Zwift introduces holographic replays so you can race yourself + the rest of the week’s tech news from Canyon, Oakley, Rapha, Met, Parcours & more

Tech of the Week is always an eclectic mix and this one features super-fast wheel, a whole load of clothing to keep you comfortable on off-season rides, very cool eyewear, and a two-wheeled tribute to the Hawaiian humuhumunukunukuapua’a fish. Oh yes, it’s diverse alright.

We’re starting, though, with Zwift’s latest innovation to add excitement to your indoor riding.

Zwift introduces holographic replays that allow you to race yourself

Online cycling app Zwift has now introduced the holographic replays feature first previewed last month, allowing you to race a representation of yourself on screen.

> Zwift set to release a host of new features including the ability to race yourself 

The new feature is available to all Zwift users under FutureWorks, Zwift’s development program for testing new product ideas and features.

“The HoloReplay is a visual representation of your fastest pace within the past 90 days or your most recently completed segment,” says Zwift. “It allows you the opportunity to compete against your previous performance set during a free ride.

HoloReplays won’t use a PR or recent completion data recorded in an event, race, workout, group workout, Meetup, Club, or group ride.

You can choose between these options:

• Personal Best Any PR set during a freeride or Pacer Group ride. At the launch of HoloReplay, your performance history is set to a 90 day rolling window with a start date of 16 Aug.
• Most Recent This will spawn the HoloReplay from the most recent completion of a segment within the same ride.
• Both This will allow the PR and most recent completion to spawn.

It sounds like a great option to us because even if you don’t beat yourself, you’ve still won. Kind of. Hang on, this is getting too confusing. Let’s bail out.

Zwift expects its HoloReplays feature to evolve over coming months.

Get more info here 

Rapha launches Pro Team Training tights

Rapha has introduced new Pro Team Training Tights that are designed to keep you comfortable in cool to mild off-season conditions. They’re made with a lightweight recycled nylon and use a size-specific Pro Team chamois pad.

You get reflective logos and contrast details on the legs to help you stay visible in low light.

Both men’s and women’s versions are priced at £180.

Find out more here 

Parcours unveils its “fastest ever wheelsets”

British wheel brand Parcours has unveiled what it’s calling its fastest ever wheels. The new Chrono wheelset (£1,199, 68.6mm front, 75.7mm rear) is designed to be “an extremely versatile race day wheelset option for triathletes, time trialists, or road racers”.

“Maintaining the class-leading aerodynamics of the previous generation wheelset, the new Chrono offers an improvement of over 17% in way of crosswind stability,” says Parcours. “Aerodynamically optimised around a 28mm tyre, the Chrono wheelset is also tubeless-ready and disc-brake specific to accompany a wider rim profile.”

The internal width is 22.5mm while the maximum widths are 32.0mm (front) and 30.5mm (rear).

The Chrono Max (£1,649, 83.6mm deep) is described at Parcours’ fastest ever front wheel although it is said to maintain the handling of the company’s older 77mm model.

Parcours has also launch the Disc² which it calls “the first full-carbon rear disc wheel to be truly optimised for wide tyres”.

“With an internal rim width of 22.5mm, the Disc² (£1,049) rear wheel can be run with a tyre up to 30mm wide with no aerodynamic penalty,” says Parcours. The Disc²  saves over 120g in weight over the previous Parcours disc wheel, making it the ideal choice for riders wanting to maximise their aerodynamic advantage.

“All three models have been designed from the ground up using #thinkwider technology, developed following the results of an in-depth scientific study carried out by Parcours in association with the Sports Engineering department at Nottingham Trent University and Dr Steve Faulkner [a scientist with British Cycling].

“This revolutionary research showed that the real world yaw – the angle between a cyclist’s direction of motion and the relative wind vector – experienced by the front and rear wheel are consistently different by an average of 1.5°, giving rise to the engineering of differential profiles for the front/rear rims. The front, U-shaped, blunt rim design provides optimal aerodynamics at the higher yaw angles observed at the front wheel while having the added benefit of enhancing crosswind stability. The rear, V-shaped, sharper rim profile is used to optimise aerodynamics at the lower yaw angles it would experience.”

Parcours has published a white paper on the new wheels. 

Find out more here 

Santini adds winter clothing to Tour de France Maillot Jaune collection

The Maillot Jaune (which means ‘Yellow Jersey’, but you already knew that) collection launched by Santini and the Tour de France last spring has now been extended to include winter technical cycling wear.

> Santini launches new Maillot Jaune collection to celebrate the Tour de France 

The collection covers tights (£170), for example, featuring Santini’s C3 pad,  a jersey (£110) made from thermal fleece, and a rain jacket (£180).

The full Maillot Jaune winter collection is available now.

Find out more here 

Canyon’s new Speedmax pays tribute to humuhumunukunukuapua’a fish!

Canyon is celebrating the return of the Triathlon World Championships to Hawaii after a three year absence with a limited edition Speedmax CF SLX Hawaii LTD.

“With a salute to Hawai’i’s official state fish, it emulates the vivid colours of the humuhumunukunukuapua’a,” says Canyon.

Congratulations to the humuhumunukunukuapua’a for its first (and possibly last) ever mention on road.cc.

> Canyon unveils new Speedmax triathlon bike range 

The carbon-fibre frame is built up with Shimano’s Ultegra Di2 12-speed electronic shifting groupset and a 4iiii Precision power meter.

