Will you be wearing the Rapha + Palace EF Crocs? Check out the range plus loads more from Continental, Rudy Project, Muc-Off & Suplest

It has been a super-busy week for new bike equipment from some of cycling's biggest names and Rapha has given us the details of how to buy clothing from its new collaboration with Palace Skateboards, but our big question is: will you rock the Croc?

Scroll down for more tech news from the likes of Continental, Showers Pass, and Rudy Project...

Will you be wearing the Rapha + Palace EF Crocs?

You’ve seen the Rapha + Palace EF clothing worn by EF Education-EasyPost riders in the Tour de France, right? You can hardly have missed it. You’ll be able to buy it all later this week, along with a whole bunch of other on- and off-bike clothing, but the Crocs are dividing opinion.

Rapha + Palace returns: EF Pro Cycling teams unveil wild new switch-out kit for Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes 

The idea of the Rapha and Palace Skateboards collaboration is to celebrate the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift which runs 24-31 July and will include the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB women’s team.

The collection is huge and includes all of the on-bike clothing you’d expect, including Pro Team Aero jerseys and shorts and Pro Team Training jerseys for men and women.

The off-bike kit covers short and long-sleeve T-shirts, hoodies, and caps along with some less predictable clothing. There are Rapha + Palace cropped T-shirts, ‘technical skirts’, utility vests and zip-off trousers.

Then there are those Crocs which, we must say, are a bit of a fashion risk. Do they do it for you?

Are these Cannondale & Palace EF Education team bikes the maddest in the peloton?

All of the Rapha + Palace items will be sold in limited numbers. Rapha says that in order to give everyone a chance, there will be three online drops:

15th July 11am BST - UK, EU, Canada and South Korea

15th July 11am EDT - USA

16th July 11am JST - Asia-Pacific

A select range of Rapha + Palace on-bike items will be made available exclusively to Rapha Cycling Club members who were active on or before the 10th of July or have renewed a previously lapsed membership by 13th July.

Get more info here

Rudy Project’s new Egos helmet debuts in Tour de France

You might have noticed Bahrain Victorious riders wearing a new Rudy Project helmet in the Tour de France. It’s called the Egos and this is its final stage of testing ahead of a September launch.

Rudy Project says, “Egos has been designed to greatly increase the comfort and safety of the athlete through improved ventilation and a two-density construction of the inner shell,”

It says that you get a lot of ventilation at the top of the head, while a Fidlock magnetic attachment system handles closure.

The Egos also features an ‘Airframe Band’ that’s in contact with the forehead, allowing airflow to be channelled inside the helmet for cooling.

Rudy Project claims a weight of 250g for the medium size Egos. We don’t yet have a UK price but it’s €209.90 (around £178).

Get more info here 

Continental says limited edition Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF is its fastest-ever tyre

Continental says that its new tubeless-ready Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF is its fastest-ever performance racing tyre. Obviously, this means it comes with a statistical claim. Ready for it?

“The Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF gives racing cyclists the lowest possible weight and coefficient of rolling resistance, enabling a saving of 17 seconds over a 40km time trial when compared to Continental’s Grand Prix 5000 S TR.”

Did you enjoy that? Continental says that this time-saving has been achieved by “optimised tread thickness and construction to reduce material deformation at the contact point between road and tyre.”

At a claimed 215g per tyre, the 700x25 Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF is 35g lighter than Continental’s Grand Prix 5000 S TR.

The Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF uses Continental’s BlackChili Compound and Vectran Breaker liquid crystal polymers “for puncture protection and five-times greater tear resistance than a comparable nylon breaker”. It’s available with black sidewalls only.

The price is £89.95.

Get more info here

Showers Pass updates Spring Classic jacket

Showers Pass has introduced an updated version of its Spring Classic jacket to mark the company’s 25th anniversary in the bike industry.

The jacket includes Showers Pass’ new eliteAIR fabric in the underarm construction, which is designed to be stretchy and breathable. There’s also a limited release in the brand’s Goldenrod colourway.

Check out our review of a previous version of the Showers Pass Spring Classic jacket

Showers Pass says that the Spring Classic delivers 30k waterproof/20k breathability ratings – both of which are very high. It also features an, angled full-zip front, dual-core vents, and an upper back ‘exhaust vent’ that’s designed to improve airflow and prevent billowing.

You get reflective accents for improved visibility and a back pocket that can be used to stow the jacket when not in use.

It’s available now priced at £249.

Get more info here 

Check out these slides from Suplest

In more not-cycling-shoes news, Swiss brand Suplest has these slides for you. They might be handy if you want to earn yourself a few cycling cred points when you’re in your civvies.

They come with a pre-moulded EVA footbed, rubber patches for grip on the outsole, and a microfibre strap.

They’re yours for €40 (around £34).

Get more info here 

Muc-Off pledges 10% of pink cleaner profits in July to "breaking down barriers between women and bikes"

Muc-Off has announced that it will be donating 10% of profits from sales of its Nano Tech Bike Cleaner, refill ranges and Waterless Wash during July to non-profit organisations that help "break down barriers between women and bikes".

These include Cycle Sisters, Black Girls Do Bike, Homestretch Foundation, Women’s All Ride Collective, and more.

The move coincides with the return of Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (which we already mentioned up top).

Muc-Off has also released a limited run of a ‘Move Over’ special edition takeover of the brand’s Nano Tech Bike Cleaner (1 litre, £10.99), which features graffiti-style female-empowerment-themed quotes and illustrations. This is available direct from muc-off.com only.

Get more info here

Rapha introduces all-new Explore clothing collection

We started with Rapha and we’re going to finish with Rapha too because the brand has introduced its latest Explore collection that’s aimed primarily at bikepacking.

New for this season is the Men’s Explore Overshorts (£110) and the Women’s Explore Overshorts (£110) designed for off-road riding in warm weather.

The Men's Explore Zip Neck Technical T-Shirt (£75) is new too. This is a polyester top with a permanent zinc antibacterial treatment that’s designed to keep it fresh.

Rapha has produced a short film to showcase the new clothing, following four riders in Costa Rica. Take a look…

Get more info here

In case you missed it earlier in the week...

• Movistar races new Canyon Ultimate at Tour de France and Giro Donne
• Oakley releases four pairs of Tour de France 2022 special edition glasses
• Five cool things coming soon from Specialized, Garmin, MAAP X Apidura, Universal Colours and Redshift