Five New Cycling Products Worth Watching: Race Bikes, Pedals and a Gravel Tire

Introduction

Five new products have arrived in the same window, and between them they cover a lot of ground: two carbon race bikes, two pedal systems and a gravel race tire. Each one answers a different question.

One is about getting aero race performance at a mid-range price. One is about whether a heritage European brand can push back to the front of the race bike conversation. Two are about power and pedalling, one aimed at gravel and mountain bikes and one aimed at the road. The last is about going fast on loose surfaces without giving up cornering grip.

Below is what each product is, what it claims, and who it makes the most sense for.

How We Assessed These Five Products

The two bikes are judged on the criteria a buyer would actually use: claimed frame weight, the kit fitted to the complete bike, how the cockpit is put together, tire clearance, and whether the frame follows current standards such as a UDH rear dropout. Frame weight claims matter, but a 40g difference between two versions of the same frame rarely decides a purchase on its own. The build spec and the price usually do.

For the pedals, the priorities shift. Price against the established alternatives, claimed power accuracy, whether the body and spindle can be repaired after a knock, and how the battery is charged and how long it lasts all matter more than looks. For the tire, tread design, tubeless setup, hookless compatibility and available widths are the things that decide whether it suits the roads and tracks you ride.

Van Rysel RCR: Aero Race Value From Lille

The Van Rysel RCR is the company’s flagship race bike, built around aero tube shapes developed with a university in Lille, where the brand is based. It was first shown at the Sea Otter Classic in California, and it has since become a familiar sight under a sponsored pro team with a long list of wins. One production batch sold out within minutes, which says plenty about demand.

This build is the standard RCR rather than the Pro model, paired with a SRAM Rival AXS groupset and retailing at £4,500 in the UK. That price includes a power meter, Zipp 303S carbon wheels, Michelin Power Cup tires and a complete finishing kit, including a Deda handlebar and stem.

The frame carries the same features and aero shapes as the Pro level. The main difference is the carbon fibre used in construction: the RCR Pro has a higher-grade layup with a claimed 790g frame weight, while this frame is claimed at 830g. A 40g gap is modest, although stiffness and ride response will differ between the two. On the scales, this build came in at 8kg without pedals, which is reasonable for a carbon race bike running a Rival groupset.

One detail that suits the target buyer is the conventional two-piece handlebar and stem, while the brake hoses still route under the stem and into the frame for a clean front end. Top-tier models get a one-piece carbon aero cockpit instead. A two-piece setup is simply easier to swap when you want a different stem length or bar width.

The RCR comes in white or blue, in a wide range of sizes, and stock is currently showing on the company’s website.

Ridley Falcon RS: A Belgian All-Rounder Returns

Ridley is a Belgian company with long heritage in racing. Roughly a decade ago its bikes were highly desirable, with the Noah aero model ahead of its time and the Helium SLX a genuinely light climbing bike. The brand has drifted out of the spotlight since, and the Falcon RS is its attempt to return.

The Falcon RS is pitched as a lightweight aero all-rounder, with the claim that it is as light as a Helium climbing bike and as aero as a Noah. The frame weight is 830g, which is not exceptional next to the lightest race frames but is par for the course among top-level carbon race bikes. The build tested here uses an Ultegra Di2 groupset, deep-section DT Swiss wheels and Vittoria Corsa tires, and it weighed 7.4kg on the scales. It retails at £8,200 in the UK, with a 105 Di2 version costing less.

The most distinctive feature is an aerodynamic diffuser where the fork crown blends into the frame, with a shaped kink intended to manage airflow from the fork into the frame. It is claimed to reduce drag by 10% compared with a regular fork at 50 km per hour. Whether that matters at the speeds most riders actually hold is the interesting question.

Other details stand out too. There is a UDH rear dropout, which keeps the frame ready for newer groupsets, and clearance for tires up to 34mm, wider than the 32mm typical of a race bike. That is not quite all-road territory, but it makes rough road surfaces far less of a compromise. Geometry figures put stack and reach in the same ballpark as a Tarmac SL8, perhaps slightly higher and slightly longer.

Favero MX-2: Power Meter Pedals Without the Pod

Favero is an Italian company whose road power meter pedals have earned a following for delivering affordable, reliable and consistent data, with the electronics housed in a pod that some riders find visually awkward. The new MX-2 is a gravel and mountain bike pedal with a key difference: there is no pod, because all the electronics sit inside the spindle and axle. It raises the obvious question of whether the same approach will reach a road pedal, and it would be no surprise if it did.

The pricing is the headline. The dual-sided MX-2 tested here retails at £600 or $760, while a single-sided option is £400 or $500. Against a Garmin Rally XC200 at around $1,200 or £1,000, that is a large gap. The pedals do not look like a budget product, though. They are made from aluminium with a solid, reassuringly weighty feel.

