TFFT meaning Thank Fully February is Through. And whose idea was it to stick an extra flipping day on the end of The Most Annoying Month on the calendar?
Now that March is here everything will be okay. That is a 100% cast iron guarantee*. Regardless of the vagaries of the weather, one thing that month of March is guaranteed to bring is more hours in the day. Whilst this is not strictly – or indeed anywhere near being – true, most people will feel like there’s some sort of daylight bonus scheme in operation as the days really do start to contain noticeably less darkness.
And because we are mountain bikers, this change is vibrancy immediately gets the brain cells working. At what point can we go for a ride that fulfils all of the following criteria?:
- After work
- Doesn’t require lights
- Fits in with family life
Much like Mr Bontrager’s “strong, light, cheap: pick two” mantra. I fear that for a good while yet, a weekday ride window that ticks all of the bulletpoints above (can you tick a bulletpoint?) is a pipedream. You’re going to have accept a two out of three combo, at best.
Orbea Occam SL M-LTD
- Price: £10,995
- From: Orbea
Another day, another Occam. You may remember we had the bigger sibling – the Orbea Occam LT – in a previous Fresh Goods Friday. This one here is the Occam SL. The SL has 140mm rear travel. Compared to the LT, the Occam SL has a longer effective top tube and reach, a shorter wheelbase, a steeper seat angle, a lower stack height and a steeper head angle. The Occam SL is the lower-slung, quicker steering machine. Whereas the Occam LT is the more heads-up and stable ride. The Occam SL comes with remote suspension lock-out and the shock yoke is made from carbon fibre. Standby for a more an in-depth feature on the duality of Occams coming soon to this very website.
Patagonia Worn Wear Patch Kit
- Price: £23
- From: Patagonia
Pre-sticky patches for repairing your gear – no iron needed so you could even do this on the trail. These come in a variety of fun shapes, as well as some plainer ovals and a big patch you could cut as required.
Patagonia Worn Wear Repair Roll
- Price: £55
- From: Patagonia
This repair roll consists of two organisers plus a Field Repair Kit to get you started. Whether you kit it out entirely with fabric repair items, or perhaps a mix of lesser needed bike items and gear items, is up to you. You can split it into two separate rolls, or keep them connected as a single large item. Handy perhaps for those round the world travellers.
Schwalbe Tacky Chan & Big Betty
- Price: £70.99
- From: Schwalbe SQUIRREL_TEXT_13021866
- SQUIRREL_TEXT_12999142
No, we haven’t had these tyres in before. They were TOTALLY different tyres. Oh yes. The previous Schwalbe Tacky Chan and Big Betty tyres weren’t in the newish Super Trail casing flavour. Compared to the Super DH versions (which are the only Chans we’ve really had), the Super Trail versions lose around 200g, and they a bit more supple (not hugely though, it has to be said). The Chan is purple-stripe Addix Ultra Soft. The Betty is orange-stripe Addix Soft. Anyhoo, while the ground conditions are still a little bit knob-cloggy, we’re glad of the gappier treads of the Tacky Chan and Big Betty.
SDG x Orange Strange Bel Air III Saddle
- Price:
£60.00£40.00 - From: Orange Bikes
This is clearly destined for Benji’s Orange Switch 6. A Strange branded SDG Bel Air III Saddle. Strange being Orange’s sort of colab/proto department. The Bel-Air V3.0 saddle stil echoes the profile of the original Bel-Air but has seen a lot of tweaks over the years; bit slimmer, bit more rear risey, bit hsorter front to back. Still a very popular perch for a whole lorra folk.
Panaracer GravelKing
- Price: £54.99 GK, £64.99 Plus & R-Line
- From: ZyroFisher SQUIRREL_TEXT_13021867
Time for a shiort gravel interlude in Fresh Goods Friday. 2024 is the 10th anniversary of the original Gravelking. The original Gravelking spec was designed around 17mm wide rims. The new Gravelking aims to bring “better hookless rim compatibility, ease of mounting, new compounds, beads and puncture protection”. An entirely new bead called BeadLock, a new tread compound called ZSG Gravel and an updated anti-puncture material called TudTex. The first new Gravelking model since the SS in 2017, the Gravelking X1. The X1 is the “fastest Gravelking ever and yet hits all the important points for gravel riding and racing today; aggressive, fast rolling tread, superior cleaning in wet/muddy conditions, and greater control in rougher terrain.”
Muc-Off Ride Pack
- Price: £140.00
- From: Muc-Off
*Quite* a lot of features to get through on this 20L pack. Here goes… Cordura roll-top for expandable storage. Hiplok FLX slot. Military ‘Molle’ attachment system. Easy-access front zipped storage compartment. Waterproof and reflective rain cover. External storage straps. Removable hip straps. Elasticated bungee straps for additional front stowage. Ventilated shoulder straps and hydration clip. Adjustable chest straps. Climate Control air channel system. Padded waist protection. Insulated bladder compartment. Patch attachment(!) Roll top security clips. Microfibre lined sunglasses/phone pockets. Waterproof zips. Side key/money pockets. D30 back protector compartment (protector available with the Ride Pack + D30 Back Protector combo).
Canyon MTB Clothing
- Price: £65.95 jersey, £90.95 pants
- From: Canyon
These didn;’t quite make it in time for the Canyon Spectral review we published the other day, so here there are now. Very much of tell of two halves; the top half (jersey) being a rather lightweight garment ideal for layering up with, the bottom half (pants) being some pleasingly robust suitable-for-the-UK riding trousers. There’s not a lot to say about the jersey apart from it’s pretty clingy and comfortable. Oh, it has a very discreet zipped storage pocket. The kecks have a bit more about them: press stud closure with ratchet thingy, school trousers-tastic fabric that repels muck a bit, elastiated waist with silicone gripper lines, zip front pocket and a pretty-tailored-without-being-essentially-compression-wear fit.
Granite Designs RocknRoll TQ
- Price: £54.99
- From: Windwave
This is the latest version of Granite Design’s RocknRoll TQ’s torque ratchet tool. Reassuringly (to Benji at least who is always worried about using torque wrenches for undoing things for fear of messing up their accuracy) the RocknRoll TQ explicilty states that it can be used for both tightening and loosening duties. Well TFFT. What else? Impressive range of Nm (2-10Nm), 10 bits (2 to 8mm Allen, T20, T25, and PH2 bits. An extension rod is included to extend your reach. And last but not least, the 600D Polyester bag integrates with Granite Design’s Rockband carrier strap.
Thread Of The Week
This week’s winners winners chickens dinners is binners for this thread shown right here like…
The winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. So @binners 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!
Privateer Bikes Gen 2 141 – The Rise ft. Harry Barrett
It’s Singletrack’s long running, weekly roundup of all of the new products that have been sent in to the magazine.
They’re sent in by bike companies and marketing agencies
They’re featured and then some are reviewed down the line in either Singletrack Magazine or in online reviews and photoshoots.
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.
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.
*not a guarantee
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