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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 […]
Hullo all you Flow Frothers, and welcome to the first edition of Flow’s Fresh Produce for the year 2020! Consider this a slightly belated Happy New Year from Mick & Wil here at FlowMTB, and we hope you all had a marvellous break over the Xmas holidays! For those of you enjoying your summer riding […]
Mick Reviews The Giant XCR 0 & TRX 0 Carbon Wheels Ask any experienced rider about the best upgrade you can make to your mountain bike, and nine times out of ten they’ll say the wheels. That’s because a quality set of wheels can make the difference between a bike that rides well, and a […]
That’s right folks, we’ve got big news out of Canada today with the arrival of a brand new electric mountain bike; the 2020 Norco Sight VLT 29. The good news? There are four models available, and not one of them costs over $10K. In fact, two of them are actually priced under $7K, which is […]
Not everyone wants or needs a $10,000 mountain bike (or a $26,500 e-MTB with gold leaf graphics…), though lately it seems that that’s the only kind of bike companies have been releasing. In a thoroughly refreshing turn of events though, we’ve just received a new trail bike from Merida that is both free of a […]
Mick Reviews The New Santa Cruz Heckler e-MTB In one of the most highly anticipated releases for 2020, Santa Cruz has finally joined the e-Party with its first ever electric mountain bike. That’s right folks, Santa Cruz has an e-MTB! And holy mackerel is this one an absolute doozy. For those who had guessed otherwise, […]
There’s a dizzying array of options out there in the mountain bike wheel market. Muddying the waters further, an explosion of new generation wheelbuilders over the past few years has disrupted the scene for the bigger and more established players. Fuelled by the advent of modern Asian-made carbon fibre rims, these smaller and often consumer-direct […]
Wil Reviews The New Pivot Switchblade Pivot Cycles has just launched the 2nd generation of its popular full suspension 29er trail bike – the Switchblade. As with the original, the new Switchblade is designed to accept both 29in and 27.5+ wheels. However, a quick glance at the new bike shows a very different silhouette. Go […]
Wil Reviews The 2020 Specialized Levo SL Expert Carbon When Specialized launched the Creo last year, the first-ever e-Bike to be built around the company’s newly developed SL 1.1 motor and battery system, we knew it would only be a matter of time before we’d see the technology adapted into an off-road version. Check out […]
Wil Reviews The 2020 Specialized Levo SL Expert Carbon When Specialized launched the Creo last year, the first-ever e-Bike to be built around the company’s newly developed SL 1.1 motor and battery system, we knew it would only be a matter of time before we’d see the technology adapted into an off-road version. Check out […]
It was nearly four years ago when the original Pivot Switchblade hit the market. Using a carbon fibre frame and dw-link suspension, the Switchblade was built from the ground-up as an All Mountain bike that could happily take 29in or 27.5+ wheels. It was one of the earliest full suspension mountain bikes on the market […]
With bushfires causing damage and closures to large parts of the Victorian High Country, they’re well and truly open for business, and it’s time to #RollOnBack and support the regions that need us. Here is the official word from Ride High Country: Victoria’s High Country has long been known by cyclists as one of the […]
You step inside, it’s dark, the music drones over the rumble of voices, taking a look around the bar, you notice an area off-limits reserved for the cool kids, hipsters and trendies. Huddled in a club, dressed to impress, indulging in top-shelf liquor is the Santa Cruz Tallboy. To the right is a confident Norco […]
Wil Reviews The Curve DownRock In case you hadn’t noticed, hardtails have been enjoying a bit of a renaissance of late. Sure, full suspension bikes are a lot easier to live with these days, having gotten significantly smoother and more capable over the past decade. But so too have hardtails. They’ve just been going about […]
