Joystick 8-BIT handlebar

Joystick started life in Canada but their range has recently been getting a lot of love in the UK and we’re not surprised. The 8-BIT bar is a seriously wide (800mm) piece of smoothly tapering pipe that adds masses of steering leverage.

At 304g it’s on par with other similarly wide bars for weight and it’s got a reassuringly solid but not hand-tinglingly stiff feel on the trail. The six-degree upsweep is slightly steeper than normal though, which is obvious once you get to the tips, and while a nine-degree backsweep is standard these days, the extra width makes it feel like you’re running a 10mm shorter stem than you actually are.

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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