Bont’s latest flagship road shoes, a pro-spec workstand from LifeLine, Tour-themed kit by Santini and Kask’s strange new time trial visor
As we near the end of another week, it’s time for First Look Friday, our weekly roundup of the latest and greatest swags to hit BikeRadar.
But before we get into that, let’s recap some of the week’s top stories and reviews.
It’s been an action-packed week on BikeRadar, with the Tour de France understandably dominating a lot of the headlines.
This week we took a close look at Caleb Ewan’s prototype lightweight all-rounder Ridley and the new ENVE integrated handlebar that graces Tadej Pogačar’s Colnago V4Rs.
On the BikeRadar YouTube channel, we cover the hottest custom bikes from this year’s race, as well as in-depth looks at some of the new and unreleased bikes we spotted at the Grand Depart in Bilbao, Spain.
In case you’re curious, our team of experts also revealed who is the greatest cyclist in the Tour de France and why it matters.
Away from road racing, BikeRadar Senior Technical Editor Alex Evans has been dutifully testing flat mountain bike pedals and this week reviews of the Pembree D2A and Race Face Atlas were published.
A review of the Focus JAM2 SL 9.9 electric mountain bike also went live this week, with Alex praising the bike’s performance and versatility.
Over on the BikeRadar podcast, BikeRadar’s in-house foodie, Tom Marvin, spoke to celebrity chef and environmental activist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
Joined by Darron Coppin of Sven Cycles and Warren Rossiter, Senior Technical Editor at BikeRadar, the four discuss Hugh’s custom built River Cottage Rambler electric bike.
Bont Vaypor 2023
It’s been a few years since Bont last updated the Vaypor, their flagship road shoe.
The snazzy name Vaypor 2023 still features Bont’s signature bathtub-style carbon sole, but features an updated and simplified closure system, is slightly lighter, and has a few additional quality-of-life features.
Bont also says it’s updated its last (the model foot that a shoe is built around) to accommodate a wider range of foot shapes.
Because of this, Bont says the Vaypor 2023 shouldn’t need to be heat-formed for most people, although it’s still an option for those who want it.
The new closure system features two BOA Li2 dials in a simpler layout than the previous Vaypor S.
Bont has also introduced adjustable cleat bolt holes, a feature carried over from their lower-priced Motion shoe.
This can be useful as it offers a much wider range of cleat positions which can be important for an optimal fit on the bike.
In terms of weight, Bont states that the Vaypor 2023 in size EU42 weighs 200g per shoe. Our pair in size EU45 weighs 442 g on our scales.
For comparison, the EU45 Vaypor S Hologram shoes we tested in 2021 weighed 484.6 g.
The Bont Vaypor 2023 is available in white or black and costs £369.95/$449.
- Bont Vaypor 2023: £369.95/$449
LifeLine Pro bike repair stand
A dedicated bike repair stand is an invaluable tool for any home mechanic. When my Aldi special assembly stand for the center aisle recently gave up the ghost, I immediately started looking for a replacement.
As with most products, there is a wide range of options and prices, but LifeLine’s Pro Bike Workstand seemed to tick most of the boxes at first glance.
It has a sturdy build quality with lots of metal and sturdy plastic. Each section of the stand is secured with quick-release levers for quick operation, while the rotating head and jaws feature metal levers.
It also folds up relatively small and has a specified load capacity of 40 kg.
That’s more than enough for every road bike I own (even those with disc brakes), and possibly e-bikes and beyond if I ever make the jump to a real dad station wagon.
According to LifeLine, the Pro Bike Workstand is suitable for people of different heights thanks to a large adjustment range of 120 to 198 cm.
It also features a detachable tool tray with a magnetic area to keep tools and parts close at hand while using the stand.
Priced at £149.99/$199.99/€164.99 the LifeLine Pro Bike Repair Stand outperforms many of its competitors such as the highly rated Park Tool PCS-10.
- LifeLine Pro Bike Repair Stand: £149.99/$199.99/€164.99
Santini Gran Depart Pais Vasco cycling set
As the official jersey sponsor of the Tour de France, Santini produces a range of promotional kits for each edition of the race.
The Gran Départ Pais Vasco collection is dedicated to this year’s race start in Bilbao, Spain.
For this reason, the collection reflects the green, red and white colors of the Basque flag mixed with symbols and icons of the territory.
The profiles of the first three stages can also be seen on the back of the jersey.
The Gran Depart Pais Vasco Bib Shorts are made from Santini’s Thunderbike Power compression fabric and feature a wide printed gripper at the bottom hem to keep them in place.
As you would expect, the kit is made of lightweight and breathable fabrics designed for summer use.
The collection is rounded off by a matching base layer, socks, gloves and a cycling cap.
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco Shirt: £99/$135/€99
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco bib shorts: £140/$190/€140
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco Baselayer: £29/$40/€29
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco socks: £15/$25/€15
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco gloves: £30/$40/€30
- Santini Grand Depart Pais Vasco cap: £19/$25/€19
Kask Aero Pro visor
Many modern time trial helmets come with a visor to protect your eyes from the sun, wind and rain.
However, the Kask Aero Po visor – which fits the Bambino Pro Evo and Mistral TT helmets – has an extra trick up its sleeve: a barge board-style plastic lip at the bottom.
Those who follow pro cycling may have noticed that this visor was first used by Team Ineos-Grenadiers (attached to some unusually large helmets) in the opening time trial of the 2022 Tour de France.
Kask is oddly reticent about the purpose and performance advantages of the Aero Pro visor compared to the standard visor.
Despite the fact that Dan Bigham and Filippo Ganna both broke the UCI hour record with it, there hasn’t been an official launch or press release from Kask claiming huge performance gains at ungodly speeds or that it’s “the fastest visor ever”. !
Instead, it was just quietly added as an accessory on Kask’s website, priced at £135 for the clear version or £145 for the mirror finish version.
As far as we can tell, the flared lower lip is meant to help redirect airflow around the rider’s shoulders, reducing drag. However, we cannot tell you by how much…
- Kask Aero Po visor, clear: £135