The last five years have seen mountain bike based tourism boom in Australia. With regional towns looking for alternatives to defunct industries, the number of new – and revitalised – MTB trail networks has grown exponentially. This is, of course, fantastic news for mountain bikers; today’s new trails are built to cater for riders of all ages and skill levels, so no matter which destination of the many hundreds in Australia you visit for a ride, your whole family will have an absolute ball. Check out some of our favourite Aussie MTB destinations here, plan that road trip, and hit the trails! Al ..read more

THE DECISION TO AWARD Andy Blair and Aiden Lefmann equal second placings after a three-way sprint to the finish line has been reversed after a protest was lodged by Aiden. Aiden lodged his claim for second place outright, following event organisers’ on-the-spot decision to award equal second placings at the finish line. With a particularly tight lead into the finish, Blair was forced to miss the chute as a result of their all out sprint. At the time, Andy complained that the finish line chute was too tight for proper and fair racing and that he was simply trying to avoid an accident. Event org ..read more

A MONSTER MONSOONAL deluge forced the postponement of Australia’s oldest mountain bike race – the RRR (Rural, Rainforest and Reef) – but aside from this muddy hiccup, the recent Cairns Adventure Festival was a big success, with participant numbers doubling across all major events. The multisport festival turned two this year, with the marquee event changing over from a Challenge triathlon to an official Ironman. Proceedings kicked off with the screening of the popular Cairns Adventure Film Festival before the action got underway through a series of races.   The original program force ..read more

NOT AS DRAMATIC AS past stage finishes, but just as fitting was the final stage result of the Ingkerreke Commercial Mountain Bike Enduro, with the lead trio of Andy Blair, Aiden Lefmann and Jason English crossing the line abreast to confirm overall standings in that order. Racing as a pack and knowing podium places would not be affected, the trio pre-arranged a neutralised sprint about two kilometres out from the line in memory of their mountain biking mates James ‘Willo’ Williamson and Alice Springs-born Tavis Johannsen, who both passed away last year. Both riders had competed ..read more

THERE WAS A MOMENT before I collided with the ground when I wondered to myself exactly how it was I got here. Growing up, I was much more ballet than I was biker-girl. I was a string bean and as quick as a flash, so I was the fast kid but, because I lacked coordination, I wasn’t known for my sporting accolades. What I did have in spades was courage. There wasn’t much I was afraid of, so you’d often find me up a tree, or doing something stupid and then suffering the resulting injuries. So, it really isn’t that surprising that I came tumbling off my mountain bike during our first skills session ..read more

The StageTwo is Yakima’s all-new hitch-mount bike rack, designed as the bike rack for all bike types, from road to kids to mountain and fat bikes, as well as e-bikes up to 27.2kg in weight (with a two-bike capacity). The StageTwo is available in two colours – Anthracite and Vapor – and features what Yakima is calling a ‘tiered architecture’ (one bike rack is higher than the other) and the offset tray means there is more space between bikes when they are secured, minimising the chance of bumping and scratching. The tiered architecture of the StageTwo means each bike is a bit further away from t ..read more

It’s been slightly more than 12 months since Norco shocked (excuse the pun) the mountain biking world with the release of its ultra-impressive Sight VLT 27.5 e-MTB.  The Canadian brand had taken its time before entering the powered bike market segment, and that wait was worth it for riders. In short, the VLT killed it; that bike’s adherence to the riding characteristics of its mechanical/analogue twin was one of the many highlights (that also included its flickability, powerful 630Wh battery, and robust drivetrain and frame) of the bike. Even then, there were whispers of not ‘if’ but ..read more

If there were three things that were always meant to be, it’s a dual-cab ute, a pile of mountain bikes in the rear cargo tray, and four or five riders jammed inside. Well, that’s how a lot of ute manufacturers present their vehicles to the burgeoning ‘lifestyle’ market, anyway. Not seen are those expensive bikes getting banged against each other and also taking up a fair chunk of storage space as you try various ways to secure them in the tray. Once the GateKeeper is attached to the tailgate, loading and securing bikes takes little time. Yakima’s GateKeeper is a tailgate-based bike storage sys ..read more

Think of Norco and images of the Canadian bike brand’s 55-year history spring to mind: the British Columbia HQ, big-mountain free-ride heritage, history of innovation (it was the first North American brand to introduce a mountain bike with front suspension – the Rampage – in 1991), and tough bikes that offer plenty of big-trail bang for your buck are all synonymous with the brand. With the MTB world’s expansion to encompass electronically assisted bikes, the market’s growing confidence in the technology and its many benefits for riders; it is no surprise Norco has jumped on board. The Canuck b ..read more

SOMETIMES, SHIT HAPPENS. It mightn’t seem fair and it mightn’t seem right, but life does not make promises about fairness or justice. Neither does adventure. And nor does the jungle, especially not in North Queensland. If it did, Dave McCloskey would have been standing at the top of the climb all sweaty and hot. Instead, he stood there all sweaty and shivering. Were everything fair, we would have been discussing the breathtaking fecundity of the rainforest, or the innumerable shades of green, or the rich tapestry of tropical life. Instead we talked of puking, dry retching and, well, when I sai ..read more