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A’hoy there to all you Frothers Of The Flow! It’s great to have you back and to see all your lovely faces, even if a few of them are partially covered. We bring this zingy episode of Flow’s Fresh Produce from the business side of spring, which this year has evolved into peak bike launch […]
It’s been well over a decade since we last saw it, but the Norco Shore is finally back, and it is bigger and more terrifying than ever before. Wedging its way into the Norco full suspension lineup between the 160mm travel Range (enduro) and the 200mm travel Aurum (DH), the Shore is aiming to reignite […]
Designed to excel at the very pointiest end of the sport, the Trek Supercaliber is a premium, 100% unfiltered, unapologetic, pure-bred XC race machine. The Supercaliber was first announced to the world last year, stunning many with its striking carbon chassis, integrated IsoStrut suspension design and impossibly thin seatstays. In a market where many full […]
With warmer spring weather now finally upon us, Specialized has just announced that it’s rolling out a brand new Chisel hardtail for 2021. Based on the current Epic hardtail (you know, that stupidly lightweight carbon fibre one), the Chisel is essentially the alloy counterpart. Based around 29in wheels, a 100mm travel fork and a premium […]
In November 2019, eye-boggling photos of a new bike park in Sydney’s Northern Beaches began to trickle out over social media, and what we saw was like nothing constructed in the Harbour City before now. Built on the remediated Belrose tip site, photos of humongous red clay tabletops and perfectly manicured berms began to ooze […]
Mick Swings A Leg Over The Brand New 2021 Giant Trance X E+ Pro Giant Bicycles continues to evolve its electric mountain bike lineup with the arrival of a brand new full suspension e-MTB called the Trance X E+. Replacing the existing 27.5in version (which only came out two years ago, such is the pace […]
Greetings dear readers, and welcome to the Spring edition of Flow’s Fresh Produce for 2020! It’s been one helluva year so far, and we’ll happily give you a worn-out XTR M900 front derailleur if you can accurately predict what’s next around the corner, but we’re keeping our eyes on the trail ahead which is currently […]
In mid-June, the Northern Territory Government announced that it would be reopening its borders to interstate visitors on July 17. With the health guidelines permitting gatherings of up to 500 people, it looked like The Red Back stage race would be back for its 12th edition. “We’d been following the Northern Territory (guidelines) very closely, […]
Hot on the heels of Shimano’s big announcement on its new EP8 motor, Merida is unveiling its 2021 e-MTB range, which includes the latest version of the eOne-Sixty and eOne-Forty. The entire lineup, which includes both carbon and alloy models, will be built around the new Shimano EP8 motor and the new 630Wh battery pack. […]
In one of the most anticipated product announcements of 2020, Shimano is finally ready to release its new high-performance e-MTB motor, called EP8. Coming in above the existing E8000 and E7000 drive units, the Shimano EP8 motor comes out swinging with more power, less weight, and a more compact profile than its predecessors – all […]
Mick Reviews The Giant Reign E+ 1 Pro Around this time last year, Giant Bicycles unleashed its biggest and brawniest e-MTB to date; the Reign E+. As the logical step up from the existing Trance E+, the Giant Reign E+ comes equipped with a 170mm travel fork, 160mm of Maestro-controlled rear suspension, 27.5in wheels and […]
Indonesian bicycle manufacturer, Polygon, is ready to unleash its newest full suspension mountain bike for 2021; the redesigned and reengineered Siskiu T. Sitting smack-bang in the middle between the Siskiu D (Downcountry) and the Siskiu N (Enduro) the Siskiu T (Trail) is the brand’s most versatile do-it-all trail bike. And thanks to a whole suite […]
Jo & Roz Put Liv’s New Gravel Bike To The Test The Devote Series is Liv Cycling’s first foray into the gravel market. As a brand that is dedicated to getting more women on bikes, it is timely to now see a gravel bike come to production that has been shaped by research and development […]
It’s cold and rainy, the trails are too wet to ride. You’ve watched Connor Fearon’s latest edit at least a dozen times already, your bike is clean, fork serviced and you’re not sure what else to do with yourself. You always hear your roadie friends talking about riding inside, watts per kilo and how much […]
Mick Rides the Orbea Wild FS The Orbea Wild FS is a long travel, e-MTB from the charming Spanish brand, Orbea. In the name, ‘FS’ denotes; fully sick, funky scent, flying saucer or full suspension, you decide. It’s a bold and brawny e-MTB flanked by 160mm of FOX air-sprung travel at both ends, 29″ wheels, […]
