- Welcome to the GCN Tech Show.
- This week we've got a
new bike from Battaglin
we've got a Bluetooth smart
pump, we've got your bikes
your upgrades and of
course, the bike vault.
- And we've also got a
certain aluminum that
you couldn't weld, but now you can.
- Yeah, that's going to
open up the doors I think
for lots of manufacturing
techniques to be made
a lot easier, eh?
(upbeat music)
Right, first up then, Battaglin
have released a new bike.
The Officina Battaglin Portofino.
I don't know if I pronounced
that correctly or not.
- Yeah it's a bike that
they've gone for the
oversized steel tubes, with
the oversized custom steel lugs
that actually Battaglin
were the first to develop.
They've gone for that
Columbus spirit steel look,
which actually those lugs help
with the ride feel as well.
Which I think, yeah, looks pretty cool.
- Yeah, and while we're there
actually about the looks,
what do you remember
about the colors of them?
- Well it's gone for that
mocha brown, hasn't it?
Which, I think looks pretty classy,
I don't know what you think.
- Yeah, I mean, when I
saw the description of it
saying mocha brown and amber I thought,
if I was offered that I could probably say
thank you very much, but,
well, not too keen on the color
but, now I've seen it in the flesh,
it looks fantastic, doesn't it?
- Yeah, it looks very
classy I have to say.
- Yeah, I'd say yes to one of those.
And interestingly, if you are
in the market of buying one,
you're actually invited along
to meet Giovanni Battaglin
and discuss the requirements
that you want from that bike
so, a little bit about the intended usage,
as well as, obviously, to fit
your exact body shape and type.
- So is this a Rolls
Royce of cycling, John?
- I guess so, yeah. You're
gonna be treated like a VIP.
- Yes, you certainly will.
- Might sign up for it, the
whole white glove treatment.
Materials that you would like
to see bikes, either being
built from, or possibly built from.
- Yeah, so we sent Opie out on
the case to do some research
and he came out with this.
Look at those exquisite lines.
- No, no, no honestly we gave
Chris one task didn't we?
- [James] We did.
- And he came back with that.
What we're thinking more likely is
along the lines of, well, materials that
can't be joined or
connected to one another,
because it's simply not possible.
- Yes and that did get us thinking
and, well, we found this.
The latest discovery
of the AA7075 aluminum,
which wasn't able to be welded
is now able to be welded.
- Yeah, and this is super interesting
because that stuff is a
third lighter than steel,
and, well, it's been
around since the 1940's
and used in the air and nautical industry
and things like that.
I got to speak to the professor
so let's have a listen
to what he's got to say
about his latest discovery.
- You know, recently, well for
probably the last ten years, say,
all the focus seems to be on
carbon fiber manufacturing
but there's still a
load of people out there
who absolutely love aluminum.
- Yes I can see that because
aluminum metal can tough.
I would say carbon fiber's
great, but it do have a weakness,
the sheer, we're talking
about sheer strength,
when you touch your heavy
frame you touch it on the side
it could fracture, and once you fracture
you cannot repair anymore.
And metals are different.
Metals have toughness, and
metals also have flexibility
and then can repair.
We can repair that where
we have some damage.
So that's the metal one,
I'm not saying metal will
completely eliminate carbon
it will not.
But the metal will fill the gap
between the carbon fiber
and the low end aluminum.
And also, I personally
think 775 or 750 aluminum
will rule over direct
competition to the carbon fibers.
Because we could have a similar weight
and even better performance.
You got a lot of cases.
This is 21st century, I
see a big wave coming.
- Whoa, now we're talking.
Titanium carbide nano particles and
it's very exciting actually
to see these new techniques
being used finally with
materials that have been around
for donkey's years, and
available to us cyclists.
And, well, we're gonna
get lighter and lighter
at the same time.
- Yeah and it opens up the
door for a whole new world
of bikes and components
being built out of this alloy
which was previously a dream.
- Yeah are we on the edge, then, of a new
era of bike frame development?
