Video: Chris Akrigg - The Water Cycle

Jul 1, 2015
by Pinkbike Staff  


A downhill romp from the top of the Brecon Beacons through South Wales all the way to the coast through streams, rivers, waterfalls, reservoirs and across beaches. Filmed and Edited by Will Evans. Music by James Welsh.

MENTIONS: @mongoosebikes


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161 Comments
  • 145 1
 I'll bet anyone out there - you got to 7:05 and said...... "no way.........."
  • 4 49
flag mattvanders (Jul 27, 2015 at 9:56) (Below Threshold)
 Danny would of... maybe
  • 19 0
 I stopped breathing.
  • 3 1
 That's part of it. I said, "f*ck off, no way he's doing that. It kinda looks like Cabo... well that's neat."
  • 5 0
 Yepp. I said "no way" immediately before my jaw fell slack and my eyes about popped out of my head.
  • 11 18
flag dingus (Jul 27, 2015 at 12:03) (Below Threshold)
 "I'll bet anyone out there - you got to 7:05 and said...... "no way..........""

I didn't, I recognised that it was Chris Akrigg and not Hans Rey.
  • 1 0
 I just thought to myself, "he's not down".
  • 52 1
 It's the pipe crossing that made me nervous! Yikes! Love the edit Chris, truly showing the broad range of what's possible on a mountain bike.
  • 7 0
 @RyanLeech hah, it's no chain!
  • 1 0
 I think I said something like "no, NO, NO!! That's just plain stupid..." Massive respect to Chris for being able/willing to do something like that.
  • 4 0
 Bender would have done it, if marzocchi make a 380 Super Monster
  • 2 0
 Skills End of
  • 1 0
 That is exactly what I said out loud to an empty room! You must be a mind reader. ;-)
  • 5 0
 So crazy!!!! I literally raised my hands in the air and shouted "What the F*ck!". Chris Akrigg is the man! I vote VIDEO OF THE YEAR!!!!!
  • 1 0
 No worries .. it will be in the next edit. This is just part One ;-)
  • 1 1
 Wouldn't want clips on that one...
  • 1 0
 Me too! I was hoping his tires were dry after riding thru the water!
  • 2 0
 Umm, Chris. If you're going to provide this heroin to me, I'm going to need a steady flow of it. Please give me your private log in info so I can continue with my bike high.
Plllllllllleeeeeeeaaaaasssssseeeeee???????
I'm hurtin here
  • 73 0
 So stoked to see another edit from Chris Akrigg! Easily my favorite rider to watch.
  • 27 0
 Inspirational! What a legend, only criticism is that he didn't go for the gap at the end Wink lol
  • 14 0
 that pipeline crossing....high enough to damage yourself, low enough for you to know about it.
  • 1 0
 Makes riding this stuff look easy.
  • 10 0
 I'm exhausted just from watching that.
  • 55 0
 Well Mongoose, I hope you realise how damn lucky you are having Chris on your books!!!!

Nearly 8 mins of just pure riding, no preamble crap, no slo-mo .. i mean no slo-mo!!, in fact quite the opposite, Chris seems to have a turbo boost in those legs, where you think he should be slowing down he speeds up, where you think he will stop and take a moment before seemingly defying gravity, no, he just goes for it, no hesitation - this guy floats damn it!!

I just love watching Chris on a bike, another level, this is the second vid of the year for me with Martyns come back vid being first (though I will point out that I love the unreal one-shot clip for its technical achievements)
  • 1 0
 I felt that too. He's turned it up a gear for this vid. My favourite part was the continuous wheelie over those four boulders. I hate to say it but I really thought he was going to jump off the cliff at the end for a second. Obviously too much Fast and Furious! The cliff looks a lot higher from above. A cliff dive would have been cool though. I totally agree about the slow mo. I hate long artsy intros, slow mos of roost, all that padding that you usually see. Even the Semenuk unreal video which is awesome, contains a minute and a half of nothing at the start of its four minutes. Welshy on music is pretty awesome too as I'm not a fan of guitars or punk music.
  • 1 0
 That's one of the things I love the most about his videos: they're completely devoid of all the trite BS that fills up every other "edit" out there. No moody b-roll, no slo-mo, just ripping. He's like the Bruce Lee of bikes. No cables, no effects.

