Inside Info: Troy Brosnan’s Demo

Always cool to have your name on your bike/components!
Always cool to have your name on your bike/components!

Are your eyes glazing over? Is your mouth open and drool running out like a waterfall? If it is already you may just be eating some donuts or you’ve just seen this beast in front of your eyes! If you’re not you will be after casting your eye over Troy Brosnan’s fresh new Specialized Demo race bike. Put together by his ace (or should that be race) mechanic Aaron Pelttari (look out for an interview on Downhill247.com real soon!) we were fortunate to have Kaneophoto shoot it before it got packed up bound for the UK and more specifically Fort William.

Now….. Troy was good enough to let us get some shots of the bike and show them to you guys but with a condition, we can’t show you guys too much of the bike as there is some trick prototype stuff going on! So we are going to show details but there is a good reason you wont the bike layed out fully in front of you! A sneak peak if you like…

Are you looking at the winning bike for the upcoming Fort William World Cup? Quite possibly...
Are you looking at the winning bike for the upcoming Fort William World Cup? Quite possibly…
A nice looking narrow wide 36 tooth Renthal sprocket.
A nice looking narrow wide 36 tooth Renthal sprocket.
There is neat rubber protection and well thought out cable routing/guides all over the frame, schmick!
There is neat rubber protection and well thought out cable routing/guides all over the frame, schmick!
An air shock is now in the mix, more and more riders are making the switch. Will this be on the bike for Fort William, one of the longest, most punishing tracks on the circuit...?! We will just have to wait and see.
An air shock is now in the mix, more and more riders are making the switch. Will this be on the bike for Fort William, one of the longest, most punishing tracks on the circuit…?! We will just have to wait and see.
More little touches! Troy is running a tubeless set up., this helps lower rotational mass and increase protection from punchers.
More little touches! Troy is running a tubeless set up., this helps lower rotational mass and increase protection from punchers.
A real touching tribute to a dear old friend of Troy's and the whole Brosnan family, who are all animal lovers.
A real touching tribute to a dear old friend of Troy’s and the whole Brosnan family, who are all animal lovers.
You have to admit from what you can see it is tasty enough!
You have to admit from what you can see it is tasty enough!

Well wipe the drool up that’s a wrap! Now we can’t wait to see what Troy can do on it at Fort William.

Images: A big thanks to www.kaneophoto.com.auA�

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Inside Info: Five Ten Impact VXI

We have been getting to know Five Ten's latest offering, the Impact VXI, well over the past months. Read on...
We have been getting to know Five Ten’s latest offering, the Impact VXI, well over the past months. Read on…Image: kaneophoto.com.au

We have just finished up our long term testing on A�pair of Five Ten Impact VXIs and we want to share our impressions with you. First off, if you’re new to the sport and haven’t heard of Five Ten then expect to hear a lot more about them, it is fair to say they revolutionised the flat pedal (more about that later) shoe market when they burst onto the scene. Initially known for their rock climbing shoes, it was this technology that when applied to the mountain bike world really got people talking.

Looking at this shoe in particular we tested the flat pedal model, there is a clipless version also available if that is your thing. With help from the most famous flat pedal rider in the world, Sam Hill, as well as his friend Brook MacDonald, Five Ten went about designing something that was even more improved from the previous highly regarded Impact shoe. The first thing you notice when you take them out of the box (we got the black and red model as the pictures show) is their lighter weight, coming in at approximately 400 grams per shoe you notice the reduction straight away.

How did they feel? Great, there was no issue with strange sizing or anything along those lines and they felt good from the first wear. We wore these all day long (sometimes on the bike sometimes off climbing mountains taking photos, etc.) and they didn’t become any less comfortable.

