FGF 747… Benji is off, I (Hannah) am here. Propelled back to the UK by a plane. I don’t know if it was a Boeing 747. I tried not to think about it too much. Which was quite tricky as a number of planes crashed in various ways while I was away, I read a book in which the decline of modern civilisation included a landmark event where loads of planes all crashed in one ‘Gigastorm’, and I sat down on the plane only to have the woman next to me say ‘I’ve never been worried about flying before, but given recent events…’. These are the sort of thoughts you should keep to yourself, I think. Especially on the runway.
Anyway. I’m back, Benji’s off, Fresh Goods Friday is here:
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Lauf Elja Trail Ultimate Flight Attendant
- Price: $8,290
- From: Lauf
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If Bjork rode mountain bikes? This is mountain bike offering from Icelandic carbon wizards, Lauf, is – as you’d expect – carbon. But no Lauf fork. All the wizardry has gone into the frame, which offers 120mm and takes up to a 130mm fork (This is the Trail version with longer fork, the XC model has a shorter one). It’s an ‘LSP’ Lauf Single Pivot, with the carbon know-how going into making the ride quality and pedalling action top-notch, without using a load of pivots and linkages. It’s also super swoopy and smooth looking, which Benji reckons might be good for keeping it clean. Ours comes will electric-actuated everything, including the suspension. While you dno’t have to have the full Flight Attendant, you do have to use wireless shifting. Perhaps making this the first frame/rear triangle that we’ve seen that is wireless only? Another curious thing about this bike is that it’s 29er plus bike that apparently takes up to 3in tyres. Nippy, zippy, XC/Trail Plus? We will go forth and satisfy our curiosities.
Industry Nine Hydra2 Enduro Alloy Custom
- Price: approx £1,500
- From: Lyon Equipment
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These are the new Hydra2 hubs from Industry Nine. Ready for some numbers? 0.41° of engagement, six pawls, a 145 tooth drive ring, 870 points of engagement. The pawls are housed in 5.5mm pawl pockets (Industry Nine’s largest ever) and there’s an additional tooth on each pawl now as well (three teeth per pawl). The drive ring is 7% larger and is now made of a tougher metal. Want a summary? Stronger, faster, lighter, quieter. Want more details? Check out Benji’s first look.
Daysaver Tools
- Price: £43.95 (Daysaver 8), £28.95 (Extension), £15.95 (Case guard), £22.95 (Mount cradle), £5.95 (sleeve)
- From: Apex Distribution
Pick and mix your tool add-ons, or stick with just the basic, er…stick? There’s nothing simple about this tool though, which packs a pile of different functions into a teeny and light package. The Essential 8 offers eight different head types, and then you can add carrying methods, protective outers, or five more functions with the Extension.
South West Gravel book
- Price: £25
- From: Vertebrate
Happy New Book day and belated birthday greetings to Katherine Moore, author of this book that details gravel rides around the West Country. Which is actually very south. If you want to pedal your way around Dorset and Cornwall, Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire, then this could be the book for you. GPS downloads of each of the 24 routes are available, and the chunkiness of the gravel is rated so you know what you’re getting into.
Core Bike gallery (slight return)
Benji alread yposted his Top 10 things from Core Bike 2025, but here’s a quick gallery of other things worth knowing about…
STW Raffle Marzocchi Z1
- Price: A lucky ticket
- From: Silverfish / STW
Thanks to the lovely folks at Silverfish, we’ve got this Marzocchi Z1 to give away in a raffle. Oooh! Super handy for excellent trail riding experiences and home security services. If you’re new here you’re confused. Safe to say the Marzocchi Bombers have a place in the hearts of many STW readers. Here’s your chance to win some. More details to come soon. Start looking down the back of the sofa for raffle ticket money.
STW Issue 159
- Price: £10
- From: Our Shop
There’s a magazine? Yes! There is! And it’s out now and available to buy. Get it in our shop, now.
Forum Thread Of The Week
It’s gone all Gardeners’ Question Time over on the Forum this week. Bunnyhop should probably watch out for Mr McGregor.
As before, the winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. So Bunnyhop please email editorial@singletrackworld.com for your random prize (possibly a mini cowbell). Don’t forget to include your postal address, as it really speeds up delivery logistics like. B-bye!
STW Podcast
Listen with your ears, or add your eyes into the mix. It’s this week’s STW podcast.
Stale Goods Friday – 2013 Specialized Camber Comp
- Price: £2,000
- From: Fresh Goods Friday 133
We typed at the time: “The 110mm travel 29er Camber Comp is aimed firmly at the ‘trail’ market and comes equipped with a M5 alloy FSR frame complete with a Rockshox Monarch RL with AutoSag. Up front suspension duties are taken care of with a matching RockShox Reba RL. The Camber Comp comes with a X9/X7 mixed 2×10 drivetrain and Avid Elixir 3R 180/160mm brakes complete the SRAM themed kit.
“Roval rimmed wheels with Specialized’s own brand hubs featuring 12mm QR’s keep the bike sure footed, rear spacing is 142mm. A 720mm wide bar sounds like a good starting point for where this bike’s headed though we may need to tweak the 100mm stem length back a bit.”
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£1,500 wheels!
£1500 wheels!
Clearly time to get a better paying job
That Lauf is a bit flat sided, isn’t it? Wonder what it’s like in a crosswind?
And those wheels. Am I the only one who would be nervous about ali spokes with an exposed fine thread cut into them?
But neon pink spokes @tall_martin
I have some old Mavic cross max wheels.it was cheaper to buy a wheel second hand than get new spokes. They were £10 each plus postage last time I looked
No thanks to proprietary spokes.
They can be as shiny as they like 😄