McLaren's hyperbike, DT Swiss's new F 1900 wheels, the 10th anniversary of the Gravelking and GRVL's Team GB kit

This week's retrospective on all of the top tech news.

Liam Mercer

May 19 2024

We might not be going through quite the onslaught of tech releases that we were ahead of Sea Otter 2024 but that doesn't mean the cool launches aren't still happening. A case in point is McLaren's (yes, that McLaren) entry into the e-mountain bike market which is quite the move from the British supercar brand. It's been a big week for UK brands as GRVL has announced that it has been picked to design Team GB's kit for the UCI Gravel World Championships.

McLaren unveiled its 161Nm ''hyperbike'

Car and motorcycle brands have been dabbling in the mountain biking space for years now, with Honda and its famous gear-boxed RN-01 not to mention Ducati, MV Augusta, Gasgas and Porche, and we've even reviewed Yamaha's Moro 07. This week it was McLaren's turn to step up to the plate with its Extreme e-MTB.

In terms of specs, it looks right on the money too with 160mm of suspension at the front and 145mm at the rear while the bike runs a mullet wheel setup. However, the big story is that the Extreme 600 delivers 852W of peak power with a 161Nm torque rating. Spec-wise, potential buyers can expect shifting from SRAM's XX AXS Transmission and a pair of tyres from Pirelli's Scorpion range in a nod to tyres used in motorsport.

The McLaren Extreme doesn't stop there as its cockpit is sure to turn heads as it comes with a full dashboard, or centre console that displays all of the information you'll ever need on a screen that could probably be seen from space.

McLaren goes Extreme with the 161Nm e-bike, and here's the story.

The Panaracer Gravelking reached its 10th anniversary

The Gravelking from Panaracer is a staple gravel bike tyre. In this article, our friends over at road.cc walk you through the history of one of the most famous gravel tyres ever and how it came to be.

Even though the tyre has been around for a decade now, Panaracer is still evolving the tyre with a new range being launched only a few weeks ago. We've got a set of the brand-spanking-new Gravelking X1s in for testing, too, so keep your eyes peeled for that review coming soon.

The Panaracer Gravelking celebrates its 10th anniversary.

GRVL to design Team GB's gravel kit

GRVL, the brand behind the 3 Season Jacket and the collaboration with 1816 to create the L'Enfer du Nord, has been chosen to design Team GB's riding kit for the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium.

The design is specifically built up of rider data that will be taken from any of those who qualify for the World Champs at this weekend's The Gralloch gravel event. Each line on the jersey represents the age category that the rider is competing in. Each rider's line is identifiable through Morse code. Fancy stuff.

But the best bit is that jerseys and bibs can be bought in a limited run with orders ending in July.

It's all about performance as art meets science in GRVL's Team GB's UCI Gravel World Championship 2024 kit.

We've been cranking out the bike reviews

This week saw us publish not one but two bike reviews with the Scott Addict Gravel 10 kicking the week off. This bike is one racy machine and it was praised for its fast and exciting ride. That colour is certainly drool-worthy, too. Our Stu loved the bike for its nimbleness but also its sorted build kit that's sorted with a 2x chainset which boosts versatility and allows for road jaunts should you feel the need.

Second up is our review of the very latest Canyon Spectral CF 9 and it's scored a very respectable four and a half stars as we reckon it's the best trail bike you can buy for the money. However, the bike is much more than just a good value trail bike because it's complete with a ride that'll compliment a range of riding styles as well as some improvements over the previous iteration. Canyon's K.I.S system is rather interesting, too.

DT Swiss unveils its latest heavy-hitting wheelset

If you like to ride fast through the most technical terrain but don't want to spend loads on wheels, DT Swiss's new F 1900 Classic wheelset may well be your next wheelset. Priced at £500 for a wheelset with an XD freehub (Shimano's Microspine is cheaper) the F1900 is built to fend off pinch flats through its bead shape that's been sculpted to dissipate energy under impact.

These wheels come in all of the options you can think of apart from Centerlock rotor accommodation. There's DT Swiss's 18T Ratchet LN freehub on 370 hubs, too.

Six-bolt only, big-hitting mountain bike wheels unveiled by DT Swiss.

Ratio Technology introduced its answer to broken T-Type mech cages

Hailing from the Lake District, Ratio is renowned for creating alternative drivetrain technology that allows users to adapt their existing, usually SRAM, transmissions to suit their needs. And with the local riding being filled with rocks, the brand is a dab hand at wrecking mechs and specifically, SRAM's T-Type mechs.

To put an end to a T-Type's mech's tendency to peel its outer cage under impact, Ratio has designed its cage which the brand says is both stronger and lighter than the original cages. It boosts strength with more screws but the cage SR52T cage is shaped to deflect impacts, rather than get hung up on them. There's also a chamfered edge to aid the cause.

For a deeper look at Ratio's SR52T cage, here's the news.

Author block

Liam Mercer

Since beginning his mountain biking career while working as a resort photographer in Greece in 2014, Liam became a freelance contributor at off.road.cc in 2019. From there, he’s climbed the journalism job ladder from staff writer to deputy technical editor, now finding his place as technical editor.

Partial to the odd enduro race, heart rate-raising efforts on slim-tyred cross-country bikes, hell-for-leather e-MTB blasts or even casual gravel jaunts, there’s not a corner of off-road cycling where Liam fears to tread. With more than 40 bike reviews under his belt and hundreds more on MTB, e-MTB and gravel parts and accessories, Liam’s expertise continues to be cemented and respected by the industry.