Fresh Goods Friday 351

Seeing as most of the editorial office is off on a secret mission to Austria this week, you’re left with some undiluted Chipps at the helm. This means that the rock is playing loud, the fluoro socks are in effect and colour clashes are encouraged.

It’s been a while since I’ve been at the helm of Fresh Goods Friday and it’s been great to see all the crazy and fantastic stuff that’s been coming through the oversized letterbox at Singletrack Towers. Everything from teeny spanners to entire bikes in a box (if you build it yourself that is…)

Epic Bleed Solutions Fork Spanners

• Price: £12.99
• From: Epic Bleed Solutions

If you’re keen on doing your own fork servicing (or simply want to swap out Tokens or spacers) then you’ll know that most sockets are too chamfered at the base to grip securely on the shallow nuts. So you can either grind down a socket (or buy one like it) or perhaps take a look at these fine ring spanners from Epic Bleed Solutions. Coming in 24mm, 26mm, 28mm, 30mm and 32mm and all colour coded to match (and with a 23mm Reverb one in the works) they provide a simple and secure solution for how to get that pesky topcap off without skinning knuckles, rounding nuts and smashing spanners into your top tube…

Slime Press Kit

• Price: Who knows?
• From: www.slime.com

We’ve been sent this handy lunchbox-size press pack from Slime to remind ourselves that they’re still around and they do more than just green ooze. In fact, it’s been surprising to see just how many cool bits and pieces they do make. Plus the Slime these days isn’t the lumpy goop of old and is far more appealing to the modern mountain biker.

SAXX Underwear

• Price:US$31.95 for the Vibe, $36.95 for the Kinetic
• From:SAXX USA

Like riding in boxer shorts? Well, here’s something that might interest you – SAXX underwear is the fastest growing men’s underwear company in the USA and it reckons that you need some help to keep er, everything in place… See, every pair of Saxx features a patented BallPark Pouch construction. ‘Designed for contact-free support’, this 3D hammock-shaped pouch keeps everything in place, thanks to mesh panels that prevent skin-against-skin friction, and no exposed stitched for chafe-free comfort. And it’s a good job Wil’s not in to model them, OK?

Endura

Endura Limited Edition SingleTrack Lite Short and Jersey

• Price:Shorts: £67.99
• From:Endura UK

This smart combo comes from Endura and features the SingleTrack Lite (Mk2) shorts in a natty and limited edition claret, with matching jersey. The four-way stretch material is light and quick drying. Ideal for the, er, summer, we seem to be having on and off…

Polaris Discovery Zoned Shorts

• Price:£99
• From:polaris-bikewear.co.uk

Why on earth has it taken this long for someone to come up with decent, water resistance baggy shorts that don’t fall down? Polaris is just about to release its new Discovery Zoned shorts with built-in (but removable) bibs/braces. The ‘Zoned’ refers to the fact that some ‘zones’ of the shorts are light and breathable, but others – namely the bits that get constantly sprayed with water, are waterproof, taped and designed to repel the words of the weather. The neat bibs have quick release buckles for whipping off, or toilet stops, and should stop your baggies from going all half-mast on descents.

Howies Bottle Opener

• Price: TBA
• From:Howies

This just showed up one day for me (Chipps speaking). It’s a prototype apparently and comes with a slick mounting card that also has a keyring loop that pops out. So far, it’s opened beers with remarkable ease and is small enough to fit into the coin pocket of some jeans.

Polaris Bike Blanket

• Price:£55
• From:Polaris-bikewear.co.uk

We first saw these on a couple of UK bike company demo-vans. These vans carry 10-20 bikes to events every weekend and as everyone knows, it can be very easy for one bike to accidentally wear away at its neighbour when being jostled on a journey. These ‘bike rugs’ slip around the bikes and just stop all the pointy bits from rubbing, while the bike can still be wheeled around to get it where you neede it.
Polaris says ‘This is the ideal product for transporting your bike to any adventure or just to cover up at home from knocks and scrapes.’

661 Goodies

• Price:£TBA
• From:sixsixone.com

I’m off to the No Fuss Endurance Downhill Race in a week (entries are still available apparently) and I’ve ordered a load of 661 protective gear. It’s not turned up yet (no panic, right?) but all these find matching gloves, tees and socks have. Nearly as good, right?

Bamboo Bicycle Club Frame Kit

• Price:£Approx £350
• From:bamboobicycleclub.org

We have a box full of potential here. Our Wil is going to embark on a radical bamboo bike building odyssey for the magazine. He has specced some custom geometry, some interesting tyre sizing and the Bamboo Bicycle Club has set up this kit with everything he needs to make a rad frame. You’ll be able to follow his progress in a future edition of the magazine. Fancy having a go yourself?

New Singletrack T-Shirts!

• Price:£19
• From:Singletrack Shop

There’s a whole lot of Blue Steel going on here as four of our Lifetime Subscribers pose on the ‘Wall of modelling’ in these smart new Singletrack T-shirts… So new that they’re not even in the shop yet, but they’ll be available to order next week.

Maxxis Minion DHR and DHF 29+ Tyres

• Price:£95 each
• From:maxxis.co.uk

How much big hugeness? These Minion DHF and DHR tyres are big enough to come in their own tote bags (as they’re too big to fit on most shop display walls..) but they’re also knobbly enough to hopefully do something about Plus tyres’ generally awful performances in the wet of the UK. Now we just need to find a bike that’s worthy of them.

Maxxis High Roller 2 – Double Down (3C)

Maxxis Minion DHR and DHF 29er Tyres

• Price:£65 or so each
• From:maxxis.co.uk

The Maxxis High Roller 2 has been a well received tyre, but for riders hitting the higher speeds of awesome that everyone is getting up to these days, sometimes you need more – without having a huge dual-ply DH tread to lug around. Maxxis’ Double Down technology mates a burly tread and tyre base with a supple (and lighter!) 120TPI casing. Add a butyl lining and you have a tubeless ready, enduro-shred-worthy tyre for not much more weight than a regular trail tyre.

Maxxis Peaked Hat

• Price:£15
• From:maxxis.co.uk

Yep, it’s a cool looking ball cap with a fuzzy feeling brim and a big Maxxis logo. Why wouldn’t you?

And finally, to add to the chaos, we’ve got a bunch of Singletrack Lifetime Subscribers in today, claiming their coffees and pastries, free guided ride and fish and chip lunch. Look for the slow-moving dots on the landscape later…

And now, we’re going to sign out with a classic from Mr Lynott and Mr Moore. May your weekend bring you rock!

(Can’t see this video? You’re probably not missing much, to be honest)

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