Fresh Goods Friday 276

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Thank you to Hannah, for so admirably taking over the role of scribe for Fresh Goods last week – but I must protest at the use of the word ‘waffle’ to describe the florid overeffusions with which these introductions are adorned – this is art of the highest calibre.

ART, I tell thee!

Anyone who can’t see that is sorely ignorant. Ignorant of the nuance, the thought and the sheer, unadulterated none-more-black, heartwrenching emotion which goes into EACH AND EVERY Fresh Goods, in a brief attempt to derail the otherwise stultifying ennui of a typical Friday lunchtime.

Fresh Goods Friday 692 - The Farmer...
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*rends garment with emotion*

*composes self again*

But regardless – whether you read the intro and weep at the sheer beauty of the words therein, or whether you read the intro and simply weep*, heeeeeere’s Fresh Goods Friday!

*If you don’t read the intro there’s not much point in me pointing out to you, is there? Because you’re not reading. So why am I typing this? I have no idea. It’s Friday morning, I’ve not eaten porridge, I’m soaking wet because it’s chucking it down (no, REALLY?), the nursery run is on foot ‘cos the bridge got washed away, and I need more coffee. Humph.

This edition of Fresh Goods has been brought to you, entirely co-incidentally, by the colour ORANGE…

Transition Smuggler

Price: £2,699

From: UK importer is WindWave. More details from Transition

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Ah, the Transition Smuggler! A short travel 29er, built for versatility and vroom. An aggressive 67.5 degree head angle, 435mm chainstays and a roomy cockpit with 115mm rear and 130mm front travel. Rich is looking forward to getting this one properly muddy…

DSC_0560 Giddy up suspension keeps the back end planted…DSC_0562SRAM GX 10 speed drivetrain…DSC_0564and a Sector fork up front takes care of bounce.DSC_0565Plus there’re Shimano brakes for reliable stopping. Nice.

Onza Jackpot

Price: £1850

From: Onza

DSC_0567‘Flawless’ Cromo tubing on this long travel hardtail for a forthcoming bike test. And the Jackpot looks very sweet indeed. 
DSC_0571We like the headbadge under the paintjob.DSC_0568Throughaxle back end, lots of clearance with special, comfy stays (it says here)…DSC_0572… and 150mm bounce from the Revelations up front.
DSC_05741×10 drivetrain to keep things going, andDSC_0573Kenta rubber for teh trakshun. We’ve ridden and rated Honey Badgers in the past. Sweet.

FINDRA Route t-shirt

Price: £70

From: Available March from FINDRA
DSC_0579Merino t-shirt for riding in and lounging. I can’t honestly say that that looks terribly comfy, though Hannah…

Bontrager Lithos Storm Jacket

Price: £179.99

From: Trek

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Profila Stormshell material? Check. Lots of zips (hydration pack compatible)? Check. Awkwardly posed and oddly nautical photo theme? Check and check. Shiver me timbers etc etc. Nice jacket though. Too orangey for crows.
DSC_0581I guess this is Barney’s ‘come hither’ look. With a rain coat and a helmet. In a room with a bell, and no bike (or rain) in sight. Frankly, we’ve got no idea. Perhaps it’s a sort of Evil Magician thing. But then there’s the rain coat and helmet again. Let’s face it, whatever look Barney was going for, he’s failed miserably.

Bontrager Rhythm Windshell

Price: £54.99

From: Trek

DSC_0584Louche? Um. Relaxed? Not really. Here, Barney goes for the ‘recently deceased’ look. Which to be fair, he pulls off relatively well. More orange! Very breatheable windproof, this, with a Napoleon pocket and very well vented pit mesh. And it packs down small – woot!

Morvelo Padlock Long Sleeve MTB Jersey

Price: £45

From: MorveloDSC_0586Nicely cut, part orange as per the theme, long sleeved MTB top from the good folk at Morvelo. The hair, Barney assures us, is as a result of a recently removed helmet. He can’t use that excuse for the beard, though.

Morvelo Klash Short Sleeve Jersey

Price: £40

From: Morvelo

DSC_0591
‘THAR SHE BLOOOOWWWS!!”

No words necessary. A subtle, understated top for a subtle, understated occupant. Short sleeved, simple and well cut, though. As opposed to its wearer, who by way of comparison is long armed, simple and half cut. Allegedly.

Mio Cyclo 505 HC biking GPS

Price: £329.99

From: Mio

DSC_0594

ANT+ Bluetooth v4.0, WiFi, touchscreen, a ‘surprise me’ feature (BOO!) which chooses three routes for you based on your selected time, destination and ting, and all the mod cons for your biking navigating GPS geejaw needs! This one also has HRM and cadence fun and games in the box too!

Showers Pass Crosspoint Waterproof Crew Socks

Price: £26.00

From: Showers Pass

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3 layer socks for toasty-warm and simultaneously dry tootsies. Boffo.

Halo Vapour 35 27.5 Wheels

Price: R – £180, F – £119

From: Ison Distribution
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35mm wide (30mm internal) wheels? Don’t mind if we do. AM/XC wheels, apparently, which will work with everything from 2.25in XC rubber to 2.8in chubsters. They come pretaped, which saves us a sweary time in front of the TV this evening. Unless we’re watching something with the word ‘factor’ in it. Or ‘Dance’.

DSC_0599Sealed hubs, double butted spokes…DSC_0600… and nice wide rims. Boosted ones are coming soon, folks!

And that’s your lot for this week, people! We’ve got something VERY special lined up for next week that we can’t really talk about now, so stay tuned! Well, you can sleep, and work and stuff in the mean time – we’re not expecting you to stay glued to your screen ALL WEEK. Although we do have doubts about some of you…

We’ll leave the last word to Moose Allain:CX4zyOBWMAAYI0c.jpg-largeHappy weekend everyone!

ST out.

Barney Marsh takes the word ‘career’ literally, veering wildly across the road of his life, as thoroughly in control as a goldfish on the dashboard of a motorhome. He’s been, with varying degrees of success, a scientist, teacher, shop assistant, binman and, for one memorable day, a hospital laundry worker. These days, he’s a dad, husband, guitarist, and writer, also with varying degrees of success. He sometimes takes photographs. Some of them are acceptable. Occasionally he rides bikes to cast the rest of his life into sharp relief. Or just to ride through puddles. Sometimes he writes about them. Bikes, not puddles. He is a writer of rongs, a stealer of souls and a polisher of turds. He isn’t nearly as clever or as funny as he thinks he is.

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