Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
With March and April each year, come some big bike shows, such as the Sea Otter Classic, which takes place in Monterey, California and the Taipei Show in Taiwan. For these shows bike companies roll out their new products at the actual events by attending and displaying their latest and greatest to the crowds, while other companies choose to stay home but still take advantage of all the season’s grand opening energy by showing their newest products at races, such as Paris Roubaix and other cycling events.
I couldn’t attend these shows, races or events. Instead I followed along online, reading and watching the coverage. As members of the media, we also receive press releases from the companies about their new rollouts. Fellow editor Sheri Rosenbaum is also covering new product releases, so be sure to check out her coverage too. This is part 1 of my product picks.
When deciding which new products to share with you, I look for items that I believe are actual new products – not rehashes of something done before. I search for mostly technical goodies, things that I might actually purchase, use and recommend – and mainly for road or gravel, not usually mountain bikes.
Please note that, with a couple of exceptions, I haven’t seen these products in person or had an opportunity to try or test them. Also, because all of these items are new and it’s early in the season, I can’t guarantee that they’re available to purchase right now, or that any prices provided by the manufacturer now will be the same should you wish to buy them. I will provide what information I have from the companies and their URL so that you should be able to get the latest information if you’re interested.
Saris Cycle-On 2-Bike Hitch Rack E-Bike Ready ($899.99)
Last year I was so enamoured with a hitch bike rack from Saris that I requested a review sample and that workhorse has safely toted our bikes (including an e-bike) for thousands of miles on the back of our RV and Toyota Highlander. That rack was their Edge 2-Bike Hitch Rack. You can read all about it here: https://www.roadbikerider.com/saris-edge-2-rack-review/
New for 2026 is the Saris Cycle-On 2-Bike Hitch Rack and it impresses me even more than the Edge did last year. The Cycle-On has three awesome features – so awesome in fact that I can’t decide which one to tell you about first because I think they’re all game-changers. I’ll start with the built-in telescoping ramps for bike loading. They make loading heavy rigs like e-bikes easy and they tuck away when not in use. In case you haven’t put an e-bike on a hitch rack, many people can’t lift these high enough to get them onto hitch racks without help. And if you drop an e-bike you and the bike can get seriously hurt.
The next two features I haven’t seen before. Together they might make the Cycle-On the most convenient to use hitch rack ever. First it folds almost in half to a significantly smaller footprint with both wheel trays vertical (no more bashing your shins when walking into the garage!). And second, there are wheels built into the bottom of the rack so you can easily roll the rack into the garage or shed, etc. and up to your vehicle for mounting it on your vehicle. Last, it’s actually less expensive than the Edge rack. All in all, there’s a lot to love with the Cycle-On and it’s already getting rave reviews on their site.
The Cycle-On supports road, mountain and e-bikes up to 140 pounds (70 pounds per bike), fits 1 ⅛ and 2 inch hitches/receivers and uses the Saris tool-free anti-wobble system. For more information, photos and videos: https://saris.com/products/cycle-on-2-bike-hitch-rack
Feedback Sports Pro Ultralight Repair Stand and Team Edition Tool Kit ($325 and $375)
When I realized I couldn’t make it to the Sea Otter this year, I reached out to my friends at Feedback Sports because I always enjoy seeing their new products in their booth and I didn’t want to miss what’s new. They were kind enough to tell me about their new Pro Ultralight Bike Repair Stand and Team Edition Tool Kit, and they sent me review samples, so I have already had a chance to use them. I’ll write them up sometime soon in Jim’s Tech Talk.
I was excited to learn about the new Pro Ultralight because I need a new portable stand. It’s a long story, but I have been using the predecessor to the Pro Ultralight for over 30 years. I got it back when Feedback Sports was called Ultimate Support (1994). The Ultimate was an awesome stand to last all these years.
These days, Feedback’s new stands are much improved. They pack small and even come with a padded carrying case. The Ultralight weighs only 10.8 pounds so it’s easy to move around even with a bike in it. Plus it boasts a stable tripod base and one of the best clamps in the business. It’s so narrow you rarely need to extend a seatpost to put a bike in the stand and the jaws are a soft rubber to grip great and at the same time protect your bike.
You’ll also love that the stand gets low enough to mount bikes while they’re on the ground and goes high enough for even the tallest mechanics to work in comfort. And, the convenience of being able to rotate the bike to any position can’t be beat (you can rotate it a full 360 degrees and lock it in any position).
To complement the portable stand, Feedback came out with their Team Edition Tool Kit. Like the stand it’s nice and light at under 10 pounds, plus the zip-up grease and oil resistant case opens and stays open to hang on the repair stand. This lets you wrench on your bikes with your tools right there for easy access.
Inside the kit are 26 of the most common bike repair and maintenance tools, such as Feedback’s proprietary pedal wrench, cassette and lockring tool, 3.0 chain tool and Grip Whip cassette tool to mention just a few. They’re nicely designed and fully featured tools with ergonomic handles and clearly marked so that you can see which tool is which when you’re fixing bikes. Whether you’re just starting out working on your bike or an experienced mechanic, you’ll appreciate this great takealong tool kit. I noticed that the Team Edition Tool Kit is marked sold out on their site right now. Hopefully, that won’t be the case for very long.
