Fresh Grit Friday: Volume 7.0

Why oh why oh why do colds come at the worst possible time? As we begin the countdown to 3 Peaks CX, friends who have an entry this year are already actively avoiding those with the lurgy, while practicing their walking up steep slopes skills. Sadly, grit.cx’s luxury Yorkshire base has been struck down. A red cross has been painted on the door and we have a full lock down situation. Boots the Chemist have just issued a spike in profits after Tech Ed Tom bought all of the pharmaceuticals; chemical warfare has been declared. Fortunately though, the entire Beecham’s range aren’t the only Fresh Goods we’ve received this week…
First off, here’s some #shredicine to balance the medicine. Cross is very definitely coming.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYMKBJOAESj/

Velocity Men’s Climber Shorts

• Price: £75-£84
• From: Velocity

Feeling a little self-conscious after Sir Chris Hoy’s recent comments about MAMILs? Simply want to wear something a little less, er, revealing on more relaxed rides, but also avoid looking like you’ve just stepped off a downhill mountain bike? Velocity are here to help. Designed with a bit of stretch, we like their smart-looking cut. They are made from 98% cotton, which is coated to help bump up water-resistance, but these are probably still not for the wettest of wet days. For relaxed autumnal spins to the cafe, we reckon they’ll be about perfect though.

Specifications:

• NanoSphere® treated fabric, for water and stain resistant cycling
• 98% cotton and 2% elastine, for just enough stretch
• Reinforced diamond seat, for comfort and durability
• High back, for modesty and low waist, for comfort
• Heavy duty belt loops, for carrying things
• Phone sized pockets, to stay connected
• Reflective pocket trim, for a high-viz eyeful
• YKK Zippers.
• Designed and made in London

Madison Clothing

• RoadRace Premio Bibs – £99.99
• RoadRace Premio Jersey – £74.99
• RoadRace Premio Extra Long sock – £9.99
• RoadRace Premio Cap – £12.99
• RoadRace Apex Softshell Jacket – £114.99
• RoadRace Optimus LS Thermal Jersey – £99.99
• RoadRace Optimus Bib Shorts – £99.99
• RoadRace Optimus Softshell Kneewarmers – £29.99
• From: Madison

Madison have been doing their own range of clothing for a while now. We’ve been impressed with their offerings so far – balancing value and function. Their road range has been expanded this year, and we got a bumper load in to test. Working with the Madison Genesis pro cycling team has given them the chance to develop some top spec kit, which forms their ‘RoadRace’ range. We’ve got a selection lifted from there.

Lets kick off with the “Premio” items. Think lightweight, race-cut here. We’ve then got the Apex soft-shell. Hopefully this won’t be coming out of the wardrobe for a while yet as it is a cosy thermal-weight jacket for the worst of winter. It isn’t fully waterproof, but is highly water-resistant, highly windproof, and should keep things toasty right down to freezing. Finally the Optimus items are a lighter weight softshell. The easiest way to describe the fabric is to say it is like a Castelli Gabba, but not a Gabba. Basically, think of something that feels like a long sleeve jersey, but offers much of the protection of a jacket. As well as a jersey, Madison have used the fabric on short fronts and kneewarmers, designed to keep the chill off on those cool autumnal mornings.

Continental Grand Prix 4 Season Tyres

• Price: £54.95 (each)
• From: Continental Tyres UK

Now, as we know, grit.cx is all about everything #dirtydropbargoodness. Every now and then though, we do enjoy a venture on the tarmac. We’ve got some really capable gravel bikes in to test at the moment, that perform equally well on the road. There are times where even the fastest rolling gravel tyre is a bit draggy though. We wanted to take advantage of the big clearances these bikes have with a slightly chunkier slick than usual.
The Continental GP4S is a healthy 32c wide so ticks the extra volume box. Tester Alex has already taken it out on the local chaingang and held his own, so it sounds like it rolls well too. Time will tell, but we are looking forward to marrying these up with some mudguards and a winterised set up.

Crankalicious Bike Cleaning Products

• Price: £10 per 500ml bottle (Mud Honey), £12 per 500ml spray bottle (Lemon Velo), £16 per box of 20 wipes (Like Pneu)
• From: Crankalicious

Cleaning has to be the single least pleasurable part of the bike riding package. Maintenance can sometimes be therapeutic, but hosing off mud and scrubbing grease is just boring, if you ask us. Crankalicious is unlikely to turn bike washing into anything other than a chore, but it aims to make it as easy as possible. The Essex based company hand make its cleaning products in small batches. Coming from an automotive cleaning background, we assume the bods there know their stuff. It’s worth checking out the website for the full range, but Crankalicious has sent three products over to us.
Firstly, “Mud Honey” is a foaming bucket wash. Apparently it is pH neutral and just requires 2-3 small capfuls per bucket. We then have “Limon Velo” which is a spray designed to remove grease, gunk and grime – think of it as a drivetrain cleaner rather than for all the bike. Finally, and probably the most interesting are the “Like Pneu” [top punning points, guys] tyre wipes. Designed to keep tan-wall tyres looking tan-walled, we’ll see how good our wheels look after a full ‘cross season.
The prices  sound like reasonable value to us, in comparison to the usual suspects on the market. The proof will be in the pudding though, and the team are thoughtfully storing up all of their dirty bikes for Dugast the Butler to take a sponge to over coming weeks…
And with that, it is grit.cx signing off for another week. We’ll leave you with today’s ear worm…

See you on the flip side, dear friends.
x

---