"Let's Ride!" - MTB magazine

THE

BIKECLIMBER HARALD PHILIPP INTERVIEW SWEET PROTECTION / HAUTESVOSGES ENDURO TRAILTROPHY LATSCH / EXPLORING AFRICA KONA WO / SIGMA ROX and more...

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GALLERY SHORT REVIEWS KONA WO FATBIKE LA BRESSE ENDURO TRAIL TROPHY LATSCH HARALD PHILIPP SWEET PROTECTION EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN SIGMA ROX 10.0

from publisher Dear friends, It was hard, but at the same time really fun work creating the first English version of our Let's Ride! Mountainbike Magazine.

This year so far we managed to visit some enduro races and test few really cool products for you. We experienced and learned a lot, and now we are pleased to share all this with you.

We would like to thank everyone who helped us along the way and wish you successful and injury-free season!

Have fun browsing!

Alexej Fedorov - publisher

gallery

Shot in Trail Park "Rychlebske Stezky" in Czech Republic.

If you're looking for a good mix of flowy, technical and fun trails with jumps this is a place to visit. Here Jakub blasting through "Dr.Wiessnera" trail on a rental Pivot bike.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Dmitriy Vakulka at www.dirtpix.eu RIDER: Jakub Reichhart

Shot at Waldsassen near Czech border during the finals of German 4cross Championships.

Here Benedikt Last is being chased by RedBull athlete Guido Tschugg.

Luckily Benedikt defended his second 4cross championship title.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bernd Last at www.fourcross.de RIDERS: Benedikt Last, Guido Tschugg

Secret tip - Czech bike park "Jested" just above the town of Liberec. Here Patrik is "getting her sideways" doing his signature "whips for tits" jump. Although, there was not tits around, just some ugly "man boobs".

PHOTOGRAPHER: Dmitriy Vakulka at www.dirtpix.eu RIDER: Patrik Harig - Gravity Factory

Shot last February in Koblenz during Waldemar's training session. Here he is honing his new hot trick - "The Stemrang".

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bjรถrn Lubenzki RIDER: Waldemar Fatkin - Autumn Bikes

Another "regular" Sunday at a local "Bike-Base" spot in Herborn. Here Iven jumping 360 no-hander at the end of the session, lit up by a perfect light.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Nico Gilles - http://facebook.com/N.GillesFotografie RIDER: Iven Ebener

short reviews

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YABAN CHAINS

No chain, no go! Amazing how much this crucial part of any bike must suffer and endure.

This chain from Taiwan straight out of the box has all the necessary properties: it is self-lubricating, light and strong. According to the manufacturer, their chains from SLA series flawlessly handle up to 6000km. We didn't quite yet managed to cover such distance this season, but we abused them properly on our tours, local trails and various races. We could not detect any weaknesses and were all the time satisfied with the gear change and overall feel of our drivetrains. www.yaban.com letsridemag.com | 17

Cleaning the bike. Who does like that at all? We prefer to ride our bikes and make them dirty rather than to clean them. But when you like to have a good performing machine you should always keep it clean.

At least the drivetrain. To make it easier to achieve the guys from Muc-Off created a special bike care essentials kit. In a nice package you’ll get a set of various brushers, sponge, typical pink bottle with general cleaner and a spray for post-finish which will make your bike less atractive to mucky, sticky dirt.

It’s all organic and makes your bike clean and shiny incredibly fast and hassle free. What impressed us the most was "The Drivetrain Cleaner" - this weird yellow liquid made our drivetrains look shiny like never before! We were happy to have this kit with us on a race day – even though clean bikes didn't make us much faster. www.muc-off.com

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CHIMPANZEE THE EVOLUTION OF ENERGY BAR?

What a name. First we thought it's maybe not for bikers but for climbers! However, packaging seemed to be pretty cool, so we gave "the monkey bars" a go. We tried raisin & walnut and dates & chocolate flavours, which come from natural ingredients, as promised by the producer. The energy bars taste mild and are not too sweet.

We actually liked them! The product line is very varied, there are also softdrinks and even energy bars for kids. We are hoping to try out soon other products from this Czech producer. www.chimpanzeebar.com

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UP AND DOWN, SMART AND HARD

Austria is indeed a paradise for mountainbiking. High mountains, magnificent views and an endless network of technical, flowy trails. The only downside is that many of those places are not accessible by lifts. However, Daniel Kraut from "Eazy Ride" came up with one quite interesting solution - an electric drivetrain which will enable every rider to conquer the most challenging mountains without any superhuman training.

