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Five cool things coming soon from Light and Motion, Cane Creek, Barbour, Sportful and Trek

A sneak peek at some of the latest kit, components and bikes that have passed through road.cc Towers and onto our intrepid team of testers

Another week, another hardcore week of tinkering and testing to the max from road.cc's review team. Here are some of the highlights of the gear we've seen pass through recently...

Barbour X Brompton Bromley wax jacket

£299

Barbour x Brompton Merton Wax Jacket.jpg

Yes it's nearly 300 quid, and yes it looks more at home on the shooting range than on a bike, but this collab between Barbour and Brompton is specifically made for the needs of urban cycling with easy-access pockets and a dropped back tail to keep the grime off your backside. A 100% cotton lining, reflective tape and zipped vents on the rear and sleeves make this a very classy Christmas present in theory (plus it's reduced to a bargain £210 on Barbour's website currently) but what will our tester Caroline Dodgson make of it? Her review is due soon. 
barbour.com/uk
 

Light and Motion Urban 1000 FC 

£139.99

Light and Motion Urban 1000 FC.jpg

The Urban 1000 FC packs, you guessed it, 1000 lumens into an impressively light 122g package - in fact Light and Motion say it's the most compact light you can buy that delivers an output this strong. A simple rubber mount, additional side lighting for extra safety and a one-touch toggle for ease of use make for an impressive sounding beam, but does it trounce the competition in the £100-£150 price bracket? I'll be giving you my tuppence worth later this week. 
madison.co.uk

​Sportful Luna Softshell jacket

£100

Sportful Luna Softshell Jacket.jpg

This women's jacket is a 'simple yet elegant' number according to Sportful themselves, with a fleece-lined softshell construction to provide adequate warmth and wind resistance in chillier temperatures. A back panel with ThermoDrytex Plus and silicon elastic hem completes the garment. Emma Silversides is your tester, with a verdict coming later this week. 
sportful.com
 

Trek Emonda SL 5

£1900

Trek Emonda SL 5.jpg

The 2018 version of the Trek Emonda has got even lighter still, and our test model with Shimano 105 groupset weighed in at 8.5kg - pretty feathery for a bike at this price point. Trek's 500 Series Ultralight OCLV carbon frame takes BB90 and has full internal cable routing as standard, with direct mount brakes and a tapered head tube. Is Mat Brett loving the lightness? Check back for a review next month. 
trekbikes.com/gb

 

Cane Creek EE brakes

£599

Cane Creek EE brakes1.jpg

These high-end calipers are self-proclaimed as setting a new standard in high performance road braking, at half the weight of their competitors. No tools are required for pad centering and every detail has been meticulously thought through in these USA-made beauties. Can the big price tag really be justified? Jez Ash is applying some pressure to them right now...
extra.co.uk

For all the latest road.cc test reports, head to our reviews section. If you need more advice before splashing your cash, check out our buyer's guides

 

 

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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19 comments

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
0 likes

Out in the wet last Sunday and I was impressed. It looks like a dry Sunday this week, but I'll still try and get out to Hope Mountain and see what they're like there. yes

Much better already as they actually stop me.

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davel | 6 years ago
0 likes

Should make a difference still - especially with the pads etc. Been out on them yet?

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don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
0 likes

105s.

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don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
0 likes

That's right, dangle your fancy brakes under my nose just after I've bought some calipers in my quest to improve the braking on my winter bike... Grrr!

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davel replied to don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
0 likes

don simon wrote:

That's right, dangle your fancy brakes under my nose just after I've bought some calipers in my quest to improve the braking on my winter bike... Grrr!

Ultegras?

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Bmblbzzz | 6 years ago
0 likes

I'd be more interested in their performance as brakes. 

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700c replied to Bmblbzzz | 6 years ago
0 likes
Bmblbzzz wrote:

I'd be more interested in their performance as brakes. 

Supposedly as good as or better than dura ace

EE's have been around for years, the original design circa 2010 I think so not sure how these are 'new'. They have a lot of devotees among weight weenies. Far too rich for my blood though - I went for TRP R970sl's in a recent upgrade - a little bling and very effective braking considering only 230g.

You can keep your discs, thanks all the same!  3

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Sevenfold | 6 years ago
0 likes

I'll take your AX Lightness at 800 euros & raise you to THM Fibula €1230 or £1100 from UKBYK - 120grams....

 

http://www.ubyk.co.uk/thm-carbones-fibula-brake-set/70428?gclid=EAIaIQob...

