After introducing the EPS electronic shifting group late last year, Campagnolo has quickly added compatible TT/Triathlon bar end shifters and brake levers. The new items add push button shifting in aerodynamic packages and bring along a pair of new aero carbon cranksets, too.

Above, the shifter brake levers put the buttons on top and inside edges of a control box with a full carbon lever blade. Wiring and brake cable run through the center of the expansion wedge to keep everything cleanly run inside bullhorn bars and out of the wind. The brake levers have a quick release function to open the brakes for easier wheel changes. Weight is 109g for the pair.

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Thanks to a reader suggestion (fist bump to MJ), we checked in with Reynolds and turns out they’re introducing a new line of road wheels this summer.

Based on the RZR 92, which they call “the fastest wheel in the world”, the new line will be called AERO and use wider rim profiles with a wide inner and outer bead. Word is three depths will be offered and they’ll be introduced officially in June. The pic above is of their current SixtySix wheels on a team car at the Amgen Tour of California where a few of the AG2R team riders were testing them between stages (not in the race).

Ok, power lovers, imagine this: what if there was a power meter that was accurate, light weight, fit any of your wheels, you were able to switch back and forth between bikes, and was fairly inexpensive? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, that’s exactly what Laser Spoke creator Gennady Lubarsky is envisioning with his laser based power meter. Yes, lasers.

Like many before him, Lubarsky has turned to crowd-funding with a project on Indigogo in an attempt to fund development and production of Laser Spoke. Rather than a dedicated hub, crank, bottom bracket, or pedal based power system, Laser Spoke is intended to be an add on for any wheel that allows for accurate power measurement. Lubarsky is quick to point out that the working prototype above is considerably more bulky than what he plans for the final product, which will be manufactured from injection molded plastic, rather than the aluminum housing of the prototype.

How would a laser based power meter work? More after the break.

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Following their introduction of the fully integrated crankset power meter for the new SRAM Red, Quarq has added specific models to work with Specialized and Cannondale cranksets. They’ll be available in both 130 and 110 BCDs for standard and compact chainrings.

Full PR and more pics after the break…

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See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

While it has worked so far, I decided to go in a different direction when it came time to update the contact information on my Road ID Wrist ID Elite.  As temperatures have gone from wintery to downright hot, the wide silicone band has been on the warm side.  More importantly, I’ve been spending more time on our mountains’ rough and rocky trails and the weight added by the Elite’s stainless deployment clasp has caused the ID to rattle around more than I’d like.  When I saw that a new Wrist ID Slim would cost $1 less than a replacement ID Tag for the Wrist ID Elite, the decision to give the smallest Road ID a try was easy. Cross the line for my thoughts…

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Between the ever-larger frame tubes (on road and off) and the proliferation of dropper posts (for the latter), it sometimes seems as though the humble 27.2mm seatpost is headed for extinction.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing- larger diameter tubes are less likely to bend and require less clamping force to stay put.  They’re also… stiffer.  And, for lighter riders or those looking for a bit of comfort in their rides, this can be a shame.  My recent replacement of a scandium-framed single speed (with nearly a foot of 27.2 carbon swaying in the breeze) with an aluminum frame and 30.9 seatpost had my pampered backside and spine wondering what they’d done to deserve the sudden abuse.

Which is why I jumped at the opportunity to give Syntace’s new P6 Carbon HiFlex seatpost a try.  Taking the company’s proven P6 head and adding a shaft with twice the shock absorption of its predecessor, the P6 Carbon HiFlex boastings “improved oscillation dampening and directional stability even when drifting around corners or when hitting harsh ruts.” Indeed, a flexy post sounded like just the solution.  Hit the jump for more details, more photos, and a couple of initial impressions…

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Tomorrow’s Giro d’Italia Team Time Trial stage will see something we thought might never actually make it out of vaporware: FSA’s Vision Metron road group!

Shown for a few years now as a “coming soon” and “in testing” collection, it’s seemingly been on the verge of production for quite some time. The Metron group is designed as a TT/Triathlon specific component group using aerobar-specific shifter levers with a click/pull actuation. Those are mated to mostly carbon fiber front and rear derailleurs. Shown at left, the rear derailleur shrouds the chain pulleys in a veil of carbon for smoother air flow.

The most recent version of the Vision Metron crankset gets BB386EVO compatibility, too. The overriding design of all parts is that they’re super aero.

Starting tomorrow morning in Italy, Gustav Larson (Team Vacansoleil-DCM) will be riding them. They’ve also outfitted Team Lampre with a new semi-integrated aero-handlebar. Pics and specs after the break…

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3T’s Integra stem debuted at Eurobike last year with an integrated front cap designed around the Saris CycleOps power meter/cycling computer system. Then they hinted at availability and possible Di2 integration.

Now, as the major pro road races get closer, they’ve announced the entire thing has been designed around Garmin’s cycling computers. To prove it, they’re sticking it on the Team Garmin-Barracuda bikes claiming it’s one of (if not the) first time an entire Pro Tour team has used carbon fiber stems during the race. We’ve seen recent third party mounting options from Bar Fly and Quarq, but 3T’s is the first we’ve seen that actually integrates the mount into the stem.

Full PR and pics after the break…

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According to Zipp, most of the attention has been on high end carbon fiber aero bars lately, but there’s a larger market in the affordable aluminum component range.

As such, they’ve introduced the Vuka Alumina, an all new alloy aero bar series. They’re based on the shapes and sizes of their higher end carbon models but have been tweaked to put you in the most neutral aero position possible. Afterall, the fastest race position is the one you can hold comfortably and put down the power.

“We made the parts fit to the rider rather than make adapters to make parts fit after the fact,” said David Ripley, Zipp’s technical PR director.

Part of the design of the Alumina series is actually based on riders not having the right size bike or, at least, not being positioned well on it. Both are common problems. They worked with a number of athletes and fit specialists to design an adjustable, flexible system that lets riders with one or both of these predicaments find a proper position on the bike.

They’ve also updated their elbow rests and tweaked the carbon parts, too…

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FSA was showing new or updated items across all of its various lines: Metron, Gravity, Energy and K-Force Light, covering the gamut of disciplines.

Metron 81 is a new aerodynamic hollow carbon monocoque tubular rim. Their wheels have been tested by Team Katusha for a couple of years, proven through the spring classics and the rest of the season. Fletch Newland, FSA marketing manager, says the new Metron 81 takes them into the top rungs of road wheels. The aerodynamic profile takes the entire 81mm depth and examined it in segments to optimize the overall profile. They went thru 100 different designs and 600 hours of testing before finalizing it.

It has a 3K weave at the brake track and nipple bed to improve strength.

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Progress is being made on Praxis Works’ carbon fiber Turn crankset, first shown with some of these other items at Interbike. it has a forged one piece double chainring -as in both chainrings are forge as a single piece- and a massive hollow arm/spider with a huge BCD with dual bolts on the inside of the spider.

Using their M35 bottom bracket, which fits into any BB30 or PFBB30 frame but puts the bearings outside the frame for a wider stance. This also lets them give their crank spindle a 35mm diameter. Yes, 35 millimeters.

“Put it all together and you have an obscenely stiff chainring with no deflection,” said Adam Haverstock, director of marketing and sales. “we wanted to see how crazy we could go, and they system comes in sub 650 grams. There are lighte systems out there, but nothing’s going to match the performance.”

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