Two very different products from Syncros geared at mountain (& other) bikers for the next season of trail riding and XC racing, the Matchbox cage and XR1.0 SL saddle both take an integrated approach to product design. The Matchbox does it by combining the tools and pump you’ll need to keep you rolling down the trail into the frame of a water bottle cage. The XR1.0 SL is more about consolidating how the saddle is made to optimize its performance. By molding the carbon rails together into the shell as it is constructed, they produce a lightweight saddle strong enough to stand up to off-road abuse…
Matchbox Tailor Cage
The Matchbox Tailor Cage started its design life as a typical side-entry fiber-reinforced nylon bottle cage. Then Syncros’ designers jacked it up to create a pair of low-profile compartments between the cage and your frame to house a mini tool & a separate chain tool. On top of that, this £55 HV 1.5 model includes a side clip that gets fitted with a high-volume mini pump to fill your fat tires back up quickly.
It gets its name from the fact that the tools sit in a small tray, with the pump attached, that slides out like a match book, and then which clips securely in place by wrapping around the cage’s base. Inside are the 8-bit tool with tiny hexes up to an 6mm, plus a pair of Torx bits, and the chainbreaker with its nipple wrench slots & 8mm add-on. The pump itself it rated up to 80psi with a respectable 67 cubic cms per stroke.
The whole thing is also available in either left or right bottle access for frames with tight clearance, and with high or low volume pumps, or even without the pump & clips altogether depending on what bike you want to fit it to. Anyway you look at it, the Matchbox will get the weight of the tool down low on your bike and out of your pocket or Camelbak, and never forgotten at home.
XR 1.0 SL
The 155g carbon XR 1.0 SL saddle is simply put a light, firmly padded race seat that can handle the rough and tumble life atop a fast moving mountain bike. As an update over Syncros’ nylon shelled version of the XR1, this new £200 saddle takes the same big 7x9mm carbon rails, but now co-molds them into a lighter, stiffer carbon shell. By molding the rails directly into the shell durability is greatly improved, while being able to trim some weight as well.
The top of the saddle gets firm padding and a durable synthetic cover. The 265mm long saddle comes in two sizes – 132mm narrow & 143mm wide – to fit a range of rider sit bone widths.
