July's Top Vital MTB Member Reviewer Award 1

Every month we award the Top User Reviewer with a little prize, and this month Jenson USA pitched in another $100 gift card! Vital member SaddleRags took home top honors in July after writing several great reviews. Here's a recap of his best:

OneUp Components ISCG05 Chainguide - "As is the case with many things, sometimes the best products are the ones you think the least about. This is the case for One Up's chain-guide which has been on a couple of bikes over two years and hasn't drawn attention to itself in any kind of negative way.

Remember those days when you had to remove your crank arm to get the chainguide on?Thankfully One Up has made a point to simplify the installation process with this product. Additionally, they have a shim system which helps you dial in the sweet spot for your chainring that is done at the top of the guide.  Gone are the days of chasing multiple spacers and trying to line them up with the ISCG tab holes.  Once you have fine tuned the guide, you won't need to remove it if replacing a new chainring, just flip up the guide and you have some extra room to wiggle, nice.

Here's what has me really stoked on the product: it's lightweight yet tough enough to do the job. I've had no issues with it and I don’t recall ever dropping a chain. The bonus after all this is that it is reasonably priced. It wasn't too many years ago when I was building up a bike and ended up paying more for the chainguide than I did for the crankset and bottom bracket.  All these features and under $50 seals the deal for me." - Read more»

Lizard Skins Frame Protection Kit - "There are many options for protecting your frame these days. I opted for the Lizard Skins kit as I have used this product in the past (in a smaller kit) and was satisfied with it. To protect a new frame, I opted for the full frame kit and wanted a clear protector to not draw attention to itself and let the frame's paint job shine through.

Install was straight forward and easy.  I'd recommend going fairly slow to work out bubbles and make sure that the edges are pushed down so dirt doesn't work its way up under the film.  Durability is good and I think they have found a good balance of thickness so that it can absorb small debris strikes.  A different clear protector film I used before this was about half as thick and after a season looked pretty beat up.

I did have a few letdowns with this product however.  First off, the packaging is designed so that the painted cardboard back comes in contact with the film which resulted in some of the paint sticking to the film.  It wasn't too hard to scrub it off with rubbing alcohol and some elbow grease but it was kind of annoying.  Second, though the kit is labeled as a frame kit, I was left wanting a little bit more material.  My size medium frame came with a pretty substantial integrated rubber down tube guard near the bottom bracket and yet I had to take some of the extra rounded pieces from the other long piece to cover the whole down tube. Also, it would be great to have at least one more of the smaller chainstay/seatstay pieces to use on the rear side of the seat tube. Finally, the price is a bit steep IMO for what you get. 

Despite by beefs with the product, at the end of the day what matters is that it does its job and so far the Lizard Skins Frame Protector Kit has done that." - Read more»

Troy Lee Designs Ruckus Jersey - "TLD has created a great jersey with the 3/4 sleeve Ruckus. The fit is right on point, slightly baggy but not too loose. 3/4 sleeves avoids the frequent too-tight-wrist-cuff-thing and the collar is right sized as well. Also, having a dropped tail in the back is nice to fit the rider's position.

What really sets this jersey apart for me is the selection of fabrics that work together.  First of all, the fabric isn't too thin nor is it so thick that it gets too hot.  They have put mesh fabric to help you vent your heat and the collar area is slightly stretchy so its comfy to get on and off.

There's a bonus pocket on the side that can stash your RFID lift pass or key fob.  Styling is subjective but I think the Ruckus line is a good blend of throwing in some flair without going overboard. The Ruckus jersey is top notch, TLD nailed it!" - Read more»

Big congrats to SaddleRags! Thanks for helping out the riding scene with your thoughts on these products.

Want to be in the running for August's award?

Start reviewing the parts you use in the Vital MTB Product Guide and keep an eye on the Top Reviewer leaderboard. We'll announce the winner in early September.