I admit i am a sucker for Cube bikes. They have that german, stiff feel about the build quality, however they use beautiful colour combinations and sleek design, that makes you gaze at their products for hours.
Lets dive (figuratively) into the their birthplace and see what's what.
The german premiun bike manufacturer Cube announced this month that they will begin production of their first ever downhill bike. The model bears the name "two15", and it's been in development since 2008, with the help of factory riderAndré Wagenknecht.
It's got a 215mm travel in the rear, being developed for the use with a Fox DHX-RC4, a triple linkage design and comes with Shimano drivetrain.
I was riding my bike the other day and noticed that my Concept rear hub sounds a bit louder than everyone else's. I quite like it because it acts as a bike bell when there are stupid pedestrians on the bike lane. All i need is to approach slowly and the loud clicking of the hub tells them there is a cyclist behind them so they yield.
However some manufacturers took this hub noise thing and turned it into a signature for their products. Enter Chris King Precision Components, who makes their hubs sound like a fire engine, and Industry Nine Componentry, who makes your rear wheel sound as if it's got a few million mosquitoes packed in it.
I would love to see pedestrains claiming they didn't hear you comming when you have these.
I promise you this annoying sound will make you loose your hearing for a second.
After we've seen what Specialized has in stock for us, now Fox Racing equipped Gee Atherton's DH bike with a prototype inverted fork. Rumor has it that there are around a dozen of these in the testing stage around the world, each with a unique combination of suspension configuration, until the people from Fox make up their mind about the best choice.
See what Pinkbike has to say about it in their article.
Sam Hill, Troy Brosnan and Brendan Fairclough, the riders from Monster Energy Specialized Team, are recognised as contenders to the podium at every competition they attend. To stay on top, they need the latest and greatest in bike tech available.
Read about Sam, the five-time World Champion and two-time World Cup Series Championhere.
Read about Brendan, the most charismatic rider from the team here.
Read about Troy, the 17 year-old junior downhill champion here.
This week, a set of spy shots from their booth reveals they are testing some prototypes from Specialized, namely platform pedals and carbon helmets.
Images via pinkbike.com and monsterenergy-specialized.com
Cyclocross World Champion Mike Kluge founded Focus Bikes in 1992. Since then, the company grew so much that now they sponsor top teams in competition.
In 2011, they launched a new bike, that will be placed between Thunder and Project in the company's offer. It's name ..... FSL. It's short from First Super Light.
It will be available in four models, ranging from the top-end 1.0 ($9,700) with a SRAM XX group, a RockShox SID XX fork, and DT Swiss carbon wheels, to the more affordable 4.0 ($4,400) with a Shimano Deore XT package, a Fox 32 RL fork, and alloy DT Swiss hoop.
It's got a unique positioning of the rear shock, being semi-integrated in the top tube.
Focus bikes has on the sponsoring roster for 2011 Team Jelly Belly and Team Katusha. The latter was founded for the start of the 2009 season, out of the former Tinkoff Credit Systems squad, and had a large budget, in excess of 15 million euros. This allowed them to sign important athletes, such as Robbie McEwen, Vladimir Karpets, Filippo Pozzato and Gert Steegmans.
See the pre-race preparations and some race footage of the team in action. I wish them good luck in all of the competitions they will attend.
Who says Schwalbe Racing Ralph's don't look good on a Focus Mares AX1? But forget about the choice of tires and focus on the lush landscapes of Mauritius.
This small volcaninc island was part of the United Kingdom until 1968, wich explains why people drive on the left side of the road. It's a small paradise in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and someone went there to ride in it.
Okay this one is a bit older, but it shows 20 year-old (at the time) Gee shredding his tires on cobblestone paved streets and stairs in Lisbon, and beating Top Gear's James May, who was driving a silly Renault Clio.
The race took place on Alfama Hill, wich is the scene of an urban downhill mountain bike race year after year.
The soundtrack with Overseer's track Supermoves makes you wish James May's car had 9 gears too. Watch the video and you'll know what i mean.
Everyone is aware that the e-bike era is upon us. E-bikes incorporate an electric motor, wich assists the rider at pedaling, or can drive the bike without any input from the legs.
But what if you are a performance addict and you want the best of the best before anyone else? A german company, PG-Bikes, came up with a product that can satisfy you.
