﻿-Welcome to the GCN Tech Show.
This week,
we've got a new cycling shoes from Nike,
socks that'll make you go faster,
a new gravel bike from Specialized,
your upgrades, the Bike
Vault and our main talking point,
futuristic materials that
could change bikes. Let's go.
-Thanks, Manon. This week, we're going
to take a look at the latest materials,
science, and some futuristic
materials that have been created
that could massively impact cycling
and the bikes we ride in the future.
This is something we've looked
at before and I'm really interested
in science and stuff so I wanted
to share it with you with some
new materials that have caught our eye,
starting with metal foams.
These are metal that is
turned into a foam, a bit like
the structure of aerated chocolate,
like a Cadbury's Aero or Wispa.
The crucial thing is is
that they retain much
of the physical and material
properties of the metal
that they become much, much
lighter because there can be up to 95%
space, thanks to little bubbles that are
impregnated into the metal structure.
This can be done in a number of ways,
one of which is
vaporizing gas as you set the metal.
One of the most exciting
things about this material
is that it can be done with
different alloys and things, but it's
already at this point where
we can mass-produce it.
In fact,
one of the US Navy's latest ships
has a deck made from foam which is cool.
In the future, they reckon that
there's loads of applications
for these such as large-scale
building projects and floating cities
and wacky stuff like that but also,
well, potentially bike frames.
That'd be pretty cool but I'm not sure
how widespread the technology
will become into bikes because
alloy bikes as they are,
they're already hollow
so maybe there are other
materials that could be more suitable.
The next thing we've come across
is superhydrophobic materials.
Now, these are inspired by nature,
biomimicry.
When we look at leaves such as
the lotus leaf that we see in nature,
the way in which
it sheds water is incredible.
Scientists have taken
inspiration from that
and tried to recreate that surface
onto textiles and other objects,
those coatings to make objects that can
repel water and be super waterproof
in ways that we've not seen before.
These coatings are designed to
trap little air pockets on the surface.
That's how the lotus
leaf is thought to do.
Also, on some coatings,
they've put little tiny nanocones
on the surface as well which
will help disrupt the surface tension
of water and it just sheds off.
It means that we could make
computer chips that are highly
waterproof or bikes and clothing
that we wear would just be
waterproof and likely
dirtproof as well as nothing
would want to stick to them.
Next up is transparent aluminium.
Now, if you're a nerd,
and you may recall the plot to Star Trek
IV in which Scotty traveled back in time
and then have to invent transparent
aluminium so that he could build
a tank that would house some whales
as he transported them
back into the future.
I have to look that up. Honestly,
I didn't know that by heart, promise.
Anyhow, transparent
aluminium is actually now a thing.
We can actually make this stuff.
Although it's not strictly made
from just aluminium, it also contains
oxygen and nitrogen.
Its proper name is aluminium
oxynitride and it's incredible stuff.
It's completely transparent
like glass or Perspex and it's
said to be three times stronger
than steel which is incredible.
It's created by getting
the aluminium oxynitride powder
and then subjecting it to
extreme heat and pressure.
Then they can compress
it and turn it into this glass-like
substance, but it is pretty dense
and it's also not very moldable
and it's not especially ductile
[chuckles] or lightweight.
I can't see it having
many widespread uses
in terms or building bike frames.
If you want bulletproof windows
or you're building an intergalactic
whale tank, this is the stuff you want.
Other metallic glasses
are also being created
and they're said to have incredibly
exciting applications within
low friction coatings as well.
It is feasible that we could see
metallic glasses applied to
drivetrain components to make them
harder wearing and last
longer and run quieter.
Speaking of wear resistance,
what is the hardest thing in the world?
Is it, A, Chuck Norris, B,
dried-on Weetabix, C,
the Mitchell Brothers or D, diamonds?
Well, if you answered
any of those, you are wrong
because it was a trick question.
The answer is in fact, hyper diamonds
or to give it their proper name,
aggregated diamond nanorods, which
admittedly does sound like a euphemism
for the Mitchell Brothers.
Anyway, forget about that.
They're proper, proper hard
and they too have some really exciting
potential applications in the future
for highly wear-resistant coatings.
Future looks good. I mean,
drivetrains could last much longer.
Next up is one that you've probably
heard of because people have
been talking about it for a long
time and that is spider silk.
Now, we've all seen the Spiderman films
and many of you will probably be aware
that spider silk is said to be five
times stronger than steel
and it's also elastic as well
and has loads of other
cool material properties.
