Innholdsfortegnelse for issue 184 i Australian Mountain Bike

As Maydena Bike Park continues to expand, we can be pretty sure that even with their upgraded trails in September 2020, the staff will still know all the best lines! Blue Derby continues to impress, and whether you’re there for the air time, the family rides or just to feel chill and get around on the back wheel – you’ll find what works for you. With the north-east of Tasmania becoming Australia’s mountain bike hotspot, we’re sure that the Bay of Fires Trail and St Helens Stacked Loop trail network will land on everyone’s bucket list.…

Mountain biking has its roots in dirtbagging and sacrificing luxuries to go riding — except for the bike of course. Who among us hasn’t stayed in dorm-style accommodation, rented a room above the pub or spent a few nights camping at a riding destination to do a trip on the cheap. Heck, even some of mountain biking’s most prominent events like The Pioneer and Cape Epic house competitors in tent cities. Derby, in north-east Tasmania, really only started attractinf visiting riders in 2015 when the Blue Derby trail network opened, but since then the remote town has gone from a drive-by village to a destination that attracts visitors from around the world to ride bikes. Derby has also been the catalyst, triggering a chain reaction of other small towns across…

Wangetti Trail - Port Douglas/Cairns The 94km Wangetti Trail is a dual use walking and mountain biking track that will traverse through Tropical North Queensland’s coast and hinterland from Port Douglas to Palm Cove. Despite accommodating walkers and riders, this is going to be proper singletrack with technical challenges throughout. The trail is scheduled to be completed in 2022. Warburton - Yarra Valley Ranges, Victoria Located just 1.5 hours from Melbourne in the Yarra Valley Ranges, Warburton is scheduled to have 160km of trails when it’s all said and done. Although the approval stages are taking longer than anticipated, we get the feeling this one will be worth the wait. George Town - North Coast, Tasmania Located just 35 minutes from Launceston and 1.5 hours from Derby, George Town is…

As mountain biking is growing so fast, we can see that small towns to large cities have worked hard to build new trail networks and bike parks across the globe. Volunteer groups, clubs, bike companies, governments and private enterprise are working at all levels to plan and build these incredible places we may call our local trails, yet pirate trails (illegal trails) continue to be built. Some of them are reclaimed, utilitarian trails that have seen new life. Or they are fresh cut in a local forest or reserve or even withing the boundaries of an existing bike park’s network. Many pirate trails have a finite lifespan, and builders often know that what they toil over will be torn apart by a dozer, obliterating hundreds of hours of labour and…

Age: 28 Years riding: 18 Bikes: I have 11 (Giant: Anthems, Reign, Trance, Propel, TCRs, Revolt, TCX, Trinity) Day Job: Electrician Hobbies: Karting, motorsports Our next hobbyist is often seen at the pointy end of many Australian mountain bike and road races. Brendan Johnston has been riding bikes most of his life and in recent years that focus is shared with a growing business and family. “I’m an electrician and run a company with some others, this certainly takes a lot of my time, but we have gone from strength to strength and I believe what I have learnt through my sport has helped me with commitment and discipline professionally”. Commitment and discipline are certainly in abundance for Brendan ‘Trekky’ Johnston with multiple national titles and countless race wins attached…

If any of you readers had a chance to read over Tim’s review on the Revel Rascal in the previous issue, you would have got a good idea on who Revel are and what they have been up to. We at AMB are pretty stoked on the frames coming out this Colorado based company and are excited to get our hands on the entire lineup, including the Revel Rail I have on test this issue. But for those that missed Tim’s article, let me briefly bring you all up to speed on those involved in getting this self-funded brand to market. You have a self-proclaimed bike nerd, Adam Miller. Suspension guru, Jeremiah Starkey. Carbon fiber expert Jason Shiers and last but not least, Chris Canfield, whose patented suspension platform is…

The dark art of tubeless mountain bike setup can be made a whole lot clearer by using a good sealant, keeping it fresh, and carrying a tubeless repair kit that you know how to use and can access easily. Effetto Mariposa have been in the tubeless game for quite some time, with their Caffélatex sealant, tubeless tape, sealant applicators and more. What sets Caffélatex apart is a foaming quality. So instead of just sloshing around on the outside of your wheel as you ride, it foams up and spreads more evenly, including towards the sidewalls. I used Caffélatex way back in 2011 and I never actually had a ride ending puncture with it. I also liked the tubeless tape they made, but haven't used their products since then. Fast forward…