Wil Reviews The 2020 Norco Sight In this third decade of the 21st century, bike designers are presented with an abundance of readily available technologies for constructing a contemporary long travel mountain bike. But when Norco decided to relaunch the Sight for 2020, the designers didn’t just cherrypick from the list though. Nope, those greedy […]
Lovers of coil-sprung goodness rejoice – Marzocchi has just launched the brand new Bomber Z1 Coil! That’s right, the classic Italian suspension manufacturer (which is now owned by Fox Racing Shox), has finally returned to its roots with the first coil-sprung suspension fork we’ve seen from the brand for some time. Coil forks and shocks […]
Hans Rey is a rider who needs very little introduction. If you’re one of the three people reading this who aren’t familiar with the name though, perhaps ask one of the wiser mountain bikers amongst your riding crew, and get prepared for a proper history lesson! From bungy-jumping with his mountain bike, to riding across […]
Whoa, exhale, 2019, done, finito, 12 months in the bag. It has been an absolutely momentous year for the tiny powerhouse Flow Mountain Bike. Reflecting on what exactly made it so eventful by choosing key highlights is a pleasing way to remind us of how fortunate we are to work with talented people on amazing […]
To our dearest Frothers Of The Flow. It is time for us all to shed a wee tear, because this right here is the very last edition of Flow’s Fresh Produce for 2019. Alas! It is true! We have arrived at the conclusion of the year, a very big year, which has been absolutely chock-a-block […]
When you travel the world riding bikes, what makes a destination stand out? Hans Rey has been a professional mountain biker for long enough to see fads come and go but turns out he and his wife Carmen have a soft spot for Derby. Watch Hans riding Derby, seeing new trails, heckling enduro races, meeting […]
Wil Reviews The 2020 Merida eOne-Sixty Introduced partway through this year, the 2nd generation Merida eOne-Sixty hit the market in a big way. And really, it could not have come a moment too soon. The competition in the e-MTB market is rapidly heating up, and there are some terrific bikes out there – the Specialized […]
2019 has been an absolutely mahoosif year, and in more ways than one. Having relocated back to Australia right at the end of 2018, the first few months of the year for my wife and I were spent settling back into our hometown of Bendigo. It didn’t take long though, and we’ve been absolutely loving […]
The Thule Chariot has long been known as the go-to option when it comes to kids bike trailers. Thule makes a variety of multi-sport trailers under the Chariot name, all of which are designed to bolt onto the back of your bike. Each can also convert into a simple stroller for everyday non-biking use. There […]
Wil reviews the new Shimano SLX M7100 groupset against SRAM GX Eagle Earlier this year Shimano rolled out not one, but two brand new 12-speed groupsets – Deore XT M8100, and SLX M7100. This double-release was something of a surprise move from the Japanese brand, which has traditionally only released one new mountain bike groupset […]
Wil Reviews The Syncros Fraser iC SL Carbon Handlebar Around the time of its acquisition by Scott Sports back in 2012, Syncros was primarily focussed on by-the-numbers parts and accessories. You know, stuff that worked fine and was decent, but prioritised value rather than attention-grabbing innovation. That’s all been turned on its head over the […]
Welcome again to another edition of Flow’s Fresh Produce! Today, our dear readers, marks the start of our final week of spring here Down Under. And you know what that means? That means the summer holidays are just around the corner – yieeeww! To get in the spirit of things, Mick’s been been down in […]
Up until recently, there haven’t been many suitable ways to bring your child along with you while mountain biking. Rear-mounted child seats have of course been around forever, but they’re typically designed for commuting, touring or bike-path riding. Most of them attach via a pannier rack system too, which means they’re only compatible with rigid […]
Hunt Bike Wheels A relatively new name to the scene, Hunt Bike Wheels was first established in the UK back in 2015 by the Marchment brothers; Tom & Peter. With a goal to shake-up the market by delivering sensible, durable and well-priced complete wheelsets direct-to-consumer, Hunt doesn’t shy from the fact that it utilises high […]
