Tech Roundup: Rapha, Cinelli, Ritchey, Gaerne and more

It's a double rollover of hot product and kit news this weekend, here's the latest batch of new kit to land in the email inbox over the past two weeks. 

Rapha’s Tour Down Under tee and Blue Pro Team jersey

Rapha celebrates the Tour Down Under, and with it the start of the 2014 race season, with this special edition Team Sky King of Willunga T-Shirt. It’s limited edition, naturally, and features crown graphics in honour of the ‘King of Willunga Hill’ - the rider given the King of the Mountain honour upon reaching the top of Willunga Hill every year. There’s Rapha’s signature contrast stripe on the left sleeve and there’s a rear pocket. It costs £40. 

Last week Rapha revealed details and images of the 2014 Team Sky kit, and also revealed it has produced a special jersey just for the fans. The blue Team Sky jersey is the same as the regular Rapha Pro Team Jersey, so the same coldblack treated fabric, it’s just offered in a blue if black isn’t really your colour.

 The team won’t be racing in it, so it’s one for you lot only. It costs £140 and is available in six sizes. 

Prendas 'Aqua Light' Overshoes

Dorset-based clothing company Prendas just sent in a pair of its new 'Aqua Light' Overshoes. They’re a complete redesign of the previous overshoes, the Aquatex that road.cc tested a year or three back. 

They’re really intended for the higher temperatures of spring and autumn, but seeing as the winter hasn’t been that cold (not round these parts at least), Prendas reckon they’re just the ticket for the current weather. They’ve been several months in development and use a lightweight fabric with a water resistant treatment, not waterproof, that should be fine for splashing through the occasional puddles and keeping manky surface crud off your shoes. For more severe weather Prendas do offer heavier duty overshoes, but for the current weather and conditions we reckon they look ideal.

Holding them in place is a combination zipper and Velcro arrangement. Andy at Prendas tells us the reason for this approach is to take the pressure away from the zip, so it doesn’t dig into the back of the ankle, and increase the longevity - zips can sometimes fail on overshoes after much use. Plus

There’s a 3M Scotchlite stripe up the back of the overshoes. They're available in seven sizes and cost £29.95. http://www.prendas.co.uk/details.asp?ID=3504

Ritchey updates its handlebar range

There’s no rest for Ritchey, the US company has just added a couple of new handlebars to its range for 2014, the NeoClassic bar and Streem II. 

The Streem II handlebar features a short reach and shallow drop with an anatomical bend, a popular combination these days. There are grooves for the cables to keep everything nice and flush. The centre section is compatible with clip-on extensions. Weight is a claimed 275g and it’s available in three widths. It costs €105.

The NeoClassic is an updated handlebar adopting a traditional round bar. Most handlebars are ergonomic, shaped to be more comfortable in the drops, as well as being a shorter reach. Many professional cyclists prefer a tradition round drop, generally considered more comfortable if you spend a long time in the drops, as well as being deeper than for a more aero position. The NeoClassic is made from triple butted 7075 alloy, available in three widths, and weighs 260g. No UK price yet, but it costs €95.

Cinelli Bootleg Hobo bicycle comes with custom Moleskine notebook

You think you’ve seen it all, and then Cinelli announces its latest wheeze is to sell its Bootleg Hobo bike with a custom made Moleskine notebook, so cyclists can record their epic adventures and journeys.

The Bootleg Hobo has been created for long distance rides, made from steel and with all the mudguard and rack mounts you could possibly need to carry all your personal possessions on a tour. To encourage customers to record their adventures, Cinelli has partnered with Moleskine to produce the special edition notebook. And we thought most adventurists used Instagram and Twitter for recording and sharing such epicness.

Cinelli says all Hobo riders are invited to share images of their Hobo notebooks tagging #bootleghobo #cinelli #moleskine, so to show where their bicycles brought them and to make their inner travelogues accessible to all fellow bicycle travellers, for their inspiration.

Motivo updates its indoor cycling training app

Motivo 2.0 has been relaunched, a major overhaul of the company’s indoor cycling app that aims to be a motivational and virtual coach for any cyclist forced to train indoors when the weather is too horrible to even contemplate riding in.

The app offers a range of fitness, endurance and competition-specific training plans produced by accredited cycling coaches to help you make the most of your time on the turbo trainer. The app lets you choose how much time you have available to train and tailors the training plan specifically for your needs.

It’s compatible with any  Bluetooth Smart or ANT+ sensors (heart rate, speed or cadence) to give you as much data as you want or need. There are personal targets, on-screen guidance, audible alerts and real-time performance data.

The Motivo app costs £5.99 for one month, £29.99 for six months. It’s available for Apple iOS only. Check it out at www.motivo.cc

Gaerne produce custom green shoes for Bardiani – CSF Pro Team

Italian shoe manufacturer Gaerne is sponsoring the Bardiani – CSF Pro Team and is supplying these custom green and white custom shoes, proving green is on-trend this season. All 17 riders on the team will be wearing these custom shoes, based on the Carbon G_Chrono and featuring the green and white colour of the team kit. Here’s a video of the shoes in action 

Leisure Lakes to open new Daventry store

Bike shop chain Leisure Lakes is opening a new store in Daventry, and the grand opening is scheduled for 1st February. So if you’re in the area and fancy popping along to see the opening of the new story, here is your chance.

To tempt you in, 2013 World Enduro champ Tracy Moseley will be doing a signing, they’ll be give away loads of prizes, and they promise loads more too. Find out more at www.leisurelakesbikes.com

XSories launch GoPro Hero 3 silicone covers

If you use a GoPro Hero 3 video camera when you’re cycling or taking part in outdoor sports, and want to add a bit more protection in case you drop it (admit it, you’re as clumsy as us) then these new silicone covers from XSories might be of interest.

The covers are designed to protect the camera. They are easily fitted, simply stretching over the camera, so it retains its waterproofness. The optional hooded version is claimed to prevent reflections when shooting in the sun.

And of course, they’re available in nine snazzy colours so you can customise your GoPro, just like you might customise your phone with a cover. The regular silicone cover costs £14.99 and the hooded version is £19.99, and they’re available at retailers nationwide. Or you can head over to ultrasporteu.com.

That's is for this week, enjoy the weekend, and see you same time next week.