By Stan Portus

Published: Friday, 01 April 2022 at 12:00 am

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It’s the first day of April and what’s left me feeling like a fool is how quickly the year seems to have passed thus far.

But once we’ve (or at least I have) got over the constant march of time, the arrival of April does mean the bike industry has begun to move in full force, releasing a continual slew of products.

This week, we’ve seen Ridley launch a revamped version of its Kanzo Adventure gravel bike, with a progressive, mountain-bike inspired geometry and more than a dozen mounts for bags and accessories.

Factor also released the Lando, marking its entry into the cross-country mountain bike market.

For smaller people, Propain announced the Bam Bam balance bike, which has more than a couple of nods to The Flintstones.

We also saw a pretty novel grip idea for gravel bikes from Ere Research.

If the prospect of time outdoors has become a bit more attractive with the onset of spring and you’re looking for a new ride, we’ve put together our guide on how to buy your perfect bike in eight steps.

And if your shoes are looking a bit beaten up after the winter, we also published an update of our best cycling shoes list, featuring the wallet-friendly Triban GRVL 500 shoes.

Elsewhere, Simon von Bromley has been testing the Wahoo Powrlink Zero Speedplay power meter pedals and Matt Baird, editor of our sister title Cycling Plus, gave the Giro Eclipse Spherical helmet 4.5 stars.

Lazer Vento KinetiCore helmet

Lazer has just released the Vento, one of three helmets to feature the brand’s new rotational impact protection system, KinetiCore.

For a long time, Lazer has fitted its helmets with MIPS to help protect against oblique impacts. But KinetiCore is said to do the same thing without the added cost of licensing fees for the third-party technology.

Stan Portus / Our Media

KinetiCore works in a different way to MIPS. While MIPS is a separate layer added to a helmet that slides on impact, KinetiCore works like a crumple zone on a car, with foam sections in the helmet breaking off upon impact and minimising rotational forces transferring from the helmet to your head.

Stan Portus / Our Media

Lazer says that beyond reducing costs, KinetiCore has several other benefits. It allows for greater airflow in its helmets, lowers weight and increases ventilation. KinetiCore is also said to help reduce plastics because the system removes material to create a crumple zone rather than the addition of another protective element.

The fact sections of the helmet break on impact is also described by Lazer as a good thing. This will clearly signal that the helmet is no longer safe, something which isn’t necessarily obvious on other helmets, according to the brand.

The Vento is an aero helmet and it sits at the top of Lazer’s new range. It is said to be 2.3 per cent more aerodynamic and 5.4 per cent more ventilated than the outgoing Lazer Bullet 2.0.

The helmet has a ScrollSys belt to adjust the fit. There is also a port to attach Lazer’s Universal LED helmet light on the back.

• £259.99 / $299.99 / €269.99