Wideopen

Wrong turn!

2009-04-10T13:17:00.003Z

Wideopen don't live here no more!

Don't be a willy - get your ass to our new site at:

www.wideopenmag.co.uk

Fastlane BMX Mag Issue 2 - counting down...

2009-04-09T17:33:00.001Z

Photogravity - this weekend at Inners!

2009-04-08T22:19:00.004Z

Not long to go now until Keith Valentine's PHOTOGRAVITY event up at Inners!

The idea is that get to ride Inners all day whilst the UK's elite mountainbike paparazzi snap photos of you - all in aid of the Ben Rogers and Tom Ineson fund.

You get to ride a great track, there's a discount on the uplifts and you'll get some sick photos of yourself to take home and plaster all over you facebook profi. You also get to support a good
cause. Winners all round.

Here's a reminder of the details:

1.photoshooting starts @ 12pm - 5pm -arrive sharp please
2.riders will be marked so the photographers & uplift know who has donated.
3.donations will be taken on the day before you start.
4.all donations will go to the Ben Ineson & Tom Rodgers memorial fund.
5.so far 9 photographers confirmed covering various styles- more to follow - all welcome.
6.some portrait shots will be available at the start if requested(while your kit & bike is nice & shiney).
7.photos will be put on www.flickr.com for riders to download free.
8.copyright will stay with photographers.
9.as a fun thing we want everyone involved to vote for there fave picture of the day.(please wait a week till all photos are on).1
0.you may be flashed in the face if you take part(but i doubt it,unless you want us to).ha ha
11.this is not a race this is a chance for riders to get cool shots of themselves styling it up & for photographers to shoot those great shots.
12.David Tally has said he may do an uplift deal for riders taking part ( exact details T.B.C).
13.please ride & flash safe as there may be other riders on trails & you style it up @ your own risk.
14.remember its a fun day & for charity so please give generously.
15.if anyone wishes to shoot film footage for the riders feel free.
16.only riders that have donated will have there photos made viewable & downloadable
17.anyone wishing to help/or learn from the photographers on the day let me know.
18.this wil be updated as more info becomes available - many thanks.
19.not sure what runs will be covered by photographers yet - but probably be usual race routes.
20.can photographers limit the number of flashes you use to 10,000
21.anyone can donate but due to overwhelming response we can only shoot the first 100 riders that donate so arrive early to get tagged
22.this event is now sponsored by lowepro - prizes may be forthcoming
23.we are trying to get special race style numbers made for this event so we know who the riders are.24.arrive sharp to get as many runs or photos in as possible.we shall be there from approx 11am taking riders details & donations.
25.we may put photos on pinkbike & this facebook site, to cover all event supporters.
26.there will be a wee trophy for the winner of the best photo.
27.and we have yet another sponsor comet who are paying for a wee trophy
28.you dont need to get an uplift if you dont want to.
29.can all photographers also send there best 2 or 3 shots from the event to jamie@wideopenmag.co.uk as they are doing a piece on the event
30.the meeting place for everyone wishing to donate , will be at the innerleithen sign at the bottom of the usual race route.
31.pinkbike are designing a special forum thread & are trying to send some goodies across for the event,also they said they may pod the winning photo - youve gotta be in it to win it.

Confirmed Riders for BikeRadar LIVE

2009-04-07T23:41:00.004Z

Check out this list of confirmed riders for Bike Radar Live....

Dual Slalom
Gee Atherton
Dan Atherton
Chris Kovarik
Romain Salidini
Steve Peat
Greg Minnaar
Brian Lopes
Nathan Rennie
Josh Bryceland
Matt Simmonds
Ruaridh Cunningham
Lewis Lacey
Lucas Mechura
Nige Page
Scott Beaumont
Dylan Clayton
Sam Dale
Dave Wardell
Marc Beaumont
Neil Donoghue
Martyn Ogden
Steve Taylor
Jordan Gould
Paddy Baker
James Norton

Dirt Jump
Jamie Goldman
Sam Pilgrim
Lance McDermott
Chris Smith
Dan Coggan
Phil Auckland
Pat Campbell-Jenner
Rory Backshell
Jack Gear
Daryl Brown
Chris Mohoney
Amir Kabbani

NPS4X Round 1 - UK Bike Park

2009-04-07T07:35:00.006Z

It seems like there was a hell of a lot of racing going on last weekend with at least 3 race series hosting their opening rounds. The big one was of course Rd1 of the NPS 4X down at UK Bike Park in Dorset. We negotiated some of the poshest villages and windiest countries lanes the south has to offer to check it out...

I'll get a full repo in the mag but in short it was a pretty fierce day of racing with the bone dry and loose track claiming a few victims. Patt Campbell-Jenner ate shit big time down the first straight and had a really gnarly, mid-air over the bars that saw his day end early. Get well soon fella!

I'm still not entirely sure what's going on at 4X racing but as far as I could tell Chris Roberts had everything running smoothly. Scotty Beaumont took the Elite win followed by a super pro'd up Lewis Lacey in full team CRC colours.

It was also our first time meeting Wideopen team rider Chris Mucklow and his missus Laura which was great. He did really well in his first 4 moto's getting 2 1st and 2 2nds but got kicked in the heats after a dodgy gate. Good sign though of things to come though! Here's a snap of the boy himself leading one of his motos. Yeahhh boy.

Here's the rest of the winners with a few 'worthy mentions' from Chris R:

Juvenile - Dominic BARDEN
Youth - Alex METCALFE
Juniors - Tom Knight
Seniors - Kieron MCAVOY - Spank Prize Winner
Masters - Dominic BENT - Halo Wheel Set Winner
Veterans - Jason Carpenter
Ladies - Charlie PHILLIPS

Juvenile
Pint sized Joe BUCK taking 2nd Juvenile on a big bike.

Youth
Adam Thomas rode well to take second
Isaac MUNDY got push off the track but was really on it.

Juniors
Mike Yard won every moto but out in the Semi Final for crossing the start line

Seniors
Chris CUMMING man to watch out for in Seniors.

Masters
Big old Paddy Baker racing in skin tight jeans! UCI ruling on Skin Suits will have to be enforced to stop an more complaints from spectators!

Veterans
David HERMAN ripping it up on a little single speed jump bike

Ladies
16 year old Manon CARPENTER taking 2nd place!
Suzanne LACEY taking a hard slam but getting back on her bike and riding to finish.

Pro
Liam Phillips breaking four chains and not racing.
Will Evans was on a mission and trying every move in the book to win.

Next Round Bridgnorth 23rd May full details on http://www.nps4x.com/

Full results http://www.nps4x.com/2009/04/rd1-results-uk-bike-park-09/

Here's 2 charming snaps of the handsome Dave Lane and Andy Dunwoody who kept us entertained all day!

DHSpain.com video

2009-04-05T22:22:00.003Z

Just a quick video from our week in Spain, take a look at www.dhspain.com for more info, I'm sure you can all see from the footage that it's an absolutely awesome place to go bike riding! Click HD for full quality!

DHSpain.com Video from Aaron Bartlett on Vimeo.

The MSC BIKES/DESCENT-GEAR NPS DH

2009-04-03T11:30:00.002Z

The Race Season is now wheel spinning into action and the UK hosts the top domestic race series in the World. You must race at a high regional standard before you can get into the NPS which is widely seen as the stepping stone up to the World Cups. Peaty, Atherton’s, Moseley, Beaumont, Warner, Bryceland have all been through the ranks, how about you?

The MSC BIKES/DESCENT-GEAR NPS DH is supported by: British Cycling and Monster Energy.

Each event is held over a weekend with Saturday for full practise followed by a quick practise session Sunday morning then straight into seeding and one race run, do or die!

The first three rounds are UCI Category 2 which means points are available for the top ten fastest riders on the day. Accumulate enough points and you could be rubbing shoulders at the next UCI World Cup with Sam Hill and Co..

Rd 1 April 25-26th - Ae Forest - (UCI Cat 2)

Rd 2 May 30-31st - Llangollen - (UCI Cat 2)

Rd 3 June 27-28th - Fort William - (UCI Cat 2)

Rd 4 August 15-16th - Carlton Bank

Rd 5 September 26-27th - Caersws

International Rider? Race at a good standard back home and want to measure yourself against the Worlds best! Then send your entry form in and couple that up with a reference/link to your results and you are in!Parking, camping and spectating is always free at the NPS and we provide a large marquee, onsite catering, live timing, huge timing screen, live commentating, SERVICED toilets, music through out the day. Everyone is welcome to walk up the course outside of the tapes and catch all the trackside action.

Best four out of five rounds count for series overall prizes and points. Hang around for podium time as we run five man podiums giving more riders the chance to get their name up in lights and a nice custom trophy for the mantlepiece from Hope Technology.Top tip: Hang around for podiums, if a rider misses presentations then their prize and trophy goes to the little kid in the crowd!

Supporting the riders at the NPS in 2009 and sponsoring individual categories are:Descent-Gear.com - JuvenilesLizard Skins - YouthsFox - JuniorsSwiss and Swallow - WomenNo Limits - Master MenTicket2RideBC.com - Veteran MenContinental "Black Chilli" MenLeisure Lakes - Expert MenNema Clothing - Elite WomenNema Clothing - Elite Men

TF Tuned will also be on hand at each race and will be presenting a big fat cheque for £200.00 to the rider who wins by the biggest winning margin. Pete Evans from 2StageBikes in New Zealand will also be handing over £200 big ones to the rider with the fastest combined times from seeding and their race run!

Marshalling?
16 years of age or older on the day of the race then please read on:

Marshall for one day: £30
Marshall for two days that weekend: £65
Marshall for all five rounds, both days: You'll get an extra wallet busting £100 bonus at the end of the last round.

You also get fed and watered and get to see the top riders in the country and even the World! Priority entry guaranteed (as long as you have 5 BC points) for your son, daughter, cousin, mate etc...
Extra Bonus: Provide a marshal for both days at the NPS DH and your rider will receive a "Queue Jump" pass! No more queuing, unlimited runs and that’s another incentive to get valued marshal’s on the hill to look after you! Training is provided along with high visibility vest, whistle, flags and radio.We back Marshals up 100% and operate a zero tolerance policy to anyone who abuses or undermines a Marshall.

Steve Parr and Si Paton welcome you trackside and promise a warm welcome to everyone.

Photos by Keith Valentine http://www.phunkt.com/

http://www.npsdh.com/

http://www.npsdh.com/

NASS 2009 plans are GO

2009-04-03T07:57:00.003Z

This year's National Adventure Sports Show is GO for 10 - 12 July 09.

Latest news is that they've just added everyone's favourite UK hip hopper Lethal Bizzle to the line up. He's joining N.E.R.D, Chase and Status, High Contrast, Shy Fx, Scratch Perverts, Sub Focus. I started typing this with the intention of taking the piss but that actually all sounds pretty damn good!

