Felt Becomes Top Level Sponsor Of The SoCal High School Cycling League

TEMECULA, Calif. – The SoCal High School Cycling League is excited to announce a sponsorship agreement with Felt Bicycles, whose contribution adds significant support to the continuing growth of high school mountain biking in southern California.

Felt, which has signed as a top SoCal sponsor, has been a sponsor of cycling programs ranging from professional mens' and womens' road squads to Olympic Time Trial Gold Medalist Kristin Armstrong to X-Terra and triathlon professionals to Olympic Track Cycling Silver Medalist Sarah Hammer to mountain bike and cyclocross professionals.

SoCal’s executive director, Matt Gunnell, said, “It is very exciting that such an internationally well known southern California based cycling brand has decided to join the high school mountain biking revolution by supporting the SoCal High School Cycling League in bringing cross-country mountain biking to high school student-athletes across the region. Our mission is to put cycling on the same footing as more established high school sports like football, baseball, and basketball so that years from now kids won't have a memory of a time when mountain biking wasn't a school sport. As we are a self-sustaining organization receiving no support from the schools it's critical that companies and individuals with parallel interests get involved. We know Felt will be a great partner moving forward.”

"The enjoyment and benefits that come from cycling have long been clear, and the emergence of mountain bike racing as a high school sport is something we fully support", says Felt Bicycles' President, Bill Duehring. "Since our inception we have been an organization steeped in the culture of racing, and to this day that holds true. Many of us at Felt, myself included, have children who participated in high school sports, so the choice to support the SoCal High School Cycling League was an easy one. The League represents an introduction to the sport for many of these kids and we are privileged to be associated with such a worthy effort.”

Look for upcoming opportunities to purchase two of the highest end Feld Edict LTD mountain bikes to support the League. Additionally, Felt and the SoCal League will be running an essay contest this spring in which the SoCal League student-athlete winner receives a Felt Nine Series bike for their efforts.

Chasing Gravity Episode 5

Bike parks...feet dangling, the gentle swaying of the lift as it carries you upward. There
is just something about being sky high, surveying the runs below from a bird's eye view
that gives my heart a little extra flutter. It's almost as if my senses are heightened with
anticipation, just knowing the moment I hop off the lift, it's time to shred.

The month of June found us in New Mexico and Arizona, exploring a couple of bike
parks nestled in the mountains of these southwestern states.

The journey to Angel Fire Mountain Resort gave us a bit of a sense of pseudo-isolation.
Absent was the feeling of the hustle and bustle, the rush that mainstream cities can often
inflict you with. In it's place, the solitary town of Angel Fire welcomed us with relaxed
vibes and a small town feel.

Angel Fire's slopes offer numerous run options. Divergent terrain gives the resort a
unique characteristic, as well as providing any rider with a choice of numerous trails and
varying levels of technicality to challenge themselves with.

Remnants of volcanic activity from eons past are present still to this day in the form of
porous rocks littering many of the trails across the mountain.

A call of an elk resonates periodically through the air. The austere beauty of the
surroundings and contented atmosphere of Sunrise Mountain Resort makes for a prime
riding area to escape the searing heat characteristic of the lower lying Arizona cities in
the summer months.

Dense patches of forest had us dodging and weaving through the pines, opening up from
time to time into high speed, chunky ribbons of singletrack.

In some ways, we found riding at Sunrise similar to taking a step back in time. The trails
are raw, and generally seem to follow a natural course of their own down the mountain.

For the most part, Sunrise Resort lets the naturalness of the mountain challenge the rider,
only helping to complete or enhance the existing terrain with manmade additions when
the need calls for.

Trek World Racing Enters The Enduro Series For 2013

Following the recent announcement of the upcoming Enduro World Series, Trek World Racing is excited to confirm that the team will commit to the series. This follows today's signing of Justin Leov on a 2 year deal that will see the talented New Zealander focus on Enduro Racing. Justin recently retired from World Cup Downhill racing, but the new Enduro calendar provides the 28 year old with the perfect opportunity to extend his racing career.

Justin said today: "I'm really looking forward to racing a fresh new discipline, and being able to make it happen around my new career in building, with Trek Wor ld Racing providing me with all the support for my racing, is the ideal situation. It's a team that feels like family and I know the product and the staff so well, it's the exact support I'll need to compete at the highest level in Enduro."

The team will attend at least 4 rounds of the Enduro World Series where Justin will be on board his Trek Remedy and Slash machines. There will be other selected events like the Megavalanche, and Justin will be also be aiming to regain his title as the Crankworx Garbanzo winner. When the schedules permit, Justin will be lending a hand to his downhill team-mates trackside.

The team website www.trekworldracing.com will be updated with more information on the exact team schedule and co-sponsors in January.

2013 GT Factory Racing Brings on Next Generation of Talent

GT Factory Racing announced today the signing of two of Europe’s most dominant young riders to expand its champion downhill and enduro race team GT Factory Racing. Taylor Vernon of South Wales will join the world’s fastest downhill race team to train alongside Gee Atherton, Rachel Atherton, and Marc Beaumont, while Martin Maes from Belgium will join Dan Atherton on the enduro team.

