Source: MTB Cut

Aaron Bartlett is at it again in Bromont Canada with today's DH qualifying video. Barel qualified 1st with Sam in hot pursuit. Five Canadians in the top 80 for tomorrow's finals!

Video inside,

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Twenty6 by now. Tyler started Twenty6 back in February of 2006. Every single component etched with the Twenty6 logo has been CNC’ed with tender loving care out of his home shop in Bozeman Montana. Twenty6 definitely has a reputation for making “jewelry like” aftermarket bike components and the Rallye pedal is no exception.

Check out videos of each rider competing at Crankworx Colorado. Find out who's here and get a glimpse of their riding styles and pick your favorites.

Over 30 Videos inside!

52 weeks - My Journey to The Mega Avalanche

So I have decided to set myself a challenge – I am sure to some this may sound weird and to some of you just plain odd, but I am going to challenge myself for the next 52 weeks to Train hard physically, Mentally and Spiritually for competing in the Mega Avalanche 2010.

Freeride Entertainment is known for being creative, and revolutionary with their filming, and designs. I always think back to the days of New World Disorder: Disorderly Conduct and staring at the cover trying to figure out what was going on. The guys over at Freeride Entertainment have recently released a lineup of clothing that will also be sure to turn heads.

Click here to see the newest shirts and hats...

The Dirt Zone is an intense mix of adrenaline and technique. It features the Crazy Acrobatic Bike shows and the Flirt'n with Dirt freestyle mountain bike shows.

The Dirt Zone is presented by Steve Romaniuk. Steve was born and raised in Kelowna, BC, has become an icon in the mountain bike world. With his long list of movie credits, appearances in the biggest comps, and his very own production company he has helped change the face of the sport.

The Kelowna Cycle Best Trick and Best Line Comps start at 6:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. Spectators can enjoy the action with some ice cold bevies and DJs on the west side of the course.

All shows in the Dirt Zone will be coordinated with the Water Zone so crowds can flow back and forth without missing any of the adrenaline action.

Source: CBC News

Both Blackcomb and Whistler mountains have been evacuated as a vigorous forest fire quickly grew to 75 hectares on Thursday afternoon.

Fire crews were protecting nearby lodges from the uncontained blaze, but Whistler Fire Chief Rob Whitton said the fire was not threatening any Olympic runs or lifts.

Source: MTB Cut

Aaron Bartlett is at the Bromont World Cup Downhill out in Quebec and filming the goods. Here is a look at Day 1 practice.

Video inside,

Colorado has some crazy weather! We woke up early yesterday morning to the most intense thunder we have ever heard, then followed by a heavy downpour. Jack and I thought there was no chance of riding, but shortly after the rain started it came to a stop. We got ready and went to athlete registration and media sign in to get registered for the event. From there we went to check out the dual slalom practice, and get ready for the slopestyle practice!

Read on to see how the first day of practice went for dual slalom and slopestyle!

After a rad weekend riding Silver Star with Dustin Greenall, Tyler Morrison, Sydney Desmarias and her very cute lady friend, Kenzie. Dustin and I headed back to Kelowna for a little Red Bull shoot.

We had been planning to do this shoot since the Goat Style Bike Festival a few weeks ago. Dave Jones from Red Bull came down to Kelowna for a couple days with the Sugga to shoot. The Red Bull Sugga for those of you who haven’t seen or heard of the beauty, is a '57 Volvo Body with enough money invested into it to make your house look bad. Three HD TV’s pop out of the roof and a full on DJ set up unfolds. Oh and I can’t forget to mention the winch on the back to pull us into whatever we could think of.

Ben Cathro is part of the MTB Cut DH team and is the only racer on the World Cup Circuit that is 7 feet tall. Ok maybe he's not 7 feet tall, but damn he's a giant. Ben is here with fellow team mate Joe Barnes and is sporting the all new prototype Orange 225 bike.

Learn more inside,

POC, a Sweden based, and previously snow only protection company, has recently launched their biking protection line up. POC has one initiative and one initiative only, to make the safest protection for the body, period. In fact when you open their catalogs the first pages don't reveal the latest picture of Pros on their product, it's a list of the Neuroscientists and Spinal Specialists they work with to develop their products to the highest safety standards. We have tested a few of the POC products, but the most notable, and well designed items we have tested to date has to be the Cortex DH helmet. The Cortex DH helmet is probably one of the most ventilated, and still well thought out helmets we have come across in our travels, and we're here to explain some of the technologies that make the Cortex DH helmet what it is.

Check inside for more info on the POC Cortex DH helmet...

A lot of riders, and media related people have been talking about Kranked Revolve for quite some time now. Bjorn over at Radical Films has been refining his footage, coming up with new transitions, and layups, and putting them all into his timeline. Now, after a long waiting period, you can buy your own copy of Kranked Revolve.

Click here for info on Kranked Revolve...

