contents SPRINGwo

6 - FResH oUt tHe BoXWe have a sneek peak at what we’ll be looking at in the next issue.

12 - PLAn to FAILThe Jacob Gibbin’s guide to crossing borders without your passport.

16 - QUIcK FIReFiring quick fire questions at some of the worlds best riders.

20 - JeReMY WIteKThe man behind the 2012 Red Bull Rampage course.

24 - tWIsts & tARnsOrange Bike’s resident hobbit Pete Scullion and photographer Sam Needham explore the deepest and darkest the Lakes has to offer.

30 - LIFe, DeAtH AnD A sPoKe KeYWideopenmag’s resident warrior poet (and mechanic) talks about his theory on life, death and why it’s actually ok to covet the inanimate objects that our sport is fixated with.

32 - HoW to Be FAsteRWorld Cup racer Rich Thomas breaks down some home truths to help you get ready for your first race of the year.

34 - no DooRs, no WInDscReen, no RooF, no coMPRoMIse. Henry Siebert-Saunders – Parts Manager at Ariel Motor Company and Outlaw Rider.

38 - WIDeoPenMAG, DAn stAnton AnD tHe tI sLAcKLIneWe’re huge fans of Dan Stanton’s bikes here at Wideopenmag. They’re designed with love in the UK by a genuine bicycle fanatic and – best of all – ride amazingly well.

44 - tHe neXt steVe sMItH: MARK WALLAceMark Wallace is part of the new breed of Junior downhill racers set to try and make a name for themselves on the DH world cup circuit.

48 - BUttHoLe sURFeRsThe Olly Wilkins and Sam Reynolds interview

56 - tHe tAYLoR VeRnon sHoWHaving tracked his progress over the last year we finally pinned him down to talk about bikes.

64 - Let’s Go!We talk with some of the organisers of the best biking events in the UK.

70 - PRoDUct ReVIeWsBringing you the tests and reviews of some of the new products on the market.

contents / ISSUE 20

COVER

“I had to turn my bars to get

through that one butt!”. Taylor

Vernon is a buzz word in MTB right

now. The young gun from Bridgend

has gone supersonic with a massive

step up to the Atherton team for

2013. Jacob Gibbins shot this cover

in deepest South Wales on a sunny

winter’s morning in February. Down

to earth and at the same time 15

feet in the air.

tHIs MAGAZIne Is FRee

Wideopenmag is a free quarterly UK mountain bike magazine that’s available in print

and online. We’re dedicated to showing off the wealth of talent that the UK mountain

bike scene boasts. We are free. Visit our website at: www.wideopenmag.co.uk

For all dealer enquiries contact www.hotlines-uk.com I Email: sales@hotlines-uk.com I Tel: 0131 319 1444

“I had my mind made up after my first run. I was impressed.”

Sam Hill

www.nukeproof.com

Pro £3999.99 | Comp £2999.99

WeLcoMe SPRING

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All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.The publisher or editor accepts no responsibility for the consequence of any action taken based on any information,

opinions or advice contained herein. The opinions and view expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or the editors. The publishers and editor cannot accept responsibility for

errors in articles or advertisements or for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or illustrations.

Ladies and gents, boys and girls. Welcome to Wideopenmag issue 20!

There was a time when I would have said “hell no” if you’d asked me if

we would ever print Wideopenmag. I would have discounted it as ‘old

fashioned’ or ‘behind the times’ or “financial suicide”. And well – I may not

have been wrong – but I just can’t shake the feeling that a decent, printed

magazine that you can hold in your hands, pass to your mates, leave on

a table at a race, read on the plane on your way to Morzine or discover

hidden on the counter of your local bike shop is a bloody beautiful thing

indeed. We’re all about inspiring stories and beautiful photographs

and we damn well want to show them off in all their glory, full bleed

on double page spreads... Not just squashed onto a phone or amongst

the distractions of a computer desktop. Hence, Wideopenmag issue 20

and our first print issue is born! It’s been a hell of an effort and it’s been

possible thanks to your support, nagging and encouragement and the

trust, faith and investment from some really awesome people. Also the

generosity of some very wonderful bike shops across the UK that have

allowed us onto their counters and into your hands.

Don’t worry though, Wideopenmag online isn’t going anywhere – in fact

you’re most likely reading this online,right? We’ll continue to produce

a ‘modern’ online magazine that you can read on your phone, on your

computer, on your tablet.

Huge thanks to everyone that has given in to our promises, favours,

begging and borrowing and brought Wideopenmag to its 20th issue and

into print. We owe you a beer.

Last but not least, we’re going to dedicate this issue to two of our very

good chums who are recovering from knocks and have been absolutely

brilliant in supporting us over the last 20 issues. They are Mr Michael

Bonney at Orange and Mr Paul Thomas of Riders Retreat. See you both

soon for a coffee and a chin wag about bikes eh?

Now – get stuck in, enjoy our work and then pass it on to a mate!

JAMIe AnD tHeWIDeoPenMAG teAM.

WeLcoMe

eDItoRJAMIE EDWARDS@jamie_wideopen

PRoDUceRJAMES HILTON@james_wideopen

coPY eDItoRFIONA DAVIDSON@fionacdavidson

DesIGneRJAMES WEBBER@jamesmwebber

RAce teAMRICH THOMAS@richthomas24

JAY WILLIAMSON@jaywilliamson_

LAURIE GREEN-LAND@lauriegreenland

DAVE THOMASON@wideopen_dave

sPAnneRsCHAZ CURRY@rocketsnrascals

OSCAR JOHNNEWTON-MASON@tftuned

WeB eDItoRJIM SMITH@rideroots

PHoto MonKeYJACOB GIBBINS@jacobgibbins

VIDeo cHIMPsTIM LAKE@tim_lake_

PAUL ROBERTS@proberts487

contRIBUtoRs

MATT WRAGG, ADAM BRAYTON, JOE SMITH, JEREMY WITEK,

DAVE REUSS, PETE SCULLION, SAM NEEDHAM, JONNY

ASHELFORD, RICH THOMAS, HENRY SIEBER-SAUNDERS, DANIEL

STANTON, GARETH HOWELL, GEE MILNER, MARK WALLACE,

OLLY WILKINS, SAM REYNOLDS, ROO FOWLER, TAYLOR VERNON,

TOM LLOYD, CHRIS ROBERTS, CHRIS RATFORD, SIMON PATON,

STEVE PARR, DUNCAN PHILPOTT AND SZYMON NIEBORAK.

DIstRIBUtIon

WIDEOPENMAG IS AVAILABLE IN PRINT AT QUALITY BIKE

SHOPS AND EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE UK. WIDEOPENMAG IS

AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

We LIsteneD to...

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, SUM41, GOLDIE LOOKIN CHAIN, MUSE,

THE SMITHS, OF MONSTERS AND MEN, METRIC, MACKLEMORE

& RYAN LEWIS, MUMFORD AND SONS, THE LUMINEERS, LOWER

THAN ATLANTIS, HOOBASTANK, THE DIRT BAG DIARIES PODCAST,

HOSPITAL RECORDS PODCAST AND ANSWER ME THIS PODCAST.

FInD Us on

WeB: WWW.WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

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InstAGRAM: WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/WIDEOPENMAG

wideopenmaguk bike magazine

FResH oUt tHe BoX SPRING

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FRESHOUTTHEBOX

THE shirt three quarter jersey £44.95

Light, comfortable and airy with a

wee pocket for beer money and

house keys. Will be great for the

summer.

Race Face Chester stem £44.99

50 mm or 70mm available with

8” rise. Tough, no frills and

affordable.

Race Face Chester bar £36.95

1” rise, 740mm wide, comfortable,

affordable, tough.

Continental Mountain King II £44.95

2.4 All round trail tyres for our

Hope Flow test wheels. 2.4” wide,

tubeless compatible, we’ll be

running a Stans no-tubes set up

with Conti’s own Revo Seal.

Platypus Duthie AM 12 £110

Big brother of the Tokul pack

we’ve reviewed in this issue. 9

litres of storage space and a 3

litre bladder. Odd mesh pocket

that tends to eject items but

otherwise,loads of space and

well built. We like.

THE Cosmo gloves £24.95

Low profile, comfortable and

light-weight – ideal for the warmer

months. Possibly consider the

colour option that doesn’t have

white palms if your trails are as

muddy as ours!

MSR Whisperlite stove £100

Light, packable stove that will

boil a litre of water in less than

5 minutes. Runs on white spirit,

kerosene or unleaded fuel. Should

be great for light cooking at the

races.

DMR Viral chain guide (caged)

£79.99

Quick and easy to fit, loads of

adjustability, super cool UK

company. Death to dropped

chains!

THE Maxi knee pads £69.95

Maxi Pads ..?! Seriously?! Don’t let

the fact that they’re named after

a feminine hygiene product put

you off. Two big, solid Velcro staps

with SAS-TEC impact foam inside.

Suitable for boys and girls alike.

Production Privee Cedric Gracia

replica cockpit €219 548 direct

mount stem (fits Boxxer, 40 and

888 forks) and LGB 780mm wide,

1” rise bar. Comes as a complete

package for anyone that wants

their bike to look like CG’s.

THE FRESHEST PRODUCTS TO

LAND AT WIDEOPENMAGHQ.

LOOK OUT FOR OUR VERDICT

NEXT ISSUE.

eMULsIon SPRING

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E M U LDartmoor Bike’s UK rider Marcel Hunt shredding on a

summers day at south east hotspot, Woburn Sands.

PHOTO: JAMES WEBBER / @JAMESMWEBBER

RIDER: MARCEL HUNT / @MARCEL_HUNTMTB

2013 ISSUE 20

11S I O NWIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

SORTIE NINER 2

/diamondback.bikes @diamondbackukwww.diamondback.eu

Knuckle Box TechnologyLow and tight. The Knuckle Box platform was designed specifically to give a lowand tight ride:• Low leverage suspension design: Lower air pressure results in longer shock life, less frame

loading and better pedaling efficiency.• The tight, compact linkage system of the Knuckle Box bell crank isolates and cradles the rear

shock.• Tight and large anodized aluminium hardware matched with Force-Rated Enduro Max

Bearings to withstand higher loads and better handle oscillating motion.

The Sortie Niner 2 is a perfectly balanced 29er with Diamondback’s legendary Knuckle Box suspension and the ideal geometry for any trail/XC ride.

SORTIE NINER 2

/diamondback.bikes @diamondbackukwww.diamondback.eu

Knuckle Box TechnologyLow and tight. The Knuckle Box platform was designed specifically to give a lowand tight ride:• Low leverage suspension design: Lower air pressure results in longer shock life, less frame

loading and better pedaling efficiency.• The tight, compact linkage system of the Knuckle Box bell crank isolates and cradles the rear

shock.• Tight and large anodized aluminium hardware matched with Force-Rated Enduro Max

Bearings to withstand higher loads and better handle oscillating motion.

The Sortie Niner 2 is a perfectly balanced 29er with Diamondback’s legendary Knuckle Box suspension and the ideal geometry for any trail/XC ride.

PLAn to FAIL SPRING

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The Jacob Gibbins guide to crossing borders without your passport.

PLANTO

FAILWORDS AND PHOTO: JACOB GIBBINS

2013 ISSUE 20

15WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

My old man once told me “Fail to plan and you’re planning to fail”. Some

of the time though, no matter how hard you plan you’ll end up saying

“Oh shit!” usually when you’re way past the point of no return.

I was on the way out to the World Champs in Champery in

the Madison/Saracen team truck. I was (and still am) their team

photographer and it was my first season on the job so I was eager not

to fuck it up.

I was double checking my list of things

that were needed for the next leg of the

trip. Sunnies? Yep. Walking boots? Yep.

Passport? Um... passport... SHIT! Sure

enough, no passport. It was back safe and

sound in my top drawer in Devon.

My first instinct was to sort the problem

fast. I started calling round every taxi

company in the book for a Plymouth to

Dover delivery. It turned out that’s not

an option. I then called up my mum and

discovered that no matter how much you

think your mother loves you, at 1am in the

morning and half way through her working week, no one, not even your

mum loves you that much.

Failing that, I saw that I had two choices if I wanted to keep my dream

job and not look like an even bigger twat in front of my employers. I

could try to be nice to the man on the border and blag it with my driving

license (it seemed fair enough to me) or I could go balls out and just get

in the back of the truck and hide like some bad ass refugee escaping his

oppressive motherland.

And so to the words “If they find you, I’m making out I have no idea

who you are!” I jumped in the back with all the spare tyres and race kit

and hoped to god we didn’t get searched by the man with the rubber

gloves.

After 30 minutes of shitting myself hidden in the back of the van, we

made it on to the ferry, free of cavity searches or security checks of any

kind. Switzerland was in my sights. From here on in though it got even

worse. As if that’s possible.

For the next week I was up at 6am everyday,

shooting all day and editing all night. The whole

time I was on the phone to my parents back

home trying to get that annoyingly important little

burgundy book half way across Europe in a timely

manner that would let me go home on Sunday.

Finally my old man worked out that for £60

he could post it to me in Switzerland. I guessed

the address as accurately as I could, hoped

for the best and started checking the post box

obsessively.

Eventually Sunday afternoon came around and

Madison/Saracen rider Manon Carpenter took the

win. Everyone was happy, my passport was nowhere to be seen and the

team truck (and my lift home) rolled off without me.

By having this bastard little red book of stress posted over, our fates

were now entwined. I faced the impending reality that if it didn’t turn

up in the next 24 hours when Manon and her dad Jason could drive me

home I was going to have to buy a tent, camp on the front lawn of the

chalet until it showed up and then get taxis, trains, planes and buses all

the way from Champery to Plymouth.

The morning of the big day arrived. Breakfasts were made, suitcases

and vans packed and I was slumped at the window with eyes fixed on

the road like a man on death row waiting for his pardon. I had until

10am or they’d give me the chop.

Honest to god, the post-woman strolled up at 9:45 with the most

beautiful parcel I’ve ever seen, at the right house and decorated with

my Pa’s handwriting. Passport in hand I had my stay of execution, a

lift home and no stress of another potential arrest at the border. She

strolled up as Manon and Jason were in the van, engine on and ready to

leave.

Rolling back into Dover and sat proudly in a legit seat of the van we

were waved through security... once again unchecked.

“Don’t you even want to see my passport? Do I even need this thing?!”

I asked.

“Nah mate, we don’t really check those. Your driving license is enough

to be honest”.

All’s well that ends well...sort of.

Jacob Gibbins is Wideopenmag’s chief photo-jock. When he’s not

terrorising the girls of Tavistock’s pasty shops he’s shooting photos and

video on the World Cup downhill scene.

Twitter: @JacobGibbins

NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU

THINK YOUR MOTHER LOVES

YOU, AT 1AM IN THE MORNING

AND HALF WAY THROUGH HER

WORKING WEEK, NO ONE, NOT

EVEN YOUR MUM LOVES YOU

THAT MUCH.

eMULsIon SPRING

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E M U L

Transition’s top European enduro racer Andrea Bruno

drags a bar in Sanremo. Shot on photographer Matt

Wragg’s 30th birthday during the Transition European

Road Trip after Eurobike.

PHOTO: MATT WRAGG / @MATT_WRAGG

RIDER: ANDREA BRUNO

2013 ISSUE 20

17S I O NWIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

QUIcK FIRe SPRING

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ADAMBRAYTON@adbrayton for more from the

Keswick’s own answer to King

Kong. Adam rides for Hope,

Specialized, Scott, Five Ten,

Shimano, WTB, Fox Europe, FOX

Racing Shox, Carlisle Leisure, Go

Pro and Ogio.

Who is Adam Brayton?

Adam Brayton is the fire breathing Italian Stallion

from the jungle.

Describe your style in as many words as you think

you need.

Fast, aggressive, one of a kind. No one has a style like

it.

name some things that are awesome.

Me, The DEMOlition and Hope

name some things that suck

Snow at the moment, injuries and tracks with no flow.

When I’m not riding bike, I’m usually …

Grafting. I’m a sparky.

Favourite fishing spot and setup?

