Source: acair422.pinkbike.com

The Legend MK1 is Banshee’s first frame to foray into the downhill race scene, but I wouldn’t call the frame beginner's luck. Many recall the burliness of Banshee in past years, via models such as the Scream and Morphine. Since then the boys over there have been busy combining the knowledge of how to build a strong and stiff frame, while applying some weight savings techniques resulting in a definite contender.

Check out my review inside,

Fits like a glove? You bet...

First up lets clarify or not, as the case might be what "types" of gloves there are out there. You have all seen the huge knuckle and finger protection from Moto-X style gloves that have been adopted by the serious gravity descender and night club bouncer/doorman. Well, that was the case of days gone by, but it seems they are more into the lighter XC/All Mountain Glove these days. Visa Versa, you may often see the trail bandits fully protecting their paws...

Source: Reece Wallace

Weighing in at under one kilogram, extremely stiff with Hollotech II technology, and designed to fit almost any mountain biker's budget, the Shimano SLX series cranks and bottom bracket cannot be beaten.

When my Shimano SLX cranks first arrived in the mail, I opened up the box and thought a mistake had been made. I thought that some cross country cranks had been shipped to me instead of the freeride cranks I was supposed to be reviewing. However, within the first ride it became obvious that Shimano has put a lot of R&D into their new SLX series.

Picked fresh from the August Harvest. The latest produce from the MTB Tree...

Seems the mongrel that is Hensley just can't stop watering the local trees. Good job as the fresh produce they are producing is definitely fit for the captain's table. To see what the pickers have harvested from Schwalbe tires, Cube bikes, Fox clothes, Bloc Eyewear, and MTB Britain this month, open wide..

Fancy clothes and Carbon helmets

Fox Clothing makes some pretty fancy riding gear including helmets, protection, and race kits. Recently when we were in Whistler for Crankworx we got a chance to see some of the new kits. So, without further ado here is a sneak peak at the 2010 Fox Clothing lineup, including their all new Carbon Composite V3R helmet!

Click here for Fox Clothing...

The New 2010 Rocky Mountain Flatline is down to 39 lbs, reducing the weight by 7 lbs from last year. Redesigned frame geometry with a more linear rate curve, new down tube without a mud flap, new shock mount position, and a 2 lbs lower frame weight. Entry level Flatline Pro available with Boxxer Race/Vivid 4.1 suspension, and SRAM drive train. Flatline World Cup available with 40 RC2/RC4 suspension, Saint drive train and high-end components.

Read on for more info on the 2010 Flatline...

We have taken a look at all the other genre's of bikes from Norco's 2010 product lineup, so now we will look at 3 bikes, from the Shore to the street. The 2010 Norco Sasquatch, 2010 Norco Two50, and the 2010 Norco Rev. One being a North Shore Hardtail designed for gnarly rock rides and big drops, the second being a hardtail designed around street riding and dirt jumps and the last being a completely rigid bike, designed for street thrashing and having fun.

Click here for info on the Sasquatch, the Two50, and the Rev BMX...

The Fluid series makes up the majority of Norco's all mountain bikes. This series of bikes caters to everything from the base level of dual suspension XC bikes, right up to competition level of bikes, including full carbon frames. The bike in the Fluid series that we chose to look at was the Fluid 1.

The Fluid 1 bike caters to a large grouping of riders, so let's take a look...

The Crankworx Slopestyle event just got finished up here in Whistler and 2009 ended with a unique podium. Many awesome tricks were thrown down, plus a landmark was set for Crankworx.

Click here for more info and the winners and the TOP 3 Rider's Final Runs!(more to come as they load)

Tonight Troy Lee Designs hosted a party to launch their all new D3 helmet. We hustled our buns off to be the first people to have it, so here you go Pinkbike.com, the first look at the all new TLD D3 Helmet.


Click here for info and photos on the D3...

Kokanee Crankworx, Monster Energy and Pinkbike.com have teamed up to launch the Monster Energy Fantasy Slopestyle Contest.