Woke up at 4:20am Tuesday morning, July 28th and got ready for a direct flight to Denver Colorado for Crankworx 2009. Jack Fogelquist and I are traveling together. Jack is going to be competing and I am covering the event and writing daily updates for all of you that aren't here to follow the action. So log onto Pinkbike daily to see it all.

Check out our first day at Winter Park Colorado for this year's Crankworx!

Big Ibis News

It's time to let the "HD" out of the bag.

Over the last couple years, we've been working on a new 160mm travel big brother to the Mojo Carbon and Mojo SL (each with 140mm travel), we're temporarily calling it the "Mojo HD". And now we think it's about time to tell you about it.

First look at the 2010 Banshee Spitfire.

The Banshee Spitfire is a new frame that Banshee is adding to their line-up next year. It will be a 5" travel aggressive trail / enduro ripping machine with adjustable geometry and a specifically tuned VF4B linkage to offer the rider great pedaling efficiency as well as active suspension under braking.

Learn more inside,

Despite many of the top names being absent from the National Points Series, the National Champs still has a place in their hearts. A one off race held each July, the National Champion's jersey is still coveted by the top riders of each category. Last year it was Bala, this year it's Innerleithen, having last held the big one back in the summer of 2000. Then it was Warner who took the win, whilst Steve was out of action with a separated shoulder.

Read on for the whole story,

Source: Gravity East

Sugarbush is back on bikes and hosting round 7 of the Gravity East Downhill Series on August 1 and 2. The huge, two-mountain ski resort in Warren Vermont regularly hosted major events during the first heyday of mountain biking, then gradually faded from the mountain bike scene. When Summit Ventures purchased the resort, mountain biking again became a priority and the resort has spent six years restoring and constructing trails and park features. Today, Sugarbush has a freeride park and over 18 miles of lift-assisted cross country and downhill trails. Last year, the culmination of that hard work saw Sugarbush host its first mountain bike race in nearly a decade as the Gravity East Series roared down the resort’s Lincoln Peak.

The Saab Salomon Avalanche Trophy - Megavalanche - The Main Event was again unbelievable as were the toilets at the top of Pic Blanc come race day. Ever wondered what it's like to run in the middle of a pack of stampeding buffalo?

Find out now here as we went to the South of France to Alp D'Huez and survived!

We recently got the inside word that JBL was doing a custom stereo install for one of their Premier riders, Brandon Semenuk. Brandon has been killing it lately with 2 back to back wins. Brandon has shown a lot of companies and watchful eyes that with enough drive, and determination you can achieve whatever you want. A few years ago Brandon was just another rider coming out of the woodwork of Whistler, now he's the biggest name in Slopestyle.

Brandon recently showed us his Slopestyle bike for 2009, oh and his sick car!

Most people would use the reference "tribe" to describe a civilization hiding deep in the South African jungle, that only feed off of fire ants and boiled frogs. However, there is one company inside the cycling industry that refers to their customer basis as the Tribe. They come from all walks of life - racers, artists, hippies, adventure junkies, beer swillers, priests, lawyers, construction workers, shamans, cops, robbers, and buddhists. If you, or your friends own a Yeti, then you're part of the tribe.

Yeti has a specific patent for their own bikes that utilizes rail technology to control shock rates, and wheel paths. The 303 and 303R-DH are the two bikes that share this technology.

Click here for more info on Linear rail technology, and the 303R-DH...

Tires, Tools, and a new bike. The shop has been in use for a couple months now, and it's starting to get full. Here is part 2 of my home bikeshop build.

Now that I have a place to store my bikes and gear, I need some tools, and storage for all my gear. Along with the pegboard, I also purchased a kit with all the pegs and hooks needed to hang various tools and parts for easy access.

Check out the rest of my work area inside,

Xprezo is a Bromont Quebec based frame manufacturer that has been in the business of hand made frames for the past 5 years. Their history dates back a lot further, but today we want to show you their DH model, the Furax.

Check out the specs, pics and video inside.

Back in the 90's, Shaun Palmer hit the DH race scene and tore it a new one. His charisma and "I'm here to win it" attitude is what our sport needed and he changed it forever. Over the years he's popped up from time to time to do a race for kicks, but this year he's decided to put in some effort again as cross training for the upcoming Boarder Cross season and the 2010 Olympics. Everyone is excited to see him and his new tricked out bikes at the races.

Check out his Intense M6 inside,

The straight goods on Kicking Horse Bike Park, straight from the trail crew's fingertips.

Sometimes it seems as though the sky has forgotten how to rain. Like the rest of BC, we are experiencing a hot, dry period. But the riding is still excellent and the liquid refreshments have never tasted better – especially at the Eagle Eye, where at 7,700 feet drinks are served well above the scorching valley bottom.

Win Sabrina Jonnier's Number Board and Race Jersey!

