Fresh Goods Friday 340

Hellooooo Bank Holiday! We are in you! Bring on the great British traditions:

Friday

• Get up very early and get on the motorway in order to beat the traffic.
• Join a large queue on the motorway (probably caused by someone who got up very early and was too sleepy to notice they didn’t have petrol, or water, or put petrol in when it should have been diesel).

Saturday

• Arrive at the beach, only to discover it is not sunny at the beach.
• Determine that You Are On Holiday At The Seaside, You Will Have Fun, buy candy floss. It blows off the stick into your hair.

Sunday

• Hide chocolate eggs all over the garden, the dog goes out and eats them, spend the day at the vet.

Monday

• Repeat Friday.

Oh but no. It’s not going to be like that really, is it. It’s all going to be lovely. We’re all going to have fun. Team Singletrack is going to be in a cheese coma. Oh yes. Because behold the first item of this week’s Fresh Goods Friday…

Blacksticks Cheese

Some of you might have noticed that Issue 112 included a page of something we love that doesn’t have pedals: cheese. And Blacksticks cheese was one of those featured. Someone in the marketing department must have noticed, because they’ve sent us some more Blacksticks cheese, plus this spreadable easter egg, made with Blacksticks cheese and blueberries. We’re very lucky, because they’ve only made 100 of these (which Chipps says should totally be called Cheeseter eggs). Nom nom nom….you lot just carry on there with the rest of Fresh Goods Friday while we fight over the crackers and cheese….

Pivot Switchblade 29 Pro XT 1x

• Price: £6,970 (includes Reynolds carbon wheel upgrade)
• From: Upgrade Bikes

This devilish slugger is called the Pivot Switchblade. We got our paws on the Switchblade back in June of last year when it was first introduced, though this time the Switchblade is destined for an upcoming magazine group test alongside some other lovely machines that you’ll learn about in due course.

Bringing back the Switchblade name from Pivot Cycles owner Chris Cocalis’ Titus days, the new Switchblade originally came about as a long travel 29er full suspension bike that would slot in above the existing Mach 429 Trail (in terms of travel). During the development of the Switchblade however, the whole 27.5+ thing was taking off, and so Pivot made the decision to create a bike that could be setup with either 29in or 27.5+ wheels. So, here you go.

It’s got 135mm of rear wheel travel courtesy of the DW5 link, and a 150mm travel fork up front. With mega short chainstays for a big 29er (428mm – YES!), Pivot went to a 157mm wide back end to maximise tyre clearance while slamming that rear tyre in nice and close to the BB.

So, does the Switchblade have what it takes to carve through the competition? Is this bike really the best thing since sliced bread? Will its cutting-edge frame design be enough to slash through the marketing babble? You’ll just have to wait and find out if this bike cuts the mustard…

Ride Air

• Price: £59.99
• From: Cooke Components

If you don’t like to carry a pump, or to stand around in the wet while you pump up your tyres, then this might be for you. With none of the waste of a gas canister, you can refill this as many times as you like. Just pump it up with a floor pump (or compressor) before you leave home, pop it in your bottle cage, and pedal away.

Hiplok Z Lok Security Ties

• Price: £14.99
• From: ZyroFisher

Reinforced ties with steel cores, 40cm long zip-tie like, but released by a key. Probably handy for all sorts of attaching stuff to stuff. Like wrists to chairs*.

*Don’t try this at home, please.

Joe’s Eco Tubeless Ready Kit

• Price: £34.99
• From: Cooke Components

Latex free, ammonium free and protein free tubeless sealant, so suitable for people with latex allergies.

Nukeproof Zero MTB Stems

• Price: £41.99
• From: Hotlines UK

Nukeproof is aiming to broaden its reach in the component market. They’ll come on Nukeproof and Vitus bikes, but you can also buy them to upgrade your own machine too, and they’ve sent us a bunch of stuff for us to fit on our various test bikes when we’re swapping and changing things about. Here we have stems in 35mm and 50mm.

Nukeproof Sam Hill Series 760mm Riser Bar

• Price: £44.99
• From:Hotlines UK

The width of bars currently in favour at the EWS, from the man currently in 3rd at the EWS.

Nukeproof Warhead 800mm Riser Bar

• Price: £39.99
• From:Hotlines UK

Wider bars, as favoured by journos…

Nukeproof Sam Hill Series Grips

• Price: £15.99
• From:Hotlines UK

Grips, not actually engraved by Sam Hill personally. But we’ll not sulk.

Nukeproof Horizon Comp Flat Pedals

• Price: £35.99
• From:Hotlines UK

Flat pedals in all teh colours so you can coordinate with everything. Made of nylon reinforced composite.

Nukeproof Horizon Pro Flat Pedals

• Price: £74.99
• From:Hotlines UK

Forged 6061-T6 alloy pedals with CNC finishing, these have been very popular among the flat pedal riders in the office.

Nukeproof Horizon CS Cromo Pedals

• Price: £99.99
• From:Hotlines UK

We’ve had the CL versions of these before, but these are the CS – so a smaller platform. Both ends of the mechanism are spring loaded for easy clipping in from both directions.

Ergon GE1 Slim Factory Grips

• Price: £34.99
• From: Extra

Ergon has spent a lot of time researching hand positions while riding in order to put the squishy bits and the grippy bits where you need them most. These grips are best suited to riders with an elbows out enduro style ride position, as the cushioning and shape may feel uncomfortable if you’re more of an arms in trail rider – who should go for the GA option instead. All these Ergon grips come in a lim and standard fitting.

Ergon GD1 Factory Grips

• Price: £29.99
• From: Extra

These are the downhill model, with rubbery mushrooms on the inside so you can always be clear where your hands are on the bars, and a taper, so they’re narrower where your thumbs sit, and wider on the outside. With all the Ergon grips you need to pay attention to the left and right orientation, as well as the up and down – all that patterning is not for decoration, it’s designed to keep your hands comfortable. So unless your hands are back to front, follow the instructions on the packaging.

Nuun Hydration

• Price: £6.99
• From: Extra

Nuun Active contains electrolytes, while the Nuun Boost contains caffeine. These come in a range of flavours, and the recipe has been changed so that it contains Stevia rather than artificial sweeteners. The Plus tablets are flavourless and can be added to plain water or combined with Nuun Active or Boost to add a carbohydrate hit to your drink.

Clif Bar – Cool Mint Chocolate

• Price: £1.59
• From: Extra

A new flavour from the makers of tasty trail treats.

Clif Bloks and Clif Shot

• Price: £2.69 (Bloks), £1.59 (Shots)
• From: Extra

Another couple of new flavours. Chipps is quite excited about the Margarita flavour Bloks as he’s previously had them in the USA, but now they’re available here! Think cocktails, not pizza. They contain more salt than the standard Bloks, so will be good for sweaty summer days out. The Citrus Clif Shot contains caffeine for a zingy energy boost.

Cane Creek Dropt Dropper Remote

• Price: £54.99
• From: Extra

Perhaps a sign of things to come down the line, Cane Creek is releasing its very own dropper post remote. But as of yet, no dropper…

Instead, Cane Creek has made this universal remote. It will fit whether you route the cable end from the lever or from the base of the post – which means it’ll work with many different droppers. It’s also compatible with SRAM Matchmaker X or you can just clamp it your bars. Pretty neat.

Cane Creek DB Air IL

• Price: £385
• From: Extra

This is the latest Double Barrel Air IL shock. It’s had an internal overhaul to address previous issues experienced with earlier Cane Creek DBInline shocks, and in fact the new internals are available as an upgrade to existing shocks. But if you want a whole shiny new thing, then here it is. It has a climb switch fitted, but if you want a remote climb switch, read on…

Cane Creek Opt Climb Switch

• Price: £54.99
• From: Extra

With wide bars and 1x set ups there’s plenty of room in your cockpit, so why not add this remote climb switch? No need to guddle around between your legs on a technical climb, just press the button and go. This will also work with existing DBInline shocks, as well as the newer IL shocks (including the Coil IL).

Fi’zi:k M3B Shoes

• Price: £229.99
• From: Extra

Disco slippers! Or possibly patent tap dancing ballroom swirling slippers? Carbon soled, BOA dial, stiff XC racing shoes. Claimed weight is 356 grams – floaty light. Good for a foxtrot then?

Crank Brothers Double Shot 3

• Price: £79.99
• From: Extra

A newer and higher end version of the Single Shot. These Double Shot 3s have adjustable pins one side for when you’re riding flats, then you can clip in on the other side when you’re wearing your disco slippers.

Topeak Ninja TC Mountain

• Price: £49.99
• From: Extra

A bottle cage that holds a 20 piece multitool. Cunning. It’s a watertight holder too, and you have to twist the bottom tool holder round to the side to open it, so there’s no danger of the tool falling out even if you somehow knock the catch. There’s a road focussed version of the cage which comes with tyre levers on the side of the cage too. Or read on…

Topeak Ninja CO2

• Price: £36.99
• From: Extra

You can get a cage with a gas canister holder too, or if you want to piggy back on to your existing cage you can use this Ninja CO2 which holds your gas and a valve under your cage. There’s a similar cageless version to hold a multi-tool if that’s what you want too – pick and mix to suit your needs.

Topeak Bike Packing Kit

• Price: £64.99 Back Loader 10L, £27.99 Top Loader, £45.99 Mid Loader 4.5L, £64.99 Front Loader
• From: Extra

All the gear, now where to go? Beat the motorway traffic by making your family ride to your next holiday destination. This range of luggage from Topeak is weatherproof but not fully waterproof – keeping the cost and weight down – and there’s a few nifty little touches…

This Back Loader also comes in a 6L option at £54.99. It comes with a dry bag designed to fit snugly inside the pack, so even though the pack itself is only weatherproof, your stuff still stays dry. As you roll up the back end to compress it to the quantity of your luggage, it reveals tabs on the back where you can fit a rear light, no matter how full or empty your pack.

This little Top Loader can be fitted to either a stem or seat post, making it suitable for either end of your top tube. It contains a waterproof rain cover (like you pull out the bottom of many back packs), so you can cover it up and keep you snacks dry as you pedal along.

The Front Loaders is a harness and dry bag combo. The dry bag features a valve so you can release the air as you roll it up, and compress your luggage as much as possible. It attaches to your bars using two plastic ratchet straps which have clips fitted so that you can easily unclip the bag and walk off with your luggage, leaving the ratchet fittings on your bars for when you come back. No need for endless fiddling and adjustment. To make it even easier for that sight seeing stop, there’s a strap that compresses your luggages lengthways while your travelling, but then turns into an over the shoulder carry strap while you’re taking in the sights. And if you’ve got a souvenir that you simply have to have, there’s another set of straps for extended carrying ability – a sleeping mat, or a log for your campfire later maybe?

This Mid Loader frame bag also comes in a 3L size at £36.99. The zips give access to the storage from either side of the bike, and the straps on the ends are removable.

Right! That’s your lot! We’re off to join the queue on the motorway. Or maybe we’ll just stay at home and head for the trails. Whatever you’re doing this lovely long weekend, have a good one. In fact, have as much fun as these guys are having. And if you are avoiding visiting relatives, we recommend you go for a long poo and check out their whole You Tube library.

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