At last weekends World Championships, Jaroslav Kulhavy took gold.  Bike geeks watching closely will have noticed something special on the winning bike. The 26-year-old Czech, who took the XC world by storm this year and also won the World Cup, had a secret weapon: SRAM’s new 10-speed BlackBox Grip Shift® twist shifters.

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Specialized have a new XC World Champion, Jaroslav Kulhavy.  Following a dominant season the team headed to Champery and this is what happened.

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In a word - Awesome! Last weekend 400 hundred riders took to Ballinastoe for the annual Epic Blast but this year with an added event - The Foxhunt.  Former World Champion downhill rider Gee Atherton chased the pack down the mountain, eliminating riders by passing them.  Come the finish line there were only a handful [...]

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Yet more videos from Champery (plenty to come too).  This time it is the Trek World Racing boys and girls including defending female DH champ tracy Moseley.   Downhill first with XC below.

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Last weekend saw the best riders in the World head to Champery in Switzerland for the World championships.  First up lets take a look at the Downhill.
The Champery downhill course is renowned for its high degree of difficulty and its steepness. It has claimed many victims over the years and has seen a number of [...]

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29er frame manufacturer Niner bikes have just announced the redesign of two of their most popular designs the Air9 and EMD9.

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First up the Downhillers who have enjoyed a fantastic season for Aaron Gwin and Tracy Moseley.

Next it is over to the cross country boys to complete the World Cup season in advance of the World Champs.

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Here is a great video from Gnarly Adventures from the SSWC that includes a section at the end on how South Africa won the rights for 2012.  Sums the whole event up really well.

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Shock manufacturer Rockshox has just annonuced a new even lighter version of their XC orientated Monarch shock that incorporates a carbon fibre air can and the excellent XLoc hydraulic lockout.

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Five hundred and eighty riders signed up for the 13th official Single Speed World Championships which took place last weekend at the Ballyhoura mountain bike trail centre in County Limerick, Ireland.  Ireland’s Niall Davis of biking.ie emerging the eventual male World Champion to take the coveted tattoo first prize. Competitors faced a gruelling 38 [...]

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Mel Spath and Cait Elliott recently competed in the final 2 rounds of the World Cup series. First up was Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic, set in a forested area of pretty rolling hills, the race was based around a biathlon stadium which created a great arena and starting area. The course was very [...]

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Mountain biking great Jacquie Phelan is coming to Ireland for the Single Speed World Championships this August 2011. This is a once in a life time chance to ride with a true mountain bike legend. Biking.ie are hosting two mountain bike rides with Jacquie, all money raised goes towards Jacuies expenses in travelling to Ireland. [...]

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The Through the Roots guys are back with another top notch production focused on the seventh round of the XC NPS held in Slade valley recently.  Enjoy.

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In advance of the final NPS this weekend, the Offroad Commission is drawing attention to the overall competition with a number of riders currently missing out as they haven’t raced enough rounds.
Important: 2011 XC NPS Points - Please Read!
So, the last NPS of the year is just around the corner - and it looks like [...]

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With only a year to go to the 2012 London Olympics a number of test events are taking place including a test event for the Mountain bike course.  Over to Cait Elliott for the report.

Three Irish mountain bikers, the male and female Irish National champions (Robin Seymour and Cait Elliott) and Mel Spath (although still [...]

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This weekend sees the final round of the XC NPS in Castlewellan, Co.Down.  The course is a perennial racers favourite with a nice mix of singletrack.  The video below gives an indication of some of the features, might want to turn the sound down if you are in work though…

Course Description: This year’s main course [...]

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Richie Byrne reports in from the Bull Raid in Carlingford last weekend.  The race is a six hour or 12 hour contest ridden as a solo rider, pair or team with the winners putting in the biggest number of laps in the shortest time.  These endurance races are a growing sector of mountain bike racing [...]

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One of our favourite manufacturers, Ritchey have announced some new products to their lineup in 2012.
WCS stem C-260

At 100 grams (100mm) this is lightest, most advanced alloy stem in the Ritchey line

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The Golan Bogman XC race , is a XC Mountain Bike race organised by new MTB club, Donegal Mountain Biking Club. It’s the first Race event to be hosted by the club and will be held in a beautiful scenic area at Golan which is just outside Milford in Co.Donegal. We actually know something of [...]

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The Trek World Racing team are off to Windham in the US for the World Cup.

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With product becoming available earlier and earlier every year we can bring you a first test of the Fox F-29 2012 fork. While this is a 29er specific fork there is very little difference between the F-29 and the standard 26 inch fork.

Having spent the previous six months on the 2011 F-29 we were [...]

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Team Worc will host the 2011 Irish National Mountain bike champs at one of the best venues in the country - Killruddery.  The site of many an Irish Championship, K-Capital Cups and NPS races, Killruddery has it all - rocks, roots, open mountain, forest and of course singletrack.  Designed by perennial National Champion Robin Seymour [...]

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Here are two videos from last weekends mountain bike World Cup in Mont Sainte Anne, one XC and one DH.  Enjoy!

Team CRC/Nukeproof at Mont Sainte Anne - Burning Through the Mist from chainreactioncycles on Vimeo.

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Irish (!) rider Mel Spath is just back from competing in the fourth round of the British NPS round in Margam Park in the UK where she finished second and currently leads the overall.  You can read about her exploits on her excellent blog but we have reproduced her diary entry from the race.  Husband [...]

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The penultimate round of the Irish XC NPS takes place this weekend at last years event of the year site in Slade Valley.

The organisers, IMBRC, have been hard at work adding too and refining the excellent network of singletrack that they have built up and the course is once again an absolute cracker with a [...]

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Sunday week will see the IMBRC host NPS 6 in Slade Valley.  The club won “XC race of the year” in 2010 and have improved the course yet again with the addition of more singletrack and two monster bombholes but have a look for yourself….

Video production and filming by Ben Griffin.
More info on the race [...]

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For the first time the Single Speed World Champion (SSWC) will be held in Ireland in late August.  Registration is close to closing so be sure and make sure you are on the start list.  To race all you need is a single speed mountain bike and it is easier than you think to convert [...]

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The Trek boys and girls are back with their video series In Pursuit.  Here are a few updates with footage from the opening World Cups including the Downhill female World Champion racing XC in Dalby?…

Pietmaritzburg

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When people think of upgrades for their bikes it is often wheels, tyres, groupsets etc. but key contact points should also be considered - namely the saddle!

Racy lightweight saddles tend to trade comfort for weight but not here

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Last year we flagged a growing trend in mountain bike development, the 29 inch wheel. At last year’s trade shows we were struck by the jump in the number of bikes with 29 inch wheels even from the conservative European manufacturers who previously had dismissed them. We tested them extensively at the trade [...]

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