Cyclist
In the Drops: new Lazer Z1 helmet, Castelli Espresso GT gloves, Schwalbe Aerothan tubes, more Rapha Cotton and TV
Want to speak like an East End gangster? Say ‘Ello guv-nor’. Not doing it for you? Now pinch your nose and say it. You’re welcome… and you’re also welcome to the weekend.
Friday! What a time to be alive. It’s like Thursday but now; it’s like Saturday but sooner. It’s the day of the week you used to be able to watch Chris Evans talk to Jamiroquai on TFI and enjoy Friends being unproblematically funny. And now it’s also the time for our weekly round-up, In the Drops. And what a week it has been.
Our deputy web editor Will penned a brilliant piece on the WorldTour team bikes, which is just the kind of thing that makes me insanely jealous of the pros – imagine getting handed that EF Cannondale or Jayco-Alula Giant on 1st January and told to go ride it? Or long in the tooth, sure, but the Ineos Dogma is looking fresh, and Canyon-Sram’s paint? Sheesh, men’s bike designers take note.
There’s also two lovely companion pieces, our resident expert Robyn’s superb predications for the 2024 season, which taught me a thing or two, and our ‘How to watch pro racing after the demise of GCN+’ guide. You’ll need it, we’ll all need it, but not before we all get stuck into In the Drops.
Lazer Z1 KinetiCore helmet
Lazer’s Z1 is back, and this time its lighter – a claimed 220g – and safer, and it owes everything to Lazer’s ‘proprietary rotational-impact technology’ dubbed KinetiCore.
If you missed it, rotational impact protection is the biggest advance in helmet design in years. Most people will associate the tech with the Mips system, but Lazer’s solution is different.
Unlike Mips, which is an extra slip-plane liner attached inside a helmet, KinetiCore is a series of co-moulded EPS blocks. These blocks cradle the skull but in the event of an impact can crumple and allow the helmet to rotate slightly in respect of the head. The upshot is a 5-star Virginia Tech rating, which has now become the gold standard in independent helmet ratings, and a helmet that is incredibly light. It all feels rather safe, which is great.
What I like most, though, is the Z1 itself. The old one was my go-to for several seasons, and this new one retains the styling and – thanks to KinetiCore – the very low weight. The Mips system often results in a heavier helmet due to the extra liner, but Z1 KinetiCore is all one EPS piece. The result is it weighs 232g on my scales (medium, 55-59cm). That’s superlight for this category of helmet, and nearly 20g lighter than my original, non-safety boosted Z1.
The retention cradle is operated by Lazer’s Advanced Rollsys system, where a dial is integrated into the top of the helmet as opposed to the back of the head, and the headband is floating, which helps give the Z1 a ‘free’ feeling.
Ventilation is high – just look at those vents, this ain’t no aero-road lid – but if you do want to get aero, Lazer offers a clip-on aero shell.
Most of all, though, I’ve always loved the Z1’s styling. Sleek and simple. Do I love the price? It’s a hell of a lot. But in today’s top-end helmet world, £230 is pretty normal.
- RRP: £229.99
- Buy now from Swinnerton Cycles (£195.49)
Castelli Espresso GT gloves
Is it nerve damage? Is it being soft? Is it Raynaud’s? I have no idea, all I know is my hands get really cold really easily. It never used to be the case, it’s probably age. I’ll be voting Tory next. But luckily wintery riding is looking up for me ole’ spades, with the landing of Castelli’s Espresso GT gloves.
The Espresso GTs are Castelli’s most hardcore gloves, featuring a waterproof Gore-Tex membrane and Primaloft insulation. The Lennon-McCartney of deep winter materials.
The result is an exceptionally warm pair of gloves that feel toasty even in recent days, and though I can’t yet attest to their waterproofness, I’d wager they’ll deliver. In my experience Gore-Tex membrane gloves are very good, though you could wear Marigolds and water will always get in somewhere (the only true solution is to shave your arms and duct tape the wrists).
The Espresso’s palms feature silicone grippers, so too the fingers, which really helps in the electronic shift button stakes. On that note, given the size of these gloves – they are considerably bulkier than their Castelli Perfetto siblings for example – dexterity is actually fine. I’m not picking up grains of rice, but that’s OK. I can still feel my fingers.
Across the back of the hand is a zip, which is storm-sealed and which does a good job of getting the Espressos on and off. It might seem unnecessary given other gloves in the world don’t tend to feature such features, but it means overall bulk is minimised as zipping the zipper pulls the Espressos around the hand in a form-fitting way. The little extended tab that runs down from the palm also helps as something to grip and pull. It is a bit of a fiddle though, but I’m getting used to it.
