Fresh Goods Friday 653 – The Fast & Bulbous Edition

That’s right, The Mascara Snake, fast and bulbous. Bulbous also tapered? That’s right. Certainly when it comes to carbon enduro bikes at least. Confused? You’re excused. But not before you’ve cried a tin teardrop over this week’s rather large collection of Fresh Goods.

Cotic FlareMAX Gen 5 Trail Gold XT

• Price: £4,849
• From: Cotic

Will this fifth generation bike take you into the fifth dimension of mountain biking? Quite possibly. One thing’s for sure, it sure is a handsome steed in this Teal livery and Cane Creek dampers (“dampers” is what we deluded bike journos have ended up calling a bike’s bouncy bits. I know. Jesus Christ.). This bike was officially launched today at 7am but we’ve had one for the past week or so. 125mm rear travel, 130mm forked downcountry ‘n’ western superstar DJ. Or summink. Hey, go read our Cotic FlareMAX Gen 5 – First Looks ‘N’ Feels article if you want some actual sense.

Cairn E-Adventure Rambler Edition

• Price: £4,289
• From: Cairn Cycles

Designed for “adventurous souls” and “perfected in the picturesque landscapes of West Sussex, UK”. The E-Adventure Rambler Edition (free red socks with every purchase?) features the Fazua Ride 50 motor and battery system in an alloy gravel-centric frameset. Wide range 13-speed Campagnolo (there’s a name you don’t see often in FGF) Ekar drivetrain. Low-slung, suspension-ready frameset. Plenty of versatile rack mounts ready to be filled up for a day at the office (boo) or a weekend away backpacking (yay). For a limited time only, Cairn Cycles is offering Singletrack World subscribers an exclusive £300 discount on this lightweight adventure e-bike. Get yourself signed up to the weekly newsletter to find out the code. It’s got all sorts of other good stuff in too, like drawings by Amanda, and words by Hannah, so you should sign up anyway.

Yeti SB160

• Price: from £7,299
• From: Silverfish UK

This race season, Hannah wants/needs a full-bore enduro race bike. And what brand do you think of when you think of Enduro World Series? Why, Yeti of course. It’s fair to say that Yeti has gone all-in on enduro racing. It doesn’t really do much other types of pushbike racing in fact. Sure, it’s probably going to launch Mr Rude into a round or two of the Downhill World Series this year, but it’s enduro that seems to be Yeti racing raison d’etre. And with Bex Baraona and Richie Rude piloting their Yeti rigs to EWS podium after EWS podium, it’s clear that the Yeti 160 sure has the capability.

Hannah says…erm… I fear pressure is being heaped upon me and expectation is weighing me down. I had some vague race season and summer road trip plans. And then my car died and I can’t go anywhere. So I shall probably spend most of my time just riding local laps and trying to keep up with my much radder and faster than me new husband. But once/if I sort the vehicle wheels issue, look out world. Enduro Hannah is coming. Possibly. Maybe. If you wear all the gear but don’t go fast, is it an enduropootle?

Sram GX Eagle AXS Upgrade Kit

• Price: £584
• From: SRAM

Charlie says: “Fed up with sketchy shifting from my NX mech, I overreacted, and replaced it with electronic shifting from SRAM. It turns out a slightly bent mech hanger was the issue. Installation was a breeze. However, downloading new firmware for a mech feels very odd. Performance is wonderous. Benji loves it too and wrote about it here.

“It’s an impressive kit, partly because you get a coaster for your brew, and a neat multi tool. The solo shifter mount was very welcome as the shifter is a little bulky, and when mounted on the brake lever I had little room for my big hands.”

Leatt Shorts MTB Enduro 3.0

• Price: £99.99
• From: Hotlines

Lightweight shell fabric. Pre-curved knees for excellent pedaling – or typing-at-desk – performance. 360° stretch fit
Dirt, water and stain resistant fabric coating. Ripstop 3-layer laminated seat panel. Hip, thigh and rear pockets
Back gripper to prevent seat drop. Multi-row reinforced stitching. In this rather fetching John Major grey.