The next question is; how did they grip? Fantastic! A reworked version of the rubber Five Ten used ensures these pedals stick like nothing else. Furthermore the dampening/rebound has been improved so you feel less of the bumps/fatigued, now we know that sounds like a long stretch and we couldn’t experience this first hand when it comes down to those tiny percentages they all count. With any Five Ten shoe you need to make sure your foot is in the right place as your feet grip so well it can be challenging to readjust your position (some might consider this a negative but the extreme grip far out weighs the negative if you ask us). The sole was quite stiff meaning optimum power transfer, some people might like a slightly more flexible shoe so they can ‘wrap’ their foot around the pedal but that is personal preference.

Lighter weight and improved rubber are the two biggest improvements of this new shoe.
Lighter weight and improved rubber are the two biggest improvements of this new shoe.

It’s cool to see the front area of the shoe receive some reinforcing to help stop any damage if you get rocks flicking up or stub your foot. It’s worth mentioning the Impact XVIs are constructed from a material that is supposed to help wick water away super fast so you don’t have to ride in wet shoes the next day (nobody enjoys that!).

We have been downhilling, enduro/Trail riding, heck we have even commuted on them! There are no signs of wear or signs to say that longevity is going to be an issue. We have seen plenty of pairs of Five Tens that go for years, one common issue on older models was the glue holding the sole on coming loose but the sole now looks more integrated so we think this will be even less of an issue.

It may have been us imagining it but ankle support seemed marginally lower than the older model but a visual inspection shows this may not be true, that was the only real issue to note over the months we tested the show.

A definite favourite anywhere form a world cup to a local club race, Five Tens have been seen lasting for years.
A definite favourite anywhere form a world cup to a local club race, Five Tens have been seen lasting for years.

In Australia these retail for $234.95 whilst that is a large amount when you see it if you think about how good these shoes are and how long they last the price tag becomes justified. The distributor is Lusty Industries so find them at your local bike shop or hit up their website at;A�www.lustyindustries.com

This is the part riders really care about, the 'soul' of the shoe if you know what we are saying. Five Ten's rubber allows the sole to be super sticky and keep your feet on the pedals. Image: fiveten.com
This is the part riders really care about, the ‘soul’ of the shoe if you know what we are saying. Five Ten’s rubber allows the sole to be super sticky and keep your feet on the pedals. Image: fiveten.com

Overall the Five Ten Impact XVI would be at the top of our list for a new riding shoe, light weight and grippy whilst still maintaining comfort these are a winner.

Images: www.kaneophoto.com.au A�www.fiveten.comA�and stock images.

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SA State Series – Round 1 – Fox Creek

Back to racing for the SA State series.
Back to racing for the SA State series.

It wasn’t only the UCI World Cups that kicked off over the weekend! With almost as much hype, interest and fanfare the South Australian State Series run by Insideline started at Fox Creek. The track is an old favourite of the club and brings a smile to the face of many a rider!

They say a picture says a 100 words, lucky RFPhotographics was there to capture them, enjoy the images below:

Lucas Pitt winding through the trees.
Lucas Pitt winding through the trees.
Jackson Davis is visiting from Melbourne and came out to race.
Jackson Davis is visiting from Melbourne and came out to race.
The track used 'Patto's Curse' has some reasonable sized jumps on it including this one at the bottom.
The track used ‘Patto’s Curse’ has some reasonable sized jumps on it including this one at the bottom.
Simon Buzacott got back from Crankworx Rotorua and no doubt has been riding some gnarly trails so the small bike wouldn't have fazed him.
Simon Buzacott got back from Crankworx Rotorua and no doubt has been riding some gnarly trails so the small bike wouldn’t have fazed him.
The 2015 season looks like it will be an interesting one with fresh faces at the top of the podium. Conor Clancy being one of those.
The 2015 season looks like it will be an interesting one with fresh faces at the top of the podium. Conor Clancy being one of those.
Yeeewww party shirt!
Yeeewww party shirt!
Cameron Ryan took the win at round 1.
Cameron Ryan took the win at round 1.
It is always great to see the girls come out and race.
It is always great to see the girls come out and race.
A lot of people used smaller travel bikes, often these suit the conditions better.
A lot of people used smaller travel bikes, often these suit the conditions better.
Photo G Matt Bird on the other side of the lens!
Photo G Matt Bird on the other side of the lens!