The problem is is that spiders
don't like being farmed, which means
mass-producing spider silk is
difficult because unlike silkworms,
spiders take up loads and loads of space
and they like eating each other.
However, a Japanese company
seems like it might have cracked it.
They're called Spiber and they've
created spider silk which they called
Brewed Protein. They say that
the silk is made by way of a special
genetically modified bacteria
that is then fed a diet of sugar, salt
and other micronutrients.
What has Spiber done
with this incredible invention?
Well, according to their website, they
made some T-shirts and a limited
edition run of these rather fetching
North Face jackets as well. Cool.
I looked on their website
but I couldn't see any
quantitative data published
about the material properties
of the spider silk they've made.
Perhaps, they haven't totally
cracked it yet, but time will tell.
It's an exciting step in the direction
of what could be an incredible material.
Imagine if you replaced feasibly
the fiber strands in carbon fiber
with spider silk to make
a new composite material,
you could conceivably
make bikes out of there.
Would they be better
than carbon-fiber bikes?
Well, I guess we have to wait and see.
Cool though.
Finally, something that I think
we will start to see sooner than those
other things is more E-textiles,
wearable tech and special
fabrics that are smart
and have circuits built into them.
With this, you could have
clothing that changes color.
You could have a jersey
and depending on what time
of the day you're riding out,
you could make it
brighter or darker,
or imagine a situation where
you're able to change the color
of the virtual race leader in the Tour
de France to the yellow jersey.
[?] be a bit confusing and you'd lose
the honor of wearing the yellow
jersey all day. [chuckles]
Maybe this is where that
technology could be used.
Other exciting things are
sensors built into clothing.
You could have perspiration
measured and rates of perspiration.
Tracking athletes and cyclists
and telling them how much hydration
they need to take on board
and just simple things as well,
like heart rate.
At the moment, we wear heart
rate straps or like a Whoop like this
but in the future,
in not too distant future,
it's highly likely that these will
just be integrated into clothing.
You won't even notice that it's there.
Something I'm really
excited about though
is inbuilt printed heaters because
these are very light, very small.
It can be woven into fabric.
Anyone that's ridden up a mountain
in summer, sometimes you can ride
in the valley floor,
30 degrees, you're boiling,
you get to the top of like
a massive Alpine climb
and it's freezing,
especially when you start ascending.
Imagine if you could have
heaters built into your clothing,
they didn't really add any
weight or bulk or anything.
You could just give
yourself a bit of warmth.
That'd be awesome. That'd be [?].
Now, it may not contain any
of that really cool futuristic tech,
but in terms of what's currently
available, the GCN New Custom Kit,
I mean, that's all the latest tech
going on in there of what we have
in the present plus it looks amazing
and it's available to preorder,
that shop.globalcyclingnetwork
seamless plug, I'm sure.
Well, maybe not.
Anyway, let us know in the comments
what you're most excited about seeing
and also, if you've got
any creative or imaginative
solutions, the wackier, the better
about materials that you would love to
see,
fire them down in the comments because
that's the great thing with this.
A lot of these materials are
the stuff of science fiction and things
like transparent aluminium
and it was in Star Trek and things,
and then scientists have worked
out ways to actually make it.
It's amazing.
Put some down and if there's some good
ones, we'll read them out next week [?].
It's time now for hot tech.
First this of week,
we're going to head over to Si
who's got some news on their
new SRAM Force Wide groups app.
-Thanks guys. Why don't you join
me in this crucible of the hot new tech.
It's also known as my garden.
Now, you see,
in with those Zipp 303 S wheels that
I showed on GCN last week is
where I'm also included a new, very
interesting updates to their Force
eTap AXS groupset called Force Wide.
Now, you see, when Force
eTap AXS was launched last year,
I think fans of SRAM's 1x drivetrains
were left with a slightly more
restricted choice of cassette
because you only had a 10/33
largest cassette choice on force.
Once you could pair it up
with a 10 to 50 mountain bike
set, you needed a mountain
bike rear derailleur as well.
However, with this,
they just introduced a 10-36 cassette
which is excellent,
but let's not beat around the bush here.
This is not about SRAM 1x
because they've also introduced
this, a new double chainset
but with like super compact size ring.
That is a 43/30.
Now, for gear ratio nerds out there,
that gives you an equivalent top gear
of slightly smaller than 50/11,
but slightly larger
than 50/12 when paired with
that 10-tooth cassette at the back.
Pretty amazing what
you can get out of a 43
when you've got a 10 on the back.