Pinkbike.com is the official media website of the the U.K.'s MSC/Descent-Gear National Series headed up by Steve Parr and Si Paton. In recognition of your loyal support, they have poached a prize that money just can't buy, Sabrina Jonnier's number board and race jersey, all signed up!

For your chance to win this..

Source: MTB Cut

Hill took the win and Aaron at MTB Cut has captured the action from yesterday's DH finals. Enjoy the goods!

Video inside,

It is back, following the amazing success of the 661 Mini DH races, Penshurst Off Road Centre south of the Big Smoke. South of London is the place to be for the exciting new way to get into downhill mountain bike racing..

Learn more inside...

The DH and 4X finals went off today at Mont Sainte Anne in Quebec.
Check out the helmet cam of Steve Smith on the DH course.

Read on for more video, pics and full results,

The World Cup events bring riders in from, well, all over the world. Today we ran into Petra Bernhard from Austria, Emmeline Ragot from France and Micayla Gatto from Canada. They are all here to pin it on the long MSA course and all want to land on top of the podium.

Check out what each of them, their bikes, sandwiches and ankles are up to inside.

Take your best shot at a poetic verse for this photo from the Diablo Freeride Park and the winner will take home a set of Custom Atomlab Wheels. Sounds easy doesn't it? Start flexing your creative muscles and get to it.

Jared is 28 and hails from Canberra Australia, but has been living in Huntington beach this season racing and testing bikes for Giant and suspension for Fox Racing Shox. He's on board the all new 2010 Giant Glory and this is the 4th revision he's seen to the frame since first receiving his first prototype last year. Weight was the biggest thing that Giant had to over come when creating the new Glory and by the looks of things, they have achieved just that. Jared's personal Saint and Fox equipped Glory was tipping the scales at approx. 38 pounds, so that tells us that Giant has shed the weight that was needed to be shed.

Check out more pics inside,

Luke hails from the Pacific North West in the State of Washington and is part of the Maxxis Tires / Rocky Mountain Bikes squad. He's had a rough early season but is loving the course here at MSA and qualified in the top 20. Luke's on a brand new Rocky Mountain Prototype Flatline that has been fully revamped from the previous models.

Check out the pics and details inside,

After taking a year off of racing to go back home, work for his father, start a family with his wife Hannah Hannah and go spear fishing off the shores of Cairns Australia, he's back on the World Cup circuit and tearing up the courses. Lots of riders have had to pick up the pace and watch Mic blast by on his new GT Factory ride, the full carbon Fury. Stepping back into the scene with a full factory set up from GT and SRAM, Mic is in the right mind set and equipment set up to do well.

Check out pics and a video inside,

Source: MTB Cut

Today's qualifying video is hot off the presses and ready to be viewed. Aaron is shooting for the Cut crew and doing a hell of a job, so enjoy the video!

Qualifying just ended here in Quebec, and the weather was nice enough to hold out. It spat rain all morning, and was clouded in, but managed to hold itself off for the downpour.

Read on for photos and FULL qualifying results for Pro Men and Women here at Mont Sainte Anne...

Source: MTB Cut

The MTB Cut crew is here at MSA and getting the video action captured. Check out their video from practice and a quick chat with Shaun Palmer himself!

Source: Simon Gauthier

This year’s National Championships might have been held in a totally different place than last year, but believe me weather was at the rendez-vous. Once again Mother Nature was definitively not on our side for the weekend, indeed she finally showed some compassion for race day.

Read on for full story.

The 6th World Cup of the season is taking place at Mt. Saint Anne this weekend and for anyone thinking about heading up there to shoot some pics or record vids, Pinkbike is sweeting the deal by offering over $3000 in prizes for the best shots!

5 hours of flying, 6 hours of sleep (4 in hotel and 2 in car), 1 hour for breakfast, and another 3 hours of driving and we have finally arrived at Mont Sainte Anne Quebec for the World Cup. Sunny weather, a drying out course, and a fun filled pit area are all adding up for one sweet race day. Along with some heated riding, a couple flashy new products will be shown, and one lucky rider will walk away from Mont Sainte Anne crowned the victor.

Click here for the day 1 update...

Source: FVMBA

Get ready for the 13th Annual Bear Mountain Challenge in Misson BC, July 25/26/09 Sanctioned by Cycling BC and part of the BC Cup Series. The DH on Bear Mtn. is buffed and ready to go,as is the XC course on Red Mtn.

What's up Pinkbike!

My name is Justin Brantley, and I am an action sports photographer out of Campbell, CA. I am very happy that there are so many users and readers here on Pinkbike. The site as allowed me to network with riders and expose my work to people worldwide. I have written an article for Pinkbike about myself including some of the best photos that I have captured over the past year.

