It’s a week when Sim and Jon are both off on holiday, Matt’s off next week and Chipps is just back from being away. Seems that there’s not been enough folk on the phones to fill the Fresh Goods bucket. We still have a bunch of stuff to show you. It can’t always be 180mm suspension forks and uppy downy posts now, can it?
First up is something we’ve not seen in a while… Sunshine! Yep, only a week to go until the clocks go forward. The crocuses and daffs are out and it’s only 91 days until Mountain Mayhem. Time to get out on the bike then!
Tenn Outdoor, those makers of affordable cycling wear, sent us a few jerseys for test and photoshoot duties in suitably springlike colours. Here’s the Cool Flo Jersey which RRPs for £31.99 and has a full zip and three rear pockets.
Cool Flo Jersey
£29.99
From: Tenn Outdoors
And making a welcome return to actual cycling clothing (rather than cool stuff that it’s possible to ride in) is Howies! Here’s their Women’s Taith top. A Merino/Nylon mix cycling jersey with tailored fit, rear pocket and reflective trim. Rather oddly it features a full length zip, which we never find particularly flattering over the stomach – and it’s rare that women ride with jerseys unzipped to the navel. A half zip next time perhaps Howies?
Price: £69
From: www.howies.co.uk
Diamondback Sortie 1
Price: £1299
From: www.diamondback.co.uk
There’s more Howies stuff in a minute, but before that, let’s look at this Knucklebox – it’s the centrepiece of the Diamondback Sortie 1. It’s a full suspension machine with neat, low down suspension gubbins and a smart white finish.
Singletrack Mug
Price: From £7.99 to subscribers
From: Singletrack Shop
We’ve just had a re-stock of our super-popular (and incredibly heavy) coffee mugs. We’re really happy with how these look – and the coffee-drinking experience is pretty special.
Cube AMS Comp
Price: £1399
From: Cube Cycles
And you’re back with the Howies.
Howies Vail Tee is still going strong and comes in some suitably springlike colours too. We’ve been wearing Howies Merino tees all winter and reckon they’re great. Sorry about the sideways pictures. It’s one of those days (already).
Howies Vail Tee
Price: £45
From: www.howies.co.uk
Here’s the new Howies Outsider short, which features water resistant Epic cotton and a seamless, yoked crotch so that excessive saddle friction doesn’t bust any seams. Price: £89.99 www.howies.co.uk
Now, here’s the Howies Slipstream Jersey – with 100% merino, rear pockets and a 1/3rd zip (why can’t the girls have that zip?) and coming in a nicely conservative black and off-white. Price: £80 (though it’s a tenner off this week) – www.howies.co.uk
And finally for the Howies collection this week is this pair of NBL base layers. Its normal for the ladies to get all the good colours, but we really like the look of these men’s blue and cream base layers. £49 long sleeve and £45 short sleeve.
Price:About a fiver
From: www.brunox.co.uk
A secret little spray bottle that we’ve seen in many pro-mechanics’ toolboxes. It’s a light water-dispersing spray that’s really handy for all sorts of jobs. Brunox also does a Rockshox-approved fork seal spray called Deo too.
Fat Hand – here’s Matt’s Fat Hand, gained while doing a feature for the next issue. Cause? An over-bars-to-rock-slap. We look forward to seeing how the bruising spreads…
Zebra Video Recording Sunglasses.
Price: £79.99
From: http://www.halfords.com
Yep, the future is here! Matt is sporting the latest in techno-eyewear. Not only are these Zebra Sunglasses going to protect your eyes, but thanks to the tiny digital camera fitted (in that little hole) between the eyes, it’ll record everything you’re doing too. There’s 2GB of internal memory and a USB port (as well as a micro-SD slot for more memory). They’re on charge now and we hope to bring you the results very shortly. Bonkers!
Leffe four pack
Price: About €4
From: Belgian supermarkets.
If you fancy a classier beverage to enjoy on the canal bank, drink cans of Leffe rather than Special Brew. Just tell the policeman that you’re a bohemian and he’ll leave you alone to enjoy the sun and the suds. That’s Chipps’ excuse anyway.
Is that an extra pivot at the dropout end of the seat stay on the DB compared to the solid swing arm of the Super 4?
Yes. Thats why I didn’t say it was a blatant rip off of a Super 4 (but it is really isn’t it). To be honest, for £1300, I think (in my narrow minded opinion) that it looks a distinctly average frame that I suspect you’ll be able to buy from a frame catalogue somewhere with some pretty low rent parts on it. If Diamond Back want to get back to their early/mid 90’s heyday then they need to release something thats groundbreaking, not churn out another lookylikey full sus that you’ll be able to get for £600 discounted in Pauls Cycles in a few months.
ive got a pair of glasses
there alot better than i thought they would be.
only problem is that it doesnt tell you when the card is full…it just deletes the first file recorded
heres a link to some footage i took with it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwgfCmGDWOQ
That Diamond Back is surely a skint mans Commencal- is there a law suit heading their way?
The Cube definately looks like a better bike…
whats the difference between brunox and wd40 or gt85? apart from price obviously?
serious question.