Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine #23 by Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine

mountain bike magazine

ISSUE 23 | SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2014 | FREE DOWNLOAD www.freeridermag.in

mountain bike magazine

COVER PHOTO: Martin Bissig RIDER: Claude Balsiger LOCATION: Ladakh (India)

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Winters are approaching and here we are again with another edition with one of the most beautiful cover shot we have featured. Hope you remember the Epic Trail Story “Below Zero” from our last issue where photographer Martin Bissing and rider Claude Balsiger braved the freezing zone and reached the snowbound Zanskar valley in the Indian Himalayas in winter; over the frozen Zanskar River. This story inspired many riders in the country who have already started talking about trying this expedition on their mountain bikes. In this issue we feature some cool stories again. Photographer Malcolm McLaws shows some epic stuff from the recent Crankworx which has become more insane. Also enjoy some captured moments form Eurobike 2014 which saw many electric motor bicycles which got mixed response while Vinay was tripping on Ghost 4X comp bike which was recently launched in India. Now we get ready to visit India’s premier mountain bike challenge known as MTB Himalaya. This 10th edition will be special as HASTPA team has changed the route and more world class athletes are going to compete. We are sure that this year’s MTB Himalaya will be hot and we can’t wait to bring you the exclusive coverage from Himalayas. Enjoy our issue# 23 and let us know what you think. We love honest feedbacks.

Vineet Sharma

Founder, Editor-in-Chief | vineet@freeridermag.in

The Team: Editor in Chief: Vineet Sharma vineet@freeridermag.in Deputy Editor: Vinay Menon vinay@freeridermag.in BMX Agent: Dipak Panchal dipak@freeridermag.in Photo Editor: Malcolm McLaws malcolm.mclaws@gmail.com Himalayan Trails Minister: Naveen Barongpa

Contributing Editors and Photographers ISSUE # 23 Martin Bissig, EUROBIKE Friedrichshafen, Miller, Red Bull Media House.

Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine #410, Sector: 10 Panchkula (Haryana). 134109 - INDIA. ........................................................ This magazine is intended for free distribution and is only available through our web portal. E-mail us for more details. www.freeridermag.in ........................................................ Feel free to write or contribute. E-mail at: vineet@freeridermag.in | vinay@freeridermag.in

Words & Photography: Malcolm McLaws Well Crankworx/ Red Bull Joyride is done for another year.

The biggest badass Mountain Bike Festival on the planet never disappoints.

Mountain bikers crave this event, you have it all; Speed&Style, Enduro, Dual Slalom, Pumptrack, Whipoffs, 3 DH events ( Garbo DH-Air DH - Canadian DH) and the sickest Diamond Slopestyle event on the FMB Tour, Red Bull Joyride.

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The thing is when you’re in the lift line you could be uploading with some of the biggest names in Slopestyle or WC Events who will chat with you about why THEY come to the best bike park in the world, Whistler Bike Park. The trail names tell the story, A-line, Top of World, Crabapple hits, and the Boneyard to name a few. You can ride trails with the likes of Danny Hart, Cedric Gracia, Cam Zink or Andreu Lacondeguy and many more stars of the biking world.

Go for a beer at the GLC or the Longhorn and you’ll be rubbing shoulders with the MTB elite but who’ll high 5 you anytime, biking is like that, all bro’s and beers! FR MTB MAG | 6

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This event rune like a Swiss watch, the event staff have been doing this Festival for over a decade, yes 10 years of people coming to Whistler riding bikes, drinking beers, late night parties, naked swims at Lost Lake and watching the sickest riders compete in events , win a trophy and some serious cash to boot.

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This year didn’t fail with some major milestones when a 14 year old local Whistler grom, Finn Iles winning the World Whipoffs on Crabapple hits. This internet sensation was a late addition but impressed the judges and fellow riders...Deserved.

The other happened at RB Joyride when local star Brandon Semenuk won Joyride for the 3’rd time. The added pressure of competing at home left the “Silent Assassin” with little choice, ride perfect and become the only 3 time winner of this event. Brandon’s near flawless run earned him some serious coin, $25,000. He shared the podium with Trek Team mate, Brett Rheeder in 2’nd and Anthony Messere for 3’rd, it was an all Canadian sweep of the podium as well.

