Fresh Goods Friday 770 : The Benji’s Away Edition

As you might expect, Benji’s off on holiday, learning about early Bosch electric motors (no, really…) and it all goes a bit wonky, so please excuse us if your favourite part of Fresh Goods Friday is missing, or the wrong shape, or in Comic Sans or something. Not all of us know how all of the buttons work…

How has your summer been going so far? Have you been luxuriating on a distance beach/mountain bike haven? Or are you one of the people who has to stick around and make sure that everything doesn’t fall apart while everyone’s away? Perhaps you work at the locations that everyone chooses to visit for the summer and you’re already wishing for winter? Don’t do that yet! Perhaps wish instead for a slightly cool, but sunny autumn morning where you know it’ll soon be warm enough for T-shirts… Anyway, we’ll see what we can find in the FGF box this week to take your mind off things.

And because, today I (Chipps) am driving the bus, I get to pick the theme tune for the week. I reckon it’s time for a Friday earworm that will only be made worse by realising that in 2025, this song is now forty years old! Happy Anniversary Sly Fox!

Garmin Edge MTB

• Price: £339.99
• From: Garmin

Garmin’s new EDGE MTB computer has some clever features for the way that many folks ride bikes these days. There’s a downhill mode that’ll only track your descent figures (so you don’t have to keep remembering to pause it for the shuttle back up) and the DH and Enduro modes offer 5Hz (five times a second) GPS recording for greater accuracy. It comes pre-loaded with Trailforks maps, plus you can set your own start and stop points on trails you’re trying to master. Clever stuff.

Fromage

• Price: Around €25 a kilo
• From: Marché Gourmand, Rotja Valley, France

Chipps has been off to the market again. Here we have a sheep’s cheese from Mantet at 1800m on the left, some Fromage Blanc from Sophie in Sahorre a couple of km up the road, and some monster tasty Tomme Catalan Vache from Mas Guter just round the corner. All netted at the weekly farmers’ market, complete with a French banjo version of the White Stripes.

Stans Biobased Bike Wash

• Price: £15 or so for a litre
• From: Upgrade

Stan’s Bike Wash is, as the name suggests, not derived from fossils, and it’s safe on anodising, carbon, plastics and rubber. It can be used as a general spray-over wash or for more grimy jobs that need an old paintbrush to shift. And it’s made in Canada(!)

Stan’s BioBased Suspension Oil

• Price: Around £15
• From: Upgrade

Also bio-based, Stan’s Fork Boost is both a cleaner and a lube (if it’s possible to be both at once) and is designed to clean AND lube your fork seals. It’s safe on rubber and plastics and it should reduce stiction. It can also be used to pre-soak fork seals during fork rebuilds. Benji already has plans afoot.

Prototype Fold’n’Roll

• Price: If you have to ask
• From: FoldnRoll.com

This is from the prototype Fold’n’Roll workshop and it was designed for a local bikepacker who wanted a more versatile Fold’n’Roll for trips. As well as storing his overnight clothes, this one is line with a waffle towel for drying off after wild swims and the exterior is impermeable to keep clothes inside dry (or damp stuff inside from making everything else wet. And finally, the top is left unclosed so that he can stuff it with clothes at night and use it as a pillow.

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Forum Thread of the Week

This week’s Thread of the Week is the unanimous and rare choice of the judges in that it’s actually about bikes. Old bikes in the back of the shed that you simply can’t bear to get rid of… Nice one @kimbers – though you’re a retro character yourself and as much a part of the furniture here as, well the furniture. You win a prize of whatever’s down the back of the shelves behind the bubblewrap. Please drop editorial@ an email and we’ll find something fun to send you for that trip down memory lane…

Singletrack Performance L/S Ride Jersey

• Price: £42
• From: Singletrack Shop

Here’s Chipps lounging around in the new Singletrack performance longsleeve tech jersey and logo beanie hat. With the mag logo on the front and the ‘ST’ cog on the back, this colour is even bolder than the photo suggests. It’s an ideal ‘Don’t get shot by hunters’ colour…

Stale Goods Friday 183

Back in 2014, what were we looking at in a wet March? Well, according to ‘never did type very much’ Dan back then, we had not one, but TWO bikes in, so here they both are for your (is it retro yet?) gawping pleasure…

This is the ‘pretty ahead of its time’ Salsa Spearfish, with a mere 90mm travel when everyone was going longer and longer. This was Salsa’s take on a marathon or epic XC ride/race bike and pretty pioneering at the time. Dan said of it “Another short travel 29er this week, Salsa’s ultra endurance/24hour/bike packing full sus looking pretty nice in orange.”

And sharing the very same lock gate was this Ibis Mojo HD with pioneering 650B wheel size… The frame would have set you back £2399 in 2014 money.

And that’s it for this week. Vague and a little off-topic, just like most of the forum, right? Anyway, we hope you enjoy a good (long if you get it) weekend and we’ll catch you all on the flip side…