See zwiftinsider.com/route/laguardia-after-party/

Fizik, the saddle specialists who turned its hand to a successful shoe range, has now branched out into helmets.

Today’s launch sees four models: the Kudo, Kudo Aero, Kassis, and Kunée. Both the Kudo and Kudo Aero are aimed at road, gravel, and XC riding. The Kassis is aimed at off-road trail riders, and the Kunée is a specialist aero helmet for TT and Triathlon.

The helmets, however, don’t come cheap, starting at £189.99 / $199.99 for the trail-focused Kassis, with the road going Kudo and Kudo Aero at £269.99 / $289.99. The TT-specific Kunée tops the price list at £359.99 / $379.99.

That puts Fiziks new helmets at the premium end of the market along with the likes of Kask’s Elemento WG11 (£335), Trek’s Velocis (£230), and Lazer’s Kineticore Z1 (£230) for the road, and Fox’s Crossframe Pro (£190) and Giro’s Merit Spherical (£190) on the mountain bike side.

Air flow

Fizik says that all of the helmet designs were guided by CFD (computational fluid dynamics).

The aim is to streamline airflow and minimize wind resistance – not only for aerodynamics, but also to channel air through the helmet vents for comfort and cooling.

Fizik claims the shape of the vents and internal channelling is designed to induce the venturi effect, where airflow velocity increases on entry and is pushed out at the rear, helping to keep a constant flow of a cool draft.

Advanced fit

Whilst Fiziks’ retention system looks very much like any other premium helmet, it has introduced design tweaks enabling the fit to be adjusted over a wider range with more fine-tuning than competing designs.

The rear cradle has 5 anchor points, offering 5cm of vertical adjustment. Adjusting this also adjusts the tilt of the helmet.

The micro dial rear adjuster works in unison with internal retention anchors at the temples.

These offer three-position adjustment, which alters the shape of the retention system from a round shape in its shortest position to a more oval shape in its longest position.

It should mean that Fizik’s design and fit system will suit more head shapes than most.

The helmet range is available in a broad size range from 52cm up to 61cm

Safety

The road/gravel Kudo and Kudo Aero, along with the trail-focused Kassis, feature MIPS Air Node. The latest multi-impact-protection system, with its anti-rotational design integrated into the pad system and how it anchors into the helmet, is much less intrusive than previous generation designs, and doesn’t hinder airflow.

For added safety, the Kudo, Kudo Aero, and Kassis all come with a clip-in rear light with a 35-lumen output and 90-minute run time on solid, or 180 minutes in flash mode. The light is available separately for £29.99 / $29.99 / €29.

All helmets are compliant with CE EN 1078:2012 or CPSC 1203 safety standards, depending on country, and rated 5 stars in the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings.

Fizik helmet range overview

Kudo

The Kudo is Fiziks’ lightest and coolest design. Fizik claims the rounded low-volume design makes for a helmet that reduces wind resistance whilst providing optimal thermoregulation thanks to the venturi effect created by the brow vents, internal channels, and large exhaust port.

The side vents are designed to also hold sunglasses securely.

Fizik produces different helmets to meet the different global sagety standards. This results in the US (CPSC) helmets weighing slightly more than the European (CE) versions:

• S: 52-56 (CE 270g/CPSC 310g)
• M: 56-59 (CE 280g/CPSC 320g)
• L: 59-61 (CE 310g/CPSC 360g)

The Kudo comes with a soft bag and rear light as standard and in white, black, and bronze.

• Price: £269.99 / $289.99 / €290

Kudo Aero

The Kudo Aero looks rather like the Kudo with the vents filled in.

Fizik, however, claims the Kudo Aero’s shape is very aerodynamically efficient with the addition of the clear rear breakaway spoiler working in conjunction with the Venturi effect of the brow vents and large exhaust port to increase airflow for comfort whilst reducing drag.

