Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine #1

Issue 01 | January 2011 | Free Download

www.freeridermag.in

mountain bike magazine

http://freeridermag.in

Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine | 3

EDITORIAL

I came up with the idea to produce and publish India’s first ever Mountain Bike Magazine, Freerider. After spending four months travelling around India, I soon uncovered the huge potential to develop and promote Mountain Biking through India and Nepal. During my stay, I spoke with several people from associated industries about the potential for events, races and race track development but soon revealed that this sport is too young and the general population not yet aware about the unlimited prospects for mountain biking in the region.

Thus the idea was born to produce a Magazine focused on the promotion and development of the sport and upon meeting Vineet Sharma this dream is now becoming a reality. Vineet is a talented and enthusiastic biker who has worked hard to evolve mountain biking in India and also organized the first Dirt Jump and BMX event in India (Chandigarh) “Dirt Fest”.

Together, Vineet and I aim to make mountain biking more accessible to the general population by publishing Freerider MTB Magazine.Together, Vineet and I aim to make mountain biking more accessible to the general population by publishing Freerider MTB Magazine. We both being involved in the extreme sports industry from a very young age, there is a great amount of knowledge and passion ready to be unleashed. Both posses the skill and experience for publishing Freerider MTB Magazine and achieving the dream of exposing the unlimited potential of mountain biking as a sport, recreation and tourist enterprise through both India and Nepal.

Mesum Verma, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Hansueli Spitznagel | Rider: David Kretz & Thomas Tödtli | Location: Savognin / Switzerland


CONTENTSEXCLUSIVE STORY

Riding with the Bull.........................8

TECH MANUAL

Know your bike.........................20

HOT SHOTS Professional photos.........................23

TRICKNOLOGY

WHATS UP

First DH Race in Nepal.........................31

COVERPhoto: Hansueli Spitznagel | Rider: Thomas Tödtli | Location: Winteregg / Switzerland

Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine#2434-A, Sector: 39-CChandigarh. 160036INDIA.........................................................This magazine is intended forfree distribution and is onlyavailable through our web portalwww.freeridermag.in ........................................................Feel free to write or contribute.E-mail us at: [email protected]

Staff:

Editor-in-chief: Mesum [email protected]

Deputy Editor: Vineet [email protected]

Nepal Correspondent: Jenny [email protected]

Essential handling.........................27

GOSSIP

New Stuff.........................38

SHOW TIME

Photos from India & Nepal.........................36

Sneek Peek

About next issue.........................41


mailto:freeridermag%40gmail.com?subject=Contribution%20for%20Magazine

mailto:mesum%40freeridermag.in?subject=

mailto:vineet%40freeridermag.in?subject=

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mountain bike magazineABOUT US

Freerider mountain bike magazine is India’s first and only dedicated MTB magazine from the people who love to ride and keeps you up to date with the Latest news, events, reviews of the latest products and gear for mountain bikers in India, Nepal and around the world. The magazine will be published every 2 months and will be free to read.The ultimate aim of Freerider MTB Magazine is to capture all aspects of mountain biking from India’s perspective and present it in a format that aims to inform, educate and en-tertain our readers as well as encourage them to develop their own abilities in biking and make them aware of new products and items that can help them in this development, as well as promotion of mountain biking destinations in India, Nepal and around the world.The editing team and contributors for Freerider MTB magazine consist of like minded people who are deeply passionate about this sport and include professional riders and photographers from various countries like Switzerland, Germany, and China as well as India and Nepal. Each issue of Freerider MTB magazine will contain informative features including technical information about mountain bikes and components, enhancing riding skills, new mountain bikes and products reviews, main biking orientated feature stories, coverage of mountain biking events and anything else that is happening in the mountain bike world.

THE

MAGAZINE TEAMMESUM VERMA (Editor-in-Chief)

Born in Lucknow - India, He moved at the age of 5 to Switzerland, to his Swiss host-parents, after his real parents passed away. During his master degree in electric engineering, he got his first sponsorship at the age of 17 to pursue his interest in Snowboarding. Freestyle and half pipe snowboarding dictated the next 7 years of life as a professional snowboarder. After he quit the contract with his sponsor he was still involved in the extreme sport scene as a professional photographer (freelancer).

Travelling with professional rider‘s (snowboarders, skiers and mountain bikers) around the world to get the best pictures helped to fuel his passion for extreme sports, especially mountain biking. One of Mesum’s biggest and best stories was in October 2008, when he toured around Ladakh (India) with a professional mountainbiker. The ensuing storey and photo shoot was published worldwide throughout that year.


