If the world of mountain bike websites was like the world of Thomas the Tank Engine, Pink Bike would be Gordon (scroll down to the persona bit) but it seems of late NSMB has taken the title of Thomas, the little website that could. If you don’t visit NSMB daily then you need to start, hands down they are creating some of the best original content on the web at the moment, Matt Dennison and Dan Barhams videos are top knotch and Seb, Cam and Morgans editorials again are fresh and creative… On top of all that its not a bad site to look at… So after you’ve checked out Spoke in the morning I suggest you mosey over to NSMB, why yould could even bookmark it…

Damian Stones and Reon Boe spent a week in sunny Rarangi (the first left turn out of Picton) not long ago and banged out this damn sweet looking pump track. I can’t think of a better place than Rarangi to build a pump track; after three hours on the ferry the this little gem will be a welcome respite, and if you know what’s up you’ll know that the Whites Bay loop starts just over the hill! Banging!

We have a secondary school student doing work experience for us at the moment. Yesterday I had a bit of a brainwave when trying to think of things for him to do and came up with the idea of finally putting all the past Spoke reviews on the web. As of a few minutes ago he’s done it. Everything we’ve reviewed from before issue 30 to issue 45 is now in the review section of the site. To view them all you’ll have to head back a few pages, but from now on as soon as the mags come off the shelves the reviews will be going online.

All our reviews and new product features can be found here.

When Emma (Spoke founder and its founding designer) and I went to the Queenstown Bike Festival a few weeks back we opted not to take a bike for her as the Foes distributor had mentioned having a medium bike available. He didn’t say what it would be but when he showed up with it I didn’t even realise it existed. Obviously I do now. Emma’s initial rides were positive; it’s a bit more bike than she’s used to but was definitely fun to pedal. She only spent a couple of days with the bike, but now it’s back for a bit more of a going over by regular reviewer Mark Dangerfield.

I have to start by saying that we think it has to be the best looking Foes ever. The nice hydroformed down tube and the monocoque top tube work well together and thankfully there are no embossed flames.

So the major difference from most other Foes bikes is this thing is actually designed around a Fox RP23 and not a Curnutt. Foes have still managed to design the 5.25″/5.75″ travel bike around a 2.3:1 ratio providing a nice easily-tuneable ride. Like a bunch of trail bikes coming out at the moment the Shaver features adjustable travel, which is changed by a simple movement of the lower shock mount and the whole platform is designed around a simple link actuated single pivot. According to the boys at Blue Shark (the New Zealand distributor) it has much better small bump compliance than its big brother the FXR.

Here’s a look at the non-drive side of the business end of the Shaver.

It wouldn’t be a trail bike without a 12mm rear axle would it? The Shaver employs the Shimano 12mm axle if you were wondering.

Sun Ringle’s 1555gram SRD wheel set looks pretty burly and it’s one of the more affordable carbon options out there, so we’ll be bringing you a separate review of these guys as well as the new dual compound Intense 2.35 Invader tyres.

It couldn’t really get any better could it, Steve Peat killing it on a Tallboy with Isle of Man legend Guy Martin in tow.

If you don’t catch him on the airwaves, you’ll no doubt find him riding singletrack or dining out in Northland, the pizza capital of Wellington.

Who is Simon Morton?

Immigrant resident of Wellington, funded by the tax payer to be curious and ask questions as host of This Way Up. Love my bikes and my family, and have far too many tyres and gloves in my shed.

When did you get into mountain biking?

It all started long, long ago in Queenstown 1988 with a dirty Sovereign Mountain Supreme. I couldn’t afford a Healing Wildcat or the very exotic and flashy Kona Lava Dome.

What would you rather be doing, riding or tv/radio?
I would always rather be on a bike. Although riding to work in a wet southerly can be a pain in the ass, the face and the knees.

What is the strangest or most interesting thing you’ve done in your career?

I went to Mumbai and had a go at getting into the Bollywood film scene working as an actor. I recorded the whole thing and made a documentary about the experience. After dance lessons and a few pool parties, ultimately it ended up being a story about failure!  I’m a pretty good dancer mind!

What are your latest media projects?

This Way Up is a 2 hour radio show which keeps me busy week to week. I’m currently working on a book with Te Papa based on the TVNZ7 Tales from Te Papa series, and I’m planning a really big bike ride for early 2014.

I hear you just sold your Stumpy FSR and are back on a hardtail… how’s that working out?

