Fresh Goods Friday 762: The Pleney O’ Zine Edition

There’s something of a gallic tinge to this week’s edition of Fresh Goods Friday. Produits frais vendredi, peut être?

Encore un fois! A bientôt…

Giro Chamber III shoe

• Price: £149.9
• From: Giro UK

Despite the aesthetics, these are not the clipless shoes for Baron Silas Von Greenback. They are in fact destined for Baron James Von Vincent. Despite the spataz vibe, what do these sneakers pimp? Well: Velcro strap, tubular knit laces, rubber toe and heel reinforcement, low-bulk fully-wrapping Ariaprene tongue, molded DH EVA footbed, Giro’s own ‘Sensor’ rubber, tri-molded DH shank with 10mm further rearward cleat setback.

Bluegrass Vanguard Core helmet

• Price: £279.99
• From: Extra UK

Also available in black, white and coral as well as this camo colurway. In-mould polycarbonate shell with EPS liner, MIPS C2 rotational management system, five-star rating from the Virginia Tech, Fidlock magnetic buckle, fixed chin bar, ASTM 1952-15/2032-15 and NTA 8776 certified, flexible visor to avoid extra rotation of the neck in a crash, 360° head belt and 3 vertical adjustments, 24 vents, internal air channeling, wide field of view. Claimed weights: S 700g, M 725g, L 790g.

Fazua Ride60 Firmware Update

• Price: FREE
• From: Fazua

The Fazua Ride60 is probably my favourite midpower motor-system. And the Porsche-owned brand has released a big ol’ firmware update for it. As well as a bunch of bug fixes and a tweak to the power delivery algorithm, the main things that this update gives Ride60 owners is some overrun and improved calibration. Called ‘KickOverrun’ it claims to only activate during technical riding sections and based on specific riding patterns. An automatic sensor calibration with each ride keeps things precise.

Mibro GS Explorer S Watch

• Price: £199.99
• From: Amazon

New smartwatch with 10 ATM water resistance, Bluetooth calling, dual-frequency GNSS, “military-grade” durability, 1500-nit HBD AMOLED display, health metrics, environmental data, navigation tools (Track Return Navigation and Waypoint Marking), synchronisation with Google Fit, Strava and Apple Health. We’ve given this to our tame enduro racer Aran to see if he can fathom it out to push him into a podium spot finally…

Saracen Ariel 60 Pro, Ariel 50E & Levarg SL

• Price: £1,899.99 Ariel 60, £2,499.99 Ariel 60 Pro, £2,999.99 Ariel 50E, £1,299.99 Levarg SL
• From: Saracen

Yes, we went to France. For a magazine feature. You’ll be able to read about it in issue 162. We were lucky enough to get some Saracen bikes for the adventure. We had a couple of excellent trail-duro Saracen Ariel 60 bikes, one of our favourite ever ebikes (Saracen Ariel 50E) and a wildcard gravel bike – the Saracen Levarg SL.

For The Love Of Mountain Biking by James McArthur

• Price: £11.99
• From: Amazon

Despite what it looks like above, I’ve not read this yet (yes I am an amazing actor/model). But I have no idea if it’s any cop or not. What’s it about? “For the Love of Mountain Biking is a smorgasbord of engaging stories, perceptive observations and amusing anecdotes in tribute to the sport we love. They blend into a lively narrative, inspired by the author’s own experiences and BIG love for mountain biking. From growing up by the Howgill Fells in the Yorkshire Dales to living and riding in Europe’s vast Portes du Soleil bike park network, James shares his perspective in a true celebration of mountain biking. He offers useful insights, exploring the essence of the sport and why we love to ride!”

Le Pleney Bangers T-shirt

• Price: £35.00
• From: Bike Morzine

What’s better than a high quality white T-shirt? Sausages, that’s what. Imagine a high quality white T-shirt with sausages on it AND related to the best activity on Planet Earth (mountain biking)! Imagine no more. Such a thing exists courtesy of one of the most helpful holiday companies out there – Bike Morzine.

Oh, and as for The Pleney, the middle woods are still fair game for ‘freeride’ (which is French for ‘off-piste’ apaz). it’s ‘just’ the woods either side of there that are verboten right now.

Arcade Performance Stretch Belt

• Price: £30.00
• From: Arcade Belts

Just in time for Christmas overindulgence, here’s a stretchy belt from Arcade. “Functional. Lightweight. Durable. Arcade belts are designed from the ground up to provide amazing comfort, the best fit, and the right amount of flexibility to move with you. Our belts are built to go everywhere without ever letting you or your trousers down,” Available in a frankly ridiculous amount of designs and colours.

Trans Caledonia Enduro

• Price: TBC
• From: Trans Caledonia

Sometime in September 2026. “Six days of multi stage enduro racing at some of Scotland’s best riding locations. Transport throughout the event including uplifted stages. Quality accommodation across the week (7 nights). Professional race timing. Bike wash and mechanics.” Count us in!

An Englishman On New Dirt T-shirt

• Price: £25.99
• From: The Singletrack Shop

This week’s limited edition featured STW merch is this ‘English Dir’ T-shirt. Released in time to go with a soil-tastic feature in the latest issue of the magazine, it’s a way of saying “I’ve been dirt, and I don’t care” and paying tribute to the not-late but still-great Iggy Pop. Or something. Who really knows? It’s a nice colour.

Forum Thread Of The Week

Congratufabulations this week go to MSP for this irrestible thread right here:

As before, the winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. SoMSPplease email editorial@singletrackworld.comfor your random prize. Don’t forget to include your postal address, as it really speeds up delivery logistics, like.

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Stale Goods Friday – 2012 Orange 322

• Price: £4,999 as seen (£2,399 frame)
• From: Fresh Goods Friday 174

STW 2012: “A what? Has Singletrack gone all burly? This Orange 322 is on loan from Orange Bikes for Chipps, who’s going to be riding it next weekend at the No Fuss Events six hour endurance downhill race. With 200mm of downhill bike travel, even he should be able to keep it upright most of the time. You’ll be able to see how he gets on soon.”