Australian Mountain Bike

The new year is here, and we’ve had our first summer for a while with easy access to just about any trail around the country. Trail centres and bike parks have been humming with knobby tyres as riders get on the trails en masse, sharing singletrack s

After a wild 2022 that saw countless events postponed or cancelled around Australia, one event series really suffered, not being able to run at all. While 2022 was meant to be the inaugural year for the new Quad Crown series, they had to push all fou

The Quad Crown event series offers some of the newest mountain bike riding and racing in Australia, with four all-new events taking place in Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. With the fun kicking off with an optional Friday prelude,

As we all know, January doesn’t really count when it comes to properly ringing in a new year with better habits. Life has really started again and I know some of you are wondering what you should be carrying out in 2023. “New year, new me” as they sa

Let’s tackle a topic that often stirs up a bunch of emotion and opinions, the Trail Difficulty Rating System (TDRS). At its essence the TDRS is a great framework to provide guidance to riders about what they are getting themselves into on a trail whi

At the time of writing, we are still 6 months out from the First DH World Cup and nearly 4 months since the final of 2022. That is unbelievable, and yet given it’s the combo of Downhill + UCI it kind of isn’t. I’ve spoken before about the recklessnes

The whole point of this column has been to talk about ways we can secure the future of mountain biking. To make sure it’s a part of people’s lives for generations to come. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of thoughtful promotion o

The rise and rise of e-bikes for commuting, fitness, recreational cycling and mountain biking has been pretty monumental. The cycling industry has had a huge boom, with people appreciating the pedal assistance provided by all sorts of e-bikes. This r

Williams Racing Products and Trinity MTB are the epitome of being made in Australia and being a success story. Founder Mic Williams conceives, designs, and produces Williams Racing Products in Geelong, and his products are ridden by riders across the

Cape to Cape is arguably one of Australia’s best-known stage races, attracting huge fields, visiting epic locations and delivering the hype to suit. It’s situated in Western Australia’s picturesque Margaret River region and attracts over 1000 riders.

As the Crankworx Cairns venue shifts into high gear, the natural amphitheatre of Smithfield MTB Park is throbbing with the unmistakable pulse of a mountain bike event. With the hum of generators as a subtle background noise, MCs voices boom over the

For at least a decade, if an Australian mountain biker wanted to go on an awesome overseas mountain biking holiday, they’d be heading to Rotorua or Whistler. While there are countless epic places to go and ride your bike around the world, both of the

With the explosion of gravity riding and shuttle-friendly bike parks, more and more riders are opting for full face helmets. And with every full face purchase, there usually comes a goggle purchase. But how do you pick the right set? Because we’re no

Fantic are an Italian motorcycle company who have been producing two wheeled machines since the late 1960s, predominantly in the Enduro motorcyle, mini bike and trial motorcycle space. But they also make mopeds, go-karts and choppers, who knew! I do

RAAW Mountain Bikes was founded by Ruben Torenbeek in 2017. Ruben saw a gap in the market for durable bikes that are great to ride, hard wearing, and easy to work on. The brand began with a single model on offer (the Madonna V1), but they now offer t

Trek is a brand that’s synonymous with performance, a heavyweight in the cycling industry. Trek promises performance that is accessible to the everyday rider, and the Rail is no exception. The top spec Rail 9.9 XTR hits shop floors at $15,999, it may

Factor Bikes are a premium cycling brand, known to many in the road cycling world for their precision bikes and top shelf builds. While Factor have mastered the Tour de France, with their Israel Cycling Academy riders winning two stages in the 2022 e

+ Incredibly breathable + Excellent fit for gravity racing + Vintage White is the new white - Not as durable as a heavier weight jersey RRP: $149.99 foxracing.com.au Fox have been producing some highly technical women’s (and men’s)

+ Increased storage + Better screen + No touchscreen for all conditions use + Better GPS accuracy - No touchscreen - Many features feel like a catchup RRP: FROM $599.95 FEsports.com.au In the world of bike GPS units, differe

+ Rim or wheels, in different widths and sizes + Increased impact strength + Lifetime rim warranty from riding breakages + Look awesome + Comfortable without being too soft - Minimal branding or color matched stickers - Rims req

+ Smart spares storage + Trail and all-mountain specific design + Strong rail system - Tool may be too short for some jobs RRP: $149.95 saddle only, $169.95 with spares mount and tool Advance Traders If you don’t carry spares with you

+ Lightweight and comfortable + Microfibre cleaning patch + Perfect for summer - Not for winter RRP: $99.99 FEsports.com.au 100% are well known across the mountain bike world with many teams and riders wearing their kit on the Downh

+ Lightweight and comfortable + Silicone grippers on needed fingers - Tech stitching not perfect - Sizing a little off RRP: $45.99 Fesports.com.au Simple and lightweight, that’s the best way to describe the 100% I-track gloves. Cons

+ Better gear range and ergonomics than most kid’s bikes have + Clutch mechanism + Light action - Nothing major RRP: $269.95 KWTimports.com.au Taiwanese drivetrain manufacturer MicroSHIFT have been producing durable, quality options

The Australian Alpine Epic Trail is a ride with quite a reputation in the mountain biking community. Whether you’ve ridden it or not you’ll have heard your friends talk about it, some may have complained about the climbs, others raved about the infam

Hip jumps are great fun and becoming a more common feature in bike parks and on flow trails. What’s a hip jump? Well, it’s effectively any jump where the landing is at a different angle to the take-off rather than straight on. On the extreme end hip

Chemically, salt is a mix of two minerals: sodium and chloride, which is why the terms salt and sodium are often used interchangeably. Minerals like sodium have an important job - to maintain fluid balance in the body. Too much sodium (hypernatremia)

Anyone with a military and perhaps government background has probably heard of the 7 Ps: Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. That’s true of many things, including athletic pursuits, but today we are going to talk about a v

To some, it may seem that the inner workings of suspension forks are composed of black magic or extremely complex tiny pieces. While shim stacks and valving the parts are quite complex, the basic servicing of the lower legs and air shaft is easy to p