I'm sure most of you have seen those images, showing the step by step progression from ape to man. Believe it or not, but that could very well be true, as we do share a lot of things, and a lot of ties have been made. Progression is the refinement, and advancement of a specific item. It could be the progression from the pitch fork, to the table fork, or the bucket to the spoon, progression is the slow process of developing something. In our situation, that something is the mountain bike, and the sport.

Click here to read about the new shirt from Pinkbike.com...

Following on the overwhelming success of last year's Mt. Sima Slamfest, the dirt crew from the North have pulled out all the stops to serve up a 3-day festival of riding and racing for 2009. Slamfest II unleashes an all-new machine built DH course, XC race as well as Mad March Racing on location with skills camps, a cash purse for podium racers, beer gardens and a lot more.

July 31 - August 2. Whitehorse, Yukon will be the place to ride.

The Shore series is a flagship amongst the Norco bike line and has been serving riders for the better part of a decade. Based in the North Shore region of the world, where a lot of the aggressive, and abusive riding has been fathered, Norco has been doing research and development not only on the Shore terrain, but on the Shore as a bike that can tackle it all.

The Shore has gone through a number of phases, from a burly downhill bike designed for the most abusive, and technical trails this side of the water, to an All Mountain orientated "Shore" bike, designed for total domination on that terrain.

Norco has recently made some changes to the Shore, read here more...

Source: Team Diabetes

Team Diabetes, represented by 60 mountain bikers, raced in the Test of Metal in Squamish on June 20th and raised over $49,000 in support of the Canadian Diabetes Association! It was the first time that Team Diabetes participated in the Test of Metal and it proved to be even more of a success than anticipated.

In response to Goat Style, Alberta gives you: Gopher Style!

Fort Macleod, Alberta is not the first place you would think of when you’re looking for huge, sick dirt jumps. But that’s just where you’ll find them. And they won’t be demolished by the time you get there. Let’s give Mayor Shawn Patience a thunderous applause.

Learn more inside,

Source: Karpiel

Karpiel has long been a brand associated with the extreme side of mountain biking, thanks to the groundbreaking heroics of Josh Bender and his memorable films, which have now passed into cult history. While the Karpiel Apocalypse still bears its signature design and offers 12 inches of travel for the rare extremist, the new Disco Volante has been designed as the world’s most adjustable race bike.

Dog Leashes and Collars made from recycled inner tubes!

Cycle Dog is a new Portland, Oregon based company that designs and manufactures dog leashes, collars and accessories. What makes Cycle Dog unique is that their products are made from recycled bike inner tubes. Cycle Dog has relationships with bike retailers, which collect the old tubes for reuse. Cycle Dog also accepts old tubes from individuals and bike teams. These tubes might otherwise go into landfills, but can now be re-purposed into high quality dog leashes, collars, and accessories. Products are handmade in Portland, Oregon, which many refer to as the top bike city in the US.

Source: Just Reid Racing

Sunday July 19th saw the Irish National Championships come to the Wicklow mountains just south of Dublin and a massive turn out made for an awesome weekend. After being unable to attend the Championships last year, Ben was feeling bad about not holding the title and adding to his unbeaten record. This year he was on a mission!

Source: Long Nguyen

The USA Nationals were this past weekend at the Sol Vista bike park in Colorado and everyone was there. Long Nguyen from Albuquerque was on hand and put together some daily coverage for everyone to enjoy. Here are all the pics and details from the start of practice right through to the awards on Sunday.

Enjoy the coverage and all the great pics inside,

Source: Clayton Racicot

Lapierre, established in 1946 located in Dijon France is now one of Europe's largest bicycle manufactures today, producing over 90,000 bikes a year and growing, they, along with Kempter Marketing are proud to announce the distribution of their complete 2010 lineup to Canada.

Check out their 2010 line up inside:

Source: Slope Sistair

We are pleased to announce the return of SlopeSistair to “The Ranch” outside of Grande Junction, Colorado.

On August 28-30th, this slopestyle competition will offer the top women in North America another chance to showcase their skills in front of a panel of judges and their own peers! This event is open to both amateur and pro riders.

Just got a text in from one really happy Junior Expert racer. Kyle Marshall(Pinkbike.com / Devinci Bikes) has just won the Canadian National Junior Expert Title for 2009, with a time that would have put him second in Pro men! Congrats Kyle!

Hans Lambert (Norco) won pro men, while Claire Buchar (CRC) took it home for the ladies. Good work to everyone that attended Nationals this year and we should have full results soon.
*Full Results now posted*

Chilling with Bourdo

As I was sitting in the 90 degree Utah desert earlier this spring watching Robbie Bourdon pour Redbull over the lip of a 35ft hip that he intends to 270, my mind wanders back to the huge flatspin he pulled off in the last installment of New World Disorder. What would posses someone to try that? Why would he go back after it has beaten him so many times. What else does he have up his sleeve?

