Tabla de contenidos para No. 81 en Spoke

On a recent trip north to check out the new Cambridge pump track, Elliot and I knew that if we timed things right we’d get an epic sunset somewhere along the way. We hopped in the car as soon as he finished school hoping to beat the commuters up the Kapiti coast, but it was not to be. The only bonus was after being stuck in traffic for 45 minutes we’d worked out that the sun would be setting just after we’d past Marton. Guess which skatepark had just got a makeover? What was once an average, flat piece of concrete is now a perfectly manicured gem, consisting of a mellow bowl, a big vert quarter pipe and a purpose built classic BMX style fly out. It's now the perfect…

I ride past this bowl corner on Eagle vs Shark most weekends and always see it as a personal struggle to get high enough to make it feel cool. While competing in the Deep Summer Photo Challenge at Crankworx, I just knew I had to get my team to hit it. The morning of this photo, the rain provided a constant drizzle to create the perfect environment of luscious bush to fully execute this shot! Connor Hamilton made light work of this corner, giving it the extra 'pop' it needed to feel cool. Rider: Connor Hamilton Location: Rotorua, NZ Shutter speed: 1/1600 Aperture: f2.8 ISO: 2500…

Roosting one dusty corner can seem so insignificant, especially in this current climate.This moment in time was hours before the first paid tracks were laid on the slopes of Glendhu Bike Park. It was before coronavirus caused Blenki’s season to end before it even had the chance to begin, and is a reminder of those dustier times. For the likes of Blenki, it’s often the taste of southern comforts: that dry, gravelly dust that lingers in his mouth as he jet’s north for the international season. But this year, it will be that of mud as he practices his social distancing long into the cooler months with all but this stolen moment to remind him of a long summer at home. Rider: Sam Blenkinsop Location: Glendhu Bay, Wanaka Shutter speed:…

Right before the lockdown kicked in and our world changed, I had just enjoyed another excellent Crankworx. I always look forward to the event for the people I catch up with as much as the incredible feats of mountain biking on display. Mountain biking (like many other “adventure” sports) is appealing because even though it’s an individual pursuit that focuses on personal growth and doesn’t require teamwork, it’s mostly done with others. To me, a huge part of mountain biking is the way it brings us together and helps form lasting connections with people from far-flung locations and diverse backgrounds. People we would never meet outside of riding quickly become firm friends. There’s a scary aspect to how easy these connections are to make in this increasingly globalised world, as…

Sorry people but I’m diverting from my usual advice column and instead will unload my personal life onto your strong shoulders to contemplate. Late March I was on another tough work assignment: hosting a group of Aussies on a week long biking trip which included The Old Ghost Road. I was aware of the dreaded virus but as an outdoorsman of below average intelligence, I paid no heed to our collective stake in this pandemic and flew into Christchurch to collect my new friends and give them a show like no other. Handshakes all round, beer and food in the bus and off we went, oblivious to what was to unfold. What was to follow? Broken ribs and deflated lungs, crowded huts with travellers from around the globe, jostling with…

In the ultra-competitive of World Cup downhill racing, young riders are sometimes an afterthought for teams focused on supporting their more established names. Lusty Hyperformance Racing is here to change that. The team, put together by Hyperformance Hardware (the New Zealand distributors for several brands, including Santa Cruz) and Lusty Industries (the Australian Santa Cruz importer), will support four talented young Australasian riders trying to break out this season. Rotorua’s Tuhoto-Ariki Pene and Christchurch’s Finn Hawkesby-Browne make up New Zealand’s contingent, while brothers Oliver and Ben Zwar represent the other side of the ditch. Handling management duties is legendary downhill racer Cam Cole, who works for Hyperformance as his day job. Both Kiwis have been riding for Santa Cruz for a while. Hyperformance has supported Tuhoto for about two years,…

Eddie hardly needs introducing but 2019 was a breakthrough season, even by his standards. After being laid out with a nasty wrist injury, he recently got back on the horse by taking the overall at the Crankworx Enduro in Rotorua. I caught up with the people’s favourite to chat about 2019 and where he’s headed from here. Looking at your results, the pace has been there for some time, but do you feel like there’s been a turning point in the past 5 years? Getting some good results and qualis under my belt early on gave me confidence that I had the pace to run with the big boys. In 2015 I had a good run of top 20s, and going into 2016 I wanted to chase top 10s and…

