Pinkbike Product Picks
Troy Lee Shock Doctor Knee and Shinpads
These pads are Troy Lee Designs' trail offering - aimed at people who want some protection, but not the bulk of a full downhill pad. Rather than a more traditional strap system, they use a textured strip at the base and Shock Doctor's X-Fit technology, which are internal bands of material that help keep the pad in place. Running down the front of the pad is a lightweight shell that provides protection for the kneecap and upper shin. $60.00USD www.troyleedesigns.com
![Troy Lee Shock Doctor knee and shin pads]()
Pinkbike's Take:
Mapex Foss Innertubes
Ok, inner tubes aren't going to be the most exciting thing you're going to read about all day, but bear with us. The first thing worth noting about these tubes is that because they are made from thermoplastic they are 100% recyclable. Mapex also claim they are 30% lighter than standard tubes - a trail tube weighs 69g. What really interested us was the puncture repair system. Using their proprietary patches the rep was poking nails through the tyre and then popping on a patch like a sticker to repair it. www.mapex-bikes.com
![Mapex FOSS Innertube details]()
Pinkbike's Take:
Royal Racing Crown Glove
The Crown gloves are Royal's entry-level glove. Aimed squarely at trail riders they are a lightweight glove with no protection either on the back of the hand or fingers. Despite being the budget end of their range, they have a quality-feeling synthetic leather palm, grippy material on the brake fingers and a microfibre wipe on the thumb. MSRP $25.00USD www.royalracing.com
![Royal Crown gloves]()
Pinkbike's Take:
These pads are Troy Lee Designs' trail offering - aimed at people who want some protection, but not the bulk of a full downhill pad. Rather than a more traditional strap system, they use a textured strip at the base and Shock Doctor's X-Fit technology, which are internal bands of material that help keep the pad in place. Running down the front of the pad is a lightweight shell that provides protection for the kneecap and upper shin. $60.00USD www.troyleedesigns.com
Pinkbike's Take:
 | Coming from heavy-duty downhill pads the fastening system is a touch disconcerting at first - they only make contact at the calf and the top is loose to minimise restriction to your bloodflow. However, once you head out pedalling this is fast forgotten as they stay in place remarkably well. If you only need light protection (it's worth noting that these have no side padding), then they are light and easy to wear all day. Our biggest gripe with them was the stitching around the top, there was a rough seam on our set and because the top of the pads move relatively freely it chafed uncomfortably on your kneecap. - Matt Wragg |
Mapex Foss Innertubes
Ok, inner tubes aren't going to be the most exciting thing you're going to read about all day, but bear with us. The first thing worth noting about these tubes is that because they are made from thermoplastic they are 100% recyclable. Mapex also claim they are 30% lighter than standard tubes - a trail tube weighs 69g. What really interested us was the puncture repair system. Using their proprietary patches the rep was poking nails through the tyre and then popping on a patch like a sticker to repair it. www.mapex-bikes.com
Pinkbike's Take:
| It was the unique way of repairing punctures that caught our attention - the idea of getting rid of all that faff of preparing the tube for a patch sounded too good to be true. Sure it worked on the exhibition table, but what about a tube that's spent some time in our dirty tyres? No problem, just a quick wipe of the area and the patch stuck fast. The tubes have a smooth profile, so there will never be the need to sand off a ridge to get a patch to seal again and for that reason alone they get our vote. If you're still using inner tubes, these really are an improvement over normal butyl tubes. - Matt Wragg |
Royal Racing Crown Glove
The Crown gloves are Royal's entry-level glove. Aimed squarely at trail riders they are a lightweight glove with no protection either on the back of the hand or fingers. Despite being the budget end of their range, they have a quality-feeling synthetic leather palm, grippy material on the brake fingers and a microfibre wipe on the thumb. MSRP $25.00USD www.royalracing.com
Pinkbike's Take:
| We picked these out of the Royal range over the more expensive options because we liked the graphics so much. They neither look nor feel like a cut-price option and so far they have lasted well. The lack of a wrist strap is a big plus for us too, although that's a matter of personal preference. One thing to note is they do come up a shade small and the mediums we have on test are a very tight fit. However, being tight does mean you can use an iPhone with them on. - Matt Wragg |
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They're all fine untill you get a flat (just like any other other tube I guess). I took me quite some time to get the flat, but it was probably just because of 65psi and not these special tubes.
Once you get a pinch flat, you're done. They're impossible to fix. The patches are impossible to stick onto because of the "dirt" inside of the tire. So I tried to use the lighter to fix the hole as was promoted in the videos... ended up with a totally messed up thing which did not even looked like a tube anymore. Just try to heat a plastic bag with a lighter and you'll see what I mean.
The only good thing about this product is a fancy look and a lower weight than standard tubes.
Plastic...rubber... if its a tube it has little place in my tires.
