mountains

One of the best parts of mountain biking is that it enables you to journey farther and faster into the woods than you could on foot. This also means that when something goes wrong, such as an injury or a mechanical, it will likely be up to you to address the problem.

With longer days come longer rides. And if, like me, you enjoy spending all day on the trails, you should plan and pack accordingly.

In addition to nutrition, hydration and identification, here are 20 items to bring on your next backcountry mountain bike ride.

Like most tools, these items are only useful if you know how to use them. It’s always best to ride with a group. If venturing deep into the woods alone, be sure you have a basic understanding of first aid and also know how to:

• Install a tube
• Patch a tube
• Apply lubricant to a chain
• Fix a broken chain
• Realign a disc brake caliper
• Repair or replace a loose or broken spoke
• Adjust a rear derailleur
• Adjust a front derailleur

20 essentials for all-day mountain bike rides

1. Spare tubes (2)

Carrying two spare tubes is a must for long mountain bike rides. Double flats happen — usually a split second after you call out to your riding buddies “Hey! Watch this!” High-speed descents through rock gardens and jumps with flat run-outs are notorious for pinching tubes and tires.

When riding with a group, I carry one tube for my wheel size and, regardless of what bike I’m riding, also carry a 650b (27.5in) tube. Why? Because in a jam a ‘tweener’ tube works well enough for both 26in and 29er tires that I can help out a fellow mountain biker in need.

2. Patch kit

Patch kits take up very little room in your pack and are a necessity when you’ve used your last tube. Glueless patches (shown here) are much faster to apply but don’t have the longevity of patches that use a vulcanizing agent.

3. Tire pump

Never leave home without a good multi-tool. I always opt for a multi-tool with a built-in chain tool, a T25 torx, flathead and Philips screwdrivers, and at least 2.5 3,4,5,6 and 8mm Allen keys, and the most common spoke tool sizes. The crankbrothers multi-tool shown here is good; a multi-tool that also has a built in pair of pliers and wire cutters is even better.

5. Tire levers (2)

While many multi-tools have a tire lever built into them, they’re generally not as useful, nor as well constructed, as standalone levers.

6. Shock pump

Modern air shocks are quite reliable, but it’s still a good idea to pack a shock pump in case you develop a slow leak or (more likely) if you find you need to fine-tune your suspension during your ride.

7. Chain lube

If you’re likely to encounter multiple stream crossings, dusty trail conditions, or a chance of showers on your ride a small bottle of chain lube pack a small bottle of chain lube. Tip: use a rubber band to wrap a section of cloth from a rag or old shirt around the bottle – use it to clean grime off the chain before applying fresh chain lube, as well as to wipe off excess lube after application.

8. Lip balm

Keeping a stick of lip balm (preferably with an SPF rating) in your pack is a good idea when riding in dry environments.

9. Sun screen

The long days of summer mean long, rides but also mean more exposure. Pack a small bottle of sunscreen (SPF 30 or greater) and reapply when needed.

10. Phone

Smart phones can do a number of helpful things, but the most important is to phone home in case an emergency. Be sure to have an “in case of emergency” contact listed in your phone’s address book.

11. Packable rain jacket

Weather can be unpredictable, particularly in the mountains. A lightweight, packable shell, such as this Endura Pakajak, will keep your core dry warm, should you encounter a sudden downpour.

12. First aid kit

A small first aid kit in a waterproof package is a must. Bandages, gauze, disinfecting wipes, and tweezers are all items to include in your kit. Like the tools in this list, a first aid kit is only useful if you know how to use it – a basic understanding of first and CPR may come in handy.

13. Derailleur hanger

A bent or broken derailleur hanger can mean the end of your ride (or an impromptu singlespeed conversion). Carry a spare hanger with mounting bolts just in case. Problem Solvers Universal Derailleur Hanger is a good backup option, if you’re packing for more than just yourself, though it won’t work with the increasingly common 142×12mm rear axle.

14. Extra links of chain with a master link

Keeping a few links of chain, along with a master link, in your pack will ensure you can replace bent or broken links and still have full use of your gears.

15. Chainring bolt

Chainring bolts occasionally shear off or rattle loose. Keeping a spare in your pack will allow your to continue on with all your rings intact.