• S: 52-56 (CE 270g/CPSC 300g)
• M: 56-59 (CE 290g/CPSC 320g)
• L: 59-61 (CE 320g/CPSC 360g)

The Aero comes with a soft bag and rear light as standard and in white, black, and silver.

• Price: £269.99 / $289.99 / €290

Kassis

The Kassis follows the same compact rounded design as the road-going helmets but with extended coverage at the temples and the rear.

It comes with a fully adjustable peak with the twin large rear side vents doubling up as sunglass holders.

The Kassis is available in white, dark navy, and mud-sand colours, and is compliant with CE EN 1078:2012 and NTA 8776 or CPSC 1203 safety standards.

• S: 52-56 (CE 330g/CPSC 380g)
• M: 56-59 (CE 360g/CPSC 420g)
• L: 59-61 (CE 400g/CPSC 460g)

• Price: £189.99 / $199.99 / €200

Kunée

The TT/Triathlon Kunée was designed with a smooth frontal surface and teardrop shape, with a magnetic, wide, seamless visor.

The visor has brow vents that mesh seamlessly with the 3 vents on the helmet.

Using the same Venturi design as the road helmets, Fizik claims the Kunée’s cooling airflow is amongst the best of any TT design, though they haven’t released any performance data yet

On the teardrop’s rear flanks, Fizik has used a corrugated set of side panels designed to keep the disruptive air close for a much smoother transition around the riders’ shoulders.

Fizik says this corrugation has enabled it to keep the size and volume of the Kunée smaller whilst having similar aerodynamic performance to wider helmets designed to shelter the riders’ shoulders.

This more compact and lighter shape makes for a more comfortable helmet.

The helmet was designed in collaboration with athletes, with wind tunnel and real-world testing as part of its development.

It complies with CE EN 1078:2012 and CPSC 1203 safety standards.

The Kunée comes in 2 sizes: S/M and M/L, and in white only

It comes with both a clear and mirrored visor, plus a travel case.

• S/M: 54-58 (400g)
• M/L: 58-61 (450g)

• Price: £359.99 / $379.99 / €380

The OPTIS (Odyssey Pneumatic Tire Insert System) is a lightweight, tunable, tyre insert, which is inflated with a bike pump rather than arriving as a fully turgid foam strip. Similar to a motorcycle mousse, the OPTIS is a departure from the standard foam inserts.

It works by using a not-very-stretchy inner tube, which forms a very lightweight band inside the rim.

Instead of expanding outward into the tyre’s casing like an ordinary inner tube, once inflated, the OPTIS cinches down, hugging the rim.

This creates a bead lock, preventing the tyre from burping. It also protects the rim from impact.

• Seven of the latest mountain bike tyre inserts rated and reviewed

Odyssey claim that the OPTIS adds only 90g to a traditional tubeless setup, making it much lighter than most inserts.

Besides weight saving, the insert’s firmness can be tuned to suit conditions and rider tastes.

The inner tube is filled with air through a special valve, which uses the same central valve stem as the Presta valve, which fills the tubeless tyre above the insert.

Odyssey claims installation is easier than a standard insert, and can even be used to help seat stubborn tubeless tyres.

Odyssey also claims the OPTIS offers lower rolling resistance on rough surfaces than foam inserts, citing that losses from hysteresis (the foam material moving against the inside of the tyre) will be reduced.

Haven’t we seen this before?

The eagle-eyed amongst you may think this is a very similar concept to the Schwalbe Procore from 2016 – and you would be right, but there are a few key differences which set the OPTIS apart.

Firstly, the OPTIS uses just a bare inflatable tube made of a relatively inflexible material.

The Schwalbe Procore used a pseudo-tyre, which looked much like a beadless, blue road bike tyre, which sat over a traditional stretchy rubber inner tube.

Crucially, the valve design looks different.

The Schwalbe Procore valve was a very clever piece of engineering, but was intricate and prone to becoming blocked by the talc in the rubber inner tube.

