There’s a lot of rubber in the office this week, both for wheels and for feet, we’ve got new shoes from Giro and new tyres for both mountain bikes and gravel bikes from Continental and Goodyear, plus cleaner from Juice Lubes and frame protection care of Invisiframe. 

Giro Jacket II flat shoes

We’ve got a couple of pairs of new flat shoes in from Giro, first these Jacket II’s which is £10 cheaper than its counterpart the Jacket and is pitched as an everyday shoe ready for trail rides and casual wear. It still gets the Vibram sole but just ditches the ‘Mega Grip’ rubber outsole in favour of ‘EcoStep’ for a tad more durability. 

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Off-road cool things GiroJacket II-9 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)

Giro Riddance flat shoes

The Riddance flats are the gravity flat shoes which Giro says have the stickiest sole to date, using ‘Megagrip™ ISR’ rubber. They are lace up and have a water-resistant breathable microfibre lining and an EVA midsole optimized for vibration damping. 

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Off-road cool things Giro Riddance -10 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)

Juice Lubes

Just as the sun comes out we’ve got a full complement of cleaning kit from Juice Lubes! There’s everything here for a sparkling bike from cleaner, fork lube, chain lube and hand cleaner to finish things off.

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Off-road cool things Juice Lubes-8 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)

Goodyear tyres

The next lot of tyres to test is the brand spanking new range from Goodyear. We’ve got some MTB and gravel options to roll on this summer. Read all about the new range here.

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Off-road cool things Goodyear-8 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)
Goodyear Peak

 

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Off-road cool things Goodyear-6 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)
Goodyear Newton

 

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Off-road cool things Goodyear-4 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)
Goodyear Newton ST

 

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Off-road cool things Goodyear-2 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)
Goodyear Connector (gravel)

Invisiframe

Invisiframe have supplied us with the kit for Rachael’s new long-term test bike, the 2018 Cotic Rocket so she’s wasted no time in getting the kit fitted prior to building up the bike. She filmed the process, check out the video below. Turns out, fitting this stuff is pretty simple….

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Invisiframe-4 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)

 

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Invisiframe-1 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)

 

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Invisiframe-7 (Image Credit: Rachael Gurney)

 

Continental Tyres

There is also new rubber on the loose from Continental. These classics have re-invented tread patterns and a new pricing structure too. Over much of the range, the side knobs have been adjusted to take account of new wider rims and the profile of the tyre needed to suit these wheels. Continental has also, handily, added the best rim width each tyre should be mated with on the side wall, neat and helpful too! To also make things less confusing, Conti has simplified the range, making just two versions of each tyre in the three sizes (26/27.5 and 29). The options will be either ‘Performance’ or ‘Protection’ or ‘Protection Apex’ the former being cheaper by quite some margin (prices TBC). The pricier tyres get the Black Chilli compound whereas the cheaper ones get a new, less tacky ‘pure grip’ compound.

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Off-road cool things Continental-1 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)
Trailking II Protection Apex

 

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Off-road cool things Continental-2 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)
Mountain King Performance Pure Grip

 

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Off-road cool things Continental-5 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)
Continental valves and sealant

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