Pinkbike Product Picks
Fox Demo Freeride short
Fox's Demo Freeride short has the relaxed fit preferred by downhill riders, but is constructed of a lighter, two-way stretch fabric to make it better suited for pedaling. An elasticized belt runs along the inside back half of the waist band, and the fit can be adjusted with the hook and loop closures attached to each side of this belt. There are two zippered side pockets, as well as one on the middle of the short's left leg. Airflow is enhanced with the use of two crotch vents and two additional vents on the back of the thigh. Available in even sizes from 30-38, the Demo Freeride short retails for $129.95 USD. www.foxhead.com
![Fox Demo Freeride shorts]()
Pinkbike's take:
T.H.E. Industries Maxi knee guards
The Maxi knee guards use a viscoelastic foam insert made by SAS-TEC, a German company who specializes in engineering protective foam for body armor usage. The viscoelastic material absorbs impact progressively – the greater the impact speed or force, the more resistant the material becomes, allowing the foam to be extremely flexible while still offering enough protection from hard impacts. A Kevlar fabric covers the outside of the SAS-TEC pad to provide extra abrasion resistance. Two ovals of the more common EVA foam are located on both sides of the guards to protect against any side impacts. The knee guards slide on, with a ventilated neoperene sleeve and two elasticized hook and loop straps to secure them into place. Available in sizes S, M, L, XL. MSRP: $84.99 USD. www.the-industries.com/
![THE Maxi knee guards]()
Pinkbike's take:
Fly Racing Default Helmet
Fly Racing is known more in the motorcycle world, but they are making a push to gain recognition on the mountain bike side of things as well. The Default helmet is their CPSC certified full-face offering, constructed using a polycarbonate shell covering an EPS liner. 21 vents are designed to provide enough airflow for steamy summer days, and a D-ring closure keeps the helmet secure. The visor is affixed with aluminum hardware, and can be adjusted by hand by loosening the bolt in the center. Both the liner and the cheek pads can be removed for washing. Colors: black/white, red/white, black/lime/purple, blue/black/red. Weight: 1133 grams (size medium). MSRP: $109.95 USD. www.flyracing.com
![Fly Racing Default Helmet]()
Pinkbike's take:
Fox's Demo Freeride short has the relaxed fit preferred by downhill riders, but is constructed of a lighter, two-way stretch fabric to make it better suited for pedaling. An elasticized belt runs along the inside back half of the waist band, and the fit can be adjusted with the hook and loop closures attached to each side of this belt. There are two zippered side pockets, as well as one on the middle of the short's left leg. Airflow is enhanced with the use of two crotch vents and two additional vents on the back of the thigh. Available in even sizes from 30-38, the Demo Freeride short retails for $129.95 USD. www.foxhead.com
The Demo Freeride shorts fit well, but weren't as durable as we would have liked.
Pinkbike's take:
 | Comfort is key when it comes to bike shorts - no matter how flashy and stylish a short looks, if it chafes or rubs the wrong way it can put a damper on an otherwise great ride. Luckily, Fox's Demo Freeride short ranks highly when it comes to both comfort and fit. The 25" outseam put the bottom of the shorts just below our knee, exactly where we wanted it. There was plenty of room for knee pads, and the stretch fabric made sure the pads and shorts played well together. Although it's billed as a "freeride" short, this short is light enough to work well on long cross-country rides, with enough ventilation to keep things cool when the temperatures rise. Unfortunately, we did run into some issues in the durability department. After a few weeks of using the shorts we noticed that the left pocket's seam was coming undone. The flat seam is glued on instead of being sewn, but the glue seemed to have lost its grip at the bottom part of the pocket. Admittedly, laundry isn't our strong suit, and the shorts did make their way into the drier a time or two despite the short's 'line dry' instructions, so it is possible that this led the seam to an untimely death. We also ended up with a small hole in the right rear of the shorts - in order to retain its light weight the fabric does give up a bit of puncture resistance. The overall fit and feel of these shorts is excellent, but they are hindered slightly by these durability issues. Still, they're comfortable enough that we would still recommend them, with that caveat that they aren't quite as robust as other offerings out there, and that riders should take care when laundering them. - Mike Kazimer |
T.H.E. Industries Maxi knee guards
The Maxi knee guards use a viscoelastic foam insert made by SAS-TEC, a German company who specializes in engineering protective foam for body armor usage. The viscoelastic material absorbs impact progressively – the greater the impact speed or force, the more resistant the material becomes, allowing the foam to be extremely flexible while still offering enough protection from hard impacts. A Kevlar fabric covers the outside of the SAS-TEC pad to provide extra abrasion resistance. Two ovals of the more common EVA foam are located on both sides of the guards to protect against any side impacts. The knee guards slide on, with a ventilated neoperene sleeve and two elasticized hook and loop straps to secure them into place. Available in sizes S, M, L, XL. MSRP: $84.99 USD. www.the-industries.com/
Simple in design, the Maxi knee guard proved to be effective and comfortable enough for rides with extended pedaling sections.
