Has your biking mojo taken a knock of late? No longer quite feeling the love? Sanny…
Is it even December? My [Hannah] kids think it is because they are opening their advent calendars. I do not have an advent calendar (Although really, the Wera Tools one is the only one I want. Well, I want ones containing alcohol and/or cheese, but I shouldn’t have them.
Incidentally, is it worse that I’ve still got the 6mm Allen Key from the Wera set that I left in a car park, or good that I still at least have one left? I can’t decide. One as a constant reminder of what is lost, or one useful tool still available? Hmm. This feels like some kind of psychological profiling test).
Anyway. Maybe it is not December. Except there is evidence (12.5 degrees in my living room, frost and snow outside) that it might be. And there is of course…
Ooh, that’s made my eyes go a bit funny. Which is probably why Amanda is in charge of design and usually bans RED. Except Mark is in charge of editing the MEGASACK videos, so there’ll probably be RED everywhere. Mark only believes in three colours, and once he’s done green and white he defaults to RED. He sort of short circuits like someone in a game of Family Fortunes, and the only thing he can think of is RED. And then Amanda short circuits and sees red. But she is not going to be here next week because she’s off to somewhere far flung and very exciting to check out Secret Things.
Expect full design horrors next week and a total collapse in aesthetic standards. For now, it’s FGF 681, enjoy!
Orbea Laufey H-LTD
- Price: £2,699
- From: Orbea
Is winter really Hardtail Time? This is a heck of a nice looking hardtail no matter what season we’re in. Even with my [Benji] pickiest of picky moods on, all I can really pathetically sneer at is the stem and the tyres. The Maxxis Dissector tyres arguably have a place to be fair. But that place is not Pennine winter! The stem, as well as being a smidge too long for my ridiculous tastes, is one of those annoying ones with specific spacers and top cap that just makes life more difficult whilst not actually looking any better.
But… look at the rest of it. It’s pretty great. Acres of standover. Bottle bosses. Accessory bosses. Storage compartment (with its own sausage bag). Straight seat tube (huzzah!) No cables through the headset. Good tyre clearance. Shimano 4-pot brakes. Shimano 12 speed drivetrain. Decent dropper. Ergon grips and saddle. Alloy frame (say yes to metal). Metallic olive green paintjob. And yeah, I like Fox 34 forks. Short seat tube (460mm on this XL). Decent reach (500mm). Middling 64.5° head angle. 77° seat angle.
Nukeproof Blackline Dirt Suit
- Price: £450.00
- From: Nukeproof
Not a onesie. Not a pair of dungarees. The Dirt Suit is essentially a pair of trousers-with-braces that zip on to a jacket. But the zip is only across the top of what is known as “the arse”. Thus, you can wear each garment separately. Or you can go the whole muddy hog and zip them together via the aforementioned “dirt skirt” to really keep the filth out.
This suit has a 10,000mm waterproof/breathability rating three-layer bonded fabric with four-way-stretch. To regulate temperature, the suit features underarm pit-zips. The hood is large enough to fit over a helmet (say yes to over-helmet hoods). To ensure fit, there are fully adjustable braces, and the pants can be cinched by waist tabs. To keep you watertight season after season the suit comes with a repair kit too.
Endura Custom Believe Jersey
- Price: £54.99
- From: Endura
Believe this Christmas! The Endura Custom team are back to keep Christmas weird. Following on from last year’s skulls and gingerbread freak-out designs, they’ve looked to the skies for inspiration and created a UFO X Santa mash-up.
Endura: “Although Bonnybridge might be Scotland’s best known UFO hotspot, Endura’s factory in Livingston isn’t too far away from the site of the Dechmont Woods Encounter, where aliens tried to abduct a forestry worker in the late 1970s. It’s so close in fact that one of their lunchtime rides passes by a memorial stone that marks the spot. Endura are not saying that it definitely happened, but they’re not saying it didn’t either… If that’s not a good enough reason for making Christmas UFO themed, then neither Endura, nor the Zeta Reticulans can think of a better one.”
Endura has also created a Multitube and Thermal Necktube featuring the Believe design, if you want complete The Look.
Proxim Nembo T2.0 145 Saddle
- Price: £86.00
- From: Prologo
One of them thar e-bike saddles. You can use it on any bicycle you wish of course. What makes this tailored to e-bikes? I honestly don’t really know. Like a lot of ‘e-bike’ saddles, the Membo just looks like it’s a good saddle for… y’know, mountain biking. Personally speaking I [ Benji ] am something of a fan of short saddles like this one. Now that a lot of bikes have actually good seat angle these angles, I no longer feel the need to slide forward and place my perineum of the extended nose of a long saddle. Shorter, snub-nosed saddles have all the real estate I need. And I appreciate the reduction in gusset snagging of a shorter nosed saddle.
