Slack Randoms: MTB B-Movies, Land Rover’s ‘Henrique Avancini’ Special Edition, Laser Guided GPS & More

We use Slack as our workplace communication tool at Pinkbike and we have a #randoms channel which we use to share an assortment of videos and stories from all corners of the cycling world and beyond… We thought a couple of the moments from the past week were too good not to share with a wider audience, so here are some of the highlights.

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Halloween MTB Flicks

If you’re not planning on going out trick or treating tonight, why not settle down for a night in with a horror film on the TV? If you’re fed up of shuffling zombies or masked murderers, there are at least three horror films that feature mountain biking as a major plot point, don’t expect masterpieces but for schlocky, fun B movies, you can’t go too wrong.

Shadow – When a young soldier leaves for a mountain biking excursion, he meets the girl of his dreams as well as a group of violent locals who want to see them dead at any cost.

Downhill – After his best friend dies in a racing accident, biking star Joe agrees to go back on the wheels for an exhibition in Chile. On a test run with his girlfriend Stephanie, they stumble upon a badly injured man dying from a mysterious virus. That’s the start of a very bad day for them as they become the target of relentless killers ready to do anything to keep their secret to go out of the mountains.

Blood Trails – Bike messenger Anne never imagined the horrific events that would unfold after her one-night-stand with stranger Chris.

If you want something no less intense but a bit less gory, you could also check out James Franco inventing mtb vlogging in 127 Hours:
Or Jason Statham defying physics on a BMX in Transporter 3:

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Laser Guided GPS
Is looking down at your bars to see your GPS too distracting? Well, this laser projected GPS may be the solution to your issue. It is definitely a bit bulky in its current state but we’d love to see it developed into something more practical in future.

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Henrique Avancini’s Land Rover Special Edition
Following the success of the Rio Olympics in 2016, cross country mountain biking has picked up a large following in Brazil and spearheading it all is Henrique Avancini. To celebrate his achievements, Land Rover has launched a signature edition of its Discovery Sport that it calls, “the official vehicle for the adventurers on duty.”
The limited edition basically boils down to an accessory pack which includes a bike rack with space for two bikes, rubber mats, a windscreen sun reflector and an accessories organizer, however, the car does also come with fitted side stirrups that don’t come with a standard version of the vehicle. Just 50 of the special edition Land Rovers will be made and they will all be sold in Brazil. For more info, click here.

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The Biggest Ever BMX Barspin
The bar has been raised at the legendary Lyon 25 stairset. First cleared by the skateboarder Jaws in 2016, it has become an iconic spot in action spots with freerunners, scooter riders and Fabio Wibmer all sending it in recent years. Now, Courage Adams has tricked it with this ginormous bar spin, the first-ever 25 stair barspin in BMX history.

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Cyclist Cramps During an Interview

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Zensystem’s Slip Claims to Boost Cadence
Can a piece of plastic improve your cycling performance by 5%? That’s what Zensystem is claiming with its new Slip invention. The plastic insert sits between your foot and your pedal and they claim it increases cadence and power without any extra effort. How? Well, they say, “ZENsystem SLIP design increases distance between pedal’s axle and sole. It moves geometrically the inclination of the pedal’s plane down forward. This optimizes legs and feet pushing force trajectory when pedal stroke is in the proximity of the lower dead spot.” Breaking down the word salad, they believe it puts your foot at a more efficient angle in relation to the pedal and that increases performance.

If you want a full, animated breakdown of the what and why, head to their Kickstarter but for now we’re going to file this with a healthy dose of skepticism alongside bent cranks and energy-generating wheels under Cycling Kickstarter Inventions that Probably Won’t Revolutionise the Sport as Promised.