This week in Fresh Goods we’ve got all the season changing essentials such as lights, winter boots and such, but even more exciting than that, we’ve got the (seemingly) rare and endangered beast that is the 26″ 160mm bike. In addition to that, we’ve got a pair of Giros new flat pedal shoes, Mavics all-mountain 29er wheelset and much more. Without further ado…
Liteville 301 Mk.10
We got our first look at the Liteville range at the The Bike Place show a while back. They’re being brought into the UK by Evolution Imports, also known for importing Chris King and other rather shiny bits. Liteville is essentially the frame building arm of component specialist Syntace and their Teutonic attention to detail is plain to see on the frame. The 301 sports 160mm of rear wheel travel from a four bar linkage but can also be had with 140mm by using a different rocker plate. Liteville say the position of their ‘reverse’ shock linkage minimises forces put through pivots and tubing, resulting in a less stressed frame design.
Price: £1,899 frame, headset & seat collar
From: Evolution Imports
There are plenty of Syntace standards at work here; the 142x12mm back end, the bolt on mech protector and build-in chain guide are just a few examples. The pierced top tube for tidy dropper and front mech cable routing is a good touch, as is the very simple to understand sag indicator.
Told you it was simple – line up the two bars and it’s perfect, so no messing with measuring sag.
The front had a tapered headtube and our test bike, in for an upcoming ‘Lakes bike’ test in Issue 77, is fitted with a set of the latest Fox 34 160mm forks…
Mavic Crossmax ST 29 wheelset
Mavic have taken their time to make sure that they got their 29″ offerings just right before releasing them into the world. They use a 19mm wide welded and machined UST tubeless rim connected to the tangential pull cartridge bearing hubs by Zicral aluminium alloy spokes and nipples that thread directly into the rim. The front uses 24 spokes for increased stiffness from the smaller narrower hub while the rear has 20. Aimed as an all-mountain and trail wheelset, they come complete with adaptors to fit QR or 15mm front axles and your pick of Qr or 142x12mm rear. If they’re half as good as the burlier 26″ Crossmax SX wheelset we reviewed recently, they’re going to be very impressive.
Price: £645
From: Mavic
Light & Motion Taz 1200
With three LEDs kicking out a total of 1,200 Lumens on full power, the Taz is designed as a crossover commuting/offroad light, with sufficient kick to light up the trails but a quick release clamp, side beams and all-in-one construction to make it ideal for heading to and from work. It’ll run for a claimed 1.5 hours on full whack but six hours on the low 300 Lumen setting.
Price: £249.99
From: Madison
Giro Carbide shoes
The Carbide shoes use a nylon shank with a tough synthetic upper and aggressively treaded sole to offer the fit and some of the features of Giros more expensive shoes at a more affordable price. The toe box is strengthened to protect your tootsies and the combination of three velcro straps and the Aegis single density footbed should make it simple to get the fit just so. If the rave bumblebee finish is a bit much for you, they also come in a charcoal finish…
Price: £79.99
From: Madison
Giro Jacket shoes
Brand spanking new for this year is the Jacket, Giros new flat pedal specific shoe. With a skate style upper, they’re designed for the dirt jump and downhill crowd, but we reckon there are plenty of common or garden trail riders who might be tempted by them. They use a microfibre upper, Vibram sole with EVA midsole and a Porod XRD heel to absorb shock. It’ll be interesting to see how they fare against the likes of Five Ten and Sombrio…
Price: £89.99
From: Madison
Trakke Krukke backpack
Handmade in Glasgow, Trakke do a fine line in messenger bags made from traditional but high quality materials. The Krukke is made from 14oz waxed cotton to keep everything waterproof and holds a decent 27 litres of volume inside the main compartment, which is cordura lined. There are a pair of hidden side pockets for stashing a lock or a water bottle, plus a waterproof zipped gadget pocket too.
Price: £180
From: Trakke
We like the drawcord closure too – it’s easily opened or closed with one hand. Each bag is build to order they come in four colours, green as pictured, a rather nice yellowy mustard, black and purple.
