What a week. Totally Mega. Chipps was away at something secret. At least he says he was. Being at something secret would be good cover for just lounging around in a hot tub. The rest of us have been beavering away at our computers, and Andi has been furiously mashing a giant vat of potatoes to make into the new biodegradable wrappers for subscribers copies of Singletrack Magazine.
If you want issue 124 delivered to your door in a layer of potato starch, you’ve got until midnight on 15th March to subscribe. Do it now!
The IT hamsters have been busy putting together our new Singletrack Women channel, in time for today’s launch. Because today is International Women’s Day! Yes, it is! You don’t have to be a woman to read Singletrack Women – it’s a channel by the women of Singletrack, for anyone who wants to read it.
Maybe you didn’t come for the mashed potato or the women. Maybe you came for the fresh new products? Well, for you, we have Fresh Goods Friday 438…
Radon Slide Trail 8.0
- Price: €2,399
- From: Radon
Radon has sent over its latest carbon 29er trail bike, the Radon Slide Trail 8.0. Believe it or not, this carbon framed 140mm travel bike costs just €2,499 and has a rather solid build kit including DT Swiss M1900 wheels, and a Shimano XT/SLX 1×11 drivetrain. Radon has built in a flip chip so the Slide Trail 8.0 can either be ridden in its low position with a head angle of 65.6° or in high with a slightly steeper HA of 66.6°. The flip chip also affects the seat tube angle taking it from 75.5° to 76.5°.
Radon measures its bikes in a more traditional manner meaning you buy either a 16in, 18in, 20in or 22in rather than a S.M,L or XL. Our test bike is an 18in and with a reach of 445mm it’s similar to a medium sized frame from other brands.
The 140mm of rear wheel travel is controlled by a RockShox Deluxe RT3 Debonair shock, up front is a 150mm travel RockShox Revelation fork with Charger damper. Keeping this 29er from spitting you off the trail are a pair of Schwalbe tyres, Magic Mary front and Hans Dampf rear. Magura provides the trail anchors with the powerful, 4-pot MT5 and Raceface get an appearance with the chainset, bar and stem while SDG hand over the Tellis dropper and Slater saddle.
WTB Tyres
- Price: £55
- From: Hotlines
Launched last year in Wales, these three tyres have new compounds for stickiness and durability, improved sidewall protection, and are optimised for wide rims. When James went on the launch he was treated to an uplift service, so we’ll be expecting him to be riding up lots of hills with these to check out that rolling resistance.
RaceFace Indy D30 Elbow Pads
- Price: £44.95
- From: Silverfish
Hannah is still on a quest to find the perfect elbow pad. These have D30 protection and a Velcro upper strap for a snug fit round the bicep. Mesh sleeves help with breathability so there are no excuses for not wearing them when you’re racing enduro, or pootling along.
Race Face Arm Guard
- Price: £23.95
- From: Hotlines
Super light weight foam protection, these appear to be better suited to preventing grazes than softening hard landings, but no doubt Hannah will put that to the test. These are barely more noticeable than a pair of socks, so there really is no excuse for scratched elbows.
Lazer Coyote MIPS Helmet
- Price: £89.99
- From: Freewheel
This is a MIPs equipped helmet with 21 vents and goggle compatible rear shape. The green one looks to coordinate perfectly with Amanda’s new bike. The black one goes with Hannah’s Friday Ninja outfit. This looks to be a well priced helmet for being MIPS equipped, but if you can’t stretch to it, there’s a non MIPS version available for £20 less.
Fox Enduro Pro Knee Guard
- Price: £75
- From: Fox Head
Slim enough to fit under Carhartt dungarees, but tough enough to protect from the kind of Enduro Crash™ you get in a race, these are pull on sleeve style kneepads. The latest updated model for 2019, they’re light and soft, with Fox F3 Armour for protection and mesh backs to help keep your legs cool.
Fox Enduro Pro Elbow Guard
- Price: £65
- From: Fox Head
The latest edition of these enduro ready elbow guards, in a pull on sleeve style. These have lightweight stretchy sleeves with Fox F3 Armour impact protection.
Fox Head Women’s Ranger Gloves
- Price: £22
- From: Fox Head
POW! Get an eyeful of that colour. Made to match this season’s outfits, these are lightweight stretchy gloves that fit like a second skin, for all trail riding needs.
Fox Head Women’s Defend Jersey
- Price: £45
- From: Fox Head
Also available in purple (but that would hardly match those gloves^^), this is a lightweight loose fit jersey with mesh panels for cooling, and plenty of room for armour underneath. Or a baselayer, until things warm up. Humph.
Fox Head Women’s Defend Kevlar Pant
- Price: £130
- From: Fox Head
Trousers, pants, or kecks? These are for rowdy riding. With room for loads of pads underneath (Hannah is wearing a large here, she thinks she might have a go at squeezing into a medium, and there’s a XL size too. Not undersized then! Whoop!) the fibres have Kevlar woven in for abrasion resistance too. Loads of laser cut vents should keep you cool, if you’re riding rowdy somewhere warm.
Alpinestars Paragon Pro Elbow Protector
- Price: £55
- From: ZyroFisher
New elbow modelling poses are hard to come by. As are elbow pads that fit just so. Last time Hannah checked out a selection of pads, the standard Paragons were the ones that fitted her best, and this latest ‘Pro’ version are now in for test. These have a tougher abrasion resistant outer sleeve, and are Level one impact certified.
And stand down. If you’ve not spent all your pocket money now, you’re safe for another week. Fresh Goods is DONE. All that remains is to dance your way into the weekend, preferably keep dancing right through it, and stagger back into the office on Monday morning. Here we go…
Ready? There’s time to hurt yourself on the turbo trainer before the dancing begins if you like?
Tunes of the week.
And so to our musical section. What you see here is a collection of the songs that have powered us through the week in the Singletrack office. Each track hand picked by a staffer for your enjoyment or otherwise.
No warranty offered on the quality of the listening and no refunds. But if you think you have a better tune then let us know in the comments below. If we include it in a future playlist we’ll give you a fat credit.
Spotify users
Apple Music listeners
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