Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 187 i Australian Mountain Bike

2021 is here and mountain biking is still booming. There is a continued growth in trail networks, an explosion of riders new to the dirt, riders are pushing their abilities, bike stores can barely keep enough bikes on the floor and some event organisers are taking on more staff to meet the demands of a growing number of events. With all that, I’m left wondering who is steering the ship of the growth and development of mountain biking in Australia. With the recent formation of AusCycling, at the time of printing there isn’t a clear role for someone to stand at the helm for mountain bike leadership. AusCycling has a long road ahead to make a cohesive body for road, mountain, track and BMX. The policies should come in time,…

It was sometime around 2pm as I was army crawling through a lantana thicket that the thought really dawned on me. People die doing stuff like this. I had set off with a goal to adventure through some rugged trails that–hopefully–lead from the top of my local mountain to the creek at the bottom. No power or heart rate targets, just the joy of exploration of untouched forest a stone’s throw from human activity. Maybe the first failure in planning was taking a single water bottle, with the rationale that it shouldn’t really take that long, and after all, it was only 31 degrees? Positively cool by Queensland standards. I climbed up the mountain then traipsed across the ridge. I found a steep fire road leading to a dead end,…

Merida are an undisputed class leader in the world of electric mountain bikes in Australia, having forged huge inroads with their class-leading and category defining eOne-Sixty 900e, way back in 2017. The eOne-Sixty hit the trails with an aggressive stance, a rock solid parts spec with Fox Factory suspension and Shimano XT Di2, DT Swiss eMTB specific wheels and a very attractive price point. A lot has changed in the eMTB space since then, as the pedal-assist market is growing faster than every other segment. This is a boon for riders, as eMTBs are becoming far more refined than even just a few years ago – with better geometry, lower weight, longer battery life and more components that are built for the increased demands of an eMTB. While Merida launched…

New to Australian shores, Moustache bikes hail from France, part of the world who went electric mountain bike mad a little earlier than we did here in Australia. While many of us still shunned the idea of pedal-assist even four years ago, the French said a big ‘yes’ (or oui) like just about every other European country, and e-bikes and eMTBs have been in high demand ever since. Moustache are not a specialist eMTB company, but they are a specialist e-bike company. With a firm belief that pedal-assist bikes would open up cycling to more people and more experiences, the founders started in the Vosges region with 7 models, and now boast nearly 65 bike models. The name comes from the iconic moustache handlebar, with similar designs seen on some…

Dirt jumping and street riding are the core disciplines of NS Bikes who started in the early 2000s making components and steel frame hardtails. NS has been a recognisable brand amongst the scene for many years with the names of Martin Soderstrom and Sam Pilgrim carrying the brand through their early years on the Dirt Jump (DJ) and Slope Style world stage.NS has evolved with the sport as well as their bikes. From World Cup DH and XC to kids 20” and Cyclocross, NS Bikes offer a ride for nearly everyone. With alloy DJ frame options still available, steel is real on the Metropolis. Depending on your riding scene alloy frames are more common amongst most MTB frame manufactures but when you start diving a little deeper into the DJ…

Lazer have continued to overhaul their helmet range, and following on from the popular Impala, the Jackal now sits atop Lazer’s mountain bike trail helmet range. While the Impala has options either with our without the MIPS slip liner - which can help prevent further injury by reducing rotational forces – the Lazer Jackal MIPS model is the only one offered in Australia. And it only comes in black. If you follow helmet testing standards (what else is the weekend for?) then you’ll know that Virginia Tech’s testing has become an international benchmark. The Jackal MIPS gets 5 stars for safety – that’s the top score. The Jackal comes in small, medium and large, and the helmet straps are as comfortable as ever, with a wide range of adjustment. The…

I’m a sucker for having the right bag for every occasion. And while my yearning to travel was squashed over the past 11 months, my go to travel bags have been a Thule Chasm 70L duffel and Thule RoundTrip Traveler bike bag over the past 5 years. They are both showing their age and use, but they have been trusty travel companions for my bikes and gear from coast to coast and far beyond as well. If you thought Thule only made nifty bike and ski racks, you need to take a look at their website to see their ever expanding range. From jogging strollers, to GoPro accessory cases, and even rooftop tents (although they aren’t in Australia yet) Thule’s product range has exploded. The Thule RoundTrip Bike Duffel is…

