Apple could be considering a return of the iconic backlit Apple logo on future MacBook models, if a newly published patent is anything to go by.
Once a common sight in coffee shops everywhere, the glowing emblem of an Apple logo featured on the lids of many Mac laptops launched in the early 2000s, but its demise in 2015 could turn out to be relatively short-lived.
Filed by Apple in May 2022 and published last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a new patent summarizes various implementations of "Electronic Devices With Backlit Partial Mirror Structures," but the illustrated example leaves readers in little doubt about the specific use case Apple has in mind.
"An electronic device such as a laptop computer or other device may have a housing. Components such as a display and keyboard may be mounted in the housing. The rear of the housing may be provided with a logo. The logo or other structures in the device may be provided with a backlit partially reflective mirror. The mirror may provide the logo or other structures with a shiny appearance while blocking interior components from view. At the same time, the partial transparency of the mirror allows backlight illumination from within the device to pass through the mirror."
"One or more thin-film layers may be configured to provide the partially reflective mirror with desired visible light reflection spectrum, a desired visible light transmission spectrum, and a desired visible light absorption spectrum. The reflectivity of the mirror may be configured so that the mirror serves as a one-way mirror for the logo or other structure. The mirror may have a neutral color such as light gray or may have a non-neutral color such as gold."
Patently Apple, which first highlighted the document, notes that three of the engineers listed on the patent only joined Apple in 2018, long after the backlit logo was dropped from Mac laptops, indicating that a different methodology is being described.
The first Mac laptop with a lit-up Apple logo was the third-generation PowerBook G3 launched in 1999, and the glowing symbol proved a mainstay through consecutive Apple notebooks for the next 16 years. The only change in that period was that the logo got flipped upright, so that it no longer appeared upside down to onlookers when someone was sat in public with the lid open.
In 2015, Apple began nixing the illuminated insignia from its laptops, starting with the ultra-thin 12-inch MacBook, which had a polished metal logo instead, like those seen on iPads. In 2016, a new generation of MacBook Pro models continued the unlit trend, and Apple hasn't launched a Mac laptop with a glowing logo since.
Call of Duty fans were quick to praise Modern Warfare 2's Amsterdam level, with many complimenting how accurate Infinity Ward's in-game depiction of the city was to real life.
However, the hotel manager of Amsterdam's Conservatorium Hotel is less happy about the establishment - known within Modern Warfare 2 as Breenbergh - showing up in a game that "[encourages] the use of violence".
The hotel is now considering its next possible steps in response to this inclusion.
The PC launch trailer for Modern Warfare 2.
Speaking to de Volksrant (via PC Gamer), hotel manager Roy Tomassen stated: "We have taken note of the fact that the Conservatorium Hotel is undesirably [in a] scene of the new Call of Duty... [and] we don't support games that seem to encourage the use of violence."
Tomassen continued, "the game in no way reflects our core values and we regret our apparent and unwanted involvement."
Call of Duty publisher Activision declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer.
And, as campaigns go it's possibly as big and bold as Call of Duty gets. But is it actually any good? You can find out more about what Wes and Martin think about it all so far here.
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Anyone who views the web via Chrome must make sure their software is fully up to date or risk being attacked by cyber thieves. That's the very latest warning from Google with the technology giant releasing an urgent patch that fixes a critical flaw in its hugely popular browser.
The high-severity bug, which was discovered by security experts at Avast, is so serious it's been given the dreaded zero-day rating which basically means it's possible – and very likely - the flaw is already known to criminals and is being used right now.
The fact that this weakness has been labeled 'zero day' is why Google has acted so fast to push out the upgrade and you must not ignore it as, once installed on PCs, it will stop hackers in their tracks.
It's now vital that all users check their devices and make sure things are upgraded to the latest version.
Anyone using Windows will be safe once they have 107.0.5304.87/.88 installed and Mac users need to check for Chrome 107.0.5304.87.
Confirming the upgrade, Google said: "We are aware of reports that an exploit for CVE-2022-3723 exists in the wild.
"We would also like to thank all security researchers that worked with us during the development cycle to prevent security bugs from ever reaching the stable channel.
"The Stable channel has been updated to 107.0.5304.87 for Mac and Linux and 107.0.5304.87/.88 for Windows, which will roll out over the coming days/weeks."