It fits nearly on every bike available on the market and takes only 60 seconds to install.

With help of this engine you can reach the speed of 65kmh and keep going for about 75km.

Well... that sounds Eazy! www.eazy-ride.com

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Breakout 27.5" USAGE: All Mountain / Enduro CONDITIONS: Dry to Wet / Hardpack to Loam

Big, All Mountain fun. The Breakout’s large and in charge casing rides far faster than its girth suggests. Fast rolling belts of center tread meet oversized side knob incisors for a harmonious pairing of speed and cornering. Want to end every ride with a smile undeniably plastered to your mug? Slap on a set of Breakouts, fun comes in size large.

wtb.com

It‘s all about the ride...

MY FIRST

FATTY

Fat bikes... They suddenly came out of nowhere.

They seemed to be a sort of niche, eccentric invention, created solely to please some mountainbiking hippies. However, they flooded the Internet, appeared on enduro races and in the catalogues of big bike brands. This made us curious, so we decided to check ourselves what's all this fuss about.

WORDS: Robert Lieske PHOTOS: Alexej Fedorov

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Kona Wo became our obese victim with its 4 inch tires, unusual frame shape and somewhat misplaced city bike like handlebar. With standard equipment, this bike looks a bit inferior. First heavy braking revealed that that its "Novela" braking system with tiny 160mm discs is probably best suited for light trekking bike used for Sunday rides to the nearest ice cream cafe. It scared us with lack of power, so we knew there are some upgrades needed before we could hit some proper offroad trails. The rest of its OEM equipment didn't convince us either, so we started to think how to make this beast more "beasty" without ruining our budget.

First thing we swapped were obviously the brakes. We choosed proven Shimano Deore system accompanied by Hope discs - 200mm front and 180 on the back. While doing all the crucial upgrades we wanted also to "pimp it up" visually. Reverse Components with their wide range of quality tuning parts seemed to be the perfect solution for this job. Ugly original handlebar was replaced by wide and low "Triple X" bar attached to a short "Base" stem. This combination, together with shortening the steering tube was a guarantee of improved control and steering precision on the trail. We also installed thick "Lock On" grips, "Style Lite" seatpost and "Escape" platform pedals - all in matching anodized blue finish, just to give the bike that "bling-bling" look. As they say - "devil is in the details" - so we didn't forget about small parts like brake adapter, rotor bolts and seatclamp - all in our chosen vivid blue colour.

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To keep the chain in place we took C.Guide by Bionicon. These small changes made the Kona look truly handsome and one of its kind - a black-blue beauty.

First ride on the trails proved the sense of all the upgrades we have made. Improved control and security was noticeable right away. The Wo started to show how "fun bike" it really is!

After few rides on our local, not overally technical trails, as well as some short trips to freeride and downhill tracks at nearby bike park, it became clear that Kona Wo was not conceived to be "do it all" freeride/enduro bike.

However, it felt pretty good and "confidence inspiring" on more rough and steeper sections.

Only on long rooty trails it felt somewhat stubborn, what was actually quite surprising considering its fatty tires, which we thought would roll with ease over any obstacle.

In tight corners you can really feel the 455mm long chainstays, but on the other hand steeper and faster descents are nicely handled due to 70 degree steering angle.

Wo is a singletrail machine which climbs surprisingly well. It's 15kg weight will not cause a heart palpitation after 300m and you can be sure it will nicely handle the trickiest uphill sections, thanks to the enormous grip given by the rear tyre.

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Speaking of which - after two months, stock Vee Rubber "Mission" tyres seemed to be at the end of their lifetime, so we decided to replace them with a set of 45NRTH "H端sker D端" which gave the bike that predictable and secure handling we were after.

Wo was originally equipped with a 9 speed Shimano "Alivio" drivetrain. We were a little bit skeptical about it at first, but as it turned out - absolutely unnecessarily. Sure it is not as high quality as some of the top models, but it has proved to work flawlessly so far, in fact way better than we have actually expected.

The logical and natural environment for Fatbikes, apart from a "regular riding" are in our opinion snowy conditions. We are therefore totally excited to test the Kona in the white powder this coming winter. It will surely be fun experience!

