We’re looking forward to some extra bike time over the big Jubilee weekend but we can’t kick it off without highlighting the coolest kit that has come into the office ripe for the testing. This week, we’ve got a budget-friendly hardtail, Oakley’s newest helmet and 7Mesh’s lightweight enduro shorts. Along with those, there’s a multitool from Lezyne and a shed-load of grips from Lizard Skins.
- Trail essentials – all the kit you need to take on a mountain bike ride
- Opinion: You don’t need a dropper post on your gravel bike
Forme Black Rocks HT1
£1,400
This is the Forme Black Rocks in its spendiest HT1 guise. This sub £1.5k bike is sorted with a RockShox Rekon fork with 130mm of travel, and a 12-speed SRAM SX Eagle drivetrain. The brakes are then sorted by Shimano and the M501’s with 180mm rotors at either end.
The making the Black Rocks look pretty agro is a 460mm reach, a 66° head angle, and a 78.3° seat tube angle which puts it firmly within the trail hardtail category. This bike sits at a reasonably crowded price point, so we’re excited to see how it stacks up.
Oakley DRT3 helmet
£110
The DRT3 is a reasonably fresh release from the optics brand, Oakley. It’s said that it relects Oakley’s new approach to design, receiving improvements to the Skull Matrix Index. The lid benefits from a 360° fit system, MIPS protection, and 16 vents, with two located above the brow that direct air into eyewear with the aim to keep them from fogging.
There’s also a pair of Unobtanium grippers in the two side vents to help grip glasses’ arms, creating ample and secure storage for eyewear. Finally, there’s a new sweat guard built into the rim of the lid.
7Mesh Slab shorts
£120
We’ve nabbed the updated Slab short from 7Mesh. This time around it gets an all-new and refined waist adjustment along with a fly closure. Around the short are ultrasonic seams and a single pocket as seen on the previous version of the Slab. It’s built with what 7Mesh reckons is an ultra-stretchy four-way fabric and the fit has been reworked, boosting mobility and usability.
Lezyne Super SV23 multitool
£63
Next up and looking primed to sort almost any on-trail mishap is Lezyne’s Super SV23 multitool. Made with aluminum side plates and stainless steel tools, this very shiny bit of kit is sorted with 23 different tools, including Allen keys from 2 to 8mm, as well as T10 up to T30. There’s also a rotor truing fork, all of the spoke keys, a chain tool, and a tubeless repair kit, all built into this (claimed) 156g package.
Lizard Skins grips
Last but definitely not least, we’ve got a handful of grips from Lizard Skins. From left to right, there’s the Machine, the classic Oury, the Strata, and the Charger Evo. These will get dispersed throughout our range of testers so they can be put properly through their paces.
