Ideal icebreakers for the trailhead

From how many wheels Matt Simmonds destroyed at Windham World Cup to the length of the longest backflip ever done by Cam Zink.

We figure(!) you’ll enjoy these stats…

5,416

The altitude in metres of the highest mountain bike race in the world. At over a decade old, the Yak Attack takes place in Nepal and is said to be one of the toughest events on the planet, with an overall altitude increase of 15,000 meters.

100

The longest dirt to dirt backflip on a mountain bike comes in at 100ft, 3 inches! Cam Zink was the man with the plan back in 2014, when he clenched his cheeks for the jaw-dropping jump at the World of X Games.

7

The number of rear wheels British Madison Saracen Factory rider Matt Simmonds destroyed over the course of one weekend during the UCI Downhill World Cup in Windham, 2012.

69

Per cent less likely to incur a serious head injury if you’re wearing a helmet. Admittedly, this is from a study about road biking, but there are obvious parallels. Citation: po.st/Helmet

25.86

The world’s longest wheelie in kilometres, covered in one hour. This record was set by 53-year-old US rider Richard Flanagan, who beat the 25.72km set by Manuel Scheidegger back in 2015.

141.5

The fastest land speed record on a mountain bike, in mph. This was set by Eric Barone in March 2017, at Vars in the French Alps.

75

The total number of UCI Downhill World Championship podiums achieved by Greg Minnaar since his first in 2000 at Colorado. That’s an average of 4.5 podiums every year.

624.11

The furthest distance in miles ridden on a mountain bike in 48 hours. It was done by Adrian Ellul in 2015, on a Giant XTC and his average speed was 13mph.