Prior to his interest and involvement in the outdoors and the mountain biking industry, Vineet worked for 6 years in the information technology and service industry and also worked as an independent graphic artist. Vineet’s passion is of course the development of mountain biking in India. Vineet has also worked in designing and building mountain bike parks and trails and also dedicated a lot of his time to the promotion and development of the sport in India by organizing mountain biking events and working as a MTB instructor, spreading his passion to the future generations. Vineet sincerely hope Freerider can extend this message.

VINEET SHARMA (Deputy Editor)

A passionate mountain biker from Chandigarh in India whose ultimate dream is to run Freerider Mountian Bike Magazine and spread the message about mountain biking. Together with Mesum we have the ambition to keep you up to date with the latest happenings in the MTB industry in India, Nepal and around the world.

JENNY LAMA (Nepal Correspondent)

Mountain Biking grabbed Jenny four years ago when she came to live in Nepal and never let go, each day for her living in this Himalayan country and riding her bike is a trail of new discovery, sen-sations and joy. Mountain Biking is an addiction and a passion for Jenny. Originally born in the UK but grew up in the out-door lifestyle of Australia, Jenny worked as a chef and discovered cycling as a means to commute to work and back, She savoured the lonely roads late at night, just her and her bike. At the age of 21Jenny began to travel, at first with a friend and then by herself. Four years took her all over Asia and the Middle East and some parts of Africa and Europe, in which time she visited Nepal several times and forged a bond with the country that would eventually see Jenny live here.

Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine |6

Now Jenny have established her own responsible travel company in Kathmandu and have also become part of the Mountain Bike Community here, trading her road bike for a mountain bike. Jenny’s strongest desire is to see mountain biking developed as a sport, recreation and tourism activity in Nepal and to help Nepal’s cyclist develop and become recognised on an international scale. In a country with little understanding of recreation and biking for pleasure and so little support and funding from the government, it’s a hard world for the professional cyclists to achieve their dreams.Jenny’s past experience includes working in the tourism and hospitality industry over the last 11 years as a professional chef, tour guide, cycling guide and team leader.She also work in conjunction with an Environmental and Tourism NGO as adviser, graphic designer and freelance writer. Jenny’s hobbies include cycling, kayaking, photography and trekking.

Freerider mountain bike magazine would like to thank:

Kabir Dhillon, James Frampton, Vinay Menon, Doris, Rudy Hauser for their help and contribution.

We would also like to thank Hansueli Spitznagel, Forrest Akawara, Lars Scharl, Uwe Maier, Ignatius Chen Chin Fa and KK Vision for the photographs and everyone who supported us.You guys rock!

NOTE: We have done our best to make sure that all content in this issue of Freerider mountain bike magazine is accurate, but would emphasise that we at Freerider mountian bike magazine accept no responsibility for any errors in the magazine/content or any errors caused to your computer while reading our magazine.



On tour by mountian bike in Zanskar and LadakhTEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MESUM VERMA

WITH THE BULLRIDING

Exclusive Story

In October 2008, I organized an unusual trip with the well-known Swiss mountain biker, René Wildhaber. Accompanied by a guide, pack animals and our bikes, our route took us through the unspoiled landscape of Zanskar and Ladakh in the northern Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir. On our 17-day journey from Darsha to Lamayuru we encountered snow and glistening sun, tiny villages and long stretches of desolate wilderness.

In the airplane heading for New Delhi, India, we enjoyed the smooth flight through quiet skies. The tension rose as we neared our destination, and our minds became occupied with expectation.I had traveled to India several times and had a fairly good idea of what we might expect – but for René it would be his first encounter with a new country and a new culture.

The air was saturated with minute dust particles. We found it difficult to accustom ourselves to the smells, and our eyes did not know where to focus. These were our first impressions of New Delhi, the impulsive, hectic and noisy capital of India.


Palamo, Over Zanskar Sumdo

Dinner in Manali

A porter in Manali

The bus from New Delhi took 16 hours to reach the state of Himachal Pradesh. Our destination was the small village of Manali at 2,000 meters above sea level, in the Kullu Valley. Here, the large boxes containing our bikes did not fail to attract great interest. With a “No problem!” expression, only the rickshaw driver, who took us to the home of our guide, seemed unimpressed. After greeting the guide and his family, we started assembling our bikes in his courtyard, which we shared with a cow and its calf, while the family and a large group of neighbors watched us with great interest.

