You’ve got to admire Mavic for their innovation. They’ve never been shy of going out on a limb and doing something quite different. Of course the results have varied, with some new concepts being chalked up as a glorious victories and a few others that they may prefer to forget…

The latest offering from Niner bikes takes the CVA suspension system and handling traits of the Jet9 and moulds it from carbon fibre. Where the alloy Jet9 weighed around 2.8kg, the new carbon fibre Jet9 RDO should come closer to the 2.3kg mark.

Upon seeing this seatpost clamp, your immediate reaction is probably; ‘Here we go with another fancy trinket that’s made from carbon as fashion statement, not because it works better.’ Well that was my initial reaction anyway… After this initial dismissal, I learnt that the Carbocage clamp comes from a company whose background lies in the rough and tumble of 4X racing—not the place where fragile weight weenie parts would survive.

You may be wondering why we are reviewing a pressure washer. Well this is no run of the mill 240 volt washer—it’s a 12 volt unit that plugs into the cigarette lighter on your car. For years mountain bikers have been using pump-up weed sprayers to wash their bikes at events—a reasonably common sight at any muddy 12 or 24 hour. While this approach works, it’s slow and there’s a lot of hand pumping involved to keep the spray pressure up.

Most major suspension brands run DU coated bushes in their shock eyelets. In theory bushes are the best solution to this application, which sees high loads and not a lot of rotation. However, the reality is that a lot of people encounter problems with their shock eyelet bushes. Whether it’s a tendency to seize or develop play, they don’t tend to be a long lasting option—at least on some bikes.

Fox were one of the first companies to answer the call of trail and all-mountain riders for a helmet that offered more protection than the typical road-inspired XC helmet (especially at the back), without going to the weight and heat issues of a full-face DH helmet. Their Flux model basically defined the trail and all-mountain category when it was released a few years ago, and it still resides in the Fox range.

There’s no disputing that Maxxis are one of the most dominant players on the Australian MTB tyre scene; they seem to have a tread pattern for just about every condition, and the prices have always represented great value for money. Having said that, they’ve been losing a bit of ground lately to other brands offering more high-tech casings; especially those offering fast, lightweight but durable tyres that work well with or without tubes. The Ikon is aimed squarely at reversing that trend, with a totally new tread pattern and enough technology (and associated acronyms) to keep even the most diehard rubber geek happy.

Of late, cycling specificGPSdevices have been shrinking. They started out as all-singing-all-dancing navigational instruments that took up a good chunk of your handlebar real estate, but now the major brands are offering far more compact devices that forgo the mapping and navigational features. The Rider 20 is the newest device from Bryton and it certainly fits the bill as being compact. Measuring 63x40x19mm it’s close to the size of a standard cordless cycle computer, and with the base unit selling for $129 (without heart rate), it’s in the same general price area as a good traditional cycle computer.

Given that they already make most other MTBcomponents, it’s a logical step forSRAMto start making full wheelsets (not to mention the fact that they own road wheel brand Zipp). So the advent of the mid-priced Rise 40 (and the top-end, carbon rimmed Rise 60) wheels should come as no surprise. The Rise 40s are available for either 26 or 29-inch bikes, and are intended as an all-purpose option for everything from the occasional XC race through to a bit of light all-mountain riding. They’re available with either 15mm or traditional quick release front hubs, and 142x12mm or traditional rear hubs.

Latest LEDsLED technology continues to march forward, and with it we have yet another batch of brand new lights to review!

Not long ago, a 600 to 900 lumen light output was considered huge. That brightness level compares to the HID lights that were once considered the benchmark for bike lights. Nowadays you can buy an entry level LED offering that sort of output.

LED technology continues to march on, so let’s look at the latest batch of high-powered lights to get you out on the trail this winter.

Winter is just around the corner, so let’s take a look at some of the new model LED lights that have just hit the market.

Lighting technology continues to march on, and the flow of new products never seems to cease. Previously we looked at some of the biggest, most powerful lights (MBA May/June/July 2011). This time we focus on some of the smaller units, but these days compact doesn’t always mean compromised...