Fresh Goods Friday 658 – It’s a Gas Gas Gas Edition

New Schwalbe tyres and a new Aphex Twin tune! Truly it feels like Xmas in Benji’s domain this week. On a slightly more worrying note, Benji also had several teams of Gas Engineers around his neighbourhood this week, chasing leaks from 1930s not-properly-abandoned gas pipes.

Anyway. All is well now. Apart from the several gaping holes in various neighbours’ driveways, gardens and pavements.

While the SIngletrackworld Staff get on with their ironing, here’s this week’s FGF!

Schwalbe Tacky Chan

• Price: £74.99 (29 x 2.4in, Super DH, Addix Ultra Soft)
• From: Schwalbe

NTD! New Tyre Day. And this particular one is very exciting. Why? Not just because it breaks with Schwalbe’s tradition of alliterative model names (Magic Mary, Wicked Will, Nobby Nic etc) but because… well, it’s a new tyre from Schwalbe that’s aimed gravity-ish type riding. And we have the Purple flavour. Yessssssss! The surprisingly named Tacky Chan looks a bit like a Schwalbe Big Betty. But with larger side knobs. And generally a bit gappier. Another way of looking at it is the Tacky Chan is a scaled down Dirty Dan. Maybe. Not so much visually, but in its intentions. It looks to me (Benji) like it’ll be great pedal-able winter tyre. Unfortunately, it is currently June.

Nukeproof Reactor 290 ST Factory

• Price: £5,299
• From: Nukeproof

The ST (short travel) is a version of Nukeproof’s Reactor trail bike. 125mm rear travel. Downcountry! The Reactor. T700/ 800 carbon frame. This ‘Cream’ (akak white) spec bikes come with Shimano 12 speed XT drivetrain and excellent 4-pot Hayes Dominion brakes. The ST comes fitted with Reynolds TR 309/ 289 XC carbon wheelset with a low profile and wide channel rim and Reynolds TR MTN hubs with 10° of engagement. The wheels are also backed by a lifetime warranty from Reynolds. Which is nice for carbon hoops. This Reactor ST is medium size and will be flung about the place by Amanda.

DJI Osmo Action 3 Adventure Combo

• Price: £399
• From: DJI

We really like DJI’s other video cameras – principally the excellent DJI Action 2 which has become our go-to chestcam – so we’re looking forward to getting our ‘shoot on with their GoPro-alike Action 3 camera. 4K, 120fps, HDR, 10-bit colour depth. Super-Wide field-of-view. HorizonSteady mode. Cold resistant and longer-lasting battery. Quick release vertical ‘pinch-n-click’ mount. 16m waterproof. Dual touchscreens. Various mounts in this ‘Adventure Combo’ package.

Hutchinson Wyrm

• Price: £69.95
• From: Hutchinson

The Wyrm is designed to sit (burrow?) between the worlds of XC and Enduro. Hutchinson: “The Wyrm takes its name from a giant mythological creature, armed with sharp teeth and claws and ready to attack any situation, faultlessly navigating towards its prey and avoiding blows with unmatched agility. Its armour-like shell, robust and capable of fending off multiple attacks.” Anyone remember The Lair Of The White Worm by the way? Great film. The Hutchinson Wyrm sits in between the brand’s Griffus and Kraken rubbers.

Garmin Varia RCT 715

• Price: £349.99
• From: Garmin

This camera and light will record footage of vehicles (or bears) approaching from behind. It’ll also pair with a wide variety of devices, and can give you a warning sound that a vehicle is coming from behind – which might be useful if you struggle to hear approaching vehicles, or very annoying if you ride a busy route. Promises up to 4 hours of battery life with radar and tail light on solid high or night flash, 5 hours on solid low and and 6 hours on day flash — all with camera recording at 1080p. The light is claimed to provide daylight visibility for up to a mile – the prospect of a mile long straight road is fairly terrifying, and would probably make for some of the scariest cycling imaginable!

One Up 27.2 Dropper Post

• Price: £180ish
• From: One Up

A 120mm dropper post for a gravel bike – we think this is the longest 27.2 dropper you can buy. Comes with 31.8mm clamp lever mount and V2 lever. This is for Fahzure’s e-gravel bike, because the other one he ordered wasn’t quite long enough.

Crank Brothers Synthesis Gravel Alloy Wheels

• Price: £549.98 pair (or £219.99 front, £329.99 rear)
• From: Crank Brothers

“Where Comfort Meets Performance”, baby! Tuned Alloy wheel system for gravelleurs. “Compliant tuned” front and rear wheels claim to improve handling and maximise grip and control. 26.5mm inner rim width to support tires from 40mm-48mm, providing increased tyre volume and contact patch while also adding sidewall stability. Welded and sleeved rim joint for additional strength. Nice price to boot.

