Fresh Goods Friday 617: End of an Era Edition

Fresh Goods

by and 17

Six James Bonds, seven Popes, fourteen US presidents, fifteen UK prime Ministers, 144 Issues of Singletrack Magazine, 62 Italian Governments.

The UK and many millions around the world are mourning the death of the Queen this morning. Whatever you personally think of the monarchy she served as Queen for over 70 years and that’s really something. She has been a constant and a figure of consistency for her entire reign. She was a proponent of ‘carry on regardless’ and in that spirit here’s our regular FGF, which we hope may contain some respite from the constant news cycle we face over the coming days and weeks.

The first item on the Carry On agenda is Charlie’s wedding, which is today and which we will be celebrating. If you were wondering why there’s a ‘please allow 7 days for delivery’ notice in our shop, that’s why. We all wish Charlie and Tanya a great day of celebration and, well, the rest of their lives together.

More Fuel You book

Do you know what a grrreat wedding present for Charlie (and Tanya) would be? Something from the ST Shop of course!

This is the latest thing to arrive in the ST Shop. Charlie says: “Not just another sports nutrition book. Renee recommends a holistic view: by understanding the human body and being self-aware, you can find the ideal nutritional approach for you personally. Significantly, Renee also discusses areas of sports nutrition in populations that are often overlooked, including women’s health and the menopause, healthy ageing, and the inclusion of individuals who don’t necessarily conform to the stereotype of an athlete, such as people living with chronic health conditions.”

That doesn’t sound very Charlie does it? I imagine there may be a bit of CTRL+C involved there. Which is fair enough. Getting ready for a wedding is quite tying. Literally.

Abus Cliffhanger MIPS helmet

Height-adjustable adjustment system to fit the head circumference. Ponytail friendly. Laterally adjustable, non-slip TriVider strap system. QUIN compatible (a fancy electro gizmo that detects crashes and notifies your Significant Other). MIPS, obvs. ActiCage structural reinforcement integrated in the EPS. Three position visor. GoggFit allows a pair of goggles to be stowed on the helmet while riding without them. Excellent ventilation through eight air inlets and six air outlets. FidLock magnetic buckle.

Abus Airdrop MIPS helmet

Abus’ first full-face helmet. MIPS. Zoom Ace FF sdjustment system. Softer collarbone protection edge inserts. QUIN chip compatible. Breakaway visor bolts. Breathable cheek pad inserts. Sound channels so you can hear what’s going on around you. Double D-ring buckle system. Impressive ventilation through eleven air inlets and six air outlets.

Wolf Tooth Morph Stainless Steel Cage

LIttle Olive doesn’t know how lucky she is! To go with her Renthal-equipped 20in wheels Hoy kids bike, there’s now a super pimpin’ hipster droolin’ stainless steel bottle cage on there. Well, for the time being anyway. Her evil Dad will no doubt nab it back of her bike in a week or two.

Hand-bent hollow tubing. Versatile option for bikes with multiple bottle cage mounts, full-suspension frames, smaller frames, and bikes with any size of frame bag. Compatible with Wolf Tooth B-RAD Mounting Bases to adjust bottle positioning even further. Made in Wolf Tooth’s Minnesota machine shop.

Santa Cruz 5010 GX AXS RSV MX

The new Santa Cruz 5010 was announced this week. 130mm mullet trail bike with 150mm fork up front init. We’ve ridden one. You can read our first ride review here.

Specialized Hillbilly tyres

  • Price: £45 (Grid Trail T9), £50 (Grid Gravity T9)
  • From: Specialized

The new Specialized Hillbilly was also announced this week. We’ve not ridden one yet (well, any further than around the car park to help the sealant settle etc). You can read the deets of this intriguing new mud tyre here. We got a Grid Trail on a bike at the moment. The Grid Gravity we also received is waiting for a suitable bike/weather to arrive (winter ebike, in other words).

Magicshine Monteer 8000S Galaxy V2.0 and RN 1500 lights

Monteer 8000S Galaxy V2.0 – 8000 lumens max of verified output, 5x CREE XHP 50.2 LEDs. Comes with 2.4G wireless remote control with 15ft range. 10,000mAh battery, USB Type-C charging. 2.5 to 32 hour runtime. Garmin base out-front style handlebar mount (31.8mm or 35mm handlebars).

RN 1500 – lightweight rechargeable bike light that is capable of a maximum output of 1500 lumens. Built-in 5000 mAh 3.7V lithium-ion battery. Runtime：1.5 – 12.5 hours.

