Stan and Gatorade

In case you want any Gatorade - although not necessarily a massive cardboard cut-out bottle - we've got good stock of their Pro Series range.  Check 'em out here!

ParcelForce Day 2

Classic, Pt. 2.

ParcelForce

Classic.

Flipp...

If you want to get a little more Flipp in your life, you can now courtesy of the new website background (You may need to click the 'Change Background' box depending on your settings), or the new wallpaper featuring Flipp booting it to 90 over a fairly substantial gap in Liverpool we have available here.

GoPro products

We've received our latest GoPro order, and have some shiny new bits on the website!  The main one is the brand new GoPro HD Hero 2 camera.

 

Boasting better componentry throughout the camera, the HD Hero 2 is pretty much twice as good as the original HD Hero in every aspect.  To give you an idea of the quality of the camera now, check out this video shot using the HD Hero 2 with the new WiFi BacPac featuring Ryan Sheckler:

There's plenty more info on our site, and also on the GoPro site too.

Secondly, we've got the GoPro LCD BacPac in stock too.  This nifty little thing acts as a digital viewfinder for your GoPro, allowing you to set up shots a little easier and make filming in general less guesswork!  It also allows you to instantly play back footage or photos - and navigate through it with a fast forward/reverse option - and features a built-in speaker with volume control. 

Some facts.

There's often a lack of information in the trials world about products, goings-on and so on, but worse than a lack of information is people providing misinformation.  To try and solve some of that, we thought we'd provide some genuine information...

As many people will be aware, recently a lot of second-hand (also sold as "Ex-demo") or 'grey import' Echo products have made their way onto the market either through resellers in the UK or through Chinese auction/retail websites.  Echo themselves are also aware of this, so have made the following statement on their website:

"Dear Customers:

         A word of warning about purchasing our bicycles through Taobao /Alibaba International; We have found that many customers have bought their bicycles through the Chinese auction site Taobao/Alibaba International. While we don’t discourage free-enterprise we do feel it is important to discourage customers from purchasing their bicycles through Taobao/Alibaba International. First, you cannot be certain that the bicycle you are buying is actually a new bicycle. In fact we have found that often these bikes are second hand, refurbished units. Second, if you buy a bicycle through Taobao/Alibaba International it is not under warranty. If you find the bicycle has some damage or problem there is nothing that our dealer network can do to help you. In short it is always best to buy your bike from an authorised dealer. To find the dealer nearest you simply follow the link on our site.
         If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,
Echo Bikes"

As they also mention in that statement, they have authorised dealers worldwide.  Some people/retailers in the UK may claim to be official Echo dealers, or to be selling official Echo products, but there is only one official Echo importer in the UK selling official Echo products bought directly - and brand new - from Echo, and there's no prizes for guessing who that is...

New Joe Maher video!

Joe's been busy again - but in spite of a hectic demoing and working schedule, he's managed to whip out this edit from Barrow Farm, shot on his new GoPro HD Hero 2 (which we should have in stock soon, hopefully!).



Seems to be getting on with his new Radix pretty well - 24" takeover?!

Trialtech carbon bars

Q:  What do orange Tango and Trialtech SL Carbon Risers have in common?

A:  According to Stan, they're both "really nice."  (Inside joke alert)

In all seriousness, these bars are pimp.  Not only are they the lightest out there (205.9g - pretty light!), but they're also some of the stiffest available too thanks to their unique shape.  Couple that up with a nice matte finish and you've got a beltin' pair of bars.  In case you've got any doubts about them, you can rest assured knowing they've been tested by top riders like Kenny Belaey, Rick Koekoek, Stan and Cap.

New RockMan Slate XL

Don't panic - it's still +70mm.

The RockMan Slate XL frame has seen a few tweaks from last years model, featuring updated graphics, the same booster and side plate combo as the Radix as well as a 660mm reach (down 5mm from last year) thanks to a slacker 71° head angle (72° last year).  Available in Grey only.

Schwalbe Downhill tubes

We've got a couple of new tubes in stock from Schwalbe - their "Downhill" 24" and 26" tube.  Those quotation marks are there because although they're classed as a downhill tube, they're actually lighter than the Maxxis Freeride equivalents, and a lot lighter than the Kenda Downhill tubes.  If you'd like a large volume tube that's not so heavy its gravitational pull is going to draw the moon into orbit around the back of your bike, this might be the tube for you...

Competitions Pt. 2

Now for competitions of a different kind - this time, you're entering...

Ben Rowlands has been putting out cool videos under the 'GlassEyeTrials' name for a long time now, and yesterday released details of a new video competition he's running that could give you the chance to win a pretty large amount of swag!  Click here to go check it out and get involved...

Compy compy compy...

Good comp footage is usually pretty hard to come by, so it was a treat to get home from a bank holiday weekend ride to find the live feed from Extreme's coverage of the Super Final up online, complete with some decent commentary from Andrei Burton!  It's definitely a step in the right direction to get top level riding showcased in that sort of way, so keep your eyes peeled on the Extreme site for coverage from round 2!

Congratulations to Jack Carthy for stepping up onto the podium on his first ride against the big boys.