Tabla de contenidos para November - December 2015 - January 2016 en Mountain Biking Australia

THREDBO VALLEY TRAIL EXTENSION IF you haven’t ridden the Thredbo Valley Trail yet, then you really should put it on your ‘to-do’ list. As it stands, it’s a 20km pointto-point trip that takes you from Thredbo Village down to Lake Crackenback Resort. National Parks has invested a lot of time and funds into the construction of the trail with a series of massive suspension bridges along the way. While it’s a very easy ‘green’ rated track, it’s still a lot of fun for riders of all levels; although its wide-open nature can lead to riders travelling pretty fast on a trail that also caters for walkers. The exciting news is that NPWS is looking at a sizable extension to the Valley Trail. Planning is well underway and construction may begin…

There’s no shortage of superb riding all over North Wales; be it natural or man made, you’ll find it around every corner. If you’re riding outside of the trail cen tres, you need to get acquainted with the basics of legal trail access. It’s best to start by purchasing the relevant Ordnance Survey Landranger maps of the area where you want to ride. Bikes are not allowed on footpaths (dotted red lines), but are allowed on Bridleway status trails (dashed red lines) and above, plus on permissive forest trails, which are marked on the ground. Check out www.mbwales.com for a good overview. COED Y BRENIN Britain’s original true trail centre offers over 10 0km of superb man made trails of every grade including their all-new Foundry skills development area. It…

Electric assist bikes can appeal to a broad spread of people; from lifelong mountain bikers to complete newcomers. • Making the fitness side of the sport less daunting can draw newcomers. • They allow those who are injured, older or less physically fit to ride at a level that makes the sport appealing and enjoyable. • Couples who face widely varying fitness levels can complete a long ride together without the weaker rider being crushed. • Even fit riders can benefit; an extra 250w will make a brutal two hour alpine climb more manageable. • You’ll ride further for the same effort, experience more trail and won’t shy away from big climbs. • For gravity riders, they can negate the need for shut tling (something that often angers local residents).…

POLAR V650 Finnish brand Polar is well known for their range of heart rate monitors and other fitness oriented devices but now they’ve launched into the GPS cycling computer market with the V650. It features a large 2.8 inch touch screen that allows you navigate by swiping between the different mode screens (with or without gloves). It’ll upload your ride data to Polar’s web service and automatically transfer it to Strava if you wish. It even incorporates a tiny front LED light that can get you out of trouble if you get stuck out after dark. Price: $399 ($449 with heart rate) Pursuit Performance (08) 8100 8600 www.pursuit-performance.com.au SHIMANO CM-1000 This action cam goes a step or two beyond most as it can be linked via Shimano’s D-Fly wireless Di2…

Whether or not other bike brands want to admit it, Spanish brand Mondraker is largely responsible for the long/low/slack geometry that many of us have been riding and loving over the last few years. They mightn’t have been the very first manufacturer to push this bandwagon but they were certainly there at the start, and they’ve taken it further than anyone else in terms of pushing the boundaries of how far you can go. The Forward Geometry concept, as Mondraker calls it, is now standard fare across all their trail and all-mountain models. After making waves for several years in Europe, the Mondraker range has recently found Australian distribution. For our first taste of what Mondraker have to offer we were sent a Foxy XR to throw at our local…

Winner! OTTO DAVIES Our winning photo comes from Otto Davies. Using a Nikon D7000 and a 20mm lens, he took this photo on the ‘Blair Witch Trail’ at Lysterfield MTB Park. Epic lighting there Otto – well done! MICHAEL FISHER Michael Fisher is from Melbourne but travelled to Alice Springs to explore the trails that surround the town. You’ve got to love the red earth out that way—such a distinctive look. DARRAN WEST Not just one photo but a collection. These shots were all sent in by Darran West. His job takes him to remote locations all around Australia measuring railway track geometry. He gets little choice in where he goes but wherever it is, his bike travels too and Darran tries to make the most of it. Some of…

Three years ago we lost one of the great characters of New Zealand mountain biking. James Dodds was a rider, a trail builder, a bike designer and a successful entrepreneur. This is a story that demonstrates the kind of energy levels Dodzy ran on. I was riding to the top of the forest in my home town of Rotorua. Yes I know, life’s a bitch with all those trails to choose from but I was headed for my favorite; Billy T. Built in part by Dodzy, Billy T snakes across the top of the forest and drops you into a network of other downhill routes; perfect for an after work outing if you’ve got sufficient time for the half hour climb. The first part of the ascent is a soul-eating…