Also - plans are now up for the all new street course:

More here

Day 6 from Spain

2009-04-01T22:51:00.003Z

Well today was our last day in Spain and didn't we make the most of it! I really don't have anything funny to say - it was just mint. We started by getting up at 11 even though we agreed to get up at 8. Then we went to pick up Scouser John from the local Cafe and ate bacon and egg butties and soon enough we were "on the road again" out towards the first track we went to: "Fonz's track" to do some filming. After 20 minutes of mangina, pubic hair and Rob getting his giblet out yet again and chasing after his brother when we were supposed to be getting some interviews done we finally got a bit of riding footage done.

Pretty much we then just drove over to the track which was in Re - Focus to do some riding. The top section was the loosest thing I've ever ridden in my life, it was about a foot deep in dust all the way down the open hillside with sun beating down on us. The bottom section was really jumpy with some fast rock sections and smooth berms, was equally as fun. But one of the most interesting obstacles was the massive step up off the road which has had a new lip put on it according to main man Rob. Basically we got an "epic"/"gorgeous" (two of Milky's favourite words) tracking shot from the roof of a landrover of Harry and Tom on this section.

Basically we just pissed around on the bottom section for an hour or so and then headed back to let Milky get a shot of Baz doing a scrub on a jump behind Rob's house, it looked mint so nice one.

Flying home tomorrow so that sucks but it's been an awesome week of filming and riding. Keep an eye out for a little vid from DHSpain.com online pretty soon, get saving and get on it.

Mono

Day 57 from "Track of Death" (Spain)

2009-03-31T21:25:00.002Z

Bitches. Today was what most people would call the low point of their holiday. For some, it's breaking their leg whilst sunbathing, for others it's the day of rain on an otherwise sunny week and for the really unlucky ones who have a totally shit holiday it's the point where they pass out after too much absinth and wake up with a gnarly black cock up their bum. Today was our black cock in the bum day.

A local Spanish chap recommended a new track to us today. Anyway, he got a puncture and took us to what he described as the "best track", unfortunately in our opinion it sucked majorly (Baz described it as "Run of the Ken 2") and we missed out on filming on an awesome track that Rob Deacon had originally intended we ride - shame really. Basically I've ended up getting nothing on film today and walked all the way down a mountain and we missed out on the good stuff.

We actually rode a mint descent this morning (afternoon) on the way to "Spanish Track of Death" with some awesome slick rock sections and went on to ride a very Alpsesque flat out rocky walkers path style track; like proper gnarly loose turns and big rock sections all the way down the side of this mountain - I struggled a bit with my spike on the back (don't ask why I turned up to Spain with that) but it was pretty EL SICKO.

Milko came out with some proper mint questions like he has been all holday today. Highlight of today would be "What is that big church like building on the hill over there?" Rob - "That would be a erm church" and also yesterday "You can see Spain from here" (meaning Africa) and the other day "Why do they call it the Sram test track?", answers on a postcard please...

Tomorrow is our last full day in Spain, hopefully it'll be a goodun. I'll be busting out the camera in the morning on the "Fonz track" and hopefully spending all afternoon riding some rad tracks. Hopefully Milk pro will state the obvious and ask some rad questions to keep us entertained again as well. We are going to be strictly sticking to rad tracks tomorrow and not going anywhere near any Tracks of Death or Run of the Kens.

Im off to watch 40 Year Old Virgin now, we decided not to watch Ghost in the end.

A lake thing that we had a coffee by:

Adios.

Mono

RACH OUT FOR FIRST WORLD CUP

2009-03-31T11:50:00.004Z

Bit of bad news from the Atherton clan. Rach won't be back up to speed for Rd1 of the World Cup in a couple of weeks.

"Despite more than a month of rest and rehabilitation, we are sorry to say there has been no major improvement with the nerve damage in Rach's shoulder.

Rach has visited a number of specialists over the last few weeks who have all been unable to give a clear indication on her recovery time. The current view is to wait a further four weeks to see if the nerve improves – which obviously means that Rachel will miss the first World Cup round. She is continuing to train with the view of returning as soon as she can.

Follow Rachel's recovery on:

http://campaignemail.nickellrich.co.uk/t/y/l/hrjhm/ihhhkjlhl/d

or for up to the minute updates on Twitter"

Chain Reaction/Intense Team Bikes

2009-03-31T10:21:00.007Z

ChainReactionCycles/Intense team manager Nigel Page just got in touch with some photos of the new team bikes. I think I just ruined my monitor.... Click the images to go BIG

INTENSE EVO

TAZER 4X

"Well after a hectic week of dealing with UPS and customs and Dave and Jason working around the clock building all our bikes they are finally built and I have to say I have never seen better looking bikes. They look fantastic and most importantly very fast!

Chain Reaction Cycles have done a great job of getting our graphics done this year to fit the frames, Clayton at Manitou had us some custom blue Dorado graphics made, Hope have made us the blingest matching team blue brakes with the riders names on the levers. The Mavic wheel sets just look so trick, the new Easton Havoc 750 bars are wide enough for the new school but with the same great shape of the older bars. The new Intense frames have come out just as we asked. Jeff Steber has made us the best bikes I think Intense have ever built.

After riding for 2 days over the weekend Matt Simmonds said - "The new Intense EVO feels much lighter faster and with the new adjustability we can get the perfect set up on any course"

I would like to say a big thank you to all our sponsors on behalf of the whole team for getting us all our parts and gear to us in time for leaving for South Africa today.

Keep checking our website to for team news throughout the season. http://www.crcintense.com/

Sponsors:
Chain Reaction Cycles • Intense Cycles • Manitou • Easton • Hope • Fi'zi:k • CaneCreek • Maxxis • Shimano • e13 • Burgtec • Royal Racing • SixSixOne • THE • High Five

Espanola - Day Quattro (4)

2009-03-30T22:33:00.004Z

Hello my pretties. Today we finally did what we came over here originally to do which is bang out some photos and videos of naked men on bikes. That's right, you did read that correctly; just check out this photo of Rob Deacon riding on location in Malaga:

To quote Harry "Bazbo" Heath "his cock was flopping about all over the place", unfortunately due to legal reasons we have had to blank out Rob's prized floppy although he assures me that anyone booking a holiday with DHSpain.com will have the optional extra of "naked downhill" on any track in the local area.

As I mentioned of course today we started shooting for FOFO2, unfortunately my two filming "butties" from Wales Paul Roberts and Tim Smith havn't been able to make it over the Severn Bridge to the airport at this time of year as apparently they are cutting down on the amount of Welsh awesomness allowed in England at one time - shame. Anyway here is a shot of the "Meatspin" Tom Deacon without his meat on show luckily, railing a dusty turn for my camera:

And another one of Harry Heath smashing it right in on another bit of cracking DUSTY track:

So that's about all that has happened today. It's been a lovely evening at the ranch enjoying the film Notting Hill and doting over Hugh Grant until the early hours (perfect film to watch with 4 other guys). Tomorrow we have planned another filming session and then we are going to snuggle up together under the duvet and watch "Ghost", I'm sure it'll be bloody fabulous.

I'll fill you in on the details of what happens during Ghost tomorrow.

Mono

RLS4X Podium for Team Rider Chris!

2009-03-30T10:01:00.003Z

Today was round 1 of the RLS4X series over at the revamped Lemington track. It was also team rider Chris Mucklow's first race for Wideopen.

I got a call at the end of the day from the man himself who sounded pretty bloody excited. Turns out after a slow first couple of motos he got his race face on, downed a few Monsters and pulled a silver medal out of the bag! Great news and f-king great start to his time on the team. Nice work fella!

Look out for his race repo in our next issue. Race 2 for Chris is next Sunday at the UK Bike Park NPS4X.

Big thanks to Dialled bikes and Superstar components who provide Chris' frame and kit.

Day 3 update from Espanol

2009-03-29T23:07:00.004Z

Well Milky has gone to bed after being up all night showing the Spanish ladies a thing or two, disappearing from the face of the Earth to get a pizza (although I wasn't aware of any pizza establishments that were open at 6am this morning) and so I thought I'd update you on what has been "going down" today in DHSpain HQ in Malaga.

Nothing interesting to say really apart from we got back at about 9 this morning and slept in until 2. Harry "Baz" Heath was crashed out until at least 5 and then secided to go for an epic run into town to burn off all that Spanish beer he had last night. Tom "Meat" Deacon only resurfaced about 10 minutes ago after being slightly worse for wear. Main man Rob didn't look like he'd left the house all night this morning although he must have been in quite a state judging by the middle aged Glaswegian woman he was attempting to pull last night.

The plan was to go and do a bit of filming this evening but that went out the window because no one cane walk straight so we've had to resort to watching "White Girls" on the box. Everyone is up early in the morning though as we have a full day planned tomorrow of media madness for Wideopen and FOFO2 so keep your eyes peeled right here.

One of the Spanish "babes":

Mono

Photogravity - Innerleithen april 12th

2009-03-29T15:37:00.002Z

2 weeks to go until Keith "will shoot for food" Valentine's Photography bash in aid of the Ben Ineson & Tom Rodgers memorial fund.

Here's the latest from KV:

"Hi all only two weeks to go things looking good. Let's hope weather is good. Have ordered a wee trophy for the winning photographer, race numbers getting made for the first 100 riders. Still waiting to here about cheap uplift deal (will keep u informed).

Please arrive early, we will be there at 11am onwards to take details & donations. So far 57 confirmed guests 9 photographers, 1 filmaker & 88 maybes. Oliver Coats is setting up a forum for the photo votes. Riders don't need to get an uplift if they don't want to & if riders find a nice place to style it up you can just do it over & over again to get that good pic. Lowepro goodies on the way for prizes, I will shoot any clean bike portrait style shots at start if requested. Will update you all asap so get your race face on . Many thanks ..... phunkt.com
"

The spanish adventure... Day 2

2009-03-28T21:42:00.002Z

Woke up to another stunning sunny day after a good night out on the town till 3am. Come about half 1 a storm rolled in and then cleared a bit so we spent the afternoon/evening riding the Sram test track in the drizzle.

The track was still deep in dust, flat out and rad. We then went for a huge shop to get stuff before heading home for pizza and ice cream , a bit of time on here. Once this is updated I'm gonna get half an hours rest and were going down to the coast for a BIG night out tonight! We've left tomoz free of all but a small evening photo sesh on a local track. Ha!

Anyway some photos from the Sram track, will be back there later on in the week to film for FOFO2 in sun (with any luck).

http://www.dhspain.com

The spanish adventure... Day 1

2009-03-27T20:58:00.002Z

Right so Thursday night me and Mono went to Brizol airport, flight was at 7am so sat in the airport trying to sleep and not getting a wink!