The DownRock is a brand new, bird-flippin’, trail-rippin’ hardtail that has just been launched by the crew from Curve Cycling. Joining the Melbourne brand’s existing off-road lineup that includes the UpRock, GXR and GMX, the DownRock is pitched as being the most capable and the most naughty of the lot. We’ve just received a complete […]
Since receiving the 2020 Trek Fuel EX 9.8 test bike back in September, this muscly trail brawler has joined me on many a ride across the countryside. From my hometown of Bendigo in the Goldfields region, over to Beechworth in the Victorian High Country, the Fuel EX and I have so far enjoyed a few […]
Mick called it “the event of the year!“. Certainly for the 1300 riders who saddled up at the start line at the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, the 2019 Cape to Cape proved to be one of the best yet in the event’s impressive 12-year history. With four days of racing packed into some of the best […]
With the summer riding season knocking on our door, and a load of new shuttle-able riding locations ready to be explored, Bluegrass Eagle’s timing could not have been better. We’ve just received one of the new Bluegrass Legit Carbon full-face helmets, which are now available in Australia through Advance Traders – the Aussie distributor for […]
DT Swiss isn’t exactly a brand that’s short of options when it comes to mountain bike wheels. Yet despite the plethora of hubs, spokes, rims and complete wheels on offer from the Swiss-based manufacturer, it might be surprising to learn that DT Swiss hasn’t actually had a fully-fledged carbon fibre wheelset available for enduro riders. […]
Wil Reviews The Fox 32 Step-Cast Factory Series Fork In the pursuit of ultimate performance, sometimes less can actually be more. That was certainly the approach that Fox took with its 32 Step-Cast fork when it debuted back in 2016. Named after its unique stepped lowers, the 32 Step-Cast (SC) is a pure XC race […]
Norco Bicycles has been one seriously busy brand of late. So far in the 2020 release bonanza there’s been an all new Revolver FS platform, which is now available in both 100mm and 120mm travel versions. We’ve also seen the radical super-slack steel thrasher that is the new generation Torrent, the arrival of Norco’s biggest […]
Tucked away in a small and unassuming shed on the outskirts of Beechworth in Victoria, a chap by the name of Shane Flint is busy working on some curvy steel tubes that are soon to become the seatstays of a new hardtail frame. Time is of the essence. The new owner is due to pick […]
Happy Monday Frothers! ‘Tis the start of a new week here at Flow HQ, but sadly that means it’s also the end of the 2019 Cape to Cape over in Western Australia, which from all reports has been one of the most thrilling and successful editions ever. Mick has been out in the Wild Wild […]
It’s almost that time of year again! With hundreds of riders currently descending on Margaret River in Western Australia, the 2019 Cape to Cape is set to kick off on Thursday the 17th of October, and it promises to be an absolute ripper! As one of Australia’s most-loved mountain bike stage races, the 2019 Cape […]
The Optic is Norco’s short-travel trail bike, which slots into the Canadian brand’s lineup between the Revolver FS (XC race) and the Sight (long-travel trail). We got our first taste of the Optic back in 2016, where we praised it for its very non-29er-like handling and playful attitude. That original Optic proved to be a […]
Merida isn’t exactly a brand that’s messing around when it comes to electric mountain bikes (e-MTBs). Flow checked out the 2020 Merida mountain bike range as part of the Australian launch in Hidden Vale (QLD), and we counted no fewer than 11 e-MTB models in the brand’s lineup! Nearly half of those are premium long-travel […]
We are well into the swing of things for the new riding season here in Australia, and there is plenty for Aussie mountain bikers to get excited about! A date has been set for the opening weekend for the new St Helens trail development in Tasmania, which you might have already read about in our […]
We sent our News & Tech Editor, Wil Barrett, down to the Mornington Peninsula to check out the Red Hill mountain bike trails for the very first time, while being joined by the crew from Canyon Australia. Check out the video of Wil’s trip to the Red Hill MTB Trails here! It started as a […]