- I know.
- What would you like to
see a bike built from?
- Well I'd like to see more
3D printed bikes made out of
just really incredible materials I guess.
- Yeah exotic stuff.
I wanna go actually visit a
3D printing company soon to
investigate exactly how they do it
and why, I mean, why magnesium bikes?
They were made back in the 80's.
Kirk precision, didn't last very long.
Literally, the company
or the bikes as well.
Kelp, as well?
I think it has something to do
with seaweed doesn't it?
- Yeah that's definitely seaweed.
- Yeah.
- Ecobricks?
You can make a bike
out of like an Ecobrick
with all your excess rubbish.
- I don't know.
Anyway, let us know, though,
what would you like to
see bikes being built from
in the future, because
we're gonna have some
absolute experts out
there, in seriousness,
I've heard about this,
aluminum called tetrahedral
aluminum, super cool,
and it has hollow tubes
running through it, in the
sheets, so that makes it
a really strong structure,
and importantly,
very lightweight too.
But, I've been pestering
these big companies like Boeing and Airbus
to go and visit, and,
well, they won't let me in
through the doors, in
fact they deny using it.
But I have been told by
a very reliable source--
- They know you too well.
- Yeah, exactly, yeah,
these grubby little hands.
I have been told by a
very, very reliable source
that they do use it,
but if you're involved
with tetrahedral aluminum, let me know
because I wanna come and visit.
I'll bring him as well.
- Of course.
- Come along for the ride.
- Yeah, 100%.
Right we have received a tipoff
about a new pump from SILCA
this week, the VIAGGIO, which
is a, well, a smart pump
because it's got a Bluetooth gauge in it,
detachable handles,
folding feet, and it even
comes in a wax-coated canvas bag
so it's the ideal stow away
on your training camp holidays, I guess.
- Sounds good.
And on that Bluetooth pressure gauge
is accurate to 0.5 psi,
making it an incredibly
precise tool for taking around with you,
making sure your pressure
is absolutely perfect.
- Yeah.
It does look good, doesn't it?
- I think it looks really good.
It's sleek and as pumps go, I
think that's pretty beautiful.
- Yeah, it's weird really.
I get a bit obsessive about pumps.
I've got a SILCA track pump at home,
probably had it for
over 30 years I reckon.
- I've used it.
- Yeah, with the leather washers, yeah,
I think he ruined it.
But also I think SILCA
are one of the oldest
pump manufacturers if not
the oldest in the world.
I mean they're coming
out with modern things
like this as well.
On a final note, then,
regarding tech, we had this sent in
from one of our viewers and well,
it's a pretty cool carbon cup, isn't it?
Maybe taking inspiration
from our mate Hailsey
who I went up to see
recently in his carbon antics
that he gets up to.
- Yeah, fascinating video
that, and I love seeing
all that stuff that's been
random, everyday things
being made out of materials that
have been once used in cycling.
And what have you guys been up to
over the years, have you made
some loo roll holders, or
coat hangers, or necklaces,
or even earrings.
- Yeah.
I remember once seeing actually
a lady who had a couple of chain links
- Don't.
John, I'm gonna stop you there.
- And I nearly went out
to get my ears pierced.
- No.
Just don't get any ideas, mate.
- Alright no problem.
But we don't want to see
you hack some bodgers do we?
- No.
- We don't have room for that on here.
- No.
- Instead, we wanna see
these really cool things
which you've made because, well,
I think our friend there
with the carbon cupholder
has not even touched the surface.
- No.
And do get in touch because
we yeah, we would be
really excited to see what
you guys come up with.
- Yeah.
Use that uploader tool; get involved.
More tech next week.
It's now time for Screw Riding Upgrades.
- Buy upgrades.
- The part of the show where
you submit before and after
photos of anything cycling related,
basically where you've
spent some money on it.
Whether or not it's an
upgraded pair of wheels, frame,
you name it, you've submitted it.
And submit it using the
uploader tool down below.
But before we go into
this week's nominations,
we need to announce last week's winner.