UST, tubes and tubular have their place depending on use and location, there is not a single definite choice in equipment used for a sport full of variables like MTB.
tubeless tires (Specialized Control) with conversion kit (Roval Tape, Stan's valves and Bontrager or Stan's sealant) every time
no problems and no punctures or pinch flats....
......and if I get anything random in my tire like a wood screw, nail or piece of glass (normally riding on the road to the trails)?
it has sealed every time I have removed the foreign object, with minimal loss in pressure (-10psi) which has allowed me to pump the tire on the trails, or complete the ride (if i forgot my pump), then ride home and worry about it later
never needed a compressor to set up tubeless conversions, always used track pumps, it all about good preparation and pre-inflation set up?
I exclusively used Specialized Control Fast Trak LK with Stan's No-Tubes on Stan's ZTR Flow rims on my Banshee Rampants for pump track and dirt jumping, running about 50psi front and rear, no issues ever....
here's a short video showing my bike in action: www.pinkbike.com/video/147368
the old Pump Track at Esher Shore is one of the most 3-dimensional built with huge "G" out berms and lots of stunts to session including transfers, drops, wallride and 1/4 pipes, we would ride 40-50 laps back to back crazy fast as we got fitter and faster
Any more definite answers to take to the grave, feelin' everyone thinking otherwise is just a deluded stubborn prick not willing to use those obvious advantages you just found out? I know a plenty of great riders using tubes in all bikes from XC to DH, that have experience with both UST and tubes, even tubular XC tyres, but last time I was wondering what is the best ever this and best ever that I was fifteen,
done here
its not an argument about "what is the best ever this and best ever that"?
its a response to your comment to Enduro27: "Enduro27 have you ever managed to do 10 laps in a row on a pump track?"
my comment about tubeless tire conversions is that some of us have done more than 10 laps on a very demanding pump track...
and have used tubeless tire conversions for many years with great success and few problems, including overseas vacations in Europe and North America riding some of the roughest terrain, including DH races, FR sessions and Enduro races
I currently don't use ZTR Flows on my mountain bike, using Roval Traversee 29'er with tubeless conversion
if tubeless was such a pain in the ass, I would not use it, but its been a transparent experience that just lets me have fun riding my bike and not stuck on the hill fixing yet another puncture which was my experience of inner tubes, unless you ran heavy 2-Ply tires and DH tubes??
and even then I spent too much time walking down the fire road in Whistler after my dual ply Maxxis High Roller tire pinched my Maxxis DH tube on a Mavic EX729 rim, hardly a light weight set up, yet still prone to simple pinch flats, turning my expensive full suspension bike into nothing more than redundant equipment which required pushing along
in contrast the following year at Whistler running Sun Singletrack rims with Specialized Clutch SX tires and Stan's No-Tubes, no walking down that fire road for me? and that is all I care about...
when technology comes along that creates a better experience "Riding" rather than "pushing" a bike with a punctured tire, I am all for that?
But I also ride a hardtail on which I use Schwalbe tyres (the thread that works fine for my local trails) on Mavic d3.1 ust rims, and despite some hard tries, tubeless system caused at least as much trouble as tubes. I have some rough trails here and tyres just twist and bend all the time. So I run superlight butyl tubes because I got tired of flats flavoured with ammonia from sealant... as soon as I keep reasonable pressures and stay smooth watching what comes under my wheels, I don't flat.
Maybe I should finaly try ZTR rims, but I just like eyelets and the price puts me off big time. Honestly the only people I've heard having no issues with tubeless are people using either ZTR rims or proper (heavy) UST tyres.
Also, don't forget that the first solution to pinch flats is to run adequate pressure.
Coupled with the fact that TLD is a breeze to deal with over the phone....I'll be buying another set for sure when these are worn out.
As for the Royal Crown glove i use it now in Red in size L, first it was a little bit on the small side, but after one week of use finally it become more comfortable. I like to use it, but after one turn if you get it down to get some fresh air for your hands, you will have huge problems to get it back in your start of your next turn. Becouse if it will get a little wet you must go circles and try to pull it over you hands. The reason it is so hard it dosen't has velcro like my SixSixOne Comp had. I have to say, that my SixSixOne Comp was million times better than this Royal, but it was in season end sale so i went for this. The SixSixOne also had finger protectors that the Royal didn't have, also the SixSixOne didn't stripped in the first month while the Royal did. I don't recommend the Royal, but it was worth the price with this bargain but next time i will pay more for a SixSixOne or O'Neal with velcro, becouse it is pain in the ass to get back to my hands the glove.
@shishka i'd say they agree with you. using stuff for its intended purpose is a novel idea.
My friend got through a pair of 661 rajj's (sp?) in like 2 months. They're so thin you might as well ride gloveless.
Destroyed 4 FOSS tubes in a month.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/8569809