Stop Three: Fernie

Our family moved to Fernie in 1981. I moved away after high school and have not lived in Fernie full time for over ten years. I come back here every summer and it still feels like home ... maybe because nothing has really changed. It is almost like Fernie and my life here is on hold while I am at home in Taiwan.

My knee has been feeling pretty sore for the past couple of days so I have been spending some time on the sofa playing PS3. Yesterday I got off the couch and took a couple of pictures of James at the Fernie Bike Park. Then in the evening I shuttled James, my oldest brother Gary and Gary's girlfriend Colleen to the top of a trail called Three Kings a couple of times. I got some decent shots ... check them here or go to pinkbike.

Rob

P.S. Fernie is a beautiful place to visit. Bring your bikes and drop me an email when you get here.

Roadtrip to Goatstyle

After 12 hours of driving from whistler to creaston BC, myself ,reece and Lachie arrived for Goatstyle. As soon as i got out of the car i witnessed 5 crashes in a row on the last jump, there were so many kids trying to send it and this was only practice on Thursday. I went to go register and the clouds opened up and a 2 hour down pour began so everyone went for cover. Once the rain stopped the course dried out super fast and a sloppy but fun jam was had on the last two jumps.

The next day was all practice and Friday night lights which was a best trick contest held at 9.30pm. Practice went fine just flowed the course not really doing many tricks ,just chilling. Again the younger kids were hucking there meat on a bunch of tricks which made for many more entertaining crashes, but props to all who threw down in practice. Big ups too Dustin Greenall and Casey Groves for building a super fun and smooth course too. So practice wrapped up and it was dinner time and a little rest before the big show later that night.

Friday night lights turned out to be probably one of the craziest hour of riding on a couple jumps i had ever seen. Everyone was trying there banger tricks, and with the rider line up that there was it made for some really good riding, everything from flipwhips, 360 whips, double whips, front flips, super flips, 360 inwards, double truck drivers, 720s and more were all thrown down in that hour. With money being handed out for every big trick landed everyone wanted a slice of the pie. I landed my super flips and 3 inward then i was thinking of what else to try so i figured i'd give flip superman seat grab indian airs a try, i had gotten a few into foam prior to goat style so it was worth a try i guess and if there was ever a time to start trying them this was it. first attempt sucked, 2nd attempt was close and felt like it would have worked just like in the foam but i ditched last second.
3rd attempt resulted in my front wheel looking like a taco so that was the end of my night. Tt was a super fun jam tho and all the riders were cheering and stoked on each other so what more can you ask for.

Saturday was qualifiers, all went pretty well i guess i got my 1st run clean which got me through to the finals. 2nd run was going fine until i over cleared the 1st jump at the bottom on a cork 1 hand Xup and landed flat destroying my rear wheel sending me into the ground with a nice straitline pedal stuck in my ribs, all was good tho a little winded but fine 5 minutes. After that it was more rest time and just chilling out.

Sunday finals and the weather was perfect, a little hot but no wind and no rain so it was perfect. Finals started at 4pm and a lot of riders layed down amazing first runs. My first run went as planned so i was stoked to get one in the bag and not have much pressure on me for the 2nd run. Again tho 2nd run i crashed haha, went a little to fast in to the last jump as the course had gotten a bit quicker as it got bone dry. Anyway looped out on a 3inward and sailed to flat getting a bruised heel for my efforts, but whatever it was a fun day and the other riders rolled the dice too on there 2nd runs, a lot ending in crashes but some killing it and making it through.
Eric lawrenuk had a killer first run with some banger tricks at the end which got him a well deserved first place and a 1 way ticket to crankworx.

All and all it was a rad weekend, i'd like to say thanks to reece for driving me to goat style, Casey Groves parents for letting us dirtbags stay in there room the whole weekend(thanks so much), and Casey himself for letting me use his spare wheels after i destroyed both mine.
Also thanks to Banshee, Straitline and Raceface for there support.