Ride Concepts hit the market running in Autumn 2018 as a bike specific footwear company with a vision of building the most comfortable, durable and reliable mountain bike footwear available. Hailing from Lake Tahoe, the rider owned and rider designed mountain bike specific shoe company has the ability and skills needed to put their products through extensive testing in extremely technical terrain. Ride Concept’s latest offering is the Vice, a dirtjump and slopestyle shoe that looks sharp enough for streetwear. But the casual style hides some pretty snazzy design and technical details. The Vice has a durable full suede upper and full gusseted tongue to keep the dirt and debris out of your shoe, along with custom moulded thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) toe box and D3O high impact zone technology built…

With most of Brisbane’s trails being highly-populated introductory and intermediate trails, Cornubia, in the south-east, offers a little more of a challenge with man-made trails a little different from the usual offerings. Whether you’re just starting out, or a dedicated ripper; the trail variety of Cornubia and it’s proximity to Brisbane’s well-known Daisy Hill, means that a day at Cornubia is never wasted. While Daisy Hill has plenty of mellow flow, it’s easy to connect through to Cornubia via Nirvana, a tighter and twistier trail that takes you to the end of Leo Lindo Drive. If you’ve found you’re getting tired of Daisy Hill, a trip to Cornubia via Nirvana should spice things up. Cornubia adds a little more rock, a little more hand cut trail, and a little bit…

This recipe was originally from the CSIRO total wellbeing diet that I modified it to suit my preferences. It is a dense, moist brownie that is not too sweet (depending on the type of chocolate you use) and provides good fibre and protein. The black beans have a neutral flavour and sneak undetected into the taste of the brownie. Like all seeds though, they offer a range of health benefits. In addition to high fibre and protein, they also provide substantial levels of folate (vitamin B9) – important in reducing homocysteine levels. Black beans also have a relatively low glycemic index so you should notice a lower rise in blood sugar after eating your brownie – giving you a wonderful sense of being grounded even after you’ve enjoyed a delicious…

What was the last trail you rode on? Do you know when it was built, or how it came to be? Sometimes it is really easy to take our trails for granted, and it’s easy to be complacent. Not much time goes by before there’s news about a new area investing hugs sums of money to build new trails for us to go and ride. For free. Here in Australia, there are very few mountain bike parks that have a fee to use them, and those that do charge such a nominal amount and really deliver. I grew up riding trails in the north-west of Sydney, trying to figure out what parts of the Great North Walk were rideable on a rigid bike with cantilever brakes, and what areas were…

Well here we are, still, heading towards 2021 like a freight train but with continuing restrictions in place. For some of us, racing has opened up again, but the forced break from pinning a number on has meant that we have had plenty of time to reflect on previous experiences. I frequently find parallels between the everyday challenges we face in life, and those posed in the height of battle… or pedal. So, in the absence of experiencing these challenges and important life-learning in the red-mist of racing, I thought I would revisit some of those learnings here. IT AIN’T OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER A good one for determination and the importance of cultivating a never-give-up attitude, the old adage ‘it ain’t over ‘till it’s over’ is equally important in…

In south-east Queensland there’s a lot going on, with illegal trails being shut down at Nerang, illegal trail building at Gap Creek, plus illegal gravity trails at Camp Mountain being shut down recently. While there is negativity around that, it's easy to forget that new trails are still being built. There is new, sanctioned trail development at Iron Bark in Brisbane’s west, which is also my closest trail network. I met up with Craig Meinicke from Northside Trail Care Alliance, to discover how new trails are being built in a conservation park amidst other trail closures in surrounding areas. It turns out, having a plan and developing relationships is what makes it work, and that’s what netted a $35000 grant to make it happen. “We originally applied for a couple…

ROB GUNSTONE As our fellow outdoor enthusiasts in the climbing community grapple with the decision to ban them from some of the best rock in the Gariward/Grampians National Park, mountain bike riders need to think about how we communicate with indigenous land owners to ensure our trail networks are built and maintained in a respectful manner. An example of positive communication between trail builders and the indigenous community is the outstanding La Larr Ba Gauwa trail network at Harcourt, a 90-minute drive north of Melbourne along the Calder Highway. These trails have seen indigenous language incorporated into the trail network and employment opportunities created for both the Harcourt and wider indigenous community. Constructed in a former pine plantation by Dirt Art and opened in 2018, the La Larr Ba Gauwa…

