We are gearing up for Christmas and the products we have in for test this week certainly show that we have the 'gift guides' on the brain! The easiest 'test' we have ever completed must be the Trail Maps - can we hang it? Yes. Does it look good? Yes! Five stars, lovely job.....

• Review - The Banshee Phantom GX, what do you make of the 105mm brawler? 
• Find out how we set up our bikes for winter here....
   

Specialized Butcher 2.8" Tyres

We just couldn't resist the grip potentially on offer from these Specialized Butcher 27.5 x 2.8" tyres. We've got a 2018 Specialized Enduro Comp in for test which as I'm sure you know, in the 29er guise can also handle 650B plus tyres and wheels. With a nice set of wide rims waiting, our tester is going to give the Enduro a new look and see just what kind of a beast it is as a 'plus' bike. The tyres here have the tougher GRID carcass and also have Spesh's tacky Gripton compound. They also have the updated tread pattern which we first told you about when we reviewed the 2.6" Butcher previously. 

• £50
• www.specialized.com
   

Broken Riders Apparel

A brand focussed on the inevitable side of mountain biking wherein we all get injured from time to time, Broken Riders, is the brainchild of Tom Redfern. An idea and brand brought to fruition at a time when Tom was complete with a dislocated and fractured ankle. Since then, he has healed up and Broken Riders has gone from strength to strength with an ever increasing line of eye-catching bamboo and cotton tee's along with other apparel that 'celebrates the fail'. We've all been there, injured and on the sidelines so this is kit which will resonate with everyone. The soft bamboo t-shirts and cool prints we have had arrive in the office are well worth a look whether you are broken, recovering or fully fit! 

• Various ££'s
• www.brokenridersuk.com

Adidas Eyewear

With winter muck flying, we are testing Adidas ID2 goggles, for the brighter days women's Zonyk Pro sunglasses and some Evil Eye Pro glasses. The latter two of the three adjust to changing light conditions, it'll be interesting to see how quickly this happens as we dive in and out of the woodland down our local trails. We've got a tester on the review team with self-proclaimed ' mud magnets' for eyes, so you can guess where the Evil Eyes and the goggs are going!

• Evil Eye Pro Glasses - £160
• Zonyk Glasses - £152
• ID2 Goggles - £140
• www.adidas.co.uk

Trail Maps

The office here at off-road.cc is a bit magnolia - that's the walls only, of course. Once we are in it from 9-5 all weeks it's a bright place to be, with the colourful conversation you'd expect from an office full of roadies vs. MTB'ers. Sorry, did I say versus....? Back to the walls, they do need a bit of sprucing up and we couldn't think of anything better to adorn them with than some neatly framed maps from Trail Maps. Our hometown is Bath and our favourite test haunt is the Forest of Dean, so it made sense to hang up this trail map on our side of the office. The other map apparently is a big old grind on skinny wheels, not for the faint-hearted and with dubious enjoyment levels evident to us MTB'ers, it still looks pretty damn good up there above the fireplace. 

• £40 framed / £15 print only
• www.trailmaps.co.uk

Invisiframe Graphics

Stoked is not the word, better than stoked, we were super excited to get out hands on our very own custom Invisiframe fork decals! Designed especially for us, these custom off-road.cc decals for Rockshox Pikes are going straight onto our own or long-term test bikes. We've had plenty of bike frames covered with the Invisiframe 3M vinyl protection and when thinking about protecting our own pride and joy, we would be hard-pressed to go anywhere else. As you can see there are a few sets of decals here so watch this space for a competition soon to win one of the remaining sets.....

• Custom goodness that money can't buy! Rockshox coloured fork decal kits - £14.99. 
  Email info@invisiframegraphics.co.uk for a custom quote.
• www.invisframe.co.uk 
   

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