UK bike brand Ridgeback has joined the 29er movement, but it's pitching the big-wheeled MTBs at a slightly different market to most. The three-bike range is "aimed at adventurous leisure riders who don't want to be categorized", or to put it another way, those riders looking for something to do a bit of fairly straightforward off-roading, a bit of towpath bashing and so on who'd usually buy a budget 26in MTB because it looks stouter than a hybrid bike but would then find it a bit of a chore on the road. While most 29er manufacturers are trying to persuade us that their bikes are just as agile and lively as a 26in bike, Ridgeback uses "a more stable feel" as a selling point, which for the target market, it is. The range is called Dual Track (as opposed to singletrack, see?) and features three bikes. Pictured is the £799 Pursuit, with a Manitou Empire Elite fork and mostly Deore components. There's also the £549 Quest and £369 Advance. Find out more at www.ridgeback.co.uk.

After show appearances last year, Pace's all-new RC303 long-travel hardtail frame. It's described as "not a jump frame but sturdy enough to tackle big terrain", which is an increasingly popular niche. Despite its chunky appearance, a medium 303 frame is claimed to weigh 1.95kg (4.3lb) which isn't too shabby. It's built from custom-butted 6066-T6 aluminium and sports a semi-integrated headset to help keep the front end fairly low. The 303 is designed for a 130mm travel fork, will take 2.5in tyres, is available in three sizes and a choice of silver or black. We're looking forward to having a go on one - in the meantime, take a look at www.pacecycles.com for more details.

SIC is a new name to these shores. It stands for Super Innovative Concepts and the company is probably best known for its line of Aaron Chase signature components. There's an extensive range of bars and stems (plus some very tidy oversized-to-normal-sized bar shims that are shaped to integrate with the stem) with interesting-looking projects like these SIC-ness cranks in the pipeline. All the SIC stuff that actually exists is now available through the increasingly-prolific Transition Bikes UK - see the gear at Transition UK's site or have a look at www.sicusa.com.