Film Night - Orange bikes premiere

We've just had word from Orange bikes that we're going to be able to premiere their latest video, by MTBcut.tv at our film night, this coming Monday at Look Mum No Hands. We'll be showing the 20 minute mini movie, starring Isle of Man TT favourite Guy Martin at 8pm on the dot, so show up in plenty of time to get a drink and seat near the screen.
With any luck we'll have a trailer for the clip on Monday - keep your eyes peeled on Privateer.cc for more, and why not follow us on Twitter?

Click to see large - and feel free to share!

London MTB Film Night - the line up

Monday 30 January see's us hosting our first film night at London's Look Mum No Hands cafe. The screen will be fired up at 6pm, and the bar will be open all night, serving beer, coffee, soft drinks, pies and snacks - this isn't the full-on cinema experience, feel free to chat, drink, and make merry during the films.
With it still being winter, we thought you might fancy getting fired up with a recap of the 2011 World Cup, courtesy of Freecaster's World Cup and World Champs DVD by Alex Rankin.












Also on the playlist is Find by Scottish film maker Mark Huskisson of Reset Films. This a gorgeous slice of British trail riding, guaranteed to fire you up to get out explore this fair isle in 2012.


Finally we'll be showing a reader submission, Pretty Sweet 2, by Dave Martin, which was originally shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival last year. Here's the trailer.



Film will start at 6pm on Monday evening, at Look Mum No Hands - details of how to get there on their website. Bring your friends!

Chris King's Yeti A.R.C.

We’ve just got back from visiting Chris King in Portland. We had a good tour of the manufacturing facility, but we’ll save the story of the business for another time (and trust us, it’s pretty interesting) – for the time being, we thought you might be interested in checking out King’s personal Yeti A.R.C. – click the link to read and see more!

Privateer Film Night, London, 30 Jan 2012

Believe it or not, there was a time not that long ago when extreme sports courted the mainstream. Snowboarding, mountain biking, even skateboarding, all tried their luck when TV came knocking, and all were made to look somewhat foolish in the harsh light of the cathode ray.

TV craved spectacle and stupidity, not passion and skill, and no amount of the latter could persuade producers to alter their approach to the former. Unable to present themselves in the light they wanted to be seen, extreme sports retreated into their own worlds, where gradually a revolution started to happen.

The internet played its role, as did the lowering of costs for video making equipment and software, but essentially the video revolution within mountain biking – and extreme sports across the board – was a grassroots movement to take charge of our own image. Since that initial culture shift, from allowing others to present you as they wish to presenting yourself, and creating the videos to do that, the world of mountain bike videos has exploded, creating not just some amazing footage, but actually accelerating the progress of the sport and individual riders. When you can see what other riders are doing on the other side of the world, just hours after they filmed it, it makes you wonder what you can do on home turf.



Sprung was one of the first DVD series that really captured mountain biking from the inside, and we'll be showing Alex Rankin's Freecaster 2011 World Cup DVD at our MTB film night at Look Mum No Hands café in central London on the last Monday of the month, starting on Monday 30 January from 6pm. Entry is free, beer, coffee and pies will be available throughout and there’s ample bike parking.

We’re not the only ones hosting a film night either – if you’re in Sheffield on Saturday 4 February, This Is Sheffield is hosting a typically surreal movie party at the Lantern Theatre - details here.

Life is good!

Life is good!, a photo by Andy Waterman on Flickr.

We're currently in the US visiting a number of manufacturers, such as Cane Creek, where the shot above was taken.
Next stop is Portland, where we'll be visiting Chris King amongst others, Portland being a hub of the independent bike industry in the US.
Expect to see more in the coming issues of Privateer.

Privateer of the Year 2011

Privateer's Unsung Heroes Award

Pentlands Trail Repairs, a photo by rust001 on Flickr.

Privateers are self-sponsored and self-motivated people who don’t wait for success to be handed to them on a plate. Privateers are doers, men and women of action, impatient to get out there and get things done. This can-do attitude is something we at the magazine applaud. It is also something we believe to be worthy of more recognition than it currently receives, hence the Privateer of the Year Award.

