Fresh meat is something that Pinkbike.com takes pride in. Showing ya'll what we are going to be testing, and items that we have found to be a good buy, or well worth your hard earned dollars. This fresh meat article is featuring products from Deity Components new line up, Easton Components high end products, Biker Soaps awesome cleaning agent, Shimano's new XT lineup, Forumla's new high end disc brakes, and some flashly 661 Gloves.

April Fools Jam! Come one, Come all! Why? Because it will be fun and you get to meet new people and the best of all - PRIZES! Win a Brodie frame in a raffle! And a free Haro bike is up for grabs too! And win a Redline frame in the jam too!

Bring your friends, bring your family! Bring who ever!

KBRA invites you out for the kick off meeting for the Kamloops Bike Riders Association, Wednesday, April 2nd at 7PM.

We will talk about everything from the Trail Advocacy issues, to the Elections for Executive Positions.

News Source: Shawn Orecchio
TerraLogic Park Industries, the exclusive United States distributor and retailer of Freelap Personal Timing Systems, is pleased to announce the highly anticipated arrival of this unique, revolutionary training system.

This is the final portion of the Will Ride 4 Food video from Transition Bikes. This section features Evan Holmgren, Brad Walton and the Spectrum Tech Wear Crew, Carl Buchanan, JS and Mike Metzger. Will Ride 4 Food is a collection of Transition Bikes factory riders doing what they love best. This film celebrates factory riders that have to hold down 9 to 5 jobs so they can afford to live and ride.

Darren Pokoj, the young ambitious, but also experienced rider, is the brand new member of the Felt team. The 21 year old Australian caught a lot of eyes not only during the various contests he attempted worldwide in the last two years. Now he is looking forward to a very successful future with his new partner Felt.

Well everyone it's been another year up on Vedder and with the snow finally receding it is exposing some nasty trash that has "fallen" out of peoples trucks, so in order to earn this years trail pass for Vedder Mountain, come out and help put some man (and woman) hours in to keep it clean and clear.

Read on to learn about Vedder and Sumas Trail days:

The Summer Of Shred world tour with Phil Sundbaum has just kicked off recently, but we're already having a blast traveling all over the world: riding, filming, editing, and playing in some of the most unique places all over the world. The tour has been great so far, here are a couple video updates from the places we've hit so far.

Cartel, celebrates it's 10 year anniversary and launches it's 2008 apparel collection with a refreshed website and several new product offerings. Check out the new website at www.sombriocartel.com.

Veteran Kona Factory Team riders Barry Wicks and Tracy Moseley added race wins to their collection on March 8 when they both decisively won the sixth annual Kona Colville Connection Mountain Bike Race on the Coromadel Peninsula in New Zealand.

Building on their integrated guard patent*, MRP will begin shipping a new, innovative series of components designed to protect chainrings and cranks from damage due to the occasional rock or log encounter. The XCG guards consist of a replaceable polycarbonate Skid direct-mounted to a 4mm thick alloy back plate.

Marzocchi Suspension is back on board with the Pinkbike.com/Devinci DH Team for the 2008 season. Marzocchi has supplied our team with ROCO World Cup rear shocks and 888 RC3s and 888 WC ATA front forks. Our team will be pinning it across the rough stuff with confidence this year.

Read on to learn more about the suspension components the team is riding this season:

This is my adventure of my first ride on my first mountain bike and first real mountain bike trail. The experience was fun and I'm looking forward to doing it all again really soon.

A short time ago we offered all you amateur video editors a chance to strike it rich (ok get noticed). A chance to play with high end footage, featuring some of the best DH racers and riders in the world, filmed by the people that do it the best. This update is to let you know that this chance is coming to a end, so open up that editing program once more, dial in that section, and get it up on Pinkbike Recut.

Kamloops was a meeting area for many bikers this week. Riders from the island, lower mainland and other parts of the interior took over the Bike Ranch and numerous other spots in kamloops. There were great expectations for the trip, and luckily the weather held out which made for great bicycle riding. Names like Graham Agassiz, Dylan Sherrard, Shrew, Luke Fulton, Casey Groves, Stirling Grassick, Mitch Chubey and many others made apperances through out the week.

After a successful season in 2007, the Adiridas team, the international Adidas freeride crew­ has been extended.

After months of obtaining feedback from racers and careful deliberation, Fluidride, Hurricane racing, and NDub productions have teamed up to create the ultimate race series in the Pacific Northwest. Combining two of the most well respected race venues in the PNW, the series consists of six races over six months. With four of the six races counting toward the overall "CUP", any rider wanting to give the series a go should have a crack at the overall titles.