As always the firm won't disclose more details about the flaws until it's certain that the majority of users have upgraded their web browser, but it's clearly serious so don't delay in making sure your PC is up to date.
How to update your Chrome browser:
• On your computer, open Chrome.
• At the top right, click More .
• Click Help. About Google Chrome.
• Click Update Google Chrome. Important: If you can't find this button, you're on the latest version.
Update: Santa Monica Studio has shown as little of God of War Ragnarok as possible prior to release, so it’s a shame to see the game break street date and begin to leak. Subsequently, the developer has released a statement, pleading with fans to keep story information to themselves. It adds that it’s doing its best to “limit the exposure of unsanctioned footage” but admits it “cannot catch everything”.
The studio then goes on to suggest that players mute specific keywords or hashtags associated with the game until launch day. Obviously, it’s gutting that it’s come to this, but that’s just the way of the world we suppose.
Original Story: An idiotic reviewer had already spoiled some sections of God of War Ragnarok earlier in the month, but now things are about to get really wild, as retailers begin to break street date. Santa Monica Studio has been keeping its hotly anticipated sequel under wraps, and still very little is known about the title – even two weeks prior to its release.
However, with the game now in consumers’ hands, it’s going to be difficult to sidestep some of the spoilers that will inevitably come out. Cory Barlog, the director of the previous God of War, took to Twitter to express his displeasure, referencing the recent situation with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which only has 70MB of data on its Blu-ray:
Barlog continued: “Sorry to everyone that you have to dodge the spoilers if you want to play the game fresh. Completely f**king stupid you have to do this. This is not at all how any of us at Santa Monica Studio wanted things to go.”
To be honest, all we can really suggest is to go into this game as blind as you possibly can. That may mean reducing your time on social media and YouTube, but it’ll be worth it in the long run. Hopefully Sony can be vigilant in getting offending videos taken down prior to the game releasing, but as you no doubt know, once something is on the Internet it’s incredibly difficult to remove it forever.
The Classified PowerShift hub is a really interesting bit of tech that has the power to change road bike design for good. It's a front derailleur-killing design that I think is going to really shake things up, particularly in the aero bike world, by allowing you to run what is effectively a 2x setup while reaping the benefits of 1x. And with more wheel brands on board, things are going to get even better.
What we have here is a single-chainring setup (1x) with all of the benefits of a double (2x) setup, and none of the drawbacks of either.
Inside the rear hub is a two-speed gear system that gives you 100 per cent of whatever chainring you have fitted, and then a reduction gear of around 70 per cent of that chainring, essentially doing the job of your 'missing' smaller chainring. So it's like having your front derailleur hidden away in your rear hub.
That has a range of mechanical benefits, not least the fact that you'll never have to index a front derailleur again. All of the important bits are also housed out of the way of rain and corrosive road spray, so you won't be needing to clean anything. And because this is a planetary gear system, the shifting between the two ratios is unbelievably fast.
Performance
Let's talk about performance for a moment, though there really isn't much to say. Press the small shift button and the system changes in 0.15 seconds. It'll do it under power, at any cadence, and it is yet to miss a beat. Classified does say that the system can't be shifted when you're pushing out over 1,000 watts, but I'm not sure that would be sensible anyway.
Shifting this thing is addictive for the first few rides, and I spent the majority of the testing period seeing if I could make it go wrong. I couldn't.
Rattling over trails and gravel paths also caused no issues, and during a summer cyclocross race I was able to bail out into the 'little ring' reduction gear in a place that may well have sent my chain bouncing off onto the bottom bracket had I been using a conventional derailleur system.
Shift button integration
If you're using Shimano Di2, the system gets even better. The small shift button is replaced by the system integrating into the existing left-hand Shimano Di2 lever. I don't have it on this Canyon Inflite test bike, but I have ridden it and found this way of doing things the best.
My SRAM-equipped bike requires the small shifter button to be poked through the bar tape or, ideally, you can punch a hole in the shifter hood. Seeing as this isn't my bike, I had the shifter button poking through the bar tape.
I don't like the SRAM setup half as much and, quite frankly SRAM, if you're reading this, you need to get on board with the system and offer your customers proper integration. Top marks to Shimano for allowing – or not preventing – the integration.
