Fresh Goods Friday 768: The En Bee Dee Edition

The signs of recovery are tantalisingly appearing. Recovery from what though?

The grown-up answer would be something like ‘recovery from recession’ but in the blinkered world of Fresh Goods Friday we’re thinking we may be recovering from a super bland era of bikes. From bike offerings from MY20 through to MY25 there haven’t been very many bikes that have pushed our piques.

There have been precious few mountain bikes released over the past few years that look like they would offer anything significantly different/better to the bikes from Peak Covid Times. And yep, e-bikes have pretty much taken over the industry’s – and the media’s – attentions, which hasn’t helped.

And while the longer travel segment of MTB does appear to have a less than healthy future (most long-travel bikers are going E, we feel), there are a number of really good looking short-to-mid travel trail bikes emerging from the mists. Speaking of which…

Propain Hugene 3 CF Factory

• Price: Bikes start at £3,399, this is nearer £8,000
• From: Propain

‘Short stroke. Max Stoke!’ is how Propain describes the new Hugene 3 CF. We’ve been lucky enough to get one sent to our southern test centre the same week that the bike was launched, so we’re very excited to put it through its paces and find out what exactly it is for. What exactly is the Propain Hugene 3 CF for? While you might know Propain as a downhill and enduro company, it makes trail bikes too. It’s aimed at being a ‘shortish’ travel bike for riders who still like to climb and who still want a reasonably lightweight and efficient bike for the climbs. However, a glimpse at the Fox 36 and the sticky tyre up front shows that this isn’t your regular 140/130mm short-travel trail bike. Stay tuned for updates!

Trek Fuel EX 8

• Price: £3,200
• From: Trek Bikes

If you’ve read my Trek Fuel EX 8 first ride review you’ll recognise this bike.

Maxxis Dissector 2

• Price: £64.99 to £79.99
• From: Extra UK

This isn’t technically called the Dissector 2 but we thought we’d stick the number in there so that you’d notice it isn’t the Dissector that you already know. So yes, new Dissector. Which, I for one am very pleased about. The original Dissector was not a tyre that I got on with. Just a bit meh on everything whilst also lacking much in the way of zip. This new Dissector looks like a diet Assegai. Which is a good move for those who find the Assegai rather sluggish and prone to packing with mud for a trail tyre. Maxxis sez: “These updates make the Dissector an even more versatile option for short- to mid-travel trail bikes. It excels as a front tire on bikes with 130–140mm of travel, especially when paired with a fast-rolling rear like the Forekaster or Rekon. On longer travel bikes (150mm+), it serves as a fast, confident rear tire in dry conditions.” Available in all of the usual Maxxis compound and casing flavours.

Bridgedale socks

• Price: £various
• From: Bridgedale

There is a big difference between bike socks, and socks with bikes on. Bridgedale makes bike socks. These are socks for riding bikes in – though it’s recommended you wear other clothes as well – and they’re made by the folks at Bridgedale who specialise in making socks for outdoor activities. If you’ve never wondered how socks are made, now is the time to start wondering, and then check out our feature.

Feedback Sports Team Edition Tool Kit

• Price: £380.00
• From: Saddleback

Designed as a starter race day kit. It will hang on a repair stand, or a handy fencepost or tree branch perhaps? Feedback Sports consulted its own staff to compile the kit as well as recommendations from pro racing mechanics. The kit includes 20 ‘professional grade’, bike-specific tools with 26 functions. The tools are housed in a water-, grease- and abrasion-resistant TPU-coated case and has inner reinforcement and external attachment to hang nicely. As a bonus, car thieves will just assume it’s a multi CD case holder from the 90s and leave it behind.

Bontrager TLR Tire Sealant

• Price: £6.99 (89ml), £32.99 (946ml)
• From: Trek Bikes

Ammonia-free formula won’t corrode rims or degrade tyre rubber. Seals punctures up to 6.5mm. Effective in temperatures ranging from -21 to 49°C. Cool blue colour.

DMR Bicycles & Dirt socks

• Price: N/A
• From: Upgrade Bikes

Yes, the left sock has not been pulled up sufficiently. A thousand apologies. And the semi-erotic fishnet side panels will not be everyone’s cup of tea. But socks always get featured in Fresh Goods Friday because you can’t have too many riding socks.

New issue!

• Price: £10.00
• From: The Singletrack Shop

What’s in it? Morzine and Les Gets travel guide… Can bikes have ‘soul’? Can only steel bikes have soul? How about new bikes? Can you add to it, or does it drain away if not topped up?… A few issues ago, Steve Aspinall was sailing through the air with ease and encouraging you to join him. Then it all came to a sudden stop… Riding pants? Riding trousers? Call them what you will, they’re a great way of keeping the brambles out and the pads up… Our endurance racing stalwart, Jason Miles comes out of self-imposed exile to discover that everyone got faster while he was away… Why would you make a bike harder to ride and to get on and off? ‘Just because’, seems the perfectly reasonable excuse cited by disciples of the Church of the Tall Bike… Creag Meagaidh, to give it its full name. Munro-bagger Sanny teams up with MunroBiker to tick another peak off their iSpy book of big Scottish mountains.

Member Reward of the Week: 25% off Synergy Wetsuits

• Discount: 25% off Synergy Wetsuits
• From: Singletrack Member Rewards

About Synergy: “Synergy emerged from the vision of Stefan Laursen, who, at the age of 13, faced the challenge of acquiring a wetsuit for his inaugural triathlon. Financial constraints didn’t deter him; instead, he fashioned his own suit at his Waldorf school, igniting a passion for the sport that propelled him to innovate wetsuit designs over the next few decades.”

Forum Thread of the Week

This week’s winner is e-machine for this rather fruity thread:

As before, the winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. So e-machine please email editorial@singletrackworld.comfor a random prize. Don’t forget to include your postal address, as it really speeds up delivery logistics, like.

Stale Goods Friday – 2014 Trek Slash 9

• Price: £4,300
• From: Fresh Goods Friday 170

IN the wild and heady days of 2013, someone under the employ of STW writ: “Slash and burn! What’s better than going to BikePark Wales? Going to BikePark Wales and getting to bring home two new bikes. Here’s the new Trek Slash 9 we’ve got to play about on for the next few weeks. It’s a totally enduro focussed 27.5 bike that’s bang on the 1×11 trend and according to intern Dan* it’s ‘pretty good’.”

*This Dan is now a World Series wrench for Trek Factory Racing. Small world.