Wheels, tyres, components: The interesting products and stories from the test year 2024
Tour Magazin
· 20.12.2024
Prophete Graveler - cheap bike from the discounter | TOUR 9/2024
It's not every day that a 699 euro bike rolls into the editorial office. Our testers were all the more excited to see what the Prophete Graveler is capable of. The result: unfortunately not very much. The gravel bike, available from Aldi and Lidl, rolled quite passably, but cheap components and the extremely high weight of 12.1 kilograms never really made it any fun to ride.
Solo Carbon 50 from Rocky Mountain - Kilometre-eater | TOUR 10/2024
No other test bike was ridden more kilometres in 2024 than the Solo Carbon 50 from Rocky Mountain. The gravel bike served online editor Sandra Schuberth as a faithful companion on the Germany Trail. She covered almost 900 kilometres in eight days. Including preparation for the adventure from Schengen to Munich, Schuberth covered more than 2000 kilometres on the bikepacking model.
Conti Aero 111 - fast rubber | TOUR 8/2024
We discovered the Conti Aero 111 for the first time at the Tour de France, and shortly afterwards TOUR tested the new rubber in the wind tunnel - with an aha effect: the aerodynamically optimised front tyre saves almost three watts of power on average compared to the tried and tested Grand Prix 5000 S TR, and the aero tyre even benefits by ten watts or more when riding slowly and with a larger diagonal flow. In racing, where nuances are crucial, this is a decisive advantage. This is another reason why many professionals in France used the new tyre.
SRAM Red AXS - new standards | TOUR 7/2024 and 9/2024
SRAM is putting its long-standing Japanese rival Shimano under pressure with a product offensive. The new top groupset Red AXS redefines modern road bike components and is particularly impressive in terms of braking performance, ergonomics and integration. The all-terrain XPLR variant is more robust and enables a wider gear range thanks to a 13th sprocket. According to TOUR information, the technology will soon be passed on to the more favourable SRM groupsets. Shimano will have to dress warmly. Although the Japanese presented a new GRX Di2 last year, the gravel groupset is comparatively plain.
