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As Germany is hosting the European Football Championships this summer, and Frankfurt is one of the host cities, Eurobike got bumped from its typical mid-June slot to a new – and hopefully once-off – calendar spot in the middle of the opening week of the Tour de France. Cue the conundrum: which of the two highlights of the tech year do we cover with just one tech editor on European ground? The answer: both. Or in other words, walk the halls of the Frankfurt messe by day, cover the latest Tour happenings by night.
Fast forward to this week and the result is one huge Eurobike photo dump we can now split off into galleries for release in the coming days. Here’s the first:
Biniam Girmay has been winning at the Tour with a new Uvex aero helmet … or so it seemed.The helmet is actually kind of two helmets in one: a highly ventilated helmet for hotter and hillier days with this clip-on aero cover for faster or cooler days. “But wait!” you say. “Hasn’t this be done before and the UCI banned it?”
Correct, the UCI does not permit removable helmet covers it says could fly off in a crash. So while Girmay and his Intermarché-Wanty teammates must glue the cover to the helmet, we the regular customer can enjoy the new Uvex Surge Aero MIPS versatility.Unlike Lazer’s Aeroshell (and a similar concept from POC), which introduced the idea of a clip-on aero cover a decade or more ago and prompted the UCI’s ban, Uvex’s Surge cover does not close all the vents or even cover the sides; it instead simply clips on the upper section of the helmet to cover most but not all of the central vents.The rear is left entirely open, presumably to aid with flow through the helmet. But Uvex is not alone in adding an aero cover option for a vented helmet; French manufacturer Julbo (say: jewel-bo) is also in on the game with its new Finisher Evo two-in-one helmet. The main difference, though, is that the Julbo version is UCI-legal and permitted for use in UCI-sanctioned events! Julbo has 130 years of history developing mountaineering and sports glasses and first got into making cycling helmets three years ago.How can all other clip-on covers be deemed illegal and Julbo’s deemed fine? It comes down to the detachability. Julbo worked with the UCI during its design phase to come up with a solution the governing body deemed acceptable, or in other words, a cover that is not removable mid-race.
The key difference is the Julbo design is hooked under the brow at the front, clips back and down onto the rest of the helmet and is retained in place by this simple elastic cord, effectively buckling the cover to the rear of the helmet shell. It’s still removable to reveal a vented helmet beneath, but crucially the UCI was convinced it was neither removable nor likely to come off mid-race.With the cover removed, the Finisher Evo becomes just the Finisher, a highly ventilated helmet for hotter days. Julbo offers both versions for sale, with the Evo cover also available separately for €30, should you wish to buy the FInisher and upgrade at a later date (or lose your original cover from your Finisher Evo kit). The Finisher helmet without the cover is €260, the cover-included Evo edition costs €290.The helmet and cover are available in two colours with the shell, including the team edition colours plus the black and grey shown, and three colours without the shell. Julbo claims a frankly absurd (and absurdly wide-ranging) 4-12 minute gain compared to its own Julbo Sprint Aero helmet, although hasn’t yet published details on the exact testing.MIPS-equipped.The Finisher Evo weighs a competitive 300 grams (claimed). In comparison, a Specialized S-Works Prevail 3 we have on hand weighs 280 grams while a Met Manta weighs just 250 grams.Meanwhile, the HJC Furion 2.0 is not new, but this new colour scheme is appealing to the Max Verstappen fan in me.One of the many Tour things diverting my Eurobike attention was the UCI’s decision to force Dylan Groenewegen to remove his Scicon glasses with this 3D-printed nose pad mid-stage 3 before ultimately allowing him to wear it again for subsequent stages, including his stage 6 win. Wondering why? Last week, we published a deep dive into the Batman glasses and proposed new UCI rules changes that could see all equipment prototypes banned.Lore has been around for a while now, and brought its new LoreTwo range to Eurobike just as the shock to its original 3D-printed shoes wore off. Described as a “gateway into more force production and pedalling efficiency,” the Lore philosophy and manufacturing technique allows it to build a custom structure exactly around the wearer’s foot, supporting the foot with close fit in certain locations and opening up in other sections for more freedom.The LoreTwo is said to be a more scalable and commercially practical shoe than the original, but which still employs the same biomechanical efficiency-improving mechanisms. Key to that is the custom fit and the “upper dorsal structures.” Lore claims the tall and rigid structures in its shoes create a mechanical lever that you push into with every stroke, which doesn’t exist in a normal shoe where the materials are typically soft, such as leather and microfiber.The soles are printed carbon fibre, the wavy lines are carbon fibre robotic prints; the pattern is the same for every pair of shoes but the actual spacing varies according to the custom fit of each shoe. While the holes for the cleat nuts are part of the print, the nuts themselves are added after the print and positioned longitudinally and laterally according to each individual’s unique metatarsal position taken from the 3D scan.A real-life exploded view of the LoreTwo. As you might imagine, a custom 3D-printed carbon shoe does not come cheap; the LoreTwo is priced at a frankly incredible US$1,849.A 3D scan is required to produce the custom fit; the rider has to stand in a position intended to load the feet similar to how they will be when cycling.A nylon low-cut version without the high dorsal panels is still pricey at US$1,349, while a carbon printed version of the low-cut shoe is available at $1,649.Lore were not the only company with 3D-printed shoes on show. German brand Hezo had these Helu One² 100% custom-fit, 3D-printed shoes. Hezo uses a phone app allowing the customer to scan their feet from home. An algorithm then models the shoe around this 3D scan for a custom fit. Hezo then 3D prints the shoe in Germany. The Helu One² shoe should be available around the end of this year, priced at €300 – considerably cheaper to the Lore version. Hezu claims that its production process – automating the scan, mesh creation, and FDM printing with a carbon fibre-infused nylon material – allows them to produce the shoes for much less than competitors.Hezo offers two different inner shoe options, including this removable, sock-like concept with a insole base that allows the sock to be used as a normal-ish shoe for walking off the bike on bikepacking trips or even just around the house pre/post ride.Alternatively, they offer this more structural 3D-printed liner.The Hezo shoes utilise Fidlock’s fastener system. It is magnetic and attaches for tightening the shoe; simply lifting it up and away from the shoe opens the retention system.Hezo describes the upper as having an “aero-dimpled texture for ultimate performance,” I so want to try these shoes, but aero properties are not top of my list of reasons why. Similarly, Hezo are claiming a 10/10 stiffness rating for its sole, although as far as we understand, such ratings are pretty arbitrary across the entire industry. Interestingly, though, the brand offers personalised or individually positioned cleat bosses. Q36.5 had a new shoe, under embargo, displayed in a clear Plexiglass box alongside other offerings; we could see it, but there were no details. The key difference from the original Q36.5 Unique shoe is a new carbon sole we can now see wrap up and around the heel rather than the current winged carbon sole. More on this shoe as we have it.