Conclusion: in our opinion Kona Wo is a fun and reasonably priced entry level Fatbike. More experienced or ambitious riders will surely find the standard equipment not good enough for their needs or riding style. However, most of the basic upgrades can be done on a low budget, delivering at the same time a significant improvement to the overall feel of the bike. We would recommend the Kona as a second bike to people who are tempted by all that Fatbike hype, but are not yet fully convinced if they should swap their regular ride for just a hardtail with a pair of enormously chunky tires.

It is however truly unforgettable sensation to cruise along on a 4 inch wide tires!

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Enduro for all

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HAUTESVOSGES LaBresse WORDS: Alexej Fedorov PHOTOS: Jakub Reichhart

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Back again. First race in the 2014 season.

Saturday afternoon, we got our bikes and tent packed and headed off to La Bresse, France. There we wanted to join the mountainbike enduro race organised by Remy Absalon - Hautesvosges Enduro. The main event, to our surprise was quickly sold out. The organizers however, had a solution for those who didn't manage to sign up in time a parallel race but without time measurement. It was actually perfect option, especially for me as I was without the bike for last 2,5 months. It was good to start the racing season in a more relaxed atmosphere.

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Besides that, it was the first ride on my new bike: Nicolai ION 16. Technical but fun tracks with long uphills up to 1200 meters of height on a distance of about 30km are exactly what my bike is built for. For me, it was a great time to be back on the bike, race without unceccesery pressure and test some new products for our magazine.

The main race was made of 5 stages. Two of them were tracks of La Bresse bikepark and had to be ridden twice. Because of the fees for the lift, our group was not allowed to ride these stages. However, the starting fee for the event without time measurement was only 10euros, so missing out those stages didn't really hurt.

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Our "race" started with a gentle uphill straight to the dense forest. Stage 1 was very rooty, muddy and slippery. Riding without pressure of time was a pleasure. I could enjoy the ride, get to know new bike without taking uncecessery risks at full speed. After that, we had to climb about 350 meters of height to the next stage. This was a fast and long singletrail with many hairpins leading straight down to the valley. After a short rest, we were back going uphill – literally going and carrying our bikes. It was steep and rocky, but after about 500 meters of height we were on the top with a spectacular view with blue sky above and green meadows beneath us.

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Stage 3 was a tough one: fast sprint along the lake followed by tight, steep turns and drops.

I managed to ride comfortably on this technically hard sections, which are typical for the mountains around LaBresse. That was it. Back to the start. There was a small fair at the bottom with few exhibition tents of brands like Commencal and Canyon. At the finish line we met Jerome Clementz, who currently is injured but came along to support his buddy Remy Absalon.

All in all, it was a very cool and relaxing weekend.

Lesson learned - next year we will sign up earlier and try to do our best in main, timed event.

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biking around the world

facebook.com/bike.anothercountry

TRAIL TROPHY #1 Latsch, SĂœdtirol

WORDS: Alexej Fedorov PHOTOS: Manfred Stromberg, Alexej Fedorov, Karol Baginski

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Off we go...

It was a hot day. Late afternoon, we got our stuff packed and headed off to Trail Trophy event in Latsch, South Tyrol.

Unfortunately on our way we got stuck in many traffic jams, so we knew we will not make to the camping site before closing. We decided to stay overnight in the austrian town of Reutten situated close to the italian border.

Night was pretty damn cold but we slept well and next morning continued our trip fresh and motived. After about an hour of scenic drive through the Austrian alps we entered Italy. The road was climbing along the lake of Reschen which was looking nothing less than spectacular, It was surrouned by snowy mountain peaks, meadows peppered with castles and ruins. We crossed the mountain pass and rolled down the highway, through wineyards straight to the mountainbike paradise of Latsch.

The convenience of a hotel wasn't something we really needed, so we set up our tent at a nice camping site directly in Latsch. By the time we arrived at the start, most riders already left, but we were allowed to pick our numberplates and transponders and join the race at the very end. One hour later, we started our ride with a lift which brought us and seven other riders up on the 1800m hill above the village.

From this point, we had to lose some height riding down the street and fireroads before we could reach the start of the first stage.

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Stage 1. Ready to rumble. It started off with a steep downhill section littered with roots, tight turns and rocky drops. The gradient of this trail was just optimal, so once we warmed up we found our flow and cruised down through this dry and dusty italian forest. This was a great opening which put a smile on our faces - flowy, fast and technical enough to keep our heart rate high. The weather got warmer with every hour, but the good thing was - we didnt' have to cycle uphill anymore.