Entrants can view the contest page at www.pinkbike.com/live/monsterfantasy/ to select a team of six riders competing in the Monster Energy Slopestyle on August 15th. You can check out preview videos from each of the 24 riders competing to help contestants assemble their winning squad before the August 15th deadline.

Manitou re-introduced the Carbon Dorado this past year and everyone was stoked to see it back in action. The down side is that is was less attainable to the average downhill consumer due to its price tag. The good news is that Manitou has created the all new Aluminium Upper MY 11 Dorado and it's got all the bells and whistles you'll find in its Carbon sibling, and at a price that is inline with the market.

Read on to learn all about the Manitou MY 11 Dorado,

Flat as a witches tit? Get on these Broomsticks then!

It's not just the mother in-law that flies around on a broom stick with her black cat. My original Klein Pinnacle with Mission Control bars back in the early 90's were flat. Seems we've gone full circle again and flat is back, it's the new black...

The Street bike gets a dirt touch.

The 2009 Shonky was more of a street riding bike, with v-brakes and a rigid front fork. Kona has decided to spec the Shonky with a more well rounded build kit. The Shonky for 2010 has a much more dirt, street, and park ready build.

Click here for info on the 2010 Shonky...

Arguably the most talked about bike from Kona's line up is the Stab Supreme. The Stab Supreme sets the bar as Kona's high end downhill bike, and for 2010 it has not only lost some weight, but got some component changes, and frame refinements that make it a contender on the downhill scene for the 2010 race season.

Full Specs, Photos, Changes

Bass gets chromed!

The Kona Bass has been a solid slopestyle orientated bike for its whole life and for 2010 it took one more step into that realm. The Bass for 2010 has been refined down so it is as simple as it can be, and still be as functional as it needs to be.

Full Specs, Photos, Changes

The Stinky Deluxe is the highest end freeride orientated bike that Kona produces. This year Kona has taken a more all mountain approach to this freeride rig, and have equipped it with a versatile line up of components, some heavy duty, some light duty.

Click here for info on the 2010 Stinky Deluxe...

It's Magic, literally.

For 2010 Kona has developed a bike that can tackle anything an all mountain rider may want to experience in his or her ride. Aggressive climbing, and pinned downhill can both be achieved on the Abra Cadabra, because it features a little bit of Magic in it, Magic link that is.

Full Specs, Photos, Changes

The ladies approach to things.

Kona's line up of womens bikes has both all mountain and freeride models. The Minxy marks Kona's female freeride bike and they have worked on it further to be more stable for women on the trail, while still being comfortable, and not too flashy.

Click here for info on the 2010 Minxy...

Everyone has come across some "hairy" meat in their travels before, so obviously the best before date has been passed. However, at Pinkbike we like to keep things fresh, and fun. Hairy meat is neither. This fresh meat article is both, fresh, and fun and will cover a handlebar from Sunline, grips from Deity, a light from Cat Eye, Knee pads from POC and valve caps from Trik Topz.

Click here for more info on these fresh goods...

Source: Alan Hawkes

Now the Ti Gearbox DH bike is still alive and kicking but can sometimes be a bit overkill for the amount of riding I do and the UK tracks, so this is my latest creation. I was inspired by the foes RS7, I always think their bikes look good, are well engineered and simple but effective. I also think there is a certain amount of "suspension envy" when it comes to DH, just because one bike has 9" of travel everyone wants it, regardless if it's way too much for what they are going to be riding.

Learn more about the Symbiont inside,

K9 Industries are a new company to the mountain bike world and already have tongues wagging thanks to their seriously in-depth R&D and the frames they have produced that James McKnight is currently running.

Louis from K9 asked me to test these bad boys out, unfortunately I don't own an Iron horse or an Intense. Therefore I needed to ask someone with an engineering background and who can ride a bike. Please enter John Young, Masters winner of the SDA Rd1 at Pitfichie and Rd 2 at Fort William. Credible? You bet!