16. Extra cleat with bolts and backplate

It rarely happens, but when it does it can turn a great ride into miserable, one-legged pedaling misadventures. Keep a cleat along with the bolts and backplate (the part that goes in your shoe) in your pack. This way you all three parts, should you need them. Tip: Keep the cleat bolted to the backplate so you don’t lose any of the pieces.

17. Zip ties

Zip ties come in handy in a number of ways. They can be used to wrangle errant cables, replace a broken or missing chainring bolt (just long enough to limp home), and keep your shoe tight if a buckle breaks.

18. Spare spoke with nipple

Keep a spare spoke and nipple on hand just in case. Like the spare cleat, keep the nipple threaded onto the spoke so you don’t lose it.

19. Money

Money, that stuff that makes the world go ’round, can also make your bike go ’round. Carry the coin of your realm (in paper form) in your pack. In addition to being useful to procure a post-ride beer and/or burrito, it can also be used as a tire boot.

20. Small but bright headlight

If there’s a chance you won’t make it home before nightfall a small light, just bright enough the illuminate your path, will lead you safely home.

A small bag, like this Backcountry Research T?lbag, will keep your smaller essentials in one tidy package

In sum, the items shown here weigh 1,560g (3.4lb) and are worth every gram.

That’s my list. What do you carry with you on all-day mountain bike rides?

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TEMPE, AZ (BRAIN) — Pivot Cycles has promoted Lisa Cramton to marketing manager.  Cramton joined Pivot in July of 2011 as an executive assistant to president and CEO Chris Cocalis. While at Pivot she has also been involved with special projects, coordinating expos, demos and dealer events.  The company said her experience in retail, marketing, producing high profile events and overall industry passion will bring momentum to Pivot Cycles and their continued growth

Our friends over at?ChopMTB.com?have picked three more must-watch mountain bike videos for us this week, including natural trails versus bike parks, Tracy Moseley’s?introduction to the enduro season and dusty desert drifts.

1 Natural trails or bike parks?

Spain’s?Bernat Guardia and Ivan Oulego represent the ‘natural’ corner as they speed through the mountains near Barcelona. While Emanuel Pombo hits Portugal’s Bikepark Ponte de Lima.

This is part of the film ‘All or Nothing’ – watch it on ChopMTB?

2 Tracy Moseley at Afan Forest

The?UK Gravity Enduro series kicks off at Afan Forest?this weekend, and here’s?2010 world downhill champ?Tracy Moseley?showing you how it should be done.

See more Tracy Moseley videos on ChopMTB

3 Dusty desert drifts

Nik Dommen headed out to Kirt Voreis’ house in Bend, Oregon, to shred some trails in the high desert. Get ready for some foot-out, flat-out riding, with big dusty drifts mixed in with slick tricks.

See more mountain bike action from Oregon on ChopMTB

Editor’s note: Download BRAIN’s Taipei Cycle Show Day 3 newsletter:   Day 3 | Day 2 |  Day 1 . Guru makes first  appearance in Taipei  Robert Pinazza made his first-ever trip to Taiwan and to Taipei Cycle this year. The time seemed about right

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

Sky’s Bradley Wiggins‘ stellar season has landed him the prestigious V?lo d’Or for 2012.

Wiggins won Paris-Nice, the Tour de Romandie, Criterium du Dauphin? and the Tour de France, finishing ahead of Omega Pharma – QuickStep’s Tom Boonen in the votes for the world’s best cyclist. Boonen was the rider of the classics in 2012, taking out Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders.

Wiggins followed his Tour de France victory by winning the individual time trial at the London Olympic Games.

UCI WorldTour winner, Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) finished third off the back of his victories at La Fl?che Wallonne and Il Lombardia, as well as podiums at the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espa?a. 2011 V?lo d’Or winner Philippe Gilbert was fourth.

The Velo d’Or Fran?ais, the award for the best French rider, was taken out by Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) for the third successive season. The 33-year-old won two stages along with the mountains classification att the Tour de France. Voeckler finished ahead of mountain bike world champion and Olympic gold medallist Julie Bresset, with Arnaud D?mare and Thibaut Pinot tied for third place.

Thirteen journalists from around the world are polled annually with the prize being awarded by V?lo magazine since 1992. Wiggins is the first British rider to have won the award.