We managed to recover from our journey surprisingly quickly and adjusted to the rhythm of nature and of the people living there. We began to explore the surroundings on our bikes and to prepare for our bike tour, which was to begin in a week’s time. A taxi cab took us to Darsha, far up in the Himalaya Mountains, where our horse guide, Santosh, and cook, Tashi, expected us. The drive to Darsha was exceedingly rough as the roads were in a terrible state with parts of the road surface completely washed away by the recent monsoons. Nature here began to captivate us. It was far drier and rockier here in the Lahul Valley than in the Kullu Valley, where the landscape was greener and trees grew despite the altitude.

The drive to Darsha was exceedingly rough as the roads were in a terrible state with parts of the road surface completely washed away by the recent monsoons. Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine | 10

René Wildhaber entertaining locals in Kargyak

Phuktal Gompa


From Darsha, our tour took us to Palamo, which is 3,900 meters above sea level, and the base for our first camp. We were now far away from roads and civilization; in fact, we were alone. We continued with our daily routine as if it were a mantra: we were woken in the early morning by the cook, who served us a cup of chai (black tea prepared with loads of sugar and a mixture of spices), followed by breakfast and decamping, loading the pack animals and moving on. For 17 days we traveled like nomads.

We reached our limits as early as the second day, when we had to climb the Shingo La pass with its summit at 5,100 meters above sea level. In addition to the height, a fierce snowstorm exacerbated the ascent. At times, all we saw was snow and fog, and the path would disappear beneath the snow. At one point, we thought we had lost our directions, but hunted out our path after a long search. We reached the camp at Lakang Sumdo (4,400 meters above sea level) completely exhausted. We pitched our tents in the dark and crept into our sleeping bags which had iced over from the snowstorm. In view of the enormous strain and exertion, we gave our pack animals a day’s rest. The guide and cook took advantage of the free time to learn to ride a mountain bike. k

René gave them a course in technique – probably at the highest location ever.

After three days, we reached the first village, Khargyak. The children there must have seen us approaching and ran toward us. They were excited and jumped around us, admired our bicycles and, naturally, we gave each one a ride.

The landscape was continuously changing. It became increasingly stony and sandy, with hardly any vegetation other than grass. At times, the landscape looked like a desert void of human beings and buildings. Yet we did meet up with a group of nomad women driving their yaks toward greener pastures. A yak is a kind of cow that lives at altitudes of 3,500 meters above sea level, or higher, and was domesticated by the nomads. The women were just getting ready to milk the yaks and sang songs, which they believe calms the animals. They offered us a bowl of yak milk, which has a strong taste and is very fatty.

As a reward, one of the women asked to ride René’s “very good horse”, as she put it.


The climax of our trip was a visit to the oldest Buddhist monastery of the Zanskar Valley. The foundation of the monastery was laid by Sherpa Zangpo in the 11th century after meditating at this energy-charged place.

The actual monastery was erected a short while later; nests of monks’ houses were built into steep rock precipices, where they seem to stick like birds’ nests.

Today, some 70 monks of the Yellow Hat Buddhist sect occupy the monastery.

Soon we began to talk with a high-ranking Lama, who insisted upon wearing one of our cycling helmets.In return, René wanted to wear the Lama’s cap.

Padum, the capital of Zanskar, lies restfully in the large, wide plain of the Zanskari River, thrust between high mountains crowned with eternal snow. However, the view from far is decetive, because it was hardly restful when we arrived at the village. Honking trucks, off-road vehicles, busses and motorbikes mingled with hoards of people. Traditional clothing has long since been exchanged for jeans, and everywhere we saw hotels and restaurants. Even though the village is comparatively small, after several days of peace and solitude, we seemed to be overcome by the noise, hectic movements and masses of people. We did not stay very long in Padum. We continued our journey and while we had already mastered one high pass, we had another ten passes ahead.


Down to Hanuman-La

Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine | 14Crossing Hanupata - Wanla


Phuktal Gompa

We left the village along the valley of the Zanskari River. Although we were able to move much faster on the roads, after only one day we welcomed under our wheels the stony, sandy surface of our preferred terrain.

On our journey, we continued to see and pass through small villages and groups of houses. It was autumn, and the farmers were busy reaping the wheat, threshing it and finally grinding it into flour with the help of watermills. They call the resulting flour tsampa. It is often eaten immediately as is, without any further preparation, or mixed with butter tea as a kind of porridge. The people take a spoonful of flour and “throw” it into their mouths without their lips touching the spoon. Trying to imitate them was quite a challenge either ending with a coughing fit or the distribution of flour all over our faces. We were offered butter tea, which the local population drinks in large quantities, and which we found takes getting used to. However, since we were offered butter tea in each and every village we passed through, we soon adjusted to it.