Shimano Baitrunner, PikePro Watson signature rod,

20lb Fisheagle Braid and a sexy Rapala. Unreal set

up and it’s got to be Derwent Water on the boat with

the boys!

complete this sentence. This year I’m going to be

gassing to flat but I’m definitely not going to fall off or

do anything silly.

My favourite memories of riding bikes usually

involve …

Gassing to flat, racing, laughs and more laughs and

some stuff that’s so silly I can’t believe it

happened or watched it happen.

Alex Rankin’s grime soundtrack gave you the

‘eskiboy’ nickname… But what tunes are you

hammering at the moment?

I’ll hammer anything! At the moment it’s Lady Gaga,

Little Mix and JT.

Favourite people in mountain biking and why?

There are a lot of good guys in this game, some good

memories with Sam Dale, Mark Scott, Rich Thomas,

Jim Stock and Gerard Wolfe. LADs on tour 2k12 USA

and CANADA… Boshed haha!

tell us about you breaking your collar bone in

spain.

I should have broken my neck. Safe to say I’m one of

the hardest on the race circuit. Ever seen a rock

cry? I have.

QUICK FIRE

/ ADAM BRAYTON & JOE SMITHP

HO

TO

: SA

M N

EE

DH

AM

2013 ISSUE 20

19WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

Who is Joe smith?

A downhill mountain bike racer from mid Wales.

can you describe your riding style to us?

A bit loose but smooth as well. At least that’s how it

feels.

name some things that you think are awesome right

now.

Our new team bikes and kit. That I’m travelling the world

doing what I love doing.

name some things that you think are rubbish right

now.

That I’m on a sweaty sleazyjet flight now.

What are your favourite memories of riding

mountain bikes so far?

Some of the cool places I’ve got to travel to and race

including Chile, Japan and South Africa.

You’ve just been out to san Romolo for suspension

testing, right? How was that? What were the best

and worst bits of the trip?

Yeah testing has been good these last few days. It’s been

cool having Jon and Evan over from Rockshox to help

out with settings and adjustments and we’ve been trying

out some cool new parts which feel spot on. Only bad bit

was that it rained a few times.

2012 seemed like a pretty good season for you.

Your World cup results just ticked down and down

throughout the year. How was it for you? stoked or

not stoked?

Yeah stoked, it was a good season for me. Obviously

7th at Fort William was the highlight but other than that

I think it was my consistency which earned me my best

overall so far. In the past I’ve had some mixed seasons

with really good results but also some crashes and

mechanicals which put me down the results a little.

Who are your favourite people to ride mountain

bikes with and why?

All the lads from back home are fun to ride with, we ride

some rad tracks and they don’t take stuff too seriously.

When you’re not riding bikes ... what are we likely to

find you doing?

Probably riding some kind of other 2 wheeled piece.

complete this sentence. This year I’m definitely

going to be…Drifting. But I’m definitely not going to be

skidding.

@joesmithdh for more. Joe

rides for Chainreactioncycles

/ Nukeproof, Leatt and 100%

Eyewear.

JOESMITH

PH

OT

O:

DU

NC

AN

PH

ILP

OT

T

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE!Want a reminder when the next issue goes live?

Don’t miss out. Sign up for FREE right here.

WWW.WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK/SUBSCRIBE

JeReMY WIteK SPRING

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THE MAN BEHIND THE 2012RED BULL RAMPAGE COURSE.

JEREMYWITEK

INTERVIEW: JAMIE EDWARDS PHOTOS: DAVE REUSS

Who are you and what was your role at the 2012 Red Bull

Rampage?

My name is Jeremy Witek, I’m from Twin Lakes, Wisconsin

and my role at Red Bull Rampage was the course manager of

Rampage 2012.

How does a guy get to the stage where he’s creating the

course for the biggest MtB event on the planet? Where

did you learn your craft and how did you turn it into doing

something that you love?

I got my opportunity to be part of the biggest MTB event in

the world pretty much by getting the opportunity to build

Woodward West in California. Woodward is an action sports

camp for kids between the ages 7-17 and I helped develop

the program there which started about seven years ago. We

ended up having Cameron Zink come out to ride a bunch of

stuff that I was actually getting campers to shred down on

and he wound up filming half his New World Disorder 10 part

there. So after filming at Woodward West he put in a good

word for me to go and be a part of the build crew for Red Bull

Rampage 2010. Most of the dirt work that I had done was

self-taught but a bunch of it was learnt from travelling and

shredding different trails and meeting people. Wood work and

dirt working with people such as Rom Kimler, Nate Wessel,

Ryan Corrigan, Dave King and a bunch of others.

You obviously do a huge amount of work with wood

through your ramps and skate park projects. Presumably

you also craft dirt, rocks and all sorts of other materials

alongside that. What’s your favourite medium to work

with and why?

I truly enjoy building with all the different kinds of materials

there are to build with - everything from concrete to steel,

wood to dirt. There are even some parks that we worked on

in Beijing, China which had granite surfaces - they’re all super

enjoyable for me. If I had to pick a favourite I would say dirt,

just because it’s normally in a super natural setting and it’s

where I started and how I have gotten to where I am today.

How do you approach an event like the Rampage? Where

do you even start?

The first thing we normally do for events like Rampage is go

out with the riders and do the site check. During the check we

look at the site and decide what things are possible and what

things we want to try and build to progress the sport and take

it to the next level. After that usually everyone goes back to

their home bases. I start to draw stuff up on the computer,

come up with a budget and then pick the biggest project on

the mountain and that’s usually our starting point for the

build.

2013 ISSUE 20

23WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

JeReMY WIteK SPRING

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“I’M DONE

BUILDING, IT’S

TIME TO RIDE!”

And once your obstacles are in, how does it feel as the first test rider is setting up to drop in

and test your work? Do you feel a lot of pressure?

I think one of the best feelings when building events is when you can finally step back and say "I'm

done building, now it's time to ride". Most of the time, I like to jump everything I build first just to take

that pressure off my shoulders and know whether it's going to work well or not. Rampage is a little

bit different from the other events that I build though – it is at the top of the world level for the best

riders in the world. I'm definitely not one of the best riders in the world but having said that I am not

the first to ride things there most of the time.

Was there anything you wanted to build that people thought "He's crazy, that'll never work -

it's too big" but that you pulled off and that you were proud of? Was there anything that you

were unsure about building because it was too big?

I don't feel like I've ever built something where people think it's too big or it can’t be ridden like that.

I definitely don’t think anything at Rampage can be built too big. The place is simply amazing in size

and you can go so flipping big there! At one point at Woodward West I did build a 70 foot dirt to dirt

that only I, Cam Zink and one other person ever hit. I think that would be one of the very few things

that I've ever built that people said was stupid.

What was the thing you were most proud of at the Rampage? Was there a particular feature or

stunt that you really stood back and thought "Wow, that's one of my best ever?"

The thing that I was most proud of at Rampage was that no one really got seriously injured on any

man-made feature that was there. That is my main goal and I go there to build things as big and safe

as we can. I was happiest with that.

2013 ISSUE 20

25WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

And how closely do you work with the athletes? How does that work? Is

it easy? Difficult? What are the challenges and then bonuses?

Seeing that the riders are the ones putting their lives at risk, I try to work as

closely with them as I can on the course layout. I find working with the riders

very easy. I know a lot of them, I have ridden bikes with them, some of them

I've even jumped 60 and 70 foot jumps with. So they understand that I know

what a big jump needs to feel like and what it takes to make it safe. The best

bonus about building stuff with and for the riders is watching them ride it

and seeing people be so stoked.

Risk of injury is obviously a big one - how do you feel when a rider gets

hurt on one of your features?

I understand the risks of riding - I've broken my neck twice and watching a

rider crash on stuff that you build is never easy but we all know the risk of

riding bikes. I don't believe that you should be upset with somebody if you

get hurt on something that they built, as long as what was built was right

and safe. If it’s a good feature there's no reason to be upset with anybody

but yourself - we are humans and we all make mistakes. With that said, I still

take it very strongly to heart when I see a rider crash on something I built. I

always look at it and try to figure out a way to make it safer so that it doesn't

happen again.

Last but not least, if you had the best riders in the world and weather

conditions and budget was no option - what would you build?

That’s an easy one. If I had the best riders in the world and an unlimited

budget I would simply build the Red Bull Rampage. It is amazing and unique

and by far the sickest event in the world!

tWIsts & tARns SPRING

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tWIsts & tARns

2013 ISSUE 20

27WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

tWIsts & tARns

WORDS: PETE SCULLION

PHOTOS: SAM NEEDHAM / @SAMNEEDHAM_COUK

Orange Bike’s resident hobbit Pete Scullion

and photographer Sam Needham explore the

deepest and darkest the Lakes has to offer.

2013 ISSUE 20

27WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

tWIsts & tARns SPRING

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In his classic Dio track 'Caught in the Middle', the late, great Ronnie

James Dio wrote "look inside of yourself, you might see someone

you don't know". Only recently have I realised that exploring large

mountains with my bike really is the way to make me truly happy

and to (as old Ronnie says) look inside myself and understand who

I am and what I'm all about. It has taken many years of riding bikes

to find the magic formula.

The concept is essentially very simple. Find a route that meets

all the requirements, load a vehicle with friends and bikes and go

smash it.

Three days prior to the Winter Solstice is a risky time to be

heading into mountainous country. Thankfully, having studied

the weather forecast like a finals-year meteorology student, we

managed to get a still, sunny day with enough cloud to make the

sky interesting.

Our original plan for a circuitous route around Kirk Fell wasn’t

going to work because somebody had placed an impassible scree

slope in the way. This was canned at 8pm the night before we were

to go… Out came the Explorer map and on went BikeHike.co.uk.

Half an hour later and we had a new route that satisfied all the

criteria, plus lopped an hour off the drive time each way. Bonus.

Rather than coming up on Scaffell Pike from the South West, from

Wast Water, we’d now be heading up under the Langdales, along a

short stretch of the Cumbrian Way up Stake Pass, behind Rossett

Crag to head down Rossett Pike, heading back to the van along the

same stretch of Cumbrian Way.

After a blast up the M6 we were greeted in Windermere by a clear

sky with mist sitting in the hollows, a good omen indeed. By the

time we’d navigated the narrow, snaking B-road from Windermere,

the sun was striking its brush across the sky with a fiery orange

catching the clouds that lingered atop Bow Fell. The weather was

definitely on our side now. We met our intrepid photographer Mr.

Sam Needham at the Old Dungeon Gyll Hotel in Ambleside and

were setting off up the mountain by 9am.

The Cumbrian Way led us beneath the sleeping stone giant of

Pike of Stickle, our imaginations working overtime having seen

The Hobbit a few days earlier. The opening few miles are gentle

double-track that follows Great Langdale Beck until it splits into

two, the track following the Rossett Gill side of the fork. As we

made our way up the dale, the sun gradually spilled its way over

the peaks above Wrynose Fell and the temperature jumped as

everything was bathed in the early morning sun. Far below Rossett

Crag the track splits and narrows. It is here the beauty of this

route appears, not in the surrounding landscape, but the options

available. The route we took was anti-clockwise up Stake Pass and

down Rossett Pike. Rossett Pike is one of the most demanding rides

I have ever encountered and did see me have a fairly impressive

over-the-bars. I can safely say it was in some places impossible and

anyone who isn’t either a trials wizard or a superb downhiller will

find themselves walking or crashing down most of it. Heading up

Rossett Pike and down Stake Pass would be the best way of tackling

this route for the majority. That’s not to say this trip wasn’t fun, far

from it in fact.

As the path steepens up Stake Pass you get an incredible view of

the route you’ve just taken. Rossett Gill is unusually straight in the

valley and the bridleway itself sweeps down the open hillside in

consecutive smooth arcs that looked like brilliant fun to ride. More

reason to head back and do it again I suppose! The lack of winter

and an unusually strong sun meant that the climb was a sweaty

affair although the steepness is short-lived as the gradient peters

out in Landgale Combe. The wider contour lines in the Combe are

ultimately misleading however. What isn’t shown on the OS Map

is the moraines that scatter the combe and are just a piece of the

evidence of the glaciers at work in this part of the world many

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moons ago. The moraines rise at most some forty feet but do make the going slow with

a number of short, sharp rises. The ground on the day was very soft and sticky as a

result of the rapidly melting ice that would have seen the ground solid. In many places,

water had been freezing as it exited the ground in springs. We left the Cumbrian Way

as we climbed out of Langdale Combe and headed over the top of the crags that had

towered several hundred meters above us only a few hours prior. This part of the route

is the only piece of footpath but proved unrideable owing to the bog and ice prevalent.

Even without the latter it would be tough going, so more hike-a-bike it was. From the

top of Rossett Crag, Bow Fell was still over three hundred metres above us, with Sca Fell

and Scaffell Pike snow-capped and partially obscured by a whisp of cloud.

After spending far too long breaking the inch-thick layer of ice that covered Angle

Tarn, we negotiated the snow and ice that took us over the last ridge to the top of

Rossett Pike and the descent back into the bottom of the valley. From the very start

this trail proved to be difficult. The opening set of rock steps weaved its way along the

edge of a ravine, the steps themselves made more difficult by the foot-compacted snow

that offered no grip at all. Straight after the steps was a fairly straight track that offered

plenty of boulders to catch wheels, rear mechs, rotors, limbs and any other extremity

of bike or body. No clear line was available and keeping the wheels turning was a

laborious process of riding on sight. Just the way we like it! A short, rocky climb led

into what is quite possibly the most technical section of any trail I have ever witnessed.

A narrow channel split by a ridge of rock fell left into a steep set of boulders set into

another ravine as steps. This would set the standard for what followed; a mixture of

level boulder fields, rutted corners barely wide enough to clear both pedals and only

gentle enough to stop the front wheel folding under you, a staircase that was too slippy

and twisting to ride with any confidence then finally mellowed into a Mach 10 open,

paved track with little grip plus water bars to catch your wheels and keep you on your

toes. Almost as the trail meets the valley floor, some of the best corners I’ve ridden

appear out of nowhere and allow you to entertain some notion of bike handling ability

after the ego-shattering upper slopes. The Cumbrian Way makes getting back to the Old

Dungeon Gyll Hotel fairly easy although be warned that through the winter, the hotel

only offers soup which isn’t much cop after being out for 7 hours. We made a quick

exit in favour of Wilf’s Café in Staveley, renowned for its foodstuffs and caffeinated

beverages.

We’ll go back, of that we’re confident, maybe going clockwise to prevent us holding up

any walkers and reducing fear…..or we’ll go again the same way and try and tame the

beast. Either way, we won’t be disappointed! Time to get the maps out again!

IT IS HERE THE BEAUTY

OF THIS ROUTE APPEARS,

NOT IN THE SURROUNDING

LANDSCAPE, BUT THE

OPTIONS AVAILABLE.

tWIsts & tARns SPRING

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LIFe, DeAtH AnD A sPoKe KeY SPRING

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WIDeoPenMAG’s ResIDent WARRIoR Poet (AnD

MecHAnIc) tALKs ABoUt HIs tHeoRY on LIFe, DeAtH

AnD WHY It’s ActUALLY oK to coVet tHe InAnIMAte

oBJects tHAt oUR sPoRt Is FIXAteD WItH.

LIFe, DeAtH AnDA sPoKe KeY

LIFe, DeAtH AnD A sPoKe KeY SPRING

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Forming an emotional relationship with an inanimate object is a very

curious thing indeed, yet we all do it, with the possible exception of the

most enlightened Buddhist monks who practice the art of letting go of

such things to “relieve suffering”. But that is an awfully cold world to live

in, isn’t it?

The attachments that we form do indeed cause us to ‘suffer’. Losing

or breaking something that we are fond of or attached to makes us sad,

causes us to suffer and yet the very reason we are attached to that thing

is that in the past it has given us joy.

But it’s not as simple as that, is it? I have an emotional attachment to a

spoke key. It hasn’t given me any joy in particular, it is a tool. It aids me

in accomplishing a task that I could accomplish with any other spoke key

just as well. The quality of my work would not suffer as a result of not

having that particular key. Nonetheless I am attached to it. I have built

literally thousands of wheels with it. It has an obvious history. It is filthy,

thumbed and worn by my hand. The red plastic is crazed like a Raku pot.

