Tech Roundup at the London Bike Show: Brompton, Four4th lights, Silverback, Ceradure, Vincero

We posted the other day about Brompton's Limited Edition 'London' model launched in honour of the London Bike Show going on as you read this - and there are more pictures of the Vic Lee artwork featured on the frame, bag and free print in our gallery here - but the news that will be more interesting to the wider Brompton folding community is a new higher handlebar called 'H' to complement the existing M, P and S formats. The new shape available for 2012 will be the tallest so far, positioning riders in a traditional roadster 'sit-up-and-beg' style.

Also on the Brompton stand was an interesting collaboration with the German waterproof luggage maker Ortlieb; a new 7-litre handlebar bag called Mini O and shaped not unlike a camera bag which fits on Brompton's secure snap-on front bracket. There's a detachable shoulder strap and the price is £80 in either White/Black or Blue/Black.  

Details: www.brompton.co.uk

New at the Bike Show: Four4th lighting

Four4th are a new light manufacturer from the UK; well, new to us, they've been selling the lights for three years but mostly into the MTB market. They were at the London show with their range, which includes some interesting road-friendly kit.
The Duomo light is designed for commuting duties and, as per the name, has a domed lens on the front which affords a bit of side visibility to keep you safe around town. it pumps out 1200 lumens from a Cree MCE emitter and, as with all of the Four4th range, you get a choice of batteries including compact, bottle-mounted and high-capacity enduro. A nice touch is that some of the battery packs have a memory foam outside layer, so if you have an odd-shaped frame you can still get the battery to stay put.

There's a helmet-mounted light too, the Exodus, which uses 4 x Cree XPE emitters to pump out a similar amount of light. Interestingly it has a 'dip' switch so you can offset it so it's pointing off to the side so as not to blind drivers, although we can't help thinking that would get a bit annoying after a while. The top-of-the-range light, the Holy Moses, cracks out 2,500 lumens from 7 x Cree XPG R5 but that's more designed for off-road.

Four4th are also developing a rear light, specifically to be daylight visible and in response to an increasing number of accidents on TT courses over the past few years. They had a demo model on display but the finished light will probably feature a white LED surrounded by flashing red ones, to maximise visibility in daylight.

Details: four4th.co.uk

Silverback urban bike includes Supernova generator lighting

Tony spotted this interesting new German brand called Silverback. Their aluminium Starke Subzero ticks all the boxes for us using Shimano Alfine gears and disc brakes but they go the extra kilometre by also fitting the Supernova front hub dynamo which drives both front and rear lights as well as a USB port for your smart phone on the handlebars. We have the Supernova system in for review at the moment so watch out for that.

Details: silverbacklab.com

Ceradure vagazzled cassette + new WHITE colour

Cogmeisters Ceradure were at the show and hawking their impressively light one-piece cassettes – 88g for the 10spd cassette and locking, anyone? That's pretty impressive numbers, and the Aluminium cassette is treated with a ceramic coating to improve longevity. They're currently working on white and red versions, and for the show they'd produced a special one-off diamante cassette with a bejelled  lockring. If you like your bike to be as bling as possible then surely that's a must-have - it's a once off and will go to the highest bidder over the course of the show. To see it, head over to the Veroli stand.

Details: ceradure.nl

Vincero magnetic bottle system

Here's a clever thing. American outfit Vincero design have produced a super-minimal bottle system that uses magnets to attach the bottle to the frame. The Edge16 mount bolts into a standard bottle cage mount and consists of a wedge-shaped contrivance with a rare-earth magnet embedded. This mates with a similar shape on the Stratus bottle - 600ml and 710ml versions available - and the bevelled sides of the wedge hold the bottle securely in place. To release the bottle you just pull it forwards like you would  from a standard cage. The mount only weighs 16g and the bottle is the same weight as a standard bottle save for the small magnet. The Edge16 also makes mounting large bottles in small frames a possibility, since you don't need to pull the bottle as far forward to release it. The Edge16 mount and a bottle will cost you just over £30 and they'll be available through Ison Distribution.

Details: vincero-design.com