Topeak AirBooster Race Pod
If you’re the sort of fast and light type that shuns rucksacks and you don’t really like stuffing your jersey pockets full of tubes, weighty CO2 canisters and other bits and bobs, then the Race Pod is just what you need. You can clamp a pair of included 16g cartridges plus a pair of tyre levers to the quick release rubber holder, which secure to your post with a velcro strap. The inflator head is CNC machined with a flow-adjustable head and there’s a rather neat neoprene cover to keep the crap out.
Price: £29.99
From: Extra UK
Topeak Hybrid Rocket MT
Is it a pump? Is it a CO2 inflator? No, it’s super pump! Erm, we may have got a bit carried away there, but this is a rather cool idea. It combines a CO2 inflator head at one end with a neat smart headed mini pump at the other. This is the mountain bike version with a fat body to shift a higher volume of air quickly. All the ends have build in dust covers to keep muck out and the frame mount features space to clip on an extra cartridge.
Price: £49.99
From: Extra UK
Polaris Shredder boots
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s full on miserable season out there now. This means it’s time for winter boots and who knows them better than the British? Derbyshire based Polaris have been doing footwear for a couple of years now and the Shredder has a waterproof and breathable liner under the synthetic suede and PU upper. The SPD compatible sole is a proper Vibram item with a chunky tread for bog trotting. It features laces as well as two straps, one on the instep and one on ankle, plus loops on the tongue and heel to ease getting them on and off…
Price: £114.99
From: Polaris
Comments (21)
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Liking the look of The Krukke..
That Liteville just looks right to me. Lovely in the flesh, even if being 6ft 3, it’ll be too bloody small for my ample leg. Dammit
Looking forward to the Liteville review. Seems about the closest to my ideal AM bike on the market.
that hybrid pump looks suspiciously like (identical) to my Innovations pump.
Like the look of those boots.
The Liteville looks “like a bike”
which is a good thing.
The Liteville top tube / rocker setup looks like it could chop your winky off 😐
The Liteville cable routing hole looks like a spout to pour water into. Hopefully there’s some sort of drainage.
I’m 6ft 4″ and bought an XL Liteville 301 in May – ordered it without a test ride – but its the most competent bike i’ve ever ridden!
lol @ mega!
Does the rocker on the Liteville not arc up and forward upon compression?
If so surely it’s set up just right to get in the way on heavy landings etc??
The top tube hole goes straight through and then cables run underneath so no worries on water retention 😉
The rocker does move up and forward but you’d need to get trapped in front of the saddle on the hard landing for it to pinch your winky, which seems quite unlikely…
That Liteville is fascinating. Like the way they issue weights for all frame sizes and just seen that they print a full list of compatible wheel sizes and tyre clearances:
http://brimages.bikeboardmedia.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2013-Liteville-scaled-sizing-.gif
patriotpro – there’s a good animated diagram of the linkage on Liteville’s site: http://www.liteville.de/t/25_29.html
You’ve got more exciting stuff in one Fresh Goods than I’ve seen in all the Interbike coverage so far (not just on STW, but Pinkbike, etc). Looks like a crummy show this year.
Really looking forward to your Liteville review – always been intrigued by them. Light, well built, looks like a HT and by all accounts really, really nice to ride. Pretty spendy, though.
That Krukke also looks nice. And handmade in UK, too. 🙂
Oh, and boltonjon – the 301 comes in XXL. See: http://www.liteville.de/t/25_30.html
Liking the look of the Polaris boots – the size 43 Splinters I had for review are still going strong and look like they’ll last a few seasons yet!
Sorry, XXL comment was supposed to be directed at singletrackjay!
I thought XXL would be a little to OTT, so settled for the XL – which fits me and my 36″ inside leg just right
Additionally, after lots of very heavy riding, my winky is still well & truly attached to my body
Those Polaris boots look ace. Is that a speed-lacing system?
Want that one:
Liteville
“The rocker does move up and forward but you’d need to get trapped in front of the saddle on the hard landing for it to pinch your winky, which seems quite unlikely…”
This is making the assumption that some of us aren’t blessed with genitals that swing around the seat clamp, EVEN on a chilly day…..
DrP 😉