In what appears to be an eruption of fresh rubber out of Germany, Schwalbe has just unveiled an entire redesign of its mountain bike tyre lineup. The big news here is that there are five specific casing options, covering everything from XC racing through to downhill. There’s also been a redesign of the iconic Nobby […]
Wil reviews the 2021 Giant Trance X 29 Big news from the bike brand with the big name, Giant has an all-new full suspension mountain bike for 2021, and it’s called the Trance X. Equipped with a 150mm travel fork and 135mm of rear travel, the Trance X is a chunky 29er trail bike that […]
Wil Reviews The 2020 Merida One-Twenty 700 For those unfamiliar with the name, the One-Twenty is Merida’s zippy short-travel trail bike. It features 120mm of rear wheel travel, a 130mm travel fork and 29in wheels. Amongst the broader market, that puts it in competition with likes of the Giant Trance 29, the Trek Fuel EX, […]
Greetings Flow Frothers, and welcome to the latest edition of Flow’s Fresh Produce! We bring this treasure trove of treats and trinkets to you as a tandem effort from both halves of our award-winning team; Mick, who steers the good-ship Flow from our northern hub in NSW, and Wil, who pumps the propeller from the […]
Flow Reviews The New RockShox ZEB There’s a bigger, bolder, and more bodacious sheriff in town, and the name is ZEB. Erm, and who exactly is ZEB? Well, ZEB is a brand new long-travel, single-crown fork from RockShox, and it has just bashed down the door of the mountain bike market to announce its arrival in […]
Press release from Rapid Ascent. Following the recent announcement by the NT Chief Minister that the Northern Territory borders will open from July 17, and with mass gatherings in the NT set at 500 people, Rapid Ascent are eager to welcome people back to the NT and restart racing with this iconic event. As a […]
Wil Introduces The Cotic BFeMAX Hardtail UK mountain bike brand Cotic recently unveiled its latest rock-smashing creation; the BFeMAX. Rather than being an update of an existing model, the BFeMAX is an all-new 29er hardtail designed for rowdy all mountain riding. It’s designed to take big rubber and a big-travel fork, and it features what […]
Wil reviews the 2021 Specialized Epic EVO Cast your mind back to 2018. It was the year that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Idris Elba was named People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’, Kanye West visited the White House, and Queer Eye returned to TV. Of course 2018 was also […]
Wil reviews the all-new 2021 Specialized Epic Originally launched back in 2002, the Specialized Epic debuted as the very first full suspension bike on the market to feature a fully automated lockout system. That early Epic (and every model since) was built around the Brain – an inertia-valve shock damper that could transition from fully […]
With most brands having unveiled their latest mountain bikes for the year, there have been a few themes we’ve noticed across the board. There are of course a tonne of new e-MTBs hitting the market for this coming season, and we’ve also seen more big-travel 29ers arrive too. There’s another theme that has stood out […]
Bontrager has just rolled out two new carbon fibre mountain bike wheelsets; the Line Pro 30 and the Line Elite 30. Both wheelsets are designed for trail riding and enduro racing, and they feature an entirely new carbon fibre rim design that’s said to be smoother to ride, tougher and less likely to cause flats. […]
A’hoy there to all you fine Friends Of The Flow, please do make your way in to the slickest, shiniest and newest edition of Flow’s Fresh Produce! Please wipe your feet before entering though. Or ideally just take those dirty riding shoes off altogether. Yep, you can put them just there. That’s a good spot. […]
That’s right folks – there’s a new Santa Cruz 5010 in town, and this one looks a whole lot different to the last model! Unlike every other bike launch this year though, the 5010 hasn’t jumped up a category. It still features 130mm of rear wheel travel, and it’s still built around 27.5in wheels. That […]
Since forever, the drivetrain market has always been something of an arms race. Originally it was all about seeing who could fit the most number of gears on a mountain bike. Then it became about who could put less chainrings on. And now that we’ve largely settled on 1X systems, the race has been on […]
Wil Dives Into A Battle Of Long Travel e-MTBs Over the past 12 months, Norco & Merida have been going absolutely full-pelt with their electric mountain bike lineup. For Merida, the big news has been the return of the popular eOne-Sixty – the brand’s flagship full suspension e-MTB. Over in Canada-land, Norco returned fire with […]