But that's as bad as it gets. Got on the plane (delayed thanks to some mechanical issue ), got to spain, got off the plane, got picked up by Rob and Tom Deacon from DHspain.com, taken right to where we where staying, got all at home, built the bikes up and then spent the whole afternoon (2 till 7pm) riding and got 10 runs in on a great track that was loose, a foot deep in dust and fast as you like. Such a great start to what I think is going to be a good week. Harry Heath is here as well so I have lots of pinners to keep my camera happy.

Anyway off down the town for a few drinks now, lazy morning tomoz then off for loads more riding at the Sram test track I think....

Anyway some photos:

NPS4X 2009 update

2009-03-27T14:31:00.002Z

Just like that TV show with Roy Castle this year's NPS4X is gonna be a RECORD BREAKER! Chris Roberts reckons last year was the biggest year ever for NPS4x, 2009 is going to blow it out of the water.

Here's this season's line up:

April 5th Rd1 UK Bike Park - Dorset
May 23/24th Rd2/3 Bridgnorth - Shropshire
June 13/14th Rd4/5 South West Extreme - Devon
July 4th Rd6 Redhill - Gloucestershire
August 9th Rd7 PORC - Kent
September 13th Rd8 Chicksands - Bedforshire

National 4X Championships
July 5th Redhill - Gloucestershir

Full Details of the whole series on www.nps4x.com

Saab-Salomon Lapierre DH-920 Team Bike

2009-03-27T13:09:00.005Z

Our mate Pete over at Hotlines just sent these photo's of the team issue Lapierre DH-920. It's team only and at the moment won't be going into production.

Frame : Lapierre DH 920 Team edition
Fork : Fox 40
Rear Shock : Fox DHX 5.0 titanium spring
Gears : Shimano Saint
Brakes : Shimano Saint 203mm
pedals : Shimano DX
Wheels: Mavic DeeMax
Tires : Hutchinson Barracuda Hardskin DH 2.3
Handlebar : Easton Havoc DH
Seatpost : Easton Carbone
Saddle : Selle Italia SLR
Chainguard : E13 LG1 for Lapierre
Stem : E13 AliStem
Mudguard : Neoguard for Team Lapierre
Weight : 17.325kg / 38.2 lb

Pretty sexy - but obviously not as sexy as that leopard carpet. And are those pole dancing poles?!

www.hotlines-uk.com

http://www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk

Just Reid 2009 news

2009-03-27T12:46:00.003Z

News just in from Ben Reid's race team 'Just Reid':

The 2009 season is about to jump into full swing in just a few days and the Just Reid Race Team (Irelands 1st official UCI Trade Team) is happy to release our full list of sponsors for 2009.

We feel that it will be a great season for both us and our supporters and we would like to take the time to thank everyone for their support so far and help in getting the team up and running.

Our websitewill be continuously updated with up to the minute race reports and announcements throughout the year so if you have any questions or requests at all, I would be happy to help out.

Thanks again on behalf of Ben, Adam and Myself. 2009 Sponsor List:- Iron Horse, Rockshox, Rockstar Energy, Thor, Giro, Shimano, Ogio, Gamut, Sun Ringle, Sixsixone, Maxxis, Aztec, Funn, P&O Irish Sea, Thule, In Touch Network Solutions.

http://www.justreid.com/

AXO SPORT UK online shop is LIVE‏

2009-03-26T16:24:00.002Z

The guys over at AXO UK have just launched their new range of MX/MTB clothing and an all new online store along with it. Swing over to http://www.axo-sport.co.uk/.

NPS RD 1 is now at AE FOREST

2009-03-25T21:58:00.001Z

By: Si on 25th March, 2009

Rather than cancel Rd 1 we have worked quick time behind the scenes to get Ae Forest up and running! Steve is up there this weekend with shovels so if you can help him out get up there and give him a shout.. If anyone wants to cancel their Rd 1 entry or transfer it then please contact Steve Parr ASAP before March 31st 2009!

We apologies for any inconvenience brought about from this change of venue.
www.npsdh.com

Jess Stone - 2 Maxxis Rounds 2 Silver Medals

2009-03-25T21:28:00.003Z

The guys at 2Stage must be pretty pleased with their new girl Jess Stone. Get this. She's done just 2 international elite race in her whole career and both times shes brought home a silver medal... On fire right?

Here's the official press release from 'em:

Jess Stone is the new kid on the block. At her first international Elite outing at Maxxis Cup in Gouveia she scored a podium finish second place behind world ranked number three, Tracey Moseley, and that’s no fluke. She did it again in round two at Vigo last weekend.

If the Maxxis Cup is just a “warm up” for the UCI World Cup then Jess Stone is going to be threatening the hot seat all season. Training beside her UK 2Stage Factory Team mates, Tom Deacon and Alex Powell, the 2008 Junior Women’s English Champion is learning fast how to keep up with the boys.

Upon her arrival at Gouveia (only her second ever trip aboard), Jess was totally hyped and also facing the biggest jump she has ever conquered.

“Having never seen the track before, I had no idea of what to expect and was feeling both excited and nervous!" Jess explained. "This would be the first time I was to experience riding in dust (makes a change from UK mud!!), as well as trying to attempt the massive jump at the bottom of the course.”

Jess is riding a new bike – 2Stage Elite9, in new territory and with a new team, and taking it all in her stride. She’s as confident as ever. “Being on the podium for my first official race as Elite was mint.”

Next up for Jess is the first round of UCI World Cup in South Africa.

Follow Jess’ progress all season at http://www.2stagebikes.com/

Pictures from the BUCS

2009-03-24T19:15:00.003Z

Just got these through from Joolze Dymond who was photographing at the BUCS this weekend. Check out her website www.joolzedymond.com for pictures of everyone who was there riding!

Wideopen Rider Ste Larking:

Vikki Hill:

Unibrow:

And the winner himself, from the South West - Rich Thomas:

Does this count as work?

2009-03-23T21:03:00.004Z

Photo by Dunc Conway

Met up with Cy from Cotic today for a feature that's going in Issue 9 (nearly finished!).
Great blast around the local trails...

With my computer going phizzzz and Jamie only just finding his feat in his new house Issue 9 will be with you as soon as we get use to MacOS 10.5 and have unpacked all those boxes!

Rich Thomas takes BUCS win

2009-03-23T13:00:00.002Z

Bit of a mental weekend at the UK Bikepark this weekend with Rich Thomas coming away with the win (1:23:70) from Jack Reading in second (1:24:76) and Will Soffe in third (1:26:46). Last year's winner Chris Hutchens struggled with mechanical all weekend, hurt his thumb in bulldog on Saturday night and came 5th.

Wide Open team rider Ste Larking put in an impressive time on the Dialled Bikes hardtail with a 1:38:09 and I did shit with a 1:43:16.

Good weekend, good job to the UK Bikepark guys for putting on a really good race.

Yea Ste.

Student Champs 09 aftermath

2009-03-23T09:55:00.002Z

The smoke's still clearing after this weekend's Student Champs down at UK Bike Park. Info's still sketchy but it sounds like it didn't miss out on any of the usual carnage of student racing.

Jim, Mono and Ste were all down there repping their various uni's - Jim texted my on Friday to say that the track was fast, dry and pretty hardtail friendly. Except for a section that looked like someone had destroyed a patio and poured it all over the place!

Just got a message from Ste. He decided to Evil Kenivel the road gap meaning he overshot the next corner and screwed up his run. Run 2 was "slow but clean'. He finished 52nd overall on his hardtail showing the full suss kids a thing or two. Kid work Steven!

More news when they all sober up...

Return of the Dorado!

2009-03-20T14:45:00.010Z

Remember the classic Manitou Dorado DH fork? Well it's back and the guy's over at Hotlines have got a heap of them ready to sell. If you've got a spare £2,399.99 and really want to tart up your race bike these could well be the thing for you....

Looking at the spec and the service you get a hell of a lot for your dolla. Here's the word:

"The 2009 Manitou Dorado MRD is a limited-production, hand-assembled, competition-level downhill fork. It is a technology centerpiece for Manitou and demonstrates their design, manufacturing, and performance capabilities. The product development cycle lasted approximately three years and incorporated ride testing with some of the top professional athletes in the world. Julien Camellini (UCI #10 ranking), Chris Kovarik (UCI #11 ranking), and Melissa Buhl (UCI #15 ranking) were the primary contributors in the athlete testing program. Production will be limited, and began in January of 2009.

The old school Dorado (above)

The fork weighs 2902g (6.4lbs) and utilizes a 36mm inverted design with outer legs constructed from a custom modulus carbon fiber. Maximum travel is 203mm, and the fork can also be converted for use at 180mm. A self-equilibrating air spring is used in conjunction with low-speed compression, TPC+ (high-speed compression), and rebound damping adjustments to provide a wide range of tuning capabilities. Each Dorado is carefully hand-assembled by expert technicians in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, where a database is maintained with information on each fork and its owner’s setup preferences.

Customers who purchase a new Dorado will receive two no-cost overhauls of their fork within the first two years of ownership. This service will be performed by qualified Manitou distributors. Each overhaul will include a complete tear-down and inspection, replacement of damper fluid, and replacement of all worn or damaged o-rings, dust wipers, and oil seals. The Dorado will be delivered in a sturdy, re-usable plastic case designed to protect the fork during transit.

Manitou Dorado Key Features-Dual layer carbon outer legs-36mm hard anodized stanchions-Internally adjustable travel between 180mm and 203mm-Self regulating positive and negative air springs-Advanced TPC+ damping-Hydraulic Bottom out and top out-20mm HexLock Thru-axle -International Standard integrated stem mounting-6.4 lbs (2902g) External Adjustments-Self regulating positive and negative air spring-Rebound adj. -Low-speed damping -High-speed damping

Included with the fork

- Both tall and short crowns
- 2 free services within the first two years of ownership
- Deluxe carry case
- Shock pump
- Detailed instructions on DVD for fork setup and tuning tips

For more information on the Dorado and your nearest retailer contact Hotlines: info@hotlines-uk.com"

- What do David Beckham and a set of Dorado's have in common?
- They both come in a posh box!

Element Nickel-Wide bar - Flat's Where It's At?

2009-03-18T13:30:00.007Z

A set of these mega-sexy Element flat bars just crash landed on my desk, thanks to the guys at RHUK.

Wide bars are pretty trendy at the moment and just like all really trendy things (New Era caps, dubstep, fixie bikes etc etc) these made me scared and slightly uncomfortable when I first saw 'em. I mean, flat bars?! Didn't we only just get rid of those when we replaced 'em with Go-Fast bars and started jumping our XC bikes?

The idea is that your bike corners better with a lower front end. Tall forks and riser bars ramp your front end up and don't help. Flat bars drop the front down and help sort it out. I'm looking forward to getting them on the bike and doing a head-to-head test with a set of wide riser bars. Stay tuned...

760mm wide, 9 degree bend, triple custom butting, 300grams, 31.8mm clamp sexy polished ano finish with lazer etched graphics. £54.99

http://www.ridinghighuk.com/

Easter 4X at Moelfre...

