temperatures were already a pleasant 25 degrees and the weather forecast had promised bags of sunshine and temperatures hitting 35 degrees. After finally getting my hands on the HELIUS AC I did a spot of fine-tuning and planned out the route. I took off for the first section which was littered with roots and small rocks. This was exactly the kind of trail to warmed up and get used to the bike. After a flowing start I approached the first serious rock formations. Giant rock slabs, perfectly shaped for riding with flow rather than hopping around. The further we went into Felsenmeer, the more technically demanding the terrain became. After a couple of drops and wall rides, I was came face to face with a balancing act over a log. As the HELIUS AC was such a joy to ride, I reached the beginning of the most impassable part of the trail grinning from ear to ear. The 300 meters that separated me from the end of the trail might not sound like a lot, but this final section was brutal. Having first scouted the section on foot for lines, I was really curious to find out how good the bike and its rider were. I had to dig deep as the section was far from flowy, but I made it. CONCLUSION I had to call on all my trials tricks over that final 300 meters and I was blown away by the agility of a 650B fully with 150mm of travel. I am now a convert to the 650B concept and it’s my undisputed favourite. The 650B version of the HELIUS AC is a proper weapon. It not only shines on flowing, fast trails, but even more so when the going gets rough. Its 27.5 inch-wheels greatly add to the solid feeling when tackling sections with roots and rocks while being robust enough to deal with drops, and still the bike is agile enough for tight, twisting sections. After ten hours in the saddle at temperatures up to 35 degrees, taking a swim in the sea or rather lake would have been a perfect finale. But sadly all I could see were rocks – there was no sea to be seen anymore, so to speak. Cheers Marco happy medium: the 650B variety of the HELIUS AC was there to give me a feel for the slightly larger wheels, and of course I was curious to find out how agile this bike was as well. DAY OF SHOOTING The day’s challenge was set; traverse Felsenmeer to put a 650B bike through its paces. When we drove off at 6.30 in the morning, the helius ac 650 Watch the video „Mr. hösel looking for the sea (of rocks)“ THE STORY While I was flicking through my photo albums I noticed a series of shots that were taken quite a while ago, while I was training at Felsenmeer. By coincidence, my youngest son Finley was watching “White Balance” in which his papa masters the white rocks of the Zittauer mountains. This was when I asked myself if Felsenmeer could be ridden with a mountain bike rather than a trials bike as well? Although I hadn’t ridden Felsenmeer for a couple of years, I could still remember the trails leading through it. To make it through the sea of rocks fluidly, a bicycle with the right size wheels is a huge advantage. A HARDTAIL OR A FULL- SUSPENSION? 26 OR 27.5 INCH? While bigger wheels offer advantages in terms of rolling over smaller obstacles, they tend to impair a bike’s agility in very tight sections. A hardtail offers direct response, which is something I really prefer, but hardtails tend to have their limitations when it comes to huge drops and jumps. My bike for this project had to be agile enough to master the tightest sections, butch enough to deal with huge drops and hard landings and it also had to smooth out the countless bumps and ripples. This is why I opted for a