A new year means new bits
Happy New Year and all that jazz! MBR has been slowly emerging from the typical over-indulgence during the holiday season and begrudgingly making our way back to the rain and mud soaked trails. I won’t lie to you, it’s a tad sloppy out there. This week’s Arrivals is a little slimmer than most other weeks, it looks like our postie hasn’t emerged from their slumber yet but at least we have a few new bits to keep us going. Some like the Fizik winter boots are definitely well needed.
For those of you who can’t wait until the reviews come out in the magazine or go up online, here’s another in our new series of pre-emptive peeks into recent test product arrivals.
Here’s last week’s Arrivals for those who missed it.
Fizik Artica x5
Price: £189.99
From: Extra
These have arrived at the right time, I’m getting fed up of wet feet. Fizik’s new Artica X5 winter boot is fully waterproof and insulated so should cope with anything the weather has to throw at them. The almost featureless outer should shed mud and water easily and an internal, adjustable boot keeps your foot in place. Fizik has used a slightly more flexible sole unit compared to the Infinito shoes below, coupled with a grippy outsole for clambering over muddy rocks. Even the insole has an aluminium foil lining and fleece top to radiate heat back into your feet.
Fizik Infinito X1
Price: £324.99
From: Extra
The top of the Fizik shoe tree, the Infinito X1 represents the height of the Italian company’s technology. The upper features the Infinito Shoe Closure system to tighten evenly across the whole foot. This is then combined with something Fizik call Dynamic Arch Support to provide the foot with a super stable platform for maximum power transfer. A full carbon outsole offers zero flex, and has a really aggressive tread bonded to it. Three colour options are available for the Microtex upper including this snazzy black/grey/fluoro number.
Camelbak All Clear bottle
Price: £129.99
From: ZyroFisher
If you’re planning any off-the-beaten-track adventures as part of your New Year’s resolutions then Camelbak’s All Clear water purification system could help keep you off the grid. Simply fill the bottle from any water source, press the button and let the powers of Ultra Violet light kill all the nasties. Voila, safe drinking water. The battery is good for 80 cycles, so that’s 60 litres of clean water it can provide before it needs recharging (the bottle has a 750ml capacity).
DMR Defy 35 stem
Price: £55.00
From: Upgrade Bikes
Billed as the perfect stem for your All Mountain or trail bike, the Defy 35 is not only 35mm in length but also takes 35mm diameter handlebars. Twin top-close clamps are widely spaced for security and wrap around the bar for extra snugness. The other advantage of the Defy is the minuscule 27mm stack height, making it a great choice for riders wanting a lower front end or if you’ve cut your steerer a little too short.
Smoove Lube
Price: £13.99
From: Cyclorise
Hailing from South Africa, Smoove has been developed to cope with brutal multi-day MTB races such as the Cape Epic. Labelled as a dry lube, Smoove is actually a bit more multi-purpose and has been designed to work in wet conditions just as well as in the dry. This is definitely a good thing for UK riders. It has a bit of a ‘process’ to apply it properly, but when on it should stay on.
Glower clothing
Price: T-shirts £25.00, Sweatshirts £45.00
From: Glower
Just over the hill from MBR towers lives Glower Clothing. Glower make casual wear for riders and snowboarders with a ton of understated (and not so understated) apparel to cover your skin either before or after a ride. You can even wear them down the pub or at your wedding, the sky’s the limit. The kind folks at Glower sent us their ‘I See Mountains’ and ‘No Bad Days’ tees as well as the ‘Downhill Only’ sweatshirt. They do some pretty good bundles and gift packs so take a look.
The ‘I see mountains’ tee.
‘No bad days’.
The ‘Downhill only’.
Endura MTR Primaloft jacket
Price: £124.99
From: Endura
If you need an extra bit of protection against the wind and cold then Endura’s MTR Primaloft jacket is worth considering. Windproof fabric keeps the elements at bay and as the name suggests, a layer of Primaloft SILVER insulation lines the main panels to keep you warm and snug both on and off the bike. There’s also a foldaway hood to keep your ears warm and some grippy patches to keep your pack in place.
Scented candle
Price: priceless
From: Father Christmas
Christmas is that time when your relatives grasp at your favourite past time and purchase presents that have a tenuous link to bicycling. This year my favourite was this; a scented candle aimed at providing active relaxation for when you get in from a ride. I’m yet to try it, but suffice to say I’m sure it’ll do a blinding job.
It’s got bicycles on it.
It’s all you need to recover from a hard ride.
And there you go. 2018 looks to be starting out as a good year!