Warren’s final round-up from Taipei teases unreleased tech
The Taipei Cycle Show always throws up plenty of new kit and components, before they are officially launched.
As well as being a show open to consumers, it’s also a place where lots of bike industry business gets done. With brands looking to complete specifications on new bikes for the coming year(s), component brands will showcase upcoming products before launching to the world.
In my final round-up from Taiwan, here are some of the new products I spotted from Bryton, Prologo, ReadyGo, Selle Italia and BLK-TEC.
You can check out the rest of my coverage from the Taipei Show, including:
- L-Twoo’s new (unreleased) gravel groupsets
- My round-up of some of the most eye-catching bikes at the show
- Steel and carbon superbikes from Yasujiro and Wiawis
- The latest gravel components from FSA, Ritchey, KS and more
Bryton’s Rider 460 computer is fully featured for less
Bryton’s new Rider 460 head unit has all of the features of the GPS brand’s premium models, the S800, Rider 750 and Rider 500, but contained within a simplified unit with a monochrome screen.
ANT＋ FE-C and Bluetooth connectivity ensure the computer can connect to your usual accessories and smart trainers. It also offers full turn-by-turn navigation, live tracking, power and cadence data and the option to set up multiple bike configurations (including electric bikes).
The compact slimline case relocates the button controls to the unit’s flanks, rather than the base, which we found awkward to use on the premium Rider S800 unit.
Pricing is not yet set, but Bryton aims to make the Rider 460 available at around $140, undercutting Garmin’s base-model Edge 130 Plus.
Prologo has a 3D-printed saddle coming
Prologo is the latest brand to move into the world of 3D-printed saddles with the upcoming Nago R4 PAS 3D MES.
This saddle isn’t officially launching until later in the year, but we got the inside scoop from Prologo brand head Salvatore Truglio.
“The new 3D MES takes our latest race shape, the Nago R4, and redesigns it with a complex 3D-mesh design,” said Truglio.
“We have used different patterns in the honeycomb to give the saddle the correct compliance and pressure relief from nose to tail.”
According to Truglio, the new saddle weighs 149g with carbon rails, making it, he claims, the lightest 3D-printed saddle in the world.
New tech to stop mountain bikers from slip-sliding
Prologo also previewed a new mountain bike saddle, the Proxim Nembo Slide Control.
The Nembo was developed with the Atherton Racing team. This new 245mm-long saddle comes in 135mm and 145mm widths, and features a new surface finish called ‘Slide Control’.
This, Truglio says, is designed to offer similar grip and comfort to Prologo’s existing CPC surfacing.
Truglio adds: “It’s not quite as grippy as CPC, to enable riders to easily shift their position while racing, but still has enough grip to keep them positioned in bad weather conditions.”
The Nembo saddle weighs in at 213g for the 135mm width and 244g for the 145mm width.
New grips for mountain bikers, too
Also added to Prologo’s off-road line-up are two new grips, both made from a material that combines a silicone-polymer outer skin with a recycled nylon core.
First up is the new Cush grip, 132mm long and weighing 93g for the pair, with a textured grip that’s noticeably soft in the hand, while maintaining a slim overall diameter.
The Hexa grip, meanwhile, is 134mm in length and has a larger overall diameter.
It has the same compliant feel as the Cush but without the textured surface. It instead uses a deeply channeled hexagonal pattern and a shape that narrows from its outer and then flares towards the inside edge. These weigh 95g for the pair.
CPC for handlebar tape
Truglio also showed us some prototype handlebar tape that features Prologo’s CPC tech. The CPC surfacing has been around on saddles since 2014 and on gloves since 2016. It’s a rubber-like material consisting of thousands of minute chimney-like shapes, designed to add comfort and stability.
Up until now, it’s been an expensive material to manufacture – prohibitively so in bar tape – but Truglio says advancements in Prologo’s production mean this new CPC tape can be made more cost-effectively.
No confirmed retail price is yet set, but Truglio says it will be around the $45-50 mark, or £40-45 in the UK. It’s premium, no doubt about that, but in the ballpark of brands such as Supacaz and Lizard Skins, and undercutting the likes of Silca and Wolf Tooth.
BLK-TEC’s wild carbon wheels
BLK-TEC has only been around since 2023, but the company’s products found their way onto a number of bikes at the Taipei show, including show-stealing titanium bikes from Inner and Ora.
BLK-TEC’s most striking component is, without a doubt, the C1D wheelset. The radical star-shaped design combines both the spokes and the hub flanges into a single carbon moulding.
BLK-TEC claims this configuration makes for a rigid, no-flex construction.
The C1D’s 40mm-deep rim shape combines a 20.7mm internal rim width and 27.4mm outer.
Due to the design of the wheel, the hookless rim has a smooth, solid bed, eliminating the need for tape for tubeless compatibility.
BLK-TEC says the rim is optimised for tyres up to 35mm wide – and with a claimed weight of 695g for the front and 796g for the rear, they’re competitively light for a 40mm-deep disc wheelset.
These are seriously expensive, though, priced at $4,880 a pair.
Elsewhere, BLK-TEC’s new R8 one-piece bar was designed in collaboration with Token components to be compatible with Token’s Cable Box headset system (used by bike brands including Look, Ceepo, ENVE, Pardus, Isaac and Fara).
The $610 R8 bar works with both fully and semi-integrated cable routing, and is available in widths of 38cm, 40cm and 42cm, and effective stem lengths of 90/100/110/120/130mm.
The claimed weight of a 40cm handlebar is 320g.
ReadyGo’s DF3 will solve your bar-space woes
ReadyGo showed a new out-front mount with a modular system to enable you to incorporate a multitude of additional mounts.
Alongside a standard GPS computer mount – with options for all the major units (Wahoo, Garmin, Bryton, Hammerhead) – it also has the provision to add a phone mount, GoPro camera, bike light and even a bell.
So, if you’re increasingly short of space on your handlebar, the DF3 could be the smart space-saver you’ve been looking for.
Selle Italia branches out into urban saddles
Selle Italia is known for its legendary racing products, such as the Flite, Novus, and more recently, SLR and Boost saddles. So it was something of a surprise that the big announcement for Taipei was the brand’s foray into urban and commuting saddles.
However, the new GT 1 contains a lot of new tech that we expect to see on future Selle Italia products.
The new EVA upper is formed in a single mould, incorporating both the padding and cover. This, Selle Italia claims, removes any unnecessary weight and removes the need for bonding agents between the padding and cover, meaning the EVA upper is easy to recycle.
The next innovation is a bond/glue/staple-free attachment to the saddle base, meaning the user can replace a worn or damaged cover by unhooking the top from the base. Selle Italia calls this the Lock-On system.
Selle Italia is looking to introduce these key design features across a wider range of saddles, including some of the performance models we’re more familiar with.
Still, with its pressure-relieving shape, 180mm width and 250mm length, the GT 1 looks far less bulky than we’re used to seeing on trekking/urban saddles.
We’ve requested a test sample to fit to a commuter bike, to see how this smart new saddle design fares.