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Himalayan Bike Bar Old Mission Road - Manali Himachal Pradesh - 175101 Ph: +91 941 861 2482

Words & Photography: Vinay Menon | Rider: Sahil Jagtap

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Ghost Bicycles form Germany have been strong on the world 4x and DH scene for years. With top racers and freeriders on their team Ghost has been able to fine tune their bikes for the demanding riding style prevalent these days. Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Suncross Bikes has joined hands with the German manufacturer to bring their performance machines into the country.

With a good range of trail models including 29ers and 650bs, Suncross has opened up the Indian mountain bikerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wish list.

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• Size: 42cm • Frame: 4x 7005 PG • Fork: RST Dirt T 100mm • Bottom Bracket: Shimano BBUN-26 • Crank Set: Shimano FCM 171 42-34-24 • Front Derailleur: Shimano • Rear Derailleur: Shimano Acera 8 Speed • Shifters: Shimano Acera SL • Cassette: 11-30 • Rims: Ryde Taurus • Hubs: Sram306 • Tires: Schwalbe Table Top 2.25 • Brake Set: Tektro HDC 300 Disc 160mm • Brake Lever: Tektro HDC 300 • Handle Bar: GHOST Low Rizer light 660mm 31.8mm • Stem: GHOST 4X AS-020 31.8mm • Saddle: GHOST VL 1535 • Seat Post: GHOST light SP DC 1 31.6mm

The model in action here is the ‘4X Comp’. Available in one size only for the Indian market and in two colours, the 4X Comp hardtail comes with a 24speed Shimano drivetrain. With most of the cockpit items from their in-house brand, Ghost Bicycles have managed to keep the price low yet deliver good German quality. Ritchey Headset spinning a RST Dirt T 100mm fork is a good mix for durability hungry riders.

An aggressive geometry coupled with good DJ/Street tires the 4X Comp can set you up for some styled action. Schwalbe Table Top 2.25 on Alex rims laced to SRAM Hubs, the build is suitable for a trail rider too. The Tektro Hydraulic brakes with 6” rotors are a good mix for the price. With a low profile saddle and a 31.8 Bar/ Stem combo, the bike feels the part on dirt. Shimano Acera felt decent through the gear range as well.

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With some upgrades on the frame you could make this bike into a heavy D big bang bike. That’s something our crew may do in the coming months. So keep an eye out for a fight test on this frame! The ‘Ghost 4X Comp’ is available at an MRP of INR 47,500 through Suncross dealers around major cities. For more info visit: http://suncrossbikes.com/ FR MTB MAG | 17

Words & Photography: Vinay Menon

Mountain bikes break into Hindi cinema ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ has been one of the brightest mainstream Hindi movies spinning around bicycles. Not as much of a bicycle packed flick, but Nadiadwala Grandsons Entertainment’s Salman Khan Starrer ‘KICK’ showcases some wicked mountain bike action clips in a big budget movie.

When I got a call from the KICK crew to work on a bicycle chase sequence in the movie I was pumped. Forming a team of riders with suitable height to match Salman Khan was a task. After a few hours of phone calls to Nepal, US, and Canada, we narrowed on local riders as the production house was oddly running on super low budgets for this scene! FR MTB MAG | 18

After making changes in the stunt level with safety in mind we finalized the bicycle action boys. The final rider list included Prasad Jadhav a streetbike freestyle rider from Pune, Ajay Padval a budding mountain bike ripper and myself. Apart from the riders, we had to bottom on a bike which would be used through the sequence and eventually be destroyed. For this, stepped in a simpler hardtail bike from a local bike shop. After swapping parts with our homegrown ‘Psynyde’ components, we were ready to get our kick! Soon after examining the roofs, lanes and ledges it was time for me to guinea pig the ramp setup. For the sequence we’d planned a roof to roof jump off a ramp, smaller drops from roof tops to ledges and tight lanes to charge through. After successfully testing the roof to roof jump on practice day and coming close to going off of a roof on another run, it was time for Prasad and Ajay to get into Salman’s gear. FR MTB MAG | 19

First day of the shoot included Prasad’s roof jump. Which is the main scene from the chase. A 15ft Gap with a 40ft plunge in-between. Without any warm up, the ballzy moto kid decided to air it. Our action director screamed out “Sound..Camera..Action”! Prasad cranked into speed and flew off the ramp! With a flight that looked like forever, Prasad hit the landing fine only to clip the wall on run out, with his face! A swollen face and a black eye on day one for him. He continued the shoot with his new designer face! Some more smaller ledge drops followed.

