Why is the UCI planning to ban turned-in brake levers? GCN Tech Show

With the 2024 season fast approaching, there has been a lot going on this week in the world of tech and Alex Paton is joined by a special guest in the form of GTN presenter Mark Threlfall to round up all of the news. It seems that, after beating Conor Dunne in the latest runner versus rider video, Mark has now been granted permission into the tech show.

To get things started, the UCI announced this week that they are looking to ban the aero-fuelled trend of turned-in levers. They have cited safety concerns as the craving force behind this with restrictions set for 2024 and new regulations coming into effect in 2025.

Alex also discusses other things that the UCI has considered banning in the past, while Ollie spoke to one of the UCI’s technical advisors regarding tubeless tech. It turns out that in the aftermath of this year's Paris-Roubaix, which saw countless punctures and broken wheels, there had been discussions around banning tubeless systems from competition.

Finally, something else that the UCI had once wanted to ban that has since been embraced is the use of FPV drones to provide coverage inside cyclo-cross races. With the use of this technology commonplace in cyclo-cross and mountain bike events, it would be great to see this become more widely used in other disciplines too.

Hot and spicy tech

This week in hot and spicy tech we take a look at some of the latest WorldTour kits for the new season along with all the other headlines you may have missed.

New kits for 2024

The road racing season is just around the corner and with the new season comes new team kits. Ineos Grenadiers, Israel-Premier Tech, Bora-Hansgrohe, and Soudal Quick-Step have all released new kits this week. If you want to see how they look, check out our guide below.

• Read more: Pro cycling kits 2024: What the WorldTour teams are wearing

Ride Gemini carbon fibre chainring

Although strictly speaking this is a mountain bike component, the technology on display on the Ride Gemini Rigel chainring really stands out. The chainring uses an aluminum core to form the base of the structure and then uses forged carbon fibre to create the rest of the profile. The end result is a chainring that tips the scales at just 39 grams.

Zwift has announced further details of the Zwift Games

Earlier in the year Zwift announced that in March 2024 it would be holding the inaugural Zwift Games virtual racing series. The championship is split into three events: a sprint, hill climb, and epic.

• Read more: Zwift Games aims to be the 'biggest cycling esports competition to date'

Not only is this a competition for elite riders, but anyone with an indoor training set-up can enter and take part with community events for racers not looking to compete for the win. Zwift has announced the prize purse for the event this week with the total on offer being $110,000 split equally across each event and between male and female categories.

• Read more: GCN's ultimate guide to indoor cycling

Strava has announced this year's festive 500

Between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, Strava has announced the return of the festive 500 challenge. To complete this riders need to ride 500 kilometres and upload it to Strava. It certainly requires dedication and motivation to complete this challenge. If you join the Strava club for the Festive 500 you could be in with a chance of winning a bike.

MET has announced the world's lightest e-bike-certified commuter helmet

The MET E-Mob helmet has been released as the lightest commuter helmet on the market that has been tested and certified for use on e-bikes. It features a built-in rear light and is available with or without the MIPS rotational protection system.

Your comments and bikes

In response to the worst upgrades you can do to your bike video, plenty of you were quick to write in to tell us it is about the aesthetic appeal of the bike rather than any tangible performance upgrade.

In the bike vault this week is a rather blingy custom-built Pinarello Dogma F with gold bottle cages. We aren’t sure if it will be to everyone's taste but it certainly got our attention. If you want to submit your bikes to the bike vault make sure that you do it via the GCN uploader. We suggest that you get your submissions in fast with next weeks episode being a bike vault special.

Watch this week's GCN Tech Show in full above or on the GCN Tech YouTube channel.