18 years ago Stefan Schmolke impressed the cycling world with the first ever carbon fibre road handlebar. His success, which he developed in the course of his master thesis at the Rüsselsheim University, was only the beginning for Schmolke Carbon, his innovative enterprise. Others, by now well known products, developed with painstaking thoroughness, were to follow. The latest addition to the family now is an oversized road handlebar. Needless to say it again comes with a world-record weight.

The obvious advantage of an oversized handlebar is its middle section’s larger diameter. This leads to a considerably stiffer handlebar. In addition to that its wide and flat top makes for an ergonomic and comfortable grip when riding with your hands on the tops. The flat section design is also more aerodynamic than the round-section version with its larger frontal area. With its drop and reach of 138mm and 95mm respectively this handlebar is also designed with ergonomics in mind for both the drop and the hood position. In addition to that the handlebar comes with recessed cable grooves on its underside. The radiuses of the side parts follow the well proven design of the compact series. The new oversize bars weigh in at a spectacularly low 125g to 155g (depending on bar width and rider’s weight) for the top-of-the-line TLO version. The slightly dearer SL version comes with a weight of 160g to 175g.

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Developed by a Ford Design team led by executive design director Martin Smith, in partnership with cyber-Wear, the German brand behind the Ford Lifestyle Collection products, the Ford E-Bike Concept has been created from the ground up to appeal to... The E-Bike has a trapezoidal frame profile, and has been constructed from aluminum and carbon fiber composites. E-Bikes are being used for short-distance commuting, so Ford decided to respond by showing how easily its design language could translate to a bicycle. The E-Bike Concept also has an integrated controller and patented magnetostriction sensor technology from the world of Formula One. 21 introduced the composites-intensive E-Bike Concept electric bicycle. The E-Bike market is growing very, very rapidly, with some 30 million units sold globally last year,&rdquo. The wheels have a six-spoke V-design, while the drive system is hidden, creating a clean, minimalist appearance.

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