“Taylor was first brought to our attention last year and we’ve seen him post some solid results in the under 16 sections this past season,” said Dan Brown, Team Director. “The team is on a roll right now with Rachel’s World Cup win, fastest team overall title and Gee taking podiums in every race. It feels like the right time for us to start to bring on some new young riders and we think that Taylor has the potential to become a major force on the World Cup scene.”

Vernon is 16 years old and will be racing on a GT Fury. During the season, he will focus on dominating the Junior World Cups and World Championships.

“Words can’t describe how stoked I am to be joining Dan, Gee, Rachel, and Marc on GT Factory Racing,” said Vernon. “I’m so excited about racing at the International and
World Cup level and know that I could not ask for a better or more experienced team of people to teach me all there is to know.”

On the enduro side, 15-year-old Martin Maes turned heads when he took 5th place overall at the Superenduro of Nations at Sauze d’Oulz. He will be riding a GT Force and focusing on the Enduro World Series.

“Nobody could quite believe it,” said Dan Atherton. “There isn’t a junior category in superenduro so this 15-year-old boy is just wasting some of the toughest and most experienced adult riders on the circuit. We are really excited about the Enduro World Series in 2013 and I’m stoked to have a new teammate with this much potential.”

“This opportunity feels like a dream come true,” said Maes. “I have the greatest admiration for Rachel,Dan, Gee and Marc and will be so happy to ride with them. My key objectives for 2013 are to brush up on my English and to listen to Dan’s recommendations to progress on my bike.”

Keep glued to athertonracing.co.uk for all the latest on the team as they enter the 2013 season.

Empire MX-6

So, the MX-6. This is the next generation product using the DNA of the AP-1: high single pivot point, needle roller bearings, use of precision castings and CNC machined components, and aggressive geometry. The MX-6 is an all-day-warrior, going up hill and down dale with ease. The MX-6 is the younger brother of the AP-1: the modified geometry and component construction produces a bike that offers killer all-day, all-mountain performance. The MX-6 is tough enough to be thrashed downhill but can allow a rider to sprint uphill without excess weight. In this sense, it is an enduro product that can be raced all day. Of course, the MX-6 is designed, tested and manufactured in the UK.

FEATURES OF THE MX-6

Construction

The MX-6 frame uses the same precision sand cast seat tower as the AP-1, because it is has proven to be invincible and timeless. The main frame and swing arm are of a different construction to the AP-1. The swing arm is machined from solid 6082T6 billet aluminium that starts life as a 40kg block. After many machining hours, the finished component emerges weighing just 1kg and has more in common with an aircraft component than your average mountain bike. This is, as far as we are aware, the only fully-machined swing arm in production anywhere in the world. This is a costly process but produces a unique component that has repeatable strength and performance characteristics. The headstock and back bone are also machined from solid billet aluminium. The aluminium box-section links the back bone and headstock together with minimal welding (four hand-welded TIG fillets). The frame components are blasted with aluminium oxide/glass beads and then anodised for a tough, durable finish.

Headstock

The headstock is the current tapered standard type: 55.9mm diameter bottom cup with a 43.95mm top cup. This allows the stiffest single crown forks in the market to be fitted. We have designed it to use flush fit headsets so that the most options are available for alterations to geometry with external headset configurations.

Shock Absorber Mounts

The lower shock absorber mounts are not welded to the swing arm. Instead, they are bolted on to allow for different geometry arrangements. For example, mounts with a rearward offset will produce a slacker fork angle more suited to downhill riding. The same MX-6 rider may later select an alternative mount for a cross-country route, simply bolting this in position. Additional mounts will soon be available via the ‘Spare Parts’ link.

Rear Wheel Mounts

The MX-6 is equipped to fit 135mm or 142mm rear hubs with a 12mm Maxel. This means you can take a standard wheel from any mountain bike that has a 12mm axle and fit it straight to the bike. This is perfect for upgrading to a frame purchase and offers further options for MX-6 users.

Bearings

The MX-6 utilises full-compliment needle-roller bearings, manufactured by INA. These bearings are the best available for the pivot because they are designed to take high loads in a reciprocating motion. The MX-6 swing arm rotates through 25 degrees in its action. The force from this movement is spread across all of the needles within the bearings resulting in precise, reliable service throughout their considerable life.

High Single Pivot

A high single pivot was selected for several reasons. It will yield a rearward wheel action for the first half of the suspension channel resulting in excellent high speed compression damping. Secondly, the position of the pivot results in a linear rising rate of the geometry (so it does not clash with the shock absorber tuning). Thirdly, the widest possible positioning of the bearings is obtained for a super stiff pivot arrangement. Finally, the rearward axel path of the rear wheel matches the rearward axel path of the front wheel thus maintaining the wheelbase dimensions. This results in increased stability.

1:2.7 Ratio Rising Rate

The geometry of the swing arm was specifically designed around a 1:2.7 ratio so that the rear shock absorbers can be optimally tuned.

ISCG 05 Mounts

The MX-6 is equipped with international standard chain guide 05 mounts allowing the user to fit their own choice of chain guide.

Empire Cycles MX-6