2021 April Fools’ Day Roundup

April 1st is cycling’s favorite holiday. A day where brand’s forget about their master plans and poke fun at themselves, ever-changing standards, and the often overwhelming number of new product announcements we see in the industry. We’ve gathered up some of the best April Fools’ announcements we’ve seen, including some gold from Pinkbike, PNW Components, Nukeproof, and more. Check them out below.

Cane Creek eeWings DIY

Cane Creek’s new eeWings DIY cranks are a perfect “why didn’t we think of that” product idea. Buying fully assembled titanium cranks is one thing, but welding them together yourself is the perfect way to get to know your new cranks on a very intimate level. The eeWings DIY ships with nine individual pieces consisting of the same 3AL-2.5V and 6AL-4V titanium as the original eeWings crankset. The kit can then be assembled and welded by the rider at home or wherever you have advanced welding equipment.

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“We were really thinking about all of those riders out there doing full shock service at home,” said Rider Engagement Director, Luke Bukoski at Cane Creek. “We figured if they have things like oil fill machines and compressed nitrogen in their garage, they probably also have tig welders and would prefer to weld their own cranks.”

“It’s really straightforward,” said Brandon Blakely, Design Engineer at Cane Creek. “You just tig weld the joints using a titanium filler rod while purging Argon gas through the torch and back purging through the individual part to the back side of the weld. You do that to all of the joints ensuring a strong weld and then – bam – you’ve got a set of eeWings cranks.”

Schindelhauer Wilhelm CCLII

Need more range? The Wilhelm CCLII from Schindelhauer combines a 14-speed Rohloff Speedhub gear and a Pinion P-Line 18-speed gearbox for a total of 252 gears and 3350% range.

Pinkbike’s Clip-Flop

The masters of April Fools’ at Pinkbike never fail to disappoint, so we were excited to see what they got up to this year. It turns out they got a first look at the new Jandal Co’s Clip-Flop, merging the best of clipless riding with the freedom and indisputable style of flip flops. Check out their first look video below.

Nukeproof Scout(er)

The new Nukeproof Scout(er) redefines what it means to be a hardcore hardtail in 2021. Although we’re not sure how much tech they’ve managed to cram into the Scout(er), it certainly looks proprietary and extremely well thought out.

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Industry Nine N-1 Conversion Service

Industry Nine’s new N-1 Conversion Service is designed to disguise your latest dream build as the antiquated hardtail collecting dust in your basement or upgrade the look of your 90’s klunker to something much more expensive. Their in-house engineers, alongside their patent-pending 1:1 N-1 replication technology, can fool the nerdiest of bike friends into believing the bike you have, is not what it appears to be. With a 10-12 month lead time and custom packages like “Looks like a Session” and “Analog my Bike” available to choose from, this looks like a no-brainer for 2021…. or maybe 2022.

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PNW Components Bakeable Components

PNW has addressed major supply chain shortages with the introduction of an entirely new bakeable component lineup. The components are made entirely from dough-based-carbohydrates, and include dropper posts, grips, and some the new Pita Pedals, which look equally delicious as they are soft on your shins. All Bakeables are available in gluten-free options and are baked-to-order fresh by the PNW team.

Velo Orange’s Guac Outside Neutrino Build

Coffee Outside is cool and all, but #GuacOutside is in for 2021 and we’re eager to start up a local chapter. Velo Orange put together a custom Neutrino build designed specifically for hauling all necessary guacamole ingredients while making use of the multitude of mounting options on the bike.

Robert Axle Project eRap

We’ve all been there. Lining up a thru-axle is a struggle, dialing in the correct torque is a guessing game, and riding without live torque metrics displayed on your Garmin device is pretty much as dangerous as it gets. Robert Axle Project’s new eRap addresses these issues, and much more, as the world’s first wireless electronic thru-axle, and we couldn’t be more excited.

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The eRap relies on an internal self-charging battery to power itself, with a claimed 30-day battery life. If the battery dies, you can simply ride your bike to charge it back up or send the entire bike to Robert Axle Project for removal. The streamlined button on the head of the axle has an aerodynamic benefit of 0.5 watts over a traditional hex hole, and an LED ring on the axle increases nighttime visibility.

Chris at Robert Axle Project admits that early on there were some challenges with accidental removal. “More than a few times during testing, we would set our bikes down and the button would get pressed by a rock or stick, causing the axle to remove itself. The first few times we didn’t notice until we tried to ride away and the wheel fell out.” Thankfully there is an iPhone app that assists with these issues, and includes axle removal notifications and other security features. Future app updates can be yours for an affordable $41/year subscription, which we think is well worth it. Although Robert Axle Project hasn’t confirmed it yet, we’re pretty sure adding additional memory to the axle for GPX file storage and wireless photo backups isn’t out of the question.

Klymit Static V Luxe XXXL

Do you roll around a lot in your sleep? Looking for a sleeping pad big enough for you and a few of your closest friends? The new Static V Luxe XXXL is 7″ thick, over nine feet tall, and four feet wide. Despite its size, it packs down to about the size of a garbage can, so you’ll have no problem lashing it onto a rear rack for your next overnighter. Learn more at Klymit.com.

What did we miss? Share your April Fools’ finds in the comments below.

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