Native Americans say that over time a workman’s energy is transferred

into his tools. In some sense that may well be true, science tells us that

energy is not created or destroyed, merely harnessed temporarily and

it is not unreasonable to assume that some of the energy harnessed in

the act of work can be transferred to an object. After all, no object lasts

forever and it is inevitable that as the object is destroyed or decomposes

it releases energy, sometimes quickly and sometimes painfully slowly.

Indeed this theory extrapolated is my own very personal theory on life

and death, the soul and the body.

I remember joining one of my favorite (there we go with attachment

again) Buddhist monks for the alms round one morning. As we walked

he asked what I thought about life and death, in particular what happens

after we die. I replied at length, telling him that I thought our ‘soul’ was

energy and just as there is AC and DC there is human energy, animal

energy, plant energy etc. The body is a harness for that energy, it houses

that energy for as long as it is able and when we die, when the body is

no longer able to sustain that energy, it escapes to be harnessed again

somewhere or in someone else. So in a way I do believe in reincarnation

but I also believe that our energy can mix with others at the point of

emancipation, we can share past lives with people (ever met someone

and feel like you have known them for longer than you have?). But also,

with enough effort and thought, energy can be changed and therefore

Nirvana is achievable.

He smiled and nodded slowly. “That’s a great theory - but don’t get too

attached to it.” “What do you believe happens when you die venerable?”

(I asked, slightly annoyed as I was pretty chuffed with that theory - it took

a lot of considered pondering to come up with). “I don’t know - no one

has ever come back and told me.”

Typical. During my teenage years I became accustomed to having the

philosophical rug pulled out from under my feet by Theravada logic you

simply can’t argue with. But I digress. The muse for this particular ramble

comes in the form of my latest addition. A 43” Joe Clarke Bodyboard

(made by VS, shaped by Todd Quigley).The most man made of all man

made things: polythene, carbon fibre and surlyn plastic. It was one of

those purchases that I had to pay for with both money and contrition.

Contrition because it cost me more than I could really afford at the time.

I and those I love had to go without the little luxuries for a couple of

weeks because of my impulse. For those weeks I couldn’t use it either

and every time I saw it I was racked with guilt. Good surf and free time

refused to line up and so desperate was I for a wave that the first time

I did use it, I didn’t catch one. My haste had now been coupled with the

thirst of an addict and the combination forced me into a messy, heaving

and ultimately unrideable sea. Tail between my legs I capitulated.

By the next opportunity the universe decided I had paid enough for my

folly and bugger me, from the first wave I caught it became clear it was

worth every penance and penny I had paid.

I have two other boards, both good, but neither like this. It performs

in just the precise way I want a board to behave, quick, nimble, exciting.

Its dexterity flatters a very average rider, allowing me to make it around

broken, frothy sections and get back on to the clean face. I look at its jet

foam deck and shouty, slick orange belly and my mind replays waves in

my head, I can feel the little shot of dopamine taking hold, easing my day

and making me smile. It fits.

It fits like that spoke key, like my red Trek road bike that I have had for

twelve years now, forsaking other much flashier bikes for, like my Dialled

steel frame mountain bike. All of them ‘fit’. So I am attached, against my

better judgment and all the good advice. These ‘things’ make me suffer;

I am a willing slave to them. I constantly worry about them: are they OK?

Is it too hot, too wet, too cold for them? Are they getting scratched? Are

they safe? But none of this knocks the edge off, despite all logic, nothing

helps. These things don’t define me, but they help me to define myself.

They help me to live each day and not let it pass. They allow me to be

someone I am happy with. They allow me to experience things that teach

me, they allow me to achieve things and feel positive emotions.

I have come to think that I am better off with these attachments. Yes I

have to keep that in check but I am fond of a shot of joy every now and

again. True they are not me and I would live without them but I would be

less without the lessons they have taught.

Chaz Curry is the Wideopenmag team mechanic and lives in Exeter

with his very patient wife and kids. His CV includes co-founding Juice

Lubes, helping to bring Gawton’s new Gravity Hub to life and recently

co-founding the Rockets and Rascals bike shop in Plymouth.

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So you’ve booked your first race of the year and the big day is

approaching fast. Have you put in the hard work? Are you a grafter or

a quitter? Did you eat too many pies over Christmas? There’s nowhere

left to hide - but it’s never too late to make a difference. Jamie asked

me to try and give some advice that people can relate to. I race at a

semi-professional level but I’m not a ‘full-on’ pro with a big team and I

don’t have somebody to wipe my arse daily. I’m very lucky to ride for a

great team but at World Cup races I do all my own cooking, cleaning,

driving, bike mechanics and admin, so an insight from me is perhaps

a little more realistic for ‘normal’ riders than from a top prima donna.

This article will hopefully give you some things to think about and make

you a bit quicker when you hit the start line. So here is my take. To

help aspiring racers to race better and control the outcomes and the

emotions that go with racing. So where should you start? Start with the

basics. Do everything that you possibly can to control the variables.

Variables are crucial in a sport like mountain biking which has so many

things that can affect your performance. At the end of the day you make

your own luck.

Be positive

I get a lot of riders and parents chatting rubbish to me about being

“unlucky” and saying things like “I could be a good racer but I can’t put it

together for my race, I only practice well”. I understand what they mean,

but deep down we all know that “can’t” or “could” are just quitter words.

So start with being positive, so if you’re one of these “can’t” or “could”

people, when you leave for the races, firstly leave the negative vibes at

home.

Be organised

Be organised, get your spares for your bike, from tyres and tubes to

gear cables, all weather clothes and kit, goggles, lenses, tear-offs and

even a bike to spin around on between runs to keep those legs lactic

acid free. Get the right food, plenty of water and some cash for anything

you forget. Basically, get everything you’ll need in every scenario. This

sounds bent, but all those little things allow you to start controlling

variables and avoiding stress, allowing you to have more fun at the races

and in turn to be more relaxed. Being relaxed is a key part of performing

well and your starting to make your own luck.

enjoy the highs and the lows

Just don’t forget, the season is long and your only ever as good as your

last race, so from a coaching point of view, enjoy the highs and the good

results foremost, but don’t let the highs become too high, and the lows

to low, work on your weaknesses and most of all, have fun and enjoy it.

Practice smart

When you’re at the race you should sign on early, enjoy some banter

with your mates and see your friends. Walk the track. Make sure you

know the sections where you are strongest and weakest, and work on all

of these during practice. Even if you think you’re pinned in one section

and overlook it, I guarantee this is where you make a mistake when

racing, don’t get complacent. Don’t overlook even your strong areas.

After that, all that is left is the end product, your race run.

the race

The easy bit as I see it. You’re ready; you have everything you need to

be at your best. Eat a light snack an hour before your run. Cous cous or

rice is great but no shit - no crisps or chocolate. Get to the start line well

in advance and if it is cold put on a jacket, the timing crew will always

bring it down for you if you ask them nicely. The key now is to warm up

well and to start at least 30 minutes before your run. I can’t give you too

much advice about your warm up because everyone is different. Learn

what it takes to make you feel warmed up and switched on outside of

the race. Play around with it and don’t forget to warm up your mind as

well as your body. People who say they don’t warm up because it isn’t

cool or they don’t like it are the ones losing out - it is proven to improve

performance, make your own luck!

smash it!

So what’s left? To start riding and just smash it. Empty the tank. You

can rest after your race, you only get one chance so make it count.

The results are just the end product of all the training, preparation,

enjoyment, and not worrying about what other people think. At the

end of the day, each race could be your last so why not give it 110% no

matter what? Thrive on those emotions because they are what make

you feel alive on the most anatomical level.

That’s it – I hope you can take something from this.

See you at the races!

Rich Thomas races elite downhill for the Wideopenmag team. He placed

50th overall in the World Cup in 2012 with a 25th place at Fort William.

Alongside the racing, Rich is a British Cycling qualified coach and

offers skills and fitness sessions to aspiring racers. He wrote this from

Malaga, Spain as part of his winter training.

Twitter:@richthomas24

WORLD CUP RACER RICH THOMAS BREAKS DOWN SOME HOME

TRUTHS TO HELP YOU GET READY FOR YOUR FIRST RACE OF THE YEAR.

HOW TO BE FASTER

WORDS: RICH THOMAS PHOTO: JONNY ASHELFORD

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“YOU CAN REST AFTER YOUR RACE,

YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE

SO MAKE IT COUNT.”

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no DooRs, no WInDscReen, no RooF, no coMPRoMIse! SPRING

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Henry Siebert-Saunders. Push bike lover, Outlaw Rider, Somerset born and bred and

a guy with the Ariel Motor Company running through his veins like the fuel running

through its cars. That’s literal; his old man is the Managing Director. Hidden away

somewhere near Yeoville in the UK’s South West, next to a few sweeping bends and

a fast straight on the A30, is a big tin shed. You’d never know it from driving past but

inside is our host Henry and a fleet of the fastest cars you’re ever likely to see on a

public road. Home of the Ariel Atom.

Ariel’s roots are even closer to home than you might think. The company started way

back in 1870 as a manufacturer of pushbikes and as the first to patent spoke tension

wheels and inventors of the Penny Farthing. The name ‘Ariel’ even came from their big

wheeled invention meaning ‘lighter than air’ which the ‘Farthing was said to be with

its sprightly ‘all steel construction’. Later came motor bikes. Fast, powerful, elegant

ones. Fast forward to 2001 and Ariel is reborn and given a new lease of life by Henry’s

old man, Tom Siebert. Their focus was the Ariel Atom. A car in as far as it has a reg

plate, lights and four wheels – but nothing like photographer Milky’s family wagon that

brought us to Ariel HQ to meet Henry. The Atom is an astonishingly fast, face melting,

eye watering, bum tingling machine that is built to go very, very fast and be very, very

fun. It’s a car that Top Gear’s Clarkson described as “fast on an entirely new level” and

one that will see you from 0 to 100mph and back again in a ridiculous 11 seconds, at a

price of just £30,000. There’s no roof, no windscreen, no panels and definitely no room

in the back for your bike! The nearest equivalent for speed and horse power will cost

you a million quid and says ‘Bugatti’ on the front. Introducing Henry Siebert-Saunders

everyone:

HENRY SIEBERT-SAUNDERS – PARTS MANAGER AT ARIEL MOTOR COMPANY AND OUTLAW RIDER

WORDS: JAMIE EDWARDS PHOTOS: JACOB GIBBINS

NO DOORS, NO WINDSCREEN, NO ROOF, NO COMPROMISE!

no DooRs, no WInDscReen, no RooF, no coMPRoMIse! SPRING

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I’ve been working here for about 6 years but when I was 13 I was

sweeping the floor and making cups of tea.

I’ve lived up the road all my life. I’m Somerset born and bred. My father

is the MD so I’ve grown up with Ariel Motors my whole life and I’ve

seen it grow from the back of a napkin to what you see today. To see

us here with a 500 brake ‘giant killer’ and to have seen us sit for two

years unbeaten at the top of the Top Gear leader board is quite special.

I always knew I’d have some part in Ariel but perhaps not the part in it

that I have today. I trained as a drummer and a photographer!

What’s my job title? I don’t know really, probably ‘Parts Manager’?

What don’t I do? The only thing I don’t do is build the cars. I make sure

that the boys in the parts department have got a hand in everything,

speak to suppliers, make sure the parts are here, help people with their

problems, deal with taking people for test drives, showing people round

the cars. It’s a good life – someone has to do it!

the Ariel Atom is the fastest road legal car you can buy that won’t

cost you a million pounds.

For a top spec super charged Atom, you’ll pay £45,000. I had a guy come

up to me at a car show who was looking at buying a KTM X-Bow and

asked “why should I buy an Atom?” I said to him “well, for the price of a

X-Bow you can have one of our cars and a 2nd hand BMW M3 to go with

it!”. A standard spec on one of our cars is £32,000 and that’s 0 – 60 in 3.2

seconds.

How would I describe the drive of the Atom? It’s just ultimate

control.

I’ve never met anyone that hasn’t enjoyed driving an Atom. There are no

driver aids at all. There’s no traction control, there’s no power steering,

the brakes aren’t servo assisted, there’s no launch control. It’s just you,

the car and the road. It’s very light-weight. It’s very reliable. It’s very easy

to drive. We wanted something that was great round the track but that

was also fun on the road. It’s been designed as a road car, it’s fully road

legal. It’s got a MoT and a tax disc.

People often compare them to go-karts and it is similar to a go-kart.

It’s very low, you can see the road, and it’s open but not really drifty like

a go-kart. Karts don’t drift all that well. You can drift these but it’s quite

difficult because the weight is over the back end. When it does step out

it steps out quite quickly so you’ve got to be on your toes! It’s got to be

a calculated thing to make the back end come out! You can’t just think

“ooh I’ll slide round this one!” It’s very satisfying once you get the hang

of it!

the classic thing since day 1 has been “no doors, no windscreen, no

roof, no compromise!”

A lot of Ferraris have got 500 brake horse power and weigh 1,500kg.

The Atom just goes past all of those. The supercharged one has got 310

brake horse power and weighs 510 kilos. It’ll go 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds,

0 to 100 in 6.5 seconds and 0 to 100 to 0 in 11 seconds flat. Obviously

there are cars like the Bugatti Veyron that go a little bit quicker…but not

a lot. And the Bugatti is a million pounds which is not exactly accessible

to the everyday market. The Sunday Times used to do a 0 to 100 to test

every year and we used to just go up there every year and win every

single year. So they stopped doing it. It’s been on Top Gear a fair few

times. When we were first on there in 2004 we were second only to the

Ferrari Enzo which is another million pound car. We went back in 2010

with our V8 car and beat the Bugatti Veyron Supersport by 1.7 seconds

round the test track. The V8 car is about £120,000 but it’s a massive leap

up in performance. That’s got a 3litre or a 3.2litre engine over

the standard Honda engine.

It takes 160 hours to make an Atom and they’re all made here in

somerset.

They’re assembled here in Somerset and almost everything on the car

is bespoke made in the UK, there are very few off-the-shelf parts. That’s

a very important part of the company. It’s a British sports car so most

of the stuff needs to be made here in Britain. Nothing comes from the

Far-East, the Jackson Racing super-chargers come from America and

the dampers are from Bilstein in Germany - they make some beautiful

dampers. The car that won the Le Mans in 2012 had Bilstein dampers on

“NO DOORS, NO WINDSCREEN, NO ROOF, NO COMPROMISE!”

2013 ISSUE 20

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it. As standard the Ariel has a 2litre Honda engine, from Honda in Swindon. The chassis is

hand-welded here in the UK by a company called ‘Arch’ who have been doing that sort of

thing for decades, that’s a massive thing for us. It’s about getting the best that we can. All

of the exhaust, the carbon fibre, the spoilers, and the chassis are made in this country.

It’s not just about cars. My favourite mountain bike is my Planet-X Jack-Flash

easton Rad hardtail.

I’ve had the frame since 2001. It’s like Triggers Broom (google it!). Everything is new and

everything has been replaced several times! It’s had 3 sets of forks, 2 sets of cranks, 2

sets of wheels, it’s been repainted by an ex-girlfriend, I’ve had the disc brakes forever

and a day. I rode it exactly how it is out in France in Les Gets down Chavannes, with

those tyres on it. It was awesome fun, it just rolled so fast! It was just berm, berm, jump,

jump, berm!

I’ve also got a 2003 Rocky Mountain RM7 Wade Simmons signature edition, the one

with the stupid green flames on it. When I went to Bulgaria with the Outlaw Riders

everyone named it ‘the Huck Truck’! It’s good. I’ve got a Norco Six One from 2006

that’s twin chain ring so I can take it on XC if I’m feeling brave. That’s been to the Mega

Avalanche, Mountain of Hell, Les Gets, Morzine and it’s still going strong. I’ve also –

probably stupidly – got an Intense M9 for downhill racing which I’ve been trying to get

into. I’m obviously crap but I enjoy it! I used to race the Rocky Mountain but I thought I’d

get something that’s built for the job. I love the Planet-X the most though. It’s the one I

ride the most and it’s what got me into mountain biking.

the simpler a bike is, the better it works. Which is also why the Atom works so well

– it’s very simple.

