Fresh Goods Friday 132

Have we got a show for you today folks, roll right up for the spectacle that is…
… Fresh Goods Friday.

Norco Sight.

We’re going to be looking at what £1800 will buy you these days. As well as 360.7 jars of bacon salt, you can get this Norco Sight 3 SE. The Sight has been getting rave reviews all over the place so we’re keen to see if the hype is justified.

It certainly looks the part with Slimer-green highlights, a 142mm back-end, genuine four bar linkage, tapered headtube and some rather fancy hydroforming.

Understated shouting? Fox bits front and rear is impressive for £1800, and the Deore/SLX drivetrain shouldn’t cause any complaints.

Canadian, eh? The UK has always had a bit of a soft spot for our Canuck cousins, mostly because we can sympathise with each other’s weather, so hopes are high for the Sight.

Tyres might be a touch optimistic, but then optimism is a beautiful thing.

Price: £1800
From: Evans Cycles

Formula R1 disc brakes.

Formula have a reputation for lightweight disc brakes, and the R1s carry on that tradition. At 270g (claimed) for the brake including an 850mm hose, 160 mm rotor and all hardware they will appeal to those with an aversion to weight.
For some tips on how to use the R1s properly you’re best listening to Fabien Barel.

Price: £219 an end.
From: Silverfish

Formula T1 25th Anniversary Edition brakes.

If regular Formulas are a bit too, well, regular, you’ll need a set of these. The T1 25th anniversary brakes are to commemorate the fact that Formula has been going for quarter of a century. Only 600 sets will be made so it’s unlikely you’ll see many about. The T1 aims to blend AllMountainGnar with light weight and the 25th anniversary set throws on some chrome plated looks and laser etching for good measure. They even come in a special 25th anniversary box!

Braking doesn’t have to be boring. A bit of flare never goes amiss.

Classy stopping power.

Price: £499
From: Silverfish

Spiuk Compass Trail Shoes.

Accrington Stanley? Who are they? Exactly.
Spiuk may not exactly be a household name but the gear we’ve seen from them has been pretty tip-top. These Compass shoes are in for an upcoming trail shoe test. With a water resistant membrane and a Vibram sole they’ve got at least two ticks next to their name, how they fair in the real world; well, we’ll have to see.

Price: £99.99
From: Silverfish

Renthal FatBar Lite.

Ian Collins popped by the office this week with more piping than a plumbers van. The FatBar Lite takes the characteristics of the much loved FatBar and squeezes them into 740mm. Less width, but less weight too. Available in 10mm, 20mm, 30mm and 38mm rise, just like the FatBar, so you can get the cockpit position you’ve always wanted.

Price: £59.99
From: Ison Distribution

Renthal Grips

Not content with just giving us somewhere to put our shifters and brake levers, Ian also left us with a veritable spread of different compound grips. The most interesting of which is probably the Kevlar particle infused version. The idea being as the grip wears down, more of the Kevlar particles are exposed, helping to resist wear but keeping that oh-so-soft feel.

Price: £24.99 for the Kevlar version, £21.99 for the rest.
From: Ison Distribution

Halo Twin Rail II 29 S.

One of those ‘wouldn’t it be cool’ projects that we’ve had flash into our over-caffeinated brains on occasion is a supermotard 29er. Imagine something like Intense’s 951 29er but with slicks for braarping down to Co-Op. Should such a dream become reality we would probably spec some of these Halo Twin Rail II tyres. Slick enough for speed but with a bit of tread to keep it all OK if we hit the dirt round the back of the swimming pool.

Price: £36.99
From: Ison Distribution

Mont Blanc Bike Rack.

Now Matt has a small child to rattle round the inside of his Volvo estate he needs to keep the sharp pointy stuff on the outside, so he’s testing out this roof bar/bike carrier from Mont Blanc. His take so far:
“The Discovery is no run-of-the-mill bike carrier, it’s got some clever stuff going on. When the bike is clamped into position and the clamp is locked round the bike’s downtube or the clamp is attached to a nipple (for want of a better word) on the  bike rack and the key is locked on the clamp, you can’t lift the arm so the levers that hold the rack to the roof can’t be moved, so the bike rack can’t be stolen off the roof bars. Takes up to 2.3″ tyres fine, you just need to let a few psi out to get the bigger ones to fit.
First impressions of motorway and ‘car park corner tests’; seems very good.”

Just needs a ‘Remember: bike on top’ sticker on the inside of the windscreen for low-flying car park barriers…

Price: Aluminium Ready Fit bars for the Volvo are £159.99. Discovery Bike Carriers are £139.99 each.
From: Mont Blanc

Enve XC 29 rims on DT 240 hubs.

Whoever gets to test this set of wheels will certainly be getting some envious looks from the rest of us. At just 1450g these could be the lightest 29er wheels we’ve seen as well as some of the best looking.

DT 240 hubs are top draw stuff. Light, strong, quiet with quick engagement. The perfect hub for such a high zoot rim to spin round.

Enve know carbon and it’s fair to say they pitch themselves at the upper end of the carbon spectrum. Chipps went to see them last year at their Utah HQ to learn more about their black magic. Read about it here.

Price: £750 rim only. Wheels as shown? Well, if you’ve got to ask…
From: Saddleback