The bright orange bushes on the mountain slopes conjured up an autumnal scene

After 11 days, we crossed the Parfi-La-pass and left the Zanskari River, and Zanskhar, and entered Ladakh. Each pass we negotiated meant a different landscape and new vegetation ranging from desert to grass-land.

While crossing the Hanuma La pass (4,700 meters above sea level), we were suddenly very much aware of being in the HimalayanMountains: the view of the other mountain range which surrounded us was breathtaking. The subsequent ride to Lingshed was pictuesque. The bright orange bushes on the mountain slopes conjured up an autumnal scene. After staying overnight in one monastery, we took part in the early morning puja, a prayer including singing and a water sacrifice. Following this impressive ceremony with its special atmosphere we continued on the path to our destination.



After 17 days, we finally arrived at Lamayuru. Here, we encountered yet another culture shock in Leh, the capital city of Ladakh. After days of peacefulness, solitude and wide landscapes, even this small village seemed too hectic and noisy. Here we were told that the road to Manali was no longer passable due to large quantities of snow on the pass roads. As a result, we were forced to take the route through Srinagar, despite news about increased unrests there.A taxi cab took us back to Lamayuru, Kargil and the Zoji pass and through an ever changing landscape to Kashmir. The Zoji La pass separates Ladakh from Kashmir both politically and geographically.

It is only the individual rice paddies and the sheer unending view that covinced us that we were not in Switzerland.

We left behind an arid, sandy landscape and suddenly met with a green and fertile countryside. Owing to its mountains, clean air and arable land, Kashmir is often termed the Switzerland of India. It is only the individual rice paddies and the sheer unending view that covinced us that we were not in Switzerland. In order to avoid Srinagar, we did not stop, but continued straight on to Jammu. However, since our journey coincided with the Muslim Eid al Fitr festival, which celebrates the end of the Ramadan month of fasting, the streets were jampacked, and we made very slow progress. In addition, one of the tires of our taxi suffered a puncture in the middle of the night, and we had to have it repaired. While this is not usually a problem in India, the fact that the two mechanics at the repair shop had had too much to drink considerably complicated and delayed the process.


After three days of driving, we finally reached New Delhi exhausted. We were very glad to tread on terra firma. In New Delhi, we took advantage of additional time to visit India’s largest mosque, Jama Masjid, and to relax in one of the numerous new cafés on Connaught Circus, the city center. Our eventful and interesting visit to India was rounded off by a short yet memorable trip to Rishikesh on the River Ganges and to the Taj Mahal in Agra. - FR MTB MAG

Village Mune.

Mountain Bike Trip: India 2011Trip starts in the first week of the August, and takes about 3 weeks

Interested in getting off the beaten path with your extreme downhill mountain bike? How about coming to the highest and one of the most challeng-ing places in the world, The Himalayas! This region is fast becoming one of the most popular places to ride, but we offer you an experience unlike no other. Down hill through northern India’s mountain ranges you’ve only read about in books. Visit small mountainside villages and see what life is like at 4000m. Then, relax and take it all in with your friends at night along side a meal provided by our personal chef. Nomad Adventure is your ticket to the freedom culture of India’s Himalayas!

redbull photofiles/ mesum verma


Contact / Info: [email protected]

Photos by: Santa Cruz Bicycles | Forrest Akawara

KNOWSaddle

Saddle Rail

Seat Collar

Seat Post

Seat TubeSeat Stay

Casette

Top Tube

Stem

Grip

Shift Lever Brake Lever

Head Tube

Head SetFork Crown

Fork Stanchion

Fork ArchGusset

Down Tube

Rear Shock

Hub

TireRim

Fork Dropout

Disc Rotor

Fork Slider

Disc Caliper

FrontDerailleur

Crank Arm

Chain

Chain StayRear Dropout

Rear Derailleur

YOUR BIKETech Manual

Tech Manual is all about fixing your mountain bike. It also tells about each of the parts on your bike and in coming issues we will tell you how to diagnose the problem with each part and fix them on your own at home or when you’re out on trail. All you need is proper understanding of bike and parts and how they work, a few simple tools and your common sense.

So before you strangle any bike part on your mountain bike we suggest you to get familiar with basic bike parts so that you can play with them with help of our Tech Manual in coming issue which will also help you to impress your fellow riders and local-bike shop staff with your knowledge.

Not all mountain bikes and parts are same. Some parts vary from bike to bike – A full suspension mountain bike (as shown) will have different and more parts compared to a hard tail mountain bike. A mountain bike is an easy thing to spot machine which usually has fat knobby tires, suspension (Various styles), and more components like disc brakes and other fancy parts.

