Chromag OSX Bars

Revoultion Products just received some super sweet new Chromag Anodised OSX bars. The bars feature a 760mm width and 25mm rise, and come in Chocolate, Lime, Orange, Electric Blue, Red and Black. The anodising is a super hard finish and is perfect for not getting a bad case of shuttle rash. RRP is $140.00. Find a dealer over here.

After a few months of voting and judging, Red Bull’s high profile photographic competition Illume has finally drawn to a close. 24-year-old Chris Burkard’s photo of Peter Mendria riding waves on Chile’s West Coast took the Overall award in what is the world’s biggest action and adventure sports photography competition. Chris’ overall win was chosen out of 22,764 photos submitted to the contest by nearly 5000 photographers. You can check out the category winners on the Red Bull Illume site here. Spoke contributor and Wanaka local Camilla Stoddart made the final 50 (which you can check out here).

Best trail and best trail name. Five minutes from my house but always in the back of my mind.

So even though Crankworx is all wrapped up for another year and everyone has moved on to new pastures, I’ve just been reunited with my camera which contained my poor attempt at going behind the scenes of the world’s biggest MTB show.

This first photo is of the first trail I showed some of my house guests during a one-hour pre-work power ride. It sort of set the tone for the week. Here’s some more halfwit’s attempt at wit.

The slopestyle course before the storm hit. Six days after this photo was taken 30,000 people crowded into the field of dreams to witness Kelly McGarry flip tuck no hander the huge jump.

We had the A-team of Abby and Ariel from the Santa Cruz bikes demo program staying with us. Unfortunately they couldn't get the demo bikes through customs from the US and into Canada, but they had a full quiver of bikes for their own missions.

Sven Martin is the fastest photog down the mountain, even with a full backpack of gear. He is a gorilla on a bike so he probably just forgets that he has a pack weighing 40 lbs and worth 10G on his back.

I had the role of housing and showing Sven around for a few days. He is one of those larger than life characters that are sometimes so rare. It was always hilarious to be around Hurricane Sven as he tried juggling so much.

In Spoke issue 37 I wrote about the much anticipated LifeCycles movie. Well at Crankworx, a select few supporters of the project got the opportunity to watch an almost finished version of the epic masterpiece. They are taking pre-orders now and it is due to be released in October all going well. If you want to know how good it really is then just know that I have ordered a BluRay player just to really enjoy the movie over and over again. I don't have a home or a TV set but I want a BluRay player so I can come round to your house with my player and copy.

This is Kelly McGarry just hours before he took 5th place at the Slopestyle contest. We stood around chatting about boobie signings (or lack of), the mega huck, and the growing success of his signature 'pointy finger at the camera' photo pose.

A custom coloured Speccy Enduro belonging to Brandon Sloan of Specialized. I want the capacity to have a custom coloured one of carbon machines, but alas I am not, nor will I ever be, as powerful as the BIG RED S.

Where: Velo Espresso – Garden Place, Hamilton
When: Sat 28th Aug 7pm
Cost: $10 – includes movie, coffee & cheesecake
BYO beers/wine – private function

This sweet little premiere is going down the evening prior to the New Zealand Cyclocross Champs in Hamilton; trailer above looks good, details after the jump…..

The Cyclocross Meeting – this new film takes us from the HUGE race fields of the USA to the emerging cross scene in Japan!

If you’ve seen Pure Sweet Hell you’ll know this is going to be much more than some lame film where we get to watch US pros turn laps in the mud; it’s an insight into the psyche of cross and the people that make the sport what it is.

This will be the first screening outside of its official premiere at the Bicycle Film Festival! So this is a BIG DEAL for little old GodZone and its cross racers, so we are hugely grateful to Brian, Spoke Magazine and Velo Espresso who are providing a venue, staff and coffee. You guys rock!

Thanks to a massive coup and huge effort by Spoke Magazine we are privileged to have the opportunity to screen this new movie in support of our mate Chuckie.

The New Zealand premiere is the night before the New Zealand CX Champs race, so out-of-towners, we hope you can be there. You’re guaranteed a warm welcome.

Where: Velo Espresso – Garden Place, Hamilton
When: Sat 28th Aug 7pm
Cost: $10 – includes movie, coffee & cheesecake
BYO beers/wine – private function

Proceeds to Chuckie – http://www.charliesplace.org.nz/

Now I was going to drop all these funky bike photos with the French Alps in the background but not all the bikes we rode were production spec, so if you just imagine a pool and the Alps in the back of the rest of the pictures then you can pretend you were there with me.

