A Threesome Of Bikes, Lots Of Pants, And A Couple Of Strap-Ons – Fresh Goods Friday 396

There is no introduction today because it’s *ping* too difficult *ping ping* to think straight when *ping* your Twitter feed has gone *ping* into overdrive because you *ping ping* innocently tweeted about a column that Bez wrote.

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It’s quite the experience. Being famous and having a Twitter account must be a full time occupation. And on that note, apologies to Chris Boardman who found himself copied into the entire argument. And *ping ping ping* oh sod it, let’s skip to the *ping* good stuff. Fresh Goods Friday, here we come!

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Nukeproof Mega 275 Comp

• Price: £2,399
• From: Nukeproof

This is the entry level model of the Mega, in 27.5in flavour. It’s an alloy frame with 170mm RockShox Yari fork and 165mm of rear travel. Oodles of travel, but designed for enduro rather than downhill, or maybe where enduro meets downhill. This monster has headed down south with Rad Dean for an upcoming bike test.

The Good Mountain Biking Guide

• Price: £25.00
• From: All good bookshops

This is an updated edition of this comprehensive route guide book. Maps and images have been updated, though if you look closely you’ll still spot the odd retro bike that was in fact new fangled technology the first time this was published.

9Point8 Fall Line Long Stroke Dropper

• Price: £419
• From: Shorelines

200m of drop! Or indeed, a long stroke, for our Barney. Fnar. A mechanical brake stops the post in an infinite number of positions (between the top and the bottom of the stroke, obviously). Available in 31.6mm and 30.9mm diameters, we have the girthier variety here.

Shimano Hydraulic Mineral Oil

• Price: £19.99
• From: Madison

We’ve clearly been hauling on the brakes far too much, as we’ve had to get a bunch of workshop spares in for fixing up our stoppers. First up, mineral oil.

Shimano Disc Brake Rotors

• Price: £39.99 (160mm), £44.99 (180mm)
• From: Madison

They go round. They help you stop. Strangely, this mountain bike version of them seems much less prone to slicing your limbs like bacon than their roadie equivalent. Maybe. There might be no science here. *ping*.

Shimano Saint/Zee Brake Pads

• Price: £21.99
• From: Madison

Finally, new pads. If you think keeping up with new standards is tricky, you should try keeping up with brake pads – with so many test bikes and so many different brakes, it seems that we rarely have just the set of spare pads that we need.

Hoy Bonaly 24

• Price: £360
• From: Evans

We’ve already had the drop bar Meadowmill 24 in, over on grit.cx, and now we’ve got a flat bar bike from the Hoy range. With 8-speed Acera derailleur and Altus shifters, there are just enough gears here (push shift ones) for little hands to control and little legs to get up hills. It’s been designed to be as light as possible, right down to floaty light foam grips and a foam saddle. 2.1in tyres might be skinny by modern mountain bike standards, but on a 24in wheel they look quite nicely chunky.

Troy Lee Designs Skyline Jersey and Shorts

• Price: £50 (jersey), £75 (shorts)
• From: Saddleback

Amanda had a long sleeved Ruckus outfit in blue in last week’s Fresh Goods Friday, all lined up ready for a photoshoot – and then the sun came out! So to make sure she didn’t look all hot and bothered, she’s also got this short sleeved and lightweight pairing from Troy Lee Designs.

Dakine Descent Duffle Bag

• Price: £65
• From: Dakine

Wil has been on so many press trips that his old bag has worn out (get out your tiny violins) so he’s got this new one from Dakine that will hold 70 litres of his stuff. Which is a lot of Lycra. There are internal mesh pockets for separating out things like goggles, and there’s a helmet-specific side pocket too. The front pocket has more handy dividers in, so you can hold your breakfast, lunch and trailside snack in different sections too.

Whyte G-170C RS

• Price: £3,799
• From: Whyte, whyte.bike

Bike number three! We are spoiling you this week. Again heading for our Dean, this is another big travel monster pushing at the boundaries of enduro. Although it comes with an air-spring, it can be fitted with a coil-spring for what Whyte reckons is the true EWS set up. Extra wide chainstays allow you plenty of mud clearance, or the option to go for some really wide tyres. This model comes with a RockShox Lyric 170mm travel fork, SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain, and SRAM Guide R Brakes, with a carbon frame and alloy rear triangle.

Saxx Everyday Underwear

• Price: £19
• From: HKT Products

Pants for wearing every day. Not one pair for all the days, please. The ‘Vibe’ offer a ‘modern fit’ – presumably because genitalia have evolved in shape considerably since the invention of pants in 1911. The other ‘Ultra’ pants are a slightly looser fit.

Saxx Performance  Underwear

• Price: £29
• From: HKT Products

Performance pants! For performing in. Or for when you need better performance from your pants. These pants are packed with features, even before you’ve put them on. The ‘Kinetic’ pants offer semi-compression (which sounds like it could save all sorts of embarrassment), and the ‘Kinetic Boxers’ and ‘Quest’ pants offer a ‘ballpark pouch’. Which should make any quest more of a brief search really, since they’re hopefully where you left them, or at least somewhere in the ballpark. Whatever you find there, there shouldn’t be any chafing, and they’re quick drying – though we’d still recommend a fresh pair each day.

Oakley Flight Jacket Glasses

• Price: from £175
• From: Oakley

Available with a range of different lenses to suit your riding needs, these new glasses from Oakley have a clever trick or two up their nose. The lack of upper frame gives you an increased view looking forwards, as well as the presence of the lower frame helping to stop you slicing your face if you do crash (we’ve seen a few nasty rimless frame/cheekbone interfaces). But even cleverer still is the nose piece, which clicks out away from your face on climbs or other sweaty activities to give extra ventilation – rather than having to take them off and then find somewhere to put them.

AMS Chainguard

• Price: £19.99
• From: HKT Products

Funky chainguards available in a range of colours and whacky patterns. Made in Spain, which might explain the ‘Chain Protection For Cool Bikes’ wording on the packing (Don’t try using the word ‘cool’ in front of any under 25s). The honeycomb structure provides more protection than just a sticker, although you do just stick them on your bike, they’re pre-glued.

Sensus Swayze Lite Grips

• Price: £26.99
• From: HKT Products

These are a thinner grip than you might usually find in a lock on grip. They’re single lock on so you can ride with your hands right at the end of the bars if you like. Available in these three colours, they’re made in the USA – where Cam Zink apparently uses them.

AMS OS Strap

• Price: £14.99
• From: HKT Products

Claiming to be the only rubber strap on the market – rather than Velcro or elastic – it comes in black or red, and is made by the Spanish All Mountain Style brand.

Singletrack Cowbells

• Price: £6.00
• From: Singletrack

Ring in the weekend with our cowbells, now back in stock! Or get one and ring it to alert your children to the fact that dinner is ready. Or put one round the neck of each of your children so that you can hear where they’re roaming as you lie in your hammock sipping a gin and tonic. Or just get one to heckle riders at your local trail centre. But get one.

Amanda gets to pick the music this week, and coincidentally she’s been listening to this, called ‘Betty’, which takes us nicely *ping* back to the column that Bez wrote that triggered the Twitter storm.

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