2009 Gear of the Year

Words: Chris Lesser

It's that time of year—the changing of the guard; ushering out the old, welcoming the new; starting over with a clean slate and flipping the calendar. To celebrate, here's Bike Magazine's list of the Top Ten* most-promising products for 2009.

	Avid Elixir CR Even though there wasn’t much wrong with the Juicy (save for its trademark squawking), Avid went back to the drawing board and delivers one of the most promising new brake platforms we’ve seen in a while. New, symmetrical, top-loading pads offer more surface area that previous Juicy models, and ridged backing plates help dissipate heat. Most noticeable on the low-profile levers are the bright-red, anodized contact-pad adjusters, which are positioned neatly in-line with the hose where it exits the lever body, eliminating the potential of a knob to get smashed. A flat-ish, bladed, carbon fiber lever controls the brake’s taperbore-driven piston for smooth, progressive, capital-”P” Power. These brakes are serious stoppers. $204/wheel; SRAM.com
	Chris King bottom bracket After years in the making, Chris King has finally developed a bottom bracket worthy of the King name. The 106-gram BB works with all Shimano crank systems and spins on 24 King-quality ball bearings per cup. The system comes with a 5-year warranty (unprecedented for such a contamination-prone piece as a bottom bracket). Part of that trust comes form its serviceability—just apply a custom grease-gun fitting to the outside of each cup and flush the dirty old grease and inject new, shiny, spin-loving goop. True to King style, the new BBs are available in 10 colors: black, silver, navy, red, green, mango, pink, pewter, gold and brown. $129; chrisking.com
	Dakine Amp Veteran mountain bike hydration pack maker Dakine has outdone itself with the new Amp pack. The Amp comes with all the trademark bells and whistles and well-thought-out-storage solutions of its other bike packs, but adds different volume options (18 or 12 liters of storage space) and comes with a deployable rain cover and molded back panel for structural support and ventilation. New this year, Dakine is using Hydrapak reservoirs with quick-disconnect hoses. Compression straps, specific spots for tubes and pumps, zippered mesh pockets all are standard. Pack of the year, anyone? $110 (18-liter; shown)/$90 (12-liter); Dakine.com
	Jett Raptor shorts Jett is a relatively new company to the mountain bike world, but it brings loads of experience to the table—both from producing Yeti’s private-label gear (a company not known for slouching on quality) and from designing motocross kits. Though this is only Jett’s second year offering mountain bike apparel, the Raptor shorts have bells and whistles you wouldn’t expect to find on a product from such a young company. Fore and aft zippered vents that help blow out the heat, and a retractable sunglass wipe are just a few of the finer points. There also are features you don’t see—like soft, silk-like inserts inside the legs, which nicely quiet the swish-swish-swishing sound other synthetic shorts can make. The cut is just below the knee, and the shorts will work for long days in the saddle or hard, fast days riding the chairlift. The shorts come with a clip-out chamois. Look for more from Jett in the future. $120; Jettmtb.com
	Wheels Manufacturing Emergency Hanger There is no reason not to have one of these little gems on your keychain at all times. Regardless of your bike’s make or model, this svelte little piece of aluminum can save your ass if you’re on the trail and you bust off that vulnerable Achilles heel—the pot alloy replaceable derailleur hanger. Simply thread your derailleur mounting bolt into this beauty and clamp the hanger between your dropouts and quick-release skewer. $15; wheelsmfg.com