Campagnolo Bora 45 WTO wheels(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The rim has an internal width of 19mm(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Oakley EVZero Path Tour de France 2019 edition(Image credit: Oakley)
The Musette is Cyclingnews’ weekly look at the world’s best cycling gear. We’ll take a look at pro-level equipment, bikes and components, alongside some of the most desirable clothing, accessories and more in the sport.
Scroll down for this week’s look at Campagnolo’s tubeless-ready Bora WTO 45 wheels, lightweight and range-topping shoes from Bontrager, bib shorts from Australian brand MAAP, Tour de France limited edition sunglasses from Oakley and Specialized’s aerodynamic S-Works Evade ANGi MIPS helmet.
Campagnolo Bora WTO 45 wheels
Campagnolo first launched the Bora WTO (wind tunnel optimised) wheels in 2018, although initially the Italian brand only offered the wheels in 60mm and 77mm rim depths. Ahead of the Classics earlier this year, however, the brand added the Bora WTO 45 to the range.
The Bora WTO wheel set family are Campagnolo’s professional-level carbon wheels and each model is tubeless ready. The Bora WTO 45 offer aero performance in a lighter weight package and are also available in either rim or disc brake format.
Campagnolo say the Bora WTO 45 has the best aerodynamic performance in wind angles between 12- and 19-degrees and have a claimed weight of 1,496g for the pair in the rim brake format.
The full carbon rim has Campagnolo’s AC3 technology on the brake track, which, combined with the proprietary brake blocks, offer improved braking performance in both wet and dry conditions.
The front and rear hubs have an aluminium shell and house Campagnolo USB (ultra smooth bearings) in a cup and cone format. The front wheel features 18 spokes and the rear features 21 in thee iconic G3 system.
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Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) used Campagnolo Bora WTO wheels during his Classics campaign in a tubeless setup, becoming the first WorldTour winner on the technology. Kristoff continued to use tubeless tyres throughout his Classics campaign before coming unstuck during Paris-Roubaix where he suffered three punctures.
Despite the Paris-Roubaix incidents, Kristoff and his team still prefer running tubeless tyres and a number of other WorldTour teams and riders have since been seen racing with tubeless tyres. Cyclingnews understands it is only a matter of time before the tyre technology becomes the majority as opposed to the minority on the WorldTour scene.
Bontrager’s Ballista road shoes sit just below the brand’s range-topping XXX road shoes, focusing on lighter weight without losing too much stiffness.
The first thing you notice with the shoes is the unusual location of the Boa IP1 dial to the heel of the shoe instead of the more usual location on the outside of the upper. The location of the Boa dial should improve aerodynamics and using a single dial instead of two will help to keep the weight down.
Bontrager say the OCLV carbon sole has a stiffness index of 12 out of 14 – the Bontrager XXX road shoes are 14 out of 14 – perhaps a small compromise to pay for the weight savings of around 50g.
Despite the single Boa, by locating it on the heel and drawing the heel cup into the foot, Bontrager say the shoe gets locked into the heel of the foot and offers a secure fit for improved power transfer.
Bontrager also recently released Ballista LTD editions of the shoes, featuring a flouro yellow paint design and multicoloured sole.
The Pro bib shorts from Australian brand MAAP are the brand’s range-topping pro shorts with a number of features designed to improve comfort, performance and aerodynamics, and retain the company’s proprietary chamois design seen on their other bib shorts (link to review).
Available in navy (photographed) or black, the shorts are constructed from MAAP’s 4D woven fabric, which the brand say improves muscle compression and temperature regulation. A new leg cuff with silicone grippers and super wide, lie-fiat bib straps should keep the fit secure and comfortable.
To add to the brand’s credentials, cyclo-cross star Tom Pidcock has also been racing and training in clothing from MAAP.
Oakley 100 years of the yellow jersey Tour de France limited edition sunglasses
The Tour de France is now just two weeks away. The race is, by far, the biggest stage in the sport and offers sponsors and brands alike the opportunity of maximum exposure across the globe.
The recent Critérium du Dauphiné gave a taste of the new tech to come and Cyclingnews expects plenty more new products and launches to happen in the coming weeks.
Oakley regularly produces special edition sunglasses for the Tour and for 2019, the limited edition shades are available in four different models and celebrate 100 years of the iconic yellow jersey.
Oakley’s Tour de France collection extends to the Jawbreaker, Radar EV, EVZero Path and the Holsten models, feature varying hues of yellow on the frames and all feature the popular Prizm road lenses.
Oakley Tour de France 2019 Collection pricing (from): £160 / US$193
Specialized says its S-Works Evade helmet is the fastest helmet out there and while this is a bold and independently unproven claim, the winning pedigree the helmet has through Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bora-Hansgrohe this season does speak volumes.
Not settling with just aerodynamic performance, the Evade offers fairly competitive ventilation – as far as aero helmets go – alongside a competitive weight and comfortable fit.
The S-Works Evade also features MIPS technology to reduce the risk of injuries caused by rotational forces in a crash, plus Specialized’s proprietary ANGi crash sensor technology.
ANGi is a helmet-mounted sensor, which can also be fitted to non-Specialized helmets, that can allow tracking of your ride (optional) and can detect when a crash occurs, messaging a pre-defined emergency contact that an incident may have occurred and can share your location.
Having initially charged an annual subscription for the technology, Specialized announced last month that the subscription service would now be free and the unit can be purchased separately, fitting most helmets.
Aero, race-proven, well ventilated, light, comfortable and safe offers a pretty impressive package from Specialized, but be prepared to pay for it.
