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Today marks 50 days to go until the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Cairns, held at Smithfield Regional Park, James Cook University from the 5 – 10 September 2017. With only two UCI World Cup events remaining before the world’s best mountain bike riders make their way to Australia’s iconic mountain biking destination in […]
They’re here to stay To be frank, we’ve heard it all before. Every mountain biker and their Nanna quickly formed an opinion about e-MTBs when Specialized first launched the Turbo Levo. Grannies were divided into those who frustrated their offspring by continually confusing the terms “mountain bike” and “dirt bike”, and those who, until then, […]
Wild Horizons and Save the Children Australia are very excited to announce that The Highland Fling, one of Australia’s largest, longest established and most iconic mountain biking events, will be going ahead for its 13th edition on 12 November 2017. It is planned that this will be, after all those years, The Final Fling. The […]
A gang of three walk into a bar: one lightning fast kid from Mt Beauty, one ultimate cyclist from Sydney and an iconic veteran from the Gold Coast. They order a steak, ride a bull and swap tales of roosting their photographer in dusty turns, pounding rocks on bikes and what bike races they were […]
We are in Rockhampton for the fourth round of the MTBA Gravity Enduro National Series, a place that none of us had visited prior, we’d heard rumours of an expanding network of trails where the weather is absolutely prime in July and as we’d also find out; it’s the steak capital of Australia. Joining us […]
Mountain biking has a long history in the Red Centre. Alice Springs might no be the biggest town but they boast a hugely passionate, dedicated rider base. Back in the early 2000s cycling disciplines were grouped together as part of the Alice Springs Cycling Club. As time went on each discipline forged its own way […]
There’s a bit of a funny saying in Alice Springs, that you’re as far away as you can possibly get from Australia’s beaches, but you’re equally close to every one of them. Well there might not be any waves to catch but you’ll be so captivated by the beauty of the outback you’d never notice. […]
Travelling from Hobart I couldn’t get much more of a contrast arriving in Alice, the traditional land of the Arrernte (pronounced Arunda) people. Mountains make way to sandy rolling flats; dense rain forests are replaced with a sky that never seems to end. The warmth of the sun and air hit as you step off the […]
In the coming weeks, Commencal will be making a return to Australia, with local support and sales via Pushys, so we took the opportunity to chat with Max about his experiences and (strong) opinions of where mountain biking is headed. Who is Max Commencal and where is he happiest? I am French but I have lived in […]
Dirt Art are the crew behind some of Australia’s most successful trail projects, including the new Hero Trail at Bright (watch the vid), the Hollybank MTB Park (vid here) and the upcoming Maydena Bike Park. And now they’re giving clubs the chance to secure their expertise for free. Read on for all the details below: […]
If gnarly rock and big kickers ain’t your jam then stay clear of these two new descents in the Blue Derby network. Shear Pin has been cut from pure rock and 23 Stitches is a jump-riddled playground trail that’ll have you spending a whole lot of time floating in the fresh Tasmanian air. Or if you’re game these […]
Or if you’re game these two new trails will thrill your socks off and challenge your skills, and like Return to Sender, it’s either pedal up to the top via the climbing trail Long Shadow, or shuttle up to the Black Stump junction with a local shuttle operator, we recommend Vertigo MTB. Watch video below […]
Or if you’re game these two new trails will thrill your socks off and challenge your skills, and like Return to Sender, it’s either pedal up to the top via the climbing trail Long Shadow, or shuttle up to the Black Stump junction with a local shuttle operator, we recommend Vertigo MTB. Watch video below […]
Remember that time you and your mates booked a trip to NZ and the bike park burnt down…? Yes, it happened to us. We were are all eager and chomping at the bit to ride a Christchurch Adventure Park, fixated on every new edit popping up on social media. Then, whilst excitedly typing a message […]
Q: 2017 marks the ten year anniversary of the Cape to Cape MTB – let’s celebrate this milestone accomplishment! A: It is amazing when you sometimes stop and think about where the event started and how popular it has become. I know in those first couple of years there was a lot of conversations between […]
