First there were the fully rigid frames and when the trails got a little rougher those bikes weren’t supple enough - so then came the full suspension bike. Once pointed downhill, riders discovered that they could go fast (make that really fast) and the suspension no longer traveled enough so they made beefed up bikes that could take the “big hits”, albeit at a price.

Just got an e-mail from my friend Si 'Superfly' Paton of Descent-World telling me that Animal - Muddy Fox's Gee Atherton won the "Dragon No Chain Race" this past weekend. Saturday the 24th & Sunday the 25th, was Wales (UK) Marzocchi Dragon Rounds 3 and 4 at the Taff Buggy Trails.

Well it's time to start ampin' up again for the ultimate challenge in Big Mountain Riding. Hitting www.karelo.com is the only thing you need to do to register for the biggest test of your stamina, speed, guts, grace, strength, durability and reproductive fortitude. "Having a Pair" isn't the only secret to winning this epic race that is covered extensively by print and program. So start dialin' in that new squishy you got and have been staring at for a month now. Then grab a pile of dirtbags, a tent and a couple of pops for after the dust and you've got a road trip to the event of the year!

Consider yourself a radical protestor who will do almost anything to show your disdain for our dependency on oil? Want to make a statement about how we should reacquaint ourselves with our own bodies? Then join the World Naked Bike Ride on Saturday, June 12. Anyone can participate. All you need is a pair of wheels and, well, that's it. "Go as bare as you dare!" -- Jacob Wheeler, Utne

Colorado Springs, CO – April 22, 2004 SRAM, RockShox and [L=http://www.avidbikes.com]Avid®[/L] enter the season with arguably the strongest collection of officially sponsored athletes ever assembled.

Endless Bike Co. and the city of Asheville, NC will be presenting the third annual “Mountain Sports Festival” mountain bike street contest this May 8th. “Urban Decay” will build on the success of the previous two years’ contests by upping the ante to what is likely the highest concentration of real street riding in a mountain bike contest - ever!!

Race Face Performance Products, along with Giant Bicycles and Manitou Suspension is proud to announce that Wayne Goss has won the third annual Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge!

The Sea Otter Classic unofficially marks the start of the new racing season. Companies are showcasing their latest & greatest products; teams are announcing their new members; factory teams are flashing their new team kits and if you pay close enough attention, you might even spot prototype stuff on some bikes - In a way, it’s almost like an early season Interbike show!

The U.S. Open of Mountain Biking returns in its second year to Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon, New Jersey. This highly anticipated, three-day event produced by TerraLogic Park Industries LLC boasts a huge $20,000 Dowhhill Pro Purse while offering a staggering $5,000 cash prize to first place in both the men’s and women’s categories. The U.S. Open of Mountain Biking is currently offering one of the largest cash payouts of any American mountain bike event this season.

Thanks to support from Kona Bicycles, five IMBA clubs will receive $500 cash grants to help create new freeriding, downhilling, and dirt jumping opportunities. More than 30 IMBA clubs applied for a grant.

Scott USA today announced its return to the USA in the coming months and offer a full line of bicycles and selected cycling accessories for the 2005 model year. Beat Zaugg, President of Scott Sports Group said, “We have always wanted to return to North America. We felt this was the perfect time as our bicycle line has been extremely well received for years and is already sold in some 37 countries around the world. We have been getting many requests from enthusiasts in the United States asking to purchase our cycling related products. Our brand is very strong but we did not have the right person to manage the bicycle business in the USA. So when Scott Montgomery called we thought we should seriously study the project.”

What do you want to know about your heros in the sport? This is your chance be the interviewer. We need you to come up with questions for your favorite riders. Favorite Trails? Favorite person to ride with? Favorite food? Boxers/briefs?!?! Anything!
Try to be creative. Submit your questions along with whom you would like to ask and I will take the best 10-15 questions and get them out to the rider and post them on the site.

Click here to submit your questions!

From the creators of Dirt magazine comes the film that the dirt biking world has been waiting for, the first ever Dirt Video, Earthed. It features over an hour of the finest bike riding imaginable, including the world's best riders, the best locations from around the globe, mind blowing action and it is all tied together with a soundtrack that will leave you screaming for more.

Click here view teaser
Click here to pick it up

After five weeks of gruelling competition, we're down to two finalists. Congratulations go out to Wayne Goss of Fernie, BC and Carlin Dunne of Santa Barbara, CA who have advanced to the final round of the third annual Ultimate Freeride Challenge and will now compete for a sponsorship contract with Race Face, Giant and Manitou worth over US$25,000!

Fernie Fat-Tire Adventures, one of Canada's leading mountain bike tour operators since 1996, is giving away a spot on their epic new Gravity-Fed downhill tour.

Hey everyone,

It's Marshall, the marketing guy here at Race Face and Roach. You know, the one who keeps sending out all those press releases and UFC updates? Well, I'm going to be straight with you - I need your help.

At last weekend's Advil Outdoor Adventure Show in Calgary, I caught up with Dylan Trembley and Tyler Klassen of Drop In to talk a little about Season 2. It was no easy task as these two were constantly swamped with fans requesting autographs and photos with their favourite riders. Here's what they had to say...

Gibsons, BC – Norco Performance Bikes is proud to once again support Doug Detwiller and his Sprockids “Coastriders” Program. Norco Factory Team riders and Norco staff recently spent the weekend in Gibsons to help Sprockids update and tweak the Sprockids Mountain bike, stunt and dirt jump park for this generation’s new school of rider.

Want to improve your mountain biking skills and ride with more confidence? BetterRide, offering world class mountain bike skills clinics, camps and lessons with 2002 UCI World Masters Championships Silver Medalist and USA Cycling Expert Coach Gene Hamilton announces its 2004 schedule.

The votes are in and have been tallied. The Alberta Freeride Awards were handed out last week to the provinces most talented rippers.
Thanks to everyone that participated in the voting and congratulations to the winners. Click here to see the winners

The Sugoi Dirt Series is back and better than ever in 2004. With Sugoi as title sponsor, North America’s premiere women’s mountain bike technical skills program will be growing to host a total of twelve camps this year, including ten in Western Canada and two in the Northwestern US.

Mountain biking with a serious difference, Everest Base Camp 5200m is the aim. We begin in Kathmandu and fly over the Himalayas from Kathmandu to Lhasa the ancient capital of Tibet. Riding west across the Tibetan high plateau at 4000-5000m, the expedition will utilise existing 4WD tracks to the foot of Mt Everest, the Rongbuk Everest Base Camp. After BC the journey continues West across the high plateau and down (south) into Nepal for an awesome 120km free-wheeling section. Finishing in the warm, lowlands of Nepal we complete our journey.

The semi-finals are on! In exactly two weeks, we'll be announcing the winner to the third annual Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge. Congratulations goes out to Carlin Dunne who took a convincing win in his round to take the final semi-finals spot.

In a bold move Norco Performance Bikes has once again signed a new
young ripper. Even though the team roster was officially closed to any new riders for the 2004 season, Team Director Peter Stace-Smith and Team Coordinator Dave Devlin both agreed that when they saw this young ripper in action, they just had to bend the rules and get him on board.