Stage 2 was nearly double as long as the stage 1. It was leading through the open mountain so we could enjoy the astonishing views over the Latsch valley. Short before the finish, I noticed my back tyre was losing pressure. I lowered my speed and was lucky to reach the finish on the bike.

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Stage 3 was very short, but not less demanding by any means. Now Jakub became a victim of rough rocky terrain and got a puncture. He lost about 1.30 min. carrying his bike the finish line.

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At 09:30pm, the night session started.

We rode about 180 meters of height to the start of the stage. Soon after we realised, that our Sigma lights are maybe good enough to light up our hometrails but are not that good to illuminate an unknown trail which has to be ridden in a "race-mode". Bad luck, but there was no turning back from this point. Riding steep switchbacks down the wineyards was a bit terrifying and surreal, but still fun and one of its kind experience. We were happy we've made it to the bottom in one piece.

Half past eleven, we finally could go back to our tent and get a little rest before the next day of riding in a burning sun.

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Day 2 - new mountain, new challenges.

There was a shuttle bus which took us uphill, but the last 700 meters of height we had to pedal up on our own – one kilometer euqalled 100 meters of height.

It was a hard work. Luckily on the top, there was a lunch package with Tyrolese apples, tasty sandwiches and drinks. We could relax and recharge our batteries before hitting the trails.

Stage 5 started off with very technical, partially wet, muddy and quite flat section. It was really hard to keep the momentum here but soon after we crossed the bridge and entered the forest. From here on trail was pointing more downhill giving us more and more flow. We could nicely sprint down to the finish line.

Stage 6 was completely surprising. Nopedalling was needed, it was just fast, loose and rocky downhill section. We had to stay focused not to fall, as some parts were really tricky, especially when hit blind at a high speed. Towards the end I cought another rider who fell, but it was so narrow that I couldn’t overtake him and had to wait.

That was a tough and physically demanding one!

We were looking forward to the last stage of the day, hoping it will be a little bit relaxing, however it was not the case. It was as demanding as the previous stages, but we have made it to the bottom with no technical problems or injuries.

The hard day ended up with a barbeque and a pint of beer. It was nice opportunity to share with others all the excitement accumulated during this great day of racing.

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Last day: we got up early, got our stuff packed, checked out from our camping site and headed directly to the start line.

It was another hot day with temperature of 36 degrees and ahead of us were 300 meters of climb to the stage number 9. It was a long singletrail downhill, but full of surprises like tight rocky drops and technical turns. There were also some straight, fast sections where we could step harder on the pedals regain some seconds lost up above. This stage was situated closer to the village, so we encountered some spectators cheering for all the exhausted riders. We made it to the bottom without major problems and straight away cycled up to the next stage.

The link between the last two stages was just a pure, brutal uphill which started off with a singletrail between the wineyards, but soon after turned on a hot and sticky tarmac road. Organisers showed here their "black humor" and wrote on the street things like „does it hurt? :-)". I don't think many of us were laughing at this point - we would, but we just couldn't catch our breath! We reached the top and after a short break we rolled down a very flowy trail through the forest. We were really exhausted at this point, but we knew it is nearly over. I couldn’t focus anymore on the rocks, roots and other obstacles, so I fell twice, but luckily without injuries.

We made it! Exhausted but really pleased!

The funniest thing was that Jakub and I had exactly the same overall time of 45:18min. That gave us 36th place in so called "Pro Class". We were hoping for a better result, but nevertheles we were really happy with the passed 3 days of great riding!

Trialtrophy in latsch was definitely one of the best events we took part in. We honestly recommend it to all riders looking for fast, dry and dusty trails in beautiful scenery of north Italy!

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HARALD PHILIPP

THEBIKECLIMBER Down to earth with head in the clouds

Harald is a bike-climber. His discipline is high mountain touring, conquering demanding peaks and riding down the most difficult paths, often never ridden by any biker before. As a proffesional biker he isn't riding against the others, he rather rides with them. For him sport is not a battle, but rather a way of enjoing the life. He is on a constant search for the flow on the trail, as well as in his daily life. You can rarely meet him down in the valley.

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Hello Harald, that what are you doing on your bike does really few, at least at such high level. Can I say about you that you are the first professional “bike climber”?

There are quite a few other bikers that are riding on the same level and also have sponsors. I’m lucky to earn enough from my multimedia productions and therefore be able

to live 100% from mountain biking.

Do you know other riders (as Johannes Pistrol), who do the same type of riding? Do you sometimes ride together with them, or are you rather a “lone wolf”?

