Cyclist
In The Drops: Vittoria’s new gravel lineup, Insta360 X5 camera, Quoc M3 Sport shoes, Gorewear windbreaker, Zwifting outside and Lorde
Welcome one and all to the final In The Drops of April. With Easter now out the way and a chocolate mountain the size of Alpe d’Huez conquered, we’re swiftly moving into proper road cycling season.
That means the Grand Tours are on the horizon, but first we have the spring Classics to conclude. With that, we’ve been counting down to Liège-Bastogne-Liège with our preview, TV guide and list of favourites. Elsewhere, we also shared the news of Rapha’s new British Super-League and yours truly delved into the secrets behind XDS-Astana‘s phenomenal start to the 2025 season.
On the tech side, the announcements are coming in thick and fast this month. This week, Factor launched a more affordable road bike in the Monza. Elsewhere, we’ve been running through some reviews this week, with Paul Norman rounding up the best frame bags, while Emma Karslake reviewed Le Col’s Women’s Pro Lightweight Rain Jacket just before the grey skies start to disappear next month – or so we hope.
We’ve also been couting down to the first Cyclist Track Day of 2025 this weekend in Bath. London and Leeds, you’re coming up soon, so if you want to come along, book your tickets now.
With the shameless plugging over and done with, let’s dig into this week’s broad selection of cycling goodies.
Vittoria Terreno T50 Gravel Endurance tyres
Vittoria is giving its gravel line a fine-tune in 2025.
The Italian brand’s previous gravel offerings, the Terreno Dry, Wet and Mezcal, will soon be moved into one broad Terreno family. From July, these names will be replaced by a new T-scale across the gravel range. It goes from T10 for the driest compact gravel up to T90 for the muddiest tracks. From the summer, the Mezcal will become the Terreno T70, the Terreno Wet will transform into the T90 and the Terreno Dry will morph into the Terreno T30. With that, expect a full spread of tyres across the scale to be launched later in the year.
Vittoria’s chief innovation officer Vanessa Ten Hoff told us that Mathieu van der Poel, who rode Vittoria tyres last year, would have required Terreno T10s to get through the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium.
Bang in the middle of the scale is Vittoria’s Terreno T50 Gravel Endurance tyres, which are now available in all sizes as of two weeks ago. They hit the mark when it comes to durability and performance across mixed terrain, track surface and weather conditions. When tested at Vittoria’s on-location test track in northern Italy, the Terreno T50s were shown to have better grip than their predecessor, the Terreno Dry.
The tread is slightly different on the T50 Gravel Endurance as well, with three distinctive lugs through the tyre to help clear out debris and minimise directional slipping. According to Vittoria’s design team, the v-shaped grooves also help to pick up extra speed without sacrificing grip when the brakes are pulled.
The T50 Gravel Endurance tyres are now available in 40mm, 45mm and 50mm. Tan walls are an option for tyres of 40mm and 45mm width as well. Vittoria also suggests pairing up the tyres with its Air Liner Gravel insert. As Vittoria project manager Tomasso Cappella told me last month, ‘There’s no reason not to be using it.’
- Buy now from Vittoria (€58.95)
Insta360 X5 camera
Insta360’s camera has quickly become the onboard camera of choice for cycling influencers. Able to capture the bike from the front or rear perspective, the compact chocolate bar-sized camera packs quite the punch.
This week Insta 360 launched the X5. Similar to its predecessors, the X5 camera is 12cm tall and weighs just 200g, the size of a rolled-up inner tube. Two 360° cameras pop out on both sides of the camera. Below one side, there’s a screen that doubles up as a digital viewfinder. It’s fully touchscreen, so you can scroll across the screen to see the full width of the 360° shot.
The camera can shoot in an impressive 8K with 30fps. For slo-mo, the 4K setting can capture up to 120fps. There are quite a few dimensions and frame rates to choose from, but if that’s too much choice, Insta360 provides a preset option for cycling, along with nine other pre-programmed settings for different sports.
Videos can be exported in either a flat video or a full 360° file, which, in fairness, takes up a chunk of space on the SD card. The new InstaFrame mode links up to your phone and can be edited and uploaded within minutes of shooting. Given the camera tracks you regardless of where you are in the frame, this leaves less hassle when editing the video afterwards.
When buying the X5, Insta360 offers several packs filled with extra tools and equipment. We were sent the essential kit, which features a selfie stick that can attach to your handlebar, as well as a lens replacement kit and a hardy lens cover for when you’re not shooting. To keep the camera portable, the kit comes with a travel bag to store your camera, SD cards and any other special tools you need.
In terms of its cycling compatibility, a clamp can be bought for the bike. With that, you can attach the camera onto the bike through the metal selfie stick provided in the essential pack. This can be hooked up to the handlebar or the seatpost – although that requires a separate tail adapter. As on-bike camera set-ups go, it’s much sturdier than some I’ve used before.