Pinkbike's take:
| The Maxi knee guards are about as simple as it gets, following the slide on, two strap layout employed by numerous other companies. What won us over was how well the knee guards stayed in place, even on long pedally sections of trail. Even without any type of internal kneecap cutout, the foam is able to conform well, curving just above the kneecap to prevent the pads from slipping. The low profile design didn't interfere with any of the shorts we wore these with - even skinny jeans wearers could probably fit them on under their pants. Luckily, we didn't have off the bike crashes with these pads, but they did a stellar job of protecting our knees on a number of sloppy rides where there were plenty of impacts against the bike's stem and top tube. Given the price of these Maxi knee guard, it would be nice to see a non-slide on system, one where it wasn't necessary to remove our shoes to put them on. That small quibble aside (well, besides the fact there must be a better name for knee pads then Maxi), these guards are simple, comfortable and effective. For riders that often find themselves doing a fair amount of pedaling with knee guards on these are worth considering. - Mike Kazimer |
Fly Racing Default Helmet
Fly Racing is known more in the motorcycle world, but they are making a push to gain recognition on the mountain bike side of things as well. The Default helmet is their CPSC certified full-face offering, constructed using a polycarbonate shell covering an EPS liner. 21 vents are designed to provide enough airflow for steamy summer days, and a D-ring closure keeps the helmet secure. The visor is affixed with aluminum hardware, and can be adjusted by hand by loosening the bolt in the center. Both the liner and the cheek pads can be removed for washing. Colors: black/white, red/white, black/lime/purple, blue/black/red. Weight: 1133 grams (size medium). MSRP: $109.95 USD. www.flyracing.com
The Default fit well, but was lacking some of the attention to detail found on higher end helmets.
Pinkbike's take:
| The Default's fit was excellent right out of the box, snug where it needed to be without any pressure points or discomfort, and with enough padding around the cheek area to keep the helmet from shifting from side to side. The polycarbonate shell's numerous large vents had us predicting there would be greater than average ventilation, but the vents underneath the shell, where airflow would actually reach a rider's head are much smaller in diameter, likely necessary to maintain the EPS liner's protective characteristics. That being said, the Default had good ventilation on warm spring rides, keeping us as cool as could be expected from a full face helmet. The chin pads and inner liner were easily removable, making it easy to keep the helmet from developing any unwanted odors. The helmet did have a few small things that could use a bit of refinement. The first is the chin strap - the strap itself seems excessively long - we're not sure if anyone has a big enough head that they would need this much adjustment, and fastening the strap was a little trickier than what we're used to as well. Also, with gloved hands, the snap could be hard to hard to locate. The only other thing, and it's a minor detail, was that the chin piece was just barely visible in the lower part of our peripheral vision - a lower profile design would make it so it wasn't noticeable at all. Despite these issues, considering its comfortable fit and light weight, and especially its price, the Default is a good value. - Mike Kazimer |
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Plus the Fly helmet have a lot better graphics!
good helmet, light, vented, and fair price.
These maxi pads prevent/limit the extent of the bloody situation!
I ♡ my maxi pads!
Unfortunately as MTB has taken off big time prices have reflected on its popularity. It's all bout marketing. If Fox was cheap, people would associate it with chavs.
To remedy the heat problem, I used a razor to cut holes in the liner where the foam was open to a vent. There is another screen liner at the shell that keeps most debris out of my hair, but it did help heat and sweat dissipate more easily. I'm in the market for a more comfortable and lighter carbon helmet now that I've proved myself to myself on the trails and slopes, but I think these Fly Racing helmets are an excellent investment for younger or new riders getting into downhill riding.
Link to the helmet and its £62.99
www.pinkbike.com/news/DH-Helmets-vs-Motocross-Helmets-Which-Is-Safer.html
I´d rather buy a good reputable helmet.
Prefer not to spend money at Fox`s. Fox is actually marketing "Jetski" gloves. Dont want to be associated with fairhaired oakley wearing heavyweights with Jetskis on their superpucks.
No matter how true is what you say, no matter how much people should look into what you just read, you are not going anywhere with that attitude.
I only meant that sour btchn' just as I do, doesn't give anyone else but us anything. People don't want to hear whining, they want to be cheated. They want to live the dream, everyone has their own interpretation of reality and paints it up with realities of others that seem more attractive than own ones. There is simply no common reality. Nobody wants to paint his with sour visions. People like only the truth suiting their beliefs or agenda, and truth is never like that. And even if someone does want to hear some truth he wants it served nicely and gently, read: on his terms. At least in an entertaining manner. The only accepted truth telling is stand up comedy, and only because the audience lies to themselves that comedian is not talking about them - "he is talking about all those idiots out there"
So it is actualy knowledge and character that took us very far, but not the attitude. If we had better attitude we could have been further. Knowing is a fkng stone... gathering knowledge and understanding is one thing: how to use it is another and smile always helps. I suck at it
or something like that