BIKE REVIEW FEEDBACK Firstly, congratulations on a great magazine. I recently spent over three months off the bike with an injury and rediscovered your magazine in that time. In a period when I could quite easily have become disheartened, reading the mag kept my stoke well oiled for my return to mountain biking and gave me plenty of non-riding excuses to spend time with my bikes tweaking this-and-that—I’m a mad tinkerer and my man-cave is a glorified bike workshop and storage area for my seven bikes. The reason for my letter is to highlight a small trend I’ve noticed in some of your bike reviews, typified by the Avanti Torrent 2 review. You’ve made mention of the current economic climate and affordability issues on a few occasions, yet when reviewing…

FEATURE PACKED Helmet manufacturers are keenly pumping out more and more trail oriented MTB helmets, and the Feature is the latest offering from Giro. It’s designed to provide greater coverage than your typical road helmet whilst still offering effective ventilation—especially at lower speeds. The rounded profile and longer ‘moto style’ visor also gives it a distinctive look. With this model Giro has incorporated the Mips system; it’s designed to dissipate rotational energy from an oblique impact. Giro offers the Feature in three sizes and a number of colour options. Expect to pay around $179. Sheppard Industries 1300 883 305 / www.giro.com SILENT SHIFT Offered as a high-end alternative for SRAM and Shimano drivetrains, the German made Connex chains are now offered in an updated 11-speed version. The new Connex 11S0…

GETTING THERE Northern Wales is surprisingly easy to get to. Although it is quite an expansive region, it’s unlikely to take more than two hours by car to get from extreme to the other. The best international gateway airport is Manchester, which is just 1.5 hours by road from the Berw yns. Birmingham is 12-20 minutes further while London is a three to four hour drive. The easiest option by far is to rent a car, as public transport is sporadic here. Most major rental companies have outlets at the airports and you can expect to pay around $30 and up per day for a car. Bikes and trains don’t always mix in the UK , and there are not many stations in this region. If you do decide to…

For most the initial reaction to the idea of a 45 tooth cog for the rear cassette is one of mocking disbelief. Sure, wide range rear cassettes make single ring drivetrains viable for a broader range of riders and trails, but why would anyone ever need a cog so big? ‘If you need a gear that low then get yourself a double or a triple chainring’, is one common retort. Well the appeal of a single chainring is strong; I for one love having fewer gear cables and some extra free space for a dropper post remote. With no front derailleur to clatter against, they are also comparatively quiet. Locally I have some long and steep hills to contend with, so a wide range single ring drivetrain certainly appeals to…

Using our example of a tempo/threshold workout will lead to a general improvement for most high intensity MTB events but it’s certainly possible to take it to a higher level if you employ the services of a coach. Coaches are guided by principles of exercise, one of these being ‘specificity’. We’ll analyse your target event. It needs to be broken it down into the various elements so we can develop sessions to target each specific aspect. To get the most from your training we’ll also look at the unique factors of the discipline you are planning to race. These factors could include the terrain, duration, technical difficulty of the course and so on. Take a MTB criterium for example; it will involve short but very intense efforts like sprinting out…

Having a nutritious high carbohydrate meal the night before a long ride or a race is a great way to prepare. If you’re serious, you’ll want to taper your training and bolster your intake of carbs in the 24-72 hours leading up to the big day—this helps to maximise the glycogen stored in your muscles and liver. This isn’t an excuse to fill up on junk or high fat foods, because these will displace the all-important carbohydrate and leave you feeling sluggish. When I was racing, my attitude towards the carbloading process was one with a double-edged sword. I love food, so getting to feast with some reckless abandon was fun. However the flip-side was the feeling of eating for the sake of eating, which could get tedious, plus I…

A number of brands already sell e-mountain bikes in A ustralia with some major labels arri ving soon. Specialized will have their Levo Turbo, which is expected to be available in the first half of 2016. French MTB brand Lapierre will be bringing in their Overvolt for 2016 as well. Both of these are high-end machines aimed at MTB enthusiasts and a long way from the commuter e-bikes that we typically envisage. Trek also has a couple of e-MTBs in their line-up but don’t plan on selling them here—not at the moment anyway. Currently Focus, Scott, BH Bikes, KTM, Lombardo (Italy), Gepida and Haibike sell proper off-road-worthy e-bike models in Australia. Haibike mightn’t be a name you are familiar with but the German brand was the first to hit it…