In September last year a young guy with a big smile and some serious bike skills stood with two other Kiwis at the top of the UCI Trophy of Nations podium. They were awarded prestigious rainbow jerseys and gold medals, thus becoming New Zealand’s latest world champions. It was an accomplishment that went relatively unnoticed by mainstream media outlets infatuated with the Rugby World Cup. After all, this was New Zealand’s Junior (Under 21) team, not the Elites, and Christchurch’s Nils Heiniger, John Richardson (Rotorua) and Brady Stone (Golden Bay) aren’t exactly household names. For Nils though, standing on the top step of the Trophy of Nations podium after finishing fourth overall in the Junior Enduro World Series has lit a fire in his belly; he’s decided to make a…

All going to plan, Issue 81 was meant to go to print the week New Zealand went into lockdown. We had written some closing remarks of what Covid-19 might mean for the bike industry, but as things changed we thought this might be better suited as a reflections article. The lockdown has been weird. We now have an appreciation of what it's like to be an animal stuck in the zoo; monotonous routines enclosed in a relatively small place. For some, it’s been business as usual (kudos to our essential workers), while for others it’s meant readily adapting to working from home with plenty to do. On the other end of the spectrum, there are large numbers of us sitting around twiddling our thumbs waiting for the lockdown to lift.…

My eyes watered as I strained to see through the thick clouds enshrouding us, all but obscuring the rock-littered sliver of singletrack we struggled to climb. With visibility limited to only a few metres, we had little idea of what was ahead, though the path was clearly getting steeper. I stared at my feet, cautiously placing one in front of the other while fighting to maintain purchase in the loose, slippery debris. Due to the heavy backpack and bike on my shoulders, every morsel of progress was met with an almost equal measure of backsliding as the brittle shale shifted underfoot. We were barely 30 hours into a mountain bike circumnavigation of southwestern Russia’s Mount Elbrus, and we’d already run the gamut of hardships. The previous day’s ascent up Elbrus’…

As safety rules for top-level races become increasingly strict, and full-face helmets are made mandatory for an increasing number of enduro races, helmet manufacturers have had to work out how to make them comfortable to pedal around in for eight hours at a time. There seems to be two schools of thought on how best to do that: some manufacturers have focused on making them lighter and more breathable than ever, while others have opted for a removable chinbar. The iXS Trigger FF is a top example of the former. The lid’s main pitch is that it’s extremely lightweight but still provides downhill-level protection, with all the certifications to prove it. iXS claims it’s the lightest production full-face helmet on the market, with a claimed weight of 660 grams for…

I made the decision to head down to Farm Jam the night before the event, that way I could catch the evening session before the big day. Friday itself was pretty grey until the dying minutes as the sun dropped past the hills. We were treated to that sweet southern light that you always hope for at this place. The golden hour session was a sizzler, and Billy was hyped as it was his first invite to Farm Jam. Luckily we got this session in, as the next day the wind came up and really played havoc with the whole competition. Rider: Billy Meaclem Location: Frew Farm, Winton Shutter speed: 1/1600 Aperture: f3.2 ISO: 640…

Scott's best known for his video and photography skills and has been behind a lot of world class edits recently, as well as the previous cover of Spoke. I bumped into him at Coronet Peak just before lockdown and went to scope a few spots while waiting for the rest of my guys. I needed a model to test this angle; turns out Scott has talent on both sides of the lens. Rider: Scott Robb Location: Coronet Peak, NZ Shutter speed: 1/1600 Aperture: f5.0 ISO: 500…

No flashes, no Photoshop, no trickery. Just lucky timing. It's not often you see an image from a Crankworx event gracing the gallery here, and even less often that I would submit one, but this lucky shot of Cody Kelley is kind of special. It was taken at the pump track event, traditionally a challenge to shoot due to access, crowds and lighting. This isn't typical of how someone would race a pump track, but Cody always rides with a little extra boost. My source of light was the flickering LED panel floodlights, and I was exposing for the highlights. As Cody came over with his unique style, another photographer passed in front of me, their arm blocking the track at the bottom of the frame. With the flicker at…