BottomBracket

Quick ReleaseSkewer

Pivot

DerailleurHanger

Spoke

Consider the mountain bikes shown above and on this page to be a map and you will be travelling and working in places mentioned on this map. This trip can be fun and full of rewards.

When you’ve figured out all the bike parts and how they work together you’re good to go.When it comes to bike repair and maintenance, it’s suggested to know thevarious parts of a bike, their function and how they work together. When you’ve figured out all the bike parts and how they work together you’re good to go. However you need a shop where you can work. Just make sure you are com-fortable while fixing your bike and have enough space to keep your tools etc. A workstand can also make your job lot easir If you are really serious about fixing and maintaining mountain bikes.

.....................................................................................................................

Here are few more basic things you should understand:

FRAMES: Mountain Bike Frames are designed with a specific Mountain Biking Discipline like Downhill mountain biking, Freeride, Dirt Jump, Trials, Cross country etc in mind. These frames also use different material like Aluminium, Chromoly, Carbon Fibre etc. Expensive material like Titanium is also used in making bike frames these days and is resistant to corrosion. Titanium frame’s are very strong, and lightweight too. Make sure you get a right frame size for yourself before buying a bike.

BRAKES: Brakes don’t just help you to stop your bike. They also help in re-directing and control the balance while riding. These days’ Disc brakes are more popular and are considered most efficient as their performance is not spoiled by mud or water. Hydraulic disc brakes are the best if you are serious about riding. In entry level mountain bikes you may find Rim Brakes or V-Brakes which are not expensive and offer good braking if the wheel/rims are in good condition. Rim or V-brakes don’t work very well if the rim comes in contact with dirt or water, and the same issue with mechanical disc brakes.


HANDLE BARS: A handle bar helps you to steer your bike in desired direction and comes in different styles and features to meet the rider needs according to specific mountain bike discipline. A mountain bike handlebar can be made of various materials like Aluminium alloy, Steel, or even Carbon fiber. Handle bars can be flat or even riser. The riser handle bar can also be High rise, low rise or even mid rise to meet rider’s preference and riding style. Cross country bikes are usually equipped with flat handle bars and bar ends to allow more bar holding position. A handle bar should also have a bar plug as a safety concern because you may get injured seriously in case you fall.

WHEELS: A mountain bike wheel size can be from 24-inch to 29 inch, 26-inch being the most common. Mountain bike wheel sets are available in various widths, and for various riding disciplines. A wheel should be trued perfectly which will result in better rolling and strength. Cross country bikes wheels are usually very light and are narrow compared to wheels used in downhill or freeride bikes. They are heavy compared to cross country wheel set and can also accept tire size from 2.3 to 2.5 or even 2.7!

SADDLES: It is very important to choose a right saddle for yourself. It’s for your own comfort as you may spend full day riding your bike. Saddles can also be very fatal if not selected properly. Saddles are available in various shapes and sizes; however mountain bike saddles are usually narrow, and have thick padding. MTB Saddles are also designed specially for females as they have wider hips, so the female saddle design is wider for their comfort. You also have to be very careful about your seat height and saddle position as that’s another key to comfort, pedaling efficiency and less risk of physical injury.

DRIVETRAIN: A mountain bike drivetrain consists of gears which can be further broken into: Rear derailleur, A cassette which can be of various speeds, A crankset with one-two or three chain rings, front derailleur, a chain and a set of shifters. It is very essential to maintain the drivetrain by cleaning and servicing it regularly.

SUSPENSION: Moutain bike suspension system has become very advanced now, and is manufactured with lot of research and development. A suspension helps to minimize the effects of riding on rough terrain and the impact to your body as it takes away the impact from you. A full suspension mountain bike (as shown above) consists of front and rear sus-pension which gives maximum comfort and confidence to the rider over technical terrain. Different kinds of suspensions are available for various riding disciplines. A downhill or a freeride bike will be seen with a longer travel suspension which can take lot of abuse whereas a corss country mountain bike will have a lighter and a short travel fork. - FR MTB MAG

Proper maintenance of your mountain bike and all the components is very important in order to keep it functional at full potential. Always check your bike before and after riding to ensure every-thing is working fine. It also ensures your safety and good time on TEXT BY VINEET SHARMA

Mesum having fun


Hot Shots Photo: Hansueli Spitznagel | Rider: Markus Schwab | Location: Pila / Italy


Epic shots by professional photographers from around the world


Photo: Lars Scharl

Photo: Mesum VermaRider: René Wildhaber Location: Padum / India

ALWAYS WEARA HELMET...

and other safety gear when mountain biking, even if you’re practicing on soft grass.


