YOUR TESTERS

SPECIFICATION Weight: 475g without spring/970g with 500lb spring (185 x 55mm trunnion) • Sizes: Metric and trunnion mounts from 185 to 250mm • Contact: extrauk.co.uk

With four easily-accessible tuning dials, Kitsuma is Cane Creek’s latest generation Double Barrel shock, hand-built in North Carolina and available in either air or coil-sprung guises. Fox and Öhlins both offer similar damping architecture with independent compression and rebound circuits in top-end shocks; Kitsuma differs by delivering tool-free adjustment over a bigger range, along with a unique

Climb Switch feature.

Substantial oil volume circulates inside the shock between adjustable valves on both damping circuits, rather than flowing back and forth across an internal piston. This means totally independent tuning in each direction, so tweaking rebound won’t affect compression damping and vice versa. The new design uses big ‘guitar dials’ that are easy to see (on my bike anyway) with a huge range of damping tunability – there’s actually twice the effect on certain parameters over its predecessor. This also means riders up to 130kg won’t need a retune.

Cane Creek’s clever CS (Climb Switch) lever stabilises the bike in both directions to support against pedal bob and calm shock movement while still retaining traction and control for technical climbing. The new (even) firmer mode is really effective to the point of almost full lockout, and set in the middle, CS is great for extra calmness and support for mellower or jumpy trails. The dull and smooth feel trumps rivals’ low-speed compressiononly platforms that can come across as stuttery and sharp on rougher ground.

On an Evil Wreckoning V3 with a progressive leverage rate well suited to coil shocks, switching from the stock Rockshox Super Deluxe coil to the Kitsuma felt like an immediate upgrade. There’s another dimension to the smoothness, cornering grip and damping control, and once dialled, everywhere from hauling across rocks and roots, stabilising over smashed up entrances to berms on the brakes or just neutralising trail buzz, Cane Creek’s shock has it covered. The Evil always stays in the sweet spot and it excels at dealing with fast, repeated, hits so they never faze the Kitsuma’s (or your) balance and composure.

The highlight of Cane Creek’s design is how it can track and trace tiny contours and bumps very accurately with a super-fluid feel, but also go from ‘poppy’ and lively to a very damped and dull ride, as you choose. I didn’t feel it was always ‘over damped’ at all on my bike (as I’ve seen others claim

SPECIFICATION Weight: 35g • 10 lens tints, 8 frame colours • Contact: sungod.co

Back when I used to race XC, getting mud in your eyes was an occupational hazard and I was pretty blasé about it, but I’m older now and I need to look after my eyesight, which is why I run a full mudguard and wear glasses on wet rides. The glasses I’ve been using recently have been these new Velans FF (full frame) from Sungod. This is a direct-sales eyewear company, which means when ordering you can pick and choose the lens, frames, colours and even add an extra nose-piece on the website and it calculates the total price.

The Velans FF is slightly smaller than the Vulcans featured previously in mbr but it’s still a big lens and offers a ton of coverage. The lens shape is also spherical, which means it sits closer to the edges of your face to stop dirt flicking into your eye.

It uses a similar frame as the Vulcans, with Grip-lock earsocks, and you even get four different nose pads to customise the fit. The lens on my sample is the 8KO Fire, designed for sun, but the clarity is amazing and it’s not too dark, so I didn’t have any issue using this on dull days. You can choose between nine other shades including two photochromic tints. All of them get triple layer anti-scratch protection, which is OK, but I found you definitely need to keep this one in the carry bag.

The best thing about the Velans FF is the fit – it’s amazingly snug on your face and just doesn’t move, even when getting bounced around in rough terrain. Clarity is excellent too and, although I could see the white frame ever so slightly around the nose, this should be practicably invisible with the darker frames.

The colour of my sample is a bit OTT but there are some cool neutral options.

The price is high for a pair of riding specs but for the lens quality and fit it’s definitely worth it.

SPECIFICATION Weight: 339g • Sizes: 8-16 • Contact: freewheel.co.uk

Initially it may look like the Madison Zena women’s baggy is way better value than the Scott Trail Vertic, but it doesn’t come with an inner short. Madison does sell a Flux women’s inner short for £34.99, and if you factor in that extra cost, both shorts represent similar value.

The Zena baggy is made from a stretch fabric with durable triplestitched seams and the build quality and finishing is very good but it is almost twice the weight of the Scott Trail Vertic and you do feel this extra bulk when riding, especially if the short is wet. It dries quickly but it’s not as wicking on the trail as Scott’s fabric.

The Zena also uses a pretty conventional two studs and zipped fly. I don’t see the need for the latter on a women’s short but two press-studs are better than one because if one breaks you have a back-up. The Velcro waist is pretty conventional too, but the tags are a little bulky when they bunch up, and they do dig in.

There are too many pockets on this short – two would have been sufficient for my phone and keys. The zips are pretty beefy, however, and feature large tags that were a good size for my small hands. Although the mesh lining in the pockets is breathable, it adds weight, so has to work twice as hard at circulating air. On a hot ride the Zena didn’t feel as comfortable as the Scott Trail Vertic and, while you could argue it’s harder-wearing, it’s not the short I’d choose for summer use. I can’t help thinking most women will be prioritising comfort first when buying a baggy short. The Madison Zena has a ton of features and a burly build, but it lacks the Scott Trail Vertic’s comfort and rideability.

VERDICT

Both of these shorts are good, but I’d only wear the Madison Zena in the winter or on a cold morning because of its weight and extra bulk. And in situations like that you could argue that a pair of trail pants would make more sense. I’d wear the Scott Trail Vertic the rest of the time. It has some nice, almost hidden details that really benefit the female rider. It’s also comfortable and fits great, especially in the waist where some women’s shorts normally don’t. I even like the colour.

