From The Frozen North It’s Fresh Goods Friday 536

Fresh Goods

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Opening with the obvious – it’s really cold. Instead of grumbling about this relentless deep freeze we’re experiencing, I’d like to show you this incredible ice sculpture created at the top of the hill out of Hebden Bridge. At first I thought it was field run off, but it’s actually the product of a puddle repeatedly splashing the branches.

Amanda found an ice sculpture to brighten up a cold bike ride

I did take a photo and then walk across the road and violently break it up, for the satisfying cracks and smashes? No. Did I want to? Yes. – Amanda

Canyon Grand Canyon:ON 9

This top of the range Grand Canyon:ON features the new Shimano EP8, motor, with a 120mm Fox 34 Rhythm Grip fork. It’s an alloy frame, so at 23.15kg in this size Medium it’s no super light bike, but for all round trail use and comfort it should tick the boxes. Hannah has mostly been out playing on it in the snow.

BMC URS ONE

This modern looking gravel bike from BMC Switzerland is an 11-speed, internally routed carbon frame and fork, and features a 70˚ head angle, D-shape seatpost, mounting option for bolt-on top-tube bags and accessories.

The BMC URS features a lightweight suspension system, adding 10mm of travel and DT Swiss C1850 Spline wheels running 40mm WTB Raddler tyres.

Tribal Sport Nutrition Energy Smoothies

A natural source of energy in a convenient pouch, the Tribal Active energy smoothies contain only a few ingredients, all organic, and come in some intriguing flavours. One flavour, baobab, is worth a google image search if you like odd looking trees.

Leatt 4.0 MTB Enduro Helmet

This is Leatt’s latest helmet with detachable chin guard and ‘Turbine’ impact protection. Worn as a full face helmet it’ll pass DH certification, so you could race in it if you wanted to. The visor moves so you can fit your goggles under it should you so choose, and the Turbine system claims to protect your head from angled impacts. It’s kept in place with a Fidlock fastener on the chin strap.

Leatt Velocity 4.0 Goggles

A bulletproof lens! Do you need to know any more? OK, so it features a ‘170-degree WideVision MTB lens’, ventilation and a claimed ‘permanent anti-fog function’. They even fit over your glasses, which has Hannah wondering if the anti fog feature could come in handy while mask wearing in the supermarket.

Singletrack Magazine Issue 135

If you’re not on the list to get a copy delivered, then get over to our shop and buy one now! And if you’ve got yours, we’d love to see you reading it. Though perhaps not on the loo, thanks. We’d particularly like to see more pets reading Singletrack Magazine.

https://twitter.com/ablacktale/status/1359479134859190273

Granite Design AUX Cage

granite design aux

This actually arrived late on Friday last week which is why it didn’t feature the past FGF. The Aux is a water bottle attachment system designed for bikes that either don’t have a bottle cage mount or bikes with down tube mounted bottle cages (which nobody in the UK really likes using). The system uses sturdy straps to attach the composite bottle cage to the frame with an additional non-slip patch to stop the whole set-up moving around.

Problem Solvers Super boost Conversion

Because some brands insist on speccing their bikes with Super Boost backends and because Andi already has a bunch of excellent Boost wheels to choose from he has purchased this handy conversion kit. The Problem Solvers Superboost adapter converts a Boost rear hub so that it can be used on Superboost rear ends. The kit includes an axle spacer and a disc spacer to get everything lined up. Anyone wanting to use a similar conversion should keep in mind that the rear wheel will need re-dishing too.

Epic Bleed Solutions

You may have noticed that Andi has had a couple of Indonesian bikes delivered this month which has meant swapping the brake hoses around. This can usually be done without a bleed but these brakes needed a bit of a top-up anyway so he picked up this Shimano brake bleed kit. In actual fact, Andi purchased this from Epic Bleed Solutions via their Amazon web store, but because he was accused of bringing on the demise of the LBS we’ve linked directly to the EBS website instead of their own Amazon store. The kit comes with a couple of syringes, gloves, oil and all the necessary accessories to get your brakes biting as they should.

Patrol Merch

A couple of Patrol Mountain T-Shirts to wear while riding the Patrol 691 Evo enduro bike and ultra-affordable C091 carbon hardtail.