Cassette & ratios
The cassette is a very nice bit of machining with a hollow body that really needs to be seen up close to be admired. Gear changes across the cassette were also smooth, and I didn't notice any extra drivetrain noise.
Our test system came with an 11-30T cassette, but it's available in four sizes: 11-27, 11-30, 11-32, and 11-34. My bike also had a 42-tooth chainring, and Classified recommends a minimum size of 40T.
The main benefits for road and gravel bikes is that you don't need to run a massive cassette with big gaps to get a normal range of gears. So on the road, you can run a normal 52 or 53T chainring with a standard 11-30 cassette and have all of the gears that you'd usually have with a 2x system.
The wheels use 12x100 and 12x142mm thru-axles, the rear being the one that receives the shift signal and then actuates the shift. The axle houses a 1-watt motor, which is rather tiny, but uses the wheel's movement to actually change gear.
You will need to charge the rear axle occasionally, but I'm three months into testing and my occasional riding is yet to drain the battery.
Gamechanger?
So, why am I so confident that this is a nailed-on gamechanger for aero road bikes? (Though I think it'll also change the gravel and mountain bike worlds.) Well, we need to consider what riders and teams are prepared to do to their current bikes and the clothing that they will wear to save even a few watts.
Look at any road race, even down at my pitiful level, and you'll see a lot of aero socks, speedsuits, aero helmets, deep wheels, oversized pulley wheel cage systems and stupidly narrow handlebars. All of these measures save just a few watts each, and we've already seen 1x bike designers promoting the potential aero savings from removing the front derailleur. And then a quick look around the car park at a local time trial will tell you that when it comes to cheating the wind, the front derailleur isn't welcome.
Weight might seem like one potential issue, but the hub, at about 475g, is compensated for slightly by the removal of the front derailleur, its mount, the inner chainring and the fact that the cassette is superlight at just 190g. A Dura-Ace R9200 front derailleur, for example, weighs 93g and Classified says that overall bike weight won't be negatively affected if you're currently using a 2X Di2 setup with something like a DT Swiss 350 hub.
I, personally, would be taking that with a pinch of salt as it'll largely depend on the rear hub that you're replacing. If it was a superlight design then the Powershift might make your bike weigh a bit more.
The wheels that I had installed were the Classified gravel model. They're fine, with smooth bearings and a decent rim shape, but they're nothing exciting. The good news is that Classified has recently announced partnerships with a range of wheelset brands, including DT Swiss, Mavic, Fast Forward, Enve, Reynolds, Boyd Cycling, and Spinergy.
That's a brilliant move on Classified's part, because it can go about focusing on making the integration with shifting systems better and dropping the weight of the hubs, while leaving the rim and wheel building stuff to the brands that already do a great job.
In fact, the only reason that I couldn't give Classified a glowing 5-star review was because of the slightly dull wheels. So if you're going to be buying the system in a different wheelset and putting it in a Di2 groupset then you can consider this a perfect review.
Value
The final thing we need to cover is price. For any of the current Classified wheelsets, which come with everything that you need for the system, you're looking at £2,300. That is a significant amount for a front derailleur replacement, but for a carbon wheelset it isn't ridiculous.
Prices are yet to be confirmed for the third-party wheels, but Classified has confirmed that it will soon be offering the system as a standalone product to be built onto a rim of your choice. That might be the cheapest way to get it.
Conclusion
I'm dead impressed by the Classified Powershift system. I think it's about to really shake up the road and gravel bike markets, and with a mountain bike version coming too, this is one to seriously consider.
Verdict
An excellent system – better shifting than a standard front derailleur, with many more benefits
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Classified Powershift Hub
Size tested: 11-30T
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
From Classified:
"POWERSHIFT TECHNOLOGY is a wireless shifting technology that allows you to shift gears instantly and under full load. Its first application is the Powershift hub, which replaces the front derailleur. The Powershift hub offers unrivalled shift quality, high gearing range and small steps in between gears combining the benefits of both 1x and 2x."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
The system included:
A shift button
Bar-end communicator
System-specific thru-axle
Cassette
Rear hub
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
This would be a 10 but for the wheels.
Rate the product for performance:
10/10
Wheels aside, it's exceptional.