Now, SRAM say that this is
not a gravel-specific groupset.
This is for anyone riding
with drop handlebars,
roadies that like super long, super
extreme climbs or bike packers, I'm
thinking,
who with would heavily-laden bikes
going to move in that little bit slower,
but there is something
in here for gravelers to
absolutely rejoice that as well.
That is this.
The new front derailleur which
when paired with this chainset,
allows you to fit a 45-millimeter
wide tire in the back of your bikes.
Previously, you were limited to 42 mill,
so it had certainly on SRAM
Force but also, I think
on Shimano GRX groupsets as well.
Now, you can get that 45 in there.
The reason being is this.
This is obviously
the other half of that.
Now, that axle is slightly longer
which allows you to space to change
out a little bit more and therefore,
the front derailleur can
be spaced out a little
bit more and you can
squeeze that tire in.
What it also means is that
longer axle increases the versatility
so you can fit this in a standard
frame set of road
or gravel frame set with
a 68-millimeter wide bottom bracket,
but it would also fit
into a 73-millimeter wide mountain bike,
bottom bracket as well.
Now, does spatial Q factor out by
an additional 5 mill, but that's some
pretty cool versatility
in there as well.
Now, a final component I've
got down there is, of course,
a rear derailleur, which you will
also need to increase that max
tooth capacity up to a 36 from
a standard 33 on Force groupset.
Now,
I'm wondering whether this longer axle
on the cracks there is a hint
of what might be coming
from bike manufacturers.
Do they move to a wider
mountain bike spacing
in order to fit ever wider
tires in the new gravel bikes
that will undoubtedly be
made out of hyper diamonds?
-Thanks, Si, looks good.
Now this week has also seen Nike
release an indoor-specific cycling shoe.
Now, many of you will have probably seen
Mark Cavendish and Adam Bly
famously wearing custom Nike shoes
while racing in the past, but these
have never been available to the public.
-The new issue is called the SuperRep.
In addition to being an indoor shoe,
they have two velcro straps
which look very similar to a football
boot with those rubber studs.
-Oh, you know,
I'm not sure of each of those, Manon.
I mean, I just don't understand.
You can just use your
outdoor cycling shoes indoors,
but you can't really use
outdoor ones outdoors.
-I'm mean, I'm torn.
An indoor cycling shoe,
do we really need it?
Then at the same time, Nike or Nike
is a pretty cool shoe to be wearing
so it'd be interesting to
see if they do catch on.
-I'm sure they'll be quite divisive.
I'm sure you guys will
be keen to comment so
let us know in the comments
what you think of them, hot or not?
-We have also announced the new custom
Decal Wheel builder
program on their wheels.
Meaning, you can design your
very own pair of snazzy wheels
directly from the manufacturer.
Now, we think this is super
cool and it's going to lead
to some pretty bling wheels on bikes.
Take your wheels to the next level.
-We have another new specialized bike
this week too,
the Vado SL which is a flat bar e-bike
designed for mixed surface terrains.
It's got slightly wider tires on it.
Well, it looks like it will be ideal
for a lot of the people who are
perhaps getting into cycling
as part of the lockdown
and just discovering this sport,
which is pretty cool.
It's got Future Shock at the front to
give a bit of suspension
similar to what's found
on the specialized Roubaix bike
that you will have seen before.
It's also got quite a lightweight
construction as well.
It's said to be, according to
Specialized, quite a bit lighter, around
1.9 kilograms than a lot
of similar e-bikes in its class.
They've worked on getting the center
of gravity lower in the bike as well.
Batteries and motors are heavy.
They've worked to put them as low
down near the bottom bracket as possible
as this improves the handling
of the bike rather than
having a greater moment
with all that weight higher up.
This is actually a design idea that
I first saw on BMC's Alpenchallenge
e-bikes a couple of years ago. Cool.
-Finally, in hot tech this week,
some new socks,
but they're not any old socks.
-In 2017, a small company called
Rule 28 brought out some Aero socks
and people who initially wore them,
well,
were kind of laughed
at on the start line.
People thought it was
quite a ridiculous idea,
but then those people started
doing pretty well in races
and winning quite a few races.
People stopped laughing and more
people started wearing them.
They became a kind of thing that
you saw quite a lot of people wearing,
including riders in the Tour de France.
Some riders were spotted wearing
them so that definitely became a thing.
-For good reason. Independent
aerodynamic testing has shown
socks can make a significant difference.
-Well, I've got the Version 2 sock here
and it's got this rather
intriguing fabric on it.
