If you’re the kind of athlete who prefers to buy the newest, fastest gear available, we’ve got several potential winners this week. Both runners and cyclists will want to check out the race-winning shoes and bikes announced this week. That includes On Running and Specialized, which are both releasing new models with some hefty superlatives — as well as data to back them up.
There’s also quite a bit of style on display, though. That includes a sexy café racer, colorful hemp apparel, and stylish packs. Did I mention there’s also a pen that doubles as a firestarter?
Find plenty of cool stuff to balance out the insane heat with this week’s batch of Emerging Gear.
Electric Café Racer
Combining vintage style with modern innovation is a potent mix — one that Canada’s Beachman Bikes offers in abundance.
This new-ish brand first hit the market in 2021, debuting with vintage-inspired electric bikes on crowdfunding platforms. Its newest model, the Aviator, arrives “just in time for the warm weather summer riding season,” the brand said. These electric vehicles are styled like old-school café racers.
The Aviator lineup starts with two models currently available for preorder: a Class 2 e-Bike ($5,500) and a Light Motorcycle (starting at $6,000). A “premium,” 125cc-equivalent electric motorcycle arrives later this fall with “greater speed, range, and highway capability,” the brand said.
Writing Pen Also Starts Fires
James Bond meets Bear Grylls in this creative Kickstarter project. ‘Cause let’s be honest: It’s hard not to love a writing pen with a secret compartment for making fire. That’s the idea behind Pen-Metheus (I also love this silly name, and you can’t convince me it’s not brilliant).
The pen is made by Outdoor Element, a Colorado-based outdoor brand known for other creative offerings such as a scout feather fixed blade and a “survival carabiner.” The Pen-Metheus is an aluminum “adventure pen” with a replaceable ferro rod stored inside. When not used for sketching or journaling, it transforms into a firestarter and even comes with kindling.
The Kickstarter campaign has 2 weeks to go and is already well over its funding goal. With an “early bird” buy-in of just $35, it’s also impressively affordable.
Next Gen of Boston Marathon Fav
On Running’s Cloudboom Strike is certainly a bit strange-looking, thanks to its LightSpray upper technology made by a robot in this laceless, slip-on shoe. But you can’t argue with results. The first iteration of this innovative running shoe was used by Helen Obiri for her 2024 Boston Marathon win. It also received a 9/10 score in a 2025 GearJunkie review.
Now the brand is back with the second generation: the Cloudboom Strike 2. This new model has CloudTec Sphere, the next iteration of On’s proprietary CloudTec. It has thin gaps between the forefoot and the midfoot, “allowing the foam to move more freely,” the brand said. It’s paired with a Helion Hyper Foam Midsole, a super-foam material that’s 15% lighter than the first generation.
These changes supposedly result in a 1.6% increase in running economy, On said. With a whopping $310 price tag, these shoes are not cheap by any stretch. The model officially debuts on July 30, but you can sign up on the Cloudboom Strike 2 product page to be notified when they drop.
Specialized: ‘Fastest Bike Ever’
Yes, speed is indeed the name of the game for road runners, and that’s no less true for road cyclists. Specialized made a winner with the S-Works Tarmac SL8, a bike used to great success by riders in the 2024 Tour de France.
Now the brand is back with another generation that promises to deliver even faster times for elite cyclists: the S-Works Tarmac SL9. It’s “the fastest road bike the brand has ever made,” and Specialized boasts that this $14,000 ride will outclass every other road bike on the planet (big surprise).
“In Specialized simulations of the decisive final stage of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, Tarmac SL9 delivered a 14-second advantage over Tarmac SL8 — a significant margin in a race ultimately decided by just four seconds,” the brand said.
Nomadix Bag Collection
Nomadix is likely known most for its colorful, high-performance towels. But this brand, based in San Clemente, Calif., is now offering up some cool bags as well.
Its first-ever collection of bags, the DayTripper collection, “is built for everyday performance using recycled materials,” the brand said. This small capsule includes the 25L DayTripper Backpack, 26L DayTripper Tote, and 3L Traveler Tech Sling — all made with the brand’s proprietary StormGrid fabric for durability and weather resistance.