See, I was in the Alps. But because lots of these bikes aren't the final production models you will just have to imagine the pool and hills behind the rest of the images I will be posting.

So first up the venerable Sanction has had to shed a few grams around the waist and the Fox DHX 5.0 is gone, replaced with the ever popular Fox RP23 custom tuned for GT by Fox. The Sanction also gets some visual love (actually the entire range does) and the hideous graphics from last year are gone in favour of some pretty snazzy and resolved graphics and a colour matched component spec. But I guess the real standout element for the Sanction (and GT on a whole), is that GT’s new MTB product manager Todd Seplavy actually rides bikes and the real world build options on these bikes are pretty much spot on. GT call it INDY spec. I call it knowing what’s going on, but KWGO doesn’t make a word. With that said the Sanction 1.0 has a pretty sick build. Fox 36 Float RLC FIT forks up front, Race Face SixC 725mm carbon bars and Race Face Atlas cranks in a 2×9 setup with a chain guide! Then there’s the colour matched WTB saddle and Crank Brothers Joplin 4. With all this you actually have a bulletproof all mountain rig that’s ready to shred out of the shop door.

The Sanction 2.0 features a slightly subdued colour scheme but still a pretty solid build. The fork is swapped out for a coil RockShox Lyrik and the rear shock is a plain Float R. A mixture of Shimano and Sram X7 parts handle the drivetrain and a Race Face Evolve stem matched to a 710mm Gravity bar keep you straight. GT has also moved to Formula brakes on a lot of the bikes for 2011 and both Sanctions feature powerful Formula R1X’s.

The 2011 Sanction gets a radical graphic makeover, loses the HammerSchmidt in favour of a 2X9 setup and the DHX is replaced with a custom tuned FOX RP23. Oh and it features a sick one-off blue WTB saddle!

The Sanction 2.0 gets both a toned down spec and slightly more subtle and "easier to lose" paint job.

Check out the build specs here for the Sanction
• Sanction 1.0 NZ RRP $7599
• Sanction 2.0 NZ RRP $4799

The Force Carbon Pro has bling written all over it: an X.0 2X10 drivetrain, Crank Brothers Iodine wheelsets, Joplin 4 seatpost and Cobalt bar, RockShox XX Revelation forks, and a sick colour matched WTB Silverado saddle.

The Force Expert drops the bling a little, stepping down to X9 2X10 and moves to a Fox Float 32 RLC FIT up front and some DT Swiss 350 hoops.

Keeping the identical frame across the three models, the Sport drops the spec even further with a mixture of X7 and X9 for the drivetrain which is still 2X10, The new RockShox Sektor up front and a plain Float RL out back, but you still get a height adjustable post by way of X-Fusion's new Hilo 100mm offering.

GT’s ever popular Force has stuck around for another season and received the most radical visual makeover of the entire GT range (as you can see). The three Force Carbons look absolutely stunning and the three aluminium models, while not as bold, also look pretty sharp. For those that don’t know, the Force sports the same 150mm of travel as the Sanction, but in a snappier and more XC-oriented package; 32mm forks, no bash ring and only 150mm up front signal this bike’s less aggressive tendencies but make no mistake, this sled can kill it and is more than capable out on the trail.

The Aluminium Force 1.0. With the Carbon options and prices, I don't know why you'd want an alloy version but they're still pretty darn sweet.

Check out the build specs for the Force range below.

• Force Carbon Pro
• Force Carbon Expert NZ RRP $7699
• Force Carbon Sport NZ RRP $5699
• Force 1.0 NZ RRP $4999
• Force 2.0 NZ RRP $3999
• Force 3.0 NZ RRP $3299

The Distortion 1.0 sports Fox 32mm 15QR forks and an RP23 rear shock, a Joplin 4 and a Race Face/SRAM 2X9 drivetrain for getting back up (if you miss the lift). More colour matched WTB goodness and 710mm Gravity light bars solidify the fact that you don't have to do anything to this bike to get it dialled.

