Mountain Biking Australia Magazine
Mountain Biking Australia is a down to earth cycling magazine for those who like to get off-road and dirty.
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Breathe Better
Anyone with finer features should appreciate these Shimano sunnies. Based on the popular S40R, the ‘RS’ version is simply smaller to ensure that you don’t look like Louie the Fly on wheels. It features soft but grippy nose and temple pads with interchangeable lenses for differing light conditions. Shimano offers the S40RS with white, black, blue or pink frames and each is supplied with two lenses; one clear and a tinted one to match the colour scheme of the frame. 
A good number of new bikes are now using oversized press-fit BB30 and PF30 bottom brackets, yet some major manufacturers (Shimano and Race Face for example) still choose to stick with 24mm spindles on their cranks. If you have a BB30 or PF30 frame and want to run 24mm spindle cranks, Race Face now has a solution. The outer diameter of this special Race Face bottom bracket is precision machined to work with the press-fit found on these frames. 
German brand Deuter have been making backpacks for longer than just about anyone—over a century in fact, and they’ve learnt a thing or two in that time. Their new Compact 10 and Compact 8SL packs are designed to carry all your gear for rides ranging from a few hours up to all day epics, and they are jammed with enough features to, well, fill a back pack. They both weigh in at a little over 1,000g and retail for about $150 without a hydration bladder. Deuter bladders come in various sizes and are available separately for around $60. 
As a community of riders we can be a bit conservative; no-one wants to be the first to try a bike from a new brand just in case it turns out to be a waste of money. There’s a reasonable chance you may have never heard of Polygon bikes; they don’t feature in US mountain bike media, they haven’t had a world cup winner (yet), and until recently you couldn’t buy their bikes in Australia. 
Long recognised as masters of protective gear, Dainese has recently turned their attention to making lighter weight armour that is comfortable enough for all-round trail and all-mountain use. Their Oak knee and elbow guards are the result. They are said to possess remarkable elasticity for unrestricted movement yet still pass the EN 1621.1/97 standard for protection. 
The unique looking frame of the Elite Novo Mag combines steel and engineered plastic to absorb movement and create a trainer that’s very stable. It relies on magnetic resistance which can be varied with the bar mounted remote lever (five resistance levels are offered). Probably the most interesting feature for mountain bikers will be the wide-ranging wheel compatibility; the Novo Mag adapts to suit all wheel sizes from 24 up to 29-inch. 
We are pretty used to seeing either Avid or Shimano brakes (and to a lesser extent Hayes); they are popular, commonly available and come spec’d on most good quality mountain bikes. Whilst not as common, Italian brake specialist Formula has always been there, and with increasing spec on new bikes as well as a dedicated Australian distributor, we are now seeing them with greater regularity.
While prices vary somewhat, replacement disc brake pads from the major brands typically cost between $40 and $60. That may not be a big deal if it’s an occasional purchase, but wet trails and particularly abrasive sandy soils can eat through a set of pads in a single outing. If this is an issue that you face (or if you just want to spend less when buying brake pads), these aftermarket pads from Zeit may be worth a try. 
In our last issue we managed to slip in a sneak peek at the new XX1 component group from SRAM. Now we can fill you in on all the details and provide some initial impressions. As mentioned previously, XX1 will be the first mass-produced 11-speed MTB group. But rather than adding more gear combinations, SRAM has used it to simplify the drivechain by only running one chainring.
