You can be the first to own the new Colnago Prototipo… but it’ll cost you – plus more tech news from SRAM, Pirelli, Brompton, Apidura and more

We've got everything from a record-breaking Brompton to yellow gloop from Pirelli in the latest Tech of the Week, but we're kicking off with the opportunity to buy the first – and probably the last – Colnago Prototipo to go on sale to the public.

You can be the first to buy the new Colnago Prototipo… but it’ll cost you

You can be the first to buy a Colnago Prototipo, the bike ridden by Tadej Pogacar and other members of UAE Team Emirates during the 2022 Tour de France, but you’re going to have to dig deep. The current bid for this Colnago Prototipo x TdF unique edition – “the official bicycle of the Tour de France” – is €16,500 (£13,800) and it’ll almost certainly rise much higher.

Tadej Pogacar was first spotted on the Prototipo – which is the Italian word for ‘prototype’ – while training at the end of May before riding it to three stage wins in the Tour de France.

> Check out the bikes ridden to every 2022 Tour de France stage victory

It features aero tube shapes, fully internal cable routing, a slightly sunken bottle cage mount area on the down tube, and a slim head tube, and it’s designed to be an improvement on the existing Colnago V3Rs.

> Pogacar's mystery Tour de France recon bike revealed to be Colnago Prototipo 

Colnago says, “After the initial development, the testing phase has been conducted with the help of the riders of UAE Team Emirates. They have been using this frame in their races and have provided crucial feedback.”

The Prototipo tag is temporary, of course.

“We are not going to sell any prototype to the public,” says Colnago’s Gabriele Sirtori. “Therefore, when the Prototipo project meets its final stage of development, we will present the result to the public with a different name.

“This means that the Prototipo that we are auctioning will be the first and (likely) the last Prototipo ever sold as new to the public, the others being those used by the riders of UAE Team Emirates.”

Colnago and Tour de France organiser ASO held a contest inviting cycling fans to design the paint scheme for this one-off bike and the design shown here, from Giovanni Ropolo, was selected as the winner.

The frame is a 485 sloping size (Colnago’s sizing system is unusual; go to www.colnago.com to get an idea) built up with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, Dura-Ace C50 wheels, and Colnago’s CC.01 integrated handlebar/stem.

The auction closes on Saturday, 20th August 2022 at 2pm UK time (BST).

Find out more here 

Show your love for Wout

If you want to show your admiration for Tour de France Green Jersey winner and all-round cycling superstar Wout van Aert – or any other Wout, come to that – Velo Love is doing these pop art T-shirts at £25 a, um, pop. 

Find out more here 

Pirelli launches tubeless sealant range… and it’s very, very  yellow

Pirelli has launched a new range of tubeless sealants that are as yellow as a cowardly lemon (apologies, it has been a long week). There's road-specific P Zero, Cinturato for gravel, and Scorpion for mountain bike use. These are the same names that Pirelli uses for its tyre ranges, logically enough.

Pirelli says that the P Zero (60ml, £7.99) is “a dedicated formulation to work better with high inflation pressures typical of road racing use”.

Cinturato (60ml, £7.99) and Scorpion (240ml, £12.99 up to 5l, £124.99) are the same ammonia and latex-free formulation, it’s just that they come in different sized bottles. 

We’ve requested samples for review.

Find out more here 

Lands’ End to John o’ Groats in 83 hours… on this Brompton

Last month, James Stannard set the fastest known time from Land’s End to John o’ Groats on a Brompton: 83 hours. Here’s the bike he rode.

It’s definitely a sponsor-led video – James works for Brompton – but it’s still really interesting.

State Bicycle Co teams up with beer brand Corona

Like bikes? Like beer? This is your lucky day because now you can combine your interests thanks to a new collection from the US brand State Bicycle Co and Corona, the Mexican beer producer.

The collab includes a co-branded Klunker bike ($420, around £348), handlebar bag ($39.99, around £33), tech-T ($59.99, around £50), jersey ($69.99, around £58), and bib shorts ($79.99, around £66).

The bike comes with a steel frame and fork and a coaster brake (you’d need a second brake for it to be road legal in the UK).

State Bicycle Co already offers Grateful Dead and Wu-Tang Clan versions of its Klunker.

The Corona items will only be offered on State Bicycle Co’s US site.

Find out more here

Apidura’s new Interactive Sizing Tool helps you find the perfect frame pack fit

London-based bike luggage brand Apidura has launched a new digital tool designed “to help bikepackers achieve a custom fit without the complexity and lead time associated with custom bags.”

You upload a photo of your bike to the Frame Pack Sizing section of Apidura’s website, scale the photo using the rear wheel, and then virtually fit as many frame packs as you like. Packs will be displayed at real size compared to the bike.

This new Interactive Sizing Tool sits alongside Apidura’s Kit Grid library and setup guides to help you get the right bags for you and the riding you do.

“Our hope is that this innovative new tool will not only make it less confusing, faster, and easier for bikepackers to find frame packs that fit but will also help reduce returns (and re-orders) associated with poorly fitting packs, reducing our environmental footprint,” says Apidura.

Find out more here  

SRAM’s vid explains gravel gearing

SRAM has produced a video to explain the range of gravel gear setups available to you, depending on the riding you do.

It covers only SRAM – there’s no Shimano GRX or Campagnolo Ekar in here – but it’s a handy guide to various options.

In case you missed it earlier in the week...

• Is Aerosensor the best system for reducing drag without a wind tunnel?
   
• Check out Knaap’s e-bike designed for larger riders… or even two people
   
• Gin – a £999 hybrid e-bike as well as a drink
   
• What’s the best bike for tackling the Transcontinental Race across Europe?
   
• Is Gelu Carbon Creations' Dracon the lightest hardtail ever?
   
• Komoot launches Trail View for improved route planning
   

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