I rode with Johannes several times, he is a very inspiring rider! Mostly I ride with people I know very well.

Our sport is not safe, I like to know

in advance, if my tour partner is able deal with all the risks. This has much to do with responsibility. My best bike-mate is Martin Falkner, I can trust him completely.

How did you come up with the idea of this type riding anyway?

This has evolved over time. As a small child I used to climb the mountains, and the mountain letsridemag.com | 55

biking was also my great love. It was a logical and natural conesquence, that those two passions grew up together. The biggest inspiration for me was Picco from the Vertriders whom I've met 15 years ago.

Your mother is a photographer and she often accompanies you on your trips. Does she also ride MTB and therefore can understand what you're doing, or is she as a “Mother" simply worried about you?

Both! It's probably not always easy for her, but she is herself a passionate mountain athlete and understands exactly why I do it.

Could you imagine doing something else now? Do you also have plan B? A normal office job would definitely be not good for me. I think, however, quite strategically and am aware that I will not be able to live from mountainbiking at the age of 50. I don’t have a “Plan B” but I think I have good development prospects.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

Batman.

What is the biggest appeal of the “bikeclimbing”?

There are many charms about it!

Tour planning is already very exciting, especially if you want to conquer the summit, where no biker has ever been before. The climbing itself is also something very nice, because it gives the whole experience of mountain hiking. And last but not least, the descend is the exciting culmination of the project.

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Are there any "dark sides” of it? How it looks like with injury or the risk of death?

Injuries are more likely not an issue, since they happen in all other mountainbike disciplines anyway.

This is certainly connected with the objectively high risk of biking in high mountains. You are not simply falling of the bike, you can really fall down with a serious consquences. So you better not fall at all. All people with whom I ride check the most dangerous sections before signing up for major risks.

From the videos you can’t really tell how hard the trails actually are. How good rider one must be to ride such trails?

The riding technique is one element. You need it to be at a good level, but this is something what can be learned. Same with the fitness. Much more important are self-assessment and alpine experience.

Can you also ride fast? Are you able to tackle a DH track or jumps?

Fast is relative. To me it is very important to ride smoothly, depending on the trail it is sometimes also fast. I never really look at the stop-

watch. In the past I used to ride in the bike park or hit some dirt jumps, but nowadays I feel less comfortable during longer “air time”.

Are you tempted to do some races?

Or have you participated in some already?

Racing doesn’t really excite me anymore. I participated in the Mega Avalanche in Alpe d'Huez and once I even got to the Top 50. That was in 2005, long before the "Endurohype" began. The following year I was hit by another rider down on the glacier and after that I gave up racing. Too dangerous.

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How about a race on a closed and technically difficult route, where not the speed, but riding skill is a deciding factor? Like a variation of Trial, but on the open mountain and on time. Could you imagine this kind of racing format?

Theoretically, such a thing possible, but me personally does not excite any competition format.

“Bike Mountaineering” is a creative adventure discipline, in which one shares experiences with his friends and does not compare himself to one another.

Are you limiting your trips only to Austria and Switzerland?

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Have you been anywhere else?

I know the Alps very well and I like to be in South Tyrol the most. There are so many peaks and routes that I can make new projects there until the end of my life. Last summer I was in Iceland, however, it lacks of a proper route network, so bikemountaineering isn’t very easy there.

Which other countries and mountains you would like to explore?

At the moment I am out a lot in the Alpi-Maritime, because there is still so much to discover. One day I would love to visit Tibet, that would be a dream.

Maybe Russia could be your destination one day?

The Caucasus, oh yes! Perhaps some of the readers know this area? I would love to come!

How do you plan your trips? Do you use traditional hiking maps, GPS or are you maybe talking with the locals?

Locals are very important, particularly outside the Alps. Mountain guides and climbers know the exciting (for me) routes best, usually better than the local bikers. In the Alps, I can quite accurately identify just from the hiking map which lines are rideable, and which aren’t.

For GPS devices I have personally found no use so far.

Do you normally ride the unknown trails blind or do you walk them first to find out if they are at all rideable?

I actually never do a track-walk beforehand. For me, the best tours are when I don’t know what’s ahead of me and I can just ride with the flow. If some part doesn’t work out at a first attempt, it normally doesn’t work out at all.

How does a typical day on your trip looks like? Do you get up early and climb before the sunrise? Or are you staying overnight up on the mountain?

