Begin Your Weekend Wind Down Here With Fresh Goods Friday 380

Fresh Goods

by 7

We will not mention the weather.

We will not mention the impending deadline for the next issue of Singletrack Magazine.

We will not moan about flu, Australian or otherwise.

No, we shall keep the mundane irritations of every day life out of here, because we know that you come to escape all that. You come to imagine what might lie ahead, to wonder at the innovation and invention, and to marvel at that which has been created. Behold the new and shiny things. Perceive the fine machining. Survey the welds and scoff at the price. Note that you had one of those ten years ago and it’s still working. Witness the wonder, and wonder at the socks.

Here there are no conference calls, no choosing from the following options (press 9 to hear those again), no spreadsheets and no dress codes (though Lord knows the latter two might not be such a bad idea). Set aside your bugs in the code and your recursive loops. Mute your phone, your pager and your FitBit reminders to get up and walk about.

Settle down, take five, and give your wish hormones a gallop with today’s Fresh Goods Friday…

Intense Primer Expert

Something about this makes us want to go to the seaside.

Delivered at a new price and through a new business model, this Intense Primer comes with 29in wheels and 130mm of travel front and rear. This Expert model is one up from the bottom of the five model range and comes with a Rock Shox Revelation fork and Monarch RL shock.

Carbon fibre frame.

Both front and rear triangles of the frame are carbon fibre, with an alloy top link. At this spec you also get SRAM GX Eagle, Shimano XT brakes, Cane Creek headset, and DT Swiss M1900 wheels.

Proper headbadge.

Bell Super DH MIPS Helmet

Rowdy mode.

A versatile two piece helmet from Bell. We can’t help but think that this would go rather nicely with some of the black and gold JPS style paint jobs we seen on a few bikes recently. Maybe with a nice black ninja outfit and black and gum shoes? Should we sack the Singletrack stylist? There’s a stack of other colours available if you have other sartorial requirements.

Just going for a ride mode.

Of course, looking pretty isn’t everything, and this helmet is packed with features to make it perform. The chin bar is removable without tools, it has a port for your goggles, a snap-in camera mount and plenty of ventilation.

Electra Unicorn Socks

Hannah is being a unicorn, Chipps is…erm…doing the YMCA?

Trek has a pretty wild selection of socks tucked away in its apparel corner. These have sparkly unicorns on them.

Granite Rock Band

Available in a range of colours.

This is a sort of strap within a strap, best explained by watching the video here. The inner Velcro loop holds your innertube, pump, and tyre levers against the Rock Band, and then the secured bundle sits against the frame, with the grip band helping to stop it all moving round once you strap it on to your bike using the outer layer of Velcro. Seriously, it’s lot easier to watch the video!

Granite Clever Tool

Not stupid.

Tyre levers and quick link breaker tool in one. Handy! And should you choose, you can strap them into your Rock Band above. These will be launched at the end of this month – so if you want them wait patiently please!

EVT Bleedin’ Gauge 30psi

Like a mini retro petrol pump.

Advertised as a super accurate means of setting your tyre pressure, these come in five different pressure ranges (0-15, 0-30, 0-60, 0-100, 0-160psi). On this one with a max 30psi you can see exactly what you’re inflating your tyres to at the kinds of pressures you’ll be looking for in a mountain bike. Pump your tyres up higher than you want and then let air out to the pressure you need, or use it to see how accurate your floor pump is. Integral cotton wool stops tubeless gunk from jamming the internals. The Bleedin’ Gauge is fully serviceable, meaning you can replace the cotton, urethane pump washer, and gauge should any of them wear out or break.

Walkers

  • Price: Not for sale (though we haven’t rung their relatives to check)
  • From: Somewhere very cheery
No such things as bad weather, just the wrong clothing. Or the wrong pastime…

No idea who these two are, but they were very chatty as Amanda froze outside taking all these pictures for your perusal. They made her take their picture. So here they are. Hello you two! Who says it’s miserable up North, look how happy and friendly we all are!

SixPack Vertic Trail Q-Factor

These have a Q-factor of 52.5mm

For the Q-factor obsessive, these are platform pedals which come in a choice of Q-factors. We ran a poll about what kind of pedals you use and some of you chose flats because clips gave you sore knees – maybe a precisely chosen Q-factor could change that? These come in a variety of colours, with a platform for extra support, and a choice of 52.5mm or 58.5mm Q-factors.

These have a Q-factor of 58.5mm

Jones Clear Kraton Rubber H Grips

Peace, man.

There are probably many innovative uses for these rubbery tubes, however their true use is as grips on the extended hand placement arena that are Jones bars. Yes, the loopy bits of some Jones Bars will need bar tape, but the antennae (we’re sure that’s the official name) will take these, and indeed they are recommended for getting the best out of your Jones bar set up.

Jones 710 Silver Bend H-Bar

James, well on his way to having a whole bike.

Not all Jones Bars have hoops and loops for bags and kit however, and these Bend H-Bars have a huge amount of backsweep which James is hoping will give him a comfortable ride position that suits his rather poorly and temperamental elbow.

Shimano Unzen 4 Backpack

It’s been a big night out for Ross.

A 4 litre bag total capacity bag capable of carrying a 2 litre bladder and just enough kit for your enduro race. The X-harness is designed to spread the load evenly and the waist band is removable if you don’t need the extra stability. Being designed for enduro, it also has a helmet harness for those transition stages where you don’t want to be wearing a full face helmet.

Alpkit Kepler Long Sleeve Merino

Happy Ross

We all love a bit of Merino wool – cosy, soft, and highly smell resistant. This long sleeved option has thumb loops for extra cosiness, and is designed to have a not too skin tight fit so you can sit around in the pub after your adventures without feeling too conspicuous.

Alpkit Kepler Short Sleeve Merino

  • Price: £35 (currently on sale at £28)
  • From: Alpkit
Just woken up ruggedly dishevelled Ross.

There’s barely a day in the UK where this wouldn’t come in handy. From summer rides on its own to winter rides as a base layer. There’s a range of colours available in both the short and long sleeve Keplers, and there’s a women’s cut option too.

Love Mud Distortion Pedals

Presumably for going so fast you distort space and time?

With CNC machined aluminium bodies, Cromoly axles and double sided pins, these are – you guessed it – flat pedals. The pins are either 4.5mm or 6.5mm depending on which way round you place them. Your money buys you the pedals with ten spare steel pins, and a bottle of Thread Lock.

Prepare to resurface. Maybe take a few breaths, wriggle your toes, and bring yourself gently back to reality while you listen to this tune. Don’t rush, take it easy, and when you’re ready, cruise on forth to the weekend.

FGF LIVE: Every Friday 1:30pm

In this week’s episode..

  • Chipps turns water into bike cleaner
  • Hannah takes her helmet off
  • Amanda appeals for a ride buddy

 

Author Profile Picture
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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