And it was, who was it?
- Last week was won by Thomas.
- Oh Thomas, get in touch with us on
Facebook to arrange delivery of the
cake crumb, as Ollie calls it.
We've actually sold out
in the shop, haven't we?
- Yeah we have, yep, all sold out.
Couldn't find any of them around.
- Yeah, but don't worry,
you won't be forgotten.
As soon as they come back
in stock we will send
one off to you.
According to Mr. Opie,
Mr. Bridgewood has got 27 of them at home.
Dunno what he's doing with that.
Other than making porridge.
Right.
- Does he think he's a
superhero or something?
- He must be with all those capes.
Caped crusader.
Anyway, James, start us off
then, who've we got this week?
- This week we've got
Andrew from Tasmania.
- Oh, lovely place, I've
never been actually.
- Nor have I.
- Yeah?
- About two years ago
Andrew purchased their first
real road bike.
The Avanti Giro AR 1 all-road gravel bike.
Fast forward twelve months to
one fateful day when Andrew was
testing the limits of the
AR 1's offroad capability
riding downhill in a neighbor's paddock.
Long story short, Andrew
hit a wrought iron fence
head-on, at speed.
- Speed.
- Flipping a full forward somersault into
a patch of blackberries.
- Blackberries!
- Yeah.
A damaged ego was the main injury but
unfortunately most of the bike was ruined
and busted wheels, torn saddle shifters,
bent stereotroup, meant
the Avanti was unrideable.
- Unrideable.
- Andrew started to save
money in his piggy bank.
And got new components, including,
some fancy fulcrum wheels
and then repainted the frame
and gave it some color
to match the wheels.
It turned out exactly
like Andrew had hoped,
rides like a dream, and he's more in love
with the bike than ever.
- There it is before, look
before he went into that
wrought iron fence and the
blackberries, there it is,
- [James and John] Oh!
Look at that!
- Andrew!
You naughty boy!
Look at those green cables as well!
- I think that looks good doesn't it?
I love that kind of gun-metal gray.
- Yeah?
- With that popping fluoro-green.
- Yeah.
- Andrew, that's a very nice bike.
- Fair play to you there, sunshine.
Nice one.
I hope you've recovered.
But Andrew, well, he's not gonna have it
all his own way this week.
- No, it's all not that easy.
- Because he's up against
Tanner, from Dallas in Texas.
Lovely place.
This specialized, it was Tanner's first
road bike that he bought
in college for $800.
- It came equipped with
Shimano 105, which was
upgraded over time with
hand-me-down parts from his
- [John and Jason] Brother.
- It's pictured though with
small tape or scraps on it.
In 2018, Tanner decided to
do a complete rebuild of
this bike, that wasn't worth much more
- [John and James] Than $100 to anyone.
- Many many months later,
and more dollars than
Tanner cares to admit,
he has this updated dream bike.
Custom mother of pearl paint job,
Hunt carbon wheels, envy fork.
- Oh!
- A SRAM one by group set,
Zipp carbon bike stammer bars,
Vittoria Corsa G Plus tan side walls.
- Oh!
- Arendor carbon bottle
cages, apparently the bike
rides like a superbike, and
he's going to keep it
- [John and James] Forever.
- Right then, Tanner,
that's his bike before then.
- Look at that.
Nice lookin' bike.
- Nice looking bike.
- But that one, my boy.
- Woo!
- It's like pearly!
- Yeah, custom mother-of pearl paint work.
- Oh, that is eye-wateringly beautiful.
- Yeah.
- Look at it.
- Yeah, the background
isn't quite as nice is it?
I mean that's being shot
in the corner of a room.
- No, that could've been better.
- Yeah.
- But then, he's even,
kind of connected the hunt
and the logos on the tires,
You know?
- Yeah.
- He's had some thoughts
about it, isn't he?
- Nice tires.
- He's put it in the big ring
and halfway down the block.
Now I like that, mate.
- Yeah, anyway, Andrew from
Australia or Tanner from Texas?
