Week in Tech: Revolting gravel from Giant, long-travel Fezzari, Zwift Academy
Here’s the Week in Tech — all the gear news, tips, and announcements you need and none of the marketing gibberish you don’t.
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Here’s the Week in Tech — all the gear news, tips, and announcements you need and none of the marketing gibberish you don’t.
Giant’s new gravel bike is Revolting
Aside from the giggle-worthy name, Giant’s Revolt Advanced gravel bike looks pretty sweet. Its carbon frame is designed specifically for gravel, with a taller stack height than Giant’s cyclocross bike, the TCX. A 74mm trail figure puts emphasis on stability, too. Giant also added its D-Fuse seatpost and new D-Fuse handlebar to the mix for compliance at both the front and rear of the bike. The handlebar features a back-sweep and is also flared for stability. That flare also opens up space for bags. The bike accepts up to a 45mm tire, and you can run either 700c tires or 650b. Other nice touches include a down tube protector and three water bottle cage mounts.
Fezzari goes long on 29ers with the La Sal Peak
Big-wheeled mountain bikes have shed their reputations as lumbering, short-travel beasts. Fezzari’s La Sal Peak, named for the mountain near the Whole Enchilada trail in Moab, is proof positive of that. With 160mm of travel up front and 150mm in the rear, this long-travel 29er yearns for all those technical trails you would have been wise to avoid on your big-wheel bike only a few short years ago. Fezzari positions the La Sal as an enduro-friendly bike that can rip the downhills but ease your suffering on the climbs. It has a 65-degree head tube angle and short 435-millimeter chainstays to find a balance between nimble handling and a planted ride quality. It fits up to 2.6-inch tires, and you can run a max 36T chainring up front.
Bontrager and Garmin team up in the name of integration
Garmin launched its Edge 1030 last year, but the new iteration, which is a collaboration with Bontrager, has a few added features. Notably, you can control your Bontrager RT Daytime Running Lights wirelessly with the head unit. Activate the Always On feature to turn your lights on automatically when you power up your Garmin. You can also set it up to auto-adjust the light settings based on ambient light. And, if you often find yourself with dead lights halfway through a ride because you forgot to charge them the night before, the Edge 1030 displays the battery health of your front and rear lights too. Aside from light integration, the Edge 1030 can provide maintenance reminders specific to your bike so you remember to get it into the shop for a tune-up.
Enroll in Zwift Academy and you could graduate to the pro ranks
Thirty-thousand folks can’t be wrong: That’s how many Zwift riders have already enrolled in Zwift Academy since there’s a pro contract on the line. Register and you’ll be enrolled to receive 10 workouts, 2 races, and 4 group rides between now and September 30. While everyone who participates is guaranteed to get a little bit fitter, only one man and one woman will be offered a pro contract. The top woman will end up with a contract to ride for Canyon-SRAM, while one lucky male Zwifter will ride for Team Dimension Data. If you want to throw your hat in the ring, you only have until this Sunday, August 19th to register.