Leatt Pants MTB HydraDri 5.0

• Price: £209.99
• From: Hotlines

4-way stretchy ‘HydraDri MAX’ fabric. Pre-curved riding fit. Space for knee pads. Ankle cinch adjustment. Dirt, water and stain resistant fabric coating. Multi-row reinforced stitching. Inner thigh vents. Hip pockets. Rear waist pocket. Thigh cargo pocket with silicone gripper (just call it a ‘phone pocket’ m’kay?) Just in time for the inevitable Half Holiday Weather Downturn.

Leatt Jacket MTB HydraDri 5.0

• Price: £259.99
• From: Hotlines

I don’t know if Leatt call this colour scheme ‘West Yorkshire Conurbation Camo’ but they should do. You can have that for nowt. Anyway… some features that look Actually Good: 30.000mm waterproof /30.000g/m² breathability, ClimbVent connector for pedaling with the jacket open, Chin fold design, three-point adjustable hood with stiffened peak fits over full-face helmets and – last but not least- a seat gripper to reduce ‘jacket rise’.

Leatt Jersey MTB AllMtn 2.0

• Price: £39.99
• From: Hotlines

When is a T-shirt not a T-shirt? When it’s got ‘2.0’ written at the end of it, that’s when. This not-a-tee is made from something called TENCEL which is a “high-performance comfort material”. Stretch fit for riding with body armor. Collar design for use with a neck brace. Microfiber eyewear wipe and pocket.

Leatt Shoe 2.0 Flat

• Price: £109.99
• From: Hotlines

New compound sole. Improved tear, puncture and abrasion resistance. Revised WaffleGrip Pro sole pattern for improved grip with short pins. Compression laces for a tight riding fit that should not come loose when riding. Anti-compression midsole for comfort. Active Carbon insole moisture wicking, quick dry, anti-bacteria, anti-stink material for comfort and hygiene. Stealth heel protection and external molded TPU toe protection. Anti-heel lift grip design.

Leatt Shoe 3.0 Flat Pro

• Price: £149.99
• From: Hotlines

Dial-up ‘MOZ’ cable lacing fit system on top of the shoe. Same revised compound, sole tread and features as the shoe above. Synthetic leather-like shoe upper. Neoprene ankle collar. We’re always on the lookout for a flat pedal shoe that doesn’t use laces… that is also an actually good riding shoe. We can’t wait to give these a spin out.

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Leatt Shoe 6.0 Clip

• Price: £159.99
• From: Hotlines

A lightweight trail shoe. The ATOP lace system. The RideGrip sole compound with a WaffleGrip pattern. This clipless shoe features a relatively long cleat channel (move the cleat forwards for “power orientated ride”, or further back for “more aggressive gravity riding”). The breathable membrane is intended for Spring-to-Autumn riding conditions. The shoe is generally reinforced in key areas to improve protection and extended product life.

Leatt Glove MTB 2.0 X-Flow

• Price: £39.99
• From: Hotlines

In case anyone in the office is looking for these beautiful gloves, I (Benji) have stolen them. And I don’t even wear gloves. Well, I do sometimes. So I’m having ’em. They’re clearly too big for Hannah here anyway. I tried them on and they fit like… you know what. If anyone else with size Large hands wants them. Er. I’ve lost them?

Olives

• Price: £forgotten
• From: Scotland

Amanda went on holiday to Scotland and brought back this traditional souvenir of olives for Hannah’s American partner. We are doing our best to keep him really confused about our odd European customs and traditions. On a related-ish note: if you haven’t watched Ted Lasso, you should. It will make you laugh and you will feel warm and fuzzy and happy about the world.

HebTroCo Sheffield 6inch Chef Knife

• Price: £175
• From: HebTroCo

While we all eagerly await the HebtroCo/TJagain makeover, here at ST Towers we have hardware from the trouser boys. This knife is made in Sheffield and is 6 inches long. You don’t need to be a chef to use it. But it is sharp, so you do need to be careful. It comes with a first free sharpening from Community Cutlery knife sharpeners in Ilkley, so you should be able to keep slicing tomatoes nice an easily for the foreseeable future. The handle is made from yew, the blade is made from steel – apparently a fine grained steel originally designed for razor blades. Hannah likes cooking, and chopping. She hates washing up. You shouldn’t put this knife in the dishwasher. Luckily, she is getting married. Her 12 year old is unimpressed that it comes from Sheffield. ‘What’s so special about Sheffield?’ he says. But he is impressed with its slicing abilities.