About that turbo boost.... when he's just flowing like a madman I just think how insanely fit he must be, in addition to having balls of steel and inhuman skills. When you think about how strenuous all those moves are, and how many he strings together in one impossibly smooth shot.... damn.
  • 1 0
 It must take a few days of filming. He's going at 100% all the time. No one could sustain that intensity for long. Not even that crossfit guy.
  • 39 0
 I really thought he was considering that last drop.
  • 16 0
 Me too. Would have been his last film though.
  • 12 0
 @Mrtrotter Not sure, he seems quite solid considering he survived when he fell from a cliff few years ago
  • 1 0
 ... we'll that was my first thought at the opening.. "Chris! FARK, don't go off the cliff!" incredible. As always.
  • 31 0
 Big respect to Mongoose and Chris for continuing to work together. I think it's great to see such a small/unpopular company sponsoring such a high profile rider like Chris Akrigg. Long may they continue to successfully work together!
  • 1 10
flag theminsta (Jul 27, 2015 at 19:03) (Below Threshold)
 I wouldn't call Chris a "high" profile rider. He's really good at what he does (riding and filming) and that's why people gravitate towards him; it's not like he's being advertised by Mongoose or other sponsors. He's simply uploading videos onto his channel. He is probably the best rider to sponsor today, just too bad that Mongoose will never appeal to my tastes.
  • 5 0
 it's not about the brand bro..but the skill..
if i can ride automaticaly like chris with $10.000 bike then i will buy that bike...Big Grin
  • 18 2
 This is INSANE!! That's real mtb and what we wanna see! Enough of bike parks and berms and stuff like that in the vids ^^
  • 2 1
 I agree, Pinkbike needs to balance things out, mountainbiking is not just DH, slope and dj.
  • 16 0
 Private video- please log in?
  • 2 0
 This vid worked yesterday - now it's gone. Direct link on vimeo no longer works, can't find it on vimeo via searching for "Akrigg". FB posts to this on NSMB are gone too. Wonder what's going on?

