Another SRAM prototype has been spotted, hanging from the rear of Troy Brosnan’s Canyon Sender at the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Lenzerheide.

The new derailleur looks to signify an electronic shift for SRAM’s downhill groupset, and appears to be in the final stages of development, with the now-traditional electrical tape covering the name of the upcoming groupset.

It wasn’t the only prototype technology on Brosnan’s bike, with the Sender featuring a prototype RockShox Boxxer and Vivid with Flight Attendant, as well as a rear end that looks to add stiffness adjustability.

• Read more: New SRAM XC drivetrain spotted on Nino Schurter’s retiring race bike

SRAM DH AXS

It’s been nearly 10 years since SRAM released a downhill groupset, and within that time electronic shifting has taken over the sport.

We have seen SRAM prototype wireless downhill derailleurs in the past, but never have they appeared so close to production as this.

The new drivetrain looks to use the brand’s AXS Transmission technology, bolting directly onto the bike via SRAM’s UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger).

It appears to adopt the battery placement of GX AXS Transmission, sitting within the clutches of the UDH mount, rather than hanging off the rear as seen on X0 AXS Transmission.

While the architecture on GX AXS Transmission features pins in its top construction, this new DH AXS looks to be fully cast.

The design looks to be up to the rigours of racing, with the lower portion showing some battle scars.

We’re not yet sure on the capabilities of the derailleur, but Brosnan was running a 7-speed cassette, which looked to push the cage length to its limit.

At the centre of the bike are new cranks that look more substantial than those found on X0, and feature a dark and silver colour scheme.

This is connected to an Ochain device, which helps fend off pedal kickback.

SRAM recently acquired Ochain, so it’ll be interesting to see if the new groupset will come with one as standard.

The bike also uses a RockShox Blackbox-labelled Boxxer fork and Vivid rear shock that feature the brand’s Flight Attendant technology.

We assume the technology will perform similarly to the trail and XC versions, creating a platform for pedalling and pumping while opening up for gnarly terrain.

We’ve seen a few suspension brands trialling electronically adjustable dampers for downhill racing, with Öhlins’ electric shock recently breaking cover at the Les Gets UCI World Cup.

Elsewhere, Brosnan was using a prototype rear end that features a bonded aluminium insert to enable stiffness adjustability.

A number of brands have experimented with stiffness adjustability at the UCI World Cup, but it seems strange to see Brosnan playing with this on the recently launched Sender.

It’s a common thought in cycling that stiffer means better, but that isn’t always the case.

The new rear end enables metal plates to be added to the seatstay bridge to adjust the stiffness, with Brosnan opting for two plates for Lenzerheide.

There are also some unusual cable mounts running down both seatstays, which we assume is for telemetry equipment.

Founder and CEO of Factor Bikes Rob Giletis has said the brand’s sponsorship of Israel–Premier Tech will no longer be tenable without a name change and a disassociation with the country of Israel, according to reports. 

Factor has met with Israel–Premier Tech’s owner Sylvan Adams to discuss the partnership, a change of name and the nationality of the team, reported Cyclingnews. 

“I’ve already told the team: Without a name change, without a flag change, we won’t continue,” Gitelis said to Cyclingnews. 

“It’s not a matter of right or wrong anymore. It’s become too controversial around our brand, and my responsibility is to my employees and my shareholders, to give them maximum space with which to grow this company and make it profitable. Adding additional level of conflict or complexity, we just can’t accept that any more.

“It’s no longer a personal thing of I support this or I support that. There’s just a certain level of controversy we just can’t have surrounding the brand,” said Gitelis. 

Cyclingnews said it understands Adams is on board with Israel–Premier Tech changing its name, but that the Israeli-Canadian business and self-proclaimed ‘ambassador’ for Israel assumed the team would retain Israel’s flag. 

Israel–Premier Tech told BikeRadar: “The team is currently in the planning phase for 2026 team branding and will communicate any potential changes in due course.”

