Dirty Deals for dirty trails.
This week sees us finally enter autumn. It’s official, as of September 22nd we’re now riding in autumnal conditions.
We kicked off this week with some Dirty Deals on lights. Now we’ve assembled an autumnal themed collection of recommended clothing for yourself and great hardware for your bike.
>>> The best mountain bike knee pads: a buyer’s guide
This is our Top 10 of autumn mountain biking deals that are currently available online.
Madison Flux Softshell – £119.99 – £107.99
Its soft-shell fabric is beautiful to handle and super-stretchy in all directions, and when combined with the close fit, it’s a shame to use it just for emergencies. You should use it as your main jacket. It stuffs as small as any other waterproofs but just feels much more comfortable. Waterproofing is excellent, too, and there is taping on all the seams. It’s very minimalist and there are great touches like the silicone gripper print on the shoulders to keep your pack straps secure. The Flux has excellent features and minimal clutter, which is the way it should be
Grab yourself one of these perfect autumn jackets for only £107.99!
Madison Addict DWR shorts – £74.99 – £63.74
DWR stands for durable water repellent and it’s a special Teflon-style chemical treatment applied to the face fabric of the Addict baggy short when it’s made. To further improve the Addict’s foul weather credentials, it features a large waterproof, three-layer panel on the seat, which is taped on the inside to resist trail splatter. The Addict is the perfect baggy for damp UK rides. It’s long in the leg, has a hard wearing and water-resistant construction, and the stretch fabric fits really well without feeling bulky or causing overheating.
We gave these shorts 10/10 in a recent test and you can pick up a pair for £63.74!
Race Face Ambush D30 knee pads – £69.95 – £52.15
Another mbr test winner. Available in five sizes, the latest generation, flexible D3O Race Face Ambush pads can be removed without taking your shoes off thanks to an open-back design. This also offers the bonus of an extra layer of tweaking to achieve a precise fit, depending on how tightly you wrap the pads before cinching the hook and loop straps at the top and bottom. Autumn is a great time to start wearing knee pads (if you don’t already) because they keep your legs warm and protect you in crashes on slippery trails.
You can get hold of a pair of these excellent pads for £52.15!
Giro Feature helmet – £69.99 – £49.99
The super-lightweight Feature is cracking value. Its low profile shape sits close to the skull and it feels stable and light, no doubt helped by the neat, featherweight chinstrap webbing — there are no adjustment buckles to waggle under your ears. With just 12 vents, there’s less air access than others BUT this is an advantage as the temperature drops in autumn into winter.
You can never have too many helmets and the Giro Feature is currently on offer at £49.99!
RapidRacerProducts EnduroGuard – £8.99
Rapid Racer Products’ EnduroGuard is one of many flexible polypropylene guards on the market. The difference between the EnduroGuard and most other versions is it’s available in two sizes, for 80-120mm and 130-200mm travel forks respectively, and it also features Seal Guard Technology, which is basically a little extra tab of plastic that prevents mud and water from dousing your fork seals.
Okay, so there isn’t technically a deal on these at the mo but they’re only £8.99!
Schwalbe Magic Mary tyre – £49.99 – £33.49
With simple, huge square blocks jutting out at all angles, the tread pattern looks a lot like a classic motocross tyre, and, sure enough, chuck it at some gloop and it’ll take everything in its stride — only a pure downhill spike has more bite. The tread pattern, and sheer size of the tyre (the 2.35 looks more like a 2.5in) inspires aggressive, cocky riding and the Magic’s grip levels back up your ambitions in almost all conditions. Thanks to its huge air volume, it’s also extremely comfortable.
You can buy a hoop of this most excellent rubber for only £33.49!
Mobi V-15 Portable pressure washer – £99.99 – £69.99
Two advisories, 1) don’t expect this to be as powerful as a Petrol Station pressure washer, and 2) still don’t direct/dwell water jets on anything with a seal on it (forks, hubs, BB etc). These dinky things are great though at hosing off the worse muck from your bike – and yourself – before you lob your bike in the car or garage and forget about it, only to return to a bike covered in dried-on filth.
You can buy this handy little unit for a rather tempting £69.99!
Helly Hansen HH Wool long sleeve base layer – £70.00 – £44.99
Base layers are great at any time but during autumn they’re absolutely essential. They keep you from getting chilled. They deal with your sweat. They fit close and get rid of chafing and annoying bunching. Wool has had something of a rebirth in modern times and this wool base layer from the base layer maestros Helly Hansen is the business.
This wooly wonder is currently on sale for an impressive £44.99!
SealSkinz Mid Length waterproof socks – £32.00 – £21.99
You will wonder how you ever survived before you got waterproof socks. They are a so much better solution to wet trails than spending loads of money on techno Goretex boots and all that. You can keep wearing your usual summer footwear and no longer fear the puddles. As an added bonus, if you wear shoes that never seem to dry out after a wet ride, by wearing SealSkinz you can slip on damp footwear and still be comfortable and warm from the get-go.
As a British biker these are absolutely essential so act fast and get a pair for only £21.99!
Nukeproof Horizon Comp flat pedals – £39.99 – £35.99
Designed with help from Sam Hill. This is the entry level, plastic-bodied Horizon pedal. This is the lightest and cheapest of the trio, at just over 300g a pair, and is a bargain. The platform on the Horizon isn’t super thin, but it’s dished-out enough to keep shoes stable, while not being so concave that it causes any pressure points or tiredness. Grip levels are perfect — locked-down and planted, with just enough ability to shuffle shoe position.
For dipping your toes into the world of flat pedal riding on autumn slippery trails you need these for only £35.99!
Enjoy your autumn
With some of these bargains you’ll enjoy your best and most comfortable autumn of mountain biking ever. Happy riding!