Now the biggest hit of the launch would have to be GT’s new model the Distortion. Andrew Cho and Tyler McCaul have been rocking prototypes of these on slopestyle courses for a while now, but it’s finally reached us, albeit in a configuration aimed less at slopestyle riders and more at all-round MTB park use. It looks kinda like a Sanction but it only has 114mm of travel out the back and 140mm up front. It’s seriously fun to ride, is super responsive and easy as pie to pump and whip over and around stuff. I can’t jump but I’m sure it eats those up as well. There’s just two models; a 1.0 and a 2.0.

Check out the build specs for the Distortion
• Distortion 1.0 NZ RRP $6499
• Distortion 2.0 NZ RRP $4299

GT's new Sensor 29er Pro, my favourite bike from the GT launch. As it happens, the first shipment of 2010 29er Sensors has just arrived in New Zealand. This is one amazing bike.

The Sensor 2.0 GTW is the only dedicated women's offering in the whole GT range but it's a pretty sweet build at a pretty sharp price. NZ RRP $3999

And then there was my favourite bike from the whole launch. GT’s Sensor 29er Pro. Now the Sensor range is pretty big (seven bikes in total) but I paid no attention to anything anyone said about the other bikes, apart from the fact that there is a pretty sweet women’s 120mm travel Sensor 26″ wheel bike. The Sensor range does kind of look like it hasn’t had the attention the other bikes in the GT lineup have had for 2011, but after riding the 9er I’m happy to say I don’t care. I don’t want to start sounding like Seb either but after riding this thing my life may have just changed. You see I thought that I hated 29er’s. I’d never ridden one, I’d just decided I hated them. They look stupid, especially when short people ride them, and I still believe that with the exception of Seb, people under 6 foot should be banned from 29″ wheels on a pure aesthetic level. So anyway the Sensor 29er has a pretty basic build kit: a Fox F29 Fork featuring rebound adjust and lockout, a Float RL rear shock, again featuring rebound adjust and lockout, an X7/X9 2X10 setup, Avid Elixir 5 brakes and a Crank Brothers non-adjustable height seatpost and bar. On the trail this thing just begs to be ridden fast; the 120mm is more than enough travel and I found there wasn’t much I couldn’t ride on this than what I could ride on a GT Ruckus, and I actually found myself coming back to this bike for multiple rides. Actually I didn’t really ride much else after.

Check the Sensor 29er Pro spec sheet here. NZ RRP $4999

There were tonnes of other bikes at the launch. Obviously the Carbon Fury was there, both the World Cup and Team models that you see under Mick Hannah and Marc Beaumont.

Fury World Cup NZ RRP $11999

Fury Team NZ RRP $7999

The Ruckus DJ proves that GT can actually make a DJ bike that looks the part. You may even see this bad boy at Gorge Road rubbing tyres with Black Markets.

Ruckus DJ NZ rrp $1999

And then there is this thing; the LaBomba which is basically a Mick Hannah-inspired Dual Slalom and Pump Track bike. I did get a chance to take this for a spin (albeit on a crap pump track) but it was fast and super nimble.

LaBomba = Pump track and Dual Slalom killer.

Oh and then there was this bad boy for all you Henry Van Ashe wannabes.

Head over to our Facebook site to win this sweet Oakley technical riding shirt.

Rick Henderson, back in the day.

All things start somewhere and many grow out of something else. Whether an idea sparks action, or circumstances lead you down a certain path, however something starts, the fact remains that sometime, somewhere, someone will have to do the hard graft to get it off the ground.

Rick Henderson is one of those guys who’s lived a varied life—and by his own admission, not always in the best way—and he’s put in lots of hard graft along the way. From the early days of his bike park ‘Krankin Park’ in Ngaruawahia, where he and his friends dug for endless hours shaping what was to become the first jump park in the country, to the launch of High Speed Cycles, Krankin Park’s on-site bike shop, and all the work that involves. I think it’s fair to say that Rick has carved himself a well earned place in New Zealand’s MTB history with lots of hard work and determination.

"Product Testing"

For any rider who’s been in New Zealand’s DH or jump scene for more than six years or so, Krankin Park will probably be familiar to you, and like myself it may well have played a big part in your riding. From the winter rides where you had to wait for the fog to lift before being able to hit the ‘pit jump’, to the infamous Krankin Parties which drew riders from around the North Island on bikes of all shapes and sizes for two reasons: riding and good times.

Krankin Park has provided many people with a platform for their riding, and it definitely  helped shape dirtjumping in New Zealand as we now know it. Sitting in the background, toiling behind a spade or simply making sure everything kept going forward was Rick Henderson.

