Singletrack have had their awards and the last issue of the magazine had the staff choice; so what are the forum dwellers favroite bits of kit from 2008.

It start by nominating home brew lights – Night riding is fantastic and what is better then doing it on the cheep with a light from Tesco and some plumbing bits from B&Q.

Rules: Must be something you own or use regularly.

Avid Matchmakers.

Pointlessly pimp, but they really do make my bars look lovely!

Not 2008 gear but my product of the year is a pair of 2006 Marzocchi 66SLs I bought in Autumn. Performance close to 888 dh forks but only approx 6lbs!

I am getting a lot of satisfaction from my camelback bottle – love it!

For me it’s the Dialled Bikes Alpine, fantastic bike that just get’s better and better.

Ti5456

Not sure if its kit but Nuun tablets are a great invention. I drink/sweat loads so being able to energy powder in an nice little packt with me on rides is a massive bonus.

wingnut hyper 3
recommended by ssstu
top bit of gear.

Best performing kit for me has been an old XTR rear mech and a Vanilla RC coil shock, neither of them new but they just keep on working year after year.

As for new kit, the Hope led 4 has been very good.

Fulcrum 5 road wheels – used as my general training/ riding wheel all year, hit every pot hole in Derbyshire and never moaned once – great because I never even think about them.

Pikes again

My 10 quid waterproof I got from sportsworld!

Best kit for me this year – hard to choose 1 thing so it’s a toss-up between the Ergon BD1 backpack, Exposure Maxx-D and my Garmin 705. I’d recommend all of them…

My tesco torch :o)when my dinotte light went t1ts up and had to go back to the US

Pikes here too but Motor Tabs work for me.

Long service award has to go to my LX shifters. Came to me on a s/h bike and have been on my bars ever since. That was 3 years ago!

Shimano MT51 boots, got them in a sale for £19.99 and love them.

Bought a 456 frame to hang all the bits lurking in my workshop on, hardly ever ride anything else now…

…but seem to have upgraded many of the parts and now seem to have almost enough stuff to hang on another frame!

Gore Alp waterproof shorts.

Endura stealth jacket is fantastic.
TI456 out of this world!

Endura stealth jacket is fantastic.
TI456 out of this world!

Sombrio Vapour jacket
16″ 853 Black Inbred

Lidl waterproof winter gloves. They do what it says on the tin!

bionicon eddison
and prince albert…

Fox Sergeant shorts.

Nothing spectacular performance wise but they look great.

Wingnut Hyper 3 and Endura Stealth Jacket.

They’ve both made a real difference to comfort while riding.

Bike wise the Singular Gryphon prototype. Never had so much fun on drop bars.

I’ve built up 2 Dialled Bikes’ bikes this year and think they are both wonderful. The Alpine sneaks it over the Mk1 PA as I’ve been places with it that I have never been confident taking a HT before. Strange thing is, I’ve just sacrificed its bits to build up a 5 Spot, but I’ve no intention of selling it.

456 Summer Edition – the frame that’s kept my Prophet indoors a lot.
SLX discs – cheap, great, pretty.
Bonty CF Risers – a great blend of looks, function and width.

Endura eVent waterproof 3/4 length shorts.

They keep my bum dry without making me boil. Haven’t tried any other waterproof shorts, but I don’t need to.

Aldi windproof softshell jacket, worn it loads since I got it earlier this year.

Gore Phantom; especially as I managed to get it for only £50.
Shimano SLX shifters and rear mech; after several years with SRAM I’m now back to Shimano and grateful for the far more robust rear mech and minimal profile.

Forks that are properly good. This year we’ve seen 20mm axle’d 140mm travel lightweight XC forks that work brilliantly, in all sorts of flavours and prices…

My xmas pressie last year was a headset press what a joy to use and it has been used quite a lot. Once word gets round you have a headset press its surprising the number of people who want you to fit a new headset I have done 6 in the last year. 🙂

My Rebas, 661 evo knee pads and the Fox shorts I got in the Evans sale.

Pair of £15 LiDL MTB shoes. Taken a right battering, so far, and show no signs of giving up. Proof that a lot of other branded kit is a rip-off.

Oh, and the £9 Tesco 3W torch. Proof that other, far more expensive lights are a rip-off.

And just to show I’m not a total skinflint; Sealskins waterproof socks. Sooo nice to have nice warm, dry feet!

Rudeboy, that’s not a rip off, that’s called choice…

My AyUp lights, just work with ace customer service, opened a new facet of riding for me.

nickc; yeah, I suppose you’re right. You can CHOOSE to be ripped-off, or not!

I’ve bought top-branded ‘mtb’ kit, and much cheaper non-specific stuff, and there’s very little difference in quality, if any at all, with most of it. I appreciate some things are made by smaller companies, and are always going to cost a bit more than stuff that’s made in huge volume in huge factories staffed by people on very low wages, but there is still a lot of stuff that is simply over-priced.

For balance, for example; I’ve bought Hope hubs, which cost a good bit more than other equivalents, and been glad of the investment in quality. So, as you say, ‘choice’…

All the Superstar gear that I own.

My Castelli Espresso windstopper jacket.

Dirtworker. End of ride, squirt off the mud, bike goes home clean, no rows about destroying the house, etc etc. Genius kit.