Enduro Magazine Issue 11.5 by FreeWheel Media

$6.95

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ASR

CARBON

HAND BUILD.

RACE BRED.

YETICYCLES CYCLES AUSTRALIA 783/ 539 PUREYETI@YAHOO.COM.AU WWW.PUREYETI.COM.AU YETI AUSTRALIA 04050405 783 539 pureyeti@yahoo.com.au / www.pureyeti.com.au DEALERS: NSW – BIKE ADDICTION 02 9938 3511 CITY BIKE DEPOT 02 9279 2202 BLACKMANS @ PENRITH 02 4731 3048 TBSM 02 9586 0138 ACT – BIKE CULTURE 02 6262 9233 WA – WEMBLEY CYCLES 08 9387 3708 QLD – CHAIN GANG 07 3715 8990 FOR THE RIDERS 07 3892 5356 EPIC CYCLES 07 3368 2324 NT – SPOKES NT 08 8931 3111 VIC – SPOKE(N) 03 9537 0522 BRUNSWICK ST 03 9416 1133 GRENSBOROUGH 03 9435 0833 ESC 03 9670 5925 QVB 03 9936 9790 Castlemaine Cycles Ph 03 5470 5868 SA – CRIME CYCLES 08 8396 1069 TAS – BP BIKE RIDE 03 6231 6202

Seeing double during the Absa Cape Epic in South Africa Photo: Sven Martin/Absa Cape Epic

REGULARS intro note new gear subscriptions

9 6 78

features Cape Epic PICTORIAL interview | tinker juarez growing from the egg ‘09 solo world champs’ ‘08 mont 24hr workin’ it with the ladies dirt works 100km interview | jack gresmer Gary fisher comes to town

10 18 22 30 42 50 52 60 62

reviews Bike testing Product testing

68 74

1. Rock Shox Reba Team

$1199.95

The Reba has been a popular fork since its release, offering light weight and stiffness. This latest Reba takes the stiffness equation a bit further with the tool-free Maxle QR 20mm axle, great for cornering confidence. The Reba Team also comes with all the adjustment options we are familiar with from Rockshox; external rebound, lock-out with threshold adjustment and the dual-air compression system. If you want a stiff, light enduro fork, these are a solid option. www.monzabicycle.com.au 2. Truvativ Noir XC Team

$649.95

These are a great looking set of cranks. They feature carbon crank arms with a forged alloy spine and the GXP Team external bottom bracket. The chain ring bolts are also alloy and the whole system weighs in at around the 800gram mark. If you’re looking to add that bit of performance to your rig, these will do the job well. www.monzabicycle.com.au 3. St Mel Designs

$15 - $90

Want some urban street wear to kick around in postrace? The crew at St Mel are devoted to small, limited edition runs of screen printed T’s, hoodies and other gear. Hand screened by the artists in Aus, the brand specialises in unique, wearable artwork that looks and feels the goods. St Mel offers kids, women’s and men’s gear and even a great range of bike-inspired designs for us pushie lovers who just can’t get enough. www.stmeldesigns.com

4. Light & Motion Stella 200L

$470

The neat-looking Stella weighs in at a scant 300g, pumps out 200 lumens and can run for up to 50hrs on its most economical setting. It has a mount for both handlebar and helmet and takes 1.75hrs to charge. www.scvimports.com.au 5. Hayes Stroker Gram

$479

This is a pretty tech looking set of discs. All unnecessary bulk has been stripped off the Stroker Gram. The brake body also includes a titanium master cylinder and aluminium-backed pads. At a claimed 355g with a 160mm rotor, they’re light and sexy. www.dirtworks.com.au 6. NiteRider Trinewt

$899

This is the big daddy LED from NiteRider. The Trinewt offers 500 lumens of power through 3 high-powered LED’s. It’s also available in wireless, meaning that you can control the light from the handlebars, regardless of where the light sits. A lightweight Li-Ion battery gives this little techo powerhouse a run time of between 3.5 and 7 hours. More info at: www.jetblackproducts.com.au

5. 6. 2. 1.

ÂŠ Design by Peppi | www.designbypeppi.com.au

sketch: Niki Fisher @ www.designbypeppi.com.au

renee junga ride calendar ambassador

ride calendar 2010 Ride Calendar 2010 is a not-for-profit initiative to increase awareness for international riders who have been involved in bike accidents. The calendar uses illustrations of athletes and is linked to a website with further information about these people and their extraordinary stories. The project offers a chance for readers to be inspired and learn from these guys as they face extraordinary challenges in their lives. All profits from the sales of Ride Calendar 2010 will go towards two charities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wings for Life and Brain Foundation. These charities provide money for research into brain and spinal injury. www.ride-calendar.com

ride calendar 2010 is proudly supported by:

CREW ISSUE 11.5mini publisher Freewheel Media Adam Macleod editor james williamson james@freewheel.com.au SUB Editor mikkeli godfree mikk@freewheel.com.au art director | designer Niki fisher Niki@designbypeppi.com.au www.designbypeppi.com.au Editorial assistants Mikkeli Godfree, Joel Mcfarlane-Roberts, Peter Knight, James Williamson advertising editorial ph: +613 9853 0841 mob: 0438 292 006 email: Adam@freewheel.com.au post correspondence to 29 loch st, kew, vic 3101 Articles printed in this publication are the opinion of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editors or publishers of enduro. www.freewheel.com.au print post approved PP320258/0114

intro NOTE Welcome to Enduro 11.5, an idea that took shape, both figuratively and physically, in about a week. This little magazine is all about giving you, our readers, something entertaining to read during the downtime of an endurance race, in between laps at a 24hr, or during that magical post-race haze after a tough 100k event. To achieve this we’ve gone through the last few issues and plucked a variety of articles out, from event coverage, to interviews, to gear reviews which will give a snapshot of what Enduro magazine is all about. The crew at Enduro have been living and breathing mountain biking for a long while now. We have a whole archive of glowing mountain bike memories locked away in the vault yet at the same time, we’re always looking for more. Enduro magazine is all about sharing our interpretation of endurance mountain biking with the rest

of you, and filling the mag with new experiences we’ve shared with as many people as we can along the way. From the people, to the gear, to the trails, there is plenty to get excited about in the mountain bike scene, far more than can be covered in a few pretty pages. Because of its size, Enduro 11.5 can’t share the aspirations held by its elder brother, but hopefully you read something in here that gets you that little bit more excited to get out there on your next lap, or train harder for the next enduro epic. So remember, the font size of Enduro 11.5 may be small, but our passion for the sport is huge. Enjoy. Willo

CapeEpic The 2008 ABSA Cape Epic took riders across the Western Cape of South Africa covering remote landscapes, amazing scenery and taking in plenty of wild animals. Over 8 stages, riders rode in two man teams, covering 966 km with over 18000 metres in climbing. It was the longest race in the eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history and attracted riders from all over the world including a bunch of Aussies. Check out the next few pages from the perspective of some of the best mountain bike photographers in the business.

The closest mountain biking will get to the Tour de France. Photo: Sven Martin/Absa Cape Epic

13 ENDURO #9

This was the first time the Absa Cape Epic included a prologue. The 17km race was mainly held on fast forestry roads and saw some close racing with the South African team of MTN Energade taking the win. Photo: Gary Perkin/ Absa Cape Epic

A road section on the epic stage three. Photo: Sven Martin/Absa Cape Epic

Stage 3 began with a 13 kilometre climb and kept going, giving the riders a hefty 133km of mountain biking for the day. Photo: Sven Martin/Absa Cape Epic

Taking a much needed water break. Photo: Sven Martin/Absa Cape Epic

Riders have a wash after a 130km race stage. Photo: Gary Perkin/Absa Cape Epic

The campsite at Bredasdorp after Stage 5 was a welcome sight after 146km in the saddle. This was the longest day in the history of the Absa Cape Epic, the stage cut-off was extended to 6pm to account for the time required to get through such an epic day! Photo: Patrick Cruywagen/Absa Cape Epic

XMC fork Allow you to build a speedy race bike as well as a comfy All-Mountain bike. Lower weight and increased stiffness = XM versatility. Long climbs are easily conquered with the fork locked and lowered. All XCM forks feature an air spring, coil negative spring, open oil bath. Adjustments include rebound, compression, Launch Control, launch control threshold. With weights from 1550g 26” - 100mm, 130mm QR or New 15mm RWS axle 29er - 80mm or 100mm QR axle

XRC RACE Ltd Fork The 1250 gram full carbon dream available now! Asked to come up with the ultimate no-compromise race fork ñ the Swiss engineers developed an all new High-Modulus carbon fiber upper as well as an all new, disc only carbon fiber lower paired with a set of postmount magnesium dropouts. The result is a full carbon dream, weighing in at just 1250 grams including the handlebar mounted remote lockout! 100mm travel 1250g, including remote lock out cable and lever High modulus carbon crown/steerer assembly High modulus disc only carbon lower with magnesium postmount dropouts

Dirt Works is a proud member of the Cycling Promotion Fund

DT Swiss are distributed exclusively by Dirt Works Australia 02 9679 8400 • www.dtswiss.com

A group of riders tackling the railway line on Stage 1. The stage left the coastal town of Knysna behind with plenty of climbing and ripping descents. Photo: Sven Martin/Absa Cape Epic

When youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re racing in the dirt, dust quickly covers everything. Photo: Gary Perkin / Absa Cape Epic

A local horse gets excited by passing riders on Stage 6. Photo: Karin Schermbrucker/absa Cape Epic

Tinker Juarez

Mountain biking has few celebrities but Tinker Juarez certainly fits the bill. Having raced for over 30 years, he has cemented himself as one of the most prominent characters in our sport. We caught up with Tinker during his brief stop-over in Aus for the Lowan Otway Odyssey 100k race. Words by James Williamson

Tinker tinkers | photo: adam macleod

our little chat photo: dave cooper

Tinker in thought photo: adam macleod

“Suddenly I started seeing these guys who I’d never heard of getting press in the magazines. It was hard to get press at this time and these 24hr guys were.”

I didn’t know what to expect coming into the interview. It’s weird knowing so much about someone – seeing them in photos and reading about them. It certainly creates a sense of anticipation. I knocked on the door to the small holiday apartment, climbed some stairs and found Tinker sitting at a table, a mountain of signed posters at arms length. It was a quick reminder to me of the pulling power of this guy. After a quick intro, I sat down, got out my recorder and we started chatting, about the next day’s race, naturally. “You know, I like the profile of the course, people might look threatening in the beginning but once it settles down I’ll know who’s actually going strong. If we get to the hills and I’m struggling, that’s when I might be in a bit of doubt.” As interested as I am in the race, I’m more interested in Tinker. He’s been on bikes for a while, turning pro in 1975. At 15 years old, he was the youngest pro on the BMX circuit. He grew up loving things on two wheels, addicted to the feeling of throwing a bike over a jump or through a berm. Motorbike racing was beyond the family budget, so he opted for BMX. Under a schedule that saw him racing three times a week, he soon filled up the trophy cabinet and was crowned the first ever King of the Skatepark in 1980. With the growth of mountain biking in the ‘80’s, he made the switch to cross country racing in 1986, “I like training hard and eating like an animal”. The mountain bike scene suited him perfectly. So he raced hard and in 1994, started riding for Cannondale, “It was still a new sport, everything was going in a positive direction.” Under a new sponsorship deal, he represented the US at the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta, the first time mountain biking was included in the Games. He backed this up, representing again at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Early this decade, funding started dropping from the cross country format. The major TV networks were pulling out, prize money was falling and attendance wasn’t what it used to be. Tinker had to make a decision at this point. With the scene shrinking, he was starting to doubt whether he could still make money from the sport. “Suddenly I started seeing these guys who I’d never heard of getting press in the magazines. It was hard to get press at this time and these 24hr guys were.” Seeing the coverage endurance and 24hr racing was getting, Tinker decided to give it a go. Training by himself all the time, he’d always enjoyed long, hard rides and was interested to see how he would fare in the longer format. In no time at all he established a name for himself as an enduro hard man. In the next few years he went on to win almost every US 24hr race, including four US National 24hr Solo titles on the way. For Tinker, “Suddenly racing was exciting again. There were plenty of races on the calendar with good prize money. I was picking my own events instead of the team choosing them like in the ‘90’s which was different, but I was enjoying the racing.” The endurance calendar also held an unexpected surprise for the veteran endurance athlete, when he met his then-future wife Terri, at a 12 hour race in Florida. “She isn’t like a really serious biker, she just loves biking. I met her at the race and things went from there.” Things went from there to the two getting married, “She lived in Florida and I lived in California but I really wanted to prove that I wanted this relationship, so I kept my house in California and moved to Florida.” The move was a good one; the couple had a little boy, Joshua, in ’06. “He’s 14 months old. He’s a great baby, a healthy little baby.”