Teams must register their nationality and the nationality of their paying agent by October 15, according to cycling’s governing body, the UCI. 

Rumours of a potential name change follow persistent protests at the Vuelta a España against the participation of Israel–Premier Tech, which led to five stages being shortened and the largest mobilisation of police in Madrid since the city hosted the NATO Summit in 2022. 

The team removed ‘Israel’ from its kit during La Vuelta, citing security concerns. It also raced as ‘IPT’ at the GP of Québec and the GP de Montréal earlier in September. 

Stephanie Adam, a campaigner for the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, which called for the protests at La Vuelta, told BikeRadar that Israel–Premier Tech’s participation in the race was “sportswashing pure and simple”. She said that the team “was explicitly created to whitewash and distract from Israel’s grave crimes against Palestinians”. 

Since La Vuelta, a UN commission found that Israel has committed Genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Gitelis told Cyclingnews that the conversions around Israel–Premier Tech changing its name are not new.

“This isn’t something that started a week ago, 10 days ago, a month ago. This has been going on now since nearly two years. We’ve found it difficult for the past two years to really use and activate the team to the level that we would like to. We’ve been politically sensitive, as it’s a difficult time,” he said.

Gitelis said Factor does not have a contract with Israel–Premier Tech for 2026 or beyond. “We did have a verbal commitment to continue, but things have escalated since then that we can no longer continue to meet that verbal commitment, ” he said.

Bristol-based Temple Cycles has launched the new Adventure Disc 3 gravel bike, adding a more affordable option to its steel Adventure Disc range for less than £1,500.

The new model’s £1,488 introductory price tag is significantly cheaper than the other two Adventure Disc bikes in the range.

According to Temple Cycles, the AD 3 is “ideal for first-time gravel riders, daily commuters looking to escape the city on weekends or seasoned cyclists after a rugged, no-fuss companion”.

The Adventure Disc 3 has the same powder-coated Reynolds 725 steel frame and fork as the AD1 and AD2, but Temple has achieved a lower price by speccing more budget-friendly components.

“It’s built to the same standards of quality and craftsmanship as the rest of our range, but with smart spec choices that bring the price down. We wanted to offer something for riders who value the Temple aesthetic and feel, but don’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles of our top-tier builds,” says Temple Cycles’ founder Matt Mears.

• Best gravel bikes in 2025: top-rated carbon, aluminium, titanium and steel gravel bikes reviewed
  

Sora 9-speed gearing

The AD 3 is equipped with a Shimano Sora 9-speed groupset, rather than the AD 1’s 1×12-speed Shimano GRX and the AD 2’s 2×12-speed Shimano 105, both of which are fitted with Hunt 4 Season Disc wheels. 

The AD 3 has an 11-34t Shimano HG400 cassette paired to a Temple-branded 46/29t crankset, so despite Sora being designed primarily for road riding, there’s plenty of low gearing for trickier terrain.

Since there’s no in-series disc brake option for Sora, the bike is fitted with TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes.

Other features of the AD 3 include a sealed headset and bottom bracket, and Shimano RS470 hubs laced to WTB ST i25 tubeless-ready rims with double-butted stainless steel spokes and brass nipples for durability and corrosion resistance.

Temple fits WTB Vulpine 40mm tyres, with tan sidewalls to enhance the AD 3’s urbane looks, and its own finishing kit.

It’s a build kit that prioritises durability, serviceability and real-world adventure-readiness, according to Temple. 

There are three muted colours on offer – Granite Grey, Lichen Green and Slate blue, and five frame sizes from 47cm to 60cm.  

“The Adventure Disc 3 provides everything you need for adventure riding at a wallet-friendly price,” concludes Temple’s head of product, Tom Bugler.

If you want a higher spec, there’s currently 20% off the list price of both the AD 1 and AD 2.

You can read Gary Walker’s ongoing long-term review of the Temple Adventure Disc 2, to see how it has coped with a range of off-road riding, all-day adventures and the rigours of winter commuting.

