All Arround MTB

This coil-sprung dropper promises “simplicity, reliability and durability”, but doesn’t deliver. While the price is reasonable, it’s 100g heavier than some of its rivals. It’s a lot longer than most 150mm posts too, so fitting it between you and your bike may be an issue. Because the cable nipple is at the post end, it’s a no-brainer to set up. The SRAM-mount shifter-style lever is gorgeous, complete with silk-smooth bearing and grip patch.With no airtight seals to cause drag, initial operation is super-smooth. Getting the mechanical catch to lock into the two intermediate height settings requires practice, though, and the soft top-out means you don’t always know it’s extended. The screw-on saddle clamp can come loose, and within a few months our sample started sticking down or failing to return to full height on filthy rides. Stripping it down and replacing springs and sliders doesn’t refresh performance for long, so even with a five-year warranty it’s hard to recommend. Weight ...

E*thirteen’s latest alloy wheels are tight all-rounders, backed up with a good first-year guarantee. The hooked 27mm rim works best with tyres in the 2.3 to 2.4in size band, but it’s well-profiled and pre-taped for blissfully easy inflation. Clever two-piece valves that screw together on either side of the rim give a leak-proof fit too. Having to fit the freehub yourself is a bit weird but it’s simple enough, and e*13’s signature super-fat all-alloy hubs let them use really short quad-butted spokes. This all creates a really tight and accurate-tracking wheel that riders who like HD-clarity feedback will love, but you may find hands and arms complaining quicker than normal. Bearing life is far better than on early e*13 wheels and they’re covered with a one-year ‘no questions asked’ guarantee. Weight 890g+1,040g= 1,930g Width 27mm/33mm Freehub lag 6° Sizes 650b, 29in Price $972

The LG1+ is e*thirteen’s full ‘belt and braces’ downhill guide, but at only 182g it won’t add too much weight to your bike. It’s unchanged for 2018, apart from the return to a bolted closure on the upper slider, in place of the quick-release clip on last year’s model. This is good news, because we broke several of the old guides due to the clip coming undone while riding. So far, the new guide has performed flawlessly – we’ve yet to drop a chain and the bashplate has taken its fair share of hits. Thanks to the rubber lining on the slider and the soft rubber idler wheel, there’s no chainslap whatsoever. The idler does increase drag noticeably though. Fortunately, the LG1+ gives you the option to remove it, via two small bolts. We preferred the guide this way and (with a narrow/wide ring and clutch rear mech) still never dropped a chain. Fitting the guide is straightforward. The use of a spacer kit instead of fiddly individual ISCG washers makes things easier. You do have to remo...

E*THIRTEEN HAVE STRETCHED the range of the 11-speed cassette by incorporating a massive 44t largest sprocket and tiny 9t smallest sprocket on their newTRS+ block.

It’s a bold move to make your first tyre the most expensive conventional rubber available, but e*13’s TRSr really is worth it. Made by Maxxis’s parent brand CST, it’s been designed to be as user friendly as possible in every aspect.

E*13's EX cog addsa40 or 42T crawler gear to the top end of your ratios if you remove the 17 or 15T sprocket from your existing 10-speed cassette.

THE TRS+ CRANKS are instantly recognisable, with their very broad and flat arms and gold hardware. They’re super-stiff, strong and light, but the unique bottom bracket design is a plus and a minus.

SO GOOD: A similar (but not identical) design to the illustrious e*thirteen LG1 + used by many World Cup downhill riders, we found this device really easy to fit, with useful markings to match different size chainrings.