18.08.08

Here it is, the last post before Africa!!! I leave tomorrow lunch time for 47 hours of connecting flights! In the final wrap up from Crankworx it appears that Huntly and Spoke magazine regular Chris Beverland came out on top. Chris Took home GOLD in the Giant Slalom (Senior Amateur Men, 19-29) he celebrated in style with Dan Frew, Phil Sundbaum and Aaron Lutze. If you look you'll find his name in the Canadian Open results as well. Well done Chris! I also had a chat to Kelly McGarry today and he gave me the run down on the Slopestyle event, turns out a bunch of things went wrong and literally seconds before his second run he was pumping up a tyre that had rolled off the him. The pressure at the top of that start ramp must have been intense. We will definitely be seeing more of Kelly, not just on Spokes pages but globally. See you in two weeks.

17.08.08

So unless you have been living under a rock, Nelson/Qtown local Kelly McGarry placed 7th at Crankworx Colorado two weeks back and today rode in the slopestyle at Whistler. Just like every event these days it streamed live on the Go211 website, hopefully like me you saved a huge airfare and got to watch it from the comfort of your PC. Unfortunately the web coverage missed Kelly's first run but did get his second. It definitely wasn't Kelly's day, he over rotated on a flip at the top of the course and whipped out. Next year buddy! The level of riding this year was INSANE, Boyko and Berrecloth didn't even make the finals! I'm not sure I agree with results, I think it should have been Brandon, Cam then Andreu (even with the double back flip), watch it back and let us know what you think. I leave for Africa on Tuesday at 1pm. I wont be updating but check the Summer of Shred site. Not to sure if they have Wifi in the African Bush? Updates may be sporadic..

13.08.08

Told you it was news day, i just got back from a look at all the 09 SRAM stuff. There is some very cool bits and pieces, obviously the hype is all about Hammerschmidt, Truvativ's new planetary front gear system, i didn't get to roll on it but had close look and its very trick. its not the lightest but looks pretty burley. It comes in two styles a All Mountain one and a freeride one, it also comes in two gear combinations 22-34 and 24-36, the shifter pod is similar to an X0 or X9 shifter but has a little anvil on it. The Elixir Brake is fancy and looks and feels like a different ball park to the Juicy line, i think there will be a set waiting for me when I get back from Africa so i will tell you more then. Most of the forks have new decals and there are some cool new developments but the big noise should be about the REBA with Maxle light. Its al ultra light stiff fork. And on the standard crank table this little bash ring stood out.

13.08.08

Its news day! So first up Truvativ have officially launched Hammerschmidt go check the website to discover what your next crank looks like. More officialness the Red Bull Rampage is back on after a four year hiatus there is a teaser site up, and I may have some exciting info pretty soon regarding the Rampage. Oh and in case you have been living under a rock Crankworx has started, Gee won the Downhill and JD Swagen won the 4x. Wideopen, Gravity and Turner rider Kelly McGarry has qualified for the main Slopestyle event, hes had a solid season, getting invited to the Adidas Slopestlyle in Austria, competing and coming second in the Air Arfare at Whistler and getting 7th at Crankworx Colorado two weeks ago on a borrowed bike. Turner USA and Gravity (and Sha) have combined to built Kelly a short travel slopestyle weapon for the big day. I'm putting money on a top ten finish. Oh and finally in 7 days on be on my way to hook up with Phil Sundbaum, Hans Rey and Aaron Lutze in AFRICA. Oh and Simon Kennets interview from the National Radio is on line you can listen to it here.

08.08.08

Repco Sport, the distributors of Haro, Diamond Back, Masi and a bunch of other cool stuff held a little dealer launch for there 09 product yesterday and all round good guy Simeon Patience got a long and snapped of a few pics of some cool stuff. First up the very cool and well received Mission 2 with its "knuckle box" platform. Then there is the steel version of the popular Thread hardtail, its called the Steel Reserve and its what Phil Sundbaum will be riding in Africa with me in two weeks!!! Simeon is obviously a closet fixy rider cos the other photos I got were of the ready to ride Masi Speciale Fixed and the freewheel commuter version the Speciale Commuter, He did spot this sweet little cruiser as well. There's a sweet little teaser for NWD9 floating around at the moment that's well worth a look, and i've i think that's it... oh if you head over to the First Floor Shop you can pre-order a copy of Drop-In season 5, its without a doubt the best season yet, the filming, riders and production are all a step up from Drop In NZ. They left Canada today so should be here in 10 days.

05.08.08

Brian Vernor, the genius behind bike films "Pure Sweet Hell" and "We Just Work Here" just launched a website showcasing his amazing photography. Go check it out now. And you may have read about up coming NZ MTB film "Sketchy Lines" in the latest Spoke, you can view the trailer now in a whole bunch of places, like Pinkbike.com

04.08.08

Graeme Simpson just fired through this cool highlight reel from the Single Speed Champs... Its very cool indeed, imagine if all race and event organisers did this... It would be a world without crime, and poverty... seriously, it would be good though. Oh and Simeons bike did get dirty this weekend, in fact three days in a row, but thanks to the Makara Peak bike wash it went home clean each day... So at 9am this morning we snapped this pic on top of Makara Peak just to prove that the Meta 5.5 did get dirty. And I just got off the phone with Kelly McGarry who is buzzing on his last two weeks, turns out that 30 minutes before qualifying he snapped his shock and had to borrow a Kona he'd never ridden before. He rode that bike for qualifying and the finals! There is a sick pic of him threeing the big drop over on on Pinkbike.

03.08.08

This ones for the fixy riders out there. Just got an email from Dave Benson about an indoor track challenge happening every wednesday in August. Its in Auckland at the Winchester Pub (R18). Click here for more details. Here's a pic of some Melbourne locals racing. Oh and i got his cool DOC patch in the mail today "Department of Cycling""

03.08.08

Oh yeah... Kelly McGarry just finished 7th in Crankworx Colorado, he already qualified high enough to get in to the Whistler event but finishing 7th is just the icing on the cake! Congratulations Kelly. In other results good old Sam B finished 7th also at the latest world cup round, which I think puts him ahead of team mate J Lo in the overall standings..

31.07.08

Start checking your letterbox or local bookstore – issue 29 of Spoke Magazine is off the press and heading out the door. In it we profile a group of Wellington businessmen who find the time to ride and build tracks every day of the working week; Christine McCormack recounts her epic nine-day circumnavigation of Mt Ortler in Italy; and we interview the filmmakers of “The Way Bobby Sees It”, a documentary about blind mountain biker Bobby McMullin. Amazing photos, inspiring stories. Oh, and if you subscribe now you’ll go in the draw to win one of 50 sets of Intense tyres (valued at $160 each). Spoke #29 – OUT NOW. And in other news Spoke senior photographer Simeon Patience got a new bike today, a very sexy Commencal Meta 5.5 with 09 Fox float RLC's and an on the rear an 09 RP2. He'll be breaking it in on Wellington single track this weekend.

25.07.08

So Kelly McGarry has a super hectic weekend coming up, first up he's flying to the east coast of the US to ride in the Claymore challenge, he's staying with the Gravity team (Harookz, Dave Smutok, Phil Sundbaum, Andrew Taylor and Eric Porter) the course looks absolutely sick! If he's the highest qualifying non-pro he gets a spot at the Darren Berrecloth's "Bearclaw Invitational" event, then he fly's to Colorado to ride in Crankworx to try and qualify for the Whistler main event. As I get updates i'll keep the site posted. Right i'm off to Rotorua to ride in the Triple Crown event in the mud..

24.07.08

Just saw this new Giant DH rig over on the Dirt website, its getting its debut at Mt St Anne this weekend. I had my shots yesterday for Africa, Its not far away now, i'm super excited but pretty scarred/nervous as well... more updates on that later. Oh the photo issue of Bike is out (well not here) but they have posted a teaser up on there website, go check it... as well as this preview of the new Scott Genius, I started mountain biking on a Scott in 1990 so I have a little soft spot for them... they have come along way since my pink Mtn Express. oh and some sample copies of Spoke 29 just arrived! It will be posted out next week sometime and on sale beginning of August.

16.07.08

Downieville hype is still going strong, first up an explanation on why Weir didn't win, then a photo of that wheel and finally this little gem from Weir's buddy Brian's website.

15.07.08

We have been in Spoke production for the last week or two, hence no posts. But have I got news... First up I'm going to Africa with Phil Sundbaum, Aaron Lutze and Hans Rey. Its another stop on the Summer of Shred tour, Summer of Shred has partnered with Hans charity Wheels for Life and i'll be documenting Phil and Hans giving away bikes in remote African villages!!! Crazy!!! Check the Summer of shred website for a full press release on the trip. And in other news Mark Weir didn't win the Downieville. Not to sure what happened, rumors are pointing to a mechanical but Treks Ross Schnell took the AM title winning both the XC and DH events, read about it here and here. And finally there is a new Nomad, and boy it looks hot! Check these pics one, two, three, four and five.

03.07.08

Spoke to Kelly McGarry yesterday, he's having a sick time in Canada at the moment Brett and Dan Frew have turned up and they are getting things done. Kelly scored an invite to the Adidas Slopestyle in Austria but unfortunately will be at Crankworx Colorado trying to qualify for the the Whistler event. Check out this pic of the Adidas event to see what he's missing!!

01.07.08

With one day up our sleeves and everyting wet it didn't look like Luke McCombie was going to get his first DMR ad after all. That was until I spotted this unsuspecting fence. After a little bit of hand scuplting and it was ready to shred. Check the result in the latest Spoke due out 30th July.

26.06.08

Who needs a free trip to Italy. When i can get a free trip to the web. Your saw it here second.

22.06.08

Its just gone 2am on Sunday morning and Graeme Murray and I have just finished watching the World Champs LIVE on freecaster.tv. Absolutely the best down hill race EVER. Gee Atherton takes the win, Steve Peat 2nd and Sam Hill who was going to win by 5 seconds crashed meters from the finish line! But Justin Leov slayed it and placed 6th. So so so close to the podium!!! So sick. Other Kiwis representing Bennett 13th, and Sam B 17th. You should have been watching! Oh Rachel Atherton won the women's convincingly. Interviews here. Watch the winning race runs now!!!

