In case you hadn't noticed, today is not any old Friday — it's the commercial dream that is Black Friday. But don't worry, we won't spam you with 3 percent off the products you don't want in the worst possible colour combination. Instead, we’ve hand-selected some great products we'd like to buy ourselves. Take a look at our Black Friday deals page to see exactly what we mean.
As we come to the end of another busy week here at BikeRadar we can take a look back to getting our grubby mitts on the cheapest of Specialized’s Roubaix road bikes. We also concluded our exhaustive testing of smart trainers, which saw 10 of the most popular models pitched against a pair of power meters on Zwift. But on with the show.
Dia Compe Gran Compe 610 Centre Pull brake and ENE rack
Unless you have a particular penchant for working on touring bikes from the 70s, most of you won’t have seen centre-pull brake like this in a long, long time.
The Dia Compe Gran Compe 610 is essentially a modernised version of the centre-pull brakes of old. With between 47-61mm reach, there’s plenty of room for wide tyres and mudguards and braking power that is said to be as good as a dual pivot sidepulls.
Most interestingly however, the front brake is designed to take an adorable miniature front rack.
The rack mounts via the two pivot bolts and the main mounting bolt. It’s not really designed to support any significant amount of weight and is really just there to support the base of a bar bag that will usually be hung from a decaleur or the handlebars.
For bikes that lack eyelets for a front rack, this really opens up options for carrying gear on long days.
The rack also features four little M5 threaded eyelets for mounting lights or other accessories — the Paul Gino we featured earlier this week will be living on one of these.
Strictly speaking, the rack is only designed for the Dia Compe GC610, GC700 and DC750 brakes, but apparently Fresh Trip and Velo Orange have had success fitting it to vintage Weinmann and Mafac brakes.
This brake setup is due to be fitted to Jack’s Genesis Flyer as part of his quest to make the ultimate fixed gear winter wagon — stay tuned.
- Brakes: £60 / $85 / AU$N/A
- Buy the Dia-Compe Gran Compe 610 brakes from Amazon
- Rack: £34.99 / $45 / AU$N/A
- Buy the Dia-Compe ENE front rack from SJS cycles
Evoc Explorer Pro 30l
The Evoc Explorer Pro lies at the larger end of Evoc’s range and is designed for all-day adventuring.
The 30l bag is split into several compartments and can be easily squished down using the two compression straps on either side of the bag.
The back uses what Evoc is calling ‘Air Flow Contact System’, which is a fancy way of saying there is a layer of mesh that keeps the rucksack away from your back, hopefully reducing sweatiness while riding.
The bag is available in black, ‘heather and olive’ and ‘heather slate and heather neon blue’ as shown.
- £165 / €180 / $N/A / AU$N/A
Turbospoke
Forget spokey dokeys, the Turbospoke is the sort of bike enhancement that some of the youngest riders would like to find under their tree this Christmas.
Bringing motorcycle looks as well as sounds, the Turbospoke simply attaches to a bike’s chainstay where its tuneable sound can emulate that of a real-life motorcycle.
The Turbospoke uses Interchangeable cards that contact the bike’s spokes, these make a sound that is then amplified through the plastic faux exhaust.
The system can be tuned to provide anything from the tinny ‘bee in a can’ sound of a 125 to the moderate rasp of a 250 and all the way through to the savage tone of a 500cc monster.
It’s compatible with nearly all bicycles with spoked wheels that are 14 inches or larger.
True legends of the road can even run two systems simultaneously for dual-exit drone. It also comes with plenty of stickers.
- £14.99 / $24.98 / AU$19.99
- Buy the Turbospoke from Amazon
Coffee brake mug
When Ben Clark slipped off his bike on a patch of ice he was lucky not to hurt himself, but he was also strangely fortunate to smash the plastic handle off his coffee mug in the process.
The ever-resourceful Clark decided not to bin his mug and instead raided the parts bin at his local bike shop for a suitable handle replacement.
Then, after finding a suitable brake lever, the coffee break mug was born. Clark soon realised other folk may have a taste for such bodgery and after selling several batches it wasn’t long before a final mug made its way into a hugely successful Kickstarter pledge.
Now in its fourth version, the double-wall stainless-steel mug holds 20oz / 592ml of fluid and features a screw on lid, it’s also dishwasher friendly and is free from BPA. Our videographer Reuben now refuses to drink from anything else.
- $26.99 (international shipping available)
- www.coffeebrakemug.com
Shred Provocator sunglasses
Shred was founded by two-time Olympic gold medal-winning skier Ted Ligety and materials engineer Carlo Salmini after struggling to find performance-oriented sunglasses that suited them.
“All too often, sunglasses designed for active endeavors make compromises. Whether through their frame design, lens quality, or the materials they use,” the company claims.
One of Shred’s latest offerings is the Provacator, which features lightweight, flexible polymer frames and 'Boost' lens technology.