I love hardtails because they’re very simple, they’re easy to manage, you can do anything

with them and it’s just all round fun. I think bikes are overcomplicated these days –

especially my Intense! I do two races and I’ve got to strip it down and do a bearing

change and it costs me £100 and about 6 hours labour. The Planet-X I can just chuck

in the back of the Landy and go ride it. My hardtail is just two triangles and that’s it. It’s

simple and easy to maintain – like the Atom and like my 1966 series 2 Landrover!

I’m in the ‘outlaw Riders’ club. We’re just a group of friends that like to have a

laugh on a bike.

There’s nothing particularly special about any of us – we try and do a trip every year.

Last year we did Scotland and Mountain of Hell, which was really good. There’s no real

competition between any of us thought we do race! I’m taking part in the Woodlands

Riders series this Sunday at Tavistock and I’ll probably come stone dead last … again! I

did one round last year at Tavistock Woods on the Planet-X and I came 3rd actually! It

was out of 6 though – I got a tee-shirt for my podium position! I usually lie about mid-

pack on the downhill stuff. As long as I enjoy it it’s good!

A motorbike is next for Ariel. We’re developing it at the moment.

It’s kind of been known about for two years and hopefully by the end of this year we

should have something to show for it. That’ll be a road legal bike. It’s going to be kind of

similar to the Atom. It’s going to be a niche bike. It’s not going to be a sports bike. If you

want a sports bike, go and spend ten grand on a Hayabusa and throw yourself down the

road at 200mph on that. We’re going to make something that’s a jack of all trades, good

to look at, nice to ride, quite fast, good handling, totally unique, British.

Huge thanks to Henry and all at Ariel for their hospitality. check out the Ariel

homepage at www.arielmotor.co.uk and the outlaw Riders Facebook at

facebook.com/OutlawRidersRacing

WIDeoPenMAG, DAn stAnton AnD tHe tI sLAcKLIne SPRING

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We’re huge fans of Dan Stanton’s bikes here at

Wideopenmag. They’re designed with love in the

UK by a genuine bicycle fanatic and – best of all –

ride amazingly well. Even better Dan is a bloody

nice guy who’s always great to share a pint and

some bike chat with. After our first ‘meeting’ (a

short ride, followed by a long night of laughing

and arguing in the pub!) we tested the Slackline

853 and loved it. At the end of 2012 Dan sent us

the prototype of his top-of-the-range titanium

version with the instruction to “ride the hell out

of it”. Now the Slackline Ti has been built up and

the thrashing has begun I wanted to catch up with

Dan and share some thoughts.

INTERVIEW: JAMIE EDWARDS PHOTOS: JACOB GIBBINS

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Afternoon Dan! Remind me how you started stanton Bikes again? -

wasn't it drunk at a party?!

Yeah that’s right! But I'd like to think of it as more of a 'lock stock' poker

affair than an ‘American Pie’ thing.

tell me about the slackline. What was the vision for that?

It started off with me loving riding 4X frames at trail centres as I loved

how playful they are. I was always on a quest to get the playful nature

of a 4X bike in a trail bike. This never happened and I started to feel like

it never was going to ... So I did something about it. I'd say that from me

deciding to do it to it being in production was probably 3-4 years with

quite a few prototypes!

so our test bike is the titanium version of the slackline. Are there

really people out there buying titanium hardtails over full similarly

priced suss trail bikes?

The Slackline Ti is priced into the lower/mid end of the Ti market. Ti is an

expensive material to work with and its tolerances are a lot more acute

and require a very talented/experienced welder.

Ti is something special, a wonder material especially for hardtail

mountain bikes. If designed correctly you get all the burst acceleration

you get from a good hardtail and you get a real trail comfort. Ti definitely

dulls down any harsh hits from the trail and you still get to know exactly

where your feet are in relation to your rear wheel, also Ti seems to buzz

along a trail, smoothing it out like you’re floating a few mill above then

when you come smashing deep into the corner the power is instantly

there to burst out. You don't get that on a full susser, you end up trying

to wrench the bike out of the compression.

our slackline is the prototype ti version - how close are you to a

finished product? How close are we to seeing a production bike?

What differences will the final bike have to our version?

It's all there, the only difference is the production model has a

replaceable mech hanger and yours has a shim to fit the correct post

size, the production one doesn't, it's 31.6 standard.

Now when will you see them? When you bump into one of the 20

people in the UK that have one. Most are sold already but there's a few

left. After this I'm not sure if I'm going to have any more made. If I do

I'm going to have to use a new Ti supplier as mine has decided not to

produce Ti anymore due to prices of raw material and labour.

As a bike designer - why do you use ti?

Ti is definitely tougher than standard steel however something you

probably didn't know is that Ti is roughly the same strength as Reynolds

631! Reynolds 853 is roughly 1/4 stronger but obviously not lighter and

surprisingly 853 is not lighter than 631, 853 frames tend to be lighter

because the tubes can be thinner. If you use the same wall thickness,

say 0.9, on all 3 materials 853 has a stronger dent resistance but is not

any stronger at the welds. So if 853 is tougher why Ti? Well you build to

the same wall thicknesses as with 631 but its over a 1/3 lighter! It has a

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greater elasticity and therefore feels like you can mould the design like

you’re working with Play Doh, localising tension and flex where you want

it. I'm truly in love with the material!

tell you what - it was a labour of love getting the bottom bracket

and the bloody headset in! You explained that was because of the

tolerances of working with ti..?

Yeah, the welder can quite easily warp a tube or blow a weld as there’s

a small margin between too much and too little heat. Also after a good

chat with my new friend Keith the MD of Reynolds he enlightened me

as to the tolerances of Ti, take for instance a 0.9mm tube it can be cut

to a tolerance of +.05mm (making it 0.95mm) as .1mm can be removed

in the polishing and finishing process of the frame. Granted it’s a bit of

a way round the houses to say it but yes it can be a little tougher to get

your headset in! But yeah, that’s why!

What do you think of our build - is it how you would imagine a

slackline should be built? What sort of set up do you think works

the best?

Jamie, it looks good bro! Mine is obviously how I think it should be built,

Fox 34 Talas 120-160, Mavic Cross Max, XT and saint with a Reverb and

1-10 that bad boy! Join the revolution!

The first ride on the bike I'll admit that I was impressed - the

'shape' of it just felt good. How did you design the bike to feel the

way it does?

That's a massive question! It had to feel fast off the mark, to feel super

nimble like a 4X bike but be able to ride real distances. It's not an easy

request to ask for so much from one design.

In short the geo-chemistry of the frame is ‘lower BB, shorter stays,

slackish seat tube, longish virtual top tube’ and a shorter reach with as

small a stack height as I could get away with. The BB isn't stupid low but

it's enough to counteract the slacker seat tube angle – it’s the seat tube

angle that gives you the longer virtual top tube and shorter reach. The

head angle is another good bit, it had to be slack enough to handle my

messy skills but not sluggish on the flat. To get the optimum out the

frame then a variable travel fork is the way to go. The head angle/BB

relationship is another good one, smaller fork lowers the BB, "but I want

a lower BB with the forks at full-on whack out!" Yeah you do sort of...

It's actually about stack, feeling deep in the bike, on full whack-out you

don't want the BB past the axle height (330mm on 26") on the Slackline,

if you run a 160 fork the HA is 65.5 and the BB is 330 put weight on the

bike and you dip it 1/3-1/4 into the travel (120mm ish) you also dip the

BB by 7mm every 20mm in the fork dropping the ride height to 316mm

and steepening the HA to 67.5ish. So if you run the fork at 120mm the

BB drop is less as the compression under weight is less and the travel

dips to 95 and in turn the BB drops from 316mm to 307mm a nice

Trail XC, play height. I found this formula to be the most perfect for all

disciplines, BB is respectively low for DH rough stuff with the forks at

160 (lengthening the wheel base) while still feeling super nimble at

higher speeds. At your lower speed tech trail riding running forks at 120

shortens the wheel base and drops the BB making it nimble at lower

speeds.

so I think the highlight of the slackline for me is the back end - it

just seems to work really well on those tight berms at the trail

centres. It also manuals rollers super nicely …

That’s all about the relationship between rider position, BB and chain-

stay length. I knew what I wanted from the off but my first attempt was

too low in the BB. The BB took quite a few attempts to get right and

that's when I realised it’s a real fine line to get that aspect of the geo

right, this is how I came up with the name for the frame... ‘Slack Line’. It’s

all about getting the perfect slack lines in a bike.

I might be wrong but I think it feels a bit stiffer than my old steel

frame ... not uncomfortable but just a little bit more rigid. You

maybe need to ride it a bit more aggressively to take the edge off

the bumps on the trail. Does that make sense?

Sort of, if your steel frame was a bandy XC style design, the Slackline is

a DHers or 4Xers XC/trail bike, balls on the table, do or die, make it look

stylish! It's the stiffer in the BB so it bursts away under acceleration; it

should feel supple and get increasingly more supple the faster you go.

so you've got a pretty modern set up with a 44mm headtube, IscG

tabs and 31.6mm seat tube - I understand there were a few design

challenges in getting all that designed into the frame?

Yeah sort of, the Ti supplier that my manufacturer used didn't cut the

specific size diameter seat post I wanted (31.6 id - 34.9 od at the top

and then variable thickness to the BB) so I had to find a Ti tube forger

and get them to manufacture to my specifications then ship it to my

frame supplier. The arduous part of it was that we were all different

nationalities and so quite a bit of the logistics of the situation was lost

in translation, it was a proper faff! All done now though and I'm super

mega-rad stoked to the point of bursting awesomeness with the result!

If you want a slackline you can contact Dan on stantonbikes.com. A

ti slackline will cost you £1250, the 853 steel version is £460.

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Mountain bike skate park images are always a little

controversial. Let’s be honest, a BMX is a far

better tool for the job and looks a lot more at home

in the park than a big bike. However there are a few

riders that can get away with it and Phil Auckland

is one of those guys. This shot is of Phil boosting

a massive toboggan over the hip at the famous

Marseille skate park, which anyone who has played

the first Tony Hawk game should recognise! This was

shot during an evening session on a trails road trip

around the south of France last year – Phil’s style even

managed to earn a clap from the salty BMX locals!

PHOTO: GARETH HOWELL

RIDER: PHILIP AUCKLAND / @PHILAUCKLAND

WWW.GARETH-HOWELL.NET

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can you introduce yourself please Mark?

My name is Mark Wallace, I am 17 years old and I live in

Duncan, British Columbia, Canada.

Relatively unheard of canadian junior Holly Feniak

rocketed through to victory at the Leogang World champs

last year. Do you think it puts you at an advantage in the

sense that you are under less pressure coming into this

race season with fewer people knowing who you are?

Does this make you feel more relaxed?

I think either way there is pressure, especially at World

Champs. Holly has a title to defend but she has already won

a World Championship, so it depends how you look at it. I still

have to reach my goals, and for me that is where pressure

comes from.

Would you say that the rise of your friend and fellow

Vancouver Islander steve smith through the world cup

ranks has kick started a spark in the hearts of would be

canadian racers?

Yes, definitely! It is a good thing to have a Canadian to be

inspired by; it makes young riders’ goals seem realistic

and achievable. It raises the level of riding and increases

awareness of the sport in general.

something you’re most likely going to get sick of being

asked throughout this season but… how has stevie

influenced your recent success?

Steve sets a good example just by doing what he does and

being who he is. Riding the same place during the winter (Mt.

Prevost) and having the same trainer (Todd, PerformX) has

allowed me to learn a lot about riding and training. He pushes

me to go faster and bigger every time we ride which forces me

to continuously improve.

canada is renowned for its riding and mountains. British

columbia alone has nearly 10 fully lift operated bike

parks with Whistler being the jewel in the crown. Why do

you think that out of a nation which contains so many

mountain bikers, only two canadians have really excelled

at world cup level, stevie smith and claire Buchar,

compared with england which has small hills and long

pushups but has produced many successful athletes.

I think because there is so much great riding that is easily

accessible most of us don't feel the need to race. Anyone can

go ride whatever they want almost every weekend without

the access provided by a race series. There are also a lot of

activities other than riding to enjoy. Another factor is that

the elite level of racing takes place on either the east or west

coast, which are about 5000 kilometres apart making travel to

races very expensive.

If you don’t live in British Columbia, chances are you’re probably sat reading this article thinking “Who the heck

is this?” Well truth be told, when I was advised to shoot him by small time biker Darren Berrecloth I had similar

thoughts but in a few months that might all have changed. Mark Wallace is part of the new breed of Junior downhill

racers set to try and make a name for themselves on the DH world cup circuit. So far Mark has already beaten big

named riders such as Sam Hill whilst racing the Canadian Open at Crankworx back in August. Getting himself on the

podium at this race as well as the Garbonzo DH, it’s clear that Mark has something special going on right now.

tHe neXt steVe sMItH: MARK WALLAceWORDS AND PHOTOS: GEORGE MILNER / @GEEMILNERVIDEO

SPRING

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You live 20 minutes drive from the base of Mt Prevost, which was

seen in steve smith’s seasons segment. What does Mt Prevost feature

which allows you to train and get faster on the bike?

Mt Prevost is great for a lot of reasons. It is usually rideable all winter and

the shuttle road is good making it time efficient. The trails are diverse and

fast with not much room for error which builds our skill and confidence.

Riding Prevost is great because of the trails and the people who ride there.

so crankworx Whistler… most people would consider you a “local” on

that track. Is that really the case?

I consider Whistler to be close to where I live but not local. It's an hour drive

to the ferry then a 1 hour 40 min ferry plus waiting time, and another 1

hour 30 min drive to Whistler. So it is not just another weekend of riding

like Prevost. I do know the trails there relatively well because I have been

able to spend some time there each summer since I was 7.

the competition in the canadian open was pretty much identical to

what you would expect to find in a world cup, what factors helped

contribute to this result? And to name a few riders you beat, sam Hill,

Brook Macdonald and Ben Reid, etc. How did it feel to beat so many of

the “elite”?

I don't really know what it was exactly, probably a bit of everything. I felt

good and fit (especially after Garbo) and I really liked the track which always

helps. There was also a lot of people there supporting me. I was really

happy with the run but didn’t think I would place as high as I did because of

who else was racing. It was just one of those good days where everything

felt good and went according to plan.

MY DAD GOT ME INTO

RIDING AT A YOUNG AGE

BY PULLING ME UP THE

MOUNTAIN WITH A ROPE

AND HOLDING IT ON THE

WAY DOWN.

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Garbonzo is arguably the toughest DH race in the world,

definitely the longest one at that! 12-20 minutes of completely

flat out, relentless downhill trail from the top of the mountain

bike park (excluding peak chair!) to the GLc drop at the

bottom. You came 5th again, how did you find the 2012 race in

terms of compared with how other years had gone in the past?

It's hard to compare it to other years (I didn't race it 2010 and

2011 as I wasn't racing very competitively) but I think it was the

way I decided to race it this year, and the training from PerformX

during the winter. I believe that it is just as tough mentally as it

is physically; I tried not to think about how tiring it was and how

much longer there still was left in the race and that seemed to work

well.

Whilst I was at your place filming with you, your dad struck me

as one of the most genuine and good willed people I’ve met.

Very Canadian! How has your dad influenced you and helped

you to be where you are now?

He’s always supportive, works hard to be available to shuttle and

be able to travel to races. My dad got me into riding at a young age

by pulling me up the mountain with a rope and holding it on the

way down. He helps me build trails. Supports my ideas and also

helps criticize them to improve my understanding or performance

but never puts pressure on me that I don’t want.

so lots of canadian riders are on the “PerformX program”. tell

us a bit more about it and how it is different from training

which has gone before it.

PerformX is a downhill and motocross specific training run by

Todd Schumlick. It is the first training program I have had so I

can’t compare it to anything, but I have learned a lot and know it is

working for me!

2013 is a big step up for you, you’ve joined Devinci Global

Racing. tell us how that’s going to help you achieve the things

you’ve set out to accomplish this year.