Faster than goannas up a tree, Canyon Australia young guns Baxter Maiwald and Kaia Ellis are two names to watch out for in the coming years. We met up with the two young shredders at Thredbo’s Cannonball MTB Festival for a bit of a chat about themselves and the Canyon Australia Downhill team, and some filming […]
We met up with the two young shredders at Thredbo’s Cannonball MTB Festival for a bit of a chat about themselves and the Canyon Australia Downhill team, and some filming on Thredbo’s fast and rocky Cannonball Downhill. As you can see from the video, Kaia and Baxter are real talents, and we wanted to know a […]
While the world number three was the main attraction on the final day in front a strong crowd of fans up and down the course, there were several other results that got spectators into a frenzy on a day perfectly suited for racing on what was described as a world class track. Dannielle Beecroft (NSW) […]
Öhlins is regarded as the premier name in motorsports racing and has been conducting extensive R&D with Specialized since 2012. Torkel Sintorn of Öhlins had this to say, “We are super excited to work together with Specialized Gravity—one of the world’s best MTB racing teams. Öhlins has a long and successful background in motorsport but […]
Right now the new trail on everyone’s lips – the Thredbo All-Mountain Trail – has just officially opened from top to bottom, check out the video below, get psyched from the juicy photo gallery and pack your bags to hit the road to Thredbo this summer. Watch the video here: What, and where is this? […]
We have spent two months on these Zelvy wheels, with wide carbon rims, Funn hubs and dialled custom coloured stickers. Did we dig them? Does a bear s#*t in the woods? Who’s Zelvy, and what are these wheels? Zelvy is an Australian based brand doing many things with carbon including bars, bottle cages, chain guides, […]
With great expectations for another superb event, entries are now open for the 2017 GT Bike Buller Festival that will see three massive days of racing at Mt Buller, Victoria from the 11th-13th of March, 2017. The schedule has been consolidated for 2017 into 11 main MTB events over three days to maximise racing opportunities […]
What’s WT and why does it exist? Way back when we first began testing and falling in love with wide rims like the Ibis 741 or Roval Fattie, we always presumed tyre manufacturers would catch on and provide tyres that will especially suit wide rims. And here we have it! The tread pattern and compounds […]
What’s WT and why does it exist? Way back when we first began testing and falling in love with wide rims like the Ibis 741 or Roval Fattie, we always presumed tyre manufacturers would catch on and provide tyres that will especially suit wide rims. And here we have it! The tread pattern and compounds […]
Sitting in the canteen at the Trek global headquarters in Wisconsin, I’d been given the heads up that an interview with Gary Fisher isn’t like an interview with anyone else. To expect tangents, to see where it goes. Consider this more of a conversation: about growing the sport, about mountain biking’s most underrated innovation, and […]
Entries are now open for Australia’s premier mountain bike marathon, The Otway Odyssey presented by Focus, which is back for an 11th year and sees two new gravel grind races join the line-up in 2017. The inaugural Great Otway Gravel Grind (The GOGG) will take place on the Sunday with 49km and 97km races following spectacular […]
It’s no secret that Specialized are putting a lot of weight behind these bikes and helping to drive the acceptance of e-bike culture here in Australia, and their global visibility in the internationally booming market is mighty as always. Their message ‘the power to ride more trails’ is being cast far and wide, and it […]
It’s no secret that Specialized are putting a lot of weight behind these bikes and helping to drive the acceptance of e-bike culture here in Australia, and their global visibility in the internationally booming market is mighty as always. Their message ‘the power to ride more trails’ is being cast far and wide, and it […]
Mt Buller will host the third annual Australian Mountain Bike Summit on 5-6 December 2016 – the only conference in Australia dedicated solely to the mountain bike industry. Presented by Mt Buller Bike Park, the Summit has become a must-attend industry event that covers a range of topics relevant to individuals, groups and organisations in […]
This year, for the first time the Crocodile Trophy’s local partner, the Cairns Mountain Bike club is offering four public race stages, where everyone can get a “Taste of the Croc” as part of their “Gravitate Tropical MTB Festival”. The club will be hosting Stages 1+2 and the final Stages 7+8 for anyone who wants […]
