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18. EDITORS LETTER 20. BANGERS 30. NEWS FRESH FLAVOURS FROM THE MTB WORLD 34. (AFTER) TRAIL BREW REVIEWS SCOOP 38. FOX’S PRO FRAME HELMET 42. TLD’S A2 TRAIL LID FIRST IMPRESSIONS 44. GIANT ‘TRANCE 1 60. CANYON ‘SPECTRAL AL 7.0’ 62. SANTA CRUZ ‘HIGHTOWER’ 29ER’ 50. PRO BIKE CHRIS PANOZZO’S SANTA CRUZ BRONSON 52. PRO MECHANIC FILES AARON KEEPS TB SPINNING 56. SHOCK WIZ AUSSIE GADGET THAT’S TUNING THE WORLD 68. TRAIL THREADS 7 SWEET NEW KITS BUYERS GUIDE 72. BEST GEAR UNDER $99 76. BEST GEAR UNDER $299 COLUMNS 80 SHAWN LEWIS 82. DARREN ECKFORD FEATURES 90. 24 HOURS @ THE RACES WITH DEAN LUCAS 98. SURVIVING THE TRANS NZ WITH SHIMANO AUSTRALIA 104. BEHIND THE SCENES FACTORY GIANT’S TEAM CAMP 110. INTERVIEW BROOK MACDONALD - WILL ’17 BE THE YEAR? 116. TOURING NZ ‘HAKA’ STYLE [R]EVIEWS 122. SHIMANO XT DI2 126. ROCKY MOUNTAIN ‘SLAYER’ 130. FOCUS ‘JAM’ 134. AVANTI ‘TORRENT’ 138. SRAM ROAM 60 CARBON WHEELS 140. MRP RAMP CONTROL 142. SRAM GX DH DRIVETRAIN 144. CALENDAR RACES & EVENTS ACROSS OZ 146. ENDTRODUCING HARRISON DOBROWOLSKI
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ON THE COVER Jared Graves
Sven Martin
ON THIS PAGE It’s pretty clear that our recently crowned Junior National DH Series Champ has a skill set deeper than an avalanche! Trail bike nose-bonk on the first snow day of the season at Thredbo? Sure, why not. Baxter Maiwald
Tom Mallett
EWS BATTLESHIPS
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A QUICK LOOK AT SOME OF THE FINER WARCRAFT PATROLLING THE WATERS AT ’17 EWS ROUND 1, ROTORUA. 1 // Wyn Masters rode his Factory GT Racing ‘Sanction’ to victory at the opening round of the season, silencing the entire field under horrendously muddy conditions. 2 // Santa Cruz’s factory boys rocked up with perhaps the sickest ‘news season’ livery in the pits.
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3 // Fittingly, several teams and lots of individual riders were flying the flag of paying their respects to the late, great, Stevie Smith. RIP brother.
4 // Canadian Champ Miranda Miller was looking fresh in her in team colours having signed with the factory Specialized Team during the offseason. 5 // Transition were amongst a handful of teams who arrived at the series opener sporting native ‘kiwi’ graphics. We wonder if this trend will stick around all season as the teams visit more than half a dozen different countries? 6 // In addition to all the new bikes rolling around the pits there was also an endless sea of new and prototype components. Rock Shox ‘Black Box’ program looks to be back in full swing for ’17.
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7 // Newly signed Giant Factory Team rider, Mckay Vezina, was spotting this rad looking green/black livery on his Giant Trance Advance. 8 // Cannondale’s factory team is sporting a new colour scheme for 2017. And as to be expected, Jerome and Co. were hauling ass all weekend long aboard their ‘prototype’ bikes. 9 // Devinci’s Damien Oton looks to be one of the main men to bet again this year. The Frenchman arrived at the season opener with this steezing yellow/ green colourway.
10 // When you’re as fast and dominating as Mr Richie Rude your bike doesn’t need a fresh lick of paint in order to go fast. The American pinner did become a Red Bull athlete during the offseason though. Wonder how fast he’ll go now that he has wings? 11 // Trek’s all lady team was looking fresh until Casey Brown and Co. hit the trails and their pretty blue bikes instantly turned brown (mother nature hates Enduro apparently). 12 // Our girls, Tegan and Shelly, always do us proud.
PRO BIKE
Tell us a bit about your new deal mate? Yeah, it was time for a change. No complaints when you get to switch to a Santa Cruz! Really looking forward to the year ahead, and just keen to race as much as possible. Training and riding is fun, but I really love racing. So how have you been finding the Santa Cruz Bronson? How differently does is handle compared to the bikes that you’ve been racing the past few seasons?
