For all Wout van Aert has already achieved in cycling, there is still one race that continues to shadow the conversation around him in Belgium. Not because his palmares lacks quality, but because Paris-Roubaix carries a different kind of weight. It is the race that still feels missing. That is the l...

This weeks Debrief features the new Veloci Bongo Jungle, LNT gear, a question about whether titanium cranks should exist, Crust Fazed Out Bars, several fresh videos, events to follow live, and more. Find it all hereThe post Friday Debrief: Veloci Bongo Jungle, LNT Gear, Crust Fazed Out Bars, and Are Ti Cranks Dumb? appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

There is a constant push to make cycling safer, and airbags have been a part of that push for a while. From vests and helmets to bib shorts.But what if the airbag was the skinsuit youre wearing? That is precisely what VAN RYSEL has been working on with its Project AIRBAG. As competition speeds up and crashes and injuries become more frequent, extra protection is needed.Preparing to crashHowever, high-level athletes likely wont wear a bulky vest or neck collar. But if their skinsuit is an airbag, that is a different story. In fact, they are already mandatory in some sports like MotoGP, so why not cycling? Thats precisely why the UCI is pushing for the development of the protective equipment, and VAN RYSEL looks like theyre ahead of the curve. They say their product is fully functional, with final testing currently underway. And, if all goes according to plan, the airbag skinsuit could hit retailers in the next two years.Project AIRBAGThe AIRBAG deploys in 60 millisecondsUnlike other systems that you wear externally or are part of an under-layer system, VAN RYSELs skinsuit is the airbag. Impact-detection algorithms power the AIRBAG, helping distinguish between racing and an actual crash. These algorithms are trained on more than 450 million kilometers of data and analyze rider dynamics up to 1,000 times per second.When a crash is detected, the airbag deploys in 60 milliseconds.VAN RYSELs focuses protection on three main areas when deployed:The AIRBAG protects the central core with protection around the thorax and rib cage.It also protects the cervical area by stabilizing the neck, helping to prevent hyperextension.Lastly, it also protects the spinal line, fully covering the back.Along with the actual airbag that protects the rider, the skinsuit also uses abrasion-resistant material. Placing this material in high-impact zones on the suit helps reduce the risk of road rash.VAN RYSEL says the suits target weight is 700g. Most of this weightabout 500gwill be from the airbag system itself. While it isnt confirmed, we believe the suit has a one-time use window. Once that baby pops, it is done.The skinsuit has apparently seen a lot of wind-tunnel time during its development. The goal was to match the aerodynamics and thermoregulation of a standard World Tour skinsuit. Did it match the numbers? We dont know, but VAN RYSEL says that testing will continue as AIRBAG is refined further.Outside a lab, Project AIRBAG is being developed by pro racers from the Decathlon CMA CGM and VAN RYSEL Roubaix race teams.As far as price, VAN RYSEL doesnt say. Again, testing will continuevanrysel.comThe post Project AIRBAG: There is an Airbag Integrated Into this VAN RYSEL Skinsuit appeared first on Bikerumor.

Hunt has launched the new 5AM Limitless Ti_UD Carbon Spoke wheelset, with a deeper and wider 58mm front wheel, and shallower and narrower 55mm rear wheel. The new wheelset includes carbon spokes for a claimed 1,212g weight and Hunt says it is the fastest all-round road race wheelset it has ever tested both its own and those from key rivals. Both front and rear wheels have a 23mm internal-width hooked rim, but the front wheels maximum width is 34.5mm, while the rears is 30mm. Hunt says most aero gains are achieved at the front wheel, where airflow is more laminar, while the turbulent airflow around the rear wheel makes light weight and maximum power transfer more significant. The deeper front and shallower rear design is claimed to maximise aero gains while keeping weight low. The deep front and shallow rear design, and the thinking behind it, mirror the Roval Rapide Sprint wheelset, which was launched last year and which Hunt has used as a comparator in its wind-tunnel testing. That wheelset has a 63mm front and 58mm rear rim depth, and 1,395g claimed weight. Hunt says its new wheels are aero optimised for the 28mm to 30mm tyre widths now chosen commonly for racing. The wider front rim uses Hunt's patented Limitless tech to add width without excess weight. As with many carbon-spoked wheels, Hunt has reduced the spoke count in its new wheelset, which also helps keep weight down and reduce drag. The 15 front and 18 rear Vonoa Ti_UD carbon spokes weigh only 1.7g each and have titanium ends. The internal nipples again help to optimise airflow. Hunt uses its patented Limitless tech in the front wheel, which moulds low-density material into the sidewall between the layers of carbon fibre to enable it to produce a more aero profile without a large increase in weight. It claims the wide, blunt rim shape improves aerodynamics at higher yaw angles and increases handling stability. There's a ceramic-bearing option for Hunt's hubs. The wheels turn on Hunts Chase SLC aero alloy hubs with a 48-tooth ratchet freehub that provides a 7.5-degree engagement angle. Theres a choice of steel or, for a price uplift, newly designed CeramicSpeed bearings that are yet to be launched officially. Tested against ENVE, Zipp, Scope and more The 5AM in the new wheelsets name doesnt, as I had imagined, refer to the best time to start your ride, but Hunts Aero Maximisation process. This has five stages, starting with CFD computational analysis of airflow around the wheel and wheel-bike combination. This is followed by three phases of aero testing in a wind tunnel, beginning with the wheel alone, moving on to wheel-plus-bike and finally wheel, bike and pedalling rider. The fifth stage takes the wheels to a velodrome, defined road course or aerodrome runway, using an Aerosensor drag-measurement device to measure real-world parameters such as rotational drag. Hunt's wind-tunnel results show lower drag and weight than key competitor wheelsets. Hunt has compared its wheels to seven competitor aero wheelsets in the wind tunnel. Based on its testing using 30mm Schwalbe Pro One tyres, Hunt claims its wheels are 1.74 watts faster than the Roval Rapide Sprint and 4.35 watts faster than the ENVE SES 4.5 Pro wheels used by Tadej Pogaars UAE Team Emirates-XRG WorldTour team. Hunt used the Aerosensor device for outdoor drag measurements. Aerosensor / Alex Duffil via Drive Change Media Hunt has also tested its wheels outdoors on a runway, where it says it found an 8.5-watt aero advantage over the Zipp 404 Firecrest and a 5.9-watt gain on the Scope Artech 6. The 5AM Limitless Ti_UD Carbon Spoke wheelset is available with a choice of stainless steel or CeramicSpeed hybrid ceramic bearings, with the wheelset priced at 1,999 / $2,599 / 2,349 with steel bearings or 2,489 / $3,199 / 2,899 with ceramic bearings.

