We spoke to Korbi Engstler about his trip to Iceland. Here is our short BIKE interview.
BIKE: How did you come up with the idea of flying to Iceland to go biking? Iceland is cold, wet and windy.
KORBI ENGSTLER: I was looking for three very different spots for my new video project "Why Not", and Iceland is one of them. But that's right: cold, wet and windy! I had hoped it would be a bit drier, but we got wet every day.
Still happy to have "experienced" Iceland?
In any case. Iceland is a good contrast to all the other places I've been biking. I let myself be surprised by Iceland and didn't do much research into whether there were jumps and good trails.
Were there trails? How did you find them?
I had hired a guide, Magne Kvam from Icebike. Magne has guided almost all the celebrity bikers who have come to Iceland. But despite the guide, trail hunting is difficult here because you are only allowed to bike on hiking trails. Drawing freeride lines through the terrain is forbidden. Graham Agassiz simply did this for his video back then and caused quite a stir in Iceland. There was a lot of stress afterwards. Especially when you're filming and taking photos.
What did you particularly like about Iceland?
The landscape, the colours, the shapes - it blows you away. Especially the colours - incredible! But I wouldn't fly there again for biking, the weather is too capricious and the possibilities too limited. Either you carry up or - as is offered in Iceland - you can be flown up by helicopter. We didn't do that. You can't do that in this day and age.
What didn't you like?
Iceland is very Americanised, I think. I hadn't expected that at all. There are US trucks driving around and the food is also very Americanised. Really annoying: the weather. It's unpredictable. One minute it's blue skies and sunshine, the next it's a heavy rainstorm.
Everyone dresses in black, you in red. Is this your new signature outfit?
Nope (laughs). Photographer Janik and I wanted to show the landscape in long shot. You need an outfit that stands out. Otherwise I'm not a fan of bold colours.
Escape into the sun: trails on the biker island of La Palma
La Palma is sun-kissed and surrounded by trails - this made the Canary Island the perfect winter location for bikers for a long time. Then the volcano spewed poison and bile (2021) and nothing was the same again. But the situation is slowly normalising. Here, Wahl locals Philipp Foltz and Stefan Schlie crank towards the sun. If we look at the photo, we can literally smell the pine trees!
Horror film set: Eliott Lapotre in the Vosges
"A forest starts behind my house. It's a very strange forest," reports bike pro Eliott Lapotre. "It's always gloomy, damp and foggy there. Even when it's sunny! There's a very strange goosebump atmosphere there, almost spooky. When I told JB about it, he wanted to see it for himself and came to visit me in the Vosges. And again, the atmosphere was enchanted - I was chasing down the path on my trail bike, fog was billowing and JB's headlamp created this thriller look." For his latest project, Eliott grabbed a hammer and chainsaw and transformed his home forest into a freeride paradise. Check it out!
Light shows: Red Bull Ilume on the bike trail
Snowflakes on the trail in the foreground Clouds of smoke in the background
Photographer Daniel Bernstål reached deep into his bag of tricks to set the scene for Daniel Swanbeck here. Everything had to fit! The lighting to weave the bike lights into a white and red garland of light. The timing. Because Daniel had to turn the handlebars in the air for the necessary portion of Steez. The framing: you should be able to see the snow in the foreground and billows of smoke in the background. The effort was worth it. The photo was honoured in the Red Bull Illume photo competition.
Sensation: Hobby bikers ride the Red Bull Rampage Run
Excitement in the social media! Two German bikers: Niklas Schmidt (23) and Sebastian Kahl (21) ride Brendan Fairclough's line after the Red Bull Rampage. Fairclough's line was hotly debated in the contest. Scene insiders spoke of the most technically difficult descent ever, some even believed that only Fairclough was capable of riding this line.
With this bike Brendan Fairclough his controversial Rampage run.
BIKE: Niklas, you and your friend Sebi have recreated Brendan Fairclough's Rampage line. How do you come up with such a bone-crushing idea?
NIKLAS: That was Sebi's idea.
SEBASTIAN: That's most likely our riding style and that's why we wanted to try out the line.
NIKLAS: We spent the last few summers in Canada and New Zealand and rode the most extreme descents there. And now also in Utah - and there was the "Brendogs" line.
How long did it take you to drive down there?
NIKLAS: We had to shovel for a day so that everything was drivable again. Then we looked at all the features and tried them out, and on the third day we tried full runs.
Did that work?
SEBASTIAN: It took me three attempts before I got all the way through.
NIKLAS: I had four runs because my GoPro didn't work on the third attempt.
What was the most difficult stunt?
NIKLAS: The step up onto the rocks. You have to be extremely precise to land with pinpoint accuracy. I jumped up there five times, three times I got a strange twist to the side and had to jump off. The rock was a really nasty thing.
There was bashing on the net. Fairclough was not pleased. NIKLAS: We were saddened by all the reactions online. We didn't expect that.
Well, it's quite a thing: "German hobby biker rides Fairclough's Rampage line on a 500-dollar bike." NIKLAS: Yes, what can I say? We did it. SEBASTIAN: Exactly (laughs).
Why are you riding a $500 bike? NIKLAS: Because I have no money. My Scott Gambler broke. Then I bought a second-hand Rocky Slayer with a crack in the rear triangle for 500 dollars in Salt Lake City.
Did you have a contingency plan in case something went wrong? NIKLAS: Nope (laughs).
SEBASTIAN: We don't need anything like that (laughs).
Rodeo rider: Emil Johansson in the film ANYTIME
What is style on a bike? We know the answer! It's Emil Johansson. There are few mountain bikers who look as casual on the bike as the fine motorbike rider from Trollhättan in Sweden. On this one-handed X-Up, Emil looks like a Texan rodeo rider.
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
