Plus all the latest news and reviews from the week just gone <\/p>
It\u2019s the end of the week and time for another edition of our favourite bike tech round-up, First Look Friday.<\/p>
As usual, we\u2019ve got a selection of new and interesting kit to introduce you to, but before we get onto that, let\u2019s quickly go over some highlights from the week.<\/p>
Specialized stole the headlines on Wednesday with its announcement of a cheaper, aluminium Crux DSW gravel bike<\/a>.<\/p> Based on its carbon S-Works Crux<\/a> and created using its D\u2019Aluisio Smartweld (DSW) tech, Specialized claims it’s the lightest alloy gravel bike frame available, weighing a little less than 1.4kg.<\/p> At the other end of the pricing spectrum, our review of Partington\u2019s hyper-light (and hyper-expensive) R-Series MKII R39\/44 wheelset<\/a> was published this week.<\/p> Their performance and novel construction certainly makes these wheels stand out from the crowd, but with a price of \u00a35,500 \/ $6,400 \/ \u20ac6,000, we don\u2019t expect to see many sets making their way to your local club run any time soon.<\/p> Off the back of Shimano launching its new 12-speed GRX Di2 RX825<\/a> gravel groupset, our knobbly-tyre crew had their say on things we want to see from a new Shimano XTR Di2 groupset<\/a>.<\/p> We\u2019ve no idea when one might be coming, but hopefully there\u2019s time for Shimano to implement all of our ideas and create a winning electronic mountain bike groupset<\/a>.<\/p> At the start of the week, BikeRadar\u2019s managing editor, Gary Walker, published the first entry of his Temple Adventure Disc 2 long-term review<\/a>.<\/p> His first gravel bike<\/a>, Gary has already described the ride quality as \u201crevelatory\u201d, though he naturally has a couple of upgrades and personalisations earmarked already.<\/p> Lastly, it\u2019s not long now until La Grande Boucle. That\u2019s right, the 2024 Tour de France<\/a> is less than a month away, and if you want to know everything about this year\u2019s race, it\u2019s worth picking up our official Tour de France Guide<\/a>.<\/p>