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Rest of the shoot called in for Ajay Padval to throw himself around. Ledge drops through building hallways, terrace jumps and market hopping was listed. As bikes kept breaking it was a delight to see the hero of the movie himself, Salman Khan step up to do some powerslides, ghost rides, curb hops, manuals. As the half of New Delhi tried to break into the set, Kick kept kicking with directors screaming and actors running. Through the days of filming, we shot in the most chaotic locations in Delhi. Jama Masjid, crowded spice markets, Red Fort and a few more. On the final day of shoot it was Ajay’s turn to hit the “Big” stunt! A window breaking sequence where the rider would go flying off the window glass and land into cardboard boxes 15ft below. After the actual stuntman failed to pull the jump clean, Ajay was called in for one final take. Being a dangerous stunt, we were not keen on doing it.

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After a lot of convincing, the directors managed to pull Ajay up for the task. Ready for the leap, Ajay got into his zone to break through the glass. It was action time. 3..2..1 and the explosion of glass and a flying rider was captured in 4 Cameras. Only problem was that the flying rider had smashed his face through real glass that the art department had failed to inspect before installation! As big knife like pieces of broken glass surrounded the stunt pilot Ajay, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s silence on the set. The crew realized they got the money shot but on finding the injured stunt double got into panic mode. After a quick hospital visit and few stitches later Ajay was released from the clinic. With necessary shots in the bag, we decided to wrap the shoot and pack back to Pune. As all three mountain bikers involved with the KICK shoot were injured it was only sensible to disperse! KICK (Hindi) is out in the theatres right now and has made more than INR 200 Crores approx in profits within the first few weeks of release! Hope more action film makers in India get the bicycle kick and include more bike action for our viewing pleasure.

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Photos: EUROBIKE Friedrichshafen The bicycle is moving forward at full speed. Bicycles with electric drive as well as bikes without motors are posting strong gains. This is also reflected by the success story of Eurobike 2014, which came to an end few days ago in Friedrichshafen after four days of the fair. In addition to the record number of exhibitors - 1320 companies from 54 countries - the international bicycle trade show also set a new record in the number of trade visitors: A total of 46,300 trade visitors (2013: 45,200) from 111 countries obtained information about new products in the bicycle industry. With 21.100 bike fans on public day (2013: 20,400) and a total of 1852 media representatives from 46 countries, the bicycle event on Lake Constance again achieved a strong result. Here are few moments captured from Eurobike 2014.

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There were also relaxed expressions among the fair management: “The mood among the exhibitors is excellent; we see a high level of satisfaction on the part of our customers.” Messe Friedrichshafen CEO Klaus Wellmann, Area Manager Stefan Reisinger, and Eurobike Project Manager Dirk Heidrich are able to give a very positive assessment after four well-visited days of the fair. The world’s leading trade fair of the bicycle made “a clear statement” with its strong showing on Lake Constance: “The international bicycle business is in full swing here on Lake Constance.”

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All bicycle experts from around the world experienced a concentrated international product range in 14 exhibition halls, accompanied by some 300 world premieres and new products. Trade visitors from all over the world also flocked to Friedrichshafen. Trade visitors from a total of 111 countries were registered this year. FR MTB MAG | 29

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The date for Eurobike 2015 has been already set: The international bicycle trade show will take place from Wednesday, August 26, to Saturday, August 29, 2015. Demo Day is on Tuesday, August 25, and public day is on Saturday, August 29, 2015. More information is available on the Internet at: www.eurobike-show.com

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The points battle was hea Anthony M essere com ting up with ing into th Bearclaw In e vit leader of th ational as the overall eF rankings, w MB Diamond Series hile Brett R heeder an Brandon S d emenuk w e re n his heals. H owever the ipping at end result rather diffe was rent with R heeder tak victory, foll ing owed by S emenuk an Granieri. M d essere just missed ou the podium t on in 4th plac e.