The bike definitely has a different philosophy, and it takes time to get used to it. Everything is looking good though, a lot of times in the past where I would be struggling in a section the bike seems much more capable, now its just a matter of working out how to get that last few percent out of it, and me. Have you also extended your Troy Lee Designs deal? Yeah it’s fantastic being onboard with TLD again this year. When it says “For the World’s Fastest Racers” on the tin, you can’t go wrong!
Both Shimano and Fox are still helping you go faster this year. You’ve got a solid relationship with both of those excellent brands, eh? Yeah Shimano have been mega. Both the people behind the gear and gear itself have been awesome. It’s been the same with Fox. It also looks like you’ve got some new spono’s on board this season? Has it been a challenge getting used to all the new parts or are you already up to speed and feeling comfortable with all the new parts on your bikes? It’s been great to be able to carry across a lot of those strong relationships that I’ve built with brands into my new deal this season. And for sure that has definitely made it easier to get used to the bike. The availability to run Di2 from previous bikes to new ones has been really good. I can’t emphasize how good electric shifting is! As far as getting used to riding new parts one of the biggest things that I’ve noticing is how good Maxxis tyres are! It’s been a long time since I’ve been using them. They are definitely the industry benchmark at the moment.
Do you change your bike set-up very much from race to race during the season? Not a huge amount, I like to get a good base line and only make small adjustments when I might need it. Unless we get a mud race, then a fair bit gets changed, suspension is quite different, bar height changes a bit, the same with tyres. Are you rocking any little custom race mods on your race bike? Not really. My entire current setup is built with off the shelf bits. Normally it takes some time to fine tune every little detail, but it has been a relatively easy build to put together and run. Honestly once the bike was together I was doing 12 laps a day in Thredbo for 3 days without a single problem. (apart from the odd wheel ding....)
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What’s your schedule looking like this season - you going to be hitting a bunch of EWS rounds and also defending your Aussie National title? Yeah I’ll be giving it as much as possible as the World Series, along with going for 3 in a row at the National Enduro Champs. I’ll also be doing a bunch of local and state races where I can. Whether that’s in DH, XC or even the odd road or CX race...I never thought I’d be saying that, but as long as it’s racing on 2 wheels, I’m all for it these days! Neil Kerr
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YEP, THE REIGNING AUSSIE ENDURO NATIONAL CHAMP HAS SIGNED ON THE DOTTED LINE WITH SANTA CRUZ BIKES FOR THE 2017 SEASON. [R]EVOLUTION CAUGHT UP WITH CHRIS PANOZZO FOR A CHAT ABOUT HIS NEW BIKE A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE HE JETTED TO NZ FOR THE FIRST EWS ROUND.
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Frame size: XL Forks: Float 170mm 36 Fork set-up: 3 volume spacers, 76 PSI Head angle: A little slacker than stock Rear shock: Float X2 Shock set-up? On the slower side of things - as many spacers as I can fit. 235 PSI Cranks: 170 XTR Chain devise: MRP Pedals: XTR Trail Rear mech/shifter: XTR Di2 Brakes: XTR trail mated to Saint Calipers Rotor sizes: 180mm Wheels: *Not shown in photo* XTR hubs laced to Aluminium Rims Tyres: Maxxis DHF Double Down Front 2.5wt / DHRII Double Down Rear 2.4 Tyre pressures: 28 Front / 32 Rear Seatpost: Fox transfer post Seat: Pro Bike Vulture Headset: FSA Bars: Pro Bike Tharsis Trail Width: 770mm Stem: Pro Bike Tharsis Trail Length: 45mm Grips: ODI Lock On Elite
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Matt Staggs & Kane Naaraat 090
“To be honest, I wasn’t too sure what to expect from my qualifying run. This was the first National round that I’d raced all summer. I knew I was riding strong and I had felt good on the bike all weekend. I had returned from a month long Team Camp over in California which had really lifted my fitness and confidence. My team mates and I had all been training hard every day over there and all of us had really been pushing each other. So when I got to the start gate for my qualifying run that afternoon, my intentions were to just put together a solid, clean run and see where it would place me. I ended up fastest and was the number one qualifier! I was stoked with that and straight away I shifted my focus to then getting the job done in finals tomorrow.”
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7. In the pressure cooker environment of professional DH racing, only those riders with a perfect game plan are able to pull it all together for that ‘flawless’ run on Sunday afternoon. It’s rider versus clock. One run only. And the podium awaits. But about a million variables need to fall perfectly in order to climb those few steps to victory on Sunday afternoon. That preparation for a finals run doesn’t begin when the rider wakes up that morning. It begins days, weeks, months, even years before that number plaTe is even fixed to their bike that weekend. Pro riders live and breathe racing. They dedicate their lives to the craft of racing and being the best.