Rick, pre-MTB days. That's him on the left with all the hair!

How old are you?
My birth certificate indicates 50 but I have my doubts.

Where do you live?
Krankin. 106 Old Taupiri Road, Ngaruawahia; the capital of New Zealand.

What do you like best about living where you do?
The dirt’s good, I work from home, I’m out in the country and workshop is surrounded by my various trail routes. Sometimes it’s difficult to decipher work, or is it foreplay ?

What do you dislike about living where you do?
Local bodies who ignore the need for recreational facilities.

Who makes your riding possible?
The same person who can make it impossible; myself. Apart from that I don’t need an excuse, company or a trail head; when you get the urge, you go out and ride.

First bike?
First bike was a Raleigh which in short time was stuffed into the rear end of car coming home from school. My first real bike was a Burton, a French road racing bicycle which my folks scored for me when I was 13. Competitive cycling started there.

How did you first pick up a MTB and get into it from there?
I owned various road bikes up until my first MTB. From memory, a rigid beastie until suspension arrived on the scene; MTB took on a whole new dimension after that! And yeah, I’ve never been on a road bike since.

The early days at Krankin.

Best thing about owning Krankin Park?
The people I have met for sure. Also as a test track (for want of a better word ) it’s perfect for my line of work. Between Krankin and the hills above I have all the resources for test riding bikes, components and suspension.

Worst thing about owing Krankin Park?
The balance between my obsession and dealing with an increasing number of riders that assumed Krankin was a public facility. Like it or not I was responsible for every rider on the park; over the years that amounts to hundreds, and believe me I felt every off you guys had, from rushing injured riders to A&E, visiting worse case scenarios in hospital, having to deal with distraught parents, threats of court action, theft of property, abuse (although I can give as good as I receive) and the list goes on. Besides that, the many hours spent constructing new jumps and the endless task of maintenance, and often it was same (few) loyal bods that helped out. Enthusiasm has its limits and eventually mine ran out.

What was the largest challenge getting Krankin Park off the ground?
There was no challenge at the time, I was too excited. It wasn’t until years later that I realised we had shifted tonnes of dirt and constructed some reasonable sized jumps, and all of it was achieved by hand, wheelbarrows and shovels and a whole pile of enthusiasm. I doubt if I could muster that sort of energy again in my lifetime, so yeah from an outsider;s point of view, simply
awesome!

How many years has Krankin been going now (as a park)?
Krankin’s 15 years old and looking a little shabby. If there’s any local people interested in operating Krankin the bike park, please get in touch. I don’t have the time these days but would welcome anyone with a proposition.

Rick hitting "the dirty dog" line.

Who were the key people at the park back in the day?
I guess first on the list is my wife at the time (thank you Karen), my family was very supportive, bike riders and mates including Tony Moore, Jason Moore, Greg Larson, Wayne Richardson, Nigel Tipene, Mike and Rob Metz, Nick Lambert, Fluff and his crew from the ‘Naki were always making the trip, Vanessa Quin was a regular female rider and so too the increasing number of interested supporters wanting in on this new concept. No particular key people but all had influence one way or the other.

In your opinion how has the ‘jump’ scene in New Zealand changed since it began for Krankin park?
Commercialism; you pay to ride. Increase in size of both obstacles and courage. The discipline is still present and the bikers themselves are incredibly skilled both on MTB and BMX; you young guys rock!

Who do you think was the most legendary MTB rider in New Zealand in the last 15 years and why?
That would have to be Fluff (Glen Sisarich). At the time the guy was insanely fast on a pushie, he was motivated, a hellishly good guy, modest, humorous and an inspiration to all when you saw him on a pushie. Fluff was ahead of our time, he unwittingly indicated the things to come. Apart from the growing friendship I bled Fluff’s brain whenever I could, from trail
obstacles, dirt jumps, DH trails and even the early suspension components. His perception from a rider’s point of view was a wealth of knowledge for me and anyone else with a vision.

Favourite party that went down at Krankin?
Hahaa…I have to say they were all favourites. Winter solstice, bomb fires, dare devils, human skyrockets ( you’d remember that Coxy! ) two and three day affairs of biking, chewing the fat and of course alcohol and vitamins. Krankin’s parties were successful social gatherings, fuelled by enthusiastic people amped up on having fun on a push bike.

Head to head racing at Krankin. Byron Scott on the left and Rick on the right.