Microshift Advent X

  • Price: £24.99 (shifter), £59.99 (derailleur), £49.99 (cassette)
  • From: Microshift

If you’re looking to upgrade your bike to a wide range cassette but are either on a budget or still running a Shimano HG hub then the Microshift Advent X drivetrain could be the answer. This 10-speed system is affordable, easy to install and easy to set up because it is 10-speed.

Where would FGF be without a dubious musical finale? May your rides this weekend flow like a harpoon daily and nightly.

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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Comments (16)

    Martin DoyleMartin Doyle February 12, 2021 at 12:59 pm

    Thanks for the beautiful tree-icicle (tricicle?) photo there and the sublime Yehezkel Raz track – just what I needed on a fresh friday. As for Advent X groupset it’d be great to see a UK short/longterm review as I think it’s the solution to the problem of 1xing a very old bike I have without having to upgrade a tonne of things that I don’t otherwise want to get rid of. Could this be a sign of some ‘actual’ stock entering blighty as it’s been as rare as rocking horse plop thus far?

    andyandy February 12, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    I have been tempted by the leatt convertable so very interested in your thoughts.
    My current feeling is that their dbx 4 is lighter, appears to be better vented and is about £100 cheaper. I could then get a decent half shell that is probably lighter and better vented than the enduro and spend about the same without compromise on either option.

    slimshadyslimshady February 12, 2021 at 1:22 pm

    This might be the first time I see decent pics of the Leatt convertable helmet without the chin bar!

    Also, I’m eager to read your conclusions after trying the Microshift gruppo.

    andyandy February 12, 2021 at 1:29 pm

    @slimshady I thought the same! Leatt do seem to be be strangely coy on showing it on people without the chin bar

    jim-the-saintjim-the-saint February 12, 2021 at 1:31 pm

    What’s the deal with Patrol? I’m sure they’ve featured at least 10 times in ‘Fresh Goods Friday’, I’ve never seen a review and the only place you can buy one in Europe is a bike shop in Norway.

    How come they keep getting coverage in Singletrack? There’s other brands that are big outside the UK (Fuji, Reid, Crescent, etc) that never seem to get their press releases covered.

    Antony de HeveninghamAntony de Heveningham February 12, 2021 at 2:05 pm

    I’ve been using an Advent X mech and shifter with a Sunrace cassette for a couple of months. It works well and it’s and a nice way of getting a wide range on a non-Boost hub. But it’s started making some quite loud creaking noises lately so I’m going to have to dive in and have a check.

    footflapsfootflaps February 12, 2021 at 2:22 pm

    I guess Patrol send stuff into STW for FGF, hence get featured……

    kamakaziekamakazie February 12, 2021 at 2:38 pm

    The DBX 3 looks better as a half shell than full face, in fact it’s one of the best half shells for fit I’ve tried.
    The chin bar on the 4.0 looks to be of a similar size so should also be good, and looks better as a FF as well.

    trailrunnertrailrunner February 12, 2021 at 3:19 pm

    Can’t say I’m impressed with the BMC URS ONE – looks ugly……

    brakestoomuchbrakestoomuch February 12, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    I like that BMC; it looks like Tron’s gravel bike.

    NorthwindNorthwind February 13, 2021 at 1:30 am

    The real solution for superboost is to throw things at the manufacturers til they stop

    simmosimmo February 14, 2021 at 9:09 am

    given all the fuss over today’s date, I’m a bit surprised/disappointed ‘Love is a wonderful colour’ by The Icicle Works didn’t make the cut

    MattMatt February 15, 2021 at 7:52 am

    Are Moore Large actually stocking the MicroShift stuff?
    I’ve been wanting to betterize my 10 speed set up, and its looks a good choice to get a wide range, but failed to find it anywhere in UK, or an EU seller who will ship to UK.

    hopkinsgmhopkinsgm February 15, 2021 at 9:10 am

    @Matt – based on the Microsshift brand page on the Moore Large website, it doesn’t look great:
    https://www.moorelarge.co.uk/brands/microshift

    MattMatt February 15, 2021 at 1:17 pm

    @hopkinsgm
    I sent them a message yonks ago when I first saw the advent X mentioned here. No response at all.
    Kidsracing.co.uk did have some stock last year, and I wish I’d bought at the time.

    Hannah DobsonHannah Dobson February 15, 2021 at 1:37 pm

    @hopkinsgm @Matt there is news to come, just not quite yet 🙂

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