This Week In Tech: Silca’s Tariff-Limited Electronic Pump, Strava’s Strike on Fake KOMs, and Smart Kids Bikes

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The White House imposed a 90-day tariff deadline to allow industry some time to adjust, and the bike industry has had to react. In the case of Silca and its new Electtrico electric pump? There’ll just be 100 of them coming to Silca’s largest market, the US, because pricing just doesn’t work.

Oh, wait, there’s more to tech than dwelling on tariffs? Well, Factor just launched its new Monza road bike, a lower-priced road bike for non-WorldTour riders. Strava is getting to work on flagging fraudulent KOM and QOM times. Universal Colours got a whole bunch of new colors for 2025. Skratch Labs expands its US racing team to eight Americans, while Biky Bikes introduces the first ‘Smart’ kids’ bike we’ve seen. And Priority Bicycles puts a, uh, priority, on crowdsourcing bike development to a popular bikepacking YouTube channel.

It’s been a busy one here in the world of tech, but we’ve done everything we can to bring you the latest and greatest This Week in Tech. Let’s get started.

Silca Electtrico an electric pump that’s barely coming to the US

This headline should be something about how Silca is known as the king of bike pumps and is now jumping into the electric pump ring. Instead the headline is about how the US market is getting only 100 of these because of tariffs. Silca says the math doesn’t work out anymore so there’s a few that made it here early and once those are gone that’s it.

For the rest of the world, Silca is launching two new pumps. There’s the Silca Electtrico Ultimate and the Elettrico Micro Pump. Both pumps focus specifically on noise and vibration reduction offering a claimed 4db-8db of noise reduction compared to competing pumps. Silca also claims  “the Elettrico is crafted from custom extruded and CNC machined aluminum to withstand the rigors of cycling adventures, as well as dampening noise and dissipating heat.”

The difference between the two is size. The Ultimate is basically your home pump while the Micro is a CO2 replacement. That plays out with both features and battery life with the Ultimate having a display and pumping between 3 and 100 psi at roughly 1% accuracy and roughly 9-inflations. The Micro drops the gauge and instead automatically stops at a max of 72psi and offers roughly three full inflations.

Pricing in the US is currently (as of this writing) $159/$119 for the Elettrico Ultimate/Elettrico Micro. As mentioned though, those prices might change and for now you better move quickly if you want to grab one as rather than adding to the price the company isn’t importing them.

Pricing for the rest of the world is: CAD: $199.95 and $239.95 CAD, EU: €139 and €179, AUS: $179 and $219 AUD, UK: £119 and £149

Visit the Silca website for more info and purchasing. -JR

Factor’s new Monza road bike is for racers who aren’t blessed with a support car

Missed our first look story of the Factor Monza? No problem, we have a full breakdown here with a full review to come.

But in case you need a quick breakdown, the Factor Monza is, in essence, a less-expensive version of its Ostro VAM race bike. There are a few key differences, however, all in the effort of making the bike more practical for folks who don’t have a team car following them as they ride. Handling geometry is the same, while fit geometry sees stack heights increased by 10 mm across all sizes. The Monza also gets 34 mm tire clearance, SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger), and a downtube storage hatch to ensure people don’t need to use a saddle bag that kills aero gains.

I dig what they’re doing here, even if the $6,799 starting price point for a Shimano Ultegra Di2 build isn’t quite as attainable as we would hope for. See more at factorbikes.com. -AH

Strava employs machine learning to boost fairness

Strava leaderboards are just for fun but losing one unfairly is maddening. I used $6000 Princeton Carbonworks Mach 7580 TSV2 wheels to grab a segment KOM but at least I wasn’t in a car. Strava has a new system to better stop fake KOM grabs.

I’ll let Strava tell the story:

Our model uses over 50 features, simple metrics like top speed and acceleration, and advanced analysis to identify if any portion of a run or ride activity was recorded in a vehicle. If our system detects a vehicle, the entire activity is excluded from the leaderboard until the user crops out the offending portion of the activity.

For all you QOM and CR hunters, we’ve double and triple checked this new model won’t mistakenly flag your performances. To put this to the ultimate test, we used it on Tadej’s rides and the fastest World Tour day races, like this year’s Surf Coast Classic, where riders averaged over 28mph/45kph. Even record-breaking rides got through without a problem.

This new model is already flagging 16k vehicles daily before they appear on leaderboards, leading to a 74% decrease in users flagging activities as “in a vehicle” each day.

