Strengths: Bought these when my Vanillas gave up the ghost. They seemed to be a reasonable weight and price for a 5" fork without conceeding too much stiffness.
The only external adjustment is air pressure - running in the range of about 25 to 55 psi depending on your weight. I settled on 40psi for my 14.5 stone which works well. The forks have done about 15 hours of riding in and apart from an initial stickiness (most noticable on rough climbs) they are plush and smooth and I would struggle to tell that there are no coils in there.
Damping is predictable and effective but not adjustable externally. The stock damping with 7.5wt oil was too fast for me but removing some 7.5wt and adding some 15wt oil has slowed the rebound down nicely so they are spot on now.
Weaknesses: There's no external adjustment (but who plays with that once it's set up anyway?) and the forks are relatively long for the travel they give which makes the front end a bit vague on climbs. An ETA cartridge would sort that and rumour has it that a retrofit will be possible.
Overall: Been running these on a Planet X Armadillo for a couple of months now. Really are an excellent fork for the money (can be had for £220 if you shop around). I'd rate them above Fox Floats and RS Psylos and they don't give that much away to Z1 FRs.
Low on "bells and whistles" features so your cash has gone into making a solid, well damped and reliable fork.
Strengths: Vastly improves comfort on bike Alien clamp is easy to set up and secure Innovative design that actually works Low maintenance and well sealed Low weight penalty over rigid post Cuts out small bumps and jarring, excellent for lower back aches.
Weaknesses: Changing saddles can be a faff. Undeniably expensive Gaiter slips off it's top groove quite easily.
Overall: The best thing I can say about this post is that I only remember I have one when I ride a bike without. The first couple of laps (I bought it at the 2001 Red Bull) I found the up-and-down motion slightly disconcerting but since then I've barely noticed it's movement. While being nothing like decent rear suspension, it really takes the edge off medium-sized bumps and smooths out the jarring from constant small hits, enabling me to remain in the saddle and pedalling longer than without it. Maintenance-wise, a strip and regrease takes about 10 minutes and even after 3 months of winter the grease inside was almost fresh. The gaiter can slip but this is easily remidied with a cable tie. No signs yet of bushing wear (wobble) or side-to-side motion; both are easily replacable anyway. I found the Alien clamp really easy to set up but it tends to stick once a saddle has been on there for a while even after the bolts are undone though you can gently lever it apart with a big screwdriver(!). Overall, while nothing like real rear suspension, it's a fantastic solution to a harsh hardtail and despite the price tag it's still good value for money.
Strengths: Simplicity Don't slip once bolts tightened Easy to remove when the time comes Excellent levels of grip
Weaknesses: Not exactly cheap Look like they will be quite fast- wearing
Overall: Only had these on for four or five rides but very impressed so far. Been out in the pouring rain for a couple of hours and no slippage. Fitting and removing is really easy, so long as you have a 2.5mm allen key. Most shops have the grips and lockrings as a value pack for about 15 pounds at the moment, as you only have to buy the rings once if there ever was a time to pick up a set it's now. If the Ruffians don't suit there are several other patterns available.
Weaknesses: Expensive at 40p per patch, doesn't stick very well on the seam of the tube or in cold or damp conditions.
Overall: Excellent as a quick trailside repair but not really an alternative to a proper old-style patch-and-glue kit for fixing punctures good and proper. I usually fix it with a Park and then do it properly when I get home. Performance is for as a trail repair, reliability is marked down as the patches can peel over time.
Strengths: Very quick to inflate tyres, dead easy to use, hose eliminates risk of broken valves, big enough to get a decent grip on yet still fits in a Camelbak
Weaknesses: erm, struggling here but it doesn't do shocks as well, and it's not got one of those smart heads.
Overall: Not often I'd review a product I've only used for under a minute but here I am doing it, precisely because I wasn't pumping away like a contestant in the World W*nking Championships for five minutes to get a tyre that will just about get me home if I take it easy on the rocky bits. As soon as I'm in a bike shop that sells them I'll be buying one. It is that good.
Strengths: come in a handy zip-up wallet that has outlived the socks
Weaknesses: too many to list
Overall: Worked well (waterproof and breathable-ish)first time out so so I bought a second pair cheaply. After about two months they started falling to bits. The material went stiff and uncomfortable, the waterproofing failed and durability is appauling. I've had ankle cuffs ripping off and the layers inners separating and rucking up. They aren't warm either despite being bulky. As decent winter boots cost about 30 quid more than decent mesh shoes you know what to do.
If I could give them a big fat zero I would...unfortunately I bought them in a closing down sale so there was no shop to take them back to.
Strengths: The Hardcote coating actually seems to work, I've run an inner and middle ring for six months with no discernable signs of wear. That includes using a chain for long enough to wreck a newish cassette and a lot of riding in sandy/gritty parts of the country (Peak, Cairngorms) which is often a killer on drivetrains. Seem to reduce chainsuck in comparison to the original Shimano rings as well. Done perhaps 700 off-road miles on the rings without any complaints. Shifting perfectly adequete
Weaknesses: Apart from the initial "investment" in the rings, nothing much. The lack of shifting cutouts and ramps seems to make little difference to shifting performance, which has always been on the dodgy side of adequete on my bike anyway. They don't make Hardcote cassettes...
Overall: Highly recommended. Have survived where cheaper rings would have succumbed already. Will see how they manage in winter but things are looking good for them so far. Doubt I'd buy another type of ring if they ever wear out.
Weaknesses: That crappy bracket - mine fits to the seatpost fine but the lamp doesn't clip into it very securely and now has a ziptie wrapped around it. Bloody nuisance to follow one closely offroad.
Overall: Fantastic rear light. If you can spend lots of hundreds of pounds on a bike you can afford to spend 17 quid on a light, it could literally save your arse.