Tinker enters a section of singletrack in the Lowan Otway Odyssey. PHoto: Andrew Connolly

“I have my music and I ride and see people in their cars, going to work, I love what I do. It’s hard to make a living from mountain biking at the moment and I’m still living so I can’t really complain”

“Having a baby is a full time job. You can’t just leave the baby and go training because the kid would be just like freaking out you know. It’s amazing that this little thing is depending on you, it’s kinda like you feel nailed to the floor but it’s part of life and I’ve just gotta make it fit with training. Meeting Terri and having the baby is the best thing that ever happened to me.” With life heading in the right direction for the new dad, it was time to re-visit an old enemy in 2007. Having twice finished 2nd in the World 24hr Solo Champ’s, this was the one race Tinker dearly wanted to win. “I heard the race was going to be at Monterey, I love that area, I have heaps of history there – I raced Lance Armstrong there back in the day. So I was excited to do the race, I knew this could be my best chance to win it.” It was 40 degrees, open and hilly – extreme racing conditions. Tinker shared the lead with Kelly Magelky for over half the race, with Kelly in the lead for much of the time. It looked like it was going to come down to the last few hours, until Tinker put his years of racing experience into the pedals and rode off. “It was hot and hard but I mean, I’ve had bad days in the heat, people think that just because you have dark skin, or just because you’re Mexican, that you can handle the heat better. But really, I just had a good day. It was a massive moment for me, I always kinda felt like the race maybe wasn’t for me but to win was really big for me.” He doesn’t act it, or ride like it, but Tinker is 47. That’s a lot of years on the bike. As the years add up, training is getting harder. Instead of focusing on intensity, he’s more interested in putting in solid days on the bike at a decent pace. “I keep track of my speed and my miles, I want to do the ride at a good pace and I try to hold it for a four hour ride or something. Heart rates aren’t really important to me, training in the super high zones isn’t so important for solo 24hr racing.”

His mentality to racing has changed with his racing focus. He talks of being very focused in the early days, really keen to make sure everything was perfect and prepared meticulously. “In the past I would never have flown here so close to the race, I used to make sure I had at least four days to deal with jetlag. I make my own show happen now though, I’m not part of a big team like before. So I’m more relaxed, it’s about the experience as much as the racing. I get to see a new place and new people so it’s worth it. I still get nervous on the start line and get butterflies in my stomach but I’m definitely more relaxed now.” We move on to what he expects from his life in the next few years. Sitting with a guy who has stretched the idea of how long an athletic career can last, this is a very open question. Tinker knows his deal with Cannondale can only last so long. “As long as I can keep making a living from what I’m doing, I’m going to keep doing it.” “I still love training, I love that high that you get. I have my tough days when I haven’t been doing any mountains for days and I know I should be doing some hard stuff. I have my music and I ride and see people in their cars, going to work, I love what I do. It’s hard to make a living from mountain biking at the moment and I’m still living so I can’t really complain. I still get really nervous and excited about racing – I think if I didn’t feel that same passion for racing that I do, then it’d be time to stop.” Those post-racing days have to come eventually though, even for Tinker. “I’m not really excited to own a bike shop or something – I don’t want to do that. I know I’ll be ok in the future because I’ve made enough in the good times to make sure I have some saved that I can live off. Really, I’ll be happy just to care for my son, it’s a full time job. I know I can be the best dad!”

Tinker muddy and tired, in the final sections of the Odyssey PHoto: Andrew Connolly

“I still get really nervous and excited about racing – I think if I didn’t feel that same passion for racing that I do, then it’d be time to stop.”

g n i w o grom the fr g eg

Words by James Williamson photos: Sven Martin

I remember picking up a mag back in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;02 and reading about the new Egg Beater pedal. I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t heard of the company, Crankbrothers, but that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter. Nothing mattered, they looked cool. In no time at all Egg Beaters were everywhere. With four points of entry, awesome mud clearing ability and a distinctive look, they took the mountain bike scene by storm. Since then, Crankbrothers have established themselves as a major force in the mountain bike industry. We sat down with the guys to get their perspective of these action-packed last few years.

Group ride, Crankbro’s style

As Crankbrothers are on the other side of the world, a face to face interview was a bit beyond our budget. Instead, I rustled up some questions, dug my housemate’s headphones out of the cupboard, and sorted out a Skype-internet interview. Head phones intact and a few failed dialling attempts later, I had part-owner Andrew Herrick, and head marketing guru Christina Orlandella on the other end of the line. We start chatting and Andrew is quick to point out that they are only a small part of the company, “…we feel that we represent the company pretty well, but it’s about the company as a whole, not individuals, I don’t want to feel like I’m taking credit for stuff I can’t do. Carl and Frank are the designers, I can only draw stick figures…”

The Crankbrothers story started way back before ‘mountain biking’ and ‘cool’ were anywhere near each other, back with a bloke selling bike lubes at races on the weekend to make a few bucks, and back to a bunch of bored scuba designers. Carl Winefordner and Frank Hermansen were designing gear for scuba gear but their real passion was in the bike world. Their first idea to really take off was the design of a functional hydration pack with a bite valve and screw cap (later sold to Bell) now wearing the HydraPack name. The guys kept designing, moving to tyre levers, pumps and multi-tools under the Crankbrothers name (Crank being a combination of Carl and Frank - “Cank didn’t have the right ring to it, neither did “Farl”). Things really took off for the company in 2002 when they built the Egg Beater and joined forces with Andrew.

clockwise from top: Pedal talk, Cranksisters, Mallet proto, Andrew Herrick

Andrew began his career selling lube on the side to make a few bucks. “I needed money, I was a road cyclist at the time and I started selling lubes with a friend to the mountain bikers on the weekend.” Andrew went on be co-found Pedros and was vice president of GT bicycles before joining Crankbrothers in ’02. With the Egg Beater in production, this is where Crankbrothers began to consciously forge forward with the brand that it is today. Andrew explains those early days, “I sat down with Carl and Frank. I said, ‘You guys are designers, we have to communicate this message, our message’.” He explains that this approach means the design of the products is representative of the entire company. Rather than tacking marketing on as an after thought, this approach promotes marketing uniformity. The products reflect the philosophy of the company through the fresh, design focus. “So I had a bunch of magazines, fashion style magazines. We flicked through them and any pages that we liked we ripped out and put on the table. We gathered what we liked, and that became the philosophy for our logo, our communications strategy and our brand.” These days a product is usually only as good as its

promotion. This is where marketer Christina plays a massive role. Formerly employed by Bike Magazine, she saw what was happening at Crankbrothers and said: “Hey! I want to be part of that.” So, she jumped onboard. “I may not be the greatest mountain biker, I’m not the one pulling massive air at the jump park, but it’s all about design, that’s what brings us together, that’s what we’re passionate about.” It doesn’t take long of chatting with these guys to understand that for Crankbrothers, it’s all about design. Grab a set of Egg Beaters off the shelf, check out the packaging, the stickers, the product, even the instruction manual, it’s all funky and fresh. An extension of this emphasis on aesthetics is their glamorous, massive office set on the beach resort of Laguna Beach. About a block away from the beach itself, it’s some prime real estate. The setting is amazing…so long as you don’t have to pay the rent. Moving away from the glamour, I bring up the flak they copped for the weak bearings in the early Egg Beaters. Not surprisingly they’re quick to respond. Andrew’s first. “Well, you know, most negative feedback we receive is well earned. There’s a big difference between testing 10 sets of pedals, and shipping out 10,000. A huge

inium crown, CrossHatch bored alum mised aluminium legs, a mag M7 MRD Fork , Absolute damping, opti , one piece reverse arch ting ping cas dam e Arch olut erse Abs Rev ng, c air spru Paraboli itou red The R7 family features a gold Al stanchions • TS m Man • 30m n el, trav crow ow mm holl 100 D system. Deep bore MR and a super light air spring e tabs • 2.8lbs/1271g • and post mount disc brak lowers, Evil Genius seals

Swinger X3 Rear Shock ology revolution At the forefront of the platform techn shocks, now with a has been the Swinger Air line of rear sweeps from four-position, hand adjustable lever which where in between super-plush to ultraefﬁcient and every ents: rebound, • Weight: 245g • Air sprung√Adjustm ing: no tools SPV platform pressure and air • Damp SPV, 3-way

ber of the Dirt Works is a proud mem Cycling Promotion Fund

ralia usively by Dirt Works Aust Manitou are distributed excl itoumtb.com 02 9679 8400 • www.man

clockwise from below: Christina Orlandella, Good times on the beach, Bike tree, Anka Martin

“It’s massively expensive to rent, too expensive to justify, but it’s about lifestyle. We have the beach close by, we feel happy to come to work each day. That sort of thing doesn’t have a dollar value.”

difference! It’s not a question of whether or not something is going to go wrong but a matter of when, that’s the nature of it. The best testers of a product are the consumers. Generally people are justified in their complaints and the best thing we can do is fix it, and fix it fast!” According to Andrew, the early problems were because they were only a small company and couldn’t produce their own bearings. Since getting bigger and producing their own, it’s no longer a problem. Christina continues, “We are a challenger brand so if anything goes wrong we have to fix it straight away. We have to offer great service. We aren’t the market dominators. We can’t be relaxed about it!” We move on to the company’s recent merger with Selle Royal. According to Andrew, “…as far as how it will effect the brand – only positively. We aren’t integrating our brands. All of the brands are treated separately and independently - Fizik, Brooks, Crankbrothers and Selle Royal. So, you will see no integration of products or marketing. But, we have a collective of people in England, Asia, Laguna Beach and Italy who care very much about cycling and have dedicated their lives to it.” Still on the subject, I’m intrigued to know how this

small group of like-minded people would react to possible massive growth? Can they still maintain their passion and small company specialisation? Andrew doesn’t see growth as a negative. “In order to maintain our uniqueness the best way to go about things is to make fewer models and sell more. Growth is a challenge but not growing is also a challenge, you have to maintain relevance, you can’t get complacent. Growth doesn’t necessarily mean a diluted brand message, or less quality product. In fact, growth can mean more resources and better quality. Growth doesn’t have to come at any cost to the brand message or quality of the product.” The conversation shifts to Crankbrothers vision for the future – and it’s got nothing to do with a pedal with 8 points of entry and an automatic cleat replacement system. In fact their vision for the future isn’t really about them at all. “We feel that the mountain bike world is on the cusp of something big. There isa huge opportunity to make the shift to a lifestyle base and a far broader market. This will bring in more brands competing at a higher level.” Christina continues, “We feel that it can definitely happen, it’s just a matter of a few companies making

small sacrifices and changes to get the ball rolling, and pushing their brand to the broader community.” Crankbrothers have certainly made an impact on the scene with their funky design and promotion, others are slowly catching on. “You know, in the 70’s both running and surfing were seen as ‘freak’ sports, it was weird and uncool to be part of that scene. Now both

In order to maintain our uniqueness the best way to go “ about things is to make fewer models and sell more. Growth is a challenge but not growing is also a challenge...”

are massive, glamorous industries.” With a heavy design focus, sound engineering and a niche product, Crankbrothers have really added a bit of spice to the industry. As mountain bikers, we can only hope there are more bored scuba designers and cashstrapped roadies out there.

