Gear Break is springing forth with some exciting gear and kit, and a new bike, to get you ready for the coming season. New sunnies from Tifosi, with a lightweight, wide-angle rimless design gets it started. SCICON has dropped a new version of its venerable Saddlebag 098 with an integrated taillight, you can have your bag AND taillight, too! Polar’s new urban inspired smart multi-function watch has arrived, and Look drops the super lightweight SPD-compatible X-One-GTi. MAAP and KASK team up again with the latest iteration of their limited edition helmet series. And, finally, we’ve got the new OPEN U.P. 2.0 Adventure…who says aero can’t be comfy?
Tifosi Optics Moab XC
Unobstructed view
Tifosi designed the Moab XC to deliver maximum vision and versatility while moving fast. These sunglasses feature a rimless frame and lens swap function, ideal for cycling and a wide range of other outdoor and sports activities.
Quick Change
Tifosi’s patented Interchange System–a tool-free, rimless lens swap system–is the core of the new Moab XC. The system lets the user adapt the sunglasses in seconds, depending on conditions. A three-lens set provides performance for the widest range of conditions, with options for bright, low and no light conditions, from early mornings to late finishes. Alternatively, the Moab XC with Fototec photochromic lenses automatically adjust to changing light. Meanwhile, the Moab XC with Clarion lenses repel moisture, such as perspiration.
Light and slee
The rimless shield design of the Tifosi Moab XC disappears the moment that the sunglasses are put on. The wearer stays focused on the road or trail ahead through glasses that open up a wide, unobstructed field of view. Ultra-thin sculpted temples reduce weight and drag, creating a sleek, aerodynamic profile that feels comfortable, even deep into long miles. Adjustable nose and ear pads allow the wearer to fine-tune the fit for comfort and stability when intensity rises.
Cycling and more
Tifosi engineered every detail of the Moab XC for motion – cycling, running, walking – and to assist endurance efforts where gear must perform without distraction. The sunglasses are also compatible with Tifosi’s new RX adapter, allowing outdoor and sports activists to add prescription lenses without compromising on performance.
Priced from $79.95 / £79.99, the Tifosi Moab XC will be available in the US from April 7 at www.tifosioptics.com, or from 15 April in the UK at www.tifosi-optics.co.uk. Selected retailers already have these on offer for pre-order.
Be sure to keep your eyes peeled, we will be dropping a full review of these soon!
SCICON Saddlebag 098
Have your bag and light, too
SCICON have dropped a saddlebag that ends the worry about how to attach a light and saddle bag under your saddle. Compact, essential, designed to follow you on every ride. Adding an integrated light to their Saddlebag 098, SCICON combined functionality and safety in a clean, intuitive system. Minimal in design yet highly functional, it offers space for tools and ride essentials.
Visibility is not an accessory
The Saddlebag 098 with Light is the perfect solution for cyclists who don’t have a tail light or whose light is hidden by a traditional saddlebag. It offers ample room for your ride essentials. Made from tear-resistant CrossGuard
fabric and PVC RinforzTex, the saddlebag is water-resistant, lightweight, and fully washable. Thanks to a cable reel system, it mounts securely under the saddle without sway, ensuring stability on any ride.
The built-in 30-lumen LED tail light features a motion sensor and USB-C rechargeable battery. It provides up to 34 hours of runtime and visibility up to 1 km for maximum safety. The light unit utilizes a magnetic quick-release system, and reflective inserts add extra visibility in low-light conditions. A smart, practical, and reliable saddle bag with integrated light, ideal for road, gravel, or MTB use.
Highlights
- 30-lumen LED tail light
- Visibility 1 km, viewing angle >220°
- Light magnetic quick-release design
- Motion sensor, light turns off when stationary
- USB-C rechargeable battery, cable included
- Up to 34 hours runtime, 5 modes
- Tool-free installation
- Reflective details
- Internal compartments to organize spare parts
- Anti-sway rotor knob for seatpost
Availability and pricing
The SCICON Saddlebag 098 with Light is available now from SCICON. MSRP for the bag is $88.00 / €80,00 / £70.00.
Polar Street X
Urban grit
While we at Pez usually prefer our gear to look like it belongs on a WorldTour podium, there’s something to be said for a watch that doesn’t mind a little gravel-grinding grit. The Street X is Polar’s latest entry for the “urban athlete,” but for us, that just translates to “cyclists who don’t want to break a $1000+ sapphire screen on a chunky gravel road.”
Key Highlights
It sports a vibrant 1.28-inch AMOLED touchscreen that’s readable in direct sunlight under a scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 3.0 crystal. Wrapped in a reinforced polymer chassis with eight exposed screws, it will survive the gnarliest crash. Though we aren’t suggesting you test this.
It sports Polar’s Precious Prime Optical Heart Rate Sensor offering accurate, consistent, reliable heart rate readings.
It also features an integrated LED flashlight. It’s got a white beam for finding your lost hex wrench in the grass and a red-light mode for those “stealth” moments when you’re trying to read a map without blinding your riding buddies.