It's called the Blacktrail BT-01. With a carbon fiber,aerospace aluminum, titanium and magnesium construction, a 1.2 kilowatts motor that can take this thing to speeds up to 65 mph (105 kph) and travel 120 miles (200 km) on a single charge, it is the meanest bike that ever existed.
You like it right? Even Jay Leno has one. You want one? You must be nuts rich. This baby will set you back 80,000 US dollars. However, only 667 will be built. So before you make up your mind (and your immense wallet) take a look at how Bob Harrold describes this technical marvel.
If you are not familliar with Freeride Entertainment, they are the makers of the long-spanning series New World Disorder (NWD). The boys want to try something new, so they shifted their attention from the american continent to Asia. They are filming for a new motion picture in the Gobi Desert, in northern China.
It will be called "Where the Trail Ends", it's sponsored by RedBull, and the trailer shows Darren Berrecloth, Kurt Sorge, and James Doerfling having some fun on sand.
When you pose the question "Who is the biggest bicycle builder in Europe?" the numbers say that Germany has a company that sells more then any other in the old continent.
It's called Derby Cycles and produces bikes under the brands Rixe, Raleigh, Kalkhoff, Univega and Focus. Their products range from e-bikes to high performance racing machines used in the UCI competitions.
In the following video we'll take a look at their state of the art factory and testing procedures. You could say this is a "How it's made" episode for the cycling enthusiast.
RedBull introduced to the world a 19 year-old boy from New Zealand, named Brook Macdonald. He is the 2009 UCI Downhill Junior champ. Seeing that RedBull is interested only in the most talented athletes in the world, Brook promises alot, and he's got the age advantage.
He wants to show the world how beautiful his country is, and in this episode he shares with us some of the trails around Queenstown. Also he's the first person i've seen to use a helicopter to transport his bike uphill.
This month, Johnny Cheetham, also a VooDoo rider, is in the USA's Moab desert, located in Utah, and he is taking on a rock crawler.
What's a rock crawler you ask? Think about a vehicle that can go offroading on big rocks, mountains, boulders and rock piles. It's a heavily modified 4x4 jeep, truck or buggy.
See how Johnny got on with the US desert by looking at this article.
How would a guy on a mountain bike take on the british elite navy forces? Well ... by doing what they are doing ... but while riding a bike. Rob Jarman's adventure could be read in the issue no. 263 of MBUK magazine, or by reading this bikeradar.com article. See Rob's other adventures here, here and also here.
After Morocco and riding a fixie, VooDoo rider Rob Jarman took on Jonny Cheetham, who is an expert fell runner. Fell running is a sport in wich competitors have to run and race on off road terrain. They also must posses mountain navigation skills and carry adequate survival equipment as prescribed by the organizer.
See how Rob got on by reading bikeradar's article or by reading MBUK's no. 264 issue.
After he tackled the rough terrain in Marrakech, Rob Jarman came to England, to face Matt Carr -an enduro specialist- on a flat bar commuter bike. Read all about the outcome in issue 262 of MBUK magazine.
Mountain Biking U.K. magazine issued the "VooDoo challenge", in which each month, rider Rob Jarman will put his VooDoo bike against inhospitable places, or tough to beat people. In his first journey, Rob rode in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. You can read the full details in issue 261 of MBUK.
Specialized and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision announced a recall of around 1,350 bikes that were manufactured in Taiwan, because they are posing a fall hazzard to the rider. The models in question are Epic and Era, both 26" models manufactured in 2010.
Customers are advised to stop using the products immediately and to contact Specialized dealerships.
For more information and the complete list of models see the CPSC note.
History has been written today by Jed Mildon, a 24 year old BMX rider who has shown the world that with training and guts, it can be done. In front of 2000 spectators, the best BMX riders in the world and a Guiness World Record representative, Jed flipped his bike like no other.
Watch the video and be amazed how this guy lands it perfectly. Congrats mate!
We use our phones everyday because they are ... smart ...right? Long gone are the days when a phone meant a bulky brick with squishy keys on it that could barely get a signal. So if the phone has come such a long way, why not use it everywhere and for everything? Why not use it on the bike, and why shouldn't it replace the speedo for example? Many people asked themselves that and they came up with delicious applications for us.
