The best weird and wonderful tech from the world’s biggest cycling trade show

By Stan Portus

Published: Wednesday, 21 June 2023 at 12:00 am

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Eurobike is the world’s biggest cycling trade show spanning five halls and many floors at the Messe Frankfurt exhibition centre.

The show covers everything the world of cycling has to offer, from big brand names to small producers and OEM companies you’ve likely never heard of.

We’ve been on the ground scouring the many booths to find the latest, greatest and weirdest tech on show.

Here’s our pick of some of the best road and gravel tech from day one – and make sure to check out our Eurobike hub to find all the latest news.

Elastic Interface 3D-printed insoles

Elastic Interface says the release of its insoles means the company has products to increase comfort at all three of the contact points you have with a bicycle.

The insoles use the same materials as its bib short pads and Irene Lucarelli, who works for Elastic Interface’s marketing team, describes the insoles as “like a chamois for your feet.”

Luca Conte, Elastic Interface’s senior product management directors, says the insoles are “specially made for cycling” and not other activities like running “so there’s no support on the heel but there is padding in the arch and metatarsal.”

The insoles are flexible and breathable and can be machine washed.

There will be three models available with varying levels of breathability and support: Essential; Premium; and Exclusive.

Camelbak bikepacking bags

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Camelbak has a new range of three bikepacking bags.

The bags are designed to fit on either your handlebar, along your top tube or on your saddle.

The handlebar bag can fit a Camelbak hydration bladder and its bar straps are in Camelbak’s recognisable blue colour.

Camelbak also had new versions of its Podium bottle on display. The new bottles are available in either titanium or steel, with a range of colours.

The new bottles are said to keep liquids cool for up to 7 hours.

Aleck Aleck radio and crash sensor

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The American company Aleck Aleck has two products on display at Eurobike.

The first is a radio and speaker system which can attach to the straps of any open face helmets.

The system can play music or enable you to talk to a group of up to 25 riders.

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You can create channels for different riders via the Aleck Aleck app, which is available on Android or iOS.

You can listen to music and hear your fellow riders at the same time with the system lowering the music volume when someone speaks.

Maybe most importantly, there is a mute button.

Aleck Aleck also had a crash sensor on display, which will be integrated into a number of Smith helmets from next year.

If the sensor goes off you will have a short time to override the alarm before it notifies your emergency contact and any other users of the product within 3km. The brand refers to other users as “heroes nearby”.

Pirelli Cinturato RC X gravel tyre

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The new Pirelli Cinturato RC X gravel tyre officially launches next month, but the brand gave us a sneak peek at Eurobike.

The tyre shares much in common with the Cinturato RC gravel tyre but it was designed specifically for racing on treacherous terrain, in particular North America where a lot of the gravel racing crosses sharp, flint trails.

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While details are thin at the moment, Pirelli said the tyre has an extended casing down the inside of the tyre to provide robustness.

 

A custom Cannondale Hooligan

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Walk the halls of Eurobike for long enough and you’ll come some pretty wacky stuff.

This Cannondale Hooligan is a case in point, with its Cannondale Saeco livery, internal cable routing and Fizik Volta saddle.

The bike belongs to designer Torgny Fjeldskaar who has designed some of the most iconic bikes of the past two decades in his design director roles at BMC and Cannondale, where he designed the original Hooligan.

Fjeldskaar says he had to drill the frame of the bike to route the cables internally.

Ere Research Genus wheels

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Ere Research’s Genus wheels are the Dutch brand’s top-of-the-line road bike wheels.

The wheels are available in 30mm, 45mm and 65mm depths. All the wheels are available with either carbon or steel spokes.

According to Ere Research, its carbon spokes are cured in a stretched state whereas other carbon spokes are cured in a ‘relaxed’ state. Ere’s spokes are said to be less liable to twisting during the wheel-building process as a result.

The spokes also feature a Zylon fibre core. According to Ere, the inclusion of this super-strong synthetic fibre should prevent the spokes from splitting in two in the event of a crash.

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These are laced to the brand’s new Panama hub. The hub uses a 2:1 lacing pattern, which is similar to Fulcrum wheels. This is based on DT Swiss’ now out-of-patent Star Ratchet design.

As a fun aside, the hubs are named ‘Panama’ as a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen. Ere Research founder Piet van der Velde also incorporated laser-etched markings on the rim that match Van Halen’s signature Frankenstrat guitar. Fun!

Aeroe Spider mountain bike rear rack

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The Aeroe Spider is a strap-on rear rack designed specifically to fit on the rear triangle of a full-suspension mountain bike.

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A stiff alloy tube wraps around the rear wheel and is fitted in ABS plastic mounts. Nylon straps then wrap around the tube to hold the rack in place. The straps are tensioned using a 4mm hex key.

The rack can be fitted with either dry bags or – new for 2023 – pannier bags.

Elite Dry Mat turbo trainer mat

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Elite was teasing this new turbo trainer mat on its stand.

The imaginatively named Dry Mat features a washable centre section. This is held in place with four large plastic thumb toggles and can be removed for a machine wash after a sweaty turbo sesh.

No further details were available at the time of publishing. We have contacted Elite for more information.

New WTB Silverado and Volt saddles

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WTB has redesigned its longstanding Silverado and Volt saddles.

By the brand’s estimation, there are over a million of each model in the wild, mostly fitted as OEM spec to complete bikes.

This has built something of a cult following among riders who like the saddles – to paraphrase a WTB spokesperson, those who like the Volt and Silverado, really like them.

Jack Luke / Our Media

With that in mind, the brand was reluctant to make significant changes to the design of the saddles but was still keen to modernise them.

The key change is the switch from a traditional wrapped and stapled construction to WTB’s bonded Fusion Form construction. According to the brand, this enables it to fine-tune the amount of nylon fibres in the shell to adjust comfort. The overall aesthetic of the saddles has also been updated.

Hunt 32 Aerodynamicist aero bikepacking wheels

Jack Luke / Our Media

Hunt gave us a sneak peek of its new aero bikepacking/ultra-distance racing wheels.

The wheels pair a higher spoke count version of the brand’s existing radical 32 Aerodynamicist rims with a new hub.

Like the Ere Research wheels, these new hubs use the DT Swiss Star Ratchet freehub, offering easier field serviceability.

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The wheel was developed following feedback from Hunt’s sponsored athletes who wanted a reliable high-spoke wheel that could be more easily field-serviced than its existing wheels.

Merida Scultura Endurance GR

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The Merida Scultura Endurance GR is a gravel race bike built around the existing Scultura Endurance road bike.

Merida says the bike is aimed at gravel racing and grand fondo riding and is specced with 35mm Continental Terra Speed tyre.

Two versions of the carbon frame are available – the entry-level 5000 and the premium 8000.

Nick Clark / Our Media

It is possible to mount a front and rear mudguard to the bike, with a removable bridge on the rear seat stays and mounting point on the fork.

Merida’s Disc Cooler technology features on the front fork, which the brand says helps regulate temperature on long descents.

The brand says the frameset is compatible with a 27.2mm dropper post, which can be set up using the internal cable routing.

Merida has also given the bike flared handlebars for a more comfortable hand position.

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