The cylindrical bike basket system that’s set to “revolutionise urban cycling”, Enve’s £1,300 handlebar/stem, super-light wheels from Fulcrum plus loads of new tech from Pinarello, Fizik, Classified, Ritchey + more

This edition of Tech of the Week is filled with wholesome goodness, including the most expensive handlebar/stem you’ve ever seen, super-light Fulcrum wheels, and a smart ring that promises to turn you into an “unstoppable” athlete, but we’re starting with a basket that’s going to “revolutionise urban cycling”. Allegedly.

Check out the round basket that’s set to “revolutionise urban cycling”

We know what you’re thinking: it looks like a barrel that has been stuck on its side and had some of the wall cut away. But the Tondoh is a “trendy, safe, and comfortable bike basket” that is set to “revolutionise urban cycling”. That's what its Italian inventors say, although we're not so sure.

Tondoh is different from most other baskets out there in that it’s cylindrical, and its “style” is one of its main USPs, according to the team behind it

“Its modern and eye-catching design will make you stand out on your bike,” they say. 

Well, yeah, but in a good way? That’s up for debate.

Tondoh is made from ABS polymer, the same as, for example, Lego bricks – and anyone who’s ever trodden on a piece of Lego knows how hard that stuff can be. You also get reflective bands to help get you seen at night, and a 28-litre capacity. The inventors recommend loads not exceeding 15kg, although that will depend on your rack.

What about rain? You can buy a cover kit – available separately – that’s held in place by magnets. If any rain does get inside, there are drainage channels to guide it out again, so you’re not going to end up with a 28-litre tank of water sloshing around in front of you.

The Tondoh basket is 40cm long and 33cm in diameter, and has a flat base that allows it “to be mounted on almost any bike rack both front and rear”, secured with metal brackets that come as part of the package. 

“Thanks to its design, Tondoh significantly reduces the possibility of others seeing what’s inside, allowing you to transport valuable items without anyone noticing,” says the team.

Okay. There are plenty of other ways of doing that, but fine. A single Tondoh will set you back $55 (about £48) if you pledge via Kickstarter, assuming the project achieves its funding target (rewards are not guaranteed, so it’s not the same as buying through a retailer).

What do you reckon? Is Tondoh the next big thing, or will you be giving it a hard swerve?

Find out more here 

Are you sitting down? The price of Enve’s new SES AR One-Piece handlebar will stun you

Enve has made its AR [All-Road] One-Piece Handlebar available aftermarket – you could previously get it only on the brand’s Custom Road bike and through some custom builders – but you might want to sit down before you hear the price. There's no easy way to say this: it's £1,300. Wow! What do you get for your money?

“The SES AR One-Piece Handlebar delivers the innovative shape and performance of our most popular handlebar in a lightweight one-piece version,” says Enve. “The US-made bar features compound-flared drops [18°], ergo shaping, aero profile, and IN-Route System integration.”

IN-Route is Enve’s internal routing system where your wires/cables and brake hoses through the bar/stem, down the front of the steerer-tube, and then into the fork and frame.

The AR One-Piece Handlebar is guaranteed to be compatible only with Enve's frames and those of custom builders using the IN-Route design. It says it “will be expanding this concept to ensure Enve components can be seamlessly integrated with the most popular frame models on the road”.

The bar is available in widths from 38cm to 46cm and stem lengths from 90mm to 130mm. The claimed weight is 330-360g, depending on the size.

Enve’s aero-optimised SES Pro Team One-Piece Handlebar which was designed for Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates will be released later in the year. There’s no word on the price of that one yet. Probably just as well.

Find out more here 

Ornot's Micro Musette is mighty tiny

American cycling apparel brand Ornot has shared with us some info about its 'Micro Musette' which at first glance looks like one of those miniature mix-ups where you order a super cheap product from eBay and end up getting a miniature version. But this isn't a con at all – let's make that really clear – Ornot says it's the world's smallest bike bag.

Made from recycled lightweight ripstop, this 35g creation has an integrated stash pocket from upcycled fabric, a secure snap-secured flap, and a pleated base, and expands as needed – it's like an Undetectable Extension Charm-treated musette. The retail price is $38 (about £30). 

