It’s the end of the working week and so only one thing remains; no, not going down to the pub at lunchtime and coming back two hours later stinking of beer – far from it. It’s time for a look at all the new mountain biking bits’n’bobs that have landed in the office this week…
Northwave Concept Jacket
Within seconds of putting this very Italian jacket on Sim was a changed man. He started adopting poses like this and doing a lot of gesticulating. He seems to have calmed down now he’s has a series of espressos and cigarettes though. The Concept uses Northwave’s NW4Pro membrane material, which feels kind of soft shell-esque and it’s claimed to provide wind-proofing and durability while giving plenty of breathability. Most of the panels use a stretch material for maximum comfort, while elbows and shoulder sections are reinforced. This is an XL, so either Sim has got pretty lardy on his honeymoon or sizing is classic Italian cyclist…
Price: £129.99
From: Evans
Northwave NW4Pro Concept Bib Tights
To match the Concept jacket, we’ve been sent the similarly windproof tights. They use the same stretchy-but-breathable NW4Pro material with mesh braces, flatlocked seams and a zipped front. Northwave’s top Elite Gel pad should keep you comfy on distance treks and those seams are also reflective to keep you visible in murky conditions.
Price: £109.99
From: Evans
Derbyshire and the Peak District guidebook
This is the third edition of the classic guidebook, now expanded up to a total of 29 routes. There’s something for everyone, with routes between 6-38 miles in length complete with colour maps and photos, full instructions and details on local services and which OS map you’ll be wanting to take. It’s also got tips on bike and kit selection, impact reduction and local information.
Price: £12
From: The Ernest Press
Renthal SR4 120 chainring
Should you desire a single ring setup but find your options limited by the 120mm bolt circle diameter of your SRAM 2×10 cranks, then Renthal have come to the rescue with a trio of rings from 36-38T. Thanks to the threaded tabs, they’ll bolt directly on using the original chainring bolts, the shifting ramp free teeth are slightly offset to improve the chainline and keep your shifting crisp. They’re made from durable, hard anodised 7075 T6 aluminium and they’re also compatible with 8-10spd chains.
Price: £39.99
From: Ison Distribution
Electron Milli lights twin pack
With a dedicated USB charger, the Milli lights are designed to be a stylish and simple urban or commuting light, with quick to remove stretchy straps, water resistant port covers in the silicon outer and a runtime of up to 11 hours on flashing mode, charging in just 2.5 hours. They use a single, bright LED per unit with lens to project the light as far as possible and they come in a load of funky colours…
Price: £29.99
From: Madison
Electron Super Urban lights twin pack
If the Milli just doesn’t seem bright enough for you, then the Super Urban packs twice the punch with two LEDs per light, putting out a total of 1W of power. As you can see from the lenses, one is designed to spread the beam widely while the other is a more focussed affair, giving decent coverage. They run from two (included) AAA batteries and will give up to 100 hours on the flashing mode. They can be fixed to a handlebar or seatpost vertically or horizontally, the neat clip-style mount meaning they can be attached to clothing as well.
Price: £39.99
From: Madison
Electron Backupz Tristar light
No, it’s not a magical key to unlock another world, it’s a tiny but bright rear light – surprisingly bright if the spots in my vision are real instead of a metaphysical hangover of my dimensional transplant. It’s tiny enough to leave in your riding bag, attaches using a simple velcro strap and lasts up to 360 hours, which is rather impressive. The three LEDs mean you can be seen from a number of angles and it’s also reflective to aid being noticed even when it isn’t switched on.
Price: £14.99
From: Madison
Electron Terra 3 front light
Moving away from the commuter lights, we’ve got the 800 lumen Terra 3. As the name suggests, it’s got three Seoul LEDs with focused lens reflector in a machined alloy body which also houses the Li-Ion battery to give a claimed run time of four hours on the high setting. Should you need to conserve power it also has medium and strobing settings, controlled by a simple waterproof push button on the rear. It’ll charge from a USB port or with the included mains charger.
Price: £149.99
From: Madison
Vulpine Cotton Visibility Gilet
Vulpine have declared “death to the high viz vest” and want to replace it in the bikey world with less ‘trad’ items, such as this bright green gilet. That’s a bit of a shame – a fluoro yellow vest is an excellent (and highly visible) sign that you are about to be told why modern drivetrains are no match for the simple and reliable Sturmey Archer three-speed, giving you time to escape.
The silicon treated cotton gives wind and water resistance, while neatly tailored and highly reflective Scotchlite detailing means you’ll glow nicely in the dark. There’s a fold out bum to protect from rear wheel spray and the collar uses a pair of magnetic tabs to hold it in place. The upper back is mesh and combined with the natural breathability of woven cotton it means you shouldn’t get too sweaty. It counts none other than broadcasting legend and cycling advocate Jon Snow amongst its fans too…
Price: £95
From: Vulpine
Fenwick’s Stealth Mountain Bike Kit
If you’re serious about keeping your bike clean, lubed and generally free of filth and strange noises then you can do a lot worse than the Stealth kit from Fenwicks. In a rather handy carrying case that doubles as a bucket you get everything you need to help a bike survive winter. There’s a bottle of concentrated FS-1 cleaner along with a ready to go bottle of FS-10 and spray nozzle, plus a sponge for buffing duties. You also get their neat foaming chain cleaner plus a specialised chain cleaning sponge, a can of multi-purpose lube, disk brake cleaner and silicone suspension spray. To top it off they’ve got their new Stealth chain lube, which cunningly bonds to you chain to provide extra durable lubrication.
Price: £39.99
From: Zyro
Comments (13)
Comments Closed
Looks like the postie has been holding out on you this week, not the usual collection of items to drool over! The Northwave jacket looks like they’ve borrowed quite a bit of the styling from the Mavic range, cheeky.
Cutting a bit of a Jose Mourinho look there Sim
Does the cover of that guidebook say “revised and updated 3rd edition for 2009”? Stuck in a corner of the sorting office, un-noticed, for the last 3 years…?
That 3 x Led looks good, no wires and 4 hours on high!!!
not bad price either
does it come with a helmet mount of any type?
Terra 3 Amend, a couple of details are incorrect, website has been upodated.
3 x Cree XP-G R5 leds
3 modes, 800, 500, 250 lumens. (no flash mode)
3 hrs guaranteed on high, the reality is that in most conditions you’ll get over 4.
No official helmet mount for this. More info here
http://www.electronlights.co.uk/lights/rechargeable/terra-3
Cheers, Matt (Electron)
I’d imagine that even with Li-Ion batteries, the Terra 3 is probably a bit weighty to be considering helmet mounting?
I’d imagine that even with Li-Ion batteries, the Terra 3 is probably a bit weighty to be considering helmet mounting?
Good Point
it weighs in at 287g including the mount according to the website?
“Fold out bum” – my ar$e is big enough thanks.
Got my Vulpine Storm Cap this AM in the post. Very nice and the medium (which is the largest size they do (?)) is more than big enough for my big conk!
I got quite excited about the “new edition” of the Peaks book. Until I saw “new and revised for 2009”!
I guess the trails don’t change much do they! :o)
I’ve had a Terra 3 on order from months, but they keep pushing back the delivery date 🙁
£95 for a hi-viz gilet!!!***?? WTF!!
I despair of my fellow cyclists that the company obviously thinks it can sell them. I can understand wanting a better quality than one nicked from a delivery driver’s van but £95, words nearly failed me.
Milli lights, just got mine from that well known large box retailer crc, rear light under a tenner, looks great…After losing so many lights from my seat-post looks a winner. Elasticated built in mount…v cool.