Josh Bryceland, one of the most talented youngsters to be seen in many years has signed a deal with MRP. Bryceland will join his mentor Steve Peat as a member of the talent-stacked Santa Cruz Syndicate team this year as they battle for supremacy on the World Cup Circuit.

The fast & rocky Kaka Hill course provided plenty of action for the cheering crowds, as it held its form throughout the weekend, regardless of the dry & dusty conditions.Halfway down the course, the seven-meter jump drew vast attention, as strong unpredictable winds played havoc on competitors; eliminating a few riders from competition, including junior World Championship medalist Matt Scoles.

Active since 1997 in the south of France, FISE nowadays is the number one extreme sports gathering in Europe, With more than 1,500 riders in several sports: bmx, skate, roller, wakeboard, snowboard ans ski freestyle. Riders such as Dave Mirra, Sandro Dias, Takeshi Yasutoko, Mathieu Crepel, and Shane Bonifays will be there! The last edition, in May 2007, welcomed 220,000 visitors over 5 days. Entrance is free of charge for the audience, and this year there is huge news, FISE organizes the first Mountain Bike Slope style contest! The event is supported by the famous brand Dainese! FISE means "Festival International des Sports Extremes!"

Evil Bikes was recently purchased by an undisclosed Seattle based management group, who we will refer to as "The Project" for the time being. The rider owned group has an extensive brand, product development, and design history within the mountain bike industry.

Spring has definitely sprung and with it comes a veritable flurry of activity at the Race Face factory!

The first Slopestyle Roof'an will take place right in the village centre, not down on the ground but up on the rooftops. The run, littered with gaps, jumps, wall-rides, big air, foot bridges and other challenging obstacles, is the first of its kind, unique the whole world over.

With this innovative track, competitors won’t believe their eyes and will really have to pull out all the stops to win this event.

Registrations are now available for the 2008 Mountain Bike Summit, to be held at the Stowe Mountain Resort, Stowe - Vermont, from May 7-9, 2008.

Northern Ontario riders don't get noticed because of where they live.

Sadly riders in northern Ontario are not noticed by companies or other riders. My name is Matt Dickson and I have been living in northern Ontario for the past summer and will be returning to my home in Kelowna B.C. at the end of the week. Over this time I have met some of the best bikers I have seen for our age. Many of them dream of riding Crankworx and other events like that but cannot afford to make it to them.

The last year was filled with many impressions and experiences. Now, we are in the best mood to focus our energy for the new season. In order to carry this feeling out into the big, wide world, we decided to relaunch our website.

Greenfish Adventure Sports is proud to announce they are now the exclusive online dealer for Slingshot Bikes, a company at the forefront of advanced suspension technology for the past twenty six years. Greenfish Sports, an online dealer of bicycle parts, accessories as well as motocross gear, is recognized for their quality custom builds, exceptional customer service, and prompt shipping. Partnered with Slingshot Bikes, Greenfish now offers an expanded line of custom builds and a variety of kits including those built around the Slingshot Farmboy 29er, the Ripper XC frame, and the Fold-tech, a foldable travel frame.

Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Greg Minnaar hosted a Big Air Camp for 10 local downhillers from around South Africa preceding the Pietermaritzburg leg of the SA Downhill MTB Championships on March 12th through 14th. The camp started on Wednesday with the guys arriving from all parts of SA and ranging in age from 11 to 44, all eager to meet their local hero and former Downhill World Cup Champion.

News Source: Ashland Mountain Adventures
Ashland Mountain Adventures (AMA) - the passion put into action by MTB fiend "Wild Bill" Roussel - announces premier shuttle services to any location in the Siskiyou Mountains around Ashland Oregon

Last year Transition Bikes set out to document all of it's factory riders and showcase each one of their unique styles. Will Ride for Food is a celebration of riders who hold down jobs while being fully sponsored. This 2 part video features Mike Metzger, Dylan Tremblay, JS, Trent Kidd, Evan Holmgren, Carl Buchanan, Ian Nelson, Andy Grant, Brad Walton and Travis Erickson.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet up with Tyler Morland and Steve Smith of Cove Bikes for a few hours and watch them rip it up. While I waited for them to get some new decals on their race steeds I was also able to do a walk through of the Cove shop for all you to check out.