Time ATAC XC 8 and Speciale 12 Enduro pedals

  • Price: £150.99 (ATAC XC 8), £259.99 (Speciale 12 Enduro)
  • From: SRAM

The ATAC XC8 is designed with competitive XC, MTB and gravel riders. Lightweight carbon body alongside a chromed steel axle. Features the iconic ATAC open design that self-cleans any debris off the pedals each time you step in.

The Speciale 12 Enduro pedals offer “wide platform of these pedals allows for a great surface area contact from your feet, while the adjustable pins provide a secure and stable hold.” They ain’t exaclty cheap but they do look really rather fetching it has to be said. Chic clips!

Ride Concepts Flume Clip BOA Women’s shoe

MAX GRIP rubber. D3O High Impact Zone Technology insole absorbs impact and reduces fatigue. BOA Fit System with flexible, low-friction textile TX4 ‘strings’. Hook and loop strap for additional forefoot adjustment. EVA midsole for extra cushion and support. Heel pull tab.

Fox 34 Float Factory GRIP 2 fork

New chassis. New air/oil channels. New arch shape. New 58mm diameter crown. Updated EVOL air spring.
51mm offset for this pair. GRIP2 damper. 140mm travel (130mm also available). Kashima Rules Everything Around Me.

Gusset cockpit

  • Price: £69.99 (S2 31.8mm 30mm stem), £59.99 (S2 31.8mm 50mm rise bars), £23.99 (S2 Lock-on grips)
  • From: Ison Distribution

A complete cockpit set-up from Gusset. This little lot will come in really handy on those occasions when we get sent test bikes in that don’t quite have the front end that we all get along with. Mainly the lankier gets amongst us, let’s be honest. Rather than write-off a whole bike for the sake of a niggling front end, it’s always best to give the bike another chance with a different dimension or three. Nicely made stuff. Subtle aesthetics. Not insanely expensive either.

Gusset S2 Alloy pedals

This pedals have quite the back story to them. You can read all about the development of them here. It’s genuinley interesting (well, we thought so).

Double bush axle system. Extruded 6061 alloy body. 10 x Maz type pins with flanged base. Chromoly axle.
Sealed bearings with DU bushings. 100mm x 100mm. 1.25mm body concave which creates 2.3mm concave at the pins. Black only. 381g.

Yes, they have top-loading pins. This is always a bit controvz. But, as many flat pedal-o-philes will testify, the hollow octopus-sucker-meets-cookie-cooker nature of top-loading pins can add some serious grip to the shoe-pedal interface.

Gusset Lil Chap ISCG-05 chain device

Destined for Ross’ Raaw Madonna (AKA Her Madge). 6061 alloy with glass reinforced plastic upper guide. ISCG 05 fitment. 30-38t fitment. Weight: 39g. Just another neat little thing from the Gusset gang.

Clifton & Lightcliffe Brass Band

Charlie says… “I seem to have purchased a brass band, for a few hours. By the time you read this I should be married and enjoying the Clifton & Lightcliffe Brass Band, in a meadow, in the sunshine, with a cold beer. Weddings are rather expensive things, but the handful of hundreds spent here feels like much better value than all the vases, flowers, table runners, napkins, and fancy superfluous tat etc. I have requested Sabbath’s “War Pigs”. I am probably pushing my luck.”

Have a day!

Thread of the Week is having a rest this week.

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Amanda Wishart

Art Director

Amanda is our resident pedaller, who loves the climbs as much as the descents. No genre of biking is turned down, though she is happiest when at the top of a mountain with a wild descent ahead of her. If you ever want a chat about concussion recovery, dealing with a Womb of Doom or how best to fuel an endurance XC race, she's the one to email.

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Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)
  • Fresh Goods Friday 617: End of an Era Edition
  • tthew
    Full Member

    Congrats Charlie!

    Also, how loooong are those Abus peaks? Unless it’s just the photo’s that make it look that way.

    Posted 1 year ago
    aide
    Full Member

    Congratulations to Charlie and Tanya.

    Posted 1 year ago
    jameso
    Full Member

    Can I do the general moan this week? £1100 forks, £180 helmet, £200 bike shoes to go with your £260 pedals …and a £9k+ bike.

    shrug

    It’s like looking on Hypebeast occasionally for a bit of otherworldly entertainment that generally has zero relevance to me but there’s the odd bit of creative interest.

    I get that some find the high end as interesting as I find it uninteresting and it’s what’s sent in not what STW request. And it’s not always like this. Does it get filtered, is what FGF represents considered?

    Posted 1 year ago
    On-oneplus26
    Full Member

    Brass band – yup, War Pigs – Check…

    Happy wedding day.