I am very excited to be riding for Devinci Global Racing this season.

All of the products and people on the team are great and I am

looking forward to the season starting. I was lucky enough to spend

a bit of time with the team in Europe last year and felt it improved

my racing. Spending the whole season with the team this year will

allow me to improve even more and reach my goals.

Who would you say has influenced you and inspired you, who

has helped you be where you are?

Travis Pastrana has been an inspiration because of his attitude

towards pushing boundaries. Drew Mitchell and Steve Smith

have also been inspiring and have taught me a lot of things about

racing that I will never forget. The support from my parents, family,

friends and sponsors is the best and I wouldn’t be where I am

without it.

For more from Mark hit up @markwallacebike

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THE OLLY WILKINS AND SAM REYNOLDS INTERVIEW.

2012 was not a good year for Sam Reynolds.

He broke his back, got carried home from

Crankworx on a spine-board and spent the

winter on his ass. Just a few months later

though he’s back in the air, back on a bike

and back on the international comp scene

– riding for Polygon bikes – and back pulling

double-flips.

We asked his good chum (and fellow pro

rider) Olly Wilkins to pin him down for an

interview and see what makes Mr Sam

Reynolds tick.

PHOTOS: ROO FOWLER / @ROOFOWLER

BUTT HOLE SURF-ERS

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olly: <more laughter!> Yeah plus its kinda rock n roll to have a crazy fucked

up face. Like a pirate.

Sam: For sure that’s why I got a clip in tooth so I can take it out and look badass

again when necessary.

olly: Yeah completely. Your back is all good again now isn’t it? You’ve kind

of made a fairly killer comeback from that. Your first double-flip since that

must have been a big turning point

Sam: Oh yeah it’s not perfect but I can’t complain. And yeah - of course - I wanted

to double-flip again ever since the crash but just needed to find the right place

and the right time. I’ve learnt the hard way not to play with a big trick like that. It’s

quite a relief to do another actually.

olly: Yeah totally. I think a lot of people would have left it at that. It’s easy

to get spooked by shit like that. so california looked amazing from the edit.

I was sat here with a broken ankle in the rain. A trip to Bognor Regis would

have looked good from where I was sat!

Sam: Wow yeah, that place is a hole, I went there on a football tour when I used to

be a jock and play (lads on tour pretty much). We found this trike and I jumped it

down the stairs at Butlins and broke it and ran away and left it there, <laughing>

suckers! Cali is good though, I’d live there if I could. I will definitely be going there

every year if I can!

olly: Hi sam. so. they want me to interview you.

Sam: <laughter> Hi Olly and hello Wideopenmag readers!

Congratulations on your first printed issue and thanks for

putting me on the front cover.

olly: ok sam, let’s begin. Game face. Your tooth is

looking nice?

Sam: Thanks, I got it this morning.

olly: What happened to the other one?

Sam: The first one was smashed out and is in the woods

somewhere. Then I got a new one, went to Vegas and lost it

again like the guy from The Hangover.

Olly: Face stuff sucks hey?

Sam: Yeah it hurts and makes girls like you way less than

they already do. You have a GF though so it’s fine. You win

already so it’s just cool to be ugly.

IS IT JUST ME OR

DO YOU THINK OF

BUTTHOLE WHENEVER

YOU HEAR WIDE-OPEN?

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olly: Yeah that’s the dream isn’t it? Got any tattoos yet? that’s

well california isn’t it?!

Sam: I have S4P on the inside of my lip. One of the Fuel girls did

it when we were wasted. She did it so shit though, I told her I

would give her one back. She wanted 'shhh' on her finger but I was

annoyed so I wrote 'fuck' instead. Needless to say she was more

angry and we haven’t really spoken since. Apparently she got it

lasered off.

olly: Yeah I heard she did. that costs loads I think.

Sam: I think she was an escort so she can afford it… I saw her on

babe station too once.

olly: talk to me about the Masters of Dirt tours. Are you doing

them this year? I guess its kind of a no brainer for you. that’s a

sam event if I ever saw one…

Sam: For sure! I love MOD; it’s the most fun times of the year. The

parties are the best things I’ve ever been to, nothing compares to it,

not even the Monster Wideopen party aka: the Catalina wine mixer

olly: oh god yeah! What are you doing contest wise this year?

You were killing it until euro crankworx. You and Pilgrim were

1-2 at that point right?

Sam: I’m doing the whole world tour hopefully! Yeah I was running in

a pretty juicy 2nd place until I nailed myself at Crankworx Les Deux

Alps so I was pretty gutted to miss all the big comps like Whistler

and Rampage. Hopefully this year will be a little smoother… I’m

booking flights to Vienna Air King today actually.

Olly: Yeah, I see this year as being a good one. I guess that stuff

is part of growing up contest-wise. What contests do you see

suiting you the best this year?

Sam: You certainly get better at contests with experience, obviously

I’m best known for hardtail style contests but I’ve been riding my

DH bike a lot more lately so am looking forward to Rampage. A lot

of contests are just shows though with no care for rider safety or

the wind or sketchy jumps or whatever. There is always an annoying

shitty kid who is willing to send his life for the glory at a contest so

everyone then has to step it up. I’m looking forward to X Games

though; it is awesome that we're being recognised now.

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olly: Yeah absolutely. X Games is actually a dream that I never thought

would come true. surely there’s a job for me there? Maybe I could

commentate or something?! I just hope they are sensible with the course. It’s

really cool to have huge jumps but I think there needs to be a mix. the real

progression never normally happens on the massive dangerous jumps and

that should be recognised.

Sam: For sure, and I’ve already seen the course and people are gonna die. The last

jump is 20 meters. But at least its invite only I guess so people coming know what

they’re doing. I agree to a certain extent that bigger isn’t always better, the tricks

are often boring at the big mountain events. Chatel mountain style was the worst

highlight video I’ve ever seen.

olly: How’s the Polly Gee going? I heard you are working on a slopestyle bike?

Sam: The Polygon is the best. And yeah it’s going to be so fun! Not sure I’ll use it in

a contest, we shall have to see, but I can’t wait to bomb around on it like a mini-DH

bike that can do tricks.

olly: Is there ever really much use for a 'slopestyle' bike? You don't see many

winning contests?

Sam: When a guy wins Crankworx on a hardtail it kind of proves that they’re

pointless. It’s just annoying because the Americans can’t beat the Euros at hardtails

so they make worse jumps which are better for full suspension bikes. In the end

we just have a less fun course to ride and tricks are worse. This is the problem with

Whistler Crankworx, no one wants to ride it for fun – it’s just a show.

Olly: Yeah I guess that’s an unfortunate part of the sport, crashes certainly bring

a certain thrill to the event from a marketing perspective. I can’t say that I or any

rider would want to see another go down but a lot of the crowd would.

Olly: On a different note, are you riding any UK contests this year?

Sam: Probably not no. They kind of died a few years ago. King of Dirt used to be

insane but I haven’t been for a few years now.

olly: I guess when you have to travel loads, it’s less appealing to ride contests

that you aren’t contractually obliged to do?

Sam: No it’s not that, it’s just more why go to a contest where 1st prize is £200

when I could get a flight and go to one that’s like 10,000euros. It’s the money.

olly: Good point. I guess we should wrap this 'interview' up then. I wonder if

we actually covered anything that anybody will find interesting?

Sam: What you mean they might actually publish this trash? What kinda magazine

is this? Nice cover though hmm?

Olly: Hahaha. They also sure know how to throw a giant sausage party.

Sam: They sure do, I can’t wait, that party is funny as hell!

Olly: I want to thank DMR bikes for making this interview possible. As well as X-

fusion suspension.

Sam: Well I’d also like to thank DMR, mainly their pedals. As well as Polygon bikes,

Monster Energy, Fox Head, SRAM, Rockshox, Truvativ, Avid, Halo wheels and last

but not least Buff (hahaha).

olly: What are you actually sponsored by a scarf company?

Sam: I am yes. Is it just me or do you think of butthole whenever you hear wide-

open? There’s a nice end of the interview for ya. @samreynolds26.

Olly: Agreed… @odub_23.

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THETAYLOR

VERNON SHOW

WORDS: JAMIE EDWARDSPHOTOS: JACOB GIBBINS

2013 SEES TAYLOR VERNON STEP UP TO THE MAJOR LEAGUE WITH A WORLD CUP FACTORY DEAL ON

ATHERTON RACING. HAVING TRACKED HIS PROGRESS OVER THE LAST YEAR WE FINALLY PINNED HIM DOWN

TO TALK ABOUT BIKES. TIDY DARTS!

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2013 SEES TAYLOR VERNON STEP UP TO THE MAJOR LEAGUE WITH A WORLD CUP FACTORY DEAL ON

ATHERTON RACING. HAVING TRACKED HIS PROGRESS OVER THE LAST YEAR WE FINALLY PINNED HIM DOWN

TO TALK ABOUT BIKES. TIDY DARTS!

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I'm struggling to keep the interview going for laughing so hard. Every

question I subject Tay's mate Tom Lloyd to (known from here on in as

‘Lloydy’) is being interrupted by Taylor (the little bastard) flying past on

his carbon GT Fury and hurling a string of banter at us in his just-about-

understandable valley tones. “Haha! I hit the power band on that one

butt!” shouts Tay.

Watching Tay ride it's pretty bloody obvious that he deserves his new

factory deal on Atherton Racing, but there’s something more to it than

just being fast, stylish and pin point accurate. Those things definitely

win races and win fans … but I don’t think that’s why people want him

on their team. I first met Taylor Vernon and Lloydy in the Easyjet queue

on the way to our first trip out to Malaga. I was overwhelmed by a tidal

wave of valley boys swearing, laughing, arguing, juggling bike bags and

bullying each other relentlessly. Tay was typically at the centre of it all –

keeping quiet and then shutting the banter down with a sharp, hilarious

and deeply Welsh one-liner. “I’ll open you up like a tin of beans butt!” But

it’s not just the lip – he’s also a good kid full of encouragement, praise,

banter and good riding advice. Who doesn’t like to hear a “You’re the

ticket butt!” after they nail a line from a kid half as old and three times as

fast as them?

Jamie: So you started off by riding motocross then? How did that all

begin?

Tay: “Everyone knows the answer to that butt – that’s a shit question! I

got a bike for Christmas when I was five years old didn’t I? It was a KTM

mini adventure and my feet didn’t even touch the floor! My dad had to

put his legs round the mud guard and I had to go braaaap!”

“I started racing moto straight away. Yep, straight in at the deep end! I

remember my first race was at Glandy Cross Dredgers moto club. I was

last in every race. I was shit! I started improving though. I’d go practicing

every night up the local field by my nan’s house. My dad used to make

me go out in all weathers whether it was raining, snowing, shining.”

Is your old man pretty pushy then?

“Oh yeah he’s pushy! He’s really pushy! He used to make me wear a radio

in my helmet on the moto so he could talk to me and go “Power! Power!

Power! Brake! Brake! Brake!” He’s better now I’m racing downhill actually

– he lets me get on with it. He’ll still put me in my place and make me get

focused if I need it though.”

Did he race as a youth?

<Taylor cracks up with laughter and tries to hold it back to tell the next story>

“Haha! He did one race! He forgot to put his goggles on so he had to pull

over and some bloke t-boned him! He broke his collar bone and that was

the end of it!” <Much laughter continues at Tay’s dad’s short-lived motocross

career>.

Tay’s dad Jason is obviously a massive force in the Team Vernon racing

campaign. You’d be hard pressed to find Tay at a race without the family

camper and Jason and Rach (Tay’s mum) there to keep him and his

bike running. Separate to our photo shoot, I gave Jase a call for a chat

and caught him on a day off from working in BikeIt – his bike shop in

Bridgend. It seemed only fair he got a chance to defend himself right?

So did Tay pick up the moto stuff pretty easily?

Jason: “I’ll you the truth, when we got him his first MX bike – he was

scared shitless of it! He didn’t like the noise! But he had a go on his

cousin’s bike which was quieter and that helped and he got on better. I’d

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU

INTERVIEWING HIM FOR BUTT?

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IS

THAT I’M GOOD LOOKIN’!”

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purposefully take him out in all weathers and especially in the rain. After

a time I’d be shouting at him to stop and come in and he’d just race off

and refuse to stop!”

Back at our shoot Tay pauses for a minute having spent some time

drifting a corner for Milky. I seize my chance to ask him some more

questions about his moto background.

so do you still race moto now?

Taylor: “I still race moto now yeah. I backed off in 2010 to focus on

mountain bikes though. Moto got really competitive and everyone was

just racing against each other and it was shit. There was loads of fallings

out – everyone was just being a dick. In mountain bikes everyone’s just

sound and gets along. You don’t see Herlings and Tommy Searle being

top muckers like the boys in downhill do you?”

Which do you prefer to race? Did you have a plan to start racing

downhill?

“Mountain bikes are more fun. I enjoy that more. I didn’t think I was

going to start racing downhill, I just wanted it as a hobby but then I got

hooked on it! My dad got a bike shop when I was getting into it and I saw

all the bikes and was like ‘Oh Dad! Hook me up!’.”

Tell me about your first downhill race then…

“My first race was at Wentwood for the WDMBA. I raced a Da Bomb

Cherry Bomb - it was a little 4” travel slope style bike and I came 4th!

That was my first time ever on a downhill bike too! I wasn’t sponsored or

anything then, I was just helped out by my dad. The year after that I went

onto a Giant Glory. It weighed tonnes and I had to get people to lift it on

to the uplift truck for me because I was too small! After that in 2011 I was

on a Scott and I started to take it more seriously.”

Do you think that you’re a good racer?

“I think so – I feel that I’ve got a strong head. I’ve been racing since I

was five years old so I pretty much know the score. I’m not sure what

I struggle with at races. I love steep tracks but I feel like I’m a pretty

all round racer. I love wide open fast stuff and tech stuff! When I won

National Champs it was a big eye opener. I realised that I could actually

do alright in the sport. I had my targets set on getting the champs title

and wanted to get that out of the way.”

At that point Milky announces that he’s found another corner that’s

worth some photos and Tay escapes – giving me a chance to have a

proper chat with Lloydy. I’ve tried to get Lloydy and Tay to describe their

relationship but they always fail and degenerate into bullying each other.

I ask Tay to describe Lloydy as he pushes past us, “He’s a BFG! He’s over

large and he’s furry! He smells severely and he eats cat food!”

From what I can gather, Lloydy is Tay’s very good mate and until

the recent factory deal from the Athertons, has adopted the role of

mechanic, driver, fixer, legal guardian, cook, problem solver, chaperone

and everything else in between. The two of them spend 90% of the time

bullying each other and the other 10% in this amazingly professional,

‘getting shit done’ race mode where it’s all business. It seems to work

surprisingly well.

How did you and tay get to being buddies then?

Lloydy: “How did I first meet him? Fuck knows – he probably tried to key

my car or something! Nah – I know Tay from riding moto down the beach

with Leon (Rosser) and all of them boys. He’d done a season of local

racing before I met him and you could see from his moto background

that he had something special.”

And how is it that you help him out at races?

“What do I do for him? I dunno. I just help him out and try to make sure

he does right for his sponsors. Jason runs his bike shop on Saturdays so

on a race weekend I’d drive Tay to the venue on a Friday night, get him

booked into a hotel and keep his bike working till his dad turned up.

He hasn’t got a fuckin clue about fixing his bike!” “Fuck off!” shouts Tay

“you’re always rounding my bolts off!”

2012 was a pretty special year for tay – he just seemed to win

everything?

“Yeah – in 2011 he was getting dinged by all the older boys but you

could tell he was pretty on it. In the winter after that his dad got him

involved with Alan Milway (pro-fitness coach who trains Danny Hart, The

Athertons, Tracey Moseley and others) who helped him out a hell of a

lot. He was doing a lot of training anyway but Milway helped him know

that he was doing it right and it gave him a hell of a lot of confidence. It

stepped up after that.”

Damn straight it stepped up – having spent 2011 narrowly missing out

on wins he went in to 2012 and pretty much never left the top step. By

the end of 2012, Tay had the British Downhill Series overall youth trophy

and youth National Champ trophy on his mantelpiece.