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We recently had the opportunity to tag along with one of Australia’s fastest downhill talents, Dean Lucas, and follow his journey throughout the weekend at the Mount Beauty National Championship Round this summer. We captured his every move for the 24 hours from the moment he crossed the finish line on Saturday’s Qualifying run, right the way through to him climbing the podium on Sunday afternoon. Join us for a ‘fly on the wall’ account of what it takes to be one of Australia’s best.
1. I was stoked to qualify fastest. And so with practice done for the day the boys and I loaded our gear and left the race site. Right now it’s time to relax, fuel my body and get everything lined up for tomorrow afternoon’s final run.
2. Time to cool down! We headed to one of my favourite swimming spots just down the road from Mt Beauty and Jake decided to show us how it’s done with a ‘backie’ straight off the bridge. I don’t quite have the same flipping skills as Jake!
3. Best feeling getting straight out of all your sweaty gear and jumping straight into the cool ovens river.
4. I live about an hour away from Beauty and although I usually like to stay nice and close to the race venue, there’s nothing better than sleeping in your own bed at night and so it’s well worth the drive. And the boys always stay at my pad when we race Beauty, so it’s always good times those weekends.
5. Beef or chicken? Chicken or beef? Possibly one of the hardest
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TRANSNZ
A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN AT THE TRANSNZ
RIDING BLIND
MICHEAL RONNING PAUL VAN DER PLOEG TOBY SHINGLETON DAMIAN BREACH
More than just an ‘Enduro stage race’, TransNZ is adventure unlike any other and it’s right there on our doorstep. Hosting 120 riders from all corners of the world, the participants journey to some of the best trails the country has to offer and TransNZ sends them racing down them. Think of it as a guided tour of the South Islands best trails with race plates on your bike. At the end of five great days of racing, four mates sat down with a beer on the lakes shore in Queenstown to reflect on what they had just done. Michael Ronning (ex-pro downhiller and now bike shop owner), Paul van der Ploeg (professional MTB racer and XCE World Champ), Toby Shingleton (Shimano Brand Manager) and Damian Breach (photographer) have a wide range of experience racing and riding all over the world and this week rated up there at the top for all of them...
THE UNKNOWN
TOBY Remember that feeling when you rode a perfect piece of trail for the first time? You might have been riding with someone who had been there before and you asked your mate for all the info on the trail they could remember. “There’s a bit after the first few corners that goes left and then off a tricky roll-over…Don’t get off the line once you get over that second big roll over cause there is a tree that will grab your bars…save some energy for the bit after the short climb cause then it gets real technical and steep”. Maybe your mate has a memory like a YouTube video, but after they have told me the second or third piece of information about the trail, I have forgotten everything other than the bits where they specifically said I would die if I didn’t follow their trail beta. This is exactly what this event was like for me and I did that 23 times over five days!
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The night before each stage, a member of the race team would run through the next day and I guess they were giving us a taste of what was in store but who can retain that info? It was a struggle to remember much of what they said…The only knowledge I started each stage with was how it went for the bit I
could see from the top of the stage start when waiting to roll in. This was one corner out of many… MICK I had no idea where we were going, what the trails were going to be like, who else we were going to be riding with. When we rolled out onto the first piece of single track I was just looking out at the amazing mountain vistas with that feeling of heading out into the blind unknown. It was like “here we go, we are about to race down something that we have never seen before”. We have no idea what the conditions are like, the grip levels or what anything is going to be like and we are going to race down this trail… First day I was certainly very anxious, but excited at the same time. Normally when you go racing you have some idea or you have seen a video of the track, something. But here you have nothing. It was a really foreign feeling. Paul: From day one we had very little info at all. None of us had done any research, and we were going into that day in the dark - just reacting to whatever was in front of us. Stage four on that first day in Craigieburn we climbed up into the alpine area above the forest and riders around us were saying this was going to be the most rowdy stage of the
whole event. I rolled out the start and it went across some open tussock strewn meadows. I was thinking “this seems pretty mellow”. Then all of a sudden ‘bam!’ I hit the start of the trees and the trail went into a slippery, root filled dirt slide-chute. It was like something I have seen on World Cup downhill videos or as a spectator. The whole idea from that point was just to try and control my speed and not to crash... DAMIAN: Being a photographer out on the course you really get to see the whole event from a different perspective. It allows me to see more of the event because I see more of the people who are out there riding. I really admire the mental fortitude of some of the people in the race. Seeing riders who are pushing themselves so hard, committing to big lines in places with very little margin for error. I was just hoping that I wasn’t going to see someone literally pushing themselves over a cliff, but figuratively speaking, a lot of people were pushing the boundaries of what they could do. I am slightly jealous that people can do that…You get to the end of the week and you have ridden a lot of sections of trail that you probably wouldn’t ride if you just went on a five day riding trip with your mates.