You can find more info on the Strava website. -JR

Universal Colours gets a summer 2025 update

Honestly, even for this roundup, there’s an argument that Universal Colours getting a summer update isn’t big enough news. I’m including here because I just finished the best bib shorts buyers guide and I’ve been in touch with Universal Colours during the process.  I’ll be testing this kit during the summer so I want to let fans know there’s new options.

Fans will already know this, and others can likely guess, but Universal Colours is all about colors (American spelling). For summer 2025, the brand is taking the existing top shelf Chroma bib short—featuring “high stretch woven fabric” and a “buttery soft feel against the skin”—and adding Navy, Brick Red, Warm Grey and Black colors. There’s also the “Chroma Light Jersey in Dusty Lilac for both men and women.”

Shortly after this launch, there will be a Chroma Jersey for Men and Women. According to Universal Colours, the new jersey is “crafted from Global Recycled Standard polyester and the finest Italian woven fabrics, this jersey offers fast-drying and moisture-wicking properties that are ideal for temperature regulation. The matte finish fabric is slightly heavier than the Chroma Light Jersey for year-round versatility (coming in at 110gsm vs 90gsm). True to brand beliefs, the new Chroma Jersey will be made available in the same colourways for men and women: Sky Blue, Off-White, Jaipur Red and Midnight Blue.”

I’ll be sharing more info about the quality of this kit in the future. For now, you can find more info and purchase information at the Universal Colours website. -JR

Skratch Labs Racing expands its roster to eight

Skratch Labs has expanded its Skratch Labs Racing team to eight Americans. Four of those athletes — Adam Peterman, Tara Fraga, Reid Burrows, and Tara Warren — are ultra-endurance trail runners but there are also four cyclists. Haley Batten will be representing mountain biking, Alexis Magner and Caroline Wreszin will represent American road racing, and Heather Fischer will tackle gravel and crit racing.

Dr. Allen Lim, co-founder of Skratch Labs, has this to say:

Whether it was supporting athletes behind the scenes at global competitions or one-on-one through our athlete care program, we’ve been there, mixing bottles, giving advice, offering whatever we had to give. Now, we have the internal team and resources to go even further. We’ve built a team of athletes who are chasing the edge of possibility—those who carry purpose in their stride, who nourish their bodies and their communities, and who share our obsession with getting better. Because in the end, performance is just one part of the story. The bigger impact comes from how athletes inspire others to show up, work hard, and pursue excellence.

Skratch Labs invites the endurance community to follow these athletes’ journeys as they push their limits. Expect to see more from Skratch Labs Racing through social media, brand activations, and events in the months ahead.

For now, you can find more info on the Skratch Labs website.  -JR

Biky Kids’ Bikes come to the US

In an effort to make a name that Google will always try to autocorrect, the kid-centric Biky Bikes has started to import its bikes to the US. Perfect timing, right?

Biky says it has over 10 years of experience building and selling kids’ bikes in the EU. There are two models at launch: the Biky Air, which it says is the lightest kids’ bike in the world, and the Biky Smart. The Smart kids’ bike is truly a newsworthy option here, offering integrated front, rear, and even side tail lights. Lights recharge via a built-in battery that lasts up to 9.5 hours. Also, it looks very, very cool.

Both bikes are available in wheel sizes ranging from 12 to 20 inches, with weights as low as 6.4 pounds in its drivetrain-free configuration. Pricing starts at $250 for a Biky Air 12. Find more at bikybikes.com. -AH

Priority crowdsourced development of its Bruzer bikepacking bike

Priority Bicycles – the brand best known for having belt drive bikes on just about every bike – has launched the Priority Bruzer, a bike it calls a ‘dual-road gear hauler. It receives a Gates belt drive as one might expect, but it also gets a Pinion 12-speed gearbox, clearance for a 29” x 2.6-inch tire, and geometry that’s optimized for on and off-road loaded touring.

What might be most interesting about the Bruzer is how it came to be. The Bruzer development was effectively crowdsourced through bikepacker and YouTuber Ryan Van Duzer, who asked his 200,000+ subscribers for feedback in developing the ultimate bang for the buck adventure bike.

Total price for the bike is $2,499, a comparatively surprising price given the Gates belt drive and Pinion C1.12 gear box. Preorders for bikepacking devotees among us are available at prioritybicycles.com. -AH