By Simon von Bromley

Published: Friday, 03 December 2021 at 12:00 am


Can it really be December already? I don’t know about you, dear reader, but this year has been a blur.

With Black Friday out of the way, we’ll be on to Christmas gift guides and related end-of-the-year content in no time, so watch out for that.

Before then, though, it’s time for another edition of First Look Friday, our weekly round-up of the latest news, reviews and new tech.

This week was a bit slow for news, but Orbea announced its new Rise H eMTB and Giant revealed the 2022 Trance Advanced Pro 29 trail bike.

There were plenty of reviews, though. Monday saw us run the rule over the Swiss Side Hadron² Ultimate 500 Disc wheelset, while we published reviews of the Q36.5 Unique road cycling shoes and the Continental Terra Speed gravel tyres on Tuesday.

We also republished our buyer’s guide to the best waterproof jackets for cyclists, so if you’re the kind of brave soul who doesn’t mind venturing out on the bike in inclement weather, be sure to have a look at our picks.

On the other hand, if, like me, you prefer to stay indoors and keep warm and dry more often than not, now is a great time to invest in a smart trainer (if you haven’t already).

With that out of the way, let’s get on to some of the exciting new cycling tech to land at BikeRadar headquarters this week.