This weekend see's the most prestigous race of the year for every British Downhill Mountain Bike Racer, the Descent-Gear/MSC Bikes National DH Championships at Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders.
Parking and spectating is always free so see you there!

Not to many companies have a separate line up of bikes specifically designed and spec'd for women, however, Norco has stepped into the realm of women specific bikes. This means not only are the components well thought out for a female rider, we're talking custom colors, geometries, and features that make the Vixa Freeride bike and the Phena All Mountain bike some very unique bikes.

Click here for info on the Vixa and Phena...

After a couple days at the 2010 Norco Product launch in Vancouver BC, we had an opportunity to take an up close and personal look at the new bikes. The first bike of course was the Team DH, and second up to bat is the 2010 Norco Empire 5 SE.

Read on for more info on the newly revised slopestyle bike from Norco...

Source: Reece Wallace

After an amazing weekend in beautiful Creston British Columbia, it has become clear who are the up and coming slope style athletes in the sport!

Goat Style was a three day event in which many shredders came from all over the world to compete, all the riders brought their ‘A game’ hoping to win the $3000 dollar cash purse and the wild card entry into Whistler’s Kokanee Crankworx.

The greatest show on Earth? You bet! Don't call yourself a mountain biker unless you have heard the call and paid homage to Pic Blanc in the South of France in mid July along with 2,000 other racers from across the World. The Mega really is MEGA!

Leaving the center of Birmingham fashionably late after ramming the Descent-Gear Sprinter to the tilt, we wheelied down the M40 towards the big smoke and the M25 for what can only be described as week of carnage.. A Sea France ferry it was and the port of Dover via the diversion and Dartford Bridge meant we missed the boat literally.

Come out to Highland Mountain Bike Park on Saturday July 18th for the Claymore Challenge, America's Premiere Slopestyle event.

The Highland Claymore is a legendary sword that was used to fight many battles in the hills of Killiecrankie Scotland. Almost 200 years later in Northfield New Hampshire another battle will be fought, this time for possession of the Claymore.

Today was all about riding bikes at the 2010 Norco Bikes launch in Vancouver B.C. This morning all the media threw legs over various urban bikes (think commuters) and proceeded to follow team riders Ryan Leech, Dylan Korba, Ben Boyko and Darcy Turenne around the city's water front. The weather was amazing and the riding paths really showed us that it's easy to get around the city's core on a bike.

Check our video and pics inside,

The Sunshine Coast of BC is a 40-minute ferry ride away from Vancouver. The abundance of coastline and boats gives the place an island-like vibe (even though it’s actually part of the mainland). We are shooting with Brandon Semenuk and Stevie Smith plus the Coastal crew (Kyle Norbraten, Curtis Robinson and Dylan Dunkerton) who are doing the building for the segment. Not only are the Coast Crew some of the best trail builders around right now but they are also kickass riders. Brandon and the guys ride a lot together in their spare time and Stevie and Brandon are friends going back to their days racing junior together. Even though everyone worked crazy hard, the shoot had a nice laid back feel – must’ve been the ocean air.
Video inside

Held on a wet day in the middle of a Pacific Northwest summer, the fourth Fluidride Cup Series had a small attendance but still provided world class racing for those that did attend...with Fat Tire Farm contributing cash for the Men's purse and Fluidride covered the Women's purse it ended up being a 'Helen Keller Memorial' as several racers complained of bad vision. It was a knock down, drag out gun fight of a race.

Check out the results, photo's by Carl Warren and Aaron Gotthardt with a great video by Andy Tran after the jump!

We are here at the 2010 Norco Performance Bikes launch in Vancouver BC and it's going great. Today we got to see the whole line up of bikes and then head up to the North Shore for a famous Shore ride. What better bike to ride than the new 2010 Norco Team DH!

Learn more about the all new Norco Team DH inside!

Day 2 at the 2010 Norco Product launch was day 1 of riding bikes. Around noon, after everyone had stuffed their faces with lunch, and learned all about the new 2010 bikes from Norco we headed over to Mount Seymour to shred some core trails. Some of the riders in our group had never been on what was known as the North Shore, so Norco escorted us on some more of the tame trails. Here's some photos, and a video on the ride.

Riding the shore with the Norco Team...

Source: Intense Cycles

Legendary rider, Shaun Palmer makes his return to mountain biking the same way he made his debut: on an Intense Cycles downhill bike. Palmer and Intense first made history together in 1995 when the rookie rider rode the flagship Intense M1 to a series of surprise victories, launching both Palmer and Intense into the forefront of the sport.

The crew at MDE bikes have been busy working on a new park bike called The Player. It is their answer to the do it all DJ, Park, 4X style bike that riders are looking for.

Check out all the pics and some specs inside,

Jordan and I rolled out of the Pinkbike.com World Head Quarters today and hit the highway at 95. Ok so that's as fast as the old truck goes, but it was sweet to see it get valet parked at our destination. We are at the 2010 Norco product launch in Vancouver B.C. and will be bringing you all the newest, latest and greatest from Norco Performance Bikes for next year.

