Bike & Gear Check with EWS Photographers Matthew DeLorme & Dave Trumpore
We noticed a couple of comments in the Val di Fassa EWS preview wondering what Dave and Matthew bring along to shoot EWS, and for some photographer bike checks so we decided to roll the two things in one post.
On top of being able to shoot in what are at times miserable conditions, often while jetlagged, on minimal sleep, then staying up to edit and upload photos all night for several days on end, photographers on the circuit are all incredibly strong riders as well.
With Dave and Matthew, there are two big differences - camera setups and bikes. Dave shoots Nikon, and Matthew shoots Sony. Dave's bike is a Yeti SB150 Truq and Matthew is on a Trek Slash.
Both guys prefer to try to keep their bags as light as possible and weather conditions play a huge roll in how heavy the bags get. They have to carry everything needed for a day of riding and shooting including water and food.
Dave Trumpore
Nikon D850 with 70-20 2.8 mounted
Inside: Nikon D750 with 24-70 2.8 mounted, 15mm fisheye (collecting dust as it only gets used sparingly) ** Not shown is the Nikon 300 f4 (an awesome lens that is tack sharp and smaller/lighter than a 24-70 so super versatile)
Other items in the bag include Pro Bars, sunscreen, Band-Aids, Euros for cappuccino, ice cream, and beer between stages, a lens wiper and blower, spare batteries, and UCI photo badge and rainbow pass - because if they ever leave the pack, they would be forgotten. **Not shown are the rain cover and mesh bug mask (only for Fort William).
How Dave's gear fits in his Shimoda Shimoda Explore 30 (30 litre).
2019 Yeti SB150 Turq - Medium - 30.5 pounds
Dave's Medium SB150 tips the scale at 30.5 pounds. His rear shock is a Fox Float X2 with 165 psi, 2 volume reducers, LSC 14/HSC14, LSR 15/HSR 17 (from closed.)
Fox Factory 36 Fork - 170mm travel, 70psi, one volume spacer. LCS 12, HSC 16, LSR 6, HSR 6 (from fully closed)
170mm travel FOX Factory 36.
FOX Float X2 handles rear suspension duties. 165 psi, 2 volume reducers, LSC 14/HSC14, LSR 15/HSR 17 (all clicks counted from fully closed).
Dave prefers a stiffer fork and a softer back end with a bit heavier compression and slower rebound, especially on steep terrain and when carrying quite a bit of weight on his back. He finds it quite similar to the setup I would run when racing or riding high-speed rough trails or bike parks/DH type tracks. For more mellow trails he will adjust the compression and rebound to be 1-2 clicks lighter on the rear shock and take a few psi out of the fork.
Industry Nine's new Hydra hubs - The sweetest sound
The SRAM Eagle cassette is a lifesaver when pedaling a camera pack up steep climbs at altitude. Dave also HATES hiking so he will pedal up as long as physically possible even if it is slower.
Cockpit is ENVE M6 bars cut down to just under 29", ENVE M7 35mm stem (1" of headset spacers), ODI TLD grips, SRAM Code RSC brakes, SRAM XO shifter, Wolf Tooth dropper lever.
SRAM Code RSC levers
Strong brakes like SRAM Code RSC are a must on a long travel 29'er. These are set up with one organic and one metallic pad and a 200/180 front and rear rotor diameter.
SRAM XO carbon cranks, 32t chainring and Eagle Chain
SRAM Eagle XO Derailleur keeping the chain in line.
Good old Shimano XT pedals with the tension one turn from fully tight.
FOX Transfer post with 175mm travel
A Wolf Tooth lever integrates perfectly into SRAM brakes and control the FOX Transfer post.
Wheels are Enve M730 with proprietary rim strip. Laced to Industry nine hubs and with Maxxis Assegai 2.5 tires.
Maxxis Assegai front and rear - 2.5" Double Down casing, 23 psi, MaxGrip compound.