Flat shape and short. The wider nose increases “rider stability and bike control”; and the rounded rear shape for “easier entry and exit from the saddle.” For those seeking greater comfort, this 145mm wide version is available, with increased padding. The padding on both models is made of variable-density foams. The Nembo features a wide central channel, along the entire length of the saddle. The base is made from “carbon-injected nylon.
New Subscriber Discounts!
- Price: Free with all Singletrack World subscriptions
- From: Singletrack Subscriber Perks
Singletrack Subscribers get a huge array of discounts with various online shops (as well as access to all our content, ad free web browsing, double entries to the Megasack, and more). This week a whole stack of new discounts has been added:
- Dryworld 30% off
- MuscleFood up to 25% off
- Berghaus Men up to 50%
- Berghaus Women up to 50%
- Nike Kids up to 50%
- Reebok up to 60%
- UK Cycling Events up to £15 off
- Ass Saver 15% off
- Rawvelo 15% off
- Troy Lee designs up to 60%
- Footasylum up to 60%
- Castelli up to 50%
- Oakley EXTRA 5% off (Was 10% now 15%)
- Ray Ban EXTRA 5% off
- Sunglasses Hut EXTRA 5%
- Cycloc 15% off
Proxim Cush Grips
- Price: £17.00
- From: Prologo
This is another product with dubious distinction of having ‘designed for e-biking’ alluded to it. Grips is grips, man. Anyhoo. These are 132mm long and 30mm wide. The core and collar are made of a single piece of injected (recycled) nylon, the results in 93g (for the pair) weight.
The outer surface is a blend of something Proxim calls “Polymer + Kraton”, a material with the “special lamellar design ensuring high grip and vibrations absorption”. Lamellar you ask? Lamellar structures are fine layers, alternating between different materials (it says in my laptop’s dictionary).
Loop Experience Equinox Earplugs
- Price: £29.95
- From: Loop Earplugs
Hannah’s right ear has never been quite the same since she stood in front of the speakers at a Teenage Fanclub gig. Eager to continue her nights of dancing at the Golden Lion without adding to hearing loss, she’s bought some of these. And because being a parent is making mistakes so your kids don’t have to, she’s got her daughter some too.
Bum Butter 100ml Tub & Neck Muff
- Price: £27.95
- From: Bum Butter
It’s like he never went away. Because he still pops in. Charlie that is. He popped ‘n’ dropped the latest Bum Butter thang with us this week. The Bum Butter Buff Neck Muff!
For old time’s sake, Charlie says: “Muff on its own £17.99. Muff and a 100ml tub of Bum Butter saves you £10, at only £27.95! And when you can’t believe this could not get any better… Singletrack subscribers get 25% off those prices, via the Singletrack discount portal. One unique USP, as Benji spotted, is… you will never be caught out at a race without a finish flag ever again!”
Continental Argotal Tyres
- Price: £64.95 (Enduro Soft, 29×2.4in), £74.95 (Downhill Super Soft, 29×2.4in)
- From: Continental
In a year of blinging bikes, fancy forks, dishy disc brakes and er… wonderful wheelsets, it is these longly longed for hoops of rubber that have been the most eagerly awaited items of all. As Uncle Lou once sang: shiny, shiny… shiny hoops of rubber. Shiny rubber in the dark. Comes in bells, your servant don’t forsake them. Strike mistress and cure his heart.” Yes, indeed. Rubber lovin’.
Ahem. It’s fair to say that Continental’s gravity tyres have proven to be one of the big success stories of recent times. It is hard to break into the dominance of the MaxxiSchwalbe big brands and earn the attention – and desires – of racers and spectators. Well, we’ve finally got hold of some Continental Argotal tyres. Specifically we’ve got some Downhill Super Softs and some Enduro Softs.
Megasack Giveaway Day 1
- Price: £0.00 (or £899.99 if you want to buy this Unior Pro Kit toolbox right now)
- From: Megasack Giveaway Day 1
Every weekday in December in the run up to Christmas, we’ll be publishing a story and video about a product that you could win, either as a Daily Prize, or as part of the Megasack. The Megasack contains one of everything we have given away as a Daily prize – that’s 16 prizes with a total value of over £4000! Well, what THE FLIP are you waiting for?
Thread Of The Week
Congratulations (and best of luck) awarded to Killer this week. Quick! Bookmark this thread. You will need it at some point…
The winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. So @Killer please email editorial@singletrackworld.com for your random prize (it will probably be a Singletrack Forum Bottle Opener). Don’t forget to include your postal address, as it really speeds up delivery logistics like. K thx bye!
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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