Rate the product for durability:
10/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
7/10
Rate the product for value:
5/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
This shifts instantly under loads of power and at low cadences. It's so much better than a front derailleur.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The shifting is mesmerisingly good.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
The wheelset isn't amazing.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
Nothing else like this on the market.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
If I was scoring this on just the hub system it would be a 10. This is a brilliant idea that has been delivered well. The shifting is insanely good. While the wheels are okay, the cost for the wheelset system is high – but with other brands coming in and the system soon to be available for building into existing wheels, this is going to be less of an issue.
Overall rating: 9/10
Age: 27 Height: 177cm Weight: 62kg
I usually ride: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Under 5 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, club rides, general fitness riding, I specialise in the Cafe Ride!
An idiotic reviewer had already spoiled some sections of God of War Ragnarok earlier in the month, but now things are about to get really wild, as retailers begin to break street date. Santa Monica Studio has been keeping its hotly anticipated sequel under wraps, and still very little is known about the title – even two weeks prior to its release.
However, with the game now in consumers’ hands, it’s going to be difficult to sidestep some of the spoilers that will inevitably come out. Cory Barlog, the director of the previous God of War, took to Twitter to express his displeasure, referencing the recent situation with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which only has 70MB of data on its Blu-ray:
Barlog continued: “Sorry to everyone that you have to dodge the spoilers if you want to play the game fresh. Completely f**king stupid you have to do this. This is not at all how any of us at Santa Monica Studio wanted things to go.”
To be honest, all we can really suggest is to go into this game as blind as you possibly can. That may mean reducing your time on social media and YouTube, but it’ll be worth it in the long run. Hopefully Sony can be vigilant in getting offending videos taken down prior to the game releasing, but as you no doubt know, once something is on the Internet it’s incredibly difficult to remove it forever.
Microsoft’s head of gaming has commented on the ongoing investigations into its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, stating that he believes heavy scrutiny from regulators is “fair” and “warranted”.
Speaking during the Wall Street Journal Tech Live event this week, Xbox head Phil Spencer said he believed scrutiny around such a significant deal was warranted and revealed that he had been meeting regularly with regulators around the world.
Campaign Early Access - Backstabbed | Modern Warfare II
“It might be surprising to people, but I’m not an expert on doing 70 billion dollar deals,” he said. “But I do know that we’re very focused on getting approval in the major jurisdictions, and I’m spending a lot of time in Brussels, London and with the FTC here in the US.
“I would say the discussions have been very fair and honest. It is a big acquisition, there’s no doubt. Microsoft in its role in the tech industry, is a large tech company, and I do think the discussion around an acquisition of this size is warranted, and I’ve appreciated the time to go spend.”
He added: “We’re really focused on getting the deal approved in the markets – I’m confident in that. I was just in London last week, continue to have discussions with all the regulatory boards, and remain confident that we’ll get the deal approved.”
Much of the discussion – from regulators and the games industry – around the Activision Blizzard deal has focussed on Call of Duty.
Despite repeated assurances from Xbox that the Call of Duty series, which is regularly the best-selling release of the year in the US, will remain on PlayStation, Sony has been engaged in an increasingly public war of words over the proposed deal, and told the press that Microsoft’s offer in regards to the future of CoD was “inadequate on many levels”.
UK’s CMA voiced similar concerns that the deal could harm PlayStation and other game subscription services, should Microsoft make Call of Duty exclusive to its platform.
In the Wall Street Journal discussion, Spencer reiterated Microsoft’s stance that it will continue to release CoD on PlayStation platforms for the foreseeable future. The exec claimed that for its gaming business, the company was more interested in what the addition of Activision Blizzard could do for its mobile growth.
“Our plan is that Call of Duty specifically would be available on PlayStation, which is what you’re asking about, but when I think about our plans I’d love to see it on Switch and playable on many different screens,” he said.
“But if we circle back to why this deal is important to us, when you’re spending the amount that we’re spending and looking at the opportunity in gaming, this opportunity is really about mobile.
“Most of the dialogue that’s out there has been around consoles, and how Xbox and PlayStation consoles compete with each other. But when we think about three billion people playing video games, there’s only about 200 million households that play on console. The vast majority of people who play, do so on the device that’s already in their pocket, which is their phone.”
Spencer claimed that Microsoft found Call of Duty Mobile “more interesting” than what the proposed deal would mean on console between Xbox and PlayStation.
“The thing that made us really interested in Activision Blizzard King was the work that the teams there had done in building such large mobile followings,” he said.
