Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 172 i Australian Mountain Bike

Summer in the mountains means climbing high to earn epic descents. The thing about riding in early summer in our alpine areas is snow – how much is left? When hunting out an all-day ride from the top of Falls Creek down to Mt Beauty, Chris Panozzo and Ben McIlroy found plenty of snow patches to play on. The Victorian High Country is a vast playground for mountain bikers in summer. Nothing says alpine like big mountains – and the Swiss Alps are full of them. Zermatt is surrounded by 4000m peaks, and none of them are more recognisable the world over than the Matterhorn. Zermatt will be hosting the Enduro World Series finale in 2019 and 2020, so we visited to see how this iconic alpine town is turning…

1 NEW SHIMANO ME SHOES Shimano have overhauled their Mountain Enduro (ME) range of shoes, with 4 new models on Australian trails. The updated range boasts features like a lightweight rubber outsole and offset straps, and Michelin rubber on the top models. The ME shoes will suit trail riders looking for durability, comfort and on and off the bike performance. Check out at the whole range at your local Shimano footwear dealer. RRP: From $159 shimano.com.au 2 YAKIMA FOLDCLICK 2 The new FoldClick 2 brings convenience, safety and security to a new towball mounted rack. With an inbuilt number plate holder and lights, this rack happily takes two bikes upto a total of 60kg and folds down for compact storage at home, leaving valuable garage space available. There is an…

It shouldn’t be any surprise that mountain biking as a sport and an industry is full of passionate people who love what they do, and where it takes them. Having met Matt D’Arcy from Krush it’s clear that a love for mountain biking and a passion for the details drives the new Aussie brand. GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER I met up with Matt as he has rolled into Nerang ahead of the first round of the Shimano Enduro Series. It’s wet, about to get wetter, but Matt is stoked to be here. He’s had a long drive up from Victoria, but time on the road isn’t new for him. “I started playing drums when I was 14 and I studied really hard until I was 19. Playing the drums…

Bikepacking has been a thing far longer than its trendy name has been around and we are starting to see more and more “bikepackers” on the trails and open roads alike. If you haven’t seen a bikepacker before, the best image I can paint you is this; a steel hardtail, possible drop style bar, beard, sandals, cut off jean shorts, flannelette shirt or merino jersey, heaps of camping equipment and rolls lashed to the bike and frame with leather straps and cord. And a titanium dangle mug on the rear bag. To be fair, that’s really the most comfortable and relaxed way of doing it as a two wheeled gypsy floating on the wind. What has become more popular and common place is the shorter there and back trips over…

And it happens every day. Zermatt and the Matterhorn are alpine icons. Hordes of tourists catch a train to the car-free town in the canton of Valais daily. From the train station, tickets to the Gornergrat are booked, and said horde then boards the mountain train to be taken up to the top station which looks suitable for a Bond villain. The building affords expansive views across to the Monte Rosa, but most importantly to the Matterhorn. Its pyramid shape is said to be the essence of what a mountain should look like. Zermatt is famous the world over for the Matterhorn, and the mix of people on the streets of Zermatt are akin to an international terminal in any major airport, or when taking in the sights of New…

The Trek Slash 8 left off where the previous generation of Slash started with only some geometry tweaks setting it apart at first glance. We say this because at first glance you have no idea this is an alloy frame! Trek have done an outstanding job keeping the smooth and very clean lines that the carbon Slash has. Trek’s Slash 8 should not be overlooked – especially if you are in the market for a 29er trail/enduro bike or even toying with the idea of one. It would be really easy to give a short review of the Slash 8 saying “it’s bloody awesome, just go ride one no matter your wheel preference”, because that is what was going through our mind on the first outing on this big wheel…

Norco make mountain bikes. For mountains that have rocks, roots, mud, dust and squiggly lines of singletrack. Some trails are tranquil and take you places; other trails are raw pieces of mess that smash bikes and bodies if riders don’t come prepared. Some trails are a mix of the two with flow sections leading to steep chutes of roots with drops that plunge riders down into a jump then a berm. There are so many options in mountain biking for each rider to get their own individual fix that there needs to be an equally large selection of bikes, the right tool for the job as it were. Or does there? That’s where the ‘trail’ category of bikes comes in. Most companies have this category that aims to do it…

You are either the kind of rider who cleans their bike religiously and methodically, or you’re the rider with a noisy, dirty bike who wears things out quickly and breaks chains on group rides. I have probably given away which camp I fall into, and it means I have used a whole range of cleaning products over the years. From special formulas just for bikes, to cheap laundry liquids, hotel towels and toothbrushes – I’ve tried most products. Krush came into the bike cleaning and detailing scene in 2016, and they are releasing the Pro Bike Detailing Kit as a bucket pack this January. It is a little different to their Krush Bike Care Bucket thanks to the inclusion of the Ultra Drivetrain Degreaser, which takes the place of the…

