Even more, kit has been posted to the office ready for our perusal. This time, the five things making it into our rather exclusive list of the coolest things we've received for testing is a budget-friendly helmet from TSG, a dropper seat post built with a smidge of suspension, and cockpit components from handlebar giant, Renthal. That's not all of it either, so let's get started.

• The best mountain bike handlebar grips you can buy - tried and tested
• Best trail and enduro clipess shoes you can buy
• Your complete guide to SRAM disc brakes

Five Ten Trailcross LT shoes

£120

In one of last month's installment of 5 cool things, we had a quick look at Five Ten's Trailcross Clip shoes, now we've got the LT model in for testing, built especially for flat pedals. These shoes are designed to be ideal for those hike-a-bike moments with a breathable and quick drying construction paired with a tread that is shaped to grip pedals while confident when hoofing it.

• adidas.co.uk
• Buyer's guide to mountain bike and gravel shoes - a beginner's guide to flat and clipless options

TSG Chatter helmet

£70

2022 TSG chatter 5ct.jpg, by Liam Mercer

TSG's Chatter helmet is designed to be lightweight and low profile while being mega breezy with 15 vents. While ideal for mountain biking it's also got a commuter spin, so hopefully it should also be pretty versatile. This hat employs a full wrap, in-mold construction with an adjustable fit system and an adjustable visor to keep the sun out of your eyes.

This £70 lid meets EN 1078, CPSC, and UKCA certifications.

• ridetsg.com
• The best mountain bike trail and enduro helmets - tried, tested and reviewed

Renthal Fatbar Lite35

£95.95

If you've not yet heard of Renthal, you might have been living under a rock because the brand with a deep history in motocross and motorcycle racing has become something of a household name in mountain bike cockpits. Here, we've got the famed Fatbar in its Lite model, its Renthal's lightest handlebar that's made from a 7 series aluminium with a taper tube construction. That alloy has then been shot-peened to increase fatigue life and the bar has been anodised with corrosion and abrasion-resistant finish.

In for testing we've got the bar in a 760mm width, a 7° back sweep, a 5° up sweep, a 20mm rise, and a 35mm clamp diameter. It's claimed to weigh in at 270g.

KS Rage-iS dropper post

£150 - £160

The Rage-iS is a rather interesting dropper post from KS. As well as providing some drop to get the saddle well out of the way when descending, this one offers some air-sprung suspension at full extension. While this may sound a little unnecessary for full suspension rigs (and it comes in sizes to suit), it may well come into its own on a gravel bike, which is exactly where this dropper will be tested.

This dropper gets an updated cylindrical upper clamp with nuts that don't spin, making saddle adjustments simpler and the head clamp bolt angle is more vertical, aiding the cause. It's said that it takes less force to actuate the dropper too, but the remote is sold separately.

Privateer 141 GX

£3,689

The 141 is the little sibling to Privateer's 161. This one gets a slightly less progressive geometry and of course, less travel with 141mm at the rear and 150mm up front as it's the more versatile, trail focussed bike in the range. It gets its suspension from Fox and Rockshox, rolls on 29" wheels in all but the smallest size and features a SRAM GX drivetrain. 

As for geometry figures, on this P3 frame, we're looking at a 485mm reach, 64.5° head angle, and a 78.72° effective seat tube angle.

• privateerbikes.com
• First Look: Privateer 141 GX

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