In English, the word Friday is derived from the name of the Norse goddess of wisdom – Frigga. In Latin languages such as French, meanwhile, it stems from the name of the Roman goddess of love, Venus.
Why dwell on these meanings? Because Friday (as we hope you're aware) is the day that 11spd rolls around each week, meaning you get the chance to enjoy the wise words of BikeRadar's international test team as we introduce you to a selection of lustworthy bike goods. This time out we bring you special edition helmets, pro team-designed kit, cool jumpers for the bike-mad and some rather fetching caps.
So have a read, expand your mind, fall in love with an item or two… and then have a fantastic weekend riding bikes.
- Spotted: New race shoes from Shimano, Sidi and Mavic
- Ignore the marketing hype: all bikes are adventure bikes
- Three rookie bike-buying mistakes I made so you don't have to
New road bike gear
Kask Mojito Giro d’Italia edition helmet
La Corsa Rosa is over for another year, but we’re still dreaming of those stunning mountain stages. Recreate your own Mortirolo moment with this new Giro d’Italia edition of Kask’s lightweight Mojito helmet.
It comes in medium or large sizing, in its own personalised box, and is on sale now. If you’d rather go aero, there’s also a Protone version available.
€130
Chris Boardman autobiography: Triumphs and Turbulence
He’s an Olympic gold medallist, Secret Squirrel, Tour de France yellow jersey winner, and one of the UK’s best ambassadors for cycling. Now, Chris Boardman has found the time to write his autobiography, and we’re sure it’ll be a good read.
As the name Triumphs and Turbulence suggests, there’ve been a few bumps along the way – but we’ll let you read it to find that out.
£12
Rapha Herman Miller caps
The special editions continue – this one for the Tour of California. Rapha’s limited-run caps normally fly out the door, so we’ve been lucky to grab these two, marking stage 2 of the men's race (above), and the women's race (below).
In case you didn’t know, Herman Miller makes *very* nice office chairs (seriously, try sitting on one), and is an iconic design house. Together, the two firms launched a new cap design for each of the Tour of California’s eight stages.
£sold out (sorry)
Katusha Sports clothing
Is this the first clothing brand to come directly from a pro team? We think it might be, and we like the results. At launch there are three different lines: the understated Essential, the Team Katyusha-Inspired Breakaway, and the loud-and-proud Beyond, all with the same fit, fabric and price.
We’ve been sent a full complement of the Beyond kit: short-sleeve jersey, bib shorts, base layer, mitts, race socks and cap. It’s made from hyper-wicking 37.5 yarn and Schoeller fabrics, and is made exclusively in Europe. Look out for a review soon.
- Superlight SS jersey: €140
- Superlight bib shorts: €190
DMT R1 road shoes
This here is Italian firm DMT’s top-of-the-line road racing shoe, and it’s not very subtle. Half bright orange, half black, with two big Boa dials, this is footwear that doesn’t shy away from attention. Wear with the Katusha clothing above for maximum effect.
It’s got a 100% carbon sole for ultimate stiffness, a reinforced heel, and DMT’s Aerotech air flow technology – basically a mesh-covered vent towards the front of the shoe. Weight is 225g (size 41).
£200 / $229
New mountain bike gear
Velo Sister Chain Fox Hoody
If you love cycling, the idea of a bike-themed T-shirt, jumper or necklace is an appealing one, but there aren't that many options out there and lots of the designs for women aren't always that appealing. Step forward Nic Fox, who took matters into her own hands to set up VeloSister, an online shop that caters to women who love cycling. The T-shirts, vests and jumpers Fox sells all feature original designs, such as the popular Chain Fox motif pictured above.
But there's more. Velo Sister was also set up as a way to raise money for cycling charities, such as the Racing Chance Foundation and Wheels for Wellbeing.
"It started with Racing Chance," Fox tells BikeRadar. "Heather Bamford, the founder, said it would be great if someone wanted to help with fundraising, so I started thinking of ideas. Around the same time, I saw some cycling-themed hoodies but they were aimed at men and not designs I would buy, so I thought of designing my own for women cyclists and donating half the profits to Racing Chance, then I though about expanding the idea to help other charities. A kind of positive cycle of women cyclists helping women cyclists."
Each design helps a specific charity, and Fox is always open to suggestions for other charities to support and ideas for designs. Not only are the designs pretty damn cool, you're also helping others, as 50% of the profits go to a good cause.
And of course while this might be in the mountain bike section, devotees of other cycling disciplines are equally welcome to wear the designs.
Chain Fox Hoody: £44.99
Troy Lee A1 MIPS Vertigo helmet
In a departure from its usual subdued style and dull colours, Troy Lee has brought out a somewhat brighter offering with the new A1 MIPS helmet.
Who are we kidding?! The producer of some of the lairyest kit in the mountain biking world has excelled itself here – we can barely look straight on at the new A1 MIPS helmet, it's that bright. Use it as a desk lamp when you're finished riding in it for the day, maybe.
But the special elements here aren't just on the outside. The A1 now features MIPS – that's multi-directional impact protection system – which is designed to provide additional protection for your brain from the torsional forces your head often encounters in a crash. And the more brain protection the better, we say. After all, you've only got one head.
Troy Lee claims the A1 MIPS weighs 360g; our sample came in at 395g.
£159.99 / $215 / AU$TBC
Stooge Motor Handlebar
Fat bike owners rejoice! The alloy Stooge Motor handlebars have been specially designed for herding your portly steeds. They're 800mm wide, with a 38mm rise and 17 degree backsweep, weigh in a 363g and feature a laser-etched Stooge logo.
£59.99
Altum Designs Modual MTS multitool
Featuring 13 different tool functions in a streamlined form, the Modual MTS multitool is described by it's creator as 'the last multitool you will ever need'. Rather than opting for the usual folding design, Altum has created a system using various tool bits that snap into either a wrench or screwdriver configuration.
Magnetic elements keep everything together, and there's something immensely pleasing about the way the two integrated tyre levers slide into place along the side of the MTS. In addition to the levers, the tool includes nine tool bits including the usual Allen key sizes you'd expect, plus an extender bit.
The Kickstarter campaign is now live, and runs until 8 July 2016. Altum will ship the multitool globally.
From £19
Race Face Women's DIY Shorts
Race Face has done something a little different with the women's DIY shorts. It's not the two-way stretch fabric or the tweedster-look finish, or the water repellent DWR coating – though those are all great features. No, instead we're talking about the fact that these are pull-on baggies with a wide Lycra top section rather than the usual waistband and fly fitting you usually get with baggy shorts.
Race Face claims this new design is more comfortable, and is designed to eliminate muffin top and fit curvier body shapes. We're intrigued to see how they feel in action.
£59.95 / $TBC
Olixar universal phone holder
Designed to fit pretty much any type of mobile phone, the well-priced Olixar universal phone holder clamps your pride and joy into place in either landscape or portrait orientation, and allows you to pop it on your handlebars.
The two side clamps slide in and out to fit different sizes of device, and grip tightly around the phone to keep its position secure. It's also got a quick-release button that opens the arms automatically with a somehow slightly creepy, silent motion.
The holder clamps on to your bars with rubber-lined bracket, which can be installed separately. Then just pop the holder on when the bracket is in place. The company claims the bracket should fit most bikes, fitting bars up to 33mm diameter.
£9.99