You have the choice of a CP0019 flat aero bar or a CP0021 riser aero bar with mono extension aerobars while the saddle is a Selle Italia Watt Superflow.

The Speedmax CF SLX Hawaii LTD is equipped with DTSwsiss Rapid ARC 1400 Dicut DB wheels, with deep-section 62mm front and 80mm rear rims.

Just 100 of these Canyon Speedmax CF SLX Hawaii LTD bikes are available at £8,899.

Find out more here

Oakley releases more 90s-inspired oversized shades

Do these look familiar? No, these aren’t Oakley Sutro Lite Sweeps or Razor Blades. This is the Hydra, a surf-inspired nod to the retro scene. Technically, these aren't designed for cycling but, as with nearly all Oakley shades, we don't think it’ll be long before we see lovers of two wheels hiding behind a pair.

Like Oakley’s cycling range, the Hydra features colour and contrast boosting Prizm lens technology as well as no-slip grip nosepads. There's a choice of five colours: Rootbeer, Black Ink, Crystal Black, Neon Orange and our favourite: Trans Arctic Surf.

The real question is: which pro is going to be first to rock them? Our money is on MVDP.

Find out more here 

Met introduces Intercity MIPS helmet with integrated visor

Met has launched a new Intercity MIPS helmet with a wide, integrated visor and NTA 8776 certification – a Dutch safety standard for e-bike helmets

> Keep your head protected! 8 of the best road and time trial cycle helmets from MET 

One of the key features is the adjustable polycarbonate visor to keep wind, dust and insects out of your eyes. There are quite a lot of urban helmets out there with integrated visors these days, such as the Kask Urban R and the Giro Evoke MIPS Urban.

A magnetic LED is attached to the upper rear part of the helmet for extra visibility and the Fidlock buckle on the chinstrap is magnetic too.

The MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) is attached inside the helmet between the comfort padding and the EPS (expanded polystyrene).

> Find out all you need to know about MIPS 

Met says, “One of the safest helmets out there, the Intercity MIPS is NTA 8776 certified – the world’s first safety certification for e-bike helmets. The NTA-certification confirms that the MET Intercity dissipates significantly more impact energy than a standard helmet. An NTA EPS shell has 10% more impact-tested coverage around the two most sensitive brain areas: the back and the temples.”

The Met Intercity MIPS has a claimed weight of 460g, comes in five colours and is priced at £200.

Find out more here 

Ass Savers Win Wing is designed to keep your but dry from further away!

Ass Savers has been the go-to minimalist mudguard since 2012, so if previous success is anything to go by we should take note of this new model.

The brand’s new Win Wing is certainly lightweight at just 64g for the road version and 72g for the gravel version and Ass Savers claims that it brings all the benefits of full mudguards without jamming, rattling or weighing you down.

Like an original Ass Saver, the Win Wing uses rubber mounts attached to your bike’s seatstays.

An Ass Savers Win Wing is priced €25 (£22).

Find out more here 

Gore unveils new Torrent colours

The 2022 Torrent collection includes bib shorts, short sleeve jersey and jacket that “will serve as your ideal riding companion in cooler autumn weather”, according to Gore.

The Torrent Jersey (£89.99) combines a soft stretch fabric and close fit, and Gore says that it deliver a high level of moisture control and optimal aerodynamic efficiency. There are three gusseted back pockets and also a zipped side pocket to hold your ride essentials.

> Check out our Gore Torrent Jersey review 

The Torrent Bib Shorts+ (£99.99) are claimed to be quick drying and feature an insert that we’ve seen in other medium to long distance Gore shorts. You also get a Gore Windstopper “cup” to provide “extra protection at the groin and ensure the best comfort possible”.

> Read our Gore Torrent shorts review here

Meanwhile, the Gore Torrent jacket (£229.99) is designed for cooler and wetter weather and we found it performed very well indeed when we reviewed it. Now available in new colours, this lightweight jacket also comes with a Goretex “guarrenteed to keep you dry” promise. 

Find out more here 

Koo announces Cosmo lifestyle glasses

Italian brand Koo has introduced a new model called Cosmo that’s designed for everyday use.

The Cosmo comes with grippy temples, nose pad rubber inserts, and a flexible Grilamid (a high-performance polyamide) frame that’s available in seven different colours.

> Check out our review of Koo's Supernova sunglasses 

You get Zeiss polycarbonate mirror lenses that offer 100% UV protection, and you can have polarised lenses to eliminate glare if you go for the black frame option.

The Koo Cosmo with multilayer lenses is priced at £105. The version with polarised lenses is £130

Get more info here

Velobici launches Hugo Thermal clothing collection

Velobici has just introduced its Hugo Thermal collection for the cooler weather. The clothing comes in a sage and forest green colourway and is made in the UK.

The Hugo Thermal jersey (£220), for example, is made from a two layer thermal fabric that’s wind and water resistant.

The Hugo Thermal Bib Shorts (£210) also feature two layers to trap air round you while a DWR (durable water repellent) treatment helps keep you dry.

The Meryl/Lycra-blend base layer is available in short sleeve (£65) and long sleeve (£70) models. 

Women’s versions are available too. 

Find out more here

In case you missed it earlier in the week…

• Wahoo launches refreshed Elemnt Roam with more powerful colour screen: first ride impressions 
• Pinarello unveils “the first high-performance 3D-printed bike” for Ganna’s UCI Hour Record attempt