HebTroCo Storm Stick Stove

• Price: £57.50
• From: HebTroCo

Fire in the hole! Put sticks in the bottom section, fill the upper container with water, and wait for the fire to turn your cold water hot. The container is like a Kelly Kettle big donut kettle/chimney, with the fire – and smoke – actually going up the middle, so you’re heating your water all the way through rather than just from the bottom. Made of spun aluminium in the UK, it comes with a bag so you can carry it with you on your travels. Instructions (lifted straight from the HebTroCo site) are: Place vent hole towards the wind. Fire and hot water will burn. It will boil water in 6-8 minutes providing fuelling is good and a light breeze (you can also blow yourself or get a friend too).

Abus Smiley 3.0 Kids Helmet

• Price: £31.99
• From: Extra UK

Great protection for little rippers, this helmet has an EPS shell and extends both low down the back of the head, and forward onto the temple. It has a height adjustment system inside, padded lining on the forehead for comfort and a secure fit, and good breathability. Teddy is over the moon with it, after many deliberations about what it colour to get!

Abus YouDrop Full Face Kids Helmet

• Price: £99.99
• From: Extra UK

A removable chin bar and a detachable peak are just two great features on this kids helmet. It has 9 vents, an adjustable fit, removable and washable padding, fly nets and large reflectors for visibility. It is only available in one colour and size – black, 48-55cm.

Babies In Blankets

• Price: Nothing. You had these in your bag anyway.
• From: Your bar bag

Charlie says: “Anything goes when you are bikepacking. We are all familiar with how fruit and meat can be a great partnership: pork and apple, turkey and cranberry… that sort of thing. Now you can enjoy the pleasure of fruity meat out on the trail. Simply wrap a jelly baby in a slice of chorizo and you are there. I didn’t really need to give you the recipe did I.

“This may sound very odd and appear to be a food perversion… but I can assure you it is really bloody nice. Also, don’t forget, fat and sugar are the super foods of the bikepacking world.”

Bikepacking Wales by Emma Kingston

• Price: £20.00
• From: SingletrackWorld Shop

Charlie says: “18 great multi-day mountain bike adventures. Each route includes all the information you need to help you plan your ride, including points of interest along the route, swimming spots, food recommendations and accommodation options, in addition to stunning photography and overview mapping. Downloadable GPX files of the routes are also available, including optional routes and shortcuts. This book is full of practical tips and essential advice for both experienced bikepackers and those who want to try it out for the first time.”

Thread Of The Week

Phoning this one in from his Las Vegas tombstone, franksinatra proves he’s one of life’s winners even in death with this all-too-familiar call-to-inaction…

The winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. And it’s the fabulous majestic Singletrack Forum Bottle Opener! So, HULLO! to franksinatra! Please email editorial@singletrackworld.com. Please include your postal address, as it really speeds up delivery logistics init.

What is Fresh Goods Friday?

It’s Singletrack’s long running, weekly roundup of all of the new products that have been sent in to the magazine.

Where do all of the goods come from?

They’re sent in by bike companies and marketing agencies

What happens to all of the products?

They’re featured and then some are reviewed down the line in either Singletrack Magazine or in online reviews and photoshoots.

What happens to them when you’ve finished with them?

They’re usually sent back after review, or kept on long-term test bikes. But no one ever asks for shorts and shoes back. Trust us on that. Once we were asked to return some brake pads.

I’m a company making the next big thing. How much does it cost to feature in FGF?

Nothing. Nil. Zero. Diddlysquat. Sod all. Just send all ‘next big things’ to us at – Fresh Goods Friday, Singletrack Magazine, Lockside Mill, Dale Street, Todmorden. OL14 5PX. Please note that if you require the products back after they have featured then you are responsible for arranging collection at your cost. While it is our policy to feature everything we receive in FGF if we decide your product is not suitable for publication we won’t do it. Publication is at our discretion. Whether a product goes on for publication as a review is at editorial discretion. Beer, coffee & spirits will ALWAYS be tested.

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