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PRO TEAM THE 2017 GIANT FACTORY TOGETHER AT W O ROFF-ROAD D S B Y M . TEAM H O L MCAME ES GIANT BICYCLES US HQ IN NEWBURY PARK DEEP IN SOCAL EARLIER THIS YEAR FOR A PRE-SEASON CAMP BEFORE THE START OF THE G I A RACE N TSEASON. O THE F FALL- NEW R TEAM O AINCLUDES D TA TRULY E A M LOOMING WORLDWIDE ROSTER OF P R E - RETURNING S ESTARSAPLUS ASBUNCHOOF NEW N FACES TO LIVEN THINGS UP. BRINGING TOGETHER XC, ENDURO AND DH RIDERS COULD SOMETIMES BE A HANDFUL, BUT THE TEAM SPENT THEIR TIME IN CALIFORNIA GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER, SORTING THEIR NEW RIGS AND GEAR BEFORE KICKING OFF THE RACING YEAR. WE CAUGHT UP WITH ETERNAL FROTHER AND W / J O S H C A R L S O N LONG-TIME GIANT FAMILY RIDER JOSH CARLSON FOR SOME INSIGHT INTO THE CAMP, PLUS WHAT’S INSTORE FOR HIS 2017.
TRAINING CAMP ‘17
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WORDS BY M.HOLMES
THE GIANT TEAM CAMP JUST GONE, IS THAT A HUGE PART OF THE PRE-SEASON REGIME FOR YOU GUYS? For sure, the team camp always kicks off the start of the year. It gets everyone into racing mode and ready for the upcoming season. We spend all winter training, you’re on the bike, in the gym, on the trainer, and it’s all about the physical aspects. Then you go down to the Giant Bicycles head office in California, just outside of LA, and the whole entire team gets together. All the staff, all the riders, everyone is in the same spot at the same time. It’s really cool. It’s 12 days of the most structured ‘work’ we have to do all year. Majority of days there, you’re awake before the sun comes up, then it’s all on till sunset. Then it’s dinner and obligations with people from the office. There’s a lot more to it than just taking photos and video. All the mechanics have to organise our team trailer, the European trailers, and all the spares we’ll need for our season of international races. We have to go to New Zealand, then Australia for our rounds of the EWS, and then to Lourdes in France for the start of the DH World Cup and on from there. We’re also organising for races like the Sea Otter Classic in April. It’s a lot of moving parts to piece together! WHILE YOU’RE RACING PURE ENDURO THIS YEAR, GIANT BROUGHT ALL THE TEAMS TOGETHER FOR THE CAMP? We had our XC team, our Enduro team and our DH team all together this year. There’s three cross country riders doing the North American XC series and World Cup XC races. Carl Decker is the old guard, he’s been there for years, then coming through and onto the team is Stephan Devout and Tofor Lewis, young US kids busting into the US XC scene in a big way. Then we’ve got the Downhill team headed up with the Columbian muscle of Marcelo Gutierrez coming back on board with new faces to the Giant stable in superstar Eliot Jackson and young blood Irishman Jacob Dickson. We’ve all got our own agendas, but we can all go ride together, take the piss out of each other, and sit down for a meal to find out where everyone wants to be. This year’s camp easily brought the best team atmosphere, everyone really gelled, and it was all a cool vibe, which is rare with that many people. Especially with athletes at this level! DO YOU GUYS CROSS OVER MUCH, IN TERMS OF RIDING AND KNOWLEDGE, BE IT BIKE SET UP OR OTHERWISE? A little bit. We’ve all got such different bikes and specific set ups. Between the 9kg XC hardtails, our do-it-all pedalling downhill machines to the downhill guy’s latest and greatest bike built for shredding only, there’s almost nothing in common! Our enduro rigs and XC full suspension bikes have more in common now than the DH bikes. That said, our skills translate between the teams, so we really feed off each other in the camp situation. Someone will jump something on a line, that’ll fuel someone else to manual a section, which will have someone else pushing a new line through a corner and so on. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses plus their own riding quirks and it’s sometimes not who you’d think is the best at some things. We definitely help each other out in this respect and push each other to find the limits. MECHANIC WISE, WHO’S THE SUPERSTAR WRENCH ON BOARD WITH YOU THIS SEASON? I’m working with Colin Bailey this year, we’ve got a really good relationship thanks to everything we’ve had going on. Last season especially. We worked really hard to understand our bike, the suspension, and of course each other. He’s got a great understanding of how I like to set my bike up and the characteristics I prefer as an athlete and a rider. He’s been there and done that, which is really nice. We get to race weekends and little bits and pieces that might set me off, he notices that my head is about to fall off, and while he’s a quiet dude, he takes it all in and then all of a sudden he’ll say something that sets me straight. It’s so good having him in my corner! Then having Sparky, Mckay Vezina and Mike Day’s mechanic, we’ve got a real solid team to travel around the world with. Of course the XC and DH guys have a whole different set up with a bunch of technical gurus! ASIDE FROM THE DREAM TEAM OF RIDERS AND WRENCHERS, WHO ELSE IS PART OF THE TEAM? YOU’VE GOT A PERSONAL MASSEUSE RIGHT? At most of the races this year, we’ll have our team manager Joe Stubbs, then our two mechanics, and at select races we’ll have our team physio, masseuse, chef, almost like our team mum, he keeps us all in line, and fixes us and puts us back together. He helps us with our nutrition and food, and for us racing enduro, man, it’s such a huge help. He’s so knowledgeable and so switched on with the
IONATELY BULLDOG, AS HE IS AFFECT RACING THE T KNOWN THROUGHOU BT ONE DOU A T HOU WIT IS ITY, COMMUN DOWNHILL OF THE MOST EXCITING . THE KIWI RIDERS OF THE MODERN ERA WORLD IOR JUN NATIVE IS A FORMER E ON TO GON E SINC HAS T THA N CHAMPIO CUP AND TASTE VICTORY AT A WORLD OGNISED REC T MOS THE OF ONE BECOME NTAIN MOU OF RT FIGURES IN THE SPO WE SON SEA OFF THE ING DUR BIKING. TO T CHA A FOR OK CAUGHT UP WITH BRO AND NS ATIO PAR PRE HIS UT HEAR ABO SEASON. EXPECTATIONS FOR THE 2017
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in your career So Brook, you began a new chapter How do year. last d squa ry Facto racing for the GT you feel the season went? on a new It was great. You know starting out g is not ythin ever so team is a massive deal around us. I le peop good have we but ct perfe a different feel it went good, just adapting to I found my once but hard little a was ture struc . othly place, things went smo mates at GT? What’s the dynamic like with your team tive, we Everyone on the team is super posi and I team our on le peop have a good mix of rs. othe from ue uniq it es mak it think shots online Recently we spotted a few sneaky spy DH bike type proto a be of you riding what looked to own on lowd any us give you can year… earlier this that bike yet? It’s been Can’t say too much about that yet. towards on ing work been had something we the end of last season. current bike Interesting… okay lets talk about your le on the fortab com n dam then. You looked pretty you happy Are on. seas last all raced you that ‘Fury’ were you how and led with the way that bike hand up? it set able to I actually felt Ha it’s funny that you say that as in first day of like I struggled a lot on it! Riding different, was day race and nd seco practice to was really going fast and then going race pace is just hard hard for me. I think my riding style head around to adapt to this bike, so getting my on was seas Last . time e som n it all has take g right but frustrating, I felt I had done everythin t poin the to p setu good a get just couldn’t ble. where I felt confident and comforta ds are We’re starting to hear rumours that bran bikes DH on ls whee 29’er messing around with 29’er for DH? on take nal perso your ’s what … again t decision To be honest I think this is the wors but this hate e som get ever. I know I’ll probably why d rstan unde I s! 29er t, spor is not our and they will because tracks are getting easier think it’s a y reall I but there on r faste be a lot bad move!
