FLOW MAIL is our regular curated wrap-up of the best mountain bike content from around the web. We sift through the web and choose the best bits for you, so you can ride more and trawl less. Get it fresh in your inbox each week, fill out the form below. As a bonus, you’ll go into the draw to win a Norco worth $5999!
This is the Best EWS Team Vid We’ve Seen:
40 minutes of fantastic story telling from rounds 1 and 2 of the EWS in Chile and Colombia. Legendary film maker Alex Rankin teams up with the 50 to 01 crew (the Josh Bryceland mob!) to bring you a different kind of race coverage. We’ve always said that the places and people are are the untold story of the EWS, and Rankin has tapped into that vein beautifully, it’s feel good stuff. If you’re looking for a smile, jump straight to street riding with kids in Colombia at 23 mins in. Watch it!
Another cable bites the dust?
Wireless shifting is not far off for mountain bikes, so what other cables can we kill off in the meantime? How about your dropper post? Magura’s wirelessly operated dropper post isn’t new, but the first version was reportedly pretty clunky. Their new version is out now, and Bike Radar have it on review. Pretty soon we’re all going to need a power board in the shed dedicated solely to charging up our bikes. Sigh.
12 Top Tier E-Bikes Go Head to Head
The Euros do love a bit of e-bike, don’t they?! E-Mountainbike magazine have put together the biggest collection of battery power since Elon Musk headed to South Australia, pitting 12 e-bikes of the highest calibre against each other in a massive showdown. Many of these brands are not yet available in Australia, but the bike that came out on top certainly is. If you’re even thinking about an e-bike, read this.
Go Down the Rubber Rabbit Hole
Obvious as it sounds, your tyres are the only thing keeping you upright, so it makes sense to learn a bit about them! Chances are, the tyres that came on your bike aren’t the optimum option for your trails, but what should you look for? Bike Rumour have put together an awesome series of articles that breaks down all the major areas of tyre design, and discusses how these affect the way a tyre performs on the trail. Hopefully after reading this, you’ll feel confident to experiment with some different rubber. Learn about tread patterns here and here, get the lowdown on tyre casingshere, learn about knob shapes, or get up to speed on side knobs!
Sam Blenkinsop is the Energizer Bunny on a 29er DH Bike
Is there a more entertaining rider to watch on the World Cup circuit than Sam Blenkinsop? Gloveless, bouncy, frantic – his style is completely unique, like he’s just drunk 14 Diet Cokes and is now VERY, VERY EXCITED – we love it. Blenki has had his best start to the season in years too, we hope 2018 sees him return to the top step. His latest edit from sponsor Deity is bloody excellent. Watch it.