Here's some video and pics of the day:

This article has been carefully compiled by a group of riders with the desire to provide other riders with only the best products on the market. These bike components and protective gear are designed for women who started riding bikes for their boyfriends, or chose to ride bikes to find one. Or those who just ride cause they love it. Whether this hobby is yours, or your hubby’s, regular use of the items below will prevent unwanted scars, unwarranted comments, and undue thirst.

Readers should have a sense of humor and a love for any woman who rides a bike.

What better way to spend your Easter Sunday than ripping up the forest trails of Vancouver Island?

Come on out this coming Sunday March 23rd for the first DH of the 2008 season.

News Source: ethirteen components
e.thirteen components is proud to announce the acquisition of Montara Design’s Heim product line and supporting IP portfolio. The addition of the Heim offerings helps to diversify the already strong e.thirteen product line.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of jumping on a plane and flying out to Calgary Alberta to hang out with all my old friends and take in the Sixth Annual Alberta Freeride Awards. The AFAs came about to honor riders that are killing it in their own fields with a heavy liking for gravity riding. Each year C.O.P. hosts the event and there is a killer biker cross event that precedes the awards ceremony aka party.

Check out the whole event in photos and video here.

The Orpheus Crew recently shot a short video for Bos, featuring exclusive footage of Nico test riding the new Idylle fork and Stoy shock.

We've been covering a lot of the BOS stuff lately as it's really sexy and they have an amazing history with Nico that spans many a World Cup victory.

Cannondale has given us an update, not only on their team, but they opened up their Hunting Lodge, come on in, check it out.

While you are checking out the lodge, be sure to read about their new gravity team too.

Intense Cycles has a brand new website up and running, so check out: www.intensecycles.com.

The new site is easier to navigate, has better images and provides more information about Intense Cycles and their products. All of the 2008 bikes are now online including, the new M6 and Slopestyle. Please take a moment to check out the new site and let them know what you think.

This coming Easter weekend the 22nd and 23rd of March at Innerleithen in Scotland sees round three of the Alpine Bikes Winter Series. Another new track has been marked out at the World famous Innerleithen venue that is commonly known as the “Mecca for downhill in the U.K“.

After years of controversy over an emerging new riding style, we show off the stoke of 3 North Carolina boys (featuring Brad Walton, Javier Vega, and Keland Hawkes) finally arriving in their version of mountain bike paradise. There's really nothing like the Great Pacific Gnarthwest, or atleast we have no reason to believe the contrary. We're all about riding whatever the best trails have to offer, whether man-made bridges, big cliff drops and gap jumps, or au-naturale rock chutes. The popularity of freeriding in the Northwest has led to an abundance of highly skilled athletes and advanced trail building techniques that offer unique features on the trails that are considered some of the most difficult in the world. We're stoked to be able to show some of these trails as they'll never be seen in person, and as ridden by bros, not pros! Our camera man/movie editor shows you the area through his freshly opened out-west eyes, offering the unique perspective and detail of an outsider first arriving to the scene.

Enjoy the video!

I have chatted a bit with Tyler for the past few months and was flattered to hear from him this last week. Tyler and his crew from Pinkbike were heading to Nanaimo for the Super D and they wanted to ride. I was stoked to show them around.

Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate), South Africa's most successful mountain bike racer ever, made a triumphant return to competition at the weekend after a long injury layoff to capture the National Downhill Title at the 2008 Mazda MTN South African Mountain Bike Championships.

Mongoose Bikes is pleased to announce a grant to the Capitol Off-Road Partners (“CORP”), enabling the Madison, WI-area organization to purchase key trail-building tools. These tools will be extensively used and include hoes, McLeods, Pulaskis, shovels, brush cutters, digging bars and a Knaack job site storage chest.

Ever wonder where kickstands come from, or what company REALLY makes your favorite product? Most of the parts on your bike were most likely manufactured in Taiwan, and the root of the manufacturing and everything associated to it comes out of the Taipei Bike Show in Taiwan. Every year, thousands of companies, manufacturers and product managers flock to this show to see what new technology is coming out, and OE suppliers are busy organizing what bikes you're going to be riding next year.

Team ODI/Southridge/Turner has signed both David 'K' and Brad Oein to Race this season.

Brad Oein had a great 07 season, winning the Golden State Championships in Jr.x and Qualifying to race at the World Championship in Scotland. . . Now training in Australia for the winter, you can expect to see plenty of top place finishes from this proven DH racer upon his Turner DHR race bike. His racing schedule has him back in the states just in time to race the first National race in Fontana CA.