You won’t get full topographic maps here—it’s breadcrumb navigation only—but you do get Polar’s full recovery suite. It tracks HRV and skin temperature, telling you exactly how much that post-ride double espresso (or Double Dry Hopped Hazy IPA) actually cost your sleep quality.
Tech Specs
| Feature | Detail |
| Weight | 48g (Total) / 28g (Case only) |
| Display | 1.28” AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 3.0 |
| Battery | 43h (GPS/HR) / 10 days (Smartwatch mode) |
| Durability | MIL-STD-810H / WR50 Water Resistance |
| Sensors | Precision Prime OHR (Gen 3.5), Barometer, Compass, Skin Temp |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth LE, USB-C |
Availability and pricing
The Polar Street X is available via Polar’s website and select retailers. MSRP is US$249.99 / / £219.00 / CA$409.99—placing it by price below the more “pro” Vantage line while still offering enough tech to keep your training on track. It launched in Night Black and Snow White, with a limited-edition Forest Green currently exclusive to polar.com. Canadian customers can pre-order the Street X.
Look X-One-GTi
Speed Becomes Instinct
Born from gravel racing, the X-One-GTi turns every pedal stroke into explosive acceleration. Designed for pure speed, it embodies an obsession with detail and the relentless pursuit of performance.
Lightweight, stable, and precise, it delivers instant power transfer across all terrains. Developed alongside our athletes, its unique single-sided engagement mechanism and clean, aerodynamic design make it a pedal shaped for competition.
Record-Breaking Lightness
Weighing barely 120 g per pedal, the X-One-GTi redefines the standards of lightweight performance. A masterpiece of engineering, it maximizes efficiency with every pedal stroke, offering elite racers total responsiveness and control.
Absolute Power
With 650 mm² of contact surface and 67 mm width, the X-One-GTi ensures total energy transfer. Its platform has been meticulously shaped to perfectly match the shoe lugs, guaranteeing flawless stability and immediate acceleration, whatever the terrain.
Optimized Essentials
SPD-compatible, LOOK Cycle’s patented single-sided mechanism reduces weight while optimizing aerodynamics. Robust and proven, it offers a precise, adjustable engagement system to fine-tune release tension for every rider and terrain.
Technical Specifications
| Spindle Material | Titanium |
| Body Material | Machined Aluminum |
| Technology | X-One-G |
| Platform Area | 650 mm² |
| Platform Width | 67 mm |
| Total Stack Height | 16.8 mm (10.7 mm pedal + 6.1 mm cleat) |
| Q-Factor | 53 mm |
| Retention Tension | 5 to 10 |
| Cleat Standard | SPD compatible |
| Included Cleats | X-Classic (X-Easy available separately) |
| Float Angle | 6° |
| Release Angle | 13° |
| Weight (Single Pedal) | 120 g |
| Weight (Pair + Cleats) | 290 g |
| Weight (Cleats) | 50 g |
Availability and pricing
Head over to Look Cycle’s website to find the Look dealer nearest you for purchase. MSRP is $365.00.
MAAP x KASK Protone Icon
The collaboration gets a new look
Leading premium cycling and lifestyle apparel brand MAAP has reignited its collaboration with helmet manufacturer KASK to launch their latest special edition Protone Icon helmet, marking the third iteration of their collaboration.
Two brands united in their obsession with performance, design and detail. The collaboration marks the third release between MAAP and KASK, reintroducing the iconic Protone Icon in two new limited-edition Charcoal and Silver colourways.
Balanced creativity and performance
When working on the Protone Icon with KASK, MAAP looked to balance KASK’s sharp performance DNA with their own signature creative defiance. Drawing inspiration from fluid aerodynamic patterns for the graphics while providing a pop of vivid colour with Lavender and Blue accents and webbing.
The MAAP x KASK Protone Icon features an innovative internal strengthening frame, vertical stabiliser for ergonomic neck support, and KASK’s OCTOFIT+ adjustment system – as featured in the previous Elemento SE featured here in November 2025 – to deliver improved safety, comfort and stability.
Performance remains at the core of the design, with seamless technology joining the helmet shell’s lower and upper sections providing improved aerodynamics, whilst a COOLMAX® inner fabric lining helps regulate temperature and maintain comfort. Additional safety features include a highly visible reflective insert at the rear.
Intricate attention to detail also makes the difference in the new Protone Icon, with the rear enlarged rotation cap coated in a special rubber finish to increase grip at your fingertips for quick adjustments at speed.
Availability and pricing
Merging aesthetics and performance, the new MAAP x KASK Protone Icon is available in two colorways – Charcoal / White / Purple Webbing and Silver / Blue / Blue Webbing, from maap.cc at AUD $495, €355, USD $375, £295.
OPEN U.P. 2.0 Adventure
Aero meets comfy
OPEN adds a new member to its Unbeaten Path family: the U.P. 2.0 Adventure. It takes the aerodynamics and comfort of the U.P.|U.P.PER. 2.0 frame and adds serious cargo capability and an even more comfortable fork.