DISTRIBUTED BY CHARLES PURTON IMPORTS - PH: 61 3 5248 2208EMAIL: CPI@IPRIMUS.COM.AU

OUR NEW XC MARATHON BIKE

The race village under lights

Aussie Domination!

bunch of our strongest Aussie Solo 24hr riders 24hr solo Apacked their bikes and bags, boarded the plane, and the trip to Canada in July to take on the rest worlds made of the world in the World Solo 24hr Champs. Dwarfed by massive hills and surrounded by muddy trails the Aussies completely dominated the event, taking out the top four placings in Elite Male, 2nd place in Elite Female, and plenty of age class podiums. Enduro magazine was there to get the low-down on 24hr racing, World Champs style.

Words by mikkeli godfree photos: Adam Mcgrath and john Gibson

Extra motivation to put in a flying lap 23hrs inâ&#x20AC;Ś

clockwise from above: The flags were out | Riders displayed typical elegant running style | John Waddell – the aftermath

It was about as different from Aussie 24hr courses as Maple Syrup is to Vegemite but as we know, Vegemite goes with pretty much everything and most aussies seemed excited pre-race!

anmore is a small town about an hour from Calgary in Alberta, West Canada. It’s the gateway to the Rocky Mountains, full of young and fit looking adventurers. The town was host to the Winter Olympics which left the legacy of the Nordic Centre, where the 2008 24hr World Champs were based. For Aussies used to flat dusty courses in the middle of nowhere, the place was a new experience with massive, dramatic mountains jutting up into the sky, clouds swirling viciously and thunder storms dumping megalitres in minutes. The track was a bit of an eye opener too. If you like climbing up steep rooty climbs with plenty of mud thrown in you’d be in heaven, but usually people aren’t so keen on doing that for 24 hours. The course was based on a ‘figure 8’ style loop. The first lap started with a massive climb and traversed a bit before a rooty and rough descent. It then went through a series of smaller climbs and fire road descents before heading back to the Nordic Centre, through a feed-zone and to the start of the second loop. The second loop was pretty much all fire road – apart from a super steep singletrack climb that quickly became a hike when the rain came down – the latter section had yet more steep climbs and finished with some undulating fire road. If you were feeling super fast you could cover the whole course in about an hour. Fatigued riders would be happy to complete the course in two hours as it turned boggy and riders’ legs started giving out.

It was about as different from Aussie 24hr courses as Maple Syrup is to Vegemite but as we know, Vegemite goes with pretty much everything and most Aussies seemed amped and excited pre-race. The days leading up to the race were sunny and warm but the forecast was for thunderstorms the Saturday afternoon of the race. Everyone knew the course would be a nightmare in the mud and darkness so it wasn’t looking like an easy 24hrs. According to Aussie representative Jeff Toohey, “this year’s World Champs was quite obviously designed to be tough with 650m of climbing per lap…it was a far cry from last year’s worlds which had a lot of open dusty fire-road.” In contrast to the brutal course, the layout of the event centre was excellent, based at the Nordic Centre which offered a dedicated cafeteria overlooking the race transition and a cleared flat area perfect for race transition and pit areas. The sun was out for the start and riders gathered in the timing tent. The individual rider call-up seemed a bit counter-productive as the hype petered out after the calling of the first twenty riders. With the biggest names at the front of a massive field, it was a scramble for their wheels when the gun went and the race was on. An epic run saw the riders cover some hilly loose climbs and descents on foot before making their way back through the timing tent and pit zones and grabbing bikes for a long ‘start loop’ through Canmore. From the gun, big names Tinker Juarez and Kelly Magelky joined Aussies John Claxton, Jeff Toohey, Mark Fenner and Enduro’s

LEFT: Kelly Magelky leads Jason English on Saturday afternoon | Right: The rain came with the night

own James “Willo” Williamson at the front of the race for the descent into town and a fairly substantial climb back up to the Nordic Centre for the beginning of the first proper lap for yet more climbing. The US duo of Tinker and Megelky attacked early and rode away from the pack as the four leading Aussies set a more realistic pace hoping the front duo would soon lose their impetus. Toohey was first to slip away from the bunch of Aussies, trying to bridge the gap to the leading US riders. Fenner and Willo continued to hold a solid pace while Claxton started slipping backwards. On the second lap Toohey started falling off the pace with gear problems while Willo managed to catch Megelky and Tinker by the base of the major descent. The front three rode together for another lap until Willo tested the others with a quick descent, creating a gap to the other two. Attacking the major climb on the second loop Tinker came across to Willo while Magelky started having problems of some kind leaving Tinker and Willo out front with a gap on the rest, Magelky drifting back to a slow starting, but threatening, Jason English. After the groundbreaking success of Craig Gordon, who crushed a very confident Chris Eatough, the floodgates had been jammed open. No longer would the Americans discount an Aussie they’d never heard of. As the paint started to set on the race’s complexion, Willo lapping consistently at the front, English winding it up steadily with Toohey and Claxton still in the mix, the

Americans were surely getting rattled. The hours wore on with small changes in position taking place but nothing as major as what was to come. At about 8pm the thunderstorm broke and in no time at all the track turned into a nightmare. This was a tough time for many of the riders. According to Toohey, “I don’t remember much of this part of the race at all. I do remember being caught in a thunderstorm mid-lap & my core temp dropping very quickly. I came into my pit absolutely freezing.” Climbs became an energy sapping boggy mess and some sections quickly became unrideable. One section of singletrack on the second loop turned into a steep, slick hike-a-bike, not great for legs or minds already sapped from 8 hours of intense racing. At the front of the race Tinker and Willo continued lapping together. Willo recalls, “Juarez never went to the front, he just sat on my wheel the whole time. This meant he was getting more of a break on the fire trails but it also meant I was able to gap him on the descents and he had to work to get back on.” Having let the leading Aussie do most of the work, Tinker got a gap close to nightfall on one of the first major climbs. This had turned into a few minutes gap over Willo by the pit zone at the end of that lap. Choosing to get a change of clothes instead of match Tinker’s attack, Willo let the dreadlocked hardman punch on through the rain.

Willo leading a styling Tinker early in the race

LIFE IS A RACE BICYCLES D’OPINION /

/ PRINCIPAT D’ANDORRA / WWW.COMMENCAL.COM

There was plenty of walking on the steep climbs and some tree root sections involved pedalling for two metres, dabbing for one, pedalling for two…exciting stuff… Another storm passes over

Things were looking good for the veteran Tinker until early on in the very next lap when disaster struck in the form of a spec of mud which got caught in his eye. No amount of flushing or prodding could dislodge the pesky spec, Tinker’s Achilles heel which would force him to withdraw from the race at the end of the lap. With Tinker out of the race, it was suddenly wide open with Aussies saturating the top-end of the field. Willo led with Jason English about ten minutes behind and a charging Mark Fenner not to much further back. Surely it couldn’t come down to this…Craig Gordon cracked the big one but three Aussies filling the top three spots…if they weren’t so mud-soaked and fatigued at this early stage, the top three would have been pinching themselves. But there were bigger fish to fry, like maintaining the status quo! The Aussies did fantastically through the night. Many a 24 hour racer has come unstuck in the night. Usually it’s down to fatigue and the increased difficulty of the track in the dark, but add to that some serious Canadian rain and you have a massive challenge on your hands. Willo built a gradual lead over the chasers as Fenner and English duelled for second place. Recounting the night laps, Willo said, “the track got horrible. There was plenty of walking on the steep climbs and some tree root sections involved pedalling for two metres, dabbing for one, pedalling for two…exciting stuff…” Exciting it was not, but separate the men from the boys it did. So with three Aussie men up the front, it became a battle of the antipodeans with the guys trading

blows all through the night. Willo chose the tactic of consistency over speed, gradually building a lead over Jason English. Word started getting out that an Aussie was winning the race and there were plenty of words of support out on course. Willo recalled “the vibe was great out on the track, team members always gave a few encouraging words, they could obviously see how brutal it was out there!” “You’d get a moment of being amped and excited when you came through the pit, every lap they’d scream for me, that was awesome! But then you’d have to head out into the muddy dark track, up the first of many climbs – it was tough times out there, for sure.” The morning finally broke and, with clear skies, the track began to dry up slightly. The course had lost some of that slickness caused by the thunderstorms and, with the benefit of daylight, got a whole lot easier to ride. Willo had pushed out a clear lead as the sun showed itself on those massive Canmore mountains. Fenner started closing the gap to English though and the battle for 2nd place was looking like a close one. At 8am Fenner had overtaken English for 2nd place and was feeling like he might be able to hold onto it until the current Aussie 24hr champ English attacked and passed Fenner. According to Fenner, “At twenty hours I’d taken 2nd spot Jason caught me on the climb. He attacked me hard and fast, I had nothing to respond and go with him. I tried and felt empty with nothing in the legs. I was a couple of gels down. Once I got the food down again I

Mike Cotty from Cannondale punching it up the climbs

“I remember being caught in a thunderstorm midlap and my core temp dropping like crazy. I came into my pit absolutely freezing. I went out again but I was suffering. Mud splashed in my eyes through every puddle, the drive-train groaned in the claggy mud. Add to this a bunch of tree roots that felt like ice under your wheels and a heap of climbing – it wasn’t easy out there.” Jeff Toohey

what the aussies eat

Probably the most common question for any 24hr racer is “What do you eat?” We pulled a few Aussies aside to get their secrets. Mark Fenner // High5 Energy Bars, High5 Energy Gels, fresh oranges and bananas, plain pizza, some home-cooked chocolate brownies. Jason English // a loaf and a half of Vegemite sandwiches, some GU’s, sports drink. James Williamson// white bread and banana sandwiches, jam sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, baked rice pudding, porridge, sports drink. Jeff Toohey// tuna salad sandwiches, banana jam & sultana sandwiches, pizza, risotto, porridge, hot chips, choc chip biscuits, Sustagen, strawberry milk, hot chocolate, ammo electrolyte, coffee with a bit of coke, the odd gel & some jelly lollies.

