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The GT Bike Buller Festival presented by Fox has been stepped up another notch for 2016, bringing another massive line-up of events for all types of rider. The mountain bike festival will be held at Mt Buller Victoria, 12-14 March 2016 and will feature 14 MTB events, a trail run, the opportunity to ride with […]
STAGE 1 – Smithfield (5×6.5km laps/33km/900m) Italy takes the lead at 21st Crocodile Trophy The Italian Nicolas Pettina wins the first stage of the Crocodile Trophy with a respectable lead of 3:18.07 minutes at Smithfield MTB Park in Cairns ahead of Urs Huber from Switzerland and the Australian Brendan Johnston. It was a hot start […]
One sleep to go until the 21st Crocodile Trophy starts in Cairns on 17th October. The Crocodile Trophy is Australia’s and the World’s oldest and most iconic mountain bike stage race. It is endorses by the International Cycling Federation (UCI) with the highest possible category “S1” and offers valuable points to participants towards their international ranking. […]
Poking fun at future mountain biking standards based on current rate of change. 13 Speeds 11-53T cassette, 1500mm wheelbase prone geometry, 188mm dropout and huge BB spacing are all not patented and is free for use by all drunkards. Full geometry will not be released due to the waste of time from measuring. Disclaimer: This […]
Hard by name, hard by nature, Red Bull Hardline isn’t an event for the faint-hearted. Over four days of practice and racing, the insanely difficult downhill course claimed several victims, and by race day, only eight riders were left standing to race against the clock. Built by Dan Atherton on a remote mountainside in Wales, Red Bull Hardline combined […]
N1NO`s 5th chapter of his #huntforglory webisode is all about a journey to the roots of Mountain biking. The 3x MTB World Champion meets one of the Godfathers of Mountain biking, Tom Ritchey, at his home in Skyline, Northern California. Tom Ritchey is the guy who was already racing bicycles, which we call “Mountain bikes” […]
An interview with the young guns of the World Cup; Greenland, Graham and Jones. From the deep sea of talent on the World Cup downhill circuit, to make a name for yourself and stand out from the pack is no small challenge. For three young guns, Mike Jones, Innes Graham and Laurie Greenland, the future […]
Is Australian racing dying? Entrants numbers at some of our country’s best events are on the decline, while the sport overall is going from strength to strength. To an outsider it doesn’t stack up, so we asked an insider for their perspective instead. Huw Kingston of Wild Horizons is a well known, long standing event promoter, […]
Earlier this week, Flow published a bloody excellent article by Rodney Farrell. For the last year or more I’ve been surprised the MTB media hadn’t picked up on this, so good on Flow and on Rodney for doing so. I returned home to Australia a couple of months ago from a long ‘road trip’ lasting […]
So I thought, ‘why not get some feedback?’ Maybe it might lead to better events, in whatever format. Or maybe I’ll just be ostracised after publishing what may well be the thoughts of an idiot. Some background: In the past I raced a lot, and I was an event organiser for two events in the […]
Specialized’s new 2FO Clip Lite is a lightweight version of a shoe that we’ve grown to love at Flow. The Original 2FO is a super comfortable and casual trail riding shoe for both flat pedal and clipless riders. But taking it to the next level, the new Clip Lite (clipless only) version is lighter, slimmer […]
The Bell Super 2R is the Enduro inspired cousin of the hugely popular Bell Super trail helmet. The simple design, with a removable chin guard that attaches via three hinged clasps, has been embraced by Enduro racers and trail riders alike, giving riders two helmets in one. You’ve got the option either running it as an open-face, as […]
The 2015 Leogang World Cup will go down in history. We’ve got all the highlights in one tasty stew. Fresh from the editing suite we bring you highlights from one of, if not the most incredible races of all time, featuring Aaron Gwin’s logic defying race winning run in all it’s glory, the moment Manon […]
School’s in for summer Luca Shaw spent his high school’s official graduation day far from the cap-and-gown festivities, six time zones ahead of his graduating class. While his classmates were waking up and preparing for their last day as high school seniors, Luca was in Leogang, Austria, lending a hand to help set up his […]
The battle of Fort William is over, the race has been won. This is what happened. High winds and driving rain provided the backdrop for one of the biggest World Cups on the race calendar. With riders struggling to hold their lines due to the strong wind at the top of the track, and muddy […]
Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) is excited to announce that Cairns, Queensland, will host the inaugural 2015 Enduro National Mountain Bike Championships from 17-18 October. The two-day race will be a standalone event separate to the 2015 Enduro Series and will be run on the Smithfield Mountain Bike Trails, under the guidance and hosting of the […]
There’s strength in depth in 2015’s women’s XCO field, but will one name dominate like last year? The 2014 Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Cup saw the emergence of one young woman who could be set to dominate the sport for years to come. Switzerland’s Jolanda Neff won three rounds of the seven-race series to take the overall […]
In the scheme of mountain biking’s comparatively short existence, 25 years is a long time. At a pinch we can think of a handful of familiar names that can boast such a long history – Shimano’s XT and the Specialized Stumpjumer for example – but certainly no other events spring to mind. Born in 1990, […]
With only a few days to go before race kick-off, the town of Bendigo is set to welcome hundreds of mountain bikers from all across the country to the Goldfields region this Sunday the 26th of April. The Golden Triangle Epic will be celebrating its 10th year in 2015, and this years event will no doubt […]
Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) is delighted to announce the 2015 Australian U19 Cross Country and Downhill Mountain Bike athletes that will represent Australia at the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships in Vallnord, Andorra from the 1 – 6 September. Cross Country Liam Jeffries (VIC) will headline the U19 Men’s Cross Country Team […]
More teams, more countries represented (including newcomers China, Indonesia, Iran and Israel), and larger audiences: the 2015 season of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano looks like being as enthralling as ever. A quick overview of the nine rounds of the season, which starts on April 11 and will be available on […]
It looks like 2016 will be a year filled yet again with news of bike and component manufactures keeping up with new standards. SRAM have announced complete support of the Boost system. We feel that the dust has just settled with the wheel size debates. So what is Boost all about? With the arrival of […]
Day three of the 2015 Subaru National Mountain Bike Championships, hosted by Mountain Bike Australia, saw spectacular action across Olympic Cross Country racing, Observed Trials and Downhill Seeding in the idyllic location of Bright, Victoria. Day three of the 2015 Subaru National Mountain Bike Championships, hosted by Mountain Bike Australia, saw spectacular action across Olympic […]
Friday was day two of the Subaru National Mountain Bike Championships in Bright, Victoria seeing cross country riders battling it out on a dusty course in the sun. Friday covered the first half of the Olympic Cross Country race program, with riders racing lap-based events on a 5.16 kilometre trail. In the U17 Men’s Cross Country, […]
Connor Fearon, Tegan Molloy and Paul Van der Ploeg have all recorded wins to complete an Australian Elite-level whitewash of the 2015 Oceania Mountain Bike Championships in Tooowoomba, Queensland presented by Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA). Downhill Downhill mountain bike racing is said to be one of the hardest challenges in world sport, requiring a unique […]
Troy Lee Designs expand on their bicycle collection with an increased focus on youth, women’s and cross country designs. Looking good, TLD! A1 This lightweight, fully encapsulated all-mountain helmet utilises maximum coverage and dimension to keep you safe and protected in all riding conditions. Whether you’re charging single track, riding dirt jumps or grinding out […]
Canberra mountain bike power-duo Rebecca Henderson (ACT) and Daniel McConnell (ACT) have monopolised the tough Stromlo course in Canberra at Cross Country Round 4 of the Subaru National Mountain Bike Series presented by Mountain Bike Australia. On Saturday, the Elite Women raced the Cross Country, with dual Olympian and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Henderson turning […]
Off the back of yet another successful year of racing for Trek Racing Australia we are excited to announce a financial commitment of $300,000 over the next three years to the Team from our founding and long term supporters, the Peil Family. 2014 saw Trek Racing Australia rider’s claim 7 National titles across XCO, XCM […]
Everything about the Intense Carbine 29 is big. Large tyres wrap big diameter 29″ wheels, a tall 160mm travel fork up front leads the way for a generous 140mm of travel out the back. Who would need such a big bike, and what type of trails will such a unique monster feel at home on? We […]
WARNING – The above video contains material which some may find disturbing Martin Söderström is a rider who has always oozed class. From the way he can make the most basic of tricks look so stylish. to a résumé of contest wins from all over the world, there’s no doubting his ability. But just when a […]
