Pinkbike Product Picks
MEC The Don gloves
MEC has a massive glove lineup that spans the range from minimalist to more protective options, including The Don gloves that we've been using for the last while. The Don's utilize an interesting mix of materials for their construction, with Clarino synthetic palms that feature leather overlays in high stress areas - between the thumb and pointer finger, and along the top edge and sides of the palm, and at the tips of the fingers - along with a stretchy neoprene section over the top of the hand/knuckle joints. You'll also find a portion of polyester waffle mesh covering the top of the hand in an effort to maintain an air of breathability. Both the middle and braking fingers also each sport a silicone print to their tips that MEC says gives them better purchase on the brake levers, but doesn't make them touch screen friendly for use with phones. The inside three fingers on each glove also sport nearly hidden sections of foam padding (we didn't know they were there until we read the header card) to help ease the blow from branches, although it's lacking on the pinky finger that lives dangerously at the outside edge of the handlebar. The Don's are only available in the color shown here, but come in sizes from small to double extra large. MSRP $29.00 CAD. www.mec.ca
![MEC The Don gloves]()
Pinkbike's Take:
Alpinestars Manual short
The Manual is constructed from a mix of cotton, polyamide, and polyester to create a short that falls in between featherweight XC and heavy duty DH-only options. The leg length puts their cuffs just over the top of the knee, and you'll find a stretch panel at the rear to aid their fit. Speaking of fit, Alpinestars outfits the Manual's waist with both adjustable Velcro tabs and belt loops, the latter of which we don't see many riders using while riding. Velcro is also used for the fly, along with a button up top. Perforated material is employed across both thighs in an effort to keep the wearer cool in hot weather, and a mesh polyester liner can be found inside for the same reason. There are pockets galore on the Manual, including two standard side pockets (not zippered or Velcro'd), along with multiple cargo pockets at the bottom of each leg. You can choose from black, grey, brown, and green color options. MSRP $79.95 USD. www.alpinestars.com
![Alpinestars Manual short]()
Pinkbike's Take:
100% Racecraft goggle
100% has their roots buried deep in motocross, but that doesn't mean that their goggles won't work just fine for downhilling, especially given their recent involvement with both the ODI Trek development team and Team CRC/Nukeproof. The Racecraft goggle that we test below are their premium offering, making use of a single lens that has been given an anti-fog treatment to keep the goggle free from fog at slow speeds. The Racecraft's frame features large outriggers where the silicone coated strap is attached on either side, that in theory, allow the frame to better conform to your face. Small vents are present at the leading edge of each side of the nose piece, as well as completely around the upper, lower, and side edges of the frame, and the protective nose guard is removable - a nice touch considering that mountain bikers don't require roost protection. The lexan lens is home to tear-off posts, of which there are twenty included with the Racecraft goggle. You'll also find a spare clear lens in the box, as well as a goggle bag to keep them looking great. There are a total of nine different color and lens combinations available. MSRP $75.00 USD.www.ride100percent.com
![100 Racecraft goggle]()
Pinkbike's Take:
MEC has a massive glove lineup that spans the range from minimalist to more protective options, including The Don gloves that we've been using for the last while. The Don's utilize an interesting mix of materials for their construction, with Clarino synthetic palms that feature leather overlays in high stress areas - between the thumb and pointer finger, and along the top edge and sides of the palm, and at the tips of the fingers - along with a stretchy neoprene section over the top of the hand/knuckle joints. You'll also find a portion of polyester waffle mesh covering the top of the hand in an effort to maintain an air of breathability. Both the middle and braking fingers also each sport a silicone print to their tips that MEC says gives them better purchase on the brake levers, but doesn't make them touch screen friendly for use with phones. The inside three fingers on each glove also sport nearly hidden sections of foam padding (we didn't know they were there until we read the header card) to help ease the blow from branches, although it's lacking on the pinky finger that lives dangerously at the outside edge of the handlebar. The Don's are only available in the color shown here, but come in sizes from small to double extra large. MSRP $29.00 CAD. www.mec.ca
MEC's The Don gloves might not rate high on mountain biking's 'cool scale', but they proved to be both comfortable and durable.
