VN tech ticker: Racing (and winning) in a $65 helmet, chamois tech in gloves, and more
Selle San Marco goes gravel, and MAAP doubles down on New Era caps.
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Only the lightest, most expensive gear is used to win pro races, right? No, not necessarily.
While bike brands typically do use pro teams to market their latest and greatest — and priciest — American UCI ProTeam squad Rally Cycling has been racing and winning with a $65 helmet, the LEM Volata.
Riders on the women’s and the men’s teams have often picked the Volata for cold days or days with a fast finish. Arvid de Kleijn won the first stage of the Tour of Turkey with a bike throw in a Volata.
Elastic Interface gets into the glove game
Elastic Interface has been making chamois pads for a variety of global brand for years. Chances are, you own a pair of bibs with an Elastic Interface pad. Now the brand is moving into gloves.
DHB’s new Aeron Mitts use Elastic Interface’s new seamless palm. DHB, a Wiggle-owned brand, has used various Elastic Interface chamois pads in its shorts for year, and the Aeron Mitts use a similar design for the palm.
Dubbed ‘EIT Palm Technology’, the design is the first three-dimensional, seamless and elastic palm designed for cycling gloves, claims Elastic Interface. It is designed to relieve pressure on the ulnar nerve. The design was based on work by the University of Padua’s Department of Biomedical Sciences.
The new gloves are available on dhbsport.com, and you can read about the EIT Palm Technology at www.elasticinterface.com/cycling-gloves.
Selle San Marco goes gravel with Ground
A shorter evolution of the GND saddle, the new Selle San Marco Ground is a stubby (255mm) off-road saddle with a cutout that comes in 140mm and 155mm widths. The saddle uses a low-density foam with variable thickness that Selle San Marco calls Pullfoam.
Selle San Marco is calling this off-road saddle a great perch for gravel.
The rear has a slight curve. The saddle comes in three models, and U.S. pricing was not immediately available:
- Carbon FX (carbon rail) €149
- Dynamic (manganese rails) €79
- Sport (steel rails) €49
MAAP New Era Prime Rain cap
On the heels of a summer New Era cap, MAAP now has a New Era Prime rain cap constructed of breathable Polartec Neoshell. It comes in black, brick, and navy. The seams are thermo welded and taped. Reflective external graphics and an elastic internal sweatband round out the build.
