El Gallo Enduro Saddle

RRP: £34.99
In a market as saturated as this, it can be pretty difficult to stand out. As a relatively new brand to the UK, El Gallo have introduced an 'enduro' specific range of products which should put them on a level with some of the giants out there.
At an rrp of £34.99 it's a relatively cheap saddle, but certainly doesn't look like one. The padding (which I assume gave rise to the 'enduro' tag) is great, providing comfort without being cumbersome as it is on some products. It comes at a small weight penalty; it weighs 290g, although for both the price and the amount of padding this is a relatively small price to pay. Also, it's obvious that when riding an enduro I'd happily trade a few grams for all-day comfort.

On a durability front, it's been fantastic. The rails haven't bent (a big surprise for me, considering this seems to happen to every saddle I buy). The material hasn't ripped or faded, which is brilliant considering I bought the white saddle, and these are often prone to unsightly brown/grey stains.

The saddle, sold by Fix Distribution (the only UK supplier) came packaged well and immaculate condition. The black rails are a bonus which a few brands seem to overlook, and just keep it looking that bit tidier as a whole. There are three colour options, including predominantly white and a black/black option which makes it suitable for any build.

El Gallo Mk2 Dropper Post First Impressions

So far I've only taken it out of the box and installed it, but I've been impressed. First and foremost, its price is lower than any other (respectable) brand new dropper post on the market. At 450g it's equal to a Thompson Elite post, before the Thompson has the additional weight of the remote and cables added. It's a good looking piece of kit, with the subtle El Gallo graphics keeping it tasteful; allowing it to look at home on any build. The pre-set heights were an attractive proposition, allowing me to use it on a freeride/enduro build with minimum faffing around whilst riding. It arrived well padded and packaged from Fix Distribution, the only UK El Gallo distributor, and it was a simple case of taking it out of the box and setting it up. The big attraction of this though? PRICE. At under £130 it's silly cheap; compare it to any post you're thinking of running, and it'll be half the price. The post comes with a seat shim to make it easy to fit, and the lack of complexity, far from being a disappointment, merely makes it appear to be easy maintain. So far I'm impressed, but more on performance soon!