This happened to us. The recently opened Australian Alpine Epic Trail is teeming with huge vistas, magical flow, effortless speed, massive trail variety and it’s all in a wide-eyed frothing ride that gives that feeling that only the most epic of epic rides can deliver. It’s a big day out, with plenty of climbing and hard effort […]
“When I got the call I couldn’t believe it. I was on location doing a photo shoot and I ran around whooping and high fiving. My hand still hurts, but in a good way.” That’s how mountain biker and photographer, Mike Kennedy, from Dee Why on the northern beaches of Sydney, reacted to the news […]
A DIRECT MOUNT UPGRADE WITH A RANGE OF GEAR OPTIONS FOR EVERY STYLE OF RIDING: 26T – 40T Make SRAM 1x™ even better with the simplicity of the new SRAM X-SYNC™ Direct Mount chain ring. Engineered in Germany, the new Direct Mount rings bring lighter weight and greater simplicity to XX1, X01 and X1-1400 cranksets. […]
Alpine Gravity and Rocky Trail Entertainment have been working hard to piece together the follow up to the hugely successful inaugural Australian Gravity Enduro Series. Today they announced six events for 2015. More than 550 riders participated in the 2014 series, which included events in NSW, VIC, SA, WA, ACT and QLD, covering almost all […]
Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) is excited to announce the 2015 National Cross Country Marathon (XCM) series. The truly National series spans four states and both territories, offering riders almost 600 kilometres of Australia’s best mountain bike trails. Racing in the XCM format extends the traditional Olympic Cross Country discipline, with winning racers battling head-to-head for […]
December 6 was the day when hoards of frothing mountain bikers joined those who were already in town for the Australian Mountain Bike Summit to ride the Epic first. It was a real unknown, not even the locals had ridden it, anyone who found their way onto it or snuck in a ride before the open date […]
The Convict 100, is one of Australia’s most popular marathon races. Just a couple of hours from Sydney, the rough, raw and fast course runs largely over fireroads that were built by the convicts back in the 1830s. The riding is rugged and the setting is stunning – it’s definitely one of our favourite events. Read […]
Flow was invited by Shimano to the recent Cape to Cape MTB stage race in the Margaret River region of Western Australia to sample the new XTR Di2 (Digital Intelligence Integrated) technology. Over a couple of race stages, and a few classroom sessions and some tasty beers, we got a great introduction to this new […]
Are you going to be in Rotorua for Crankworx? All the punga ferns in the world couldn’t stop us from heading over to be there for all the madness. It is going to be AWESOME. Information is starting to trickle out about the schedule, course design and more. It’s time to start locking in your friends, […]
Let us introduce the most advanced mountain bike we have ever tested – the Pivot Mach 4 Carbon with 2015 Shimano XTR Di2. Fitted with all kinds of new XTR goodies from Shimano, this 115mm travel 27.5” Mach 4 is designed specifically to accommodate the new Di2 electric shifting. The battery is hidden inside the frame, […]
Having hosted the occasional event in the distant past, the site was the venue for the successful 2006 World Championships. Skyline handled the hundreds of competitors and thousands of fans easily. After all the bunting came down and the people went home, there were musings about permanent trails. Some rippers have lapped it out over […]
Our recent journey to the apple isle had two motivations, the first of which was to check out the brand new Hollybank Mountain Bike Park, just a few minutes outside Launceston. While mountain biking was first slated as a development option for the Hollybank Forest Reserve in 2003, it was only early this year that […]
Like most people, when we first heard whispers of world class riding in the arid heart of Australia, we were dismissive, but curiosity got the better of us and we’re glad it did. We took the three hour flight from Sydney, leaving behind a miserable winter, and found ourselves in the most unique, ideal mountain […]
With the new Rise Against record soothing my inner ear and a light snack on the passenger seat for sustenance, the 3-hour cruise from Adelaide to Melrose is full of epic postcard scenery; rolling hills, a pink lake (didn’t expect that one) and old crumbling stone homesteads littering knee high crop-filled paddocks. All very, very […]
Australia’s Jason English (NSW) has won the World Endurance Mountain Bike Organisation (WEMBO) Solo 24 Hour Championship title for the fifth consecutive time over the weekend in Fort William, Scotland. There are few, if any challenges in sport more difficult than racing a mountain bike over tough terrain for 24 hours, and English is without […]
