By Luke Marshall

Published: Friday, 08 April 2022 at 12:00 am


Welcome back to First Look Friday. This week on BikeRadar, we dived deep into the world of gravel bikes with a full review of the RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR fork, the brand’s suspension fork designed to make your gravel bike even more capable off-road.

We also got the lowdown on Fox’s new 32 Taper-Cast Gravel suspension fork with its 40mm travel, putting it squarely head-to-head with the Rudy.

What’s more, we checked out the latest Cannondale Topstone Carbon, sporting revised geometry and a new Lefty Oliver fork. Plus, there was news of 3T’s Exploro Ultra gravel bike that’s been aero optimised for huge 61mm tyres.

Meanwhile, Time released its first bike in years, and you guessed it, it was a gravel bike.

There have been plenty of other product launches to get our teeth stuck into this week. Crankbrothers has released the new Highline 11 dropper post with its carbon stanchion to help trim weight, there’s a new MTB tyre range from Continental and Fox has updated the chassis on its 36 forks in a bid to shed weight.

On top of that, there’s been tons of MTB and road tech news on the site to dig into this week.

If you’d rather relax and be entertained, be sure to check out the BikeRadar podcast, where we tell tales of our best, and worst, rides.

And if you’re still not sated by that little lot, read on for a curated selection of the hottest new bike products to arrive at BikeRadar HQ this week. 

Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep

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The bold colours of the Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep will sure make you stand out from the crowd.
Luke Marshall / Our Media

If you watched the Tour of Flanders last weekend, you will have no doubt seen these outlandish Oakleys adorning Mathieu van Der Poel’s face as he took his second victory in Belgium’s biggest bike race in three years.

The Sutro Lite Sweep glasses are designed to give all-day comfort and performance, while making a bold statement. The sporty design is intended to deliver optimised coverage, field of vision, retention and impact resistance.

The frames are made from Oakley’s O-Matter material and there are moulded ear socks on the arms to help keep them in place without causing discomfort. The non-slip nose piece should help here too.

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The flexible non-slip nose piece and ear socks are aimed at keeping these sunglasses in place.
Luke Marshall / Our Media

The all-important lens is Oakley’s Prizm, which the brand claims boosts colour and contrast. This model features the Prizm Trail Torch lens, with 35 per cent light transmission for mid to bright conditions, and suitable for MTB use as well as on the road.

Selected Sutro Lite Sweep models feature the vented lens for better airflow to prevent fogging. For those who aren’t a fan of the bold colours, Oakley is releasing more traditional colour options without the vented lenses.

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The vented lenses should keep the glasses from fogging during big efforts.
Luke Marshall / Our Media
  • £150