Mountain Bike Online

The Eagletac P20A2 Mark II LED’s main strength is as a helmet light, but this  230 Lumen torch also has enough spread to be a superb bar lamp, especially if you buy two, which still comes in at under £100.

Indispensable budget or back-up light.

Lizard Skins chainstays have been the strongest and lightest chainstay protectors on the market since 1993, and there’s  a reason for that.  It does what it says on the tin!

Lizard Skins Chainstay protectors come in several sizes to fit most aluminium bike frames and reduce the noise from chain slap while protecting the frame from nicks and scratches.  Made from 2mm neoprene with a strip of Velcro down both edges to secure them to the stay, they are strong and lightweight.  Depending on the shape of the chainstay and placement of the guides you can customise the Skins and even run one on the seat stay if your rear triangle is particularly squat.  They’re cheap, easy to fit, long lasting and come in a stack of colours. High performance meets high fashion.

Although summer is upon us, its never too early to kit yourself out for the early morning autumn rides with a bit of a nip in the air.  Thermal ¾ short liners designed to be worn under a pair of baggy shorts, made from fleece lined fabric, perfect  for spring/autumn rides and even through the winter if you’re one of those riders who doesn’t mind showing a bit of leg and prefers shorts even when its 5 degrees below.

Good quality Fox Evo-M chamois and grippers to waist and legs to keep them put when you’re pedalling.  Sizing can be a bit tricky, so we suggest you try them out for size.

Inspired by the dowhnhill riders long-time trick for extreme conditions during racing; gluing strips of tyre tread to their saddles for riding in wet and muddy conditions to provide more traction and grip. SDG have expanded the concept and come up with the Storm Saddles,  a saddle you can depend on to keep you seated in whatever weather condition you use it for.

Both the Extreme and All Weather come with two set of seat clamps to make it compatible with regular posts.

£1,050 (frame only)

The Zion 29in closely resembles the Ragley TD-1 coming from another titanium specialist manufacturer this time in the Netherlands.

Frame only comes in at 1,199 euros (approx £1,050) or you can go for complete build – a Shimano SLX set up would cost 2,807 euros (approx £2,450).

Unlike the TD-1 the Van Nicholas accepts suspension forks (the above build includes Rockshox Reba RLTs) . Van Nicholas offer a lifetime warranty for the Zion 29in and will replace any defective frame.

K9 Industries have some tasty new products out. These include bars, stems, springs, pedals and more.

Springs: The spring sets are available in titanium, lightweight or standard spec

Stems: The direct mount stem weighs 115g, has titanium bolts and has an increased clearance around the steerer tube.

Bars: Available in two versions – called Switch and Static.

Pedals: New Clutch pedals are being launched also.

Check them out: www.k9industries.co.uk

2011 sees a massive new range of products from North Face – who make some great kit for mountain biking.

Jerseys

North Face jerseys are made from a variety of quick drying and sweat wicking materials. The Dort Track Jacket features a mixture of Gore Windstopper and Aper-Aerobic softshell materials. These also feature zip off sleeves and elesticated cuffs. What more would the budding biker need?

Shorts

North Face Shorts for 2011 such as the baggy Levada versions are made from stretchy rip-stop material which has a comfy inner mesh. The cut is generous and there are loads of colours to choose from – a great riding short for sure.

More information: See North Face at Wiggle.co.uk

The WHITE BROTHERS Loop Fork is a brand new fork from White Brothers, and is the first for quite some time. It has been in development for a while now…

32mm stanchions with a forged crown and cast magnesium legs and uses White Brothers QTapeR 15mm dropout though axle. It clamps both sides so it’s mega stiff.

It is available in a few sizes:

• 80-120mm
• 130-150mm
• 29er version

All WHITE BROTHERS Loop Forks have tapered steerer options.

Cost is around £600

The DMR Bolt gives the rider 125mm of rear wheel travel which wraps around the bottom bracket pivot, so if you want to switch to single-speed – well it’s a doddle – you simply use DMR’s Swop-Out pivot.

Cost is £900 from Wiggle.co.uk

The FOX V3R Full Face Helmet is basically a motocross helmet, reworked for use by the mountain biker.

It was originally launched in 2010 and has been worn by rider Danny Hart. It’s been relaunched in 2011 with some fresh colour schemes.

It’s made from carbon and Kevlar, there are 14 vents and the vents even have shutters so if you are riding through winter, you can close them off. The FOX V3R Full Face Helmet has a Coolmax liner, which is removable for washing.

Costs £290 from ChainReactionCycles.com