2009-03-17T21:15:00.002Z

Spotted this on our Facebook wall and thought it deserved a wider audience!
I guess next Wednesday means tomorrow - so get those fingers pulled guys!

Alastair Keen (Staffordshire) wrote
at 1:47pm on March 13th, 2009

Hey everyone need to get this spread round as many 4x riders as possible!
There was a 4X race planned for the easter weekend at moelfre (UK) running alongside the 'Reaction Downhill' race. To cut a long story short the organisers are about to pull the plug on the event due to lack of entries and I know a lot of people were still planning to enter.

The online entry system has been closed but Mike has agreed to re-open the entries by phone only....... everyone can call him on 01524 388388 to book and pay by card. The office is open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm....
If we can get 35+ the 6 already entered entered by next Wednesday he will spend the money on re developing the 4X track and the even will go ahead, if not the event's off and the track stays in bad condition!

Entry is £20
More details here:
http://www.borderline-events.co.uk/
and on the Southerndownhill.com forum in the Borderline events Section
SPREAD THE WORD!!

Mono vs Milki video SHOWDOWN

2009-03-17T15:17:00.003Z

We've got a back to back Mono vs. Milki media battle on our hands. Milki has made this vid of his mate James Matthews riding up at Tavi and Mono has jumped in front of the lense for a change courtesty of Paul Roberts. Who wins? You decide...

Aaron "mono" Bartlett from Homegrown Productions on Vimeo.

James Matthews Riding Tavi woodlands from jacob gibbins on Vimeo.

James Matthews Tavi woodlands Photos/Video

2009-03-16T22:10:00.008Z

WideOpen is getting all the Videos at the moment! One from me this time of James Matthews riding at Tavi woodlands. All filmed,edited etc by me. More photos on my website. www.jacobgibbins.co.uk

James Matthews Riding Tavi woodlands from jacob gibbins on Vimeo.

Deacon's new skid lid

2009-03-16T14:14:00.003Z

Here's a few snaps of Tom Deacon's brand new paint job -Designed and sprayed by Tim at TGG-Customs.com. Tom rides for 2Stage, TGG-Custom Helmet Painting, Funn, and http://www.dhspain.com/.

SMALL SCREEN: A day in the life of Joe Landricombe

2009-03-13T14:34:00.004Z

A day in the life of Joe Landricombe from Aaron Bartlett on Vimeo.

Mono just sent over the fruits of a hard days filming in Southampton with Joe L. Turn on HD, crank up the sound and hit FULL SCREEN.

Mono says: "Basically I've always wanted to have a really good go at a BMX street/park vid and when I first met Joe at my work back before Christmas I didn't have a camera. So now 3 months on I finally have a camera and we went out and did two days of filming, this is the result. I'm pretty pleased with it myself!"

Rheola Rd 1 Cancelled.

2009-03-12T19:14:00.005Z

Bit of bad news this one. Round 1 of the Mojo/Orange MDMBA series at Rheola has been cancelled.

According to WDMBA front-man JT the Forestry Commission announced this week that they were banning all uplifts that don't use the mini-bus/trailer system on their land. The team new this was coming but had been told by the FC it wouldn't be till later in the year. With the announcement coming early and no time to to sort out plan B they've very regretably had to cancel the event.

I spoke to JT quickly this morning and he sounded gutted... But was on the case with getting the rest of the year's events going strong. According to their site all entries made via paypal have been refunded and cheque payments are winging their way back to folks any minute.

Good luck to the WDMBA team for attempt 2... Stay tuned to Wideopen for the latest as it happens.

http://wdmba.co.uk/

First Look: Six Pack Millenium XXL bars and Raptor X stem

2009-03-12T13:01:00.009Z

A set of SIXPACK XXL Millenium bars and a Raptor X stem landed on my desk this morning which was pretty wicked. The bars are a whopping 760mm wide and look the bomb in flashy white with some nice graphics. Seems everyone was running wide bars last weekend at Wentwood so I'm pretty excited to see what the fuss is about. Maybe also a bit nervous about those narrow trees up our local woods!

We took a quick look at these a couple of weeks back as part of our Propane exclusive test so it's good to get some through for a long term bashing. All seems to be quality, good looking kit so far.... Looking forward to getting them on the bike this evening!

Get over to http://www.sixpack-racing.com/ for more info

Millenium XXL Bars:
made of 7075 / T6 double butted alloy / 760mm width / 25mm rise / 9 degree backsweep / 5 degree upsweep / available in 31,8mm diameter / colors: black, white, grey / RRP £39.99

Raptor X Stem:
full CNC´d / 45mm reach, 15 degree / available in 25,4mm and 31,8mm / CNC side logo / only 37mm clamp height / colors: black, liquid-green, white, red, gold, wood / RRP £35.99

Rheola entries close this weekend!

2009-03-11T10:07:00.003Z

News just in from JT at WDMBA - entries close for Rd1 of the Mojo/Orange series this weekend.

Get signed up now or miss out!

http://wdmba.co.uk/

Time to go pro (or not)

2009-03-10T09:27:00.004Z

It had to happen half way though an issue! Wideopen Issue 9 is well on it's way to you when my 7 year old Mac 17" LCD display has ceased working and keeps blowing fuses! It's had a good innings and is currently hooked up to a MacMini.
Never fear, I'll be out buying a MacBook (or Pro if I'm feeling flush) in the next few days and Jamie and I are rattling through proofing to get things ready. Thanks for the patience!

Borderline Events 2009

2009-03-09T20:21:00.003Z

Mike over at Borderline just got in touch with a reminder that entries are still open for their MASSIVE DH and 4X Easter weekend.

It's going to be at Moelfre on 10 - 13th April (Good Friday to Bank Holiday Monday) and will include:

DH practice and racing
4X practice and racing
Monday uplift day
Live entertainment
Boozing

Sounds like a mini festival to me... but with more bikes and less middle-aged yuppies getting off their heads on herbal highs and crying about how REM trips them out. Er - sorry. Anyway, get involved it's going to be wicked.

There's also a heap of uplift days lined up throughout March, April, May and June.

http://www.borderline-events.co.uk/

First Look: Halo Freedom Disc\Supadrive wheelset

2009-03-06T10:24:00.006Z

We're pretty excited about this Halo wheel-set that just landed for long term test. They're a thoroughbred 4X race setup and have been built specially for Wideopen team rider Chris to thrash this season on his race bike.

He'll be putting them through their paces and reporting back on how they hold up throughout the race season. You can check out his updates in the products section of the mag or see them in action at loads of races this season including the NPS4X and RLS4x.

The setup:
Front - Freedom Disc 32H rim on Spin Dr hub.
Rear - Freedom Disc 36H Rim on Supa Drive Hub.

Thanks to Matt and the team at Ison for sending them over.

More from Halo on their website here.

SDA madness!

2009-03-05T20:06:00.008Z

If you're reading this and you wanted to enter the first two rounds of the SDA series, I'm afraid you're too late. That's right, entries went live at 8pm tonight. 8:05 and they're all sold out, all 300 of 'em! 8:10 and the last of the reserve tickets are gone.

The first round is to be a push up race at Pitfichie on the 18/19th of April, with round two at Fort William in May.

Expect to see both races from the most popular series in Britain feature in a future issue of Wideopen.

The Tipping Point - Clay Porter's Latest

2009-03-04T19:48:00.008Z

Just got the latest from Clay Porter - the fella behind F1rst and Between the Tape. Clay has been hard at work throughout '08 filming his latest epic which will be called 'The Tipping Point'.

It's going to feature every round of the 08 World Cup, the World Champs and a few other special shoots. Riders include Brendawg, Minaar, Gracia, Palmer and of course Sam Hill who Clay is shooting right now.

There's filming and editing still to be done but for now you can check out their brand new website and trailer at: http://www.thetippingpointfilm.com/

Rheola entries are GO!

2009-03-03T17:49:00.005Z

News just in from James over at WDMBA - Entries for Round 1 of the MOJO/ORANGE series are GO!

Round 1 is going to be at Rheola on 20/21st March. Enter right here right now!

Simply Downhill - Wentwood Trophy

2009-03-02T20:53:00.006Z

Sunday was a big day for Welsh DH with the first ever 'Wentwood Trophy' race and of course the very first event in the Welsh DHMTB Association line up.

Organisor Si Ward and the Wentwood locals did a sterling job of getting the track up to speed and keeping everything running smoothly. The push was a bit of a bugger but after a couple of shoves up everyone seemed to get into the swing of it and the banter got flowing!

The track was awesome, everyone was in a great mood, Janet's Jackets were punting out some great munch, Paton was flogging tyres, Paton's dog was running amock, Dave Morgan ran the timing without a hitch, Wideopen even stumped up a few prizes which felt great. Perfect day out in the valleys.

Surprise surprise Rowan Sorrel took the win on his Orange Strange proto DH bike, Manon Carpenter was on fire all day and spent practice scoping out shady lines and getting the track dialled with dad Jason. She took the top spot for the ladies - keep an eye out for her destroying the field this season!

I'll do a full repo for the magazine - until then check out.... The results, Simply downhill's website and the Welsh DHMTB website.

Massive thanks to Si W (pictured above looking a lot LESS stressed out than I saw him all day) and the crew for a great day out - can't wait for the next one. Also to James Tennant for not getting mad when I steal a couple of his photo's for this repo!

Webisode 3 - Tom Grundy

2009-03-01T23:43:00.003Z

Tom Grundy, one of the South's up and coming young film makers has put together edisode 3 of his special "webisodes" featuring Uk's up and coming talent... This video features trails section, skatepark session in the secret tunnel and a Bernard Kerr section which is pretty rad! I'm hoping this will continue in episode 4 as they look like they are getting better and better.

More Mountain Biking >>

The Unofficial Hardtail Champs is GO!

2009-02-28T18:29:00.004Z

News just in from Iain 'ACE' Woodley at Hardtail nation - check it - KAPOW!

The Unofficial UK Hard Tail DH champs 2009 / UK Bike Park.

"This year I am hi-jacking round 4 of the UK Bike Park race series on June 20/21 and the Unofficial Hardtail Champs will be held here.

Hardtail is not a recognized racing class by British Cycling, therefore there is no official champion as officially we don't exsist and are not allowed to compete in the UK National Champs. So we have been doing our own underground thing.

This will be the 3rd champs race. More details closer to the date, anyone can enter and have a go. No race licence is needed, you are welcome if you have one, however anyone who has raced at World Cup level in 4X or Downhill will not be eligible to take the title or the race jacket of the Unofficial Champion, world cuppers are welcome to enter and post a time, this will be noted in dispatches, then again you might get beaten anyway !

Information will be on http://www.hardtailnation.co.uk/ and http://www.ukbikepark.com/ more information will be released at a later date."

