The best things we’ve seen this week

Benjamin Haworth

Elastomer chainsets, people not-crashing into trees, BMX lessons, the return of MTB 'racing' and more

It’s Friday afternoon so it must be time to slack off for a bit and hoover up all the best little bits of mountain biking that have happened throghout the week.

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Joe Breeden not riding in a straight line

As title. Joe is clearly one micron away from a big stack into the tree but the thing is, he doesn’t stack. This is one of the reasons why pros are pros and the rest of us aren’t. Time to watch it again.

So that’s what Aaron Chase has been up to

Time was, Aaron Chase was a bit of a pioneer. He was the Fabio Wibmer of his day in a way. Here we catch up with Chase – via Jeff Lenosky – and see how he’s having a crack at these new electrical mountain ibke things. He is not slow.

Federal BMXer on a Santa Cruz 5010 shows us how it’s done

Whilst most of this video is your standard shreddit fare, it contains just enough ‘what was that?’ BMXery to make it stand out from the crowd. If you’re wondering what bike he is riding (Kalkoff is technically a Federal BMX rider but they don’t make mountain bikes), we’re pretty sure he’s on one of the new Santa Cruz 5010s.

Very Metallier

It’s like, how much more Remy Metallier could this be? And the answer is none. None more Remy Metallier. Just ridic.

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NEW BRAND – We're proud to introduce @ochaincomponents into our portfolio for distribution in the UK. An 'active spider' which isolates your pedals from affecting suspension and braking performance. . Inspired by the 2015 Leogang DH world cup win by @aarongwin1 (who won after snapping his chain right out of the start gate), Ochain engineers set to designing a device that can give you the freewheeling benefits of a chainless bike, such as more active suspension and more controlled braking, but with the obvious benefits of being able to pedal. . Ochain is in stock now to fit SRAM, Shimano, Race Face, Hope and e*thirteen direct mount cranks. . Benefits: ?Better braking: Eradicates brake-induced suspension jack. ?Comfort & control: Reduces pedal-whack, increasing foot comfort and connection with the bike. ?More active suspension: Removes body-induced suspension resistance, freeing up suspension to be naturally more sensitive to terrain. That means a faster ride. ?That chainless feel: Improve any suspension design by simply removing the chain. Ochain achieves this, while retaining your ability to pedal. ?Benefits any suspension bike: Adjustable float ensures Ochain is great for DH to Enduro, Trail to XC. Benefits increase on rougher, more technical terrain. ?No loss in power transfer: Once engaged, it pedals just like a normal spider. Float adjustable between 6, 9 and 12 degrees depending on the kind of bike and trails you ride. . #MTBgamechanger #Ochain . Want to read a review? Go and visit @enduromag and search for ‘Ochain’.

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Ochain in the UK

Ochain is something of a niche product. It’s essentially a chainset with a freehub in it. Kind of. The idea is to mimmick the effect of riding without a chain… whilst having a chain. Why? To reduce the negative effects on the suspension freedom that a chain typically causes. Remember Aaron Gwin’s chainless World Cup victory?

World class competition is back

The 10th edition of Audi Nines is going ahead. From the 7th September, this event will sequester a crack team of the world’s best mountain bikers in a repurposed stone quarry in Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate state for a week of massive jumps, essentially. This year’s event will remain closed to the public, and stringent measures will be in place to prevent viral transmission during the event while ensuring that local coronavirus regulations are met or exceeded.

The new Yamaha PW-X2 motor

Another month, another updated ebike motor

Yamaha have come out with their first proper ebike – the YDX-MORO – and arguably the most interesting thing on it is the new PW-X2 motor. Its power levels are nothing out of the ordinary (70-80Nm of torque) but its multi-sensor capability could offer the most useful form of automatically adjusting assist seen so far.

Insane double-Everesting

Portugeues MTBer Tiago Ferreira climbed more than double the height of Mount Everest in 24 hours. Off-road. On a mountain bike. Ferreira completed 83 climbs with 214 meters of elevation – surpassing two climbs to Mount Everest (17,753 meters). A total of 247.5 kilometers. Fair play Ferreira!

Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I’m scrolling back up to watch that Joe Breeden Insta clip. Again.