The chunky valve on the OPTIS will hopefully alleviate these issues.

• OPTIS estimated MSRP: $89.99
• OPTIS replacement insert: $39.99 

There is change afoot in the world of cycling apps. We’ve recently seen major players change how their apps work with an eye on expanding their functionality and becoming a one-stop shop for your training needs. 

Not least, Zwift. On Friday, the indoor training giant announced a host of updates to its Companion app, which are set to make the platform far more than a log of turbo trainer sessions. 

Previously, the app worked like a remote control for Zwift, enabling you to message other Zwifters and adjust the resistance of your trainer, among other things. It also meant you could plan rides and analyse your workouts.

• Why I’ve got a big problem with Strava and will never use it again

But that’s set to change this summer, with the Companion app receiving a “significant update” that will combine your indoor and outdoor rides into one space. To do this, Zwift says the app will ingest your Wahoo or Garmin data.

With this holistic look at your training, the Companion app will also enable you to set weekly goals and track your fitness progress within the ecosystem for the first time. These goals can be set using the following metrics: Time, Distance, Calories, Stress Points, or Kilojoules.

All a bit familiar?

 This is all reminiscent of that other cycling tech giant, Strava. With a Strava subscription, you can see your training from the great indoors and outdoors in one place, set goals, analyse your training and gain access to a range of performance metrics, such as heart rate analysis and relative effort.

There is another sign Zwift is coming for Strava with its new TrainingScore feature. 

Zwift says its TrainingScore “reflects your long-term cycling fitness by averaging your recent training load over time, combining both workout volume and intensity into a single, easy-to-understand daily number.” 

This sounds a lot like Strava’s Fitness Score, which is a single number Strava presents to subscribers based on heart rate or power meter data. This personalised number can be used to analyse your training or act as a benchmark for your fitness over time. 

But Zwift’s latest update doesn’t just have Strava in its sights. It also seems to be taking aim at Garmin, with the release of a TrainingStatus update which mirrors Garmin’s feature of the same name. 

Garmin’s Training Status feature gives you an overview of your longer-term training, prompting you with a range of status, from peaking (you’re in ideal form) down to detraining (your fitness level is decreasing). 

Zwift’s TrainingStatus does a similar thing. Comparing long-term fitness with short-term fatigue, it can indicate five levels of training:

• Ready: ready to start or return to Training
• Fresh: active and ready for a challenge
• Productive: consistently training and recovering well
• Overreaching: training heavily but in need of more recovery. Rest weeks are essential for recovery and peak performance.
• Detraining: loss of fitness due to reduced training

AI shakeups 

It’s not just Zwift that’s been shaking things up, though. Last year, Strava released its Athlete Intelligence tool, which uses generative AI to analyse your activities and provide written summaries of your workout. 

This followed Whoop’s AI feature. Powered by ChatGPT-4, the Whoop Coach answers your health and fitness questions to turn the health-tracking app into a “powerful new coaching experience” that “goes beyond surface-level insights”.

Garmin has also shaken up its Connect app, introducing its first-ever paid subscription last month. Called Connect+, the new subscription plan is said to provide users with a range of new personalised health and fitness insights, while keeping existing features free. And yep, you guessed it: Connect+ also uses AI to provide personalised prompts. 

In the indoor training space, we’ve also seen Rouvy buy FulGaz and make some big changes and develop features that bring it more in line with Zwift, although Zwift’s new updates may keep Rouvy chasing for some time. 

But what this all boils down to is Zwift’s latest updates make it an even more compelling option, especially when we’re all paying closer attention to our purse strings. 

Zwift costs £17.99 / $19.99 per month, while Strava costs £8.99 / $11.99 and Connect+ costs £6.99 / $6.99. Combining the training features you can expect from the likes of Strava and Garmin and a whole indoor training platform seems like a hard proposition to beat – even if Zwift hasn’t jumped on the AI bandwagon, yet.