NOW we’re talking my language! MTB racing!
The 2026 Karri Cup MTB race is fast approaching – running across the weekend of 17-19th April. Split into two variants a 50 and 100km race, it’s a great way to experience MTB riding in the south west (ironically, in Northcliffe)
We’ve already blogged about bike prep for Gravel – what do we think about prepping for XC on bikes that are arguably more complex? For everyone from weekend warriors to genuine podium contenders, here are my Top 3 most important things to consider before heading down for the race:
Tyre choice REALLY matters in the south west. It is generally agreed upon that ‘nothing works on pea gravel’ in the hills close to Perth, but once you get down south a few hundred km the gravel (mostly) gives way to soil, roots and leaf litter. The goal here is to balance speed, traction and reliability. Those who are willing to take the most risk will be riding 29×2.1 or thereabouts, with minimal/ semi slick, fast rolling tread. The remainder of the field will likely be up around 2.4″ front and rear, on a more balanced, predictable tread that still attempts to roll quickly. Personally, I love pairing a Dissector front with a Rekon rear. Balanced, predictable front end support, with a fast rolling rear tyre that will still hang on for all but the most aggressive cornering efforts.
Suspension performance will affect your entire ride. The vast majority of modern XC platforms are designed around a very specific performance goal: Efficient pedalling. Everything else is secondary and tertiary. The layout of your rear frame and pivots dictates the kinematics (ant rise, anti squat, pedal kickback) and the rear shock provides damping support for compression and rebound. Lots of XC bikes will have some version of OPEN – MID – FIRM compression settings that you can toggle as you ride. If you are long overdue for factory rebuilds on your fork and shock, you’re losing a huge amount of performance, and risking premature internal wear. Factory rebuilds restore damping support, reduce pedal bob, increase grip and improve handling. Being the in-house suspension tech, I handle full rebuilds for Fox and RockShox all day, every day. As an added bonus, we’ve tuned SO MANY Giant Anthem shocks over the years we’ve got valving kits ready to go that calm down the crazy-fast pogo stick rebound tune they all come equipped with.
There are 12+ bearings and 100+ chain links in your drivetrain. Front and rear hubs + Jockey wheels + bottom bracket + pedals + the chain. Every single one of those 12+ bearings and links requires effort to rotate. If you’ve ridden all the way through the last 12 months and haven’t paid specific attention to these parts, you can assume with a reasonable degree of certainty that you’re due for a couple of new bearings somewhere. For bikes that have seen lots of wet ride days, or lots of hose-downs with any kind of water pressure, even more so. We have every common hub and crank bearing in stock, all the time, ready to go.
If you don’t have the time, the tools or the inclination to stay up late every night prepping your race bike, you know where to find us.