It's said to be a new proprietary
fabric that they've developed
in the Wind Tunnel at the Silverstone
Sports Engineering Hub.
It's said to be eight watts
faster than their previous.
It's quite a big saving there,
especially if you're trying to
break the pursuit world
record or something.
I'm sure we'll see them at the Olympics
as in when the Olympics happens.
[drill sound]
-It's now time for Screw Riding
Upgrades and Buy Upgrades.
When you submit upgrades
that you've done to your bikes
or cycling lives for a chance to
win the ultimate price, a GCN cap.
Now, before we move on to this
week's upgrades, let's take a look
at the last week's results.
We had David [?]
versus Louie Alvarez [?].
The winner, with 56%, was David.
Well done, mate.
Make sure you get in contact with us
and we'll send
you a cap right out to you.
I'm just going to say at this point,
last two weeks, me and Ollie
have picked one upgrade each
and it's been hours
and then I've seen you voted
on them and I've had the best
upgrade two weeks running.
Basically, Ollie doesn't like
losing so he's left me to pick both
of the upgrades this week.
I can't lose this week because
I picked both of them so
let's see what we got this week.
First up this week,
we have this one in from Wackingwillie.
Check this out.
-I'll show you how it works.
Now we're just riding along the [?].
Got a bit of a incline at the moment.
Now, get along the flex.
Then when you want to go downhill,
down you go.
-Now, this is something
completely different to
anything I've seen
on Buy Upgrades before.
He's used an old office chair to
make an incline simulator for the turbo.
You can see these if you're
riding on a Zwift or something
or you go up to climb,
it'll automatically rise so
you're in that position
as if you're climbing
and then descending, it'll go down
obviously as if you're descending.
They can be quite expensive,
but he's made one
out of an old office chair and he has
made it sound pretty simple.
Took a few measurements,
got out the angle grinder and a drill,
cut off what he didn't need,
drilled a hole
and then quickly searched around
the garage for a couple of bolts
and washes,
fitted it to the bike and it worked.
It looks like it works pretty
well for what it needs to do.
I've seen this is a pretty good upgrade
and a pretty good hack if I do say so,
but who is he up against?
He's up against Maus.
He's finally had time to
finish his cafe race build.
This was a pretty tired giant
export hybrid bike and he has
collected lots of parts in the last
year so he could finally build it.
The frame and wheels are standard
and the rest are new parts from friends'
bins that they didn't want
and what he had in the garage.
It's got front forks or Ali Express,
brook saddle,
lots of pro stuff on handlebars,
SRAM Force,
142 chainring, Shimano 105.
Okay,
the bike before does look pretty tired.
It's not really anything special,
pretty standard
but it's been stripped, repainted.
I am a big fan of paint job here.
It's got his name on the top tube
and Cafe Racer on the down tube now.
I'm liking the gold and the black theme,
pretty good paint job.
The finished product is pretty cool.
This is a pretty good upgrade.
This looks like a bike that should
be in the Bike Vault because
all the Bike Vault rules
have been applied.
The valves at six o'clock, Biggie
Smalls, we've even got a gold chain.
I know it's not the Bike
Vault but tan sidewalls too.
Check out the hydration
he's got onboard here.
He's even got matching-
I'm guessing its champagne
and matching a beer bottle
to match the color scheme of the bike.
Now, this bike has gone from
a 1.2 to a 9.3, I'm going to say.
This is a pretty good transformation
but it's not up to me,
it's up to you guys.
If you haven't already and you want
to vote, why not download
the GCN app so you can
vote on these very bikes
and who can win the GCN cap?
Now, this is going to be
a pretty close one because
I think I've picked two
very good upgrades here.
Make sure you head over
to the app and get voting.
I'm going to vote now,
get my vote in early.
It's now time for the Bike Vault
where you submit pictures of your bikes,
your pride and joy, and I vote
if they're nice or super nice.
If they're super nice,
they get put to the Bike Vault forever
and ever and ever, and [bell
rings] the Bike Vault bell gets rung.
Now, if you do disagree with any
of my judgments on these bikes,
you can head over to
the GCN app and have
your own say if they're
nice or super nice.
Now, without further ado,
let's see who we've got in first.
This one is in from Bonni
and this is a specialized Venge
Pro from 2019 with Shimano Ultegra.
That is a very nice picture.
I do like this bike.
We've even got a gold chain.
We're off to a really good
start of the Bike Vault this week.
Fist bump for the gold chain.
We're in Biggie Smalls.