This is/was easily in the top 3 best mtb videos I've seen.
  • 2 0
 Really wish I could watch it! I also searched around, no luck. What happened?
  • 1 0
 It's still on MTBR, but only in 360p. Only place I could find it:
reviews.mtbr.com/video-chris-akrigg-in-the-water-cycle
  • 9 0
 Probably my new favorite video of him. Every scene just flow into each other and the song ties everything together really well. A+ riding as usual. Amazing scenery, not only he's good at finding the good looking riding spots but he mastered turning random areas into bikeparks.
  • 11 0
 I want mongoose to design bikes everyone wants to buy. And still sponsor Chris.
  • 12 0
 i know i can't ride like Chris, but i bought teocali because of this man...
  • 10 0
 if there's one guy worth sponsoring, it's Chris Akrigg. His videos always make me wanna go riding.
  • 9 0
 I think I enjoy watching Chris Akrigg edits more than anything else. Does anybody know if he races much?
  • 8 0
 IIRC, he's won a well know - in the UK - uphill time trial, of all things. I do believe he does some events. All around bad ass on a bike...
  • 1 0
 He s won a few age category DH races in his time and would prob be elite category if he put some time in . Iirc he got invited to what was the old freeride tour stop in 2006/7 ish in cologne or perhaps another German city. I think he got bored/disillusioned with competition trials
  • 1 0
 He used to be trials champion, he also won many races in different cycling sports just for fun. As far as I remember, he said that racing and sport became too easy and boring for him, he wanted more, so started making crazy videos. Or something like that, I've read it many years ago, I might be mistaken.
  • 7 1
 This guy is awesome, and not like bacon or game of thrones bullshit, the real awesome, inspiring. I clicked on the video and just stared at my screen for 8min without even flinching, his videos are mesmerizing. And for some kind of reason, this one just made me feel genuinely good, felt like a shot of endorphin or something. Thank you Chris, never stop please, never.
  • 5 0
 No one on earth is able to transmit the joy of riding a bike as Chris does ... it is at the heart of mountain biking sport. It seems unstoppable ... no gravity, no obstacles, only a sequence of fluent body movements and fine balances ... the control of traction is unbelievable, on every ground. He doesn't need film tricks such as slow motion, they would only destroy the feeling of spontaneity of the video, he just need his talent, nothing else ... sometime I wonder what a joy it would be riding a bike that way.
  • 2 0
 whoa
  • 7 0
 Always entertaining and probably the most well rounded guy to ride a bike. It's great to see him always break the mold and do something different.
  • 5 0
 Absolutely Brilliant! The editing, music, and (as usual) riding were beyond incredible. I think this one tops all of his others. Riding across that pipe was risky! The rounded nature of those things reduces their width tremendously. That was like walking a high line (slack line) without a leash. Thank you Chris, and thanks to your sponsors for making my day.
  • 7 0
 possibly one of the most talented riders ever to get on a bike. The huy is a genius
  • 8 0
 Where is video?! Private??
  • 7 1
 Good music, beautiful landscape and awesome rider!!... the perfect combination!
  • 7 0
 WHY private!? im broken and cannot ride, I NEED THIS
  • 6 0
 What's happened to the video? It is disappeared, here and on other sites ...
  • 7 0
 The stuff on the downed trees...WOW.
(as if the rest wasn't awesome)
  • 4 1
 That really sucks, knowing I won't be able to pull stunts like that in this lifetime on a bikeSmile Finally some real (mountain) biking for a change though. Vids were getting a touch mundane? Thanks for lighting things up again Chris.
  • 3 0
 He's riding like, in a Chinese idiom, clouds floating and water flowing. Or in another Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi's words, Chris rides like a skilled "chef" dissecting a bull, knowing every bit of the flesh, bones and ligaments. A real master of bike sees the possible among the impossible.
  • 2 0
 I suspect it was taken down because some of what was being ridden may not have been legal. As in, not on public rights of way and without the land owners permission, possibly. And it would be made more contentious by the fact that it was inside the National Park. We've all done it, but when you're a 'celebrity', I guess you need to do it by the book!
  • 6 0
 i would pay a lot of money to be half as good as Chris! smh
  • 7 2
 He and Danny Mac are the two riders I wish I could ride like. Which rider do you wish you could ride like? Post below.
  • 10 0
 Akrigg. He does absolutely everything.
  • 4 0
 Akrigg six-time British Trials Champion.
  • 5 0
 Akrigg without hesitation.
  • 2 0
 Akrigg without a doubt. Next is Danny Mac
  • 4 2
 Chris Froome
  • 1 0
 Jordie Lunn.
  • 1 0
 I was joking actually but no one's biting today. I'm more of a Rossi fan actually.
  • 1 0
 Semenuk for the style on the big bike. For all other bikes it's Akrigg wizhout a doubt!
  • 4 0
 There arent many riders who I could solely watch for 8 mins solid and not get bored. Bravo!
  • 3 0
 Mind exploding riding right there. If I saw Chris in person I'd probably have to take a bow.... the total master of bicycle riding.
  • 3 0
 reminds us how stunning the hills and coastline of the UK is... great riding to be had on our doorstep... now it just needs to quit raining for 5 minutes!
  • 2 0
 Firstly: camerman is brilliant !! I have not seen for a long time such a fresh pictures. Location is awasome !! PROPS.
Secondly: Chris never let me down, skill, technical riding is top notch !!
AWESOME
  • 4 0
 Chris Akrigg has to one of the top bike handlers in the world, so smooth!
  • 3 0
 Awesome Rider Smile reason why I keep watching all his Videos, worth waiting for!
