Fresh Goods Friday 718 – Bright And Early Edition

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Ooh, yes it’s Friday. Not lunchtime mind. We’re messing with you by getting this up early. Mostly because there’s no video this week, because I’m not going to sit and talk to myself. Not on camera anyway.

Contrary to what the weather might suggest, summer is not over and it’s still like the Mary Celeste here at Singletrack Towers (Although surely there are plenty of actual abandoned towers that could fit in here? Which reminds me, does anyone remember ‘Dark Towers In Danger’? It was part of Look and Read – schools TV programming – and I remember it being the most thrilling and vaguely terrifying thing I’d ever seen. But then, the only thing I was allowed to watch at home was Postman Pat, so the terror bar was pretty low. Anyway…).

In the absence of other humans to talk to, amusing anecdotes, and so on, you can have another photo gallery to start things off. A collage of my week, if you like.

For no reason other than I was reminded of it this week.

GASGAS MXC 4

GASGAS eMTB

From the Spanish makers of motorbikes, we have this 160mm Lyrik Select+ fork, 140mm Deluxe Select+ shocked ebike. Mullet wheels, carbon front triangle, size specific rear triangle, and SRAM Eagle Powertrain drive unit with 630Wh battery. Unusually (and a pleasant change?) for us journos, this is the bottom of the range model rather than the super bling. So it doesn’t have the electronic shifting that the other models have – which should actually be kind of interesting to test out the SRAM motor without the extra add-ons you get from the electronic shifting. Harking to its moto roots, you get removable frame protection/farings, and like everything else from GASGAS, the bike comes in red. But, they’ve got a team in conjunction with Troy Lee, so future wild aftermarket faring options seems like a safe bet.

Generic Garmin Mount

Might as well get one for every bike…

If you have a Garmin-style device, you probably have a toolbox drawer full of those plastic bar mounts and associated rubber bands. And while you could get a deluxe K-Edge CNC jobber, you only need the unit held on so it won’t fall off. Chipps has had enough of wrestling rubber bands so has bought a couple of these, as they’re now such a commodity that they’re on Amazon for under a tenner, so that every bike now has a stem-mounted mount. They take up the room of a 5mm stem spacer and they hold the unit far away enough that you don’t smack your knees on your Garmin (like you do on the stem cap ones…)

Stan’s Box of Stan’s

  • Price: £34 for 1000ml fluid, £15 sealant injector, £20 Dart tool and refill
  • From: Upgrade Bikes

Once you start, you can’t stop, right? We’re talking about once you start looking inside your tyres to see how much tubeless fluid remains. ‘None’ is always the answer – and rather than try to re-use the half-cup of greyish fluid from the last time you did your tyres, it’s always good to get the fresh stuff in there. The Stan’s injectors are new to us, though, as are the Dart tools, so we’ll let you know how we get on.

Carradice Originals Tweed Bar Bag

Actual Harris Tweed on an actual Carradice bar bag? Perhaps we’ve gone too deep into dangle-mug territory here, but Beate is our resident artist, so she’s allowed these whims, right? Carradice has been making cycling bags since 1932, just over the hill from Singletrack Towers, out of proper stuff like cotton duck and leather. This collaboration uses woollen tweed from the Isle of Harris (and only the Isle of Harris) and seems appropriate for some epic riding. The bag itself will work as a saddlebag (if you have those Brooks-style slots on your saddle) and everything does up satisfyingly with leather straps, big zips and poppers. If you don’t get one now, how is it going to look worn in before you’re 80, eh?

Bike Vlip

A teeny weeny bike stand to lift your handlebars off the ground when you’re fixing it on the trail or removing wheels to fit your bike into your car. If you’ve got a computer or ebike display screen attached to your bike, you’ll see the benefit in being able to not mash such accoutrements into the ground. The two ‘vlips’ clip together to make a neat and light sandwich so you don’t lose the pair of them.

Readers Ride Of The Week

  • FromInstagram
  • Price: #stwreadersrides hashtag
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A post shared by @hardtail_only

Whether you’ve got a special new bike or just a bike that’s special to you, this is how you get to tell everyone about it! You can either tag the bike pic with #stwreadersrides on Instagram or you can send us your submissions via this form.

The 15% discount only applied to new/full price shoes. But if you buy one of the many other shoes you’ll find on sale at big discounts, STW will get a little tiny cut of the proceeds via affiliate links. So one of us wins, either way. Plus, they sell bike shoes as well as running shoes and trainers for cool kids.

Oooh… bold move… it’s not tunes to see you on your way today but instead it’s… poetry? For those that go ‘argh’, it’s also maths. Go on, give it a go.

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Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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Home Forums Fresh Goods Friday 718 – Bright And Early Edition

  • This topic has 10 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 1 month ago by Lee.
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  • Fresh Goods Friday 718 – Bright And Early Edition
  • fathomer
    Full Member

    Being from Leicester, I’m going to have to disagree about the crisps and says Walkers are better :-)

    citizenlee
    Free Member

    I don’t like the cut of Walkers, they’re too bubbly. Very greasy too.

    Golden Wonder, or even most supermarkets own brand are far superior.

    lister
    Full Member

    I used to cycle past the Seabrooks factory and the smell of salt and vinegar never failed to make my mouth water.

    monkeyboyjc
    Full Member

    Threadlock the bolt on the generic Garmin mount ?

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    ye olde tractor

    There is a thread for that.

    Tractor Trumps – South Glos Rules ;-)

    chipps
    Full Member

    Threadlock the bolt? Is that a suggestion or a question? :-)

    oldfart
    Full Member

    Pipers Cheese and Onion with proper Cheddar from the Mendips ?

    Big-Bud
    Free Member

    @citizenlee Seabrook produde own brand crisps for asda lidl and aldi hence the need for extending the premises to increase productivity

    lovewookie
    Full Member

    Those Garmin mounts are great, however there are the flat versions pictured, and there are some slightly vertically offset ones. Those are better of you run short stems as it lifts the Garmin out of the way of the bolts and means you can run it at a relatively flat angle without having to put more spacers beneath it.

    citizenlee
    Free Member

    @Big-Bud that probably explains why Asda, Aldi and Lidl crisps are so good. I do love Seabrook, but don’t see them that often.

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