Fresh Goods Friday 166

Friday swings round once again and shortly you’ll be able to cast off the shackles of the working week and escape to the sweet freedom of riding your bike – or, if you’re unlucky, the less preferable fate of looking outside at the pouring rain while you hammer holes into your house and fingers.

Still, in the meantime, occupy yourself with Fresh Goods and a peek at all the fresh new things that have landed at the Singletrack office this week…

Kali Samra helmet

The humble piss-pot helmet has moved on a long way from the simple items with a hard plastic outer with foam inner. The Samra uses the same ‘Composite Fusion’ technology as their top end XC lids, with a fibreglass and carbon composite hard outer in-moulded to the EPS inner. There are six vents to keep you from boiling up too.

Price: £79.99

From: Surf Sales

Fox Striker helmet

Fox made quite an impact with their Flux helmet and the Striker is its evolution, geared towards trail and XC riding. It uses the same low backed design, has 22 vents to keep everything cool, with rather groovy honeycomb covers at the back. Fit is adjustable with the Detox II ratchet strap system as well as flip-lock side straps. You can even take the peak off, if that’s the way you roll…

Price: £89.99

From: Fox

Kali Maha

If you need a skate style lid but the Kali Samra is a bit too much then this is the keenly priced alternative. It forgoes the in-moulded shell for a simple and tough ABS plastic outer protecting the EPS moulded liner. The helmet straps have plenty of adjustment to get the fit right and the pads have an anti-microbial treatment to prevent pong.

Price: £24.99

From: Surf Sales

Kali Avita Texalium (top) and Amara (bottom) helmets

With extended rear coverage, both the Amara and Avita helmets are part of the new crop of ‘all-mountain’ labelled lids  on the market. The Avita is available as either top end, lightweight Carbon outer version or the ‘Texalium’ carbon fibre, fibreglass and polycarbonate version. Both have twenty vents and a unique design with an expanded coverage of EPS foam.

The Amara is the more affordable version, losing a few vents and the composite construction, instead using a polycarbonate outer. The Amara is also available with a rather neat feature –  a built in helmet camera or light mount moulded into the top of the helmet.

Price: Amara – £64.99 Avita Texalium – £89.99

From: Surf Sales

Kali Chakra Plus

Using an in-moulded EPS liner with polycarbonate outer, the Chakra uses a low backed design and webbing inner to keep it securely placed. As it’s the ‘Plus’ version you get a tidy spinny ratchet system at the back to fine tune the fit and a tough wrap finish, along with fancier graphics. We love the bright lime green styling but you can get black, white and blue neon designs if you reckon it won’t fit into the wardrobe.

Price: £49.99

From: Surf Sales

Kali Savara full face helmet

Although the Savara is an entry level full facer, you still get plenty of features – and more importantly, the venting – seen on more expensive helmets. Using a fibreglass outer shell over a foam liner, the 14 vents are covered with mesh to stop flies and mud getting in. The visor is adjustable with a pair of bolts which should keep it in place and the anti bacterial liner is removable for washing. We’ve got a ‘DH on a budget’ web feature pencilled in soon and this should prove just the ticket…

Price: £69.99

From: Surf Sales

Cyclo Tools Chainring Bolt Tool

Weldtite do a range of well priced but workshop quality equipment under the Cyclo Tools banner. If you’ve suffered the annoyance of tightening up your chainring bolts only to have them spin about aimlessly then this is what you need, with a steel bit and large diameter handle to offer plenty of grip.

Price: £13.99

From: Weldtite

Cyclo Tools Head Cup Removal Tool 11/4”- 1.5”

With the plethora of new headset standards, the Singletrack workshop/pile of tools in a room has been lacking something to knock out larger diameter headset cups, save a screwdriver. It’s made from high quality spring steel and has a solid boss at the top to give it a bit of heft and stand up to heavy use.

Price: £34.99

From: Weldtite

Dirtwash G-String Gear Cleaners

Though possibly not as titillating as their namesake, the Dirtwash G-Strings provide an arguably more useful function, by slipping in the cracks (sorry) between your cassette cogs. They’re made from stretchy elastic covered with soft fabric, meaning they should fit into different spaces.

Price: £TBC

From: Weldtite

Answer Pro Taper DH 780 bars

The classic Pro Taper has been around a fair old while now, being amongst the first crop of strong but light riser bars. Over the years it’s seen more than a few changes to keep up with the times, moving up to an oversize diameter and now being available in an on-trend 780mm width. In keeping with it’s forebears, it’s tapered from a thicker centre to thinner ends. Should 780mm be too much it’s got graduated cut marks on the ends and it comes in 1″ or 0.5″ rises.

