Fresh kit from 7Mesh, a light from Ravemen, Truflo pumps, a carbon Race Face bar and more pedals from Deity
The five coolest things to come into the office alongside this week's top news.
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As we hit another Friday, we round up some of the best bike parts, components and accessories to drop into the office before going off for testing. This week, the cool things come from 7Mesh and its latest take on its WTV technology, Deity's latest large platform flat pedals and a powerful light from Ravemen. Rounding off this week's curation is Race Face's Era bar and pumps from Truflo.
- Best MTB flat pedals 2024 - all the best options reviewed
- Best MTB handlebars - tried and tested trail bars
- Best mountain bike lights 2024 - top-rated lights for night riding
Before diving into the techy goodness, let's glance back at what happened in the off-road cycling world this week. Perhaps the biggest and most exciting piece of the week is another interview with the GOAT himself, Nino Schurter. In this piece, Steve asks Nino about his decision to continue racing into 2025 and what to expect from the world's greatest cross-country athlete. Continuing the theme of features, we dive deep into the relationship between actual and effective seat tube angles and tell you exactly why it's worth converting your tyres to tubeless.
At the moment, it feels as if the whole world is talking about one thing – e-bikes. But that comes as no surprise as this week, another two were released. First, Commencal's Meta Power SX is built to be a shuttle-replacing e-MTB that boasts a Bosch Performance Line SX motor. Then, there's the update to Scott's Patron eRide that goes big on integration. In other news, Festka's Spectr Gravel is another addition to the aero-gravel/race-gravel market and the Elemnt Ace looks to be Wahoo's most powerful cycling computer.
As for reviews, Rapha's Trail Knee Pads take home an impressive five-stars, and Ty has been riding the Deathgrip2 hype-train as he delivers his verdict on the Scott Brendan Fairclough Fury Deathgrip 2 goggles.
Last but not least, with help from Hunt, Schwalbe, Trek and more, we highlight the top Christmas gifts you can buy for your off-road cycling loved ones. Here's the 2024 ORCC Christmas gift guide.
Deity Supervillain pedals
£149
2024 deity supervillain.jpg, by Liam Mercer
Deity's recent Supervillain pedals were launched alongside the Flat Traks that we glanced at a few weeks ago and they take a very similar shape but add different features, allowing them to appeal to varying tastes. The brand claims that these pedals are 'the ultimate concave masterpiece' and that it's the lightest and strongest pedal Deity has made to date.
To start, it uses the same non-offset build made known by the TMAC pedal. Its concave shape is deep, measuring 2.5mm on each side. The platform measures 113 x 105mm and 14 pins per side can be accessed through either end. To shed weight and reduce abrasion, Deity has cut the Supervillain with chamfered angles and smooth outside edges.
There are seven colours available, and the pedal bodies are extruded and machined from 6061-T6 aluminium.
7Mesh Spruce Hoody
£150
2024 7mesh top 5ct.jpg, by Liam Mercer
A couple of years ago, 7Mesh debuted its WTV or Wind, Thermal and Ventilation technology designed to create a breathable barrier against wind, while a loft internal retains warmth. The result of this is superb thermoregulation as found on the 7Mesh Chilco Anorak. With its latest Sprucy Hoody, along with other fresh goods, 7Mesh has introduced a lighter weight, WTV 200 version. WTV 200 is built to do the very same thing but it's a lighter-weight material that can be packed to a smaller size while dropping the insulation slightly, better suiting it as a three-season fabric.
Built onto the Spruce Hoody, it joined a host of other features, including a fleece chin guard, elastic-bound cuffs and zipped pockets that also get a lovely fleece lining. The fabric contains 92% recycled polyester and is free of PFC and PFAS.
Race Face Era handlebar
£140
2024 race face era bar 5ct.jpg, by Liam Mercer
Handlebar flex has been another strong talking point of 2024 with products such as Fasst Company's Flexx bar taking things to the extreme. However, Race Face has taken a slightly different approach to handlebar compliance. The brand has recognised that if a user cuts down a handlebar to be narrower, there's less leverage and that effectively makes the bar stiffer. And that's where the Era handlebar steps in.
First of all, it benefits from a narrower clamp area for a quicker taper and an earlier rise, which results in the brand's Goldilocks or GL tune. And that tune has been tested to the nth degree, to find that sweet spot between stiffness and compliance.
Secondly, rather than a single 800mm bar available, Race Face has brought three widths to the market and each of these has been tuned to achieve that GL tune. Each of those bars gets a specific carbon layup, too, all in the pursuit of achieving the best level of compliance per width.
The Era handlebar is available in six colours, three widths and three rises.
Ravemen XR6000 light
£390
2024 ravemen light 5ct.jpg, by Liam Mercer
With the nights closing in super early, there's one way to get extra riding time – lights. And Ravemen's XR6000 is primed to keep the party going thanks to its 6000-lumen output and hefty 3.6v 4000mAh battery. It's packed with features such as nine LEDs that are shaped to provide a wide flood of light and a spotlight to illuminate deep into the trail, mimicking how an automotive headlight works.
It's sorted with a wireless remote so its multiple power modes can be scrolled between without a hand ever coming off the grips and that battery pack is claimed to take just four and half hours to reach full charge. The battery also comes with an OLED display that shows you exactly how much charge you've got left. It also doubles as a power bank with 18W fast charging.
Truflo Air Switch Turbo and Shock pump
£35 - £40
2024 truflo pumps 5ct.jpg, by Liam Mercer
Mini and shock pumps are a must-have for any cyclist's bike maintenance arsenal and here we have one of each from Truflo. First up, the £35 shock pump sorts air-suspension tuning thanks to its two-stage non-leak valve and a handy air-bleed button, just in case you over-inflate. There's a foldable T-handle providing all of the ergonomics and of course, it's designed to fit Schrader valves.
Next up, the Air Switch Turbo takes the switchable high-volume/high-pressure tech usually reserved for track pumps and packages it into a small and lightweight mini-pump. Within its CNC machined aluminium body, the pump can switch between high air delivery for large, tubeless tyres and high-pressure settings, allowing the pump to inflate to pressures better suited for skinny road tyres.
Its reversible locking head can fit Presta and Schrader valves and Truflo reckons it's the most efficient mini pump in its range.
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