-Alan Hepburn

Time to get RAMPANT

Every bike brand has a "niche" model which isn't huge on sales, but is perhaps, the 'hidden gem' in the range

It seems the Rampant could be that bike for Banshee / Mythic, its somewhat obscure as everyone knows about the Wildcard and Rune, but less is known about the Rampant

Sales are starting to move on the Rampant which is encouraging because I have been banging the Rampant drum for some time now

It takes time for a new model to permeate the riders' consciousness as they see one being ridden in their local woods, hear about it on a blog or website, or come into our Esher shop looking for a "play bike" and I step up with 'this is exactly what you need!'

The Direct pricing we offer on Mythic means the rider gets a KILLER deal on a sick frame, it undercuts all of the serious competing brands (we are not talking about the re-badge "brands") and of course the manufacturing and design is off the hook


This Rampant, below, belongs to our customer James, who walked in yesterday with a Trek Remedy (from a few years back), and walked out today with a Rampant



James' Rampant is the Short size with Fox RP2 air shock, Rockshox Pike 454 Air U-Turn, Cane Creek headset, Easton bars, Mavic rims on Hope hubs, Maxxis High Rollers, Shimano XT cranks, the latest E13 SRS, SRAM X-o mech and X-0 shift pod, and DMR pedals, lock-on grips and Void saddle

Feels nice and light, he tried it outside the shop when he collected and was stoked..he's heading off riding tomorrow, and doing some DH uplift at Cwm Carn on the weekend

happy trails!

Rob C

Stop Two: Kamloops (Kool Amps)

We got to Kamloops around noon on Monday and were at the trail head a couple of hours later. We rode Harper two years ago and skipped a lot of the jumps. For the past two years we have been saying we should have hit that.

The first stunt we found was a three pack that looked huge the last time we were in Kamloops. We rolled into it and cleared all three jumps with ease.

There was probably a couple of more small jumps and stunts before we found the next jump we sessioned. The gap was about a 15 foot wood to wood. I am not a big fan of wood landings and this one had "Hurtin Albertan" carved into it. We ended up staying there longer than planned because I got a flat ... but it gave us time to hit it a couple more times.

James with a table on the Hurtin Albertan.

Garth stepping up his game for the camera.

James' table from another angle.

After my flat tire and a spoke tighten we were running short on time. We headed back down to the truck in time for one more run. On our second trip it was not long before we found an awesome wood booter to dirt landing. After a couple of speed checks James rolled in and got what I think is the best picture of the trip so far.

The other pictures of this jump are pretty good too so check them out.


We are now in Fernie and have a couple of hard days of roofing before we can get in some more riding. But we should be able to squeeze in an evening ride here and there before a couple of more shuttle days.

I posted a couple of more pictures on pinkbike so check there if you want more. I hope to post some more shots from Whistler there too.

Rob

Some cool Camp of Champs vids

Camp A

Camp B

Camp C

Custom Amp… so sweet

Stop One: Whistler

James and I headed up to Whistler on early Thursday morning. We started the day with a couple quick laps of A-Line to get our bikes set up for Canadian riding. The lower part of the mountain was a little bit busy so we headed up the mountain to Freight Train. We ended up stopping to session a jump and take a couple of pictures.

We ended Thursday with a couple trips down Duffman and a couple laps of A-Line.


The riding was so good that we did not want to stop much to take pictures. But on Friday we made a point to stop and session some jumps on Freight Train. A-Line was too busy to stop on so we stuck to the stuff a little higher up the mountain.

Late on Friday we found Dirt Merchant. Too bad we did not find it earlier in the day because it was as smooth as a hot asian with the curves and bumps in all the right places. We rode it a couple of times late in the day with sore hands and big smiles.

Helmets on, Shirts off.

Rob

P.S. sorry for the horrible layout ...

One new, one not so new

It truly was a busy day at Freeborn's Esher bike shop today, we squeezed 2 custom built Mythic bikes into our hectic schedule

One is brand new, so new the owner has not even seen it!