Summer is all about quick, yet nutritious meals. This recipe is a favourite that can be pre-prepped quickly and easily. The beauty of build-your-own-bowls is you can easily cater to the preferences of your household – the bowl on the right is lined with a mini flat bread while the bowl on the left isn’t and is mostly filled with baby spinach. The protein source is hot smoked salmon – mostly because of the flavour match, however, salmon has some strong health benefits. High in protein (approximated 25g per 100g serve) it is quite oily so you don’t need very much. Probably best known for containing good quantities of Omega 3 fatty acids, salmon is also a good source of B Vitamins, Selenium and Vitamin D. The main caution is…

2021 here we come. Surely the news can only get better after the stomach-turning dumpster fire of 2020. Calendars are filling up fast for events across the divided states with every man and his dog looking to attract competitors to the “return of racing”. So, what might that look like? And what might happen in the Aussie MTB Scene in 2021? Here’s my top 4 things I wish would happen in 2021. #4 THINGS GET BETTER WITH AUSCYCLING Let’s hope that the new overlords from AusCycling help the sport in Australia grow to what we all know it could and should be. Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) had a mixed innings governing our beloved sport. I’ve seen the good and the bad from MTBA. Often when listening to stories from…

For as long as we’ve had a kid, my wife and I have made an effort to get outside and keep doing the stuff we used to do pre-kids. It’s obviously harder, but we get kicks from the victories and learn from the failures. It’s definitely not the same as heading out with your mates, but it’s pretty cool to do these things as a family and buck the sedentary lifestyle that seems to kick in after kids arrive. In writing this, my aim is to inspire you to take the harder path, to leave the suburban parks, the endless birthday parties and the streaming cartoons in search of something way more satisfying which I believe can yield better kids. GETTING EQUIPPED AND GETTING OUT IN 2020 After finding ourselves…

Some of my fondest memories as a kid were racing home from school so that I could meet my best mate Tom for an afternoon ride. The 3:15pm Samford line bus ride would seem like an eternity as I knew that at my destination lay hours of fun digging and riding our local jumps. Fuelled by potato chips and lime cordial, Tom and I would spend countless hours at the park honing our skills trying to emulate the riding we had seen on Fuel TV, which inspired us to pick up a shovel in the first place. The kickers may have better resembled termite mounds, and our choice of safety equipment was often questionable… but that didn’t stop the fun. For years we repeated the same narrative and garnered the…

The Revel Ranger is the shortest travel offering from Colorado based Revel, and the only bike in their lineup we haven’t reviewed. Other AMB testers have enjoyed their time aboard Revel’s Enduro focused Rail and All-Mountain Rascal, so I had high hopes that their downcountry oriented Ranger would also impress. The Ranger features 115mm of rear travel out back, paired with a 120mm travel fork. Revel claim the Ranger is a bike that enjoys the ups as much as the downs, and in my opinion that’s exactly what a good bike in the 110-130mm travel bracket should do. The Ranger sits in an increasingly busy market segment of bikes with 100-120mm of rear travel paired with 110-130mm up front. Bikes like the Specialized Epic Evo, Trek Top Fuel, Norco Revolver…

Norco are well-known in the mountain bike realm here in Australia, but the Canadians have a thorough line up of drop bar bikes as well, from the Tactic road bikes to the Threshold cyclocross bikes, the Search all road bikes and the one on test here – the Search XR C, which is a carbon model with a 2x11 gravel specific GRX group set from Shimano. There are steel frame models in the Search range as well. Let’s be clear - this is a gravel bike in a mountain bike title! With the modern mountain bike morphing into a longer travel, truly capable mountain bike for how our trail networks are developing, gravel bikes like this are filling a gap that might have been served by an older hardtail. With…

Choosing a new helmet can often be a time-consuming task, there is a lot to go through with the current number of helmets available in the market. From style and aesthetics right the way through to how safe it’s going to be for the riding you’re going to be doing. We were given a new mid level MET Terranova with MIPS to test for our Road trip to the Snowy Mountains in the last issue of AMB. Just in time to be honest, I was in need of a new lid and had been using a similar level Bontrager helmet with their new Wavecel technology I had tested quite a few issues back. It was a good helmet. I never crashed in it, so couldn’t say too much for the…