Check out pics from our arrival and the Ryan Leech performance inside,

Out of Bounds 2009 – Bigger than ever!

A weekend full of Tricks, Big Air and lots of Awards

Sam Pigrim wins the biggest 26TRIX ever, Andreu Lacondeguy takes home the Oakley Sick O Award with a 40ft. flatspin on the Suzuki Air Time Line and Martin Söderström won the wildcard to Whistler’s Crankworx. Nick Beer wins the iXS European DH Cup and Boris Tetzlaff becomes Austrian Downhill Champion.

The Pinkbike downhill team is something we take pretty seriously, so when a select company contacts you with the offer of a completely custom component you don't want to turn it down. Gamut provided us with custom Gamut guides, but the newest item on the team bikes, along with a few of our own bikes, are Custom Straitline Components' Pinkbike.com Pedals, in Chrome!

Check inside for more info on the Straitline Pinkbike pedal...

The trail crews have been hard at work on both Mt. Shasta Ski Park's downhill and cross-country race courses in preparation for the big event, and they are both approaching final completion.

Pre-Registration for the event is available online Here

Reece Wallace just contacted me with the top three from Goat Style in Creston, B.C.
1. Eric Lawrenuk of North Vancouver B.C. (Cove Bikes and Sombrio Clothing) took the win today
2. Sam Dueck of Chilliwack B.C. (Pinkbike.com and Transition Bikes) in Second and
3. Kurt Sorge of Nelson B.C. (Giant Bikes) rounding out the top three.

Full Road trip and contest story to follow.

Source: Freeride Entertainment

The East Coast's most progressive bike park and mountain biking's most successful production company have joined forces for the production of NWD 10 "Dust &Bones."

"Being on the brink of the 10th film in the NWD series is monumental for us. We are super stoked to have Highland Mountain Bike Park to add to our world class group of sponsors." says Derek Westerlund Freeride Entertainment's founder.

I was just cruising the internet on my lunch break and spotted these beauties at www.blackboxlabs.net and just had to share them with all our readers.

Check out what it means to be the best inside!

There is just something great about having a 'little bike' to go and play on. Whether it's your only machine, or a second bike to go and do a bit of the urban/DJ thing, a small hardtail makes a great addition to any stable. Every bike company worth their salt has a lineup of these little bikes to pick from, today we're going to take a closer look at one of Haro's offerings.

Enter the Steel Reserve Eight.

Read On...

It was the 4th time that we organized the Zakrzowek Jump Jam competition in our quarry Zakrzowek. It was a perfect Sunday, sunny and warm. Over 100 people were watching us and the water was about 20 degrees Celcius so everything was perfect!

Enjoy the pics inside,

Source: Ibis Bikes

Downieville is this weekend and Ibis is going to be there to enjoy the Super D and give away a set of Crankbrothers wheels and a lot of shirts to Ibis owners. Will you be there?

Source: Trail Bicycles

Trail Bicycles in Courtenay is having a demo weekend with Trek, Banshee + Gary Fisher on the weekend of July 11+12th. There will be a burgers + beers on Sunday, with shuttles. Trek will have a session 88, remedy's + fuels. Banshee will have the new Legend, Scythes, Wildcards + Runes. Fisher will have a 29er Hifi and a Roscoe.

Source: Sun Peaks Resort

On Wednesday, June 24, and Saturday, June 27, we set out to make a new bike park short video simply with the idea of getting people excited for the riding season at Sun Peaks. We were stoked to have Matt Hunter, Graham Agassiz, Chayse Marshall, Dylan Sherrard, Ian Killick and friends come out to shoot.

Video inside...

Source: Ultimate Road Trip

Bike Parks BC, a marketing consortium of lift accessed bike parks (Whistler-Blackcomb, Mount Washington, Silver Star, Sun Peaks, and Tourism Fernie) is pleased to announce the grand prize winners of the 2009 Ultimate Road Trip Contest, a one week mountain biking odyssey through British Columbia led by two time world masters' downhill champion, Shaums March. Each winner is entitled to bring a guest to share this incredible experience.

"Kyle's always had the vision of having these jumps on Transition Bikes' property, so after a year of planning and moving a lot of dirt we've started to get somewhere. We've spent a bunch of time on our 'lunch breaks' digging, shaping, and watering the backyard jumps. Lines would get cut, ridden, and recut until we came up with something decent. It was great to finally officialize the whole thing with a backyard DJ Jam."

Lots of pictures inside, so enjoy!

Source: Chatel Resort

This past weekend was the Chatel Mountain Style event and the Canadians did really well over here. Weather played it's part in how the weekend's events unfolded, but the riders put on a show.

Top 10 inside.

Avoiding mid-season burnout.