IMG_9147

IMG_9513

Conditions were dry and dusty.
Conditions were dry and dusty.
Sending it sideways!
Sending it sideways!

IMG_8714

To see all the times and results head over to insideline.com.au

Images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).

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World Cup 1 a�� Lourdes – Finals

Everyone was super excited for race day! Some people were over excited, Brendan Fairclough was one such soul!
Everyone was super excited for race day! Some people were over excited, Brendan Fairclough was one such soul!

Well what a race that was! The first World Cup of the season really was full of twists and turns, highs and lows! It all started with juniors and there is a fair chance you were huddled around a computer some where watching the live timing to get an idea of how everyone was going.

All in all if you’re reading this from Australia chances are the juniors would be the highlight of the day for you. Two Aussies claimed medals and overall we did quite well. Remy Morton has had a few gnarly crashes this weekend so to finish in one piece is a win enough we think! He came in 16th, next on the list was Max Warshawsky in 7th, a few places ahead of him at his first World Cup was Jackson Frew in 3rd! Taking the win on the day was a super stoked Andrew Crimmins, carrying good form into this season we knew it would only be a matter time before he was up there.

Top 5 and two Aussies!
Top 5 and two Aussies!
Andrew Crimmins through the trees, we are pretty excited to see how he goes for the rest of the year!
Andrew Crimmins through the trees, we are pretty excited to see how he goes for the rest of the year!

Moving onto the women’s race and after the junior racing everyone was excited to see who would claim the victory. In the end it would be Emmeline Ragot, the diminutive French girl who took the win in front of her home fans, Emmeline tends to do well on the technical tracks and today was no different. For our own Tracey Hannah she couldn’t match her first placed qualifier, unfortunately a crash near the bottom of the course saw her in 5th place, still a remarkable effort. A big mention to Tegan Molloy for grabbing 10th in her first World Cup in the big league.

CM - PDF

10th for Tegan Molloy at her first World Cup after moving up from juniors.
10th for Tegan Molloy at her first World Cup after moving up from juniors.
Emmeline Ragot took the win, the only French rider to do so this weekend.
Emmeline Ragot took the win, the only French rider to do so this weekend.

Okay so the final race of the day, the mens’ and who would have thought it, the winner was the first rider down. If you don’t know by now Aaron Gwin won, after being disqualified in qualifying he was pushed to the bottom of the results and therefore off right at the start of the day. He put in a super human run to win by 4 seconds, visibly faster than any other rider, will he dominate the season like he did a few years ago? Or was it merely one race like last year where he won the opening round before the rest of the field caught up?

A pretty sizable time gap at the top there...
A pretty sizable time gap at the top there…
A long time to wait until the sweet celebration!
A long time to wait until the sweet celebration!

To write off the finals just like that though wouldn’t be justified! Loic Bruni claimed an excellent second at his home race, Mike Jones claimed his first podium in third (that off season training with Sam Hill obviously paying dividends), Danny Hart let everyone know he’s back with a fourth place on his new Mondraker and Sam Dale kept his good form from last year going to snare his first podium in 5th. Brendan Fairclough showed us he’s been training during the off season to finish 6th, Josh Bryceland is still recovering from his broken foot so claiming 7th was quite the accomplishment. Troy Brosnan in 8th was the highest Australian but we know he will be looking for more next race.

Troy Brosnan was the highest placed Australian in 8th.
Troy Brosnan was the highest placed Australian in 8th.

Dean Lucas finished 21st, he now sits within the top 20 overall giving him ‘protected’ status in Fort William. Mic Hannah was 35th and Gee Atherton rode with a broken wrist to come in 5oth. Tough luck for Cnnor Fearon after a blistering qualifier, a crash and ensuing bent pedal saw him out the back in 71st, racing is a tough mistress…

Aaron Gwin sits in second overall, his low qualifier means Loic Bruni takes the overall into the next race.
Aaron Gwin sits in second overall, his low qualifier means Loic Bruni takes the overall into the next race.

