Fresh Goods Friday 660 – The Pump Me Pub You Edition

Hannah says: Living with an American is an endless source of lingual anomalies. My latest observations are around their curious deployment of French. A piece of fish without bones? I bet you and I said fill-it. Them, fill-ay. Fatbiking is a nitch of cycling to Americans, but a neesh to us. After the kids throw up in the car, we get it val-uht-ed. They get the tater tots and corndog mush removed with a val-ay. Benoit Coulanges… I’m still giggling.

Now add in some northern English. Recent visitors were aware that ‘tea’ had multiple meanings, so when they were invited to meet someone for tea at 5.30pm, they weren’t sure what they would get (cheese and wine was the distinctly not northern result). Pudding is another major source of confusion. You can eat black pudding for breakfast, have rice pudding for dessert, suet pudding for main course with gravy (no, not their sort of gravy) and chips, or sticky toffee pudding for pudding. Not of these puddings are anything like an American pudding, which is… one of those dessert things that comes in a pot like a yoghurt pot. But not a mousse, or a flan. Confused?

You probably are. And hungry. But it’s Friday, which means you can go full fat Friday with your Fresh Goods. Nom.

Mongoose Fireball Moto

• Price: £550.00
• From: Mongoose

If you are lucky enough to live in the Red Rose county you’ll be fully aware of just how addicted to building pump tracks Lancashire County Council appears to be. Seriously, there’s more pump tracks in the county than branches of Starbucks. There are certainly more pump tracks than miles of bridleway. So clearly this peculiar situation calls for drastic measures. The measures in this instance being having a go on a dirtjump/pumptrack bike. Mongoose Tectonic T1 aluminum. HL VAXA 100mm (if you REALLY stack it hard) travel fork. 32/14T singlespeed drivetrain. Mechanical disc brakes. Double wall 36H rims. ‘Unifier’ seat post and saddle. I [Benji] am stocking up on plasters and iodine as we speak.

Mango DO.GG 1X

• Price: from £689.99
• From: Mango Bikes

Amanda: “This is a commuter bike that won’t cause anxiety issues if I lock it up outside a cafe or pub. It’s a pub bike. The disc brakes aren’t currently an option when ordering from Mango, but if I give some good feedback on them, maybe they will be. So far I have been shocked at how good this bike is – it shifts clean and quickly, rides smooth and nothing rattles. I chose a drop bar build because sometimes you need to get to or from the pub quickly, and that truly is the only justification for them. This particular build is ~£700.”

Pearson Gravel Apparel

• Price: Bibs £150, Jerseys £90 each, Merino tee £55, Gilet £75, Base £45
• From: Pearson

A whole wheelbarrowfull of gravelleuring apparel from Pearson. Pearson claims to be “the world’s oldest bicycle business”, by the way. “With comfort in mind, Pearson has also crafted a distinctive double bib-strap design on their Road ‘Brace Yourself’ Bib-short and ‘Cut To The Quick’ Race Day Bib-short, which holds them up with an even around-the-waist distribution, alleviating pressure points and warm front mesh bib sections often featured on bib-shorts. The Women’s Waist Short – named ‘Fancy Free’ has a crossover at the waistband for riding comfort, designed without shoulder straps for fuss-free and quicker comfort breaks.

“Pearson’s commitment to making their ranges as sustainable as possible means creating products from quality fabrics for long life. Recycled materials are included in the Men’s Road Race Day Bib-shorts and Men’s Road Race Cargo Bib-shorts, while both the men’s and women’s Far Out Adventure T-shirts are made of 50% recycled polyester and 50% merino wool, a naturally antimicrobial material that resists odours for longer and requires less washing.”

Maxxis Forekaster

• Price: £69.99
• From: Freewheel

Although these were released last year we’ve never had any Actual Tyres for review. Until now. Apparently the latest Forekaster is now a tyre for short-travel trailbikes. Something to sit between the Aspen/Ikon/Ardent and the Assegai/Minion/Dissector. Hang on though, the new Forekaster appears to be very much more of a wet weather XC tyre compared to the previous shallower tread version? We guess it maybe depends on your type of wet weather.

