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Tech
Lesser-seen boutique bikes, prototype parts, and more from a weekend of elite racing.
Dominic Geoghegan
The Australian Mountain Bike National Championships returned to Mt Buller in Victoria for the second year running. Set in the Victorian Alps, the small ski town hosted the XCO, XCC and Downhill events over the course of a few days.
I scoped the race village in between mechanic duties, finding a few interesting bikes, some prototype tyres, and boutique derailleurs amongst the Australian elite riders not typically given the spotlight (well, with the exception of downhill superstar Troy Brosnan).
Harry Doye’s Unno Horn
After a few seasons plying his trade at World Cups as a privateer, Harry Doye has signed for the newly rebranded Unno Factory Racing squad. The youngster received his Unno Horn, possibly the only one in Australia, just days before the race. The U23 rider raced up in the elite category, piloting his new bike to second place behind Jack Ward.
Unno is a Spanish brand based out of Barcelona, set up by the legendary frame designer Cesar Rojo. Manufacturing was originally done in-house, but the new Horn released last year is now made in Germany. Rojo was one of the pioneers of the slack modern geometry. The Horn continues that with an aggressive 66º head angle, coupled with 110 mm of travel front and rear.
Not just a good-looker, clear attention has been paid to the design of the frame, covered with small, subtle touches for easy ownership. As the mechanic doing the wrenching for Doye, my favourite is the indentation in the carbon on the non-drive side of the frame to allow easy access to the lower shock mount bolt. This is something quite overlooked in frame design, but it makes a mechanic's life much easier when trying to do a simple bolt check.
Sarah Tucknott's Specialized Epic 8
West Australian Sarah Tucknott is having a comeback season after a few years off, making the trip over east with her Specialized Epic. Tucknott is sponsored by Shimano, and her bike is decked out head to toe in XTR components, including the XTR race wheels. These titanium-spoked hoops actually aren't available for purchase in Australia, but Shimano Australia has brought in a number of wheelsets for sponsored riders to use.
Wrapping those wheels are Specialized Fast Track tyres front and rear – a more aggressive tread pattern than what is commonly used in XC. The Perth-based rider explained that extra grip is needed when riding on the infamous “pea gravel” that's incredibly slippery on the trails back home, and opts to stick with familiar tyres when racing elsewhere too.
Troy Brosnan’s Canyon Sender 
Troy Brosnan, a multiple-time national downhill champion (and two-time junior world champion), was back in Mt Buller again, looking to reclaim his title. His Canyon Sender CFR was running the newly released suspension from Rockshox as well as the new Transmission Downhill groupset and the updated Maven brakes from SRAM.
This updated Boxxer has added a few new features worth paying attention to, especially as such tech often trickles into other segments of mountain biking. Judging by prototypes floating around the Enduro World Cups last year, these two updates are most likely coming for your trail and e-bikes sometime in the future.
The first big update is that the new Linear XL air spring has an expansion on the air spring side of the lowers. Rockshox are calling this the AirAnnex. This is done to increase the air volume of the lowers and avoid the air pressure ramping in the lowers as the fork compresses, which can prevent the fork from using full travel. This is also coupled with an increase in the size of the negative air spring, again reducing the progression of the fork, allowing for a more linear feel to the fork.
Not seen, but the stanchions on these new forks are covered in dimples, almost like a golf ball. This is said to enable better oil flow around the bushings as the fork cycles through its travel, which is aimed at reducing stiction. Continuing with the theme, this too is meant to reduce air pressure buildup in the lowers allowing air to flow through the holes.
Brosnan is testing out new prototype tyres from Maxxis, completely blacked out with a tread pattern unlike any other in the Maxxis range. Tyres with this tread pattern were first spotted on world champion Jackson Goldstone’s bike at the Val di Sole World Cup last year.
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