Video: Martyn Ashton rides Fort William Downhill course

Martyn Ashton is back on two wheels for YouTube, this time taking on the toughest Downhill mountain bike course in the world.

In the clip, titled Down Not Out, Ashton, who was paralysed from the waist down after falling during a stunt in 2013, uses a specially modified mountain bike to take on the Fort William course.

Ashton’s modified Canyon Sender CF has a Tessier sit ski chair, instead of a saddle, that was adapted to fit the mountain bike’s seat tube – as seen in Back on Track. He was strapped in to the chair, and his feet attached to clipless pedals (one specially-made Crank Brothers pedal reads Martyn, the other Ashton), with 3D printed brackets to hold the pedals in one position, with some float in the cleats.

The other key modification is an electric motor, which allows Ashton to power out of corners, up inclines and maintain momentum along the straights. The throttle was taken from a motocross bike. The battery mount is also 3D printed.

Filming took place over a week on the Fort William course in the run up to the recent World Cup, with the final section using the event crowd. Riding the 1.7 mile (2.8km) route was pretty terrifying, Ashton told the Guardian.  Although some of his friends wept when he finished the course, Ashton himself was too busy trying not to fall off, it reports.

“I just wanted to get down and not make a fool of myself,” he said.

See below for more about the bike.