Cover photo by Michael Owen Spin Cycle Clothing have been quietly making a name for themselves in the Australian market, with sharp designs and well-fitting clothing for the performance minded road and off-road cyclist. The past few years have seen a number of small clothing manufacturers launch to fill the gap between big batch custom […]
Long term review: Shimano XC90 SPD MTB shoes
Shimano have been in the mountain bike shoe game a while. In fact, they are celebrating 25 years of the SPD (Shimano Pedaling Dynamics) system this year, which gives you a good understanding of their time in the game – that’s not much less time than production mountain bikes have been around. In late 2013 Shimano […]
REVIEWED: Chinese carbon mountain bike frame
I’ll never forget the day I was left most perplexed by our team manager Mike Blewitt after his seemingly bipolar reaction to my newest bicycle purchase. We were setting up our steeds in the basement of our apartment in preparation for the Dolomiti Superbike, a fantastically tough one day marathon race in the heart of […]
Whyte 29-C: Long-term Review
Related Event: Mongolia Bike Challenge
I’m getting on a plane to Mongolia next month and I’m taking Whyte’s 29-C with me. I’m approaching the Mongolia Bike Challenge with a heady mix of apprehension and excitement. The race is 856km. Based on some (rough) guess work, I’ll spend upwards of 40 hours of my time in Mongolia on board the 29-C. […]
Shimano XTR M9000: Long Term Test
Shimano’s XTR has had a big 12 months. The introduction of the Di2 version of the group amid (justified) fanfare last year came just after the introduction of the M9000 groupset – Shimano’s first 11-speed mountain bike group. I’ve had the pleasure of living with the latter addition for five of those months. Specifically a 1×11 (32T/11-40T) […]
Reviewed: Nextie 29er Carbon Wheels
“Strong, Light, Cheap. Pick any two.” Keith Bontrager was onto something when he first coined his famous phrase, because those words are just as relevant now as they were 20 years ago. Sure, mountain bikes have progressed enormously over that time. Today’s modern race bike is lighter, faster and more capable than ever before. If […]
Reviewed: Gerber MP 400 Compact Sport Multi-Tool
As a mountain biker, I love getting into the outdoors. I love camping, hiking and any opportunity to escape the city and explore remote natural environments. For that reason, I really love outdoors gear too. Especially cool lightweight techy-stuff like tents, sleeping bags and compact cook stoves. And no, you probably don’t want to end […]
REVIEWED: Stages XTR Power Meter
It’s leg day again. Another bike ride, more efforts, all to get those pistons pumping out more horses than a Ferrari. But what is your effort session really accomplishing? An ego trip powered by a Strava flavoured energy drink or a quantifiable training session, directly increasing your performance? Don’t get me wrong; a ‘Trophy’ filled […]
REVIEWED: Maxxis Tread Lite 29×2.1″ Tyre
I have long been a Maxxis fan, with countless hours spent on Crossmarks, Larson TTs, Ikons, Aspens… and of course the Detonator and Re-Fuse road tyres. Riding for the Subaru-MarathonMTB.com Team, I’m lucky to be able to race and train on Maxxis tyres, who are generous sponsors for our riders. One of the new tyres […]
Reviewed: Kappius Components KR29 Wheelset
Our final review of the Kappius Components wheels is now online here. Carbon wheels have almost become par for the course, with carbon wheelsets available online for less than you might pay for a mid-range alloy wheelset. Yet, at the other end of the spectrum, brands like ENVE and FRM push the boundaries of what […]