The World's Best Bike Videos #76
Darkfest is coming...and we can't wait!
Let’s Ride
Is it me, or did we see less videos from New Zealand this season (other than Crankworx, McGazzafest and Natural Selection Bike)? Ah well, time to move on to South Africa - Darkfest is on the way, and it’s sure to be another epic event!
Darkfest Is Going To Be Rowdy
The course for Darkfest was rowdy enough, who would have thought there was this much room to improve it? As we get closer to the event (only a few weeks away), you can see the new and improved course take shape in these weekly videos. Stay tuned, this is going to be a wild event.
Richie Rude: Casual Trail Smasher
I sort of love how Richie Rude is just casually explaining this trail while footage of him absolutely tearing it to shreds plays. What an incredible juxtaposition - and yet another reason why we should all just make annual trips to NZ. This place looks epic.
The Future of DH?
Asa Vermette has made significant progress in his career at a young age (including the 2024 Junior DH World Championship title and brand new Red Bull helmet!), and all signs are pointing to a bright future in the sport. Learn a bit more about Asa from Neko Mullaly, Aaron Gwin and more.
Did You See This?
Tom VanSteenbergen can front flip anything, why not take it to the street, add in a manual and do it on the sketchiest spot ever?
Newsworthy
👉 After months of building and releasing videos, ReconMTB launched this past week. It looks to be a new take on mountain bike website: buying bike parts and industry news in the same place. It took me a minute to figure out the “entries” thing, but now I get it: every dollar you spend on their site enters you into a monthly raffle (this month is a custom Transition Sentinel). Super interested to see how this develops.
⛏️ Last week we shared a video about the Hardline trail that was built in Sedona (just in time for the festival) - this week, Specialized put out a video about the trail with a ton of additional context to the setup. Check it out!
😳 The production value for the Downhill Southeast Race Series is pretty incredible - amazing to see what’s possible now with technology and racing. Definitely keep an eye on this one.
🚀 Robin Goomes was the breakout athlete in 2024, and 2025 is looking to be another strong year for her. Go behind the scenes with her at Crankworx Rotorua in her latest video.
👀 Akta MTB welcomed Jack Menzies to their team with this stylish edit. Have a look!
I Can’t Stop Thinking About
Sea Otter is less than a month away - the biggest bike festival (I think?) in the USA. A chance to catch up with everyone after a long winter, and an opportunity to see all of the new technology and bikes releasing in 2025!
I always look forward to Sea Otter, and this year will be even more exciting. My friends are launching a new brand (more on this soon), I’m an “official” athlete with Marin, and our Second Nature podcast is going to host a meetup on-site.
If you want to meet up for a high five, I recommend swinging by the Marin booth at 3pm on Friday. We’re going to host a competition to ride a skinny that has a few twists and turns in it - it should be fun for everyone to try!
Please don’t be shy if you run into me at the event, I’m ALWAYS stoked whenever I meet someone who has watched one of my videos or read the newsletter.
I hope to see you there! 👋
This Is The Year
It won’t be long until the riding season is in full swing, and wouldn’t you like this to be the year that you finally make it through the challenging trail sections that have been catching you up in previous seasons? Drop in on this video, you’ll definitely pick up a few new things that will help you advance your bike control!
One Year Of Second Nature
This week marks the one year anniversary for our Second Nature podcast. It’s a pod about the business of the outdoor industry, and over the past year, we’ve had some incredible discussions with the movers and shakers in the mountain bike, trail running and outdoor world. If you haven’t already checked it out, come have a listen!
Thank You
You made it to the end of this week’s newsletter! The weeks of torrential downpour where I live are appearing to ease up, so we might actually have some fresh videos to share on the Super Rider channel soon. Watch this space!