Twenty4 Sports, organizers of the 24 Hours of Adrenalin, are partnering with IMBA Canada in 2008 to raise funds and recruit members for the World leader in mountain bike trail advocacy and education. This multi-faceted partnership will be focussed on the 10th Anniversary World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Championships to be held in Canmore, Alberta on July 26-27. IMBA Canada will not only be a vital event partner leading and advising on trail maintenance and best practices on the pre-event Canmore Trail Days, but will also be staffing one of the race check points and running an information and membership tent in the Expo area throughout the weekend.

After a successful first year of racing, Ukbikepark are bringing you more events in 2008 in conjunction with Royal Racing and Torico Performance Bicycles

The countdown has started ­ only a few weeks until the fifth edition of the Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas, The Magical and Untamed African Mountain Bike Race, will take off. On Friday 28 March 2008, 1200 riders from 41 countries will embark on a gruelling and adventurous 9-day journey through South Africa¹s Western Cape. Competing in teams of two, they will ride 966km from the Garden Route town of Knysna to Lourensford Estate in Somerset West near Cape Town, where they arrive on Saturday 5 April 2008. On their way, the participants will climb approximately 18 529m, including some of the most magnificent passes in South Africa.

The man who has been cleverly named "The King boost" has sat down with Pinkbike's own Dolla Bill to get some well needed facts written down on paper. This guy could give Chase Hawk a run for his money, and for that, we salute you, Jimmy Pratt.

A Formula 1 racing car, the current Dakar-winner’s KTM bike, Robby Naish’s kite surf equipment, helmets from Thomas Morgenstern and Adam Malysz, Nicky Hayden and Shaun White – all of these items are original, signed and starting at 1 euro each. These and numerous other exhibits which have never thought to be on sale ever will be sold in March 2008 at an unprecedented charity auction on the eBay online marketplace. The revenues from the auction will go to the Wings for Life spinal cord research foundation.

Everyone is always asking us where to get decals, or how they can buy a bunch of Pinkbike.com decals? Well now you can get all the decals you've ever wanted in our online store. That's right, we've got enough stickers to make even the biggest of Pinkbike.com fans happy, so get yours today!

The voting poles for the 2008 Alberta Freeride Awards close at noon on Sunday, March 16th- so if you haven't had the chance to vote for your favorite riders, racers, trail builders and dirt jumpers head straight to the Alberta Freeride Award website and do so RIGHT NOW!...

The Kootenay Columbia Trails Society is accepting applications for full-time positions on our 2008 summer trail-building crew, based in Rossland B.C. from mid-May through mid September. Remuneration based on experience and responsibility.

Shimano’s Dave Arnauckas, Multi-Service Supervisor, announced that their schedule is finalized for the 2008 season. With a team of three full-time technicians and a fleet of purpose built vehicles, Shimano Multi-Service will be supporting over 50 cycling events across the US including the USA Cycling National Championships, Ride the Rockies, Mountain States Cup and the National Racing Calendar. A full schedule
can be found at www.Shimano.com.

Read how a successful corporate charity day means that disadvantaged kids get free bikes !

The BC Bike Race “the Ultimate Singletrack Experience” has SOLD OUT. In only its second year of operation this seven day mountain bike stage race, from Victoria to Whistler has joined the ranks of its peers, and SOLD OUT.

KHS Bicycles recently signed Logan Binggeli as the newest member of the KHS Racing Team. Binggeli, 18, has been racing competitively since 2006 and specializes in downhill, with great expertise in technical sections and ultra high-speed racing. As a KHS Racing team member, Binggeli adds strength and depth to the mountain bike team, according to Team Manager Quinton Spaulding.

News Source: Eric Schutt
A revolution in transmission technology is coming, and its name is Truvativ HammerSchmidt. Powered by SRAM.

Brains boiling, fast paces, and jagged rocks… This explained the first race of the Southern California State Race Series of Mountain Biking (MTB) presented by Team Big Bear.

What race allows 3 members to a team, and they are all competing for the same thing?

The EMTN first annual Enduro MTB race is coming up, so grab your fairy boots and get out there.

After many more meetings with SCAMBS we are now in the process of identifying a plot of land. If you are wondering whatever happened to the concept of RAF Waterbeach being our site; that was overtaken by housing and is now going to be ECO-Beach as it was named. Like we originally planned, the facility will specialize in Freeride and slopestyle - but also covering 4X, north shore, trials.