When Shimano rolled out their new 12-speed Deore XT and SLX group sets in 2019, they revealed that their range of mountain bike wheels would be shrinking. One of the most impressive wheels that remain in the line up is the Shimano WH-M8120 TL wheels, or XT Trail. The wheels are available in either 27.5” or 29”, and only in Boost spacing of 110x15mm front and 148x12mm rear. They use Shimano Deore XT hubs with a Microspline freehub for Shimano 12-speed group sets, and Centrelock rotor attachments. The rims are aluminium, with a 30mm internal width, and a low height of less than 20mm high. Deeper rims look good on occasion, but they are also very stiff! Shimano use 28 normal (J-bend) spokes on each wheel, and with an offset…

Whether you ride for fitness, for performance or to escape, you might have the need for a set of headphones to accompany you on your off-road escapades. As music on the move has progressed from iPods through to smart phone storage and of course streaming, there’s an endless list of what you can listen to, and it’s something that is a habit for many of us when commuting or working. Whether you choose to rock out to your favourite beats, listen to podcasts, catch up on news or drown out colleagues’ whinging with white noise, there are endless uses for wireless headphones. Over ear wireless headphones keep many happy with their clarity and depth of sound, but most of us don’t want to get around looking like a DJ wannabe.…

Barriers to entry of the sport of mountain biking for kids are being smashed, with bike manufacturers developing lighter and better bikes for smaller kids and adults paying attention to the specific needs of very small people riding dirt. In this vein we have seen Bontrager release the Jet WaveCel youth and children’s range of helmets: no longer paying lip-service these helmets feature top of the range technology for keeping the mini-groms’ brains intact. Dharco is no stranger when it comes to comfortable and stylish trail clothing, but why should adults have all the fun? With the recent uptick in cycling more broadly, trails have exploded at the seams with the next generation of trail groms, and like major bike brands and helmet manufacturers, Dharco are producing stylish threads for…

The first tip to riding in the mud is try to avoid it at all costs! For the most part, riding in muddy conditions can be destructive to trails and also your bike but the reality is that at times it just can’t be avoided. These days, a good portion of trail networks will be closed down to riding in excessively muddy conditions, while others with well supported maintenance programs may stay open. Make sure you know the rules where you are riding so you don’t contribute to any excessive damage. When it comes to racing of any kind though, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll be lining up with a muddy track in front of you. After 10 years of downhill racing in every condition you could possibly…

If you have ever watched the World Cup XCO you would likely be in awe of the fluidity of motion of the fastest athletes: flying uphill, flowing downhill and pedalling as smooth as butter with mind-blowing wattages. The physiological demands of XCO are multifaceted: firstly XCO is primarily an endurance sport, so a solid aerobic foundation and VO2 max is a must. The top athletes must have an exceptional ability to withstand constant supra-threshold efforts brought upon by the terrain and other athletes, indicating they have exceptional power and mitochondrial respiration (developed from endurance training: remember “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!”) and very high lactate threshold. Flying downhill requires strength and coordination to withstand the forces of the trails, but the demands of a high watt-per-kilo to…

The UCI have announced a combined Mountain Bike World Championships event including Pump Track, Cross-Country, Downhill and eMTB titles all to be held in Leogang, Austria from 6-11 October. Originally, just the Downhill and Pump Track titles were going to be contested in Leogang. “The UCI contacted us and asked if we saw an opportunity to integrate the Cross-Country and eMTB competitions of the World Championships from Albstadt into our Downhill and Pumptrack World Championships,” said Marco Pointner, one of the organisers. “After we checked everything internally, it was clear to us that we could tackle a quadruple World Championships and that we wanted to take on the challenge,” But, there’s plenty of work to do as Kornel Grundner, another organiser, adds, “The short-term is not optimal and rather unusual.…

“HOW IS IT THAN YOU CAN EXPEND SO MUCH ENERGY DURING A RIDE, AND YET COME AWAY FEELING LIKE YOU HAVE HAD YOUR BATTERIES RECHARGED, READY AGAIN TO TAKE ON WHAT OTHER THINGS LIFE MIGHT THROW AT YOU?” Well here we are, Groundhog Day. Make plans, cancel plans, repeat. I’m not saying it was easy pre-pandemic to stay sane, but it’s becoming harder and harder given the circumstances, but maybe we don’t need to? These aren’t normal times, what was acceptable behaviour before is now against the law in parts of the country. Inside this changing landscape it’s hard not to feel anger at times, and to use that anger as a crutch to lean on when we are at a loss to explain things to others and ourselves. Anger…