If you are an iPhone user, here is a guide to the best apps you can have: iPhone apps
If you're an Android user don't worry, we'll make your life easier too: Android apps
So what are you waiting for? Most of these are free, and the rest are very cheap, go grab yourself some.
White Brothers, a division of Mountain Racing Products, unveiled the redesigned Loop fork, which has some interesting facts about it. First of all, it only weighs 4.1 lbs (1.86 kg) it features a QTapeR15 axle, wich is tool-free, Aura damper with magnetic valve technology, wich keeps the valves closed, but opens them when you hit a bump on the trail preventing you from damaging the product, magensium lowers and many settings for the adjustable rebound, compression and threshold. It comes in white and black, so it shouldn't be a problem matching with your frame.
Not long ago, the 2011 edition of Absa Cape Epic was concluded, with an overall win from Christoph Sauser and Burry Stander, who ride for 36one/Songo/Specialized. The other two podium positions were taken by Hannes Genze/Jochen Kaess (Multivan Merida Biking) and Karl Platt/Stefan Sahm (Bulls).
What makes Absa Epic a unique race is the fact that GPS guiding is strictly prohibited. The track changes every year, and will guide the teams of two through beautiful scenery, from vineyards to spectacular coastlines, and from majestic mountains to flat african plains.
Santa Cruz Bicycles has a triple surprise in stock for riders. In 2012, they will be able to purchase not one, but three brand new models. These include Highball Carbon 29er hardtail, Tallboy Aluminum and Blur Trail Carbon.
On top of that, they will launch a new bike at Sea Otter Classic.
Imagine a movie about bikes, nature, seasons, freedom to roam the trails, add a deep narating voice. Add to that cutting edge cameras, months of filming and editing, visionary creators and the will of becoming the best bike movie yet.
In my mind, Life Cycles is the culmination of technical progress in the art of cinematography and bike building, presented by the world's best riders. You will see Graham Agassiz, Mike Hopkins, Matt Hunter, Cam McCaul, Riley Mcintosh, Evan Schwartz, Brandom Semenuk and of course Thomas Vanderham ride into history books. That's right ... this is a movie every bike enthusiast should have in their collection. Make that a Blu-Ray because the visuals are out of this world.
The minds of Derek Frankkowski, Ryan Gibb, Mitchell Scott and the voice of Graham Tracey made this stunning masterpiece possible, and for that i tell them: WE WANT MORE !
There is a new bike comming in 2012. It's called "Entourage" and it's in the prototype stage.
The folks from Kona, helped by Graham Agassiz are testing what they say is "an enabling mini-DH bike which absolutely rips turns, blasts jumps and rallies steeps at the whim of the rider".
Chris Akrigg is a six-time National Trial Champion and Mongoose MTN team rider. In the following video he is messing around on his Mongoose Nugget in the rough terrain of Malaga, Spain. The result? Watch and see for yourself.
Have you ever wondered how people like Hill, Vanderham or Peat are so good at riding and winning trophies ?
Well... the secret pretty much stays in alot of riding and special training. I'm sure you've seen their movies and some of you thought "i want to do that too because it looks like alot of fun".
If you are among those people, keep in mind that you should start small, and you should always wear your protective gear. And to give you some help, there is a show on the internet called "Dirty Little Secrets"
You can find the episodes form the first series here:
Anthill Films are the guys formerly known as "The Collective". They are responsible for amazing movies like "Roam" and "Seasons". This time they've come up with a new freeride film, called "Follow Me", wich takes the viewer inside the action, capturing the unique perspectives and imagery the Anthill Films crew is famous for.
It features trail shredding for Sam Hill, Gee Atherton, Darren Berreclough, Ben Boyko, Brendan Fairclough, Geoff Gulevich, Matt Hunter, Cam McCaul, Brandon Semenuk, Steve Smith, Kurt Sorge, Thomas Vanderham.
GoPro is a leader in the action sports camera industry. The brand and their products are used by enthusiasts, ranging from amateurs who want to capture a clip form their thrill filled vacation, to proffesional athletes.
Their camera, the HERO as it's called, offers a unique POV perspective that will make you either start in an adrenaline filled sport, or watch amazing footage from the confort of your seat at home.
The following clip is shot on the A-Line trail Whistler Mountain Bike Park. This is the most popular mtb park in the world, and it's located in British Columbia, Canada.
Watch as these bikers have the time of their life.