2012 V?lo d’Or:

1. Bradley Wiggins (Sky)

2. Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep)

3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)

4. Philippe Gilbert (BMC)

5. Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale)

Velo d’Or Fran?ais:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

2. Julie Bresset

3. Arnaud D?mare (FDJ-BigMat)

3. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ-BigMat)

5. Gr?gory Baug?

Previous Velo d’Or winners –

1992: Miguel Indurain

1993: Miguel Indurain

1994: Tony Rominger

1995: Laurent Jalabert

1996: Johan Museeuw

1997: Jan Ullrich

1998: Marco Pantani

1999: Lance Armstrong

2000: Lance Armstrong

2001: Lance Armstrong

2002: Mario Cipollini

2003: Lance Armstrong

2004: Lance Armstrong

2005: Tom Boonen

2006: Paolo Bettini

2007: Alberto Contador

2008: Alberto Contador

2009: Alberto Contador

2010: Fabian Cancellara

2011: Philippe Gilbert

If Moab is so well known for mountain biking, then why do some riders come back talking about the great Mexican food?

We are accustomed to hearing tall tales of riding exposed slivers of redrock-embedded singletrack, contouring along the upper rim of sheer cliffs. But what is all this talk about an enchilada?

The Whole Enchilada is a massive series of trails that starts at the 11,200ft Burro Pass in the La Sal mountain range, and drops some 7,000ft to the Colorado River below. In between, as its name suggests, there is a lot of tasty trail rolled up and baked together into one fantastic plate of mountain bike goodness. What starts in high alpine drops through fir and aspen trees, and takes you through rock gardens, root sections, around a lake and across technical climbs before connecting you to the famous Porcupine Rim and Lower Kokopelli Rim trails.

If you go, bring a big appetite —?and some fitness.

Fall is beautiful in the La Sal Mountains at the top of The Whole Enchilada

Ride Details

Like many rides, the Whole Enchilada suffers slightly from hype. Yes, you get 7,000 feet of descending. But short of being heli-dropped onto the very top of Burro Pass, and being sequentially plucked up and dropped off several more times along the 26.5-mile chain of trails, you will climb to earn more than a few of the Enchilada’s turns.

A typical option is for riders to shuttle up to the oxygen-stingy Geyser Pass at 10,200ft, where the unprepared are slapped across the face with both a steep 1,000-foot climb, and temperatures that generally average half of the temperatures they left down in Moab an hour before. Rain, sleet and snow are all possible up there.

Once at the top of Burro Pass, the trail sometimes referred to as Burro Down drops quickly down the backside and into high alpine forest, switchbacking multiple times through fir trees and crossing frigid creeks between little rock gardens and exposed root sections. Momentum slows as the fir trees yield to a huge grove of aspens, and eventually riders find themselves climbing up and around Warner Lake to a campground.

En route to Burro Pass, the steep sections — and thin air — may force some riders to walk

Between the campground and the top of a mesa that hosts phenomenal views and the Hazard County trailhead is a grunt of a slightly technical little climb. By typical mountain bike standards, the climb isn’t anything to write home about. But after a sustained climb to get to its base, and having heard from all your friends that “it’s 7,000 feet of descending!” for an entire year from the trip they took without you last year, it’s a grunt that will be remembered.

Even the locals stop to take in the views at the Hazard County trailhead at a treeless mesa; behind you sit the La Sal mountains that you started in only an hour or so before, and in front of you lies singletrack that fades seamlessly into the red, graduated lines of Utah canyon-laden desert.

Hazard County is one of the fastest, flowiest trail segments in the Whole Enchilada. It loses its speed towards the end with progressively tighter and twistier singletrack that suddenly throws in rock gardens just around the shrub-blinded bends. But as a word of experience, the faster Hazard is ridden, the easier it becomes.

Heading towards the drop into Hazard

Hazard essentially turns into the Kokopelli Trail at Sand Flats road (make note as this is a great bail-out spot for those bad days nobody likes to talk about), and gets fast and open for a couple of miles on jeep road. Sometimes this section is in great shape, but more often than not, there will be erosion-trenched trail waiting to grab an unsuspecting wheel on the blind backside of some of the many waterbars.

