Mountain Biking Australia

..And you know what that means, mountain biking season! Oh, I got carried away there. Apologies. I suppose at this juncture I should introduce myself - my name is James, and I'm the new editor of the best mountain biking magazine going around. Well,

Q: Hi there. I'm writing because my wife and I are moving to Sydney from South Africa. We're both keen riders and it’s on our priority list to find out about mountain biking in Aus. Just wondering general things like - how popular is the sport in Aus

The Trigger model manages without a hard shell, so is therefore incredibly light, and with its asymmetrical design, is extremely comfortable to wear. It features state-of-the-art technology and is designed for the enduro market. Ideal for somewhat ha

MBA: Hi, Roger. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I suppose we should start at the beginning, tell us about the accident back in 2000? RW: I still remember the date - December 11th, 2000. It was a motorbike accident. Honestly, it was my own fault, being a

It was madness. My wife and I were putting the final touches to the 3rd Edition of the Western Australian MTB Guide Book and in the back of the guide there was a list of pump track locations. In 2011, for the 1st Edition, it was a pretty limited comp

Launched in 2012, the Rocky Trail Fox Superflow series is based on the highly popular US and European enduro races. However, over the past seven years, event organisers Rocky Trail Entertainment have adapted the format to suit the specific characteri

Learning on pump tracks not only helps you ride pump tracks themselves, but there’s a lot to be gained towards your regular trail riding through practising on these urban training grounds. You'll learn the vital skills of how to maintain speed withou

They may not be the loudest brand on the stage, but British component and bike builders Hope Technologies are without doubt one of the strongest and most unique performers in the mountain bike world. After years of focus on parts, they've now venture

My custom-made hardtail was now old enough to vote, drink at the bar and even have been engaged in marital bliss for a couple of years. She’d served me well - from towing trailers on my 25,000km City2City project around Australia to racing in such fa

It’s getting on for 10 months since we took our first look at the new 9100 series XTR (ASO 2018). The process of bringing these new parts to the market hasn't been straightforward, and Shimano suffered a number of setbacks along the way. Some parts,

Marzocchi, the Italian suspension powerhouse went through unprecedented times of financial hardship to the point where no-one actually knew if they would ever be seen in the world of modern mountain biking again. In 2015, Tenneco, the parent company

Bell have been making sports helmets now for over 50 years, and the name, backed up by that experience, means the brand carries a huge amount of weight in the MTB world… although thankfully not in the helmets themselves! It was while researching for

Sometimes a new product drops into the marketplace through the force of will of the people behind the concept, and so it is with the Pedaling Innovations' flat pedals. The Catalyst pedal is the brainchild of James Wilson, a US-based strength and cond

It had been a hell of a climb, and doing it under the heat of the brain-frying afternoon sun hadn’t helped. Stinging eyes viewed the last rise through salt-stained sunnies and, when I finally reached the top, I collapsed onto the grass under the welc

I’ve always wanted to ride some of the trails in Reefton, but it’s one of those towns in New Zealand you typically pass through on the way to somewhere else. But nearby Kirwans Track in Victoria Forest Park was one that often cropped up in conversati

IN THE STAND 8/10 ON THE TRAIL 7/10 OVER ALL 7.5/10 New bike models are typically released with a boatload of hype, schmick video edits of pro riders tearing up the trails and a coordinated media launch. With this the media is swooned at some dreamy

IN THE STAND 8/10 ON THE TRAIL 8/10 OVER ALL 8/10 Without a doubt, the biggest Achilles heel for the current generation of electric mountain bikes is the fact that on average they weigh about six or seven kilograms more than their pedal-powered equiv

IN THE STAND 8/10 ON THE TRAIL 8/10 OVER ALL 8/10 Think of Norco and images of the brand’s 55-year history immediately spring to mind - the British Columbia HQ, big-mountain free-ride heritage, history of innovation (it was the first North American b

Crashing and mountain biking go hand in hand. Everybody does it from time to time; it’s part of the learning process and you don’t gain new skills without testing your limits from time to time. Most of the time you'll dust yourself off after a roll i

First up, a quick re-cap on what e-MTBs are and aren’t. Most commercial offerings from the big manufacturers are pedal assist bikes, meaning that for the motor to engage and propel you forwards, you must pedal. This means that you don’t have a thrott