The X5 comes with a claimed one-of-a-kind lens replacement system in case of any impromptu bumps to the 360° lens when out on the bike. It also comes with a longer battery life, an improved wind noise suppressor and better capability to shoot in low light.
- Buy now from Insta360 (£519)
Quoc M3 Sport shoes
Quoc has been climbing through the ranks in recent years, in part due to its pro collaboration with Geraint Thomas. This month, the British brand launched two new shoes for its road line: the M3 Pro and the M3 Sport.
The M3 Sport is a sleek shoe that doesn’t sacrifice performance and comfort in the name of aesthetics, and is the more affordable of the two.
What’s particularly clean on first look is the parallel locking system. The proprietary dials operate individually, which just makes for a clean look, but also a tighter and more precise fit. Staying around the tongue, it has extra padding and a shock-absorbent insole to boost comfort.
The upper is made using a leather-like polyurethane material. Although not derived from a real mooing cow, the leather-like synthetic material provides extra flexibility and comfort around the foot. Quoc claims that the leather-free approach also negates any need for breaking in the shoe.
The M3 Sport shares the same stiff carbon sole as its pricier colleague, the M3 Pro. And like most of its Quoc counterparts, the M3 Sport also comes with three inserts to match the arch of your foot.
- Buy now from Quoc (£220)
Gorewear Spinshift Windbreaker
Earlier this year, Gorewear launched a new line of windbreakers. No, these aren’t the kind of windbreakers popular in the 1980s, Gorewear have added a thinner rain shell to their range to act as a jacket perfect for these transitional months.
The first thing that’s noticeable is the jacket’s soft recycled material. It’s made using a double weave fabric, which offers low air permeability and enough breathability underneath. Despite its thin appearance, it’s waterproof and comes with a built-in packable bag.
The fit is tight, so any unwanted flapping is minimised in the wind. Gorewear says it has enhanced the ergonomics of the design too, so it remains ‘optimised for the forward-leaning cycling position’.
Unlike some thin windbreaker-style jackets I’ve tested before, Gorewear’s one actually comes with a rear pocket. Hurrah! Luckily for me, it’s just the right size for an iPhone 13. Coming in at £109.99, it’s extremely good bang for your buck too.
- Buy now from Gorewear (£109.99)
Outdoor rides now count on Zwift
I was in Mallorca earlier this month for the inaugural Zwift Community Live, which brought together Zwift community leaders, users from all across the globe and stars from the sport, including Sean Kelly and Chris Hoy. There, the brand unveiled several changes to the platform, including a new update to the Zwift Companion app, which now allows for outdoor rides to count towards your Zwift statistics.
Yes, the companion app now tethers to your Wahoo and Garmin headunit – with Hammerhead coming later this year – so the data automatically syncs up with the Zwift Companion app when you complete a ride outdoors. This adds on the extra 5XP per kilometre, helping you to map out your fitness progress and climb up the Zwift levels without losing your streak during summer. The in-app tracker can be altered to measure different metrics, whether that be time, distance or calories burned. Through the app’s algorithm a training score is displayed on screen alongside a training status that judges how hard you’ve been training in a given week.
In essence, the Zwift Companion app has morphed into more of an all-round training app. This makes sense given that the app now acts as a one-stop shop for all your Zwift and Wahoo/Garmin data, collecting them all into one place without the need for faffing around other third-party apps.
I see what you’re thinking. There’s fair reason to think that Zwift is swerving into Strava’s lane here, but the brand’s director of content Mark Cote reassured me that Zwift won’t be moving into mapping or live tracking anytime soon.
- Download the Zwift Companion app
What we’re into this week: Lorde
After Easter Sunday last week, it only feels right that the Lorde has risen once again. Much like how Mary Magdalene rolled back the stone, Lorde appeared out of the blue in New York’s Washington Square Park to debut her first release in three years to a crowd of surprised fans on Tuesday.
Yes, Lorde – real name Ella Yelich O’Connor – has released the first single from her upcoming album. The track, titled ‘What Was That’, is a triumphant return to form for the Kiwi star, who has been making records since her teenage years.
Although Lorde’s production team has changed face for the upcoming album, swapping out Jack Antonoff in favour of London-born Blood Orange, ‘What Was That’ sonically takes the baton from Lorde’s 2017 album Melodrama. At long last, she has returned to the sweeping synths and earnest lyricism of her earlier work. Believe me, if this album follows in Melodrama’s footsteps, then it’s sure to go triple-platinum in my house when it gets released later this year.
Also, if you’re looking for a cycling connection here, Lorde spends a good chunk of the iPhone-shot music video riding on a Klein Quantum Race bike. Look closely, you’ll see that she’s swapped out the traditional spec’s drop handlebars for Dutch-style upright bars. We can only hope she’s preparing for a trip to Mont Ventoux or the Angliru in the near future.
The post In The Drops: Vittoria’s new gravel lineup, Insta360 X5 camera, Quoc M3 Sport shoes, Gorewear windbreaker, Zwifting outside and Lorde appeared first on Cyclist.