21.06.08

Had a great ride this morning out Belmont way with Leif and Harry, i'm still a wuss though... Just popped over to freecaster.tv and they have some sweet worlds coverage. I just finished watching Rob Warner walk the course. They will be streaming the DH world champ race live in 6 hours (its 4.40pm now) make sure you log on and watch Justin Leov and Sam B podium!!!

20.06.08

A race free post. Whoa. So Kelly Mcgarry called yesterday, he's having a killer time in Canada and North America and entering every event he can. last weekend he rode in Whistlers Boneyard Air Airfare and claimed Second overall (beating Jordie Lunn, Ross McMaster and NSMB's Mitch Chubey) it was a sick result but unfortunately only the winner got a spot in Crankworx. Full results here, and there's a write up on the Bike website with a photo of Kelly looking lanky. Brett Frew has just arrived so hopefully the crew is now in full effect.

19.06.08

Okay I promise this is the last race post until there are some World Champ results... over on the Dirt website there are some great Victor Lucas pics of Dh practice. I was just talking to Allan at Ninerbikes and unbeknownst to me he is also now the Straitline Components, Knolly and Pivot Cycles distributor. That's a sick stable of goodies!!! go check those websites and drool.

17.06.08

Here I am getting excited about racing... it won't last but while its here these world cup posts will just keep coming... here's an Alex Rankin filmed and edited section from the Syndicate Camp. Can anyone spell WORLD DOMINATION. And in other news Wellington mountain biker, Luke Mccombie, is officially hooked up on DMR though KRD distribution, Luke built up his 26" DMR Transition this morning, you can expect to see pics of Luke shredding his new rig in the upcoming issue of Spoke. Werd.

17.06.08

So it turns out Lutze is spending quite a bit of time with Sam Hill, they just walked the Worlds DH course and Lutze just fired me through a bunch of pics, he's probably gonna post them but i thought you may want to check them out. Here's a pic of Sams Race Bike, and one, two course pics. Its looks super steep and those roots are definitely gonna pop though a bit more ones 200 downhillers have there practice runs!!!

16.06.08

No news is good news right? Well i think its kind of boring. So the only news I have for today is that my buddy Aaron Lutze ( who is the main filmer and editor for Freecaster.tv on the worldcup circut right now) has just spent a week in Italy leading up to the World Champs. He spent the whole week with the Iron Horse Playbiker Team (Sam Hill, Nathan Rankin and Mike Skinner) and if you check out his website there is a sick little vid of Sam Hill aboard is World Champs bike, i'm pretty sure this thing is a Freecaster.tv exclusive. Check it out here.

13.06.08

I'm going for a record here with how frequent my posts are. I just checked out the current UCI overall standings after Fort William and it appears Sam and Justin are Killing it. There's still a couple of races left but currently Justin is sitting 11th and Sam 15th which is pretty sick. A few other Kiwis make the top 50 (Rankin 35th, Bennett 36th and Skinner 45th) but Justin and Sam's achievements so far are pretty much off the hook! Check the full standings out here. My buddy Leif fired me through this link about some sick bikes that really blow minds and push envelopes at the same time. Oh and a big shout out to Ground Effect who sent me a bunch of new winter riding clothes yesterday, I was going to post a photo but I had a few offs last night and they are all in the wash now. A word of warning, don't ride belmont in the rain! I should also mention that Kashi is also top 20 (18th actually). XC results here.

11.06.08

I'm just about to head home but thought i'd just post something quick up about Tryfan Ephraim's new venture "Emotion". Last time I was out at his place he'd just finished his screen printing shed and now it seems as if he's fully up and running. Hes got a good little blog site set up and hes selling his tees for the ultra cheap price of $40. They are printed on the same type of tee as Manual and Spoke, which are super good quality. Theres two print (one, two) designs so far head over to the blog check them out.

11.06.08

I almost thought it was going to be one of those days when there is no news, but then this press release arrived and dammit it if it isn't one of the best press release so far... today. So George W was in Slovenia at the EU thing and it happens that the Slovenia president is a keen mountain biker and he had obviously seen the pictures of Georgie riding his Custom Trek Fuel and figured handing him a top of the line full carbon, full XTR Slovenian mountain bike was the key to free trade. Check the pics here, here and here.

10.06.08

I just got a press release form the marketing guy at Lezyne, Its all about Mark Dickson and how hes a ruling rider (and how KRD have signed on is the exclusive Lezyne distributor). If you ever get the chance to ride with Mark you best bring your top game, and a couple of leppins or something, he doesn't stop spinning. And Ivan from Red bull was down the other day and brought one of his many Fixes with him, i finally learnt how to do a fixie skid/ speed check. It was way harder than I thought. Check out his blog for pics.

9.06.08

I'm pretty sure Spoke's web site is not the first place you'd come for race results but our boy Justin Leov is having a cracker of a season so far. I pretty sure its been top ten in every race except Andorra and he placed 14th there. Anyway so the Fort William results are out and he nailed a 7th (Sam B got 9th). Word. J Lo rulz. Oh Minnar won. Three Santa Cruz riders in the top five!

30.05.08

E13 continues to push things forward, case in point the new Staccato 8 pedals. Part plastic part super cool. Have a look over here for a full write up and even a video. And for Cedric Gracia fans, Aaron Lutze just filmed a cribs segment for freecaster.tv if you want to see how CG lives then check it out. And now the epic product plug. I purchased a Nightflux Photon Max light and took it out for its first ride last night (and the first ride for my new wheels) and let me tell you that is one amazing light, I had it on the lowest setting (which would give you 10 hours light) and it was insane. There was easily enough light to pin it down Deliverance. They arent cheap but boy they are good. The new wheels and tyres were fantastic to its crazy how much difference ROUND wheels make. oh and www.calebsmith.co.nz is live, go check it out.

28.05.08

I just got an email from film maker Brian Vernor (Pure Sweet Hell, We Just Work Here). He's been filming for the last four months on the Tour d' Afrique. The film is slated for release in about a year. He's just posted a short write up on the Velo News web site. You will definitely be reading about this in a future issue of Spoke. I've also been working on a web site of my own which should be live in a day or two, i'll post here as soon as its done. Seasons is in stock now, head over to the shop and buy a copy. On the topic of Seasons young star Steve Smith is already on the way to achieving his goal of being a world champ, in the weekend he beat Sam Hill to take first place in the US Open.

26.05.08

Not much news. Well not much except that fact the Mark Dickson at KRD Imports rules. You would think a trip round the South Island with Mark Weir was enough to keep me happy but when these wheels turned up today, well... Now i'm happier! Hope Pro II hubs with Hope Floating discs laced to WTB laser Disc Trail rims and complete with the custom KRD/ Rim Skinz ltd edition collab tubeless set up. Oh and a 2.5 WTB Prowler MX up front and a 2.2 WTB Wolverine in the back. PIMPING. This is my FIRST EVER brand new wheel set, my old Lisa Horlor hand me downs are heading to my brother... lucky guy

7.05.08

Its been a busy past few weeks with the release of issue 28 of Spoke, four Seasons premieres in one week, and planning next issue!!! Ad to that we have just entered the production of the latest issue of Manual, Crazy times. Well with the help of James Madelin in Auckland and Aaron Young in Christchurch we successfully held four premieres for the new Collective Film Seasons in Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch. Record numbers for all screenings we just the icing on the cake. Don't forget, if you want to pre-order the film you can head over to the First Floor shop. Spoke 28 came out today, yay! Its the "Not from around here" issue and features in-depth stories on Santa Cruz/WTB rider Mark Weir's full South Island road trip and exclusive coverage of the Summer of Shred New Zealand tour featuring Haro pro riders Eric Porter and Phil Sundbaum as well as NZ's own Yeti pro Justin Leov. There's a six page feature on Sam Blenkinsop and we discover that UK downhill racer Tracey Mosely fits no stereotypes, plus there is a whole bunch more. You can buy it here. Oh and I left work early today because Elliot (my son, who turned six on Monday) wanted to try out his new Dakine Shuttle and his new Troy Lee GP gloves. We headed up to Makara Peak and hit Lazy Fern. This ones for the Grand-parents.

18.04.08

Time for a post. Okay first up the Summer of Shred second clip is up on the web you can check it out on Pink Bike. This episode sees a few cameos from Brett Frew, Kelly McGarry and Chris Beverland. Also Spoke 28 is designed and off to the printers, it looks absolutley amazing and has some pretty darn choice stories in it. Like an artice on Mark Weirs visit to NZ, coverage of the Summer of Shred trip and a six page indepth profile on Sam Blenkinsop. It will be out begining of May... Oh you may have heard but the Beverland Jam has been postponed, with all the rain we are not sure the jumps will dry in time, we are going to reshedule for mid May sometime, keep checking Vorb and here to find out when. Aaron Lutze just updated his website, hes in germany for the t-moble playgrounds MTB event which looks mental, check it here and click on the links, I think freecaster are streaming it live! Seasons tickets are available now, head over to the webshop and buy one, while you are there you can pre-order a copy of the movie. and... one more bit of news Kelly Mcgarry is in the states right now hanging out with Mike Flaherty (owner of Atomlab) he just took part in a weekend long Jam session, check it out (and find a few pics of the man himself) over here at Thrash Bike.

06.04.08

This is the beginning of me starting to post again, sorry for the absence, just been hella busy... Anyway i have some news. First up the part one of the Summer of Shred clip from New Zealand is up on Pinkbike and its very cool. Knowing what is in part two is pretty cool, there is some sick riding to come! Both from overseas peeps and locals. Second in my news is the fact that we have confirmed all the dates for the Seasons (the new film from The Collective) premiers (I will post the exact dates and locations later as the tickets aren't up in the webshop yet). Auckland is on Tuesday 6th May, Wellington and Christchurch are both on Sunday the 4th of May and good old Rotorua scores the NZ premier at the end of the NZ single speed champs on the 27th of April. And my last bit of news is in regard to the Beverland Jam, which is happening for the second year in a row on the 19th of April. We have some great prizes again this year from Commencal, Kore and Rock Shox and Chris Beverland has been hard at work building a bunch of new features (including a pump track!) check these photos 1,2. Its $15 to ride (includes bbq and drinks) and will be a gold coin donation for spectators.