Jamie is coming on Monday to pick up his custom build Wildcard, damn's he is going to feel the stoke ;)

I didn't realise until earlier this week that Stan's make the ZTR Flow rims in WHITE...eyeing some up for my Rampant rebuild already



Jamie's Wildcard has a Fox 36 Talas fork, Fox DHX air rear shock, Easton EA-70 bar, Thomson X4 stem, Fizik Gobi saddle, Shimano SLX cranks with E13 LG1, SRAM X-9 shifting, Stan's ZTR Flow rims on Hope Pro II hubs with DT Swiss Comp d/b spokes and brass nipples, Stan's Tubeless conversion and SBC Control Eskar All-Mtn tires - it feels pretty light and looks trick in the black / white colours


Here's another Mythic that I built this morning, not so new, but its gone to a great home



This is Esher Shore regular Jordan who bought Marshall's (Esher Shore trail pest) Chaparral frame at a killer price, Marshall threw in Diablous cranks, E13, RF Diablous headset and seatpost

Jordan recently bought a Lyric Coil U-Turn and new front wheel from us, we added a Sram X-9 left shifter pod and Sram Next-Gen front mech, DMR Swarm stem and EA-50 bars and new cabling

Jordan was previously riding a Carrera *Banshee* that was on its last legs, its a huge step up to the "real" thing to get a "proper" Banshee ;)


Although he looks pretty serious in this pic, he seemed very stoked on his "new" rig

Always great to see a used frame go to a good home, have fun Jordan!

cheers

Rob C

Mythic AMP

Here at Freeborn Bikes, we are offering two "stock" custom built AMP bikes for the discerning customer

The AMP is available in both the short and long frame sizes, and singlespeed (£1599.99) and 1 x 9 geared (£1799.99) versions

The builds are very trick, with the raw AMP frame, Rockshox Argyle 318 fork, DMR colour finishing kit (Swarm stem, Alloy wingbar, Void saddle, V-8 pedals), Shimano SLX HT2 crank with Middleburn DH chainring, DMR Pro 26" wheelset with SBC Control Fast Trak LK kevlar tires and Lock-on grips, Thomson Elite seatpost, Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes (185mm/160mm) and DMR singlespeed convertor kit

No idea of exact weight, but feels pretty light, and looks sweet


All the DMR kit is available in various colours including red, green, gunmetal, blue and purple so the possibilities are endless....

http://www.freeborn.co.uk/shop/frames/hardtail/909-mythic-amp-frame

cheers!

Rob C

Super sick Rampant

So I was perusing the mtbr.com forum and came across this sic build… enjoy – i know i did

Thanks to Juanbeegas [mtbr alias] for letting me share this beaut with you guys

Frame: Banshee Rampant (S)
Bottom Bracket: Shimano SLX
Brake Set: Avid BB7/SD7
Cassette: Shimano Dura Ace 12-23T
Crank: Shimano SLX
Chain: KMC X9 SL
Chain Ring: E13 Guide Ring 34T
Fork: Rockshox Pike 426
Grips: Lizard Skins Moab
Handlebar: Nuke Proof Warhead
Headset: Cane Creek S3
Hubs: Hope Pro II 20mm/10mm Bolt on
Pedals: Deity Decoy
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X9
Rear Shock: Fox RP2
Rims: Spank Subrosa
Saddle: Charge Spoon/Stool
Seat Post: Woodman Post SL
Shifters: SRAM X9
Spokes: DT Swiss Competition
Stem: Thomson X4
Tyres: Geax Booze Light/Maxxis Minion DHF 60a Single Ply
Extras: E13 SRS+, Ti caliper, adapter, rotor, stem and crank pinch bolts.

Scythe Review on NSMB.com

I got into Vancouver last night after spending a week with my family in Fernie. Most of the week was spent 30 feet off the ground putting the roof on my brother's soon to be house. May ride here in Vancouver tomorrow and heading to Whistler at the end of the week and should have some good posts after that.

Saw this review on nsmb, every time I see a review for a Banshee I want to get another one.

Rob