What do you think of the new Ineos Grenadiers kit from Bioracer? Plus Cervelo, Rapha, 4iii, CeramicSpeed and + more in our weekly tech roundup

It has been another super-busy week in the world of cycling tech with bike launches from Cervelo, Storck and Mason, and loads of new clothing to tempt you. Speaking of which... Ineos Grenadiers has switched from Castelli to Bioracer kit for 2022 and the new design has just been revealed. 

Ineos Grenadiers reveal new Bioracer kit for 2022

Here's what the likes of Richard Carapaz, Filippo Ganna and Tom Pidcock will be racing in next season, Ineos Grenadiers having unveiled their 2022 race kit from Bioracer.

The new design includes a textured effect to the line on the back of the jersey and a gradient on the arm. Although predominantly red and blue, the design is vaguely reminiscent of Castelli’s Team Ineos red and black kit that was introduced in 2019 in that it fades from bright at the shoulders to dark lower down the body.

Bioracer says that it created the kit in-house from start to finish. The Belgian company includes a design and print studio, protolab, motion speed centre, wind tunnel and several production sites worldwide.

Bioracer recently announced the launch of Bioracer UK, to make it easier to get the brand’s custom cycle clothing in this country.

The Ineos Grenadiers kit is available to pre-order now from the Ineos Grenadiers Store and the Bioracer shop. Adult jerseys start at £75 with bibshorts from £85. The full range goes on sale in January 2022.

Cervelo unveils R5-CX, its first production cyclocross bike

Cervelo provided the biggest bike launch of the week, revealing the R5-CX cyclocross bike on Thursday.

Anyone with even the vaguest interest knew the new bike was on the way, it having been ridden to two World Cup victories already. Cervelo really hasn’t been flying this one under the radar.

As the name suggests, the R5-CX is the cyclocross version of the R5 road bike which was launched back in September – again after being out in the wild with pro riders for ages. 

The handling and fit are said to be unique to the R5-CX, though, based on input from Wout van Aert and Marianne Vos.

Read all about it here. 

Check out Evandro Portela’s bike for motor-paced world record attempt

Do you remember the Brazilian guy who drafts trucks really, really, stupidly fast? His name’s Evandro Portela and his footage went viral back in 2014. 

Anyway, Simon off of road.cc news has been chatting to Evandro ahead of his attempt to beat the motor-paced cycling world record next year (Evandro’s attempt, not Simon’s; last I saw, Simon’s bike had a basket on the front). 

We ran pictures of Evandro’s set up in a Bike at Bedtime on Tuesday. It has a whopping 68cm top tube and compound gearing – because a standard drivetrain would have Evandro spinning out way too soon. 

He’s aiming to hit 300km/h, or 186mph. 

We’ll just let that one sink in for a mo.

Read all about it here. 

Rapha partners All In Racing on #RainbowLaces and socks

Rapha and All In Racing have produced limited edition Rainbow Socks in support of #RainbowLaces day on Wednesday 8th December. 

All In Racing, which will formally launch in spring 2022, is a new initiative within competitive cycling that aims to help the sport become more inclusive for LGBTQ+ people.

Rainbow Socks will be available to riders taking part in the new Clanfield Cross cyclocross event in Hampshire on Saturday 11th December, and 120 pairs are available to buy – £10 per pair – through the All In Racing website. https://www.allinracing.org/

Read all about it here. 

Effetto Mariposa launches eco-friendly cleaning range

Effetto Mariposa, the Swiss brand best known for its posh workshop tools, has launched a new range of cleaning and lubricating products that are said to be kind to the environment… oh, and good at looking after your bike too, of course.

The Allpine Light biodegradable bicycle cleaner is said to be effective against dirt while leaving your bike smelling of pine – which has a certain appeal to it. We’re thinking forests and Febreze but our review stash has yet to arrive so you’ll have to stay tuned to find out whether it passes the sniff test. 

Read all about it here. 

You want big tyres? Acme has big tyres

Acme – not Wile E Coyote’s brand of choice, another Acme – has released a new titanium adventure bike called Cam that has enough space for tyres up to 29 x 2.35in.

The South African company says: "Sure, it looks like a drop bar mountain bike, but it’s just not. With 440mm chainstays, the rear end is the same as you would get on a gravel bike. Just more traction, and more comfort."

"The 70-degree head angle is steep by modern mountain bike standards, and slack by modern gravel standards. CAM gives no toe overlap, all-day comfort and is nimble, capable, and ready to rumble."

The frameset is priced at €2,500 (around £2,125).

Read all about it here. 

CeramicSpeed adds lifetime warranty to Solid Lubrication Technology bearings

Okay, okay, warranties and bearings aren’t the sexiest subjects but sometimes you need some good old-fashioned practicality in your life.