While the first run go t underway, it was evident that thes e Diamond Series leaders were going to be the ones to watch for on top of the podium. Messere threw down a solid first run that put him onto th e leader board, at least until Rheeder dr opped in. Starting things off wi th a bang as he flipped off the North -Shore skinny first drop while flying down the winding course with oppo trick s and combinations off alm ost every feature. This run was a clear surge into first place but with the las t rider on course, Semenuk, the questio n was whether it would hold that po sition for much longer. Semenuk ende d up dropping in with an oppo 360 off the top drop and linking up into a backflip off the cannon that was evid ently one of the most difficult feat ures to trick on course. By the time th e results were in for the first runs ho wever, Rheeder would be standing on top with Semenuk only pennies behind him in points and Messere rounding off the top three. FR MTB MAG | 35

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When the riders started their second runs, all eyes were on the last riders to drop. Yannick Granieri was the first rider to really step things up. He polished up his front flip on the step-up and finished with signature tricks like his flatspin-360-x-up and an incredibly high flipwhip on the last jump. This run bumped Granieri into 3rd position in front of Messere. FR MTB MAG | 37

While the other riders came down course, Granieri was able to hold onto his 3rd position until the top two riders were left in the gate. Brett Rheeder was set to drop in front of Brandon Semenuk but this left a high amount of pressure on the leader, not knowing how hard he would need to should push in 2nd run – the decision was to go for broke and the entire crowd noticed that he stepped up his run right from the get-go: Backflip the first drop, oppo-whip the cannon, whip the hip, truckdriver the step-up, backflip-barspin off the step down, oppo-truckdriver on the next hip, cork-720 the first big jump, oppo-flip-whip the last big jump and finishing off with a perfect flair on the quarter to dirt! This solidified his lead over Semenuk and upped his score from run 1.

Semenuk dropped in for run two: Oppo-360 the first drop, backflip the cannon, whip the hip, double-truckdriver the step-up, backflip-barspin the step down, double-downside-whip the next hip, 360-oppo-donwside-whip the first big jump, cork-720 the last big jump, and 540-barspin the quarter to the dusty stuff. Nevertheless he was not able to overtake Rheeder and finished second. The fact that it is the first time in over a year that Rheeder has beat Semenuk, it was clear that he was over the moon with excitement. “The fact that we both went up and both did two runs and both one upped our runs, its just insane.” – Brett Rheeder

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Manon Carpenter (GBR) and Josh Bryceland (GBR) capture the overall title after the last race of the season in Méribel. Carpenter’s third place in the race was enough to secure her the deciding points in the hunt for the overall title. Bryceland’s third place destroys the hopes of Aaron Gwin and Troy Brosnan to win the overall title. In an exciting season final, Rachel Atherton (GBR) and Sam Hill (AUS) both celebrated their second wins of the season. FR MTB MAG | 39

In the women’s race, Tracey Hannah (AUS) first showed her ambitions for a podium. She put down a solid run and went into the hot seat beating Tahnee Seagrave’s time by 3,7 seconds. Emmeline Ragot (FRA) was the first contender in the hunt fort he overall title to tackle the track and she really ment business. At the first split time, she was already ten seconds faster than Hannah. After risking everything through the roots and rocks in the wood section, she took the wider line at the bottom section, but still smashed Hannah’s time by 8,7 seconds. Then it was Manon Carpenter’s (GBR) turn. She knew that she needed to finish at least in fourth position.

erall title with 1360 ov e th s in w r te en rp Ca on an M rton points in front of Rachel Athe Ragot (1300 points). (1310 points) and Emmeline

At the split time, she was four seconds behind Ragot. A strong bottom section let her reduce the gap to 2,7 seconds after the finish line and brought her into second position. This was enough for the young Brit to take the overall title. But the race was not over – Rachel Atherton showed a fearless run in the upper section over the rocks and roots and was 1,7 seconds in front of Ragot at the split time. She also found the fastest line through the turns in the bottom section which secured her the win 3,4 seconds in front of her French rival. It was the seond win of the season for Atherton. FR MTB MAG | 40

