Fresh Goods Friday 368

Oh sunshine, how we remember thee. Your warming glow, the endless light you provided to illuminate our path, those wonderful long evenings – these are the memories you so generously gave us. Memories that will last for long in our minds, and forever in our hearts. Sadly though, those long-lost days are now numbered. Specifically to two.

Yes it’s the sad end of daylight savings (and the start of daylight cravings) this weekend, which for those who reside in the more northern latitudes of planet earth, means our long afternoons are soon to be snatched away from us, in place of 4pm sunsets and a distinct lack of Vitamin D for the next five months.

All together now; “hmmmmmmph”

Oh well, what you gunna do about it? Get your night lights out and crack on with riding, that’s what! Well, not right now, because you’ve still got one precious weekend of normalness to savour before everything gets dark and sad. So lets set you off on the right foot before the weekend with this week’s instalment of Fresh Goods Friday!

Gensis Mantle 20

• Price: £2599
• From: Genesis

If anything can brighten the impending darkness of daylight cravings, a new bike would surely do the trick. So how’s a 2018 Genesis Mantle 20 then? It’s a new carbon fibre hardtail from Genesis that’s made for going fast. The frame is designed around 29in wheels, a 100mm travel fork and geometry that leans towards the more contemporary side.

The back end is relatively tight at 435mm, and a healthy 65mm bottom bracket keeps the Mantle low-slung. The frame itself is massively oversized through the PF92 bottom bracket junction, with a gargantuan downtube and head tube that look like they’ve been borrowed from some kind of nuclear submarine. On the note of the frame, it can be had on its own for £1499, or in two complete bike builds; the Mantle 20 we’ve got here (£2599) or the higher-end Mantle 30 (£3599).

Expect a more detailed First Look feature on the bike soon, and we’ve got a speedy tester lined up to give the ol’ (Ed: err, new?) Genesis Mantle a thorough razzing over the next few months to see what it’s racing chops are like.

Pearl Izumi X-Alp

• Price: £TBC
• From: Madison

Shoes so fresh, they’re not even available yet! We were first introduced to the new Pearl Izumi X-Alp shoes at Eurobike, and we’ve since been sent a very special pair to test. Right now, this is the only pair in the country, and they’re rather interesting due to the custom Vibram rubber sole that Pearl Izumi has used to provide a smoother and stickier surface through the ball of the foot where it contacts the pedal body. Expect a full review soon once we’ve given them a good thrashing over the coming winter months.

Continental CycloXKing 700x32c Tyre

• Price: £49.95
• From: Continental UK

No, those aren’t XC race tyres, they just look very similar. They’re actually 32mm wide cyclocross tyres made by Continental, and they feature a tread pattern derived from the popular X-King. Wrapped on a supple 180tpi casing, the CycloXKing is handmade in Germany with the Black Chili rubber compound and has a claimed weight of 320g per tyre. If you’re into that sort of thing, head over to Grit.cx for more.

Lazer Roller MIPS Helmet

• Price: £64.95
• From: Madison

A roller derby helmet? Hmm, you could use it for that I ‘spose, but I think Lazer had mountain biking in mind with its new Roller helmet. Essentially a cheaper alternative to the Revolution, the Roller features a chunky MTB-specific profile that’s built with EPS foam and a hard PC outer shell. The visor is fixed, and there’s a little less in-molding compared to the Revolution, which helps to get the price down under 70 quid. However, the Roller does feature a MIPS liner, which is impressive at this price point.

The new Roller helmet is available in three sizes (Small, Medium & Large), and it comes in a kerbillion colours, including a bunch of matte colours like these grey and red ones.

Shimano Deore M6000 Groupset

• Price: £315 – £465
• From: Madison

This big package arrived just a little too late for last week’s Fresh Goods Friday, so we’ll squeeze it into this week’s edition instead. It’s the latest Shimano Deore M6000 groupset, which is now available in the UK. Individual components have been out in the real world for a couple of months, but now is your chance to get the whole shebang. If you want the full rundown on each new component including individual pricing and confirmed weights, get your peepers onto the detailed First Look story.

Snact Nutrition Assorted

• Price: £4.99 – £5.99
• From: Snact

These are fruit-filled energy bars from Snact, but they’re not made from any old fruit. They’re made from unwanted bananas that would otherwise be rejected by supermarkets and green grocers for being ‘too ugly’ or not quite ripe enough. Rather than being thrown out, Snact use them along with oats and pumpkin seeds to make their Banana Bars in three flavours. Not only are the ingredients sustainable, the packaging is too – it’s biodegradable and will compost at about the same rate as a banana peel – how cool is that! Oh, and they make fruit jerky too, which we can confirm is very tasty.