Fully recommended.

SPECIFICATION Weight: 218g (medium) • Sizes: S-XXL • Colours: green, navy • Contact: wiggle.co.uk

While the brand Föhn conjures up images of ruggedly handsome Nordic folk running or riding into the sunset above a remote fjord, the reality is actually a clever bit of marketing by online giant, Wiggle. Yes, Föhn hails closer to Portsmouth than

Bergen, but that doesn’t mean it’s an outdoor imposter.

As the name suggests, this lightweight jacket uses Polartec’s latest Alpha active insulation, a fabric that was specifically designed to meet the needs of special forces soldiers. And while it’s not bulletproof, it does claim to regulate temperature, dry fast and offer advanced breathability by removing a layer of fabric and optimising the fluffy, lofted, insulating fibres to make them sit comfortably against your skin. The result feels a lot like sheepskin, but without the weight and the tendency to become saturated when wet.

There are two main Polartec Alpha panels on the Föhn jacket; one at the front (split by the zip) and one at the back, enclosed by an outer shell of thin nylon bearing a faint ripstop latticework. Föhn has also added more Alpha material above the upper arms. There’s no ventilation beyond that provided by the fabrics, and to keep the weight down to a paltry 220g, the only features are a hood and two zipped hip pockets. Although it’s extremely light and unobtrusive on the body, the insulation is relatively bulky, so I wouldn’t consider this a true packable jacket.

Sizing is excellent, with the medium fitting my slim build and average height perfectly. The cut has a subtle cycling bias without making it too

specific; there’s a dropped back and long arms that suit the more upright riding position you’ll typically get into on a mountain bike, and there’s enough stretch to the fabric that it doesn’t restrict freedom of movement. While we’re on the subject of fit, it’s worth pointing out that there’s also a women’s version of this jacket available for the same price. But if I can make one slight criticism, it’s that the cuffs are only partially elasticated, so they can let draughts in.

Although the nylon shell feels a little like tissue paper, and rustles loudly when moving around, that Polartec fleece feels really cosy, even with a thin baselayer underneath in freezing conditions. Warming up takes no time at all, but I never experienced overheating, and I always felt like my core was staying perfectly insulated. It might not be built for heavy downpours, but it shrugged off lighter showers with ease and dried rapidly afterwards.

The hood is useful for pre-and post-ride faffing, and the pockets are big and secure enough for essentials like a phone and car key. We’ve already raved about Polartec’s Alpha fabric when we tested Specialized’s £190 Trail-series Alpha jacket, so to find it for £70 less in Föhn’s equally effective, lighter and arguably more versatile – thanks to that hood – Polartec

Alpha Hybrid jacket is remarkable.

Danny Milner

SPECIFICATION Weight: 944g with cleats (43) • Sizes: 37-48 EU • Colours: black • Contact: extrauk.co.uk

In my opinion – and judging by the paddock at World Cup DH and EWS enduro events, the opinions of most top racers too – Crankbrothers makes the best clip-in pedals for trail/enduro riding. Its Mallet DH and Mallet E models offer genuine flat-pedal stability and feel with the efficiency and security of a clip-in mechanism. Well now the brand has a range of shoes to complement its test-winning pedals. Pricing is based on the closure system, with the BOA wire design at the top of the tree, a lace-up/velcro mix model occupying the midpoint and a full lace-up shoe at the entry-level. Decide on your budget, then pick whether you want standard or extended cleat slots, depending on where you want your foot to rest on the pedal. The idea being that more Dhorientated riders will want their cleats further back. The shoe tested here is the top-of-therange Mallet E Boa, with the standard cleat slots, where the E indicates ‘Enduro’. If you’re not sure whether you’ll need to use the ‘Race Zone’ that comes with the extra-long cleat

slots, I’d say it was unlikely. I like a rearward cleat position, but I had no trouble getting them in the right place with the standard shoe. What I really like is that there are measuring marks on the cleat box that help you get your perfect position mirrored on both sides. And, even better if you’re a Crankbrothers pedal user, they come pre-installed with cleats, so just tweak the position and away you go.

As you’d hope, the Mallet E Boa mates perfectly with the Mallet DH pedal. The ‘Match Box’ provides plenty of space around the cleat, so clipping in is easy, yet there’s still enough sole in contact with the pins and the platform to provide grip and support. It’s a slim shoe too, so I didn’t encounter any issues with unclipping my back foot. The radial tread pattern on the sole is designed to help the shoe twist out of the pedal more easily – it’s a neat idea, but as it depends where you put your cleat as to where the pedal pins contact the sole, I couldn’t detect any advantage from the design.

Crankbrothers’s upper design is sleek and seamless, and quite distinct to most skateinspired DH designs.

The hidden eyelets and moulded construction makes it easy to clean, and there’s a good balance between weather-proofing and ventilation.

One of the best assets of the

Mallet E Boa is the superb comfort combined with 360° foot stability.

The Boa is quick and effortless to tighten, yet eliminates hot spots across the foot, while the Velcro strap and deep heel cup with rubberised grippers further ensure the shoe is completely stable.

Crankbrothers clip-in pedals have always been better then its flat pedals, and now, having tested both its clip-in and flat-pedal shoes, the same rings true. These Mallet

not only fit well, they kept chill winds off without getting too hot, and have lasted longer with stitching and seams intact than other similar minimal, thin-palmed models I’ve really rated such as the discontinued

Troy Lee Sprints.

If the cut was more pre-shaped and curved, so they defaulted more to a ‘gripped’ rather than ‘flat’ hand like that TLD glove, I’d score these even higher as they always feel a bit better after a wash and a few hours’ riding to ‘bed’ in. Value is good too at just over £20 and you can find them even cheaper online with a bit of hunting.