Now there’s a gap until race 2 in Scotland for Fort William, the World Cup rolls on….

Images: Phunkt.com

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World Cup 1 a�� Lourdes a�� Qualifying

Tegan Molloy sending it, the crowd in France is a s loud and wild as ever.
Tegan Molloy sending it, the crowd in France is a s loud and wild as ever.

Well 2015 might go down as the season where the new school takes over, a changing of the guard if you like. Now we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but if you look at the qualifying results names like Bruni, Bryceland, Mulally, Lucas, Fearon and Brosnan replace names like Atherton, Gwin, Minnaar and Hill…… Just saying!

A few points to clean up Sam Hill is not racing whereas Greg Minnaar actually is (he is literally strapped to his bike) he is just aiming to claim a few points towards the overall. Aaron Gwin was disqualified from qualifying due to a crash which saw him leave the track but as he entered at a different point to where he left it the UCI disqualified him. Thanks to his protected status he should line up come finals. Danny Hart was out the back in the first world cup for his new team due to a flat tyre, expect that to change come Sunday.

Onto the qualifying results and starting off with the grommets, aka the juniors! These guys were showing their speed, young Laurie Greenland took position number 1 (Laurie podiumed at world championships last year so we know he has speed) just ahead of Andrew Crimmins in 2nd. Finals is going to be great to see a bunch of new names on on the podium. Looking slightly further down the time sheet and Jackson Frew in his first World Cup qualified 5th, exciting times ahead for the future of Australian downhill. Not too much further down the lost are Max ‘Warhawk’ Warshawsky and Remy Morton in 10th and 15th respectively.

Andrew Crimmins second in qualifying, a strong showing by team Kona at this race has them prepped for some big results.
Andrew Crimmins second in qualifying, a strong showing by team Kona at this race has them prepped for some big results.
Junior Men, good to see a strong Aussie contingent, Andrew Crimmins in 2nd, Jackson Frew in 5th, Max Warshawsky in 10th and Remy Morton in 15th.
Junior Men, good to see a strong Aussie contingent, Andrew Crimmins in 2nd, Jackson Frew in 5th, Max Warshawsky in 10th and Remy Morton in 15th.

Next up onto the women and can we get a big shout out to Tracey Hannah for qualifying first, Tracey has been working hard late and we know she can win if everything comes together on race day. We will be excited to watch come finals that is for sure. Rachel Atherton was second, Mannon Carpenter, reigning world champion, crashed during practice and was a bit shaken up 5th in qualifying.

First during qualifying, a solid race here will put Tracey in a great position for the rest of the year.
First during qualifying, a solid race here will put Tracey in a great position for the rest of the year.
Top 5 women, topped by Tracey Hannah!
Top 5 women, topped by Tracey Hannah!

Men’s qualifying and no real surprise to see Loic Bruni on top with his form at the moment. Slightly more surprising to see Remi Thirion in second, we know he loves the steep, technical tracks and he has bagged a world cup victory before, is the second one on the cards?! It doesn’t look as Josh Bryceland has lost much speed after his big crash last year, coming home in 3rd. Neko Mullaly is going to be a real threat this year, fourth just shows this. Shut the front door! 5th place goes to our own Dean Lucas who is holding up the Devinci fort without Stevie Smith. A dig in practice didn’t stop him from his best qualifying result to date and hopefully his best finals result follows it up! 6th place and no doubt loving the fact he is on a 650b race bike is Connor Fearon (his mechanic Mathieu Dupelle may be the key to his qualifying result with a few choice valve caps being added to Connor’s bike!). Just behind Connor is Troy Brosan in 7th, Troy has told us he will be looking for more in his race run so stay tuned for a big result from the ‘Paddle Pop Lion’ if you’ve seen his hair! Brendan Fairclough is back at the pointy end with a 9th in qualifying, Mic Hannah was 21st, Greg Minnaar held on for 61st, Gee Atherton was fastest at split one but DNF (Did Not Finish) after a nasty encounter with the ground when his front wheel washed out. Gee is tough as nails so we expect him to line up for finals we will have to wait and see though. Final Aussie on the start list Matthew McCorkell was also a DNF.