03.03.08

So i have just got back from the New Zealand leg of the Summer of Shred tour with Phil Sundbaum, Eric Porter and Aaron Lutze. The trip was amazing (and chaotic) we didn't really get the weather we wanted but definitely bag some sweet footage and photos. Instead of doing some big updates i'll just direct you over to the Match Videozine/ Summer of Shred website and you read what what we got up to over the last week or two. I was supposed to be in Aussie with the boys, but things change and now i'm here planning the next issue of Spoke, which buy the way, is going to be very very cool!

20.02.08

Oh yeah. Spoke will be hosting premiers.

14.02.08

Wow, its only taking me till now to do my first post of 2008! Well so far 2008 has been pretty cool, I have just returned from a nine day trip with Mark Weir sampling some of the best single track the South Island has to offer. While I was away the new issue of Spoke came out with Brett Frew gracing the cover. In ten days time Eric Porter, Phil Sundbaum and Aaron Lutze arrive for the Summer of Shred tour, we will be hitting a bunch of South Island spots and lurking in Q-Town for a little bit. And the news of the Hour... Sam Blenkinsop is offically on Yeti. Oh and if your in Wellington in the weekend be sure to check out the worlds best bowl skaters shred Waitangi Bowl for the first Bowl-a-Rama NZ has seen. Oh and i almost forgot the first ever fixed wheel street race arond wellington will take place soon, check the flyer.

19.12.07

The eartherd premier is cancelled. Blame the aussies. There is a small chance it may arrive, so check the website tomorrow but for now the screening is off... Spoke..

17.12.07

I have news, I have just confirmed the date and time for the Earthed 5 premier in Wellington, so its 8pm at Emporio Coffee (90 Abel Smith St) on Thursday Night (20th December) Check the trailer out here. The premier will be open air so dress warmly and its all FREE. The other awesome bit of news is that our good friend Chad Ford (designer of the Waitangi Bowl and Porirua, Whakatane, Taupo, Te Kuiti skate parks etc) is organising a Bowlarama at Waitangi on February 16th. A whole bunch of the worlds best bowl skaters are already confirmed. To get an idea of the level of skating you can expect check out Chad's Bowlarama at the Bondi Bowl last year!!! its gonna be insane. Oh and cos i'm a nice guy and can't handle the way Kelly McGarry was portrayed in the latest issue of some MTB magazine, i'll let you in on this little gem i've been holding on to. Kelly HAS steez! And yes they are motocross jumps and yes he did get towed in and yes it was raining an hour before!!!

14.12.07

No news in the MTB world today unless you want to talk team changes... But over on You Tube Manual Magazines C4 ad went live today. The legendary Liam put the ish togehter and is gonna get a beating for using me in it way to big! Aside from my large melon, the ad is killer, tell your friends watch it heaps and heaps... And Johhny wishes he could ride his BMX like this.

13.12.07

Oh i almost forgot. Spoke, Wideopen and Emporio Coffee are putting on a premiere for Earthed 5 "The Law of Fives" its gonna be either be Tuesday or Thursday next week at around 7.30 ish at Emporio. Aiden has gone to the next level to hook this all up!!! Check back here for confirmed details!!!

13.12.07

So Lester Perry sent me this hilarious you tube link, skating's answer to track bikes (for train spotters, Justin Strubbing makes a cameo). Last night saw the second to last round of the Underground Super D series, although Ricky and Hadley are making it look like straight "D". Jono provided the results and this pic from the summit. Next week is the final at Spoon Hill in Wainui, we are meeting at 7pm at the third pylon and then walking up to the start. Don't forget to bring beers and bbq food for after.

06.12.07

This should have gone up yesterday but between packing and driving to Auckland, well nothing happened. Here are the round two Underground Super D results. no excuse for my poor showing but i do have blood on both knees. If you are in Auckland tonight (Thursday) come down to the Birdcage for Manual Magazines 10th birthday. Time to drink beer. Bye..

30.11.07

I should have posted these up the day after the race but in keeping with the theme here are the results from round one of the underground super d series. My time reflects the fact that i got lost and had to push back up the track for about a minute or two. Round two is next wednesday, check the flyer for info. Oh and aussie Brett's blog has some good pics to.

28.11.07

Spoke has a new editor. First Floor publishing is proud to announce that Eleanor Meecham has taken the position of Editor at Spoke Magazine. We are looking forward to working closely with Eleanor to continue to produce the best cycling magazine in the known universe. Eleanor started mountain biking in 1992 and has a history of combining her passion with cycling, writing and photography including her recent book "Llamas and Empanadas" published by Penguin Books. She has worked as a pedicab driver, postie, illustrator, freelance writer, novelist, editor and globe-trotting vagrant. Eleanor's taking the reins/handlebars from Tama Easton who has been released into the wilderness of the South Island as Spoke's "Editor at Large".

27.11.07

I just got an anonymous email with this link. Be there or be square..

27.11.07

Some of you may remember how a while back I scored one of the only three DC - PK Rippers to make it into NZ, well now is your chance to own the third (number 131 of 150). DC NZ in collaboration with the PS3 Sneaker Pimps event at Cubic in Newmarket, Auckland is selling the last DC/PK Ripper via silent auction. All profits from the sale of the bike will be donated to the Starship Hospital ?s new Oncology (cancer) ward. They will be taking email bids! Check the full press release here. In other news, you will be able to buy the insane fixed wheel movie MASH locally, We will have some available in the First Floor Shop shortly but selected dealers nationwide will be selling them. Mike from Triplesix distribution (the MASH importer) is also selling DVD's for $69.95 (and Tee's and end caps also) direct. He's only taking credit card payments. To buy direct you can contact him on MashSF Products - Mike Lawrence 09 815 6605. My copy of the movie arrived and it is truly mind blowing, you can expect a full review in the next issue of Spoke.

22.11.07

I just realised that I said "off the chain" two posts in a row. Sorry about that. Well all the fixed gear fashion bikers the world over will be rejoicing today because after a solid year of hype (maybe longer) MASH has finally dropped. Christchurch's sole fashion biker, Simon, got his copy today and flagged work for a breakfast of champions. My copy is yet to arrive, but i'm pumped. Go to the MASH website and order a copy now, if you have no idea what i'm talking about watch these two trailers (one, two). With the news that Sonic Youth are playing "Daydream Nation" in its entirety live in Auckland i thought id give you this little gem of a blog. While you are checking out blogs this one on horrible tattoos is pretty priceless. No other news really. Bye for now.

19.11.07

The big question is which MTB website will get this up first. Aaron From Match Videozine just emailed me the latest Santa Cruz press release and its a doozy. So the Syndicate team, in addition to Peaty, Rennie and Bryceland is now one stronger with the addition of Greg Minnaar. Yup Greg Minnaar is on Santa Cruz! Roskopp comments, "I'm very excited to have Greg on the Syndicate. I admire his talent, professionalism and work ethic and have wanted him on the Syndicate for some time. The Syndicate will now have a broad range in the downhill squad from young, up and coming Josh, to seasoned pros and legends, and will truly be a very international group. Having Greg will be amazing, and I look forward to seeing him race on the V-10." So Santa Cruz is pretty much now the fastest DH team on the planet. Oh the final Drop in Webisode dropped a couple of days ago... Its well worth checking out here. My buddy Jonny just emailed me with this link dissing my PK, he's right, this bike is off the chain. Orange Skyways!!!

19.11.07

The Wild Wellington 6/12 hour race was in the weekend and Spoke had a bit of a casual team entered in the 6 hour. It would have been fun to ride the 12 hour but my wedding anniversary was the same day and i could think of better places i'd rather be. The day wasn't without drama through, one of New Zealand's brightest XC stars figured to keep his/her time up she/he'd over-take a first time mountain biker in the Spoke team (in the no over-taking section) and push her off the track and down a steep bank. The rider didn't stop but kept on pedaling. Awesome. That's the talent we are breeding. My advice go play Roller Ball with Stacy "Pieces of Hate" Roper (I can set it up!). In other news I have (and you don't) a copy of the new Ryan Leech Film "Crux", (sorry Aaron). The thing is off the chain, or more to the point on the chain, with Leech's chain riding into the realms of circus craziness. Thomas Ohler and Dylan Korba both feature to. We will be stocking it soon so if you keen to pre order a copy check the web shop in a few days.

13.11.07

Issue 26 of Spoke Magazine is out now and jam packed full of content to motivate you to get out and ride. There’s the regular columns from Tama Easton, Charlie Palmer, The Kennett Brothers and Chris and Bob. Plus we profile Paul Needham, Ryan Lovett and Auckland’s youth specific mountain bike club Jafakids. In the feature department we take you touring in Mongolia, we talk with upcoming freeride phenomenon Matt Harris, and then look at the intricacies of the climb in Vertical Limit before heading north to profile the sweet single track of the Waitomo District. Plus there’s all the usual reviews, new products, giveaways and awesome photography that you’d expect from Spoke. Oh and the magazine features a new masthead, “Spoke, The Mountain Bikers’ Journal” and a fancy new redesign. That was my official press release... On the free downloads tip Drop In webisode 11 is up and its off the hook and Freeride entertainment have posted bonus footage of Geoff Gulivich and Aaron Chase. Definitely worth a look. The webshop is pretty much finished now so go there and buy something... Oh and Tim Pierce just sent though a bunch of Pics from the revamped Frew Farm, things are looking crazy and the QTown powerhouse (Kelly, Brett, Finney and Beverland) is going to be a major force this summer.

2.11.07

Woah two posts in a week.. no way! So the new First Floor Shop (First Floor is the company that publishis Spoke and Manual) went online this morning. Its fifty times better than our old shop (but it still has a few bugs) go and check it out and buy some stuff at www.firstfloor.co.nz And the only other news is that Mick Hannah sent out a press release to stop all the rummors circulating about his relationship with the Canondale Cut team. You can read it here. Oh and Tama Easton of Vorb fame has been awarded "Cycling Champion of the Year" at the 2007 SPARC Cycle Friendly Awards for his services to cycling in New Zealand. Go to Vorb and tell him congrats.