Great for the bank account, as I have a holiday to pay for. The biggest impact though has been feeling the inside of my thighs – they’ve taken a pounding from my seat (the FSR was armed with a seat-dropper as well). My new ride has bigger wheels and I’m running tubeless so the tyres are way softer, so I’m not missing the travel, or the weight! There will definitely be quite a few new bikes in the future so the chances are pretty damn good of getting fully shocked up again. 29 on the front and 650B on the back just to be a real twat. I might get some body armour too… But seriously, big wheels for me, I’m a big boy.

Favourite trail/riding spot?

Close to home: My Welly commute home up Transient and then across Highbury Fling is a great way to end the day (with the optional Car Parts/Barking Emu/Wrights Hill/Northland loop), but I love to nip up the back of the Karori cemetery onto the tops and then up Zac’s and into the Makara playground… so many options.

Over the water: Craigieburn Forest Park and for those  luxury ‘fear and loathing’ trips then the Queen Charlotte’s hard to beat.

Far, Far Away: La Saulire (2738m) at the top of Merbel to the valley floor, Bride les Bains (590m) in the Savoie, France.

What’s wrong with mountain biking?

There’s a danger that some tracks are being overworked and sanitised. I feel sorry for bike shops trying to compete with online, while local brand importers try and maintain margins, making stuff here in NZ really expensive. White lycra is so wrong…

What’s right with mountain biking?

Niner, Revolution Bicycles and Wellington tracks. The number of tracks opening up around the country is very cool, and Queenstown’s downhill course is a world class development. It’s great to see we’re building infrastructure to attract cyclists to New Zealand, that’s cool. The other really neat thing happening is that people want to build tracks, volunteers from all walks of life, legends.

Is hype/marketing driving the sport more than technology/innovation?

Shit yes, but there’s some cool stuff out there, you just have to do your research and be able to afford to try the gear. About every 5 years there’s a major step change in technology, but year to year I think not.

How do you see the future for NZ mountain biking?

Pretty damn good as more tracks open up, ‘joint use’ is no longer a dirty phrase, and councils (government) are realising that making their towns and cities more cycle friendly is a no-brainer when it comes to return on investment and quality of life.

And for you?

Faster, fitter, harder, healthier, happier and more Tuatara beers.

Web: http://www.radionz.co.nz/thiswayup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/upthisway
Podcast:  http://www.radionz.co.nz/podcasts/thiswayup.rss

I’ve been waiting for this video for a while now. It’s the video of the Easton trip that Spoke guided and it’s pretty fricken choice (the Coastal Crew put it together!). You’ll be able to read about it in issue 47 of Spoke due mid June. Vital also have a slide show up here (with me sounding extra lame).

Nico somewhere in Craigieburn forest. So damn fast!

]]> http://spokemagazine.com/2012/05/16/easton-vs-new-zealand-the-video/feed/ 2 http://spokemagazine.com/2012/05/15/let-them-eat-reverb-stealths/ http://spokemagazine.com/2012/05/15/let-them-eat-reverb-stealths/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 02:30:49 +0000 Caleb Smith http://firstfloor.co.nz/spoke/?p=18301

I can quietly hear some boys at a local distributor freaking out right now, thinking I may have given up their little secret. But as of a couple of days ago it appears that the infamous Reverb Stealth (we told you about it here) is finally available for owners of non-Trek and Scott bikes. Whether you want to drill a hole in your frame is another story, but I’m guessing more manufacturers might be drilling them out for you. What’s new is the fact that the new Reverb Stealth will be offered in 6″ drop too! No word on availability just as yet, but RockShox tend to move pretty quick on these things.

As promised here is the Wellington premiere date for Anthill’s new film Strength In Numbers. I may have just watched it and may be pretty damn awesome. Some of you may recall that Life Cycles sold out, so it may pay to get in quick to secure your ticket. If you haven’t watched the trailer yet it’s below again.

Tickets are available here…

Date: Thursday 17th May

Time: 7pm

Location:
Penthouse Cinemas
205 Ohiro Rd
Brooklyn
Wellington

And I’m just confirming prices but we will have actual DVD pre-orders up today as well.

We’re on the hunt for more Facebook likes. Manual, our big brother, is sitting on over 5000 and we’re way back at not even 2,500. So we thought we’d offer a little incentive to get you guys liking if you’re not already. We have a few of these sweet snap-back embroidered AVID caps to give away. Simply head over to Spoke‘s Facebook page here, hit the like button (maybe leave a comment) and you’re in to win. If you already like Spoke just tell us why we should give that hat to you (on the facebook page).