Schwalbe Mystery Box

• Price: N/A
• From: Schwalbe

Despite all the fancy multi-million dollar bikes and things that arrive at our door, by far the best boxes are boxes that contain stuff for tyres! Along with the aforementioned Tacky Chan tyres, Schwalbe also supplied us with some ‘Doc Blue’ sealant (which appears to be provided by Stan’s No Tubes), some tyre levers, an nicely designed mini-pump with a cute and positive little valve lock lever, some Easy Fit tyre bead lube and some Natural Bike Soap in a neat drained-tray tin and a soft bristle brush.

Lexon GRV 120 Fork

• Price: £146
• From: eBay

Another gravel bike upgrade for Fahzure, this is the Chinese/ebay purchase: 50mm travel, flat mount, tapered, 12mm thru axle with compression lockout. He’s not fitted it yet, so no comments on performance, but out the box it appears OK. Took about 3 weeks to arrive, for those that are interested.

Shredz The North Sends T-shirt

• Price: £24.99
• From: Shredz

Handmade in Calderdale, much like this here website. Screen printed design, not like this here website. Available in either this large centre logo or in a left chest option. 100% organic cotton. Fair wear. PETA approved vegan. Soft feeling water-based inks shouldn’t peel off. Shredz hem tag. Available in quite a number of colour combos. The Best Combo being the orange on black. Obvs.

Shredz O.G. Race Jersey

• Price: £24.99
• From: Shredz

The garment that started it all for Shredz apparel. “Super versatile and perfect for bike park laps, long rides, your favourite enduro stage or just wearing about the house.”Breathable. Stretchy, Quick drying. Drop back hem for extra coverage. Raglan Sleeves. “Calderfornia” sleeve print and “Shredz 01” back print. Shredz hem tag.

Arrow Wheels Carbon MTB Rims x Hope Pro 5 Hubs

• Price: £1,249 (with Sapim Race spokes)
• From: Arrow Wheels

Another business from up-the-road (technically over-in-the-next-valley but hey), we’ve reviewed Arrow Wheels’ gravel/road wheels before – read the Arrow Wheels AGRS Road Gravel wheels review here – so we were keen to try the mountain bike wheels when they were available. And here they are. Using Sapim Race spokes to attach them to super shiny orange Hope Pro 5 hubs.

Wedding Shizzle

• Price: A world of paperwork
• From: Cupid’s arrow

In the style of a New York Times report…

Fahzure Freeride and Hannah Dobson were wed at Halifax Registry office on Monday. The small wedding party – consisting of the bride and groom, the bride’s teenage children, and two witnesses – arrived in the recently purchased Welfare Van, driven by the bride. The teenage children presented the Native American made rings (wrongly – there was some confusion about who had which ring), and the youngest child was also the photographer (which explains the low angle of most images). The bride wore a borrowed blue dress and carried flowers picked from her garden that morning. The groom wore a second hand shirt. The wedding party retired to their witnesses’ garden for drinks and a light supper. Fahzure will continue to be known as Fahzure Freeride, or Kevin Dwyer, and Hannah will be Ms Dobson when needs must. The couple will be honeymooning over the course of the summer, visiting a variety of bike shops and bike events.

(If you’re not familiar with the NYT mini-vows wedding write ups, they’re a hoot. Barefoot forest parties, Wall Street power marriages, and even something called ‘Weed Weddings’. A weird combination of right-on and power-tripping.)

Secret Socks

• Price: Nothing
• From: Nowhere

🤫

Singletrack Art Print ‘Riverside Respite’ by Martin Bissig

• Price: £29.99 (£22.94 to Singletrackworld Members)
• From: The Singletrackworld Shop

Martin tells us: “The renowned Soca River, which courses through the valley bearing its name, is a popular destination in Slovenia for hikers and river rafting enthusiasts. During our two-day stay in Soca as part of our Slovenian road trip, the weather took an unexpected turn and rain began to pour. The image captured here is the final one before a relentless 24-hour downpour ensued. The once tranquil, blue water transformed into a muddy, raging current in the days that followed, making it impossible to capture any more picturesque scenes featuring the river’s signature clear, blue water.”

• A3 and A4 size options.
• “White Unicorn” stock, as this works very well with full colour prints.
• Recycled material
• A chunky 0.7mm thick material
• Shipped nestling between two sheets of card, and then lovingly slid into a nice and stiff card envelope. This is then garnished with “Fragile” tape.

Thread Of The Week

Congratulations to bearnecessities this week for this squawktastic forum posting…

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

Grab a classifieds bargain

Hannah is not having a honeymoon

But if she was, she’d quite really like to go here. Green River, Utah, is featured in lots of freeride videos. Steep, drifting sandstone formations make for fun lines and bike surfing. She has been here, but only to buy melons. It’s a tiny middle of nowhere town with lots of empty lots, little more than a couple of petrol stations and a taco bar. With a big new Holiday Inn… wonder if it has a honeymoon suite? Or indeed, if they’re abandoned the usual white hotel sheets, with all those scabby mountain bikers passing through?

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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