This Week in Tech: New Ti Bikes From Sturdy, Cheaper Kogel Pulley Wheels, a Trek App, and a Vittoria Pressure Calculator
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Kogel is offering the impossible, or at least the improbable, with an OSPW that’s both cheap(ish) and high performance. Right when you thought that was impossible on both fronts, right? Then Vittoria is getting all scientific with a tire pressure calculator and, I guess, also inferring that no one else is? I’d bet there’s some disagreement from other brands about that but at least Vittoria has a disclaimer about hookless pressures and the numbers seem decent.
We’ve also got some serious bling with less wait from Sturdy cycles and a weird app from Trek. In other news, many things that might have shown up here have instead landed in our coverage of the Taipei Cycle Show. Be sure to check it out as we are adding to it daily.
In no particular order, here’s what’s new this week in tech.
Kogel offers up a budget minded oversized pulley wheel system
The Kogel Kolossos ST is a contradiction. An oversized pulley wheel is, by popular definition, an overpriced waste of money. Except with the Kolossos ST Kogel is focussing on budget and performance. Is $324.99 budget? Is there any actual performance benefit?
Kogel, obviously, says yes to both questions. As with other OSPW systems, Kogel claims the system is a way to “maximize efficiency and drivetrain longevity.” Then the brand hits a price point by “exchanging the trusted hybrid ceramic bearings for stainless steel bearings ”which makes the system “30% cheaper compared to the standard Kolossos models.” Kogel otherwise keeps the rest of the design unchanged.
If you agree that it’s worth considering this budget play, even if just for the bling, check out the Kogel website.
Trek takes a leap into ride tracking
Trek is launching the Trek Ride Club App and I’d file this in the no one saw this coming category. The app is available for iOS and Android and it’s free to use to track rides, find routes, or look for group rides.
That stuff is standard other than the ride tracking adds saved CO2 emissions to the metrics but things do get a little weirder. First there is a “Challenges and rewards” section adding a way to “participate in local and national cycling challenges to earn prizes and in-store discounts.” Of course Strava has that too so maybe it’s not so odd.
Where things seem to take a real turn towards odd but different is around support. No Trek is necessary and there’s a feature called RideLine which offers “Free Real-Time Rider Support” through phone or chat to cover common issues such as a flat tire or a broken chain. There’s also a “a library of step-by-step video guides covering essential bike maintenance topics, such as fixing a flat tire, mounting lights, and lubing bike chains.”
Is this going to have staying power? Seems unlikely but at least right now you might find just the support info you need in an easier to navigate format than YouTube. I was warned by some early users to be careful about getting accurate tracking though. I’d say caveat emptor but it is free.
You can check it out via iOS and Android app stores.
Vittoria launches a tire pressure calculator
Before this launch you could find tire pressure recommendations from SRAM, Enve, and Silca. Now Vittoria is trying to capture attention with a new pressure calculator backed by claims of a scientific approach.
Personally, I care about results more than approach. Do the results make sense and does the process of getting the results make sense?
To that end I’ve been testing this a bit and it’s definitely worth checking out. The numbers I am seeing are close enough to SRAM and Enve that I’m inclined to say it’s worth looking at. More than that though, it’s an easy system to use and it works even if you don’t know things like internal rim width. The flip side of that though is that it doesn’t take internal rim width into account and that can make a big difference. Bonus points given for the ability to flip back and forth between metric and American measurements plus bar or PSI.
Bottom line, I recommend using something and Vittoria seems close enough plus it’s easy. You can check it out for yourself on the Vittoria website.
Sturdy cycles offers a new “off the peg” gravel bike called the Sturdy SC-G
Sturdy cycles is one of only a few brands making titanium bikes that are lust worthy on a whole different level. The UK based brand previously offered a mountain bike, a road bike, a TT bike, an all-road bike, and a gravel bike. It’s a wide range but they are all custom geometry and made to order.
As with every small frame builder, custom frames always limit growth. Looks like Sturdy is ready to grow and the brand is starting “off the peg” with a gravel bike called SC-G. It’s got up to 55mm of tire clearance and there’s a build offered that specs out at 8.8kg.
Just because these aren’t custom though, don’t expect lower quality. The point is to eliminate a bottle neck in production. That pushes down the price a bit but “the SC-G brings the same game-changing 3D printing tech that was pioneered in Sturdy’s renowned fully custom models, all hand-made and meticulously finished in Somerset, at the Sturdy Cycles workshop in Frome.” In other words, this is a still a premium bike.
A frameset is priced at £4800 (inc UK VAT) and there’s also an ENVE/AXS/Sturdy full build option priced at £9900 (inc VAT). More information is available on the Sturdy Cycles website.