I love my job! Yep it’s true and I am glad that you all return day after day to read the news that we post and create for everyone around the world. The plus side is that I get to work with bikes everyday and tell you about everything that is happening in the world of two-wheelers. The only downside is that the internet doesn’t take days off and you have to find ways to stay charged and refreshed so as to avoid getting burned out doing something that you love so much.

For me, I took Friday off of work last week (after working Canada Day) and took a little trip to Hornby Island! Check out my two wheeled adventure inside and enjoy the pics of that beautiful place.

Source: Simon Gauthier

As known by the people who have raced it in the past few years, we rarely get it easy when it comes to racing in Bromont. This year was not an exception with ongoing torrents of rain hitting the mountain randomly through the weekend.

Read on to follow the deep muddy action.

Source: Goat Style

It's been a long and tough week but with an amazing build crew, the Goat Style 2009 Course is looking amazing. Different lines coming from every direction, draining the riders into the focus of the course...that Goat drop zone. If you want big, it's there...if you want sorta big it's there...and if you're just starting out...it's there too. Hips, lips, drops, dirt jumps, quarter pipes...the Goat Style Course offers choices galore.

The straight goods on Kicking Horse Bike Park, straight from the trail crew's fingertips.

Summer must really be here because all trails are open at Kicking Horse Bike Park. That includes Wild Rose, the newest addition to the network. Wild Rose was built specifically for the Inaugural Western Cup being held on July 11-12. This is going to be a seriously intense race. Times will be 4+ minutes on relentless, old-school, singletrack downhill (aren't those 4 wonderful words?). By my broad estimation, the linking of Pioneer, Claim Jumper and Wild Rose adds up to about 2,000 feet of vertical. There aren't many races like this around.

Source: Leogang

Pictures of the new “Suzuki Air Time Line”, confirmed riders & wildcard for Whistler’s Crankworx

Darren Berrecloth, Ben Boyko, Graham Agassiz, Greg Watts, Grant Fielder, Sam Pilgrim, Trond Hansen, Martin Soderstrom, Pierre Eduard Ferry, Yannick Granieri, Andreu and Lluis Lacondeguy, Marius Hoppensack, Benny Korthaus, Amir Kabbani, Nicola Pescetto, Andi Wittmann, Linus Sjöholm, Jakub Vencl and almost 50 more riders confirmed their attendance at the 26TRIX dirt jump competition in Leogang during the Out of Bounds Weekend from July 9th to 12th.

James Dick is a mountain biker and 3D artist. He recently decided to combine his skills for both to create some really amazing work. Check out what's possible if you have the talent and inspiration.

All the images you see here are 3D models, and they do not exist in real life.

Source: James Wilson

One of the biggest concerns I get from mountain bikers about adding strength training into their regimen is that they do not have time for it. Family, work, personal lives and (most importantly) riding all add up leaving some of us with less than 2 hours per week for any other type of training. Because most programs (including my Ultimate MTB Workout Program) require 2-3 hours per week to complete, these riders end up doing nothing.

Learn how to get more from your training inside,

Source: X-Fusion

Last week Ryan Condrashoff was informed by doctors that the wrist injury he suffered at the US OPEN along with the broken collarbone is a lot more serious then initially expected. He has ligament and bone damage that needs to be surgically fixed leaving him out the rest of the season. We all were very bummed when hearing the news and wish Ryan the fastest and best possible recovery. Ryan’s personality and riding style will be missed by the entire team.

The Pearce races are always good events with good and tight racing on tap, a good atmosphere and sharp organization from the Pearce team. This year the races filled up sharpish, none more so than the flat out but already legendary venue of Bala or, more accurately, Rhyd-y-Felin. The chosen hill for the 2008 National Championships, the track is not necessarily the most technical but what it lacks here, it more than makes up for it in other ways; here’s a reason that virtually all who have raced here rave about the place.

If you have seen some of the Earthed films you will no doubt have seen the Athertons filmed on track and in the nearby quarry which sit in North Wales.

Magura invited me down to sunny Sedona, Arizona to check out some fine German brakes and suspension in their 2009/10 product offering. They've added some other brands to their current US distribution, so I got to put in 3 solid demo days with a lot of new products.

There is a multitude of things you should not do to your bike when cleaning it, like washing rotors with a dirty brush / sponge, pads, pressure washing seals or bearings, using incorrect lube after washing. Most of these issues are reversible, however, the all new Pit Stop kit from SRAM gives you everything you should need to clean your bike in 1 compact case, and it even comes with washing instructions.

Click here for info on the Pit Stop cleaning kit...

Momentum Bike And Board Presents: Dual Stunt July 11th

During the Sandy Mountain Days Festival located in Sandy, Oregon local retailer Momentum Bike and Board presents a side by side, dual stunt course to challenge all riders who attend. $20 (USD) entry and there's going to be a product raffle for all entrants. Come race an exciting, spectator friendly course and have a fun day of racing in a head to head format.

