First off this is not your standard cheap saddle. It is minimalist, well made and comes in at a very low 135 grams. The weight is achieved through a cocktail of exotic materials and design ideas including, carbon shell, closed cell foam padding and feather weight tubular titanium rails. This all as expected comes at a price, around £100.

This sable looks very small and you would think it would be uncomfortable. This really isn’t the case the padding has been stripped down to a minimum but to compensate the saddle flexes to give the comfort needed on a long ride. After putting the saddle through its paces we really were impressed often with light weight saddles you sacrifice comfort but Selle Italia have really got it right here.

Apart form the price there is not really much to hold you back here its super light, super comfortable and looks cool! We have heard a few reports that the leather rips easily but that’s about the same for all saddles, our advice is just don’t crash….. easy right?!?!

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We have been hearing quite a lot about the 2009 version of the RockShox Dart 3 forks and they come in at a reasonable price so in these recession hit times we though it was time to take a closer look.

First off the visual check, these forks do look the part, you wouldn’t know they are at the cheaper end of the scale they come in black or silver but we prefer the detailing on the black one. The list of functions is relatively impressive too, coming with preload spring adjustment and also post mounted lockout. The rebound damping adjustment can be external, so it looks like it ticks all the boxes.

Out on the trails there is a slightly different story, you can tell quite quickly that these are a budget fork selection. There is quite a lot of flex in them while cornering and although they come with a lot of adjustment and lockout ability this is not the same level you would expect form the more expensive forks. Despite all this they do the job they are designed for.

The bottom line on this is they are budget forks and in this case you get what you pay for, if your willing to accept that then you will be please but you can’t expect too much for around £150!

Buy online here from £148

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Pearl Izumi have a history of well though out clothing that also offers a stylish look, we hoped these shorts were no exception.

The design is quite simple but they are panelled to give a better all round fit, this is something that makes a big difference to the fit and some of the cheaper designs cut out. We got a black pair which is fairly standard, they have some small detailing on each leg with the Pearl Izumi logos on but are fairly plain apart from that. Out on the road we found that these logos are actually a big problem for the shorts.

There is a 3D pro logo that is around the outside of the chamois but still in a bad area. If this lettering contacts the skin then it is not good, not good at all. The logo can’t be removed as it has been heated onto the material. This is logo causes a real problem for the shorts and was obviously an idea of a marketing team not an actual cyclist, it’s a real let down.

The shorts are quite light weight, light and wick away the sweat well making them good warm weather shorts however the logo issue above is a real show stopper for us so we are not keen on them at all. Come on Pearl Izumi sort it out and get your products tested by real cyclists!