VN tech ticker: PRO Stealth saddles, Rapha Women’s Nomad collection, Garmin updates navigation for select Edge devices

PRO Stealth Saddles

PRO introduced new saddles Tuesday: the PRO Stealth Team ($220) and PRO Stealth Performance ($180). These saddles’ contact area has been increased by 12 percent. PRO indicates that the enlarged contact area, without increasing the overall saddle size “helps reduce pressure while retaining the same contact points and riding feel as the first-generation Stealth.”

PRO also introduced the new Stealth Curved, which features reduced width on the saddle nose, and a curved profile for more support while aiming to reduce rider side-to-side motion when pedaling. The Stealth Curved saddle retains the signature snub-nose design.

The Stealth and Stealth Curved Team (161g, claimed) saddle is constructed with carbon rails, while the Stealth and Stealth Team (204g, claimed) saddle features stainless steel rails. the new PRO Stealth saddles are available in 142mm and 152mm widths.

With the additions of these saddles, available in July, PRO now offers ten saddles in the Stealth range, all with the short and wide nose design, and a trapezoidal tail.

Rapha Women’s Nomad Collection

The Rapha Women’s Nomad collection is “made for discovery, not speed,” and combines performance-oriented materials with practical features along with Rapha’s design aesthetic. The collection includes a technical t-shirt (short & long sleeve options), wind jacket, cotton t-shirt, cargo bib shorts, bar bag, socks, and cap.

The packable Nomad Wind Jacket ($190) features a hood and adjustable hem, plus a reflective Rapha logo on the armband and rear for safety in reduced light conditions. The relaxed-fit Nomad Cotton T-Shirt ($90) and Nomad Cargo Bib Shorts ($270), with mesh pockets also balance style and function for road and off-road riding. The Nomad Bar Bag ($75) — with a hidden shoulder strap that converts the pack into an over-the-shoulder bag — is a useful twist on bar-mounted and wearable storage space.

The Rapha Women’s Nomad collection is available from the Rapha.cc website.

Garmin updates navigation for select Edge devices

Garmin updated the navigation features for select Edge bike GPS units. If you’re an owner of an Edge 530, Edge 830, Edge 1030 or Edge 1030 Plus, you now will experience improvements to ride-specific map functions.

The maps display has been enhanced, and owners of one of these devices should now see high-contrast maps for road, gravel, and mountain bike trails displayed with improved route visibility in all light conditions.

Users should also experience faster route calculation speeds, and route caching, so once a route has been calculated, it should load within seconds the next time you load it.

If you’re one of the on-bike GPS route users who likes to seek out the most popular routes, your Garmin now displays popular routes in an on-screen heatmap overlay, so you can match your route with the most commonly ridden ones in your area.

For the best experience, Garmin recommends updating your device to get the most up-to-date routing data, and other enhancements and improvements.