Adidas Adistar XC Ultra MTB Shoes

Advantages: Control, power transfer, efficiency etc
Disadvantages: You might fall off once or twice....

...If you're riding XC there is no other option, you should be riding clipless! Clipless pedals (so called because they do not require a toe clip & strap)improve bike control, power transfer, efficiency of pedal stroke (your foot is closer to center of spindle) & allow those that have trouble lifting the bike at the rear to cheat! Mainly used for XC not trials, downhill or duel, some platform types exist like the shimano m646's that can be good for all disciplines! There are two main players in the mtb emporium; these are Shimano who make the spd (shimano pedal dynamics) & Time who make the Atac. But I've seen loads of other makes I hear you cry - sure the list is endless, VP, Ritchey, Wellgo etc etc but at the end of the day they are all shimano copies & are usually adequate but not as good as the real thing! They are generally... Read review

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Advantages: Good durability, great for all day rides
Disadvantages: None

...large mileage on these tyres. Despite this, the wear has been minimal. Something which helps with this is the fact that, unlike many MTB tyres these days, the Fire XC Pros aren't front and rear specific. What the means is that whereas many tyres come in a set of two, one designed for the front and one designed for the rear, the Fire XC Pro can be installed at either end of the bike, simply putting the tread a different way around depending on which wheel you're putting it on. The practical upshot of this is that when you notice that your back tyre is starting to wear, you can just swap it for the relatively unmolested front tyre. Marvelous. All in all, I'm really impressed with these tyres, but there's one really important issue that I've not addressed yet. Colour. As mountain bikers, colour is the single most important thing about... Read review

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Advantages: Great Value, great suspension, good alround bike
Disadvantages: Slightly weighty, not much else!

...is spot-on - It has got me out of a number of situations where on my old MTB I would have stacked it. Drivetrain has been a little bit hit and miss - in particular the rear mech, but a new rear mech cable has sorted the problem out (one of the teflon coated inners), and the rest of it I can't fault. The one draw back it has is that it is slightly on the heavy side, particularly noticible on long fire-road climbs, but to be honest, for £1000 you expect something that can be improved. I've set about this and have just purchased a new XT rear mech and Cassette - hopefully XT hollowtech II chainset/BB will follow, which will help greatly in this regard, as have the Kenda kevlar tyres - I recomend them too!... Read review

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