Giro Rivet II gloves

You won’t find any padding on this minimalistic mitt, but that doesn’t mean it is devoid of valuable improvements. To start, Giro incorporates a Pittards leather palm. Pittards has been specializing in leather–mainly for gloves and footwear, for damn near 200 years.

However, the vegans out there can rest easy in knowing that there’s no actual leather here–it’s a synthetic microfiber material. The perforated palms are soft and supple, breathe well and offer great grip, even when saturated with sweat. For even more simplicity, there’s no Velcro closure on the Rivet II, just an elastic cuff. I love this feature, but not everyone falls into this camp. Based on Giro’s sizing chart, which measures hand circumference and finger length, I’m squarely a medium, the same as all the other gloves in this test. The fit is spot-on in the fingers, palm, and around the wrist. Even the cuff length is good, ending mid-wrist. Touchscreen compatibility lets me whip the phone out for quick photo-ops without fumbling with my gloves. The only potential issue is that the lightweight mesh used between the fingers builds weaker seams so these might be single-season gloves.

PRICE 30$

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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Merida Big Seven 100

We've rolled up to our local woods, with a meandering blue trail, some natural wooded tracks and a bit of fire road chucked into the mix to see how the Big Seven 100 tackles trails that entry-level riders are likely to cut their teeth on.

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ENVE M50 29" Wheels

Utah based company ENVE have been making drool-worthy carbon components for some years now. Despite the fact that carbon rims are becoming more and more common on mountain bikes these days, you can guarantee that ENVE wheels will be a talking point when someone is eyeing off a steed. Instantly, the big bold logos on each rim scream "fast", "light" and to some extent, "expensive" The kids call this 'bling'.

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SPECIALIZED P.STREET 2

S pecialized’s P.Series bikes have been much loved hardcore/ jump hybrid contenders for years and this 2014 nugget is no exception. If you’re after a really well priced and well sorted complete bike package for jump, street and even better-groomed trail centre action then the P.Street is outstanding. Its rock solid responsiveness and short-stroke fork make it seriously unforgiving on rougher trails though.

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Merida Big Nine 100

Wit the bikes swapped over, we head out on the same loop again, this time on the 29in Big Nine 100. Whereas the Big Seven was snappy off the line, the 29er takes a couple more pedal strokes to get up to speed. That said, once it's up there, it's easy to keep the big wheels rolling, allowing us to cover ground with ease. The fire road is at times a little rough, and the bigger wheels roll over the imperfections so we barely notice them.

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All Arround MTB

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