The name privateer has mostly been associated with racers in the past, but we’re broadening it out from there and for this first year are looking to highlight the people who make mountain biking at a grassroots level a fun, exciting and enticing activity. We’re talking volunteer trail builders, event organisers, trail advocates, coaches, and club secretaries.

We are really interested in people with a story: people who have gone out there and for no commercial motivation are making mountain biking great. That might mean securing funding for a pumptrack in their local park, organising a series of trail maintenance days, or even arranging a series of mates’ races. Looking back to Privateer issue 5, for example, it’s clear that the This is Sheffield crew would be in the frame for a nomination.

ONLY NOMINATE
It’s all very simple – if you know someone who has done something outstandingly positive for the sport of mountain biking in 2011, and they weren’t getting paid to do it, we want to hear about them from you. Or you can nominate yourself, of course…

Nominations should include a 200-word (maximum) description of the achievements of the nominee. We would also like a photo of the nominee and any material that might support the entry such as links to photos, videos, blogs or websites. Finally, you will need the contact details of two referees prepared to support the nomination – bicycle industry people, bicycle racing people, bike shop owners (people we’ll probably know) would be perfect.

Send us your nominations and we will draw up a short list, the winner to be decided by an online reader vote. The only requirement is that entrants are not currently profiting from the role they are being nominated for.


BLOWING YOUR TRUMPET
As a first reward the winner and worthy runners-up will get a massive publicity boost for their chosen cause, including a feature in the magazine and a video on our website.
In addition, the Privateer of the Year will receive a prize package from our sponsors that is most relevant to their cause.
More on that and on the presentation nearer the time. Meanwhile get those nominations in to andywaterman@privateer.cc
Deadline for entries is February 29, 2012.

Pentlands Trail Repairs, a photo by rust001 on Flickr.

Photos by James Robertson - expect more from him in future issues of Privateer.

Privateer Issue 7 - in the flesh

We've just had our first delivery of Privateer issue 7, and even if we do say so ourselves, it looks great!
Collecting race numbers is trait unique to mountain biking and even in South America, riders decorate their walls with the memories of earlier races, as Mike Chick discovered when he interviewed mechanics and guides in Peru and Bolivia.
Inside the magazine we kick off with Rich Rothwell's attempt to ride the West Highland Way double in one go. Faced with brutal, mind and bike breaking conditions, he came up short on the day, but that doesn't make it any less of a story. If you want an insight into the mind of a true endurance maniac, this is one of the best you'll find.

Back in the 90's magazines were creating their own legend, and the main way they did it was through annual winter roadtrip to sunnier climes. Pick a bunch of shit-hot young riders, throw in Rob Warner and a camera-toting Steve Behr, and hey-presto, you have a recipe for disaster/high-jinx/legend-making. Here, Steve Behr recounts those early years, recalling the old adage that you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.

Next up, Tym Manley visits Conitinental tyres in Germany and finds a tiny company fighting for its right to keep manufacturing in Europe whilst under the wing of a massive corporation. It's a fascinating story, and a reminder that even a gigantic companies like Conti are staffed by real people with real personalities.

In issue 6 of Privateer we publsihed Mike Davis' first piece on bike geometry. With that piece as the primer, in issue 7 we take an in depth look at what has happened to bike geometry over the years and discover that after 35 years, we're pretty much back to where we started.

Back at the end of the 90's Dafydd Davis, at the time a Recreation Ranger for Forestry Commission in North Wales, came up with the idea of installing some purpose-built mountain bike trails at Coed Y Brenin. Little could he have known at the time that those miles of handmade singletrack would spark the trail centre revolution we saw trough the noughties. The trails have changed since Dafydd's time, but Coed Y Brenin still remains one of, if not the best trail centres in the UK. We visited in October and rediscovered a trail network that is unique in the way it integrates with the landscape. Coed Y is king, and long may it be so.

To finish, one of the singlespeed movement's original movers and shakers, Biff Bacon, wonders if he's falling out of love with all the "stuff and nonsense" that has become part and parcel of the one-gear world champs.

Subscribers should begin receiving their copies from the beginning of January. Non-susbcribers will have to wait until January 20 to get their hands on a copy, but trust us, it's worth the wait!

Want to get the next issue before everyone else? Subscribe now!

If you've missed out on the first six issues of Privateer, you can catch up with our collectable 1-6 Box Set.