For more information, photos and videos:
Pro Ultralight Bike Repair Stand
https://feedbacksports.com/collections/bike-repair-stands/products/pro-ultralight-bike-repair-stand
Team Edition Toolkit
https://feedbacksports.com/collections/bike-maintenance/products/team-edition-tool-kit
Gtechniq Bike Ceramic Bicycle Finish
They’ve been around for a while so there’s a good chance you’re familiar with the new ceramic finishes for motor vehicles that both protect and enhance the beauty of your pride and joy. With Gtechniq’s new ceramic finish products for bicycles, you can do the same for your truly favorite ride, your two-wheeler. And yes, they even work on bicycles with matte paint jobs.
The reason ceramic finishes have become popular is because they’re extremely durable. In Gtechniq’s words, “This coating becomes the top layer of the surface, washed and maintained correctly, you should see up to 24 months durability.” That’s pretty impressive.
Along with ceramic finishes, Gtechniq offers bike cleaners, degreasers and full care kits too. Prices range from $12.95 for their Bike Wash in a 250ml bottle to their Drivetrain Degreaser at $25.95 (500ml) to the Ceramic Quick Coat (500ml) at $32.95 and the Bike Ceramic kit at $69.95, to their full-monty Ultimate Bike Care Kit at $229.95, which comes with everything they make to detail your bike including microfibre towels and mitt, a brush and 10 of their bike care elixirs. The photo of the full kit gives you a good idea of the wide assortment of bike care products they make. No wonder, Gtechniq is used by some top pro teams, such as Pinarello.
I wanted to see how Gtechniq ceramic finish is applied to a bicycle and found this video showing the full procedure fascinating. You might too.
For more information on Gtechniq’s many ceramic solutions: https://gtechniq.com/product-category/bike/
Wolf Tooth MKØ DEL Gravel Race Clipless Pedals ($364.95)
A few weeks ago Wolf Tooth announced their new line-up of components they’re calling MKØ, which they describe as: “Developed for extreme performance in a world of marginal gains. MKØ components boost speed, reduce drag, and extend durability. Design detail examples include ceramic bearings, DLC-coated titanium hardware, and finely-detailed machine profiles to shave every possible gram in pursuit of speed.”
The MKØ product that jumped off the page for me was their Del Gravel Race Clipless Pedals. And the feature that caught my eye was that Wolf Tooth has cleverly incorporated a way to change the length of the axle into these new pedals (which affects how wide your feet are, sometimes referred to as the “Q Factor”).
This matters to me because a wider stance helps with knee pain, which I have, so easily being able to change it is a wonderful feature. For performance, you’ll probably choose a narrower setting. But it’s great that Wolf Tooth thought to add this feature to their pedals.
Other noteworthy specs include the largest contact area, the lowest stack height, thinner profiles for clearance and a feathery weight of only 174 grams per pair. Plus the axles and hardware are titanium with stainless-steel bindings while the 6061 aluminum pedal bodies are finely machined to shed grams and mud. The DEL Gravels are fully compatible with Shimano SPD cleats (Wolf Tooth stainless-steel SPD cleats are included) and designed for quick entry and exit.
For more information, photos and a video of the adjustable Q Factor feature (scroll down the page a bit): https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/mk0-del-gravel-race-clipless-pedal
AiRO Fitting System
What if I told you that you could significantly increase your average speed by making aerodynamic improvements to your riding position and bicycle, while never visiting a wind tunnel or spending hours doing coastdown tests (the frugal cyclist’s approach). That’s what AiRO promises to deliver – and at a fraction of the cost of a wind tunnel analysis.
I’ve only just learned about the AiRO service. But I have been in a wind tunnel specifically to improve as a time trialist and I know what’s possible in both energy savings and increased speed through careful aerodynamic analysis of riders and their bikes.
From that perspective, AiRO sounds like a much easier and cost-effective alternative. AiRO is, and I quote from their press release “a revolutionary AI-driven tool that empowers performance fitters to generate and manipulate CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models in real-time. For the first time, athletes at every level can gain access to wind tunnel-like insights without the prohibitive cost.”
AiRO has partnerships with USA Cycling’s Women’s Track Sprint Team. And their fitting technology contributed to a world record in speedskating at the recent winter Olympics.
AiRO is designed to offer benefits for recreational riders too. And it’s not just about performance gains and free speed, rider comfort is prioritized as well. In some cases, this can be done without changing equipment and every adjustment is not guesswork but backed by data.
The basic process is that AiRO tests and adjusts your cycling positions digitally. Three images are required first: 1) the rider standing; 2) an on-bike shot taken from the side; and 3) an on-bike shot taken from the front. Then the analysis and simulations can begin.
Regarding cost, AiRO says, “cost is really up to the fitter but what we have seen is it can range from $200 – $600 depending if it’s encompassed into a new fit or not. If a fitter already has some of the crucial imagery from already doing a fit then they can do a AiRO fit separately and then set up a time to then refit to the new measurements and position. It will also depend on how many simulations a customer wants to run, maybe they just want to test their position with 2-3 helmets or maybe they want to tweak their position and run simulations with different helmets. So a fitter can do as much or as little as a customer wants. They might want to know what their current position CDA is which would then become the baseline for any future adjustments.”
For more information, visit this site: https://www.airo.app/ Click the Learn More tab and you can select either I Am A Rider or I Am A Fitter to get the lowdown for both. You can also find authorized AiRO fitters around the world (they have over 50 fitters signed on so far).
I’ll be back next week with more products to show you so stay tuned.
Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.
I can see marginal gains, very marginal gains, from fitting systems, but I have to question bike fitting overall. A cm there or cm here seems like a bit of woo woo going on.
Actually, a cm can make a big difference, not just in performance, but also in comfort and reducing stress on your body. There’s really no disputing that, but feel free to be dismissive if you like.