Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 203 i Australian Mountain Bike

editorial I think every one of us enjoys some of the elements of being alone with our thoughts in the outdoors. A solo ride can be a time to ride at your own pace, your own agenda and the trails you want to ride. It can also be the perfect time to connect with the environment you are in, and with yourself. Some of the best conversations I’ve had have been in my head on long, solo rides. But, that’s not why I ride. I ride to go to cool places, ride new trails, and share that with other people. While I love solo experiences on the bike, I find that shared experiences can create the best memories. That has probably been a guiding principle of my life on bikes.…

$5000 CASH TO WIN PLUS LOTS OF PRIZES! ENTRIES OPEN MAY 8, 2023 The 2023 AMB Photo Awards presented by Shimano are back again, after a huge year in 2022! Last year we had a record level of entries and voting, with a huge influx of entries from young photographers. In 2023 were are following on from last year, so the AMB Photo Awards presented by Shimano will not only have a stand alone social media video category, but it will only be open to entrants from Australia and New Zealand. The subject matter can be from anywhere in the world. As in previous years there will be four main categories. Each will have a winner, second and third place as voted by readers on a microsite from a short…

As a mountain biker, one of the greatest allures of riding off road is riding great singletrack. I’ll happily admit that I’m not too fussed on how technical a trail is or isn’t, if it weaves a great line through the terrain and the environment it is in. For me, the whole experience is what makes the ride, and the trail. And that’s why I’d rather ride my mountain bike on singletrack in the forest, than a clear felled area or on barren soil. But surely I’m not alone in the want and need for some corners and fun on the singletrack. A straight line is a fantastic way to get from A to B, and fast, but corners around trees and features, with some extra lines to add some…

After our series of interviews with Australian born and made companies in our Made in Australia feature, we decided to branch out into the world of Australian designed products. While these brands don’t necessarily make their products here in Australia, they are based here and are deeply inspired by the landscape and climate of the land, and the needs of Aussie lifestyles. We’re kicking things off with a small Tasmanian brand called Henty. These guys are known for their innovative commuter products, and a unique solution to hydration with their popular Enduro 2.0 Hydration pack. We caught up with one of their founders, Jeremy Grey, to talk about the history, products, and direction of Henty. Georgina: So Henty is based in Hobart? Jeremy Grey: Yeah, that’s right. A friend [Jon…

Despite a few attempts over the years at getting time aboard a Mondraker, the chance has always eluded me. So there was much excitement in the camp when I found out the Mondraker Superfoxy R was on its way to my workshop. The Superfoxy R is the range topping alloy model with premium suspension from Ohlins and a selection of sturdy components from E-Thirteen, SRAM and Maxxis. The Superfoxy R is Mondraker’s Super Enduro weapon, sporting 170mm of travel up front and an incredibly supple 160mm out the back. The platform is designed to flatten terrain and pedal efficiently back up for those huge days in the alps, locals only shuttles or EDR rounds. If you’re a fan of longer, lower and slacker, Mondraker pioneered the long front centre or…

CST has a reputation for producing reliable but affordable tyres for all disciplines. The Chinese manufacturer is also the parent company of the renowned Maxxis tyre brand, so they have plenty of experience when it comes to creating and distributing bicycle rubber. However, at nearly half the price of a typical Maxxis tyre, CST targets a wider demographic and user base. They’ve recently created a modern lineup of trail and gravity orientated tyres, and we were sent some by Australian distributor KWT Imports to test over autumn. These tyres were all tested on the same wheel set – a new pair of alloy Race Face Turbine R 30 29” wheels. I typically run a Maxxis Assegai EXO+ on the front and Minion DHR II with DH casing on the rear.…

the hub You have probably heard it a lot, but one of the best upgrades you can make on your bike is putting a better set of wheels on it. Let’s be a little more accurate and say, a better set of wheels that suits your bike and your riding. These 29” wheels have alloy rims, with an asymmetric rim for more even spoke tension. The straight pull spokes join to the hubs that use cartridge bearings, and a 6-pawl freehub on a 54t drive ring for rapid engagement. You can get the wheels with a SRAM XD, HG or Microspline freehub, as shown here. The rim width is in the product name, 27mm. This walks the line between 25mm and 30mm, but in doing so it also holds off…

the hub After watching a close friend pass away from a spinal cord injury in 2001, Dr Chris Leatt set out to find a way to minimise neck injuries in motocross. Some three years later, the first Leatt neck brace was sold in South Africa. These devices shot from obscurity into the mainstream through the mid 2000s, bringing with it the most transformative change to safety in action sports since the advent of full face helmets. Fast forward a decade and you can now dress yourself in Leatt kit from head to toe regardless of if you’re riding motocross or going mountain biking. The Gravity 4.0 is Leatt’s mid range full face offering, with the 1.0 and 2.0 sitting below it and the 8.0 above it. With a focus on…