Find out more here

Fulcrum introduces Speed 25+ as its “lightest-ever low-profile wheelset for disc brakes”

Fulcrum has introduced a new wheelset which it says is the lightest low-profile option for disc brakes it has ever produced. The Speed 25+ is designed “both for steep alpine climbs and for long distances” and has a claimed weight of 1,270g.

The hooked rim is 26mm deep and 21mm wide (internal). The undrilled rim bed makes tubeless setup straightforward.

Fulcrum uses its CULT (Ceramic Ultimate Level Technology) ceramic bearings in a cup and cone system. 

“The freewheel body is completely new,” says Fulcrum. “With the Speed 25+, we have introduced a new lighter version that allows us to further reduce the friction at play by using USB-type ceramic bearings inside the body.”

The new lighter body is available in the XDR, N3W and HG versions with wheelset prices starting at £2,299.

Find out more here 

Is this really “the ultimate smart cycling helmet”?

Another week, another bike helmet with indicators looking for funding on Kickstarter. This is an idea that has been around for donkey’s years. We reported on the Lumos helmet with indicators and a brake light way back in 2015, for example, and big brands like Giro offer lids with similar functions these days. 

> Do we need indicators on bike helmets? Giro launches Ethos Mips helmets with integrated LED lights 

Ah, but the Linked Safe LS01 helmet is different. This is a “revolutionary smart cycling helmet”, apparently, and it is “the epitome of both style and safety”. 

You get your indicators – which you can control by a remote unit that sits on your handlebar, or a helmet button – and you also get a three-level front headlight with a couple of flash modes, and a rear safety warning light.

On top of that, the Linked Safe helmet comes with an integrated Bluetooth speaker and microphone. The idea is that you can play music and take calls as you ride. We’ve reviewed helmets with Bluetooth connectivity in the past, including the Livall Bling BH60SE which is still available.

The Linked Safe LS01 weighs a claimed 330g, and the rechargeable battery has a runtime of about nine hours.

It has already smashed its funding target. If you want to be in line to get one, you need to pledge at least $139 (about £102). As we always point out, pledging money via Kickstarter isn’t the same as buying a product through a retailer. 

Find out more here 

Ritchey's new Cabrillo saddle promises 'remarkable comfort and durability' 

Every bike needs a saddle and Ritchey’s newest saddle offering, the Cabrillo, is made primarily for gravel grinders and roadies. It features a shorter nose than usual, a wider body, and a flatter shape. As with loads of modern saddles, you also get a pressure relief channel in the middle. 

> Best road bike saddles 2024 — here are the top bike seat picks for every budget

Saddle comfort is somewhat personal, but Ritchey boasts to have used its "revolutionary patented Vector Wing technology" to eliminate hot spots.

The saddle is shaped so that the cover is attached to the base without the use of glue, stitching or staples. Whether it really matters what your saddle looks like, the tech is said to add to its durability. 

There are two options of the Cabrillo available, the WCS with stainless steel rails being the more expensive at £87.90. The Comp, with CrMo rails and less premium materials used throughout, is £52.90.

Find out more here

Classified launches wider carbon wheels for road and gravel

If you’re considering making the leap to a Classified PowerShift hub gear system – which, in short, avoids the need for a front derailleur – the Belgian brand has updated its lineup of wheelsets that work exclusively with it.

> Read our review of the Classified Powershift Kit & Wheelset 

“Our lightest option, the R36, is made for climbing but can also handle the rough roads and cobbles of the spring classics,” says Classified.

“Completing our road lineup, the R50 is the perfect all-rounder, focusing on aerodynamic stability to keep the rider safe in side winds. Following the trend towards wider tyres, this wheel is aero-optimised and fastest with 30mm tyres.”

Both the R36 and the R50 have an inner rim width of 22.5mm that's designed to support tyres up to 42mm wide. 

Classified says, “Aero testing performed at GST wind tunnel in southern Germany proved that Classified Cycling's R50 outperforms market-leading wheelsets from major brands.”

