Five Cool Things from Fulcrum, Crankbrothers, Maxxis, Topeak and Pirelli

Our weekly round up of the coolest test kit to come through the office and the best news highlights.

Liam Mercer

Jun 7 2024

This week ushered in another host of Five Cool Things from all corners of the off-road cycling world. Today, we're going to take a look at the Crankbrothers cross-country and gravel-going shoes, Topeak's dip-of-the-toe into bikepacking, Pirelli's super fast tyres, as well as some down-country, focussed rubber from Maxxis. But before we dive into the good stuff, let's take a look at this week's news.

Last weekend we received quite the show from Red Bull Hardline 2024. Celebrating its 10th year, the second leg of the world's gnarliest downhill event returned to the Dyfi Valley with videos of a humongous valley gap circulating the socials. Although being taken down for the main event, Hardline still delivered some top-level racing. After a near-perfect run, Ronan Dunne took his second Hardline win after his success in Tasmania, pipping Bernard Kerr to the top spot after the Brit pushed a little too hard in the first sector. It was real to-the-line racing and an excellent show for any spectators lucky enough to attend.

Racing news continued as we brought our round-up of Unbound Gravel 2024 as Steve unpacked his conclusions and takeaways of one of the gravel's biggest events on the calendar.

It's been a strong week for tech news, too, with SRAM adding refinements to its new AXS Pod Rocker shifter. Available as a whole unit for £150 or an upgrade for £20, the Rocker shifter looks set to provide improved ergonomics to one of the most questionable aspects of SRAM's Transmission drivetrains. Fulcrum went all-road with the wave-shaped Sharq wheelset that celebrates 20 years of its wheelset development and adds 'unique' riding benefits to road- and off-road riding. Finally, Bianchi's dropped the covers off the new Arcadex gravel bike – it offers endurance-type frame geometry and cool storage capability for off-road adventuring.

As always, the reviews have been rolling through with Matt's write-up of Canyon's latest e-gravel machine, the Grizl:ON CF9. We also looked at the 100% Glendale sunglasses and Fox's Launch D3O Knee Pads.

Maxxis Forekaster tyres

£65 - £70

This iteration of the Forekaster has received a bit of an update as Maxxis aims to hit the down-country mark. The brand says that the tyre's ideal for bikes with 100mm up to 130mm of suspension travel, stating that it rolls faster than the Minion and Dissector but provides plenty of traction when things get spicy. It should offer more climbing and braking traction than the Aspen and Rekon.

Here, we've got the tyre in two variants, one MTB-specific tyre with an EXO casing and then a heavier protected e-MTB-specific model designed to cope with the extra weight of an e-MTB while boosting traction. We reckon it'll be a great upgrade to those lighter-weight e-bikes, like the Scott Lumen that are cross-country and trail focussed but shod with very lightweight XC tyres which aren't ideal for the weight and speed.

As for rubber compound, the Forekaster is available in Maxxis' Dual Compound or 3C Maxx Terra. Both should balance rolling speed with chemical grip.

www.maxxis.com

Fulcrum Sharq All-Road wheelset

£2,289

The Sharq is Fulcrum's latest wheelset that's designed for all-road use. The most notable feature of these new hoops is its eye-catching waved profile. Essentially, it's a variable rim depth that, according to the brand, reduces instability caused by wind by 30 per cent when riding at a 10- to 20-degree lean angle. When upright, or within 10 degrees of upright, Fulcrum reckons that the rims are 21 per cent more stable in blowy conditions.

Indicative of its price, the Sharq wheelset rotates around ceramic cup-and-cone bearings and the rims are laced to Fulcrum hubs using 24 A3RO bladed spokes per wheel. These spokes are then said to increase aerodynamic gains and the spoke doesn't touch, which should avoid premature tension issues.

Other details come in the form of the 25mm internal width and accommodation for up to 30mm gravel tyres.

With aerodynamics becoming important in gravel, as proven by Easton's EC90 ALX and DT Swiss's GRC DICUT wheelsets, Fulcrum's offering looks primed to stand out from what's a crowded space.

www.fulcrumwheels.com

Crankbrothers Candy Lace shoes

£160

With the Crankbrothers shoe range growing over the past year, there's been a space left for a cross-country and gravel shoe, until now, that is. The Candy Lace fits the bill with a fibre-reinforced nylon shank for efficient power transfer. That's then paired with a synthetic upper and a vibration-absorbing EVA insole. Crankbrothers then says that these shoes provide a relaxed fit for all-day comfort.

As established with its other shoes, the Candy Lace gets the Match treatment – a tread pattern and rubber compound combination designed to pair perfectly with the Crankbrothers pedal range. In the case of these shoes, that's likely to be the Eggbeater, Candy and the Mallet Trail. However, the brand promises that with its 35mm cleat track, the Candy Laces will play ball with a wide range of pedals.

www.crankbrothers.com

Topeak Backloader X 10L saddle pack

£87

Topeak might be best known for its vast range of workshop and portable tools, pumps and a plethora of other goodies, including smaller saddle bags. The brand has also stepped into more serious bikepacking with the Backloader X 10L being an interesting addition.

The Backloader X 10L does things differently than other one-piece saddle packs because it employs a two-step construction and cradle that attaches to the bike. There's a waterproof roll-top bag that inserts and clips into the cradle, hence its Backloader moniker. For bikepackers who love big overnight adventures in the hills, this could be awesome for those who seek convenience and ease of use.

It's built mainly of Polyethylene with anti-slip PU leather, nylon and engineering-grade polymer and comes in 10L and 15L sizes. The waterproof bag is then equipped with an air-release purge valve. All of that weighs 575g and can carry up to 5kg of kit.

www.topeak.com

Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC-X

£70

Gravel racing is one of off-road cycling's hottest topics, especially with aero gaining quite the foothold I mentioned before. However, we're also seeing a host of almost slick tyres coming to the market to achieve one thing – speed. Pirelli says that the Cintuarto Gravel RC X is designed for gravel racing as well as what it calls 'extreme bikepacking'... We'll leave you to decide what that might be.

The Cintuarto Gravel RC X's tread pattern is the same as the Gravel RC's but its centre tread is minimal. However, as slick as the centre is, the shoulder knobs are more aggressive to provide solid cornering traction or so Pirelli promises. This tyre uses the brand's TechWALL X casing with a 60 TPI construction that extends past the tread line to boost protection.

The 40mm wide tyre weighs 560g and it's only available in 700c.

www.pirelli.com

Author block

Liam Mercer

Tech Editor here at off.road.cc Liam can also be found photographing bikes as well as revelling in cycling's intricacies. Whether it's gravel, mountain, or e-MTB as long as it's a bike on dirt, he's happy.