We’re going to focus on happy, positive subjects this Fresh Goods Friday, because we’re sure you have enough Coronavirus, politics and bad weather in your news feeds already.
For those of you that subscribe to the magazine, it’s almost ready for print next week, and we have responded to the many requests for more tech in there by introducing a new feature. Hurray!
It’s goose mating season in Calderdale, so they are much more chilled out during the day after staying up all night making more noise than you could ever imagine possible (directly under Amanda’s bedroom window). For anyone that has almost been scared into the canal by an antisocial goose, it’s less likely to happen at the moment. Hurray!
And finally, something to give you a giggle to start your weekend, this Instagram account that illustrates one star reviews of US National Parks:
Now we’re all in a good mood, let’s check out some Fresh Goods. Hurray!
2020 Giant Reign Advanced Pro 2
- Price: £3,999.00
- From: Giant Bicycles
As the great philosopher / film reviewer / old trot aka Mark Kermode so succinctly puts it “It’ll be alright in the end and if it’s not alright, it’s not the end!” In that vein of optimism against a backdrop of the western world now being run (after a fashion) by overweight men with really bad hair, Sanny has just taken delivery of a very shiny Giant Reign Advanced Pro 2 and is very much looking forward to giving it a thorough long term test. Featuring Giant’s Advanced grade carbon frameset, 146mm of tried and tested Maestro suspension, a RockShox Lyrik Select fork in a 160mm flavour and coupled with Giant’s 29 AM rims with 30mm internal width, this ticks all the boxes as far as Sanny’s tastes are concerned. SRAM take care of shifting duties with their NX Eagle groupset while Giant’s own Contact brand finishing kit takes care of hands and buhoochie (That’s Scottish for bottom! – Ed). Sanny has big plans for this blue and black beauty, not least of which is a head to head with Giant’s Reign E + E bike that he has also been testing for the last couple of months.
2020 Nukeproof Women’s Kit
- Price: Blackline Banana £50.00, Blackline SS £40.00, LS £45.00, Outland Hoodie £24.00, Nirvana Shorts £35.00
- From: Chain Reaction Cycles
Blackline SS 
Blackline LS 
Art Director NFS 
Blackline LTD Edition 
Banana pocket
Just when you thought they couldn’t make a better colour combination, Nukeproof introduced the limited edition Angry Banana. It pairs well with the Blackline shorts which happen to come with an Enduro Banana fleecey pocket that clips to the leg of the shorts to make your banana easily accessible. You could maybe use this for goggles too.
Nirvana Shorts 
Super soft pouch 
BIG pocket!
The short and long sleeved jersey come in a wide range of colours, and to tone down your lairy ensemble, the Outland hoodie is a really cosy softshell with the best combination of pockets ever. A small one on the back for small things, and a big zippered pouch on the front for pineapples.
Bontrager TLR Flash Can
- Price: £49.99
- From: Trek Bikes
A compact (but very heavy) air canister that can be inflated to 160 PSI and offers a quick blast of stored air to make set-up of tubeless ready (TLR) tyres a breeze. Amanda spent quite some time trying to figure this out, only to realise you need a track pump to inflate it.
Leatt MTB 3.0 Flat Shoes
- Price: £94.99
- From: Hotlines
Featuring plenty of padding and toe and heel protection, this solid shoe is aimed at the aggressive enduro and downhill riders, so Andi will be testing these. Will the heel and toe grip areas come in handy as he pushes up ‘just one more time’ in search of the perfect instagram shot? And will they prove usefully splash proof? Also available in grey, we rather like this ‘Forest’ colour scheme.
Leatt MTB 4.0 Clip Shoes
- Price: £99.99
- From: Hotlines
Leatt claims these 4.0 shoes are ‘for riders who prize superior comfort in a shoe, the 4.0 clip is every foot’s dream.‘ So our fussiest Amanda feet will be testing these ones. With deep cleat channels, quick drying material and a reasonable amount of ventilation, they seem like a good all-weather option. Also available in blue.
Spank Vibrocore Flare Gravel Wheels
- Price: £289.99 front, £379.99
- From: Hotlines
From the new Spank range, we have gravel wheels with added Vibrocore. These come in Flare or Wing options, with Flare being for big adventure, almost MTB stuff, and the Wing being more gnarmac or gravel. The Vibrocore means there’s a foam inner rim to help dampen vibrations and improve rider comfort. Which makes an awful lot of sense when you’re zipping along on a rigid gravel bike with your hands on the drops. Speaking of which…
Spank Flare 25 Vibrocore Bars
- Price: £100
- From: Hotlines
We also have drop bars with Vibrocore! If ever you’ve cried your way down a long descent because it hurts too much to hold on or use the brakes, then these may well grab your attention. The Flare has 25deg flare, whereas the Wing, aimed at less rufty tufty gravel, has a 12deg sweep. Both the wheels and bars are off to Mr Tingly Hands himself, Jason Miles. If you’ve seen what he’s got planned for you at Hit The North this weekend, you might be wishing him worse than numb fingers.
Rawvelo Organic Vegan Energy Food
- Price: Bars from £1.90, Gels from £1.75
- From: RawVelo
Rawvelo make organic vegan energy bars, gels, shakes and hydration drinks. They are also all vegan compatible and tell us “Our bars contain no refined sugars, no preservatives, and no artificial additives, colours or flavourings. Instead, they’re made with only the highest quality cold-extracted oils, natural fruit flavours and freeze-dried whole fruits.”
Charlie was the first to sniff out a fresh source of food in the office. He scoffed the PBJ bar (peanut butter jelly) and proclaimed, “do you know what, that is a very good tasting energy bar indeed”. Downstairs Tom tried the Chocolate and Raspberry bar and thought it had a hint of Port.
Sample packs start from around £10, and if you have an event coming up, they often have short date discounts. That is products with around 3 months of shelf life left, not some sort of dating deal.
We hope the disruption to daily life isn’t having a negative effect on any of you, but if so, why not head into the Singletrack Forum and talk it out with some likeminded bicycle riders.
Comments (5)
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My mate got karate kicked by a goose once. That was a good day.
No to the creepy bananas, dont know how that one got through
“a backdrop of the western world now being run (after a fashion) by overweight men with really bad hair”
Well, I meet at least 2 of those criteria!
Fun FGF, thanks team!
Hello to Jason Isaacs
Womens kit!
That’s no fairy! I wanna look like a happy banana too