Gear Watch Wednesday is a weekly update on the latest mountain bike gear releases and products that Singletracks has received for test. Have gear news to share, or products you’d like us to check out? Email [email protected].
New Bell 4Forty Air trail helmet has MIPS, Fidlock buckle for $140
The new Bell 4Forty Air trail helmet adds a premium Fidlock buckle and three-position visor and drops 20g compared to the original 4Forty. Buyers also get MIPS rotational impact protection and Bell’s Float Fit system for comfort.
- Price: $140
- Available at Amazon.
Bike Yoke Barkeeper Stem and Aimy locking steerer spacer
Bike Yoke has a good looking new stem on offer called the Barkeep that comes in 35, 45, and 55mm lengths to clamp 35mm handlebars. This clean unit retails for €/$89, and weighs just 80g with some optional Ti bolts or 86g with the included steel bolts. They’ve also come out with a stem cap that weighs just over 5g and retails for €/$14, and a locking stem spacer called Aimy for €/$16. The locking stem spacer will allow you to keep the fork from sliding out any time the bars are off, and it provides a guide to re-align the stem while traveling or swapping the cockpit. Don’t want to hassle with proper headset preload while traveling? This spacer could solve that for you.
- Price: €/$89
- Available at Bikeyoke.com
Canyon Grand Canyon:ON hardtail e-bike
Canyon has updated the Grand Canyon:ON e-bike platform for 2022, with new colors and components powered by a Shimano EP8 motor. The alloy-framed hardtails will come with three component builds, retailing between €2,999 and €3,699. Size small and XS bikes use a 100mm fork and 27.5″ wheels, while medium through XL get 120mm of front squish and a 29″ wheelset.
- Price: €2,999 to €3,699
- Available in select countries direct-to-consumer from Canyon.
Peace for Ukraine jerseys by Pactimo
Pactimo’s Ascent jersey has some new designs with symbolic doves for peace and blue and yellow colors to honor the people of Ukraine. You can purchase a men’s or women’s jersey for $100 and Pactimo will donate $60 to the Ukrainian Crisis fund of Save the Children.
- Price: $100
- Available from Pactimo
Kitsbow has a new baggy short for women
The new Kitsbow Madrone women’s shorts are made to order, come in 7- or 11-inch inseam lengths, and three colors. Kitsbow Product Designer Manya Mankiewicz says, “We designed the Madrone to bring an MTB short for women up to, and frankly beyond, where our men’s MTB shorts have performed for years.”
- Price: $169
- Available from Kitsbow.
Apple Air Tag holder from Muc-off
Matt wrote up a great story about using an Apple Air Tag to track a stolen bike, and one of the challenges he ran into was finding a good hiding spot for the device on a bike. Now Muc-off has the Secure Tag Holder which is designed for storing a tracker in a rattle-free and hopefully inconspicuous location.
- Price: $44.99
- Available in 12 colors at Muc-off.
Quadratec tailgate pad for Jeep JT Gladiator
The new Quadratec tailgate pad has straps for up to five bikes and is designed to fit model year 2020-22 Jeep Gladiator vehicles without blocking the backup camera.
- Price: $119.99
- Available at Quadratec.
Salsa Stormchaser GRX Sus
Salsa Cycles has cranked up the capability knob on their Stormchaser adventure bike, now with a 40mm fork and stealth dropper post. This fender-ready alloy machine is riddled with holes to accommodate all of the racks and bikepacking accessories you can dream up, and the build kit looks dialed at a reasonable price of $3,499.
- Price: $3,499
- Available from Salsa dealers.
Tifosi Rail sunglasses
Tifosi is known for offering reasonably priced eyewear, and the new Rail sunglasses continue in that vein. The brand claims the wide-coverage Rails weigh just 32g thanks to a rimless design.
- Price: $79.95
- Available from Tifosi
