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Taipei Show Tech Randoms: Cockpits & Components

Windner Brachii carbon cranks
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After looking at the bikes and frames, our attention turns to the cockpit and component array at the Taipei Cycle Show. Like the bikes, much of what’s here is to showcase a manufacturer’s capabilities. Some of it might get relabeled under a brand we know, some will be sold directly from the factory, and some is just showing off technical prowess or introducing a new design idea.

Windner Brachii carbon cranks

The Windner Brachii crankset uses opposed oblong carbon tubes to mimic your forearm bones, providing stiffness in all directions. They’re also wicked light at under 400 g for a set (excluding the spindle):

Windner Brachii carbon cranks actual weights

It’s a Red Dot design winner with a modular design that lets you use different spiders. That makes it compatible with analog and electric bicycles. It’s still undergoing certification, but considering SRAM’s new T-Type XO crankset has holes in it, it’s not such a wild idea.

Windner carbon saddles

Windner also makes full carbon saddles with little texture nubs under the clearcoat to keep you from sliding off. And carbon fiber shoe horns with gold leaf, of which I am now a proud owner.

VAZALAB seatpost with elastomer damper

VAZALAB’s B3F Formega seatpost uses an elastomer damper under the saddle clamp to provide three-axis motion (video here).

VAZALAB seatpost with elastomer damper

It absorbs shock and lets the saddle tilt and sway under you, but without bobbing in ways that could sap power from your pedal stroke. If you’ve ever ridden behind someone who seems to be sitting off-center (you know you have) or you feel like you’re always putting more pressure on one side than the other, maybe this solves that.

Deda Elementi ID Match bike fit system with Selle Italia saddles

Deda Elementi and Selle Italia have combined forces on their ID Match concept.

Deda Elementi ID Match bike fit system with Selle Italia saddles

Introduced with insoles, the ID Match lets bike fitters place different shapes and widths and stuff on a fit bike (or your bike in a fit) to ascertain the best parts for your anatomy and flexibility.

Deda Elementi Gera Curvy fork with mounts for bikepacking and adventure bicycle touring

Once your fit is dialed, the Deda Gera gravel lineup expands from the original cockpit parts to forks, offering two options for gravel, adventure, and bikepacking rigs.

The Gera Curvy DCR above is the more equipped option, with rack, fender, and accessory mounts, plus these sweet offsets that let you bring the gear forward (or backward?) to slim the profile, clear other accessories, or just accommodate different shape bags.

Deda Elementi Gera Curvy fork with mounts for bikepacking and adventure bicycle touring

The shapely legs clear a 29 x 2.2″ (700 x 57) or 27.5 x 2.6″ tire. Dynamo and brake hose routing are fully internal, part of their DCR design:

Deda Elementi internal routing cutaway for bicycle cockpits

Compatible cockpits, which it makes plenty of, can run hoses and cables and wires inside the handlebar and stem, through the headset, and then into the frame … or fork:

Deda Elementi Gera EDG DCR road bike fork with internal routing

A flattened front edge of the steerer tube makes room for control lines to sit in front of it, and ports just above the taper are where dynamo wires and brake hoses enter.

On the left is the Gera EDG DCR fork, the racier of the two options. It slims down tire clearance a bit to 700 x 45 or 27.5 x 2″, and loses the accessory mounts but keeps the internal dynamo and brake routing. Both forks are €625 each plus VAT. More details at DedaElementi.com.

Selle Italia Novus Boost EVO 3D-printed saddle

Sister brand Selle Italia’s new Novus Boost EVO 3D Kit Carbonia SuperFlow has a super long name and a new 3D-printed design on its cushioning. Compared to the SLR introduced at Eurobike 2022, this one uses varied density from front to rear to improve comfort for lighter riders.

Selle Italia Novus Boost EVO 3D-printed saddle

Denser latticing at the rear supports sit bones, but more space toward the front gets squishier under the soft tissue as you lean forward to climb or get into the drops. This will probably launch this summer. Its size is 145 x 248 mm, coming first in full carbon with 7 x 9 carbon rails.

Selle SMP gravel bike saddles

After launching “short” versions of its saddles last summer, Selle SMP follows up with a gravel lineup based on its VT20C, VT30C, and Well models. Other than the attractive gray clay color, I’m guessing the difference is padding material, but … well … I didn’t ask. The “C” refers to Compact, which is the shorter 255mm length, versus a very long 283 mm for its regular versions.

Lumis fenders with integrated lights

ReadyGO’s Lumis LF01 Glow Bike Fender won a design award from the show for integrating a light underneath that bounces the illumination off the bottom of the fender to give the rider a larger visual presence at night.

LightSkin handlebar with integrated headlight

LightSKIN has been making handlebars and seatposts with integrated lights for years, but now it’s making them brighter. As in, bright enough to see where you’re going, not just help drivers see you.

The update brings a new lens element, cleverly displayed here like a diamond ring, that has 40 distinct angles on its face to direct the light where it needs to go — on the ground, in front of the bike. That lets it comply with European, and German in particular, standards. Max output is 50 Lux of clear white light. Coming soon for regular and e-bikes, the former is getting a new dual-battery system for longer run times, and the latter is powered by the bike’s battery.

IB turn signal handlebar grips

IB Grips 1.0 version has integrated turn signals with stealth buttons on the inboard side that let you turn them on and off, and indicate your change of direction. The arrows face backward too, so drivers behind you can see what you’re planning to do.

IB turn signal handlebar grips

Running lights add a bit more visibility, and accelerometer-based brake lights provide more safety and communication to those around you. The 2.0 version is coming soon and will add sound to the turn signals, with an amber color for the signal arrow so it’s more discernable. It’ll also add the ability to be dynamo or e-bike powered.

