If you’re familiar with Elite, it’s probably thanks to their line of bicycle trainers or hydration products, or bicycle accessories. This is why we found it fairly surprising that one of their newest products is a bicycle hitch rack. This isn’t Elite’s first venture into bike racks (or bike transport) – they’ve been making roof racks for years and it was also their first product. However, the addition of a hitch rack is new and it seems they’ve done their homework.
Let Monte carry your bikes
More than just another hitch rack, Elite is celebrating their 40th anniversary with what seems to be a very clever, well thought out rack that simplifies the transport process. It’s important to point out that for now, the Monte will not be available in the U.S. Because of that, it is designed to fasten to European style tow-bars and does so with a clever side-mount operation. Instead of standing at the back of the rack and struggling to mount it to the vehicle, with Monte you stand to the side and use a lever to secure the rack onto the tow bar.
When the rack is off the vehicle, it folds up and includes three wheels to easily roll it around your garage, car park, or wherever you need to take it.
The rear axle doubles as the release lever which you activate with your foot.
This allows the rack to pivot downwards to make loading easier and allows access to the trunk. But it also lets the rack tilt to either side to effectively create a ramp so you can wheel your bike straight onto the tray.
Available in two or three bike configurations, the rack clamps onto the frame with a center mounted clamp – that can be positioned anywhere along the central hoop. Then wheel straps hold each wheel in place.
To comply with European and German certifications, the rack includes its own lights as well as a rear license plate holder to keep everything visible. Available in May, the rack is said to weigh 20-24kg, and will sell for €570 for the two bike version without the ramp function, or €700 for the three bike version with the ramp function.
Zwift while you Roller
While at Road Bike Connection, Elite was also showing their Nero smart roller. First shown at Eurobike 2018, the Nero is essentially a roller on steroids that is also interactive.
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Built with a floating base and parabolic rollers, the Nero is easier to ride on and the movement of the base while you’re riding results in a smoother ride as well. The frame is adjustable to fit different wheel bases, and the rollers have 7% resistance built in.
There’s even a built in step to help you get on and off the rollers which flips out from the base. Calling it the first interactive roller in the world, the Nero is ANT+, Bluetooth, and FEC compatible so it will work with Zwift and other training programs. As such, it is priced at €850.
Ice, Ice Fly
Over on the hydration side, Elite has a new insulated bottle called the Ice Fly. Modeled after their current Fly bottles with the same cap, the Ice Fly has a prismatic design for increased grip and 6x the thermal insulation than standard. Because of that, they claim it will keep your water under 57 degrees for at least 2.5 hours.
Put your name on a bottle (or your cat)
Elite also has a new digital printing option for their bottles which allows far more flexibility in custom designs. Digital printing allows Elite to custom print single bottles so if you wanted team bottles with the individual name of each rider on them, it’s easily done.
Prism Cages
Finally, to carry those new custom printed bottles, Elite has a new cage option called the Prism Carbon. Available in left or right entry, the somewhat-side entry cages allow a little more leeway in terms of installing or removing the bottle from the side – though not as much as some cages. The trade off is that they seem to be far more secure than most side entry cages. Available in carbon for €33, they will also be available in fiberglass for less.