31.10.07

Well i've decided that no mater how much i try my posts are never going to come as quick as i'd like. So from now on i'm going to aim for once a week. So about a week ago I got the WTB ad via email for Spoke 26. Its so cool i thought i'd post it up here. Now Mark Dickson (the WTB importer) is the man responsible for setting this up and its very, very cool. You'll be able to read all about it in Spoke. Last Thursday and Friday was the Wideopen dealer product launch in Rotorua, I made the trip up and boy was it worth it, not only did i get to see some cool new bits from, Gravity, Turner, FSA, Atomlab and Marzocchi but i got to shoot pics with Sam Blenkinsop, Vaughan Woolhouse and ripping freerider Brett Frew. Sam and Vaughan left early so I shot quite a bit with Brett and got some nuggets in the bag. Here's a few teasers. One, two, and three (jono testing my flashes). Most of these will find a home in issue 27 of Spoke. That's about it really, Spoke 26 is in Auckland getting bound and fingers crossed will be out by the 6th.

18.10.07

Oh my goodness, Dan, Manual's editor just send me this link, so messed up. well we are almost finished production on issue 26 of Spoke and its looking pretty fresh. Went and shot a photo with Luke McCombie yesterday for the Protec Helmets ad and got rained on, Luke soldiered on and rode but when the sun came out today we decided to re shoot. It only took three flat tyres to get the shot, one of them was a double flat! Two at the same time, Crazy. Now onto free stuff, the latest webisode of Drop In is up and its a good one, this season has been so dam amazing I cannot wait for the full DVD to drop. And Jonnas from Dirt and Street Productions emailed me about his new film which is going to be available for free to download! Crazy, check the trailer out here.

9.10.07

I should have made this post the other day... A while back Louise (our office manager) drew the name randomly for the Mongoose Canaan Elite complete bike sub prize. Any way a nice young chap from the Kapiti Coast won the bike, but it took a while to get here, last week we drove out and delivered to his door. We snapped this photo before we headed up. The are still 20 odd days left for the Fox forks prize so if you want to be in, subscribe now! And speaking of Mongoose, Phil over in Aussie just emailed me this link of Steve Romaniuk shredding on his Black Diamond and Ritual hardtail. The lack of posts was because I was down in the South Island at a wedding which was fun, but whilst in Dunedin I hooked up with all round good guy and trail building legend Henry Devereaux and shot a few pics at his recently revamped compound (don't go looking for them). I shot a bunch of nugs but the card corrupted and I lost all the images. Luckily for me Sean at WPS somehow retrieved all my images from a formated CF card. Crazy but very cool. So here's a couple of the duds from ... duds

24.09.07

Time for a mega post. So on Friday I got two packages. One had this. My new 08 Santa Cruz Nomad, I took it for a ride on Saturday and dam if it hasn't changed my life. Massive props to Mr Furry Knuckle for making this happen. If you check the seat post you'll notice its a Maverick Speed ball Remote, one day on this thing and you will never want a fixed post ever again, there will definitely be a long term review in the future on this puppy. Whilst I was out at Burkes trying to get the 1.5 reducers into the frame this finally arrived at the office. Dam! its cooler than I thought! Check the next Spoke for the full PK write up... oh and I got the matching shoes too, which by the way come with a copy of "Joe Kid on a Stingray" how sick is that. And then last night I did some web surfing and found some cool stuff, like Mark Weir's Bikeskills video clips. This one on pumping is amazing and there are a tonne more. And this free caster clip from the Marshmellow Jam in Germany a while back is also off the hook, double truck drivers, 360 tail whips double tail whips. Showing that it aint just North Americans ruling on 26" bikes. Oh go check matchvideozine.com he has pics of the new E13 colourway and some stills from the Marshmellow jam worth checking out. There that's it for now.

20.09.07

Got a sweet peice of mail today... the final production edit of Chris Arnison and Tim Pierce's film "How About It?" and boy it lives up to every little bit of hype. I've only had one watch of it so far, but i'd throw comments like "one of the BEST bike DVD's ever", and the fact that its locally made with local riders just makes it a hundred times better. Go pre-order a copy right now!!!! Big ups to you boys, you done good, check Spoke 26 (available early November) for more stills and a few full review!

19.09.07

Well they are not the most out there stickers but we finally got a bunch of Spoke stickers run up... we will be doing some more creative stuff in the future but for now, its plan old logos. If you want a bunch send a SASE to Spoke Stickers, PO Box 9912, Wellington. While on the subject of stickers somehow I have this huge pack of SRAM stickers here... some are BIG, so again if you send a SASE envelope to SRAM stickers (at the above address) I will fill it up with these bad boys... The bigger the envelope the bigger the stickers.

07.09.07

Harry Dangerfield told me once that Steve Toze is the nicest guy in UK mountain biking... Well I can believe that now, he has just launched the issue 45 of Shred Magazine online for free. That's not strange in itself cos' most mags are doing it these days, what's odd (or cool) is that he's released it at exactly the same time as the printed copy is gone on sale. Check it out here. No doubt you have all watched the first webisode of Drop In , if not click here, it looks like its gonna be the best season yet, although i'm am over Whistler footage! I'm sure i had other news... oh yeah Brett Frew's old hardtail is for sale on the Wideopen site... offer Matt some money here. And in non bike related stuff go rent Pan's Labyrinth its off the hook in a ultra depressing spanish sort of way but its a beautiful film. Oh yeah, my friend Chris is about to lose $1000 US dollars, check out this site, you can either help him or hurt him. Oh yeah my Rock Shox Lyriks are on sale on Trade Me, and my 2007 Santa Cruz Chameleon (XL with horizontal dropouts) is also for sale (frame only), email me if your interested.

04.09.07

So i'm a bit slow on this one, but when long time Spoke contributor and all round rad photographer, Tim Pierce, hooked up Ryan @ eastern front with a preview copy of How about it? before me... well... Nah I don't hold grudges, not for to long anyway so here is Tim's press release straight from the horses mouth... The highly anticipated New Zealand mountain bike film 'How About It' is now available for pre-order. Pre-ordering not only means you'll be the first to get your hands on the DVD when its released mid-September, but also get free stickers, and go into the draw to win Quiet Chaos T-Shirts, Jeans and Shorts. You can pre order here, and if you haven't already you can watch the trailer here... I've been lagging on getting my stickers done but there will definitively be Spoke stickers in with the DVD... Just got an email from Justin Leov, he's been ruling this season with podium finishes all over the place and was honestly going into the worlds looking like a contender but a broken collarbone a few weeks back has ruined any hope of riding the worlds and he has returned home to Chch. If your in grid city pop into Bike HQ and give him a high five for killing it in 07. Oh and after three long months of doing absolutely nothing Tower are finally knocking our house down after the fire. They are calling it progress?

30.08.07

SRAM rule, not content to just sit on there laurels they have jumped on the Youtube bandwagon and set up a couple of channels. One is for mechanics and features a bunch SRAM technical info, repairs and the like. you can check it out here and earn how to bleed your Juicy's. The other Channel is all action films, like SRAM highlights from WC rounds and even the legendary Derore vs X5 video. check it out. If your a bike geek Eurobike is about to start and Transcend Magazine already have a few pics up over here.

29.08.07

I don't know how I let this happen, i keep planning on making lots of posts and then, well i don't. Aaron at Match Video Zine has showed Spoke alot of love recently. First up he reviewed his favourite tees of 2007 (so far) and his green Spoke tee came in at Number ONE (you can own one as well by clicking here). Then on top of that he asked me to give him my top ten song list for 2007, head on over and check it out. For those that aren't familiar with Aaron or Match Video Zine i'll drop some knowledge for you. He is/was a pro 26" trails rider for Diamond Back, he's an awesome event organiser (the Wham Bam Thank You Jams are his brain child), He's sick behind the lens (go to the gravity site and watch his handy work right now) and he rules at guitar hero, oh and he's the US distributor for the high end range of RST forks and he does PR for like 5 other MTB company's. Speaking of forks Al at Blue Shark (the Fox Distributor) hooked me up with these puppies. These are 2008 36 Fox Float R's they are on my bike but I haven't ridden them yet, but they feel plush. I spent some time in Wanaka at the Billabong Slopestyle last week, it was a pretty big party MTV fronted vast amounts of cash and had Lupe Fiasco play as well as Savage, Mareko and the Mint Chicks. There was a massive after party which was fun. I still have a bunch of Kelly posters left so check a couple of posts back for the run down. Oh i had a chat to Chris and Tim about "How About It? and its days from being finished! We should be selling them online in the all new First Floor shop (soon to be launched). That's about it really..

16.08.07

I went web surfing last night and found some interesting stuff. First up I found samblenkinsop.comwhich is new and doesn't have to much up right now but i'm feeling its worth a bookmark. Turns out he came 7th at Mega Avalanche which is off the hook, he was the first one down on a DH rig! And the Gravity components trip to Spain is finally up on a redesigned Gravity site, go check it now, i've been sitting on this thing for the last 6 months, its off the hook. Look for a picture in the next Spoke. That's my web surfing... That's it, oh, Drop in Season 5 has begun check rip.tv and get all interactive.

15.08.07

This is it, my first ever MEGA post. First up Spoke 25: The Girls Rule issue has hit the shops and subscribers. Its 100% the fairer sex, its pretty dam sexy even if i do say so myself. Here's the cover and a spread. If you subscribe this issue you go in the draw for a pair of 2008 FOX 32 Float RLC forks valued at $1395. Here at Spoke we are not perfect and occasionally we make mistakes. This issue I (Caleb) stuffed up Helena Parson's story by fiddling with the mag after Emma had finished designing it... Any way the story is missing a paragraph or two but if you click here you can download a PDF as it was intended. Secondly our printer has a new... um, printer. Its this flash new thing that does funky stuff that you probably don't care about. When they did the demo they used this recent pic of Kelly McGarry, I have a stack of A2 posters here, if you want one send $5 in an envelope to: Party at Kelly's House, PO BOX 9912, Wellington. Thirdly i'm now the proud owner of this, there are only 150 in the world and three in NZ. I have talked about it before but its a sick collaboration between BMX pioneering company SE Racing and DC Shoes. And finally last night was the SRAM dealers release thing for 08 product, i'm no tech dude but here's the highlights. SRAM are celebrating there 20th anniversary this year which means goodness for the XO rear derailleur which gets some gold highlights and a new outer carbon outer cage and a new inner cage also. There's not much happening in the fork side of things apart from this sick fork, straight outer low cash and for the pavement only, i'm getting one. But they have NEW rear shocks, the Vivid (DH/Freeride) and the Monarch (XC/All-Mountain) these things look sick and come in a variety of shock lengths and strokes and with all the bells and whistles you find on the forks. The Juicy line gets a make over, the code gets a new magnesium body, and the Juicy Carbon, 7 and 5 get slimmed down and look and feel HOT (the Juicy 7 is 30 grams lighter than last year). Not much happening in Truvativ and then there was a bunch of lame road stuff which no one cares about... That's it, my Mega post, i had other bits but they can wait..

