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Deity Decoy 2.5 Flat Pedal

“Hulk SMASH!”

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The Good: Super strong! Long lasting. Grippier than all hell!

The Bad: They could be a tad wider for catching the bike on tricks, but that's if I'm gonna nit-pick.

Overall Review: Very durable, I've ridden these pedals for a few years now on my dirt jumper and some on my DH. They've lasted through some tough bails at the skate park, many days at the dirt jumps and out on the trail. Hell, they even survived being hit by a car (rear ended, smashed my e13 LG1r cranks up)! I rode a pair of these briefly on my DH bike and they took the constant beating of rocks and roots, only loosing two pins the whole season. The reason I took them off my DH rig was being a weight wienie I wanted the new HT flats. The red ano has lasted the test of time (2 years) and the spindles are strait and they still spin like Read More »

Shimano M640 Zee Hydraulic Disc Brakes

“Affordable and really, really good”

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The Good: After using Avid´s for serveral years and switched to shimano zee and was a fan right after the first ride. Predictable, lot´s of power, good levers, easy to find the right dose of braking, good pricing on rotors and pads' ...bleeding is a piece of cake :-) Updated:
so far - no fading

The Bad: the mount for the handlebar is very "solid", but it works well and holds everyhting in place

Overall Review: get one, put in on your bike and never worry about braking againconsidering the price and what you get, I would definitly say it´s worth five starsUpdate:I gave the brakes a solid 4h hours in Leogang and went down the freeride, downhill and bingo bongo trail´s. The brakes worked very well. Braking-power is predictable and it is easy to find the right dose. In "scary" moments the brakes really help to get out of the situations without a crash.After some runs on the downhill there was no fading and on some parts the brakes had to do a lot of work as it was my first day on the donwhill in 2013. I haven´t changed my mind and would recommend the brakes.

Canfield Brothers Crampon Ultimate Pedal

“Great pedals for the price”

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The Good: Lightweight / Thin
Price
Great grips

The Bad: Pins need Loctite
Will rip your shins up
Bearings / Bushings don't seem that great

Overall Review: These pedals are incredibly thin, reasonably light, and come in at a great price point. They hold on to your feet really well, but allow you to adjust easily when needed.  I've found that I climb just as fast with these pedals as with clips because you can pull up so far into the pedal stroke.The badness: the bearings or bushings don't seem like they're sealed that well and have developed a small amount of play in a relatively short amount of time.  They also don't spin as freely as I would have hoped.  Be warned tho, you need to Loctite the pins in place.  I probably lost half of the pins in the first two rides and didn't have any pedal strikes.  Luckily Canfield supplies you with extra pins so it wasn't that big of a deal.Great pedals, love the color, still using them on several different bikes.

Straitline SC Platform Pedal

“Benchmark for durability”

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The Good: Durable, super easy to service, bombproof

The Bad: Price, not super thin, weight

Overall Review: Some say they drag because they run on bushings rather then bearings, this is almost not noticeable. I have run them dh and enduro for three years and never been bothered with this. Maybe serviced them once a year or even less, no play and very little friction. Also I do not grease them as other reviewers have mentioned as the bushings are self lubricant. They are basically fit and forget.

Santa Cruz Jackal Frame

“Best DJ Frame on Market....”

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The Good: Everything... Super short stays, light, bomb proof, sick user friendly dropouts for SS use, geometry is spot on for DJ and park. Tall? No not at all. Look around, its not super cool to run low bars/80mm fork because some pro does. Does not work for everybody. Check out Martin S. or Sam Pilgrim. 120mm forks and Sam even runs high rise bars. To above reviewer.... Who designed this bike? Kirt Vories, and Jamie Goldman back when they were on Syndicate that's who... Bike has an amazing feel, if you build one up you will not be bummed.

The Bad: The fact that I want the new 2013 one with tapered headtube...

Overall Review: After riding Many DJ frames over the years( P series, Chase, Bank, Blk Market), this bad boy is hands down the favorite. Geometry is spot on and rips DJ trails and parks with ease. Love the adjustable dropouts for SS use and easy to runs gears as well. Running 100mm RCT Argyle, King headset, and SS 16 x 34 with Saint Cranks, XT Ice Tech Brakes, and Full Chromag components, and I will never let this one go...

Deity Decoy LT Flat Pedal

“Solid Pedal”

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The Good: Very light, spins smooth with little noticeable friction after break in period. Good size platform.

The Bad: Traction is good but could be better with another pin style or material. They just seem thick and don't quite bite shoes as much as some others. Still very solid traction though.

Overall Review: Killer pedal for the money. In my opinion, works best on DJ/ Slopestyle bike. Would look for more pins for DH or trail riding. Would buy again for my Santa Cruz Jackal in a second...

Crank Brothers Mallet 3 Clipless/Platform Pedals

“Decent Pedal”

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The Good: Weight, spin freely and overall quality

The Bad: Traction pins and engagement

Overall Review: This is my first attempt at riding clipless and I traded in my brother's old pedals for a set of these thru the deal Crank Bros was doing at the time - trade in any clipless pedal and get any set of their high end pedals for half price. I enjoy being clipped in for some aspects of riding and I can feel that they make pedaling a bit easier on the rougher sections where a foot would be hard to keep on platform pedals. I love the size of these with a full platform as they make clipping in easy. I found that sometimes I don't feel all the way clipped in and I have to unclip and re-clip Read More »

iXS Dagger Knee Guards

Vital Review

“Tested: iXS Dagger Knee Guards”

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by Lee TrumporeDownhill, freeride, dirt jumping, enduro, cross-country, park... you name it, iXS has a knee pad to fit your needs. With athletes like Darren Berrecloth, Hans Rey, and Kurt Sorge helping to design and test new models, you know these pads are meant to take some serious abuse.Dagger Knee Guard HighlightsDesigned in collaboration with Darren Berrecloth Hard plastic, double injected external knee cup Extended shin padding for added protection from pedal strikes and rocks, plus additional thigh padding Squeezebox joint between knee and shin to provides protection while maintaining flexibility and mobility NockOut Read More »

Race Face Charge Leg Guards

Vital Review

“Tested: Race Face Charge Leg and Arm Guards”

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by Nick ZuzelskiA common dilemma facing many riders is the pad situation when throwing a leg over their all-mountain bike. Who wants to run heavy, bulky downhill pads while they grind to the top of a fun descent? Then again, who wants to deal with cut up knees/elbows if things get a little too crazy on the way down? As a solution to the dilemma, Race Face has introduced the Charge Leg and Charge Arm Guards. They took a very minimalist approach with the guards by offering a thin layer of defense while maintaining maximum comfort and flexibility.Charge Guard HighlightsStretch mesh sleeve with second skin, Read More »

Continental Explorer Tire

“I do not like this thing”

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The Good: i got it cheap, very grippy

The Bad: Very unpredictable

Overall Review: I bought two of these things back in the day when i used to race XC a little. While this tire climbs really well, when corning its very unpredictable, meaning i could never get the hang of when it would break free. I eventually got so sick of them i gave them away to someone.