BikeRibbon is an Italian brand that’s been producing unique handlebar tape since 1975, helping to pioneer the concept of thickly padded tape that tapers at the edges to let it wrap flatly around the bar. Since then, they’ve branched out into mountain bike grips, new materials, saddle bags and other accessories.
Their Loop bar tape is a washable, soft fluffy cotton terry material with stitched edging. It’s 3mm thick, 3cm wide and comes in 170cm long rolls. Grab hold of more materials and colors below, along with a random assortment of new cables, housing, handlebars, tires and more…
Their SiO2 silicone is grippy, stretchy and cushy and comes with color-matched silicone end plugs with reflective bits and silicone finishing tape. It, too, is washable, and it’s hypoallergenic.
Their Scrub tape has a sanded eco-leather outer layer over polyester with an adhesive backing. It’s thinner than the other tapes but still had a little give.
Mountain bikers have two options for adding a little comfort to their bars. The EVA grips use a polyethylene and EVA foam blend to create a lightweight grip with plenty of cushioning and vibration damping. Weight is about 80g, outside diameter is 25mm. They’re waterproof, too, so they won’t gain weight in the wet.
The SiO2 silicone grips use an open cell foam to maintain their squish and vibration damping even in very cold temperatures, and they’re lighter than the EVA grips, coming in at 50g for the pair.
Their new tubeless kit comes with two forms of rim tape, a standard adhesive backed tubeless tape and a thicker, stronger overwrap that stretches around the rim. They say that allows safer use of a tube in the event you really gash your tire and the included sealant can’t close the hole. The kit also comes with two valve stems.
The Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., Ltd., (aka Chaoyang) is one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world and has been in business since 1958. They employ X-Ray scanning of their tires and balance tests, among others, as part of their quality control process. They make tires for cars, trucks and all types of bicycles, from road to MTB to BMX, etc…to the tune of about 80.67 million bicycle and motorcycle tires per year (in 2011, per their website).
Haero Carbon is a German brand that makes very lightweight handlebars and other components. Their marathon mountain bike handlebar offers an additional “aero” grip position to reduce hand fatigue.
How light? This new H.135 model comes in wider than it’s predecessor at 740mm, but is lighter. Claimed weight is just 150g, and there’s no rider weight limit.
Taking a different approach to hand comfort, SQlab’s new accessory gives you additional hand positions. The thumb rest clamps just inside the grip, letting you rest the outside meat of your palm on the grip while loosely wrapping your pointer finger and thumb around the top.
Combine this with their swept back trekking handlebar and ergo grips for more comfort on long rides.
Reset Racing has had interesting pedals in the past, offering Pedal 3 for enduro and aggressive mountain biking with a look unlike any other. Now, they’re entering the city/urban/commuter market with Pedal 4.
The design assembles without a single screw, allowing all parts to be replaced if part of it get damaged, but holding tight once assembled. Available with steel or titanium axles (€299 or €399), weight is as low as 332g. The cage is made of aluminum and stainless steel and spins on two sealed bearings and a set of needle bearings.
They also have a new bearing press for dis- and re-assembling bearings when it’s time for a serious cleaning and rebuild job. Their shock pump valve head is also worth a look if you missed our past coverage.
Mars One makes just about any color cable housing you could want, with matte, glossy, sparkly and day-glow finishes to match virtually any color scheme you’ve got going.
Stripe, checkerboard and other patterns are also available.
And now you can even color match your brake and shift cables, too.