ESSENTIAL HANDLINGBasic Mountain Bike Handling is essential to learn in the first few times you start riding your bike. It is not learned overnight but riding and practicing on your Mountain Bike frequently would indeed help a lot.

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY VINEET SHARMA | RIDER: KABIR DHILLON


Knowing how to handle your bike will help prevent you from falling off your bike and will also give you confidence to try new things on your mountain bike. In this issue we will guide you how to distrib-ute body weight while riding a mountain bike and how it helps. We will be showing you the importance of weight distribution by basic bike balancing, Landing a small drop, and riding downhill and uphill. Some readers may already be aware of this part, but Tricknology section is designed keeping in mind beginners too. However we will progress to advance techniques and tricks in our coming issues. For the Advanced Mountain Bikers, this section is a good refresher.

Mountain biking is a sport where you will encounter different kind of unpredicted terrain. The best part is - you can ride your mountain bike any time you feel like. Be it in rain, wind, or shred somewhere during winters.

On left you will see our fellow mountain biker Kabir, riding on a narrow platform. This can be a good exercise to gain good balance on your bike and you can also get confidence for riding on different kind of terrain or obstacle. You can choose a place anywhere, in your locality, or somewhere in park. Select the platform which can be found at many places or even on a side walk.

Things can go wrong if you are not thinking of at-least 2 to 3 moves ahead. In the first picture notice how the rider has his finger on the brake all the time. This does not mean that you have to apply the brakes. It’s for controlling your momentum and balancing the bike at the same time. Make sure you are not sitting on the saddle at any moment while riding on the narrow platform. Things can go wrong if you are not thinking of at-least 2 to 3 moves ahead. This can be done by not focusing on one obstacle for a long time while riding. In the second picture you can see the rider is careful about balancing the bike on the narrow platform and planning ahead for the next move. In the third picture you can see the rider has shifted his body weight on one side in order to maintain the balance of his bike. Regular practice of riding on narrow trails- which can be in straight line, zigzag line or some

1 2

3


1 2

3 4

Drops can be scary, but real fun at the same time. You can find curb anywhere in a city. Foot paths, small stair case etc are good place to start if you are a beginner. Inspect the area carefully before you attempt any obstacle.

1: To do a small drop make sure you look ahead before you approach the drop-off.

2: Stand slightly - position your body and shift your body weight more to the rear wheel by leaning back as shown in the second step. Pull back on the handlebars at the same time you approach the end.

3: Drop off landing your rear wheel first and then the front wheel. Absorb the shock of the landing by your knees and elbows as shown very nicely in the third step.

4: If you hit the brakes at any point during the drop, you may fall and get hurt. Keep the flow while you land and settle the balance of your bike before you grab the brakes.

Descending or going downhill on a mountain bike is the mostexciting part of Mountain Biking. Here is some advice to do it safely. Make sure your brakes are in good working condition before you attempt this.

Never lock the front brakes while descending. This will throw you off the bike and you can land in a hospital too

1: Inspect the area carefully from top to the bottom and choose your line.

2: Be ready with your fingers on both the brake levers – just in case you have to slow down. Make sure you don’t lock your wheels while coming down hills or any type of descent. You may lose your balance and fall badly.

3: Shift your body weight back by moving towards the back of the saddle and gripping it with the inner thighs. Try and keep your arms and legs relaxed as it will help you to absorb more shock.

4: Always keep your pedals in horizontal position. This helps you to gain more ground clearance, otherwise you can hit an obstacle while riding downhill.

5: Do not descend fast if you are a beginner. * Never lock the front brakes while descending. This will throw you off the bike and you can land in a hospital too. Use both your brakes evenly and hold the grips nicely but not locking to them.

6: Increase your speed only when you have gained confidence. You can chose a path with more obstacles when you are comfortable descending on your mountain bike. - FR MTB MAG

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Combining all three sections of tricknology in this issue can pump you to do something like this:


Nepal National

DOWNHILL Championships

Past few months have been busy with mountain bike races in Nepal, this year has been very good and there are finally some good companies and people doing many things to promote Mountain Biking here and make races.

The Downhill race was the first ever Nepal National Down Hill Championships.The Downhill race was the first ever Nepal National Down Hill Championships. The event was organized by the Nepal Cycling Association and supported by Chain Inc, a company in Nepal who is doing an incredible amount to organizes races and support riders. Main sponsor was Mountain Dew. The race was held at a place called Hattiban, which is a hill top/forest land next to Hattiban Resort about 22km from the center of Kathmandu.