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KEEPITPINNED ANDTHENSOME MTBTOUR CHRISTCHURCHTOQUEENSTOWN
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PHOTOS MATT HOLMES & TIM BARDSLEY-SMITH WORDS MATT HOLMES
It’s no secret - NZ’s MTB scene is one of the fastest growing and most vibrant in the world. Two islands, tiny by comparison to our vast continent, is simply covered with epic riding terrain. Tales of the ‘little cuz’ just off our eastern seaboard simply dwarfing the Australian scene, in both number of trails, level of riding and in vertical elevation has always been a topic of conversation with friends from there. So while the Australian lifted resorts bluffed their way through letting the MTB community think that they’re doing something, I headed south this summer just gone to see for myself how NZ is quietly outstripping Australia with an incredible network of trails and bike parks. Tossing up running solo, renting a car and finding accommodation versus forgetting all the hassle and booking in with a tour for the 7-10 days I’d have to play with, I figured maximise the riding. Web search was my friend. The crew I came across was Haka Tours. Their background is adventure tours, be it snow or sky diving, trekking on glaciers or epic mountain walking. From humble beginnings, they’ve quickly become one of the fastest growing and dialled tour co’s over there. They and their guides know the country and how to get to the good places and make it fun for all who travel with them. I locked in a 7 day South Island tour, figuring they’d show me places I’d never know to head to, sort the accommodation, cart my bike, sort everything. It was sounding more and more like the only way to travel…
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Flying into Christchurch, you get a good idea of the lay of the land; ocean, plains, mountains, yeah, lots of those mountain things. You could say it finally hit me that I had nothing to do for the next week but ride, a rarity these days. A quick shuttle from the airport to Haka’s Christchurch lodge and I was lugging my bike bag and gear inside. Their take is why not have rad accommodation along with rad tours? Very smart dudes indeed… It was a sweet place to kick off the trip, I quickly met the crew I’d be riding with for the next week. One Melbournite, Ben, two U.K. Cats in Eoin and Steve, and Jordan, a Houston Tx local made up the crew. We chilled, built bikes, drank some whiskey and generally got to know each other. Our guides rocked in a little bit later to meet and greet us, NZ outdoor guide (some say legend) Grant and fresh UK import Morgan. We got the run down, loose rules and some procedures should anything real bad happen. But more so sussed what everyone rode at home, what we were wanting from the trip and a rough outline of what was in store.
DAY 1
Waking up to bluebird skies is the way any good trip should kick off. The morning routine of a communal breaky and packing the bus/trailer was worked out and we were soon on our way for the first leg of the trip. Well, a whole 10 minutes down the road to the new Christchurch Adventure Park. I’ll spell it out in layman’s terms. A brand new bike specific chairlift, epic cafe and bar, rentals, lessons and more. Just minutes from downtown Christchurch. It’s easy to see why they sold almost two million dollars’ worth of season passes in the first few weeks... And that’s before we even mention the trails. Rolling through the pump track just out front of the cafe, the first thing that hit me was the size of the kickers at the bottom of Airoteora, a trail that would soon have me addicted to its 70 plus jumps on-route down. The first stage of the parks development has an epic selection of terrain catering for all skill sets. Floaty berm trails to double black rock strewn descents, steep as you want World Cup level DH runs, or big as you like jumps that make A-lines seem mellow. With the skill sets of all on the trip varying, Grant and Morgan had us split up and ride what we felt comfy on, the park a perfect place for them to tailor the coming day’s trails to suit the riding of all on-board. It could obviously be a challenge working with unknown riders, but these two were on it. We rode till everyone was pretty much done. Loading up the trailer and after trying to de-dust ourselves, we were underway for the hour or so drive west to Springfield, where our accommodation was for the night. Making the day complete, a big cook up with us all involved then to the outdoor seating with local brews and much talking tall tales. All up, an epic end to the first day.
DAY 2
An early start had us heading for the Southern Alps that dominated the Springfield horizon. It’s big country, and as we passed from the farms that covered the plains, the terrain became bigger by the kilometre. Scree slopes falling off rugged peaks from the fastest growing mountain range on earth. If it wasn’t for the erosion, it’d be bigger than the Himalayas being the inside knowledge from the front of the bus. Pulling in at Craigieburn it was quickly apparent that this was going to be a very different day to the lift assisted day one. Craning my neck upwards, Grant pointed out where we were pedalling to. A good hour grind up the fire road to the saddle that sorted our fitness out. All became worth it as all I could see below was epic scree slopes to traverse before dropping into the valley below. Tackling the off-camber scree was so much fun, more a matter of not stopping, keeping eyes so far ahead and riding light. The pace picked up once we’d picked our way across the bulk of the scree and got into the flowy, but tight, tree-lined single-track. 15 minutes of descending goodness on amazing trails had me quickly forgetting any qualms about climbs! Exhausted from the climbing and hectic descending, we packed up and headed to Garfield and their infamous bakery for lunch. The afternoons plan was dropped on us, 5 hours in the bus towards Mt Hutt on route to Lake Ohau. A plan that more than suited my shattered legs… We rolled into Lake Ohau Lodge under darkening storm clouds. Tucked away in its own forest overlooking the lake and backed by incredibly steep, rugged mountains, it’s a very special place. A massive feed in the dining room followed by a few drinks in the bar overlooking the lake next to an open fire had me tripping on the 60’s ski lodge feel. With legs definitely in need of horizontal action and a full belly, that night was an early one to say the least.