Shimano M200 shoes www.shimano.com.au, $229 ‘Designed for the way you ride’ is Shimano’s tag line for their new trail/all-mountain/enduro shoes. What this actually means when you strip away the marketing speak, is that these shoes are built for the kind of riding that more and more people are getting into; the kind of riding where […]
The world’s best 24 riders performed an incredible array of mind-blowing tricks to amp up the 62,000 live spectators. For 2 days, Nuremberg’s historic city centre turned into a boiling pot for extreme mountain biking. The crowds witnessed the first ever Tsunami Flip in a MTB contest as well as a head-to-head battle until the last […]
After years of making films in Nepal we decided to have a holiday and switch it up! So after the kind invitation of our friend Christopher Giercke who owns the Genghis Khan Polo Club we went off to the wilds of Mongolia. We went searching for singletrack as all mountain bikers do, but we found […]
Another year, another amazing event. Over 100 racers of all ages, from world and national champions through to weekend warriors, completed the gruelling Trans-Savoie all-mountain adventure race this August and lived to tell the tale. The statistics speak for themselves: 25,000m of descending over six days, up to eight hours of timed enduro stages for […]
Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) wishes to announce some adjusted dates and details for the 2014-15 Subaru Australian Mountain Bike Series and the 2015 Oceania Mountain Bike Championships. The 2015 Oceania Championships, in conjunction with the final round of the Subaru National Series, has been rescheduled and will now be held from 26 February to 1 […]
“Shuttle Rewind” is a retrospective look at downhill mountain bike culture in Tropical North Queensland, in particular the Kuranda Downhill Track. Generations of riders have cut their teeth on the track, including Michael Hannah who set the long standing record for the most runs in one day (70) and went on to becoming a world class […]
Specialized Purgatory 650b tyres www.specialized.com One of the first indicators that Specialized was succumbing to market (or perhaps industry) demands and dipping a toe in the 650b market, was the release of the popular Purgatory all-mountain treads in a 650b form. This excellent all-rounder rubber is now available for mid-sized hoops, which is a brilliant […]
Mountain biking in the Northern Territory is set to make its debut on the National Series race circuit. John Pyper from the Central Australian Rough Riders (CARR) mountain bike club and Mountain Biking Australia executive officer Shane Coppin announced today that the Lasseters Easter in the Alice Mountain Bike Muster will be a part Australia’s […]
The world’s first year-round, gondola accessed mountain bike park was officially opened at Skyline Rotorua last weekend. Associate Minister of Tourism Hon Todd McClay, declared the park open this morning and top riders from around the country all descended on the trails to get a sneak peek before it opens to the public on Saturday 9 […]
Enduro World Series Round Four La Thuile is complete. What a weekend, the whole thing was such an eye opener – a really amazing experience. We had such a ball competing and riding in this part of the world, I met so many great people all out for the same thing. I ended up 85th in […]
Port Macquarie’s 24 Hour Solo MTB World Champion remains the JetBlack 12 Hour elite champion after claiming the title for the fifth time in a row at the event held at the James Estate Winery on the weekend. Andrew Lloyd from Newcastle was second ahead of Michal Kafka from Sydney. The fastest woman overall was […]
Manly Dam is the most used trail not just in Sydney, but Australia, with approximately 150,000 uses a year, and up to 500 passes in one day! Despite this, the iconic 10km loop has seen better days. Eroding trail, track widening and confusing line choices are all features of the loop that riders have had […]
Riders who frequent Manly Dam either love it, hate it or find the challenging terrain a bit off-putting. The incredibly popular trail in Sydney’s Northern Beaches around the old water reservoir just a few km from the vibrant Manly Beach has long been in need of some care and maintenance. Judging by the number of hire bikes […]
Jarsolav Khulhavy has added another title to a list that must now be almost as long as his seat post, claiming the win at the Marathon World Champs in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. In the women’s, it was Dane Annika Langvad who claimed the XCM World Champ jersey once again. Australia’s Andy Blair rode to 42nd, […]
I remember my first set of mountain bike shoes. I picked a ‘best guess’ size and special ordered them from my local bike shop. There were a men’s design, fitted well enough, and worked well in the face of no other wildly different options that small or at that price point. I’ve had knee niggles […]