The Vans x YT collab and the Deviate Highlander 2

This week has been another big one for news too!

Liam Mercer

Apr 26 2024

We're nearly five months into 2024 and things aren't slowing down on the tech front. This week, we're going to dive into the YT Industries collaboration with iconic shoe brand, Vans, as well as look at a bike that hails from Scotland, the Deviate Highlander 2.

This week, we've published a good spread of content ranging from our in-depth expert reviews right through to nerdy tech features. Starting with the former, we brought our verdict on Crankbrothers Stamp Trail Boa shoes and Gore's C5 GWS Thermo Trail jacket.

We've had some properly exciting features hit the site, too, with an interview with the GOAT himself, Nino Schurter. Our very own Steve Thomas catches up with the cross-country supremo to learn more about the evolution of Nino Schurter's cross-country race bikes, as well as his thoughts on the latest tech, wheel sizes and hopes for the 2024 Paris Olympics Games. We also published a feature on e-MTB geometry and how weight and geometry affect your ride.

Alongside our best mountain bikes 2024 buyer's guide, there was the news of Canyon unveiling the 19.1kg Neuron:ONfly while distributor TrafficUK announced it's bringing Brett Rheeder's Title componentry brand to the UK. For those of you looking for a killer deal, we covered the sales madness where Specialized is slashing MTB prices by up to 50 per cent and also lifted the lid on the news that Trek is discounting bikes and parts at up to 30% off.

Deviate Highlander 2 Pro Build 0

£7,000

Although high-pivot suspension platforms have been around almost as long as full-suspension mountain bikes, Deviate is one of the brands to credit for cementing high pivots place in modern mountain biking. Since its first bike, the Guide hit the market, Deviate has only built high-pivot mountain bikes, and the Highlander 2 is its second-generation trail bike.

Donning 145mm of rear suspension and 160mm at the front, it gets all of the features that you would expect of a contemporary trail bike but without giving you things you don't need. So there's space in the front triangle for a water bottle and its cable routing runs inside what Deviate calls a Cable Gutter system. While it's half external and half internally routed, it still looks mega tidy. The Highlander 2 benefits from a threaded bottom bracket and accessory mounts slung under the top tube but what's seriously cool is that it's ripe for UK riding as all of its frame bearings are sorted with twin lip wiper seals and it's littered with grease injection ports to keep those pivots running smoother for longer.

Rolling on 29-inch wheels at both ends, the Highlander 2's geometry is rather sensible. It's long with a 490mm reach on a large frame but the brand has graced the bike with a 65-degree head tube angle. These numbers have been picked to provide stability but the head angle isn't radically slack, so it should claw back some reactive steering. There's then a 77-degree seat tube angle and a 441mm chainstay.

This Pro Build 0 sits in the middle of the Highlander 2 range and for the money you get a full suite of Ohlins suspension, Shimano XT 12-speed shifting, Industry Nine Hydra hubs, and a finishing kit from OneUp Components.

deviatecycles.com

Vans x YT BMX Style 114 shoes

£100

Is this the coolest collaboration in cycling? The iconic skate shoe brand, Vans, has joined forces with YT Industries to bring both a pair of sliders and these BMX Style 114 shoes. YT says that BMX and MTB aren't so different and that these shoes mash-up both riding genres. They're built to cope with the demands of dirt jump, bike park, and pump track riding while offering pedal feel and support that gravity riders will appreciate.

The shoes employ Vans' Wafflecup BMX outsole which is where YT claims the blend of pedal feel and support comes from but it's also said that it's durable. In high-stress areas, there are Duracap reinforcements and the shoes come with Popcush cushioning which is Vans' highest level of impact protection. Finally, these get the Van Doren Factory Pedal Recipe, or VDFPR for short which offers top-level grip.

This is a limited-edition shoe so get them while they're hot.

yt-industries.com

Prologo Proxim Nembo saddle

£86

Proxim is what Prologo calls its e-MTB, all-mountain and gravity line and it's got some pretty big names behind it, such as the Atherton brothers and Nicolas Vouilloz. Here is the Proxim Nembo saddle and it's designed for those exact disciplines.

It's built with a flat shape that's short at 245mm but it gets a wider nose that the brand says increases stability and bike control. The rounded rear shapes have been sculpted to make entry and exit from the saddle easier. There are also two sizes available: 135mm wide and 145mm for the wider sit boned and those looking for more comfort.

The Proxim Nembo is built with variable-density foams for support and comfort and it gets a wide central channel and Prologo's Active Base system which features holes in the saddle's base, both of which are said to reduce pressure points. The base is made of carbon-injected nylon and the T2.0 rails are made of chromoly steel.

prologo.it

DMR Flat 4 pedals

£60

With the Flat 4 pedals, DMR takes a bit of a departure from its beloved Vaults and has built a pedal that serves as an upgrade to those horrific plastic pedals you get in the box on a new commuter. However, it extends its use through to more serious road and gravel riding for any riders who want grip and support but hate clipless pedals.

The Flat 4 pedal itself does things a little differently, too. For the commuter, or anyone who rides using a range of footwear it comes with polypropylene treads for comfort and grip but they can be removed and fitted with more aggressive DMR pins. With pins, the Flat 4 becomes a very valid choice for mountain bikers with smaller feet, or kids.

Like all of DMR's pedals, the Flat 4 is totally serviceable and its parts can be replaced.

www.dmrbikes.com

CeramicSpeed UFO Drip lube and Drivetrain Cleaner

£20 - £23

CeramicSpeed is best known for its mega spendy bearings that always get us asking 'are ceramic bearings worth it?' but the brand has expanded into bike care products and here we've got the UFO Drip All Conditions lube and the UFO Drivetrain Cleaner.

The former is an updated version of CeramicSpeed's UFO Drip Chain Coating but it's now available in a smaller bottle and the formula has been optimised for all conditions use. The brand says that it's white when being applied to a chain but it dries to be clear. Claiming that it's the world's fastest chain coating, the brand also reckons that riders can get up to 300km per coating but what's great is that it's non-toxic and PFAS-free. It's biodegradable, too.

As for the drivetrain cleaner, it does what it says on the tin. Like the chain coating, it's non-toxic, PFAS-free, and biodegradable but this cleaner is designed to dissolve wax from in between a chain's rollers and all of a chain's surfaces.

ceramicspeed.com

Author block

Liam Mercer

Since beginning his mountain biking career while working as a resort photographer in Greece in 2014, Liam became a freelance contributor at off.road.cc in 2019. From there, he’s climbed the journalism job ladder from staff writer to deputy technical editor, now finding his place as technical editor.

Partial to the odd enduro race, heart rate-raising efforts on slim-tyred cross-country bikes, hell-for-leather e-MTB blasts or even casual gravel jaunts, there’s not a corner of off-road cycling where Liam fears to tread. With more than 40 bike reviews under his belt and hundreds more on MTB, e-MTB and gravel parts and accessories, Liam’s expertise continues to be cemented and respected by the industry.