Sponsors of Pro-Tour teams Cervelo & Radioshack and (recently married) mountain bikers Ryan Sherlock and Mel Spath, ZipVit are an English company making waves in the nutrition market. They have a full range of products including vitamin supplements but we tested the ZV1 Energy drink and ZV3 Protein recovery powder.

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For the past few years the Garmin Edge 705 has been the cutting edge in terms of GPS cycling computers whether you were a Tour de France rider or a trail warrior. Recently the company introduced this smaller model in response to a request from the Garmin-Transitions Pro-Tour squad who were looking for something [...]

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The Remedy is Trek’s All mountain machine.  Designed around a 150mm suspension platform the bike is destined for going downhill fast. 

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XX is the range topping groupset (sorry, family) from SRAM and this is their range topping trail/race fork.

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For everyone who reads any of the MTB magazines, it’s hard not to be swung by the Bike Porn ads placed by the “big” suspension manufacturers, indeed often these publications are swayed in their decisions by advertising (we know we have ridden some of the forks that got dodgy top ratings). RST has a history [...]

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The saddle is one of the most important areas of the bike and one that is often overlooked.

This one is a favourite of many ProTour riders including

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This past weekend we were to be found racing the WAR (Wicklow Adventure Race) adventure race in Glendalough.  On our feet for the running leg were Columbia’s trail running shoe, the Ravenous.

Released as part of the revamped product line, the Ravenous is a new shoe from the ground up.

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Our female tester declared this the most versatile outdoor product she has ever used.  What ever your passion be it MTB, trail running, hiking, mountaineering etc. and then slipping down the pub afterwards for a quick drink, this is the garment for you.

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You can now view the February issue of Outsider magazine online here (or click on the image).  Lots of bike features and reviews this issue.

If there is anything you would like to see specifically from a mountain bike point of view between the covers of Outsider email us at info@spoke.ie.  As mountain bike editor we [...]

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These are an awesome performer with great power transfer, fit, weight and (importantly) price. It’s a complete package with a number of innovative features.

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A favourite among our female testers, these leggings from merino supremo Icebreaker are fantastic for all outdoor sports.

Made from 260 g/m2 Merino wool, these leggings are part of the GT active outdoor range.

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Cyclo-cross tyres have many benefits.  Less chance of puncturing, more comfort and better grip are all major bonuses on Irish roads and allow you to ride off-road too should you so decide.

Cyclocross is not just for Winter either.

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A quality carbon riser bar from a quality manufacturer.

For those who haven’t tried them, riser bars offer far more control than a traditional flat handlebar,

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These should be in every cyclist’s closet.  In years gone by riders rode with a variety of water proofing solutions including plastic bags on their feet but no more.  Made from miracle Merino wool, these waterproof socks keep you snug and dry in even the most Baltic of weather conditions. On top of that they [...]

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Merino is our favourite fabric so we were thrilled to see it in a glove but a little dubious to whether it would really be waterproof.  Suffice to say we were pleasantly surprised.

100% waterproof yet not sweaty (gotta love that Merino wool) these are great.  The wool keeps you warm in the bitter cold we [...]

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29ers are huge with our friends on the other side of the Atlantic but have yet (!) to catch on in Europe.  The new 29er from Giant could be the first brand to achieve mainstream success over here with their offering which is receiving a lot of interest.  We took one for a test drive [...]

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Anyone else noticed the temperatures dropping?  On Winter rides comfort is key and with this body warmer from Icebreaker you can keep your core temperature high but not too high…

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Lets face it, Winter is here, cold temperatures, strong winds and rain.  However it is not all doom and gloom as Icebreaker have this handy Chute neck warmer to fool you into thinking its a lot warmer than it is.

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Ritchey are one of our favourite component manufacturers and can now boast the Road and MTB World Championships through their riders Cadel Evans and Nino Schurter.  They have just released details on two new saddles.  First up is the WCS Biomax which we have been testing for a while now.

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On these cold winter evenings, your helmet may not offer the best form of insulation against the frigid air, especially when barrelling downhill at 40kmph.

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With the evenings closing in it will shortly be back to lights for commuting and night riding. These little lights from Aussie company Knog are great for keeping cars away from you and come in a myriad of colours to suit your steed.

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When going downhill fast you want a wide cockpit that’s raised to give you ample time to read the trail ahead and react to it.

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Fox have always been renowned for their performance but not for their light weight. For 2010 this is set to change with their all new F-series cross country fork. The cornerstone of this is the totally new FIT damping cartridge which results in a more consistent performance across the fork stroke.

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The 705 is the complete package - a bike computer, GPS unit and training aid all in one.

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Ask yourself how often you use your granny ring in a cross country race? In reality probably hardly ever. With this in mind FSA have developed a two ring mountain bike chainset.

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Sidi are an Italian company renowned for making some of the best performance shoes in the industry. These Eagle 6 ones are no exception with an excellent stiff carbon fibre sole and comfortable fit, perhaps the most comfortable shoe we have ridden yet.

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Cannondale have always been at the high end of the sport with quality products which reflect the companies heritage.  Of late they have not been as visible on the World Cup circuit as normal but with multiple World Cup victories under their belts and the World Male Marathon Championship for 2008, they know how to [...]

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One for the girls (or what ever you are into) this is a skirt and a cycling short combined.

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Park tools make some of the best tools on the market so when they make a bike cleaning set you know it will cover all bases.  With 4 brushes included its a comprehensive set.

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For 2010 Austrian company KTM have completely re-designed their downhill bikes the Aphex and the Tribute.

The frame has two travel settings yielding 200-230mm travel on the rear wheel equating to 440-600mm movement to the rear wheel.  The wheelbase is also adjustable with three settings (440/450/460mm) allowing riders to extend or reduce the amount of trail [...]

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