New Zealanders are great at sucking up the rough times, gritting their teeth and getting through situations when the going gets tough. “She’ll be right,” we say, but you know what? Sometimes she won’t be right. I fit that stereotypical profile alongside my fellow Kiwi riders, but that doesn’t mean I need to make things tough for myself when there’s no need—especially when a small amount of effort and consideration is all that’s required to avoid tricky situations. Finding myself stranded trailside in the middle of nowhere with a puncture, a CO2 canister and no connector is never a fun time. Nor is any other poorly-prepared mechanical situation. I’ve been in situations where both my spare tubes have perished, (In that scenario I should have a) not bought lightweights as…

November 2018 Our family is 50 per cent Swiss so planning ahead is the required formula for any significant undertaking. After a few minutes of rallied enthusiasm in late November 2018, bookings were made for a five-day family odyssey on the Old Ghost Road (OGR). The journey would span Christmas 2019 and our daughter Olive’s 8th birthday. Email spam was sent to all biking families in my known universe. Enter Loïc, Rohan (both 6 at the time of the ride), Jess and Sam. A mere handful of days passed before receiving confirmation of their participation. A few months later Winnie, Boyd, Mel and Richie also pledged attendance for two of the four nights. The stage was set and the conversation turned to food—more specifically, how we would manage the required…

The recent change of mountain bike shuttle operator in Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa forest was a surprise to many who enjoyed the long-standing Southstar service. Regardless of what led to the changeover, the new operators bring a shuttle service that’s similar to the outgoing Southstar in some aspects, but noticeably different in others. To provide some background, it’s worth painting a picture of the new company. Firstly, they’re not new to the business of mountain biking. Brothers Tak and Tu Mutu have successfully operated Mountain Bike Rotorua (MBR) at Waipa MTB car park for eight years, alongside a retail and office space in Rotorua city. MBR provides bike rentals and guiding, retail food and services, and is generous in donating time and staff resources for medical first response in the forest. The…

Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park in Karori, Wellington, has had a skills area since its inception in 1998. When the park first opened, almost every ride would end the same way. After climbing Koru and the four-wheel-drive track to the summit, you’d head down Ridgeline and a short section of four-wheel-drive track before hitting what was (and still is) possibly the best track in the park, Pylon 19 (aka Live Wires). Live Wires began in a clearing by the base of power pylon 19, and the Kennett brothers figured this easily accessible clearing would make a great area for riders to improve their singletrack riding skills. After a bit of hard work from early volunteers, the first iteration of the Makara Peak skills area was born. It had a see-saw,…

The high notes of a life well strummed are the trips to far flung mountain bike destinations best experienced with a band of smack talking, berm braaaaping brothers (and preferably sisters too). After hosting the Enduro World Series and winning trail of the year, Derby Tasmania has climbed the ladder to the top of every frothing Kiwi mountain biker’s hit list. Paired with Maydena and St Helens, this makes a tasty triple layer sponge cake. So there we were, 10 days deep into a Tasmanian trail smorgasbord, riding skills hitting a crescendo of Elliot Smith-level tweaks, when the beat dropped. Disaster struck. The Grey Ghost goes down. But let’s pull the front brake and roll back a little. Kevin Stanbra aka “The Grey Ghost” is no stranger to big crashes.…

On an overcast, windy day just after Christmas 2007, a small crew of Kiwi mates spanning different riding disciplines came together on a 2600-acre sheep and beef farm near Winton, Southland for a day of riding dirt jumps. It was about as low-key as you could get; a smattering of local farmers who’d tuned into The Bush Telegraph rolled up in their Hiluxes to watch the action. The jumps—while perfectly sculpted—were a small set of tabletops, a sketchy wooden ramp into a half-filled foam pit, and a smallish “big line”. The prize money was sourced solely from the minimal entry fee, and practically everyone walked away with a spot prize of some description. It was a no-pressure comp where the 30 riders sessioned for an hour, then judged each other…

