With the weather at Fort William constantly changing, the pits are buzzing as mechanics and riders preparing their bikes and bodies for the battle to come, high on the wind swept slopes of Aonach Mor.
Many of the bikes are still off limits to the prying eyes of the press, but BikeRadar hit the pits to gather shots of all the new bikes we would get away with photographing, and discovered that if last year was the year of the 650b trail bike, then this is the year of the 650b downhill bike. We also spied some of the custom modifications that the mechanics do to keep these bikes rolling, run after run.
Click through the gallery to see the latest and greatest factory fresh kit sported by the likes of Sam Hill, Stevie Smith, Neko Mulally, Damien Spagnolo and more.
Olly can trace his obsession with off-road cycling back to his childhood in the Borders, yet it wasn’t until he discovered Mountain Biking UK magazine that his obsession with bikes truly took root. He eventually found find himself as Staff Writer on his favourite mag. From print to digital and from Europe to North America, Olly’s 10-year stint in bicycle media has seen him represent a host of titles and in a range of roles, but he likes nothing more than geeking out over the latest tech. Today, Olly’s contributing to BikeRadar once again, tapping into his encyclopedic knowledge of all things off-road and occasionally radical. Away from his laptop, Olly would prefer to find himself in the woods, bouncing between rocks, roots and ruts getting into all manner of mischief on his trusty Transition Sentinel.
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