Hello!
*peers into internet fisheye lens until nose is distorted*
Hello!
It’s the LAST FGF BEFORE CHRISTMAS! Too much coffee (again)! Too many mince pies (again)! IMMINENT BOOZE (again)! Will we ever learn?
No.
All of these things, all of them. They’re thought to be hugely improved by the application of computers and bikeporn. And who are we to disagree? And what’s this loveliness up front? Oooooooooooh…
Vaaru 650 Switch
Price: £1699 frame only
From: Vaaru Cycles
Well now, lookie here. A gorgeous slice of 3Al2V Titanium in a trail-bike stylee, which will apparently work nicely with a fork between 100 – 140mm. It is quite, quite lovely. This one has stardard decals but apparently James from Vaaru can do any sort of custom decal too.
Designed in the UK, it’s hand made in Taiwan by some people who really- really know what they’re doing. LOOK AT THOSE WELDS.
On the front of our sample is a burly Fox 34, and some very fetching blue Hope hubs.
Renthal cockpit; nice wide 780 bars, too. Braaap.
Some lovely, lovely Ti dropouts with an XT 1×11 drivetrain
Here’s a closer look at the dropouts. And a nice shiny blue rotor spider (Chipps maintains that’s the ‘trange driver’ but I’m not convinced.
Lovely seatpost with Vaaru’s logo permanently ensconced (great word, that).H
eadtube and BB shell are 6Al4V Ti, which is even stiffer (and much harder to machine). So kudos for the engraved logo, Vaaru types.
Scott Big Ed
Price: £2149
From: Scott Sports
Now for some reason there are fatbikes which look awful, and there are fatbikes which don’t. And this is one of the latter. Maybe it’s the Euro in me, but to my eyes this one looks ace. Meet Big Ed.
See? LOADS of what can only be described as neon, in a very colour-coordinated manner. Including the fork lockout cable. 2×10 SRAM drivetrain, Shimano brakes, eThirteen crankset and BB… speaking of which
There’s some burly welds, right there.
Even the Syncros wheels get the colour-coordinated treatment.
And the Bluto fork. Can’t wait for a pop on this one, especially when the weather turns (like it hasn’t already).
NixFrixShun lube
Price: $15
From: NixFrixShun
Apparently, you only need 12 drops of this stuff per lube – so it’s got 10,000 miles of lubrication in one bottle. Freeow. And apparently it works in all conditions too! Mwahahahahaha. Let’s see how it copes with a Yorkshire January… it’s Stateside only at the moment, but they will post it out worldwide.
Axiom Fatliner DLX rear rack
Price: £45.00
From: Paligap
It’s a rack. For a fatbike. Adventure ahoy! (because I suspect commuting wouldn’t go so well) Does anyone commute on a fatbike?
SunRace MX3 11-42
Price: £69.99
From: Ison
Got a 10sp shifter, but fancy some of that ol’ HOT big-cog action? This puppy lets you sample the 42t goodness in the comfort of your very own home.11-13-15-18-21-24-28-32-36-42 with aluminium spiders, and a claimed weight of 387g.
SKS Pumps
Price:
- Airboy CO2 – £34.99
- Airboy XL – £24.99
From: Zyro
A
couple of pumps from SKS – the Airboy XL is a minipump with dual-chamber inflation system, and the CO2 is very similar, but with the added convenience of a CO2 cannister. Best of both worlds, innit?
SKS Xboard/Xblade Dirtboard set
Price: £26.99
From: Zyro
Mudguards. Two-tone plastic construction. The front one fits to your downtube; the rear one goes on the seat tube.
SKS Flapguard
Price: £9.99
From: Zyro
It’s a flap, and it guards. You know the drill – sits under your fork brace to reduce clart. You can use it with a downtube guard to protect your front if you’re that way inclined.
2Pure Christmas coffee
Price: less
From: 2Pure
Those lovely people at 2Pure have sent us some coffee from That Ethiopia and some Other Places. As if we weren’t fizzing enough. Thanks guys!
Gore Powertrail Windstopper 2in1 pants
Price: £159
From: Gore
Sort of baggyish at the top and tightish at the bottom for a 2 in one baggy-tight riding pant thing. Windstopper too! More baggy at the front than the back, on first inspection – could these be the things to cut a rug in the MTB world? We’ll find out…
Vaaru blanket
Price: no idea
From: Vaaru Cycles
T
his lovely blanket came wrapped around the Vaaru ^^ up there that’s in for test. James has taken quite a shine to it, and is contemplating using it as a sort of poncho.
Kirby Lonsdale Brewery BEER
Price: £32 for 12
From: Kirby Lonsdale Brewery
The lovely people at the Kirby Lonsdale Brewery stopped by with some of their lovely, lovely beer this week. A wide variety of beers are available in a range of hues and strengths (try their Singletrack ale, folks – it’s very tasty).
And with that, it’s Singletrack Christmas Do time! So we’ll be imbibing too much punch and eating huge quantities of food before wearing paper hats and doing the conga around the office. Tomorrow may well be a write-off as well as (according to the weather) a washout. Have a great one, people! Next Fresh Goods is CHRISTMAS DAY! Awesome! It may be pre-recorded.
ST out.
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“Does anyone commute on a fatbike?”
i have done but to be honest it garners too much attention from snotty nosed school kids and they hurl enough abuse when you are riding a normal bike. + i ride through some dodgy areas where you really don’t want to draw attention to yourself or use the same route more than once!
The Hope blue is rather fetching.
I hope the paint on the Scott is tough as there doesn’t look to be much between it on the seat tube and the rear tyre.
That Vaaru is flipping lush.
“Flapguard” *titter*
Sorry…
🙂 to that cassette! I know what’s going on my bike once the one up wears out…
And that Vaaru – lovely detailing, but maybe it’s the photo, but it looks a bit retro in the angles department compared to the modern long low slack fashion. Seat angle looks very relaxed compared to the HA. Or maybe it’s just me…
Does anyone commute on a fatbike?”
i commute on a road bike across London, some days I hear a rumble behind me coming from a guy overtaking me whilst commuting on a fat bike. I can just about keep up if i really push it but it’s a stretch. I have complete respect for that guy.
He does look like he’s slit his calves open and slotted a couple of house bricks down there…
Brill I can buy a Sunrace cassette for the same price as an XT cassette and an expander that I could then switch onto another cassette when the oft used cogs are worn.
I may be a bit pedantic with my chain lubeing, but how do you get just 12 drops to lube every link, all 116 of them?
I commute on a Fatbike. It’s lush. I just stay off the roads.
Simples.
Peakpedaler – I understand you then run the chain backwards, which lubricates the sprockets, which lubricates the rest of the chain…