It was somewhere around Caersws BDS that I noticed the buzz around

Tay step up a gear. Everyone had suddenly decided that it was time to

talk about ‘transfer season’ and the rumour mill around Tay was grinding

hard. From the buzz you’d have thought it was Sam Hill or Steve Peat

being talked about … not a 16 year old from Bridgend with a Justin

Bieber haircut. Shortly after that the rumours started mentioning “The

Athertons” and it looked like Tay had bagged the deal of a lifetime.

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tell us about how the Atherton deal came about then…

Tay: “The weekend of World Champs Alan Milway phoned me and

asked me to send my CV to Dan Brown (Atherton Team Manager)

and I was like ‘Yeah boy!’. There were a lot of people saying that

it wasn’t the right decision but it was an easy decision. I went up

there at the end of the season in October time and tried the bike.

Obviously though I didn’t care what the bike was like, I just wanted

to get on the team! Lucky I got on with the bike straight away

though. It took a while to sort out but I knew it was a done deal

by December. They knew that they wanted to do an enduro team

but took a while to work out if they had the budget for me. They

managed to get it sorted in the end though and that was it”.

And how about when you first met up with them? Did you feel

under pressure?

“I first spoke to Gee at Bringewood – he came to say hello and we

had a chat. It was pretty chilled. I wasn’t intimidated or anything

when I met any of them. They’re the same people as the rest of us,

they’re just put on a higher pedestal. They’re just so enthusiastic –

they’re all a bunch of kids”.

Lloydy chips in here. “My only worry was that he’d go off to his

first World Cup and come back and his head will be absolutely

fuckin massive. But I don’t think you’re like that, are you Tay?

Besides, your dad would kick your ass anyway!”

One thing that was obvious throughout the last year was that it

wouldn’t just be a big step for Tay … but a big step for the family

that has supported him since day one. I asked Jason about having

to get used to not being a part of Tay’s racing campaign.

so Jase, how do you feel knowing that the setup is going to

change?

Jason: “I was a bit worried to start with about being on the outside

looking in. Me and Browny (Dan Brown) have got a plan though

– like a sort of a ‘comfort blanket’. I’m going to stick about to

start with and we’re not going to change things too drastically

too quickly. I’ll still be there at the top of the hill and at the World

Cups. Browny is really fair like that, he always asks Tay’s opinion on

things. I’ll be disappointed when I’m nothing to do with it, but that’s

all part of it aint it?”

separate again to our interview I asked Dan Brown about the

pressure on tay of stepping up to such a big team.

Dan Brown: “He's taking it all in his stride. The media onslaught

was pretty hectic from the off but I think we managed that well and

made sure Tay wasn't overdoing it. We're working on a few things

to ease him into racing under the team, I know there will be a lot of

expectations of him but we'll be happy if he just gives it his all and

learns from the rest of the riders, he's certainly doing that already

so I am sure the boy is going to go far. One thing I am trying to

install in him is to not to worry too much on his riding style, so

many riders these days worry too much what they look like on the

bike they forget they are there to race, luckily for him and us he is

naturally stylish so he can hold it flat out and still look good!”

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Our shoot finished on the top of a cold, windy hill above Cwm Carn. Milky

needed to get some portrait shots of Tay and the scenery was ‘the ticket’

according to Tay. It was freezing but Tay got stuck in – diligently checking

that his logos were clearly visible on his kit and that he had the right gloves

or goggles or race kit on. “I’ve got to rep the sponsors aint I butt?! I’m a

professional!”

I ask Tay one last question as we leave, which hits the nail on the head to

answer my question of why people seem so excited to get Tay on their team.

so what do you think the Atherton’s can learn from you mate?

Tay: “From me?! Fuck knows! They aint going to learn anything from me are

they butt?! Oh I dunno – I suppose they might just like to have someone

young on the team and have a fresh face to be with them?”

That sums it up for me. He’s young and he’s excited and he loves riding his

bike … but he’s not cheeky or spoilt or undeserving. And he doesn’t seem to

be expecting anything. He’s just a nice kid with bags of talent who’s fun to be

around. If you’re interested – Dan Brown reckons Tay is going to school the

lot of them on their MX bikes! Good luck for 2013 Tay!

Massive thanks to Milky, Taylor, Jason and Rach, Lloydy and Dan Brown for

making this interview happen. As we go to print Tay has just won his first

British National on his new team.

The man, the myth,

Tom Lloyd.

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so chris, can you give us a quick intro to who you are?

Dad to Dave, Scott and Emma and I organise all sorts of mountain bike

races. It just sort of happened really. I had been racing mostly XC races

and downhill had only just started to be popular. We had a 4x4 track and

a forest nearby where we live so we just started doing a few local races

on Wednesday nights and it sort of grew from there really.

How long have you been actually been organising 4X races for?

We did the first National 4X series race at Apex Motocross track way

back in April 2003. Steve Peat won it from memory with a whole load of

other now famous names racing.

With all the organising you do – national, euro and world 4X, plus

DH and enduro - do you ever get time to ride a bike yourself? What

kind of riding do you like to do?

Not really. I am always doing something or other for the next race or

am actually at a race, but I always try to get to Redhill Extreme on a

Wednesday evening in the summer. The last few months with the mini

enduro have changed all that, now I need to go out and ride some trails

which is fun but most of my riding is done in the winter.

there’s been a lot of focus on 4X since the split from the World

cup. How do you think the Pro tour went last year – were the rider

numbers as you expected?

Fantastic response from media and riders and the numbers were good.

It was a bit of an unknown what would happen but we knew there were

people who wanted it to continue so we had to make it happen. The big

thing for the Pro Tour was all the different organisers in each country

who wanted a race and could see the value the Pro Tour adds to the

weekend.

You said when you started organising the Pro tour that you were

going to look at bringing different tracks to 4X – like urban events.

Is this still your aim?

Yes we still want to see new tracks in the series. We have a new Czech

track that Tomas Slavik has designed which looks amazing. It’s got a

bit of everything - big jumps, rock garden, off piste through some trees

and the perfect set up in a ski resort with drag lifts etc. You can expect

fireworks at this track! We are still looking for the perfect place for an

urban race. There are a lot of things to get right and it’s been quite

tough to get what we want with the right mix of features for the track

and the build. It won’t happen in 2013 but fingers crossed for next year.

LET’S GO!CHRIS ROBERTS

4X NATIONAL SERIES AND PRO TOUR ORGANISERINTERVIEW: DAVE THOMASON

PHOTO: CHRIS RATFORD

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the Pro tour is only european based at the moment. What are your

plans to go global with it – are there such plans?

Yes we get enquiries every month from different countries. In America

we have had 5 different people looking at doing a race. We are open to

where the series will travel to but it’s got to be sustainable for the future

of the sport.

talking of UK nationals, who do you reckon will be the British rider

to watch this season - both in the nationals and at the Pro tour?

Well things are starting to change this year. Scott Beaumont and I both

sit on the British Cycling Gravity Commission and working with the

commission we are helping to work towards a more structured approach

to selection for World Championships. The idea is to give training advice

etc to selected riders already racing in Elite but to also look forward and

select junior riders who have the most potential to win a medal in the

future. This is all under the guidance of Will Longden who is the manager

of the British mountain bike gravity team. We believe the riders will get a

real benefit from being part of the program and they really need to grasp

it with both hands to make the most of it. This program will also have the

added benefit of giving some of the other riders something to aspire to

and they will want to get on it next year. I think the future for 4X riders

in the UK is looking better now than ever with the new track in Falmouth

and over in Germany they have 20 4X races planned for this year!

And finally…what are you most looking forward to this year?

Dry races and meeting up again with some really great people across

Europe who love racing bikes and having a good time.

For more from Chris check out www.nakedracing.com and

www.4xprotour.com

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Afternoon si – I hear there are some big changes at your end for

2013. What’s new with you and the BDs team?

The big announcement is that Saracen are going to sponsor the British

Downhill Series this year. Also - after three fantastic years working with

Dave Franciosy, due to health and family life reasons Dave has moved

onto the BMX scene to help Identiti promote their BMX product range.

He will be hugely missed, Dave has taught me to be honest and speak

my mind. No pussy footing about anymore, say it how it is!

Jed Freeman is my new right hand man and is solely focused on the

technical side of the BDS. He is responsible for live streaming, the BDS

website www.gravity- racing.co.uk as well as a few more nice ideas that

will develop over the year to give the riders and spectators a warm

fuzzy feeling. I’ve worked hard and I’m now lucky enough to be in a

position to work full time on the series and be totally dedicated to the

cause, ensuring great customer service with rapid response times to any

enquiry.

no national champs on your ‘to do’ list this year I see. Was that

something you had a choice in or was it Bc’s decision? How does it

feel to not be doing that big event?

Borderline Events and myself both tendered for the event. Borderline

won the bid as BC felt they could do a better job of promoting the

National Champs as a one off event, rather than diluting it into the

National Series. That decision didn’t go down well with me and a few

other people. To be brutally honest, it’s the best decision they ever

made. I took it as a personal attack and came out of my corner fighting,

both fists up, Smethwick style. Don’t go head to head with someone with

small man syndrome who lived in council flats as a kid and then roamed

the streets skateboarding – you’re asking for trouble. We’ve delivered

some absolute ground shaking knock-out blows for the BDS with

Extreme/Freecaster streaming the BDS live, the Facebook page receiving

over 100k views a week and with close to 10k likes and Twitter’s not far

behind with over 6k followers. Just wait till Sam Hill, Greg Minnaar and

Aaron Gwin turn up, it’s going be Armageddon.

How did 2012 BDs go from your perspective? What did you do that

you looked at and thought “Yep, I’m really pleased that we pulled

that off, good job”?

Every event ran well, the UCI reports were glowing and again no major

incidents regards riders injured. We have the best safety record as a

DH race organiser within BC for the last 7 years. The Commissaires get

the technical document prior to each race so there are no surprises. We

walk the course with them on Friday afternoon, there is an abundance

of marshals, trees are padded and we spend a lot of time moving stuff

from the side of the track so you don’t land on it. Ways to improve would

include better uplifts at Combe Sydenham and Llangollen. The uplift

road at Combe was re-graded mid March but as I write we’ve just had

snow! A smooth road means tractors go faster. Llangollen, Martin Sands

works tirelessly on that and we will improve on that each year.

… And was there anything you think “Damn, that could have been

better” or “I wish I’d done that”?

Punched everyone in the face that chucks their litter on the floor. That’s

the feeling I get when picking up litter on a Sunday evening from the

camping field. Parking! We will have parking attendants at each round

but again there are problems when riders land at 2am. We will have

better instructions on the website to help guide you in.

so what are the big, exciting new things that we’ll see at the BDs in

2013? It looks like you’ve had a big push on pro riders and media?

Anything else?

On my travels to the likes of Crankworx, Interbike and Eurobike I’ve

been networking! Plus clever things like using Facebook and messaging

every rider that raced a World Cup last year with a personal mail asking

them to come to the BDS, listing the schedule etc. It only took a few days

but look at the results, nearly every rider in the top 20 UCI rankings is

coming to at least one BDS. The media is so important; we are offering

them a press office, power, tinternet connection, refreshments and more

importantly great content for their publications.

there seems to always be a lot of chat about the cost of running

BDs events vs the entry fees. can you give us an idea of what an

event costs and what people’s entry fees go towards? Is running a

BDs series an easy way to get rich and live easy?!

Always a great question. When you work out that most uplifts are

between £25-30 a day (£60 a weekend) that should mean a BDS would

LET’S GO!SIMON PATON

BRITISH DOWNHILL SERIES ORGANISERINTERVIEW: JAMIE EDWARDS

PHOTO: JACOB GIBBINS

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cost £125 per entry when you consider how much it costs to put a BDS

on.

Land hire, uplift, toilets, skips, crowd barriers, BDS set-up team,

commentator, media manager/photographer, marshals, marshals food,

course maintenance, organisers travel costs, organisers accommodation,

BDS Team food bill, UCI/BC Commissaires, timing, medics, prize money,

UCI registration fees, BC insurance, number boards, foam for bikes on

uplift, zip ties, bin bags…

Then add on another big chunk for champagne, marshals whistles,

hi-viz tops, branding for the event, road signs, marquee pegs, ratchet

straps, folders, torches, outdoor lights, generators, podiums, hot seat,

back drop for podiums, posters to be printed and distributed, mobile

phone bills, phones, laptops, printers, stationary, marshal flags, wind

sock etc. Then visits to bike trade shows abroad and in the UK, pre-site

visits to venues for course digging and layout. Back after the event to

repair damage. Then add Jed’s time and expertise and a few pennies for

me and you’re well over £30k per round.

I see that spectators are now paying to attend after a few years of

you guys quite proudly allowing free spectating. What brought that

change about?

All of the above! Everybody has put their prices up, and we haven’t

for the last 4years. With all the top boys and girls racing now we have

more spectators and that means additional charges for race organisers,

additional hire of fields, skips and toilets plus more litter pickers and

stewards. We could of course charge the riders but we would rather

charge the spectators. It’s a formula that’s worked well for over 100

years in football; you don’t expect David Beckham to pay to play do you?

If every spectator paid £10.00 to come and watch you, you could all race

for free. Think about that.

Despite everyone’s claims that downhill is dying – it looks like entry

numbers have stayed pretty steady at the BDs in the last 3 years.

People obviously want to race downhill. Do you feel like it’s getting

any harder to get people to race downhill or race the BDs?

Only two years ago the series sold out in two days. Race fees have

stayed the same yet travel, accommodation and bikes and their kit have

significantly increased in price. It’s hard to enter the BDS; you need BC

points and a race license, if we had an open category we would have

sold out in one day! But why would you want an open category at the

Nationals? That should never be allowed should it? I set the rule myself

that you needed a BC license to race the series. This set a higher level of

expectation and standards although it dented the wallet for the first few

years. It’s now paid off and we’re reaping the rewards of a race series

that isn’t full of weapons.

Is DH dying? It’s still the Formula 1 of the MTB disciplines. We all know

downhillers don’t die, they go and race enduro. Joking aside, Enduro is

what most people ride, myself included but if you’ve got a big pair of

balls you also race DH don’t you!

can you tell us how many riders are signed up for this year?

Each round has over 330 riders with Fort William at 360 riders and

counting.

Let’s talk about some riders. simmonds won last year overall, Bony

in 2011, Brayton gave simmonds a run for his money in 2012. Who

do you think the smart money is on for the overall title in 2013?

I’d always like to see a different rider each year take the title and

especially one on flat pedals. Does that mean Adam Brayton?

taylor Vernon seemed to be “the one to watch” in 2012. What other

young talents are standing out for you at the moment. Who do you

think is going to surprise us this year?

Always look at the juveniles and who is miles apart from the rest of the

field. Just make sure they are not 8ft tall because that’s a false bet come

later in life. Let’s answer that in September as there is a wealth of young

guns attacking the BDS this year.

Last one – what else do we need to know? What is going to be

awesome about the 2013 BDs and why should people come and race

or watch it?!

The BDS is the best National race series in the world. The UK riders are

the most determined and they know I do the best job for them and pick

the best lines down that track! They will also get the most coverage from

these events with the amount of publicity on hand. The spectators need

rewarding for their efforts for attending and getting their boots muddy.

For more: www.facebook.com/BritishDownhillSeries and

www.gravity-racing.co.uk/

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Hey steve – can you remind the good people who you are and what

you do?

Hey Jamie, yeah I’ll probably have to remind some of the younger DH

racers who haven’t come across me since I moved over to Gravity

Enduro. I'm a 46 year old trapped inside a juvenile delinquents body that

has somehow got the task of running the UK Gravity Enduro series along

with co-organiser Charlie Williams. It’s our 3rd year and its gone bloody

mental! Nearly 1,000 entries sold on day 1 and rounds 1, 2 & 3 are sold

out with reserve lists. Big thanks to all the riders for putting their faith in

us to deliver another outstanding series. Before this I ran the National

DH series for 3 years with Si Paton, up until the end of 2009.