Hagen Automation Dipwax System Kit

• Price: £24.99
• From: Hagen Automation

Dipwash cleaner is a specifically low-volatile solvent with “massive cleaning power” yet dries to a zero residue finish. Dipwax is water based wax lubricant using carnauba wax and friction reducers. It dries to a “durable, clean, dry coating. No mess, no fuss, no clag buildup.” The dipwax system kit comes with: dipwash cleaner 250ml pouch, dipwax chain lube 250ml pouch, dipwax 20ml top up lube, nitrile gloves and… stickers! Yesssss.

Mini Pottery Wheel

• Price: £35.00
• From: A gift (but findable on Amazon)

Amanda: “Why do I have a mini pottery wheel? I’m not sure. Am I good at pottery? We’ll see. I’ll aim to include one pot per week in Fresh Goods Friday and will welcome constructive criticism.”

Doorbell steel box

• Price: £52.78
• From: Amazon

Someone nicked our techno doorbell. So we’ve got this. We were tempted to go down the Magnavolt from Robocop 2 option. But we didn’t.

Ritchey Ultra Hardtail

• Price: £1,055 (for the limited 50th anniversary model)
• From: Ritchey

This 50th anniversary Ritchey Ultra frame made an appearance a few FGFs ago, but it’s back again as a finished bike, just so you can see how it looks. This is an XL frame (with ‘conservative’ numbers – 460mm reach, 51.5cm seat tube, 68.5°/74° angles) and it will take 29in tyres up to 2.4in or, as built up here, 27.5in tyres up to 2.8in. It’s designed for a 130mm fork. This build is mostly ‘worn but good’ stuff from Chipps’ archives and probably only needs a dropper post to make it a proper old school singletrack slayer.

ODI Reflex Grips

• Price: £27.99
• From: Freewheel

The ODI Reflex grips are a kind of ‘best of’ ODI’s grip designs, with different grip zones doing different things. The boxed-in ribs help cushion the palm for reduced arm pump, while the file tread and ribs of the underside are good for finger grippin’. The ODI Reflex grips are single lock-ons and, as Benji will be delighted to hear, you can even knock the ends out to run bar end mounted brush guards…

Challenge Getaway XP

• Price: €68/£TBC
• From: Challenge

The Challenge Getaway tyre already claims a couple of Unbound podiums to its name and, while there are tan wall versions in 700 x 36, 40mm and 45mm, there was a need for more abrasion and puncture resistance. Here, the XP (Xtra Protection) version is designed for more rugged situations, where sidewall protection is worth a couple of extra grams of weight. This is thanks to the beautifully named ‘CORAZZAARMOR GOLD’ – ‘a special layer of a tightly woven material placed on the tyre, reinforcing it further for more aggressive conditions.’ It still features a 260TPI carcass, comes in 40mm or 45mm and, like all of Challenge’s tyres is handmade.

Rosé

• Price: No longer £4…
• From: All of the good shops!

It’s summer, so it must be time, right? According to Chipps’ local supermarket, it’s definitely rosé season. Apparently in France, it’s illegal to ‘make’ rosé by mixing white wine and red wine (which Chipps might have tried to do at a drama-laden family birthday party once…) No, it has to be done in the initial fermentation, where the red wine skins are kept with the juice for a day or so. Now you know, eh?

Singletrack Club Ride W’s Bandara Women’s Riding Shirt

• Price: £79.99 £29.99
• From: The Singletrackworld Shop

Charlie says: “The Bandara is our take on the classic western shirt. Our stretch woven fabric will keep you feeling good on a ride or to the local pub. A UPF fabric, mesh under the arms and down the side will keep you out of harm’s way while keeping you cool at the same time!

“Sizing. We have found that shirts fit as follows: S (US XS) fits UK size 8/10, M (US S) fits UK size 10/12, L (US M) fits UK size 12/14, XL (US L) fits UK size 14/16. If you are not happy with the size, don’t worry, just email us and we can swap it over or refund. It is all cool.”

Thread Of The Week

Well done to MoreCashThanDash this week (and everyone else who joined in to make this thread what it became)…

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

Classifieds! Browse for a bargain

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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