Kokopelli ends with another climb up to the top of UPS (Upper Porcupine Singletrack), which is a massive variation in trail conditions compared to everything that Whole Enchilada has been thus far. Consisting of more typical Moab riding, UPS is rock-laden, and flirts with a canyon rim edge that offers amazing views. Momentum is lost as the elevation flattens out, with exception of steep, technical little ups and downs. Included in UPS is the famous Notch, which the vast majority of riders either walk or take the slightly easier, alternate route around. Either direction will drop riders into a little valley that requires climbing out of for a few minutes, which is another spot you’ll hear your friends’ voice inside your head saying “it’s 7,000-feet of descending!!”

Kokopelli trail: The views come standard

UPS melts into LPS (Lower Porcupine Singletrack) flawlessly, but is still a different segment of trail by name and location. Here, more rocky, technical trail flirts with the canyon’s rim.

LPS drops down to the rough jeep road that is Porcupine Rim, which is arguably the most popular ride in Moab, second to Slick Rock, of course. Porcupine Rim climbs, flattens out, climbs, descends, and climbs its way for miles. And when the trail does descend, speed is gauged more on how much abuse you and/or your bike can take over the relentless rock sections instead of skill level. This is where riders who got in over their head, but opted not to duck out on Sand Flats road, fall to pieces. But it’s also one of the more fun sections of the ride as it allows multiple line options for personal enjoyment, to cut in front of your friends, or to get around glazed over riders who are at this point yelling “I thought this was all downhill!!!” at the sky.

The last section of Porcupine Rim is entered via a little open gate, labeled “singletrack,” and starts the last few miles of trail before reaching highway 128. For good-to-great bike handlers, the sign may as well read “Your Happy Place,” as this section is riddled with ledge-exposed, technical rock sections that offer all kinds of gratification for making it through cleanly, or finding more impressive lines than your friends.

The lower section of Porcupine Rim comes a few hours into your ride

For riders who are already a bit shell-shocked from the high alpine switchbacks, the high speeds of Kokopelli, the abundance of steep climbs that weren’t expected, and the constant bombardment of technical rock features throughout UPS and LPS, the sign is the point in which it’s time to really put it in survival mode, instead of assuming it will be an easy cool-down cruise to the road. As a whole, there isn’t anything particularly harder about this section of trail when compared to the rest of the ride. It’s more that this section is somewhat relentless in its technical sections with consequences.

Lower Kokopelli Rim trail funnels into an underpass and ends in a campground. From that point, it’s about 4 miles of road and bike path along the Colorado River to town, or some shuttle services will pick riders up in a parking lot just outside the campground. For riders who are out of water, but still want to ride back to town, there is a natural spring that comes out of the rock canyon wall about 2 miles down the road on the left, before getting to highway 191. It’s not marked, but there’s almost always a few people filling up water containers.

Ride Tips

The best time to ride the Whole Enchilada is in the fall. Otherwise, Burro Pass and possibly Hazard County will be snowed in during winter and spring, and the lower sections of trail will be miserably hot during the summer. In addition to the heat, the creek crossings may be more like river crossings in the summer, too, depending on snowpack.

It’s often cold up top, and sunlight and huddling together only do so much; pack well

Don’t use the Moab weather forecast to pack for the ride. Assume that it will literally be half of Moab’s temperature on top of Burro Pass. (90 degrees in town = 45 degrees up top.) And, while it can be sunny and clear in town, it can be white-out, blizzard conditions up in the La Sals, so pack accordingly.

The Whole Enchilada is the last ride to worry about saving weight, especially with tires. Go tubeless, run high-volume tires with reinforced sidewalls if not reinforced casings, and bring a few tubes just in case.

Ride within your skill level. It’s a long walk out

While everything from fully rigid to downhill rigs will be seen on the trail, the best recommendation is a 6in travel bike with a dropper post that’s set up to climb reasonably well.

Bring water. It’s amazing how many people we ran into were begging for it. Keep in mind that the shuttle is almost an hour to the top, and the ride itself can take 5+ hours with less-experienced riders, so plan for your water to last 6+ hours.

The Scene

Moab is definitely more fun by day. There are enough places to grab decent food, random after-hour bike shop parties, and a couple of venues that host music on occasion. But you’re probably never going to hear anyone out on the trail say “Hey! It’s Friday night! Let’s save a little in the tank and take the easy way back.” The best bang for the Moab buck is to spend as much time away from the town itself, exploring the vast majority of trails, rock formations, and swimming holes.