Wil Reviews The New Norco Sight VLT 29er It seems like only yesterday that we were riding the (then) new Norco Sight VLT, which to this day remains as one of the best-handling e-MTBs we’ve ever tested. Indeed that bike has been on the market for barely two years, and yet here Norco is with […]
Greetings folks, and welcome to another edition of Flow’s Fresh Produce! We hope you’re all safe and sound wherever in the world you’re reading this from, and continuing to practice your social distancing skills along with good hygiene (remember: a fist pump transmits 90% less germs than a handshake). And on that note, how good […]
About 12-months ago, we gave you a teaser of a massive trail network slated for Warburton. Nestled deep in the Yarra Valley, this quaint little mountain town is situated just an hour and a half from Melbourne airport. With 186km of trail, proposed to be built across three hillsides surrounding the town, World Trail not […]
Alongside the Stumpjumper, the Rockhopper is one of Specialized’s most iconic names. This humble hardtail has been in the mountain bike range for a rather astonishing 35 years, making it nearly as old as mountain biking itself. For 2021, Specialized continues to evolve the Rockhopper, which for the first time ever, now boasts 26in, 27.5in […]
Big news out of Germany today, with YT Industries confirming that it will be selling its entire mountain bike range in Australia via Pushys. For Aussie riders who have been eager to purchase a YT mountain bike, they will now be able to do so via the Pushys website and through the Pushys bricks & […]
All-new for 2021, the Specialized Diverge is back and it’s drawing more inspiration from the world of mountain bikes than ever before. The new Diverge will be offered in seven different models, including the brand new Diverge EVO that – wait for it – comes with a 750mm wide riser bar, a shorter stem, slacker […]
Wil Tests & Reviews The DT Swiss EXC 1200 Wheelset Launched partway through 2019, the EXC 1200 is the newest carbon fibre wheelset from DT Swiss. Designed to withstand the rigours of enduro racing and trail thrashing, the EXC 1200 is built with DT’s own carbon fibre rims, bladed spokes and the ultra-trick 180 hubs. […]
Wil Reviews The Shimano AM702 Shoes When it comes to clip-in mountain bike shoes, riders are typically presented with two options. The traditional approach is to go for an XC-style shoe, which is basically a road shoe with some tread thrown on. For racing, where weight and stiffness are the primary concerns, that’s a good […]
Since its original launch back in 2005, the Giant Trance has gone on to become one of the most common full suspension mountain bikes found on Aussie trails. Thanks to a combination of the efficient Maestro dual-link suspension design, versatile geometry and a value-oriented build kit, the Trance has earned favour with many riders for […]
YT Industries has just announced a new full suspension mountain bike, and it’s called the IZZO. No, not the American singer/rapper Lizzo. Also not the shortened Australian slang term for ‘isolation’. Instead, the YT IZZO is a bike with a shouty name, which seems to be all the rage these days. And as well as […]
Wil Bids Adieu To The 2020 Trek Fuel EX 9.8 Long-Term Test Bike When I think of the archetypal trail bike, Trek’s Fuel EX is one of the first names that springs to mind. And it should do, since it’s been kicking up the dirt for more than a few years. Launched all the way […]
It’s no secret that there are some seriously expensive mountain bikes kicking around in 2020. What with all the SRAM AXS wireless stuff, Fox Live Valve automated suspension and carbon whizz-bangery. Oh, and the fact that many are now coming with an electric motor now too. Add in a tanking Aussie dollar and fluctuating global […]
Having already released the new generation SID fork and shock last month, RockShox continues to unveil more of its 2021 suspension range with the announcement today of the new DebonAir spring. We’ll be seeing this new DebonAir spring assembly in 2021 RockShox Lyrik, Pike, Revelation & Yari forks, which we have more detail and Aussie […]
Wil Tests & Reviews The 2020 Canyon Neuron AL German brand Canyon has just announced its newest mountain bike; the Neuron AL. Modelled on the latest Neuron CF that was rolled out just over a year ago, the Neuron AL takes the same recipe, but cooks it up with an alloy frame to bring the […]
Hullo there folks, and welcome to the ‘Self-Isolation Edition’ of Flow’s Fresh Produce! They say a lot can happen in a couple of weeks, and boy-oh-boy has a lot happened since we last brought you Fresh Produce. Don’t worry – we won’t be dwelling too much on that pandemic, because there’s a lot of information […]
