Tech Q&A – your questions answered! Padded shorts for MTBing, £2k XC bikes, how to build a do-it-all gravel bike, better brakes for converted e-bikes and more

The Tech Q&A is back, with Jack Luke, Tom Marvin and Simon Von Bromley fielding your questions. This time around, the trio cover:

• Do MTBers wear padded shorts, and if so what kind?
• Having recently crashed their gravel bike at a local trail centre, one rider is looking for a fun hardtail with a £2,000 budget – we recommend our three top picks
• Can you fit bigger brake rotors to a converted e-bike to help with stopping power?
• What to do if your mechanical shifting isn’t performing at its best
• Smartwatches as an alternative to GPS bike computers – are they any good, what compromises might you have to make, and what brands we’d recommend.

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