“This franchise will continue to ship on PlayStation natively – it’s not our plan to bait and switch somebody where they’ve got to play in the cloud, or that in two to three years we’re going to pull the game. Our intent is that we would continue to ship Call of Duty on PlayStation as long as that makes sense… tech is always in some form of transition.”
The incessant pace of gravel tech waits for no rider and, three-and-a-half years after the launch of Shimano GRX, it’s time to compile our wish list for the next generation of the Japanese giant’s gravel groupsets.
When GRX arrived as Shimano’s first gravel-specific groupset in 2019, the brand launched three tiers of components. These are the RX800/815 (mechanical and Di2), RX600 (mechanical), and RX400 (mechanical), nominally matching the specs of the brand’s previous-generation Ultegra, 105 and Tiagra road groupsets.
Shimano hit a home run with the launch of GRX – it’s very good – but the gravel market has evolved significantly since 2019.
When will we see a new GRX family? Shimano updates its road groupsets roughly every three to five years, so we could see a GRX update in 2023. Equally, the industry (and, in particular, Shimano) is still feeling the effect of widespread component shortages and that could delay a launch.
Either way, regular BikeRadar readers will know we love nothing more than dusting off the crystal ball, so here’s what we want to see from a next-generation GRX line-up.
1) 12-speed
With Dura-Ace, Ultegra and 105 now 12-speed, it’s time for GRX to follow suit.Fairlight
Okay, we’ll start with an easy one.
With Dura-Ace R9200, Ultegra R8100 and 105 R7100 all gaining an additional sprocket to become 12-speed, we want – no, demand! – GRX to follow suit, at least at its nominal Ultegra and 105 levels.
This is a logical progression, given the development of Shimano’s road groupsets but, given the popularity of 1x drivetrains among gravel riders (we’ll come on to this…) an extra sprocket can make a significant difference if you’ve ditched the front derailleur.
Campagnolo leads the way when it comes to the number of sprockets, with Ekar coming in at 13 speeds.Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media
That said, GRX is currently available in both 11-speed and 10-speed flavours, so if Shimano’s update covers the same three tiers as the original launch, we’d expect the Tiagra-level RX400 components to follow the expected evolution of the road groupset and move to 11-speed.
2) Electronic evolution
With SRAM now offering XPLR AXS gearing for its top three groupsets, we’d expect Shimano to do the same.Russell Burton / Our Media
The arrival of Shimano 105 Di2 was one of this year’s biggest – and most hotly anticipated – launches, but what does that mean for GRX?
First of all, any new GRX Di2 components will surely follow the lead of Dura-Ace, Ultegra and now 105 in ditching a fully wired setup, in favour of a semi-wireless arrangement. That means the shifters communicate wirelessly with the front and rear derailleurs, which in turn are wired to a central battery.
On the road side of things, Shimano has seemingly abandoned high-end mechanical groupsets in favour of this semi-wireless setup. Will Shimano also ditch mechanical shifting for a new, high-end GRX groupset?
Now that SRAM offers its third-tier Rival groupset in a gravel-friendly XPLR format, we also expect Shimano will bring Di2 electronic shifting to its 105-level components.
Gazing deeply into the crystal (gravel?) ball, we’d expect a new GRX line-up to look something like this:
Ultegra-level, Di2 only, 12-speed
105-level, Di2 and mechanical, 12-speed
Tiagra-level, mechanical 11-speed
Would Shimano need to offer a new 12-speed, mechanical 105 groupset before its GRX equivalent follows suit? Most likely.
In an ideal world, we’d also like Shimano to upgrade a future Tiagra-level GRX groupset to 12-speed, ensuring full mechanical compatibility between price tiers. But, given that Tiagra would need to jump from its current 10-speed status to 12-speed, that seems unlikely.
And could we even see Dura-Ace components for GRX? More on that soon.
3) Updated brake calipers and rotors
The current GRX Di2 hoods are things of beauty.Irmo Keizer / Shimano
GRX led the way by introducing Servo Wave to drop-bar levers (albeit borrowed from Shimano’s mountain bike brakes) and that technology has now found its way onto the brand’s latest road groups.
Servo Wave makes the relationship between lever and brake pad movement non-linear, improving modulation and control, and is one of the reasons why Shimano’s GRX brakes are so good.
