With loads of brands rushing to get new products out in time for the start of the Tour de France, this could be the busiest week of the year in the cycling world, and we’ve included a couple of TdF-focused products in our round-up, including a limited-edition Bianchi, but we’re starting with something completely different: could this clever tech promise safer cycling in the future? Bikes that talk, roads that listen: is this wireless communication the future of cycling safety? The bike world got excited by the Canyon bike equipped with V2X (vehicle-to-everything) technology at Eurobike a week ago, so we decided to delve a little deeper into the tech to see if it really could make cycling safer. Imagine your bike warning you about a car that’s about to emerge from a blind junction – before either you or the driver can see each other. Or your handlebar vibrating to tell you that a vehicle is approaching from your right. It sounds futuristic, but it’s exactly the sort of technology developers believe could transform cycling safety. V2X tech, originally developed for the automotive industry, allows vehicles to exchange real-time information about their position, speed and direction with other vehicles, traffic infrastructure and even cyclists and pedestrians. Unlike cameras and radar, which only detect what’s within line of sight, V2X effectively lets road users “see” around corners. A cyclist approaching a hidden junction, for example, can broadcast their location to nearby connected vehicles before they come into view, giving drivers valuable extra seconds to react. As cycling and micromobility continue to grow in cities, manufacturers are now looking at how this technology can move beyond cars. One of the most advanced demonstrations comes from the collaboration between Canyon, Murata Electronics, nfiniity and Vector mentioned above. The companies have developed an