Willo gets tangled in some rubbish left on course

had a strong last lap and got back to within 6 minutes. I really thought I was going to catch him napping.” Oblivious to the battle behind him, Willo had enough of a lead to rest those weary, muddy legs at the 23hr mark. This was an amazing moment for the young Aussie, “I thought I still had to do one more lap but, my pit crew flagged me down and said I could stop, I didn’t have to do that last lap! As if the joy of winning wasn’t enough?! I was so stoked, I was preparing myself to head out again but I wasn’t feeling great in the motivation department, there wasn’t too much exciting trail out there to tempt me back out.” So, the organisers gave the call and Willo rode through the finish tape as 2008 World Solo Champion. “It was an amazing moment. Mentally, it was the hardest 24hrs I’ve ever done with the sections of hike-abike and the huge amount of climbing per lap. To get through it and come out on top was unbelievable for me, it just blew me away, thinking about it still gives me goose-bumps weeks later. Those few minutes at the finish are moments I’ll never forget!” Fellow Aussie Jason English came through in second with Mark Fenner nipping at his heels about seven minutes behind. English was surprised with is performance given his poor preparation, “The course was average. It wasn’t flowy, there were no rewards after the massive uphills. There were lots of granny climbs and stuff not even worth riding.” Luckily for English he hadn’t travelled over the other side of the world to just enjoy the trails on the racetrack (although that would have been a bonus!) he took home a well-deserved second place in an Aussie club sandwich. Toohey took out 4th place to complete an Aussie top four. “I had a really low patch between 6pm and mid-

Katrin Van der Spiegel// jam rolls and chicken noodles. My secret weapon from National Champs, bananas, just didn’t do it for me this time. Maybe I had too many at Easter… night but I started coming good after that. I was really relieved to get fourth, I’d been chasing people down for hours to secure 4th overall. This completed the Aussie podium of the event and I was really proud to be part of it.” In the Women’s race Aussie Katrin Van der Spiegel kept last year’s winner Rebecca Rusch on her toes to take 2nd place. Katrin went into the race fearful of the hilly course, “I was actually terrified when I first saw the profile of the course - with my bulky build I’m not exactly the best climber!” After putting in a strong performance through the night, Katrin hit the toughest part of her race in the final hours, “During the last lap I started to shut down - the petrol tank was totally empty. I wobbled home through the last few sections of track on autopilot. I was very glad to hear I was far enough ahead of third so I didn’t have to go out for another lap. I might not have made it back!” Across the finish line all the hardship was forgotten, “I was absolutely elated and grateful for the support I’ve received to get to this point.” The age classes were also dominated by the Aussies with Joel Donney taking out 2nd place in the u/25’s, Andy Fellows taking out the 25-29 category, Troy Bailey and fellow Aussie Jason Mcavoy taking 1st and 2nd in the 35-39’s and Craig Peacock taking the 45-49 category for yet another year. When all was said and done, no-one could ever have expected such a performance from the Aussies. Will it drive the competitors from other countries to come back fitter and stronger next year? Let’s hope for plenty more gruelling 24hr Worlds in the future…and maybe some nicer trails! Thanks to Canberra Off Road Cyclists (CORC) for providing airfares and cash to send our top Aussies to Canada!

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OLD NAME, NEW EVENT

MONT 24HR Words BY James Williamson & John Lascelles PHOTOS: Mikkeli Godfree, BikePix, Andrew Threlfall

At the risk of sounding like an old man of the sport, the Mont 24hr was a fitting name for an event that really took me back to the days of, well, the Mont. The event centre wasn’t too big, parking was easy, there were trees all over the course and everyone seemed relaxed and happy to be there. Hendrix was amazing too.

s these 24hr races get bigger they change; something that was glaringly apparent to me after the Mont weekend. Not that I want to be negative about the growth of our sport, bring it on! But there is certainly more of a sense of friendly camaraderie at these smaller, sub-1500 competitor events. Another thing to note was the no-solo rule. You can’t underestimate the difference it makes having no soloists on track. Years ago the solo thing wasn’t really taken seriously and this made the events more relaxed. Now that we have our own Aussie world champ, the whole weirdo solo format is taking off and it hardly promotes the idea of a relaxed weekend away. The knowledge that there is no one out there pedalling themselves to a vague stupor certainly adds to the stress-free atmosphere. Adding to the memory lane experience, the singletrack was vintage Canberra. Dry, dusty, twisty, flowing and super fun. None of the climbs were too massive, no section too long or boring, but if you wanted to go fast it was still a bloody tiring hit out. Also, with no teams under 4 people, the lack of traffic meant organisers could get away with a shorter lap, somewhere around 27

minutes for the Olympians out there. The only complaints I heard were that the shower truck was too far away for some…others complained that there are too few straws to grab at…but then complaining about showers and straws clearly shows how far these races have come. Personally, I’d add that maybe the track was a bit tight in some places for passing, resulting in a bit of agro. There were also some night time issues of people riding through bunting and either getting lost, or recording a super-fast lap time. Perhaps the best judge of an event though, a whole bunch of people I talked to had never ridden a 24hr before and left on Sunday arvo hooked on the sport. I was trying to think of a way to further describe the event and decided the best idea would be to grab a first timer to the format and get them to give us an account of their weekend. Having bought a mountain bike early this year, John set his sights on the Mont, survived the night and came out a wiser man. Read on for a different sort of insight into what makes this racing so infectiously popular…

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this page, clockwise from left: former junior dh world champion Amiel cavalier busted some impressive lap times | seeing double, and not a solo rider in sight | Olympian Sid Taberlay steering Gold winning SID forks around the course

The Mont 24hr according to:

John Lascelles

About a year ago I was having coffee with some blokes after our Sunday morning ride. Conversation turned to the Mont 24 hour. My mate Paul Bruce had done it twice before, in the solo category. He said to me, “Let’s get a 4 man team together. You, me, plus two other guys…we’ll go in the over 45’s category. I reckon we’ll be on the podium for sure!” “But I don’t even own a mountain bike!” “Well hurry up and get one!” A few months later I bought a Giant hardtail and a new world opened up to me. Until then all my riding had been on the road. I started off with RTA Big Rides, then got into touring, then road racing with the Southern Highlands Club, and then racing in “open” road race events all over NSW. The Mont came around and Paul stuck to his word and organised a four man team in the over 45’s. We set up camp on the Friday afternoon. There were about 30 of us from the Southern Highlands Club, all together in one area.

What a great venue! Majura Pines is tops. I loved the way we could drive right in to the campsite. Full marks to the Majura Winery for letting us camp in their paddocks. The race started at 12 o’clock Saturday. I was glad Paul did the first lap. The first wave of elite riders stormed off at a crazy pace. Riders were strewn everywhere at the back, going down like falling dominoes. Paul got caught up in the chaos and came off. He still did a good time though, and came back pumped. Our next teammate off was Wayne, and he too came back pumped. Then it was my turn. I’m a slow thinker. I take time to adjust to new situations. But there was no time for that — it was straight into single track. Getting around the roots, rocks and trees in that first kilometre made me nervous. After years of road riding it was like being sent back to kindergarten. Further on, the track opened up and I could go faster. Once I relaxed a bit the steep gullies on the course were fantastic. They gave me the biggest adrenalin rush in all my 52 years. I survived the first lap OK and handed over to our last

clockwise from left: John Lascelles (far right) relaxes with the team | With a team like this, how could you lose? Gu-Niterider Pro team were all smiles | Lights streaking through the forest | Andrew Blair drifting the corners for the Spearman Cycles/Giant DH team

team mate Roy in transition. I was bowled over by the camaraderie at the Mont. Everyone was friendly and united in a common purpose. No matter what level, all were striving to do their best. All the big guns were there: Chris Jongewaard, Sid Taberlay, Dylan Cooper and Shaun Lewis. I can’t think of any other sport where you’d have plodders like me and the cream on the same track. I expected to get yelled at for holding people up. Instead they would say “Cheers mate!” when I let them past. My second lap was the best. It was the only one where I managed to ride up the notorious Paul’s Pinch. In my lowest gear I only just made it and let out a loud roar to force myself to the top. I felt so good on this lap, and was sure I’d break 40 minutes. Alas my time was 40:50. I was staggered that the top guns were pulling laps around 28 minutes. Our team was well organised. We put our times on a whiteboard and could predict with amazing accuracy when each of us would come into transition. By the time the sun went down our team was coming 2nd in our category. I thought “Hey maybe we will be on the podium…just like Paul said!”

Then came the night riding. This was a totally new experience for me. I had one light on my handlebar and another on my helmet. I spent half the first lap adjusting the beam angles; they were always either too high or too low. Clouds of fine dust made it hard for the beams to penetrate the darkness. Even in daylight I’m not the most agile rider on twisty single track; at night I was bloody hopeless. I even went off the track a few times, cycling aimlessly in circles through the dark forest wondering where the hell the track was. And when I eventually found the track a group of lights were coming towards me. “You’re going the wrong way mate!” a voice yelled from the darkness. This cost us our spot on the podium. As the sun came up I heard we’d dropped back into 5th place.Our final result was 32 laps in 24 hours and 22 minutes. The Mont was a terrific experience which took me out of myself and pushed me to new limits. Special thanks to my team mates Paul, Wayne and Roy for making it so enjoyable, and to the organisers for doing a fantastic job. I’ll be back at the Mont next year. Bugger the podium. My goal will be to do a sub 40 minute lap.

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Workinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; it with the ladies Sparrow Hill, Canberra, 2007. One seat. One log. Six people. One snapped valve. One flat tyre. One bemused team mate. That was our first, rather unprepared experience of the Working Week Series concept, an 8 hour series with races across NSW and the ACT. Words by Nerida Rixon

ast forward to 2008. Four girls. Four bikes. 344 kilometres over three races. 32 rolls of toilet paper. 40 gels. 8 jars of Nutella. 4 fruit loaves. 16 failed pick up lines. 4kg of dirt carried home. One spilt coffee. 2 new car seat covers. The Working Week series is an adventure. Here are a few things we learnt from our first BMC Working Week Series: You don’t have to completely stop for faster riders. In race one, I pulled over to the side of the track and stopped as soon as I heard someone calling “Track, when you can!” I thought that meant they needed the whole track, and I should get well and truly off it. By race four, I realised the technical ability of the riders wanting to pass me was marginally above mine, and meant they could get past me if I moved to the side slightly, or cornered slightly wide even at my blistering top speed. Calling out “Race Leader” while riding as a beginner is not recommended. But it is very funny if you are not riding and call it out to the riders! Distraction can be beneficial. Distraction in mountain bike races can be dangerous, however a little distraction can take away the pain. A balanced approach to distraction, just like a balanced diet, is good. Riding at Currambene I decided to focus on the trees, they were remarkably green and lush. Riding at Appin was also very scenic; I focused on the incredible rock formations. Maybe I am just odd. But there is only so much lycra you can look at. On this point, my team mate coined a wise saying: “Lycra can be good, but white Lycra is bad. And leopard skin Lycra, questionable.” I love the fact the vast majority of riders will happily have a bit of a chat during the race. A sport where you smile, introduce yourself and pedal a section of trail with a random stranger is my kind of sport! Racing is not really racing. Importantly…it’s called a race, but really, we girls would not really say we are there to race. We just love hanging out together and doing something that we love. A bit clichéd, I know. But where else do you get the chance to act like kids? Really living and loving every moment. Oh, and what an excuse to eat bakery products galore and not feel guilty?! Your team name defines who you are. In our first race in the series, Jenko and I formed the team ‘Got Tickets’. This was a team name which reflected our personalities, but may have stopped people talking to us. Jenko and I decided pairs racing was a little tough and it gave me less time to showcase my dancing abilities while not racing. Four girls – 2 hours each – sounded perfect! So team ‘Here Comes Dan’ was born one evening while watching a selection of home-made mountain bike flicks on YouTube. Picture a young kid named Dan riding fairly slowly through the forest, up to a fairly large gap jump… and yeah, the poor kid landed rather badly, snapped his

