We're like a newspaper—if newspapers were packed with roosts, hip checks, and huge sends instead of stock reports and Sudoku. Today’s ROUND UP: Darkfest 2025’s star-studded rider list, the race for belt-driven bikes, Bas van Steenbergen conquering Kong, and loads more. LET'S SEND IT👇
915 words of pure stoke.
Read time: 3 min 54 seconds.
Photo of the Day
If there was ever a time to test the durability of your bike and your spine, this drop in Guadalajara is it.
Johny Salido going big!
📷 Jose Duch behind the lens.
Video of the Day
Mega slabs, huge slams and burning batteries.
Johny Salido and Kelend Hawks are living the good life, and we’re over here trying to figure out how we can trade our office chairs for mountain bikes.
We’re adding this to our must ride regions FOR SURE!
⏰ Watch time - 5 min 24 sec
Bonus: We couldn’t fit this one in last week. Haven’t seen it? Today is your lucky day!
Bas van Steenbergen absolutely rips through Kong like it’s his daily commute.
Seriously, he’s making technical terrain look smoother than our attempts at riding on a flat sidewalk.
Zero margin for error, but somehow he’s pulling off steeze like he’s in a video game.
⏰ Watch time - 1 min 32 sec
Send of the Day
Abdul Jelil’s launch was solid, but the landing? A masterclass in precision.
Event Details & Rider List- Darkfest 2025
PC: Sven Martin
Darkfest 2025 is coming in hot, and it’s bringing the kind of insanity only Sam Reynolds can cook up.
From April 7-12, the Vuurberg venue in Stellenbosch, South Africa will be packed with monstrous jumps, insane tricks, and a lineup of riders who make flying through the air look too easy.
Here’s the list of Darkfest 2025 riders who are ready to SEND IT 👇 :
Sam Reynolds
Clemens Kaudela
Matt Macduff
Vero Sandler
Vaea Verbeeck
Bienve Aguado
Ike Klaassen
Theo Erlangsen
Adolf Silva
Kade Edwards
Nicholi Rogatkin
Paul Couderc
Matt Jones
Sam Hodgson
Vinny Armstrong
Kaos Seagrave
Robin Goomes
Graham Agassiz
Daniel Ruso
Lucy Vaneesteren
Alessio Tonoli
Tomas Lemoine
Elias Ruso
Johny Salido
Brendan Fairclough
Cami Nogueira
Lukas Schäfer
Kurtis Downs
Dylan Stark
Chelsea Kimball
Kaidan Ingersoll
Dan Paley
Talus Turk
Finley Kirschenman
Vincent Tupin
Louis Reboul
Dylan Lamb
PC: Sven Martin
The Race for Belt-Driven Bikes: True Frontier of MTB Innovation
Forget the moon landing, AI taking over the world, or the fact that mullets are somehow still in fashion.
There’s a new arms race happening, and it’s on two wheels.
The battle for the ultimate belt-driven mountain bike is heating up, and while it might not get NASA-level funding, it’s one of the boldest and riskiest moves in MTB right now.
Fewer moving parts, less maintenance, and a ride smoother than your last awkward high-five, belt drives are here to shake things up.
But making a belt-driven bike that actually survives race day? That’s another story.
It takes a team of engineers, designers, mechanics, and one very trusting rider willing to send a prototype into orbit.
Enter Charlie Hatton, who took this drivetrain experiment straight to Red Bull Hardline Tasmania, the track where bikes (and riders) go to suffer.
The result? A clean run, zero snapped belts, and a whole lot of shocked mechanics.
Turns out, the thing actually works.
Testing on Hardline helped dial in compliance, proving this drivetrain can hold its own against the gnarliest terrain.
Now, with Phase 2 underway, the team is doubling down on testing and pushing this setup to new limits.
Could we see a belt-driven bike on a World Cup podium soon?
Who knows, but one thing’s for sure.
This is not just about smoother pedaling; this could change MTB racing as we know it.
Want a peek behind the curtain?
Check out the video below where CEO Dan Brown, Head Designer Rob Gow, and Charlie Hatton break down the process, the challenges, and why this might just be the future of high-speed mountain biking.
Dream Rides ❤️
No climbing. No pedaling. No problem.
This rig wasn’t built for suffering up fire roads.
It was built to drop, huck, and send with zero regard for your quads.
A purebred freeride machine that laughs in the face of uphill and only speaks fluent airtime.
Check out the pics, soak it in, and prepare for an acute case of bike envy.
Got a bike that makes your friends drool? We wanna see it! Shoot us an email at editorial@thesenditdaily.com, and maybe your ride will be the next superstar.
Trail of the Day
The Ridge - Toronto, Ontario
We’re all about shredding some singletrack in the heart of Toronto, and Don Valley is the place to do it.
This trail gives us the right mix of flow and technical bits that keep us on our toes.
Whether we're riding a mountain bike, e-bike, or running through, it's always a blast.
Get there, get moving, and enjoy the ride!
Laugh of the Day
We all have our definition of “the dream life”. 😂
That’s all for today folks. We hope everyone gets some saddle time out there. See you all tomorrow! 🤙
For the ❤️ of two wheels.
We write The Send It Daily Monday - Friday (we’re out riding on the weekends). We do not proofread our material before sending and did not get A’s in English.
Our mission is simple: To advocate and bring awareness to the athletes that Send It and the media teams that capture it.
If you’re looking to feature content on The Send It Daily, reach out to editorial@thesenditdaily.com.
For more information, visit us at thesenditdaily.com