The Fuel EX series from Trek has lived several different lives. It’s had 26, 27.5 and 29 inch wheels. It has been fitted with regular rear shocks as well as Trek specific DRCV models and now their special Re:Aktiv shocks. It’s had 32mm and 34mm stanchion forks, 1X, 2X and 3X drivetrains, fixed and dropper seatposts, narrow bars and long stem; the list goes on. Slotting in between the race-focused Top Fuel and the all-mountain/enduro Remedy, the Fuel EX has always been Trek’s go-to bike for general trail use, and it has evolved steadily as the desires of MTB riders have changed. I well remember the first 26-inch Fuel EX; it was a fantastic fast trail bike for chopped out and rocky terrain, with enough legs to get you out…

It’s a crazy time in mountain bike land. We only just got over the acceptance curve for 29ers, then fat bikes came along and now 27.5. All this came in a short span of years, after literally decades of 26-inch tyres with relatively consistent widths. We’ve learnt that bigger wheels can be good in some ways while wide tyres and rims can really change the ride experience. Both the changes in width and diameter have been aided by weight and strength advances that have come from new materials and better manufacturing processes. So, it was only a matter of time (and very little time at that) before we were destined to meet the hybrid of hybrids; the middle size wheel with a not so skinny but not too fat tyre.…

These days virtually every mid-to-upper-end MTB comes with internally routed cables. Hidden cables have introduced an element of the unknown that deters otherwise mechanically proficient riders from doing basic maintenance. If you’re lucky, your frame may have built in pipes that guide the new cable straight through. However most don’t and sometimes the exit ports are quite small, so it’s a bit like trying to thread a needle whilst blindfolded. Sure, you can offload the problem onto your local bike shop, but sometimes it’s good to do your own work—especially when you need to replace a cable the night before a big ride. While internal cabling can test your patience, there are a number of tricks that can make the task far easier. Some techniques will work better than others;…

Inside and out and from top to bottom I ginned with pure satisfaction. After far too many years away, I’d finally returned to my favourite trail—Lake Vyrnwy in North Wales. This is the place I dream about and a trail that I recount again and again. The trails around Lake Vyrnwy aren’t manufactured with mountain biking in mind. You won’t find flowt rails and IMBA graded singletracks. Instead you get a rugged and remote riding experience on un-groomed natural trails. My favourite patch is a rutted out cutting between two small hi llocks. Overlooking the deep blue lake, it affords views across the distant hills of Snowdonia as well as the Arrans crumpling over the horizon. I’d ridden this stretch of trail once a week for more than a decade…

With bikes and gear in tow, we boarded the V-Line service at Southern Cross railway station in Melbourne. We were bound for Ballarat, the starting point for a 200km point-to-point MTB trip through regional Victoria. The three -day journey heads north from Ballarat, taking in the historic gold rush towns of Daylesford and Castlemaine, before finishing up in Bendigo. We’d already heard a lot about the Goldfields Track. While it’s traditionally a walking trail, mountain bikers have been tackling sections of the route for years; the middle leg in between Daylesford and Castlemaine has long been regarded as one of the best pointto-point day rides in Victoria. More recently however, there has been a significant push from state government to open the track to mountain bikers. Over the past five…

SRAM is working hard to shrug off a somewhat shaky reputation by producing some really good brakes. Meanwhile Shimano is worshiped for their brakes and continues to refine their already successful products. As we’ve spent quite a bit of time on the latest Shimano M8000 brakes as well as the new SRAM Guide RSC (reviewed in MBA FMA 2015), we thought it was worth taking a look at how they compare. STATS & FACTS Both brakes and are similarly priced; they’re typically in the $220 to $250 range for the calliper and lever (add $55-$65 extra per rotor). They are similar in weight too; our front XT lever, calliper and hose was 275g while the Guide RSC was 265g. Factor in an extra 116g for a 160mm six-bolt Shimano Ice…