forks and crushed his ego, but what courage!? Our next season team name may be: ‘two of us are single’ (however this may prove difficult to keep consistent over the racing season…). Whatever name we chose, it will define us! You can try a little too hard to win a prize. The girl that smiled excessively did not win a prize. The friend who trialled a BMC mountain bike did. Go James! Leg cramps are sometimes, only sometimes, a sign of a lack of fitness. Mmmm, Lithgow. I remember a lot of mud. I remember just a little bit of pain. Let’s just say 100 metres into my second lap I had major leg cramps. I rode just far enough so I would not cop a mouthful or a dose of laughter from my team mates. Then, I got off my bike and stretched, all the while, promising myself that next race I would work to be fitter and better prepared. Getting up at 5am to drive 2 hours to a race that starts at 8 am is not wise. Unless you have a trustworthy team mate who will start the race and keep going ’till you arrive. Racing the day before an exam is way hard core. The 8 hour races do take it out of you and while you have travel time to study/gossip/sleep, often the next day is also a write-off. For some, slogging yourself the day before an exam helps your mental state. However, for most of us, the day after a race day is spent in a dream like state, picturing your favourite sections of that “oh so sweet singletrack” and just waiting for the photos to be sent around! Stay on your bike at all times while racing. When you get off your bike to tiptoe across a river crossing, or walk over a log that has persistently caned your chainring...you will be caught. The cameras are always waiting… You can keep up with the top women in Australia… At least for 30 seconds. If they are riding solo, up a firetrail hill, on their second last lap, and holding a drink bottle in one hand. Often I rode alongside girls who are the ones I see in magazines. They were riding solo and I was in a 3. Yet they smiled and we had a chat. These ladies are amazing. Riding solo for 8 hours and smiling the whole time. Bring it on! If you think your home trail is fun, wait ’till you try the Working Week tracks. The BMC Working Week series will have you hooked. It is an awesome way to check out some new trails, hang out with your buddies, and meet a whole heap of new friends who are just as quirky as you. Entry is free for women and school age kids. Team ‘Here Comes Dan’ features, in varying combinations: Ez ‘endo’ Collins Kyles ‘Iron Horse maiden’ Jenkins Mel ‘smiley’ Olding Ned ‘where’s the camera?’ Rixon

Dirt Works 100km OK Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be honest â&#x20AC;&#x201C; signing up for a 100km race is not something I often do voluntarily, let alone signing up for two 100km races in 3 weekends! But seeing as I had a free bed and free entry thanks to Dirt Works, I was pretty hard-up for excuses not to gear-up! Words by Fiona dick photos: mark watson

opposite page: There were plenty of rocks on course | this page: It was a crisp early morning start

aving ridden the BMC-100 a fortnight earlier, I was curious about the Dirt Works 100km course given that it traverses one of my favourite riding areas, the Convict Trail out of Wisemans Ferry. Curiosity wasn’t the only motivation for me though – having already put my body through one 100km event I wanted to secure my Double Centurion finisher’s jersey, the reward on offer to those who completed both the BMC 100km and Dirt Works 100km races. I arrived in St Albans on a beautiful sunny afternoon and after a few work duties, set about the real work of the afternoon, supporting local business by patronising the Settlers Arms Inn. Pasta washed down with a few cleansing ales meant I had sufficiently carbo-loaded and I headed back to my nice warm accommodation feeling smug that I didn’t have to camp...until the next morning when my camping colleagues decided to use my bathroom facilities. Needless to say the crisp, foggy outside air was a better option! Timing my run to perfection, I just made it to the start line in time to join the last start wave. Heading along the opening road section the pace was high as everyone pedalled hard in an attempt to warm up. I was a little nervous, knowing that it would only bring us closer to the first dreaded climb of the day. I had hoped to at least make a decent attempt at Blue Hill but the recent wet weather made the going slippery. Soon after starting the slippery ascent I gave up and trudged up the hill with the majority, cheering on the occasional rider who passed by.

Upon cresting Blue Hill, the terrain undulated along the ridge-top and the mist cleared to reveal some fantastic views across the valleys. Fast, loose and rutted descents claimed the inattentive, including one poor guy whose carbon handlebar had snapped. Thankfully, he didn’t appear critically injured and was well looked after by the first aid crew. On the whole, the going wasn’t too tough and the recent rain in the area had done a great job firming up the sandy sections. I was having a fairly ordinary day on the bike with an increasingly sore lower back, but with no sheep stations at stake I took the opportunity to stop regularly to stretch and chat to fellow riders. I thoroughly enjoyed the Old Great North Road which offered great singletrack and the occasional technical climb before descending to the Clare’s Bridge 50km feed station – a welcome site! There were happy faces all around as we devoured lollies, bananas, GU sports drink and re-lubed our bikes at City Bike Depot’s mechanic station. I was in familiar territory for the next fifteen or so kilometres. When the road climbed out of Ten Mile Hollow I knew it wasn’t too steep or too long. Heading into a climb with this knowledge is so much nicer than wondering what might be ahead! I was looking forward to the technical section of the Old Convict Trail where I knew which lines to take. It was great to be able to pedal into sections knowing what was on the other side of the rock steps, and to be able to enjoy a bit of air time. I started to feel more positive about the prospect of completing the next 40km!

All up 73 riders attempted the plank and kayak crossing… | Hamish Elliot (1482) stayed at the front to take the win

The Sheppard’s Gully descent was exhilarating with its boulder-strewn surface and deep holes, but my hands screamed in pain from hanging on to the brakes!

The Sheppard’s Gully descent was exhilarating with its boulder-strewn surface and deep holes, but my hands screamed in pain from hanging on to the brakes! Popping out onto the tarmac at the bottom was a welcome relief and riding alongside the MacDonald River meant the crazy kayak bridge wasn’t far away. For the fourth running of this event, race organisers Maximum Adventure revised the route and came up with a cunning plan to get participants across a 40m-wide river. This involved a bunch of kayaks and scaffold planks. I had deliberately packed my mobile phone to provide an excuse not to attempt the ride across, although I did find that walking the planks safely was no mean feat! I made it across without adding a swim leg to the 100km bike. With that out of the way I was able to enjoy the spectacle of a couple of brave punters attempting to ride across, one of whom went for a swim. On chatting to him afterwards he happily reported that his iPod had survived a brief but total dunking, but acknowledged

that his mobile phone was well and truly dead – my flimsy excuse was now justified! Congratulations must go to all of the 73 riders who attempted to ride the bridge, successful or otherwise! Another short section of road delivered riders to the base of the other major climb, though the prospect of more lollies at the top made it slightly more bearable. From here I foolishly thought the hard work was behind me. Unfortunately this was not to be with plenty of pinches in the next 15km of track as we crossed the Womerah Range. A skull and crossbones sign up ahead marked the start of the final downhill, Jack’s Track. It was a steep descent with massive water-bars on which a lapse in concentration would have been disastrous. With the finish-line beckoning I kept my speed down to merely silly. Back on sealed roads, I was sure the rest of the route would be uneventful. Again, my optimism was misplaced

– a new creek crossing had been added to the course, this time with no ‘dry option’ and thigh-deep water. The cheeky marshal tried persuading me to ride it since no female had yet attempted it, but preferring grease rather than water in my hubs, I was happy to leave this honour to someone else. Still dry but tiring, the hamlet of St Albans finally came into view, meaning relief, beer, war stories and a new jersey for completing both events! At the pointy end of the field it was a return to form for Hamish Elliot, completing the course in a record time of 4:09:42, particularly impressive since he had a pedal failure and had to ride 25km of the course with one foot unclipped! Katrin van der Spiegel took out the women’s event while another course record of 1:51:49 was set by Drew Robertson in the 50km event. Presentations were fun and dramatic, with the news that a couple of riders required helicopter evacuation

Still dry but tiring, the hamlet of St Albans finally came into view, meaning relief, beer, war stories and a new jersey for completing both events!

clockwise from above: The bunch heads out in the crisp May morning air | The descents were fast… | …and well earned

– thankfully news came through that both injuries were not too severe. Also, a minor computer glitch meant an unorthodox approach to awarding the many spot prizes with Gary Farebrother plucking random race numbers out of his brain – it was like bingo night for mountain bikers! We have been assured that there was no bribery involved in the awarding of the major spot prize of a BMC Trail Fox 02 frame, worth $2000! Despite the lack of singletrack, the Dirt Works 100km Classic offers a good variety of terrain and spectacular views along the way all matched by a great event centre. I will no doubt be persuaded back again next year, and proudly wear my new jersey. Next year’s event: 3 May 2009 More info: http://www.maxadventure.com.au/ dirtworksclassic/

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> Infinit Inferno > OHV MTB Fiesta Merida 24 Hour > Peppers Cyclocross > Paluma Push > Flight Centre Epic > Merida Pursuit > Dirty Duo > National Cyclocross Championships > FCm Corporate Criterium

Image: Koala Productions; Rider: Tim Bennett, Merida Flight Centre MTB Team

events

Lachlan norris under 23 national champion

Photos_Evan Jeffery

SIX TEAM

FRAME/FORK: Felt SIX Carbon XC series UHM carbon fiber. Modular Monocoque Construction. 1 Piece Full carbon dropouts,1250grams; RockShox SID RACE 100mm travel DRIVETRAIN: SRAM X-0 Shifters; X-0 RD; X-9 FD; Truvativ Noir Carbon 44/32/22T Crankset; Sram PG-990 Cassette WEIGHT: 9.5kg/20.8lbs

for more information go to www.southcottcycles.com.au

rowena fry

elite womens national champion

felt proudly support the

discover tasmania national development squad

SIX pro

SIX elite

FRAME/FORK: Felt SIX Carbon XC series UHM carbon fiber. Modular Monocoque:1 Piece carbon dropouts,1250grams; RockShox Reba SL 100mm DRIVETRAIN: Shimano Deore XT Shifters and Derailleurs; Deore XT 44/32/22t Crankset and XT Cassette WEIGHT: 10.4kg/22.9lbs

FRAME/FORK: Felt SIX Carbon XC series UHM carbon fiber. Modular Monocoque: 1 Piece carbon dropouts,1250grams; RockShox Reba SL 100mm DRIVETRAIN: Shimano SLX Shifter; SLX FD; SLX “SHADOW” RD; SLX 44/32/22t Crankset WEIGHT: 10.7kg/23.6lbs

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Jack GresMER Who would have thought that a workaholic surfer could help to change the face of 24hr mountain biking. From humble beginnings and thanks to heavy event involvement, NiteRider has become one of the biggest names in night lighting. On a recent visit to our side of the world we caught up with the excitable NiteRider president Jack Gresmer as he came to check out the Mont 24hr race in Canberra. We grabbed a coffee and I fired off some questions about what surfing has to do with mountain biking, and how many lumens in a HID, or LED, or voltage, megawatts, power button…

How did it all start? Well, it’s a funny story. The company was founded by a guy called Tom Carroll. He was a construction worker by day and an avid surfer by night. He put together some lights so he could surf at night. That’s actually where the name comes from, as in riding a wave, not a bike. So really the name has nothing to do with mountain biking… Well, no. That was in the late ‘80’s. The bike side of it started in about 1990 and really took off. We sell lights to the diving market and motorcycle market but the mountain bike side of the business is by far the biggest for us now and luckily the name fits. You have a huge level of event support in the US. Is this important to NiteRider as a company? Yeah it’s basically the face of the brand for us. Obviously, a large aspect of it is about promotion. It’s also about us putting back into the sport. Without a thriving sport our

brand suffers so we really want to keep the whole scene going strong. We have a truck and 25 foot trailer that travels to about 25 events a year. It has 250 charge points and we have a full time event co-ordinator who travels from race to race. We have large market share in the US and this is just one of the ways we see to maintain this popularity. The biggest event we do is the 24hrs of Moab every October. People rely on us to be there, we have a full time tech man who is on call to service lights all weekend. What about rider sponsorships? Yeah, our involvement with our pro riders like Tinker Juarez (2007 World Solo 24hr Champion) and Jari Kirkland, allows us constant feedback. It’s this sort of feedback we rely on to make sure our lights are really suited to the riders. What about the product, how are lights evolving? We’ve seen a recent massive shift to LED lights. They are lighter and

more efficient. This is mainly driven by the big light manufacturers developing home and industrial lighting. What you mean house lighting will use LED systems soon? Don’t hold your breath but we are seeing the trickle down effect as massive companies explore the efficiency of LED lighting. Huge amounts of energy could be saved if big industry and housing used LED lights rather than halogen. Obviously, in our increasingly environmentally conscious world, this technology is growing rapidly. We already see HID systems in cars and LED’s are getting more common. So this is reflected in the NiteRider range? Yeah, well the new LED systems like the Minewt and Trinewt are an example of new technologies in our range, sitting alongside the proven halogen and HID systems. So, having been in the industry since the late 70’s, why lights? There’s plenty to love about my job. Sometimes I pinch myself. I think “hang on, I’m actually getting paid for this”. I’m getting paid to travel to races, to come to Australia for example. I love this aspect of the job. I like meeting new people and seeing new trails. Importantly, I also really like night riding. You can ride a trail in the day and come back and ride it at night and it’s like a completely new track, your whole focus is different.