Launched back in 2017, the first generation Specialized Kenevo debuted as a burlier and longer travel version of the brand’s popular Turbo Levo e-MTB. Basically a self-shuttling downhill bike, the 180mm travel Kenevo won favour with aggressive riders who wanted to pack in as much gnarly descending as possible, without need for a chairlift or […]
Overnight at the Enduro World Series, Gala awards night in Finale Ligure (Italy) the Worlds best riders and industry representatives voted on the best trail in the 2019 Enduro World Series. Out of 9 events, Stage one from the Shimano Enduro Tasmania has been crowned the winner. This is the second time that Derby has […]
Introducing The 2020 Trek Fuel EX 9.8 In case you hadn’t heard about one of the biggest bike releases of the year, Trek recently unveiled its revamped trail bike platform; the 2020 Fuel EX. Sitting in between the Top Fuel and the Remedy, the Fuel EX is a 29er trail bike designed for the masses. […]
With most brands having unveiled their latest mountain bikes for 2020, 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 like […]
Curve Cycling is a relatively small outfit based out of Melbourne, which over the past six years has established its name from producing carbon fibre wheels that are designed for everything from road racing, through to gravel, cyclocross, ulta-long distance bikepacking and mountain biking. The company has since broadened its product line to encompass complete […]
It’s the start of spring here in Australia. The birds are singing, native flowers are blossoming, and the sun is coming out to warm and dry out the wet and mucky trails left behind after a cold and dark winter. Well, unless you’re one of those lucky Far North East Queenslanders, who have been enjoying […]
Here we have one of the newest mountain bike tyres on the market – the Pirelli Scorpion MTB. Now there are already a tonne of brands making mountain bike tyres right now, including (take a deep breath…) Maxxis, Schwalbe, Continental, WTB, Kenda, Hutchinson, CST, Specialized, Bontrager, Onza, Panaracer, Vee Tire Co., Goodyear, Vittoria, Terrene, aaaaaand […]
The 2020 Giant & Liv mountain bike range has just been unveiled, and as far as we’re concerned, there’s a lot to get excited about for this coming year! Both Giant and its women’s specific offshoot, Liv, have brand new models for 2020, and there have been some substantial updates to existing models too. Shimano’s […]
Campsite one – Cowichan was my first glimpse of the tent city that is the BCBR home for the next seven days. I’ll be honest, I don’t like camping (it is too in tents…), and the tent city was a little daunting to see at first. Tent mates were selected, and we all settled in […]
Last weekend the second-ever Reef to Reef event took over Cairns in the heart of Tropical North Queensland for four days of brilliant mountain bike racing. As a sister event to the Cape to Cape and Port to Port, the Reef to Reef attracts a wide variety of riders and racers from all over the […]
You may not have heard of St Helens up until now, but surely the names Bay of Fires or Binalong Bay ring a bell. OR what if we showed you pictured of brightly coloured orange rocks clustered around the whitest sand and piercing blue water? These iconic beaches in Binalong Bay draw crowds of tourists […]
Having introduced the Trance E+ electric mountain bike (e-MTB) last year, a bike that was a monumental step up from Giant’s first generation (and somewhat visually challenging) full suspension e-MTB, the Full E+ , Giant is taking things up a notch for 2020 with its brawniest and longest travel offering to date; the brand new […]
Brand spanking new for 2020, the Specialized Epic HT (that’s the ‘Hardtail’ one) has been fully redesigned from the rubber-up. The 2020 Specialized Epic HT receives a new carbon fibre frame, modernised geometry, and a series of refinements that aim to make this not only the lightest XC mountain bike that the Californian brand has […]
As Specialized’s in-house wheel brand, the Roval name is most commonly spotted doing circle work on Specialized road and mountain bikes. Thing is though, the wheel specialist offers a pretty comprehensive range of complete wheels for the aftermarket too. And with Specialized’s R&D might and mass production capabilities behind it, Roval wheels tend to be […]