Don’t come to Moab if you don’t like being outside

A note on alcoholic beverages and Utah state law; State-run liquor stores are closed on Sunday, and are the only place to get the hard stuff. Any beer that comes out of a bar’s tap, or stocked at the grocery store, is 3.2% alcohol. Moab Brewery does have beer with higher alcohol content, but it costs $1 more, and has to be brought out in a can. And while we’re no authority on the matter, it appears that it is technically illegal to bring your own alcohol into Utah.

While the trails hit 20%, the beer is only 3.2% in Utah

BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) Tuesday August 21 2012 9:52 AM MT— Leslie Bohm, who passed away Monday at 59 , had a long history in the bike industry, with many friends among retailers and suppliers.

PHOENIX, AZ (BRAIN) Monday July 23 2012— CJ Culley, new owner of Cactus Bike, has reopened the shop at one of its original locations in Ahwatukee, a neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona.

Isla Rowntree is the founder and designer at Islabikes, a UK company producing quality children’s cycles to great media and customer acclaim. We spoke to her about wheels both big and small, the allure of cyclo-cross and L-shaped cranks.

On designing kids’ bikes

“I was drawn to kids’?bikes because what was available just seemed so poor. We all know how much difference a light, well-fitting, well-adjusted bike makes to our enjoyment of cycling, so why were we putting our kids on such heavy and difficult-to-use bikes? That was where I started, simply wanting to improve kids’ experience of cycling in the hope more of them would enjoy it and want to do it again and again. As a small adult I think I brought some user insight to what it’s like trying to ride with parts that don’t fit, and was able to apply that right down to tiny people! Like most designers I’m continually trying to improve what we do – I am never satisfied!”

On re-establishing Islabikes

“It’s been a great ride. The time has flown by. Like anything there are tricky bits and challenging bits, but so many good things shine through.”

On her design priorities

“Fit, function and weight.”

On ‘adult’ bikes

“We have no plans for more adult bikes. Our Beinn 29 was introduced for the parents of our existing kids’?bikes customers. When your four-year-old is learning to ride you tend to go to somewhere like a park and help them ride round, developing their skills – you don’t ride with them as such. Then, when they get their first more grown-up bike at about six-years-old, you can think about actually going out together as a family. Often, at this point, at least one parent doesn’t have a bike. They were asking us for something suitable to accompany the kids on family leisure rides.?

“We wanted to produce a bike that did this job really well, in the hope that cycling would capture that parent’s imagination and make them want to do more of it. And if it did, we wanted the bike to grow with their enthusiasm rather than restrict it. A Beinn 29 with off-road tyres will allow you to try cross-country riding, will easily accept mudguards and narrow tyres for riding to work, a rack and panniers if you want to go touring or pack a picnic, and can even be converted to hub gears or singlespeed for low maintenance. Obviously, if you really get into things you’re going to want to buy a more expensive, specialist bike, but hopefully the Beinn 29 will still find use as a hack!”

On wheel size

“Of course it matters. For riding on anything other than very smooth surfaces, the biggest wheel size that works with your body size will give you the smoothest ride. There are specialist situations where a smaller wheel might be more suitable – for example, dirt jumping or folding bikes (I have a Brompton and it’s brilliant at what it sets out to do. But for most non-extreme riding (and a few extreme situations, too) bigger is better. That said, I don’t know why people get so emotional about what size wheel is on a mountain bike – as long as you’re out there riding, who cares?”

Wheel size matters

On the allure of cyclo-cross

“There’s something about riding unsuitable bikes off-road in bad weather in the middle of winter that brings people together – the atmosphere at?’cross races is so friendly. There’s a real sense of community in most of the local leagues, and the national league too. You can pretty much squeeze a course in anywhere, which makes the events accessible, and all the family can (and very often do) take part. All abilities are able to participate because the race length is based on time instead of distance, so everyone finishes at the same time. Personally, I love the sensation of riding a ’cross bike fast in a race – it’s good old adrenaline and fun. And she’s successful, too – Isla has many Elite and Veteran National Cyclo-Cross titles to her name, among many others – Ed.”