Are you still working the day job alongside the race organising

these days?

Yeah I still have a day job, only 3 days a week though. I also have my

distribution company, SPS Distribution; we have MDE, Ancillotti and

Shaman Racing as brands. That’s as well as organising the Enduro and

trying to help any organisers looking to get into GE.

Didn’t you retire last year?! that obviously didn’t last long - you

were back in the captain’s chair after about 24 hours! can you give

us an idea of how you were feeling at the end of the season and

what made you feel like you should throw in the towel?

I can't put into words how bad I felt when we got let down by our title

sponsor - all that work for nowt, I was totally gutted. Adrian Bradley

felt the same as well; he was co-organiser in 2012. When I made the

announcement, the public outcry was, well, a bit of a shock I’ve got to tell

you. I wouldn't have been able to ride anywhere in the UK without being

mobbed! Truly humbled by peoples outpouring about how the series

and myself had become part of their lives and how many new friends

have been made through it. The series has pretty much taken over my

life now. I am away 20 weekends of every year sorting and tweaking

venues so the riders get the most from the stages and series.

You’re obviously back at the helm now – what brought you back?

How are you feeling now you’ve got your first event of the year in

the bag?

There were a few things that brought me back, the public outcry for a

start. Then Charlie and Chris Roberts got in touch and some sponsors

as well, we talked at length and I got persuaded to come back. I must

be bloody crazy, but GE is so good and the people involved in it are

amazing. Round 1 went with a bang, albeit a bloody frozen one. Other

than one moaning git, everyone got on with racing, with amazing timing

courtesy of Chris Roberts and his TAG system.

I get the impression that it’s been pretty tough getting the series

off the ground since day 1 and to the point it’s at now. What have

been the big hurdles over the last couple of years?

Hurdles, what are those? They’re bloody tiny compared to running 5

stages in a day, getting all the riders and staff to come together at the

right time and not lose my sanity.

There have been a few issues along the way but none that can't be

sorted with a bit of thought. I think the series is in a good place right

now, there are some great sponsors onboard for 2013 and we have

started talks for 2014 with some of them already. The media machine is

starting to gather pace also, something we haven't focused on till now -

you have to have a quality product before you go singing its praises :-)

It really feels like this year enduro is much more in people’s minds

and people are generally more excited about it. Is that your

experience? Has it been easier to get the sponsors and the race

entries? Is the industry generally warming up to enduro racing this

year more than before?

Our catchphrase is "The future’s bright, the future’s Gravity Enduro".

INTERVIEW: JAMIE EDWARDS

PHOTO: DUNCAN PHILPOTT / JAMES TENNANT

LET’S GO!STEVE PARR

UK GRAVITYENDURO ORGANISER

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talk to me about the UcI and British cycling. Are they giving you

the support that you’d like to bring a national standard enduro

race series to the UK..?

I don't really know what’s going on at the UCI; I hope they come onboard

at some point but who knows? British Cycling’s coordinator is Roger

Wilbraham, who is a 4x racer himself. I can only say good things about

the support from him and all the commissaires who attend our races,

but BC is still trying to understand fully about Gravity Enduro. It’s a

whole new discipline to them and us, hell, we’re still learning!

Give it 3-5 years and the discipline will surpass DH and XC for

numbers, I will take bets on that as well.

We better talk about timing – that seems to be the big struggling

point with enduro racing. How did you feel last year when you saw

the timing not working and riders getting pissed off? What have

you guys done this season to sharpen up that aspect of the races?

Timing was a big issue in 2012, not the equipment but the staff. 2013 will

see Chris Roberts, 4x World Series main man, doing the timing using a

TAG Heuer system. It’s the same as BDS and Pearce, only with five starts

and finishes instead of just one.

The system uses light beams top and bottom and in theory it should

be the most accurate anywhere in the world.

And how did it work at Afan? Did it go smoothly and all the timing

work well? Were you happy with round 1?

Out of 1500 times recorded at Afan there was only one mistake, a 6 was

keyed in as 9 :-). Each round is different to the next; round 1 was the

fitness test for 2013 - pedally without too much height drop, round 2 is

totally different. Charlie and I were very happy with round 1 considering

the weather; we couldn't have been at a better venue. We couldn't care

about the odd moaning bastard, 90%+ were happy as a pig in shit :-)

so what else is new for this year? I see Big Bud has moved on – what

else has changed with the setup for this season?

Yeah Bud has got himself a nice managers job at Arthurs Stinky Dog

(alright for some). Charlie Williams has stepped up to the plate to take

over his role. Charlie is a seasoned enduro racer; he actually came up

with the name "Gravity Enduro" in 2011. He also has a keen eye for

short cuts on stages.

Another thing that has been brought back in is our stage checks on

Sunday morning. Charlie and I get uplifted early doors on Sunday to ride

all stages and check for any tampering and missing tape etc..... so be

warned you cheats :-)

everyone seems pretty excited about the more technical races–

Innerleithen seems to be the one everyone’s talking about. What

have you got lined up for future rounds? Which one are you looking

forward to the most and why?

Oh Inners, it’s every GE racers dream or nightmare, dependent on skill

level. You can be truly over the moon on one stage and then totally

deflated on the next. It’s got everything there, some of the most techy

trails you will ever ride down to flat out jumpy man made stuff. And it’s

got some amazing pubs and characters in the town just a 5 minute walk

away.

I'm looking forward to round 4 at Dyfi again; we truly shocked pretty

much everyone in 2012 with this one. Speeds in excess of 40 mph on

stages on loose shale and grass, but the riders stepped up their game

big time there. I think it really showed that UK riders are starting to get

enduro :-)

talk to me about riders. Who are your favourite riders on the UK

enduro circuit this year? Who’s really making you laugh, scaring

you, impressing you, making you think ‘holy shit’?

You've got to say Neil Donohue for skill and impressing, but there are

some real good guys coming through: Sam Flanagan, Ralph Jones, Mark

Scott, Joe Buck and the Rafferty bro's to name a few. There are also a

few that you always get a laugh with: Rob “Box” Cooksley, Dave Heath

(Harry's Dad), Richy Lewis, Mathew Mansell (crash test dummy), Matt

Snelling - I could go on, the list is massive.

That’s the thing with enduro, there are no massive egos, it is just

riders getting out and doing what they love, racing down trails with their

mates.

Random one to finish – if you had all the money in the world– how

would you do your race series?!

What race series? I'd be in the sun somewhere drinking beer!

For more: www.ukgravityenduro.com/

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PRODUCT REVIEW / SARACEN MYST PROwo

Ridiculous as it sounds – I don’t always get that fired up at the prospect

of testing downhill bikes. Despite how amazingly fun they are to ride

I’ll usually do my best to dodge them and send them on to someone

with bigger balls and a bigger race CV than I do. Or give them to the

squid, cos he’s a gnarly bastard. I’m not afraid to admit that how hard

you need to ride to really, really understand a downhill bike is a bit

beyond my level. I’m not totally useless, I can get down everything but

the wildest of trails and have a good time doing it … but I’m not hitting

anything flat out and I’m not upsetting any race results. I’m also shit at

decent sized jumps. Despite everything that I’ve just said, the Saracen

Myst feels different. Let me explain…

When the Myst turned up, the simplicity of the bike, the ‘sensible’

componentry and the ‘born at the British Downhill Series’ pedigree gave

it a really solid ‘suitable-for-anyone’ privateer vibe. It feels like a bike that

I don’t need to justify to myself or to anyone else – it’s a solid, downhill

bike that’s meant to be ridden, raced, thrashed and worked hard... not

polished, pampered and tweaked. It’s not super expensive and it’s not

super high tech, or made out of plastic or got funny sized wheels. It’ll

work for a privateer that’s racing Pearce Cycles regionals out of the

back of their car, or a top-level World Cup racer like Sam Dale or Manon

Carpenter… or for someone that has no interest in even entering a race.

Sure, that’s no comment on the bike’s ability to handle rough terrain or

win races but I think that when you spend a big chunk of cash on a bike,

it needs to ‘feel right’. For me, the Myst feels like the sort of DH bike I

would buy as someone who isn’t actually an aspiring World Cup racer.

Our bike is the 2012 ‘Pro’ model with a few slight tweaks. It is about

SARACEN MYST PRO

2013

73WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

PRoDUct ReVIeWSARACEN MYST PRO /

to be replaced by a flashy new 2013 bike with a new paint job and most

excitingly a carbon swing arm. Other than that, the bikes are pretty

similar and you should still be able to get your hands on a 2012 bike

in your local bike shop. Our version is equipped with a full Shimano

Zee affordable gravity groupset – the highlights being the ‘Shadow RD’

equipped clutch rear mech and the solid and no-hassle two-piece chain

set. Suspension is taken care of by a Fox RC rear shock and a Boxxer

Race. Wheels are built around Zee hubs with Conti Kaiser rubber. The

wide Kore bar and direct mount stem also felt good. The total package

will cost you and your credit card somewhere around £2500 (or £3,000 if

you get the new version with the updated swing arm).

First – the things I didn’t quite get on with on the bike. The Zee brakes

needed bleeding from the get-go and haven’t improved since. They have

an annoying habit of going almost to the bar on the first pull and then

pumping up immediately on the second and third pull and then feeling

normal. This means you find yourself having to pump your brakes

coming into technical sections which is a pain. The Zee rear hub has

also developed a bit of play … but that’s no biggy considering the rough

terrain it’s been through. The Boxxer RC is a great budget gravity fork

– but its limits appear quickly when you get it into big, tough and steep

terrain. That’s an observation rather than a fault with the fork though.

It does what it says it will – but no more. The paint could also be a bit

sturdier. My bike’s paint-job is doing ok but I’ve got two buddies with

Mysts – both of which are definitely looking nailed.

But despite my grumbles I have actually had a flipping great time on

this bike. I’ve had a week of amazing riding in Spain with our RoostDH

buddies and heaps of DIY uplifts in South Wales and the South West,

even an all-mountain uplift down on Exmoor which was a great test for

the bike’s pedalling ability. Sat here with plenty of riding in the tank and

my confidence running pretty high I’m happy to have the Myst in my

stable. It’s required virtually zero maintenance and I’ve enjoyed seeing

the bike help me boost my confidence and ride steeper terrain and even

some bigger jumps. I have found the Boxxer RC’s limits on steep terrain

and seem to be battling between getting the compression firm enough

that you don’t get bucked forward in steep switchbacks … but still soft

enough for the rest of the trail. Generally though – it’s a decent enough

fork that is still feeling nice and plush after a good few months of riding.

The Fox RC doesn’t need vast amounts of introduction. It’s simple, it

does the job and I’d argue that with a decent tune and a bit of setup

time you’d be hard pushed to need a vast amount more. It did seem to

benefit from a slightly faster rebound than the other bikes I’ve ridden

recently – but you can work that out for yourself. Digging deeper into

the bike you’ve got a reassuringly large, solid main pivot that is holding

up really well on our bike so far.

Most of all though I think the size and the shape of the bike is what I’ve

got on with. For me, it felt comfy from the first ride and didn’t take any

getting used to or working out ... meaning I could get on with having fun

and getting more confident straight away. Our demo bike is a medium

(there’s also a large available which would suit anyone 6ft and over) and

sports a 585mm top tube, 1181mm wheel base and 435mm chain stay.

The numbers put it pretty much in the middle for a downhill bike – it’s

shorter than a Nukeproof Pulse, but about the same as a Specialized

Demo.

On the trail I reckon that gives the Myst a good blend of feeling stable

and planted – without losing a bit of playfulness. I can chuck it around,

hop over gaps and get it where I want it to be which makes it feel fast

and fun.

I think that’s the heart of the Myst – it just does what it does and it

does it pretty well. It’s clean, it’s simple and it doesn’t do anything too

wild or showy. It just eats bumps, rails turns and is fine to throw around.

If that sounds like the sort of bike you might like … then you’d do a lot

worse than a Saracen Myst.

PHOTO: SZYMON NIEBORAK /DELAYEDPLEASURE.COM

RIDER: HARRY STEELE /@HARRYSTEELEMTB

www.saracen.co.uk

SPRING

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PRODUCT REVIEW / PLATYPUS TOKUL XC5wo

“Oh – they make bags as well as bladders now do

they?” My buddies seemed pleasantly surprised to see

the new Platypus 5 litre pack when I first took it out

on a ride. Given the fact that they’re relatively new to

the art of mountain bike packs, Platypus have done a

great job of crafting a light, comfortable, stylish way to

transport your junk and your water on the trails.

The XC5 comes with a 2 litre bladder and a modest

3 litres of storage space – making it a great size for

those rides that don’t require loads of supplies.

There’s just enough room for the basics like a small

jacket, a tube or a pump and there are small loops on

the outside to attach your helmet to.

The space inside includes a fabric ‘sheath’ to keep

your pump held in place and a few mesh pouches to

keep things organised. I like the size of the Tokul – it’s

just enough to keep me watered and covered for

basic mechanicals but not so big that it gets in the way

or feels bulky when I’m riding. My only minor gripe is

that the bag tapers towards the bottom. Whilst this

keeps everything tightly packed and free from rattling

about it can make packing and unpacking in a rush a

bit of a hassle. No biggy though.

The bladder has obviously had some thought put

into it – it’s held in place inside the pack with two wee

toggles meaning it doesn’t slosh about and sports

a wide, zip-lock sealed ‘mouth’ making filling and

cleaning really easy. The hose is generously long and

is locked securely into the bladder with a clippy valve

so you can unclip it from the bladder for easy filling.

The bite valve also sports a twist- lock so you won’t

get any dribbles mid ride!

PLATYPUSTOKUL XC5

cash money: £69.99

Web: www.cascadedesigns.com/en/platypus

The Word: Good effort Platypus – The Tokul looks good,

it has plenty of sensible features and it’s a great size for

most rides. The price isn’t bad at all either considering

the bladder is included.

Tested by: Jamie

2013

75WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

PRoDUct ReVIeWGAMUT P20 /

I’ve been running the new Gamut P20 throughout the winter

and subjecting it to all the cold, wet riding that the UK can

offer. With plenty of miles put through it I can safely say that I

prefer it to the devices that I’ve run in the past or currently run

on my other bikes.

The Gamut is a light-weight and simple guide that does away

with running the chain across a bottom roller and instead has

it slide across a simple and easy to maintain rubber O-ring.

Protecting the chain and chain ring is a light-weight bash ring

which mounts to your cranks and does a good job of fending

off blows. The whole thing weighs about 160grammes making

it impressively slender and a good choice for trail bikes.

One of the Gamut’s best attributes is how well it sheds mud

and debris when compared to a guide with a bottom roller. I

rode the Gamut back to back with a roller-equipped guide in

the recent heavy snow and found that the P20 had way more

empty space around the back and that the bash ring shed

snow and mud instantly. In heavy mud and grit this means

less muck to slow you down and less wear on your chain,

which is great.

The choice to use a rubber O-ring rather than a bottom

roller meant zero maintenance and zero mechanical problems

which I’m happy about. I was a bit worried about maintenance,

but even after a good few months the O-ring is showing

impressively little wear and tear. There’s also a spare supplied

in the box though for when it does eventually snap.

Despite loads of rocky riding in the Welsh valleys and

Mendip hills the P20 is still going strong and looking in great

condition - unlike my rims and frame which have taken a fair

few dings! I did wonder about lack of a skid plate to protect

the lower guide but I’m hardly using it like a trials rider and

I think you’d have to be extremely unlucky or heavy handed

to damage it. If you regularly smash your BB you may prefer

something like an E-13 with a skid-plate but that’s up to you.

I’ve really appreciated the P20 based on what it doesn’t have.

That being: a jockey wheel to maintain, noise from things

rubbing and any excess material. I don’t want any of that and

the P20 fits the bill.

GAMUT P20

cash money: £99.99

The Word: An impressively light and simple chain device that is

hassle and maintenance free.

