FGF 576 – The Launch It All Into Space Edition

Maybe *some* of us need to get out and ride a bike more. Luckily, Hannah is in the office all by herself so no one is around to endure her angry rantings. There is quite a lot to get worked up about. But there is lots to be happy about too – like all the wonderful people and groups that won our Singletrack Reader Awards. Maybe there is hope for the human race after all. If you’re not sure if that’s the case, you can debate the future of humans in this forum thread.

One of the treats of having the office to yourself is you can play whatever music you like. Hannah has been searching for some angry protest music to relieve some pressure, and found this.

Propain Ekanu Performance

• Price: €6054
• From: Propain-Bikes.com

The Propain eKano is a whopper of an eMTB and comes with quite some claims. The one that jumps out is the option of choosing three different wheel sizes. Yes! Three. Wait! You old folks can stop cheering at the back because that doesn’t mean 26 is back. It means you can choose between all 27.5 or all 29 or a bit of both for some mullet action. I guess you could say there’s a 4th option if you want to get all weird about it and stick a 29 at the back and 27.5 at the front.

It’s a bike designed for the downs as much as the motor will drag you up again. That’s a big ole’ Zeb on the front with all the travels (170mm) and a RS Super Deluxe Ultimate RCT Air at the back (165mm). There’s a sprinkling of SRAM X01 componentry on this mid range Performance model.

The motor is a Shimano EP8 and the battery can hold 504Wh of charge.

When you order a Propain you get quite a few options like custom decals, headbadge and you can also mix and match a bit with the components before you order. But they come direct from Europe so there will be some painful Brexit tax to add on before the postman lets you have it.

That’s all we know at the moment as we’ve have only just built up our test model, but watch out for this bike criss-crossing a Yorkshire moor very soon.

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Dogs

• Price: £140
• From: A dogs home

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Charlie says… I have caught the Covid, and I’m stuck in bed. This furry chap has stuck by my side, and on top of me, and under the duvet… both of us fully exploiting the cuddling and napping opportunities.

Shipping from the Singletrack Merch Store recommences on 3/12, and everything will be upgraded to first class post.

Now, this seems like the perfect opportunity to show you our new Singletrack Dog Merch.

100% Speedcraft Glasses

• Price: £169.99
• From: Freewheel

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As the daylight hours get shorter and the trails get sloppier, you may be on the lookout for some low light glasses. Sun in your eyes is an inconvenience, mud and grit is painful. These Speedcraft glasses come with a no-tint lens for night riding, and a pink-tinted HiPer Coral lens, with 52% light transmission and a contrast enhancing tint. They’re super easy to swap out – or buy additional replacements for – and come with a choice of nosepieces for the best fit possible.

(For those like Hannah that should probably get out there and ride aggressively up some hills…)

DexShell Waterproof Thermfit Neo Gloves

• Price: £35.00
• From: Upgrade Bikes

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Waterproof gloves with a brushed merino interior for a cosy feel. These are made by DexShell, makers of a whole array of waterproof knitted items, and are slim enough to allow you to operate all your shifters and levers, plus have conductive fingers so you can use your phone. There’s no bulky insulation on these, making them a useful option for wet days when it’s not so cold that you want a pair of deep winter thermal gloves (which they also make). Silicone grip on the palms and fingers help you stay in control when really wet and slippery.

Ion Haze Amp Gloves

• Price: £59.99
• From: Ion

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These winter gloves from Ion have a neat little trick up their cuff. A waterproof ’lobster’ cover tucks inside the neoprene cuff, giving you a two in one mitt or fingered glove option. Go from adult to toddler in one neat change. Hannah might have to wear these with dungarees for the full under-3 effect. Now, who makes riding wellies with little froggy faces on them?

Gloworm XS Lightset

• Price: £265
• From: Hotlines

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This XS light comes with the new and larger ‘power pack 10’ battery to give 2800-lumens of output with a max runtime of 3 hours on full power. There are other pic and mix options available if you want to go for a smaller battery and trade off on run time. As if that wasn’t enough choice, you get the Gloworm app which allows you to customise how the handlebar remote cycles through your lighting modes – handy perhaps if you’re racing and want to conserve battery on easy sections but go full beam on technical ones.

Galibier Merino Headset

• Price: £28.25
• From: Galibier CC

If Hannah learnt anything at Kendal Mountain Festival, it’s that she doesn’t know how to look cute in a cosy hat. She’s really trying though, with all the little bits of cute hair sticking out. More lessons, and possibly a haircut, are needed. Anyway. Here she is modelling the neck wrap and beanie bundle from Galibier. Made with 50/50 merino and polyester, they’re lightweight but cosy and come in a choice of four colours.

Thread of the Week

Thinking this was going to be a thread about billionaires playing with their toys, Hannah had not opened this thread until today. So she was pleased to discover it’s actually about actual toys, and science fiction, and imaginary things. How sweet and innocent. @Harry_the_Spider gets this week’s Thread of the Week bundle.

Funn Holeshot Grips

• Price: £13.49
• From: GraniteDesign

The Holeshot grip from Funn is designed for ultimate grip and performance on the roughest of tracks. Available in 10 different colours, the Holeshot is made from a plush compound designed to absorb vibrations and reduce fatigue. It features a ‘throttle rib’ design with three additional raised ribs on the underside for added grip when things are get rough or muddy. We’ve got some of these to give away as part of Giant Singletrack Christmas Countdown Giveaway (that might be quite the right title!) that will be running every day in December so make sure you keep checking the site.

Trophies!

• Price: 8 hours at threshold, 3670 calories
• From: Hammers8

Amanda ‘the whippet’ Wishart won these last weekend at Hammers8 – fastest lap, fastest woman, first senior woman. She is living wisely and pedalling often. She does not feel the need to listen to angry music. Be more Amanda.

Albion Insulated Jacket

• Price: £165
• From: Albion

This jacket is from Albion, one of those achingly cool new-road brands from that all those London gravelle riders love. Despite having a range full of slim-fit, Lycra, there are also some great clothes that work well for mountain biking – especially for the Fast ‘n’ Light crew.

This is the Insulated Jacket 3.0 – and by ‘insulated’, Albion means ‘the absolute bare minimum’ which means that the jacket is very light and packs down very small (into a road jersey pocket or a bum bag). The jacket is mostly very, very thin DWR treated (bluesign) nylon for windproofing and features Clo Eco Vivo recycled insulation over the upper arms, shoulders and chest. Now is the time to be testing this kind of stuff, so we’ve got Chipps hugging a windmill on the top of the hill until he’s had enough. Incidentally, as it’s a slim-fit road jacket, it uses ‘punishment sizing’, so Chipps is an XL. Luckily there are sizes from XS to XXL

Ending on a less angry note (though the camera work is getting Hannah a bit worked up) here’s a song for those who just want to be with the people that matter.

Go ride up some hills, and down them again. Peace, love, and tranquility to all. Or at least try to channel your anger.

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