A Barely-There Glove, an Ultra-Adjustable Enduro Bike, & a Technical Flat Pedal Shoe - Eurobike 2018
Giro Rivet CS Glove
I'm pretty relaxed when it comes to most mountain bike clothing. It has to be comfortable, of course, and I'd prefer lowkey colors, but I'm easy to please besides that stuff. Except when it comes to gloves. If it's not too cold, I only wear the thinnest, most invisible gloves that I can find, which describes Giro's new Rivet CS. With a Cool-Skin palm that's just 0.6mm thick - that's roughly half as thick as some other materials - the new CS version of the Rivet is all about getting that gloveless feel without worrying about tearing up your palms when you go down.
There's no hook-and-loop strap at the cuff because the CS is all about minimum everything, and the top of the hand is covered with a mega-breathable, compression stretch woven fabric that's designed to feel like a second skin. There's mesh along the sides of each finger, too, and it all adds up to Giro's lightest, most breathable full-finger glove.
Expect a $35 USD price tag when the Rivet CS hits the shelves this coming September.
Lone Bicycles Beretta
Lone Bicycles soon to be released Beretta is all about letting you run whatever wheel size you want, with a load of built-in adjustability that sees the 160mm-travel bike able to fitted with 27.5, 27.5+, or 29'' wheels. But it's how they do it that's interesting.
Rather than different shock mounting positions that can drastically effect geometry and suspension performance, Lone Bicycles has moved most of the adjustment to around the bottom bracket. It's down here that you'll find a nifty, but not exactly lightweight looking, eccentric and adjustable bottom bracket pivot, kinda like what you'd see on a tandem to adjust the tension of the timing chain. This setup, along with its slotted dropouts, allows the Beretta's geometry to be tweaked to best suit each wheel size, and a few pinch bolts keep it all in place.
On top of all that, it's also compatible with both traditional and Metric shocks thanks to an adapter that configures the rearward mount as required.
Northwave Clan
The Clan is Northwave's new flat pedal shoe, and it's about as far from a warmed-over skate-style shoe as you can get. The outsole uses what Northwave calls 'Gecko Compound' that's said to be extremely sticky, and the tread design is a bit smoother where your pedal will end up - under the ball of your foot - but rougher everywhere else for traction when you're on your feet. It has some extra support at the arch, too, but most of that is coming from TPU shank that runs about three-quarters of the shoe's length. It's not just a piece of stiff plastic, though, with differently shaped cutouts along its length to increase rigidity in one direction but flexibility in the other - the reliefs run length-wise from the ball of the foot backward but are aligned across the shoe forward of that.
An EVA cushioning layer sits above the shank, and if you were to cut the sole open, you'd see that it also has dimples molded into it to get the best possible absorption. The upper looks a lot like many other flat pedal shoes, but it's designed to be breathable and quick-drying.
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100% gloves works great for me, and they've taken a beating.
See adjusting process without removing shock or components here: www.facebook.com/LoneBicycles/videos/969992939826832