the hubFitness For many of us, the weekend is the time where we can get out and take some time for ourselves, hitting the trails or gravel and catching up with friends. With our busy lives and families, it can be hard to spend time getting ready for these rides, and who hasn’t been out on the weekend feeling flat and weak, or turned up to a ride with only one sock? Here we will go through some small life hacks to ensure you get the most out of your weekend time on the bike. 1. FUEL WELL The old saying was ‘eating is cheating’, but food is totally legal according to the UCI, and can make a miserable ride turn into a pretty awesome one, so let’s prioritise good…

With 30 years experience in making drive systems for e-bikes, Yamaha put that experience into their new Moro range of eMTBs. Yamaha’s designers pulled on years of experience from the YZ series of motocross bikes, and the result is what they call the twin spar aluminium chassis. It’s a design that may polarise riders, but clearly it has been done with purpose. It’s essentially a twin top tube design, with a twin down tube design as well. This is said to provide the best balance of flex and rigidity. The YDX Moro 07 sports a full aluminium frame with 27.5” wheels and a 160/150mm travel split front and rear. The bikes come in small, medium or large. Head angles are a hair over 66 degrees across all three sizes, with…

FUNN TRON STEM Need a fancy stem for your XC, downcountry or gravel bike? Funn have the answer with their new TRON stem. It’s a zero degree rise, 31.8mm clamp width alloy stem, made out of heat treated 6061 T6 allo, with a CNC construction. It only comes in black, has a 40mm stack height and comes in 50, 60, 70 and 80mm lengths. Is it any good? Catch our review later this year. $139.95kwtimports.com.au FUNN VALVES When is a tubeless valve not a valve? When it’s FUNN! The valve stem itself has an alloy outer and stainless steel inner for strength. The traditional valve core isn’t there, instead the whole inner acts like a valve core - with a wider chamber to allow upto 3 times more airflow than…

It has finally happened. Tassie has managed to hold the first two, World Cup Enduro rounds to kick off the 2023 season. These were announced pre-Covid, so that gives you a clear idea how many times things have been re-booked prior to events finally kicking off this year, and what events they were. Without going into too much detail, they were a cracker, and you can catch all the action elsewhere in this mag and at AMBmag.com.au. Something that was clear from the event, and has been happening for a while now, is the crossover from top Downhill riders into the Enduro scene. Obviously its clear from the last few years how successful that has been. Nearly all of the overall Enduro World Series Champs have a background in Downhill.…

The cheapest rental vehicle in Tasmania is also the biggest. The Megavan, which we found by scrolling to the very the bottom of a dozen rental car websites, is so big that it spreads across four car parks in the Launceston short-term pickup area. On the plus side, it fits all our bikes, supplies, and luggage for four days and nights camping and riding Tasmania’s most famous trails during the Dragon Trail MTB Stage Race. And all for $300 bucks. Hell, if the weather turns bad, we’ll even be able to sleep in it. We ease the beast into Launceston’s quiet highway system and take the long way around to Scotsdale, avoiding the shorter route that would take us through narrow twists and... Never mind. We wouldn’t have made it…

the hub Hailing from the United Kingdom, Whyte have set the benchmark for making weatherproof bikes for years. They’re also known as pioneers of the longer, lower, slacker trend of bike geometry. The British bike whizzes started designing their bikes that way over a decade ago – because it worked. For any Whyte bike we have tested here at AMB, we have always been impressed with the build quality of Whyte frames, which have bearings so well sealed that they cover them with a lifetime warranty! But the handling and balanced design is what always wins us over. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Whyte’s T-160 continues on the past success of its smaller sibling the T-140. Like all of Whyte’s current full suspension line up, it is using a full alloy frame. However…

the hub FUNN have been producing mountain bike components since the mid-90s, so despite their size, they have nearly two decades of experience to draw from. They even had riders such as Sam Hill and Greg Minnaar riding for them in their early years, a testament to their racing roots. Their pedals in particular having been catching eyes with their glossy finish and wide platforms, so I was very eager to get my hands on a set from Aussie distributor KWT Imports. I’ve used a host of SPD pedals in the past, but never found one that I really love. Whether it is lack of float or durability, I’ve always had some minor gripe with various pedals in the past. Out of the box, the FUNN Rippers have a high-quality…