Former professional road racer Michael England and Edwina Hughes have been crowned the champions of The Redback 2016, the six-stage, four day mountain biking stage race in Alice Springs across arguably some of the most amazing courses in the whole of Australia. The field heading into the ninth year of the event (formerly the Ingkerreke […]
The Crankworx World Tour, born out of Whistler’s 10-day celebration of gravity-mountain biking, will grow to add another international location for summer 2017: Innsbruck, Austria. Innsbruck is the only city in the world to have hosted three Olympic Games and have a history with the kind of competition Crankworx does best: defying gravity. Having staged […]
Mountain Bike Australia is pleased to announce the riders selected to represent Australia at the Downhill, Four Cross (4X) and Trials UCI MTB World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy, 3-11 September. The team of 20 includes current and former world champions plus juniors earning selection on the team for the first time. Janine Jungfels […]
Bright, already one of the most exciting mountain bike towns in Australia, is about to add another feather to its cap. Today it was announced that Tassie-based trail building legends, Dirt Art, will be soon starting work on a massive, new descending Hero Trail on the slopes of Mount Mystic. “We’re aiming to bring a level of […]
Mountain biking can be a lot like a love affair. Like any new relationship, the lust phase is pretty exciting. Everything is new and different, we’re learning heaps and being exposed to new challenges. But like a relationship, it’s easy to become complacent, to lose the spark, and to stop trying. Chances are, the things […]
Racing in Australia’s richest mountain biking series, the 2016 Evocities MTB Series, is set to continue with $8,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs in the third race of the series to take place in Australia’s country music capital on Sunday, 7 August 2016. The ‘Tamworth Stan’s NoTubes 5 hour’ is an event for […]
The world’s elite international Enduro mountain bike racers return to the Whakarewarewa Forest this spring with the announcement Rotorua will, once again, be part of the Enduro World Series. Part of the ever-expanding Crankworx Rotorua festival, the GIANT Toa Enduro brings more athletes, more stars and more industry power back to New Zealand as […]
We’ve spent plenty of time here before over the years filming and shooting videos for Flow themed around tourism, trails, road trips and beer. But this time a family holiday brought one half of Flow (the better half) to the iconic town of Beechworth for a few days of quality time, but not without a […]
“Engineers don’t like design compromises. Splitting the Spark family into three models allowed us to create bikes with a shared DNA and distinct purpose. The Spark RC is a 100% race dedicated full suspension bike – by designing a 1x specific platform and using HMX-SL fibres for the first time on MTB we’ve set a […]
“Engineers don’t like design compromises. Splitting the Spark family into three models allowed us to create bikes with a shared DNA and distinct purpose. The Spark RC is a 100% race dedicated full suspension bike – by designing a 1x specific platform and using HMX-SL fibres for the first time on MTB we’ve set a […]
Haven’t heard of Suplest? We forgive you, neither had we until Suplest Australia launched supplying the range of shoes via their website, and began work on establishing a network or retail stores around the country. Hailing from Bern, Switzerland, Suplest are a young company solely focussed on one thing, high end cycling shoes. On test […]
Bontrager has unveiled all-new Line XXX MTB wheels in addition to the new Drop Line dropper post, 35mm Line Pro bars and stems, Line Pro flat pedals, and updated tread patterns and sizes for the beloved XR4 and SE4 MTB tyres. Line XXX wheels offer unsurpassed impact strength and a supportive 29mm inner rim that […]
Tracey Hannah has won her ninth Elite Women Downhill Australian Championships with a flawless run on the final day of the 2016 Subaru Australian MTB Championships in Bright, Victoria. The 27-year-old proved just why she has reigned in her division since taking her first title back in 2004, with Lisa Mathison (QLD) and Danielle […]
Mt Buller celebrated a huge weekend of mountain biking action at the GT Bike Buller MTB Festival presented by Fox, over the March Labour Day weekend, 12-14 March. Now in its eight year, the GT Bike Buller Festival presented by Fox has become the ultimate biking weekend on the annual calendar, with the variety of […]
As mountain bikers, we spend a fair bit of time dealing with fear. Let’s face it, what we do is risky, and the fear we experience as beginners never really goes away (it just tends to get focused on specific things like drops or gaps). Although many of us get better at dealing with our […]