Price: £59.99

From: Hotlines

dhb Long Sleeve Momentum jersey

Simbob is modelling the Momentum jersey, which dhb reckon is just the trick for covering Spring, Autumn and Winter riding. It’s made from waffled polyester fleece. There are reflective details on the anatomically cut arms and back, along with elasticated wrists to keep out drafts. The neck has a chinguard to prevent any chafing and the centre rear pocket has a liner to prevent sweat from damaging any valuables.

Price: £53.99

From: Wiggle

Suplest Supzeros (L) and Suplest Offroad Alpine (R)

Swiss brand Suplest are pretty new to the UK. The name comes from ‘soupeless’ meaning suppleness and fluidity, both in feel and cycling style. They’re aiming at the very high endthe Sidis  The upper on the Supzeros is made from ‘Organic Grid’ a microfibre material which has ventilation built into it. The sole is made from carbon fibre, with decently chunky tread and a neat grid outline for accurately positioning cleats. You can crank them down to get the sweet pain just right using the ratchet instep strap too.

The Offroad Alpines forgo carbon for a shock absorbing Vibram sole. Suplest say they’re made for ‘crossing the Alps, riding trails or for a nice freeride’. The upper is made from synthetic nubuck leather with ripstop style mesh panels. They’ve got a nice high-top design to protect your ankles and a rubber toe box to guard your toes.

Price: Supzero – £249.99 Offroad Alpine – £149.99

From: Evans Cycles

dhb EQ2.5 Waterproof jacket

Made from waterproof and polyester ripstop Pongee (that’s fine woven cloth, originally silk) treated with Teflon, this 2.5 layer jacket has a mesh liner to keep fabric off clammy skin. It’s got fully taped seams, adjustable cuffs and a pair of zipped chest pockets. The cut is described as ‘medium-fitted’ and has a long, elasticated tail to cover your bum.

Price: £55.99 (currently 20% off)

From: Wiggle

Fox Attack S/S jersey

A nicely loose fitting technical jersey made from panelled Airtex style fabric. Doesn’t Sim look like a lovely ballerina in it?

Price: £44

From: Fox

dhb Trace S/S jersey

A proper racer’s jersey now, made from tight fitting but breathable and anti-bacterially treated polyester. The underarm panels are mesh to keep you cool and there’s a hidden 3/4 length zipper for really hot days. There are three drop pockets round the back and should you desire the team look, you can get matching Trace bibshorts.

Price: £44.99

From: Wiggle

dhb Minima waterproof trousers

These are super lightweight and packable waterproof overtrousers, made for those just-in-case sort of moments when you might not have bothered packing heavy duty waterproofs. They’re made from 2.5 layer Teflon coated polyester and have an extra high elasticated waist with velcro fly. There’s reflective detailing on the legs and ankle zippers with velcro adjusters to cinch them in if needs be.

Price: £30.39 (currently 20% off)

From: Wiggle

dhb Pace Roubaix armwarmers

Made from proper Italian Roubaix Lombardia fabric, with an extra length to ensure they don’t leave any annoying gaps. They’ve got a nicely cut pre-bent elbow to sit without bunching up and silicone grippers to prevent movement.

Price: £14.24 (currently 25% off)

From: Wiggle

Endura Singletrack Sleepless in the Saddle jersey

Twenty four hour racing season is rapidly approaching us and Singletrack Sleepless In The Saddle is coming round – August 4th-5th, put the date in your diaries. You can get prepared with the rather classy official jersey from event sponsors Endura. It’s made from Coolmax material which should keep you cool should the weather be lovely – which we’re damn sure it will be – or warm if it isn’t. It’s got flatlocked seams to keep it comfy for extended periods, say, 24 hours or so.

Price: £TBC

From: Endura

Fox Low Pro hydration pack

As the name suggests, this is a minimalist hydration pack with a 2L bladder, enough space for an energy bar or two plus tools and an elasticated strap for holding a waterproof in place. They’re available in loads of different colours and are made from durable ballistic nylon.

Price: £50

From: Fox

Fox Oasis hydration pack

The fully-redesigned-for-2012 Oasis is a mid sized pack with plenty of internal and external storage, including open or full face helmet strap plus leg armour carriers. The waist belt has storage pockets on it and there’s even a gadget pocket with sealed headphone port.

Price: £62

From: Fox

dhb Ladies Aeron Pro bib short

These are the feminine form friendly Aeron Pro shorts, which are dhb’s top end ladies bibs. They’re made from moisture managing ‘Field Sensor’ fabric with carbon fibre mesh reinforcement on the braces and there’s a dual density 3D ‘Tour Air’ chamois. The multiple panels are designed to give a compression fit, which dhb say helps keep your core stable and improve blood flow. Sadly, Jenn took them away from Sim, so we’ll never know how he’ll look in them.

Price: £74.99

From: Wiggle

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