Spending night on the top is always good! Basically, every tour is different, but we always try to spend as much time on the mountain.

Most trails are, let say, "illegal" to ride. Did you ever get into troubles because of that? Have you ever been "caught"?

Well, the higher you go, the fewer problems you encounter in that matter. In the high mountains you meet pretty much only "pedestrian" which are seriously into mountaineering and have similar motivation to be out there. Once we had some trouble, but with filming, not with biking.

Your film "Sea of Rock" was very popular. Do you already work on another project?

Just recently our new movie "Horace and the Rough Stuff Fellowship" went online. It is however slightly different from the previous videos. Ideally check out yourself: http://vimeo.com/98904694 How did your collaboration with "Liteville" came about?

As Liteville was still new on the market I have given them some photos I took of a friend on the first 301. In return I got my first frame from them. Since then we are somehow married. I can’t imagine letsridemag.com | 59

riding different bike.

Do you have some input in their bike development process?

A little. I give them my feedback on the bike and details. Basically they have very competent people directly in the company, who are also biking a lot. They surely know more about development than me.

Is your bike or frame completely “standard”, or do you maybe have it tweaked specially for your needs?

All are series parts, except for the pedals. There I had a few special wishes, so maybe there will be a small limited series available on the market one day.

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It looks like you always have your coffeemaker with you, what actually looks pretty funny and unusual.

Do you really drink so much coffee and you can’t live without it, or is it maybe some sort of marketing move?

Yes, I drink so much coffee. The coffeemaker of course grabs the attention. We are the bikers who don’t look the stopwatch, but rather take time for our coffee breaks.

How important are the bike components for you? What on your bike you could live without?

The bike itself is important in a sense that it must simply work. I do not have too many gadgets on it,

most of all when I ride i don’t want to think about the bike.

How is your bike set up?

Flat and short. I have more suspension travel on the front than on the rear and also a larger front wheel.

Front end is also set a bit harder than the rear. I usually ride more on the front wheel ;-) With whom would you like to ride one day?

I would like to go climbing with Reinhold Messner. I’ve personally got to know the most famous bikers, but they are actually not my idols.

Do you have any “role models” in the bike scene?

I have a lot of respect for Richie Schley, Wade Simmons and Brett Tippie. They invented Freeriding and made it big.

With whom you have the most fun riding?

With Martin Falkner and Tom Ohler.

I’d ride with them over and over again.

Were there moments when you didn’t want to ride down?

Yes, all the time! In almost every tour there are sections where you better walk down than ride.

Where was your most difficult ride?

What was it?

It would be “The Sea of Rock” for sure. The rocky surface there is incredibly notchy and angular. It is also pretty flat, so to keep the momentum you had to jump all the time and keep pedalling.

Can you also do tricks?

Counts throwing the rear end around as a trick? Otherwise, probably not, no. You don’t ask climber if he does tricks while being on the wall.

Do you have a girlfriend? Does she also ride bikes?

Yes, I live together with my girlfriend Eva. She started biking, but that is not the basis of our relationship. I am very happy to have with her other topics than 650B vs. 29".

What do you do in your free time?

Last autumn I bought a mountain hut in the Maritime Alps. My biggest “free time” project is the restoration of that house.

What music do you listen to?

From punk to funk.

What tips would you give to the beginners?

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the back wheel around are the key techniques for big adventures!

Tell us more about "World Bicycle Relief". How did it happen that you joined that project?

I've noticed that I can do something good in my lectures when I have a full hall of listening and motivated bikers in front of me. Therefore, I am recently Crowd Funder for World Bicycle Relief. The project is basically about manufacturing and supplying bicycles to African youth. The work of the WBR really impressed me and the results so far are fantastic!Check it out yourself: www.worldbicyclerelief.org Thank you so much!

Follow Harald’s latest projects at: www.summitride.com

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Sweet Protection From head to knees Sweet Protection, based in the midlle of Norwegian wilderness is a company which design and produce helmets, technical clothing and protection gear in the categories kayaking, biking and snow sports. They are working together for almost 14 years and have distributors in most European countries, and of course Scandinavia.

We had an opportunity to test some stuff from their current 2014’s clothing and protection series.

Read on to find out if their gear is really as sweet as it looks!

WORDS: Phil Sauder PHOTOS: Dmitriy Vakulka, Alex Fedorov

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Helmet

The Bushwhacker Helmet is available in six different colors - from light blue one which seems to be agile and modern, to the classy black one, so pretty much every preference is covered, no matter if you are male or female. The design is rather consvervative with its rounded form and "not alien", timeless look. There’s plenty of ventilation, even though there aren't that many air channels.