Queenstown Bike Park is earning a reputation as one of the best bike parks in the Southern Hemisphere, and with good reason. With over 30 kilometres of trails spanning from beginner friendly flow lines to World Cup level downhill tracks, the Queenstown Bike Park has something for everyone. Located only minutes from Queenstown’s CBD, and a 20 minute drive from Queenstown Airport, the bike park’s 450 metres of elevation is accessible via an access road, however it’s the Skyline Queenstown gondola that offers riders lap after lap of lift accessed riding. Dropping into the pines for your first lap, we’d recommend heading down “Hammy’s” or “Vertigo”. Don’t be fooled by Hammy’s green rating, the trail will challenge even the most experienced rider to push faster on the giant berms and…

Fox Live Valve brings technology from the high-end offroad motorsport market and takes it to mountain bikes – but how does a system that reacts faster than we can think work on the trail? We had the chance to ride a Rocky Mountain Altitude with all the bells and whistles including the unicorn that is Fox Live Valve. After hearing about the product over a year ago and some sneak peek articles here was a bike in the flesh at AMB’s disposal for the day. Sola Sport, who import Fox to Australia, brought along their secret squirrel software which can adjust the sensitivity and parameters of Live Valve. All 5 modes can be fine tuned incrementally from very sensitive to feeling like a hardtail. These highly customisable adjustments will only…

Kye, how do you feel your racing season went in 2018? “I would say my season has been amazing. I’m stoked with how everything went, and there were some really great races. The highlights would be Fort William and Lenzerheide, but as expected there are always some races that don’t work out for you. At a couple of rounds this year, things just didn’t go my way. But I’m really looking forward to next year, and hopefully I can make amends for the rounds I slipped up at in 2018 and have a good crack at them and come out on top this time.” Do you think that’s one of the best lessons you can learn as a Junior – the ability to bounce back during the season? “You have…

1. Dry bags 2. Camp spoons 3. Fishing gear, telescopic rod and small setup for Trout. 4. First aid kit including Emergency blanket, triangle bandage, super glue, gaffer tape and glad wrap. 5. Coffee, why would you bother going. 6. Stovetop coffee machine 7. Soto Micro stove 8. Sea to Summit X-Set 21 cooking set 9. Bike spares, Gear cable, chain links and joining links, tyre boots, Co2 and the usual. 10. Camelbak MULE 11. Gopro and Gimbal 12. Waterproof jacket 13. Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Air mattress 14. Sea to Summit Spark 2 sleeping bag 15. Sea to Summit Ultralight Hammock 16. Swiss Army Knife with saw 17. Bontrager Ion USB light 700 lumen 18. Camera 19. Sea to Summit Escapist tarp 3m x 3m 20. 20000mh A…

A couple of issues back we looked at three CeramicSpeed products that were fitted for testing. From a coated ceramic bottom bracket, to some fancy Titanium jockey wheels on coated ceramic bearings, to a full complement of coated ceramic bearings for DT Swiss 350 hubs. CeramicSpeed back their products up with a 6 year warranty, but you still need to service the bearings. Here’s a look at how everything has been working over the past few months. INITIAL IMPRESSIONS The bottom bracket bearings and jockey wheels were smooth from the get go, running noticeably smoother than the stock units after fitting. Of course, without a lab testing for friction it’s hard to quantify. But with a clean drivetrain with a fresh, light lubrication, and the clutch on the Shimano XTR…

We’ve all had one, whether it’s in the middle of the night or the middle of a hard ride and boy are cramps painful! A cramp is an involuntary contraction of a muscle that can feel like someone is stabbing you from the inside out. Symptoms usually ease within minutes, but often leave your muscle in knots and sore for days. WHAT CAUSES A CRAMP? Lots of theories have surfaced over time to try to explain the cause of cramping during exercise: exercising in the heat or humidity, heavy sweating, tight muscles and tiredness. One of the most common was dehydration or a lack of electrolytes (particularly sodium or salt), although there is minimal scientific evidence these are actually causes of cramps during exercise. Over the last few years, the…

FALLS CREEK With 40km of high-quality descending singletrack built by World Trail, near endless backcountry rides and what might be the longest descent in Australia (see our story in this issue) Falls Creek has a lot to offer. The view from the village with a post-ride refreshment cannot be beat! Dates: 17 Nov – 23 April Shuttles: Blue Dirt on weekends and every day 27/12 – 13/1 Accommodation: Lots of options from basic rooms to plush apartments. AMB’s trail pick: Flowtown – 10km of descending is hard to beat! fallscreek.com.au MT BULLER One of the first alpine resorts to truly get it, Mt Buller have a range of trails serving downhillers, all-mountain riders and those looking for epic days on purpose-built trails. The trails feel like they have grown organically…