Rocky Mountain entered the eMTB game in their usual pioneering style by innovating and doing it themselves. Rather than jump onboard with an established motor company, they developed their own with the goal of creating a mountain biker’s e-bike, one that went as fast downhill as up. The result was the Dyname 3.0 motor and the Powerplay platform. The first thing that will jump out to those who know their motor specs are the power and torque numbers of the Dyname 3.0. They are bordering on the ridiculous—770w peak power and 108Nm torque put this motor near the very top of what’s available on the market and initially gave me a pang of nervous excitement about trying to hang on to one. Rocky’s Powerplay range mirrors their standard lineup with…

A good friend of mine once said “something good always comes out of something bad”. So what can we learn from isolation lockdown? • Push the reset button on what we have. Find what’s important: friendships, family, personal growth, health, learn to look after this planet, care for its people, but best of all, simply enjoy every day on a bike—it’s a privilege. • Take joy and peace of mind from simply riding a bike. I live on the edge of a green belt and have never seen so many people out on bikes, many looking like they haven’t been ridden for years. This isolation reminds us all of how lucky we are to live here with the amazing array of tracks we get to enjoy—from rail and timber trails,…

It doesn’t seem that long ago that the 29ers came bursting onto the scene as the XC rider’s weapon of choice. Fast forward to today and we’ve arrived at the point where the wagon wheel has found its home on nearly all types of bikes, showing its true versatility on the humble trail bike. The misconception of them being “no fun” is no more as Conor chucks in a T-Bog mid-session. Rider: Conor Macfarlane Location: Arrowtown, NZ Shutter speed: 1/800 Aperture: f4.0 ISO: 1600…

Before even completing the new Superplus extension in Lower Hutt, Jeff Carter from Southstar Trails messaged me about one corner in particular that was just begging to be shot. It was a steep bowled left hander with views over Seaview and the Wellington Harbour which sounded cool. I promptly forgot about the corner and the conversation, until months later when Queenstown ripper Jake Hood showed up for a long weekend of riding in the capital. After spending too much time shooting in the epic light further up the trail, we almost missed our window on the corner. With just a couple of minutes of light left, Jake boosted off the entry and landed in the wall ride right at the top of the bowl, before tipping it in and squaring…

Last autumn, we had the idea to go and get some epic dirt jump snaps showing off the seasonal shades. Finding the right combination of colours, terrain, aspect and dirt actually proved really tricky on the steep surrounding slopes. Eventually, we found a pretty good natural lip that only needed a little coaxing into a trickable jump. And of course, Arrowtown always provides the colour. Rider: Emmerson Wilken Location: Arrowtown, NZ Shutter speed: 1/800 Aperture: f8.0 ISO: 10000…

A humble and hard-working bloke: Dave Balderstone was humble, hard-working and a community-minded man with a passion for downhill; a person everyone looked up to. His passions were trail building and racing, and he worked behind the scenes preparing tracks for Gravity Canterbury races, doing maintenance with the rangers, and building new tracks. A close friend Matt Clarke said Dave “had more passion than any of us. He wanted tracks that were challenging, and he loved seeing other people ride them. But he never looked for praise or gratitude.” As a grom, I remember attending dig days with Dave. He would be there before anyone else and stay afterwards to continue digging. Some of Dave’s most notable creations were downhill tracks in Victoria Park and one in Living Springs. They…

If you’ve ever ridden in Queenstown, Craigieburn, Alexandra, Glendhu Bay, or Middle Hill Mountain Bike Park, you’ll know that all of these places are amazing and unique because of their variety of terrain, mountain scenery, and for the ability to ride (at least in part) through native ecosystems. Now imagine these places covered in the same type of dense forest—limited to no views, limited variety in terrain, and no nature. Expand that over thousands of hectares of vulnerable high-country land across New Zealand and it's not hard to see why wilding conifers are the country’s worst weed species, and why we’re fighting so hard to contain the spread. First, some terminology. Conifers are a group of trees that have needles instead of leaves and produce cones. Pines are a type…

