Are These Brakes The Future For Road Bikes? | Cycling Weekly
Bikes that ride on water, the greatest tyre lever ever made and reversible jerseys. The Cycle Show in London has so much great tech on display and Sam Gupta went to discover all the latest releases. Bosch were displaying its ABS system, and it got us thinking, could this technology ever make its way onto a road bike? We also explored what was on offer from Manta5, a brand creating bikes for the water, Invani who make reversible jerseys, Hunt who has recently partnered with Classified and ReHook who has released an all new style of tyre lever. Some beautiful custom bikes were also on display which took our breath away.
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00:00 Bikes that go on water, the coolest custom paint jobs you have ever seen,
00:03 the best tyre lever that's maybe ever been made and reversible jerseys. There's a whole lot of
00:08 new tech here at the Cycle Show in London and I'm going to show you everything that you need to see.
00:12 We have come over to Bosch because today at the Cycle Show they are featuring their ABS system.
00:28 So we're going to jump on this bike and we're going to give it a test and see how it performs.
00:32 Sweet, all right, let's do it. Have fun. Let's go. Oh my god, here we go.
00:38 That is powerful. That is insanely powerful. Let's go again.
00:54 Now I will say that test was very impressive and I think I was most impressed by just the
00:59 sheer amount of power that was coming out of that front brake. And do remember,
01:04 I was only using the front brake, I didn't touch the rear brake at all. So it was a very good
01:08 demonstration of how it actually works. When I was on the gravel, I was only pulling on that front
01:13 brake. I wasn't touching the rear at all. But it uses a very clever brain which is down located on
01:19 the fork. And what it does is that when you start braking and the ABS system is active, this takes
01:25 over the power of the braking. Now there is a little reservoir in there which then controls
01:29 how much power is being applied to that front brake. So now you might notice that these brake
01:34 rotors do look a little bit funky and that's because they've got this black inner ring where
01:39 essentially the sensor down in the brake caliper is monitoring the speed of that front rotor. And
01:44 you've got exactly the same thing on the rear. And what the brain is doing is that it's monitoring
01:49 the speed of both wheels individually and then it applies the braking force to the front brake only
01:55 to then manage how much power is being exerted and making sure that you're not locking up
02:00 and then skidding out. It's a very impressive system and actually over on the gravel you can
02:05 really see how it operates and how the caliper will bite, release, bite, release just how it
02:10 does on your car to make sure that you stay in control. Very impressive. Now this technology
02:15 isn't anything crazy brand new. It has been around for a while but it's the first time that it's been
02:20 seen in kind of this configuration and more importantly this size on a mountain bike. And
02:26 it's very interesting to think obviously we're still fairly early into ABS systems on bikes
02:31 and you've got to wonder how much further can it go? Could we ever see an ABS system on a road bike?
02:38 That is something that could potentially be very interesting because of course Di2 was first seen
02:42 on an e-bike seven years before it made its way over onto a road bike. So the tech that we see here
02:49 could be the future for road bikes. Now this is potentially the bike that doesn't need roads and
02:59 that's because this bike has been designed to go on water. This is called the Manta5 SL3 and as you
03:06 can see it's made to ride the hydrofoils of the waves. So what we've got down here up front is how
03:12 it balances and then you've got your power towards the back and essentially it does work like an e-
03:18 bike. So you'll sit on top, you have to start in depths of at least two meters and then from there
03:23 essentially you get pedaling just like an e-bike. You will then be propelled and then you sit on
03:27 top of those waves and then you can ride them. Now there's a couple of different ways that you
03:31 can actually use the bike. You can use it out on the open seas meaning you could ride the waves on
03:37 this bike but the other cool thing that you can do is use it on lakes as well. So if you want
03:42 something a little bit more calm, a little bit more tame, then you can take up to the lake district for
03:46 example and then just cruise along on those waves. Now another very cool thing about this bike is
03:51 that the battery will actually last for up to four and a half hours of riding which is actually quite
03:56 a long time and I don't think that anyone would be riding longer than that on water. I can imagine
04:02 it's actually quite tiring. Now these bikes are actually made by the company Manta5 down in New
04:07 Zealand and this one here is the only one in the country. They cost between nine and twelve thousand
04:14 pounds here in the UK so they're not cheap. However if you own a yacht and you want this to be an
04:20 addition to your yacht I imagine that's not the biggest expenditure you're gonna have to worry about.
04:25 I've just come over to Invarni and they made something that I've never seen before -
04:31 reversible jerseys. Now let me just grab one off the shelf. This one here. So as you can see
04:38 it's a normal jersey, it's got three pockets at the back but as quickly as that you've got
04:44 another jersey! Unbelievable! So they've got a whole range and you've got summer jerseys,
04:49 you've got heavier weighted jerseys, you've even got gilets. It's something that I've never
04:56 thought of and it's really surprised me that it hasn't been done before and they look really clean
05:01 and clear to be honest. You know, solid black colours, they're not very offensive to the eye.
05:05 In fact I'll say they look quite good but they've also got bibs. The caveat here though,
05:11 the bibs are not reversible and that does make a lot of sense. But you've got long sleeve jerseys,
05:16 they've got arm warmers and socks and everything that you'd need. It's a really nice feeling
05:20 product. The fabric feels premium and everything's flat locked so you've got flat locked seams
05:27 everywhere so it feels the same no matter which way around you're wearing it. And then I've been
05:33 told that when you are wearing the jerseys the pockets don't irritate you at all and the seams
05:39 on the top here are still very soft. So in some ways it does make a lot of sense. Now I've got
05:45 a pair of shorts here, I've got a pair of shorts there, I've got a pair of shorts there, I've got a
05:49 pair of shorts there, I've got a pair of shorts there, I've got a pair of shorts there. So it does
05:53 make a lot of sense and actually the prices on these are pretty reasonable and when you consider
05:59 the fact that you're essentially getting two jerseys out of one it makes a lot of sense. I'm a,
06:05 I believe we have reviewed these before on Cycling Weekly and we were a big fan so I think I might
06:10 have a little bit of a different opinion on this. So let's get into it. So this is a really
06:16 interesting pair of shorts. It's really interesting for a couple of different reasons. It's been fitted
06:20 out with the Campagnolo e-car group set but more importantly it has Hunt's classified wheel build.
