Most days around here at HotHardware are frantic, but everyone needs a good work-life balance. As a team populated by mostly PC gamers, we have varying opinions on the best gaming mice currently available. Below are 11 of the top gaming mice to help you dominate the competition, which includes a few highly-rated budget picks, a range of more
If you’ve ever desperately wanted to know exactly what your golden retriever is yelling at the mailman, a newly emerged tech startup claims to have the answer. Enter Pettichat, an AI-powered smart collar currently courting early adopters in its pre-launch phase. Billed as the world’s first real-time, two-way pet translator, the device promises
If you’ve ever desperately wanted to know exactly what your golden retriever is yelling at the mailman, a newly emerged tech startup claims to have the answer. Enter Pettichat, an AI-powered smart collar currently courting early adopters in its pre-launch phase. Billed as the world’s first real-time, two-way pet translator, the device promises
Google has finally rolled out a feature that gives users the ability to easily change usernames. This feature initially became available to a subset of users last year, but it’s now available to most users with a Google account.
Making this change is a simple process that involves navigating to the right section within your Google account
Google has finally rolled out a feature that gives users the ability to easily change usernames. This feature initially became available to a subset of users last year, but it’s now available to most users with a Google account.
Making this change is a simple process that involves navigating to the right section within your Google account
Prominent hardware leaker KeplerL2 made some interesting statements on the NeoGAF forums recently, claiming that the PlayStation 6 Portable is not only faster than the Xbox Series S in raster performance, but “massively ahead” in ray tracing and path tracing performance too. Additionally, the leak asserts that AMD FSR 5 and PSSR 3 will have
Prominent hardware leaker KeplerL2 made some interesting statements on the NeoGAF forums recently, claiming that the PlayStation 6 Portable is not only faster than the Xbox Series S in raster performance, but “massively ahead” in ray tracing and path tracing performance too. Additionally, the leak asserts that AMD FSR 5 and PSSR 3 will have
Zwifters recently descended on Mallorca for Zwift Community Live 2026, an IRL event bringing people together from around the world for 3 days of epic riding. In this week’s top video, watch as one Zwifting YouTuber takes on his first group rides ever!
Zwift just shared a roadmap of what’s coming in the next few months with their “This Season on Zwift” press release, so two of our videos feature this info. We’ve also included videos about riding outdoors after a long indoor season, and racing the final stage of the Zwift Games.
Newbie Invited to Cycling’s Biggest Event… I Was Not Ready
Ryan Condon was in Mallorca for Zwift Community Live last week, and this is the first in his series of videos documenting his experience as a seasoned Zwift racer taking part in his first outdoor group rides ever.
Zwift Finally Has a Gravel Map – Plus Everything Else Coming This Season
Tariq Ali from Smart Bike Trainers discusses everything that Zwift announced in their latest “This Season on Zwift” press release.
I Finally Rode Outside After a Winter on Zwift
Cranks and Cadence shares how his experience riding on Zwift for the winter has shaped his outdoor riding, and compares Zwifting to outdoor riding.
How tough can an 11km race on Zwift really be?! (I wasn’t ready!)
Katie Kookaburra races stage 6a of the Zwift Games. Watch as she tackles this short yet brutal race.
Huge Changes Are Coming to Zwift!
Hear from Adam from Road to A as he shares a brief rundown of everything coming to Zwift over the next few months.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
It would be easy to assume from the name that Wildcat Lake is the successor to Intel’s recently launched Panther Lake CPUs, but wildcats aren’t as big as panthers, and there’s your clue as to what these CPUs actually are: the successors to Twin Lake, which was the refreshed version of Alder Lake-N. We already know a fair bit about Wildcat
It would be easy to assume from the name that Wildcat Lake is the successor to Intel’s recently launched Panther Lake CPUs, but wildcats aren’t as big as panthers, and there’s your clue as to what these CPUs actually are: the successors to Twin Lake, which was the refreshed version of Alder Lake-N. We already know a fair bit about Wildcat
The tech world is currently fixated on the face it seems. As Meta and Apple race to claim the smart glasses crown, London-based Nothing, typically known for phones with transparent aesthetics and glyph-lighting, is evidently preparing its own entry for the first half of 2027.