Ace hardtailnation

2Stage UCI World Cup Factory Team‏

2009-02-27T12:14:00.010Z

Our friends over at 2Stage bikes have just announced the launch of their brand new UCI World Cup trade team - It will be an all UK 3 rider line up featuring the talents of Tom Deacon, Jess Stone and Alex Powell. They'll be racing the 2Stage Elite 9 and opening the season at the Maxxis Cup in March before attending all UCI World Cups, Maxxis Cups and UK NPS rounds.

Here's a few words from 2Stage about the riders:

Local ripper, Tom Deacon, has just come off one his best seasons, ranking tenth in 2008 BCnational rankings. Preparing for 2009 with an intense off-season training programme, Tom expects to maintain his race-winning momentum that saw him become the Pearce Cycles Series Champion, Midland Region Champion and English Champion last year.

“I’m stoked to be working with 2Stage bikes this year! The bike is awesome, the first time out I knew this was it. It corners on rails, and the 2stage technology takes the bumps like they are nothing but pedals like a hardtail. It’s unreal! 2Stage is a tight knit family and I’m excited to be a part of it - this season is going to be rad!!”

The second team member is a superstar on the rise, Jess Stone. Jess’ first introduction to world cup racing was at Schladming last year where she pulled off 23rd placing (only eight seconds off qualifying), proving she’s a rolling stone who carries some serious speed downhill. 2009 will be Jess’ first season riding Elite, and she couldn’t wait any longer. Jess had the Junior category all sewn up last year coming in ranked at number one, and winning the British National Champs, English Champs, Hamsterley Winter Series, Midland Series overall, Decision DH and well, we could keep going on forever about her achievements. But it’s definitely time for Jess to take on some fresh blood.

Finally, aspiring young pinner 17 year old Alex Powell completes the team. 2009 will be Alex’s first year committed to full time racing due to previous year’s duties with his Loctite Formula 3 team clashing with his DH schedule, Alex is stoked on this golden opportunity to race for 2Stage and broaden his experience in international competition riding along side Tom and Jess.

2Stage Bikes broke onto the UK scene in 2007 when their NZ factory rider, Glenn Haden, won the 2007 Italian National Championship Series and Sprinte Avalanche while on a sponsored tour of Europe. Since then the company has planted its feet firmly in the UK DH scene supporting an academy team of talented riders alongside their UCI world cup factory team.

Essential support for 2Stage Factory UCI World Cup DH team comes from Loctite/Henkel Gmbh.

Additional support for Tom Deacon is from existing sponsors, TGG-Custom Helmet Painting, Funn, and http://www.dhspain.com/.

Jess Stone’s extra support from Five Ten Shoes and Loeka Clothing.

http://www.2stagebikes.com/ for more info

All snaps are by Wideopen photographer Jacob 'Millki' Gibbins at
http://www.jacobgibbins.co.uk/

Icebike 2009

2009-02-26T22:49:00.016Z

I got a rare treat of a day out of the office yesterday to visit Madison HQ for their ICEBIKE trade show. Madi are pretty much the UK's biggest supplier of stuff to bike shops and help Wideopen out a lot with news and test goodies. They're also supporting the Atherton's and are in charge of the UK's supply of Shimano, Commencal, Park Tools, Thor, Giro etc and shout about all their new goodies at the show. It's always a nice day out with some free food and a chance to see what is dope and what is wack for the new season.

As with every MTB trip the day started out with chaos as our lift dropped out, my car broke down and the hire company pissed us about for 3 hours. We had a fry up at the local greasy spoon while we waited though so not all a waste of time. Here's Nouveu getting busy with beans on toast:

We finally got to the show and bumped straight into our mate Nico from Commencal. He's from Commencal HQ in Andorra and works with a couple of other guys to design all the bikes you see out in the hills. First thing he had to show off was the new 2010 Carbon Meta 5.5:

Here's Gee's 2009 race bike complete with Shimano Pro kit, Nissan sponsorship and rainbow stripes.

Gee's tyres - still no sponsor in the bag for rubber....

And the World Champs replica that you can get your hands on. If you aint winning on this thing then you aint winning on anything!

On to the soft goods and we've got a huge new range of gloves from Giro. If you like lightweight gloves like the Troy Lee XC then you should take a look at these. They're nice and light with just enough padding and simple graphics. These ones are the Xens - there's another DH and XC glove in the full finger range. Nice kit.

New Bell Drop helmets with jazzy graphics:

We spend a lot of time talking to the guys at Madison in the UK - the show is a chance to meet the faces behind the actual companies we're talking about and see who actually designs, builds and tests the kit. This is Eric from Bell/Giro in the States.

Here's Rob - he's Wideopen staffer Pete's brother and works for Continental. He'll be racing DH this season for Nicolai - keep an eye out for him. Cheers for the hats fella!

Gamut had their new design bash rings on show which will be rolled out across all models. They're re-designed to be tougher, less likely to break if you over tighten the bolts and to fit all cranks without the need for any bodging. Below you've also got the new dual ring Gamut model and new chain ring. The new rings will be available in single tooth increases (36, 37, 38 etc) and will have nice tall teeth to stop your chain wobbling around.

Next stop Genesis bikes to chat to their designer James. He's based in the UK and is always a nice fella to chat to about where the bikes came from, what he had in mind for them and where they're going. We've got an Apltitude on long term test at the moment so it was great to get some feedback and get the bike's history. Here's a potential new paint job for the Genesis line up and James' personal proto 953 hardtail. The idea behind 953 is to get a ride that's light and strong like Ti but is a wee bit stiffer for a more responsive ride. Ian over at Hardtail nation has got a funny little piece on the bike.

Er... Ogio rambo vest thing...

Apparently Animal clothing have dropped their bike range this year. Madison have replaced them with their own range of technical kit which actually looks really good. Here's one of their jackets:

Classy Thor Static kit:

Randoms:

Thanks to all at Madison for having us (and plying us with donuts)!

Atherton Racing 2009 team kit

2009-02-25T08:52:00.007Z

Here's those Atherton team kit pics in high res. Check out the Shimano 'Pro' range bars and post on the team bike, bit of a surprise there but it makes sense from the amount of top road pros that run it. I wonder if there's some new bits in the Pro range coming up?

www.animalcommencal.com

New Atherton Kit

2009-02-24T14:34:00.004Z

Gordo over at Litter just posted a sneak look at the 2009 Atherton team kit. Being the cut throat, blood hound journo that I am I just had to do a bit of digging and see what else I could find.

Looks like www.animalcommencal.com/ has got a few more snaps of the new team kit and heaps of info on what the kids have been up to. Check it out.

Looks like it's digi-camo for 09 - What do you think?

Team Blog: Chris Mucklow

2009-02-23T20:26:00.003Z

RLS4X Update - In the last few weeks we've serviced and repainted the old NPS4X start gate. This has meant we've been running gate practice sessions during the half term which have drawn in a lot of interest with a large turn out. The majority of the track work is now completed and our first race is all set for the 29th March. For entry details or any other info Drop Billy C an email rc69uk@hotmail.com

Corby Session - It's been a while since I hit a skatepark but didn’t take long to get back into it, with the facilities they have there it suits even novice riders. As usual the first stop is the street section which is a new edition and is so much better since the re-vamp. It all flows beautifully. Next stop is the foam pit which is always good for a laugh. Whip comps, flip comps, well everything really though after a few runs the climbing out of the damn thing is a killer. Once you've got your tricks down in the foam you can move on to the resi box to get them really dialled!

Chris Mucklow is Wideopen’s team rider and will be flying the flag for the magazine at UK 4X and dirt jump events in ’09. He’s supported by Superstar components, Dialled Bikes and Goodrich hoses. Stay tuned for more from him every couple of weeks here on the website...

Lynskey Titanium seatpost (posh)

2009-02-23T18:18:00.006Z

Fancy a REALLY posh seatpost? The fellas over at Hotlines have got the answer with this Ti job from Lynskey.

Here's the word from our mate Pete:

"Please see below for details on the new Lynskey Ti seatpost that we’ve just taken delivery of. It’s a pretty nice piece of kit, really light (I think its as light as the lightest CNT carbon post from Easton), but they’re also covering it for road and off-road use with a “no questions asked” replacement policy. If you break it they’ll fix or replace it free of charge. Pretty amazing really, it’s priced “competitively” at £179.99: cheaper than Moots etc and only slightly more than a top end carbon post. It’s also the only Ti post available in 31.6mm, in two lengths (and it conveniently fits all the Lynskey frames)."

Shaft: Aerospace quality 3al-2.5v titanium
Tension rod/upper saddle rail clamps, internal and external sleeves: 6061 anodized aluminum
Lower saddle rail cradle: Carbon fiber composite
Tension bolts: Aerospace quality 6al-4v titanium

Lynskey website

Hotlines website

Elbry gets Maced

2009-02-23T13:14:00.005Z

It's that time of year when riders are getting sorted for the season and starting to show off their new teams and new rides. Always means heaps of news for us guys so no complaints!

Freeride veteran and Wideopen staffer Elbry Sandland just dropped me a line to say that he's going to be riding Mace clothing in '09. You can check out what Elbry's up to on his blog at http://elbry.blogspot.com/.

Mace website here and UK distro Windwave here

Steve Peat chooses EThirteen

2009-02-20T10:32:00.004Z

Everyone's favourite Stella drinking Yorkshireman Steve Peat has signed up to EThirteen for the next 3 seasons. Steve will be running LG1 and SRS chain devices, teamed up with custom lightweight G-rings.

We've had an LG1 on longterm test here at Wideopen for a while now and we can safely say they're the bomb. Tough, light, simple and backed up with trackside mechanical support at the races. Definitely a good choice for a future World Champ (fingers crossed!).

EThirteen are exclusively distributed in the UK by Silverfish. Read the full story here.

Also check out ethirteencomponents.com and Stevepeat.com

Woodland Riders at 'Explore the Outdoors' this weekend - Plymouth

2009-02-19T22:42:00.004Z

The 'Woodland Riders' are the fellas behind 'Gawton' (the super gnarly new trail centre down in the South West). To show off what they're doing they're going to have a stall at the 'Explore the Outdoors' show this weekend in Plymouth.

I've got no idea what the show is all about but apparently it's "the southwest's leading extreme sports and outdoor pursuits exhibition". Get down and give 'em some support.

Check out http://http//www.explore-the-outdoors.com

Here's Milki's video from Gawton one more time:

'Boom Boom' back on Rocky for 2009‏

2009-02-19T16:58:00.003Z

Professional Mountain Bike racer Scott ‘Boom Boom’ Beaumont has once again signed for Canadian brand Rocky Mountain Bikes. After a clean sweep of the UK National 4X series and a gold medal at the National 4X Championships Scott once again put pen to paper and signed for the fourth year with the high performance brand.

Scott will be racing for Rocky Mountain UK in the World Cup series, UK National series and other selected events in both Downhill and 4X.

“I am super happy to sign with Rocky Mountain again for 2009. This will be my 4th year riding for the Canadian brand, and I hope it will be my best season yet. The bikes I will be riding in 2009 will give me every advantage possible to rack up World Cup podiums, and be in contention for a great overall result come the finals in Schladming in September” Beaumont added.

