galibier

• Campagnolo debuts "unprecedented double-height profile" on updated Shamal wheels, now complete with on-trend wavy profile

• Is this SRAM's new 2025 Force AXS road groupset? Leaked images show new components with strikingly similar looks to SRAM Red AXS