06:27 So you've got double shifting on this one by ring which is very cool. Now up at the hood here you
06:33 can actually see where the button is to allow you to shift on that classified hub but of course
06:38 you can't do that with the regular integration and what they've done is here on the hood they've actually cut the rubber hood out so that the button can poke through.
06:45 It's pretty interesting to see, bit of a gorilla bodge some might say but arguably it's
06:51 it's pretty clean, pretty tidy and it does work. I'll be interested to see how it works in
06:57 the real world but it looks like you just do it on your thumb which I mean it's fine. I think it's
07:03 something you just have to get used to. If you haven't used a classified system before though
07:07 this is an entirely wireless shifter that then talks to the through axle down here on the rear
07:13 hub and then that shifts between the two different gears that sit within that classified hub. So what
07:18 that does mean is that essentially you'd have two by shifting but still being able to have the benefits
07:23 of a one by ring. I'm not too sure if you need that on a gravel bike. Usually you have a pretty
07:29 good spread on the gears and that's usually enough to allow you to ride wherever you want to ride
07:34 but since you do still get the benefits of a one by system and you can still have two by shifting
07:39 on the rear that is quite nice. So I think only time will tell on this one. I'm keen to try this
07:46 bike out and see what it's actually like to use in the real world. We've just come over to Rehook
07:56 because they have come out with a very nifty little tool. Now you might know Rehook from their
08:01 chain put back on a tool which they then morphed into a bit more of a multi-tool but they've
08:06 released this which is called the tyre glider and this is essentially made to help you put
08:11 on and take off tyres and I was pretty keen to see how this would actually work. So I've got a wheel
08:17 here, deep section carbon wheel with a GP5000 on it which is known to be a pretty tight tyre.
08:23 Now what you do is you open it up, literally pop this in, go around by 90 degrees and then you just
08:30 start pushing and then it's a bit tight to start with but as soon as you've got a little bit off
08:35 it becomes really easy and there is an inner tube in here as well so there is something taking up
08:39 the space. Now when you want to come to put the tyre back on use a slightly different part of the
08:44 tool. You get it on partially, pop it onto the edge of the rim and then you just start pushing it around
08:49 and there you go it's putting the tyre back on and then we all know that that last bit is always the
08:58 hardest and I think if I keep pushing it will start to chase it off the rim on the other side
09:02 but if I grab hold up here and then push really hard
09:05 should just pop back on. That was actually quite easy to do. You do have to put your weight through
09:15 it at the end. Quite impressive actually this little tool. I think only time will tell what
09:19 this is really like because I think with tools like this you really need to use them on a whole
09:24 lot of different wheel and tyre combinations to see how they really last but pretty cool.
09:29 So we've come to this collection of custom bikes that's here in the middle of the show and one that
09:38 absolutely does stand out is this hand sling and I don't think I need to describe too much why it
09:44 does stand out but my key favourite things about this have got to be those parkour wheels. They are
09:49 absolutely gorgeous. When the light hits them they just absolutely sparkle and I'm led to believe
09:56 that these are the only set of these wheels in the world finished in this way and they are
10:01 absolutely gorgeous. I also love the bar tape and the saddle. They match perfectly and then with
10:07 that paint as well I can only imagine that in the sunlight this thing absolutely pops.
10:16 Now this bike next to me is one from Quirk Cycles and it's one that's been around for a
10:20 little while. We actually filmed it back at Bespoke at the end of last year but it's one
10:25 bike that whenever I look at it I just think it's the most beautiful thing in the world. I love the
10:30 paint on it. I love the joints here and the lugs that have been used because you end up with this
10:36 beautifully seamless finish and it's made with columbus steel tubing but looking at it it's just
10:43 so incredibly modern that pays so much homage to how bikes used to be made and it's just a gorgeous
10:50 gorgeous thing. This is honestly probably one of my bucket list bikes because it is it's just
10:56 stunning. Now the last bike that I'm going to highlight here is this DV8. Now DV8 are actually
11:03 a Scottish brand and the attention to detail on this bike is honestly mind-blowing. There's gold
11:10 leaf, there's hand-painted details of the leaves and the trees and the grass and then you've got
11:17 these incredible fades in the sky and it's not just the frame but it's the fork as well and
11:22 everything that's been done has just been done to perfection. It really is this really is a work
11:29 of art. I've spoken to someone who actually works with DV8 and the intention behind this bike is
11:33 that it is still going to be ridden which I find incredible. I don't think I could have a bike like
11:38 this and then want to go and ride it but this thing really is absolutely stunning. The paintwork
11:44 is one thing and by far and away takes your breath away but also the spec of the bike itself
11:48 it's just been thought through incredibly well. Now mountain bikes aren't my thing but this thing
11:54 is honestly absolutely gorgeous. So that's all for today here at the cycle show let me know
12:08 down in the comments what you think of all the new tech I was able to see here today and also
12:12 let me know what your thoughts are on ABS and if you think that it could ever make its way
12:17 onto a road bike. If you enjoyed the video then please do drop it a like,
12:21 subscribe to the channel for more content and I will see you again very soon.
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