10 tech highlights from Eurobike 2023

We’ve taken the weekend to absorb the currywurst and pretzels in our bloodstreams and to take stock of the many (many) road cycling things we saw at Eurobike, which ran in Frankfurt, Germany, 21-25 June. Although it did seem to favour the e-bike and off-road markets, road cycling was still well-represented and a fair few brands made Eurobike their place of choice to launch new products. Here are some of the best bits we saw.

Continental Tyres

Contintental has slowly been working towards becoming more sustainable, using ‘responsibly sourced rubber’ in more and more of their tyres. Their aim by 2030 is to become the most environmentally friendly tyre company, but for now they’ve just launched their Pure Contact urban tyre which has a new formula. A few materials have been swapped out, and now there are things like ash of rice husks.

Campagnolo

Sure, it’s not new new but for some of us at least it was the first time seeing the new Campagnolo Super Record Wireless groupset.

> Campagnolo ditches iconic thumb shifter and goes wireless with new Super Record Wireless electronic groupset... and it'll cost you £4.5k

As a self-confessed Campag fan, it is as beautiful as I’d expected, although the loss of the thumb shifters will be felt long after any technology is trickled down into more affordable groupsets.

Challenge

Tyre company Challenge announced that road riders can look forward to a new size in their Criterium RS tyre, so if you like to run wider fitments and your bike can handle it, look out for the release of a 30mm later this year.

Thule

The trouble with sending the owner of a hyper border collie to Eurobike is that when Thule announce a new dog carrier, the rest of their presentation goes out the window. It is, however, an interesting move from the brand which said customers can expect even more dog-related products over the next 18 months. My willing pup and I look forward to all the new whacky ways I can get her from A to B without using a car.

Bookman Urban Visibility

Bookman Urban Visibility showed off their range of lights and visibility equipment for cyclists. The front lights are mounted via Garmin mounts – but there are attachments so you can still use your Garmin while riding.

They use a dial on the side of the light to turn the brightness up and down, and are available in 800 or 1,500 lumen options.

They’ve also got a selection of hi-visibility vests and arm or leg bands which they’re aiming at urban riders.

They’ll be available from September, although you may have to order direct rather than through a distributor.

Hutchinson

Hutchinson hinted that there’s a top-secret tyre update coming later this year. The embargo gods will frown upon us if we say anything else, but we can say it’s road-related and we think it will be well received.

Factor

We can’t give you any details but Factor had their new road bike partially on display and from the silhouette (and a brief look inside the box at either end), it looks fast. We’ll have to wait until the 10th July to learn more, but until then we can collectively guess what Landfall means.

Camelbak

As well as moving into the gravel and bikepacking market with some new bags, Camelbak presented their newest Podium bottles at Eurobike.

They’ve designed them in titanium or steel options, and are aiming at more lifestyle riders. As you obviously can’t squeeze Ti or steel bidons, Camelbak has handily included a straw.

li:on Bikes

Once you get past the fact these bikes are being launched by two former professionals (Marcel Kittel and Tony Martin), they do look quite sci-fi with the integrated lights and glowing paint.

They’re also made using what li:on describes as “a high-performance polymer with recycled carbon fibres”. You can read more about the launch of these bikes here.

Elastic Interface

The people most well-known for making chamois pads have completed their range of products for contact points on the bike with new insoles. They’re called Insoletech and come in three models: WATT D200, which is for high-performance cyclists, WATT D120 for amateur riders who want a multi-density insole with breathability, and the COMFORT D80 which is, as the name suggests, for comfort-focussed riders. Each sole is machine washable and “fully adapts to the foot”.