carbon bike rim cross country Marathon MTB raceXC competition

MarathonMTB.com Team finish 6th at 2018 edition of The Pioneer

XC rim


Hi All,


Last week, the 3rd edition of The Pioneer was run in the South Island of New Zealand. After racing the 2017 event with team mate Justin Morris, this year I raced with Imogen Smith in the mixed category.


When entering at the start of the year we knew our condition might not be perfect, as Imogen would be planning a major break after XCO and XCM World Champs in September. The hope was she would still have good form after a break, and that I would maintain good shape from racing in August, and pick it up racing Cape to Cape. That all went quite well - but the real world and a house move two weeks before The Pioneer derailed those plans.


In the end, we lined up uncertain of how we would go, racing against quite a competitive mixed field. Made up of past World Cup racers, new MTB talent, Xterra racers, stage race specialists and adventure racers it really was an interesting mix of riders from Australia, New Zealand, Finland, South Africa, France and Brazil in the top teams in our category.

Our race was not without drama, with Imogen crashing hard on Stage 2. We still finished 5th that day, which was the best place we achieved, the same as in the prologue and on the final stage. We finished 6th overall in mixed.


carbon bike rim ,crosscountry race

There are some images attached, if there is 'TBS' in the file name please credit Tim Bardsley-Smith. If there is 'JW' please credit Jemma Wells.

On the equipment front, our new Norco Revolver frames were excellent, drawing lots of comments from other racers and from people on the sidelines. The upgrade to Fox 34 SC forks knocked the head angles a shade under 70 degrees, which was awesome for the prologue course and bombing fast descents with more confidence, along with the stiffer chassis.

The XTR Di2 group sets were faultless. I lost two bars of charge in the trip, Imogen lost one. We probably should have changed chainring sizes a couple of times to get the most out of the range from the 11-46 cassette. The first three days we could have run our usual 32t and 34t chain rings respectively. We did put 180mm rotors on and Icetech pads on the front, and with 120mm 34 forks and 125mm droppers it really meant the lines were blurred between our usual XC/marathon setups and a fast trail bike.

We used Ride Mechanic Bike Syrup all week, and relied just on the low pressure jetwash and a rag for clean up each day. Kogel BBs and jockey wheels ran smooth and quiet.

EIE carbon rim and wheels

We are both using EIE Carbon rims, custom built, with 25 and 29mm internal width respectively. We used Maxxis Rekon 2.25" on the front and Aspen 2.25" on the back. They were a perfect match for the range of conditions and the new 2.25" casings are spot on with modern XC rim widths.

We also used a set of the new Champion System Performance Premium shorts, which were super comfortable and a great addition to the Apex race cut jersey. Thankfully, we never needed the repel waterproof vests!

All in all, each day we washed the bikes, wiped them down and lubed the chain, with tyre and shock pressure checks in the morning. Save for one broken nipple and one cracked chain ring bolt our bikes and gear ran hassle free all week.

The fact we could both make it through when we arrived in New Zealand tired and nursing illness and injury is a testament to the top quality gear we get to use - it carried us through the demanding race in New Zealand.

If you're after any direct feedback about the products you supply us with, or anything additional, do be in touch. Thanks for all the support as always.


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