Fresh Goods Friday 656

Before the long-awaited downhill race coverage from Switzerland begins, here is this week's Eff Gee Eff! In many* ways, Fresh Goods Friday is like a Downhill World Cup.

*can't think of any right now**

**there's a lot of anticipation and build up and waiting around and then it's all over quite quickly?

Hurray for metal trail bikes. Especially metal trail bike with decent geometry. This Fluid FS A1 has 130mm of travel at the back and 140mm travel fork up front. Both dampers are from Fox (34 fork, Float X shock). Reach on this XL is 510mm. Seat angle is 77°. Chainstays are 440mm. 30mm BB drop. Head angle is 65°. Head tube length is 140mm. All pretty promising numbers. Shimano XT drivetrain. TRP Trail EVO 4-pot brakes (with 2.3mm rotors and resin pads and evz). 200mm dropper from SDG. Stan's Flow wheels and Vittoria rubbers. Very much looking forward to giving this one thrashing!

The Vortex range from Altura is all fully waterproof bike baggage, designed to fit securely, adjust to suit your needs, and be easy to access in use. There are a bunch of small details on these bags that we’re quite pleased with – such as the Velcro on the edge of the rolltop on the bar bag, to make sure it rolls down neatly, and the vent valves to get all unneccessary air out of the bags.

Non-budget alloy wheelsets are something of the forgotten thing in modern ATB circles it seems. It's always megabucks carbons or cheap ‘n’ cheerful alloys that get sent into us to review. At around £760 for the pair these XM 1700 wheels from DT Swiss are not pretty much as high-end as folks go on metal wheels. Sub-1,800g weight. DT's 350 ratchet hubs. 30mm internal width. Straight pull spokes. They come native as Center Lock rotor mount but – yay! – there's a pair of converters for trad 6-bolt rotors in the box included. They also arrive pre-taped and with tubeless valves.

As if by magic, some very useful things to get us set up on the aforementioned DT wheel. Sealant and some (more) valves. We’ll probably keep the valves on standby and use the DT ones initially but we’ll certainly be cracking open the Vittoria sealant ASAP. I (Benji) don't know about you, but I’m semi-permanently on the lookout for The Perfect Sealant. Something that goes in nicely, seals nicely and is reusable nicely. My current fave fluid is the classic Stan's NoTUbes stuff but this Vittoria juice looks promising. Fingers crossed!

Yer basic long sleeve trail top. Recycled polyester main fabric. Bonded neckline and cuffs for comfort. ‘Relaxed’ fit, depending on your UBS.

Captain's log. Stardate 09062023. We’ve just been beamed up this long sleever from the planet Altura. Recycled polyester fabric. High wicking double knit. Abrasion resistant ripstop sleeves and lower back with PFC-free DWR. RIde long and prosper!

I (Benji) have finally snapped. I’ve just had enough of being whipped. Not in a BDSM sense. Well, not strictly. I’ve had enough with nettles and other overgrown baddies attacking my knuckles and fingers. It is that time of year. Naysayers be damned – I’m fitting some handguards! And these ones from Revgrips are the best (least worst?) looking of the bunch. See you in the ferns people!

PFC free DWR. Recycled Polyester main fabric. Embossed camo print. Elasticated waist panel. Two zip pockets. That ‘Relaxed’ fit again.

100% recycled polyester main fabric. Bonded neckline and cuffs for comfort. And yep, ‘Relaxed’ fit.

Our friendly neighbourhood wheel maestro Mr Arrow Wheels let us know about this product. Essentially, ‘Boost’ transforms a bike you’ve already got into an e-bike. Currently 36h rim and only fits QR 135 or 130mm or 120mm rear axle spacing. Still, certainly an intriguing idea for that commuter bike you never ride. The Boost motor provides 45Nm of torque while adding 2kg to the weight of the original wheel and claims an approximate range of 50km. The 216Wh Boost battery locates into the bottle-mount holder and locks with a key.