- I know who I'm going for.
- And I think I know who
I'm going to go for as well.
But it's not about us, is it?
Where are they going to vote, James?
- Top left-hand corner.
- Top right-hand corner.
Left for us, though, isn't it?
- Yeah, left for us.
- So if we press there we can vote.
There we are.
Next week, we will announce,
and of course you'll be getting
a cake crumb, whoever wins.
It's now time for the Bike Vault,
where we rate your bike either nice,
- Or super nice.
- Yeah, and what happens then, James,
if someone gets a super-nice?
- Well I get to ring the bell, John.
(bell rings)
Whoo!
- The town crier as I
call him in the office
because he's got a
beaming voice, he's always
laughing at something, I don't know what.
- O-hay, o-hay, o-hay.
- Something like that, yeah.
So if you want to submit
your bike into the bike vault
for the chance of, well,
getting stamped super-nice,
how do they do it?
- Well they go to the uploader
tool, and the description
all the details are in
the description below.
- Yeah, simple as can be.
- Yeah.
- Right, let's crack on.
The first one in this week
is Kashif from their terrace.
Now, Kashif, last week I
did say, please do give
a detailed description
of where you're from.
The terrace, not quite what
I was getting at there,
buddy but nice effort.
Anyway this is Kashif's Fuji Sportif 2.3
it's got a Claris Groupset on it,
52-39 chain rings, 11 32%.
- [James] Nice!
- [John] Yeah, nicer than
you can buy, isn't it?
- [James] Very simplistic.
So you've got all black,
I like that, yeah, black kinda guy.
And then you've got the
white decals of Fuji.
Yeah, I think that looks pretty cool.
- [John] Yeah it's a nice looking bike.
- I personally am not
gonna give it a super-nice.
- I think you could've done more
with the background than that.
- Yeah, I think the background means a lot
'cause it makes the bike pop.
- Yeah, and in the moment it's just not
popping enough for us.
- [James] It's just...Yeah,
I think I'm like you, John,
it's just not...Yeah.
- [John] Yeah, yeah.
Nice bike, nice bike, Kashif.
Right, who's up next then?
- I've got Matthew Lux from San Diego
in that lovely part of California.
- Oh, yes.
- The Serotta Au Trot.
- [John] Oh, I can like that.
- It's very big.
I definitely wouldn't get my
leg over that, that's for sure.
- No that is a, I would hope so too.
- That's a carbon custom stem up there.
- [John] Yeah?
Looks like an AX lightness, or something?
Or a THM, possibly?
- [James] He's got ceramic
oversized jockey wheels.
- [John] Yeah.
- [James] He's got a red
chain to match the Serranto's
big jump wheels.
- [John] It's a THMC, isn't it?
- And he's also linked up the valves with
that red so throughout, so
he's got a red decal going on
which is quite cool, I quite like that and
he's also got that on his bottle.
- Quick really skewer, on
the wrong side though on the
front wheel it looks like,
doesn't it, the lever?
- It is, yeah.
- It think is, yeah, oh dear.
- But he's got nice cranks as well.
- Yeah.
- Like leaky carbon.
- I can't quite...I've not
my contacts nor my glasses.
- He's got amazing, nice group set.
- Yeah.
But, I don't know. I like it, but
I don't know if it's super-nice, really.
- [James] Yeah, I mean it's
got some amazing kits on it.
- [John] Yeah, there's
an amazing kit on it but
I feel like if it was
taken not quite so uphill
maybe, something more to it.
I don't know!
I'm torn.
Personally, I think it's a nice bike.
- I'll go with you on that John.
Nice bike.
But thank you for sending it
in, 'cause that's actually--
- It's a great-looking bike.
- Yeah, it is.
- Next up is Louisianne
from Cambrai in France,
a Wilier Triestina Izoard XP,
floral take a group set
Zipp 454 wheels, Ritchey carbon
seat post, it looks like,
it looks like lizard-skin
bar tape as well, isn't it?