However, the move into AR and smart eyewear comes at a volatile
The tech world is currently fixated on the face it seems. As Meta and Apple race to claim the smart glasses crown, London-based Nothing, typically known for phones with transparent aesthetics and glyph-lighting, is evidently preparing its own entry for the first half of 2027.
However, the move into AR and smart eyewear comes at a volatile
SpaceX has confirmed an orbital anomaly involving a Starlink satellite that fragmented into dozens of pieces, raising fresh concerns about space debris even as the company maintains that the event poses no threat to major upcoming missions like Artemis II. The incident marks the second fragment creation event for the constellation in recent
SpaceX has confirmed an orbital anomaly involving a Starlink satellite that fragmented into dozens of pieces, raising fresh concerns about space debris even as the company maintains that the event poses no threat to major upcoming missions like Artemis II. The incident marks the second fragment creation event for the constellation in recent
Razer is adding to its extensive lineup of keyboards with a new model aimed at combining ergonomics, productivity, and performance in a split design, and this time it’s not a limited edition drop. Called the Pro Type Ergo, Razer’s first ever split keyboard is available now for $189.99, and it comes with some notable features like a center
Razer is adding to its extensive lineup of keyboards with a new model aimed at combining ergonomics, productivity, and performance in a split design, and this time it’s not a limited edition drop. Called the Pro Type Ergo, Razer’s first ever split keyboard is available now for $189.99, and it comes with some notable features like a center
When Shimano launched its Dura-Ace 9000 groupset back in 2012, it introduced a new weight-saving technique, where the outward and inside faces of the cranks were bonded together, with a cavity between them. An advance on the previously hollow-forged design of Dura-Ace 7900, Shimano claimed its new Hollowtech design saved weight with no loss in rigidity.
A few years later, reports began to emerge of crankset delamination and failure, reaching their thousands before Shimano acknowledged there was a potential issue with the bonding process.
This led to the recall for inspection of around 2.8 million 11-speed Dura-Ace and Ultegra cranksets worldwide and Shimano agreeing an $11.5m penalty in the US for failing to report the problem promptly.
With the deadline to submit a claim approaching in August 2026, we look back over the timeline of Shimano’s costly product failure.
2012: Dura-Ace 9000 launched with new bonded crank arms
Dura-Ace 9000 was Shimano’s first crankset to employ Hollowtech with bonded two-piece crank arms. James Huang/Future Publishing
Shimano launched its first crankset with bonded arms as part of the Dura-Ace 9000 groupset. It was its first with four arms, in place of five, which were arranged asymmetrically on the spider rather than being evenly spaced.
The outgoing Dura-Ace 7900 groupset – launched in 2008 – also used a two-piece hollow design, but the parts were forged together, rather than bonded.
When we reviewed the groupset, we commented on the larger section to the alloy crank arms over the predecessor Dura-Ace 7900 groupset and on the visible bond line between the two faces.
It was followed in 2013 by Ultegra 6800, which, in Shimano fashion, replicated at a lower price and slightly increased weight much of the functionality of the flagship groupset.
@thanksshimano has been posting about Shimano crank failures since 2018. Thanksshimano / Instagram
The first reports of failed Shimano cranks emerged online. Starting in late 2017, the @thanksshimano Instagram account began to fill up with shots of failed Shimano Ultegra and Dura-Ace cranks, spindles and more, with the most recent dating from March 2024.
2020: BikeRadar first reported on crankset failure
A managing director at BikeRadar’s then owner alerted us to the crankset problem. Jack Luke / Immediate Media
BikeRadar has been following the Shimano crankset story since April 2020, when we reported on a crankset failure in the team.
Riding to work in January of that year, Stuart Forrest experienced a complete failure of the crankset, with the outer part of the crankarm separating from the rest of the crank.
He’d covered around 15,000km on the groupset in six years and had noticed a couple of weeks earlier that the cranks had started to creak.
Responding to our report, Shimano’s spokesman pointed to the huge global user base of its cranksets and advised riders experiencing problems to consult a dealer.
2021: Shimano said there wasn’t a design problem with its cranks
In 2021, Shimano denied there was a design problem with its Hollowtech cranks. Jack Luke / Our Media
In late 2021, Road.cc reported on a crank failure experienced by one of its readers, which spurred other riders to report similar incidents.
Shimano told Road.cc at the time that its engineers hadn’t found a design problem with its cranks, although it was investigating to see if there was a specific cause.
