Rocky Mountain Bicycles have released a new Element – their flagship XC full-suspension bike, sporting 120mm front travel and 100mm rear. The new frame design is the result of over two decades experience. The new Element has a more efficient suspension design, refined marathon geometry, Ride-9™ adjustability, and room for two bottles inside the front triangle – which […]
Merida launch new Big.Nine and Big.Seven
On Friday before the World Cup in Albstadt, Merida unveiled the new hardtails they have been developing. While it was no secret that Merida had a new racing bike in the works, given Jose Hermida has been racing on a ‘camouflaged’ version so far this year – we just didn’t know the specifications, save for […]
Belgian Mountain Bike Challenge 2016 – Magic In The Ardennes
The Belgium Mountain Bike Challenge might only be 3 days but it’s impossible not to get wrapped up in it. Eat, race, eat, sleep, repeat. The post race depression quickly kicks in as reality strikes. No sooner had we finished the final 6 hour stage we were on the road driving the 8 hours back […]
Schurter and Langvad win Cairns World Cup
The world of XCO racing is about to go full gas for a few months, in the run up to World Championships through the World Cup, and then onto the Olympics in Rio. As the first round, the UCI XCO World Cup in Cairns was going to be intense. And today it didn’t disappoint. While […]
Course practice at the Cairns XCO World Cup
Tomorrow is race day here at Smithfield Mountain Bike Park north of Cairns, when the UCI XCO World Cup will kick off for 2016. It’s a tight season with World Championships just 2.5 months away, with Olympics in August. And given that the course in Smithfield will hold World Championships in 2017 – elite racers […]
Bike check: Nino Schurter’s Scott Spark
If there is one rider who can single handedly make cross-country racing cool, it’s Nino Schurter. The Swiss World Champion is a huge personality, with an ever-present smile and a huge presence on the bike. He puts everything into his riding and racing, and is just as frequently in the air, crossed up, as he […]
In the pits at the Cairns World Cup
The first round of the UCI XCO World Cup is on this weekend at Smithfield Mountain Bike Park north of Cairns. The mountain bike world has been flying in to the tropical paradise over the last week or more. As the first round of the World Cup in an Olympic year, and the fact that […]
Fox release the new Fox 32 SC ultralight fork
Last week Fox finally announced the details of the bright orange fork we have seen gracing the bikes of riders like Dan McConnell, Bec Henderson, Julien Absalon and Jolanda Neff – plus many more. Known for their outstanding damping and stiffness, Fox forks have never truly been class winners for total weight. However the new […]
Leonardo Paez and Annabella Stropparo win 2016 Volcat Stage Race
After 3 days of racing across the Easter weekend a total of 524 cyclists completed the Volcat GP, a UCI category 2 event. Sadly I was amongst the none finishers having picked up the bug on stage 2 which left me too ill to race stage 3. The 2 days I did experience though were […]
Reviewed: Maxxis Ikon 29 x 2.0 EXO TR
The Maxxis Ikon is currently synonymous with XC and XCM racing. Along with the Schwalbe Racing Ralph, the Ikon tread pattern is in favour with many endurance based riders and racers. Like the Hutchinson Python, Kenda Small Block 8 and Specialized Fast Trak and others over the years, the Ikon rolls fast and has predictable, […]