They are fully sealed against water ingress with an IP67 rating, and the cage, body and spindle can all be replaced if you damage one in a crash or catch a rock. That matters on gravel and mountain bikes, where a pedal is more likely to take a hit. They are not a disposable item.

The battery is built into the pedals and cannot be removed. Charging happens through a special USB port on the collar, and the claimed runtime is 60 hours, which is a few weeks of riding for most people. The port is micro USB rather than USB-C, although a cable is included. The pedals are Shimano SPD compatible, cleats come in the box, and any Shimano cleats you already own will work.

The power meter is claimed to be 1% accurate up to 3,000 watts, which is far beyond what most riders will produce. Alongside standard power data, the company’s own smartphone app offers cycling dynamics such as platform centre offset and power phase, which shows where in the pedal stroke you apply the most power, plus seated and out-of-saddle data. For riders using power to refine training and racing, that is useful detail.

Time XPR 12: Easier Clip-In With ICLICK

Time is a French pedal company that has been owned by SRAM for around three or four years. This year it announced a revamped road and mountain lineup at the Sea Otter Classic. The road range has five models, with the top model claimed to be among the lightest road pedals available and carrying a hefty price tag. The XPR 12 sits just below the SL and retails at £300, which still places it firmly in the premium end of the pedal market.

Time pedals were once a common sight in the professional peloton and among regular riders, before Shimano took a large share of that space. SRAM’s ownership and its sponsorship of several teams means more professional riders are using Time pedals again, which gives the brand a second run at wider popularity.

The defining feature is what Time calls ICLICK. A small lever holds the retention mechanism open, so when you push the cleat into the pedal there is no spring force to work against. The lever then drops and the mechanism snaps up to hold the cleat. In practice that should make clipping in easier than with Shimano and similar systems, which is likely to appeal to newer riders in particular.

Float is generous: up to 10 degrees of angular float and 2.5mm of lateral float, which should suit riders who like freedom of movement in the pedal stroke. Bike fitters will appreciate the three axle width options: 51mm narrow, 53mm regular and 57mm wider than standard.

Panaracer X1: A Fast Gravel Race Tire With Cornering Bite

Panaracer has quietly gone about a full revamp of its range, and the X1 is the first genuinely new gravel tire in a long time. The brand was an early adopter of gravel, alongside WTB, back when the Gravel King was effectively the default choice because there was so little else available. The market has changed dramatically since, with far more options, so the X1 has to earn its place.

The X1 is designed as a gravel race tire with speed as the priority. It looks aggressive at first glance because of the shoulder lugs, but the centre line is deliberately smooth to keep straight-line speed high, while the angular shoulder lugs provide grip where the surface turns loose and slippery. That combination should suit the muddy, slippery conditions common in the UK rather than the dry, dusty surfaces found across much of the United States. The open shoulder pattern should also shed mud well, and the fast centre section should roll nicely on the road sections between gravel.

There is a new bead design intended to make installation easier with just a track pump, and the tire is hookless compatible. The standard TLR version starts at £55 and comes in 35, 40 and 45mm, with 45mm offering more comfort without a meaningful penalty in weight or aerodynamics compared with 40mm. A Plus version adds extra puncture protection through more reinforcement material beneath the tread.

Buying Advice: Matching the Product to the Rider

If you want a complete aero race bike with a power meter and carbon wheels already fitted, the Van Rysel RCR at £4,500 is the value play here. The frame gives up 40g to the Pro version, but you still get the same aero shapes and a cockpit that is easier to adjust.

If you want a light aero all-rounder with wider tire clearance, a UDH dropout and the option of spending less on a 105 Di2 build, the Ridley Falcon RS is the one to look at, with the caveat that the Ultegra Di2 build is a £8,200 bike.

On the pedal side, the decision comes down to discipline and budget. Riders who want power on gravel and mountain bikes with SPD compatibility and a repairable body should look at the Favero MX-2, at £600 or $760 for dual-sided and £400 or $500 for single-sided. Road riders who value easy clip-in, generous float and a choice of axle widths should consider the Time XPR 12 at £300.

For gravel racing, the Panaracer X1 starts at £55 and comes in three widths, with the Plus version worth the extra if you ride terrain that punishes tires. Start with the width that matches your wheels and the surfaces you ride most, then decide whether you need the additional reinforcement.

Conclusion

None of these five products is a small variation on something already available. The RCR brings aero race performance to a mid-range price with a sensible cockpit. The Falcon RS is a serious attempt to return a heritage brand to relevance. The MX-2 puts accurate power measurement on SPD pedals without the pod. The XPR 12 revisits what makes clipping in easy. The X1 gives gravel racers a fast tire that still bites in the corners.

Each one makes sense when it matches a real riding need, and all five are worth watching as they reach more riders over the coming months.