Superstar Lithium Carbon handlebar

CHEAP AND CARBON are two words you rarely want to hear used together, but we've had no issues with this carbon bar from direct-sale specialists Superstar.

At 780mm wide, it's both downhill and trail bike friendly, while cut marks mean it can easily be reduced all the way down to 700mm. Our test bar tipped the scales at just 253g uncut, making it only slightly heavier than bars costing more than twice as much. The eight degrees of backsweep place your weight a little further back than some more aggressively designed bars, but the familiar five-degree upsweep figure means it doesn't feel too different. On the trail it's stiff without being brutally so.

PRICE 105$

Cannondale Trail SL 29 SS

The fat aluminium tubes are a constrast to the skinny items seen elsewhere in the test, but this rigid Cannondale uses them to create one of the most old-school - and lightest - rides here.

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KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

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SKS Airbuster CO2 inflator

The alloy Airbuster has a large knob so you can regulate the flow of gas, a mechanical stop to prevent the cartridge being pierced in transit and a dust cap to keep the valve free of debris. While it works with Presta and Schrader valves, switching between them requires a fiddly change of the valve head. The thin rubber sleeve doesn’t provide much protection from cold spent canisters. You can’t insert much of the valve into the inflator head, so you have to be careful to avoid leaks. Price $33 w/16g cartridge

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