The GRX Di2 hood shape is also a work of art, and very different to that of the mechanical shape. Short and compact, the GRX hoods are a comfortable place to spend a lot of time and, crucially, also allow for confident braking on the hoods.
The new Shimano RT-CL900 disc brake rotors offer a tangible performance upgrade over previous versions.Simon von Bromley / Our Media
As far as braking is concerned, we’d expect Shimano to update the GRX brake calipers and rotors to mirror recent improvements to the new road groupsets.
That means more pad clearance, which is critical for grimy gravel riding, easier bleed port access and rotors to match the new RT-CL900 and RT-CL800 designs. In testing, we’ve found these offer improved warp resistance for quieter performance on brake-heavy descents.
We’d also like Shimano to introduce reach and bite point adjustment to its brake levers, as seen on Campagnolo’s Ekar gravel groupset.
Just leave the Di2 hood shape alone!
4) More 1x gearing options
Shimano needs to refine its 1x gearing options.Shimano
Shimano, in its conservatism, has consistently backed 2x drivetrains for both road and gravel riding.
Indeed, while the current GRX family offers 1x components – a first for Shimano on drop-bar bikes – arch-rival SRAM is the preferred 1x provider for most riders.
How can Shimano level-up against the American upstart? Give us more 1x gearing options.
SRAM is keen to push its mullet gearing options. Could we see Shimano take a similar approach?Specialized
Officially, Shimano’s current GRX RX812 rear derailleur offers capacity for a 42-tooth sprocket, but SRAM’s 12-speed AXS XPLR, introduced in 2021 as the brand’s ‘sweetspot’ gravel gearing, steps this up to 44 teeth, with a wider range of 1x cranksets, too.
We’re also seeing an increasing number of SRAM riders opt for a mullet gearing setup, pairing gravel or road components at the front of the drivetrain, with a huge 10-52t Eagle cassette at the rear.
2x still has its place on gravel bikes – some riders prefer the ability to fine-tune gearing and cadence, particularly if riding less technical terrain – but it’s time for Shimano to refine its 1x gearing options.
And will Shimano, like SRAM, even go as far as embracing Di2 mullet gearing? We’ll need a full (and much-needed) update to XTR Di2 for that, but any update to Shimano’s premier mountain bike groupset could give an indication of what to expect from a new GRX line-up.
5) GRX power meter crankset
SRAM now offers a power meter for its third-tier Rival groupset.Russell Burton / Immediate Media
Ultimately, Shimano seemed content to limit its in-house, crankset-based power meter to top-tier Dura-Ace components, with third-party suppliers providing a wide range of options in an increasingly crowded market.
That changed with the introduction of a power meter to Ultegra R8100, offering dual-sided measurements to a claimed accuracy of +/- 2%.
That’s still a step behind SRAM, with the US brand offering a power meter for its third-tier Rival crankset.
Aero for gravel is ‘a thing’, so why shouldn’t there be a gravel power meter, too?Andy Chastain
Regardless, we want Shimano to offer a power meter for GRX.
Staring at your stem to crunch the numbers may not be in the ‘spirit of gravel’ but, given the rise of gravel racing, and the number of pros now dipping a toe into the dirt, a GRX power meter crankset would scratch that itch for power-hungry gravelistas.
Which leads us on to our final point…
6) We want Dura-Ace!
Gravel racing is now big business. Surely the pros need a Dura-Ace option for GRX?BMC / Phil Gale
Currently, GRX tops out with its Ultegra-level RX800 components, but with some of the world’s best riders now turning their attention to gravel, is it time to reward them with the best Shimano can offer?
Could this limited-edition, silver-polished finish make a wider appearance? We’d love that to be the case – but wouldn’t bet on it.Shimano
The market may be small, but hey, why shouldn’t we ask for nice things?
Authors
George Scott is BikeRadar's editor-in-chief. He has been writing about bikes for more than a decade and riding them for much longer. He's a road cyclist at heart and is happiest in the mountains, even if he can't climb them particularly quickly. George has ridden the Etape du Tour, Maratona dles Dolomites and Haute Route sportives, but has also caught the gravel riding bug. George also contributes to the BikeRadar Podcast and YouTube channel, and, as well as being the former editor of RoadCyclingUK.com, has also written about cycling for Rouleur, Cyclist.co.uk and T3.