With weight tipping the scale at 320g it’s not the lightest helmet out there, but it stays within the average for a modern enduro mountainbike helmets. However, by developping this helmet, the guys from Sweet Protection did focus on safety. The in-mold technology makes it possible to absorb the shock directly with the polycarbonate shell. With their unique five-piece shell construction, they wanted to make the perfect "second skull" for your head. The adjustable shield protects your face from branches and obviously the sun, however it was rattling a bit at high speeds what as we can imagine could be annoying for some. What we would definitely welcome is a different straps adjustment system, as the current one is nearly impossible to operate with one hand. Adjustment wheel known from other brands would be the perfect solution here.

Those little imperfections make the price tag of 169â‚Ź a little bit too steep in our opinion.

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Jersey

The Chikamin Jersey is a very cool piece of clothing. Yes, cool, literally. It ventilates perfectly. We tested the jersey on hot days, as well as more chilly weather. Both climate situations were handled perfectly with this top. The cut is also very well thought out. Without a body armor, medium size fits perfectly a person up to 180cm tall. It’s very comfortable to wear, looks nice and you can feel it is a quality piece of kit. The price of 79₏ might sound like a lot for a jersey, but in this case it is well worth it.

Frantic shorts are also nicely cut and really comfy to wear due to the stretchy and

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Shorts

breathable material. Sweet Protection says that they wanted to keep them clean and simple, but in our opinion with just one tight pocket they are a little bit too simple. Nevertheless, you have a very large range of sizes available and thanks to adjustable waist you can make sure they will precisely fit and always stay in the right place. 89â‚Ź is a good price, but we would love to have another pocket just to make them a bit more practical.

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Gloves The La Grange Gloves are fairly priced at 35â‚Ź. They fit pretty well, even though they don't have a typical velcro wrist fastener. The top fabric provides a good ventilation, what makes them really comfortable to wear on a hot summer rides.

On the finger tips they have a yellow colored rubber lining which improves the grip with the brake lever. The inner fabric lacks any padding, what could be an issue for riders with more delicate hands. In my case it was compensated by thick and soft grips I am using. Two months of regular use didn't reveal any durability issues and if it will stay like this, they will surely become one of my favorite summer gloves.

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Kneepads Bearsuit Knee Pads do really feel like a "bearsuit". They fit tight and protect not just the knee cap, but also extend to the upper shin area giving you the feeling of being well protected. Guys at Sweet Protection used so called "visco elastic shock absorbing material SAS-TEC SC-1" which is supposed to protect you from any damage you can get when things get a bit too rowdy. Luckily we didn't have a chance yet to test it properly. The back of the kneepad is covered with neoprene fabric which wraps tightly around the back of your knee and helps to keep the pads in the right place. It does work pretty well - we didn't have any problem with pads sliding down during longer pedally or bumpy downhill sections.

They lack of typical ventilation channels, which means they do get hot, especially during long uphills, but we wouldn't say they are any worse in this matter than other, more popular offerings on the market.

We are impressed so far and we think that the price of 99â‚Ź is fair for such quality and crucial piece of protection gear.

All in all, we can say that the guys from Sweet Protection did a very good job in creating their clothing and protection line. The quality of all the products is really high and convincing, what makes the pricing fair in our opinion. All their stuff looks good, feels good and simply works as it should. We would gear up without any hesitation with Sweet Protection clothing, maybe apart from a bit overpriced priced helmet which needs some small improvements. www.sweetprotection.com

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Hannes Klausner

EXPLORING THE

UNKNOWN PHOTOS: Christoph Breiner

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THE IDEA ...was pretty simple: to go into an area which is almost unknown in mountainbike sports. Sao Vicente, Africa is the island we chose.

THE TRIP We landed on this small island, which isn’t occupied even by normal tourist. Nevertheless, we travelled to a completely tourist-free zone and set ourselves up in a small village at the shore, in the middle of nowhere. This was a starting point for our exploration.

From there on it was only hiking, hiking and hiking. A small mountain range after another was explored and traveled day after day. We’ve been marching for hours in a stony and rough terrain near the beach with breathtaking sea views. All this time we were followed by a local boy carrying his lance. After some time it turned out that this man was named "Olive”.