Rocky Mountain’s 2009 team line-up is looking more impressive by the day with riders representing the brand in every discipline from Olympic XC through to freeriding.
Rocky Mountain UK will have its new team truck at all major DH and 4X events in 2009 as feel free to stop by to check out Scott's rather special 2009 fleet of bikes.

Scott will also be attending a selected number of the Premier Demo Series (http://www.premierdemoseries.com/ ) events which are your chance to swing your leg-over a new 2009 Rocky Mountain and take it for a free demo ride. Scott will be on hand at Coed y Brenin, Cwmcarn and Dalby Forest to give you tips, advice and help to answer any riding questions you may have. For more information on Silverfish UK please visit http://www.silverfish-uk.com/

For more information on Rocky Mountain bicycles please visit http://www.bikes.com/

2009 Mojo Orange Welsh series number boards

2009-02-19T13:46:00.003Z

Just spotted these on WDMBA boss James' Facebook - pretty slick I'd say. Great news also that Mojo and Orange are supporting the series.

http://wdmba.co.uk/ for more

Revolution Pedals

2009-02-19T13:42:00.012Z

Just a heads up really for anyone in the market for some entry level flat pedals.

I was in my local Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op the other day when I noticed these....

If you read issue 8 of the mag you'll have seen the review of the Outland Freeride Flats, which come from the same factory as the Gusset Slim Jim pedals, as do these Revolution Contact Flats. They have the same slim profile, sealed bearings and cro-mo axle as the Outlands and Gussets but because EBC source them direct they come in at almost half the price. So head to your nearest EBC branch or check out the website here! Available in any colour you like so long as it's black...

Goldie Lookin Chain - 09 tour

2009-02-19T10:27:00.002Z

I loves my GLC. We're going to the Newport gig - I'm so excited.

Wideopen world exclusive: PROPAIN RAGE DH

2009-02-16T21:24:00.013Z

We've been keeping a close eye on the new Propain Rage DH bike over the last couple of weeks and by the looks of the forums we 'aint the only ones. When Propain's UK fella Wayne Tabernor got in touch and offered us an exclusive test of the prototype bike we pretty much bit his hand off. Farmer John provided the venue, Andy Dunwoody got behind the lense and our very own answer to the Stig - Tim Morgan - did the honours on the bike.

Sunday PM rolled round and I sat impatiently stabbing the refresh key on my inbox waiting for Tim's verdict to appear. When something finally showed up the title was along the lines of "PROPAIN - I WANT IT!". I guess he liked the bike. He reckoned there's some work to be done on the mud clearance (which will be fixed on the production bike) and Dunwoody found the white on white graphics a bit camera shy. Otherwise, very positive all round. Light, responsive, fast and pedalled a treat despite some utterly gopping conditions I think Tim said.

Alongside Propain, Wayne is also leading up Sixpack components. Here's a few of their goodies:

Propain website is here

Sixpack website is here

I'd love to put Tim's full repo up on the website right now but I'm going to have to save it for the mag I'm afraid. Keep an eye out for in March or sign up to our facebook group here for a reminder.

Thanks to Wayne for hooking us up with a World Exclusive and thanks to the SAS like talents of Andy Dunwoody and Tim Morgan for getting it in the bag.

Hit up the comments below and let us know what you think!

New race series at Taff Buggy!

2009-02-13T13:13:00.004Z

Ian from http://www.mijdownhillevents.co.uk/ just dropped me a line with some info on a new 3 round race series for Taff Buggy in South Wales.

The format will be:

Practice Saturda all day
Race Sunday morning
Practice and then 2 timed run
Rastest run counts
Uplifts provided for both days
Live timing
BCF points
Top 5 podium
Don Skene are sponsoring the event along with Mynath Clothing

Check out their website for more info:

http://www.mijdownhillevents.co.uk
http://www.mijdownhillevents.co.uk
http://www.mijdownhillevents.co.uk

Locals-Adam Price

2009-02-12T09:08:00.004Z

LOCALS - Adam Price from jacob gibbins on Vimeo.

As you already know after my first Locals Vid a few weeks back I am doing some short 3 min(ish) films about a few of the local riders around Tavistock and my second Locals vid is of a guy called Adam Price.

The music is: Empire of the sun , walking on a dream
www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound

Adam is 18, works in a bike shop and is pinned as you like and a pleasure to shoot, pro to the core, do it till we get the shot and always smiling! The vid is shot on a Nikon D90.

Here's a few of the photos i can put online now.

Loads more from Gawton and some of these photos bigger and in colour in the next issue of WideOpen.

The New Transition 'Bank' Hardtail‏

2009-02-12T07:33:00.008Z

I just got this through from the guys at Transition bikes over in the states. Not sure if you've seen it before but it looks pretty sweet....

The latest offering from Transition Bikes is the new alloy Bank hardtail.

The Bank represents the evolution of alloy hardtails in a superlight package that is worthy of almost any style of riding. The Bank is skilled at dirt jumping, 4X, Dual Slalom and overall trail shredding. At 4.9lbs it is definitely not a freeride hardtail but in the hands of a skilled rider it can handle almost any type of riding.

"We originally designed this bike because we wanted a light weight, new school, alloy hardtail that could be setup single speed or geared for a variety of disciplines. Since the Trail-or-Park has evolved into a dedicated single speed dirt jumper, we wanted an option for riders looking to run a full selection of standard MTB parts. Our racers were looking for a responsive, geared 4x/DS hardtail with a little more stability than the Trail-or-Park. After prototype testing we found the bike also shined at skate parks, dirt jumps and a bit of trail riding as well. The bike is incredibly responsive due to the stiff frame, dialed geometry and light weight. It is so easy to throw around berms and jumps you almost feel like you are cheating. This bike was not designed to replace our freeride hardtail, the Vagrant, but it is still a worthy option for some trail riding, depending on the rider's preferences," says Kevin Menard, co-owner of Transition Bikes.

The Bank features a unique dropout system that allows riders to run gears or singlespeed in a ultra clean package. The rotating axle positioning system is an eccentric design that takes up chain slack as you rotate it. Transition has coined this dropout system C.R.A.P which stands for "Custom Rotating Axle Positioning". "We're all pretty stoked on this new C.R.A.P system as it really gives a clean looking rear end of the bike without sacrificing the function for both singlespeed setups and geared setups. We feel this system has alot of merit so don't be surprised if you start seeing C.R.A.P. on some of our other models in the future," says Kyle Young, designer of C.R.A.P. and co-owner of Transition Bikes.

The design of the bike is rounded out with a once piece CNC'd chainstay yoke for ample tire clearance, standard ISCG tabs, and tapered stays for a clean look. The Bank comes in 3 color options: Red & White Fade, Green or White and 3 sizes all with 13.25" seat tubes for extra clearance. Frames are available now!

http://www.transitionbikes.com/
Transition are brought into the UK by Ride-Central

http://www.ride-central.com/ 01325 485464 dan@ride-central.com

The 2009 Premier Demo Series Kicks off at the end of the month

2009-02-11T16:14:00.003Z

Intense Cycles, Cove Bikes, Lapierre, Rocky Mountain and Turner Bikes have teamed up with Singletrack Magazine to offer riders the opportunity to test their latest bikes at five top UK trail centre locations as well as meet the people who bring you Singletrack Magazine.

The Premier Demo Series is your chance to throw your leg over and demo ride bikes from five of the UK's leading brands for free. The list of bikes available to ride reads like the ultimate wish list of precious metal and coupled with some of the UK's best trail centres the Premier Demo Series is a must attend event.

Each event will feature the brands top bikes all set up and ready to be put through their paces by you. With no need to book, great trails and some of the finest bikes available, each weekend is sure to guarantee a worthwhile day or weekend's riding.

All you need to do is turn up along with some identification (Driving License or Passport), some form of security (Credit Card, wife or whisky), your pedals, helmet and riding gear and away you go. Demos will run from 10am until 4pm each day. At each venue a demo loop of around 45 minutes will be set out utilising the existing trail network.

Visit http://www.premierdemoseries.com/ for all the details.

The dates are:
28th Feb & 1st March Coed Y Brennin, Wales
28th & 29th March Cwmcarn, Wales
2nd & 3rd May Glentress, Scotland
27th & 28th June Afan Glyncorrwg, Wales
11th & 12th July 2009 Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire

RIP Jeremy Lusk

2009-02-11T00:45:00.005Z

It's been brought to my attention that one of the most talented FMXer has died after a fatal crash attempting an Indian-air Backflip in Costa Rica.

RIP Jeremy Lusk.

http://motocross.transworld.net/2009/02/10/remembering-jeremy-lusk/

Propain Rage DH Race

2009-02-10T14:08:00.011Z

More news on the proto Propain DH bike that we announced last week as their website goes live: http://propain-bikes.com/.

Propain are designed in Germany and '09 is going to see their first year in full production. The bike you've seen already is going to be called the 'Rage' and will come in a 240mm DH option (as above) and a 200mm 'bikepark' version. There are also 5 other bikes in the range from dirt jumpers to 'all mountain' kinda things.

Here's some info on the Rage DH:

"The Rage is our contribution to the world of downhill racing. Equipped with some outstanding design innovations it is designated to be fast...seriously fast. Its stiff and lightweight frame pared with the PRO10 suspension system is just meant to deliver on any downhill race course."

Features
- PRO10 suspension system
- 240mm of linear rear travel
- Can be converted to the "Rage Bikepark" (200mm travel) by changing the shock and upper lever
- Dropouts are designed for Maxxle Axle or 12mm through axle
- In cooperation with MRP we developed a direct mount for the MRP G2 chainguide
- Sells with MRP G2 chainguide
- 1.5 inch headtube
- Low BB bracket
- Low center of gravity
- fast
- fast
- fast

Here's the 'Vegas' all mountain model:

- PRO10 suspension system
- 150mm travel
- Tapered head tube
- Dropouts for both Maxxle Axle and 12mm through axle
- Optimized for Truvative Hammerschidt
- Seat post can be lowered (unbelievers click here)

"The Vegas is our All Mountain machine. The suspension is optimized for the single chainring of the Truvativ Hammerschmidt front shifting device, for an absolute minimum of pedal feedback. Even though having 150mm of travel the Vegas will climb any mountain with ease. Hitting the downhill though is were the real fun begins."

Stay tuned for a full test of the Rage in Wideopen issue 9 which we're out thrashing this weekend.

Until then - keep an eye on http://www.propain-bikes.com/

Pump Urban Wear: new team riders

2009-02-09T21:21:00.011Z

Our very good friends over at Pump Urban Wear have just hooked up BMX riders Toby Greswell and Scott Tachi to their team. Both guys ride out of Mount Hawke in Cornwall and by the looks of things are pretty bloody slick. Keep an eye out for them on the Pump Blog and in the mags throughout the season.

