Pic shows Dimi in action at Hochfügen yesterday. Awesome sun, powder and action. For a veteran (..41..) with a very responsible office job (..FREERIDE..) then he certainly aint dead yet!!

Winter Isar Trails from Big Col on Vimeo.

First try at some Video.  I know it aint perfect, but for a couple of hours with numb fingers down at the Isar then I think it’s okay. More words later when I have some time. Thanks Max for getting out of bed early;)

Well, Fabi has built up and already ridden it on the Garmisch trails over the weekend. I’ve just moved from a Bullit to a Pitch, which I thought was like checking into weight watchers, but then I lifted this baby up and was surprised by it’s weight, or lack of. It really is quite impressively light. In terms of geometry the head angle does feel a little steep though and, for me, it’s still a hugely expensive frame compared to other bikes you can buy complete for the same price, such as the Canyon Trail Flow and the Spesh Pitch (both of which are truly superb – but heavier). But anyway, here’s some ride feedback from Fabi…

“I chose the 140mm version  and built it up with Fox 36 Talas forks, DT-Swiss wheels, Formula brakes and the usual XTR, X0 and Syntace parts. I wanted to get a light, strong do-it-all bike and that’s exactly what it turned out to be. Light enough for long uphill, with enough traction to tackle the roughest climbs. For the descent, I was hoping it would be as versatily as my old Bullit, and I wasn’t disappointed! After 3 months of bike-abscence, I rode all sections of the trail, even the tightest switchbakes. While I did notice the longer wheelbase, I still managed to nose-wheely around all these corners! Where the bike really excells are fast and flowy singletracks. Compared to the Bullit, the suspension is much more active and you can really feel the rebound and compression working. I’m running a rather high air-pressure and together with the 140mm links, this allows me to rather play with the obstacles on the trail than just ride over anything. I like!”

Some superb trail riding in Garmisch today with Fabi and Max. Much of the snow lower down has now gone. Temperatures were warm for February; even riding in t-shirts. Glad to see Max’s table tops nearly getting there and Fabi’s new Liteville Mk8 was looking sweet, and enviously light. Shit. I think my camera gear is now heavier than his bike! What’s the world coming too, huh?

The first issue of FREERIDE 2010 is now on the shelves. This pic is the opener for the Enduro test done down in Finale Ligure, Italy. With 14 bikes + some big bikes to test, the lads were hammering this trail for 2 solid days. It’s really an eye opener to see how much these guys work their asses off doing their best to get an accurate and balanced test report. Although I was there as the photographer, I did get to ride most of the bikes and must say I agree totally with their final rankings.

I liked this spot and knew I wanted to return there once they had more time for pics. This one of Schleker the Machine is unusual since he has both wheels on the ground, however, what I did aim to do instead was  to catch the speed at which he slotted the bike between those trees. No room for error. Light was flat and grey, so I set up two flashes firing head on and a third firing in from the left behind the foreground tree.  Got as low as I could, literally lying along the deck with the 14-24mm resting on my hand on the ground. Wanted the front wheel to be exiting the frame and still to maintain some motion blur, so at the max flash sync speed I knew I had to get damn close. When you have that type of glass exposed full on and his elbow shaving the hairs off your head then staying cool is challenging. Had to adjust the height of the front flashes a little but on the 3rd go we got it. Or was it the 4th? Or 5th?

Finally I got around to posting some pics and a few words about a big mountain day we had last October. This is another summit shot of Fabi just as he was about to start the ride. Pic taken with the superb Nikkor 14-24mm lens and fill flash provided by two Nikon SB-24’s. Further reading and viewing is on MTB-News.de. Enjoy.

Early morning light on the Isar. Pic shows Max motoring along on perfectly frozen snow.

D700 + 70-200mm VR.

Out for an early Isar ride today. Caught some great morning light and the trails were nice and frozen. Pic shows Max on the West side of the Isar.

D700 + 16mm fisheye.

Pic shows Fabi pulling a manual in great evening light high up in the mountains above Garmisch. Pic is a little “posed”, but so what.

(Nikon D700 + 70-200VR)

Wooo Hoooo … I finally picked up one of these babies. It’s a size M, yes, not an L but an M. Green and 2009 may explain why it was getting sold cheaper from a shop in Munich. The summer alpine version may well have 160mm forks, a Hammerschmidt and perhaps some other carbon bits, but, until then I’ll be enjoying it in pretty much it’s present status…