On her hopes for the future

“Personally – to have the physical capability to be able to carry on enjoying my cycling for many years to come. For the business – to build on what we’ve achieved so far, to bring a positive cycling experience to more children. For the world – to work together towards a more sustainable way of living, with the hope it really will lead to peace.”

On the Olympics

“It will be a sensation – the International Olympic Committee?have moved the goalposts, so we’re not going to get the same medal tally as in? Beijing, but I still think we’ll be amazing.”

On form and function

“In a product with a practical purpose, function should always come first. But in the very best designs, form and function co-exist?seamlessly.”

On the effects of the global economic climate

“The bike industry is in a pretty good place right now, due to the recent rise in the popularity of cycling – as an industry we’ve been lucky not to experience the worst effects of recent economic events. For riders, if you’ve lost your job or you’re worried you’re about to, it’s pretty stressful and you aren’t going to be buying the latest new equipment. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ride – any bike that’s in working order provides an escape for a while. There are some really good British manufacturing businesses out there, including some fine examples in the bike industry, but as our media aren’t good at focusing on the positives it’s easy to get caught up in all the doom. That said, I do think the government could be doing more to support grassroots manufacturing in the UK. We need a long-term cultural shift in our attitude to manufacturing. It’s an area that’s been neglected for too long, particularly in our education system.”

On the biggest dead-end trends of the past

“L-shaped cranks. Whoever thought of that, and how did they manage to persuade so many people to use them? Unbelievable. I’m still not sure now it wasn’t some elaborate practical joke. As for other trends, it’s rare they’re a true dead end. Even if they don’t really stick in the long term, they usually inform what comes next, so are all part of the design evolution.”

On the most important bike innovations

“Integrated shifters on road bikes; lights – bike lights used to be truly appalling; clipless pedals. If I was just allowed to keep one development from the last 20 years it would be the lights.”

On conquering trail demons

“I’m not sure I have any demons when I’m out on my bike. I just have fun. Like everyone else, I have days when I’m riding badly, usually after I haven’t ridden off-road for over a week, but I stopped worrying about it a long time ago, as I know I only have to go out again and everything will be back to normal. One of the advantages of having done this for a very long time is that you make better decisions, so you’re less likely to get into situations that spoil a ride – you generally choose the right clothing (having checked the weather forecast), consume enough food and drink, remember to bring your puncture spares, keep the crucial things on your bike in working order, remember your money for the post-ride drink…”

On the trends to watch in 2012

“Hub gears, single chainrings and hydraulic shifting. Particularly hydraulic shifting – all the big players are focusing on electronic at present but I don’t feel comfortable with that. A bike is supposed to be human powered, and having a battery that reduces even the slight energy required for shifting just seems wrong. But we do need to get rid of cables – they require so much maintenance in our climate. German company Acros have introduced a hydraulic gear system for mountain bikes. It’s incredibly light and equally expensive, due to all the individual parts being CNC machined. Presumably because they don’t want to invest in moulds until they’ve bedded down the technology. It would be good to see the big players getting involved, but top marks to Acros for bringing this to market.”

On what keeps her in the saddle

“I love the sensation of riding a bike – any bike, anywhere. I almost always really enjoy it. Since I moved to Ludlow, most of my riding has been cross-country mountain biking Isla is also the 2010 and 2011 Veteran National Cross-Country Mountain Bike Champion – Ed. I haven’t done any formal training for a few years but I ride most days – I ride to work (four miles in wellies), ride to the shops, ride to the theatre, ride to the pub and ride in the woods. Last weekend we had our work’s annual ‘big trip’ – 90 miles off-road, place-to-place with panniers. We got the train to Aberystwyth on Friday night, and after a late-night dip in the sea rode back over the mountains. Nine of us completed the trip and we were met by a ‘greeting party’ of colleagues on Sunday afternoon, to ride the last few miles together. Three of the participants had never done anything like it before, and it was amazing to share the experience alongside them. Three Beinn 29s did the trip too, which proves you don’t need to spend mega bucks on a bike to do extraordinary things!”

From the latest product news to details of routes and events, our news round-up is a collection of short snippets of information in one handy article.

Today we bring you news of Hydrapak’s successful defence of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by rival firm Source Vagabond Systems, a 29er demo day at Cambridgeshire-based Grafham Cycling, the new version of EVOC’s Bike Travel Bag, a music festival at the mountain bike world cup round at Fort William and much more.