This year Transition stepped up its support for Grassroots Cycles' Slope style comp. A good time was had by all and the competition went down with out a glitch. It was a great time and I can't wait to make it back for next year's Comp!

Enjoy our story, pics and video inside,

Impeccable manufacturing, proven testing, and dialed geometry are some of the guidelines that Tonic Fabrication follows. Since day 1 Tonic Fab has been about doing what they want, when they want, not to follow the trend. No trendy graphics, weird geometries, or eye-sores are added into the Tonic, making it one of the cleanest looking frames I've seen.

Click here for info on my Howie...

Source: Stu Thomson

Over the past decade Fort William has established itself as one of the premiere locations for the avid mountain bike enthusiast. The small venue at Nevis Range in the highlands of Scotland offers the only gondola access in the UK for gravity racers and with the annual gathering of the World's best for the UCI mountain bike World Cup, the facility has become internationally renowned for both its World Cup cross country and downhill trails.

Video inside!

After a fun round 1, technical, steep and challenging round 2, it all moved on for round 3 to Fort William, famed for its speed, brutality and unforgiving nature. The sun was out, the mountains in the background glistened and, if you looked quickly, you could even catch a glimpse of ‘The Ben’, not something which usually goes hand in hand with downhill racing on this famous track.

Read the whole race report inside,

Source: Chatel

Tomorrow the 3rd annual Chatel Mountain Style Event will begin. For 3 days you can watch the likes of Darren Berrecloth, James Doerfling, Graham Agassiz and many others as they all throw down on the slopestyle course.

"To know where you're going, you have to know where you've been"

And with that in mind I sat down and watched the much lauded DVD, Klunkerz, a movie documenting the early mountain bike movement during the late '60's and early '70's. Lots of people had taken bicycles into the bush long before these men, but this particular group of riders can lay claim to more innovation than any other, and thankfully for us, there were people around to document it as it all happened.

Read On And Watch The Trailer...

Source: Diablo Freeride Park

Top East Coast Gravity Series Offers over $50,000 in Guaranteed Cash and Prizes

Diablo Freeride Park, New Jersey - On July 11th and 12th, competitors from up-and-down the eastern seaboard will convene at Diablo Freeride Park to compete in the 2nd round of the 2009 Diablo Gravity Series. Racers will tackle challenging mountain bike terrain as they do battle for valuable Diablo Gravity Series points and a chance to win a share of over $7,500 in guaranteed cash and prizes.

Burns Lake Mountain Bike Association and Sugarloaf, New Brunswick: Communities Building Shred Momentum

For those of you who don’t live in an area that houses legendary riding (like a lot of places in British Columbia), great shred spots can be few and far between in most corners of the world. Gravity Logic (www.whistlergravitylogic.com) spends a lot of time on the road worldwide working with bike parks and bike associations that are comprised of a few really dedicated folks who want the best for their trails and their riding communities. Over the month of June, we’ve been lucky enough to be working on opposite ends of Canada designing and building trails for two very different but equally excited and organized groups of mountain bikers: Burns Lake, British Columbia (where construction of two new full length shuttle trails begins this summer) and Campbellton, New Brunswick (where the Sugarloaf Bike Park opened for business on June 20th).

Source: Irish DH

Environment Minister Sammy Wilson today approved ambitious plans to build a £100million harbour eco-village on the site of a derelict cement works and quarry near Larne which includes the development of a world class off road cycling center.

Source: Mount Washington

Mount Washington’s first big bike event, Roots, Rocky, Reggae, takes place July 11th and 12th

Mount Washington opened their Bike Park last Saturday and for the first time in three years, snow didn’t need to be shoveled off the trails to get it ready for opening day! As a result, opening day conditions were the best riders had seen in years.

Single pivot slopestyle or Freeride phenom?

Built on 7 people's drive to create bikes, Mountain Cycle has recently brought the Battery up to full charge and it's their answer to the slopesyle needs of today's riders. The Battery is a super burly little bike with a whole ton of CNC'd parts. It has very clean lines, a very simple single pivot suspension design and a dialed geometry for what it's intended to do.

Read on for more info on the Battery...

Yeti Cycles out of Colorado, USA has one of the longest running histories in the sport of gravity racing today. Their pedigree includes some of the biggest names to ever grace gravity racing and they continue to push that movement this season.

Have a look at their season so far in video:

Source: Wade Simmons

Wade here. I’m dropping a line to let you know that I will be at Blue Mountain in Collingwood, Ontario, the weekend of July 17 to 19 to ride with some lucky individuals as part of Blue’s “Ride with Wade Camp”.

Source: Betty Go Hard!

Silver Star Biking Weekend – July 17th, 18th & 19th, 2009

Come ride with the Girls @ Silver Star Resort with BGH and Loeka

Guys are welcome to come along…