20.07.07

Posts are pretty slow these days, everytime i have news it goes up on eastern or match or decline before i even have Dreamweaver open! so here some fresh news, i even still have mud on my shoes. I've just been out with Hadley and Luke shooting a photo for an ad for Transition up at the karatani jumps by Wellington Zoo, Wellington city council is behind these hence the fact they are all tables. It was wet and raining but they were running pretty sweet. A bit more work and they will be worth shooting more. Anyway here some duds from luke... one, two and the best facials ever! Oh and we have Spoke hoodies, if your interested email us shop@manualmagazine.com.

03.07.07

Okay so I caught the ferry across to the South island today and hooked up with Kelly McGarry. We had an action packed day, sessioning his jumps, his friends moto jumps and an old DH track. He's about to head back to Whistler to hook up with a few peeps he left behind... Anyway this is the latest trick to surface out of the McGarry Training Facility... Barrel rolls... sick. Hopefully the sun is shinning tomorrow for more.

27.06.07

I just got a copy of the new Bike Mag, which is off the hook by the way. And when i got to the Dakine ad i was stoked. When Harookz shot the story on Kelly and Eddie for issue 23 he mixed all the shoots up with other work he had on at the time. So anyway heres Eddie from issue 23 and heres Geoff Gulevich from the latest Dakine ad. Cheers Harookz for shooting NZ riders along side the best in the world... go visit Harookz's site and check out his stuff.. Oh Between the Tape just arrived and its as good as i had expected, maybe even a little better (which means its super good) Sam and Justin represent and Long Gully even gets a couple of frames... but the best bit... is the credits... yeah... Spoke rules... well Justin and Sam rule really. don't forget there are premiers in Welly and Rotorua.

25.06.07

Photos of the new office. The light box, which if you live in Wellington and have driven on the motorway you would have seen, we are gonna rotate this thing with mag covers and just cool photos. Then there is the front of the building and the road frontage... I think conservatively around 60,000 cars drive past us everyday. So we are pretty happy with the locale. Massive thanks to Chris at Watermark Signs for helping us out so dam quick. On another note I watched We Just Work Here over the weekend. Its like nothing you have ever seen. And if you wanna talk "soul" it makes the Collective look like a average MTB porn. Check you bike film preconceptions at the door. oh we selling We Just Work Here in the web shop for $49, we are taking preorders now, the first shipment is in transit and should be here around the time of the premiere. Just a note: this film should interest everybody but if you own a Santa Cruz bike its a must have, seriously, you cant have one without the other.

20.06.07

Well a much smaller post today. I had a cool little package turn up from DC. If you have been living under a rock you may not have realised that DC Shoe company can do what ever it wants. Damon Way, DC co founder (and Danny Way's brother) is/was into BMX big time and had the bright idea of re-releasing one of the original all time great BMX's. SE Racings PK Ripper (Brian Lopes used to race one when he was kid). If you dont know what SE Racing is go rent "Joe Kid on a Stingray" from your video store. You'll thank me later. DC and SE only made 150 of these limited badboys. Check the DC link to find out more.

18.06.07

So we are officially moved in to our new office. Its right by the new Wellington motorway on ramp and has a huge front window. If your walking past pop in and say hi. Now I have gone premier crazy. On Friday the 29th if you live near Rotorua you can check out the NZ premiere for Clay Porters new film Between the Tape, its screening at the Pig'n'Whistle around 7pm. If you Live in Wellington then its on the following night (Saturday the 30th) at The Film Archive, its $10 on the door. Wide Open, Spoke and Vorb are putting this on. Then... the next Friday (the 6th July) at The Film Archive we are putting on the Australasian premiere for Brian Vernor's new film "We Just Work Here", its going to be a double feature with Brian's first film Pure Sweet Hell playing first. Brian's films are definitely not your standard MTB fare. Pure Sweet Hell is a gritty look at the world of cyclocross racing and is filmed entirely on super 8 with the best soundtrack ever (it was composed for the film!). We Just Work Here is his sophomore effort and this time Brian turns his camera on his workmates at Santa Cruz Bicycles where he works as a welder. Its gonna be a special night! $10 for both films. You can buy tickets for the Wellington screenings of both films over at the web shop. Oh and if you are in Wanaka both films will be screening at the Mountain Film Festival.

12.06.07

Lots has happened in the MTB world over the last few days but I know nothing about it as i have been trying to sort insurance things. But I did just sit down at my computer to an email from Ivan at Red Bull with some preliminary pics of the Red Bull Empire of Dirt course in the UK. This thing is next level for BMX... and I think its one of the first BMX slopestyle events ever? (i could be wrong). Anyway the Qashqai dudes could have learnt a thing or two from this set up. There are a lot of photos here, look at them all. one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight. nine. ten. eleven. twelve. thirteen. fourteen. fifteen.

06.06.07

Haven't done an update in a while mainly due to the fact that on Sunday morning my family suffered a major tragedy. Our house partially burned down burning and ruining most of my family history and possessions. We saved some photos, but most are ruined. Emma (Spokes designer and my wife) is fine as are our to kids. A big thanks to everyone who has been so supportive, it means so much and we can't thank you enough.

29.05.07

So it wasn't the day after, but here are a few pics from the night ride. one. two. It was a fun ride out in the Orongorogo valley with DOC, who are looking at opening the trail periodically for club rides and wanted to gauge track wear. Keep an eye on this site and VORB for future rides. So there's a four week break for Qashqai series but Colonge updates a coming think and fast, check Decline, Match and Freecaster now. Oh yeah remember imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Manual 26 is days away, if you love snowboarding check this issue out. It comes with a free DVD of all NZ content, head over to the Manual shop and buy an issue.

25.05.07

I have to apoligise for making you watch that "have you seen it clip" a few posts back. I kinda guessed it was for Oakley but i wasn't to sure. But it was. Dam it. Never mind though. I watched Ghostbusters 1 and 2 back to back last night. I highly recommend doing the same, Sigourney Weaver is dam hot and Bill Murray is in fine form. Plus he uses the "more guidelines than rules" line way before Pirates of the Caribbean stole it. Going for a secret night ride tonight, will post some pics from the trail tomorrow..

22.05.07

Big news today. The How About It? trailer is out and its some next level ish, the trailer itself is better than any other NZ bike film ever, have a look for yourself. And get amped for the films release later this winter. Oh its rather late but Paul B won the 3rd Qashqai event in Madrid. I'm a bit bummed i kind of wanted Adam Hauck to win.

18.05.07

Dogboy at Wideopen thinks i'm pro... haha... see what he just sent me in the mail. White ODI Ruffians... acoording to Dogboy these are for international team riders only. Ask him about the Gold ones, i'm sure he'll accept offers. My bike is gonna be a total freak show now, Red frame, Rasta Pedals, Pink Troy Lee gloves... And the best news is the new trailer for Transformers is out and is totally off the hook... there is no way this movie could suck. Almost forgot, alll the riders are in Madrid for the third stop in the Nissan Qashqai thing, Adam from Match tells me Adam Huack is whipping out of wallrides in practice!!! Should be a good one for sure.

17.05.07

So its taken a while but it seems Fixed Track bikes a making the jump accros the ditch. When I was in Melbourne eairler this year they were everywhere, but not back here. Now though there is a scene developing in Auckland with 10-15 riders shreding Aucklands CBD on weekly rides and a sole rider kicking it in Chch. Not to sure how I feel about it but its becoming a huge part of street culture, with various rap stars and pro skateboarders buying into bike companys. In fact in a few weeks a film dedicated to fixed street bikes is about to drop, its filmed and produced by well known skate photographer Gabe Morford. There's rummors of an underground premier happening in AK soon, if you someone in a Mash tee shirt, they will know where and when. Heres Justin and Ivan from the AK crews rides.

16.05.07

Have you seen it? Oh and this have you seen this? Full Qashqai Highlights.

15.05.07

As some of you may have read in a post I made the oher day or anywhere on the net, Aaron Chase slamed hard in Newcastle and broke his back, check this link from the Decline websizzle where he talks about te crash and shows us the incredible progress hes making. click here to check it out.

14.05.07

I have to be the first MTB site to post this, I even bet Ryan. Anyway Transformers fans check this link, super hi-res files of the new chracters, its off the hook, almost as off the hook as Andrea Lacondeus winning run at the second stop on the Nissan Qashqai series, check the superman back flip!!! legit updates at the Qashqai site. Oh and David's (from Manual) flatmate crashed on his bike in the weekend, check the pic if you think you can handle it... get well soon Richard!

09.05.07

Jon Drew at Styled Airtime put together this little clip from the Beverland Jump Jam. Thanks Jon. And just after Canondale's Sevenvision DVD is released it seems Aaron Chase is back off the bike!!! He slammed hard in Newcastle over the weekend it will be out of action till the end of the year. Dam.

08.05.07

Its here and it will be posted first thing tomorrow morning, on sale and in your mailboxes Thursday.

08.05.07

You a gonna see a lot of poached post over the next few weeks as the Nissan series kills Europe, I just found some awesome pics and solid write up on NSMB, check it out here. A few days ago I went riding with a visiting rider from the states (who happens to race cyclocross) and she kindly gave me a copy of Brian Vernors 'cross movie "Pure Sweet Hell" (you can buy it and check the trailer here) which I have been amping to see for a while. It was worth the wait and has got me even more excited to see Brian's new film "We Just Work Here" about life working at the Santa Cruz Bicycles factory... Rumor has it that Spoke has a copy on the way as i write this... depending on the timing of its arrival you could see a few impromptu premiers for it and one other highly anticipated race flick... fingers crossed anyway. Oh and speaking of the highly anticipated race flick, I have a cool little Fox Shox Promo DVD here featuring Jared Graves, Mark Weir, Adam Craig, Marc Beaumont and Kyle Strait. Its edited and filmed by Clay Porter so its a top shelf production, first person to email Spoke gets it.

