Even with Jon on holiday, there’s no stopping the Fresh Goods train. Here’s a selection of some of the things that have been making our doorbell ring…

Crank Bros Kronolog
Price: £249
From: www.2pure.co.uk

Crank Brothers was early to the uppy-downy game with its Joplin seatpost. Then everyone else came out with their versions and the Joplin was a little left behind. Now Crank Bros is back with its Kronolog post. Costing £249 and coming in 30.9 or 31.6, they are just coming into the country now.

Pacenti Tyres and Just Riding Along Wheels

Price: Wheels approx: £450/pr, tyres £50 each

And what’s so special about these? Yes, they’re for the ‘Third Way’. 650B, or 27.5in wheels are suddenly in the news, though Kirk Pacenti has been quietly plugging away at them for the last six years or more. See the next issue of Singletrack (issue 73, out around April 26th) to see what the rest of the industry thinks of this French touring rim size from the last century…

From: Just Riding Along www.justridingalong.com

Copter Tape
Price: £9.50 for 50cm
From: JRA again www.justridingalong.com

JRA’s Copter Tape is frame protection in a neat little tube. Just say ‘no’ to cable rub…

Tufo XC2 Plus

Price: £80 or so each.

From: www.Osport.co.uk

They’re all at it. Racers, that is… running tubular tyres for XC racing. Tubs can be run at low pressures without pinch-flatting and give an arguably softer ride. And thanks to modern sealants, it’s no longer a race (or tyre) ending thing if you get a thorn flat… We have a couple of these from Osporto to try out. Bring on the summer races!

Gipiemme Kenya Professional Wheels

Price: £700 a pair

From: Osporto www.osporto.co.uk

And of course you can’t run tubs without special rims. Also from Osporto comes these Gipiemme Kenya Professional wheels with tubular rims. Featuring DT hub internals, Sapim spokes and with everything made in Italy, it’s enough to make the old club cyclists go misty eyed with nostalgia. Until you take these wheels through a rock garden for fun… Stay tuned to Singletrack’s Grinder feature to find out how they fare.

Chain Johnny
Price: £19.99
From: Madison www.madison.co.uk

We’re assuming that White Lightning doesn’t necessarily get the UK slang for ‘johnny’ but perhaps it does. The Chain Johnny fits snug around your chainset, chain and rear mech and stops your bike from making a big mess everywhere. Hmm… so quite accurate then.

Commencal Meta AM

From: Decade Europe

We showcased this new All Mountain bike from Commencal back in our Interbike coverage and we’re glad to see that we’ve finally been able to get hold of one for test. As Commencal says ‘A good enduro bike is not an XC bike that can descend but a downhill bike that can climb.’ – and with 150mm of travel we reckon it’s going to be perfect for the rufty tufty trails we have around here.

Focus FSL 2.0

Price: £5995

From: Focus Dealers

Not quite Fresh Goods as they’ve taken it away again, but Matt was out yesterday on this light and fast 100mm machine from Focus. To quote Matt “I BIG RINGED IT UP INCHFIELD ROAD!!!’ Which is another way to say that this is a very light bike that seems to flatter the rider on the climbs.

 

And a few more bits and pieces here. Lining up for the next grouptest we have some glasses from:

Adidas – Evil Eye, Half-rim
From: www.surfdome.co.uk

Price: £135

With a UK friendly pinky lens and adjustable arm angle and a natty sports-bag case, we like this already.

Tifosi Dolomite
From: Zyro www.zyro.co.uk

With a great, contrasty orange photochromic lens and a sub £70 RRP, the Dolomite looks a winner too.

BBB Rapid
From: Wind Wave www.windwave.co.uk

This BBB Rapid has Rapid has a photochromic lens that works well in Dutch ‘sunlight’ – with a (85%-17% light transmission range)

Endura Piranhas
Price: £44.99
From: Endura www.endura.co.uk

Here’s a pair of glasses from the Masters of Driech, Enduro. The Piranhas are ‘for the summers we really get’

Bell Drop helmet
Price: £129
From: Madison www.madison.co.uk
From: Madison www.madison.co.uk
Lining up for a future feature, this Bell full face helmet appears to weigh near to nothing while still offering full face protection. And in this colour, nobody will miss you coming down the hill…

PHD Designs Yukon Pullover
Price: £263

From: PHD phdesigns.co.uk

We featured PHD last autumn in our factory visit and were impressed with just how ‘made in the UK’ all its stuff really is. Here’s a great example of a UK-friendly down jacket, the Yukon. For a start the outer layer is very water resistant, not a given with all down jackets, so ideal for those bothy and bivvy trips where you’re not always going to be completely under shelter. The half zip goes over a helmet when you’re stopped, but saves bulk and faff. We heard of PHD making an down outer for Elizabethan costume drama actress to wear between takes and reckon that would be the ideal ‘waiting for your team mate at Mayhem’ jacket. Anyway… this works down to -15C, so Chipps is going to stand out in the carpark in today’s hail for you…

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