In some circles, hydration packs are frowned upon as a fashion faux pax. When you ride a good one like the Thule Rail 8L though, you remember how handy it is to have everything in one place. As the name suggests, the Thule Rail 8L is a hydration pack with 8L of storage. The pack also features a 2.5L reservoir, Thule’s clever ReTrakt hose, a ton of storage options, and little details like reflective decals. I used the Rail on our NSW Snowies Roadie, and it was great to grab my pack and know I had enough water, snacks, and spares to ride for hours with no worries. Utilising frame storage, bibs with pockets, and strapping things to your bike is no doubt in vogue at the minute. Despite the…

It would be safe to say that 99% of riders out there, at any point during a ride, want to go faster. There are countless opportunities to gain more speed on the trail and the quest for extra speed will always be ongoing and never ending. The other side of the equation though is that anything which will help you ride faster, will generally help you ride safer as well when you are just cruising and not pushing hard. All the techniques to help you ride faster will take years and years of ongoing refinement to maximise their benefit. However, there are a handful of tips I could recommend to anyone to concentrate on. Try focusing on one thing at various points of a ride to really emphasise the technique…

If you have started logging your training on Strava, TrainingPeaks, Today’s Plan or any other training software, you may feel a little bamboozled with all the acronyms. What the heck is FTP, CTL, ATL, TSS, TSB, HRV, IF, NP and EF? If you’re a Strava user what the heck is Suffer Score, Weighted Power, Fitness, Freshness and Form? In this edition’s fitness article we will go through some key training metrics available on popular training platforms, how they relate to your training, and how you can harness this to increase your success on race day. FTP: FUNCTIONAL THRESHOLD POWER In essence this is the highest steady-state number you can hold for an hour, but if you get into the nitty gritty and look at data modeling, an FTP number can…

RIDEFARR HEADSPACE 35MM STEM After releasing a 70mm, 31.8mm clamp Headspace stem in 2020 for bikepacking and adventure bikes, RideFarr saw a demand for a 50mm, 35mm clamp version. The new stem matches the aesthetic of retro stems with modern functionality. The 142g stem is suited to trail and enduro bikes, and will suit eMTBs as well. There are shims available separately if you want to use 31.8mm bars with this unique forged alloy stem. They’ll be available online in March. $140 ridefarr.com EFFETTO MARIPOSA VEGELATEX SEALANT If you’re concerned about non-biodegradable elements in your tyre sealant, Vegelatex might be the answer. Only plant-based fibers and particles are used, including ground up olive stones! As the liquid doesn’t use a setting polymer to seal, instead relying on different shaped and…

As a mountain biker I am amazed at the sheer volume of trails that have been built over the last five years. In pretty much every part of Australia new trail networks have popped up, and existing networks continue to be reinvigorated with the addition of new trails, tweaked alignments and new features. All of this development has been great for mountain biking and for the businesses that support the industry. Governments are also seeing the economic, health and social benefits that flow from quality outdoor experiences and are stumping up the funds to develop trails and supporting infrastructure. The sting in the tail of all of this development is the need to maintain these trail networks to a standard that ensures rider experiences are maintained and the environment is…

Orbea may no longer be a gun manufacturer, having shifted from rifles to bicycles about 90 years ago. But that’s not to say they don’t produce weapons for the trails. Looking back at the Orbea bikes we have tested here at AMB, each one hits the purpose with lethal precision. Their Occam is a super-versatile trail bike, the Rallon is a big-hitting enduro rig, the Wild FS is an ideal big-travel eMTB, and we cannot wait to ride their new Rise lightweight eMTB. The Oiz (and the Alma) were yet to grace the AMB test shed, but there was a lot of anticipation when the Orbea Oiz M Team was confirmed for testing. The Oiz is Orbea’s all-out cross-country full-suspension bike, and you will find this frame under speedy Aussie…

