Fresh Goods Friday 765: A Head Full Of Speed Edition

School’s out for summer. Yay/boo! We’re off to grab one final thrash around in the woods before the yoofs return and make us all self-conscious about how lame our riding is and we have to head back to the fell tops.

Anyway. On with FGF!

FSA Gradient 31.8 Alloy Stem

• Price: £103.00
• From: FSA

FSA have recently totally revamped its Grandient range of bits and bobs. Gradient is the Italian brand’s enduro-gravity stuff. We’ve got a bunch of Gradient components in for a summer of shredding. Kicking things off is this snazzy machined little stem. Available in 35mm diameter as well as this 31.8mm (33mm length) version. Other deets: 2D forged then CNC machined (inc. faceplate), zero gap design, +6° rise, 35mm fork clamp stack height. 40mm and 50mm lengths also available.

FSA Gradient Alloy Riser 31.8 Handlebars

• Price: £86.00
• From: FSA

You can blame Mr Gee Atherton for these. Shot-peened to increase surface hardness. Triple butted and tapered AL7050-T6. 800mm wide. 25mm or 40mm (these) rise options. 8° back sweep, 5° up sweep, and “15mm setback”, apparently.

FSA cranks & BB

• Price: £327.00 crankset, £58.00 bottom bracket
• From: FSA

Mmm… crispy cranks. More forged and machined AL7050 niceness. This time with “advanced bonding technology”. Deets: BB392EVO spindle, 165 (these) 170 & 175mm lengths, 177mm of Q, 52-55mm of chainline. Really, really nice looking in the flesh/alloy.

FSA Gradient i30 Carbon Wheels

• Price: £1,294.00
• From: FSA

We get the feeling that these wheels are the item that FSA is most proud of. Not cheap, but pretty good when put against other premium carbon wheelsets. Deets: variable height (22-24mm) hookless asymmetric carbon, 30mm ID, 4mm asymmetric spoke bed, 28h direct pull double butted spokes with brass nipples, built entirely by hand, PRS X-900 hubs with 72pt engagement. Weight: 1,860g.

Race Face Turbine Pedals

• Price: £169.94
• From: Silverfish UK

Now this looks like a well thought through flattie. Concavity achieved by body shape as well as pin height. Pretty lengthy fore-aft (115mm) but not overly wide sticky outy (110mm). Deliberately designed to offer maximum grip; this isn’t for riders who like to move aorund on their pedals. Much like the (thinner, bearing bulge-d) Atlas pedal also from Race Face, the Turbines are intended to be traction monsters.

OS Terrain 50

• Price: £0.00
• From: Ordnance Survey

A gert big free download of the United Kingdom. Okay, so it’s arguably next to zero use in terms of navigating or trail discovery but… it sure is an excellent way of killing time. Hours and hours of poring over lumpy zones ahoy! How green is your valley?

Forum Thread Of The Week

ITMA. Yes, the winner again is matt_outandabout for this worldie:

As before, the winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. SoMatt_outandaboutplease email editorial@singletrackworld.com for ANOTHER random prize. Don’t forget to include your postal address, as it really speeds up delivery logistics, AGAIN.

Member Reward of the Week: 25% off Oakley

• Discount: £25% off Oakley
• From: Singletrack Member Rewards

AboutOakley: “Oakley is one of the leading product design and sport performance brands in the world, chosen by world-class athletes to compete at the highest level possible. The holder of more than 850 patents, Oakley is also known for its innovative lens technologies, including PRIZMTM.”

STW Women’s Mid-weight Organic T-shirt

• Price: £27.00
• From: The Singletrack Shop

Our classic simple design printed on a women’s fit organic mid weight shirt. 100% organic ringspun combed cotton. Medium fit. Set-in sleeve. 1×1 rib at neck collar. Inside back neck tape in self fabric (excuse me?) Sleeve hem and bottom hem with wide double needle topstitch (oh right, nice).

Stale Goods Friday – 2012 Liteville 301 Mk.10

• Price: £1,899 frame, headset & seat collar
• From: Fresh Goods Friday 111

One of the last ever 26in wheel bikes we had on test.

BITD we scrawled: “Liteville is essentially the frame building arm of component specialist Syntace and their Teutonic attention to detail is plain to see on the frame. The 301 sports 160mm of rear wheel travel from a four bar linkage but can also be had with 140mm by using a different rocker plate. Liteville say the position of their ‘reverse’ shock linkage minimises forces put through pivots and tubing, resulting in a less stressed frame design. There are plenty of Syntace standards at work here; the 142x12mm back end, the bolt on mech protector and build-in chain guide are just a few examples. The pierced top tube for tidy dropper and front mech cable routing is a good touch, as is the very simple to understand sag indicator.”

Singletrack Magazine MTB Podcast

Make your daily commute mountain bike flavoured by subscribing to our cheery Podcast blather.

Help us make our podcasts even better