I am Conor Macfarlane, "pro" mountain biker & full time worker. My new film "A Week In The Life" has just been released, ask me anything.

u like bike?

Bike I like

A lot of talk on pinkbike and similar websites about riders not getting an appropriate level of remuneration for the risk they go through, both in racing and freeride.

Do you think that athletes are fairly paid for the risk? If not, do you think there’s enough money in the mtb industry to rectify that?

I agree there are a lot of riders who don't get compensated fairly for what they do, although, me for example, would still do a lot of what I do, even if I wasn't getting paid, so I guess getting what I get paid is better than nothing. I think it would be nice for people to get compensated fairly but at the end of the day it is the athletes decision to do what they do and if companies can get away with paying riders less then they probably will, it is a business after all I guess. There are some riders who are very good at the business side, not me, which in being a pro can be just as important as being a good rider sometimes, if you want to make a living out of it. So no, some riders aren't fairly compensated but it's a personal decision and yes there seems to be plenty of money in the industry.

Do you have any thoughts on the UCI prize money for downhill? I was shocked to learn how small the payout is.

Yeah it seems pretty bad. Just got to hope their teams are paying them well I guess

"People just see what you put online and your life looks great, they don't necessarily realise what goes into getting that photo" – Conor Macfarlane

Hi there. So what goes into getting that photo?

Early Starts, Time away from work, physio, a lot of my free time in the summer. Traveling to and from events etc

when fo you train? is your job the usual 9-5? how do you approach travelling with a full time ?

Im pretty lucky. My boss allows me to take time for bike stuff when its needed, I work as a builder but wanted to be an electrician but the flexibility wasn't there.

How often do you ride? What does a typical “man it’s a beautiful Tuesday and my last meeting of the day just got canceled” ride look like?

How often do you ride? What does a typical “man it’s a beautiful Tuesday and my last meeting of the day just got canceled” ride look like?

Mid summer would ride 4/5 days during the week and both days during the weekend if I'm at home. If I'm away for the weekend I usually try and ride if I can but it depends where I am off to. Ooh, ideally both some gondola laps and a jump sesh up.

Thoughts on Red Bull Rampage? Would you ever do it again or do you think they’ve gone too far?

I love it, I mean if I had to say one thing about it, I would like the technical side to play a larger role than the trick side but the trick side makes it a better spectacle so I can see why that is scored better, and it is easier to score than technicality.  I won't do it again, would have loved to up until this year, but decided it wasn't for me anymore so stopped trying to get an invite again.  Value my health too much now I guess.  

Do you think that MTB/XC biking is too expensive for what it's worth ? I bought a hardtail recently and while browsing, I found that there's a huge gap between "shit" and "good, but fucking expensive" in the price ranges. It's like there's no middle ground.

Everything is so expensive, man. Rock Shox have "budget" forks that cost more than a reasonable pre-made bike. And unlike PCs or other DIY projects, building a bike from scratch saves you no money at all. I'm not sure if this is for my country, but I see people all over the world talk about how expensive a good MTB is. Forget the full suspension ones, just a hardtail even.

What are your thoughts as a professional ?

Good bikes are pretty expensive I guess, but there are plenty of cheap-ish bikes out there that are all good though, you don't need the top of the line expensive ones to have fun on.  What I look for in a bike is an average overall level of components but ideally brakes that are alright and any mid level suspension.  Can have cheap derailers, grips etc, but if certain parts are good then the bike will do the job.  A good set of tires are super important as well, being your contact point with the ground and all.  But yes, building up a bike is very expensive, I know around where I live, there are some pretty good deals on second hand bikes but I guess that all depends on where you live.   Hope you are enjoying your new hardtail!  I just built up a trail hardtail and loving it.

With such a high risk of personal injury in the discipline of mountain biking you do, why is it worth risking your day job and health?

That's a great question. For me I guess I would be doing it regardless. Its what I love to do. The only massive difference is that I wouldn't be posting to social media as much.

The level of risk is something I have started to think more and more about over the past few years. I still love what I do, so I guess that's what keeps me doing such a high risk discipline of mountain biking. I think about things a lot more now compared to when I was younger, when I would just 'do' first then think about the consequences later. It feels kind of weird saying this, when I'm just riding with my mates and throwing down, say on a wednesday up Dream Track, I don't think about the risk of injury much at all because I am having so much fun, but then If I was to do the same thing on the same jumps but during a photoshoot, I would think about it a lot more as I'm not distracted by having my mates around me. So I guess it all comes down to how much fun I'm having at the end of the day, if something is fun I'm more likely to risk my health.