Avatar
Jimmy Ray Will | 6 years ago
1 like

Those brakes don't have pads... that's got to be a further 80grams to go on that 170grams straight away. 

My groupset weights 1.3kg (when weighed without cranks), does it make it the lightest groupset in the world? 

 

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philhubbard replied to Jimmy Ray Will | 6 years ago
0 likes

Jimmy Ray Will wrote:

Those brakes don't have pads... that's got to be a further 80grams to go on that 170grams straight away. 

My groupset weights 1.3kg (when weighed without cranks), does it make it the lightest groupset in the world? 

 

 

It's actually about 25g, you can buy them with pads, but there is no point adding cost for a carbon pads if people are using aluminium wheels and vice versa.

 

Also at this price most people do have a preferred brake pad

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Jimmy Ray Will replied to philhubbard | 6 years ago
0 likes

philhubbard wrote:

Jimmy Ray Will wrote:

Those brakes don't have pads... that's got to be a further 80grams to go on that 170grams straight away. 

My groupset weights 1.3kg (when weighed without cranks), does it make it the lightest groupset in the world? 

 

 

It's actually about 25g, you can buy them with pads, but there is no point adding cost for a carbon pads if people are using aluminium wheels and vice versa.

 

Also at this price most people do have a preferred brake pad

People are idiots if they are falling for that.

For the cost of the callipers, which as alluded to already, are not made of anything particularly exotic, including both aluminium and carbon pad options as standard would surely be reasonable.

I'd even be happy paying £30 more and having both sets of pads included. 

I get the price... its a mix of licence agreements and covering the cost of R&D and production costs which will likely be high due to the low volumes produced... but lets not be fooled into thinking there still isn't plenty of fat in there!

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fenix | 6 years ago
5 likes

Those brakes may be light but they're not pretty.

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ragtag replied to fenix | 6 years ago
0 likes

fenix wrote:

Those brakes may be light but they're not pretty.

Fugly. Wouldn't put them on a hybrid, let alone my road bike. Looks like they're wearing a brace.

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fukawitribe replied to ragtag | 6 years ago
0 likes

ragtag wrote:

fenix wrote:

Those brakes may be light but they're not pretty.

Fugly. Wouldn't put them on a hybrid, let alone my road bike. Looks like they're wearing a brace.

Eye of the beholder and all that. Not convinced that 'pretty' is the right word but I love 'em, looks like something the engineering department whipped out whilst the marketing guys were on holiday.

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davel replied to fukawitribe | 6 years ago
0 likes

fukawitribe wrote:

ragtag wrote:

fenix wrote:

Those brakes may be light but they're not pretty.

Fugly. Wouldn't put them on a hybrid, let alone my road bike. Looks like they're wearing a brace.

Eye of the beholder and all that. Not convinced that 'pretty' is the right word but I love 'em, looks like something the engineering department whipped out whilst the marketing guys were on holiday.

Me too, would look awful on any of my current bikes, but something a bit more industrial... Performance has to be top-notch for that money, though.

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cyclisto replied to fenix | 6 years ago
0 likes
fenix wrote:

Those brakes may be light but they're not pretty.

Well exactly. Strong items with the same material are made when you increase cross section perimeter. A 1m 1kg solid bar will bent easier than any 1m 1kg tube of the same material. So when they increase the dimensions of the perimeter they end up with these brakes. But they do look awful for 95% of cyclists and if it wrote Jang-Jing cycle parts on it and costed 30 quid a pair (that is the cost to manufacture and still be profitable) the other 5% wouldn't like them either.

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kil0ran | 6 years ago
2 likes

£600 for a set of rim brakes? 

What in Cribbins are they made of? Unicorn horn impregnated with truffle oil?

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maviczap replied to kil0ran | 6 years ago
1 like

kil0ran wrote:

£600 for a set of rixm brakes? 

What in Cribbins are they made of? Unicorn horn impregnated with truffle oil?

They weigh approx 170 grms, Dura Ace weighs 325grms. Cane Creek bought the rights too use EE Cycleworks design. 

Guess that's why you're paying a premium, same as Lightweight wheels and all that flyweight stuff, it's always cost big bucks.

From reviews they work quite well, unlike a lot of lightweight stuff. I can't afford to buy them to test them for real.

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rct replied to kil0ran | 6 years ago
0 likes

kil0ran wrote:

£600 for a set of rim brakes? 

What in Cribbins are they made of? Unicorn horn impregnated with truffle oil?

AX Lightness calipers, if you can still find them, were in excess of 800 euros.  130 grams.

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