The Atherton Project season 3 episode 9

A win, some push-ups and a bit of frustration. Episode 9 of "The Atherton project" series is up!

Yeti/Fox team ep 2

More footage from deep into the season. The line-up is the same as in episode 1, the music changed to something more punk-rock to emphasise on the fast pace and the stress on the riders and the equipment.

New reality show for Yeti/Fox team

A lot of teams out there want to give a look behind the scenes, to show people a fraction of the work put into the team and equipment preparation before an event. Aaron Gwin's former team, Yeti Cycles partenered with Fox Racing Shox and the new Yeti/Fox was born. They feature riders like Jared Graves, Shaun O'Connor, Elliot Jackson, Richie Rude, Tyler Immer and Brandon Yrttiaho.

The music score is very nice and is provided by Glitch Mob, Starve The Ego Feed The Soul and Fortune Days. Makes watching the video captivating, so click that play button.

Aaron Gwin and Trek Session

8 months of riding downhill was all it took for Aaron Holmes Gwin to participate in the World Cup. This sensation dubbed "the saviour of US downhill scene" comes from a motocross racing background, which he abandoned due to constant injuries, and he also rode BMX's for many years.

After a series of wins that took the downhill world by surprise, beating athletes like Gee Atherton, Sam Hill and Steve Peat, he unveilled one of the secrets of his success: the all-new 2012 Trek Session 9.9 carbon  

The Atherton Project season 3 episode 4

This week ... on "The Atherton Project": world cup races and encouraging results, Polish Pete ( this guy just makes me laugh when i look at his ears lmfao), a ferry, looong roadtrip plus a surprise. 

Hint: it involves vomit bags.

Enjoy!

Steve Smith 2011 bike check

Steve Smith. Canadian. 21 years old. Silver medalist in the World Cup. So many top 10 finishes that i can't fit them all in. So yeah... you get the picture. He's a very good athlete, featured in many movies - like say Follow Me - and for 2011 he rides for Devinci Global Racing.

He talks about the new team and his new bike, and he seems stoked about it. Hear him out!  

Know your roots

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Mongoose has been producing bicycle components and complete bikes since 1974. Since 2001 they expanded their range of products to skateboards and electric scooters. One of their star riders in Chris Akrigg, who is now recovering form a nasty injury.

Now they employed Steve Romaniuk and Amir Kabbani for a 10 day trip across the U.S. They named it "Know your roots". See how it all started in the first episode in the series.

The Atherton Project season 3 episode 3

Another episode is up this week and in this one we see the Atherton's meet up with Danny Macaskill for some trials demo's and other footage from Fort William.

Enjoy!

The Atherton Project season 3 episode 2

The second episode of the third series is here! In this one we get like a "MTV Cribs" look around the Atherton's new compound, see Dan's return and some fireworks. 

See the sereies last episode here.

Rock Shox Boxxer 2011

This fork first saw light 15 years ago, and since then, it has won no less then 10 world championships. Because of that, every guy who rides a downhill bike dreams of owning one. This very successful double crown build paired with the latest materials and latest damping technologies make it one of the lightest 200mm travel forks out there. 

66 World Cup stage wins in it's time mean it needs constant research and development to stay on top of the competition. Jeremiah Boobar, who is the product manager for long travel suspension at Rock Shox, gives a  sneak peek into the 2011 lineup for Boxxer forks.

The Atherton Project season 3 episode 1

This is not the first time i've showed you this brit. The 26 year-old national, european and many times world champion downhill and 4x rider has a reality show on the internet, documenting the daily lives of him, his brother Dan and his sister Rachel. The Atherton Project, as it's called, is in it's third season already, kicking off after some fun times but sadly some injuries also.

First episode in this new series shows the trio escaping the cold and harsh Britain winter for other places in the world where sun is shining every day ..... and the rest i'll let you watch for yourself.

By the way i never thought scooters could be so fun. Hmmm .....

Mud, sweat and tears

Whistler Mountain Bike Park ... the pinnacle of a mountain bike rider. Most of the shots in mtb videos or in magazines are taken here. This is literraly a Mecca in the world of oversized handlebars, knobby tires and 6"-7" travel forks. The mountain trails are full in the summer. But what about in the autumn ?

Each year in september, RedBull organizes a mass start downhill race to the bottom of the mountain, where 250 men and women battle the snow and mud. It's called "RedBull 5000", been running for only 2 years, so it's pretty new. The images tell the tale of massive mud, massive crashes and massive fun.

New speed world record

Nine years after frenchman Eric Barone crashed his bike on a volcano in Nicaragua trying to set a speed record, a new contender took the challenge. He is 36 year-old austrain rider named Markus Stöckl, and he managed to finish the job. 

The attempt took place on the Cerro Negro volcano and Markus rode a standard downhill bike. He wore an aerodynamic full face helmet and a spandex suit. The final speed was 102 mph (164.95 km/h), wich makes it an unofficial record. Watch the video and see for yourself.

Sam Hill's pink bike

If you look at these pictures for the first time, you will shout out load "what the **** Sam ?". That was my reaction as well when i saw this custom Specialized demo painted in pink. However it is for a good cause.

Specialized are going to auction this bike this week to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Even the team's gear is in pink, so they are making everything possible to make this campaign noticed.

Image via pinkbike.com

Read about it here.

Cube two15

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 rider André 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.

For more about it check out the technical sheet with Cube two15's full specs.

Fox prototype 2011 spy shots

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.

Specialized prototypes 2011 spy shots

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 Champion here.

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

Read about it in this Pinkbike article.

Gee Atherton vs James May

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.

Where the Trail Ends

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.

Freeride entertainment website

Downhill in New Zealand

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.

Badassery!