Hi Conor, I’m also a mountain biker. Where’s your favorite place to ride? What kinds of new bike technology are you excited about?

Wynyard in Queenstown NZ is a really special place to me. I have been all over the world and this place really sticks out.

With bike technology its crazy to think when I started how far it's come. I would have to say E-Bikes are pretty exciting. It will be interesting to see how much they continue to develop/improve.

What are your favorite meals before a big ride?

If I'm in a rush I would usually go for a spaghetti and tomato (from a can) sauce on toast and if I have more time would go for some poached eggs.

Who's your favorite character on family guy?

Peter for sure

Your 60 series cruiser is sweet. How long have you had it?

Thankyou!  Love it.  I've had it for 5 years now I think, bought it off a mate Blair Christmas, who is a mad scientist when it comes to cars.  He had too many so thankfully the 60 had to go.

My GF and I really want to get into mountain biking but we don't have money to drop 10k each on a bike. What's some good intro to the sport gear?

Good to hear! You don’t need to spend that much, I would probably find something decent second hand (would probably want someone you know who knows a bit about bikes to help you there though), new helmet, maybe some body armour, and you should be away laughing. Don’t worry about all the kit and extras that you can get for biking, can spend a lot of money for not much gain.

What is your favorite way to build skinnies or wood features in wet environments? Thank you. I’m up in AK and need to get over some boggy areas.

haven’t built much biking wise in wet environments but I have built some walking tracks over boggy ground. For that we used big flat pieces of timber along with piles. The big flat pieces of timber are pretty resistant to sinking (in the groin we were building over) due to a large surface area. In other areas where I encounter a small wet area if I can I make a jump over it I will. Hope that helps.

When (or which life event) did you made the decision of going from a amateur MTB-er to a pro?

Wasn't a decision really, kind of just slowly started getting money out of riding bikes and I guess once make money out of biking are technically a pro?

Kia Ora bro! What’s your favourite place to ride in NZ that most people don’t know about?

Kia Ora! Bluff gets a lot of stick for being at the bottom of the island and is actually pretty fun to ride! Also middle hill, that place is awesome and don’t hear about it that much really

Do you like motorbikes?

I do, I only have a TTR 125, so a kids bike, but we have an awesome crew in Queenstown who all have kids bikes so it's heaps of fun!

Any changes you hope to see come to the sport in the future?

Would love to see companies make 26/27.5 mullet freeride bikes as production bikes with chain stays as short as possible.

do you have a "secret sauce" for jump radius/height/speed/angle?

The secret sauce is practise. Each bike/jump is different. Even on the film I get a little scared doing a jump on a e-bike.

What should someone who doesn't know much about mountain biking look for to know if a rider is a good rider or not?

How comfortable someone looks on a bike. After watching/ seeing people ride for years, it's reasonably easy for me to tell a beginner/ intermediate/ high end rider but that is a thing that comes with experience. For freeride it's pretty easy, the bigger the trick and bigger the jump the better the rider generally but for trail/ DH it's a little harder. Speed and smoothness would be what I would look for there.

What kind of money were you dropping on bikes and what’s it like now to be on supreme machines for what I assume is free? The relief must feel nice.

Mountain biking, like most outdoor sports/hobbies, is very expensive.

I made the mistake of moving to where there were lots of single tracks outside my door and picked up mountain biking. I’m on my third bike from my LBS.. since I get rad discounts im only in about 10k on the bikes I’ve owned 😐

Norco Fluid

Giant Reign carbon bike

Intense Tazer carbon ebike

I never spent much on my bikes when I paid for them myself, would generally buy second hand as can normally find some good deals out there. The most I spent was on my XC race bike back in the day which was 4200 NZD. But yes get them (mostly, still pay for some parts) for free now which is awesome. Would hate to think how much I would spend on bikes these days if I wasn't getting given them.

whats your secret sauce to getting motivated, what are your focus goals?

I don't know if there is a secret sauce as such. I just get bored. Having a film crew there does help push you to try bigger jumps/new tricks.

