Cycling Tech Roundup: Oakley Sub-Zero, Vitus Sommet 297 AMP, Michelin Power Cup and CeramicSpeed UFO Care

Introduction

This month’s crop of cycling tech covers a lot of ground. There is a pair of retro-rebooted sunglasses, a long-travel mullet mountain bike that has just arrived for long-term testing, a set of road tyres making a bold claim about rolling resistance, and a complete range of bearing care products for riders who have gone all in on ceramic bearings.

The thread connecting all of it is simple. Every item here targets a rider who has already decided to spend a bit more for a specific gain, whether that is lens coverage, suspension travel, rolling speed or bearing life.

How This Month’s Kit Was Selected

Not everything that lands on the desk is worth a full write-up, so the items below share a few traits. They either sit at the top of their category, introduce a genuinely different design idea, or make a claim that can be checked against real numbers, such as a measured weight or independent laboratory data.

Where a claim has not yet been verified on the trail or the road, that is stated plainly. Everything here will be tested properly over the coming months, and the long-term verdicts will follow separately.

Oakley Sub-Zero

Oakley has brought back the Sub-Zero, a frame that first appeared briefly in 1992 and looked futuristic even then. The reboot keeps much of the original design while updating the lens to the brand’s tried and tested Prizm optics. Unobtainium nose pads and ear socks are claimed to hold the fit secure without slipping once a ride gets sweaty.

The Sub-Zero is the first release in a new collection Oakley calls MUZM, and it sits in line with the brand’s other cycling sunglasses on price at 213 pounds or 268 dollars. Oakley has hinted that more retro re-releases will follow in the same collection, which makes this a reasonable place to start if you like the silhouette.

Oakley Re-Sub-Zero

A second MUZM release arrived only two weeks later. The Re-Sub-Zero takes the same starting idea and re-imagines it with a larger lens that provides greater coverage while softening the more aggressive angles of the original, so it looks less bug-like on the face.

Oakley built the frame around its physiomorphic geometry, said to allow a lens with extended wrap and rigidity for a mask-like fit. There is not much material to the Re-Sub-Zero, which helps keep the weight down, and the hinge uses the Oakley logo to connect the lens to the arms. Oakley does not position these explicitly as cycling glasses, describing them instead as being for anyone who moves and improves their life through sport and staying active. They cost 201 pounds or 246 dollars.

Vitus Sommet 297 AMP

The Sommet 297 AMP is a 170mm travel mullet bike, which means a larger front wheel paired with a smaller rear, and it comes in at 4,599 pounds and 99 pence. The frame mixes a carbon front triangle with an alloy rear triangle, and the geometry is modern for an enduro mountain bike, with a 64 degree head angle and a 443mm reach on the medium size.

There is decent chain slack protection and fairly burly down tube protection against rock strikes, and the metallic oxblood colourway with yellow detailing looks genuinely special in daylight. The build sheet is where the money goes: top-tier RockShox suspension, Nukeproof wheels, a SRAM drivetrain and four-piston brakes, plus carbon riser bars. Each of those parts is covered below.

RockShox ZEB Ultimate

Up front, the Sommet runs a 170mm RockShox ZEB Ultimate fork, matching the travel at the rear of the bike. Keeping front and rear travel in step helps the bike stay balanced and predictable when the trail gets steep and loose rather than pitching forward under braking.

A long-travel fork like this signals the intended use clearly. This is a build aimed at enduro riding and bike park laps rather than cross-country efficiency, and it is the kind of component that is usually specified once a rider has decided grip and composure matter more than low weight.

The fork is paired with the rear shock below, so together they define how the bike behaves over rough ground. Getting the setup right on both will matter more to the ride than any other single part of this build.

RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate

The rear of the Sommet is controlled by a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate shock, handling the 170mm of travel on offer. Coil and air options exist across this shock family, and the Ultimate tier is the version usually found on complete bikes at this price point.

Matching the rear shock to the fork is what gives a long-travel bike its composure. When the front and rear are working to the same travel figure and tune, the bike stays level through repeated hits instead of wallowing or spiking, which is exactly what a 170mm mullet machine is built to handle.

Nukeproof Horizon V2 Wheels

The Sommet rolls on Nukeproof Horizon V2 wheels shod with Maxxis tyres. Wheels are one of the first places a complete bike build is trimmed to meet a price, so a named wheelset here rather than an unbranded one is a meaningful part of the value.

For enduro riding, wheel durability matters as much as weight. Rims that hold up to repeated rock strikes and stay true after a season of hard riding will save far more money and frustration than a slightly lighter set that needs truing every few weeks.

SRAM X01 Eagle Drivetrain

The drivetrain is SRAM X01 Eagle, a step above the GX level that many riders settle at when upgrading. It is paired here with the brakes below, and together they make up some of the highest spec mechanical components on the market.

That combination raises an interesting question for anyone shopping in 2026. With electronic shifting continuing to gain popularity, is this the beginning of the end for high-end mechanical groupsets, or do riders still prefer the simplicity and repairability of cables? Either way, X01 Eagle remains a strong mechanical option at this tier.

