It's all about colours and stripes this week
Yep, it’s your weekly sneak peak through the portcullis of castle MBR to drool at the exciting new products that have been catapulted over the ramparts.
After the delicate chaos of Black Friday we thought we’d tone it down a bit with Arrivals this week. But there’s still plenty of cool kit coming through the doors, especially loads of ‘stocking filler’ type stuff.
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.
Ergon SMA3 Comp saddle
Price: £89.99
From: Extra UK
Ergon are all about the contact points and this is their ‘all-mountain’ saddle. Designed in collaboration with Richie Schley, Ergon’s freeride specialist, it aims to provide a comfortable perch for those big mountain days (or just bumbling around the woods). There’s a shallow channel to keep the pressure off your downstairs and a tapered rear end to make sliding on and off an easy action. It’s available into widths to fit everyone and weighs in at a reasonable 240g (for the small). Integrated scuff protection should help it stave off those little saddle/wall interactions. Oh, and there are various colour options for those that like things to match.
Ergon IP3 Solestar insoles
Price: £39.99
From: Extra UK
When was the last time you thought about the insole in your riding shoes? Probably never, right? But if your foot isn’t supported in the right way you might be causing yourself a mischief due to a misalignment of your joints and muscles. The Ergon IP3 Solestar insole is designed to cradle your foot in the right way, creating a neutral and stable platform to enable efficient and comfortable pedalling. Whilst this might sound like something more suited to our road going brethren, all of us could probably benefit from better support. They come in loads of sizes and should pretty much fit any type of riding shoe.
Check out Brendog’s guide to better pedalling
Troy Lee Designs A2 Helmet
Price: £150.00
From: Saddleback
Okay, this isn’t a new helmet and we’ve featured it before in both reviews and on this very page. But what is new is the colour! Troy Lee has released their flagship trail/enduro helmet in some new colour schemes for 2018, including this tasty ‘Sunburst Ocean’ blue and black number.
Troy Lee Designs Ruckus jersey
Price: £50.00
From: Saddleback
Billed as TLD’s original 3/4 sleeve trail jersey, the Ruckus has now had an overhaul after ten years of duty. Now made from a much softer material and an improved fit, it still features high on people’s wishlists. There’s an invisible rear pocket and some cool little graphics hidden about its person. The good news for taller riders is it has increased in length so should stop the old builder’s crack from making an appearance.
Troy Lee Designs Ruckus short
Price: £135.00
From: Saddleback
Just like its namesake jersey, the Ruckus short has also undergone a vast revamp for 2018. It’s got improved waist adjusters, a new button and zip fly and a redesign on the rear panels to make the fit much better. Two front pockets can be used to stash your stuff, one of which is zipped. And for riding in warm weather (sigh…) there are two zipped vents on the inner thighs. They are available in blue as well, if black isn’t your thing.
Proform Tyre Tool
Price: £10.00
From: Upgrade
Promising to make short work of any tyre fitting or removal, the Proform is One Big Lever. Actually consisting of two parts, the orange lever is the main tool and the yellow bit can be used to pinch the tyre in place when fitting the last bit of a particularly tight setup. The longer length of the lever makes short work of the job and it’s fully compatible with carbon rims being made of a rigid plastic rather than metal. Perfect for use in the workshop.
ODI Elite Pro Lock-On grips
Price: £26.99
From: Ison Distribution
Comfort, durability AND grip. The new Elite Pro promises to have them all in spades. It puts padding where it’s needed and strips it out where it’s not, to make a grip that doesn’t feel overly bulky. On the underneath is the classic waffle grip pattern to gather as much grip as possible. ODI has changed to a single lock-on collar for the Elite Pro to save weight, using a harder, reinforced end cap to protect against damage. 32mm diameter and 130mm length, plus plenty of colours of course.
Specialized Merino base layer
Price: £55.00
From: Specialized
Everyone knows merino is the best anti-stink material for clothing. It’s also properly good at regulating temperature so is perfect as a base layer. This Specialized version is nice and soft with plenty of stretch. It also features an inside fabric face made from Dryarn, a fabric made to transfer moisture away from the skin as quickly as possible. Get one and watch how you can wear it again and again and again.
Specialized Deflect H2O and Deflect gloves
The Deflect H2O
and the Deflect.
Price: Deflect H20 £60.00, Deflect £35.00
From: Specialized
It’s got to that point in the year when summer trail gloves don’t make quite the right glove choice for many of us. These two types of glove from Specialized should keep you protected in most conditions. The Deflect H20 is the glove to cope with proper rain. There’s a full OutDry waterproof and breathable membrane to keep out the water without getting too sweaty. It’s also stitched through so you won’t get that annoying issue of the lining pulling inside out when removing the glove. It’s nice and thin so dexterity isn’t impeded too much either.
The Deflect is a windproof glove that pairs a softshell backing with a suede palm to properly take the edge off windy and cold conditions. A longer cuff keeps them tucked into your sleeves and they still allow operation of your beloved smartphone for those Instagram moments.
Specialized SL Elite Merino socks and Full Stripe socks
Price: Merino £13.00, Full Stripe £12.00
From: Specialized
Got to love a good sock! The dark ones are Specialized’s merino wool version. Just like the base layer above, they should reduce the typical pong factor AND keep your toes warm. The Full Stripe is made of moisture wicking Thermocool and should bring a splash of colour to the dreary brown trails.
Torq Spiced Mince Pie energy bar
Price: £1.85
From: ZyroFisher
Billed as being the healthiest mince pie you’ll eat this year, this new limited edition energy bar from Torq is packed with guilt-free festive cheer. It shares the same formulation of multiple-transportable carbohydrates and ribose, providing optimal energy delivery and rapid cellular recovery, of the other TORQ bars you probably have already tasted. My personal preference is to warm it up and pour on loads of double cream;)
And on that note. See you next week.