Alas, all good things must eventually come to an end, and with this final gallery, so does our tech coverage of the 2017 Eurobike trade show. We’ve shown you countless new bikes, components, accessories, and kits over the past few days, though, and it’s perhaps time for a break in…
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
Download the app.
Alas, all good things must eventually come to an end, and with this final gallery, so does our tech coverage of the 2017 Eurobike trade show.
We’ve shown you countless new bikes, components, accessories, and kits over the past few days, though, and it’s perhaps time for a break in the action, anyway. Even the most die-hard tech geeks have their limits on how much shininess they can consume, after all.
But never fear, the Interbike trade show is just two weeks away, and the bright lights of Las Vegas are beckoning. Here’s to hoping for a high-quality internet signal as we once again roam the halls of an expansive convention center to bring you the latest and greatest, as we see it, right from the showroom floor.
[ct_highlight_box_start]If you haven’t already, be sure to follow the links to check out the rest of our coverage from Eurobike: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and post-Eurobike.[ct_highlight_box_end]
Colnago’s flagship C60 carbon fiber road racer is one of a dying breed, still made by hand in Italy. Photo: James Huang.The lugged and bonded construction may seem old-school to some, but few can deny the Colnago C60’s classic beauty. Photo: James Huang.Colnago may be a classic brand with a long heritage, but it also has a strong track record of pushing things on the technology front. For riders that want a blend of old and new, Colnago offers its Concept aero road bike. Photo: James Huang.Stunning. Photo: James Huang.The updated V2-R is Colnago’s lightest modular monocoque frame with a claimed weight of 835g in a medium size. Photo: James Huang.This paint option is classic Colnago. Photo: James Huang.Dreamy. Photo: James Huang.Colnago’s ThreadFit 82.5 bottom bracket design is almost identical in concept to the T47 format that’s slowly being adopted by more of the industry. Unfortunately, though, the two aren’t compatible. Photo: James Huang.The Copenhagen Wheel from Superpedestrian is unlike any other e-assist motor design on the market. The system is entirely enclosed inside the giant red rear hub, and can be retrofitted to a huge range of bikes. Photo: James Huang.Superpedestrian’s Copenhagen Wheel is controlled by an associated smartphone app, which helps monitor battery levels and power outputs. Photo: James Huang.The app doesn’t just track your rides, but also when, where, and how you used the motor. As impressive the design is, one could easily argue that the smartphone pairing could be a vulnerability, as the wheel doesn’t work without a designated phone. Photo: James Huang.Superpedestrian has done quite a good job making the Copenhagen Wheel look as sleek as possible. The on-off switch is discretely incorporated into the hub along with the battery life indicator and weather-sealed charging port. Judging by the hardware used, Superpedestrian really doesn’t want anyone to open the thing up. Photo: James Huang.The Superpedestrian Copenhagen Wheel can perhaps be added on to a number of different bikes, but don’t expect to lace it to your favorite rim yourself any time soon. Photo: James Huang.De Rosa’s Eurobike booth was chock-full of carbon fiber, with this gorgeous fillet-brazed steel number tucked away in the corner. Photo: James Huang.You can almost hear it in Italian. Photo: James Huang.You’re not likely to see any data from De Rosa to show off the Protos frameset’s aerodynamic performance, stiffness, or comfort. But wow, is this thing seriously pretty. Photo: James Huang.The finished-to-match seatpost is simply stunning. A nice touch is the textured black leading edge on the seatpost, which allows for height adjustment without ruining the blue paint on the sides. Photo: James Huang.Two-tone orange? Sign me up. Photo: James Huang.This De Rosa King is resplendent in blue. Photo: James Huang.This Pininfarina-designed De Rosa aero model isn’t new, but it hasn’t lost much of its luster since it was first introduced a couple of years ago. Photo: James Huang.Beautiful. Photo: James Huang.Marin’s Cortina AX2 gravel rig is far from the most expensive rig out there, but it looks very well thought-out. Photo: James Huang.The SRAM 1x transmission provides plenty of range for exploring the backroads. Photo: James Huang.Marin was one of the first companies to openly embrace the Naild secure thru-axle skewer design. Note the finned brake caliper mount, too, which promises to help reduce operating temperatures. Photo: James Huang.Vicenzo Nibali’s striking Merida is wrapped with real gold leaf. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.Pivot knows its market well. While its new Shuttle e-MTB will undoubtedly find many fans in Europe and elsewhere, it won’t yet be available in the United States, where e-assisted mountain bikes are very much a contentious topic. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.Rocky Mountain didn’t bother to use someone else’s pre-built e-assist motor design. Instead, it went ahead and designed its own system. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.Rotor’s new Aldhu modular road crankset is utterly brilliant in the way the chainring spider and driveside crankarm are attached to the spindle. Claimed weight is just 599g with 170mm-long arms and a 50/34T one-piece Spidering. Retail price is a hefty €500, though. Photo: James Huang.The finely toothed chainring spider spline will allow precise timing customization of the company’s oval chainrings. Photo: James Huang.The 30mm-diameter aluminum spindle has two sets of splines at the driveside end: one for the chainring spider and another for the crankarm. The crankarm attaches with a standard 8mm hex wrench, sandwiching the chainring spider in between the arm and a shoulder behind the outer spline. Holding tight tolerances during the manufacturing process will be essential, as even a slight deviation could result in a creaky (or loose) chainring, or a crankarm that won’t stay tight under power. Photo: James Huang.Naturally, Rotor will offer its new Aldhu crankset with either round chainrings or its own long-running Q-Ring oval rings. The chainrings pictured here will also fit on Shimano’s latest four-arm crankarms (and Rotor is making cosmetic caps to smooth the transition between the thick chainring tabs and the flat chainrings, too). Photo: James Huang.Both the round and oval versions of Rotor’s one-piece Spidering double chainring are CNC-machined from a block of aluminum – not the most efficient process in terms of mass manufacturing, perhaps, but it certainly yields a striking (and precise) finished product. Photo: James Huang.Rotor has a long history of going against the grain, and its novel R-Volver rear hub is yet another example of that. Retail price is €147-244, depending on version. Photo: James Huang.Rotor’s new R-Volver rear freehub uses cylindrical “pawls” and a sliding ratchet ring. According to Rotor, one of the design’s main benefits is its lower weight relative to comparable conventional hub designs. Claimed weight for a rear road hub is just 198g. Photo: James Huang.The steel ratchet ring slides axially inside the hub shell of Rotor’s new R-Volver rear hub as you coast, partially disengaging the cylindrical pawls. Some of the marketing materials describe the mechanism as “silent”, but rest assured that the sucker is actually quite loud. According to one of Rotor’s engineers, this was simply a case of the marketing team getting a bit ahead of themselves, and final copy will omit that “silent” claim. Photo: James Huang.The 25-tooth drive ring offers a 14.4° engagement speed in stock form, but the modular freehub body can accept additional pawls that cut that number in half for riders that want a more responsive hub. Photo: James Huang.A close-up of the cylindrical pawls and the 25-tooth drive ring. The spiral groove machined into the outside of the pawl helps keep them lubricated for reliable operation. Photo: James Huang.Rotor isn’t interested in offering its own complete wheelsets, but it’s partnering with Knight Composites for riders who want to run the new R-Volver hub in an off-the-shelf package. Photo: James Huang.Rotor’s Uno road cassette is ultralight with a claimed weight of just 135g (11-28T). The largest two cogs are machined from aluminum (and can be replaced separately), while the rest of the block is milled from a single chunk of steel. Rotor will later add 11-30T and 11-32T sizes, all with a retail price of €349. Photo: James Huang.Despite the minimal contact with the freehub body, Rotor says the Uno cassette won’t dig into soft aluminum splines. Photo: James Huang.Those tiny bolts really just hold the aluminum cog subassembly to the rest of the steel cassette. Hidden beneath each bolt is a steel spline, which is what actually takes the load under power. Photo: James Huang.Rotor was slow to roll out its innovative UNO hydraulic transmission, but production units are now starting to trickle out into the wild. Photo: James Huang.Scott had a number of sleek-looking lace-up models at its Eurobike booth. Once written off by many as just a passing fad, the lace-up revolution clearly has plenty of staying power. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.Plenty of color on hand from Selle SMP. Padding? Not so much – at least not on this particular model. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.While Shimano drags its feet launching its dual-sided Dura-Ace power meter, other companies have rushed in to fill the void, such as Stages Cycling (shown here) and Pioneer. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.Still not sure helmets with visors will be a thing? Judging by how many we saw at Eurobike, they already are. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.Supernova never fails to wow at the Eurobike trade show with its striking headlight designs. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.T-Red’s Aracnide titanium road racer sports a thoroughly modern design with front and rear disc brakes, front and rear thru-axles, a T47 threaded bottom bracket shell, dropped seatstays, and a racy geometry. Photo: James Huang.Virtual online simulators like Zwift and others have sparked a major boom in indoor cycling. Tacx is hoping to woo serious indoor riders with this Neo Smart Bike concept, which borrows the electric resistance unit and overall design philosophy of its Neo stationary trainer and incorporates it into a dedicated indoor training station. Photo: James Huang.One major selling point of Tacx’s new Neo Smart Bike is the ability to install the same saddle and cockpit as your “real” bike. Photo: James Huang.Tacx is also hoping to offer a “virtual shifting” function into its Neo Smart Bike, which would automatically adjust the resistance based on what gear it thinks you’re in. Photo: James Huang.German company Tune had a huge display of road and mountain bike wheels on hand at Eurobike. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.Tune was among the earliest to incorporate magnets into the driver bodies of its rear hubs. Photo: Tim Bardsley-Smith.