The ENVE wheels have been super reliable and Dave loves that you don't have to use rim tape. He's had no issues mounting Maxxis 2.5 tires by hand and also can remove them without tire levers, even with the stiffer Double down casings. He says, "Maxxis tires for life and the MaxGrip compound is simply unbeatable." This is his first time riding the Assegai and he loves it claiming there's almost too much traction out back at times.
SRAM does all drivetrain and braking duties for both photographers with XO Eagle groupsets and Code Brakes. SRAM's tech support at races is second to none at the races so should they run into any issues or break something, they're quickly taken care of and back to shooting.
Matthew DeLorme
Matthew DeLorme's set up for a typical day of shooting EWS. NYA EVO Fjord 36 camera bag. NYA EVO is a relatively new bag company. Their philosophy is to make a rugged bag with as little environmental impact. The pack rides well and doesn't push up on the back of the helmet when the going gets steep.
Inside: Sony A7III, Sony 70-200 2.8 G Master, Zeiss Batis 18 2.8, Zeiss Batis 25 2, Rocket Air ProBar Meal Bar, ProBar Siracha Peanut Butter, electrolyte tabs, electrical tape, quick link, brake pads, batteries, Co2 head, zip tie, tape, towel, lens coat rain cover. If the weather looks iffy, he'll bring rain gear as well.
How it fits in there. There are also a couple of 12lb rated small DMM carabiners and a bird call for when things get slow.
Matt's Trek Slash.
Matthew rides a 19.5 inch Trek Slash. He runs a 35mm Deity Copperhead stem and Deity Carbon Mowhawk bars. The drivetrain is all SRAM XO, with a 32 tooth chainring up front. The RockShox Lyrik has 3 tokens, with 82 psi. The RockShox Super Delux is at 183 psi.
32 teeth in the front. SRAM XO cranks and XTR pedals.
Eagle to make the climbs better.
SDG Squid bikes saddle, because, squidding.
Bontrager Line Elite wheels and Code stoppers.
Code brakes.
Just in case he forgets, SRAM was nice enough to put his name on his levers. "I'm not pro."
Bontrager SE5 2.6 rubber.
Tires are Bontrager SE5 with a 2.4 front and 2.6 rear, 23 psi front and 25 rear. The code brakes have 200mm rotors. Matt says, "I honestly don't fuss about bike set up, I just kinda run it and hope everything comes out ok on the other end."
RockShox Reverb.
Rock Shox Super Delux and spare tube lever and Co2.
A High Above strap keeps the tube and Co2 in place.
Diety bars. He's currently playing around with different stem heights.
Deity's Copperhead stem, Mako shark stem cap, and the ever so important Media Recce sticker.
EWS Squid sticker.
And there you have it. That's how some of the magic happens on an EWS race weekend.
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Really good article : )
As for bikes.. well, again, if you are in the business of taking photos of bikes and are riding EWS courses, you will probably get the best bike you can and you love the most.. (probably with a discount since they also work for these brands).
But I also think also sometimes people don't realise how much work it goes into it. We see them at trackside and think how much fun they are having (because we love to take photos, right?). We forget it takes them 3-4 days+ to process all the photos and all the hours (day and night) involved in the process (while we snooze and have post-ride beers with mates). They are paid for 1 weeks's work + weekend and night work in one lump.
Judging by his work, the A7III is working just fine for him.
For MTB action shooting, to me, the faster shooting speed isn't a big deal. 20fps just means more photos to cull. If you can get a good image in 10fps, likely there wasn't an image to capture to begin with. The buffer/speed size is nice with the A9, but how often to you need to Shoot several hundred photos in continuous?! The A7 has a large enough capacity for MTB I think, where you are shooting in pretty shorts bursts. The biggest attraction to me, would be the autofocus. The a9 seems to have some of the best autofocus going right now, and that can make or break your shot.
is this setup applicable for clydesdale?
I came from Canon (5D) to Sony and wouldn't go back, but would love a FF Sony with the latest eye AF.