Temple Adventure Disc 3 full specs and pricing

• Frame: TIG-welded Reynolds 725 steel
• Fork: Investment cast steel with lugged fork crown
• Groupset: Shimano Sora, Temple crankset
• Gearing: 46/34t, 11-34t
• Wheels: WTB ST i25 TCS on Shimano RS470 hubs
• Tyres: WTB Vulpine Tubeless Ready 700x40mm
• Brakes: TRP Spyre mechanical disc
• Handlebars: Temple AL-6061 Flared
• Stem: Temple alloy
• Saddle: Temple Bristol saddle, black
• Seatpost: Temple Alloy 27.2mm
• Claimed weight: 11.8kg (size M)
• Price: £1,488

SRAM appears to be working on a new cross-country drivetrain, with Nino Schurter’s custom Scott Spark at the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Lenzerheide sporting a Blackbox derailleur and blacked-out crankset.

It appears the new derailleur is using SRAM’s GX AXS Transmission architecture, with the battery sitting protected in the UDH mount rather than hanging off the rear on XX SL AXS.

This weekend marked the end of Schurter’s illustrious career, with the Swiss rider choosing to retire at his home venue.

With a career spanning back to 2007, when he turned professional, Schurter has been a dominant force in cross-country mountain biking, winning 36 World Cup races and taking the overall title nine times.

If this were football, it would be like Leonel Messi hanging up his boots, with many regarding Schurter as the GOAT (greatest of all time) in the sport.

In support of one of mountain biking’s greatest athletes, Swiss fans were out in full force to cheer Schurter on one last time.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite pull off the fairytale ending, finishing in 24th place, but he still crossed the line to a shower of champagne.

• Read more: Mountain bike groupsets: everything you need to know

New SRAM XC drivetrain

Blackbox is SRAM and RockShox’s prototype testing platform, similar to Fox’s RAD development programme.

Under closer inspection, the derailleur appears to share its architecture with the current GX AXS Transmission, with the battery sitting inside the UDH mount rather than hanging out of the rear as seen on the X0, XX and XX SL Transmissions.

The only difference we can see is that the derailleur on Schurter’s bike uses a different cage from that on GX, although it’s hard to tell if this is carbon fibre due to the paintjob.

Elsewhere, the crankset looks very similar to the power-meter equipped version of SRAM’s gravel-specific RED XPLR AXS drivetrain.

Whether these are final designs is hard to tell, with SRAM possibly using current equipment as testing mules for new technology.

Either way, it looks as though SRAM has something in the oven.

For his last race, Scott honoured Schurter with a custom bike that shares some of the Swiss rider’s story.

There are nods to Schurter’s career throughout the bike, with rainbow stripes and flakes of gold representing his various world championship successes and 2016 Olympic Gold medal.

His SRAM Motive Ultimate brakes combine both, with the levers painted white with stripes and the caliper featuring the red and gold design.

SRAM’s Motive brakes were released earlier this year and replaced the Level and Guide line-up, with improved braking power and a shift to mineral oil as braking fluid.

Some have complained that the brakes are heavier than the previous Level options, but this doesn’t seem to be holding riders back.

Running through the new derailleur is a custom gold chain that has been stamped with the words ‘Nino’ and ‘Goat’.

Elsewhere on the bike, Schurter is using RockShox suspension in the form of the SID Ultimate fork and SID Luxe rear shock.

Both components are Flight Attendant models, meaning the bike should be able to sense automatically when Schurter needs open suspension for descents, firm suspension for better pedalling and locked-out for smooth sections of the track.

The Scott Spark cleverly hides the rear suspension inside the frame, keeping it safely away from water and dust ingress.

Schurter also uses a Reverb AXS B1 dropper post from RockShox, which is lighter than the previous generation.

The bike rolls on Syncros Silverton carbon rims with DT Swiss 180 hubs booted in Maxxis Aspen ST rubber – well suited to the dry, fast-rolling course.

Carrying on the celebrations, Schurter’s custom HT Component pedals commemorate his last world championships win in 2022.