The brodie b team is back in the saddle this winter and picking up right where they left off last summer… the podium.

In his pro debut, Chad Lorrain picked up his first win at the Southridge Winter series Mountain Cross race in Fontana, Ca, a series that typically attracts mountain cross legends like Eric Carter and Rich Housman. Overheard and summed up best by one So Cal pro; “Some no name showed up and kicked all of our asses.”

In April, North America's premier traveling mountain bike skills instruction program takes to the road for its eighth season. This year, the Dirt Series by Rocky Mountain Bicycles offers an unprecedented nineteen women’s-only and co-ed mountain bike camps in destinations like Sun Valley, Southern California, Park City, North Vancouver, and the Dirt Series home base of Whistler.

You've seen the pictures and heard the rumors, now we have the scoop on Industry Nine's wheels! Obviously these are the coolest looking wheels in the galaxy but how did they hold up after a full season of DH bike abuse and drive through car wash cleanings?

Read on.....

Will summer ever come? My kingdom for dry dirt.

This week, Winter pulled in his teeth a little. The Sun warmed up the concrete and brick just enough to get the melt underway, reflected heat loosening the side streets and sidewalks from their icy, crappy carpet of muck. Overall, there was a certain levity out in the shops and in the cafes and along the high street today. Only two weeks ago we were in the savage, burning blue center of the deep freeze.

The Caersws Cup is for new and up coming riders to cut their teeth and gain experience of Downhill racing. Race organizer Chris Roberts said, “Caersws is the perfect venue for this series, the best uplift means more time riding and exciting courses makes for exciting racing. There is already a good entry of new and older riders on the start list.”

Last weekend, while everyone was sitting around dreaming about riding, Tyler, Mike, Simon, and Myself took the journey upon ourselves to drive 2 hours, take an hour and a half ferry ride, drive for another hour, and ride some absolutely sick trails and take in the Naniamo Super D. If you have never been out to Vancouver Island for one of the Super D race's or even to go riding, I would highly recommend it.

Check inside for pics, results and video of the weekend.

Fenwicks are a household name in the U.K when it comes to cleaning products. Whether you own a caravan, motorhome, boat or a Mountainbike.

John Smith who runs the company is a keen rider and racer and can often be seen at the Welsh Dragons and U.K Nationals onboard his Intense Socom making the numbers up in the Masters category 30-39year olds!

Chris Kovarik was spotted riding his new Black Market Mob 4x bike at Fontana.

Check out inside for more information on the bike.

News Source: Downhill Mike
Paddys Day Downhill and Super D @ Bootleg Canyon
Friday March 14:
Super D & DH Practice (shuttle service will be available for $15.00). Registration open from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm.

The Squamish GearJammer, presented by G. Stewart Kerr Ltd., is proud to announce that the 2008 race registration page is now up at http://www.gearjammer.ca and available for racer sign up. The race will take place Saturday, July 26, 2008, starting at 11:00 am sharp.

It’s official. Morewood Engineering has confirmed their involvement with the French World Cup gravity team, Team Pyrenees Morewood: an all-French outfit with riders Fabien Pedemanaud and Devin Danh Pha at the helm. Of equal interest is the resultant partnership between Morewood and Bos Engineering, who will be working very closely together in supplying the team with their latest and greatest offerings. Other sponsors include Funn, Formula, Espace Bikes, Troy Lee Designs, Best, Bolle, Dakine, 5.10, Wurth, Maxxis, MRP and Aptonia. The development has heralded great excitement among all parties involved, not least Jean Christophe Charrier (aka Jaycee) of Bos, who says “The new Morewood DH bike will feature the brand new Bos Idylle fork and Stoy rear shock, to create what's potentially one of the best performing DH bikes ever!”

In a little less than 180 days the first events will have started... Whilst the snow is still very much in evidence here, the days are already starting to lengthen and the first signs of spring are appearing... it's easy to imagine the physical preparation that's underway for the competitions and events the new season will bring!

Justin Leov (Yeti Fox Shox Factory Team) took another important win on the weekend, on his return to top level international form, and now has his sights set on the Oceania Championships Title.

The New Zealand Downhill Open took place yesterday on a demanding track made up of sections of rocky lava flow and some very open and fast corners in dry slippery conditions. The corners forced the riders to find their limits early in training, and Justin found his speed without issue, and had two excellent runs to get through the seeding and win the final by more than 3 seconds ahead of his nearest rival on a short 2 minute 20 course.