I’ve had a pair of Castelli’s other deep winter gloves – the Estremo (insulated but not waterproof) – for a good few years and they’re holding up extremely well, so I reckon the Espresso GTs will do the same. As they should at this price – though shop about as there are some generous discounts out there.
- RRP: £140
- Buy now from Saddleback (£84)
Schwalbe Aerothan TPU inner tubes
These tubes weigh 44.4g each. Well, the Race version does. The regular version is a hefty 61.2g. Phew.
Super-lightweight tubes have been around for ages, and more recently that’s meant a switch to TPU – thermoplastic polyurethane – which is the Schwalbe Aerothan’s secret.
TPU is less stretchy than butyl or latex but it’s also tougher and airtight, so you don’t need much of it to make a tube and it’s potentially more puncture resistant. Then there’s the added bonus that TPU is incredibly smooth, which means the Aerothans promise lower rolling resistance than butyl or latex tubes.
Rolling resistance is in part the product of energy lost to heat when tyre and tube deform as a wheel rolls, meaning tyre and tube rub against each other and generate heat – ie, wasted energy. So smooth tube = less friction = less heat = more efficient = faster. Anyway, that’s the theory.
The reality is I reckon I can feel the difference TPU tubes make to my bike. Placebo? Who knows, but I’ve ridden enough tubes to know that cheap butyl tubes feel rubbish and supple latex tubes (as is inside most tubulars) feel noticeably better – smoother, more feedback, more supple.
Latex tubes, though, lose pressure over a matter of days, meaning they’re a bit of a pain. TPU tubes don’t. That said, these TPU Aerothan tubes cost a whole heap of cash, so they better be good. Oh, and are they repairable? Apparently with Schwalbe’s special patches, yes. But to this I cannot yet attest.
- Buy now from Wiggle (£21)
Rapha Cotton Zip Hoodie and Cotton Sweatpants
I have had a long love affair for Rapha kit, but I still maintain two of its best products weren’t even for cycling: the Rapha Jeans and the Rapha Sweatshirt. They did their jobs, they looked good and they lasted ages – eight years later I’m still in the jeans. Sadly those jeans have been discontinued but the Sweatshirt lives on in Rapha’s new Cotton Collection. It’s now 100% organic cotton and it’s joined by this, the Hoodie and the Sweatpants.
They are just lovely, that same finessed construction as in all Rapha’s kit. A cliché to say but it’s true: quality.
The Hoodie has a full zip, handwarmer-style pockets and a hood with metal-ended drawcords; the Sweatpants, which I’ll now call by their proper name, tracksuit trousers, have two regular hip pockets and a back pocket plus metal-ended drawcords. Both get the nice detail of subtle embroidered Rapha logos.
Fit and form are where it’s at for clothes (obviously), and here I’m going out on a limb to make a pronouncement way above my fashionable station: the current trend is back to clothes being quite baggy. Yep, I just said current trend, which no one whose finger is on the pulse would say. Yep, I just said finger on the pulse.
Anyway, I’m usually a medium and as per Rapha’s instructions (size down if you want a closer fit), the medium Hoodie and Sweatpants are roomy on me (NB, me is 179cm/5’11” and broad-ish). It’s nice if you like that kind of thing, which I do for the tracksuit trousers – they have plenty of lounge-readiness, which is what we all want from our trackies. But if I could repeat the past I’d opt for a size small Hoodie. Again, personal choice on fit, the Cotton Collection seems objectively great measured by anything else.
As an aside, we recently interviewed Rapha’s founder, Simon Mottram, on the Cyclist Magazine Podcast and he was a top guest. Candid and courteous, and definitely worth a listen if I do say so myself.
- Buy the Rapha Cotton Zip Hoodie now from Rapha (£95)
- Buy the Rapha Cotton Sweatpants now from Rapha (£85)
- Shop the whole Rapha Cottons Collection
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And finally… the tele
Gladiators returns? People seem to like The Traitors? What the hell is this? I’m actually watching tele again?
Yep, television, or more properly ‘scheduled TV’ is back. Britain loves it, I love it, and someone at the BBC got sacked for turning down Toby Jones and that compelling drama (Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, in case you somehow missed it by being on a silent retreat in Bhutan for the last three weeks).
Go turn it on! The box has missed you.
And pay your licence fee y’hear! Even if you’re just watching David on iPlayer. If you think our media is horribly partisan already, just imagine a world without the Auntie.
The post In the Drops: new Lazer Z1 helmet, Castelli Espresso GT gloves, Schwalbe Aerothan tubes, more Rapha Cotton and TV appeared first on Cyclist.