Fresh Goods Friday 430 - The Mid January Thoughts Edition

Dry January. Veganuary. Januhairy. Dogs are for life and not just for Christmas, but lifestyle choices are seemingly only for January. Or possibly just the first fortnight of January. Apart from Januhairy. That one requires the expending of less effort and is much easier to keep up. ‘I’m not lazy, I’m making a statement about the oppression of women through body image’.

Bike industry informers have reliably told us that a certain slick and skinny tyred focussed publication won’t let men appear in photographs unless they have a) hairless legs or b) cover their hairy legs with leggings (so they can only be models in winter). Perhaps then Januhairy might also allow a few roadies to protest their oppression, to sprout their stuff and display their down.

As if the opportunity to grow your hair (though the office is divided as to whether or not it is preferable have more or less of it on the face) wasn’t enough to make you want to be a mountain biker, we have a bundle of kit for you that really won’t be much use on the road. If you like what you see, keep growing that hair. If none of this interests you, may we suggest this:

Totally painless.

If you’ve never used one before, may we offer you some advice: use when you are as cold as possible, don’t bother with the fancy ones that you can use in the shower, and start on a good soft fleshy patch of skin. You can thank us later.

Onwards then, beyond the beauty tips. Our gorgeous models await. It’s Fresh Goods Friday 430…

Giro Havoc H20 Shorts

Price: £TBA
From: ZyroFisher

Chipps needs to work on his lunge technique. GO DEEP, CHIPPS.

These are new for 2019 and are part of Giro’s push to show that Californians can make rain gear… These waterproof and taped baggies are simple and weather resistant. There’s a single behind-thigh phone pocket and some thigh vents (for those spring/summer clammy-but-wet days). Apart from that, they’re simple and unadorned. Because no one likes to faff around in the rain.

Giro Miami Vice Tee

Price: £Priceless
From: ZyroFisher

You’re reaching for that linen suit jacket already, aren’t you?

Giro’s history goes way back to the eighties, so why not celebrate it in this none-more-Chipps pastel logo number. Ferrari Testarossa optional. Bare feet in deck shoes, mandatory.

Giro Trailbuilder Gloves

Price: £29.99
From: ZyroFisher

No high fives for Chipps today

And when you’re done drinking tea, you can go wrestle some horses

These may look like builders’ gloves from B&Q, because that’s what they’re emulating. Giro has made these gloves for those of you/us who like to ride to the woods, dig and sculpt for a few hours, before riding in our creations. They’re fully featured riding gloves, with minimal padding for better feel and “AX Suede Laredo microfiber palms” for grip on handlebars and mattock handles alike. They’re even touch-screen compatible. Cup of tea extra.

Giro 100 Proof Winter Gloves

Price: £69.99
From: ZyroFisher

Same to you, pal.

Because gloves can be chilly and nobody can ride in mittens, Giro has made these full-on winter gloves with a single digit free, so that you’re free to brake and do stuff like zips up (and use your phone too), while the rest of your fingers can keep each other company, and warm. Good to -6C, they’re waterproof too, with big reflective hits, soft fleecy pile lining and Polartec Power Fill insulation. Toasty!

The Ensemble

Price: £You can’t afford to look this good.
From: The Giro/Chipps collection

He’s shy.

Bring it all together and you have an outfit that only Chipps could get away with. Part trail-shredder, part Emperor Palpatine. Look for him on a trail near you. In the café… Incidentally, he’s actually wearing the matching Havoc H2O jacket for the shorts. Equally taped and waterproof.

POC Ora Goggles

Price: £60
From: 2Pure

I am the fly.

Especially designed to fit with the POC Tectal and Coron helmets, but compatible with others, these bike specific goggles are designed to give a good field of vision in variable light conditions. There is no vent foam for improved airflow and the frame is flexible for a perfect fit. The light grey lens is replaceable.

Dragon Alliance MXV MAX Goggles

Price: £70
From: Dragon Alliance

Zog tried his hardest every day to win a golden star.

This is a new style, with a slimmer frame, larger peripheral vision and increased ventilation. There’s an anti-fog coating, a removable rock guard, and you could fit a whole 28 laminated tear offs on there (please make sure you put them in the bin).

Shimano XT Groupset

Price: £700ish
From: Madison

Shimano’s £159 an end powerful four pot XT brakes.

Jess approves of the subtle design cues of the XT chainset and mech.

Any day we get to see the black and blue boxes from Shimano is a good day. Unfortunately, for once, it’s a teeny bit disappointing, as this was meant to be our first hands-on testing XTR groupset, but due to production delays, we’re unlikely to see any XTR that doesn’t come with a Shimano-employee in tow until the early summer. In the meantime, we have this drop of still fantastic XT components for a bike-build that you’ll be seeing very soon.

Less glam, but still a huge amount of engineering goes into these more behind the scenes components.

Paul Component Dropper Lever

Price: $86 anodised, $92 Polished
From: PPaul Components

A good thumb shaped lever, for maximum thumb-age.

Those Californian masters of CNC machinery have been up to it again. Despite their home town of Chico being badly damaged by the 2018 forest fires (which destroyed several workers’ houses) Paul Components is still turning out beautiful, clever stuff. This universal dropper lever works with either the cable end or the nipple end at the lever and turns on dual stacked bearings for the smoothest action. It’s a lever to take from bike to bike with you.

Pro 150mm Koryak Dropper

Price: £199
From: Madison

Sleek up-down stick.

Having initially launched a 125mm post, Shimano’s component arm, PRO snuck out a 150 and a 170mm dropper post late last year. With a huge left hand paddle and generally redesigned cable management, the Pro Koryak post is sleeker than ever while still remaining competitively priced.

PRO Tharsis 9.8 Riser Bars

Price: £74.99
From: Madison

It’s a shame nobody sends us any ‘Fix n Fill’ for that wall.

Named after the largest volcano in the solar system (it’s on Mars) the Tharsis 9.8 riser bar features 20mm rise and a full 800 reach, complete with handy chop-off lines for trimming. And it importantly gives your hands something to hold on to.

Maxxis Minion DHR II 29×2.4

Price: £55
From:Ours came from Madison

Wheel licorice.

That aggressive tread in a chunky 29 x 2.4in size. What’s not to like? Now we just need those wheels to arrive so we can get them fitted and ridden this weekend… And talking of which…

It’s the weekend! Time to go and mess about in the woods. Which probably won’t look like this unless you’ve been licking toads.

Too techno for you? Still possibly some toad licking going on though.

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.