Kelowna fire crews say an early-morning blaze that destroyed three businesses at the North Gate Plaza on Harvey Avenue appears to be suspicious.

News Source: ethirteen components
[L=http://www.e13components.com]e.thirteen™[/L] continues to push the envelope of product development with the release of more groundbreaking products for 2008. Beyond continued chain device development, e.thirteen is making additional contributions to the drivetrain with the release of odd-sized guide rings.

Commencal Canada are extremely proud to announce their factory race team for 2008. Commencal is dedicated to giving athletes all the tools they need to make it to the top level of mountain bike racing across Canada.

After a devastating fire on October 9th, River Valley Cycles new store front is ready to launch, and they invite you to start it off right. On March 15th the owners, friends, family, and staff of River Valley Cycle invite you down for an opening day party.

The past year has been extremely busy for the guys at NS. Designers and engineers spent months at their drawing boards, test riders dialled in thousands of hours on their bikes, writing reports and reviews after each ride. Thanks to such close co-operation of everyone involved in the process of creating new products, NS have managed to launch a new line loaded with significant improvements and innovations.

Romo Stills aka Steve Romaniuk has been hard charging on the Freeride Mountain bike scene since his feet first hit the pedals. Steve became an icon to kids on Sunday mornings as they followed him and all the other dirt bags that cruised the country on a stinky old bus, riding different zones and sending it. Steve's growing up, charging as hard as ever and is still the Dirt Bag we all like. We had a moment to sit down with him and chat about his moto back ground, future plans with his bike sponsor Mongoose and his new event this summer-Center of Gravity.

Here's a look at Romo's World:

Bos Engineering, manufactures of high end, and we mean high end suspension, have developed a very nice line up of suspension designed for intense applications. World Cup rider Nicolas Vouilloz recently had a few rounds on the Idylle fork, and was very pleased. But hey, don't take our word for it, read on for more information.

News Source: Shawn Orecchio
Diablo Freeride Park is pleased to announce that online registration for the 2008 U.S. Open of Mountain Biking, presented by Freelap Personal Timing Systems, is now open for all athletes, vendors and media. Beginning at 9am eastern standard time, the highly anticipated U.S. Open event attracted over 100 event participants in the first hour of online registration alone.

After being signed with Haro Bikes, Phil Sundbaum is participating in the 2008 Sumer of Shred tour, where he will travel around the world, riding with the best riders in each discipline of the sport. First stop, The Unit skate park with Eric Porter, and none other than Ryan Nyquist.

Recently the Athertons were training, and ran into their land owner, farmer Jack. Here is what Jack had to say about the Atherton's trails on his land.

Check out the video!

Corey Bohan, the most decorated BMX dirt rider ever embarked on Red Bull Tabua, a unique journey to Fiji in search of never before ridden terrain to capture historic riding moments.

Why BMX in Fiji? Because it’s never been done before….

News Source: Playbiker
Kiwis and Stars and Stripes, this could be the best way to sum up the latest addition to Playbiker – Iron Horse’s 2008 roster, which includes two riders from New Zealand and one from the USA, making the team a truly global sensation.

Need a great way to drop some of those winter pounds? Think you can handle 15 minutes of heart pounding action as you line up for a mass start and do your best to navigate single track, fireroads, climbs and decents? Then come out this Sunday March 9th to the Nanaimo Super D, this year's first stop on the 2008 Island Cup Mountain Bike Race Series.

BTI is seeking a few good dealers to introduce the Commencal brand to the US market. Pro riders like Cedric Gracia have racked up an impressive list of world championship wins on Commencal bikes since the brand came on the scene in 2000. While this visibility has fueled strong sales in 30 countries (worldwide more than 10,000 bikes were sold last year) it was only recently that the company from the landlocked principality of Andorra has established a beachhead on this side of the pond. This year through an exclusive partnership with global supplier BTI, Commencal is finally poised to take the USA by storm.

Enjoying the outdoors is as natural as riding a bike and Shimano American Corporation and the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) have teamed up to promote how important the activity is. Shimano is a major manufacturer of bicycle components and IMBA is a national advocate for responsible riding and trail construction. Together they are releasing the new document, The Economics and Benefits of Mountain Biking at the National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. March 4 – 6, 2008.

Five years ago Kokanee Crankworx was created to showcase mountain biking’s incredible progression to a worldwide audience. True to its roots, Kokanee Crankworx 2008 will continue to push the envelope from August 9 -17, 2008 with groundbreaking new additions and refinements to the festival’s core events.