If you need a reminder - Pump are a clothes brand based in the South West. They've got a nice range of tees and hoodies with some fresh designs and top quality organic cotton options. Give their site a look at http://www.pumpurbanwear.co.uk/.

Here's a vid of new guy Toby ripping up his local park:

Rheola Dig Day 15th Feb

2009-02-08T18:19:00.003Z

The all new Welsh DH MTB Association (WDMBA) are having a dig day at Rheola to get the track sorted for the season.

Wanna come? Check out the website here

Moelfre Reaction Downhill Entries are GO!

2009-02-07T18:04:00.001Z

News just in from the Reaction Downhill team!

The news you have all been waiting for…… entries are now live at http://www.borderline-events.co.uk/

This will be the most action packed race of the year……. 10th to 13th April.

The aim of this event is to make it as relaxed or as serious as you want it to be. If you want to get involved and enjoy the music and fires then you camp close by. If you want to take your racing serious and are aiming for that top spot then you can camp a little further away. There is plenty of room for everyone.

So what have we got for you this time…..???

· Prizes from Chain Reaction Cycles & Descent Gear…. More sponsors coming soon
· Plenty of Monster Energy to drink
· Supported by Southerndownhill.com
· 4X & DH – New sections to 4X and completely re-done – Work done on DH track
· Long Jump Competition
· Dan Jarvis Commentating for 4X and DH
· Best trick on 4X track competition
· Moelfre – Only chance to race in 2009 at this fast and furious venue
· Live Music / Bar Friday and Saturday night.
· Quality Catering like last time but with better, faster service and more variety.
· Relaxed atmosphere
· Everyone welcome
· Suitable for all levels from Beginner to Pro
· 4 days of riding
· More riding than you can shake a stick at
· Free Camping – We will just ask for a few volunteers to help clear up at the end of the weekend.

Longden Laps up Lapierre for '09

2009-02-06T14:47:00.004Z

Will Longden rides Lapierre in 2009 - After several years racing and managing for the MBUK team, Will has decided2009 was time for a change.

Will has won three British MTB titles and two NPS DH series.’ He’s competed in the last fifteen consecutive World Championships for Great Britain, more than any other rider, and isn’t looking to slow down any time soon…

“Managing a team and racing has been a great challenge but now with other things on my plate, it will be nice to have time to myself at races to train, have fun with friends and then focus 100% on my own performance come race day. I have always ridden better when I’m having fun and that’s exactly what I plan on doing this year. I sat down and typed out emails to all the companies I would love to work with and promote and I was pretty excited when I got the email back from Illy at Hotlines to say they were interested in working with me. The Lapierre bikes are awesome and after a few test rides I’m confident they will really compliment the way I ride.”

Will is set to ride the DH920, the Airzone for 4X racing and the Froggy 518 in Endurance DH races. Competing in the National and World Cup series and the Mega Avalanche amongst many other one off events.

Hotlines will be at the Bike Demo Days where you can take a ride with Will Longden and try out the Lapierre bikes for yourself.

Check out http://demodays.bikeradar.com for details.
You can see Will’s full race calendar and check out his other sponsors at www.willlongden.com

Snow Day!

2009-02-06T12:32:00.005Z

The West Country is in bloody chaos - people are getting rescued from their cars, everyone in our work is skiving at home and even the local rag interviewed us all about riding into work despite the snow. It's a total white out! Funny how they don't get this excited in Canada where it snows half the year.

Our mate Nouveu snuck out for a pre-work ride and sent over these snaps. They're from our local trails in Bristol.

Here's one from Milki who'se down in Dartmoore:

Street BMX at London 2012!

2009-02-05T15:30:00.002Z

Oh my god - this really is pretty exciting news. The Bike Biz newsletter just put a story out announcing that street BMX will feature in the London 2012.

"Dave Brailsford, British Cycling's performance director yesterday told MPs, peers and bike big-wigs that racing BMX would be joined by freestyle BMX at the London Olympics."

check out the full story here: http://www.bikebiz.com/news/30180/Freestyle-BMX-to-be-introduced-at-London-2012

Moelfre Reaction Downhill Entries are GO!

2009-02-05T14:42:00.002Z

PROPAIN Exclusive shots

2009-02-05T01:10:00.006Z

Chances are you've seen this beauty on SDH already, but here's some brand new shots of the Propane prototype - brought to you by Wayne Tabernor. It's all a bit mysterious at the moment, but the Propain is due to hit the UK some time in May.

The proto is currently the only one in the UK and is kitted out with Wayne's second new project, Six-Pack components.

Oggle the protoype and check out the Wideopen UK exclusive test ride any second now.... Cheers to Wayne for the hook up.

DELUXE BMX to be available through PRE distribution

2009-02-04T12:22:00.004Z

Mark Noble's BMX brand 'Deluxe' has signed up with PRE distribution and will be available at your local bike shop any minute now. PRE also distro Profile, Madera and Sun ringle meaning Deluxe will be in good hands.

Mark spent years at the helm of RideBMX magazine where he cooked up the idea of starting a lifestyle magazine under the 'Deluxe' name, which eventually turned into a BMX brand. When he parted company with Ride the brand went from a side project to his main gig - leading to the parts you see today. They've got a 100% trails focus, with 5 team riders, a clean website and frames, sprockets, bars and soft goods in the line up.

If you want to read the full story and see what else is coming up you can check out our exclusive interview with Mark in Wideopen issue 8.

Check out DELUXE website here
Check out PRE website here

Davros for Deluxe at Barend from Deluxe Bmx on Vimeo.

Maxxis Cup 2009

2009-02-04T10:14:00.001Z

We are ready to start a new Maxxis Cup International 2009 season, the best DH competition in Europe.

Events will be UCI C1 category and the first round will be celebrated, as every year, in Gouveia (POR) on the 15th march.

Calendar for 2009:
15th March Gouveia (Portugal)
22nd March Vigo (Spain)
03rd May Guimaraes (Portugal)
28th June Port Ainé (Spain)

For further information, visit www.maxxiscup.com

Photos of the week....and more!

2009-02-02T10:39:00.008Z

Been wanting to post this for months and can finally do it!

Went out to Gawton yesterday to film and shoot with James Matthews, a local rider who is flat out. It was the first time that I had shot with the camera so the stills aren't anything special but I am happy with the video. I'll have more info on the few things I did to make the film and my thoughts on the camera some time soon on my site.

In the mean time...enjoy my first try at the moving image ha! Also, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

LOCALS-James Mathews from jacob gibbins on Vimeo.

MUSIC BY: Anoraak - Waiting for your call. www.myspace.com/anoraak

And some of the photos:

Wideopen race shirt - ART ATTACK

2009-01-31T22:57:00.005Z

Mono got so excited at the idea of Wideopen race shirts for 2009 that he almost blew his load all over his computer. Once he'd calmed down he got his crayons out and sketched out this masterpiece of fashion design.

Can you do better? Can you design THE race shirt that the Wideopen team will rock across the UK in '09? I hope so. Get your felt tips out, make art, send it to us. If it's good enough we might just use your design. You might even get a race shirt out of it.

Email your magic to 'jamie@wideopenmag.co.uk'

2009 Reverse Components

2009-01-30T16:24:00.007Z

Click to to BIG!

All new 2009 Reverse kit will be landing at FLi HQ next week and it looks sick. They've got new graphics, new colour schemes and brand new 'Cocaine' saddles, Evo hubsets and 150 front hubs entering the line up.

Better still, if you order now you'll get 10% off all orders.

Go here: http://www.mtb-direct.co.uk/

NPS DH '09 Venue update

2009-01-28T13:56:00.004Z

Just got the latest updates from Paton and Parr at the NPS Team.

Dates are now confirmed but there's a couple of changes to the venues from their interview back in Issue 8. Rheola is now in and it looks like Llangollen Rd2 is maybe out, to be replaced by somewhere mysterious in North Wales, or Bala if they can't pull that one off.

This years NPS will be:

Rd 1 April 26th -Rheola - (UCI Cat 2)
Rd 2 May 31st - North Wales or Bala - (UCI Cat 2)
Rd 3 June 28th - Fort William - (UCI Cat 2)
National Champs July 19th - Innerleithen (Also XC Champs).
Rd 4 August 16th - Carlton Bank
Rd 5 September 27th - Caersws

Kustom Bikes Old Skool Downhill Race Avill Ball - Round 1

2009-01-27T21:44:00.007Z

Last Sunday was round 1 of the Kustom bikes race series at Avill Ball down in Somerset. It was Kustom's first ever race and saw a pretty decent 70+ riders on the start list.

Ben Baker took the top spot of the day, followed down by Will Soffe and Micky Boswell. Scannin' the results sheet it also looks like Junior Zak Hurrel and and Youth Moss Macriner deserve a mention bagging 6th and 7th place respectively. Young guns shooting down the old guys!

Full results are online here and we'll have a race repo in the next issue of the mag.

Get your entries in for round 2 on 22nd Feb now - they need 60 entries by 13th Feb so make it happen!

http://www.kustombikes.co.uk/

Break the Cycle: Tom Power & Greg O'Keefe at Comshingaun‏

2009-01-27T10:23:00.005Z

Tom & Greg Session 2 from Andy Yoong on Vimeo.

News just in from the Break the Cycle team in Ireland. They've just finished shooting a section with Tom Power and Greg O'Keefe. Check out the footy above and then head over to their site for a few more snaps and a great little write-up of the day. Check it out here.

The latest from 2Stage bikes....

2009-01-26T18:26:00.013Z

Big congrats to our mate Pete at 2Stage Bikes and his lovely wife Sophie who had their first kid over the weekend.

Look out for baby Maddie tearing up the junior cat this season... maybe even some 2Stage kids bikes?

http://www.2stagebikes.com/

Photo of the week 2

2009-01-25T16:17:00.004Z

Wow Sunday night came round FAST!

Still no camera so still on old photos.... sucks ASS but as soon as I get the camera I will be shooting a lot , and bikes as soon as possible.

Anyway this is a shot of Josh "Miami" Bryceland riding the top corners at the Fort William WC in summer 08. Everyone one was carving in to this turn and getting there bars real low so I set up and got some photos, lots of good shots from this spot but for loads of reasons this one is the best i think , just his focus and body position make it work.

Nikon D50 , 50mm 1.8 , one off cam light...THE SUN!

More next week

www.JacobGibbins.co.uk

FastlaneBMX mag issue 1

2009-01-24T13:36:00.004Z

I rolled in last night to find a shady looking brown envelope waiting on the doormat. Nestled inside was none other than Issue 1 of FastlaneBMX magazine. I can tell ya already that it's MUCH better reading than the bills and crap that it normally get!