On the way back from the New Zealand premiere of Anthill’s new film Strength in Numbers I stopped in to check some new stuff from FSA and Gravity at Wide Open Distributors. Unfortunately customs were not cooperating and the 2013 stuff wasn’t quite there yet, but Matt did have a 2012 Turner 5 Spot all built up for a shred in the forest. It’s not too different from its predecessors, although you’ll notice out back it’s now rocking a 12mm axle and one burly as hell dropout. There’s also new cable routing and then the most obvious thing is that new bendy downtube, which creates a little extra space down in the shock area to allow coil shocks more room to breathe. Also, that MRP 2x guide isnt BB mounted anymore; the 2012 Turner 5 Spot features ISCG05 tabs.

The drive side of the 5 Spot's new 12mm axle.

Matt was also very keen to show off his brand new set of hand built (by Wide Open) Enve/Chris King carbon wheels. These things are pretty damn sexy and feature a super huge bead width and are just a little oversized, but don’t let the size fool you; these burly all-mountain hoops come in at 1575 grams a pair.

I should mention that those hoops are attached to some 2012 Marzocchi 55RC3 Ti Evo forks. We tested these a couple of years ago and absolutely loved them, but they’ve been on a diet since then and their 170mm of plushness now comes in at 2417grams. Git sum. Oh did I mention they have a three year warranty? No? Well they do…

FSA’s 2×10 386 cranks have been rocking three bolts for the past couple of years but for 2013 they will be looking more like these triples and heading to a four bolt patten, allowing a little more choice for customers going for aftermarket chainrings.

Customs were holding onto some new Gravity bars as well. The 740mm wide CSI flat bar has been out a while and in six weeks it will have a brother in the form of a 15mm rise version. Both bars feature a 9 degree backsweep and weigh in at 240 grams. The CSI is an alloy/carbon hybrid bar designed for DH/AM/Freeride and and offers a bit more resilience than a standard carbon bar when it comes to over-tightening stems and grips, and it also adds a bit more toughness when it come to impacts (crashing).

Oh, and we went riding. Matt on his first run down Billy T on the new 5 Spot.

The third round of the XCO World Cup series was run at Nova Mesto in the Czech Republic on the weekend, with some great results posted by New Zealand riders. In the U23 women’s race, Spoke contributor Samara Sheppard rode to a brilliant 4th place (the race was won by her Wheeler-IXS teammate and off-season New Zealand-visitor Jolanda Neff). Rotorua’s Dirk Peters also had a great ride to bag 14th in U23 men, while Rosara Joseph and Karen Hanlen finished 22nd and 26th respectively in the Elite women’s race.

How so? Were there some sketchy races goin’ on in the city?

Riding fast in inner city traffic is always sketchy. One ways and red lights just add to it.

Not really!

Thanks Chris.

We were overwhelmed with emails for the Strength in Numbers premiere, and we’ve just collated the doorlist for Auckland’s screening tomorrow night.

If you’re not on the list, unfortunately you didn’t make the cut.

Andrew Driver 1
Michael Mcclanaghan 1
Mark Thomas 1
Broken.Ink 1
Mrs vandenbosch 1
Gary Campbell 1
Mr Byron Scott 1
Mrs Byron Scott 1
Andrew Reid 1
Robert Dethridge 1
James Madelin 1
Anne Williams 1
Clinton Williams 1
Natallia Yanachkina 1
Andrew Cozens 1
Ian Parks 1
David Whiting 1
Cornwell, George 1
John Colthorpe 1
Darryn Goble 1
Frano Kleis 1
Brent Neighbour 1
Karl Cattanach 1
Phil Hughes 1
Simon Smith 1
Amanda Piearcey 1
Glen Frost 1
Mrs Caroline.Phillips 1
Mr Caroline.Phillips 1
Scott & Cherie 1
Lucas Burn 1
Nick Grant 1
Mark Baker 1
Shaun Hardman 1
Thompson, Jane 1
Karen Chance 1
Renata Fraguas 1
Bronwyn Duurloo 1
Dylan Staples 1
Dan Gannaway 1
Sharon Fitzgerald 1
Ryan Castle 1
Howard Chaffey 1
Jonny Mitchell 1
Nathan Stirling 1
Bailee Florence 1
Ivan Kovach 1
Frank Schlaffmann 1
Matt Grant 1
Glenn Collins 1
James Ledingham 1
Christian Nicklin 1
J9 1
Megan Gray 1
Anne Burney 1
Derek Bond 1
Alice Burney 1
Malcolm Graham 1
Aidan Ormond 1
Hayman, Eddie 1
Ric Church 1
Tony Yuretich 1
Dan McLaughlin 1
Scott Picken. 1
Matt Natural 1
Gayle High 1
Jason Hockly 1
Lewis Whitworth 1
Jerome Reil 1
Nicola Ritchie 1
Simeon 1
Anna P 1
Josh Smith 1

