As 148mm Boost hub spacing is now pretty much the norm for a lot of bikes, you may find yourself with a set of wheels that you can't use if you upgrade your frame. Luckily Wolf Tooth has come up with a simple set of mods to allow you to run your old 142mm hubs in a 148mm Boost spacing frame with this Boostinator hub conversion kit.

With good look and pro endorsement, Deity TMAC flat pedals deliver rock-solid trail connection coupled with excellent performance. The only slight downsides are that the large platform can reduce clearance and the price, but it’s worth that premium.

An unashamed starter lid, MET’s Echo offers exactly what you need with no nonsense... and nothing extra at all, really. It’s comfy and reasonably well built, but arguably the design is not as refined as comparable models from other companies.

The Showers Pass RainSlinger is a minimalist pack that’s comfortable and secure – and very good at keeping your stuff dry – but the lack of compression straps and only-just-wide-enough waistband can niggle.

Tioga's Undercover Stratum Carbon saddle is super-light, offers a unique build structure and gives potentially superb long-ride comfort – if the flat shape works for you. 

With little to no fogging, good eye coverage and an unobstructed field of vision, Rockrider's XC Race Photochromatic mountain bike glasses deliver a strong performance for their low price. The light-sensitive tinting works really well too, which is good – it saves you using the flimsy lens-swapping mechanism.

Showers Pass' claim that their IMBA DWR is the ‘best fitting mountain bike short the world has ever seen’ is bold to say the least, but whilst these water repellent shorts are a decent fit, they're not exceptional, with shortish legs, slightly awkward pockets and splashproofing that inevitably degrades with washing.

Made in the UK, biodegradable and environmentally friendly, this excellent bike wash from Weldtite is really effective choice for cleaning your bike.

The WCS Truegrip has great shaping for comfort and grip, and its neoprene foam nails that fine line between not enough padding and too bulky. It's also very light and easy to colour-coordinate, but it’s let down by not staying put on the bar... which kind of makes a mockery of that name.

Hutchinson's Taipan Koloss is an unashamedly large, rear-focused plus-size tyre that works well on rough and rocky ground whether it's wet or dry. It lacks real bite in mud or wet roots, though, and the price is high.