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNY LAMA

Whats up


16 rider competed in the race, 1 of whom was a foreigner and the others were Nepali. In total there are around 30 down hill riders in Nepal but due to short notice and lack of event advertising many riders did not turn up. Bad weather also had something to do with the small number of competitors. Surprising was the fact that Nepal’s two best downhill riders, both from Pokhara did not turn up for the event. The race was also used as selection for riders going to the Asia Mountain Bike Downhill Champion-ships later this year in Korea.

Surprising was the fact that Nepal’s two best downhill riders, both from Pokhara did not turn up for the event.The course at Hattiban was used for the second time and has been newly developed for downhill racing by Chain Inc and sponsors. the course varies a bit from event to event. For this race it was 1.72km long. beginning at the top of a ridge, the start is steep and rocky, there is one really steep section with small half meter drops and jumps in section. the lower sections is less steep with technical turning sections between trees. The course is 90% single track and due to rain extremely slippery, resulting in very slow times. - FR MTB MAG

Winners:1st Suraj Pandey 3 min 35.16 sec2nd Kumar Pun 3 min 44.09 sec3rd Nirakak Yak Thumba 3 min 51.44 sec


Kathmandu Bike Station is proud to announce the first in a four race Downhill Series. The KBS ‘Extreme’ Downhill Race will be held on the 15th of January 2011. The four race series goes over three months and works on a point system with the highest point earning wining the sponsorship from Commencal to participate in the Marathon Downhill Race in France.

Check out next issue of Freerider mountain bike magzine with exclusive race coverage.

ULTIMATE SUMMER OF FREERIDE

Bike Parks BC has this contest every year, The Ultimate Summer of Free Ride! Where the winner gets to shred the 5 Bike Parks that ‘Bike Parks BC’ is associated with. Mt Washington, Whistler, Sun Peaks, Siver Star and Fernie Alpine Resort.

2010 saw the contest rolling in again. And Vinay Menon - a mountain biker from Pune (India) casually posted a few of my riding images along with a brief description on why he should be the chosen winner. Little did he know that he would really win this contest until he found an email in his Inbox from the contest organizers stating that he had won the ‘Ultimate Summer of Free Ride Contest’!

“I managed to complete my first ever DH race in one piece, after a nasty slam just 200mts before the finish” I’m Vinay Menon from Pune City, India and spinning my mountain bike wheels for over 11 years now. Living in a country where this sports is littlenon-existent, it has always been bike videos and magazines that I would follow. Visiting B.C and riding the major Bike Parks had always been on my wish list for years. And I woke up to this reality, thanks to the contest win!As I was visiting Mt Washington during the BC Cup DH race, I decided to race in the amateur category. Riding a rental Rocky Mountain Flatline, provided by the good folks at the resort, I managed to complete my first ever DH race in one piece, after a nasty slam just 200mts before the finish. The two days at the resort, I was Time Warped as I rode Back in Black, Wizard, Monster Mile, Helter Skelter, Big Brother, Scratch n Sniff, … Rode with my buddies till the lifts closed! A wicked playground the guys at Mt.Washington have for sure, a must visit for any mountain biker.


Next it’s off to Whistler for the Crankworx week. The second Bike Park on my list was The Whistler Bike Park, and what better time than during the brain warping Crankworx festival. True to its name, Whistler Bike Park sure is the Mecca of mountain biking, especially during the Crankworx festival. The who’s who of the sport form the crazy crowd in Whistler village during the fortnight. Overwhelming for a guy like me whose only seen pro rid-ers in the Videos. To top it all, I got to ride with the crazy FRO rider, Brett Tippie! Definitely the trails I got to shred with the Tippster and crew were “Sicktacular!” Being able to ride the infamous Garbanzo, A-line, freight train… was intense. Can’t get enough of it! After the Crankworx madness, with Air DH, Garbanzo DH, Canadian Open, Slopestyle, It was time for me to head out to Sun Peaks Resort.

Definitely the trails I got to shred with the Tippster and crew were “Sicktacular!”After absorbing all the Crankworx energy, reaching Sun Peaks Resort was different. The park has a laid back vibe. No queue at the lifts, no dogs to run into in the village! Sun Peaks sure is like a mountain bikers vacation home with beautiful trails right out side the front door. Being used to riding in dry weather in India, I felt right at home while at Sun Peaks! The trails have been named right on, Hi Octane, Arm Pump, Steam Shovel, Barn Burner…. Any body visiting Sun Peaks Bike Park should check out the trail, ‘Insanity One’. Its been named so for all the right reasons. Hold on to the bars and be surprised! Don’t forget to hit the massive Dirt Jumps at the bottom half of the hill. Insane!

