PUSH ELEVENSIX SHOCK £1,300

What if we were to tell you that you could have two shocks in one? Yes, we know, it sounds like some dodgy late-night infomercial designed to get you to buy something you really don’t need. But the Push Elevensix shock really is different. Thanks to its dual overhead design, the Elevensix has two independent compression circuits that you can toggle between at the flick of a lever. So, you really can have one shock with two distinctly different set-ups.

The tool-free ability to switch between modes allows you to have one setting fine-tuned for regular trail riding, the other dialled in for, say, technical climbing or the very steepest descents. It’s your call. And unlike most other designs, where the different compression settings are prescribed, the Elevensix gives you the ability to fine-tune high and low-speed compression damping for either mode.

And that’s not the only feature that sets the Push shock apart. A nylon bearing stops spring wind-up, while the Ultralight Hybrid Hypercoil spring comes in 25lb increments, so you can get the perfect percentage of sag regardless of ride weight. There’s also a grub screw on the preload collar, so once you find the correct preload and sag, it stays there. The shock also has an independent speedsensitive hydraulic bottom-out piston, and combined with the open-cell bottom-out bumper, it will cushion even the harshest landings. And as if that wasn’t enough tech for one shock, it gets spherical bearings in the eyelets to prevent the shock from binding and protect it from excessive sideloading.

Each Elevensix shock is custom tuned in Colorado to match a specific frame design, and there’s now a new Micro model for shorttravel bikes like the Evil Following and a beefed-up HD version to match the demands of e-bikes.

Feature-packed with the ability to offer two distinct and adjustable settings for a single shock, the Push Elevensix is a high-end product with a correspondingly high-end price tag. But if it really does deliver on its promise, maybe the twoin-one shock from Push really is worth almost twice as much as a Fox Float X2. That, or it could be like the exercise bike you bought that now doubles as a clothes rail.

HEART AND SOLE

At the heart of Giant’s Charge Elite XC clipless shoe is its sole, made from carbon and glass-fibre, that’s been thermoset to add strength. Designed to be stiff at the forefoot where you pedal, then more flexy at the heel for comfort, it’s one clever slipper.