The entire U.P.|U.P.PER. family is built around one goal: the fastest possible bike on any terrain. Aerodynamics matter — but so does comfort, because a fast position you can’t hold for hours is no position at all. Fit, handling geometry, tire optimization: everything works together.
The U.P. 2.0 Adventure takes all of that further.
Aerodynamics meets comfort
OPEN has always prioritized comfort — even though co-founder and technical director Gerard Vroomen spent his career designing aero bikes, going back to the founding of Cervélo.
Gerard Vroomen sez: “Aero without comfort is useless. A harsh ride will compromise your position on long rides far more than aerodynamics can make up for. On the U.P. 2.0 frame we’ve added aero where it really works while relentlessly protecting frame comfort. The best of both worlds, genuinely.”
Adventure-ready
OPEN customers use their bikes for everything from long day rides to multi-day expeditions. The U.P. 2.0 Adventure is built for both, without compromise.
Vroomen sez: “Light, simple, smart — those are our design principles. We wanted to keep this a true U.P. — fast on any terrain — while also making it fully bikepacking-ready.”
The frame features three eyelets under the toptube for a strapless frame bag — OPEN was the first gravel brand to introduce this on the top of the toptube, now you can direct-mount a bag under the toptube too. Several custom bag makers can produce these, and later this year OPEN will offer a dedicated aero frame bag developed with Apidura.
The new U-Turn Adventure fork takes comfort further with a redesigned leg profile, then adds the world’s lightest cargo solution. Its slots let you strap a soft bag directly to the fork legs, using the fork structure itself as support. No cage required. Fit a bag with integrated straps or use separate cargo straps or bungee cords. Prefer a cage? The cargo barrels let you mount any standard cage to the fork.
OPEN A.I.R. Geometry – Agile | Integrated | Refined
A.I.R. is OPEN’s approach to making rider and bike work as one: agile steering that feels lively on any terrain, integrated components that work together with the frame geometry as a system, and superior adjustment options to refine your position for both comfort and aerodynamics.
As gravel riding evolves, so does OPEN’s approach to fit. The new frames are slightly longer and taller than their predecessors, reflecting how riders are pushing harder and further.
The steering geometry follows a consistent OPEN principle: the bike should feel as agile and lively as a road bike, despite running much larger, profiled tires. It’s an often-overlooked ingredient — but essential on mixed terrain. Every size U.P. 2.0 frame has its own geometry and tube shapes; every fork size is also individually tweaked to deliver that trademark OPEN handling at every size.
OPEN B.A.R.
Perfect fit doesn’t stop at the frame and fork — the cockpit matters just as much. The OPEN B.A.R. solves a problem most riders have quietly accepted: one-piece bars that don’t quite fit. Too few sizes, not enough adjustment, a position that’s always a compromise.
CEO Andy Kessler sez: “It’s strange that riders obsess over 2.5mm in crank length or 5mm in saddle height, but stem lengths jump in 10mm increments. Our integrated bar fixes that.”
The OPEN B.A.R. comes in 10 sizes. Each bar allows you to fine-tune your stem length across a 15mm range with 5mm jumps. Adjustment takes seconds: loosen the clamps, flip the parts, tighten, done.
Tire clearance
OPEN broke open the gravel world over 10 years ago with the original U.P. — the first performance gravel bike. Since then, extensive tire testing for both rolling resistance and aerodynamics has pointed consistently to the same conclusion: 50mm is the valley of death — the worst of both worlds.Go to 45mm or smaller and aerodynamics work in your favor (especially with wide aero gravel rims). Go to 55mm or beyond and lower rolling resistance keeps your speed.
The gravel market has since developed an inexplicable obsession with 50mm tires. We hope it passes. Physics hasn’t changed. OPEN’s model line serves you on either side of the 50mm divide. Up to 45mm, the U.P. 2.0 is your bike. For 55mm and beyond, the WI.DE. 2.0 is coming. The U.P. 2.0 Adventure with 46mm maximum clearance stays true to that philosophy. It’s built for fast riding and agile handling, with or without cargo.
Availability and pricing
The U.P. 2.0 Adventure is available now at opencycle.com/up-20-adventure and at select OPEN retailers. The launch color is Orange Pearl; the frame is also available in custom colors or as Raw Ready-to-Paint.
It is offered as frameset and complete bike:
For full details and purchasing options, head over to Open Cycle.
Note: If you have other experiences with gear or something to add, drop us a line. We don’t claim to know everything (we just imply it at times). Give us a pat on the back if you like the reviews or a slap in the head if you feel the need!
PezCycling News and the author ask that you contact the manufacturers before using any products you see here. Only the manufacturer can provide accurate and complete information on proper/safe use, handling, maintenance, and or installation of products as well as any conditional information or product limitations.
The post Gear Break: Springing Forth – Tifosi Optics Moab XC, SCICON Saddlebag 098 with Light, Polar Street X, Look X-One-GTi, MAAP x KASK Protone, OPEN U.P. 2.0 Adventure appeared first on PezCycling News.