Product and team news

Hydrapak wins patent infringement lawsuit

A US District Court judge has ruled in favour of hydration pack specialists Hydrapak in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by rival Israeli firm Source Vagabond Systems last August. The lawsuit, which contended that Hyrdapak’s slide-seal closure system used in their Reversible Reservoir II infringed upon Source Vagabond Systems’ patent, was deemed invalid and dismissed because of a lack of merit.  Judge Coleen McMahon delivered a summary judgement of non-infringement, with the amount of sanctions to be awarded to Hydrapak decided in a separate hearing at a later date.

29er demo day at Grafham Cycling

Cambridgeshire based Grafham Cycling, part of the Rutland Cycling group, is hosting a free 29er demo day on Sunday 29 April featuring bikes from Trek, Kona, Scott, Giant, Yeti, and Specialized. The Cambridgeshire cycling centre has a 9-mile waterside demo route where riders can put the bikes through their paces. It’s located on the shores of Grafham Water, less than two miles from the A1 near Huntingdon. To demo bikes riders will need a credit card and proof of ID. For prices, reservations and more information call Grafham Cycling on 01480 812500 or click here.

EVOC update Bike Travel Bag for 2012

EVOC have given their flagship Bike Travel Bag (£299) a facelift for 2012. The bag is made from a mixture of Ripstop-Nylon fabric, tough plastic and thick padding, weighing in at a claimed 8.6kg. The shape of the rear is now rounder, making it easier to adapt the bag to different types of frame such as road, TT, cross-country and downhill, with an additional handle on the outside for improved transportation.

Exposed areas under high loads have been reinforced, as have those prone to abrasion. Like the old model, double layers of fabric and additional reinforcement rods offer protection for more fragile components, as well as a protected recess to fit the rear derailleur. The wheels get their own separate compartment for further protection, as do individual parts such as pedals, tools and spare parts, with room to spare for a helmet and shoes. www.silverfish-uk.com

Polar introduce TdF version of RCX5 training computer

Polar have unveiled a limited edition Tour de France version of their RCX5 training computer. Evoking the Tour with its yellow and black colour scheme, it’s the official computer of the race and has ‘Smart Coaching’ features that allow you to plan your training in detail. These include Race Pace, where you set a target time for a set distance and shows you how far behind or ahead you in real time. 

While the 46g device, which runs for up to 11 months without the need for battery replacement, is not a bona fide GPS, a separate cigarette lighter sized unit can be purchased with the ‘GPS’ set (£399.90) to track your movements. Other packs include the ‘Bike’ set (£339.90 with speed and cadence sensors) and ‘Premium’ (£489.50 with GPS, speed, cadence). All three packs include a heart rate transmitter and are available now. www.polarelectro.co.uk

Routes, racing & rides

King Creosote confirmed for Fort William world cup music festival

A star-studded live music line-up has been confirmed for the Fort William world cup round (9-10 June). The ‘Downhill Downtown’ area will play host to acts including King Creosote, The Phantom Band, Admiral Fallow, Stanley Odd and Bwani Junction on the Friday and Saturday nights of the weekend, providing a soundtrack to the UK’s biggest mountain biking weekend of the year. Weekend tickets to watch the music cost £17.50 + booking fee. www.downhilldowntown.com

Trans-Provence a go for 2012

The fourth Trans-Provence mountain bike gravity enduro has been confirmed for this September, with Mavic on-board as title sponsor. The seven day rally pits around 50 riders against each other across 300km through 26 timed singletrack descents. Won last year by France’s Jerome Clementz, many of the world’s top cross-country, enduro and downhill pros will once again grace the event in 2012. www.trans-provence.com

Skoda reaffirm Tour of Britain support

Skoda will continue its vehicle sponsor partnership of The Tour of Britain in 2012, as well as the race’s King of the Mountains Jersey, won last year by rising star Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. It continues their long association with the sport, dating back to the start of the company in 1895 when the founders Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement began manufacturing bicycles in their home town of Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic. The route for the race, which will take place from Sunday 9 – Sunday 16 September, will be announced towards the end of April.

The car manufacturer will also provide support vehicles to The Halfords Tour Series, the 10 team, 11 date city centre race series that begins in Kirkcaldy, Fife on Tuesday 15 May.