Thoughts on Matthew Fairbrother?

a.s.

a.s.

Mr. Chainring
Anyone follow this guy? At first I was super impressed and excited to read about his adventures but lately I'm finding myself becoming more and more skeptical. Some of what he's claiming seems impossible. He races Enduro and rides his bike to every event. He'll ride 300km fully loaded, go 4 hours without water, 7 hours without food, sleep 3 hours on the side of the road then race an enduro. Seems to get most of his nutrition from gas stations and McDonalds.

Thoughts?
 
He's a Kiwi. While Aussie's have a reputation for being tough and eccentric, Kiwis tend to take it to another level.

I follow him on Strava. Definitely does some long-ass rides. I have no reason to doubt what he does, especially since he's not really competitive. Possible he might be competitive if he could arrive at an event well-rested and without a few hundred miles on his legs.
 
Ian F said:
He's a Kiwi. While Aussie's have a reputation for being tough and eccentric, Kiwis tend to take it to another level.

I follow him on Strava. Definitely does some long-ass rides. I have no reason to doubt what he does, especially since he's not really competitive. Possible he might be competitive if he could arrive at an event well-rested and without a few hundred miles on his legs.
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Probably better financially to be in the bottom 1/4 with notoriety and a gazillion followers than barely being in the top 1/2.
 
Nah dude, he's legit. I read his pinkbike interview after he biked from Canada to Burke for the EWS. Kid might be a bit mental, but he's really doing this shit. I think a few of our teammates said they ran into him at the Burke race. The craziest part is that he's doing these super long bike pack rides on a fully loaded down enduro rig with DH casings.

www.pinkbike.com

Interview: 18-Year-Old Matt Fairbrother Rides 200km a Day to North American EWS Rounds - An Update - Pinkbike

Matt Fairbrother has turned 18 since we last caught up, and he has lots of new stories to tell from the journey.
www.pinkbike.com www.pinkbike.com
 
My point is he's probably not burning himself out riding too hard on shorter efforts. He's not racing XC or road. I'd be interested in his power profile.
 
Ironjunk said:
My point is he's probably not burning himself out riding too hard on shorter efforts. He's not racing XC or road. I'd be interested in his power profile.
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I'm still not following your point lol. Dude rides his 40lb rig, lets say, 150 miles to a venue. Gets a little bit of sleep, then starts practice/pre ride. Every single pedal up the transfer stage is over 1000' of climbing. The stages themselves are brutal, steep, technical terrain. If you haven't ridden an enduro stage....I can tell you from experience your heart rate goes through the roof in those 5 minutes, your entire body is screaming, there is a very high chance of crashing and ending your entire season at any second, you get to the bottom and cry for joy, then you hop back on the saddle and do another 1000' climb. Rinse and repeat 6 times. It's extremely physical. AND THEN, after all of this madness, he is off on another 150mi commute to the next venue.
 
Ironjunk said:
My point is he's probably not burning himself out riding too hard on shorter efforts. He's not racing XC or road. I'd be interested in his power profile.
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Forget all that. I’m saying some of his stories are outlandish. Like the time he had to bushwhack 5 miles because his GPS brought him to a dead end. Then takes a nap in the forest, jumps on a highway in Europe for 80km, and makes it to the next race in time. Oh, and only had a snickers bar and some lollipops to sustain him. When does he charge his night lights? Why does he look so frumpy if he’s putting in so many miles. The whole thing seems so insane.
 
Ian F said:
He's a Kiwi. While Aussie's have a reputation for being tough and eccentric, Kiwis tend to take it to another level.

I follow him on Strava. Definitely does some long-ass rides. I have no reason to doubt what he does, especially since he's not really competitive. Possible he might be competitive if he could arrive at an event well-rested and without a few hundred miles on his legs.
Click to expand...

And he is 17. You can eat and do whatever at that age and rebound in minutes.

I listened to a podcast with him when it came out and he seemed authentic and what he is doing is doable. I think it's a great story and and should have people thinking what is possible on a bicycle.

Also every 17 year old is a bonehead. So if they are going to do something dumb it might as well be interesting and have a bunch of kook mtn bikers from across the earth in NJ keyboard about it.

Podcast link:
 
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