We were in the middle of Sydney, in a flash hotel with shiny new bikes everywhere. Having been fed all the news on the latest Trek and Gary Fisher bikes all day I was getting tired, it was getting late in the arvo and I was hoping to miss peak-hour. But we still had to meet Gary. So, with Chris and Mick from Australian Mountain Bike, we stepped into the cushy lounges of the foyer and started our chat. Words by James Williamson Photos: Trek Bicycle Corporation

ithin a few minutes I’d forgotten about peak-hour and I’d almost forgotten about bikes – things were getting interesting. “We know this gnarly chick who only has one arm - she lost the other arm in a motorcycle accident. She’s crazy; she does this poetry where all words are misspelt. She’s, like, way out there and wacky. Anyway, we were asking around about bike names and we were out there at her house – she lives in a trailer park – looking out the window she sees her next door neighbour – she’s called Betty – and she is carrying these groceries and she says “Hey! Keep it level there Betty!” and then she’s like, “Oh, Level Betty – that could be a good name.” Most of the names for our bikes have got a good story behind them.” It’s not only the bike names that have a good story behind them. Like many people who become legends in their field, Gary started racing bikes in high school when there was nothing cool about riding bikes. “No one was riding, kids weren’t into it. The 60’s in the US was when the bicycle nearly disappeared.” In the post-war US boom everyone wanted to prove their success by buying bigger and better things like cars and houses. According to Gary, bikes just didn’t fit into this big-is-better landscape. “I remember I used to wear my crazy socks and woolly shorts riding and this girl saw me one day as I rocked up to school with my bike. She looked at me and said, “You farmer!” I had to cop plenty of flak back then because I rode a bike.” Over the next few decades riding went from archaic and laughable to cutting edge and cool – the world was changing. The underground mountain bike world was pushing the boundaries of what we all expected from bicycles. Gary and a bunch of mates were enjoying smashing down local fire road descents but Gary wanted more. He wanted be able to ride up hills as well as go faster down them – not too much to ask really, but there wasn’t a bike back then that could do it. If necessity is the mother of invention then Gary is her son, he went about building a machine that would let him ride where and how he wanted to ride. Gary introduced drum brakes, thumb shifters, motorcycle brake levers and cables and triple chain rings with longer crank arms to his old Schwinn. He soon found that not only could he go downhill faster, but that these cool, new rigs presented a serious business prospect. Sales took off and in 1979, in association with Charlie Kelly, he named their new company MountainBikes, with Tom Ritchey (whose story is a book in itself) as frame builder. They unsuccessfully tried to trade-mark the term ‘Mountain Bike’ in 1979 and the company dissolved in 1983 due to disagreement amongst the group. Gary decided to start from a clean slate and Fisher Mountain Bikes were born in the same year.

Gary Fisher is a flamboyant character. He’s renowned for his crazy costumes and today, talking to us in Sydney, he hasn’t let us down. In a loud striped suit, diamond shaped glasses and a smart little peaked cap, he looks like a cruiser who never left the 70’s. He obviously prides himself on his costumes; in fact he seems almost happier talking about his kit than his bikes. “I found this suit at a place called Dashing Tweeds…it’s actually Teflon coated and fantastic in wet weather.” The suit comes complete with long, bright pull-up socks to protect the lower suit legs from the chain. “It’s the first cycling suit I’ve had that I can wear cycling and still walk into a room and feel respected.” In his 70’s Yankee drawl, Gary Fisher is an entertaining bloke – you quickly get the sense that he’s more used to being ‘the talker’ while others listen attentively. Given his formidable history, this can be easily forgiven. Besides, he knows a lot about wheel sizes. “You know, 28 and 32 inch wheel sizes were very popular back in the late 1800’s, the 26 inch wheel was actually brought over from Germany in the mid 1920’s and that’s the size we all later adopted” Which

leads us to the 29er. According to Gary, he always wanted to build a 29er since riding in the Colorado Rockies back in the late 70’s. “Riding over there I was like, wow, I wish I had a bigger wheel.” The 29er came under serious consideration in the mid-90’s but it wasn’t until the late 90’s that the 29er was developed in conjunction with the Gary Fisher race team. “I got together with Mark Slate from WTB – they were the race team tyre sponsor at the time. Mark developed a tyre and I built a bike that matched my 26inch bike specification as close as possible.” Gary did months of testing the 29er alongside the 26er and over a set course with a heart rate monitor, established that the 29er was 3-4% faster. “The first bike used a steel frame with a Manitou Fork that you could unbolt and adjust the fork length, it was a one-off fork.” The testing advantages obviously differ according to the specific course but this was enough for the trend to gather some serious momentum, enough for Gary to develop a production 29er. “We used like a 700c wheel and then we put the tyre

on and it measured something like 28 and 7/8ths in wheel size, so I said, ‘To hell with it, let’s call it a 29er!’” “The bikes have their downfalls though, people want compact bikes and the 29er is a big bike you know – it’s not for everyone.” Gary’s raw character is a refreshing contrast to the glossy marketing buzz-speak we are used to from bike companies and product brochures. His straight-talking manner suggests he’s happier out the back playing with an angle-grinder and tape measure than talking people through company philosophy in the board-room. With his name all over the Trekowned Gary Fisher bikes though – he has his own ‘Gary’ link on the website – he can’t shy away from company speak, which leads us to the latest Genesis 2 (G2) geometry. Broadly speaking, the technology was introduced to make the bikes more responsive to steering input in tight trails. Gary was a little shaky during the earlier dealer presentation on the specifics of suspension leverage ratios, talking geometry reveals no such haziness. “Geometry is what I

Sketch: Niki Fisher

“I remember I used to wear my crazy socks and woolly shorts riding and this girl saw me one day as I rocked up to school with my bike. She looked at me and said, “You farmer!”

love, it’s fundamental to how a bike handles. I don’t nessarily know what works but I just keep experimenting, it’s not just my input too, I get feedback from riders to understand where we can improve, G2 stems from this.” As a young downhill pinner who loved welding whatever he could to an old Schwinn, Gary basically had free reign to do as he pleased. However, with increased production come inevitable constraints. “Whenever you start making bikes for a good number of people you become a bit of a slave to the market. It’s easier to give people what they think they want rather than what you think they want.” Despite this, Gary maintains that he still has a good level of input into the company he started and that, since Lance started tearing it up the French mountains, the company has put a lot more money into development and research. “I’m more like the eyes and ears now, someone comes up with an idea and I have a look and let them know if it’ll work.” It’s obvious that Gary has had to make a few adjustments over the last few decades as his company has grown to be an international player. If he’s struggling in his role as talker rather than welder, you wouldn’t know it though. He continues in his light-hearted mellow drawl, “Some of these engineers we have on board, they come up with the most out-there designs, really wacky ideas, and I’m the guy who tells them whether we can turn it into a bike. You have to know the rules in order to break them.” More info on Gary Fisher, the man and the bikes, can be found at www.fisherbikes.com

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TESTING

Pivot Mach 5 Words by Hamish Armstrong | Photo: Sportograf

Pivot Cycles are a new brand on the Aussie scene, featuring a bunch of dual suspension models for cross country and endurance racing. The company’s credibility is helped significantly by the reputation of its founder Chris Cocalis. Chris began tinkering with bikes in the 1980s and formed Titus Cycles in 1991. Pivot Cycles was established in 1997. The bikes also feature the DW-Link suspension design from Dave Weagle, seen, ridden and rated previously by our Enduro test crew on the Iron Horse in Issue 9. So while the company may be new to Australia, the brand has some formidable experience behind it. We recently had the pleasure of testing the Mach 5 which, according to owner Cocalis, is aimed squarely at the 24hr racing and all day trail ride market – we were itching to get it dusty. The Bike The Mach 5 features a few pieces of interesting technology. The bike comes with a zero stack headset. This system takes normal bearing cups – like an external 1&1/8” headset – but the entire headset cups fit inside the frame. This is designed to offer the benefits of an external system, in that it is separate to the frame, while offering reduced height in the front end. This is particularly beneficial to shorter riders as suspension forks continue to gain in travel and ride height. Also, the larger head tube provides a bigger platform to weld to, and allows increased strength and stiffness. In accordance with the oversize theme, the bottom bracket shell is fat enough to house a 92mm BB. The system uses internal Shimano XTR bearings for easy crank installation – no spacers required. This creates a fatter, stiffer frame at the point where the rider puts the power down and allows for a larger lower down tube. The rear suspension features the much-hyped DW-link design. The rear suspension is designed to eliminate pedal-induced bob during hard pedalling while also providing additional traction, tracking with irregular terrain on the climbs. The system has a rearward arc initially and moves to a vertical path so as to remain active for the entire length of its travel.

