OK, which one of you was it, and what did you do?
You. It was you, wasn’t it? You got your ‘best’ road bike out and went for a ride, didn’t you?
Or you there, with the guilty look. Did you go for a ride without a waterproof in your bag?
We know someone somewhere did something. Wore a short sleeve jersey, took off their mud tyres, cut the lawn, bought a hanging basket full of bedding plants. So who was it? Because it’s all your fault.
Just like when you really need the photocopier to work, with Spring you must never let it know what you’re thinking. Those of you that skipped about in less than layered clothing let Spring know you’d felt its warmth. And so this week we have been punished, with a last hurrah of rain, sleet, snow and misery.
But one of you has redeemed yourself. One of you has sacrificed yourself to the gods of weather and it appears that (sshh) the warmth is returning. For there are few better ways to guarantee lovely weather by booking a day off work and going out for a long grim session. Whoever it was that submitted to this pain and suffering earlier in the week, we thank you for (sshh, look the other way and pretend you’re not actually talking about the S word) today at Singletrack Towers, we can see the sky.
And so, before you put away your extra blankets and down mittens, snuggle up and snuggle down with Fresh Goods Friday.
Supacaz Grizips
- Price: £17.95
- From: Cooke Components
Brighter than that bright thing we occasionally see in the sky, these are lock on grips from Supacaz. Supacaz was formed in 2010 by Anthony Sinyard, the son of Specialized founder Mike and its grips and bar tape has been seen clenched by many of the world’s top racers. Available in an enormous range of colours, they’re bright and tacky (tacky in the good way) and have a single lock-on clamp so those of us who run our hands over the end of the bars don’t get big holes in them.
SunRace MX80 11-50 Cassette
- Price: £99
- From: Ison Distribution
With a circumference as big as the moon, here’s that cassette we told you about yesterday. SunRace’s 11-50T cassette brings those MASSIVE gear ranges within reach of us mortals. Though it’s not quite the 10-50T of SRAM’s 12 speed Eagle, this one will fit on a normal Shimano cassette body and (it is claimed) will work with any Shimano 11speed group from XTR, to XT to SLX and even SRAM X1 too.
The biggest two sprockets are 7075 alloy, while the rest are steel on two alloy carriers. This certainly lit up our Facebook page when we put it up and we’re really looking forward to seeing how well it works. At a ‘mere’ £99, it’s a third of the price of (12 speed) Eagle and offers four more teeth of bail out gear over Shimano’s widest 11-46 cassette.
Fidlock Magnetic Bottle
- Price: £29.99 (more bottles £9.99)
- From: Spitfire Distribution
With magnets, mined from the very core of the earth, or perhaps somewhere a little more accessible, this is a bottle with magnetic holding/attachment system. You twist it to get the bottle off, then it pops back into place with a sturdy thunk.
76 Projects’ The Piggy and The Piggy Pouch
- Price: £27.50 for The Piggy, £15 for The Piggy Pouch
- From: 76 Projects
Extend your frame’s carrying capacity with this British designed and made attachment for you bottle bosses. With a sturdy webbed strap and Velcro fastener you can easily carry a spare tube here. Or…
…instead of a tube you could use a little pouch such as this to carry a few smaller bits and pieces, and then strap it to your Piggy. This pouch will hold a 29er tube, tyre levers, multitool and Co2 inflator.
Vel Race Cage
- Price: £17.95
- From: Cooke Components
Weighing 33g and available in many colours to match your bike.
Specialized Hillbilly and Butcher Tyres
- Price: £35.00 each
- From: Specialized
Ross has bought himself a new bike. It has big wheels, and he is convinced he is going to be really fast on it. The bike hasn’t arrived yet, but these tyres are sitting waiting for for it when it does. The Hillbilly will be going up front – and is only available in a 29er flavour.
Flaer Guard and Revive
- Price: £10 for 750ml
- From: Flaer
Bike Cleaner and Bike Protector Spray. Ahem. Anyone would think Flaer had been watching our various Facebook Live broadcasts from the trail and noticed that our bikes are just a little muddy. Revive and Guard are safe on all materials including carbon, aluminium, steel, titanium and paintwork, and the Guard will wash off your brakes with water should you get a bit sloppy with your spraying.
Saxx Quest 2.0 Boxers
- Price: £24.99
- From: HKT
Not just pants, or kecks, but ‘life changing’ pants. With mesh panels and a comfort pouch to keep ‘everything in place’, ‘reduce chafe’ and allow ‘contact free support’. Hannah is trying not to think too much about Wil’s everything getting chafed, it’s putting her off her second breakfast. These undercrackers are light and quick drying, so just the sort of thing you could take on your bike packing holiday and wash in the sink/stream/secret Timotei waterfall.
Gore 1985 GORE-TEX Active Jacket
- Price: £199.99
- From: GoreApparel
In celebration of 30 years of Gore Apparel, and inspired by, or in homage to this:
This modern version is a lightweight, breathable, packable waterproof jacket. Ergonomically cut for riding, some of you may be sad to note that, unlike the original, the new version doesn’t include the crotch strap. It’s only available in limited numbers from a few selected outlets, so you might need to hunt about a bit to catch one in the wild.
Gore Bike Wear Element 2.0 Short Sleeve Jersey
- Price: £49.99
- From: GoreApparel
A lightweight and practical jersey for when things warm up. There are three rear pockets and a security pocket, and a little cover on the top of the zip so you don’t zip your neck into it while you’re riding along.
Gore Oxygen Classic Gore Windstopper Jersey
- Price: £159.99
- From: GoreApparel
This tight fit (it’s meant to be, it’s not just Chipps’ pie-body) jersey is made of Gore Windstopper material ‘to keep athletes protected’. Chipps best take it off then. There are mesh underarm inserts to allow ventilation and a longer back and flat seam cuffs for a comfortable fit.
And off we go, bounding towards the weekend. Don’t forget that hour you’re going to lose on Sunday. Best make the most of Saturday then.
Maybe it’s the effect of deadline week (check out what we’ve been preparing here), but it feels like we’ve had a lot of fnar in the office this week, so we’re going to play you out with this.
And because we can’t not, have this too:
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Yay – Supercaz. I’ve been on these for half a year now and I reckon these are the Goldilocks of the grip world. Not too fat, not too thin, not too soft and not too hard. And I’ve got them in neon pink…perfection..!
They do love a bold colour…