Escape, adventure, freedom

Whether it be a simple half an hour slope off down the local singletrack or a fully blown once-in-a-lifetimer, the bicycle is without doubt a conduit for travel, adventure and freedom.

It’s those three simple yet bottomless words that this issue of Wideopenmag is dedicated to -the ability to escape the everyday, to meet new people, to see new landscapes and to experience the world in a whole new way that only the bicycle can provide.

Alongside the usual product tests, news and updates we’ve escaped the day jobs for two ‘best trip ever’ adventures – meeting the people behind the Portes du Soleil and digging deeper than the Pleney and then taking a chance on a mysterious invite to explore the south coast of Portugal.

Whatever riding means to you I hope this issue reminds you that your bike will take you to some incredible places and that every time you leave the house there’s the opportunity for another ‘best trip ever’!

Thanks to everyone that made this issue happen in particular the lovely people at Riders Retreat and Ride Portugal.

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Early season testing started for the Santa Cruz Syndicate with mechanics, engineers and riders arriving in the town of Imperia, Italy, for three days of extensive testing aboard the latest Santa Cruz full carbon V-10’s. The bikes were decked out with the Syndicate’s newest sponsor products from Fox and Shimano. The Syndicate’s choice to join forces with Shimano and Fox proved to be a great decision as the test session was incredibly successful.

“Testing was amazing, the most productive test session I have ever been to. Besides good riding and eating killer Italian food, our Syndicate family expanded with Fox and Shimano. I feel this was a great start to the year and I’m looking forward to more positive things to come in 2012,” said Greg Minnaar.

The testing took place on the long downhill racetrack in San Romolo with shuttle assistance from Roberto Vernassa from Argentina Bike. The five-man Fox crew was ready to gather information from suspension testing using their state of the art data acquisition equipment. Spirits were high as everyone got started off on the dark chilly mornings while the mechanics built a bonfire at the bottom of the track to stave off a bit of chill. Riders were warm and tingly inside with big grins after the first run.

“We were getting everyone up to speed on the new full carbon frame, Fox suspension, and Shimano components. With the frame being much lighter than the previous version we had to dial the suspension in because of less un-sprung weight. I’ve also been riding the new XTR brakes for some time now and can’t get over how impressive they are, particularly with modulation. Feedback from all the racers was what I was expecting, a new milestone in performance,” says Rob Roskopp.

Greg Minnaar exclaims, “I was blown away on the first ride down the rugged San Romolo track. The first thought was, this is a winning combo! Fitzy and his crew worked flat out to get us up to speed. Their passion, enthusiasm and suspension knowledge is going to be very positive to the Syndicate. It’s been awhile since I was last on Shimano, 2003…and that was a good year for me. I hope this is the good luck I’ll be needing to win another World Championship.”

Santa Cruz engineer Joe Graney says, “We look forward to a close relationship with the suspension experts at Fox. They arrived in Italy with a team of engineers and technicians – blowing everyone away with how they were able to accurately translate each rider’s input into measured improvements in speed and control. Shimano continues to push the envelope with technologies like Ice Tech brake rotors and the Shadow Plus derailleur, as well as the variety of options that can be configured for different conditions fitting perfectly with Santa Cruz Bicycles’ core values of customer choice, usable performance, durability and long term support.”

Our newest addition to the Syndicate, mechanic Jason Marsh says, “I’m super happy that we are using Fox Racing Shox and Shimano for the 2012 season. The new Fox 40 forks suit the carbon V-10 frame perfectly and the RC4 rear shock really compliments the VPP suspension design. The riders were all impressed on how good the bikes felt, even after the first run. I have worked with the Saint group-set for the last three seasons and I really like how they work. Saint cranks are super strong, brakes are simple to set up and the rear derailleur and shifter are super smooth and a nice set up. Finish and attention to detail can’t be matched. The support offered by the Fox team over the last few days has been superb and their race support is second to none. 2012 will be a great season.”

Steve Peat was surprisingly pleased, “We have had three awesome days testing and training in Italy. It was great to catch up with all my crew after a few down months throughout the winter and I was happy to get out on the Santa Cruz V-10 and trash it in the test situation. Fox is a company that I have watched over the years. They obviously have great product because the fast guys are using it and winning races now and again on it. And Shimano needs no introduction. It’s a no brainer that they have great products and I am looking forward to working with them at the races! We came up with some great set ups and I am now looking forward to the season. Now it’s our turn to give it a thrash on our V-10’s, 2012 should be fun!”