Yeah boy! Dean Lucas in fifth for qualifying and fastest Australian qualifier, pretty excited for the main show!
Yeah boy! Dean Lucas in fifth for qualifying and fastest Australian qualifier, pretty excited for the main show!
The men's results, plenty of Aussies in the mix, let's hope they all shuffle up a few positions for finals!
The men’s results, plenty of Aussies in the mix, let’s hope they all shuffle up a few positions for finals!

Tune back after finals…. this is going to be good!

Images: Phunkt.com

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World Cup 1 – Lourdes – Practice (& Track Walk)

If you haven't watched our 15 second track walk from Lourdes yet then head over to our Instagram or Facebook pages and do yourself a favour! The links are at the bottom of the article.
If you haven’t watched our 15 second track walk from Lourdes yet then head over to our Instagram or Facebook pages and do yourself a favour! The links are at the bottom of the article.

Okay we are pumped and we bet you guys are too! The world cups are back, these are the pinnacle of downhill racing seeing riders from all over the globe come together to take the title of fastest rider on the hill. Our first stop for 2015 is in Lourdes, a town in France that is steeped in history. A large component of the towns existence is related to religion, for this weekend we think you will find downhill is the chosen religion!

Connor Fearon with his fingers crossed, the track is pretty wild but we know he has it under control!
Connor Fearon with his fingers crossed, the track is pretty wild but we know he has it under control!

The track itself is steep, rocky, fast and features some big jumps! Basically what a ‘proper’ downhill race track should be like… The riders are loving it and because it is the first time a world cup has been run on it the playing field is essentially level. You can bet the crowd will be supporting one rider more than any other, that of course is Loic Bruni. The young rider is still eyeing off his first World Cup win and after winning Crankworx just a few weeks ago we know his form is red hot. Saying that Loic had a run in with a tree during practice but he was okay.

Gee Atherton laid down the fastest time during practice, a shade over 3 minutes.
Gee Atherton laid down the fastest time during practice, a shade over 3 minutes.

Whilst we are talking about injury Josh Bryceland is back and still riding with his trademark steeze, Greg Minnaar is out after a crash at Crankworx damaged some tendons in his left hand. Big news of the day is Sam Hill sitting out day 1 of practice due to a shoulder injury, you feel he would do well on this steep, technical track, Sam will decide whether he races or not in tomorrow’s practice session.

Tegan Molloy, aka current Junior World Champion, is making the step up to the premier class, we all hope she has a great debut.
Tegan Molloy, aka current Junior World Champion, is making the step up to the premier class, we all hope she has a great debut.

Continuing with the injury updates, Jack Moir is also absent with a shoulder injury, we know he was in good form but hopefully it isn’t too long before he is back on his new ride racing again. A few new bikes and parts have been spotted around the pits, it has been a busy time for mechanics who have been building up new bikes and cutting spikes (what seems to be the tyre of choice here in Lourdes). Talking about spikes, the weather has actually been dry fortunately as this track would be even more insane if it rained….

Dean Lucas scouting lines, his first outing on his new bike was Crankworx so we are keen to see what he can do this weekend. It seems like his kind of track.
Dean Lucas scouting lines, his first outing on his new bike was Crankworx so we are keen to see what he can do this weekend. It seems like his kind of track.
Jackson Frew is one of the Australian junior over racing in France. Andrew Crimmins comes into the even with the number 1 plate, junior racing is always just as tight as the big league.
Jackson Frew is one of the Australian junior over racing in France. Andrew Crimmins comes into the even with the number 1 plate, junior racing is always just as tight as the big league.

Welcome to the 2015 world cup season! Check back with us soon as qualifying is next on the list!

Images: Phunkt.com

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