FGF 567 – The Duvet Edition

This Fresh Goods Friday comes to you from under a duvet. We’ve kissed goodbye to Drink Beer At Your Desk Friday and said hello to Drink Hot Chocolate Under Your Duvet Friday. It’s less rock and roll, though the risk of disastrous spillages remains high. Are we quivering at the thought of life without Lauren? Are we hiding from the Autumn mists and drizzle? Wracked with anxiety over imminent PCR test/international flight logistics? Or just embracing Friday to its full potential?

Have yourselves a sad hot chocolate. Because not all Fridays are amazing, and that’s OK.

Peek out from under your duvets and from behind your screens, and come check out this week’s Fresh Goods.

Boardman MTR 9.0

• Price: £2,200
• From: Halfords and Tredz

This bike has been so popular we’ve not been able to get our hands on a test bike until now. Barney will be trying out this size XL to see what all the fuss is about. With Shimano M7100 SLX 1×12, a 10-51T cassette, Shimano SLX 4-piston brakes and Rockshox Pike Select 150mm air fork, it looks good on paper. Curiously, the marketing blurb says ‘Longer and slacker than previous generations the design is built to perfectly compliment British and Irish trails’. Which leaves us pondering the specific nature of British and Irish trails.

FINDRA Barra Waffle Merino Gilet

• Price: £125
• From: Findra

This is a unisex merino gilet, made using seamless knitted merino. It has a double layered double face fabric, the outside is an all-over waffle texture knit, while the inside is a smooth plain knit. The cold air apparently gets trapped between the two layers, protecting you and keeping your core regulated. Also goes well with lounge wear in the home office. Very cosy.

Kingud cleaning and bike protection products

• Price: Various
• From: Kingud

With winter on the way, muddy rides are just on the horizon so what better time to get stocked up on cleaning and protection products for your ride. Kingud, based in Wales, manufactures a massive range of eco-friendly cleaning, lube and protection products to keep your bike looking and functioning like new. The Kingud range includes shampoo, lubes, clothing freshener and finish protection products. It’s all the same product that the Atherton team uses, and many other teams also keep a bottle of Kingud hidden from the media as a secret weapon.

Granite Design Portaledge

• Price: From £16.99
• From: Granite Design

If your mountain bike has room for a trail accessory mount then Granite Design has the add-on for you. The Portaledge comes in two variants, one for dedicated accessory mounts and another that can attach to bottle cage mounts beneath the bottle cage. Each version uses a lightweight aluminium frame for a solid foundation with a velcro strap for adding tubes, tools and packable jackets. What we like about the Portaledge, over a basic strap system, is that the strap doesn’t come into contact with the frame, an issue in winter where grit and sand can scuff expensive frame finishes. Granite design offers the Portaledge in black and orange and the larger XE model comes with longer bottle cage bolts too.

Pirelli Scorpion Smartube

• Price: £27.99
• From: Extra UK

Now that you have your Portaledge mounted to your frame you’re going to want something to strap to it, well how about a lightweight inner tube from Pirelli? The Scorpion Smartube weighs in at just 100g, so it won’t add unnecessary weight to your bike or pack. The bright yellow tube is made of Thermoplastic Polyurethane which won’t lose air as some lightweight tubes do.

Fox Rampage Pro Carbon MIPS

• From: Fox Racing
• Price: £460

The Rampage Pro Carbon MIPS is the top end, ultimate protection full face gravity helmet from Fox Racing. Featuring a MIPS liner, Variozorb dual density line and a lightweight carbon shell, the Rampage Pro carbon is designed for those looking to go as fast as possible on the the worlds roughest tracks. Keep an eye on the site out for a full in-depth look at the this new helmet and a chance to win one for yourself.

Nukeproof Blackline Race Shorts

• From: Nukeproof
• Price: £90

The Blackline Race shorts from Nukeproof are designed and made using a combination of fabrics to give the best performance where needed. The main body has minimal seams and aa lightweight stretch fabric for added comfort and ease of movement, while the outer areas use a tougher Cordura Nylon fabric for additional protection. They utilise triple stitching on the inner leg seams for added strength while the rest of the seams and waistband are bonded for comfort. They feature two zipped pockets and laser cut vents on the legs for added ventilation.

See you next week, enjoy the weekend, whatever you’re up to.

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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