Mountain biking feels like it’s in a weirdly brilliant, slightly wobbly place right now.
On the good news side, bikes have never been this capable. Modern geometry, better suspension, and genuinely useful tech mean more people can ride how they want to. The culture’s shifting as well. There’s still plenty of ‘send-it energy’, but more riders are chasing adventure, community, and mid-ride chat rather than KOMs.
If anything defines mountain biking right now, it’s this: the kit keeps evolving, but the best rides still end the same way: smiling, and planning the next one.
Fresh Goods Friday is sponsored by…
Most riders insure bikes through home insurance.
Pedal Cover builds home insurance specifically for cyclists
Peaty’s Holeshot Fast Flow Valves
- Price: £34.99
- From: Silverfish UK
A significant update to a tubeless valve that was already pretty good. Here’s the new valveset from Peaty’s. Features: 200% more flow than Peaty’s MK2 Presta Valve, no sealant clog, tyre-inser compatible, fully serviceable, internal and external anodising to reduce clog, air-tight fail-safe valve seal located inside the rim and the caps are a spoke yet and an “e-Lube cap” (for T25 chainring eebers; stick the cap in the T25 bolt and you can backpedal your cranks and oil your chain easily).
Miss Grape Node Road Strap-mount Toptube Bag
- Price: £69.99
- From: Freewheel
Light top-tube bag for Haribo access in the saddle. Features: Miss Grape’s usual level of waterproofing, narrow profile to prevent any interference with pedal stroke, strap mounting system for near universal compatibility, no need for dedicated frame mounts (Miss Grape does offer a 2-bolt top tube version by the way).
Miss Grape ILCOSO Handlebar Mount System
- Price: £109.99
- From: Freewheel
Designed to hold a dry bag (see beklow) in a stable manner whilst offering a relatively unobstructed mounting point for lights, GPs units or other stuff. “Ideal for more serious off-road riding where poorly anchored bar-mounted luggage can have a severely negative effect on handling.” Designed to fit 31.8mm handlebars with stem clamp clearance of 52mm.
Miss Grape Trunk Waterproof Dry Bag
- Price: from £54.99
- From: Freewheel
Nice green stitching. Features: “Fully waterproof dry bag, made with 210 nylon coated in phthalate-free PVC for long term dependable performance in all weathers. Designed to fit perfectly into the ILCOSO handlebar mount system but will work happily with many different carriers. Roll-top closure for bombproof weather sealing. Built to last with a Lifetime Warranty for the original owner.”
Stem-Dock
- Price: £25.00
- From: Ravens Outdoor
Looking like some sort of Bauhaus dinosaur-train Transformer toy, here’s the Stem-Dock from Raven Outdoor up in Innerleithen. What does it do? It’s a bike workshop thing. Strap it on a bike’s top tube and the Stem-Dock gives you a place to er, dock the stem when removing/installing a fork, thus preventing handlebars and cabling flailing about everywhere. There’s also a handy little compartment for stowing the top cap and bolts etc. I like this idea. In fact, I’ve just used the bright green one for working on the bike pictured below…
Secret Boing
- Price: £TBA
- From: The Future
‘Tis the season of new suspension stuff. Seems like every human and their dog is coming out with revised boingers in over the next month or so.
The Best MTB House in Dyfi
- Price: £695,000
- From: Singletrack Classified Ads
“MTB specific highlights include a workshop, outdoor drying area and bike wash, boot/kit room with downstairs shower and space for dedicated ‘dirty kit’ washing MC. The grounds contain two versatile cabins for further accommodation, teenage angst-annex, studio etc. You could even build your own trails (if you like it steep…)”
Forum Thread Of The Week
The horrific winner this week is dirkpitt74 for the Are there any really scary films? thread:
The winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. Alors, dirkpitt74 please email editorial@singletrackworld.com for a random prize. Don’t forget to include your postal address.
Win Jackson Goldstone’s grips
- Price: Newsletter sign-up
- From: Singletrackworld Newsletter
Sign-up to our wonderful weekly newsletter and win signed Jackson Goldstone OneUp grips. We’ve got a signed pair to give away. All you have to do is stick your email address into this box…
Stale Goods Friday – 2014 Cove Cat’s Arse Hustler
- Price: £N/A
- From: March 2014
A dozen year ago we writ: “Cove has been working with German designer Stefan Stark and local designer Aaron Knowles to build the new Hustler. After a number of mules, they’re ready for an early April release. Romalis is extremely pleased with the design, referring to it as the “cat’s arse,” because of the Cheshire Cat-sized grins from he and his buddies after riding it around their local trails.
“On the emotive subject of wheel size, Romalis and his team have spent some quality time testing the different sizes. They say wheel size choice ultimately needs to be about the rider, the terrain and the suspension travel. They favour 27.5″ and 29″ wheels for hardtails, 29″ for short-travel suspension, 27.5″ for bikes with up to six inches of travel, and finally 26″ wheels for bikes with more than six inches of travel.”
Covered by the crew
Insurance handled by people who ride, wrench and understand mountain bikes.
When something goes wrong, your claim is handled by people who genuinely understand how mountain bikes are ridden, repaired and put back together after a bad day on the trails.
From blown suspension to cracked frames, decisions are made by cycling specialists – not general insurers.
We also keep key bike parts in-house and work directly with trusted bike workshops, helping reduce delays and get riders back on the trails sooner.
What this means for you
- Cyclist-first decisions focused on getting you back on the trails
- Claims handled by people who ride and work with bikes
- Experience with real mountain bike damage, including off-road riding
- Repair-first approach using specialist cycle workshops
Fresh Goods Friday is sponsored by Pedal Cover
Wouldn’t a Cove E Bike be amazing! Come on Chaz ! 👍
Is that a suggested name for it ?
DOH ! Trust me to miss that ! 🙄
You’ve rendered all future ‘How much?!’ comments useless by featuring a £700k lifestyle accessory this week. Well done.
That there Stem Dock – I made my own version of that tool in 2019 😆
Re stem dock….