Matt from Arrow Wheels: "I’ve built and rebuilt 1000s of similar Chinese e-bike motor wheels for shops and the public. After having so much first hand experience this is the only kit I would supply, it's fireproof, legal and simple to fit, and you get a professionally hand built wheel included. Put your new wheel in, plug in the battery and off you go."

Rab have just introduced a range of sleeping mats, so we’ve got the Ionosphere 5 in for testing as it looks suitable for bivying. It is 8cm thick when inflated, includes a pump sack, repair kit, very easy to use stuff sack and the whole lot packs down to 23 x 11cm for this regular sized mat.

Small inflatable pillow with a removable and washable super soft cover. This features Stratus™ insulation on the upper pillow, which is soft and helps to wick away moisture. Pillows are a bivying essential when they pack down this small.

This is not the kind of shoe we’re used to coming out of Five Ten, and it's certainly a more racy kind of vibe. Five Ten describes it as a ‘dedicated downcountry shoe’. It features a full length sole plate made in part with repurposed materials and glassfibre reinforced. This is about as far from a spongey Five Ten Impact flat shoe as you’re going to get.

DT stands for ‘Durable Top’ and this is Hannah's betrothed's saddle of choice. Somewhat padded and squishy – handy for when there's a mid-trick accidental interface. Curved ducktail type rear so you don't slide off on climbs.

A dropper post for a 27.2 seat tube… like one might find on a gravel bike. Or an e-gravel bike. If one were a freerider in need of transportation in a foreign land, for example. As featured in our handy list of 27.2 dropper posts.

The Swedish squisher's new range of World Cup XC focussed suspension comprises new Öhlins RXC34 m.1 forks and TXC1 and TXC2 Air rear shocks. We had a play on them so check out the first ride review here.

The best cover since records began? Very possibly. You can read more about this amazing image – and everything else that's in Issue 149 – by clicking on through to ‘Singletrack Issue 149 Is Out Today – How Will You Read Yours?‘

This week's winning forum post was from mrchrist for this pearler. I mean, we’ve all been there. Er. Not literally!

The winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. And it's the fabulous majestic Singletrack Forum Bottle Opener! So, HELLO THERE! to mrchrist! Please email [email protected]. Please include your postal address, as it really speeds up delivery logistics init.

It's Singletrack's long running, weekly roundup of all of the new products that have been sent in to the magazine.

Where do all of the goods come from?

They’re sent in by bike companies and marketing agencies

What happens to all of the products?

They’re featured and then some are reviewed down the line in either Singletrack Magazine or in online reviews and photoshoots.

What happens to them when you’ve finished with them?

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.

I’m a company making the next big thing. How much does it cost to feature in FGF?

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.

The Swedish squisher's new range of World Cup XC focussed suspension comprises new Ohlins RXC34…

Merlin Malt 725 Steel hardtail, a great choice for the long distance cyclist after a…

This review is for a RockShox Reverb AXS seatpost, 31.6mm post diameter with 170mm travel.…

The 7mesh Women's Northwoods Windshell is a lightweight, packable layer offering windproofing and water resistance.…

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Cotic RocketMAXer. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan.I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld.Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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I thought the world had ended because the afternoon was creeping by and there was no FGF.

All is well, and it is lovely to be reminded of Nick Drake. An LP of covers of his songs is due in early July.

Love the new cover!

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Is there going to be a review of the handguards? Having broken my pinky finger twice and bruised it on bushes more times than I care to remember I’m tempted. The big trouble is they are a bit to endurobro and that's putting me off.

Norco have somehow managed to make a bright green bike boring to look at, I can't explain why but it's so uninviting and bland to me.

@chrissmac – these are what you need

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtIRhLbJ8TU/

Revgrip hand guards £80, gloves with great protection £30, £50 left for the post ride beers and burgers, now which should I go for?

Oooh! That Rab pillow looks interesting.

@gavalar what about those of us who really don't like riding in gloves? 🥊🥊😁

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