Tested by: Pedal Progression’s Sam Fowler

SPRING

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PRODUCT REVIEW / RENTHAL FATBAR LITE / SWEET PROTECTION BEARSUIT KNEE PADSwo

The Fatbar Lite has been on my hardtail for about a month now

and has steered me safely through some of the filthiest winter

riding imaginable. At 740mm it offers plenty of width for trail

riding and I like the handy width-markers that give the option of

neat cutting-down should I wish. With Renthal’s moto pedigree

and the proven reliability of the ‘big-brother’ Fatbar, I’m feeling

safe that they’ll be more than strong enough and will get a whole

load of cooing approval from my brand conscious riding buddies.

The updated graphics also look great and stand out from the

crowd.

Of course; the main reason for this new Lite version is to appeal

to trail riders, and with a 25% weight saving bringing these down

to 270g there’s nothing to stop Renthal bars adorning the lighter

bikes in your shed.

Whilst the ‘Lite is 40mm narrower than its bigger brother

Fatbar, all other dimensions are near identical, which will be

welcome news as the original Fatbar was universally well received.

With 7 degrees of backsweep and 5 degrees of upsweep, the

10/20/30/40mm rise options should keep everybody happy.

RENTHAL FATBAR LITE

cash money: £59.99

Web: www.renthalcycling.com/

The word: An excellent trail bar and a welcome little brother to the

Fatbar offering the same toughness with a decent weight reduction.

Highly recommended.

Tested by: Taff

Sweet might not be a name you’ve heard often … but ask

anyone who knows kayaking, skiing or snowboarding and

they’ll likely sing the Norwegian brand’s praises. Sweet are

looking to bring their knowledge across to mountain biking

with some fresh, innovative products. The Bearsuit pad is

totally new, built from scratch and one I’ve enjoyed riding

in 3 times a week since January. Having ridden loads of

downhill and singletrack miles in the Bearsuit Pads, I’m pretty

impressed at its limpet-like ability to stay put while pedalling

and crashing. No annoying pads-round-the-ankles moments

and when I have a wobbler they stay where I want. Despite

forum grumbling about Sas-Tec, I’ve found the ‘visco elastic’

foam (meaning it gets harder when you bash it) does the job

nicely. This security comes from rubbery material inside the

pad that grips securely to your skin and stops slipping. The

flipside is that the Bearsuit pads aren’t the comfiest or most

breathable out there - definitely less comfortable than the

Fox or Nukeproof pads. But the impressive stability gives me

plenty of confidence and has kept me using them again and

again. The sturdiness of the Bearsuit pad is impressive too

compared to other pads I’ve tested. After 3 months of pretty

heavy riding one pad has a ‘wear and tear’ rip on one seam at

the back … but otherwise they’ve shrugged off all the abuse

I’ve thrown at them.

SWEET PROTECTION BEARSUIT KNEE PADS

cash money: £79.99

Web: www.sweetprotection.com

The word: A little on the warm side and as a result a bit sweaty

but despite that the Bearsuit is a really impressive pad. It stays

put, it wards off crashes and it inspires confidence. Generally this

is my ‘go to’ kneepad at the moment.

Tested by: Jamie

2013

77WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

PRoDUct ReVIeWUVEX XP /

The XP has been around for a few years -

but has had a splash of colour for 2013 to

give it a freshen up. Don’t believe the lack

of hype around Uvex, despite a few less

than exciting models in their catalogue the

XP is a top quality helmet and comes with

loads of smart features at a great price.

The shell is a ‘full coverage’ style affair –

similar to the Fox Flux or Giro Xen. It feels

substantial with plenty of coverage around

the back and sides of your head without

feeling bulky. The shell features ‘In Mould’

technology – which isn’t unique to Uvex

but means that the XP has a light, rigid and

bump resistant structure. One word of

caution though – the XP is a ‘one size fits

all’ set up and fits 55 -60cm heads meaning

it’s worth a try in a shop if you’re at either

end of those measurements.

The XP is impressively light at just 260g,

sports 16 sizeable vents and feels super

airy and comfortable on the trail. The

adjustment is the highlight of the XP with

a big, chunky wheel at the back that’s

quick and easy to use on the move. The

‘Monomatic Buckle’ means that the strap

is fastened with a ratchet strap – offering

quick and easy fine-tuning. You can unclick

it a few stops if you’re getting a bit warm

on a climb and quickly click it back up again

when the trail gets rougher. You can also

adjust the height of the XP on your head

which is a nice touch.

UVEX XP

cash money: £69.99

Web: www.uvex-sports.de

The Word: Uvex might not be the most

exciting brand in mountain biking – but

who cares? The XP is an impressively light,

airy and comfortable helmet that offers

lots of protection. For the money, it’s a

cracking helmet.

Tested by: Jamie

SPRING

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PRODUCT REVIEW / GRIPTEST - LOW PROFILE LOCK-ON GRIPSwo

Maris Stromberg’s signature

grip and ODI’s first signature

product in 25 years. Despite

BMX roots ‘The Machine’ is a

great MTB grip – especially if

you like long, low-profile grips.

At 143mm in length, if you like

a roomy cockpit or have big

hands these could be a good

choice. The grip is impressive

– helped by a soft compound

material, and a pattern of rows

of tiny stars and a larger ‘The

Machine’ logo. Our test pilot

ran these in the wet for a few

weeks with no complaints.

1 - ODI ‘THE MACHINE’

The lowest profile in this test

and perfect if you like your grips

super minimal. The Lean is

made from a comfortable, soft

compound and features a very

subtle hatched pattern. They’re

not ideal when conditions get

muddy but offer a good mix

of comfort and grip in the dry.

They’re great for summer trail

rides or the pump track. They’re

also really comfortable if you

ride without gloves and feature

a small flange that’s designed to

fit around shifters without the

need for trimming.

3 - DEITYLEAN

cash money: £23.99

Web: odigrips.com

The Word: An excellent low-

profile grip – especially if you

want a bit more room on your

bars. We like the added width on

these ones.

ODI are renowned for producing

comfortable, reliable grips that

stay put and don’t mess you

about. This collaboration with

Troy Lee Designs is (we reckon)

one of the best in the range if

you’re a fan of lower profile grips.

The grip pattern works well to

keep your hands in place even

when it’s wet. It features rows

of small, overlapping ‘blocks’

with channels running vertically

between and is also ‘twisted’

to offer more security. Subtle

flanges are another nice feature -

extra support without feeling like

burly moto grips. And these glow

in the dark - what’s not to like?!

4 - ODI TROY LEE DESIGNS

cash money: £23.99

Web: odigrips.com

The Word: Amazing grips with a

super grippy and comfortable

pattern. Not the most low-profile

grip in this test, but a good ‘in

between’ - plenty of grip without

feeling too chunky.

cash money: £15.99

Web: deitycomponents.com

The Word: Not the grippiest in this

test nor the most durable but we

wanted to include them as they’re

super comfortable and a great

choice for dry and dusty summer

riding. They’re also a few quid

cheaper than the ODI and Renthal

offerings.

Thank goodness Renthal built

their own lock-on grip - the

‘slip-on’ didn’t bring that sense

of moto-inspired delight. This is

spot-on, a good ‘middle profile’

grip. Clamping is taken care of

via CNC’d collars that lock into

the body of the grip. There are

various options of hardness –

the Kevlar version (Renthal say)

offers the best grip, comfort

and durability. No complaints

so far - the grip is rock solid

and the compound works in all

conditions. These are on my ‘go

to’ bike at the moment and I

won’t be changing soon.

2 - RENTHAL KEVLAR

cash money: £21.98

Web: renthalcycling.com

The Word: With surprisingly

effective ‘micro-nobbles’ these

give a solid hold in all conditions.

The Kevlar offers a slightly fatter

grip than the likes of ODI without

feeling too much like a ‘fat’ grip.

You don’t touch all that

many points your bike – so

it’s important that you get

it right on the bits that you

do. A decent set of grips

can make the difference

between your bike feeling

like a pig or like a finely

tuned trail killer. Here’s

a few of our favourite

low-profile grips that we’ve

ridden so far this year.

GRIPTEST 3 - D

EITY LEAN

1 - OD

I ‘THE M

ACH

INE’

2 - RENTH

AL KEVLA

R

4 - OD

I TROY LEE D

ESIGN

S

2013

79WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

PRoDUct ReVIeWTSG STATEN FULL FACE HELMET /

Everybody loves getting a quality product for a reasonable

price, right? Well the TSG Staten delivers just that. Yes, if you

were to compare the Staten to a top end, top price helmet you

might find it slightly lacking … but for £100 it’s a great looking

and comfortable full face. Compare this 2013 model with its

predecessor and you may be thinking ‘what changed?’. Well, for

one the graphics have had a facelift thanks to rider and designer

Jonas Janssen.

The main changes to the Staten have happened on the inside

however – the most obvious being redesigned cheek pads. When

testing I found them to be super comfortable, almost hugging

your face. Around the helmet you also have 11 vents to keep the

air flowing through and to keep you nice and cool. The pads are

removable and washable allowing you to avoid having a smelly

helmet on the hill. Not as important but making life easier, the

2013 Staten has dropped the D-buckle for a simple snap buckle

chin-strap with extra padding around the strap for comfort. Being

fairly lightweight weighing in at 1000g there is always the added

option of the carbon model priced at £199 which weighs 60g’s less

at 940g. Is the 60g difference worth an extra £100? Personally I’m

not so sure.

In terms of safety – I can’t vouch for the Staten just yet as I’ve

(thankfully!) not had a hard crash in it. It certainly feels secure and

solid on my head but I have noticed that there’s a fair bit of flex

in the chin guard which doesn’t inspire confidence. In fact, I’ve

noticed that some fine cracks have appeared in the paint by the

mouth-vents, presumably as a result of flexing. I’ll let you be the

judge but I suspect that may put off the riders that feel they need

a really tough helmet.

TSG STATEN FULLFACE HELMET

cash money: £99.99

Web: www.ridetsg.com

The word: TSG might not be the first name you think of when

considering a full face helmet but I would definitely recommend

giving them a try if you’re budget is tight. The Staten gives great quality

for such a cracking price, which couldn’t be said for a few others on

the market in the same price bracket.

Tested by: JamesW

SPRING

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PRODUCT REVIEW / TSG STATEN FULL FACE HELMETwo

One’s DOT certified Atom helmet is full of

surprises - none more so than the £100 price

tag. After a week of riding the Atom down

gnarly Spanish trails I couldn’t believe it wasn’t

more expensive.

The Atom feels solid in the hand and on the

head. The cheek pads are snug but not too

tight and the lining inside is very comfortable. I

normally run a Troy Lee D2 which I consider to

be comfortable and well fitting. The Atom feels

no less comfortable and is an equally great fit.

The mouth vent looked a little small at first

but it sits far enough off the face that getting

air in during long downhill runs isn’t a problem.

The large goggle aperture adds to a very open

feeling with great peripheral vision, and my

Blur goggles fit brilliantly. The MX pedigree of

the Atom means that it lacks the venting you’d

see on a lighter mountain bike specific helmet

but even under the hot Spanish sun I wasn’t

overly sweaty and I appreciated the added

confidence. You may want to consider the

venting and weight if you’re planning on using

the Atom for anything other than top to bottom

downhill style riding.

My main impression is that it feels incredibly

solid. Sure, it’s a bit heavier and bulkier than

a mountain bike specific lid but the payoff is

that it feels very solid and secure, helped by

good padding and a solid D-ring buckle. The

shell is impressively tough, my head has taken

a few slams whilst wearing the Atom, one in

particular that I thought was really going to

hurt, but I just got straight back up and shook

it off.

My only grumble about the Atom is the inner-

lining is a bit tight to remove when it starts to

smell like wet-dog. But that’s no big issue.

ONE ATOM HELMET

cash Money: £100

Web: www.oneindustries.com

The Word: Not the lightest or the coolest

helmet out there but it feels ultra-solid

and the DOT certification gives loads of

confidence. For the money this is a really

good helmet.

Tested by: Wideopenmag test-pilot Jay

Robinson

2013

81WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK

PRoDUct ReVIeWTSG STATEN FULL FACE HELMET /

HOPE F20 PEDALIt’s fair to say that the F20 pedal was received with the same

excitement that all new Hope products enjoy – that is, flippin’

loads. Hope are proud to admit that they took something like

two years to get the pedal ready to sell and took great delight

in teasing us with it all the way through the process. Finally

though, the F20 is here and features – you guessed it – 20 pins,

T6 aluminium platform, 3 cartridge bearings and one Norglide

bush per pedal as well as being fully CNC’d in the UK. If you’re

interested, Norglide is the self-proclaimed world leader for bearing

production and also (presumably in a separate department!)

claims to insulate a third of all of Europe’s homes!

Back to the F20 pedal, sorry. The quality of construction is the

first thing that jumps out at you, the F20 just feels good. The pedal

is solid, it’s smooth and it’s tough. Everything has been precisely

machined and while there is no excessive fat anywhere to be seen,

there’s enough material to offer a solid platform. The total weight

per pair clocks in at around 400gms which is very respectable for a

solid flat pedal. Stomp your foot onto the F20 and you’ll get a safe,

reassuring feeling that does nothing to discourage rowdiness.

Attention to detail is what will stand the F20 out from the

crowd and justify spending the extra cash over one of the usual

rebranded offerings that flood the internet. The first winner is that

the pins are screwed into the pedal body via the underside. That

means that pedal mashing won’t affect your ability to remove or

replace pins. All pedals should do this. The body of the pedal is

also machined with a ‘grooved’ pattern to add extra friction and

contribute to grip which is a nice extra feature. Fitting and removal

of the F20 is done via allen key with no pedal spanner option

– presumably to save weight, again no complaints. The finish

however (as you can see from the photo) could be improved.

Whilst it isn’t getting any worse, the anodizing quickly looked worn

and tatty after just a couple of rides. It’s disappointing given the

quality of the rest of the construction.

Grip is where I feel the F20 warrants a bit of discussion. The

solid, reassuring feel of the F20 adds loads of confidence and the

grooved platform is also a nice, albeit subtle, touch. My feet are

a modest size 9 and they seem to offer an amply sized platform –

which was also confirmed by my size 11 clowned-footed test pilot

who borrowed the F20’s for a few runs. I’m not fully convinced

however that the F20 offers the most grip out there. Despite

Hope’s claim that the F20 is “in the average for concavity” any

concaving really is very subtle and isn’t obvious to the eye or the

foot. I don’t think the F20 is a bad pedal at all – I just don’t feel that

my feet are locked in to it quite as securely as I have experienced

elsewhere. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though and switching

between my older, grippier pedals I did notice that I was struggling

to reposition my foot in the way I’d become accustomed to on the

Hopes. I wouldn’t be put off by this but do consider it if you don’t

ride in shoes with sticky rubber soles or you liked to be super

locked-in.

cash money: £120

Web: www.hopetech.com

The Word: Incredibly good quality pedals with great attention to

detail … but not the grippiest we’ve ever ridden. Teamed up with sticky

rubber soles they work well, but not perfect with a ‘normal’ shoe or if

you like loads of grip.

Tested by: Jamie

It’s fair to say that the Athertons have mixed luck.

On any given day they can absolutely destroy the

competition, proven by their m

ultiple World Cup and

World Cham

ps titles. Equally – as with any team

and

any rider – injuries, bad luck and mechanicals have

peppered their careers with plenty of frustrating

‘what could have been’ m

oments.

Round 1 of the Saracen British Dow

nhill Series

however w

as a hell of a race for the Athertons.

Despite filthy conditions they destroyed the field

with w

ins for Gee, Rachel and the new

est mem

ber of

the family, Taylor Vernon. To say Team

Manager D

an

Brown looked happy w

ould be an understatement!

With team

mate M

arc Beaumont scoring a 3rd at

Combe Sydenham

and brother Dan w

inning the

UK G

ravity Enduro a few w

eeks earlier things are

certainly looking pretty bloody good for Atherton

Racing. Good luck for the rest of the season guys!

In this photo from left. G

ee, Taylor Vernon and

Rachel. Dad Atherton spotted in the background.

Photo by Jacob Gibbins.

PAR

TIN

G S

HO

T:T

HE

AT

HE

RT

ON

S A

T

RO

UN

D 1 O

F TH

E

SA

RA

CE

N B

RIT

ISH

D

OW

NH

ILL SE

RIE

S.

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