Fresh Goods Friday 407: The “There’s only 2 of us in the office” Edition!

Fresh Goods

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With the summer holidays now in full swing we’re down to a skeleton crew here at Singletrack Towers, but that’s good news for Andi and Chipps who get to go through all these cool new arrivals and choose who get’s what and which they’re keeping for themselves. But first we have a bunch of our lifetime subscribers here in the office with us today, so the priority, once breakfast is finished and the office tour has been done, is to get out and take them for a ride on our favourite trails.

DT Swiss F 535 One Fork

dt swiss f 535 one fork

This is a brand new fork from DT Swiss, and it’s called the F 535 One. Available with 130-160mm of travel and featuring a burly 35mm chassis, this new slider is designed to take on the likes of the RockShox Pike. Our test fork is the 29er version with 150mm of travel, and it features a crown-mounted lockout lever, along with adjustable air pressure, air volume, rebound damping and compression damping. We have a tonne of info about this new fork that you can read here, and stay tuned for the incoming review!

Cane Creek Helm springs


3 different weights available:

  • AAG0422 C/C HELM MAIN SPRING 45LBS/IN BLK
  • AAG0424 C/C HELM MAIN SPRING 55LBS/IN GRN (This is what comes in the fork from the factory)
  • AAG0426 C/C HELM MAIN SPRING 65LBS/IN BLU

X-Fusion TRACE 36 HLR

X-Fusion TRACE 36 HLR
170mm travel forks designed for 29ers.

Weighing in at a claimed 4.4lbs with up to 170mm of travel on tap, the X-Fusion TRACE 36 HLR is an all-new fork for X-Fusion that has been designed specifically for big travel 29ers.

X-Fusion TRACE 36 HLR
High and low-speed compression, rebound and air are all of the adjustments on the TRACE.

36mm stanchions should keep the fork tracking in a straight-line while a Roughcut Damper circuit handles the bumps and ruts. The TRACE can be internally adjusted to 140mm or 160mm if wanted and the fork features high-speed and low-speed compression, rebound adjustment and uses an air spring. Ross will be strapping these to the front of his Transition soon for a full test.

Mondraker Foxy R 29

mondraker foxy R 29
FOXY!

We’ve already posted a first look at the stunning Mondraker Foxy R 29 here, but we couldn’t help but post the stunning Spaniard one more time. The 29er version of the Foxy is new for 2019, boasts 10mm more travel front and rear and gets a shorter offset fork. Andi has already called dibs.

Fox Sockets

Bug not included.

Keep the top caps of your Fox shocks in tip-top shape while serving your forks with these bright orange Fox Sockets. They’re available in 26mm, 28mm and 32mm options and, although we haven’t tried them, we assume they’re compatible with other brands of fork too.

Gerber Center-Drive

  • Price: £129.99
  • From: Gerber
The Gerber Center drive is a handy tool for on the trail repairs.

The Gerber Centre-Drive is a folding tool with safety locking mechanism so that your fingers aren’t chopped off by mistake. It features 16 tools including a set of built-in pliers, carbide wire cutters, a knife, file, bottle opener, and a driver which can be used with the included 12 bits to keep your bike rolling.

Fiskars WoodXpert XA3 Brush Hook

fiskars woodxpert
Spelt with an “X” for “EXTREME”.

This ain’t no ordinary brush hook, no, this is the Fiskars WoodXpert Brush Hook XA3. Fiskars says that the XA3 is ideal for cutting smaller branches from trees, makes shaving bark simple and clears weeds and brush, but we think Fiskars sum the XA3 up perfectly with their tagline “Swing less, Cut more.” The Fiskars XA3 will be included in an upcoming trail tool group test.

VeeTire Co. Flow Snap Enduro Core

veetire flow snap
Snapping the flow or flowing the snap? We’re going to find out.

VeeTire Co. says that the Flow Snap is designed for hitting loose, dry trails, well that’s exactly the type of trail we have this summer so we’ve got a pair to give a go. We’ve chosen a set of 29 x 2.6in variants to test during the summer, so keep your eyes peeled for a full review coming soon.

Reaper Mudguards

reaper mud guard
A new take on dirty comics.

There are plenty of easy to install, flexible and relatively cheap front fenders on sale these days (mudguards to you and I), but most are usually plain black affairs, which steal our ability to be individual! A bug bearer of ours! Fortunately, Reaper makes a host of colourful mudguards and has just released a range of comic inspired designs.

ProTaper C6 Carbon Bar

protaper carbon bar
1″ rise carbon bars with a lifetime crash replacement warranty.

ProTaper, once part of the Answer range of parts, is now it’s own sub-brand within the Hayes family.

protaper carbon bar
Textured “Grit Grip” finish in clamp areas.

The ProTaper Carbon bars come in at a whopping 810mm wide and have measurements printed on for easy hacksaw adjustment. Our test sample of the carbon bar has a 1” rise, 4º upsweep and 8º back sweep and weigh in at just 190g. We especially like the “Grit Grip” textured areas where the stem and grips mount for added traction.

ProTaper Stem

protaper stem
A perfect fit for the ProTaper Carbon Bars we have on test.

The ProTaper Stem comes in a wide variety of options for those of you who run either 35mm or 31.8mm handlebars. We’ve opted for the latter in a 35mm length and will be using it to hold the above carbon bars in position. It’s a simple design with 4 bolt face plate but uses stainless Torq fasteners rather than regular Allen bolts.

Hayes Dominion A4 Disc Brakes

Hayes Dominion A4 Disc Brakes
4 Pot callipers with a clever bleed solution.

We first got to see the new Hayes Dominion disc brakes at Eurobike last month, but now we actually have a set of our very own to test and get mucky.

Hayes has designed the Dominion A4 as a powerful 4 pot brake that is suitable for all types of mountain bike riders from downhill and enduro riders to eMTB and trail bike riders, it’s a one brake to do it all system.

Hayes Dominion A4 Disc Brakes
All-new lever with large lever adjustment dial.

The callipers use four 17mm pistons and have the same Two-Stroke bleeding system that Hayes motorsport products use, meaning that each side of the calliper is bled individually to ensure complete bubble removal.

Hayes Dominion A4 Disc Brakes
Meaty pads to match.

Hayes has also created an all new lever for the Dominion A4 with a large tool-free reach adjustment dial. They’ve also sent over the accompanying Dominion pads with 1.95mm of material and the new Dominion Rotor too. Full review coming soon.

So with Fresh Goods wrapped up, what musical delights shall we have to usher in the weekend? Well, first off we’re going to have a classic from Duran Duran which should have been chosen as the Earworm on BBC Radio 6 Music this morning….

And we’ll also have one. Enjoy!

Andi is a gadget guru and mountain biker who has lived and ridden bikes in China and Spain before settling down in the Peak District to become Singletrack's social media expert. He is definitely more big travel fun than XC sufferer but his bike collection does include some rare hardtails - He's a collector and curator as well as a rider. Theory and practice in perfect balance with his inner chi, or something. As well as living life based on what he last read in a fortune cookie Andi likes nothing better than riding big travel bikes.

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