SGC is proud to announce that now you can not only ride with mountain bike legend Andrew Shandro, but Kirt Voreis will be making a guest appearance this summer too.

Summer Gravity Camps are proud to announce that mountain bike legend, Kirt Voreis, will be joining Summer Gravity Camps as a special guest coach for the July 13-20 camp. A professional mountain biker since 1995, Kirt has made multiple film appearances and he is no stranger to World Cup and National downhill, dual slalom and mountain cross races across the globe.

February 18th, Nissan is proud to announce the second urban mountain bike freeriding series taking place in five European cities. With the $250,000 prize purse available, Nissan shows their continued support of the mountain biking scene & its competitors.

Sharing my passion for mountain biking is something that comes easy. It makes me grin from ear to ear and energizes me. This year, I have become the newest member of Canada’s Esteem Team and have the opportunity to share my passion for riding with youth in schools.

News Source: Shawn Orecchio
TerraLogic Park Industries, operators of Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon, New Jersey, announced today that they have entered into a strategic partnership with Swiss timing innovators, Freelap SA to be the United States distributor of the unique Freelap product line.

Thursday the 28th and Friday the 29th the official presentation of the Team SUNN Riders Society was taking place in the south of France. This was the first opportunity for the medias to meet the riders and their new bikes for the 2008 season. Our Team riders are Romain SALADINI, Anaïs PAJOT, Rémi THIRION, Guilhem ANDRE, Camille BLANCHARD, Rémi CHARRIER and Maxime REMY. Not to forgot our team manager Stéphane GIRARD and our engineers/tech guys Simon ANDRE and Fred BERNARD !

The Canadian frame builder Xprezo is proud to announce the new factory team for 2008. Xprezo Cycles is an official Canadian frame builder who will supply production bikes for the XC team, and prototype bikes for the DH team. You will feel the work and the ambition of this organisation, as the team is ready to spread our colors and philosophy across the Canadian scene.

In efforts to continue their outreach to the biking world and grassroots projects, Kona Bicycle Company and Kingdom Trail Association (KTA) in East Burke, Vermont, have, again, joined forces to unveil an exciting program on and off the dirt. Looking to assist in the maintenance and preservation of the non-motorized, multi-use trail system in the area, Kona will be working closely with KTA members and trail crew to increase environmental awareness and trail sustainability. As the official bike of Kingdom Trails’ Trail Crew/Bike Patrol, Kona will also outfit the crew.

Entries are now live, please go to npsdh.com so that you can pin it too!

Make sure you can ride a bike and you could be rubbing shoulders with the all the stars from Santa Cruz Syndicate, Monster Energy, Athertons, Dirt Magazine, Bike Radar, IronHorse, Lapierre, MSC, Orange and many, many more!

News Source: ethirteen components
[L=http://www.e13components.com]e.thirteen™[/L] continues to push the envelope of product development with the release of more groundbreaking products for 2008. Today, e.thirteen is proud to announce the worldwide aftermarket availability of its direct mount bashguard technology.

The People have spoken and the nominee list has been shortened down to 4 (or 5-6 if there was a tie) riders in each catefory for the 6th Annual Alberta Freeride Awards. It's your turn once again to pick who you think should take home the goods on Sunday, March 16th at Canada Olympic Park.

The Slayer from Rocky Mountain Bicycles has been in the line up for a bit now and it continues to evolve and turn into a all mountain XC machine! With over 6 inches of Fox damped travel at both ends you'd have called this a DH rig years ago, but today's technology has allowed a bike like this to be nimble like an XC racer and still bomb the single track descents with ample confidence. As the snow melts in the Fraser Valley, more and more lower laying trails are becoming exposed and ready for tires to set down treads on them. The Rocky Slayer SXC 90 is ready to get out there.

Thank you to the east coast Tara fans who really showed their love. A special big thank you to my volunteers - my wife, Donna, Eric Lovering from Chainline Cycles and Doug Smith. They were so busy and never dropped their smiles. Thank you, Beau Lambert, and Rye Airfeild. Beau went beyond our expectations with his easygoing stress-free attitude and unreal ability to make what ever needed to happen, happen.

With almost 120 riders participating in the first round of the Shimano DH/4X competition in Cerro Bayo it was a very respectable turnout. Round 1 included crashed, blocks, pass's, and 1 winner at the end of the day.

