FGF 525: Dizzy with excitement, or just befuddled?

Fresh Goods

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There are certain things that you know will happen. If you look at the square edged rock you don’t want to hit on your descent, you will hit it. If you really need the printer to work, it won’t. You won’t drop your phone, until that day you take it out of its case. Your child will appear potty trained, until you go camping. The spinning rainbow wheel of death will only appear on your iMac on deadline day.

And so it has been this week. Amanda has overcome lockdown restrictions, concussion, The Womb Of Doom (which makes a guest appearance in Singletrack Issue 134) and the spinning wheel of devastation to pull another magazine together. This week’s FGF tunes are in honour of her patience. You can honour her by making sure you’ve subscribed to Issue 134 so that you can see the fruits of her labour.

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Dad dancers, please assume a position to the rear, where we can’t see your bigger moves. We’ve done all the stress we can do for one week. Onwards we go then, let us dance in line, in circles, and skip to my lou (wherever one’ lou is) and shimmy on down through Fresh Goods Friday 525.

Revel Rascal T1000

This is quite exciting, since Hannah first saw this brand in a bike shop car park in Arizona when it was still secret, and now she’s got her hands on the first UK test bike. Revel has been shipping worldwide since it launched, but with Cyclorise now on board as a UK distributor it’s just got simpler to buy yourself one of their bikes. This Rascal is the 29 inch wheeled 130mm travel offering in the range, and this one here is almost the Revel Rascal in Cyclorise’s XT build kit – almost, because shipping issues have led to a couple of off spec parts, and we were too impatient to wait. We’ve got Hunt Enduro Wide wheels instead of the lighter Trail Wide option, 2-pot XT brakes instead of 4-pot, and we’ve got the addition of Slicy frame protection. As standard on this build, there’s the Rockshox Pike Ultimate 140mm and Super Deluxe Ultimate Air Shock. Finishing kit includes Revgrips Pro Series grips and a Bike Yoke dropper. Billed as Revel’s bike for riding up and down and wherever you might want to go, on paper it looks perfect for the Calder Valley terrain.

It feels a bit cruel to take this carbon beast from Colorado out into the grit of a West Yorkshire winter, but that’s what we’ll be doing. Those of you with an eye on the many pivots of the Canfield Balanced Formula suspension, watch this space. In fact, since the photos had to be taken with the ‘help’ of Hannah’s kids, we’ve already started testing. They made her do things that made her pull faces.

Santa Cruz Bullit

There were rumours of a new Santa Cruz eMTB scheduled for release, and those rumours became reality this week with the launch of the new Bullit. The new Bullit shares its name with the original Santa Cruz freeride/enduro rig, and like that old-timer, the new bike has similar aspirations, only it’s a lot easier to climb!

Made of carbon fibre, the 170mm travel Bullit houses a 630Wh battery in its downtube and is powered by human legs and a Shimano EP8 motor system which brings with it a lower weight, more torque and more adjustability.

Andi has already reviewed the Bullit over on Singletrack Charged and he appears to be head of heels for it.

Singletrack Sticker Wad

singletrack stickers

Charlie says… When I was “the Bikemonger” I sent out well over half a million bike stickers to the weird cycling world. I would mention a half baked idea to “Gil the Sticky Man”, and a few day later a box of stickers would arrive. Many of these “creative sessions” were in a pub garden, and the stickers that arrived would often be utterly unusable. For example, who can you give a “Stump ****er” sticker to, without either upsetting the recipient, or corporate lawyers?

Specs:

  • 4 Stickers
  • 1x Singletrack Cog Logo
  • 1x “Bad Decisions Make Great Stories”. Who wants to read about an easy ride that goes to plan. Give me the article where the guy cocks up and has to shelter inside a dead moose.
  • 1x  “Not jumpy – Not Grumpy”. Aim low, have low expectations, get low level air, and you will always be happy.
  • 1x “Never go full roadie”. You know its OK to ride other bikes, just so long as you don’t forget its about having fun.
  • Dimensions: Longer than a custard cream biscuit.

You can either buy the sticker wad here, but I will also be adding a couple to every merch order.

Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Coil

  • Price: £789, individual springs £56.95
  • From: Silverfish

Whoop! The final pieces in the jigsaw for James Vincent’s build project have arrived. Bombers. Of course – post your Forum memes and cliches below. These Bombers have 36mm stanchions and can be set at 150, 160, 170 or 180mm travel. You can fit 27.5 or 29” wheels, which gives a rake of 37mm (27.5) or 44mm (29). With four spring rate options, we have medium installed here, and we’ve got the stealthy matt black rather than the louder gloss red. Weight is 2,525g, about the equivalent to two and a half bags of frozen sausages.

Marzocchi Bomber CR Shock


Available as a metric or Trunnion mount, James also has this coil shock with adjustable low speed compression and rebound damping. Spring and mounting hardware sold separately, so make sure you order those too. So, it’s not an XC build our Mr Lake District is building…watch this space!

CrankBrothers Highline 7 Dropper post & remote


This is the new Highline 7 dropper post from Crankbrothers, in its 170mm option. It’s also available in 100, 125 and 150mm and 30.9 or 31.6mm diameter. This latest model has a shorter insertion length to fit more bikes and a hydraulic IFP cartridge, and it’s apparently been designed to be super reliable. The remote is sold separately, so order that too if you want it.