REVIEW
ROCKYMOUNTAIN FAR FROM A SIMPLE REWORK OF AN OLD STAPLE, ROCKY MOUNTAIN’S 2017 SLAYER IS A FROM-THE-GROUND-UP REDESIGN FOR A NEW GENERATION OF RIDERS, INTENT ON PEDALLING TO THE GOOD STUFF. DESIGNED FOR ENDURO RACING AS MUCH AS FREERIDE AND BIKE PARK DUTIES, WE THINK IT’S A LITTLE WINDOW INTO THE FUTURE OF WHAT WE’LL ALL BE RIDING MORE OF…
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Matt Holmes
Mark Watson
NSLAYER790MSL So where does a 165mm bike named the Slayer fit into the world of MTB right now? It’s a bit of a wild card as I had ‘DH’ crew wanting to ride it when at bike parks, and ‘lightweight’ crew just as keen to check it out when on epic all day slogs. Is it the Swiss army knife of MTB’s? Probably overgunned in a lot of day to day trail situations granted, but that said, you won’t ever be complaining about too much travel when the going gets rowdy. At its heart, the Slayer’s Smoothwall Carbon frame is one of the cleanest looking frames to drop this season. That long sloping top tube flows straight into the rocker and seat stays, a look that from a distance could easily be confused for a hard tail, it’s so well executed. But beyond its good looks, Rocky Mountain have pushed the boundaries of what’s possible with their one-sided linkages allowing for a narrower (Boost) rear end that gives your ankles some respite from clipping stays. Well thought out internal cable and hose routing, which includes a rear shock lockout remote if you so desired, is all present.
Ports for stealth-dropper-posts and Di2-units are there too, with oversized down tube cable ports designed to ease routing through the frame and the rear swing arm. With no front derailluer mount in sight, Rocky have made sure that area is as strong as possible, with plenty of material surrounding the BB and pivot region. While first inspection shows no sign of ISGC tabs from above, a look underneath will show two below, so you can run a taco/ bashguard, plus a sweet little chain guide comes with the bike should you be feeling insecure about your chain. Tyre clearance is big enough for 27.5”x2.5” tyres and 26”x3.0” plus-sized tyres as well, should you feel the need for a bigger bag. Best element of the Slayer frame for us though? The hockey goalie mask graphic on the top tube. So good. Like most modern mini-DH-come-enduro bikes, the Slayer’s geometry is long, slack, and of course low. Reach has been extended over its predecessor and the head angle raked out to 64.75 degrees.
REVIEWERSCOTT PRENDERGAST
CARBONWHEELSET
SRAMROAM60 REVIEW
After an entire summer of punishment, having endured more than 150 hours of off-road riding, the trail notes from our long-term test on SRAM’s latest generation carbon wheels is ready to share with you guys. Before we talk about how the Roam 60’s performed over the long haul, let’s first take a look at their technology and build quality; there are several aspects that make SRAM’s Roam 60 wheelset quite unique. This is the widest (width) rim SRAM has produced to date, featuring an internal measurement of 30mm! Those extra wide carbon rims matched with SRAM’s own double time hubs has proven to deliver a positive power delivery during pedalling. This, combined with the light weight and rolling resistance of the hubs has proven these wheels were designed by people who have an eye for quality and demand performance. It’s fair to say that there has been a revolution in bicycle components recently. Wheelsets are an area which are a sure way of improving your overall bicycle performance period. A lot of people underestimate how much a quality set of wheels can improve overall performance and riding experience.
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One of the coolest things about this advancement in components and the variety of drive chains, is that you, the consumer, now have a massive choice in preference to hone in on personal bicycle performance. As a result we live in an age where we can not only demand performance but also reliability. With the rise of aggressive performance trail/enduro whips, wheel size has become a contentious issue. SRAM has listened and alleviated some of those concerns by providing a variable standard of components which is compatible with SRAM and Shimano drive chains, hubs, forks, boost and standard forks and frames. The ROAM 60’s we have tested have seen in excess of 150 hours of riding time. And if we’re totally honest with you, our secret primary goal during this review was to destroy these wheels! We never like failure but we’ve failed and these wheels have proven to be very reliable. The second generation of the ROAM 60’s boasts an impressive 30mm wide hook less carbon rim. This design made it easier to bead the tyre which creates a perfect tyre profile. This, in conjunction with your choice of tyre provides a very predictable feel with the trail surface. The ROAM 60’s use a bladed 24 straight pull spoke with double cross wheels lacing. An impressive thing is the spokes which are the same length in the front and rear wheels, which include the same size spoke on the drive and non-drive side.