Competitive cycling will have a new name at this year's Sea Otter Classic. SRAM "Dual Stunt" adapts a Dual Slalom race format to a flat course featuring wood and dirt obstacles. How it works: two racers compete side-by-side on identical 400-foot long courses scattered with notorious North Shore-style elements like wooden bridges and dirt jumps. The timed event pits competitors against each other where the maximum time differential can only reach 1.5 seconds. The slower racer either makes up the time and advances or concedes defeat – same as in Dual Slalom. The semi-invitational event kicks off on Friday, April 18 with qualifying rounds.

Megavalanche Update!

Last chance boys and girls to enter the greatest race on Earth, The Megavalanche!

The British invasion is already planned with 58% of all entries coming from the U.K. The girl's field is also super strong this year as there are already 100 girls entered, they can take another 100 more.

That’s right, for the 3rd year in a row, we’re kicking off the new season with another new location!

Effective March 1, 2008 the former Cyclepath on Broadway – is now Different Bikes Vancouver. Long time owner and manager there Bob and his staff have joined the Different Bikes team and will continue to run the operations there.

Sainte Maxime, located next to ST Tropez, was the opening round of the French South East regional championship. The turn out was good with many elite riders wanting to race their new bikes and prepare for the up coming season.

From its inception in 2005, the Kona AfricaBike program has had a simple, primary focus: provide durable, easy-to-maintain AfricaBikes to healthcare workers to assist in the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients. To date, Kona has donated roughly 500 bikes and will double their output this year by generating 1,000 AfricaBikes for the project.

More and more Motocross technology is slowly trickling into the mountain bike scene. After Honda's RN-01 test bike hit the scene, a lot of companies found out that mountain biking has the same outlook on riding, grip it and rip it, unless you don't make it. However, your body won't always forgive you. RC-Evolution has created a neck brace that covers all 3 aspects of a crash, that could be harmful to your neck. Forward movement, backwards movement, and shoulder compression.

Since we recently featured the Mongoose Nugget, thought you guys would enjoy this feature. Andrew Neethling just got his new 2009 Prototype Mongoose DH bike and has been nice enough to give Litter Mag the full scoop on his new ride.

The nomination polls for the 6th Annual Alberta Freeride Awards are going to be closing on Tuesday, March 4th at 6pm.... Make sure that you get onto www.albertafreerideawards.com before then to nominate the best riders from Alberta in 13 categories. With the AFA’s we hope to increase the exposure of our sport and our athletes. We want to showcase the abilities and talents that are being produced locally, so if you know any deserving riders nominate them for an AFA.

After months of organizing by local riders, the 2008 Winter Splinter turned out better than planned with everyone taking home prizes. Although the rider turn-out was not as high as expected, the incredible group of riders that were present made the event well worth while. The creative riders and organizers agreed that a jump jam type competition would best fit the crowd and atmosphere. After a couple of hours of warm-up the fun began.

Has it been a long winter? Do miss that feeling you get from riding your bike? More importantly do miss that feeling when you’re drifting both wheels hanging on for dear life not sure if you’re going to make it cause you got a little too rad in the last section of trail? Then be sure to attend Too Rad, this years Toronto bike show party presented by the Primary/Devinci race team and Sram. We may not be on bikes, but we will be getting loose and for some maybe even a little too rad. If you’re attending this years International Bike Show in Toronto be sure not to miss it.

The Bicycle Trade Association of Canada (BTAC) has announced the six recipients of the $25,000 in grants. Awarded twice a year and available to cycling focused community groups, BTAC's Grant Program will support projects that put more people on bikes.

This spring the funding goes to organizations that are conducting projects which fall into the following categories: education, advocacy and facility enhancement. An important selection criterion is whether the project will make measurable improvements to the overall cycling landscape in Canada.

Who has slept on a beach, had a romantic meal on a roof, built trails in the middle of no where, had no income during the summer, and still has the passion and drive to ride his bike everyday, all day? Dylan Tremblay is a big name in the industry, and has been through it all. A textbook rider since day 1, let's see what Dylan had to say when we put the mic in his face.

Come check out the brand new prototype Slopestyle bike Mongoose has developed for the 2009 line up!

The introduction of the EC-X in 2006 spurred the idea for the new Mongoose Nugget model. The EC-X was the bike that led Eric Carter to numerous UCI podium finishes. With increasing demands in the freeride market, more specifically for an all purpose, slopestyle and play bike, the word of a production slopestyle bike was the talk of the office at Mongoose HQ in Madison, Wisconsin.