“The test session was a big learning curve for me. Having ridden Boxxer’s since I was about 14, I’m very used to the look and feel of the fork so it was a huge change. I really enjoyed the process of getting my new bike set up and it was interesting getting to know the characteristics of all the new products. The suspension seems almost limitless with it its adjustability and I think our bikes have entered a whole new realm of adaptability. Despite getting my ass kicked in the final race I had a really fun and productive three days,” said Josh Bryceland.

Tradition is that on the last day of testing we always have a race to see who is quickest. Once again, for the second time in a row, Peaty took the win. But unlike the first time when Greg wore the dress to dinner, it was Josh’s turn to wear a skirt. Since there were no women’s clothes handy, Josh had to improvise and craft a fashionable number out of a pair of pants. “His outfit was complete with his ‘special’ tiger underwear, “ chimes in Roskopp.

Joe Lawwill, Shimano’s MTB marketing manager says, “Shimano is very proud and excited to be working with Santa Cruz Bicycles and the iconic Syndicate race team. We are looking forward to a successful and exciting 2012 season.”

Fox’s Mark Fitzsimmons says, “We are very excited to work with a team at this level. The professionalism of the team has shown in their years of great results and we look forward to bringing our suspension expertise to the program. We here at FOX thrive on the pure honesty racing brings to our development process and look forward to learning from Steve, Greg and Josh to continue to improve our products and aid them in their mission for podiums. Our goal is to provide our athletes with a suspension performance advantage and look forward to continuing this into the 2012 season.”

Syndicate head mechanic Dougie “Fresh” Hatfield says, “The Fox and Shimano Saint equipped bikes ran silky smooth during our test camp in San Romolo. The riders really liked the responsiveness and quality of the product. We are ready to go racing!!”

Team ChainReactionCycles.com/Nukeproof are excited to welcome Alex Bond to the downhill roster for 2012 alongside our strong line-up of Matti Lehikoinen, Matt Simmonds, Joe Smith and Lewis Buchanan.

“Al is an amazing talent on two wheels; from downhill to BMX riding,” Team Manager Nigel Page said. “He had a great 2011 season, winning the Elite title in the UK British Downhill Series. Al is so dedicated to training and reaching his goals in downhill, we hope that giving him a factory ride will make things easier for him at World Cup level,” Nigel added.

“I’m really excited to be riding for Team ChainReactionCycles.com/Nukeproof for the 2012 season,” Al said. “It will be amazing to be a part of one of the best teams in the world! I really believe that with their support and backing I can have a great year, with some awesome results and reach my full potential. Bring it on!”

Lewis Buchanan, who’ll be stepping up from the Junior ranks to Elite, and Matti Lehikoinen are still both recovering from the injuries they sustained last season but are well on track to being ready for the start of this year’s race calendar. Nigel said: “Lewis is flat out in Scotland at the moment, keeping it real working in the gym and physio sessions as well as road riding and turbo training sessions while his shoulder is recovering from the surgery he had on it towards the end of 2011.”

Matti, Joe and Matt will head to Spain for the month of February to ride downhill, while Al is currently out in California training with his friends, the Athertons.

Team ChainReactionCycles.com/Nukeproof will be competing in the full UCI World Cup series, UCI World Championships, the Halo British Downhill series, Sea Otter Classic plus other races and events.

SRAM and Troy Lee Designs join our list of excellent sponsors this year and with all our riders recovered from their injuries, we’re hoping to go into the 2012 season as one of the strongest teams in the world!

Sponsors:
· SRAM

· Marzocchi

· Mercedes-Benz

· Vans

· Formula

· Mavic

· High5

· Royal

· Schwalbe

· Muc-Off

· Cane Creek

· Troy Lee Designs

And another prime cut from yesterday’s trip to the Core Bike Show – Thomson’s 2012 direct mount stem.

By their own admission Thomo have “overcome some inertia” and moved forward with some new projects. After 2 years in development including testing with the Dirtmag team they’re ready to go.

Expect some surpises from Thomo in the next year … including an all new dropper seat post! You (possibly) heard it here first!

Editor Jamie teamed up with Rob from SouthernDownhill yesterday and hit the road for Silverstone for the Core Bike Show.

One of the treats of the show was a chance to chat to RaceFace’s Marcel Jakob about their new hardcore carbon crankset and about the current state of play at RF. The good news is that the new crank is giving the SRAM X0 benchmark crankset a run for its money and that things at RF are looking good. Check out the video and enjoy.

Core is a very pleasant little trade only show that offers dealers and press the chance to meet a few brands and have a chat without the crowds of the bigger events. We’ll have a few more choice cuts online later today and tomorrow.