With 2 photographers at the helm (James and Fastlane Dave) the whole thing is rammed with gorgeous snaps and just looks f-ckin rock n' roll start to finish. It's mainly BMX and 4X but there's a few DH shots in there if that's more your thing. There's interviews with the lovely Shanaze Read and Kelvin Batey, loads of race repos, bike tests and even a comp to win a pro bike. I hope they keep it up - it's gonna make for a damn good boost to the UK race scene... and top notch reading on the crapper.

Get over to http://www.fastlanebmx.com/ NOW and order your copy!

Kustom Bikes Old Skool Downhill Race at Avill Ball

2009-01-23T10:40:00.004Z

This weekend is gonna see the Kustom Bikes Old Skool Downhill Race at Avill Ball. It's a traditional push up, race down affair with race runs kicking off at 12PM. There's also a brand new track and cash money for the winners. Sounds fun!

Pop over and give 'em a cheer if you're in the area. More info here

Po1ntOne Racing Products now in stock at Hotlines

2009-01-23T10:11:00.002Z

News just in from Pete over at Hotlines Europe.....

Hotlines Europe now have stock of Po1ntOne Racing products, including the limited edition Nickel plated products. Hurry while stocks last!

“The difference between winning and losing is Point One” www.pointoneracing.com

Proudly US designed and manufactured, seriously cool bike parts, backed up by fearsome adherence to the highest design, build and QA standards. Using the same machine shop as Lockheed-Martin, Hewlett-Packard and the US Military.

The stems come with an integrated top cap and bolt to ‘shrink-wrap’ the steerer tube weighing in at a measly 137g (31.8 clamp) for the Split Second 50 (pictured above in nickel) and 128g (31.8 clamp) for the Split Second DM (Direct Mount). (below)

Ingenious ‘Time Capsules’ eliminate the need to stack spacers on your steerer, keeping the front end slammed. Again, light weight is key with the 35mm version weighing in at 19g (without hardware).

Coined as the lightest spacers ever made, the Nano Second spacers are exactly machined to give a perfect interface between the steerer and stem. 5mm spacers weigh in almost an unnoticeable 1.1g.

Word from Hotlines is that the rather tasty Nickel stems retail around the £140 mark. However, if you don't want to see your ugly mug reflecting back at you they also come in black for £110!

Ben Ineson and Tom Rogers Memorial Fund

2009-01-22T14:38:00.006Z

The guys at All Terrain Cycles just got in touch with some nice ideas to remember Tom and Ben. Have a read and get involved if you want to help.

We need your help to promote two new initiatives following the tragic loss of Tom Rodgers and Ben Ineson.

If any one wants to pass on a message to Ben and Toms parents, a Book of Condolence has been set up on All Terrain Cycles website at http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/

These will be printed and bound into a book so the guys parents can get a chance to read these amazing tributes from all round the world for two very cool guys.

The link is http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/condolence.html

A memorial fund has also been started to honour their memory with the intention to sponsor future events and up and coming riders.

Donations can be done on line at https://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/donations.html

Please give generously so we can give both Tom and Ben a long lasting memory.

Thanks in anticipation for your help

Tony Booth
All Terrain Cycles Ltd
Shed 48
Salts Mill
Saltaire
West Yorkshire
BD18 3LB

Co.Reg. 6536597
Tel 01274 588488

WO Team Blog: Chris M

2009-01-21T18:42:00.005Z

This January has seen the start of the groundwork for the RLS4X track in Leamington Spa. The plan is to hold regular races along with gate practice open to mountain bikers and also bmx’ers. These events are due to start on the 29th March, For more info check out http://www.rls4x.com/.

The first job was to restore the track to a width wide enough to hold races. Secondly the introduction of the tarmac first berm which is an awesome addition giving loads of grip whilst being extremely resilient to the abuse of the weather and riders.

We have also made some alterations to the first section of the last straight which has made this bit of the track have multiple line choices.

The dirt jump area has also been widened and we are creating an enormous step up perfect for practicing your tricks.

Warwick University has also kindly agreed to let us have use of the four man start gate that the purchased from the Nps4x series a couple of years ago. We’re currently repainting and servicing this ready for use in the coming months.

Evil Bikes on Litter

2009-01-20T21:53:00.006Z

Seems like we're all just poaching the news off Littermag nowadays. They're knocking out bangers pretty much every day at the moment, how the hell are they doing it?! I didn't think they were even taking the site that seriously anymore?!

Anyway - Gordo and the crew have got some super bloody exclusive shots of the new Evil DH bike posted up for you to feast your eyes on. Pop over and take a look. Check out the Rach Atherton vid too - all good stuff.

All hail to http://www.littermag.com/

Photo of the week

2009-01-18T18:06:00.003Z

Right new thing here on Wideopen. Not too sure on its proper name yet so for now I'll call it 'Photo of the week'.

Bascally every Sunday evening I'll post up a photo with a few words about it.

To start us off is this photo of Leo Forte from the 08 Empire of Dirt down in Devon. Leo was getting his whips and tables further than pretty much everyone the whole week and this is the photo that sums up how big and sideways he was going. I love the people watching, his style, his height, the lighting composition, how he jumps out from the background etc etc.

Nikon d50 , 50mm 1.8 , 2 wireless flash guns both side of the jump.

More next Sunday, with any luck I'll have my new camera and will give you some fresh stuff.

Ta - Jacob
www.JacobGibbins.co.uk

The Search 2009 Website Online

2009-01-18T10:00:00.003Z

'The Search' is based in Morzine, France and offers downhill mountain bike day trips to other bike friendly resorts in the Alps. They also supported Mono's 'Foot Out Flat Out' movie so we love 'em.

They've just launched their new 2009 website - which you can check out at http://www.thesearchmtb.com/

Good luck to 'em. The new site looks great and there's also a blog you can log onto and check out what's going on over there.

Borderline Events Moelfre Race – 10th to 13th April

2009-01-15T17:00:00.008Z

News just in from Borderline Events front man Mike Marsden.

They've just got the go ahead for a race at Moelfre, to be held 10th to 13th April.

The format will be:
Friday = Downhill practice day
Saturday = Downhill Practice day & 4X racing on completely revamped track
Sunday = Downhill Race
Monday = Downhill uplift day for those that have something left…..

It's going to run with support from Monster Energy, Southerndownhill, Nakedracing and of course... WIDEOPENMAG.CO.UK. They're also looking for some other sponsors, if you can help drop Mike a line at 'michael.marsden AT uni-travel.co.uk'

Check out their webber here: http://www.borderline-events.co.uk/

More details when we get 'em... photo is by Jim at ftmb.net

FastlaneBMX has LANDED

2009-01-15T14:14:00.005Z

FastlaneBMX issue 1 is on sale NOW!

You've got interviews, product tests, comps, race repos and everything you wanna see from the world of BMX and 4X. All brought to you by the evil genius of Dave 'fastlane' Lane and James Alexander.

Order today and help these guys make the UK scene STRONG.

http://www.fastlanebmx.com/

Tragic loss to UK downhill

2009-01-15T10:30:00.006Z

I just spotted on the dirt website that UK pinners Ben Ineson and Tom Rodgers were tragically killed in a car accident last night.

It goes without saying that it's really sad news to hear and the comments you can see popping up all over the net to remember them shows how liked they were on the UK race scene. For what it's worth all of us here at Wideopen would like to send our best wishes to their friends and family. If we can do anything at all to help, get in touch.

There's a few more details here on Bikeradar.

Elbry update 2009

2009-01-14T23:08:00.002Z

Our mate and pro freeride veteran Elbry just fired over an update on what he's been up to...

KBC helmets are again pleased to re-sign long time UK freerider Elbry Sandland to its sporting athlete team roster for 2009, Elbry has been a member of the KBC family since 2003 and will again feature in KBC helmets cataloge, adverts and posters worldwide and joins AMA road racers, MX racers, Stunt riders and Bobsleighers. Elbry will be using the all new Composite PRO-X helmet featuring ULTRA COMPShell Constructed using the revolutionary “pre-preg” bag molding process, it is lighter and ensure consistency in shell thickness, The PRO-X being the first KBC off road helmet to use this technolgy. For more info on KBC see www.kbchelmets.co.uk
Elbry has also picked up support from Hansen's Monster energy drink company( www.monsterenergy.com ) for 09 and will focus on Backcountry freeride photo shoots this summer working with new up and coming UK action photographer Jonathan Williams ( www.jdwphotography.co.uk ).

co-sponsors; Marzocchi, THE, SIKSPAK, NEMA, ONEAL, GOPRO, O'NEAL, MDE BIKES, FRO Systems, KBC & Monster energy.

Wentwood Trophy Enter NOW!

2009-01-14T15:36:00.008Z

The Wentwood Trophy race is set for 1st MARCH 09.

It's cheap to enter, the track is great and it's one of only a few times that Wentwood has been used for an official race. We're even gonna be bringing along some bubbly for the podium. Should be a fun day out!

Entries are selling up fast so get your name down without delay!

http://www.simplydownhill.co.uk/

New Outland kit from Raleigh‏

2009-01-13T12:14:00.010Z

Our mate Gary over at Raleigh/Diamonback just sent over some snaps of the new Outland bars/stem and seat. Think really decent quality kit at prices that won't bust the bank.

Outland bar/stem/grips: 31.8mm bore x 720mm bar, lock on grips and 4 bolt D31Eight stem all in a bright white finish for £39.99. That's bar, stem and grips for 40 bucks. Bargain. White is new for '09 but you can also get 'em in black for the same price.

Mountain Man saddle: Titanium rails, Kevlar rear wrap and profiled design to help you get your arse off the bike. Pretty jazzy graphics too. Let us know in the comments below what you think of 'em. Again, £39.99.

http://www.raleigh.co.uk/

Commencal Supreme DH WC Ltd Edition‏

2009-01-12T11:52:00.005Z

Look at this bad ass. To celebrate Gee and Rach's double World Champ massacre the chaps at Commencal have put together a one-off Supreme LTD edition. It's as close a replica to their race winning bikes as they can get. That's a no compromise, no expense spared, no mercy World Cup destroyer.

Save your pennies now cos they'll be available in March 09 in super limited numbers. If you aint going fast on this thing you aint going fast on anything!

£ TBC
Sizes: S/M (42/16.5) L/XL (44/17.3)

Spec:
Frame – New Supreme DH
Rear Shock – Fox DHX 5.0 (Atherton Setting)
Fork – Fox 40 RC2
Headset – Chris King 1” 1/8
Stem – Sunline V1DH Direct Mount
Bars – Sunline V1 Low
Grips – Sunline Logo Lock-on
Brakes – Shimano Saint 203mm/203mm
Shifter – Shimano Saint r/h
Chain Device – E13 LG1
Rear Derailleur – Shimano Saint short cage
Bottom Bracket – Shimano Saint
Crankset – Shimano Saint
Chain – Shimano
Cassette – Shimano 12-25T
Wheels – DT Swiss EX1750
Tyres – Maxxis High Roller 26 x 2.5”
Seatpost – Thomson Elite
Saddle – SDG Fly RL Titanium