Pinkbike Product Picks by mattwragg

Madison Addict 3-Layer Storm Jacket

Madison describe their Addict jacket as being "built to take everything the Great British weather can throw at it." It is a serious piece of kit, made from a tough fabric that is 12,000mm waterproof and 15,000gms breathability with fully taped seams that they say should keep you dry, but without boiling inside. The 3 layer design refers to the fact that the jacket comprises of three layers - an outer membrane to protect the waterproof later from the outside, a waterproof layer and an inner layer for comfort and to protect the waterproof layer from the inside. This construction is perfect for riding as waterproof layers tend to be very delicate, so keeping them protected means they are less likely to be compromised and will last longer than simpler designs. Complex construction usually means a big price hike, which is why many mountain bike waterproofs we see use a basic two layer construction, which keeps the price down at the cost of durability. Like the other items we have tested from Madisons clothing line, it is packed full of useful features and thoughtful touches. Things like nicely-sized pockets, plenty of vents and silicone on the shoulders to stop your backpack slipping as you ride are all more than welcome. It is available in three colours - black, red or blue. MSRP £139.99 www.madison.cc

The Addict is a proper storm jacket, designed to keep you dry in the wildest of conditions, but it also has enough breathability to keep you comfortable in the saddle. Inside the seams were well sealed, which is impressive quality at this price point.

Pinkbike's Take:

We are seriously impressed by the Madison Addict jacket. Quite simply, finding a genuine 3-layer waterproof at this price is outstanding value. We also love the colour of the blue jacket we tested (and racers should take note, as black jackets makes for poor photos) - it was bright, without being excessive. Fit was good, with a good length on the sleeves and a nice bit of length at the back to keep you covered as you're pedalling. It isn't perfect. The biggest faults being that the attachment for the hood is not comfortable for riding when the main zip is fully closed, something you can solve be releasing a couple of the poppers that hold the hood on, and the main zip is a touch small and was never easy to close. Yet we can forgive these issues because of the performance you get for such a low price. We have a couple of other high-end options in the cupboard, but this winter we ended up reaching for the Addict jacket more often than not. This wasn't because it is better than the high-end jackets, when you get into the real top shelf jackets the level of refinement goes up a fair bit. But, that quality and performance comes at a big price and for riding and digging trails it's all too easy to trash a jacket in no time. The Addict maybe lacks some refinement of those more expensive jackets, but that it offers comparable performance for a fraction of the cost makes it a winner. - Matt Wragg

Renthal 40mm Duo stem

Renthals Duo stems are unique in that the main body of the stem is manufactured in two pieces. By splitting the stem in this manner, they can machine the interior of the stem to a greater degree than is possible with a standard, front-mounting design. The results are compelling, this 40mm Duo stem weighs just 124g, but is strong and stiff enough for whatever abuse you might want to put it through. Renthal also claim that the design means the shape of the clamping area puts less stress on your handlebar. Until now they were solely available in a 50mm length, but with the rising popularity of big-wheeled bikes and long front-centres, they have produced this 40mm version, 10 degree rise. It is only available in a 31.8mm clamp as Renthal don't see the need for 35mm diameter bars. They feel their bars are already strong (and light in the case of the Fatbar Lite Carbon) enough and while some companies can decrease the bar weight with the larger diameter, there is a corresponding increase in stem weight that is often overlooked. MSRP $99.95 www.renthal.com

Tech aside, we love how the Renthal stems look and somehow they seem to look good on any bike.

Pinkbike's Take:

There are two main groups of riders that this stem will likely appeal to, riders who are looking to run a longer toptube to increase wheelbase, or riders with bigger-wheeled bikes who want to sharpen their steering. We ended up falling into both of these categories, running it on a bigger-wheeled bike with a longer toptube. In terms of handling, the difference between a 40mm and a 50mm stem is small, but if you follow the logic that a 650B bike is slightly slower handling than a 26" bike, that small difference is enough to make the bike feel sharper. In terms of quality, we simply cannot fault Renthal Duo stems, we have had them in circulation on test bikes and personal bikes since 2011 and haven't had any issues. We do sometimes see reports that people having creaking from their stem, but that is an installation issue and tightening the bolts further fixes it in our experience. To sum the stem up, it is light, stiff, we love the way it looks and for a top-end, UK-made stem, the pricing is sensible for this kind of quality. - Matt Wragg

Ion Madion Bike Tee

While the Ion Bike Tee may look like a standard t-shirt, Ion have cunningly packed a lot of features in here. It is made from their Drirelease material that they claim dries four times faster than cotton, neutralises more odours than cotton and doesn't discolour with stains (ie. sweat). Looking at the care label, the material is a blend of 85% polyester and 15% cotton. There are ventilated patches of their Sanitizied anti-microbial material under the armpits and at the front right there is a glasses wipe on the inside. MSRP €59.90 (Ion is not available in the US at present) www.ion-products.com

It may look like a regular t-shirt, but there is more than meets the eye to the Bike Tee.

Pinkbike's Take:

The first thing you notice when you have the Ion Bike Tee in your hands is how nice the material is - it feels thick, comfortable and soft. You wouldn't guess that it's 85% synthetic fibre from touch alone. The quality of the workmanship is top notch too, with big, precise seams inside and great little touches like a second layer of fabric around the inside at the back of the neck. We also like the glasses wipe - riding aside, this is something that is going to be used a lot for shooting photos this summer as you usually never have a lens wipe to hand when you need one. On the bike, it did seem to be that little bit easier to live with than cotton, although we need to wait for long, hot summer rides to say for sure. We weren't entirely sold on the odour neutralising technology Ion claim it contains - if you want something that resists odour, merino has always been the best option. Visually we like it, it is discrete and we would quite happily wear it off the bike. If you are looking for a riding top that doesn't make you look like a Power Ranger, but want something that doesn't have the drawbacks of traditional t-shirts, this is a great option. We think it is even better for photographers than riders though - when you are running up and down mountains after shots, you need something that handles sweat better than a cotton t-shirt and always having a lens wipe to hand is an utter godsend. - Matt Wragg

Author Info:

mattwragg

Member since Oct 29, 2006
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