Orbea have been making some tasty bicycles for a while now and their eMTB range is serving up a fine selection. The current eMTBs on offer include the beginner inspired Keram, the beefy Wild hardtail and the freshly baked Shimano EP8 RS equipped featherweight Rise. The ‘more-power-moretravel’ model is the Wild FS which includes three full carbon models, an alloy/carbon option, and full alloy frames with changes to components. Being an Orbea means the Wild FS is available on the MyO custom program that lets you tweak key components to tailor your ride. It also lets you change the important stuff like colour and stencilling a name for your ride onto the frame. For all of you who ever wanted to name your bike something absurd and have it written…

DT Swiss’ EXC1501 Spline One wheels are a carbon wheel set that’s superseded their incredibly popular EX1501 alloy wheel set. EX1501s were a crowd favourite amongst the aggressive trail and enduro race crowd, so the EXC1501s have big boots to fill. At the heart of these wheels are DT Swiss’ relatively new 240 EXP Ratchet hubs, which are a refined version of their ever popular star ratchet system. These hubs feature the same internal refinements as the top DT Swiss 180 hubs, minus the trick ceramic bearings. The EXC1501’s carbon rims pair a 36mm external width with a 30mm internal width, which suited the 2.35” Schwalbe tyres I mounted perfectly, as well as 2.5” and 2.4” Maxxis tyres I tried throughout testing. The wheels use 28 DT Swiss Competition Race…

Earlier this year, Schwalbe overhauled their tyre range with an all-new range of tyre casings. The 5 casings range from downhill specific tyres through to lightweight XC race rubber. The introduction of the ‘Super’ moniker aims to make it easier to pick through the jargon when you’re selecting what tyre is right for you. The five super casings ranging from lightest to heaviest are Super Race, Super Ground, Super Trail, Super Gravity, and Super Downhill. Aside from Super Ground and Super Trail casings, which I think could be confused, the rest of these names make total sense. I appreciate Schwalbe’s effort to provide a simple naming system in the often-confusing world of tyres. Once you decide how much casing stiffness and puncture protection you need for your riding style and…

I’ve been spending plenty of time in the 100 Percent S3 sunglasses recently. The Matte White frame with a HiPER mirror lens offers 100% UV protection, and its 14% light transmission is perfect for sunny days. The lens is also water repelling and scratch resistant. The glasses come in a nice square hard case, with a second nose piece that’s a touch smaller, a glasses bag, and a clear lens. There’s also another slot for a second spare lens. Swapping out lenses and nose pieces is about as easy as it gets, with the nose piece, bottom section of the frame and lens all pulling out with relatively little effort. I’ve swapped the lenses over many times and there doesn’t appear to be any damage to where the lenses slot…

Thredbo’s famous Cannonball Downhill has been around for over 20 years. Despite its soul as a long, fast, and relentless downhill track, year on year the Thredbo trail crew make tweaks to keep Cannonball fresh and exciting. New lines for riders from Troy Brosnan to advanced amateurs mean Cannonball never goes stale, while also never losing its reputation as a world class downhill track. Cannonball starts right as you get off the chairlift, with a high-speed straight section down the loose Eagles Way fire road. At the end of the fire road is a long right hander that’s taken out many a rider over the years, so I’d recommend keeping things mellow on your first run. Once you’ve safely negotiated this turn, it’s flat out into the singletrack. The top…

Often when we think about building muscle, we automatically think about eating more protein and spending hours in the gym. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Obviously, strength training is key. Following a progressive strength training program consistently is the best way to build lean muscle. When it comes to diet, there are a few simple principles to follow. Whilst protein is important, there is more to it than that! Eating enough, as well as the right proportion of macronutrients will fuel the body well, support recovery from training and maximise the growth of lean muscle mass. However, eating the right foods doesn’t have to be complicated, so let’s take a look. EAT ENOUGH First things first, you need to eat enough. Building muscle requires fuel. In order…

Waxing a chain looks really involved, but Silca’s latest wax lube can be done in an ultrasonic cleaner, in a bag in a saucepan, in a container, or via drip feed. So you can get almost all the benefits of low friction and a clean running chain for longer component life via a wide range of application methods. This step uses an ultrasonic cleaner, but doing it in the bag in a saucepan on a stove, or via the soak and shake tub is very similar. You’ll be best to start with a new chain, plus degreaser, a few wide mouth bottles to agitate to the chain, some water in a jar, and some sort of dewatering fluid. We used acetone. Silca also recommend the Scott Shop Original rags as…