December was a busy month. For three weeks before Christmas I set out to live the life of a Dakar Pro, Skyler Howes and film the experience. Skyler gave me his training plan and I cycled, ran, swum and rode to see just how far from normal the elite racers are. Turns out that gap is pretty different to what you’d expect! Hope you enjoy the video!   The post I Trained Like A Dakar Pro | Video appeared first on Brake Magazine ..read more

Leatt have just announced their 2023 Enduro/Trail Riding Collection and it’s stunning. You may have noticed the last few years that both myself and the folks around Brake Magazine enjoy lightweight, functional off-road gear. Not too hot, lots of mobility and clean style. Leatt”s ’23 Off Road Collection ticks everyone of those boxes and I’m very excited by it. For ‘the foreseeable future we’re going to be wearing Leatt Riding Equipment as we’ve joined forces. They are sponsoring everything Brake Magazine does. It’s incredibly exciting to be working with a company that cares a ton about making s ..read more

The T7 project finale is here. It’s one of the funnest videos I’ve ever made. This bike is truly indescribable. I have enjoyed riding it as much as I have any other bike I’ve ‘owned’. Right back when I set out to build this bike, I had very little idea of what the scope of the videos should be. How do I test the capability? How do I show it in a video? In hindsight I think the idea is a good one. Ride it in terrain you’d normally ride an Enduro bike, with people of similar ability. In a way I’m glad we got the opportunity to go as far and varied with the riding as we did. It helped understand ..read more

Downhills create some interesting problems. They induce primal fear in some people and nothing in others. Getting on with them requires a few well understood basics. I f ever the phrase ‘walk before you run’ mattered, it’s in downhills. Overstepping the line with a downhill is… Well it’s not the most fun. A runaway bike with a rider flapping off the back it’s the most fun experience either. The best way to avoid that being you at some point is to make sure you get the basics right. They’re relatively simple, but a tiny bit of detail helps. For me, heels down as much as possible, and butt back ..read more

Improving at downhills is a tricky business. There comes a point where learning to ease off the brakes at different points is the next step and that’s where it gets tricky. For Lucy, her ability at riding downhills has reached a turning point. She’s comfortable with steep, sensible on the brakes and generally confident. The next step for her, is mastering downhills that require changes in speed and learning to ease off the brakes at those points that feel trickiest. I think this is one of the hardest things to learn with downhills. It takes a lot of practice to build that confidence and to lea ..read more

When the rumours of a new Transalp surfaced it was a surprise. For the longest time the new ‘Africa Twin’ 750 was rumoured. So what are we looking at here? Impressed, surprised and excited. I think those are all solid adjectives to describe the new Transalp. Maybe I have a negative association with the name and I want Honda to make the dream bike, but on paper at least there is very little to be offended at here. The signs are good. From the marketing Honda appear to putting this in a very central part of the adventure bike curve.   When we talk about ADV’s in the modern era, I think mo ..read more

Racing Rallies is a great endeavour. Travelling, riding, drinking, see beautiful places all in one little parcel. but doing it is really quite complex, so we’re building a guide to show you how. Like every good motorcycle based project, the vehicle you take is an important part. After all, getting from A-B isn’t really possible without something involving wheels. That’s a really different sport. So we’re starting with building the bike. “The highlights for me were the WP Pro components suspension” You can do most entry level rallies with any bike but I chose the ever present, true all rounde ..read more

Ruts… At this point I genuinely love riding them. They’re challenging, tricky and that’s a massive part of the enjoyment. This is how is view them. Ruts breed dread in people. They’re technical, physical and require a lot of practice. They also require a good technique and the description of that technique is often lost along the way. Hopefully this video provides a little more clarity on what you should be doing and gives some depth to the information. No longer will be telling your mates to ‘look up and keep the throttle on’. ‘Till Next Time. The post The Basics of Riding Ruts appeared first ..read more

Yamaha have been making bicycle motors for a while and last year they stepped into producing their own MTB, the Moro Pro. For ’22 they’ve expanded their range with big updates and new models Brake Magazine might be motorcycle focussed, but almost everyone (bar Si Hewitt) he hangs around here rides mountain bikes on regular basis. We love them. There are e-bikes everywhere too and once you’ve ridden one it’s really hard to go back to analog power. After years of producing electric motors for other people’s mountain bike, Yamaha are now a full blown MTB manufacturer and like Yamaha often do, the ..read more

The project is done, every video is published and the bike is for sale. Read below for the full specs. The Tenere 700 is for sale, in the same guise it finished the project bar the suspension. That has been returned to stock as I didn’t own the RRP kit but that means you can have the exact set-up you want, for you. The bike is in good condition but it has been used off-road. I have fallen over a couple of times and the bike has some scuffs as a result. The rims have some scratches from multiple tyre changes, puncture fixes and the water pump housing has a scratch from a topple in a river. The ..read more