They’re also quite fetching, with some cool and colorful accents reminiscent of designs from Cotopaxi or Topo Designs. The 25L DayTripper Backpack costs $196, while the 26L DayTripper Tote sells for $150. Given that no one should venture outside right now without some water handy, the 3L Traveler Tech Sling might be the most useful. It’s also the most economical, at $70. Find them all on REI Co-op or the Nomadix website.
Flexible Sports Shades
An eyewear retailer that first debuted in 1992, LensDirect has long attracted customers by offering subscription lenses from name brands at lower prices than those usually found at eye doctors. In recent years, the brand has started offering its own glasses. And this week, it released its first-ever sports model.
LensDirect’s Diablo line is made of Japanese nylon and comes with spring hinges for extra flex. They’re designed to be comfortable and stay put, even in this summer’s intense heat. Perhaps best of all, these shades don’t just offer 100% UV protection — they’re also available in 10 different styles and are available with prescription lenses. Not too shabby for a roughly $100 price tag.
Colorful Hemp Apparel
Plastics are an ever-growing presence in our lives, so it’s no surprise that more brands are offering apparel made from natural fibers instead. So it’s cool to see that Astral, an outdoor brand based in Asheville, N.C., has added several bright summer colors to its lineup of hemp- and cotton-based apparel.
The High Noon Hemp Tee ($60), available for men and women, was previously made only in black or white. Now you can snag one in Smoke Blue, Moss, or Olive. There’s also the High Noon Hemp Hoodie ($85), a warm-weather sun hoodie made for men and women. It’s now available in Moss and Silver Pine for men, or Malaga and Silver Pine for women.
This performance-minded apparel offers cool fabric “without the chemical or petroleum-based fibers next to your open pores,” the brand said.
New Runners From Altra
If you want the latest and greatest Vibram outsole on the market, it’s only available from Altra — at least for the next few months.
Altra just dropped the Torin 9, which comes with an exclusive Vibram XS DURA outsole that supposedly delivers 8.5% more traction than the Torin 8. “Altra has exclusivity on the compound for six months, so this is currently the only model on the market that runners can get this level of road traction,” the brand said.
The Torin 9 also includes a P35X dual-density midsole, a new mesh upper, and improvements to the tongue and heel. Other details, like the zero-drop platform and the roomy toe box, stay the same as previous models. The Torin 9 is available for both men and women for $160.
Women-Focused Gravel Bike
Liv Bikes has carved out a name for itself in the competitive bike marketplace by focusing specifically on female riders. GearJunkie’s Morgan Tilton reviewed the brand’s Liv Intrigue X Advanced last year, and concluded that it hit the “do-it-all trail bike sweet spot” for women mountain bikers.
This week, the brand has released the Devote Advanced SL, its “fastest, lightest and most race-focused gravel platform to date.” The new bike “delivers measurable gains in speed, efficiency, and handling precision for the demands of gravel competition,” according to Liv.
It reduces weight by 297 g over the previous Devote Advanced Pro system and also sports improvements in rolling resistance and gravel-focused geometry. Prices range from $7,300 to $12,000, depending on the model.
Margaritaville Hammocks
Who could have guessed that a song about hedonism and wistful regret would spawn a billion-dollar empire known as Margaritaville? I doubt Jimmy Buffett had any idea that his 1977 hit would come so far.
But hey, there’s no denying the attractiveness of these colorful hammocks. Yellow Leaf Hammocks, a company with a successful history on Shark Tank, just released a collaboration with the Margaritaville brand.
It’s releasing five hammocks “inspired by the brand’s iconic lifestyle,” with names drawing from Buffett’s song catalog, including Cheeseburger in Paradise, Boat Drinks, Margaritaville, Son of a Son of a Sailor, and Changes in Latitudes. Three of those styles are currently available on the website.
Among the currently available models, prices start at $229. You’ll need to pay an extra $40 for the hanging straps, and a lot more than that for one of the brand’s fancy hammock chairs.
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