Waterproof riding onsies, a D-lock impervious to angle grinders, waterproof socks from Fox, a new KinetiCore helmet from Lazer, and loads more tickled our fancy
Cast your eye over the freshest goods to hit the MBR desk this month, with plenty of products to keep you protected from the elements, protected from hard hits, your car seat protected from muddy bums, and a whole lot more besides. Grab yourself a coffee and have a look.
Leatt Mono Suit MTB HydraDri 5.0 £369.99
If you’re the kind of rider who absolutely has to go out, horizontal rain notwithstanding, the Mono Suit from Leatt could be your sartorial choice for 2023. Afterall, we’re either going to be deluged in rain or snow this winter, depending on which climate crisis expert you listen to.
The onesie concept is simple, and one Dirtlej pioneered a few years back. Instead of opting for the best mountain bike jacket and twinning it with the best mountain bike trousers, Leatt has put them together for you. Suddenly you’ve got an extra skin that no trace of water can possibly enter.
Leatt’s onsie feels incredibly well made, and has adjustments galore to tailor the fit to your body
It’s more sophisticated than that of course, the Mono Suit is made from Leatt’s own three layer Hydradri MAX membrane, which boasts waterproof and breathability figures of 30,000. On paper that means it can stand up to rain and sweat as well as Gore Tex’s Infinium membrane found on our favourite Rapha jacket, and Endura’s own ExoShell fabric. It also beats the Dirtlej onesie into the mud, with double the breathability rating.
Zips are waterproofed too, to leave no chink in the armour
No fabric can vent sweat enough on a warm ride when you’re working hard though, and so Leatt has chopped in ventilation zips galore, and there’s even a full length ClimbVent to open up the front.
Leatt has also built in something called a Ride Adaptive Hood, which is a fancy way of saying a posh hood you can wear in four different ways, and there’s a magnet to hold it in place when you don’t have it up. Keeping everything in place is a myriad of velcro fasteners and ties, and a set of braces to support the pants section and take the weight off the upper fabric. It also gets YKK Aquaguard zips, fully taped seams and a DWR coating.
Update your bike with SRAM Flight Attendant and potentially pedal for longter… but it doesn’t come cheap
Flight Attendant from £2,700
Flight Attendant is now available as an aftermarket Upgrade Kit, meaning you can apply all the benefits of the RockShox active suspension system to your regular bike (only seven bikes can use the system, mind). Kit includes a dedicated fork, shock, fender, pedal sensor, batteries and charger.
The Dirt Craft looks good, feels good next to your skin, and does the planet good thanks to its ethical construction
Patagonia Dirt Craft Bike Jersey £65
The Dirt Craft Bike Jersey has cuffs designed to wick sweat, fend off the undergrowth, and grip your forearms if you want to hoik them up. Fair trade product, made from recycled fabrics, and Patagonia even lets you see online where exactly the yarns and garment is made.
Inside the Cage is a comfy place to be, with tons of padding and many sizes to get the fit right
Lazer Cage KinetiCore £249.99
Lazer’s Cage KinetiCore full face is the first ever full face helmet to score five stars with Virginia Tech. Made for DH and enduro, it uses EPS foam blocks designed to work as crumple zones and absorb energy from direct and rotational impacts. Magnetic buckle, grippy goggle zones, five sizes.
Sidi’s have a reputation for premium build quality and longevity, we’re expecting great things from the SDS Dimaro then
Sidi SDS Dimaro £149.25
Best known for its Italian-crafted XC race shoes, Sidi now has an enduro or DH spd model out, called the SDS Dimaro. breathable mesh upper, Vibram sole, laces and Velcro retention, reinforced heel and toe for protection.
Vulcans come in multiple lens and frame colours, this one is dedicated to London’s coolest crit team
SunGod Vulcans £165
SunGod has a limited edition version of its Vulcans out, it uses a photochromic lens for maximum winter light, and jazzes it up with a colourful polymer frame designed by London-based crit cycling team Tekkerz. Hydrophilic contact points, multiple frame colour options.
Turn any shoe waterproof with a Defend sock from Fox
Fox Defend Water Socks £39.99
New from Fox is the Defend Water Sock, it uses a polyurethane membrane sandwiched between nylon inner and outer layers, plus a flat-stitched toe section to keep your toes comfy. Two sizes, comes in black or grey.
These 100% pants have a tapered fit, and plenty of venting thanks to the laser-cut holes
Ride 100% R-Core-X Pant £140
With a BOA cord waist closure, and DWR polyester and spandex 4-way stretch fabric, the Ride 100% R-Core X Pant is all about comfort. Save it till spring though, as the laser perforations front and rear and big enough to ship a puddle through. Zippered pockets, grippy silicone internal waistband, six sizes.
Slip the Change N Bag seat cover over your car or van seat, and keep the mud where it should be
Change N Bag £24.99
The Change N Bag seat cover has been designed for mountain bikers who don’t want their car or van seats covered in mud. It’s made from 3mm neoprene, slips over the seats, offers complete waterproof protection, fits all cars and vans.
One of the quirkiest looking e-bikes we’ve seen this year, the Oso comes in just one model and boasts 165mm travel
Ibis Oso £10,999
The Ibis Oso e-bike uses a DW-link suspension design, gets 155mm travel, a 170mm fork, comes as a 29er or mullet depending in the size, and all use the Bosch motor. Comes in four really progressive sizes (XL boasts 540mm reach), GX build only.
If you’re spending thousands on a bike it makes sense to spend a few hundred making it as hard to pinch as possible
Hiplok D1000 £250
It’s long been said that there’s no such thing as a thief-proof lock, if a scallywag wants your bike badly enough you can’t stop them. Well, Hiplok has other ideas with its latest D-lock, a device so strong it’ll tear the teeth out of an angle grinder.
The D1000 is the first lock to be rated Sold Secure diamond approved, which means it “resists” angle grinding and lasts more than 20 times longer than a standard D-lock against such an attack, Hiplok says.
Shackle the Hiplok to a ground anchor and you’ll put off all but the most determined of thieves
Made from a Ferosafe graphene and steel construction, the shackle itself is a chunky 20mm wide and weighs double that of your normal D-lock – ours came out at 1942g. That means you’re unlikely to take it on a ride with you.
More usefully, it’ll form the last line of defence in your garage – shackle your bike to a ground anchor and you can expect it to be more than a match for battery-operated angle grinders. When our sister title Cycling Weekly smashed its way into the D1000 it chewed up five blades over the course of 20 minutes – and that was using a mains-operated grinder too.
The D1000 comes comes with three coded replaceable keys, a lifetime warranty, rubbery cover and key hole cover.