Giro Source MIPS Helmet

Surely Giro is tired of launching new helmets? We’ve only just seen the new Helios and now here’s a new mountain bike helmet – a successor to the popular Chronicle. The outer features a full polycarbonate covering to protect from day-to-day dings while the insides feature a MIPS liner for brain rotation protection. 17 vents keep it pretty breezy, yet a deep coverage also keeps lots of your noggin’ under wraps. Here it is in stealth black, but it comes in six colours overall.

Wolf Tooth 8-Bit Pack Pliers

The new Wolf Tooth 8-Bit Pack Pliers is a lightweight multi-tool with 17 functions. Eight attachments nest inside the handles of master link pliers using magnets and a clever storage system. These attachments then fit into an 8mm ball detent swivel head that has a 4mm opening for hex bits. We’re already fans of the Pack Pliers, which are great at joining split links and these come in only slightly larger than those. There’s even a spare chainring bolt as the main pivot.

The hex bits include a spoke key and valve core wrench; a T10 and T25 Torx-compatible bit; flat head #3.5 and Phillips #2 screwdriver; and hex 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, and 6mm bits that fit into the ball detent swivel head that is also an 8mm hex bit. A magnet inside the swivel head keeps the bits in place while they are being used. The eighth bit is a rasp that can be used for clearing valve stems clogged with tire sealant. When the swivel head is angled, torque can be added to break loose a pedal or stubborn bolt. When the swivel head is unbent, the tool behaves like a screwdriver for faster rotations and quick work.

TowWhee Dog Leash

  • towwhee dog lead
  • towWhee dog leash
  • dog lead stock image
  • towwwhee bike stock image2

Charlie says: The TowWhee bike bungy has been a great seller in the Singletrack Merch Store. It joins two bikes together, so you can tow your kids or buddies up hills. It’s a great equaliser that allows you to share the ride with your kids. I was delighted to find that I could further accessorise my new dog with their dog leash. It comprises of the bungy with a dog lead style clip, and the option of a waist belt for hands free adventure dog stuff.

Now, the regular bike TowWhee is easily adapted to dog duties, simply loop or carabiner it onto your dog’s collar or harness.

It works incredibly well. When the dog is not loading the bungy, it is a mere 4’6” in length, and when fully loaded by a dog it will go all the way to 14ft 2in. I found it allowed Oscar the Dog to roam around, whilst also tagging along with me. The bungy increases the load steadily, so you do not get the sudden jerking that you get with the recoiling leashes. This is much better for old crashed out shoulders, and no doubt better for the dog too. I looped the human end onto my rucksack waist belt, which freed up my hands for scrambling and other hand stuff such as pies. Now if you throw in a tweed climbing suit, you and your dog will feel like two old school roped together traditional alpine climbers.

Fox FlexAir Neoshell Water Jacket

The Flexair Neoshell Water jacket is a new addition to the ever growing Fox apparel range. Made from the world’s most breathable waterproof fabric – Polartec Neoshell – it is designed for ultimate wet weather performance. While the fabric is waterproof to keep the wet out, it’s also designed to ‘enhance natural thermoregulation’ by releasing heat and perspiration from inside to stop moisture build up. It features a helmet compatible hood along with weather sealed zips for even more protection and there also HUGE under arm zips along with a back vent for further temperature regulation. We’ve double checked, the price isn’t a typo, and we’re pretty sure that makes it the most expensive waterproof jacket we’ve ever had. What’s the bet Ross rips a hole in it in some massive crash first ride…?

Polaris RBS Reflect Gloves

polaris rbs reflect glove

We aren’t sure if these are a Royal Bank of Scotland collaboration but we do know they are very shiny. Or reflective to be more accurate. They are a bit thermal although quite thin. Wear them on your ride, commute or while clubbing.

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That’s your lot, it’s time for the last dance. If you’ve been shuffling in the corner alone all night, go and beat the queue to the coats and leave now. Otherwise, grab your partner for one last dance before we head out into the cold night air and realise just how drunk we are, how much our feet hurt, and how much a bloody taxi costs.

What is Fresh Goods Friday?

It’s Singletrack’s long running, weekly roundup of all of the new products that have been sent in to the magazine.

Where do all of the goods come from?

They’re sent in by bike companies and marketing agencies

What happens to all of the products?

They’re featured and then some are reviewed down the line in either Singletrack Magazine or in online reviews and photoshoots.

What happens to them when you’ve finished with them?

They’re usually sent back after review, or kept on long-term test bikes. But no one ever asks for shorts and shoes back. Trust us on that. Once we were asked to return some brake pads.

I’m a company making the next big thing. How much does it cost to feature in FGF?

Nothing. Nil. Zero. Diddlysquat. Sod all. Just send all ‘next big things’ to us at – Fresh Goods Friday, Singletrack Magazine, Lockside Mill, Dale Street, Todmorden. OL14 5PX. Please note that if you require the products back after they have featured then you are responsible for arranging collection at your cost. While it is our policy to feature everything we receive in FGF if we decide your product is not suitable for publication we won’t do it. Publication is at our discretion. Whether a product goes on for publication as a review is at editorial discretion. Beer, coffee & spirits will ALWAYS be tested.

Author Profile Picture
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.

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