    Posted 1 year ago
    pnik
    Full Member

    There is gusset stuff in there too, which is not at the high end cost wise. So I think you’re being a bit selective there., I do get the moan, I’m generally trying to find the middle ground with stuff, but innovation/development happens in the main at the high end and if it’s any good filters down. Cheap stuff is rarely new or interesting except when it breaks then it gets interesting.

    It’s fresh goods, not tired rebadged goods Friday after all. More than that it’s about what they get sent, and the manufactures send their flagship products not the boring stuff mortals buy..

    Posted 1 year ago
    footflaps
    Full Member

    Good selection of stuff this week!

    Posted 1 year ago
    the00
    Free Member

    I was hoping to see some new EXT forks 🤷‍♂️

    Posted 1 year ago
    kelvin
    Full Member

    There is gusset stuff in there too

    That 30mm stem looks neat. On the list.

    Posted 1 year ago
    jameso
    Full Member

    I think you’re being a bit selective there

    I am, yes. It’s just the general impression of FGF I get and FGF reflects the industry to an extent.

    innovation/development happens in the main at the high end and if it’s any good filters down.

    It does generally happen that way but it’s marketing needs that make it happen at the high end imo. If you can filter it down you could have made it there in the first place? High end products are price-positioners. I’m not saying don’t have the real high-end, that would be a bit Commie. More about the space that these products get relative to actual sales/use. I can’t say it’d be good to see more development at a lower RRP level, look at how good Advent 10 or Deore etc is these days.

    the manufactures send their flagship products not the boring stuff mortals buy..

    Hence my *Partidge shrug*. To be fair I expect they send a mix of kit and I’ve never really been into bike bling anyway. This is a shouting at clouds topic from me : )

    Posted 1 year ago
    MrOvershoot
    Full Member

    James
    Hence my *Partidge shrug*. To be fair I expect they send a mix of kit and I’ve never really been into bike bling anyway. This is a shouting at clouds topic from me : )

    Anyone using the Partridge shrug GIF is OK with me. I’m lucky to be reasonably well off and those prices make me laugh, its not a hobby any more its an arms race. OK I have been doing it since the late 80’s and I’m sure my Saracen traverse hydrotech comp I bought in 91 for £600 seemed like a stupid amount after buying a Marin Mount Vision the year before for much the same amount. I have searched around and it says today that £600 should be about £1500 these days?
    Anyone with a better grasp of all this stuff tell me if this is wrong? Inflation

    Posted 1 year ago
    brakestoomuch
    Full Member

    Congratulations Charlie and Tanya. Hope you have a great day.

    Shouldn’t the price of the first helmet have been put at the end of the article? 🙂

    Posted 1 year ago
    Northwind
    Full Member

    I really like the Gusset “road to our pedal” thing, would love to see more of that. Especially showing the failures!

    Posted 1 year ago
    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    Keep an eye on those XC8s, I had a set of XC2s and a set of XC4s self destruct on me out on the trail 🙄

    I picked up some if the Julien Absolon editions on eBay and they’re now my ‘fir race only’ CX pedals as they clear so much better than Shimano or Look

    Posted 1 year ago
    alanclarke
    Full Member

    Cheaper Time pedals are available, I have broken one of the plastic ones but very happy with the smaller & cheaper 8-Enduro pedals – and all options are cheaper than new knees, which is a serious consideration in my family

    Posted 1 year ago
    snotrag
    Full Member

    Interested to hear how you get on with the 34. I bought one in December and have been massively impressed with it, the new chassis think its enough of an imporvement that i reckon theres a lot of people riding 36’s who would be better served with this new 34 (I have owned the old 34 and 36 to compare too).

    Posted 1 year ago
    tmays
    Free Member

    Why would anyone run a chain guide without an integrated bash plate underneath? 1 quick bang of a rock and it’s ride over without one (bent chainring teeth can’t be fixed). Maybe I should stop trying to hop up rocks…

    Posted 1 year ago
    Northwind
    Full Member

    Top only guides are fantastic tbh. Chain retention is pretty much 100% with one of those and a narrow/wide ring. (you can still backpedal it off, or have it fall off in a crash etc but I’ve literally never had a single chain drop since I started using them,including dh and enduro racing, the mega, etc etc) The narrow wide does all of the heavy lifting but the guide is what makes it perfect.

    And they weigh almost nothing, are cheap, and very very easy to fit so there’s almost no downside. IMO if you’ve got ISCG mounts and 1x you should probably fit one, whereas bash plates are definitely a thing that most people don’t need.

    Single ring makes bending chainring teeth pretty hard since they’re protected by the chain. Course, you can scrape and damage a chain enough to cause problems but I’ve never had it happen. Stopped using bash protection except on the dh bike when I went 1x, since back then I might bash the ring while in the granny.

    Posted 1 year ago
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