  • 4 0
 What tyres does he use?? Gotta get me some
  • 10 0
 My thought exactly. I'm pretty sure that's all that's keeping me from riding like him.
  • 2 0
 P HE NO MEN N A L
  • 4 0
 This is what it is all about.
  • 3 0
 Every video he's done with mongoose makes me wanna buy one of the frames he is on.
  • 3 1
 The trouble with every Akrigg video is that they always end. I could watch him ride bikes forever and not get bored! #nohomo
  • 1 0
 Chris Akrigg could go anywhere with his bike. I wouldn't be surprised if one day he has a video bunny hopping his way to the moon.
  • 2 0
 Where's he riding this time? Thought it was Yorkshire until he hit the coast, then I wasn't sure.
  • 4 0
 South Wales. The beach is Southerndown/Ogmore (Dr Who nerds may recognise it). The arch at the end is at Stack Rocks, Pembrokeshire. The gully is cheeky so I'm not naming it, nor the first reservoir which I suspect would give the gully away. The reservoir footage jumps around a bit, flying over the top of that dam might be Elan Valleys which is miles away from the rest of the vid but lots of good riding around there! Not quite sure which waterfall but probably either near Pontneddfechan or lower Neath valley. Sweet video!
  • 2 0
 The dam is in the Elan Valley. The waterfall is in the Brecon Beacons and is called Sgwd-y-Eira. I think I know where the first reservoir is as well.
  • 1 0
 The waterfall looks like Hardraw waterfall, Hawes in North Yorkshire, then i saw the coast and it confused me.
  • 1 0
 I'm pretty sure that's Hardraw Force. Well edited into South Wales hey!
  • 3 0
 I'd doublecheck frame and shock before next ride lol.
  • 3 0
 the mans a cycling wizard.
  • 5 3
 Get tired just watch this, he looks like he is being chased by a pack of wolfs the whole time
  • 3 0
 Man, I hate all these manicured flow trails!
  • 2 0
 How many flats were in the making of this edit?
  • 1 0
 Great edit, appropriate soundtrack. Enjoyable vid as always. I realy like to watch him ride. Hope see soon more from him.
  • 1 0
 Dayyuummmmmmm! Nice way to show the rest of us that we really don't know how to ride our bikes.
  • 1 0
 That is mature riding and video, that I call art Thank you Chris, Will and James
  • 2 0
 Pure riding, has it all, Superb
  • 3 1
 Wow that got me really WET
  • 2 1
 It's called Water Cycle - but I didn't see the water do any cycling! Chris did loads fur sure!
  • 1 0
 A video centred around water...something was definitely missing...especially since it was filmed in the UK...rain!
  • 2 0
 one of a few guys who I favourite before even watching their edits
  • 1 1
 this is the video of the month, the video of the year. best video i have seen.
the bikes is really nice, but the place fu…cking where is it ?
  • 1 0
 Starts in the Brecon Beacons in Wales and (mostly) follows the river South to the coast.
  • 1 0
 I love all these videos but god dam, get the trials bike back in action!! Bring the Trial Noir style back on it.
  • 1 0
 Where is the video gone?? I'm getting private you don't have permissions. Is gone from the Vemo site too?!!
  • 2 1
 what a k i n g!!!, one of a kind. amazing shots.
  • 2 0
 That´s awesome
  • 2 1
 Chris Akrigg = Legend....... Nuff said.
  • 1 0
 That was a extremly nice video, ahm.... edit!
  • 1 0
 Precision! What an awesome ride.
  • 1 0
 Anybody know what the soundtrack is called ?
  • 1 0
 Is this how they test new fox shock/ forks?
  • 1 0
 Damn that skill
How do you jump that high>.
  • 1 0
 I really hope they accept Chris into Hogwarts - He's a bloody wizard!
  • 1 0
 I hope he was using weldtite pure oil
  • 1 0
 just so many sick edits [sic] these days...
  • 1 0
 Commuting would be so much easier and faster if I could do that stuff
  • 4 3
 Any notice he was clipped in thoughout the video?
  • 5 1
 nope, he wasn't, pause at around 1:37 and see yourself
  • 1 0
 and no more fiveten
  • 2 1
 Thank you Chris for making the dreams of us mortals come true.
  • 2 0
 So many skills
  • 1 0
 I was thinking please don't do that huge gap.
  • 1 0
 Pure class. Easily the most underrated rider there is!
  • 1 0
 Akrigging hell! My bike wishes I could ride it like this.
  • 1 1
 Beyond sick. Amazing riding, beautifully shot and nice bit of Neu!-like music too.
  • 1 0
 so talented rider,RESPECT!!!
  • 1 0
 but that's my secret line
  • 1 1
 people will understand that "the man behind the gun" is more important than "the brand"..
  • 1 0
 1:37, finally a Chris Akrigg trick that me myself can do..
  • 1 0
 sick riding...very entertaining. thanks Chris.
  • 1 0
 Who needs a trail when you have imagination ( and some sweet skills)
  • 1 0
 The Vimeo player is what poos are made of.
  • 1 0
 Mongooses... ugly imo, but great riding from chris
  • 1 0
 "Trail closed due to fallen trees"
Chris Akrigg: "Is it yeah?"
  • 1 0
 This Guy is OUT OF SPACE!!!!!
  • 1 0
 mind blowing, as always!!!
  • 1 0
 This is one of the coolest vids I've ever seen! So good!!!!
  • 1 0
 That was so so so AWESOME! suck a nice vid!!
  • 2 0
 Where is the video???
  • 1 0
 What happened to this? Its been removed from teh interwebz
  • 1 0
 That's a lot of comments for a great video that doesn't exist.
  • 1 0
 Beast mode
  • 1 0
 FAVED ! Big Grin
  • 1 1
 How I wish I rode....... forking awesome as usual!
  • 3 0
 Ah, it's the soundtrack. If I had that soundtrack I could ride like that.
  • 1 0
 What a video! Blown away
  • 1 0
 respect
  • 1 0
 5:39...... great sty
  • 1 0
 ARE YOU HUMAN?!?!??!
  • 1 0
 WHere has is gone?
  • 2 2
 I only ride park
  • 3 5
 CLIPPED IN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! full props!
  • 1 0
 Negative, but full props regardless!
  • 1 0
 u sure ??
  • 1 0
 Yeah, I have those same shoes, it's the flat pedal version, they don't have the white on the sole of the bottom of the shoe, which the clipless versions do.
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