It's the Euro takeover with forks from Scandinavia and kit aplenty from Germany.
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.
We might still be on a Eurobike hangover as we have a lot of kit from the land of Germany this week!
Öhlins RXF36 TTX
Price: TBC
From: Öhlins
We announced the arrival of Öhlins latest coil sprung 29er fork back in June. Now we finally have a set in our grasp. This coil version promises a predictive and reliable level of performance. Or as Adam Brayton puts it, “The RXF 36 Coil gives uncompromised trail traction, its confidence inspiring. It’s ready to race straight out of the box”. 160mm of travel out of the box but it can be stepped down all the way to 110mm. It offers preload adjustment and still uses the TTX damper system to provide high and low speed compression adjustments.
Why are coil shocks making a comeback?
Looks the same, it’s what’s inside that counts.
The coil version still makes use of the TTX damping system.
Dirtlej Dirtsuit Classic
Price: €199
From: Dirtlej
The Dirtsuit is a genius piece of kit for autumn and winter riding that we can’t quite belive someone hasn’t tried something like it before. It consists of a fully waterproof and breathable jacket combined with a pair of waterproof shorts to make a weatherproof ‘onesie’. The idea behind it is that for wet and sloppy riding you avoid the nasty gap between the two separate garments and effectively seal out the weather. Finish the ride and then strip out of it easily. There are a plethora of large zipped vents strategically placed around it to keep you cool. Plus four fully waterproof pockets. If the green is a little too bright, Dirtlej also produce a black version.
Dirtlej Trail Scout Half&Half short
Price: €110
From: Dirtlej
Sometimes the conditions dictate that wearing a pair of fully waterproof shorts can be a little over the top but you might still need a little protection. For these times Dirtlej has the Trail Scout Half&Half. Rather than make the short with a couple of waterproof panels it has a completely split persona; at the front is a normal breathable trail short, whereas the back is made from fully waterproof materials to provide excellent wet riding comfort without overheating. Two zipped front pockets keep valuables safe whilst two Velcro closed pockets at the rear can store all manner of non-essentials.
Dirtlej Bike Protection Extended Package
Price: €54
From: Dirtlej
Dirtlej don’t just make clever clothing, they also produce these neat bike protector kits. Available in a number of different options, this is the Extended pack complete with enough pads to protect two bikes when on a bike rack. Dirtlej make the protectors out of thick padded nylon. Each piece is designed to be robust and survive the occasional jetwashing. Clear labeling makes it easy to see where to put each uniquely shaped pad to maximise protection.
EVOC Explorer Pro 30L
Price: Approx. £180 (UK price not finalised yet)
From: Silverfish
Like a normal EVOC pack, just better.
We went out to the mountains to test the Explorer Pro at its launch and our pack-phobic editor was impressed by its comfort and ability to remain unobtrusive. Now we’ve been sent one to see how it will survive a British winter. There’s space to carry enough kit for an overnight adventure if needed, however there are clever features to enable its use as a pack suitable for shorter rides. The new Air Flow Contact back system is designed to keep the pack away from the back. This combines well with the new wider velcro’d waistbelt to improve comfort when fully loaded. It even comes with a removable, matching washbag.
The main compartment has a roll-close divider to separate wet and dirty kit, or to adjust the volume of storage.
The new Air Flow Contact back system.
Flaer Revo Terra
Price: £250
From: Flaer
This is the programmable reservoir for the system.
You might have seen the Kickstarter campaign for this modern take on the bicycle equivalent of the Scotoiler (found on our big-engined cousins). The Terra is the MTB version. It works by steadily supplying the chain with a measured amount of lubricant throughout the ride. It promises to get you 5% more power to the rear wheel; smoother gear shifts and makes for a cleaner transmission. The (probably) more relevant upside is a reduction in chainsuck (when the chain gets dragged and jammed into the bottom bracket area). The Revo can be retrofitted to the majority of bikes within a couple of minutes. It can also be programmed to alter how much lubrication is applied dependent on conditions.
Flaer also produce their own formula, MTB specific lubricant.
Acros A-Flat MD pedal
Price: €74.95
From: Acros
German brand Acros has been producing high quality aftermarket products for donkeys years and their range of products keeps growing every season. The A-Flat MD is a new addition to the flat pedal range. It’s a little smaller in area than their XL version at 100mm x 98mm. As well as being 2mm thinner at 18mm, so should suit riders with small to medium foot sizes. The nine pins on each side are adjustable and Acros supply a set of washers to fine-tune the grip levels. Sealed bearings and extra long bushes keep them spinning smoothly.
Acros External Bottom Bracket
Price: €49.95
From: Acros
After the creaky nightmare of press-fit bottom brackets we all can breathe a collective sigh of relief at frame builders moving back towards threaded bottom brackets. Acros produce neat external bottom brackets with a variety of bearing options. This is the Shimano Hollowtech 2 equivalent with sealed stainless steel bearings. As you can see it’s available in nice colours to complement or clash with your chosen colour scheme.
Watch: How to replace an external bottom bracket
Acros BlockLock Headset
Price: €69.95 (upper race) €37.95 (lower race)
From: Acros
Acros also has this steering limiter headset, perfect for riders paranoid about mashing bars and forks against expensive frames in the event of a crash. The keyed top cap also has a grub screw to secure the headset, to doubly make sure everything stays safe. Acros supply headset parts separately to allow for the number of variations in frame fitments.
Watch: how to change your headset
There’s plenty more where these came from for next week.