Mountain Biking Australia

I had a really interesting discussion with one of MBA’s contribs the other day… and it’s a conversation I can’t get out of my head. He was pitching stories at me, and one revolved around the notion that older bikes - we’re talking a decade or more he

My name is Hayden de Courtenay, I’m 14 and I have recently ventured to the Great South West of Australia with my dad. Whilst riding at a trail spot called Secret Whicher, we decided to take a slightly longer loop on a track called Coca Cola and were

Thanks to ever-improving tyre, brake and suspension tech, our bikes are getting faster and faster… and the terrain rushes up to say hello a lot quicker as a result. Helmet technology has, thankfully, come a long way from the recycled roadie lids we u

“We’re grateful for what we have here.” Grant Dowell tells me as we survey the softening light playing across the trails ahead of us. “It’s only a small parcel of land, but we make it work for us.” I’m at the base of the Lake Canobolas (pronounced Ca

‘It’s MTB, but not as you know it!’ shouts the promotional poster for GV Amp’d, touted as Australia’s first ever electric mountain bike race (or technically speaking, a Class 1 pedal-assist e-mtb specific event). Promising the ‘steepest climbs, gnarl

The 2018 Specialized Turbo FSR Carbo Levo might be a mouthful to say, but it’s a lot of bike for… okay, a lot of money. Based around a carbon mainframe and alloy rear end, the Levo runs an Ohlins fork, Rock Shox Monarch RT3 rear shock, inhouse 27.5+

Ten, maybe twenty minutes… that’s all I’d planned on for my opening morning walk around the tiny village of Tochni, yet it was to be close to two hours against I finally got back to my room and thought about riding my bike. From my window I could see

I specialise in backwards climbing. No, I don’t climb on the bike backwards and pedal up hills looking where I’ve been. What I mean is I tend to drop like a stone through the pack at the start of a race that immediately goes uphill. It’s a bit dishea

It was 4.30am in the morning and Matt D’Arcy was wide awake. The music producer knew what he had to do. He rolled over in bed and woke up heavily pregnant wife Emma. “We should launch an Australian mountain bike cleaning products brand,” he told her.

RATINGS VALUE 8 FUNCTION 9 LOOKS 8 OVERALL 8.3 Chances are the bike in your garage comes with Rock Shox or Fox forks… and that’s not a bad thing in the least. Both brands are building pretty darn good products that work across a wide gamut of bikes a

RATINGS VALUE 7 FUNCTION 8 LOOKS 7.5 OVERALL 7.5 Conceived and backed by Mark Webber - he of Formula One racing fame - the Aussie Grit clothing line is said to be designed specifically for 'off-road cycling'. The company states that its gear is “desi

RATINGS VALUE 6.5 FUNCTION 8 LOOKS 7 OVERALL 7.5 Late last year SRAM revamped its Code brake, which is a model that's designed for hard-hitting gravity use. Think downhill racing and enduro, and you’re close to the mark. With regular mountain bikes s

RATINGS VALUE 7.5 FUNCTION 8 LOOKS 9 OVERALL 8.1 This year has seen a burst of interest in shortish-travel big wheel bikes that take the best part of all-day machines and add a bit of speed in the form of less weight. Fox’s Step-Cast forks are perfec

RATINGS VALUE 8 FUNCTION 8 LOOKS 8 OVERALL 8 You wouldn’t think about heading into the bush without strapping on a brain bucket and slipping on some gloves… and the knee pad is fast becoming a pre-ride prerequisite, as well. The old arguments that th

It's been a question on the lips of a lot of mountain bike pundits for some time now; just when will Shimano make the jump to a 12-speed groupset? After all, its archest of arch rivals SRAM has offered its top three groups with 12 gears for more than

SRAM has released details about its newest – and most affordable – 12-speed Eagle group to date, the NX. Slotting in underneath the popular GX lineup, the NX series brings similar 12sp tech in at a more affordable price point… and in particular at th

One of US company Pivot's best known bikes, the 120mm travel 429 dually, has been made over for the new age of trail-munching, all-day 29ers. The all-carbon rig offers 120mm of travel - up 4mm - from its Fox Evol-suspended DW Link rear end, matched t

RATINGS IN THE STAND 6/10 ON THE TRAIL 8/10 OVERALL 7 Standing in the chairlift queue at Thredbo, the conversation began; “Why aren't you riding up? At least you'll be set if the lift breaks down.” I'd only had one quick pedal on the Marin prior to h

We tested a Race spec rig with SRAM XO1/GX mix with Shimano SLX brakes, Sun Ringle wheels with 30mm wide rims, Maxxis DHR 2.4-inch wide tyres (there's room for bigger again) and Fox Performance suspension front and rear that will cost you $8199. Bike

RATINGS IN THE STAND 8/10 ON THE TRAIL 8/10 OVERALL 8/10 I had the opportunity to test the then-ground breaking Pivot Switchblade when it was first released in early 2016. The long, low and slack geometry, surprisingly short chainstays and its abilit

RATINGS IN THE STAND 8/10 ON THE TRAIL 8/10 OVERALL 8/10 Whyte may not be the first brand you think of when jotting down your dream shopping list of bikes. The English brand has been around since 1999 and was born of founder Jon Whyte’s love of engin

RATINGS IN THE STAND 8/10 ON THE TRAIL 7/10 OVERALL 7.5 There’s an old saying about horses for courses, and the modern mountain bike excels at offering its owner a great deal of flexibility. Sure, there are bikes that are better for gravity, and bike

It was a bittersweet day when the call came through from Skoda HQ that the Octavia RS had to go back. And yes, Tim, we're serious this time. No more stalling. No more excuses about one more photo shoot. The Octavia proved itself a capable bike carrie

Most injuries from mountain biking tend to happen when riding… or to be more specific, when crashing! However, there are injuries which can come about from overuse, general tightness and the combination of weekday desk warrior and weekend mtb warrior

It might seem so simple, but it astonishes just how many riders pay little or no attention to how they interact with their bikes via their control levers. We’re talking, of course, about your brake, gear and – if you have one – dropper post levers. W

Learning to ride berms is an essential part of a rider’s repertoire – there’s hardly a trail built today that doesn’t feature at least one or two sweetly laid curves of earthy goodness in its mix. While we all can’t hope to look like Sam Hill or Caro

When my partner and I met - in a bike shop, naturally - some 16 years ago, it seemed inevitable (and, if I’m honest, kind of romantic) that we would end up with cute little mountain biking spawn, who would be wearing cute little mountain biking outfi