CeramicSpeed’s Solid Lubrication Technology (SLT) bearings – used in headsets and rear suspension pivots – now come with a lifetime warranty, and that has to be good news for the maintenance-phobic.

“In the lab and out on the trails we’ve done our very best to push these bearings to failure, but our efforts have ultimately been unsuccessful,” says CeramicSpeed.

How come? We don’t have space to tell you here so you’ll have to check out our original story.

See, bearings turned out to be more interesting than you thought in the end, didn’t they?

Read all about it here.

First Giro d'Italia Virtual jersey revealed 

This is the first jersey of the Giro d’Italia Virtual, an indoor cycling project developed by RCS Sport – organiser of the Giro d’Italia, among other big races – in collaboration with BKOOL.

The Giro d’Italia Virtual consists of three separate rounds, running from October to May 2022 and offers riders the opportunity to experience multiple stages of the race from home thanks to the high-definition video simulation developed by BKOOL.

The jersey, a collaboration between Castelli and Technogym, is designed specifically for indoor riding.

Read all about it here. 

Check out Mason’s new Raw mountain bike

Mason Cycles – or Mason Progressive Cycles, if you want to be formal – has released its first hardtail mountain bike and those ruff ’n’ tuff dirt monkeys over at off.road.cc been thrashing around the hills on it.

The steel Raw is quick and nimble, which comes as no surprise because that Dom Mason is a smart lad.

Read all about it here 

4iiii’s UK upgrade facility is up and running

Power meter brand 4iiii has opened a UK facility for factory installing its single and dual-sided power meters onto customers’ existing chainsets.

Send a Shimano non-drive-side crank to 4iiii and it’ll install the power measuring tech for £259.99. The power meter will add just 9g to your crank, plus the weight of a CR2032 coin cell battery.

4iiii offers this service for various road and off-road Shimano cranks. The latest Shimano Ultegra and Dura-Ace groupsets aren’t listed, but we understand that these will be added soon.

4iiii claims a maximum turnaround time of five days with work usually done within 48hrs of the crank arriving at the factory.

Read all about it here. 

Reckon you know how a bike works?

This is the most popular tech video we’ve shown you this week, explaining a few things you might not know about steering and balance. If you missed it before, take a look.

Storck adds Classified’s Powershift shifting system to top-end gravel bike

We’ve shown you Classified’s Powershift a few times – a two-speed wireless electronic hub gear system that works alongside a cassette, doing away with the need for a front derailleur. The idea is that it allows for super-fast shifting even under full load.

> Find out about Classified’s Powershift shifting system here.

We’ve heard of a few brands, including Pilot and M83, speccing Powershift over the past few weeks, and now Germany’s Storck has joined them, offering the latest version of its high-end Grix.2 gravel bike with Classified’s system. 

More mounts for accessories have also been included on the Grix.2 to improve the suitability for everyday use and bikepacking.

The Classified Powershift system is combined on the GRIX.2 with gravel-specific SRAM Force XPLR components. The bike is priced at €6,399 (around £5,435).

Read all about it here. 

La Passione’s winter clothing collection drops

We’ve had loads of winter clothing news this week, starting with the arrival of La Passione’s collection of winter jackets, tights and thermal jersey options across its premium Prestige, comfortable Club and women’s-specific Grace lines.

In the top-end Prestige line, for example, you’ve got two top half layers. La Passione says the Winter Jacket (£160) offers excellent temperature regulation thanks to its compact and elastic membrane fabric.

The Thermal Jersey (£110), on the other hand, consists of a highly elasticated soft fleece fabric for keeping the body warm. 

Check out the rest of the range in our story. 

Read all about it here. 

Cafe du Cycliste adds Morgane long sleeve jersey to Atelier collection

If you’re after something more flamboyant, Cafe du Cycliste has added limited edition Morgane long sleeve jerseys (£186) to its Atelier collection. 

Available in both men’s and women’s race-fitting cuts and two different patterns — Tangerine Blossom and Wading Birds — this jersey is made from a high stretch ribbed fabric that Cafe du Cycliste says performs well during periods of intense effort.

Read all about it here 

Vaela reveals ‘first urban cyclewear exclusively for women’

Startup brand Vaela says that it aims to make ‘womenswear that works fantastically on and off a bike’

“Our clothes are super comfortable; they avoid bum cleavage, tight shoulders and uncomfortable seams,” says Vaela. “They have reflective elements that are visible only when you want them to be, they have stretch where required, and they’re durable and crumple-free.”

Vaela also says it’s working hard to be sustainable and will be donating two per cent of its revenue to charities that are aligned with its overall mission to promote women’s cycling.

The first collection includes a Cotton Jacket (£195 on pre-order) and Jeans (£120 on pre-order).

Read all about it here.