I guess if it’s going to be fun for me or bring some joy into my life or someone else’s that helps motivate me. Goal wise, just keep making the most of life and have fun!

Been following you on insta for a while, big fan. Really liked the movie with tilt shift you did a while back.

What’s your current favorite bike in the stable? And scariest feature you’ve hit?

Thanks, appreciated. Favourite would have to be my clash set up as a freeride bike. Single speed, no dropper and cables routed for bars and whips 👌

Scariest feature would probably be the large drop I hit in a video called ‘Conor for Rampage’, or a smaller techy drop in another movie called ‘Rampage preparation with Conor Macfarlane’

What was involved with developing your elite mountain biking skills?

Many many hours on a bike and a deep love for the sport

Favourite condiment? Thank you

Special sauce, AKA tomato sauce and mayonnaise mixed together.

Do you know Ned Overend? Missy Giove?

I have heard of them and know who they are but never met them

Any thoughts on pro BMX riders transitioning to MTB later in their riding careers?

Its cool, we get to see different styles of riding, take Dylan Stark for instance, he's bringing a new light to certain aspects of MTB which is awesome. Would be cool to see more of them try MTBs.

If you could only ride 1 hardtail for the rest of your life what would it be?

Big decision, would have to be some kind of trail hardtail. Semi aggressive angles and built like a normal trail bike.

How many miles a week do you average? Any road/gravel riding in addition to the MTB?

Not sure on how far I go, maybe 50km a week including commuting. No road but a bit of gravel. Do a bunch of gravel in my weekends more often but more just to access getting to an area in the mountains I want to get to.

Forgive me, but how does a "pro" biker only get ~30 miles of biking in a week?

I'm far far far from pro and I beat that pretty easily just doing casual MTB (when the bikes not broken down).

This isn't meant to be a humblebrag or anything, just seems like pro racing would require a lot more training than that.

Don’t need to do 100s of KMs when mainly ride jumps and steep tracks. I’m not a racer, as jasper alluded to, rather I enjoy throwing myself off jumps/ drops.

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I have probably made the most out of selling bikes at the end of the seasons. In a normal year when I’m traveling a lot I spend a good chunk of my salary so selling bikes at the end of the year is a nice cash injection.

Why work a second job? What’s one of your favourite trails or places to bike in the world?

I don’t make quite enough out of biking to not work a ‘normal’ job, I would love to ride full time but at the same time I’m at peace with working as a builder and have an awesome group of guys to work with so it’s not too bad.

And favourite place to ride is Queenstown, which I am very happy to call home. Favourite track would have to be Dream track as well 👌

what's your favorite trail? what's your favorite state? ever been to Idaho?

Dream track here in Queenstown if that counts as a trail and favourite state would have to be Utah probably. Awesome riding and awesome national parks! No, never been to Idaho

Care to share some of your power profile?

Max watts, 5 second power, FTP, etc)

I have no idea sorry. I used to be full on into XC and if I had continued with that I could probably tell you but that side of my fitness I have no idea about anymore.

Sad to still see “professionals” in any popular sport needing a second job. Tbf the English women’s football all have to work second jobs which is even worse, but still… Anyway, questions, I used to compete in both bmx and Mtb, doing equally as bad in both, that was over 20 years ago now and I’m defo getting worse with age. You don’t look like a spring chicken (no offence), how long do you thing you’ve got left and what are some things you do to keep going at a level you feel acceptable? Bonus question, fade away or just tap out?

Haha, I get it all the time people thinking I’m old, I’m generally younger than people think but I don’t mind being thought of as old. I am rather old for what I do I guess. I’m not sure, I think about injury a lot more now than I used to, older and wiser maybe... not sure about the fade away of tap out, maybe transition to something else in biking..?

What's your hot take on single crown bikes at Rampage?

Thanks for doing the AMA!

I love it, it opens up more options for tricks which is cool. Pretty keen to try out a single crown on my DH bike if I can get a stiff enough fork out of marzocchi.

Any tips for servicing hydraulic disc brakes on a bicycle?

Youtube is your friend.  I like the feel of shimano so I generally buy them (and they are super easy to bleed), but was putting some Guides on one of my bikes the other day and had to go on youtube so see how to do it and were plenty of videos.

Do you still write for Family Guy? If not, how'd you decide to make the switch?

😂