Fresh Goods Friday 373

Yay! It’s Friday! Not a Friday of any colour, just a random Friday in…wait…December? But that means it’s…December? We’re already nearly at the shortest day of the year, daylight will be with us again soon, there are surely only a few more weeks of this cold dark suffering ahead? December will sway by in a haze of food and drink only consumed once a year, January will be a lost month of good intentions probably foiled, and then February is practically spring. So let’s be cheerful. And on that positive note, before we leap ahead of ourselves into early 2018, let’s check out today’s Fresh Goods Friday…

Bird Zero AM Boost

• Price: £1,641
• From: Bird Cycles

Launched just last week, this bike is already setting hearts a flutter. Just look at it – any hardtail fan is surely going to get quite excited. This is the top of the range GX Eagle version, but complete bikes start at £1,374, and frame sets are available from £400.

We’ve got this super acid yellow version, which will be available soon. Available on their site now are blue and orange options, and a stealth black is to follow too.

For all the details on this, check out our launch story here.

Deuter Pulse 4 Exp

• Price: £40.00
• From: Deuter

With a claimed 2L capacity plus sleeve for a bottle, we’re going to find out if this pack gives us just enough room to carry the kit we all need on every ride. There are four separate zipped pockets – so you can keep you jelly babies away from your pies should you feel the need.

Pearl Izumi X-Alp Enduro V5

• Price: £99.00
• From: Madison

An all mountain trail shoe designed to be comfortable for hike a bikes. Unusually for women’s shoes they come all the way up to a size 43 – perfect for our big footed Beate then. There’s also a men’s version of these, will a yellow sole.

USWE Airborne 2 Pack

• Price: £69.99
• From: Madison

Pictures cannot accurately portray just how BRIGHT PINK this pack is. It is however available in a variety of other colours, although the boys in the office are very keen on this one. With a 2L carrying capacity for kit, or less if you put the 1.6L bladder in, this is designed to hold just enough for rides up to 3 hours or so long. The elastic parachute style straps hold the bag still so it doesn’t wriggle around while you’re riding.

Mars Protein Mix

• Price: £37.99 for 800g
• From: Madison

If you’re watching what you eat after a ride and trying not to get home and devour a whole loaf of bread, this could be what you’re looking for. Mix it up with cold water for a Mars bar flavoured protein shake.

Alpkit Bags

• Price: £27 (Enduro Pod), £65 (Medium Possum)
• From: Alpkit

Made in the UK and available in six colours, the blue Enduro pod attaches to your top tube and is designed to be just big enough for a spare tube and the other repair kit you might need when enduro racing. Or indeed bike testing – our Wil is going to be using it to help him swap the essentials between his many test bikes. The yellow bag here is the Possum, in a size medium. Available in three different sizes, the Possum also comes in six different colours. Designed to carry your stuff on either a short trail ride, or as part of a bigger bike packing set up, it attaches to your frame with a series of Velcro straps. Also, made in the UK, it has a main pocket and a smaller side pocket, and designed to be waterproof.

Love Mud Detonator

• Price: £15
• From: Alpkit

A track pump with a maximum pressure of 160psi and both Presta and Schrader valve compatibility. Comes with Alpkit’s ‘3 year Alpine Bond’ guarantee. Given that valves seem to be one of the few standards to actually stay standard, that might actually come in handy.

Guy Martin Proper Cleaner

• Price: £6.50 1.5 litres-worth, including the spray bottle, £5 for just the pellets.
• From: Guy Martin

Some TV stars produce fragrance lines just in time for Christmas, but Guy Martin has gone for launching a bike cleaner. Anyway, he’s not a TV star, he’s a truck mechanic, right? These wrapped pellets get mixed in with water (by your own fair hand, with your own water – saving postage and shipping) to create a cleaner you can wash your bike with (and presumably your truck, if you’ve got a really big squirter). Not to be confused with suppositories or dishwasher tabs.

Alrighty-tighty then. Let us proceed to the weekend. Since Wil is away on his holidays, this week’s tunes will feature actual instruments. And since we have a forum regular who is in hospital with a poorly toe, we’re going for a toe theme. Tom, this one’s for you, hope you’re up and dancing soon.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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