The key to getting around tight switchbacks and corners always starts with a wide setup to help open up the turn and maintain a smooth arc throughout the turn. Every now and then though, getting onto the optimal line to enter can be a bit of a challenge due to the nature of the trail or maybe you’ve just come in a little too hot and ended up on the lower side of the trail. A great technique to use in this situation is the “side-hop” to quickly pop up on to the high line and get you back on track. It’s a technique which is best utilised on tighter corners and switch backs but it can also be handy in other situations where you need to get up onto…

fast track Make some upgrades that count, thanks to our friends at Specialized. We have 5 Ultimate Trail Packs to give away, that include the following: - A Specialized Tactic 4 helmet- A pair of Specialized tyres of your choice- Your choice of 2FO footwear This means you can update your trail helmet to one of the safest on the market, while also fitting fresh rubber to your bike and slide into some fresh kicks - be they for flat pedal or clipless. Given the huge variety of tyres from Specialized and the versatility of the 2FO footwear range and the Tactic 4 helmet - there really is something for everyone in this prize pack. All you need to do to enter is head to AMBmag.com.au/WIN and tell us what…

One of the best things about cycling is there is just so much to know and to learn – and this can be one of the worst things too. When you’re closer to the entry level of the sport than the top end, it can be quite intimidating and overwhelming not knowing about all the different equipment options, not having a high level of riding skills, and just lacking in general knowledge about the sport you are really starting to enjoy. Enter the mansplainers. They can be found in the wild, out on your local trails, in bike shops, at the café, and very much online. They are (generally) a very well-intentioned subset of the community that can dish out advice on just about anything, and all for the low…

Almost 3 years ago, I crashed my mountain bike. It wasn’t the first time, but it was significant enough to suffer a traumatic brain injury, requiring 6 months of intense rehab and a debilitating after-effect called dysautonomia. If you haven’t heard of it, I don’t blame you (neither had I), but in essence it’s a disorder of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function – which, in my case, affected my blood pressure, breathing, heart rate and temperature control. In short, I was unable to even stand up for more than 60 seconds, let alone walk around the block or ride my bike. I thought the life that I knew with riding bikes and hanging out with friends was over. Thankfully, two things happened which would change all of that. The magic…

While Australia had a taste of the Enduro World Series in the pre-pandemic years, it’s been a long time between drinks. Like many Australians, I had planned to race a few EWS rounds over the last few years, but like many, I was thwarted by international and domestic COVID restrictions. Well not this year! 2023 saw the big stage return to Australia, and of course Tasmania had to play host. I’m happy to be proven wrong, but it seems Tasmania is the only Aussie state that can appease the length and difficulty demanded by international enduro races. And while Derby is home to huge rock formations, Maydena holds the title for the steepest and longest trails on the island. After an unequivocally fun time at Maydena Enduro Jam last year,…

the hub It should be no big news that the eMTBs we see on shop floors and on trails have technology that is accelerating at a rate of knots, if you’ll excuse the pun. A few main brands have really been pushing forward in the eMTB space, working to make bikes that ride how us riders want them to, with seamless integration between our input and that of the support system. Specialized have continually put their own spin on the world of e-bikes. And when the Levo SL launched a few years back, cutting the power and battery size, everyone was ready to hate it, including me – until I tested one in 2020. Since then, we have seen some incredible mid-power eMTBs hit the dirt. From Orbea to Pivot…

the hub With a triple compound DH casing and an incredibly high-profile tread pattern, the Graveteer tyres are aimed squarely at the park and downhill market. These are hefty tyres, weighing in at just over 1500g each- that’s a whole half a kilo heavier than a BFT, and around 200g heavier than my Maxxis DHRII DH casing tyre. Gravity is the Gravateer’s friend, and they’re not for the faint hearted - or big pedal days. Being a wirebead, these were really easy to install and beaded instantly. The tread pattern is extremely aggressive, with some impressive cornering knobs similar to that of a Maxxis Assegai. Off the shelf, the Gravateers look like they can take a beating. So after a significant amount of rain, I installed them on my Pivot…

the hubNutrition Most of us know the main types of carbohydrates: starchy foods like pasta, bread and rice, and sugary foods like sweets, biscuits, cakes, and pastries. However, carbohydrates are found in many more foods than just those. For athletes, the type of carbohydrate to choose depends on the timing of meals and snacks around training, and the amount of carbohydrates to eat depends on various factors, too. Everyday carbohydrate choices should also maximise other essential nutrients to ensure the body functions at its best. Read on to find out more about the carbs you didn’t realise you should be adding to the shopping list! GREAT CARBOHYDRATE OPTIONS FOR THE BASE TRAINING DIET The following is a list of nutrient-dense carbohydrate foods that make a great addition to the everyday…