- [James] Yeah, another
black-and-red-esque look about it.
I'm not sure what's going on
with that saddle it's very
pointed down I think I'd slide off that.
I'd also personally cut
that steerer, not that I'm
one to judge, 'cause I
haven't cut mine yet,
but yeah, think about that.
- [John] Yeah, the wheels
I think could do with
better alignment, possibly, as well.
- [James] I like the 454's.
- Yeah but I mean just enough--
- Yeah I know what you're saying...
- Put the valves at the bottom...
- Yeah.
The intricate details,
the intricate details.
- Quite a bit of moss as
well, in the grating there
of the stones as well.
Louisanne, come on.
Get your jet washer out.
- Yeah I'm personally
not sold on that one,
I'm sorry I'm gonna have to
give that just a nice from me.
- Yeah, I'm giving a
nice there from me too.
Right, who is next then?
- Alright we've got Patrick
from the Marina Bay in Singapore.
- Oh, a lovely part of the world.
- That's very true.
And the 2013 Argon 18 Krypton
with Shimano 105 and R7000s group set.
Woo!
Yeah, I'm just gonna
go straight in and say
I'm not loving the background.
- [John] No.
- [James] The sign to the
toilets, is it really, yeah.
- [John] Also that little,
underneath the chain set there,
that sort of drain...
- [James] Is it a bin?
- Well I don't know, but
that's the creepy emoji thing
when you see like a clown
coming out of a hole,
isn't it, from the drain?
- [James] Yeah.
- [John] Yeah.
Also it's a bit blurry, the photo,
in the back wheel, look.
- [James] Yeah, but it's a nice bike but,
- [John] It is a nice bike.
- [James] It's just not a super-nice.
So I'm gonna give that a nice, are you?
- Yeah, it's a nice bike for me too.
Nice one Patrick, right.
- Please, oh please, I want
this to be a super-nice.
- Well, who knows, right.
Next one is Victor from
Los Angeles in California,
second one in from California this week.
- [James] It's an LA bike.
- [John] Yeah, 2018
Pinarello Dogma F10 Disc.
Don't see many of those
around here, do you?
- [James] You don't,
but that, I have to say,
is eye-popping.
You've got the orange that really
solid orange with the
gold Pinarello decals.
- [John] Yeah.
- [James] Yeah you can see,
he's obviously out on a ride,
'cause he's got his saddlebag on there,
and two full water bottles.
- [John] Yeah, hydration is key.
- [James] Yeah, he's got a good group set,
he's got I see Zipp wheels.
- Yeah.
- What tires he's got on there.
- Pirelli tires, whoo!
Unusual choice there, Pirellis.
But you know, a wise choice a fine choice,
I think it looks--
- I love that background!
We like the background 'cause it
just really shows off the bike
and that is really arty,
and actually pretty cool.
I'm a very big fan of that, actually.
- Yeah, it's been taken
to 13 Pershing Avenue,
by the looks of things, you can see there.
- [James] Yeah it doesn't look
like it's used, that house.
- [John] No, it doesn't, no, no.
- [James] Oh I'm gonna go out,
Jon, I'm gonna give that...
can I ring the bell?
- [John] You may.
(Bell rings)
- A super-nice!
Thank you for sending that
one in 'cause I was desperate
to ring that bell.
- Only one this week!
- I know.
- I think that's probably
the first time ever!
- Really?
- I don't know, we're on, I think, this is
episode number 60.
First time I can ever
remember just one super-nice.
- Well keep sending your
bikes in because we really,
really do love getting
them and looking through
all your bikes.
- Yeah, use our uploader
tool to your heart's content.
And please, a more detailed
description than "the terrace."
- Yeah.
- Next week, more Bike Vault.
So there we are, nearly the time
for the end of the show, but don't worry,
because well we got
loads more great content
coming up this week.
- Yeah I have to say we've got
some really exciting stuff.
And thanks again for
having me, and don't forget
to give this video a big
thumbs up if you enjoyed it.
- Yeah and share it with
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