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Does a gravel bike have any right to look this good, and should it have more tyre clearance? Check out BMC's new Kaius race machine, new clothing from MAAP and Rapha, a potential solution to preventing bike thefts and all things environmental from Bolle and Islabikes in this edition of Tech of the Week...
BMC has launched its first-ever "performance gravel race bike" called the Kaius. The brand says the new bike has "race-specific" geometry, a premium variable carbon layup with high-module fibres to provide compliance, stiffness and robustness, plus a low weight while delivering "excellent power transfer."
The Kaius 01 features no suspension like the brand's existing URS gravel range, but instead focusses on performance, borrowing tech such as the integrated bottle cages to optimise aerodynamic performance from BMC's Teammachine. There's space for 44mm tyres, so not as generous as many of the latest gravel bike releases.
> Review: BMC Teammachine SLR Two 2021
> Off-road.cc | BMC releases Kaius 01
BMC says the total frame weight is 910g, shaving off grams from the brand’s existing URS gravel frame (1050g). The fork weighs 400g, the seat post 160g, and the cockpit 315g.
The Kaius is available in three builds. The top-of the range 01 ONE is as shown here, but the 01 TWO and 01 THREE also feature BMC's ICS2 cockpit, where the cables are fully integrated.
Other features include routing for a dropper post, compatibility with either 1x or 2x drivetrains and top tube mounts for bolt-on bags, the Kaius is also compatible with BMC’s new MTT Suspension Stem that was designed in conjunction with Redshift and offers 20mm of suspension.
Kaius 01 is available in six sizes (47, 51, 54, 56, 58 and 61) and three models: ONE, TWO and THREE. All of these are available from September 2022, with the ONE costing £10,400 with Red AXS XPLR, and Kaius 01 THREE with Rival AXS Wide priced at £5,000.
More gravelly goodness from MAAP, this is the brand's third 'Alt_Road collection' which is designed for adventuring off-the-beaten-track. The latest range of products sees new colourways as well as completely new products.
The Alt_Road Thermal Vest and Jacket return for the colder months on the bike, both featuring Polartec Alpha insulation. There's also a merino Alt_Road Jersey, Cargo Bibs, Tech Tees and Legionnaire’s Caps as well as a host of other Alt_Road accessories. You can explore the complete collection here.
The Alt_Road Lightweight Anorak is one of the new garments and is designed with both on and off-the-bike use in mind. It features a triple-layered fabric construction and an over helmet hood whilst remaining lightweight and stashable.
The new collection is available now, and we should have some in for review very soon...
‘Be kind. Do good. Have as much fun as possible.’ is Sarah Sturm’s favourite phrase and has been used as inspiration for this latest kit collaboration with Rapha.
Rapha says that this year’s collection is the perfect summary of Sarah’s own perspective: "Bold, bright and a little bit different. An evolution from her previous kit, it incorporates playful colours and exaggerated ‘storm’ graphics in a nod to her last name."
The collection includes two styles of jersey, socks and matching cap. It's available now from the Rapha online store.
The helmet has been designed as part of Bollé’s 'React for Good' project which aims to put sustainability at the forefront of design. Bolle says the Eco React Mips is designed for the 'environmentally aware' cyclist, who wants to enjoy riding in the city while making sustainable buying choices and doing their part for the planet.
Shown here in Dark Green Matte, Bollé is challenging the traditional way of making helmets, replacing plastic and petroleum products with organic materials to reduce the environmental impact. The polycarbonate shell is made with 40% recycled materials with 100% Eco-Nylon plastic parts and 100% recycled straps and padding.
The helmet is available now in sizes from Small (52-55) to Large (59-62), has Mips technology to allow rotational movement in the event of a crash and is priced at £140.
The Leopard Lync is a connected bicycle alarm and movement sensor which can deliver instant alerts, theft mapping and real-time GPS tracking.
The Lync has been designed to fit all types of bikes, attaches under your existing bottle cage and is weatherproof up to IP67. With normal use, the battery has a claimed life of up to four weeks on a single charge and longer when in standby mode.
The Leopard Lync is available to order now on IndieGoGo now and comes with the first year of data included for £89, limited to the first 100 orders. After that, the data subscription will be £2.99 per month. More information can be found on the products crowdfunding page.
Bike specialists Islabikes has released its Sustainability Report 2022, which aims to better understand the brand's environmental impact by analysing its carbon profile, supply chains and future commitments.
The report revealed that the 'e-Icons' electric bikes only emit an estimated 0.2 grams of C02e/mile, which is just 1.25% of the smallest car, and that bicycles are still one of the cleanest ways to get around, even when including the emissions from charging an electric bicycle.
According to the Sustainability Report, if each child cycled to school this could save up to 247kg of CO2e from being emitted annually.
> What is the carbon footprint of your bike?
As part of the company's pledge to reduce emissions by 55% in the next six years, it highlighted the need to ban the airfreighting of goods, to use public transport where possible, stop flights within the UK or EU and work with factories remotely to limit trips to Asia. Islabikes will also explore options for 100% renewable energy. Currently, it’s at 32%.
The full report is available here.
Presented without comment. Let us know if you would ride this in the comments section below...
In case you missed it earlier in the week:
The all new Canyon Ultimate is here and it could save you 10 watts
Trek launches new, lighter Domane endurance road bike and ditches front IsoSpeed system
Zwift launches its own Hub smart trainer for £449
The making uncool things cool edition: Five cool things coming soon from BMC, Pirelli, Van Rysel, Velotoze and Hornit
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Jamie has been riding bikes since a tender age but really caught the bug for racing and reviewing whilst studying towards a master's in Mechanical engineering at Swansea University. Having graduated, he decided he really quite liked working with bikes and is now a full-time addition to the road.cc team. When not writing about tech news or working on the Youtube channel, you can still find him racing local crits trying to cling on to his cat 2 licence...and missing every break going...
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Very fine things, often wear one to weddings when I get a chance to wear the old frock coat.
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