In the men’s race, Gee Atherton (GBR) showed a strong performance in the difficult wood section and took a lot of risk through the fast turns towards the finish. He beat the time of Markus Pekoll (AUT) by 2,7 seconds and went into the hot seat. After him Danny Hart (GBR) tackled the track, but didn’t find the fastest line through the rocks. At the finish, he was 1,8 seconds behind Atherton. Aaron Gwin (USA) was the next to come. He needed a top result in his quest for the overall title and to put pressure on Josh Bryceland, who was leading in points before the race. The first split was very promising for the American as he was just 0,333 behind Atherton’s time. He even found a faster line at the bottom section, but at the finsh line he still was 0,2 seconds behind Atherton. Sam Hill (AUS) showed a solid line through the difficult wood section and was 0,122 behind Atherton at the first split. Coming out of the woods, Hill hit the fastest line of all. Almost flying towards the finish line, he beat Atherton’s time by 1,1 seconds. Loic Bruni (FRA) had the pressure of racing on home soil on his shoulders, which saw him behind Hill at the first split. But his profound knowledge of the fast lines at the bottom section still brought him into second position after passing the finish line. Then Josh Bryceland (GBR) started his run for the overall title. He was a bit off the line at the upper section, but took a lot of risk over the roots and rocks which payed off for him. He was just 0,1 seconds behind the Australian at the split. Having the overall title at the back of his mind, he took the safer line through the last corners towards the finish. When he passed the finish line, he was 0,5 seconds behind Hill, but his current second position secured him the decicing points for he overall title. The last rider to tackle the track was Matthew Simmonds (GBR). He was the fastest qualifyer and showed his speed in the upper section beating Hill’s time by 0,049 seconds. His line choice was not as spectacular as Bryceland’s or Hill’s, but his speed let the two in the hot seat shiver. At the finish, Simmonds was 0,360 behind Hill, which brought him into second position just in front of Bryceland. So Sam Hill celebrated his second win of the season and Josh „Rat Boy“ Bryceland crowned himself to the overall champion of 2014.

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Josh Bryceland wins his first overall title with 1187 points after seven races. Aaron Gwins follows in second position (1038 points) in front of Troy Brosnan (1025 points).

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By: Miller and Dipak Panchal Miller is no new a name to BMX in India, he has been actively spreading the good word of bmx over the years in the North East region. He was also part of the RedBull Street Maharaja series held in Pune where he jammed along with Yohie Uchino and all the top BMX’ers of the country. He is one of the golden people who would always help a fellow biker who is in need of a bike or a set of wheels or even a tube, Miller and his entire clan has got great exposure to the scene from the north-east. Last month they hosted a fun lil contest on Independence day going by the name of “FREEDOM FREESTYLE CONTEST” which turned out to be a huge hit amongst locals and the young participating riders, so we gave a shoutout to Miller and here’s what he had to say about the entire event.

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The Freedom Freestyle event was a success for the organizing team and also for the BMX community here in Aizawl. Each competition raises the bar of difficulty level; this in return helps a rider progress rapidly. Freedom Freestyle event was held in Helen Lowry Higher Sec School, We expected 200 people as spectators the event but we did a head count at the entrance and till before the event we had over 4000 people. Despite the continuous rains on the other days, on the day of the event it was sunny and favorable for riding. Freedom Freestyle 2014 was a competition based on Freestyle Riding. A combination of both Street and Flatland. The riders at the beginning of the event had a guess pick on the riders they were going to compete with. It was based on a knockout concept and thus the number of riders decreased gradually as the riding level rose ending up with the top 3 riders of each class. Majority of the riders hailed from Aizawl itself and we also had 3 riders who came from Shillong. Fredom Freestyle is the 2nd event hosted by Unlimited Extreme Obsession (UXO).

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The UXO team constitutes of various disciplines of the extreme sports family and seeks to promote extreme sports all over the North East starting from Mizoram. The UXO Team couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have made the Freedom Freestyle 2014 event successful without the help of JK Enterprise, Avon Cycles, ZealotBmx, Zangena &Bros filling station, Sorazo, David marketing and Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine.

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mountain bike magazine

Photo: Vineet Sharma | Rider: Rahul Chauhan | Location: Chandigarh, INDIA