He was our self-appointed protector for the worst-case scenario. He was in fact a very friendly character. It became somewhat like a friendship at the end of our trip. „Olive“ invited us to his private dwelling and introduced us to his family.

Apparently we were the first white people to ever visit this small african settlement. It was truly moving and beautiful experience.

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THE RIDING Rugged rock formations, dusty and slippery ground with soft sand between the passages in which the front wheel kept unexpectedly sinking. Not to mention incredibly windy conditions. Such technically challenging terrain made the riding particularly difficult, but also really fun and exciting.

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Normally, there are no paths around there, so you hike and bike through the wilderness, what means you have to stay very focused and keep your eyes open in order to stay on the line.

At the end, there are countless opportunities. There are small and larger lines to be found, although they are incredibly demanding to ride. We managed to find a way leading over the mountain ranges and along the coastline, so we decided to unpack our enduro bikes and head for a longer exploration tour.

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THE ISLAND It is very small and extremely dry place, where more than 80% of the population live in one main town. Away from this place there are small villages and settlements that lay either on the only paved road or in a complete wilderness accesible only through hiking the mountain ranges.

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THE PEOPLE Very friendly and warm, who are at the first a bit skeptical, but become very open after some time. At the end of our trip we could certainly say, that we found some new friends over there. It is a completely different way of life and culture to discover there.

Wealth and time play a completely different role for these people.

They seem to be very happy, although they don’t have the clothing, housing or goods we are used to have in our western culture. Living in itself seems to be their motto and something what makes them genuinely happy. Long hours of sitting by the roadside, looking into the vastness of the sea or travelling from A to B is nothing to worry about for these people. We can learn a lot from them concerning time management and anti-stress life attitude.

THE CONCLUSION Beautiful landscapes, extreme conditions, dangerous descents and valuable encounters.

All this made our adventure truly unforgettable!

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GET LOST

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with Sigma Rox 10.0 WORDS: Alexej Fedorov PHOTOS: Dmitriy Vakulka

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So does the Rox rock?

Bike computers are essential bit of kit for ambitious, competetive cyclists and especially racers. We tend to think that for beginners or casual cyclists this might not be the most necessery accessorie. We fit more into this second categorie, but nevertheless we decided to try out the new Sigma ROX 10.0 with training and navigation mode.

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The package looked like a christmas gift – a classy red cardboard box with black interior. This is what you find inside: ROX computer with software CD Data Center 3, belt for heart rate measurement, tool to measure the cadence. Everything is compatible with ANT+ that allows a connection to a smartphone.

We always try to figure out toys like the ROX 10.0 without reading the user's manual. In case of this Sigma computer it turned out to be pretty easy. Standard functions are quite straightforward to use, but if you want to go into detail, it becomes a little bit more complicated. We’re talking about display functions. Here you can adjust what should be displayed and what should be hidden.

After having finished all the necessary settings, we were ready to roll. The installation was done in a couple of minutes and the computer was mounted firmly on the handlebars.

Ex factory, the very well readable display shows the following functions: heart rate, cadence, elevation, gradient and of course the speed. With two buttons (+ / -) you are allowed to switch between the settings – distance of the day, duration of the current ride, max gradient, ridden altitude, temperature and a lot more. All the buttons are ergonomically placed and easy to operate – even with the gloves on. The device seems to be very solid and well thought out.

We used the computer on several trails around our home, but also on the race days in La Bresse and Latsch. All the time Sigma was working very reliable and held on to its mount – even after some crashes.

We have to admit that we didn’t find any weaknesses during our test. We are very happy with the ROX 10.0. The data center software allows you to edit all the tracks and reload them on the device in order to ride them again.

Another nice feature: tracks of other users are available to download, so you can explore, exchange and cooperate with others, what makes using it much more fun.

Sigma succeeded in bringing a well working computer with a lots of useful functions. At a price of 260€ it is definitely worth some attention.

We are looking forward to new Sigma releases in 2015. www.sigmasport.de letsridemag.com | 91

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BROUGHT TO YOU BY EDITORS Alexej Fedorov Phil Sauder LAYOUT Jakub Reichhart PHOTOGRAPHERS Christoph Breiner Dmitriy Vakulka Nico Gilles Jakub Reichhart Karol Baginski Manfred Stromberg Bjรถrn Lubenzki Bernd Last ADVERTISING Phil Sauder - marketing@letsridemag.com SPECIAL THANKS Robert Lieske Hannes Klausner Benedikt Last

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