Renthal Lock-On grips are offered in four different rubber compounds, with each offering different qualities. There’s a ‘soft’ compound which offers a high level of tackiness and vibration absorption but slightly compromised durability and control. Go even softer to the ‘super comfort’ compound and they are even tackier but the durability really suffers.

SRAM’s entered the MTB wheel market a little over a year ago with the Rise wheelsets. While they were stiff and light, they lacked easy tubeless compatibility and their comparatively narrow width let them down (at least that’s what we thought when we reviewed them). Their newly released Roam wheels serve to answer many of these shortcomings.

Carbon bars may offer a subtle degree of ‘vibration damping’ when compared to alloy but the Muru Sandbar goes a step further—it offers some real flex. Titanium is a very springy and resilient material and Muru uses this trait to add some bump-absorbing give to the ride.

Helmets that offer a little more coverage around the rear and have a built-in visor are really gaining popularity amongst mountain bikers. The Limar X-MTB is one such example. While it offers added coverage, it still has big vents to promote airflow and comes in at a respectably light 300g (actual weight).

As handlebar widths continue to grow, it seems logical that they’d benefit from getting fatter in the middle to better handle the forces that the added leverage creates. With this in mind, Easton introduced their Havoc 35 series bars. Where most handlebars use a 31.8mm clamp area, the Havoc 35 measures … wait for it … 35mm.

Our continent mightn’t be snowbound through winter, but fatbikes have become a desirable thing nonetheless. Whether they’re for beach riding, desert touring or just the novelty of having near endless traction from monstrous tyres run at single-digit pressures, fatbikes certainly hold a unique appeal. Muru Cycles is a new Australian based brand that specialises in titanium fatbikes.

A new addition to the Bontrager line, the Evoke gloves are designed with breathability and comfort in mind for all-round trail use. The mesh uppers provide good ventilation whilst still offering support, and in a nod to simplicity they do without any form of closure at the wrist. Extra layers of synthetic leather are used at the metacarpal heads and in the thumb crotch to enhance durability, while the synthetic palm is padded to reduce pressure on the ulnar nerve.

The 875 MTB Superlight is the most recent addition to the Limar helmet range for the Aussie market. Built with cross-country mountain biking in mind, minimal weight and good ventilation were key design factors. Coming in at 243g including the visor, our medium sample was very light and the vents are both large and well connected via internal channels.

SRAM has created a good deal of interest with their new XX1 drivechain. Aside from the high-end pricing, one of the main hurdles for potential XX1 customers is the special freehub body that’s required to run the 11-speed cassette. Thankfully, many hub manufacturers have been able to design new freehubs to suit, making the swap to 11-speed a relatively simple process.

Some people say that a double chainring set-up is best while others claim that a single ring will take you anywhere. Meanwhile a few people still feel that the good old triple is the way to go. In reality it comes down to personal preference and the nature of the trails that you ride. If you’re not totally sold on one particular system, why not go with a crankset that offers the flexibility to adapt to your needs? The Italian made FRM CU3 cranks use an interchangeable spider that lets you swap between a range of chainring formats.

Bontrager’s tyre naming is intended to reflect their intended use. A higher digit at the end means they are geared more towards providing traction while a lower number means rolling resistance is a priority—their full-on downhill tyres rate as a ‘five’ for example.

At a recent race I was chatting with a couple of mates who were wondering why I hadn’t been around the endurance racing scene as much as in previous years. I responded that I’d been spending my weekends going ‘bikepacking’. The response was swift, ‘why bother?’ they asked ‘if I want to ride I ride, if I want to hike I hike, why would anyone combine the two?’

Just got your head around 29ers? Well now, after a number of years on the fringe, we’ve got a third ‘in-the-middle’ wheel size to contend with—650B…

You’ve probably noticed that ‘top whatever it may be lists’ are all the rage these days, so here's Xmas Pat's top ten rules to live by...

Few component manufacturers carry the cred and credence of British company Hope. Steve Thomas dropped in on them to see how they’ve managed to stay true to their colours for almost a quarter of a century.

Thru-axles are pretty common these days but most fork-mount style car roof racks are designed for quick release drop-outs. Adaptor mounts have been around for some time and most are pretty simple; providing a tube at one end that you slide the axle through and dummy fork tips on the other. While they are easy to mount, they also offer next to no security—even with locking roof racks you only need to undo the thru-axle to remove the bike. That’s where the RockyMounts DriveShaft adaptor comes into the picture.