This has been an incredible journey, and the partnership has helped our racers achieve an impressive set of goals and dreams—2 UCI World Cup Downhill overall titles, 10 UCI World Cups wins by Greg Minnaar, 3 World Cup wins and a historic World Championship title by Steve Peat, and a Junior World Championship title by Josh Bryceland. These results were made possible using SRAM, Rockshox, Truvativ and Avid products, along with the world-class technical support of the SRAM team.

Working closely with John Dawson and Jon Cancellier on prototype Black Box projects and receiving their on-site support was a pleasure, and our heartfelt thanks go out to them for their years of dedication to the Syndicate. Thank you also to Dave Zimberoff for making the partnership possible.

Steve Peat says, “Leaving SRAM is a tough one for me. I have been with RockShox for 16 years so you could say the brand is engraved in me. But like most things in life nothing lasts forever and it has been a great time over the last 16 years. I want to thank each and every person at RockShox and SRAM who have helped me achieve my goals in my career. I have made lots of friends and had some fun times. Thanks guys!”

Greg Minnaar says, “Since joining the Syndicate in 2008 your support has been incredible. Thanks to all the crew that work hard behind the scenes making sure our Black Box equipment was keeping us ahead of the rest.” Josh Bryceland says, “I’ve ridden SRAM since I started mountain biking and I’ve come far using their products. Times change and so do sponsors, thanks for 4 years on the Syndicate without a mechanical in a race run.”

Rob Roskopp says, “Our partnership with SRAM over the years saw many milestones achieved, Steve Peat’s 2009 World Championship in Canberra, Greg Minnaar’s win at Maribor in 2010 aboard the first carbon bike to take a World Cup win, and countless podiums over the last 8 years. I would like to thank the whole crew at SRAM for the great memories and support.”

And here it is – the first of Wideopenmag’s 2012 team bikes built up and ready for action.

This beauty is elite 4x rider Alistair Keen’s Nukeproof Snap which he just built up ready for this weekend’s Chicksands road trip. Dave and him have both hooked up for the weekend to kick of 2012 with a mini team trip and a chance to give the new bikes a first ride.

Look out for a time lapse of the build later in the week and some Drift footage of the riding.

Cheers as always to Nukeproof for the support! Check out their facebook here.

Bit of info on it bellow the video but watch, make sure your sounds on, and up…and enjoy. Even some bikes in this one…!

This is the show reel for “The Delivery Men” , their blurb to go with this video reads:

“A quick edit of visual delights from our recent work.” and I think it says it all.

The main man behind it is Filmer Joe Simon, part owner and main Filmer for Mutiny bikes ( the shit hot BMX brand ) that not surprisingly has some of the best 2 wheel web edits on the web… for more just google him or check out his Vimeo.

Don’t know about you but I’m inspired both with the camera and the bikes after that…

Have a good weekend everyone…

The first race of the season is always a buzzy little affair. Newbies and old hands line up with fresh faced enthusiasm, eager to see if their winter training regime (or lack of it) will make them the new hero of the hill.

And so it was that 80 odd adrenalin charged challengers found themselves at the start ramp of Round 1 of the Woodland Riders Winter series. Practice started at twenty to ten. Bikes and riders all adorned with shiny trinkets fresh from Santa’s bulging sack started merrily throwing themselves down the hill with gay abandon. It wasn’t long before those who had been putting their feet up (some enforced but most voluntarily) were being found out. Complaints that they were ‘not feeling it’ and ‘knackered by the first fire road’ (crossing) started to work their way up the hill, gathering pace like an out of control snowball.  By the time practice came to a close at 11:45am the flow of riders to the start ramp had thinned to a trickle. An opulent Christmas and pedaly top section were taking their toll.

Lunch meant time to check in with my spies. The surprise was in the form of who wasn’t doing well rather than who was.  However, Ash Mullane’s (Kustom Bikes) new training program seemed to be working for him and time spent on his ‘Crosser’ had not dulled his blade. Jay Williamson (Wideopenmag) was looking ‘on it’ despite reports from Ash himself that he was ‘sounding like he was dying of a cold’. A brief chat with Jay confirmed this, he looked pale and leaden eyed but his irrepressible enthusiasm is a powerful ally and was standing him in good stead. That was who was ‘hot’, the list of who was not was a fair bit longer.