The Mach 5 we tested ran a pretty sweet spec list. The drivetrain was taken care of with Shimano XTR while Fox took care of the suspension with Talas RLC 140mm front forks and an RP23 rear shock. The bike was rolling on the new Jetblack Rocket wheels and Syntace took care of the bars, stem and seat post with a WTB Rocket V seat. The Ride This bike is a blast. I headed out for a lap of my favourite XC loop and was immediately impressed by the bike’s climbing ability considering it had over 5 inches of travel on offer. Plenty of bike companies claim a lack of bob but still feel a bit like an old soft mattress on the climbs, not so in the case of the Mach 5. It felt fast and responsive under hard pedal input and the whole bike felt light and was easily thrown around – not like a big travel duallie at all. Seated climbing over rough stuff also worked a treat. I was excited. With a 69 degree head angle and a 140mm fork, the front end felt quite relaxed. As expected, this made it a bit slower to react in flat tight sections compared to a shorter travel rig but it translated to stability and fun on the descents. I felt really confident on the Mach 5 when the trail pointed down, happy to let the brakes go for as long as possible The bike almost felt like a fully

Approx: $9500 (Demo model)

Syntace Carbon, WTB Rocket V

Syntace F119

Syntace Carbon

Shimano XTR

RRP

Seat & post

Stem

Handlebar

Magura Marta SL

Crankset

Kenda Nevegal 2.3

Brakes

JetBlack Rocket Wheels

Shimano XTR

Shimano XTR Direct Mount

Tyres

Rims

Shifters

Fox 32 TALAS RLC Fork

Derailleurs

Mach 5 Aluminium Frame

The Mach 5 got put through its paces at the recent Scott 24hr

blown DH rig, soaking up bumps and rocks with confidence. Fast, open corners were super fun on this bike, allowing you to get some controlled drifts happening without too much trouble. The frame proved durable and reliable during the test period with no bearing play or suspension noise. Some of the spec let the bike down though. The Magura brakes looked the part, with their red anodised body and carbon lever, but their performance wasn’t great, they lacked in feel and power. Also, the Kenda Nevegal tyres are a great tyre, with an aggressive tread design, but I always feel that they don’t offer a soft enough compound. The stiff knobs mean that the tyres start to slide, instead of biting in, when you really need the grip. On the flipside, it means they offer great

durability. The Syntace bars too, looked great and were lightweight but they had way too much sweep and felt terrible – a problem easily fixed. If this bike was mine I’d throw some Juicy Ultimates on and replace the bars with something offering a one inch rise and more conventional sweep and I’d be happy. The rest of the spec worked a treat. The verdict New bike designs are exciting, the Pivot Mach 5 provides a really convincing package as a 24hr or all day trail bike. If you can afford it, it’s super comfortable and makes descending an absolute blast.

TESTING

Commencal Super 4.2 Words by Nic Eccles | Photos: Damian Breach

The Commençal Super 4 is a striking-looking bike. In fact, it’s one of the best looking bikes I’ve seen in a while and judging by its popularity on the trails, plenty of people agree with me. Commençal is a French company with a big presence in the Euro race scene and plenty of credibility behind them. Despite this, they don’t have a strong representation in the Aussie XC/Enduro scene. We grabbed their latest 4 inch bike to see how it stacked up. The Bike The Super 4 is an all-new model for ’09. It’s designed as a light-weight trail bike for the weekend warrior or 24hr team rider. The bike features the Commençal Contact System which is designed to maximise grip and minimise pedal-induced ‘bob’. As well as focusing on small bump sensitivity, time has been taken to offer smooth big hit absorption without bottom-out. The location of the main pivot that connects the front triangle to the rear triangle is crucial in establishing the balance of the bike. The Super 4 is designed in such a way as to allow for relatively even weighting between the front and rear. The position of the main pivot allows for a less active suspension system – and reduced bob – in the small and middle rings, and greater suspension action in the big ring when descending and taking in bigger hits. Commençal worked in conjunction with Fox to establish the pedal platform and ride quality of the Super 4. The Super 4.2 sits in the middle of the Super 4 range, offering a quality spec mix without going too boutique. Plenty of component manufacturers have been called on to get the Super 4 rolling off the factory floor. The bike features Rock Shox Reba SL 100mm forks and Fox RP2 rear shock. The rest of the bike is a mix of parts: SRAM X.7 shifters, X.9 rear derailleur and Shimano Deore front mech with Truvativ Firex cranks, Formula Oro brakes,

Mavic rims and Commencal branded hubs. It doesn’t stop there though; the stem is Race Face, the bars Commençal branded and the seat and post SDG I-Beam. Finally, the bike comes with Maxxis Larsen TT tyres. Phheww… time for a ride! The Ride This bike offers an interesting ride. At 69.5 degrees the head angle is on the relaxed side for a cross-country bike, making it feel more trail bike than race bike. On the flipside, the top tube is longer than what I’m used to which countered the relaxed steerer on the trail giving it a nice mix and making it feel well-weighted and stable. On the climbs, this bike changed character dramatically depending on suspension pressure. Slightly under pressure, the bike felt a bit “mushy” on the climbs, add 20psi to the rear end and the bike felt super-stiff and responsive. This gives the Super 4 great versatility; if you know you’re heading out for an epic day on the fire-roads with plenty of climbing you can bump up the pressure for a firm, smooth ride. Drop a bit of pressure for a soft but comfortable singletrack machine. With its slacker head angle, this bike is a really competent descender. It felt super stable and secure in the rough stuff and wasn’t easily upset over rock drops. In loose, fast corners it was easy to maintain good weight on the front wheel and keep the bike tracking in the

right direction. The Super 4.2 felt right at home digging into berms – where the suspension squatted nicely – and soaking up the nasty stuff on fast descents. This is clearly a well-engineered and developed bike. Its nature is that of a super-comfortable all day bike. It’s not the sort of bike you’d smash up the fire road on with max heart rate, the geometry and ride characteristics aren’t designed for that. The slackened geometry isn’t super fast in tight sections either but open fast stuff is where you really start to smile more than you would on a steep-angled race bike. Track-side smiles aside, the rear bushing developed some play and had to be tightened early on in our test. It was quickly fixed though and we didn’t have any problems after that initial adjustment. Also, the rear brake developed a terrible noise when I got some dust in

SDG I Fly/SDG I Beam

Race Face Evolve XC

$4500 RRP

Seat & post

Commençal 1” rise oversize

Stem

Truvativ Firex 3.3 Giga X pipe

Handlebar

Formula Oro 18k

Maxxis Larsen TT 26x2.0

Crankset

Brakes

Mavic X317 disc

Tyres

Commençal sealed (F)/Shimano XT (R)

Rims

SRAM X7

Hubs

SRAM X9 (R)/ Shimano Deore (F)

Shifters

Fox RP2

Derailleurs

Rock Shox Reba SL 100 Fork

Rear Shock

NEW SUPER 4 100mm Frame

Eccles looking serious

the rear calliper. This is a problem that I’ve experienced before with Formula brakes, after a good clean it was running quietly again. Finally, the Truvativ Firex cranks are a cheap option and do tend to let down the quality feel of the bike, I’d swap them for something juicier if this bike was mine. The Verdict This is a great rig. Thorough engineering and design isn’t something that you can read about in the spec sheet and isn’t something that’s easily explained, but the Commençal has it. The Super 4.2 offers something different and unique in a crowded market. The test bike had a few small glitches but I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending the Super 4 to someone who likes ‘the ride’ more than ‘the race’ and wants a shiny piece of machinery to help them experience it.

TESTING

GT Zaskar Expert Words by Nic Eccles Photos: Adam MacLeod

The Bike The GT Zaskar is finished in a simple white with subtle green highlights and sharp black graphics. It looks tough and fast. It’s amazing how quickly we get used to the oversize look of carbon frames, in comparison this aluminium GT tubing is skinny and sculptured, it’s especially noticeable when you’re looking down from the cockpit. The bike is finished with a comprehensive spec. mix. The forks are Rock Shox Recon Race with lock-out and rebound adjustment. The drivetrain is complete Shimano SLX – no down-spec’ed cranks or front derailleur here. The theme of quality continues with a Mavic CrossRide Disc wheelset and Ritchey stem, bars and post topped off with a Fizik Gobi saddle. It’s a comprehensive and quality package without any glaring weaknesses. The Ride With the development and progression in the dual-suspension market and the industry’s continued love of carbon, the humble aluminium

Back when I was young and impressionable I used to watch Olympians Rob Woods and Josh Fleming race on aluminium GT Zaskar hardtails, complete with the ‘Triple-Triangle’ design, and dream of one day riding one. If you don’t set your dreams too high you can live them, and proving this, I picked up the latest GT Zaskar Expert for testing and ticked off another box on my ever-dwindling dreams list.

hardtail seems to have been largely forgotten over the last few years. As a result, it’s been a good while since I pedalled one. That said, it only took a few minutes in the singletrack for all the memories – some good, some bad – to come flooding back. This bike is nimble and light. Pedalling it to the trail and out of the saddle, it eagerly jumped forward with each pedal stroke. On the trail too, it was easy to throw the bike around and get a bit of air. The back wheel was happy to skip through corners while jumping over logs proved almost effortless. You immediately notice the uncompromising, direct nature of the aluminium frame. With about 35psi in the tyres, I was feeling every bump through the modestly-padded Fizik saddle. The ride was on the harsh side but this translated to direct and very effective power transfer when it came to sprinting up small pinch climbs or out of corners. There’s not much power lost in frame flex on the GT, that’s for sure. The bike also comes with GT branded

lock-on grips. Matched to the flat, aluminium Ritchey bars, they offered great communication with the trail, perhaps too much as I soon found my hands feeling a bit sore without generously padded gloves. If the bike were mine I’d throw on some foam grips to add a bit of compliance here. With a 71 degree head angle matched to a 100mm fork and a 6 degree rise 90mm stem, the bike felt short and snappy. The top-tube certainly felt shorter than its almost 60cm horizontal length. It was quick to turn in, particularly on tight, uphill switchbacks and made me feel like a bit of a tight-trail guru compared to my fumbling efforts on more relaxed-angled bikes. The shorter setup also made steep and techo climbs a breeze as I was able to get enough weight over the front but still keep traction on the rear. When the trail pointed down, the bike maintained solid composure and, with the riser stem and 680mm bars, felt confident. With the stiff frame, I did notice the rear wheel doing a fair bit of chattering on descents

$2599

Ritchey / Fizik Gobi XM

Ritchey 4-bolt

Ritchey Pro 680mm

Pete shows the GT at its best: out of the saddle and accelerating like mad

RRP

Seat & post

Stem

Shimano SLX

Handlebar

Shimano SLX

Crankset

Kenda Karma 26x2.0

Brakes

Mavic CrossRide Disc

Tyres

Shimano SLX

Rims

Shimano SLX

Shifters

Rock Shox Recon Race

Derailleurs

Kinesis Superlight aluminium

hard; but it proved to be really impressive. It was comfortable on the trail and its narrow shape meant it was easy to slide over the back on steep descents. The Verdict This is a raw, fast cross country bike for those who like to thrash around on the trails with not much to numb the experience. The skinny aluminium frame, flat bars and narrow saddle are there for speed over comfort. Although not at the premium end of the market, I think of the Zaskar as the Lotus Elise of the bike world – it has everything you need to go fast, nothing extra, and provides a hell of a ride if you’re willing to put in the energy. The Zaskar is for the rider who wants to go fast and doesn’t mind getting thrown around a bit in the process. At a bargain price point, it offers a very convincing package.