We got a sneak peek at the 2019 range of Whyte bikes late this year. While the British brand does a broad range of bikes, we cherry picked 5 that we think really suit Australian riding and trails. All bikes are single chainring specific which boosts back end stiffness and helps reduce chainstay length. Most bolt threads are replaceable, bearings have a lifetime warranty and in general the bikes are made to last for years, not just one season of riding. The standout trail bike has to be the T-130 S, we have a review of the $4650 bike in this issue. The alloy T-130 S has the same geometry as the T-130 C-RS carbon model, sporting a slack head angle, steep seat angle, long reach and 37mm fork offset…

We’ve hit peak silly season again, all the talk is focused around who is going to what team, for how much (or how little), who’s running what bike, which parts and all the rest. This is all normal for this time of year. What isn’t normal are the whispers that are getting louder and louder about suspected doping. This year the EWS organisers at round three asked the French Anti-Doping Agency to come in and test riders. The whispers were getting so loud that in an attempt to manage the situation it has been confirmed by Chris Ball, the managing director and founder of the Enduro World Series, that there is an on-going enquiry by the French Agency that also carries out testing for the Tour de France. Part of…

Mountain biking is a fabulous pastime with social and health benefits, but ask anyone who has been riding a while and it’s likely they have had a mountain biking injury. While we ride off road to avoid cars and traffic, the pesky trees that jump in our way, jumps that were built larger than we first remembered, and narrow bridges we love to test ourselves on mean that while our safety is largely in our own hands, the very nature of the sport is one of risk mitigation. So what do you do if you come across an injured rider, or a friend has a crash? Let’s explore how to assess the injured rider in the setting of haemorrhage and cardiac arrest, and in following issues we will explore head…

Thredbo has had a place in Australian mountain biking for close to two decades. But never has the range of riding in New South Wales’ premier alpine resort been as diverse as it is now. In 2014 we spoke to Stuart Diver about the plans at Thredbo for mountain bikers. He spoke of a new all-mountain trail running from Eagles Nest. It would connect to the Thredbo Valley Trail, and continue to the shore of Lake Jindabyne, making one of the longest purpose-built mountain bike trails that we know of in Australia. And by the end of summer – all of that will be a reality, with the Thredbo Valley Trail extending about 10km beyond Lake Crackenback Resort, and trail teams hard at work to touch the lake’s edge by…

Whyte is British. Their bikes are developed in Britain and their developers ride to work. I went to England this year for a bit of time, it rained constantly, well it felt like that anyway. Another constant was their trails, which all seemed to have a million rocks and steep, rough and technical descents. I’m sure I am exaggerating, but to develop a bike that can handle even a quarter of these conditions on a daily basis means it will probably be up to scratch to handle just about any other trail network in the world. Most of Whyte’s bikes feature slack angles to get the front wheel well out in front for better trail feel, alongside this they like dropping the bottom bracket height for a low centre of…

DT Swiss are better known for their comprehensive offering of spokes and all things wheels, and we have only seen DT Swiss offer a longer travel fork once before, the EXC 150 shared 32mm stanchions like its XC counterparts and was a lightweight trail fork rather than a burly big hitter. The F535 ONE is a nice surprise then, sporting an extremely clever damping system called Plushport that is hailed to change how suspension can work. The concept is 0%-30% of the travel has zero compression damping, 30%- 80% and the mid stroke support increases, 80% - 100% and the compression damping firms up. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? With the compression fully open for the first 30%, small bump sensitivity is the goal and is helped by a small negative…

Fi’zi:k are purveyors of fine Italian items – most notably saddles and shoes in the mountain bike arena. Their range is continuing to expand, with many features trickling down from the eye-watering upper reaches of their range to the middle of the footwear range available by the Italian artisans. Over the past 3 years I have tested a few pairs of shoes from fi’zi:k. All have been adorned with BOA closures, carbon fibre soles as stiff as a hardwood railway sleeper, and sleek designs. In many aspects, the new Terra X5 is no different. The look is far more XC than trail and the single BOA closure and velcro strap mix fast and easy fit and removal with a secure and precise feel. The upper is ‘Laser Perforated Microtex’ which…

Road gaps and step downs are a surprisingly common feature on mountain bike trails. Not only as a feature, but also as a way to double up features which line up just right when heading down a trail. For big jumps, road gaps are probably the easiest build option as most of the work is already done - smooth out a landing, build a kicker, clear a run in and next thing you know its Rampage time at the local trails. They are common, but also can be pretty bloody dangerous if you come up short or go too far. The fact that you pick up speed as you drop makes it all that little bit shadier. Big road gaps are an advanced feature. Work your way up, conquer small…