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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These nifty grips from Lizard Skins are perfect for cross country riding with a nice low profile grip and comfy lined pattern.

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After a heavy training ride or race one of the first things you need to do is replace some of the lost energy in your system.  This not only allows you to help build muscle but it also speeds up your recovery and helps you to get the most from the ride.  With that in [...]

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This has been a constant companion for the past few months with just about every tool you could need on the trail.

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Wilier are an Italian brand that make some particularly fine road bikes.  They sponsor the Milram Pro-Tour team on the road and ooze Italian style throughout from interesting spec options to frame design and colours.

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Strong and light is the name of the game with this cross country stem from Canadian supremos Syncros.  Resplendent in its matte white finish and grunge graphics (its also available in plain black) this is one stem that does exactly what it says on the tin.  FL stands for F*@king light (in case you were [...]

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At the tender age of 24 Mark Cavendish is only in his third season as a pro. An autobiography seems a bit of a stretch for an athlete in such an early stage of his career. However, this book surprises and inspires with outspoken views, insider insights and a life story to date full of [...]

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Bell have been making helmets since the birth of mountain biking way back when.  The Volt is the newest offering from the company with a fantastic design suitable for both road and mountain biking.

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Made from durable nylons ripstop material these 3/4 shorts come down to just below the knee and feature two large rear map pockets, a cargo pocket and two zipped hip pockets perfect for your mobile phone.

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Cannondale make great gear.  They have been market leaders for a long time and now they are one of the leading green manufacturers.  These bagy shorts are made from 30% recycled material using a fabric that uses polyesthelene terephthalate (PET) the polymer most commonly used in soft drink bottles and reprocesses them into yarn.

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Lyrca.  Some people love it some people hate it.  For the latter there are now plenty of option that don’t involve pouring yourself into a tight stretchy tube.  Over the next few days we are going to look at some of these options, begining with tops.
There are many advantages to non-lycra tops such as real [...]

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With Summer supposedly on the way we thought it a good idea to look at some lightweight and airy gloves.  The Sombrio Sultan fits this brief really well with a comfortable lightweight full finger glove with a mesh back.

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Like car enthusiasts, Mountain bikers and Road cyclists are often as happy “under the bonnet” as they are riding around.  If this is the case for you then you will be needing one of these.  In fact if you do any of your own maintenance (and you should) then you will need one of these.

This [...]

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This is the latest incarnation of one of the winningest cross country forks ever - the SID.  Several World Championships, World Cups by the ton and countless other races have all been won on the original fork but while thwy were fantastically light they were heavily criticised for being too flexy.  Rockshox thought long and [...]

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Felt are an American manufacturer who have been making waves in the cycling world for a while now.  They are best known as the bike sponsors for the Garmin-Slipstream squad and many of the advancements in the frames come from interaction with the Pro racers they sponsor such as Irish National Champion Dan Martin, David [...]

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A couple of years ago Shimano introduced a new form of shifting - Dual Control.  Riders reacted badly thinking that they were a replacement for Rapidfire and they were tainted as a fad.  Shimano even admit that they got the marketing all wrong.  However recently we were convinced to try them and boy is the [...]

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This multipurpose watch is designed as the complete outdoor tool and it certainly comes close. Featuring an altimeter, barometer and compass it’s the final feature which proves the most attractive - GPS.

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Shimano have recently introduced a new model to their custom shoe lineup.  The SH-M230C is a half way house between the full Custom Fit range topping shoe and a regular one.

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April is living up to its reputation with alternating temperatures, rain and sunshine.  With this is mind we thought we would look at a lightweight shell type jacket.  Fitting the bill perfectly is the Gore Alp X II Gore-tex pac-lite jacket.

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Summer is supposedly on the way but with the changeable weather that Ireland is known for we thought it was a good idea to have a look at a jacket that is adaptable to all sorts of conditions.  The Mayenne is a 5 in 1 jacket which can be quickly switched to fit conditions - [...]

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