In recent years, brands such as RaceFace, Easton, Chromag, Kore, Syncros and Fouriers have adopted a 35mm diameter clamping area on some their handlebars. Most brands have stuck with 31.8mm but even this is an upsize from the 25.4mm diameter bars that everyone used in the ’90s. So where’s it going; are we all going to be running 35mm handlebars in a year or two? We’ve been testing a 35mm bar and stem combo from RaceFace to see if we can pick up on any advantages. This trend towards fatter bars has paralleled the increases in width. When I started mountain biking in the ’80s, handlebars were 25.4mm in diameter and around 560mm wide (although the ‘cool kids’ would cut them down to 500 or 540mm). In the last couple…

It doesn’t matter if you ride on gentle trails with your dog, tackle gnarly stuff with your mates or race with visions of glory; we all ride a mountain bike because it is fun. What isn’t fun is finding yourself in a situation that you don’t know how to handle. It could be a loose surface, a rutted trail, steep slopes or a rock garden that’s your personal kryptonite. Possessing the skills to ride everywhere means never having to get off and walk as well as falling off a lot less often. Competitive swimmers spend a lot of time in the pool under the watchful eye of their coach. Stroke production is constantly examined and corrected because it is so easy to develop bad habits. At the other end of…

Mountain bikers are a pretty relaxed crowd. Compared with the road cycling fraternity we tend to be far less uptight and worried about what we’re riding or how we look—as long as we’re out enjoying the trails then it’s all good, right? Well that’s what I thought until I started reading some of the social media posts relating to off-road e-bikes. Sure people can get a bit passionate about their favourite wheel size or some new hub standard but I was seeing a whole new level of hate. A handful of people seem open to the idea but most believe they are pseudo motorbikes for lazy people and they’re going to tear the trails apart. E-BIKE BASICS So what are these contraptions and are they set to be the terror…

In addition to the legally approved electric bikes, there are a number of high-powered e-bikes being sold in Australia—some are locally produced while others come in as kits that are bought on-line. They can be absolute beasts, often looking like a motocross bike and producing upwards of 5,000 watts. As this is clearly beyond the legal power restrictions, they are typically pitched as being for off-road use only. When you look at the Road Transport (Safety and Traf fic Management) Act 1999, this generally means private land. It certainly doesn’t includes tate forests, fire trails, national parks or any other areas that are open to the general public. Ride a high-powered e-bike on the trails and you risk being charged and fined for riding an unregistered vehicle. Of equal if…

For 2016 the Ninety Six returns to the Merida range, once again filling the role as their prime XC race dually. The original Ninety Six was a superlight 26-inch racer but the 2016 version will be offered with eight 27.5 or 29-inch wheels. Like a number of other manufacturers, they’ll vary the wheel size to match the rider. In this case, the small frame will come with 27.5 wheels while the large and extra-large will be 29er-only. The medium size will come in both options, so riders can choose according to their preference; 27.5 for lighter, stronger wheels with snappier acceleration and handling, or 29 inch wheels for their roll-over ability and momentum preservation once up to speed. With the bigger wheels, the Ninety Six has 96mm of rear wheel…

Unless you’re a fatbike fanatic who goes beach adventuring, the prospect of ‘railing some sweet sand’ won’t be an appealing one. However, many areas in Australia have sandy soils and with summer on the way, learning how to survive a soft sandy boghole should be a priority. Sand mightn’t be fun but crashing because of it is even less fun! As with most aspects of mountain biking, looking ahead is a key point. If anything this is more critical on the sand, as any last minute directional changes won’t be graceful. Scan ahead and shoot for any shallow or compacted sand. Damp sand is always a good option too and sometimes the very edge of the trail will be slightly firmer. Utilise vehicle tracks when you can, as they offer…

LEIGH PRIVETT Leigh’s bike may look like a bit of a junker (sorry Leigh) but it has a long and rather amazing history. It’s a 1997 special edition GT Zaskar LE. Out of the factory it was assigned straight to famous Canadian mountain bike racer Roland Green; at the time he was the reigning world XC champion. Roland was quite a driver and smashed this Zaskar around until the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He then pensioned the bike off to a young volunteer at the event; Rowan. Two years down the track Ro passed the bike onto his dad and current owner Leigh. Up until then the bike had lived a tough life on the World Cup XC circuit, but things were only going to get tougher. You see Leigh…