Pinkbike's Take:
 | Forget for a moment that The Dons don't sport a popular logo or trendy styling and you'll find them to be a rather well thought out pair of gloves that can hold their own against the more popular options out there. Finger length feels spot on with our paws in them, and the gloves' cut seems just right to allow for maximum flexibility without surplus material that would only bunch up when holding the grips. The fabric around the cuffs is soft enough to make them invisible, and the short Clarino extension at the base makes it easy to pull them on. The leather palm overlays look like they might be annoying during use, but they were actually invisible when the gloves were on, and we especially appreciated the small leather section that is positioned over the outside edge - exactly where our palms often make contact with the outer collars of lock-on grips. The only quirky point with the gloves is the strange twist at the tip of each pointer finger, enough that the silicone gripper ends up in a jonty position. Aside from that, we'd say that the MEC's The Don gloves are a smart buy at $29.00 CAD. - Mike Levy |
Alpinestars Manual short
The Manual is constructed from a mix of cotton, polyamide, and polyester to create a short that falls in between featherweight XC and heavy duty DH-only options. The leg length puts their cuffs just over the top of the knee, and you'll find a stretch panel at the rear to aid their fit. Speaking of fit, Alpinestars outfits the Manual's waist with both adjustable Velcro tabs and belt loops, the latter of which we don't see many riders using while riding. Velcro is also used for the fly, along with a button up top. Perforated material is employed across both thighs in an effort to keep the wearer cool in hot weather, and a mesh polyester liner can be found inside for the same reason. There are pockets galore on the Manual, including two standard side pockets (not zippered or Velcro'd), along with multiple cargo pockets at the bottom of each leg. You can choose from black, grey, brown, and green color options. MSRP $79.95 USD. www.alpinestars.com
A great fitting short that seems to be built from just the right fabric, but it's a shame about their Velcro fly.
Pinkbike's Take:
| The Manual has been our go-to short for much of the wet and muddy Winter riding season due to their great cut and fabric that strikes a middle ground between being too heavy or too light. The length, which is just slightly over the knee, is long enough to keep us from showing too much of our pasty white thighs while pedalling, but still short enough that they never came close to getting caught on the top of dual crown forks or be bothersome during pedal intensive trail rides. The stretch panel at the rear of the short seemed to be invisible to us, but then that may be it's just doing its job, and the waist adjustment tabs make fine tuning the fit easy. We liked the Manual short, but there are a few things that we'd like Alpinestars to do differently. If we were to nitpick we'd like to see the hand pockets deeper - they don't feel deep enough to trust them with anything that you'd like to keep with you - and the short's cargo pockets are useless when riding unless you want whatever you put in there to be constantly flailing around as you pedal. If the pockets are a small issue, the Velcro fly is much more annoying. It was prone to opening up and exposing parts that don't need exposing, especially when covered in mud. A zippered, or even a button fly, makes so much more sense to us. Overall, the Manual short offers a first-class fit, but they lose points thanks to the less than steller Velcro fly. - Mike Levy |
100% Racecraft goggle
100% has their roots buried deep in motocross, but that doesn't mean that their goggles won't work just fine for downhilling, especially given their recent involvement with both the ODI Trek development team and Team CRC/Nukeproof. The Racecraft goggle that we test below are their premium offering, making use of a single lens that has been given an anti-fog treatment to keep the goggle free from fog at slow speeds. The Racecraft's frame features large outriggers where the silicone coated strap is attached on either side, that in theory, allow the frame to better conform to your face. Small vents are present at the leading edge of each side of the nose piece, as well as completely around the upper, lower, and side edges of the frame, and the protective nose guard is removable - a nice touch considering that mountain bikers don't require roost protection. The lexan lens is home to tear-off posts, of which there are twenty included with the Racecraft goggle. You'll also find a spare clear lens in the box, as well as a goggle bag to keep them looking great. There are a total of nine different color and lens combinations available. MSRP $75.00 USD.www.ride100percent.com
The Racecraft offers great styling and a comfortable fit, but the fog-prone single lens is less than ideal.
Pinkbike's Take:
| There are three factors that determine if a goggle is a winner in our minds: fit (both on your face and in your helmet), resistance to fogging, and if the lens can stand up to some wear and tear in the real world. Our white and red Racecraft goggle seemed to mate nicely with all of the full face helmets that we tried them with, including both DOT approved moto lids and trimmer mountain bike helmets. There was no interference between the frame and helmet shell, and the goggle's triple layer foam was quite comfortable against the skin. The single lens setup used on the Racecraft is never going to be as fog-resistant as a dual lens layout, even with the anti-fog treatment that 100% employs, and they did tend to fog fairly quickly when stopped on the side of the trail. They would clear again once we got moving, allowing air to flow through the goggle's vents, but clear vision wasn't restored any sooner than we've experienced with other goggles. While the lens may not have seemed especially fog proof, it has managed to shrug off any of the abuse that we've put it through, remaining nearly scratch free during our time with them. The 100% Racecraft goggle is an interesting alternative if you are looking for something different than the usual Oakley or Smith offerings, but we'd like to see a dual lens model that would limit fogging when stopped. This is an especially important trait for downhilling, where the runs are not only much shorter and the speeds slower than a moto race, but racers can often be found stopping to practice short sections of the trail repeatedly. Having said that, there is an aftermarket dual lens upgrade ($17.00 USD) that can be popped in, greatly improving the goggle in this regard. - Mike Levy |
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www.motorcycle-superstore.com/4/19/261/4565/ITEM/Blur-Optics-B-1-Goggle-Tear-Offs.aspx
in this picture you can clearly see the random hole on the tear-off mid way from the mount hole and the tether. This hole is to mount to that outrigger and keeps the tear-offs organized. good looking goggles! 1+
www.cyclesport.com/mountain-bike/100-ACCURI-ENDURO-GOGGLES