The Tour is here and with the biggest race in cycling comes a plethora of new releases. Welcome to This Week in Desire, our weekly edit of the latest and greatest in cycling tech.
MAAP Ascend Pro Jacket | maap.cc
What do Australians know about rain jackets, we hear you ask? Here’s a mindblowing fact. Sydney has a significantly higher average rainfall than the famously-moist northern English city Manchester. Surprised? We were. Meanwhile, Melbourne-based MAAP present their Ascend Pro rain jacket for the harshest conditions whatever your location. A three-layer laminated membrane, waterproof YKK zips, silicone grippers and reflective logos. Be prepared.
Heroïn H1 - Pierre Gasly edition | Heroin Bikes
We don't like to let a tasty collaboration pass by unnoticed. The latest, from Heroïn, features their HX model with a sublime French-inspired custom paint job. The livery was designed by ambassador and F1 driver, Pierre Gasly, who uses cycling as a form of off-season training. The special edition scheme will be available via Heroïn from September. Bonus points for the excellent photography
Basso Diamante SV 2021 | Basso Bikes
Basso haven’t so much tweaked their top of the range Diamante SV frameset as given it a complete overhaul. The fork crown is totally new, giving claimed airflow improvement over the maximum of 32mm tyres. The stem sits atop spacers with built-in dampening qualities which, Basso say, are also easy to adjust despite the de rigueur internal cable routing. Even the paintwork is stronger and, would you believe it, more aerodynamic. Plus it looks the business. Super Veloce indeed.
Koo - Demos and Spectro glasses | Koo
When it comes to sunglasses, bigger is better in our opinion. The brands seem to agree with us too. Koo have just dropped their latest frames, named Demos and Spectro, and they both offer adequate face coverage. The angular shape of the Spectro model is particularly distinctive and is a supposed favourite of the Shark of Messina himself, Vincenzo Nibali. The Demos offer a slightly more traditional, rounded lens, granting a wider field of view. Needless to say, both women's and men's Trek-Segafredo teams will be shielding their eyes behind these big boys.⠀
Scott Foil 2021 | Scott bikes
Scott have lifted the lid on their 2021 Foil and it's rather lovely. While it's a modest update - focusing on tidying up the aerodynamics of the front end - the bike remains very fast-looking indeed. ⠀
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Taking cues from the recently revised Addict, the cockpit is a fully integrated affair, with not a cable in sight, bringing the Foil bang up to date with 2020 trends. Full props to the outlandish paint schemes too - not Scott's first we'll add - which really ticks our boxes.
Shimano RC902 Shoes | Shimano
With a certain Wout van Aert winning here there and everywhere, it's a perfect time for Shimano to pull back the curtain on their latest top-end road shoe. The RC902 - part of Shimano's performance S-Phyre line - are the new, range-topping slippers developed alongside the Japanese giant's sponsored teams. The focuses for the latest iteration, claim to be power-transfer, fit and zone-specific fabric engineering. In English? How much power goes through the sole to the pedals, how it fits, and which materials perform best on certain parts of the shoe. We've got our eyes on the red pair...
100% Peter Sagan LE White/Gold Collection | 100%
As certain as the Tour itself (well, normally), Specialized and 100% will launch their signature collaborations with one of cycling's most recognisable characters, Peter Sagan. For 2021, 100% have pushed the finish on the limited edition range, with a very tasty white and gold blend adorning the S2, S3 and Speedcraft models. With only 700 pairs available worldwide, you've got a fight on your hands if you want a pair, but being Rouleur, we think we have good odds. See the pages of Rouleur Issue 20.7 to see if we won.
