Fresh Grit Friday: Volume 10.0

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Double figures, fresh grit fans, double figures. It’s a momentous occasion and one which will be marked by talking the usual rubbish and showing you some photos of nice shiny new stuff. No point with breaking from tradition, eh?

Now we are well into ‘cross season now, and a few of you might have spotted this beaut of a training video posted on our Facebook page last week. It was too good not share once again.

Saracen Ariel 50E Elite First look
Latest Singletrack Videos

Radquer-Training

Es ist Radquer-Saison. In einem intensiven und vielseitigen Training, bereiten sich die Schweizer Spitzenfahrer auf die nächste UCI Cyclo-cross-Weltmeisterschaft (1982) vor. #querfeldein #swisscyclocross #swisscycling #uci

Posted by SRF Archiv on Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Crank Brothers Candy Pedals

  • From: Extra UK
  • Price: Candy 1 – £55.99, Candy 3 – £124.99

Here we’ve got some brand spanker Crank Brothers Candy pedals. Those of you with good memories might remember that it isn’t so long since we received a set of Candies in to test. Well, they are working hard at the moment, getting swapped between test bikes. While we’ve had our heads down testing, the Brothers of Crank have quietly released a new version. At first glance, even we didn’t spot the updates. A closer look reveals a slightly larger surface area to the platform on both pedals. Apparently this is in response to many XC shoes changing shape.

In addition to this, the Candy 3 has removable “traction pads”, which alongside shims for under the cleat help fine tune fit between shoe and pedal. The traction pads, as the name suggests should be a little gripper than the metal they cover and simply clip on over the outside of the pedal.

You’ll notice that the platform of the pink Candy 1s is composite, while the Candy 3s get an all aluminium body. The bearings and axle are shared between models though. Thanks to the plastic body, the Candy 1 is a smidge lighter than its more expensive counterpart – claimed weights are 294g/pair for the Candy 1s and 340g/pair for the 3s. As with all Crank Brothers products, they are both available in a rainbow of colours.

We’ll hurry both pairs into testing and let you know how they fair versus the previous generation.

Morvelo “Winter Attack” Hydrologic Rain Jacket

Thankfully it’s not snowy, or we wouldn’t be able to see Tom

Yey! Autumn is here and winter is well on its way. A decent waterproof is less of a “nice to have” and more a total and utter necessity if you plan on riding through the soggy months here. Fortunately Morvelo have listened to our damp pleas and sent us through their hydrologic rain jacket. It uses P4Dry fabric (more on that in a tick) and taped seams. Features are pretty minimalist, but the cuffs are a nice soft stretchy fabric and feature integrated thumb-loops. There is also a small zipped pocket to the rear. The jacket is small enough that it should neatly pack into a rear jersey pocket for carrying until the weather goes truly downhill.

We love a good thumb loop at grit

Back to that fabric though. P4Dry is apparently made from recycled coffee grounds. Yes. Finally we have another justification for an extra flat white. Not only are we staying perky, we are helping save the planet through making more jackets… or something like that. It sounded better in our heads. Either way, any product that is made of recycled materials is good in our books. Hopefully its performance will match its environmental credentials. We’ll report back after the next downpour. Oh – and if you aren’t so keen on the snow-camo style “winter attack” print, a black version is also available.

A zip. Handy for taking jackets off.

Morvelo Short Sleeve Stormshield Baselayer

Tom has been looking for a multifunctional garment with which he can shred the trail AND take to the pulpit

Yes, that’s right, this base layer does cost £75. Fortunately, its not just any old set of underwear. No siree. The Stormshield base layer is an interesting combination of thin windproof/water resistant softshell style fabric with more breathable open weave fabric.

And this time, the sensible shot. Windproof front

The idea is that should be able to wear it under your current jerseys on changeable/chilly days to keep the  elements out while still showing off your kit. To start off with we weren’t sure when you’d wear this rather than a jacket over the top, but then thought this could be perfect for deep winter cross racing where you still want to show off the team skin suit, but want to avoid hypothermia.

Airy armpits

There’s only one way to find out though, and that’s by putting it to the test. We are sending Tom out in the worst possible weather to see how he gets on.

Asymmetric zip and a high collar

Morvelo Rise And Descend MTB Shorts

Take yer hands out of yer pockets, lad!

MTB shorts? On grit.cx? What? Well, technically, Tom received these in for review for Singletrack, but we know quite a few drop-barrists who prefer wearing a baggy overshort while out on the trails. In fact, we’ve been known to do the same. The Rise And Descend or RAD shorts (good “backronym” there from the folk at Morvelo?) look to be the perfect “not too baggy, not too tight, not too long, not too short” goldilocks size. They are made of a lightweight ripstop fabric (with a DWR water repellant coating) and have three zipped pockets.

Thats better

Adjustable waist

Get your hot buns here!

Britain’s Greatest Cycling Climbs Box Set

Britain's Greatest Cycling Climbs

100 Climbs perhaps provided the ultimate roadie ticklist for the best climbs in the UK. Since his original book he has expanded the collection to cover regions of the UK, taking in some of the lesser known gems. All are ridden, rated and described by hill fanatic Simon Warren. Released recently – no doubt with an eye on the Christmas market – this box set contains eight books, between them listing 545 climbs around the country.

Britain's Greatest Cycling Climbs

What’s even better is if you are quick, you can be in with a chance to win a boxset. Head over to the competition page to find out how. Be quick though, entries close on midnight Sunday November 5th.

And that’s that for another week, kids. We are off to put the finishing touches to the grit.cx bonfire in preparation for Sunday. We are going small this year, after last year a rogue ember blew over to the stock-pile of tub glue. The resulting explosion was heard on continental Europe and Dugast the Butler was literally stuck to the spot for weeks afterwards.

Fire Bonfire GIF by agconti - Find & Share on GIPHY

Go safe kids. Grit.cx out x


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