Plus this week’s best stories on BikeRadar
Welcome, friends, to another bumper edition of First Look Friday, where we guide you through a carefully curated pick of the best content from BikeRadar over the past seven days.
First up, on Tuesday, I explained why the new Santa Cruz Bronson 5 proves bike development has stalled.
Later that same day, Nick Clark brought news of the new Fox Transfer Neo, claimed to be the ‘fastest dropper post on the market’.
Oscar Huckle was next up, unpacking the details of an interesting new upgrade kit that enables you to convert your bike to run a 1x SRAM XPLR drivetrain without replacing your rear derailleur.
Eagle-eyed Tom Law spotted a new alloy Specialized Stumpjumper that appears to mark a return to cable drivetrains, rounding out another busy news week.
Away from all this breaking news, Jack Evans treated us to the latest update on his Giant TCX Advanced Pro long-term test bike and delivered an essential guide on the importance of protein to cyclists.
Elsewhere, Laura Laker told us that 93 per cent of female cyclists have been intimidated by motorists and related her own unedifying experience at the hands of an aggressive driver.
With that varied cycling content platter served up, let’s get on with a tantalising glance at the latest bike-related tech that’s piled up on BikeRadar’s desks since last we spoke.
DT Swiss EXC 1200 Classic
The EXC 1200 Classics take pride of place as DT Swiss’s range-topping carbon fibre enduro wheels.
New construction methods are claimed to use uncut outer layers of carbon fibre, boosting strength in impact areas, reducing imperfections and giving a more uniform structure.
Each rim is inspected post-manufacturing to ensure the highest quality possible.
DT Revolite J-bend spokes – which are claimed to be the lightest and strongest – are threaded into Pro Lock nipples; the front wheel has 28 spokes, the rear 32.
The rims are front and rear-specific, too, each with an asymmetrical design tuning the rear for strength and the front to reduce weight.
The 180 hubs uses DT’s latest Ratchet DEG design, which has 90 teeth, with 4 degrees between engagement points.
My set of EXC 1200 Classic wheels (29in, XD Driver, 110x15mm front hub, 12x148mm rear hub) weigh 1,814g a pair, or 801g for the front and 1,013g for the rear
- £2,349 / $2,999 / €2,499 (pair)
White Lightning Clean Ride
Being fastidious about your drivetrain’s cleanliness needn’t have a stigma attached to it.
I, for one, love having a clean set of gears; they work and sound better and last for quite a bit longer.
White Lightning’s Clean Ride is claimed to clear your gears as you pedal, its dry wax film shedding dirt as your chain’s rollers spin over your chainring and cassette’s teeth.
It’s a wax-based lubricant that is dripped on and then left to dry.
Crucially, and like any wax lube, it must be applied to a clean chain and never to a chain that is covered with an oil-based lube.
- £14.99 / $17.99 (240ml / 8oz bottle)
Deity Flat Track pedals
The Deity Flat Tracks are claimed to be the brand’s thinnest pedals yet.
At 14mm deep, but with only 1mm of concavity across the platform, they’re certainly thinner than the T-Mac pedals, but forgo any of their bigger siblings’ exaggerated concavity.
With 14 pins per side and a large 110x105mm platform, grip shouldn’t be impacted too severely.
Like the T-Mac pedals, the edges are fairly square with little tapering, and both of the platform’s sides are identically shaped, giving them a symmetrical look.
At 431g, they’re on the chunkier side, especially compared to the HT PA03A.
However, the T-Macs are renowned for their performance and there’s little reason to think the Flat Tracks will be any different.
- £148.99 / $169.99
Matt Jones Cockpit Bundle
Whether or not you can swing a bike around like Gusset, Red Bull and Marin-sponsored rider Matt Jones, there’s no denying sticking some signature-model kit on your rig is going to make it look fancier.
Jones’ signature cockpit bundle comprises the Gusset S2 handlebar, TS Stem and S2 lock-on grips.
The Jones-signed S2 bar (£64.99) has a 35mm clamp and comes in four rises (from 18mm to 50mm), with a width of 800mm. The shape is pretty standard, with a five-degree upsweep and eight-degree backsweep.
Uncut, the 30mm-rise version weighs 351g, making it one of the weightier models out there.
Clamping the bar is the 32mm TS Stem (£70), weighing 138g. Stiffness is at the heart of the stem, its faceplate featuring an upper bridge to boost robustness.
Finally, we have the 109g S2 grips (£22.99). While this pair aren’t in Jones’ signature ‘grey marble’ colour, they share the single inboard lock-on collar, multiple grip-pattern surface, 32mm diameter and closed rubber end.
Matt prefers the standard-compound rubber, so his grey grips are offered only in this version, but softer compounds are available in different colours.
- £157.97 (bundle price)