Welcome, welcome one and all (not you though) to the internet show your telly was made for: Fresh Goods Friday!
Since last Thursday various teams who aren’t really used to winning, have been winning. Not that that includes us. Or you. We’ve always been winners. If you ride mountain bikes you are inherently winning. Even when you’re losing.
With such positivity in mind, let’s take a dive in the penalty/ballot box known as FGF!
Those of you with eyes will notice that decidedly unblingy RockShox fork leg. Those of you with more eyes will notice that particular type of disc rotor also. So, yeah. We ain’t talking about a five figure megabucks mountain bike here. Other than that, we’re not at liberty to say. What would you like this bike to be?
This is the Tern Orox in R14 format with Rohloff hub, Bosch motor, and 27.5 custom Schwalbe Johnny Watts tyres. This fat bike meets cargo bike does come in other options – slimmer wheels, standard gears – but this is the one we’ve been rolling around the valley on for an upcoming feature. It’s been set up to carry two children, plus rear panniers, front rack, and fork mounts for more gubbins should you need it. The frame pack is currently hauling around a spare battery – not that we’ve needed it yet. Picnics, trail maintenance and the nursery run have all been a little more fun this week. Vrooom.
Sealant is life. Well, that’s what I [Benji] am often overheard preaching to the skies. Anything that makes dealing with tyre sealant… nicer, is a big win in my book. I have numerous sealant-stained footwear and disc rotors to testify as such. Okay, so this is appears to essentially be an oversized syringe but there is a bit of ingenuity here. It used patent pending system with an air relief channel at the top of the 150ml capacity injector chamber. The cross-slit valve in the press-on adapter that claims to offer a drip-free experience. The red thing? That’s a plug/hanger. Hang the tool on a hook or store in a drawer/tub/toolbox. Stans NoTubes was thoughtful enough to include a dinky bottle of sealant too. Sealant is life!
Something of a rebranding for the legendary TF2 lube that has something of a cult following out there. This lube is intended to be very durable and is also optimised for use during the colder months. Such as July.
Complete with brackets and hardware. #vanlife hey? It’s all glamour.
Despite its long sleeves and matte-black fabric, the new Alpinestars A-Aria Switch jersey is intended to keep you cool on mid-summer jaunts. The Polartec PowerDry fabric is a super-wicker of moisture and works to keep both you and the jersey dry by pulling sweat from the skin and evaporating it away. The jersey features natty gold graphics and abrasion-resistant panels at the shoulder, with laser-cut holes for extra ventilation. Severe-looking Chipps sports an XL though he reckons he’s really a Large. Perhaps that’s why he looks so grumpy?
For anyone worried about baddies having away with your Fazua battery (hey, it happens), this aftermarket security alternative looks a bit more substantial that the stock unit (Abus). Suitable for all makes of bike using the Fazua Evation or Ride 50 system (Kinesis, Boardman, Trek and so on). Supplied with two keys.
Did you hear? XC racers want 2.4 tyres these days… WTB has a new set of tread to answer that call in the form of the WTB Macro 2.4. The tyres feature supple 120TPI carcass, but with SG reinforced sidewalls for puncture protection. There are copious tread blocks to maintain traction, running fully from edge to edge, but with wide spaces to clear any of that damp ‘summer dust’ that you might find. The tread itself is triple compound with a hard durometer base for all knobs, topped with medium durometer in the centre tread and the softest compound on the cornering knobbles.
And, fashion fans, they’re available in tan wall or black wall.
And while we’re keeping the speeds high, here’s a glimpse at the new WTB Vulpine S gravel tyre. It features a completely slick centre section to keep you pinned on anything hard surfaced and road-like, but there are still lots of small block treads to keep the bike gripping in the corners. Comes in a pretty Gravel-standard 40mm casing size and black or tan sidewalls.
Marketed as “the world’s first wrapper free bars with a 100% natural edible coating”. That’s right, you don’t unwrap these edibles from their opaque wrapping, you just eat the lot. The idea being that it cuts down on packaging and potential litter. It also cuts down on the faff/risk of trying to open a packet of something whilst riding along in a race. In the name of science, we’ve already sampled a couple of these and, as OGT say, the experience is akin to eating an apple. Treat the ‘wrapper’ like the skin of an apple. It takes a few chews for it to homogenise with the bar itself but after that it’s perfectly fine. The oat bars are easier to deal with than the protein bars, which do that protein bar thing of being rather dense and dry. Impressively, the bars claim to be waterproof and pocket-proof. Apparently Team Skoda are using these in Le Tour at the moment.
Benji found these down the back of the sofa. Not really. He found them in an anonymous looking small cardboard box on a shelf downstairs in the Singletrack Office. He’s not sure if they originally came with the Saracen Ariel 50E or Saracen Ariel 60 Pro. Anyway, these are a pair of push links that can be swapped into a 29er Saracen Ariel 30/60/80/50E to convert into a mixed wheel mullet machine. You’ll need to supply the rear wheel and rubber, mind. What are we going to do with these links? Well, we can’t use them in the Saracen Ariel 30 Elite that Hannah has been schredding around on because, as a Medium size bike, it’s already 27.5in rear wheel. Oh dear. We’ll have to get another 29er Ariel in then. Shame.
The Singletrack Office had no internet the other day. It was Hell/Heaven. What does one do when there’s no YouTubes to watch or cloud-held shared document to bat back and forth? You have a sort out is what you do. That’s how Benji found the Saracen mullet links above. He also found several packets/boxes with – amongst other stuff like reflectors and awful pedals – several bells and numerous RockShox stickers. This is the sort of stuff that arrives with (new) test bikes but doesn’t get put back in the box upon return.
A cute Tee from our local friendly neighbourhood bike apparel company Shredz. “Made of heavyweight 220gsm organic cotton, this tee features a bold cartoon character, perfect for daring rides on and off the trails. Bag yours now for an adventurous addition to your wardrobe!”, it says here. Water-based inks. Oversized/loose fit.
This week’s winner is Bullet with this winning thread here:
The winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. So @Bullet please email editorial@singletrackworld.com for your random prize. Don’t forget to include your postal address, as it really speeds up delivery logistics like. K thx bye!
It’s Singletrack’s long running, weekly roundup of all of the new products that have been sent in to the magazine.
They’re sent in by bike companies and marketing agencies
They’re featured and then some are reviewed down the line in either Singletrack Magazine or in online reviews and photoshoots.
They’re usually sent back after review, or kept on long-term test bikes. But no one ever asks for shorts and shoes back. Trust us on that. Once we were asked to return some brake pads.
Nothing. Nil. Zero. Diddlysquat. Sod all. Just send all ‘next big things’ to us at – Fresh Goods Friday, Singletrack Magazine, Lockside Mill, Dale Street, Todmorden. OL14 5PX. Please note that if you require the products back after they have featured then you are responsible for arranging collection at your cost. While it is our policy to feature everything we receive in FGF if we decide your product is not suitable for publication we won’t do it. Publication is at our discretion. Whether a product goes on for publication as a review is at editorial discretion. Beer, coffee & spirits will ALWAYS be tested.