07.05.07

DAM... I was gonna post this on Friday but it was Elliots (my sons) 5th birthday so i didnt. Anyway go to Match Videozine and read the last three posts, you'll thank me for it... and if you look close you will see a Spoke tee up in the mix. Why? Well its coverage of the first round of the Nissan Quashqai MTB Slopestyle comps. Match (Aaron) has pics of the first event in Newcastle England... it is mental!!! Darren Berrecloth won with a retarded run. Oh and Decline has a bunch of insane videoclips up to, go check it now. Not much else apart from that, you should be going to you local bike shop and asking for these new E13 goodies (pic 1, pic 2) limited numbers world wide (once they sell out they will not make anymore, EVER) but I have it on good word that KRD imports have these (or will be getting them shortly). After the white runs out, they will release another colour, cool huh. Not much else to report. Spoke should arrive tomorrow, check your mail boxxes on Thursday.

02.05.07

Right as promised here is the post about Spoke issue 24. It supposed to be out now but the binders over booked themselves and its not coming out till next week. But it will be worth the wait. Just take a look at the cover. Issue 24 is pretty action packed: Tama writes about his first ride, Hans Rey tells us about Wheels4Life and getting a pro model pedal, we check out Auckland bike shop Bicyclette, Jonathan Kennet goes riding on a bike with a spoke thats real long, we show you five trails that you can't ride now but will have to before you die, theres full coverage of the Spoke Beverland Jump Jam, a revealing interview with Tim Pierce and Chris Arnison about there upcoming film project "How about it?" plus heaps more... Oh and the biggie When you subscribe you will go in the draw for a complete Mongoose Canaan full suspension trail bike worth $3999. How sweet is that! Check news stands and mail boxes from the 7th of May. Oh and because Eddie said I could heres a pic of him shreding his new Black Market Riot.

01.05.07

So i've been crap with the posts again. Well here's a bumper one. In no particular order. I just got an email from Eddie Parker in Whistler with a pic of his sweet new street/dirt bike from Black Market this is the Riot frame which is the cheaper version of the much admired Mob frame (same geometry as the Mob, but not hand made) watch for pics of Eddie shredding this in upcoming issues of Spoke. Every ones heard it already but its now totally official Steve Romaniuk is on Mongoose. Read the official PR here. If you like Shimano you'll be pleased to know that the 2008 XT range has been unveiled, there's even a 20mm thru axle. Check the full range over here. Oh and i promised to plug the Match 9 trailer, its better to check it at freecaster (its in the top ten). And in other stuff the Gravity trip to Spain teaser, which is MENTAL, is up on the Gravity site, the whole trip is going to be played via the web, Check Gravity and Freecaster. Trying to think of other news, oh that's right Spoke 24 will be out real real soon, in fact its up at the binders in Auckland right now. Will do a post for it tomorrow but we are running a few days late. So don't stress you will have Spoke soon. I know i had more news i just cant remember it right now. Someone just dropped off Heroes episode 20 so that's all.

12.4.07

Well this post is about getting free stuff, look what i got, Sevenvision. Sevenvision is the Cut team from Cannondale's new DVD and its off the hook. Aaron Chase, Wayne Goss, Mick Hannah and four other rulers represent on this puppy. It premiers at Sea Gerbil this week. Speaking of Sea Gerbil check this link from Decline, more photos from the Red Bull Furry Fury. Damn it i want to be there. And a couple of teaser video things for you, here's a clip from Kona Clumps latest trip to Argentina, seriously beautiful stuff. If NWD 8 is like this i will be stoked (but i don't think it will be). And here is the teaser for Justify, Moto meets BMX, Its an Aussie flick that Jonnie Broi (who used to be with Freeride) put together and it look like its going to be something special. oh and I have a Match 9 Teaser here but i'm holding that till after Sea Otter where it will show before Seven Vision for the first time.

10.4.07

this post is all about stealing, firstly this link which has to be one of the stupidest DVD release of all time. Then this clip which Ryan over at Eastern Front posted, very un-lame indeed. And finally a bit of jealously of those people at Sea Otter. John Cowan had this bright idea that a new dirt jump format at Sea Otter would be a good idea, people got bummed, then they saw this.

03.4.07

OK it turns out with a little help i'm a bit of a PR machine. One News have confirmed that more highlights from The Spoke Beverland Jump Jam will air tonight during the sports section, which is on at around 6.45pm, you should watch from 6.30 just so you dont miss it. Massive shout out to Jon Drew for filming, so all this PR is even possible at all. So the TV3 Clip was short but great and they didn't show to many slams which was good. Coverage for the event is going off. Aaron at Match Videozine posted a sick little write up... actually I wrote it but its all good. Then Ryan over at Eastern Front gave it props to, oh and so did Action Profiles... TV1 are looking at running a peice to... i'll keep you posted. Time to start planing the next one eh?

02.4.07

What a weekend!. The Spoke Beverland Jump Jam went off, 30+ riders turned up for what was the most touch and go weather ever! It was raining buckets in Hamilton but 50Km up the road in Huntly, nothing but blue sky's. The full low-down will be in the next issue of Spoke due out in the beginning of May but here's a few teaser from the day. The Jumps. Matt Harris ruling, Morgan Moore and his steez and Luke McCombie with only one hand on his bike. Morgan took out best style, Paul Needham best run and Chris Beverland best trick. Thanks Red Bull, Atomlab, Transition and Rock Shox. And if your are reading this today (Monday in NZ) then watch Hyundai Sports tonight at 11pm for coverage of the Spoke Magazine Beverland invitational, you'll have to watch right till the end as it the closing footage (its only 15 minutes long).

23.3.07

So this is the cover of this mornings Wellington paper. It is off the hook, check it out. Bush and Clark talk mountain biking. Sorry about the quailty used the inbuilt camera in the laptop. And a new Diehard Movie. damn.

22.3.07

Don Hampton at DH productions just posted the teaser for the new Cut film Sevenvision over on youtube... Turns out Spoke will be getting a preview copy for review in this issue! Sick. Go watch the teaser here and start getting hyped. Just in case you have been living under a rock Canondale's Cut team is the mountain bike worlds supergroup. The Cuts's seven team riders are Aaron Chase, Carlo Dieckmann, George Ryan, Chris Van Dine, Wayne Goss, Chris Hatton and Mick Hannah, go check there website now.

20.3.07

Okay so Sam B rules. Not only did he come tenth in the Maxxis Cup but he was representing Spoke in the Harden Barnie designed Trail tee, yeah!!! check the link over on vorb here. And this bike arrived this morning for office use, its an 06 Mongoose Ritual, and its a sick little bike, 4130 Cromo frame, gyro, solid 24" wheels and a mint Atomlab Trail King bar. The 07 version is even cooler check it out online over at mongoose.com

19.3.07

I should have posted this the other day, any way here it is. What you ask? Well the highlights from The Wham Bam Thank You Jam in Portland, Oregon last week. Its kinda showing where MTB is going, for the next eight weeks there are constant comps in Europe, the Braun 26Trix, the new Nissan series, plus a bunch more. Hopefully the Beverland dirt jump comp in Huntly on the 31st of March kicks this vibe off here! The rider list is off the hook, if there wether is sweet, it's going to be an awesome event!!! Be there. The other news is Bush is a dick, and this clip from Mad TV hits the nail on the head.

9.3.07

Its not really news but i got some new pedals today. I just purchased a pair of Crank Brothers 5050xx. And not just any 5050's I went for the Hans Rey Rasta pro models... They have been around for a little while now but i hadn't seen them in the flesh, dam they are dope. On top of just being cool looking $10 from each pedal goes to Wheels for Life, a non-profit group that gets bikes for kids in poorer nations. You can read a bit more about it in the next issue of Spoke. And this is news... just got an email from Mike at Santa Cruz and the rummors of a new DH rig are all true! It aint gonna be out for a while but Peaty, Rennie, Beaumont and Will Longden will all be riding prototypes this season. And go to this link, watch the teaser and get excited about a real film about real people who ride bikes, i'm excited about this one. Just so you know its a film about the people who work at Santa Cruz. And lastly Steve Romainuk on Mongoose and Syncros, you heard it here last.

16.2.07

I really dont know what we pay Dan for... i must get 20 youtube clips a day from accross the room, most are funny, but this one is pretty darn cool. I never wanted to own an SUV so much. More to come today for sure.

15.2.07

Oh i'm on fire, three posts in a row... Yeah... This one is short though. Dan, Manual Magazines editor put me on to this. Its Yacht Rock and it is damn funny. Go here and download the episodes, theres ten and you will soooo be thanking me. Cool eh. Its about the history of Yacht Rock... Smooth... oh and this goes out for Tama over at Vorb who thinks PC's are cool. Gates vs Jobs.

14.2.07

One of my favourite sites for checking MTB news is Eastern Front, they grab all the best bits from other sites and post it all in nice easy to read blog and today is no different in fact there is an insane post from Top Gear which i have never seen before. you really have to watch the whole thing, it is insane. Check the clip and site here. Oh and no disrespect to Mike over at Atomlab but his new website is off the hizzle, go check it out and then to you LBS to buy there cool stuff.

13.2.07

Not much news but you should all go and check out the Match site, Aaron, Harookz, Ben Boyko, Dave Smutok and Eric Porter are tearing Spain to pieces with legend BMXer Ruben Alacantra as a guide. Its a trip for Gravity (dist by Wide Open here in NZ) it looks off the hook. Plus a good buddy and long time First Floor Publishing contributor is having an exhibition (sort of) during the Fringe Festival... its a poster sized comic that goes up over 5 days at two Wellington locations, check the flyer. coolio. Oh and the Beverland BBQ Jump Jam is on! March 31st in Huntly... more details, plus a location, and what you need to bring soon on this site and on Vorb. Its an invite only event and there three huge prizes up for graps worth over $3000 in total. I'm working on the poster right now and will have more info early next week, its gonna be real cool...

