Alongside pimping sticky shoes to the industry,  he’s going to fire us a few updates from behind the scenes. First up we’ve got Kona, Five Ten, helmets from Urge.  Stay tuned for more over the next few days.

One Easy Jet flight later and i was sat in the belly of the beast. I’m not going to lie, since my last flight got hit by lightening, i’m a bit twitchy. But looking around it was bliss, no-one around, new plane, leg room?! I was due a final destination moment any second…

It all went fine as usual, even the food wasn’t too bad! instead of the usual dribbler, i sat next to a rather intelligent bloke for once.  Infact, turns out he’s an inventor and not shy of a penny or two… See THIS for one of them….

Friedrichshafen is nestled right on the border, with one of the most stunning backdrops and lake to match.

Eurobike isn’t like most trade shows, there’s stuff going on literally 24/7. Fashion shows(weird), dirt jump contests, more product you can shake a stick at and most of all bike porn…

It was a busy and long first day so here’s a few little snippets, expect more tommorow evening!

Five ten falcon: New all mountain spd shoe for 2011

Five ten cyclone: High top spd shoe 2011

Five ten spitfire: New colour for 2011

Five ten spitfire low: Lightweight casual spitfire, super light. nice pearl colour.

Five ten White Tiger: White Freerider, with new micro dot sole unit.

Kona operator: Flagship dh bike. Definite improvement.

Kona bass: Sick looking slopestyle fun bike.

WTF?

Urge helmets: Nice colours for 2011. Definite contender.

Cheers Joe! Stay tuned for more Eurobike updates…

Scumbags broke into his van and shed last night, cleaning out 3 mountainbikes and a pitbike. The cops are on the scene right now dusting for prints. Please – check out this post and let us know if you’ve got any info.

REWARDS if you can bring this stuff back kids.

Bike 1:

Brand new Solid M9 with 2010 Boxxers.  Conti Der Kaiser tyres, Superstar pedals (gold), Wideopen stickers on the carbon fork guards.

Bike 2:

2Stage Elite 9, Boxxer WC, Avid juicy 7, gravity bar and stem, SDG i beam saddle, Mavic 721 on reverse front wheel, brand new SLX cranks.

Bike 3:

2006 Specialized Enduro Pro – stock parts except for a set of new Conti tyres. No drive train.

Bike 4:

Demon X 125 pit bike – stock except for hi-rise Renthal bars.

All bikes were stolen from Flint in North Wales last night. They were all locked up securely using anchor points and top spec locks/chains. Whoever nicked ‘em wasn’t pissing about. If you’re in the area, keep your bikes safe and keep an eye out.

-update: More bikes were pinched in the same area from a different address last night… The police suspect both incidents were connected. Keep on your guard if you’re in the area!

The cops suspect a couple of scams are going around at the moment ….

1 – Scummers are targeting people that are selling high-end bikes or parts on ebay.  Keep your ebay stuff safe like this. When someone buys something off you, they can see your home address (like this). Be aware.

2 – Scummers are targeting people with posh bikes at trails centres and following them home to spot for easy thefts. Don’t go mad on this one, just be sensible and call the police if you spot anything suspicious at your local trails. Obviously NEVER leave your bike in the car and always lock your bikes up with a proper lock when you get home.  Proper means D-Locks not chains/loops.

Email me on Jamie@wideopenmag.co.uk … If you’ve got any info that brings these bikes back we’ll hook you up.

The Dudes of Hazzard episode 4 from Joe Barnes on Vimeo.

Entries are filling up fast so don’t miss out!

Here’s the word from the AH team:

It’s only a week until the Eastern and Central Champs being held at Aston Hill and entries are filling fast.

“We’re really pleased by the enthusiastic response we’ve had to the race!”  said Rich Abbott, chairman of Aston Hill Bike Park and primary race organiser. “We know Aston Hill is recognised as probably the best downhill venue in the south and central areas of England, and we’re always really pleased to hold a championship event. However, what we like even more is seeing grassroots riders getting a buzz from racing on a great track in friendly environment, often against names they’ve read about in the mags. That’s why we hold the races, and this race looks set to continue that with some great names, some great prizes and a great track.”

The 4-2-3 track is running really well and John Holbrook and his team of Hillbillies have been hard at work to make sure that it’s perfect for raceday. Generous sponsors SRAM, Troy Lee Designs, Nema, Gusset, Halo, Madison.co.uk, Continental, Monster Energy and Dees Cycles of Amersham have all donated excellent prizes, and there’s something incredibly special to be won in the Hardtail Category courtesy of Dialled Bikes. World Cup racers Ollie Burton and Harry Molloy will be strapping on their helmets to compete, and British Downhill Series organiser Dave Franciosy will be taking shots of every rider which will be available to download for free after the event.

In total there are nine categories, including hardtail and ladies, with each rider getting two timed runs. All race runs will be recorded by Mikrotime with the faster run counting. The event is National B Regional Championship British Cycling status.

Registration from 8.00am – 10.00am
Practice from 8.30am – 10.45am (you need to get two full race runs in before the race starts)
Racing starts at 11.00am

Pre entries are £23.50, on the day entries are £28.00.

Fastened full-face helmets are compulsory and body armour is advised.

Online registration is shutting midnight on Wednesday and any spaces left will be available on a first-come first-served basis at Aston Hill on the day. There were some last-minute racers turned away last year – to avoid disappointment, head over towww.rideastonhill.co.uk (http://www.rideastonhill.co.uk/events/autumn-dh/) to enter!

Monday afternoon from Joe Bowman on Vimeo.

It was the ultimate end to the season, the battle between Gee Atherton and Greg Minnaar came down to just 0.37s with Gee taking both the round and series win. Steve Peat looked like he was going to put together something special, being 1.4s up at the split but crashed on a drop some 30 seconds from the line.

Rachel Atherton showed that she was ready for the World Champs next weekend by destroying the womens field, with Tracey Moseley 2nd and Emmeline Ragot 3rd. Healing vibes go out to Manon Carpenter who suffered an injury to her elbow in practise.

“Incredible day in Windham New York today for Qualifying. Gee Atherton and Greg Minnaar are separated by just 4 points going into Sunday’s final now. This is going to be an epic race.”

Charlie Watts is our young gun dirt jump talent – he riders for us at King of Dirt, Dirt Wars etc on a Rose Bruce.

Here’s a nice bike check vid on his whip to start the weekend.

Charlie Watts Bike Check >>

All go this weekend for the World Cup finals – who will take the overall? It’s all down to the very last run of the season, Gee man and Greg are neck and neck with just seven points seperating them.