As the final First Look Friday before Christmas Day, everyone at BikeRadar would like to wish you, our dear readers, a Merry Christmas. We hope you have a beautifully joyous festive period.
Despite the gradual winding down most of you will be enjoying, it's never been busier here at BikeRadar.
This week has been a positive whirlwind, including a review of Maxxis' all-new High Roller III tyre by yours truly, where I gushed over its predictable and legendary performance.
Road and gravel guru Warren Rossiter was blown away by the Cane Creek Invert CS gravel fork, awarding it four out of five stars thanks to its svelte weight and super-smooth small-bump performance. But you'd hope so for the £1,200 asking price…
Elsewhere, Woz put two groupset titans head-to-head, in the shape of Shimano's Dura Ace Di2 R9200 and SRAM's Red AXS. Which of these powerhouses comes out on top? Click on the link to find out.
We've kicked off our traditional annual Gear of the Year articles with Oscar's edition. What do you think of his picks? Keep tuned for more from the rest of our staffers over the festive period.
Also, be sure to check out Tom Law's concluding long-term report, where he sums up a year riding the Transition Smuggler.
Now, keep scrolling to check out my top picks in this week's First Look Friday.
Misspent Summers enduro and downhill yearbooks
Since 2016, Misspent Summers has been documenting the thrills, spills, and highs and lows of mountain bike racing in its coffee table annuals Hurly Burly and The World Stage.
The 2024 downhill and enduro World Cup race seasons have again been given the Misspent treatment, coming to life in Hurly Burly 2024 and The World Stage 2024.
Hurly Burly 2024
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The 2024 DH race season's carnage is spread over 260 glossy pages, with insight and bespoke reporting on the sport's biggest names – including Rónán Dunne, Greg Minnaar, Vali Höll and Tahnée Seagrave.
Each rider's magic has been captured and immortalised by the biggest photographers in the business; Hurly Burly is a photographic whirlwind of ultra-stimulating proportions.
Written by some of the biggest names in cycling journalism, there's key behind-the-scenes insight into the gory details at the sharp end of racing, that even the most in-tune followers may have missed.
Downhill super-fans will want to relive every exhilarating second the 2024 season had, and this book is by far and away the best way to do it.
The World Stage 2024
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Also printed on high-quality paper with glossy images from the world's best snappers, The World Stage documents the trials and tribulations of arguably the toughest mountain bike racing discipline – enduro.
Feats of athletic excellence from riders such as Isabeau Courdurier, Richie Rude, and Morgane Charre are brought to life in the compelling race reports and features from guest writers cast light into the lesser-known areas.
As the discipline of riding a lot of us aspire to try, The World Stage paints a true picture of the courage and skill needed to dominate at its highest end.
Flicking through the pages, you'll be transfixed by the images and glued to the riveting story.
SQlab 6OX Ergowave active 2.1 ltd. Mike Metzger saddle
Regarded as one of the founding icons of freestyle motocross, Mike Metzger also dabbles with pedal-powered bikes.
It seems fitting that a legend of this magnitude should have some of his own signature components.
Cue SQlab's 6OX ERGOWAVE active 2.1 saddle, with a Metzger-commissioned design that harks back to the loud, proud and wild MX kits of old.
But it's not just any old design – the saddle cover's rowdy matrix of colours and its centre-piece are inspired by Mike's own 'spark plug' motif tattoo, something the legendary rider is also famous for.
Beneath the lairy exterior is a saddle filled with back-saving tech from science-focused brand SQlab.
The 'active' part of its name refers to how the saddle flexes when you pedal. An interchangeable rubberised 'damper' that sits between the rails and saddle's body tunes how much movement there is.
This is great news for Metzger, who has broken his back no fewer than six times during his illustrious career.
Its unique 'double step' shape is claimed to help relieve pressure when climbing or riding along the flat, while it's available in 130mm, 140mm, 150mm and 160mm widths for all types of morphology.
For those who aren't looking for the jazziness of the 'spark plug' design, the same saddle is available with a more sensible black cover.
7mesh Spruce Jacket
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As one of the latest additions to 7mesh's comprehensive line-up, the Spruce Jacket is claimed to serve as a mid-layer for very cold rides and an outer one when things warm up.
Thanks to the brand's newest WTV 200 fabric – which stands for Wind Thermal Ventilation – it's designed to block wind from penetrating, while letting moisture escape and trapping heat in.
This trifecta of performance metrics is the performance gold standard many brands are chasing with their clothing.
According to 7mesh, WTV achieves this thanks to its 'stretch-woven' exterior, and a 'brushed loft' (think fuzzy) interior.
Along with classic features including elastic cuffs, a zipped closure, a fleece-lined collar and an adjustable waist, it has two large, separate back pockets.
There's a hooded version, too, which costs £20 extra.
- £130 / $160 / €150
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DMR Deathgrip2 grips
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The brainchild of Brendan Fairclough and Olly Wilkins, the Deathgrip grips are a riders' favourite.
This second iteration builds on the first's success and adds a new injection-moulded end cap for increased durability and a tapered core, so it fits snugly on your bar and doesn't need a second lock-on ring.
The standard Deathgrip2 is available with or without a flange – Brendan loves the flanged version – and two thicknesses (31.3mm and 29.8mm diameter), plus two compounds – a soft and medium.
An even softer compound Race version also exists, this time measuring 15a on the Shore durometer scale.
Both versions are 135mm long and have a triple grip-pattern design.
There's a mushroom gills section for your thumb, a diamond knurl design for your palms and a waffle design for the tips of your fingers.
- DMR Deathgrip2 grips £24
- DMR Deathgrip2 Race grips £27
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