A Very Colourful Fresh Goods Friday 570

What joys will this weekend bring? Hopefully some clear skies, low winds and crunchy trails. If autumnal rides aren’t your bag, how about a duvet day with the latest issue of Singletrack World? Subscribers should have received the magazine by now, The One With Arguably The Best Cover Of The Year.

We’re also close to voting opening for the Singletrack World Reader Awards 2021. If you haven’t checked out the finalists yet, go take a look and get mulling over who you’ll vote for.

And now, let’s check out the rainbow of goods that has been squeezed through the letterbox at ST Towers this week.

Pipedream Sirius S5

• Price: £649 frame only
• From: Pipedream

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Billed as the ‘ultimate do-it-all CrMo hardtail frame’, this hardtail is optimised for 100-120mm forks (though there’s a rigid option available) and fits 29 x 2.6 or 27.5 x 2.8 wheels, or you can mix and match and go mullet. It comes in sizes ‘longish’, ‘long’ and ‘longer. At 5 foot 9andabit our Hannah will be riding this long one. While the sliding dropouts might tempt one to run it as a singlespeed, she’s glad that this test bike comes with some gears, meaning she’s got no excuses for not pointing the 65deg head angle and 77.5deg seat angle up and down all the hills she can find.

Funyuns Brand Onion Rings

• From: Lidl
• Price: 99p

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Charlie says… we often see in your comments that some of the products in Fresh Goods are beyond people’s financial (and reason) appetite. Well, we are pretty normal (ish) people here at Singletrack and hear where you are coming from. So, to offer a little balanced bicycle journalism, I present to you “Funyuns”, making onions fun with the 99p product we can all try.

Specs: Weighing in a hefty 125g there is a lot going on here. However the small print suggests that 30g is a single serving, meaning you can get four bike rides out of this one bag. The whole bag packs an impressive 45g of fat. Take a look at the pictures to see what 45g of fatty butter looks like. You can almost taste the power.

The mouth ride: So how does this snack perform in your mouth? They are onion’y, not too much so, but there is a strong aftertaste of SCAM! Look at the picture that shows the actual size of each Funyun, compared to the picture on the packet. They are much smaller in real life, around the size of 608 sealed bearing. It’s almost as if Father Dougal McGuire designed the packaging. Their texture is very similar to what has now become the industry standard in this sector, the Monster Munch. I tested them in a fillet steak sandwich build, as the “cockney salad” component, and they performed well, adding the illusion of a healthy vegetable based crunch.

Overall: Have they really made onions fun? What would the marketing people do if they had to promote “buns”… would I be tucking into “Bunyuns”? Puntastic product names aside I believe the 45g of fat in here will power me over mountains, at a much better “watt per quid” ratio, than eating a £2299 set of carbon wheels.

And balanced high quality cycle journalism is now stronger than ever. Tick box… move on.

Specialized Tactic Helmet

• Price: £100
• From: Specialized

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Earlier in the week, Specialized launch the all-new Tactic helmet. The £100 lid is designed for riders wanting increased coverage but still retain the ventilation of an open lid. The Tactic boasts Specialized’s own SBC Integrated Fit system and also comes with MIPS safety tech. Other features include a breakaway visor, eye-ware storage and a ton of cooling vents. Trail and Enduro riders can choose from 6 different colour options and 3 sizes and the price is £100.

Specialized Pathfinder Pro

• Price: £45.00
• From: Specialized

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Amanda is getting ready for a Calderdale winter by upgrading her commuter bike. Specialized Pathfinder Pro feature a slick centre for fast rolling on tarmac, with grip to the side for off-road fun. The canal in Todmorden would be graded a blue trail, so hopefully, these will keep our Art Director safe and upright.

Gusset Slim Jim Nylon Pedals

• Price: £39.98
• From: Gusset

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If you’re looking for some pedals, Gusset has these nylon versions of their Slim Jims in stock in some bright LIME and ORANGE as well as black. The ten 3mm pins are replaceable and the platform measures up at 113 x 114 x 18.5m and about 360g per pair.

Gusset S2 Extra Soft Lock-ON Grips

• Price: £19
• From: Gusset

If you’re going to have loud pedals, you might want your grips to match. The S2 come in two rubber compounds – these are the extra soft version. But still EXTRA BRIGHT. Knurled on the top side and ribbed on the bottom, with extra cushioning under your palm.

Pete Scullion Issue 139 A3 Art Print – The Sound of Arisaig

• Price: £29.99 (members get a discount)
• From: Singletrack Merch Store

This is a cover that blew our socks off, so much so, it is now available as a print for your wall. It is so easy to gaze into the multiple silhouetted horizons and let your mind drift away. The effort it would take to be in the right place at the right time to capture this picture is as impressive as the picture. Is Pete a logistical wizard of the mountains, or a damned fine artist? Probably both. It’s A3 and printed on chunky 0.7mm thick “White Unicorn” material.

Giro Latch Shoes

• Price: £129.99
• From: Zyro

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The Latch is the latest flat pedal shoe offering from Giro. Designed to offer grip and comfort on the rowdiest of trails, the upper is made from a fast drying microfibre material. The sole of the Latch features Giro’s new Gamma tread and is made from Tack Rubber – a compound they formulated with a bunch of rubber engineers to offer amazing grip and durability – while the midsole is made from a material called Mute foam that is engineered to have slow rebound characteristics to cut out chatter and vibration for increased grip.

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