What’s wrong with mountain biking?
Absolutely nothing from a biker’s point of view. I have opinions concerning the business side of it, but I’ll keep those to myself.

What’s right with mountain biking?
Your health, your mental awareness, the opportunity to be adventurous or competitive and to be amongst people who share the same passion. MTB is versatile; for mum and the kids or hard out thrashing with your mates, mixed cultures, and there’s no probs if your English isn’t good, we are all on the same buzz.

What websites do you hit daily?

There’s a number of bike related sites, and I occasionally troll through Vorb and still drop by the Kennet’s site. Trade Me, and Facebook is becoming a regular haunt, the idea behind ‘Krankin Aotearoa’ on Facebook is bring customers and friends together for a bit of clowning around or just general contact.

Who do you look up to?
No one; I admire certain people, riders, associates and friends, but there’s no one on a pedestal in my life. We are all on a level playing field.

Favourite piece of bike kit?
That would have to be my TLD D2 carbon.

What are your vices?
I have a few—some not so flash—so best I keep them to myself.

Got any dirt / story from a MTBer that you’d like to share?
I’ll take that as a compliment, but as far as pro goes I’m far from it. Experienced, yes, and although I could recall several stories my thrills are just as amped as yours.

Okay, a bit of word association:
- Dirt jump -  aerial acrobatics
- Downhill – technically courageous
- Huck to flat – defies momentum
- Tricks – style
- Style – passion
- Glen Sisarich – all of the above
- John Kirkaldie – the thread that stitched the New Zealand pro scene together, both locally and internationally.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who support Krankin and HSC; it’s a successful project because of you, thanks and happy trails, Rick.”

Check out Rick’s shop, High Speed Cycles, on site at Krankin Park, details on his WEBSITE. Or hit ‘Krankin Aotearoa’ on Facebook to check out his extensive collection of old-school MTB pics.

Justin Leov hit the podium yet again on the weekend, this time at the Canadian Open. Amongst some super tight racing he took the 3rd post behind Gee Atherton and Lewis Buchanan. Trek breaks it down in their press release below.

Leov Takes 2nd Podium At Crankworx For Trek World Racing, Neethling 5th

16.8.2010

The final race at the Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler saw Trek World Racing take two top fives in the Pro Men’s Canadian Open Downhill yesterday, with Justin Leov (NZL) securing 3rd place on the podium and teammate, Andrew Neethling (RSA), just tenths behind in 5th.

Taking place on the hottest day of the week, conditions on the mountain were tough and the course became a serious dust bowl in the ongoing dry weather. Already quite technical, the course remained largely unchanged from last year with lots of rocks and roots so the dust made things trickier still, loosening up the track and making it seriously slippery as well as hard for the riders to see.

A nail-bitingly close top 5 saw just 0.63 seconds between 2nd and 5th places, with Gee Atherton (GBR) taking the win posting 3mins 04.14secs, more than 5 seconds clear of 2nd placed rider, Lewis Buchanan (SCO). Justin finished only 0.04 of a second behind Buchanan, while Andrew finished a slightly frustrating 0.59 seconds off Justin’s time and the podium spot he’d hoped for. Justin said: “It was good today. The course was pretty blown out and dusty and I was a bit nervous at the start gate that maybe I’d wash out on a couple of turns so I didn’t go for anything too flashy. I just focussed on riding down the hill to get back on the podium so I’m pretty happy with that.”

Andrew said: “It felt like a really good quali run I reckon, but unfortunately it was a race. I just lacked a bit of pace and we don’t do a quali at this race, and I feel I needed that. I felt good and really calculated but I got 5th and I wanted way more than that. If we had another race run I reckon I’d do better but we didn’t and that’s the format and I got beaten. It’s a good kick for getting focussed on another race in two weekends.” Next stop for Andrew and Justin is the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Windham, NY, (USA) where the boys join the full Trek World Racing team for the 6th and final rounds of both the Cross-Country and Downhill World Cup series taking place on 28/29 August 2010.

Follow the team on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/trekworldracing

For more information on the team visit: www.trekbikes.com/twr

Results:

1. Gee Atherton (GBR) – 3m 04.14secs

2. Lewis Buchanan (SCO) – 3m 09.16secs

3. Justin Leov (Trek World Racing) – 3m 09.20secs

4. Troy Brosnan (AUS) – 3m 09.27secs

5. Andrew Neethling (Trek World Racing) – 3m 09.79secs