New forks from Cane Creek, carbon WTB yumminess and the best bits for your Eagle
For those of you who can’t wait until the reviews come out in the magazine or go up online, here’s another in our new series of pre-emptive peeks into recent test product arrivals.
Here’s last week’s Arrivals for those who missed it.
Olfi one.five 4k HDR Action Camera
Price: £149.99
From: olficamera.com
Olfi’s £149.99 one.five camera meets all the requirements if you are looking for a neat action cam to capture footage of your riding exploits. It films 4K at 24 FPS (Frames Per Second) and 1080p HD at up to 60 FPS for smooth footage. The Sony Exmoor CMOS sensor is even gyro stabilized to reduce the inevitable shaking. User adjustable settings include ISO, colour and metering for proper professional results. Use it naked for better sound quality or with the waterproof case for better weatherproofing. It fits all standard GoPro style mounts.
The waterproof housing can take it down to 30 metres (perfect for riding through puddles)
Cane Creek Helm fork
Price: £950
From: extrauk.co.uk
The long awaited Helm fork from Cane Creek is the company’s first proper attempt at smashing the hold Rockshox and Fox has on the fork market. Available only in 27.5” and adjustable between 140-170mm (set to 160mm as standard), it is definitely aimed at the more aggressive trail rider. Just like with Cane Creek’s shocks, the amount of adjustability is fundamental to the Helm and so will appeal to the eternal fettler. Adjustments for high/low speed compression, low speed rebound are the norm.
The usual multiple adjustments we’ve come to expect from Cane Creek.
Where it differs is instead of using volume tokens to adjust the air spring rate, the Helm has an internal 8-position indexed adjustment. So making adjustments to the fork behaviour a doddle. The Helm’s uique D-Loc thru-axle uses a simple shaping to enable rapid release.
The clever and simple D-Loc axle system
WTB Ci24 Carbon TCS MTB rim
Price: £419.99 (per rim)
From: hotlines-uk.com
Weighing in at a scant 389 grams for the 27.5” version (430g for 29”). WTB’s Ci24 carbon rim builds into a wheel perfectly suited for a wide range of uses. The 24mm internal width gives it versatility when it comes to tyre widths, easily working with 2.5 or 2.6” tyres. WTB use moulded rather than drilled spoke holes with multi-directional spoke angle allowances to build a super strong but light wheel.
Clickety Click! We chose to build the Ci24 with Industry Nine hubs.
We’ve had them built into a set with Industry Nine’s super noisy hubs to make a set of wheels perfect for Jamie’s (Buzz Ed) new Orange build. Look out for him going Hulk on them to find out just what they are capable of withstanding.
Proper strong and light carbon
Peaty’s Tubeless Sealant 120ml Trail Pouch
Price: £6.99
From: peatyssealant.co.uk
Good old Steve Peat hasn’t rested on his laurels since retiring from racing. Not only is he still omnipresent within the Santa Cruz race team he has also found time to release some of his own versions of some of the essential products we all use. First came the silicon ‘Peaty’s Push-ons’ valve caps and now comes Peaty’s own tubeless sealant. It’s a bit more Disco than normal sealant, with blue glitter-like nano-platelets that aid in the bunging up of bigger holes. The formula is designed to not dry out or ball up like other sealants and to keep working for longer. Available in the handy, two wheel 120ml pouch or a one litre workshop bottle.
How to: setting up tubeless wheels
Giro Tech Tee
Price: £29.99
From: zyrofisher.co.uk
It’s just like your favourite worn-in, soft t-shirt but it doesn’t get all cold and damp if you want to go riding in it. Giro blend cotton with polyester to create a technical fabric that helps shift sweat away from your body. Perfect for anyone who loves the casual look when heading out for a nice spin.
CeramicSpeed SRAM Eagle jockey wheels
Price: from €289
From: ceramicspeed.com
Okay, we know what you’re going to say; but hear us out first. These jockey/pulley wheels are designed to be the smoothest, most efficient and most reliable out of any you could fit to your Eagle rear derailleur. Now this might seem more like something our road going cousins would go for and a bit overkill for MTB use. However, for XC/Enduro or DH racers looking for that little edge in performance they are well worth considering. So what makes them so good? Firstly they spin on sealed, full ceramic (not just the balls) races. Secondly they feature an oversized, 14 tooth design aimed at enhancing efficiency. Thirdly, they are machined with a narrow/wide tooth profile. And finally they come with a four year guarantee.
Topeak Ninja Co2+ bottle cage
Price: £39.99
From: extrauk.co.uk
Ancient ninja were renowned as masters of stealth. Sadly Topeak’s Ninja bottle cage is lacking in throwing stars or nunchucks but it does manage to hide a lot of handy essentials about its person. Easily placed for access, the bottom of the cage features a section that holds two CO2 cartridges and a neat inflator. This can be pivoted for better access and the two cartridges should be enough for even the biggest of tyres. Secreted alongside the cage on both side are two dinky tyre levers to further affect essential repairs.
Scott AR shoe
Price: TBA
From: Scott-sports.com
At the same time as Scott announced the new 2018 Genius they teased us with some new shoes. First out of the box is the new AR. This is going to be Scott’s new all-mountain clipless shoe. Featuring a double BOA closure and a fairly weatherproof and robust construction, you can expect it to be popular for British trail riding. It uses Scott’s latest Sticki rubber compound with zoned tread (smoother around the cleat/pedal and more treaded at the toe and heel). The Black camo and fluoro yellow makes it a bit of a standout.
Lezyne Deca Drive Loaded lightset
Price: £209.99
From: upgradebikes.co.uk
I’m probably not the only one to notice it getting gloomier in the woods a little earlier than expected. I’ll probably need to start packing a light for my usual evening forays into the trees. This is Lezyne’s latest MY11 Deca Drive Loaded pack. Pushing up to 1500 lumens from its one piece construction, the Deca Drive can last a credible amount of time for such a bright light. The Loaded version adds in the Lezyne Infinite Light power pack to almost double the run time. Just strap it next to the light and plug it into the dedicated port and voila! Enough burn time for an overnight adventure. On the commuter friendly Femto setting it will last for a claimed 266 hours!
Seven reasons you should go night riding
Righto, I’m off to invent a device that keeps gloves together. Until next week….