Those Italians over at Formula always like to do things a little differently and these new R1 Racing brakes of theirs are no different because they use a unique pull (rather than push) master cylinder. They say they’ve done this to provide the lightest possible action, and it has to be said there was virtually no resistance whatsoever when pulling the lever. These brakes don’t just have a light action either, at 267g they are seriously light full stop. Going by previous Formula experiences power and feel certainly shouldn’t be an issue, but at £249 a pop they don’t come cheap.

Formula started making XC suspension forks a couple of years ago but it is only recently that they’ve started making longer travel forks, and they come in the shape of this ThirtyFive Air fork. The name refers to the size of the legs and they are available in both 27.5″ and 29″ sizes. The former has travel that can be adjusted internally anywhere between 120 and 160mm, and the latter between 100 and 140mm. I was impressed with the quality of finish, particularly when it came to the various adjustment dials. It sounds as if there’s some interesting stuff going on inside too. We definitely need to test some of these out.