Mick Gets Aero With The DT Swiss GRC 1400 If we step back and look at the cycling industry as a whole, there are two segments that are currently growing like crazy; e-Bikes and gravel. On the latter, we’ve witnessed quite a significant shift from road riders who are making the move over to gravel, […]
Wil Tests & Reviews The Ride Concepts Powerline Alongside established players including Five Ten, Shimano, Giro and Specialized, Ride Concepts is the freshest pair of feet to walk into the room. Having launched just two years ago, Ride Concepts differs from those other brands since it is focused solely (Ohhhhk, I’ll let myself out…) on […]
Wil Tests & Reviews The 2021 RockShox SID Ultimate Fork It’s been four whole years since we last saw a properly new SID fork from RockShox. It’s no coincidence that 2016 was also an Olympic year, which seems to be the preferred timing for brands to release their new flagship XC product. There have of […]
Big news out of Colorado today – RockShox has just announced the arrival of a brand new SID fork! Technically, it’s actually two forks, since the new SID has been split into two distinct platforms optimised around different amounts of travel. Inside those forks you’ll find a new DebonAir spring, a new Charger Race Day […]
Maydena, the newest and boldest mountain bike park in Australia, played host to the 2nd round of the Enduro World Series Asia Pacific over the weekend, with some of the country’s fastest enduro pinners flocking to Tassie to go full gas on the steepest and most technical singletrack on offer in the expanding trail network. […]
The Victorian High Country hasn’t exactly been doing it easy over the past few months, with this summer season’s unprecedented bushfires having put the region under serious threat. Thankfully all seven bike parks across the High Country emerged unscathed, and riders have been steadily returning to the region as part of the #RollOnBack campaign launched […]
Wil Tests & Reviews The BikeYoke Divine SL Dropper Post For most of us in the current age of mountain biking, dropper posts are considered a near-essential component. Hell, I can barely ride a bike without one now. Even still, many XC hardtails and full suspension bikes continue to be sold with rigid seatposts, and […]
Mick Tests & Reviews The 2020 Orbea Occam M10 Not long ago, a trail bike was exactly that – a trail bike. A mountain bike that could climb efficiently, descend competently, cross maps, and crack smiles in equal measure. A bike that was less interested in competition, rushing between the race tape and facilitating angry […]
Here is some particularly exciting news, the word from Blue Derby is an all-new festival, DerbyFest! Coming this April on the weekend between the Easter and ANZAC Day holidays, Derby is set to bloom with events for mountain bikers of all ages, bringing the best of Tasmanian hospitality to Derby. What is on? Who will […]
Wil Reviews The Super-Light SRAM Level Ultimate B1 Disc Brakes Four years ago, during the lead up to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, SRAM took the opportunity to launch a whole suite of flagship XC race product. That included the game-changing Eagle XX1 12-speed groupset, the latest generation SID fork, and the ultra-light Level Ultimate […]
Wil Reviews Pirelli’s Off-Road Rubber Pirelli may be best known for its involvement in high-performance motorsport, but more recently the Italian rubber manufacturer has also turned its hand towards the world of pedal-power. In addition to producing tyres for road racing and gravel bikes, last year Pirelli unveiled the Scorpion MTB tyre range – the […]
Big news out of the Enduro World Series team today with the announcement of the 2021 race calendar. As well as there being brand new venues added to the 2021 event calendar, the EWS will also be returning to Derby, Tasmania, for round two of the series. How good is that! Derby has of course […]
Dan MacMunn Reviews The 2020 GT Force 29 Expert GT as a brand has always been a bit special for me. One of the first bikes I owned, certainly my first dual suspension bike, back in the 90’s was a GT RTS – one of the original dual suspension mountain bikes. That raw alloy beast, […]
The 14th edition of the Otway Odyssey has been run and won, with nearly 1,500 mountain bikers descending on the rural town of Forrest in Victoria for one of the biggest events on the national racing calendar. As well as the Odyssey on the Saturday, the 4th edition of the Great Otway Gravel Grind was […]
One of mountain biking’s charms is the places it takes us and what it allows us to see, and we promise you, you’ll never have seen mountain biking in quite that same way as Alice Springs delivers it. Flying into towards Alice Springs is like watching some incredible abstract painting unfurling in front of your […]