A while back I asked Velosolutions NZ boss, Craig Pattle, how many pump tracks they’d built globally in the past year. The answer was an astounding 51. That was back in June 2019 and has undoubtedly grown since then. Australia got its first Velosolutions track in September, and the big news for us Kiwis is that we’ve received our second. Pump tracks are nothing new; they’re essentially small BMX tracks comprised of a series of pumpable rollers linked with steeply bermed corners. They started popping up the yards of pro Australian downhillers back in the early 2000s, and, by 2010, these simple and addictive dirt tracks were everywhere; you’d find them at trail heads, inner-city parks, and more often than not, in people’s back lawns. Pump track construction is big…

No one gets into mountain biking for the politics. We fall into this sport for any number of reasons but the hook that keeps us here is the simple experience of just riding a bike. No diplomacy, no ambiguity; just focusing on that winding ribbon of dirt in front of us. Alone or with like-minded friends, the trail may be tricky but the objective is singular and simple: just ride, don’t crash. It’s pretty much the polar opposite of balancing the competing interests of nearly 8 billion squabbling humans. And yet...politics. Few are the elder statespeople of mountain biking that haven’t stepped off of their pedals and onto the narrow tightrope of diplomacy at some point. Whether club committee members, race organisers, trail advocates, or business owners; if you travel…

We’ve all heard the saying ‘a quiet bike is a fast bike’. Now one Kiwi bloke has come up with something to keep that noise down so you can be pinned. VHS (Velocity Hucking Systems) is a new Queenstown-based brand that has just created a slapper tape that fits the chain stays of most bikes. At Spoke, we love hearing stories of Kiwis starting a brand and were particularly interested to hear about the ‘eco-friendly’ approach that VHS were taking. We virtually caught up with Ferris Fairbairn (the man behind VHS) to discuss the brand, its beginnings and what lies ahead post Covid-19. We’re loving the 80’s vibe of the brand and the name VHS. Where did those ideas come from? To be completely honest, my friend Ben Hildred (from…

Since the first Crankworx Rotorua in 2016, I’ve been saying to my family “next year we’re going to see it live”. It took five years of drooling at Red Bull TV before we finally made it happen. A small connection to our sadly missed local legend Kelly McGarry was another motivation, but for one reason or another we have never made it. The main reason was usually dollars; managing a household budget that’s under pressure from maintaining a small fleet of bikes for three keen pedallers. But Crankworx 2020 was to be the year Inge, Luca and I saw the gods of Slopestyle in the flesh, defying death on their bikes. Yeeoow!! My friends were envious as many had it stowed on their bucket lists; I was not alone in…

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” - Henry David Thoreau I’ve done it again. I never learn. This happens to me all too frequently and it’s all because I get over-enthusiastic and make assumptions. Ahead of me is a classic section of high-country farm track, which, from this vantage point, looks like a wall. I’m at the bottom of the sort of climb that can beat you psychologically, before you even throw a leg over your bike. It’s steep, rocky and unrelenting—the kind of thing that makes you feel like walking, right from the start, just so you don’t have to suffer the ignominy of having to dismount, gasping, with that iron taste in your mouth only part-way…

peen [peen] noun Steep, sustained, and highly technical natural trail. Origin of Peen 2010-2015; derived from Kidney English penisy (adj) used to describe frightening and exciting precipitous trails; antonym: flow trail; park. E.g. “THAT was certified peen. I think I shaved my grundle on my rear tyre.” History I used to be a peen guy. Not the fastest, nor the most skilled or even the bravest—but a connoisseur certainly. I had an appetite for the stuff that eclipsed most others. Whatever was on the menu, I wanted to skip straight to the steepest, chunkiest, rootiest, most bewildering of the lot: the peen. But I am and I was just a mere organism in a system, and systems evolve. One must adapt to survive. The theory of encephalization holds that around…

Specialized’s Levo SL is one of the most hyped up bikes I’ve seen launched in recent years, with its monstrous release on the world wide web in February causing a ripple in the space-time continuum. As I’m sure you read on my first ride impression post back then, I really rated the Levo SL, but that’s often the case at press junkets in exotic locales—the fine wine and jet lag can skew one’s judgement. Now the hype has died down, and I’ve logged over 400kms on the SL, I feel ideally placed to pen my full, extended review of this mind-bending new style of bike. By now you’ve all read Pinkbike’s languid, unenthused, ‘hurry up and pay your money’ prose with accompanying plethora of cretinous comments by the keyboard warriors.…