Intriguing, huh? Unfortunately, Classified doesn't name those competitors.

The G42 is designed for gravel. Classified claims a wheelset weight of 1,350g, including the front hub but excluding the PowerShift rear hub, and says this is “one of the most aerodynamic options in the category”.

As with the road wheels, the number in the model name refers to the rim depth in millimetres, and all the rims are hooked. The G42 has an inner rim width of 25mm and is intended for tyres up to 55mm wide.

Each wheelset is priced at €1,500 – around £1,285.

Find out more here 

Will the new Amazfit Helio smart ring make you an 'unstoppable' athlete?

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them... and one Amazfit ring to make you perform at your best and be 'unstoppable'. Maybe.

This just-announced smart ring is designed to help you hit your "optimum athletic performance".

"Whereas most smart rings are primarily considered sleep trackers for general lifestyle users, the Amazfit Helio Ring is designed to support athletes who seek the ultimate in recovery monitoring, analysis and guidance," says Amazfit.

It tracks many of the same things as a sports watch does: for example, training load, but also your mental state. How does it do that? It monitors your "skin and sweat responses, particularly the sweat coming from your hands, to help you understand when you may be experiencing high levels of mental stress."

That does sound quite handy – unless, perhaps, you are a heavy sweater. You also get various workout modes, including one for cycling, and a Readiness score which is designed to tell you whether you should focus on activity or recovery. 

The ring's data is provided by Zepp Aura – which is a similar software service to what you can find on many Garmin devices, though some say it's less polished. Amazfit is owned by Zepp Health, a larger Chinese parent company for smart wearables. At the moment, there is no definite launch date available for the Helio, so we'll have to wait to see what the pricing is like. 

Find out more here

Pinarello offers F Series in a bunch of new colours

Italy’s Pinarello has unveiled new colours across its high-performance F Series range of bikes. Let’s be honest, most of them are pretty similar to what has gone before.

The Fastest Green option for the F9 looks pretty cool, though.

The same goes for the Furious White version of the F5. 

Find out more here 

Pas Normal Studios and Fizik introduce latest Ferox Carbon gravel shoe 

Speaking of new colours – it's that time of year – the Danish cycling kit brand known as PNS to its pals and Fizik, one of the many Italian cycling shoe and saddle brands, have revealed their latest Ferox Carbon shoe collab.

You might remember those super-sleek cream-coloured kicks that were doing the rounds back in September. If you thought back then, "Oh, I could not possibly have light-coloured shoes for gravel," well, you're now in luck because the very same shoes are available in dark grey with black, white and navy detailing.

> Best cycling shoes 2024 — a complete guide to bike-specific footwear

Apart from the colour, the shoe is exactly the same, with quite a stiff two-bolt off-road sole, Powerstrap and Boa closure, and the very same £290 price tag. 

Find out more here

road.cc Recommends Bike of the Year to be revealed on Tuesday

You've probably seen that we've been running our annual road.cc Recommends awards over the past couple of weeks. We're getting to the pointy end now. We'll be revealing the best road bikes this coming Monday (22nd January 2024), with the overall bikes top-10 following on Tuesday, so stay tuned.

Find out more here 

In case you missed it earlier in the week…

• Best road bikes under £2000 2024 — affordable bikes for road cycling and beyond that combine performance and value 
• Has the move to full internal cable routing on road bikes been worth it? We asked some experts to weigh in on cycling's cable-tidy revolution 
• Skarper hooks up with Red Bull F1 team to get disc brake e-bike conversion kit to market 
• road.cc Recommends Bikes of the Year 2023/24: check out the best gravel and adventure bikes 
• Fancy this one-of-a-kind Colnago C68? Price: unknown! 
• road.cc Recommends Bikes of the Year 2023/24: the best superbikes
• Eddy Merckx Bikes makes a comeback with 'Retrosonic' Limited Edition road bike, plus more road and gravel models with option to choose frame material 
• Unveiling the ultimate cycling bargains: check out the road.cc Recommends Bargain Buys of the Year 2023/24