On Thursday next week—yup, next week—Red Bull and Spoke will be putting on the first of a bunch of screenings of Anthill’s highly anticipated film Strength in Numbers (trailer below). It’s gonna be at the Academy Cinema in Auckland and Red Bull want to make it a night to remember so they have decided to buy popcorn and ice cream for everyone. Better yet, the official New Zealand premiere won’t cost you a cent. That’s right Red Bull even purchased your ticket! Catch is though, tickets are limited. If you want a seat then you’ll need to email us here (don’t change the subject line) and in no more than 50 words tell us why you should get a ticket. We’ll let everyone know by 5pm Wednesday night via email who’s going and post the door list right here on Spokemagazine.com. Simple.

Email your 50 words here.

Strength
 in
 Numbers 
is 
an 
action 
sports 
film 
that
 explores
 mountain
 bike 
culture
 through
 the
 experiences
 of
 the
 world’s
 best
 riders.
 Anthill
 Films,
 in
 co‐production
 with
 Red
 Bull
 Media
 House,
 have
 created
 a
 film
 which
 will
 change
 the
 way
 the
 world
 sees
 mountain
 biking,
 both
 on
 and
 off
 the
 screen.
 Strength
 in
 Numbers
 combines
 progressive
 action
 and
 beautiful
 cinematography
 with
 compelling
 stories
 to
 show
 how
 the
 many
 different
 sides
 of
 mountain
 biking
 are
 all
 connected.
 
 The
 filmmakers,
 who
 brought
 you
 The
 Collective,
 Roam,
 Seasons
 and
 Follow
 Me,
 travelled
 the
 globe
 to
 find
 communities
 that
 represented
 the
 many
 sides
 of
 the
 sport,
 with
 film
 shoots
 in
 British
 Columbia, Nepal, Scotland,
 Austria,
 Switzerland,
 California,
 Utah
 and 
the
 Whistler
 Mountain
 Bike
 Park.
 
 For
 the
 crew
 and
 riders,
 Strength
 in
 Numbers
 represents
 a
 way
 to
 give 
back 
and 
progress
 the 
sport.
 
 The
 movie
 features
 a
 diverse
 selection
 of
 riders
 with
 some
 of
 the
 biggest
 names
 in
 the
 sport,
 including
 Andrew
 Shandro,
 Brandon
 Semenuk,
 Cam
 McCaul,
 Gee
 Atherton,
 Graham
 Agassiz,
 Matt
 Hunter,
 Rene
 Wildhaber,
 Thomas
 Vanderham
 and
 Wade
 Simmons.
 
 The
 cast
 consists
 of
 a
 mix
 of
 established
 pros,
 up
 and
 comers
 and
 local
 riders,
 with
 Anthony
 Messere,
 Adam
 Billinghurst,
 Rachel
 Atherton,
 Ryan
 Howard
 and
 Steve
 Smith
 also
 appearing
 in
 the
 film.
 “It’s
 been
 a
 long
 time
 coming 
and 
I
 can’t
 wait 
to
 see
 what
 the
 Anthill 
boys 
have
 put
 together”,
 says
 World
 Cup
 downhill
 champion 
Gee
 Atherton.
“For
 me,
 as
 a 
rider,
 it’s
 exciting
 to
 be
 part
 of
 something
 like
 this.
 It’s
 a
 chance
 to
 help
 progress
 and
 grow
 our
 sport.”

On
 May
 24,
 Strength
 in
 Numbers
 will
 be
 available
 for
 all
 to
 experience
 with
 the
 free
 online
 premiere
 on
 redbull.com/bike
 and
 will
 be
 released
 afterwards
 on
 DVD+BluRay
 and
 iTunes
 worldwide.
 Ultimately,
 the
 film’s
 mission
 is
 to
 inspire
 and
 show 
how we
 are 
all
 part 
of 
a
 global
 community
 that 
loves 
to
 ride.
 To 
do
 this,
 a 
basic 
version
 of
 the 
entire 
film 
will
 be
 streamed 
online
 for free 
in 
autumn
 2012.