Ebon handlebar tape

Ebon is a handlebar tape supplier (one of many) that had some cool designs. You’re unlikely to see them in shops under its brand name, but these show just a few of the prints it can do.

CICLOVATION handlebar tape in reflective colors

CICLOVATION, however, had a retail website for its very colorful, metallic, reflective, and shiny tape. There are tons of options; note the reflective ends on the top right.

Ridenow ultralight inner tubes for road bikes and gravel bikes

Ridenow makes some incredibly lightweight TPU tubes, with a lot of folks claiming they’re thinner and lighter than Tubolito. At just 24 g for a road bike tube (other versions are available, and with black valve stems on all of them, they might be worth a try … if you don’t mind ordering from abroad. And they’re cheap, as low as $5 each if you search around.

rock bros top tube bag with ratchet dial attachment

In the U.S., RockBros is basically an Amazon brand, however, it seems to get good marks. Its display collection of frame and saddlebags use Fitgo dials (like BOA, but not) to tighten the straps around the frame, saddle rails, etc., to attach them to the bike. These aren’t on its website yet, but they definitely look like a step up from current offerings.

The white looks good too (until it doesn’t), and bungee straps along the outside let you shove small, soft things in there without having to stop. It might be an affordable way to dabble in bikepacking once these launch.

Stay tuned for more roundups and tech from the 2023 Taipei Cycle Show!

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Greg
Greg
11 months ago

“…crankset uses opposed oblong carbon tubes to mimic your forearm bones, providing stiffness in all directions”
Except forearms have two bones specifically so it can twist. You can put a hole in it if it’s still one piece, and if the hole doesn’t span end to end. This is reminiscent of the ZeroG (of notorious brakes fame) cranks.

Dockboy
Dockboy
11 months ago
Reply to  Greg

Exactly. I suspect that twisting motion was part of the problem with the last generation eeWings before Cane Creek bought the brand. It was, at least cosmetically, much the same design. A set of small tubes placed in this format will always twist more than the same material as one large tube, or as a tube as big as can fit in the space.

TheKaiser
TheKaiser
11 months ago
Reply to  Dockboy

Are you mixing up the cranks designed by Craig Edwards (SweetWings/eeWings) with the Ciamillo 3 tube crankarms? Its understandable as both designers also had light weight CNC brakes (Edwards had eeBrakes, Ciamillo had Zero Gravity). Cane Creek only bought rights to the Edwards designed products, whereas Ciamillo left a bunch of unpaid orders and moved to Europe if I remember correctly.

Dockboy
Dockboy
11 months ago
Reply to  TheKaiser

Yep, I am!

I was really bummed about the Ciamillo nonsense, their designs were super cool. Real eye candy, and IIRC they had some sort of personal submarine thing, too?

Now I’ve google Ciamillo and it looks like they’re still out there. Maybe the name was sold, not sure.

Astro_Kraken
Astro_Kraken
11 months ago
Reply to  Greg

Plus it’s yet another hole to get your finger stuck in.

FasterThanEwe
11 months ago
Reply to  Astro_Kraken

And wind. Needless aero penalty. First thing you should do is cover the gap, which brings you right back to a bigger tube anyway.

Will
Will
11 months ago
Reply to  Astro_Kraken

“Finger”

Seraph
Seraph
11 months ago

It’s still undergoing certification, but considering SRAM’s new T-Type XO crankset has holes in it, it’s not such a wild idea.” Don’t act like these are the only cranks that have ever had holes in them. There were tons of cranks in the late 90s and early 2000s that challenged the idea of solid or hollow arms. And even more recently, there was a very similar crank to the one mentioned in this article, with two carbon tubes going between the spindle and pedal area.

Billyshoo
Billyshoo
11 months ago
Reply to  Seraph

Yikes, tough crowd. I would bet that Tyler is able to remember the silly Onza HO’s and Ciamillo’s and the current 5DEV’s and…Shame on him for utilizing his creative writing skills I guess?

WhateverBikes
11 months ago
Reply to  Billyshoo

Nobody is against creative writing.
But from a writer on a website like this you kinda expect them to be at least just as geeky about this stuff, and know about previous products.
If someone writes about gravel stems with dampening/suspension as if it is some new, revolutionary idea, that’s just lacking. Mentioning brands like Girvin gives it some historical context.

rapsac
rapsac
11 months ago

Alas twin parallel tubes have less torsional stiffness (for same weight/material use) as a single tube. It looks more like a gimmick?

Joenomad
Joenomad
11 months ago

Bike accessory manufacturers need to stop trying to put turn signals and brake lights in small un-seeable places, such as bar ends, etc. Vehicle drivers are not that attentive or even looking for that type of notification from bike riders.

Meckatzer
Meckatzer
11 months ago

A flattened front edge of the steerer tube

Great, continued manipulation of 1 1/8″ carbon steerers for the sake of cable routing aesthetics. If you need more space why not create it around the safety-critical part that the bike industry already seems to have issues getting right in a material that isn’t keen on being forced into corners?

IBe
IBe
11 months ago

I dont believe RideNow can be found for as little as $5. I believe they’re still around $10 each- $5 is just the patch kit

TypeVertigo
11 months ago

Over in Southeast Asia, I really rate Ciclovation’s bar tape. I’ve used it for the past five years and the stuff is cushy and stands up well to humid conditions – a lot better than LizardSkins DSP v2 does, which has the nasty habit of coming apart in my experience. They’ve since introduced lots of color options and finishes.

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