A burger van que found the suave and slick-witted Don Howe sporting a muddied shoulder. He had been one of the many caught out by the ‘tricky’ doubles. I have long been a fan of his smooth unhurried style but my spies were telling me that he was looking out of sorts. Maybe time on a motorbike had knocked the edges off for him, or maybe it was time on the golf course…The Deakinator was another feeling the strain. A pre Christmas opp on a long term  foot injury was obviously still giving him trouble and no amount of sympathy and back slapping was going to make up for it today.

By 12:30 the temperature had dropped but the battleship grey skies had as yet not produced any of the wet stuff. The first lady of Mountain Biking Sam Cann had taken her place as our starter for the afternoon and yours truly was organizing the rowdy rabble in to some sort of order. The chill air was thick with nervous banter as each racer took their place and launched in to their run.  It was unmistakably the first race of the season as everyone was where they should be in good time, all eager to get going. The Outlaw Riders seemed to be taking over the world with swollen ranks of uniformed racers each as comically gifted as the next.

First runs were over in a flash and early reports were that Jay and Ash were on the same second but no one knew who was in front of who, intriguing. Ryan Tunnel had come out of the winter looking fresh and the seemingly indestructible Bow Cann was proving that riding a bike definitely has a genetic element to it. Owen Willicombe’s (Kustom Bikes) winter had treated him well even if it hadn’t made him in to Trinny OR Suzanna as his post race choice of knitwear confirmed.  Andy Boyle was doing his best to win a £10 voucher for the shop he now owns (Dartmoor Cycles) and John Cobb was proving that being a distinguished gentleman of a certain age doesn’t mean you have to slow down even if you do start to look at stair lifts longingly.

Second runs were over as quickly as the first with a few notable absences. Little changed except the temperature or was it just that I was stood around doing not much except for shouting and as fun as that is it’s not well known for it’s thermal properties.

It turned out to be a day for the local boys with Harry Steer taking third place in seniors (amongst notable company) and this reporter’s ride of the day prize.

The Woodland Riders Winter races have evolved in the last few years to become some of the best run and well supported in the South West race calendar, this is largely down to the dogged efforts of Chaz Lamley and I think all those present would like to join me in thanking him and his long suffering wife Mandy for another great event.

If you are interested in entering round two (Feb 26^th) visit www.woodlandriders-racing.co.uk and enter online.

Toodle Pip all.

Results

 Juvenile

1^st Jack Hewlett

2^nd Matt Bryant

3^rd Kieran Atherton

Senior men

1^st  Ash Mullane (Kustom Bikes)

2^nd Jay Williamson (Widopenmag)

3^rd Hary Steer (Woodland Riders)

Junior Men                                                                    

 1^st Ryan Tunnel

2^nd Bow Cann

3^rd Charlie Ross

Hardtail

1^st Sam Acland

Youth

 1^st Owen Willicombe

2^nd James Cook

3^rd Jack Bell

Ripper

1^st Charlie Scutt

Master Men

 1^st Andy Boyle (Dartmoor Cycles)

2^nd Lee Patemore

3^rd Andrew Mc Robbie

Verteran Men

1^st John Cobb

2^nd Sam Shields

3^rd Matt Oakley

Unior will make sure that the team have got the tools they need to keep their bikes running at top conditions wherever they are in the world.

They will make sure there’s no scraping around for the right sized allen key or having to borrow tyre levers on race day and that the riders can concentrate on what they do best.

Team mechanic Chaz Curry will be equipped with a full-works 50 piece Unior tool box and workstand and each of the riders will get a personal 15 piece tool kit to keep their Nukeproof bikes fresh between events.

We’ve tested Unior’s kit in the magazine and been super impressed with their durability and no-fuss design. After months of rattling around in webguy Jim’s tool box they (and as a result his bike) are still going strong.

When we met the Unior crew at Raleigh’s tradeshow last year they turned up to be super positive, super friendly guys that loved pushing their brand almost as much as they did pushing their favourite Slovenian tipple ‘žganje’. We only want to work with brands that we trust and have fun with and the Unior guys fitted that perfectly.

• Our 2 man downhill team will race at the UCI World Cup, Halo British Downhill Series, IXS Cup and select UK regional events.
• Our 2 man 4X team will race select 4X Pro Series events and the British 4X Series.
• Our elite DH’er will also ride select enduro events – including the UK Gravity Enduro Series.

Check out Unior’s bike tools homepage here
And Unior’s facebook here.

Here’s Mechanic Chaz’s armoury of Unior goodies. We’ve got no idea why a man needs 3 hammers – but apparently he does!

Here’s an edit that we filmed with Unior Factory team rider Harry Heath way back in early 2011: