The Singletrack crew has been going a bit demob crazy today. We just sent the fine issue 113 off to the printers yesterday and might then have nipped to the pub for a swift pint in the beer garden. However, with the magazine out of the way, it’s time to catch up on real life and get on with bringing you the news of all that’s fresh and good in the world. And there are some great things in store – including the most glowy bike we’ve seen for a while. And as we all bake in this May warmth, we’re wondering the same as you – that thought of ‘Perhaps this will be the year that we get a proper, dry, hot summer and we can ride bikes every day with nothing but a gentle coating of dust to show for it.’ – and then it generally rains every day that June and we all get sad. We’ve been trying to get Australian Wil, who’s never seen a British June, to manage his expectations, but no. He is, quite literally preparing to put another shrimp on the barbie.
And, so, without further ado, let’s look into the world of Fresh Goods Friday.
DMR Sled
- Price: £1599 frame only, approx £3499 as built.
- From: Upgrade Bikes
Not to be confused with a DMR Shed, an actual company that makes sheds in Australia… (and who knew that there was a Shed Blog? OK, probably lots of people.) This is the Sled model from DMR Bikes and it’s way more interesting than an shed, right?
Launched with great fanfare at this January’s Core Bike Show, this UK designed 160mm rear travel bike is pretty up to the minute for what people are using to race enduros and for those hard days out in the big mountains. The bike comes in metallic black or this incredible ‘Infrared’ colour that glows with awesome. With a rating for use with up to a 180mm fork, could this even be the ideal mini downhill machine for UK courses?
Our bike has the Lyrik fork build and is ready to rip, out of the box. We’ll be bringing you word of how well it goes in a few weeks.
DMR Sled Specifications
- 6061 series alloy frame
- 160mm rear travel travel
- ‘Orbit Link’ virtual pivot suspension design
- RockShox Monarch RT3 Debonair shock
- Collet style main pivot hardware
- 27.5in wheels
- Rated for 160-180mm fork travel
- 65.5° head angle (w/160mm travel fork)
- 430mm chainstay length
- Syntace 148x12mm thru-axle
- 73mm threaded bottom bracket
- Internal front triangle routing
- Clearance for up to 2.5in tyres
- Colours: Metallic Black or InfraRed
- Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
- Frame RRP: £1599 (w/RockShox Monarch Shock)
- Bike RRP: £3500
Specialized Andorra DriRelease Merino 3/4 jersey
- Price: £55
- From: Specialized
When Georgia came to visit us from Specialized, she was wearing one of these and has now sent one for Hannah to try out. Hannah *may* be hoping it makes her look as young and fresh as Georgia. Made with 84% Polyester, 11 % Merino, 5% Spandex jersey with added ‘FreshGuard’, at least Hannah will be nice and fresh and non-stinky (if not actually younger looking). Tucked away in the side seam is an invisible zip to a small rear pocket.
Paperweight
You can’t buy this. It’s a piece of history. Sealed inside is a piece of the first Rocky Mountain Powerplay prototype. Rumour has it that if you smash this open, the gods of hellfire burst forth and will wreak their havoc on the earth. Either that, or you’re going to have to go round with the vacuum. But one or the other, OK?
Prana Protein
- Price: £1.49 per shake sachet, £5.99 300g chia seeds, £1.39 per bar
- From: Prana Protein
For those who are taking training very seriously, or are vegetarian, pork pie is not such a great source of protein. These products from Prana Protein might help (‘Prana’ means ‘life force’ in Sanskrit, fact fans). If there’s not enough protein in the shakes (which come in chocolate, coconut or vanilla flavour), you can add a few chia seeds. Although not more than 15g of them per day (we’re not sure what happens if you overdose on chia), so no overindulging in the chia seeds, you greedy lot.
As well as the shakes and seeds, there are protein bars which are suitable for vegans, and anyone else that likes goji berries, chia seeds, and so on. They’re also suitable for anyone with wheat or gluten allergies. If you’re already missing out on beer and pork pies, then at least you won’t be missing out on these.
Adidas Evil Eye Pro L
- Price: £169.99
- From: Adidas
About as close to a pair of goggles as you can get without actually wearing goggles, these glasses feature a detachable foam sweat bar, ventilation to stop them steaming up, and wraparound design for maximum field of vision and protection. Wil is hoping the weather continues so that he can get a fair bit of testing in.
Rock Guardz PG350
Price: £19.99
From: Rock Guardz
From those Rock Guardz folks who brought you all manner of lovely carbon fibre mudguards, comes this far more affordable plastic moulded version. Still with the great shape and mud fending design, this now comes in at under 20 quid. It’s still a lot more rigid than the polypropylene sheet guards that you see on many bikes and it’s designed to work on a range of forks, from Fox 32s up to the 40 and the Boxxer.
And, as Rock Guardz says “designed specifically as small as possible but with big mud-topping capabilities”
Stickers will be fitted as standard, or you can have a stealth one without stickers if you prefer.
Dakine Syncline Shorts
Price: €80 (without liner)
From: Dakine
Definitely shorts in the new style – long enough to be worn without looking silly with pads, but slim enough that they don’t flap in the breeze – even with Wil’s chicken legs inside them.
Andi’s Production Privee Shan No.5
- Price: 1899 Euros (frame only)
- From: Production Privee
We saw Andi’s Production Privee Shan No5 last week in Wil’s unboxing video which led to 20,000 people seeing the frame before Andi had. Currently, only 50 Shan No5 have been produced and according to the sticker on the top tube of Andi’s bike this is number 44 of 50 frames.
This custom build features a DVO Diamond for, Spank Ozzy trail wheels, Shimano XT drivetrain, Rockshox Reverb dropper, Production Privee bar and stem and Burgtec pedals. Complete weight is 35lbs and, apparently, it climbs quite well.
Knight 27.5 Trail Wheels
Price:£1998 with DT240 wheels.
From:Knight Compositeswww.knightcomposites.com
You might not have heard about Knight Composite wheels, but it is fast getting the word out for its cyclocross, road, XC and now enduro carbon wheels. Complete wheels are built in the USA with DT or Chris King (or Project 321) hubs. This Trail wheelset features a 25mm internal, 30mm external width and a smooth, EPS moulded internal for a smooth internal profile. We know that David Turner is a fan of the wheels and the two companies were sharing booths at this year’s Sea Otter. Expect to see more of Knight in the next year as it chases after those ‘other’ carbon companies. And, no, they don’t come with tyres. But ours did. How about that?
Continental Kaiser Projekt 2.4 ProTection Apex
Price: £74.95
From: Continental UK.
Our tame Lakeland tyre shredder, Mr Vincent has been sent this set of Conti Kaiser Projekt 2.4in tyres with ALL of the protections. He’s going to be schralping his way across the unforgiving terrain up there in the pursuit of a rubber test of monumental proportions. If he can’t wear a hole in them, then you’re going to hear about it. These have a four-ply casing with ProTection Apex and are intended for dry to loose-ish conditions. They come in a hair under the magic kilo and they’ve been developed for UCI DH racers and EWS jockeys. This is the Black Chili version and, as such, is made in Germany.
And who shall we get to play us out as we melt into the weekend? Let’s go for some acoustic guitar slapping from the great Jon Gomm.
Comments (1)
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Stealth black stickers on carbon rims are definitely the way to go.
None of this ‘Look at how much I’ve spent’ rubbish.