This solo spoke design makes replacing spokes (if required) an ease. The 900 series hubs are compatible with all brake designs and were intended for use in; Trail, Enduro, Cyclocross, XC and Road. These are available in 24 – 28 and 32 hole and cover the majority of axle (width) designs. SRAM also provide riders with the choice between an XD or Shimano freehub body. The 900 hub ratchet system is an offset double time design which refers to the two engagement paws which contact with the 26 tooth internal hub ratchet ring. This combined with 6.9 degrees of engaging and 52 contact points, provides a direct and smooth powered transition to the rear wheel; this is a noticeable luxury during your pedal stroke. Noticeably the ROAM 60’s are only available in 27.5” however according to SRAM the 29” version is on its way. If you are all about customizing your wheels the ROAM 60’s come with a decal pack in a variety of colours to create a personal look for your MTB sled. As indicated in the previous issue, these wheels are light, stiff and their rolling resistance is positive. The million dollar question is reliability!?? These wheels have been ridden in a variety of locations which include; Thredbo, Canberra, Newcastle, The Central Coast (NSW) and The Blue Mountains to name a few. And they have been ridden on some very unforgiving terrain. The wheels have been fitted to a 2016 Santacruz Bronson (150mm rear wheel travel – 160mm front wheel travel) that combined with Maxxis DHR 2 tyres running an approximate pressure of about 30 PSI in the rear and 28 PSI in the front and to be honest we have beat the sh#t out of them! From trail rides, cross country, gravity enduro racing to downhill tracks; these puppies have been put through the ringer and they have stood the test of time, proving to be very durable. The truth is, regardless of if you’re a race guru or grommet, a pinner or a punter, we all like to look good. These wheels don’t just look good though, they perform bloody good! Their direct power output provides a consistent pedal stroke, the rim width design provides a perfect tyre profile which in turn provides a consistent feel with the trail surface. All in all these are a light weight and durable wheel set with a really nice design.
Weight // Front 750g, rear 875g Size options // 27.5� (650b) exclusive Price // Front $1399.95, rear $1599.95 Browse // www.sram.com
ENDTRODUCING
ENDTRODUC HARRYDOBROWOLSKI 17, KATOOMBA, NSW
NICK’S CYCLES, TREK, PROMOUNT BILLET, EIGHTY ONE SPICES, DHARCO CLOTHING, MOUNTAIN BIKE SUSPENSION CENTRE, CARBO CAGE
Last time you used an iron? Haven’t ever used one i don’t think! Ha ha
Last time you lost a bet? With my dad, I bet that we would drive to Adelaide without any problems and ended up hitting a kangaroo and the water pump broke. Got there in the end though!
Last person you told that you love them? Probably mum or dad
Last time you stood on a podium? Thredbo Super Enduro
Last time you rode 100km’s in a single ride? When we rode the whole of the mountains. It ended up being like 170kms!
Last sticker you stuck to your helmet? Big ‘ol DHaRCO sticker
Last time you bled a brake? Well I ‘attempted’ to bleed an old Hayes at work once.
Last time you went more than three days without a shower? Usually anytime I’m racing and we are camping.
Last web-edit you watched? 50 to 1 New Zealand road trip
Last time you fitted a tyre and what was it? Maxxis Cross Mark.
Last jump you hit further than 3 metres? Probably one of the jumps on the new jump line at Mt Stromlo.
Last thing you do before you go to sleep at night? Make sure my bikes are running mint for the next day
Last person you spoke to on the phone? Ryan from Trek about something for my bike.
Last time you scared yourself? Anytime riding with Jon Gatt!
Last new bike you got? 2017 Trek Slash 9.8
Last time you couldn’t remember something? I’m always forgetting tubes and ending up having to walk home.
Last time you spent more than $1000 in one transaction? On the Trek Slash I bought earlier this year.
Last tunes you downloaded/bought? Mac Miller brand name
Last pair of shoes you got? Fresh pair of Giro Cambers
Last time you got sunburnt? Last time I was at Thredbo for the Super Enduro. Pretty much anytime we go to Thredbo I end up burnt.
Last time you wore goggles? Shuttling with the lads the other day.
Last body part you shaved? Legs for maximum aero gains! Ha ha
Last team sport you played? Probably something when I was at school (can’t remember what though)
Last meal you cooked? A nice big omelette for dinner. Last time you got ripped off? Had to stop for an emergency gear cable one ride. Last time you were in hospital? A few years ago for a broken collarbone. 146
Last big crash you had? On ‘Pork Barrel’ at Stromlo…
Last time you rode a moto? Few years ago at a friend’s farm.
Last animal you touched? My overweight cat. Last joke you heard? How does Moses make tea? Hebrews it!