I do like the specialized
logo in different
colors, I wonder if that's custom.
Very nice.
We even got tan sidewalls, very nice.
Very nice background, nice and clean.
The only thing about this bike
is the valves aren't quite lined up,
but I'm not going to be too harsh.
I don't want to be that person, I don't.
I'm thinking this is super nice,
I'm the fan.
The gold chain, the tan sidewall
is like, come on, that is nice.
Biggie Smalls,
I'm going to say it's super nice.
[bell rings]
Next up, we have this specialized
Tarmac in from Gijsendeb5
and it has Ultegra R8000,
Roval CL64 wheels,
but there's one little
problem with this.
I can't possibly judge
this bike to be in the Bike
Vault if the drivetrain
is not facing me.
I can't see this in Biggie Smalls.
There's just no chance I can give
this a super nice if the drivetrain
isn't facing the camera.
This bike needs to be resubmitted
with the bike turned around
and make sure everything is lined up.
For that reason, this is just
a nice because I just can't possibly
judge it to be in the Bike
Vault with it not facing.
Anyway, next up,
we have this in from Wee.V.
This is a Soma Fog Cutter,
2018 Shimano GRX mix groupset.
The Velocity Blunt wheels. I like.
A big fan of the paint.
That nice dark red, nice tan sidewalls.
Do we have a gold chain?
I don't think so.
Still, very nice. Brown body.
Do you like that with the tan
sidewalls and a cute little saddlebag.
Very retro, old school.
Okay, [sighs], this is a hard one
because I do really like this bike.
We're not in Biggie
Smalls and the valves
aren't lined up, and the cranks.
It's a clean background.
Oh, it's a hard one. [sighs]
I feel like if I give it a super nice,
it's going to get shouted
out from people because
it's not following the Bike Vault rule.
I'm going to give this a nice, but it is
a very nice bike. I do like it.
If everything was Bike Vault, followed
the Bike Vault rules, this would
definitely be a super nice.
Next up,
we have this one in from DrumMajorC.
This is an Orbea Orca from 2008.
I've got my Orbea Orca right here, snap,
with some Campagnolo and Fulcrum wheels.
Wow.
I'm like, this gold and black
color scheme is the new thing.
I've seen lots of gold and black
color theme scheme bikes.
The bar tape, big fan of the black
fading into the gold there.
There's no chimney in sight here.
That chimney is nonexistent.
All the Bike Vault rules
have been applied to this bike.
This is a very good example
for anybody watching that wants
to get your bike in the Bike Vault,
follow these rules.
The valves at six o'clock,
the crank at three o'clock.
You want to be in Biggie Small
which is the chain in the big
chain ring at the front
and in the little cassette at the back.
We do allow a little bit of chimney
but we don't want lots of chimney.
The chimney is the top
of the handlebars.
The steerer where you screw your
handlebar and your stem into,
no bottles.
The tires are lined up, the wheels.
Pirelli tires are very nice, P Zero.
I think you'd all agree with
me here that this is a super nice.
I really like that 2008 frame as well.
Very nice.
I'm going to give this
[bell rings] a super nice.
The last bike in the Bike
Vault this week is a truck bike.
This one is in from Travis_R01.
This is a Cervélo T4.
Now, this is actually a bike
I used to ride. Very nice bike.
You've even got a gold chain on there.
Good job, Travis.
What else have we got on there?
We've got a 130 stem, very long,
a Shimano PRO Stealth saddle.
I do like the handlebars.
They're quite a narrow drop.
Kind of like sprint bars, 3D stem.
Very nice.
Token disc wheel
and deep section in the front.
I think we need to see more
track bikes in the Bike Vault.
If you have a track bike,
take a picture of it and send
it in to the Bike Vault because
I would really like to see
some more track bikes.
I'm going to say this is a super nice.
I like the kit that's on this bike.
The crank is in Biggie Smalls.
The crank is at three o'clock.
[bell rings] Super
nice for the track bike.
Now,
that's it for the Bike Vault this week.
Remember, you can upload your bikes
to the Bike Vault using the GCN app
in the hope of your bike making
it onto the Bike Vault next week.
Make sure you guys are
submitting pictures of your bikes.
-That's all we've got time
for on this week's show.
I hope you've enjoyed it.
If you have,
please support the channel and give us
a thumbs up and a like
and a follow and all that stuff.
Lockdown is dragging on a bit,
but I'm going to keep myself amused.
I want to get the old retro Gyro
coverage on and enjoy that.
I'll see you next week.