9.2.07

Its not like I spend my time on the web or anything but I just found an interesting post over at declinemagazine.com, Team Maxxis will be rocking this DH season on Ellsworth Rouges! and it also says that Cam Cole will be on Team Maxxis riding the aforementioned Rouge... go check it out... I went on holiday and didnt take a camera. Emma, myself and a few others headed up to Rotorua for Waitangi weekend and went riding with Gaz from N-Zo, if he ever asks you for a quick ride in the forest say no, he will destory you and leave you in peices. Billy T and Pondy-New are must rides. The guys in the background had ridden Billy T for all of ten metres when one of them snapped there dropout off on a Mongoose fully, what a start to a day. Thats it really... X-Air this weekend. Cool

30.1.07

Its my birthday today... Yay... In fact its Tama's as well. But we are giving you the present, Spoke 23 will be on sale tomorrow at all good bookstores and from our webshop. This issue features a profile on Auckland's renegade MTB club the Underground Trailblazers, an epic tale of Spoke's four day road trip to the Hawkes Bay, Hikituia and Huntly and some mind blowing pics of underground Kiwi Rippers Kelly McGarry and Eddie Parker tearing it up in Canada. As well as that we have an awesome Projector this issue, plus Kashi Leuchs writes about his latest "Freeriding" adventure and ad to that all our regular features and you have one cool issue. Oh I almost forgot, for $50 you can get a one years subscription and any Spoke t-shirt!!! oh sweet is that.

24.1.07

So we are looking for an intern for the first floor office. The Job description is here as a PDF. You don't get paid but you get to work in a creative environment and hang with Dave and I. What fun. My friend Justin from Red Bull organised a super low-key bike comp in auckland the other day, it was open to all types of bikes and it was a SKIDDING comp called "Tyres of Fire" 15 heads turned up and the winning skid was like 100m. There's two clips on youtube here and here, and there is also some pics one, two, three and four . His bosses where so stoked they are gonna make it a serious Red Bull event from now on!!! SICK

18.1.07

Whoops, just realised i hadn't posted since 2006, in fact it was exactly a month ago... Well Spoke 23 is at the press as we speak and its almost finished, it will be in Auckland to be bound on monday and it will be in your hot little hands very early Feb. Its loosely themed the Travel issue and has story's from Canada, Scotland, Huntly! and Ireland and a very very sick Projector (gallery). Remember if you haven't subscribed there is still time to get your free coffee. Here's a first for me... some sneak pics. These puppies didn't make it in the mag unfortunately. one, two, three, four and five. Oh and Spoke is Organising a jump comp at Chris Beverlands place in Huntly around March sometime... more detais soon, but these are the jumps (theres been lots of work done since this pic was taken).

18.12.06

Holy macaroni! I just got back from a whirlwind little road trip... Hawkes bay with two junior rippers and Hilton Taylor's awesome Shuttle service. A must do if your in the Bay. Then on to Casey King's place for an afternoon, Casey and his jumps are off the hook... I then hooked up with Chris Beverland in Huntly for an evening of pure gold. i will post a few teasers shortly. I got to hang out for a bit at the VORB Christmas thing at Castlerock... an awesome turnout and some fun riding was had by all, i still cant dirt jump though. A massive thanks to Chris at Transition for putting us up for the night... issue 23 is going to be choice.

07.12.06

Its getting close to Christmas, which means tonnes of daylight savings riding and way to much food, it could also mean its the perfect time to go shopping in the Spoke shop... we have DVD's, Magazines and a huge range of clothing now in stock and shipping daily. Speaking of clothing I just found this funny pic online of the Fiji Coup... in the back ground you will see a blue Spoke tee. Auckland mountain biker and professional photographer Phil Walter is there covering the coup for Getty images and just happened to be repping a Spoke Tee (and a broken wrist from DH'ing). I finally got my hands on a copy of the Bike issue with my story in it... you should go pick up a copy up, Magnetix in Welly have it and im guessing Magazino will have it shortley, heres an image of the story. While your there make sure you by a copy of the latest Spoke. Tama and I are heading on a road trip next Wednesday for Spoke 23, heading to the Hawkes Bay and to Casey Kings, should be fun..

22.11.06

So at the worlds I wasn't really shooting photos for Spoke, I knew we wouldn't be really covering it like that. But I was shooting pics for a story in the US magazine Bike. I havent seen it yet but I did get an image of the December cover today and check out where the story rates!!! How cool is that, i'm so excited, anyway when i get a magazine i'll post some jpegs, it features, Rosara Joseph, Justin Leov, Vanessa Quin and Kashi Lecuhs.

22.11.06

I don't have a whole lot of news, but I do have a favor I need to ask, Spoke is trying to compile a list of cool cafes where mountain bikers meet, like Zippy's in Rotorua, or C1 in Christchurch, so we can start sending them Spoke. If you could email us info on your local Cafe that would be really awesome. Email us here. Oh and if any of you are into EBAY there is an MTB charity auction taking place at the moment to raise money for the late Carey Bosker's young daughter Noa. Carey Bosker was the man behind the production of Free Ride Films, he died tragically in a skiing accident earlier this year. you can check out the auction here.

09.11.06

Okay so I have a tonne of news for this post. First up Spoke issue 22 came out today. Dam its hot, as usual there's a whole bunch of cool articles and pictures. In this issue Tama looks at Rotorua after the worlds, we profile the work being done in Wellington up at Long Gully, there are interviews with infamous mechanic Monkey and Filmer Clay Porter plus all the regular features and bit more. Next up on the news front, about a year after every one else, Spoke has a myspace page. you can check it out here and rub shoulders with famous mountain bikers and Tama, if you want to be our friend (we are competing with Manual Magazine on this front) then add us. Oh more news... I have NWD 7 here and Tama is busy trying to organise a premiere the night of his second-hand bike swap on the 18th, we will keep you posted, the DVD is off the hook! Speaking of DVD's you can buy a bunch from the Spoke shop and the newest addition is Kranked 6, Its one of the best DVD's since the Collective (although it is quite different), I highly recommend a purchase... so scoot over to the web shop and check it out... There are also a bunch of new tees which should be online by the end of the day too. I think I had one more bit of news? oh yeah go to the competitions page and enter up a storm, we have heaps of giveaways this issue. cool eh!.

03.11.06

The webshop is back... Go there and buy stuff now! in other big news Spoke is putting on another premier... its for New World Disorder 7... Havent decided where or how much yet but it will probabley be the Film Archive... on Taranaki st or back in Khandallah at the Town Hall will keep you posted...

02.11.06

The webshop is down, due to Manual (Spokes big brother) switching to a bigger server... it will be back in 24hrs. in the mean time if you wish to subscribe or buy a tee please email spoke@spokemagazine.com

31.10.06

Sorry for the lack of posts, I have been super busy. A trip to Melbourne, a magazine, a kitchen and a fence... not to mention a bunch of riding. Spoke 22 is at the printers right now and will be out next Monday or Thursday. It is a little late but not to worry it will be worth it. This issue features a bunch of real cool stuff, We have an interview with Clay Porter, the dude that made the race DVD's Hypnosis and Synopsis on what its like filming with Justin Leov and Sam Blenkinsop. We take a close look at Long Gully and Tama gets all futuristic on life after the worlds for Rotorua. There is a bunch of other stuff as per usual plus projector is damn hot this issue. There are a bunch of giveaways so be sure to check the giveaways link in a week for all the new comps...

03.10.06

Well last night was off the hook. I picked up the Kranked 6 DVD from FedEx at 4pm, watched Boyko's section on my lap top and knew it was winner, quickly popped in to worralls to check out the new Crank Brothers Cobalts, they are HOT, speno but hot! Then it was over to Cyclexpress to pick up the Dakine stuff that Rory forgot to send... and then to theatre to test the single DVD that was sent... A good turnout got Simeon (Spokes AK wonder photographer) and me amped. But when the film rolled the amping was elevated to the "next level" (thats for you Johnny). This film is as the title says all about Progession and the riding is the bost progressive ever... everybody steps up, standouts being Voreis, Boyko, kinrade and Jamie Goldman but Leech's section is just retarted and has to be watched over and over again... Here are some pics from AK one, two, three, four, five and six . Oh and on Friday you will be able to pre-order copies of Kranked six from the Spoke shop. The DVD's will be available after the 20th (fingers crossed). I have to warn Welly veiwers that there are only 117 seats for this premier... if it sells out you miss out, same goes for CHCH, where there are only 170 seats, get there early or buy online to be safe!

27.09.06

This isnt an inter-bike update, its more of a cool stuff update and a hassle your local bike shop update as well... why you ask, well why we are sitting here at our desks some lucky punters are getting to check out the new Atomlab Video "Tough as Hell", the teaser is pretty funny, but the riding is off the hizzle, i've had a sneek peak at the Adam Hauck section and also Phil Sundbaum's part and they will make you rethink dirt and street for sure. As well as getting to check out Tough as Hell before us people at interbike will also get to touch this new Black Market stuff (here and here)! sick huh...

15.09.06

I did forget something. You can now enter all of the Spoke competitions online... Just head over to the competitions link down the bottom and enter away... cool eh?

14.09.06

Right Manual and Spoke have a new coffee machine thanks to Coffee Supreme! Yay! It sure beats the plunger! Check out our set up! If your passing by the office pop up and check out one of Daves soy flat whites. We have also begun to sell DVD's in the shop, Currently we have Back in the Saddle III:CKD and Stripped but will be adding more as they arrive. I think thats it.

7.09.06

The Christchurch date is confirmed for Kranked 6: Progression. Its on at the Hollywood Theatre in Sumner on Monday the 9th of October at 7pm... Tickets are selling now. The main theatre at the Hollywood has been revamped, it has new comfy seats... but it only has 174 of them now. Avoid disappointment and buy your tickets now! In other news Eddie Parker and Kelly McGary will be shooting photos for the next issue of Spoke with Harookz, one of North Americas top MTB photographers! Yay

7.09.06

Well the trailer is finally up on the Radical Films website for Kranked 6: Progression. As always Spoke strives to bring you the best films FIRST and this is no exception. During October Spoke will be hosting three premiers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Auckland at the Academy Cinema 02/10/06 Wellington at the Film Archive 20/10/06 and Christchurch will be at the Hollywood somewhere in between. In the mean time check out the Progression trailer here. Tickets will be for sale at the Spoke shop and Spoke will also be taking pre orders for Progression DVD's near to the premier Dates... as usual there will be tonnes of spot prizes and other goodies. Email kranked@spokemagazine.com for more info.