No, this isn’t a new eyewear standard to which we must conform, but Shred does think it might make your current shades obsolete. Shred uses liquid-cast urethane lenses with low distortion and high-impact resistance impregnated with a dye that boosts contrast, making colours warmer and more vibrant.
Shred is currently funding these new shades through a Kickstarter campaign. Delivery is expected to be June 2018.
- £118 / $130 / €130 / AU$190
- Buy now on Kickstarter
No Quarter Sport rock band jerseys
If music is as important to you as your riding then let it be known. That’s the thinking behind these rock-themed cycling jerseys from UK firm No Quarter Sport.
These licensed designs from Guns N’ Roses and The Rolling Stones are two from a larger range that includes Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath and The Doors. For those who prefer hip hop there’s also a design featuring the classic Run-DMC logo.
All of the jerseys are 100 percent polyester, available with a unisex fit and in sizes that range from XS–4XL.
There are ventilated side panels and flat-lock stitching throughout, while each of the designs is sublimation printed, meaning the jerseys shouldn’t fade in the wash.
Anyone looking to order one will likely have a little wait on their hands. That’s because No Quarter Sport doesn’t hold the jerseys in stock, instead they are all made to order, so expect to wait approximately four weeks.
- £59.99
- noquartersport.co.uk
Blackburn 2’Fer XL front or rear light
The Blackburn 2’Fer couldn’t quite decide whether it wanted to be a front or a rear light and so it ended up as both!
Depending on the mode selected and the orientation of the supplied mount, the 2’Fer XL (as in 2 ‘fer’ the price of one, geddit?) will pump out up to 200 lumens as a front light or 40 lumens as a red rear beam.
Its mount will happily clamp to handlebars and seatposts alike, while a useful clip means it’ll sit on your backpack or belt too.
There’s a power-level indicator, so you shouldn’t be caught out by its run times which – depending on the settings chosen – vary from 2-6 hours as a front light or 4-12 hours as a rear light.
- £39.99 / $45
- Buy now from Merlin Cycles
Specialized Power Expert saddle
We’ve featured it many times before but the Specialized Power saddle only ever seems to receive love and so here it is again.
It’s not often that roadies and mountain bikers find as much common ground as they do when this particular saddle is mentioned. Its stubby nose is distinctive and we’ve found it to be very comfortable providing you don’t shift back and forth a lot.
This is the Expert variant, which despite not being particularly cheap, is currently the cheapest way into the Power line of saddles. Sit it next to the S-Works model and it really starts to look like a bargain though. It weighs 229g and features hollow titanium rails.
We are currently testing pretty much every variation of this saddle including the Arc versions with their shorter yet more rounded profile. More on those soon.
- £95 / $130 / €129 / AU$170
- Buy the Specialized Power saddle now
Tifosi SS26 Disc
Get a load of the new SS26 from Tifosi. We are fond of the lines and the bold finish on this all-new frame for 2018. Compared to the last generation, there’s a more compact rear triangle that flows neatly into a sculpted thru-axle fork.
Its geometry targets those seeking longer rides or endurance sportive events.
This is also one of the first bikes we’ve received that proudly wears Campag’s latest Potenza Disc groupset.
It’s pretty sensibly priced considering the rest of the build sheet too, which includes alloy Miche Race wheels and Michelin Dynamic tyres as well as finishing kit from Deda and Prologo.
This 55cm example held its own at 8.64kg/19.04lbs on BikeRadar’s scales of truth.
- £2,499
- www.tifosicycles.co.uk
NS Bikes Fuzz 1
The Fuzz 1 downhill bike has been honed by some of the rowdiest rippers in the business. It’s suitably long (1,292mm in a size large), low (2mm bottom bracket drop) and slack (62.5 degrees) with a four-bar, Horst-link rear end that delivers 203mm of movement, with a front triangle that’s adjustable by +/- 8mm thanks to custom headset cups.
This €4,999 build pairs Fox Elite level suspension, SRAM’s GX DH downhill-specific group plus an own-brand wheelset to the Fuzz’s alloy frame. This size medium example comes in at 16.93kg / 37.32lbs, and will soon be put through its paces under the experienced limbs of MBUK’s Rob Weaver, hopefully it's not a load of Fuzz about nothing.
- €4,999 / £3,999
- Buy the NS Bikes Fuzz 1
Motorola Focus 66 Wi-Fi HD security camera
The Motorola Focus is a motion-activated indoor security cam that will keep an eye on your pride and joy(s) with a livestream that's only a thumb-push away on a smartphone or tablet.
Infrared tech means it can see up to six metres in the dark while the ability to speak and listen through the camera could come in useful should you want to open up a dialogue with family members (or swear at the awful person who is about to steal your bike).
It's a lot cheaper than the likes of Y-Cam's EVO but there's a slight catch — to make use of the camera's motion-activated recording and cloud-recording backup requires a subscription. If that doesn't bother you, then this is a good option. In the meantime, we'll try it out and follow up with a full review.
- £54.99
- Buy the Motorola Focus 66
