FGF 527 – Don’t Expect Sense, We Have SNOW

SNOW! Snow snow snow snow snow. That is all we care about. SNOW! Come coat the hills in your fluffy white glory, hide the daily trappings of human occupation, and briefly let us all pretend that the world is beautiful and calm and quiet and blanketed in fun.

OK, so it’s only on higher ground, but it is there, and if we lift our chins we can see it. Gaze upwards, it makes you feel better than slouching with your chin to the ground anyway.

Snowsnowsnow snow spaniel snow snow jump slide snow snow snow.

Move on for more sense, possibly. Fresh Goods Friday 527 awaits.

Ibis Mojo Mk4

• Price: £6499 (with carbon wheel option, £5800 without)
• From: Ibis Cycles UK

This is the fourth version of the Ibis Mojo – the full carbon bike that marked Ibis’ return to mountain biking, ooh, a dozen or more years ago now. The Mojo4 still features 27.5in wheels and 140/130mm travel but has gained many of the refinements that have appeared on the RipMo and the Ripley, so the bike has got (way) lower, as well as slacker and longer. The medium we have here features a 460mm reach, 65.4°/76.6° angles and that seat tube is barely 14.5in (368mm) tall, so there should be room for some long ol’ dropper posts.

Wildcat Bikepacking Bags

• From: Wildcat Gear
• Price: Various

Wildcat have been part of the UK Bikepacking scene since before you probably heard of Bikepacking, and it shows in their products. All bags are made in Britain, which is rather nice.

Starting at the front of your bike, we have the Fat Lion Harness and dry bag. These are two separate items for a good reason. Securing soft luggage on a bike can be tricky, but you get there in the end. However, all your tie down efforts are dismantled when you remove a bag for the overnight camp. The Wildcat bags allow you to leave the harness secured to the bike, and you simply remove the dry bag containing your whisky and adventure pyjamas. The method of securing the harness differs to many other bags too. Straps run from the bars to the fork crown, and this eliminates unwanted bag movement. It works with rigid and suspension forks, but Lefty fork owners are on their own (but it’s not the first time. They knew what they were buying into). The harness is £85. The double ended 13L drybag with an opening at each end is £30.

The Ocelot Frame Bag comes in 4 sizes and is secured with an elasticated cord. This allows the bag to move when cramming in your smoked cheeses, and takes a considerable load off the zip. A sort of “suspension strap” that expands and retracts as you zip up. It also has a handy side pocket and hydro/battery lead port. Price is £105

The Tiger Drover Seat Harness works the same way as the front, with the option of a tapered to fit removable dry bag. Again, allowing you to remove the bag and leave the harness on the bike. Seat Harness is £72, and the 10L tapered drybag is £30.

Barista & Co: Twist Press 2.0

• From Barista & Co
• Price: £29.99

Some may remember that Mark tested a bunch of out in the field coffee making devices from a bike packing POV in the summer. In that bunch was the twist Press, which Mark rated very highly. Well, they’ve sent him this slightly updated version that has better seals and some handy markings to make it easier to put it all together with bleary morning eyes.

If you are familiar with the Aeropress then it’s a bit like that but no so tall and you twist the handles together rather than leaning on the top of it. Coffee results are remarkably good too.

Check out the mini grouptest here if you’ve not seen it…

Sledgehammer Ski Bike

• Price: tbc
• From: Sledgehammer

Things that never happen: you get a snow toy and then it snows. Except, this time, it did happen! Hannah is like a pig in poo, or a spaniel in snow. A Shimano brake (sort of), two coil shocks, bars, stem… no wheels. Hannah has scampered out to play on it already, and confirm that it is very slidey, needs less snow than a sledge, and she will cry if the snow has gone by the time she has finished with work and can go and play properly.

For those of you who don’t have snow, there’s this:

Wait? Moby? Yep – inspired by a recent Outside Online ‘Home workout’ feature – here’s the new plank craze for next year, we reckon. Listen to the tune. When she sings ‘Up’ you do a press-up. When she sings ‘Down’ you lower back down and hold it until she sings ‘Up’ again – until the end of the track. It’s just over three and a half minutes. How long can you do?

And so that’s all we have in this week. It’s been a relatively quiet one on the Fresh Goods front, but then we also have a few new things in that we can’t tell you about yet either. And next week, we should have the new issue of the magazine, which’ll start landing on doorsteps next week, complete with free calendar and pages that you can fill with the hope of actually going places and doing stuff! Woohoo!

We’re not really stir-crazy, honest… Right, now it’s nearly time to go out in the snow to make some bourbon slushies… Have a great weekend, you lot?

Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

What Mark doesn’t know about social media isn’t worth knowing and his ability to balance “The Stack” is bested only by his agility on a snowboard. Graphs are what gets his engine revving, at least they would if his car wasn’t electric, and data is what you’ll find him poring over in the office. Mark enjoys good whisky, sci-fi and the latest Apple gadget, he is also the best boss in the world (Yes, he is paying me to write this).

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