Cool things come in all different shapes and sizes, from super wide Hope Technology rims to short and stumpy Pacenti bar and stem combo's. We'll be testing these soon, along with a winter-worthy tyre from Specialized and some comfy perches from SDG. 

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Specialized Hillbilly 27.5 x 2.6

We are pretty stoked on this one, a 2.6" upgrade for the already loved Specialized Hillbilly. The increase in size makes for a chunky looking tyre when mounted to a 30mm internal diameter rim and it's only £50. There's no wide 29er available just yet in the UK, a quick check of other regions on Specialized's website shows the Kiwi's, Australians and Americans get fatter rubber on their big wheels though....

• £50
• www.specialized.com 
• You can buy a Specialized Hillbilly 2.6" here

Hope Technology 35W 

With a massive 35mm internal and 40mm external width, these rims from Hope are built up with super shiny Pro 4 hubs and as you'd expect they are machine built and hand finished all in Barnoldswick. Our Jon's got a very nice Cotic Soul within which to station these wheels. 

• £250
• www.hopetech.com
• Buy here from Merlin Cycles
   

FOX 36 Float Factory Kashima RC2 / FIT4 Forks

We've got a set of Fox 36 forks for our riding pleasure, which outwardly look very familiar. On the inside though, there has been an update, it now includes an EVOL air spring, which shares the same core idea as when this name is used on their shocks - a larger negative air spring. This should make the top of the travel more supple while also creating more mid-stroke support. 

Pacenti P-Dent bars and stem 

Pacenti's cunning P-Dent bars allow you to run a shorter stem than ever before, thanks to a clever notched design that allows a dinky 20mm stem to be used. As your stem can only go so short before the handlebar itself starts to contact the steerer tube, there is only so far you can go with the idea. Pacenti get around that by using special notched P-Dent bars to allows a super dinky 20mm stem.

• $299
• www.pacenticycledesign.com
• You can buy the Pacenti bars and stem here
   

SDG Saddles

It looks like we are building up a bike, doesn't it? Well, if that was the case, the finishing touch will be a SDG saddle, either this Duster MTN or Fly MTN. The Fly is the flyweight here, weighing just 215g whereas the Duster is a little heftier and wider to boot. 

• £54.95 (Fly) and £79.95 (Duster)
• www.sdgcomponents.com
• Buy the SDG Fly saddle here

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