21 September 2023: official recall announced in the US
Shimano’s recall replaced defective 11-speed cranksets with a modified version of its 12-speed models. Shimano
In September 2023, 11 years after it had introduced the design, Shimano announced a US recall of its 11-speed Hollowtech cranks in the US, and a global inspection and replacement programme.
This affected a total of 760,000 cranksets in the US and 2.8 million globally, after 4,519 reported instances of cranksets separating.
Affecting the original Dura-Ace 9000 and Ultegra 6800 cranksets, as well as the more recent Dura-Ace R9100 with and without a power meter and Ultegra R8000, this was the first time Shimano had acknowledged a problem with its Hollowtech cranksets.
Shimano confirmed owners of cranksets showing signs of bonding problems and delamination would be provided with a free replacement.
22 September 2023: Shimano clarified recall programme
Only specific crank models and production codes were affected by the recall. Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
The next day, Shimano clarified which cranksets were affected by the recall, specifying that only certain model numbers, for cranksets made before 2019, and with a specific range of production codes, needed inspection by a dealer and potential replacement.
Shimano excluded from its warranty cranks modified by third parties, such as 4iiii and Stages power meters, but included them in its inspection process.
October 2023: class-action lawsuit filed in the US relating to crank failures
In October 2023, a class-action lawsuit was filed in the US against Shimano, Specialized and Trek, claiming the announced recall was inadequate.
Because it did not cover all Hollowtech cranksets, the suit claimed cyclists could be riding a dangerous bicycle for an extended period without being sure their cranks wouldn’t fail. It also sought redress for riders who had already disposed of a failed crankset.
In addition, it pointed out that mechanics could be liable if a crankset failed subsequent to an inspection and caused injury.
Trek and Specialized were included in the suit because they were accused of “knowingly and intentionally misrepresenting, omitting, concealing, and/or failing to disclose material facts regarding the quality, reliability, and safety of the cranksets”.
October 2024: some bike shops claimed they were ‘banned’ from the programme over high failure rates
A year later, Road.cc reported some bike shops claimed they had been put on a ‘banned list’ for the crankset inspection programme, because they had failed too many cranks. Shimano’s UK distributor, Madison, said Shimano would no longer pay the £35 per inspection fee to shops on the list.
Meanwhile, some shops claimed they were returning a large proportion of cranks to Shimano because they were not in a position to definitively pass a crankset based only on visual inspection.
August 2025: class-action lawsuit neared conclusion
Roll forward another year and the US judge issued preliminary approval for the settlement of the 2023 US class-action lawsuit.
The settlement was granted final approval by the court in February 2026 and involved Shimano issuing a magnifying device and a manual for retailers, to assist them in inspection. Shimano also opened a website through which affected riders could submit reimbursement claims. It stated the impact on its future business was expected to be immaterial.
March 2026: Shimano agreed to pay an $11.5m penalty
Shimano has paid an $11.5m civil penalty in the US for not promptly reporting the crankarm defect. Jack Luke / Our Media
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced an $11.5 million civil penalty settlement with Shimano, which it concluded had failed to report promptly to the commission the defect in its 11-speed cranks.
The settlement also required Shimano to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act and submit annual reports on its compliance programme and internal controls.
August 2026: deadline to submit claim form for class-action lawsuit closes
14 years after it launched Dura-Ace 7000, Shimano is finally looking to draw a line under the saga, with a deadline of 4 August 2026 to submit a claim, with documented costs, if you purchased and installed a replacement crankset on your bike outwith the replacement programme.
Pandoc is a document-conversion program
that can translate among a myriad of formats, including LaTeX, HTML, Office Open XML
(docx), plain text, and Markdown. It is also
extensible by writing Lua
filters that can manipulate the document structure and perform arbitrary
computations.
Pandoc has appeared in various LWN articles over the years, such as my look at Typst and at the importance of free software to science in
2025, but we have missed providing an overview of the tool. The February release of Pandoc
3.9, which comes with the ability to compile the program to WebAssembly (Wasm), allowing Pandoc
to run in web browsers, will likely also be of interest.
Bang & Olufsen is marking its 100th year in existence by unveiling the final two pieces of the Beolab 90 Atelier series: the Monarch and Zenith editions. These super-exclusive (read: not for us common folk) speakers will be limited to just 10 pairs per edition with an an expected ultra-high MSRP hovering above half a million dollars.