Less than an hour and a half of womens race to be shown on TV this Sunday

Queen stage time at the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country as we start and finish in Eibar, as has been the case often in recent years. Whilst the climbs are not overly long, this is what the Basque Country has to offer in terms of climbing, which totals at over 4000 meters throughout the 176-kilometer lon...

Open has always done things a little differently, and their latest bike takes that to a new level in the weirdest and most wonderful ways.Its aero, but designed for loaded bikepacking. And its light, even though youre strapping a lot of stuff to it. And its how it achieves those competing interests that makes it so intriguing.Building on the foundation of the U.P.|U.P.PER. 2.0 frame, this new model integrates bikepacking features while maintaining the platforms focus on speed across varied terrain.The frame keeps its top tube bag mounts, adds three mounting eyelets under the toptube for strapless frame bag attachment, plus lots of bottle cage mounts on and under the downtube.Later this year, theyll also release a dedicated aero frame bag developed with Apidura.U-Turn Adventure ForkComplete bikes and framesets come with the all-new OPEN U-Turn Adventure fork. Compared to the U-Turn Aero fork, the Adventure model is redesigned with a shallower leg profile to improve comfortbut its the integrated cargo slots that make it completely unique.These slots let you strap soft bags or items with Voile straps directly to the fork legs without requiring additional cages, using the fork structure itself as support. For those preferring traditional setups, the included cargo barrels accommodate standard cage mounting, too.They stick with their bolt-through brake mount, too, which means no in-molded rivnuts that (however unlikely) could work loose and become a failure point.Geometry & CockpitEach frame size has individualized geometry and tube shapes, built around OPENs A.I.R. geometry (Agile | Integrated | Refined) for road bike-like agility with larger gravel tires.Side note: If youve ever dramatically changed the size of your tire and all of a sudden your bike handles weird, thats because gravel bikes in particular have a huge range of tire size options, and theyre often optimized around a specific and narrow range. So, when a brand says its optimized for X, its probably more than just marketing speak. Here, youd want to run 45mm tires to take full advantage of OPENs design.The OPEN B.A.R. cockpit system is an integrated handlebar available in 10 sizes with adjustable length (introduced here) that addresses the common fit limitations of one-piece bars.Each bar allows 15mm of stem length adjustment in 5mm increments, enabling more precise positioning than traditional stems that typically jump in 10mm increments. Adjustments require only loosening clamps, repositioning components, and retightening.Oh, and 50mm Gravel Tires are the worstFor tire selection, OPEN maintains that 50mm tires represent a performance compromise, which is putting it nicely. Actually, they say theyre the valley of death, offering the worst aerodynamics and the worst performance. They claim that 45mm tires on the ultra-wide modern rims offer the best aerodynamics and decent rolling.Thus, the new OPEN U.P. 2.0 Adventure is designed around 45mm (and smaller) tires for aerodynamic benefits, with a maximum 46mm tire clearance.Want to go bigger? Wait for the upcoming WI.DE 2.0, which is designed for 55mm and larger tires, which they say offer the least rolling resistance for the smoothest, fastest ride.OPENcycle.comThe post Things are Wonderfully Weird on the New OPEN U.P. 2.0 Adventure Bike appeared first on Bikerumor.

French teen sensation takes third stage of the race

Paul Seixas tightened his grip on the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country with a third stage win, overpowering Florian Lipowitz in a two-man sprint after a brutally attritional day around Eibar. The race leader once again proved untouchable when it mattered most, responding to every move before taking full...

Thanks to its Avinox M2S motor, the Shuttle AMPD is Pivot's most powerful e-bike yet. In our latest video we put it to the test on the iconic trails of Finale Ligure, one of Europe's best mountain biking spots.The Avinox M2S drive unit fitted to the Pivot Shuttle AMPD boasts 1,300W and 130Nm of torque, and is powered Continue reading