Hutchinson Taipan Hardskin 29×2.25in Tyre

• Price: £49.95
• From: Windwave

The crew at Windwave sent us a box full of Hutchinson Taipan tyres that we’ll be using as a control tyre for an upcoming bike test. The reason we’ve gone for these? They’re pitched as an all-rounder XC/trail tyre that straddles the gap between superlight dry-condition race tyres, and chunkier, heavier mud tyres. Measuring 2.25in wide and featuring Hutchinson’s reinforced Hard Skin sidewall technology, they come with a 770gm claimed weight for the 29er version. The model we’ve got uses the faster-rolling Race Ripost rubber compound, though they’re also offered in a stickier ‘Enduro’ version too.

Altura Mayhem 2 Waterproof Jacket

• Price: £119.95
• From: Altura

According to Altura, this is the British company’s best waterproof jacket yet. It’s called the Mayhem 2, and it’s designed as a tough mountain bike-specific jacket with an in-built hood, a full length zipper and an adjustable hem. Using a waterproof/breathable membrane, the Mayhem 2 boasts a 15,000mm waterproof rating, and a 15,000g/m2 breathability rating, making it a worthy option for taking on the doom and gloom of winter.

There’s a zippered hand pocket on each side, and the cuffs use a velcro strap to tighten them over the top of your gloves. Two different colour options available, and sizes start at Small and go up to a XX-Large. The overall fit is ‘relaxed’, which we think is the look that Amanda is going for here.

Bell 4Forty MIPS Helmet

• Price: £89.95
• From: ZyroFisher

Brand new from Bell, the 4Forty helmet is an all-mountain lid that slots in underneath the venerable Super helmet. Despite the lower price point, the 4Forty is packed with features including MIPS technology, an adjustable visor and a fully adjustable ‘Float Fit’ harness. Coverage is substantial like the Super, so you get bucket-like coverage around the sides and back of the helmet.

Oh and don’t want the MIPS? There’s also a standard version of the 4Forty helmet that ditches the MIPS liner and comes in at 20 quid less at £69.99. All of the 4Forty helmets come in no less than four different shell sizes to cover noggins from 52-56cm (Small) all the way up to 61-65cm (XL), which means even the biggest of heads should be covered.

Fizik Luna X5 S-Alloy Women’s Saddle

• Price: £89.99
• From: ExtraUK

Italian saddle manufacturer Fizik has got some sweet new lady’s saddles in the form of the new Luce (Road) and Luna (MTB). Naturally we’ve got the off-road version, which gets reinforced Microtex fabric scuff panels on either side of the upper, along with a carbon-reinforced base and S-alloy metal rails. The cutout profile, 141mm width and IschialFlex base have been designed specifically to “create comfortable freedom for the rider’s soft tissue“.

Endura MT500 Plus Waterproof Overshoes

• Price: £44.99
• From: Endura

Based on all your previous comments, there’s been a lot of anticipation for these new MT500 Plus overshoes from Endura. Why the excitement? They’re waterproof booties designed specifically for flat pedal shoes – a product that up until now, hasn’t really existed. The MT500 Plus overshoes use some similar design aspects to the existing MT500 overshoes, including a waterproof neoprene upper and a high cut design that goes over your ankles and (ideally) underneath your waterproof trousers.

There are several key differences. The first being that the booties are cinched down at the back with velcro, rather than with a zipper. The most important difference however is in the base, which is made from heavy duty molded rubber and features a larger opening around the ball of the foot to allow for full contact between the sole of your shoes and the pedal body. This thick molded rubber base is purported to be plenty durable, though we’ll be mushing our two test pairs into the sharp pins of plenty of pedals over the coming few weeks to bring you our full review. Stay tuned…

Aaaaaaand that’s your fill for this week’s Fresh Goods Friday haul! We hope you’ve enjoyed, and we hope you have your sights set on some riding action for the weekend. Several Singletrack team members will be enjoying the wind and rain up at Fort William at the Relentless 24hr this weekend, so think of them when you’re snuggling up with a doona on the couch in front of the fire. Just enjoy how warm and dry you are, and how pleasant that is. For those of you who are also going to Relentless, well…err…have a good time?

ST Out.

---