29.08.06

What a week! the worlds are over. Cameron Cole and Sam B killed it. Other than that Euros and Aussies dominated everything... The Stripped and CKD premiers went OFF... we packed the bar with 200+ heads. Greg Herbold turned up and a few other riding celebs although most stayed on their wind trainers preparing for seeding the following day. Dogboy, JD (from Rock Shox) and the Herbaliser stayed so long that the bar got shut down around them and according to the bar owner it was the best Wednesday they had EVER had. Both films were recieved well and Matt from Wide Open will be distributing them both. Here are some pics from the night ( one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten). There were girls there, but it sure doesnt look like it? Oh and speaking of films Sam Blekinsop and Justin Leov both have parts in Clay Porters new film, in fact they are travelling the South Island filming for it right now, yesterday was spent sessioning the Long Gully DH track, I took a few stills check the Clay Porter IV in the next Spoke. In other movie news Adam at Match gave me a sneak peak at the new Atomlab Vid... the Dirtjump and street riding in this thing is NEXT LEVEL... Again Wide Open (who distrubute Atom Lab) will be stocking this real soon!!!

11.08.06

I just got an email from Jason at Clean Cut FIlms, they have just posted the hilarious teaser number two for Stripped... go and check it out now...

09.08.06

The Pig and Whistle Spoke and Wide Open premier is now a double-bill! Ambrose Weingart, one of the main cinematographers on Drop In NZ and producer of the best selling Back in the Saddle series of MTB DVD's, has just finished Back in the Saddle 3 CKD . It's just premiered in Whistler and Vancouver and is of the hook!!! Just Check out the teaser! Both movies will be screening from 9pm at the Pig and Whistle Pub on the 23rd of August. Check there website for directions. Wide Open and N ZO and Spoke will be giving stuff away...

04.08.06

Okay here i just confirmed this minutes ago but Spoke is hosting the New Zealand Premier for "Stripped" a new film from Clean Cut Films. These guys made an outstanding underground flick a couple of years ago "Local Yokels" which featured a bunch of unsponsored riders ruling it up. Well with Stripped they have stepped it up, the riding, editing, and filming are all next level. Judging by the teaser this is going to be one of the films of 2006! Steve Romaniuk, Kurt Sorge, Joe Shwartz and Geoff Gulevich feature as well as recent visitors to our shores (and Rotorua) Dylan Tremblay, Shawn Denny and Mike Kinrade. The premier is on during the Worlds week on the 23rd of August at the Pig and Whistle Historic Pub, Cnr Haupapa and Tutanekai Streets, Rotorua. It is an R18 affair... there will be spot prizes on the night. Be There. Matt and Alice at Wide Open will be distributing the film in late August.

31.07.06

I got a new laptizzle... okay so getting a laptop isn't real news but its my first ever and man am i stoked... i don't know why it took so damn long... Anyway after a hectic week Spoke 21 is finally out it will be in bookstores and mail boxes today... 70 lucky people scored themselves free Syncros grips, and this issue ALL new domestic subscribers will receive a free bottle of White Lightning Epic Lube, click here to subscribe. There is a little competition going for the first person to email in with the word that I spelt wrong 3 different times in one article gets a free subscription and a spoke tee.

15.07.06

The latest issue of Spoke Magazine has just gone to the printers and will be hitting the shelves of your local book/ bike/ magazine shop in the first week of August. The best way too make sure you score a copy is by subscribing - it’s only NZ$25 for a year’s subscription, saving you 20% off the cover price. Issue 21 contains: • A guide to the Rotorua Locals and the trails they love • An interview with freeride legend Brett Frew • Eleanor touring at 4,500 metres in Bolivia • The Wanganui Mountain Bike Club • Kapiti’s new mountain bikepark • Jill Ford and the Bikewise Kids Jams • Gary’s UK perspective on the Kiwi riding scene • Six flat pedals and what their riders think about them • News, events, reviews, amazing photos, and much much more… The Rotorua Locals article will be particularly useful to all of you heading to the Worlds next month, researching it definitely opened up my eyes to swags of awesome trails in Whakarewarewa that only the locals seem to know about. Its the first cover shot by Tim Pierce and is pretty darn choice. Paul Needham on holiday in Wanaka.

15.07.06

Well Spoke 21 is almost finished, Emma is putting the finishing touches on the layout right now and its off to the printers on Monday. The weather has been super crap and i havent been riding or shot anything recently... i really need to get out more... Jason Mannings from Clean Cut Films emailed while back to let me know about a new film Tam and him have made, Stripped, it looks pretty cool. Spoke is in the process of tring to organise a premier in Rotorua durig the worlds, more info to follow but check out the tralier, its pretty fresh.

27.06.06

so much for posting all the time eh... Well i've been away skateboarding as part of a Redbull photographic and Film project where 6 teams of 4 skateboarders, a photographer and a filmer get ten days and NZ$3000 to produce a 14 page article and a 5 min video clip. Every one had the same 10 days and every one had the same shitty weather except for my team we had snow. Anyway heres my team standing on the side of the road in Timaru. Plus check this Youtube clip, its next level.

29.05.06

I've made a resolution today, it was inspired by Aaron over at Match Videozine, i cant believe how much he updates, plus he always has photos. So thats it starting now i'm going to have lots of updates and photos. For starters Mr Parker came to Wellington the other day and it was raining, we went to a very wet Melling skate park took this photo and then he caught the ferry home. A waste of time really. Hes coming back in a few weeks and we are going to bust this shiz down a huge square rail i've been eyeing up...

17.05.06

So the ROAM premiers are over. Christchurch was mad, that city is awesome, within ten minutes the first screening was sold out and a second had to be added. We had 270 people in total into Sumner's Hollywood theatre, my apologies to anyone who missed out. Spoke 20 has been on the shelf for two weeks now and has recieved a whole lot of positive feedback, the comp entries are pouring in. if you havent subscribed yet remmeber if you do so this issue you'll be getting a free set of Syncros grips in the post with issue 21. Issue 21 is shaping up to be a pretty nice issue. Its due on the shelf a few weeks before the worlds in Rotorua in August so be sure to check that out. If you liked the Eddie Parker IV in the latest issue of Spoke you should go here www.matchvideozine.com, this site keeps you up to date with everyting going on the world of street and park and has cool photos and Aaron actually updates it. Unlike me. As well as that they just posted the teaser for Match 8, which looks like its well worth the wait. Oh, on the topic of Eddie he'll be in Whistler shortley with a strong Kiwi posse, notabley Kelly McGary and Chris Beverland, we will be bringing you a story from those three boys for sure!

29.04.06

Well its been a while since my last post and a few things have taken place. The big thing being we have finished issue 20 of Spoke and for those who subscribe they should be reading right now. 110 lucky subscribers got there hands on a flash Crank Brothers multi tool 5. This issue we have 70 pairs of lock-on grips from Syncros to giveaway with each new subscription, if you haven't subscribed do it now. Issue 20 of Spoke will be in the shops on Thursday the 4th of May and is full of great articles and photographs. There is a whole bunch of stuff to read about, like Chris Burr riding the rainbow rage on a fixed wheel track bike! or James Brown the poet, there is a Crater Rim write up and an interview with south island street rider Eddie Parker, plus heaps, heaps more. Go and buy it in the shop now! I'm going to Christchurch on Monday for the final Roam Premier (yes there will be doorsales) and to do a bit of riding up at Cragiburn. Cool.

21.03.06

I got this package this morning. It had the media kit and a bunch of ROAM posters (which i just posted out to bike shops). How dope is the stamping! off the hook. The ROAM tickets are selling fast so its looking like they are going to be fun nights. Spoke 20 has begun production and is looking pretty hot. Eddie Parker, last issues cover guy, has a full interview this issue letting us know where street riding is at in Grid City (AKA Christchurch). I've also got all the images back from the Auckland story and I think all of us that don't live in AK will be surprised by whats on offer, theres no sand in this story!

17.03.06

Its taken me a while but I finally sussed out the dates for the screenings for the new film ROAM from The Collective. We will be doing four screenings. One in Auckland at the Academy Cinema (6pm, 17/4/06) two in Wellington at The Film Archive (7pm and 8pm, 21/4/06) and one in Christchurch at the Hollywood (7pm, 3/5/06) see the shop for more details. if you havent watched the teaser yet you need to, I havent been as excited since watching The Collective for the first time! We will have heaps of spot prizes thanks to the support of the following sponsors: Syncros, Ground Effect, Vorb, adidas, Fox, Red Bull, Giro, Tioga and Dakine. Tickets are $12 and will be available in the shop later today, there will be limited doorsales but dont count on them. Any questions email roam@spokemagazine.com

16.03.06

Well i'm now back from a crazy trip, a week down south photographing Ground Effects Crater Rim race on Christchurchs Porthills, followed by some riding on Mt Hutt thanks to Andy at DHNZ. Then it was off to Rotorua to watch Frenchmen and Canadians beat us silly and then to Auckland to ride in the Hunnas and at Riverhead for a story in Spoke 20. Oh and then to CastleRock on the way home to check out what Paul Needham and new track builder Andrew have been up to. Paul Needham and Chris Beverly were on fire, the riding was awesome and a good dozen people turned up which was cool, there will be photos in issue 20 also. Anyway whilst I was on my trip I got a bunch of free stuff, and some of it dosent fit... so you can have it... there is an XL Yeti (Dickies) workshirt and an XL adidas T-shirt, first in first served for these, email yeti@spokemagazine.com if you want the work shirt or adidas@spokemagazine.com if you want the T. Oh and speaking of free stuff check out what turned up today! We aint giveing this away... it's got gas and everything, no tipping needed!!!

03.03.06

I've been talking with GT's Paul Needham and on Saturday the 11th of March, Spoke, Paul and GT are going to be having an impromptu jump jam at Castle