The route for the 2018 Sudety MTB Challenge has been revealed. The event team have been working tirelessly to combine three major changes for the race in 2018. Firstly they wanted to decrease the number of race towns that the race visited, but without compromising the quality of trails in each stage. Secondly the organisation […]
The Camelbak Fourteener – a traveller’s best friend
One thing that always accompanies me on a stage race is a good backpack. The convenience of being able to carry all of my essential equipment on planes, trains and automobiles while still having full use of my hands is often an absolute necessity. Or even around camp at a race travelling between dinner and […]
Cory Wallace relives the Glacier 360 in Iceland
Iceland “the land of fire and ice” is a small island nation lying just south of the Arctic circle in the North Atlantic ocean. It has become a tourist hotbed as people come in droves to see its extraordinary landscape full of Volcanic activity, geothermal energy, glaciers, waterfalls and vast expanses of moon like rock fields. […]
A season on Shimano XTR Di2
Since 2012, the MarathonMTB.com Team riders have predominantly run Shimano group sets. Usually a mix of XT and XTR parts, mixed for the best combination of price, weight, performance and durability. Favour fell to parts from Shimano due in part to their parts availability when away from home, especially in Europe. Personally, I’ve aimed to […]
Race Report – The Final Highland Fling
The Highland Fling has, over the past 13 years, become a staple and a classic event on the Australian MTB calendar. The 120km jaunt through the singletrack, forestry roads and farm tracks of NSW’s Southern Highlands has attracted tens of thousands of competitors from around the country and the globe over its existence. Due to […]
How to service Shimano SPD clipless pedals
There are very few items on a mountain bike which you can just set and forget. And if something was to come pretty close, it would be the higher range Shimano SPD clipless pedals, notably from the M540 up to the Shimano XT and XTR models. Save for a bit of a clean up and […]
The Trans Taurus 3-day stage race
This report from the Trans Taurus has been provided by Mark Songhurst. Photos by actiongraphers.com and Mahmut Cinci. I’m in the attractive holiday resort of Kemer, which nestles between the turquoise Mediterranean sea and the Taurus mountain range, from which the cable car station atop the Olympos (Tahtalı) mountain stares down at us from 2,365 […]
The Pioneer 2018 course is revealed!
After postponing the 2018 Pioneer in May 2017, many feared the worst. Had a new, epic marathon stage race landed in the Oceania region to only run for 2 editions? Having raced both editions it was clear – they were hard. The climbing, the surface, the conditions – it was a true challenge to get […]
First Look: Nextie Bike NXT29AS30 rims
Here at MarathonMTB.com we have ridden, tested and raced a whole variety of carbon mountain bike wheels over the past few years. From ENVE, to Kappius, NoTubes Valor, TWE, Light Bicycle and Nextie. Don’t miss our first look at the new flyweight RM29C06 rims from Light Bicycle. From pre-built wheels through to custom builds like […]
3Epic – 2018 XCM World Championships returns to the mountains
After the flat out and fast race in Singen in 2017, the 2018 cross-country marathon (XCM) World Championships head back to the hills. And not just any hills, but to the Italian Dolomites where the race is attached to the 3Epic. The Dolomites have mountains that rise steeply from alpine meadows, towns nestle in the […]