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All the cycling tech leaked by the pros in 2024
The start of a new year is the time when the spotters to get their magnifying glasses out and see what they can see in pro teams’ Instagram feeds and YouTube posts that looks different from last year. There’s usually a steady trickle of new bikes and new kit, as teams head to their winter training camps and prepare for the up-coming racing season.
Training camps are fairly rarified and any leaks, whether accidental or intentional, tend to rely on social media posts. Things often heat up once the early season racing starts and photographers can get closer to teams’ bikes and riders and it’s easier to spot something different. They usually reach a crescendo at the Critérium du Dauphiné and other races just before the Tour de France, when new bikes and equipment get their final outing before release.
So here’s an initial list of a few of the new bikes and tech that have leaked out so far in 2024. Stay tuned, as we’ll keep this post updated as more shiny new stuff comes to light as the season progresses. Not included is the unbranded Cervélo seen with Cyclist‘s own eyes when Visma-Lease a Bike tried to hijack a Big Ride in Flanders this winter.
New Trek Emonda?
One of the most interesting new items that has wriggled out from under the wraps, as spotted on weightweenies, is what looks to be a new Trek Emonda, with what can only be called an Isoflow Lite seatpost.
While the Gen 7 Trek Madone got a full strength Isoflow seatpost in 2022 – a huge hole under the seatpost – the new bike spotted under Giulio Ciccone appears to have a slightly smaller one. Its tube profiles are noticeably less chunky than the Gen 7 Madone too.
The Domane and Madone got an update in 2022, but the Emonda last had a refresh in 2020, so it’s the last of Trek’s carbon road bike platforms to be refreshed.
The current Emonda moved from its predecessor’s all-out lightweight design, with the last update tipping it more towards aero. So if this is a new Emonda, it will be interesting to see how the lightweight versus aero balance plays out this time around.
New Bontrager/Trek shoes
Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen, among others, looked to be rocking some new shoes from Trek/Bontrager when training on the Coll de Rates.
The current version of the top spec Bontrager XXX shoes has an asymmetric closure to the uppers, which wraps over the forefoot with the two Boa dials anchored to the upper.
In contrast, Pedersen’s shoes have a design in which the Boas appear to be attached to a flap that’s fixed lower down at the side of the sole. It also looks as if the design is tongueless. It’s reminiscent of the Specialized S-Works Ares, a shoe designed for sprinters like Pedersen.
New Kask Utopia?
There’s what looks to be an update to the Kask Utopia aero helmet, as spotted on the head of several Ineos Grenadiers riders at their winter camp. While the current Utopia Y helmet has a single central vent at its front, the new helmet has a second vent above this.
The lower vent looks to have decreased in size from that in the current helmet, but the addition of the second vent above a cross-rib may have increased the total venting, presumably improving airflow through the helmet and cooling.
Extra frontal airflow may be needed, as the new helmet also sits lower on the head than the current Utopia and encloses the tops of the riders’ ear lobes, presumably to improve airflow over the sides of the head. There’s less venting around the sides and a more pointed tail than in the Utopia Y, which again are likely to improve aerodynamics.
New Factor Ostro VAM
Simon Clarke took his bike for a chain wax ahead of the Australian Road Race National Championships and @renh_chain_wax_service proudly showed the results. It wasn’t the shiny chain that garnered attention though, but a new Ostro VAM bike from Clarke’s team sponsor, Factor Bikes.
As with the updated O2 VAM, which Clarke raced at the 2023 Tour de France, the junction between the seat tube and top tube is super-skinny. The front end of the bike has the chunky looks of an aero road bike though, perhaps even more so than the current Ostro VAM.
In the O2 VAM, that slender junction was said to increase the bike’s ride comfort, so we’d guess it does a similar job of balancing the new Ostro VAM’s stiff front end.
Canyon-branded cycling shoes
The Canyon-SRAM women’s cycling team has shown off its new 2024 kit on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Alongside the Canyon own-brand clothing, one shot showed some smart-looking white shoes, complete with a Canyon logo on the heel cup. Boa was a team sponsor last year and it looks to have contributed two of its fanciest dial closures to the new shoes, which have some interesting-looking reinforcement under the upper Boa dial as well as plenty of venting.
Canyon has put its branding on other companies’ cycling gear in the past, including a range of Abus helmets (although Canyon-SRAM wear helmets from Giro), but the brand has increased its clothing and accessories output in the past few years so it’s no surprise shoes would be the next step. If it is a Canyon product, it is likely to have been produced in conjunction with a shoe specialist, much like previous clothing releases made in conjunction with companies such as Kalas and Etxeondo.
Check out our pro bike coverage for more team bike news.
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