Although many of us get better at dealing with our fear as we become more skilled, it often stops us from riding well (or at all), especially after an accident or injury (see https://flowmountainbike.com/features/the-soapbox-getting-your-mojo-back). Even though we get better at dealing with it, sometimes the fear we experience on a ride is more than […]
To deliver a successful World Cup round, Mountain Bike Australia and Cycling Australia require the support or a range of key stakeholders including a team of enthusiastic and committed volunteers. The World Cup only happens thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of the World Cup Crew – the volunteers who congregate in Cairns to deliver the best […]
Fast climbs and fast descents—from sunup till sundown. Truly made for the modern mountain biker, ROAM wheels use a special balance of low-inertia design, weight and strength to excel on a wide variety of terrain. They’re durable enough for hours in the saddle, yet light enough for race day. WIDE IS FAST The new ROAM […]
When it comes to braking power and control, we believe in freedom—options. We believe that there should be an absolute best solution for every type of rider and every kind of ride; that there really isn’t a One-Size-Fits-Most when it comes to brakes. That’s the concept that led us to the development of Level, a […]
Dan McConnell has retained an unblemished record in the 2015-2016 Subaru National MTB Series with a dominant Round 3 victory at Pemberton, Western Australia on Saturday. The dual Olympian ensured he would make it three straight W’s coming home in a time of 1:43:00 ahead of Cam Ivory and Scott Bowden who filled out the […]
Olympian Rebecca Henderson claimed her first win in the Elite Womens XCO in Round 3 of the 2015-2016 Subaru National MTB Series at Pemberton, Western Australia on Saturday. The Australian champion completed the five lap race in 1:44:18, ahead of New Zealand’s Samara Sheppard and current series leader Jenni King in third. “Definitely great to […]
Their distinctive gold and yellow rear shocks have been around for a while as stock items on big travel Specialized bikes, and for 2016 the collaboration between the Swedish suspension stars Öhlins and Specialized continues with the release of a new 29er trail fork – the RXF34 – soon to be available through Specialized dealers. […]
Their distinctive gold and yellow rear shocks have been around for a while as stock items on big travel Specialized bikes, and for 2016 the collaboration between the Swedish suspension stars Öhlins and Specialized continues with the release of a new 29er trail fork – the RXF34 – soon to be available through Specialized dealers. […]
There are only 100 days until the world’s best Cross Country and Downhill riders hit Tropical North Queensland for the second round of the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. The 2016 event will feature nearly 300 riders from 35 countries competing in the Cross Country (XCO) and Downhill (DHI) disciplines. Cairns local, and Elite […]
With the Bogong High Plains sprawling at its doorstep, Falls Creek really is at the gateway to some incredibly spectacular country, and with so much of the riding here above the tree line, the views are breathtaking. Falls Creek has been investing heavily in a world-class trail network of late, folds of the terrain above […]
Aaron joined Specialized for the 2013 season, and although it was a rough year in terms of race results, in many ways it was still a near perfect match-up; Aaron, being multi-time USA DH National Champion and the fastest American downhill racer to come along in at least a decade, and Specialized, a US-based brand […]
The new kids on the block are off to a running start, DVO have successfully done the un-thinkable – taken on RockShox and FOX and delivered products that do a whole lot more that just hold their own in the most hotly contested realm of mountain bike parts, suspension. DVO are a new Californian suspension […]
The second annual Australian Mountain Bike Summit will take place at Mount Buller on 7-8 December 2015, and some of the Australian cycling industry’s key figures will be there for two days of presentations, workshops, discussion and a little bit of riding too. It’s all about pooling knowledge and experience to get a clear idea […]
Falls Creek is one of the Australian alpine resorts currently accepting that 97% of scientists are right and that our winters aren’t likely to ever again be as cold or long as they once were. Less of the white stuff and more of the green means that mountain biking is a big winner, and at Falls […]
The Old Mans Valley Bike & Film Festival returns to Hornsby on Saturday, November 7 2015 – featuring a day of off road bike racing and free kids races. Followed by an outdoor cinema under the stars in Hornsby Park – all wrapped inside a tongue-in-cheek, spaghetti-western theme. Over 2000 people, and some of NSW’s […]