Passion Brands & Gear

Wilier Filante SLR ID2: Italian Aero Gets a WorldTour Reboot

Wilier’s Filante SLR ID2 refines the brand’s flagship aero platform with integrated bottle aerodynamics, rider-system testing and WorldTour development. It is not the cheapest, but is beautiful and unapologetically fast. Read more...

BLKTEC L8: The 245 g Integrated Cockpit for Serious Weight Weenies

BLKTEC’s L8 integrated cockpit claims a market-leading 245 g weight while offering full internal routing and modern narrow-bar dimensions. It is impressive, but fit and compatibility matter more than grams. Read more...

Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS: Wet-Grip Confidence With Race-Day Speed

Pirelli’s P Zero Race TLR RS is its fastest current tubeless road-race tyre, combining SmartEvo 2 compound, SpeedCore casing and excellent wet-weather grip—useful qualities in storm-prone Brisbane. Read more...

Continental Aero 111: The Front Tyre That Goes Looking for Free Speed

Continental’s Aero 111 brings aerodynamic thinking to the tyre itself, using vortex-generating tread cavities developed with DT Swiss and Swiss Side. It is expensive, clever and genuinely relevant to windy... Read more...

ERE Research: Lifetime warranty, a 30-day trial and UCI approval at this price?

ERE Research was founded in 2017 by Dutch product developer and former elite racer Piet van der Velde, with its first products arriving in 2018. The company describes its identity... Read more...

Elitewheels Drive II: The Reliable Carbon Wheelset Gets Sharper

Elitewheels’ Drive II builds on the brand’s direct-to-consumer success with wider rims, carbon spokes and revised hubs. For Brisbane racers and bunch riders, it may be one of the strongest... Read more...

TIME Scylon Gen 2: European Carbon Craft Meets Modern Aero Racing

TIME’s Scylon Gen 2 brings the French-born brand’s braided carbon and resin-transfer moulding heritage into a modern aero-road platform, offering a distinctive alternative to mass-produced superbikes. Read more...

Bikone DCTech Ceramic: Quiet Watts for Riders Who Hate Creaks

Bikone has become one of the more interesting names in high-performance bottom brackets, blending Spanish engineering, Fersa bearing expertise and WorldTour validation. Its DCTech ceramic range targets riders who want... Read more...

Evolve CIMA: Lightweight Climbing Frame Arrives With Intent

Evolve’s CIMA frameset is a 650–680 g road platform from a young Chinese brand linked to Elitewheels and Cybrei. Early reviews suggest this is not just another open-mould curiosity. Read more...

Karoo (Gen 3): For riders who prioritise screen and UX, Karoo is a joy

Karoo 3 (Hammerhead markets it as simply “Karoo”)—arrived in May 2024 with brighter screen, louder alerts, multi‑band GNSS, bigger battery (≈15 h max), 4 GB RAM/64 GB storage, and a faster 2 GHz processor.... Read more...

Look Keo Blade: Carbon blade in place of a coil spring, prioritising low weight, aero profile

Keo Blade offers a secure, broad platform with low mass—ideal for repeated accelerations and sprint efforts in our heat and humidity. If you’re chasing grams and love premium hardware, Keo... Read more...

New SRAM RED AXS: A polished refinement that improves control and comfort

In May 2024 SRAM released the newest RED AXS generation, updating ergonomics, braking, weight and integration with Hammerhead’s Karoo head unit—a refinement of its flagship rather than a ground‑up redesign.... Read more...

Ceramicspeed OSPW RS / RS Alpha: Low‑friction + bling upgrade with tangible debris protection - Pedal Passion

Ceramicspeed OSPW RS / RS Alpha: Low‑friction + bling upgrade with debris protection

CeramicSpeed distinguishes via bearing quality, ADR sealing and ALPHA Disc architecture. For Brisbane’s gritty summer showers, ADR and a closed‑disc pulley make practical sense if you’re already chasing marginal gains.... Read more...

GRX Di2 RX825: Better shifting and braking, integrated connectivity and friendlier setup than older Di2

In June 2025, Shimano unveiled XTR Di2 M9200 for MTB—its first fully wireless electronic XTR, along with new brakes and wheels—signalling that, at least off‑road, Shimano is now meeting SRAM’s... Read more...

Carbon‑Ti X‑CarboRing wins the lightweight + premium ramping contest for 2× chainrings

If you’re aiming for a featherweight bike, X‑CarboRing (EVO/X‑AXS) delivers noticeable weight savingswith confident shifting when matched correctly. Read more...

ARC 2025 wheels as wider, lighter (per depth), and more aero, with 55/65/85 mm options

If you want hassle‑free speed with easy parts support, DT remains a top pick: ERC 1100 for rougher roads and crosswinds; ARC 55/65 if you chase watt‑saving on long, flat... Read more...

Hydra2 ticks the boxes! Higher POE, reliability‑oriented internals, and lower drag

Quick Brand Overview Asheville‑built Industry Nine is famous for high‑engagement pawl hubs, vibrant anodizing, and in‑house wheels. The landmark Hydrahub (2019) delivered 690 POE / 0.52°, later superseded by Hydra2... Read more...