BAR/STEM

Whilst trees are always a slight concern on the majority of events, bar choice is not simply about dodging trees, the width of your bar relative to your size and your bike affects the dynamic ride immensely. Bar width and stem length is very personal and very much dependent on geometry. I have zoned in on a Sunline 762 cut down to 740mm with a 50 or 60mm stem Sunline stem depending on bike preferring the lesser sweep and as such puts less pressure on the outside of the palm, very important for fatigue over a number of hours in the saddle and during the intense timed sections. Bontrager, Easton and Renthal run close but you cannot overestimate the importance of a perfectly comfortable cockpit. At least one of these will suit you but ultimately you need to try different combinations.

Sunline 762 bar/VOne stem £59.99 £69.99      www.oneindustrieseurope.co.uk
Renthal bar/stem £59.99/£79.99 www.ison-distribution.com
Bontrager bar/stem £54.99/£54.99 www.bontrager.com
Easton Havoc DH carbon bar/stem £119.99/£79.99 www.extrauk.co.uk

GRIPS

Another very personal item, but again don’t overlook the detail and the country of origin. We get no end of Californian product that simply lacks any control once wet. Slide on grips can be smaller in diameter which will suit many riders and offer less fatigue. Lock–Ons are convenient and reliably anchored, but are often hard due to the plastic insert plus they have an even harder, sometimes metallic outside edge and are pretty uniform in width. Not so good for the rider with larger hands. For me personally it all comes down to the Kevlar Renthals (or indeed any of their range of compounds), the wide and skinny Lizard Skin Aaron Chase and foam ESI grips that are thicker towards the palm and…well Nico Vouilloz uses foam so why not!

Renthal £11.99 www.ison-distribution.com
Lizard Skin Aaron Chase £9.99 www.2pure.co.uk
ESI grip £15.99 www.axelimports.co.uk

BRAKES

A lot of pro’s are running pretty big rotors at 180mm these days, but usually combined with a light trail brakeset. We’ve been immensely impressed with Hope’s Race X2 providing a solid chassis and all round firmness from a small size that keeps out of trouble. Shimano XTR and Formula have been class anchors for years now, but the latest XTR are simply sublime – as they always have been – awesome feel, great design, pad clearance, adjustability and now at a price that almost matches all the competitors (discs an extra fifty quid). Formula offer hand built Italian finesse in a low weight that will stop a juggernaut. Quality all round really.

Hope Race X2 £199.99 www.hopetech.com
Formula The One £219.00 www.silverfish-uk.com
Shimano XTR (trail) £199.99 www.madison.co.uk