Next stop, the Kamloops interior! Hit the Rio and Harper trails with the Spoke N’ Motion crew. Being able to ride the trails Id only seen in the Videos before, was a surreal experience. Kamloops sure is the birthplace of Freeride mountain biking. The trails, jumps, road gaps, built by the local riders defines the true spirit of freeriding! Visiting Kamloops and riding the legendry loops dirt made my entire B.C visit worthwhile.

After a wicked weekend riding out side the Bike Parks, it was time to leave for Silver Star Resort. Fewer people, bright sun, crisp trails, perfect set up for a shred mission. The Bull Dog Hotel serves Indian Butter chicken! That’s a great thing to know. Riding down the World Cup DH, Dags DH, Downtown, is a delight. Pro Star with its hip jumps and step-ups would surely be the highlight of the Silver Star Bike Park trail network. After the summer sun temperatures at Silver Star, its time to head to Fernie next.

The Fernie Alpine Resort is like one of those hidden trails that you always know exists, but never really go out and explore. Riding the trails at Fernie Bike Park feels like riding in your own backyard. Trails are super wide and super fun with the trail building crew doing a great job with incorporating natural features into the trails. Riding the trails, Aggravated assault, Playground, Phat Larry, Top gun… is something every mountain biker visiting Fernie should experience. I sure did that and some more. Got to ride a few of the XC loops and DH trails hidden across the Fernie area.Visiting Fernie would sum up my B.C Bike Parks Summer of Free Ride trip.

Theres a lot more riding that went down at the local skateparks and THE North Shore, that’s for later!

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY VINAY MENON


SHOW TIMEmountain bike magazine

Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine will select and show one best photograph submitted by the readers from India and Nepal Only. Amateur photographers can E-mail their photographs to us at: [email protected]

Show Time section is only for amateur photographers and photos related to any discipline of mountain biking i:e Downhill, freeride, four cross, dirt jumping, trials, cross country etc will be entertained.

Some more rules that you should follow:

1. Only the photographer can submit his/her original image.2. Images may not be submitted by a third party member on behalf of the photographer.3. Any image which has riding action without a proper riding helmet will not be selected.4. Each participant can submit upto 3 images for each magazine issue.5. It is mandatory to show details from the image: Name of the photohrapher, name of the rider or riders, and location.6. All digital images must contain original metadate such as date, camera model, lens aperture, exposure, resolution etc.7. Minimum picture size can be 6 MegaPixel.

On left: Nilesh Dhumal and Vinay Menon shredding somewhere in Nandi Hills (Karnataka), IndiaPhoto by: Ignatius Chen Chin Fa


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G.T and Mongoose bikes have arrived in India targeting the youth. Eight G.T models are available with a starting price of 14,000 INR and Mongoose bikes starting with 10,000 INR.

All the bikes are hardtail, with SR Suntour 100 mm forks and Shimano components. Mongoose Fireball dirt jump bike is available for 25,000 INR and is also equipped with MRP party crasher chain guide and Sram X-4 drive.

Gossip

NewStuFf


Mongoose Fireball 26

GT Avalanche 3.0

GT Agressor 1.0

Gary Fisher also launched their mountain bike range for cross country riding including a 29’er.Their three models – Marlin, Wahoo and Advance are available starting with a tag of 23,880 INR. These bike are equipped with Sram gears and Suntour forks.

Other bike brands like: Trek, Cannondale, Schwinn, Giant, Orbea,Rock Machine and Upland are also available in India.

In Nepal Commencal , Scott and Cube mountain bikes have already made their presence including Giant and Trek bikes.



Gary Fisher Wahoo

Gary Fisher Marlin

DIRT AND GRAVITY CALLINGManali and Rhotang Pass is developing in an exciting way. The dirt is calling and with 2000m vertical it is testing riders to the fullest. There are a number of projects that are in discussion and James Frampton from the United Kingdom is setting the tone with professional guides to lead people through the Himalayan wilderness.

After doing the terrain evaluation the Solang Bike Park Project is in the discussion stages this winter. The developers are hoping to see trail building as soon as the snow melts in spring. Fingers crossed for two real downhill courses to be up and running by the time the Autumn sunshine kicks in, all accessible by the Ski Himalayas new Gondola lift!

The Timing system is also being organised for the 2011 season and there are plans for full DH races: some short and some killer long.

Sneak Peek

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www.freeridermag.inNEXT ISSUEMarch 2011

EXCLUSIVE STORY: National DH Series - Nepal

TRICKNOLOGY: Braking and Cornering techniques

TECH MANUAL: Bike check, Before and After riding

Check out our next issue for more.

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Freerider Mountain Bike Magazine #1