SRAM Code RSC Brakes

Stopping power comes from SRAM Code RSC brakes, which use four pistons rather than the two found on most entry-level and mid-range setups. Four pistons spread the braking force across a wider pad area, which typically means more consistent power on long, steep descents.

The adjustability is a genuine highlight. Lever position can be set to suit hand size, and the bite point can be tuned as well, so the brakes can be set up to feel exactly how a rider wants them rather than being accepted as they arrive. For a heavy, fast enduro bike, that level of control is worth having.

Nukeproof Horizon V2 Carbon Riser Bars

The cockpit is finished with 780mm Nukeproof Horizon V2 carbon riser bars. Most riders who spend time on wide alloy bars run them at 800mm, so the 780mm width here is a slightly narrower starting point that still leaves room to trim further if needed.

Carbon bars are a reasonable choice on a build like this because they take some of the high-frequency buzz out of rough trails while staying stiff under hard cornering loads. The trade-off is that carbon is less forgiving of over-torqued stem bolts, so a torque wrench is essential when fitting them.

Michelin Power Cup Clincher Tyres

Michelin’s Power Cup road tyre range is claimed to be the French brand’s fastest yet. At launch in March, Michelin supplied test data from Wheel Energy, an independent tyre testing lab, showing marginally lower rolling resistance than key competitors including the Continental GP 5000 and the Schwalbe Pro One. That is a big claim, though Michelin has a strong track record of producing fast tyres.

The clincher version here has a folding bead and a completely slick tread. Claimed weight for a 700x28c tyre is 240 grams, and the samples arrived slightly lighter at 229 grams each. Products that come in at or under their claimed weight suggest a brand is not exaggerating, which is always encouraging. Tubeless and tan wall versions are also available in the range.

For riders chasing speed on smooth tarmac, this is a straightforward upgrade path. The comparison against the current crop of leading road tyres will be the real test, and that verdict will follow once the miles are in.

CeramicSpeed UFO All Round Grease

CeramicSpeed has released a new range of greases and cleaners for its UFO line, designed specifically for high performance bicycle bearings. The All Round grease is a low to medium viscosity lubricant positioned as a compromise between friction influence and lifetime.

CeramicSpeed recommends it for primarily dry and sunny weather, where little or no contamination threatens the bearings. That makes it the sensible default for a road bike ridden in good conditions, and it costs 15 euros for a 30 millilitre tube.

CeramicSpeed UFO Long Life Grease

Where the All Round is a compromise, the UFO Long Life grease is built for protection first. CeramicSpeed says it delivers the best protection and the longest bearing lifetime even in the harshest riding conditions, which is exactly what riders in wet or gritty environments need.

The trade-off is a slightly higher amount of bearing friction, so this is not the option for anyone counting watts on race day. It costs 25 euros for a 30 millilitre tube, and for a winter bike or a gravel bike that sees mud and grit, that is the version worth choosing.

CeramicSpeed UFO Race Day Grease

The UFO Race Day grease does exactly what its name suggests and prioritises the lowest possible friction. CeramicSpeed recommends it only for short time trials or track events, where every small saving adds up over a short, controlled effort.

There is a catch worth understanding before buying. Re-lubrication will be required more frequently when using this grease, so it is a race-only product rather than a set-and-forget option. It is the most expensive of the three at 30 euros for a 30 millilitre tube, and it only makes sense if you are actually racing.

CeramicSpeed UFO Clean Bearings

The fourth item in the range is UFO Clean Bearings, a non-toxic and biodegradable bearing cleaner. A small amount is applied to a bearing using the included pipette, breaking down the old grease so it can be flushed out with compressed air.

Once the bearing is visually clean and completely dry, fresh grease can be applied. A 100 millilitre bottle costs 25 euros, and it rounds out the range nicely, because cleaning bearings properly before re-greasing is what makes the new grease last.

Compared with a large tub of multi-purpose grease, this is expensive. The argument for it is straightforward though: if you have invested in ceramic bearings, using the correct cleaner and the correct grease is what protects that investment.

Buying Advice

The right purchase depends entirely on what you are trying to solve. Riders chasing speed on tarmac will get the most from the Michelin Power Cup clinchers, while anyone riding rough, steep trails should look at the Sommet build and its component list as a whole rather than picking one part in isolation.

The sunglasses are the easiest decision. If you want the more dramatic original shape, the Sub-Zero delivers it, while the Re-Sub-Zero suits riders who want broader coverage and a calmer look. Both carry a premium price, so try them on if you can.

The CeramicSpeed range rewards planning rather than impulse. All Round for dry conditions, Long Life for wet and gritty riding, Race Day for short competitive efforts, and Clean Bearings whenever a service is due. Buying the correct grease for your conditions matters more than buying the most expensive one.

Conclusion

There is a clear theme across this month’s kit. Each item asks the rider to commit to a specific priority, whether that is lens coverage, travel, rolling speed or bearing longevity, and each one rewards that commitment with something meaningful.

If you only take one thing away, let it be this: match the product to the riding you actually do. The rest tends to look after itself. Full long-term reviews of the mountain bike and the road tyres will follow once the miles have been logged.