Fork

confidence on the trails. The Kenda Karma tyres, with their large and evenly spaced nobs, proved durable and grippy in a variety of terrain. Although not especially convincing in thick dust, they offered great grip on the typically hard-packed local trails. The Mavic CrossRide wheelset also proved to be a durable, fast-rolling and good looking set of hoops that didn’t bend or buckle during our test. The Shimano SLX drivetrain looks great in subtle grey and provided reliable shifting and braking performance. We did have a problem with the thumb shifter on the rear sticking forward. It wasn’t a big issue, you could knock it back with your thumb or it would generally move back into position after a few seconds, but it was a small fault in an otherwise great package. The Fizik saddle at first felt a bit too minimal and, well

Frame

though, taking away from rear wheel traction and making for a harsh ride through braking ruts. On the flipside, the frame of the Zaskar is a solid unit, not only in terms of power transfer on the climbs, but also when cornering hard on descents, I never felt the bike squirm or flex under me, which is also obviously a product of the solid Rock Shox Recon front forks. The spec. mix on the bike held up well. The Rock Shox Recons have good adjustability with external lock-out and rebound adjustment, the lock-out was great for punching the tarmac, fully rigid style, prior to hitting the trails. Although perhaps they’re a bit on the heavy side at over 1800 grams, the forks offered a plush ride and also added confidence in the techo stuff. If you ask me, I’m happy to be loaded up with a few more grams if it means greater

Crumpler Bumper Issue $145 Established in Australia in the mid ‘90s, Crumpler has made a name for itself over the years with a fresh and funky image specialising in bags for bikers. They’ve typically directed their gear to the urban commuter market but, showing a diversification for the company, the new Crumpler Bumper Issue is happy to trade lattes and laptops for lung-busting singletrack. Words by Robbie Morris

TESTING

n accordance with the brand’s image, the Bumper Issue comes complete with loud colours and a unique style. The colour option we tested was Black/Gunmetal/Rotten Orange, and in typical Crumpler style, it also comes in several other well chosen and vibrant colour combos. Anyone familiar with Crumpler’s messenger bags will be pleased to see their quality standards have been transferred to this new pack – the Bumper Issue features great styling, good use of colours and design, rugged materials and quality buckles & webbing. As a larger volume hydration pack, the Bumper Issue is great for all day rides, commuting, and day walks when you’re off the bike. It also doubled as a great shopping bag, I was able to pack a good weight of groceries inside and strap some to the outside. If your load is smaller and lighter, the side straps cinch down to effectively secure the load and reduce the volume of the pack. These straps also enable you to carry long objects well, like a pump, trekking pole, or spring onions, helped by the clever sleeve at the base to support your object of choice. Taking side carrying to the extreme, I was impressed to find I could even strap on a set of skis.

Using the side straps does come at a price to aesthetics though, as objects started to cover the good looking and high visibility “Rotten Orange” coloured side panels. Compartment-wise the pack has a main tapered pocket, with a stretch mesh divider passing to a gusted front pouch, and two zippered pockets accessed either side of the face of the pack. The sleeve at the back houses the neat Source-branded bladder and can be used as a separate compartment. The pack is well equipped with features. The reflective highlights are a great idea and the bottom strip is very visible, however the reflective ‘eyes’ which sit behind the clips were much less effective. The use of light coloured material for the interior of the pack is a good idea as it makes it easier to see into the depths of the bag to find that last hidden muesli bar or multi-tool. The zips on the two front pockets are of a decent gauge and felt good quality. Thanks to smart design their placement also means they won’t undergo much stress; all the better for longevity. The hip belt worked well, in part due to the back length as I was able to carry the weight on my hips rather than high on my waist. Any backpack is going to result

in some back sweat, and of course the bigger the contact with your body the more sweat. Being a bigger pack than your super slimline bladder & banana fitting hydration pack I did notice the sweat, but the central channel cut-out through the harness back section reduced its impact. There were a few limitations I found with the Bumper issue. The allowance of webbing for the main compartment clip is a bit short. It’s fine for low volume loads, but it limits the ability to pack it to the brim, or strap in a bulky item. Also, the shoulder straps sit very wide. They fitted me well, with help from the sternum strap, but for smaller riders they may sit too wide. Finally, the hydration bladder tube runs neatly through a sleeve in either shoulder strap, but due to the seam allowance I could feel the tube in the strap when it was on my back, particularly with heavier loads. Overall the bumper issue is a neat pack which looks the goods. It’s great to see a fresh take on the hydration pack theme. The Bumper Issue performed well and would be a solid ‘own one, do most things’ pack, or a niche player in a riding pack arsenal. www.crumpler.com.au

Avid Elixir

5 $2e19r e.9nd p

Words by nic eccles

he Avid Elixir hydraulic disc brakes are the latest offering from SRAM to run alongside the current Juicy and Code models. We tested the Elixir R model, which has lever reach adjustment but no pad contact adjustment and comes in at the lowest price point of the Elixir range. An Elixir CR model, which has the addition of tool free pad contact adjustment, has now been released with rumours of light weight models, similar to Juicy Ultimates, being mentioned by the secret squirrels on the trails. Elixir brakes are a dual piston system – that’s one for each pad, folks – and Avid claim they fit in between the Juicy (enduro/XC / trail riding) and Code (All mountain/ Freeride/ Downhill), for the amount of power they produce. Highlight of the new Elixir range according to the tech gurus is the TaperBore technology. This system offers a simple integrated reservoir design which reduces weight, increases power and modulation and also provides better pad clearance. On the scales, these base model units are claimed to be lighter than the base model Juicy by about 20 grams. On my kitchen scales, I make them about 50gms per end heavier than my usual Juicy Ultimates, which after the maths is done, makes sense. The last part to mention before the test rides start, is the new method of changing the pads. I’m impressed. It does require yet another pad design from Avid but

changing pads is now a simple task. Step one, remove the Allen key bolt, step two remove the pads. That’s it. Just reverse those two steps to install new pads. Ok, if your old pads are badly worn you do need to remove the wheel and force the pistons back in, but it’s still the easiest way of changing pads I have seen yet. So the fun times start and we hit the trails. After bedding in the pads, these brakes do everything Avid claims they do. They stop you fast, using one finger and very little effort. If, like my girlfriend, you run your brakes USA style (right hand rear) and you’re not used to Aussie style (right hand front), I wouldn’t recommend these brakes for you, chances are you will end up taking some skin of your nose. The point I’m trying to make is that power of these brakes is awesome. I always thought my disc brakes offered ample power but since riding the Elixirs I’m not so sure. With the extra braking power, I’m a lot more confident on technical descents. Hitting the brakes a fraction of a second later, I was railing my favourite trails while using less energy and travelling faster. After a few months with these brakes I’m impressed with the work Avid has done to improve on their already strong brake line-up. With some clear technological developments, look for these brakes wrapping themselves around plenty of handlebars for ’09. www.sram.com

Sigma Rox 9.0 $499

Heart rate monitors are getting smaller and becoming available in more convenient packages. As part of this trend we are also seeing brands bundle their bike speedos with heart rate monitors and throwing in plenty of other useful info along the way. The latest Sigma Rox 9 is an example of the trend. We grabbed one out of the box to find out if it’s a good as it sounds.

TESTING

Words by Dan Mackay

hat’s in the box? Your $499 buys you the complete setup including the computer, heart rate strap, wireless cadence and speed sensors, software (PC only), computer docking station (USB) and comprehensive mounting hardware. The unit is supplied with a complete selection of mounting hardware. This allows the head unit to be mounted on the stem or bars. Sensors can be mounted with either zip-tie for a permanent fix, or rubber loops if you want an easily removable system - a variety of lengths and strengths are supplied. The mounts are well made and fit to a variety of frame shapes. Most impressive was the crank magnet used for measuring cadence, it could be adjusted for wider or narrower bottom brackets and frames. Mounting and setting up the unit was extremely easy, the whole process including all the sensors was completed in about 20 minutes. The computer unit itself features a large clear display capable of showing six pieces of information at any one time. The unit records the usual cycle functions (speed, cadence, distance, time) with minimums, maximums and averages for

most settings. In addition to the cycle functions the unit records heart rate (with three user-set zone alarms) and altitude (minimum, maximum, current, slope all accurate to 1m/1 degree). Any of these functions can be displayed on screen, or found using the scroll buttons. In order to make the useful information easier to find, the unit features two display sets that can be set up to display favourite information. On top of the usual trip and unit life recording, the Rox 9.0 offers a log book function with recordings every 5, 10 or 30 seconds to a maximum of ~70hrs. Sound overwhelming? It’s not. Once you’ve set your favourites up the Rox 9.0 is a joy to use, the key features are all displayed onscreen or a couple of clicks away. The logbook function is called Sigma Data Center, it really comes in handy when the unit is removed (a neat quick-release to remove, by the way) and plugged into the supplied PC data cradle. With 5, 10, 30 second recordings a hill session can be easily broken down to look at changes in heart rate, speed and time. With the exception of cadence every piece of information (speeds, heart rate, altitude, distance), can be graphed. Analysis is largely by eyeballing

graphed information- useful but it would be interesting to be able to perform more complex analysis (moving averages, inter-session comparisons for hill repeats). Analysis aside, the software is simple to use and the information surprisingly useful, especially given the unit’s price point. This unit features all the musthave features for data-philes in a comprehensive and well engineered package. Accessing the features is fairly easy and the big informative display is a joy to view. The only negative is the menu system takes a little navigation and the chest heart-rate strap is the older style plastic band and isn’t as comfortable as the fabric systems. Compared to other similar systems nothing comes close on price and features. The only things I’d like to see are a fabric heart strap and a second set of sensors so I could run the unit on both my bikes as the unit supports two bikes. These are small complaints though, overall I was very impressed. If you’re looking for a comprehensive cycling computer to take your riding to the next level at a great price then look no further. www.bicorp.com.au

Lizard Skins Jumbo Chainstay $14.95 Enduro test crew

his is a simple idea that adds a bit of peace and quiet to your trail ride. Made from Powertex neoprene, the Lizard Skins chainstay protector means the horrible clanging sound of your chain bashing against your chainstay will be a sound of the past. It helps to keep your bike looking nicer for longer too. It’s easy to install, you just wrap it around your chainstay and fasten

the Velcro. Most modern, oversize chainstays will require you to stretch the material pretty hard to get the Velcro to meet though. Once fastened the Velcro is strong; put a cable tie or two around it if you want to make sure it stays there. It’s a good investment and, in a variety of colours, another way to add that bit of personality to your rig. www.bicorp.com.au

accessory! On the down side the symmetrical groves and textured surface of the grip means they attract dirt easily (see above). It’s not such a big issue if you choose a darker colour but something to be mindful of if you choose a lighter shade – they may look nice in the shop but possibly not so nice after a few hours in the dust. Due to their soft rubber, they’re also a pain to get on the bars. In

fact, they’re quite possibly the most stubborn grip you’ll ever try getting on. On the flipside, once they’re on they’re on, there’s not a chance these bad boys are going to twist or slip! If you don’t mind shelling out almost double the coin, they’re also available in a lock-on version. So yeah, all in all they’re awesome grips that look and work a treat. www.dirtworks.com.au

Oury Grips $25 (standard) $55 (lock-on) Words by Niki Fisher

can’t praise these grips enough. Without going over the top they’re basically the best grips I’ve ever used. What I like about them most is the comfort factor: they’re soft enough to opt out on wearing gloves, fat enough to absorb some shock and grippy enough to ensure that your hands won’t slip off during the tough times. They’re practical and, in the subtle light shade of blue, damn fine looking – the perfect bar

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Introducing the Ibis MojoSL Our brains were hurting after spending the 1900+ hours of c.a.d and engineering time developing the Mojo, so we took a little bit of time off. It wasn’t a lot of time-maybe a weekend-and we already were thinking about ways to improve it. That’s how we are. Fast forward more than a year and way more than a thousand Mojos later and we present to you the MojoSL. Let's get right down to it, because our brains are starting to hurt again.

Mojo SL WTF – 9.9kg

Dealers The Chain Gang Seventeen Mile Rocks

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Bio_Mechanics Cycles & Repairs

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Ibis is distributed exclusively by Dirt Works Australia 02 9679 8400 www.ibiscycles.com

Rider: Steve Tiller 2008 Paluma Push

The Paluma Push is a point to point adventure mountain bike event offering a rare opportunity to ride in the World Heritage Rainforest at Paluma in North Queensland. The Paluma Push features two distances of 45 and 70 kms for riders of all ages and skill levels. Starting at Paluma Village, it traverses the World Heritage Rainforest via Paluma Dam and the big timber and open cattle country, finishing at the historic tin mining settlement of Hidden Valley. Burn the couch, enter today

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