Maydena Bike Park has put itself on the map as the home of gravity riding in Australia. The park has received global recognition for its 60 plus trails with a huge 820 vertical metres of descending. Maydena’s appeal lies with its huge array of trail styles, surfaces, and features. New to riding? No problems. There’s a top to bottom, family-friendly green trail that snakes its way gently through the changing landscapes of the park. More experienced? You’re in for a treat with Maydena’s diverse mixture of buttery-smooth flow, technical rainforest singletrack and jumps of all shapes and sizes. A small detail of the park that really shows Maydena’s class is the trail signage. Gone is the traditional green, blue, and black structure. In its place, you’ll be told if your…

Age: 29 Years riding: ~10 Bike: Trek Top Fuel Day Job: Photographer/ Writer Hobbies: home brewing, skiing, bikes While you might not know Colin, many of you will know his work as he is a frequent collaborator with AMB testing bikes, equipment and as a photographer. Like many of us, the bike offers Colin an escape from work and life given he’s managed to make one of his passions part of his work. “I’m in a privileged situation where riding is a part of my work. When I started riding, my dad, who was a world tour road pro and lived in Europe for many years, used to always say ‘keep it fun’ even if you’re racing or training for a race keep it fun and if you don’t want…

Age: 32 Years riding: Since day 1, with a 5-year gap not touching a bike in my early 20s Bike Current List: Santa Cruz Tallboy 4, Santa Cruz Stigmata, Commencal Supreme DH 29, Day Job: Design Engineer Hobbies: Anything to do with design and making things. Horology, World Rally (WRC) and most Motorsport really. History Studies. Adventures. “The blandness that is generally on offer from the furniture retailers is sad. Why would you want to put sad things in your house? Making something that you use every day, that is individual to my own tastes is probably what drove me to finally do it.” Chris Panozzo is well known on the Australian Enduro circuit as well as being a regular contributor to AMB. But when Chris isn’t thinking of bikes,…

Specialized Epic = XC racing. For a long time, the Epic platform has been a workhorse for racers. Taking them through the backcountry on training sessions during the week before the dust is cleaned off for race day on Sunday. The Epic is synonymous with cross-country and marathon racing along with short course and any other endurance event that has a start and finish line. The 2020 Epic retains its race-inspired features that have been progressively tweaked over the years, while the latest edition of the Epic Evo brings changes to the Epic platform to make it more trail friendly. While both models are still very much ‘Epics’, they both have their preferred trails to shred and race courses to tackle. So, we’re sending them both out into the wild…

Using the correct chain lubricant and keeping the whole drivetrain clean is a surefire way to ensure you have reduced drag in your drivetrain, and an increased product life. And anyone who knows what’s involved in keeping a mountain bike drivetrain running clean understands that it is time consuming. And that’s why Absoluteblack’s new Graphenlube is interesting. The wax-based chain lubricant has a claim of running 1800km in dry, road conditions. Even half of that off-road it would be incredible. The lubricant itself is a wax-based lube with graphene. Graphene has a very low friction coefficient, and sticks to metals well, and it doesn’t wash off with water. Absoluteblack also claim less resistance with less than 5W of frictional loss coming from your drivetrain when using their Graphenlube. APPLYING THE…

In the wide world of performance upgrades to your bike, the spectrum of cheap to expensive is vast. Improving your mountain bike’s performance can be as simple as regular maintenance and keeping your drivetrain clean. And there is so much to be gained about getting your tyre pressure right for your riding and trails. And of course don’t forget about suspension! Yes you can invest in better suspension, but it is free to spend the time to get what you have set correctly for your weight, position and riding style. Of course at the other end of the spectrum you can spend a lot of money chasing grams, increased stiffness, increased adjustability and less rolling resistance. And there are plenty of brands who are happy to take your money for…

AIDEN LEFMANN Big Cheese at Cyclinic Suspension @cyclinicsuspension “Shock eyelet bushings will wear out over time, and can lead to nasty knocks or a ‘loose bearing like’ feeling coming from the rear end of the bike. It can even be felt through the headset in many cases. They’re cheap, easy to change, and are used by all the big brands, Replace them every 6-12 months of use, keeping them clean and dry, and have a few spares on hand. Fox uses a clip-in style polymer bush, and RockShox and most other brands use a press in teflon coated type. Basic tools can allow you to change them without even removing the shock from the bike.” DAVID ROME Tool guy for CyclingTips @romeandstuff “Few things spoil a ride more than poor…