Darren Berrecloth will be riding a 210mm travel Canyon Torque in the forthcoming Red Bull Rampage insanity, which is news that might sound odd to anyone who's followed the Claw's career. Much like macaroni and cheese or Red Bull and questionable amounts of sugar, Berrecloth and Specialized just seemed to go together, the two having been married long enough that it will be a weird sight to see him on another brand's bike.



It's been a handful of years since his third place in 2010, with injuries and crashes preventing Darren from shining at Rampage, and thus he is a bit of a wildcard in 2015. That sounds crazy to say when you consider what he's capable of and what's he's pulled off in the past, but, in typical Claw fashion, he's a bit nonchalant about this coming weekend. ''Well, my mindset is the same as always, to get out there with my buds and shred some bikes. If I can toss a few tricks in and have a good run, then I am happy. Never been the type to set any goals, other than to stomp a few tricks.'' Just a casual week in the desert, then.




Darren has literally just received his Torque downhill bike, which means that he's heading into what has to be the gnarliest event of the year on a brand new bike that he's yet to actually ride. The Claw, as expected, doesn't sound fussed about it, though. ''Well, for me, I’m not worried at all. Canyon has a great bike for me to ride, and I am actually really excited," he said, going on to explain that his first date on the Torque will likely consist of a few runs down the area's infamously burly King Kong trail. ''There's no better place to get used to a bike than on King Kong,'' he quipped casually, a statement that will likely lower the jaw of anyone who's familiar with the drop infested 'Kong line that descends down from a private rocket testing facility that's straight out of the X-Files.

Darren's Rampage ride is assembled around a production Torque frame that offers adjustable travel between 195 and 210mm. That number is changed by way of an insert in the rocker link that also alters the bike's geometry, and it's not a surprise to see that Darren's bike is set up in its slackest and longest travel mode. The frame itself has seen no modifications for the action that it will see over the next week, but Berrecloth does plan on changing the suspension rates as required - he expects to install a 50 in/lb heavier spring on his FOX shock and run between 5 - 10 psi more air over the usual 69 psi that he prefers when at home.



The fact that Rampage forces riders to stiffen their suspension shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, but the demands on tire setup are less obvious. Darren runs Maxxis tires, and while it sounds like he'd usually be using a tubeless setup while at home in British Columbia, the cliffs of Utah require a different approach. ''I didn’t have time to go tubeless, but, to be honest, I would only go tubeless up front,'' he said about of his preferred Rampage setup. ''There are so many big impacts when doing a Rampage run that I would hate to burp my tire and blow a run.''

More air pressure is the answer, he says, but it comes down to if you're planning on hitting the wooden ramps or not. ''My run is all hand made dirt so I will probably go up 8 - 10 psi from normal downhill pressures since the last thing you want is to feel your tire roll [off the rim] on a lip.'' More air pressure means more reliability, but the downside can be less control. ''It is a tradeoff, though, since there's way less traction and higher deflection,'' he said about using more tire pressure for the rocky and silty Rampage zone.




The bike is new, but the Claw will always be the Claw, regardless of what he's riding. And while it's been a while since the Canadian has performed to the level that we all know he's capable of at Rampage, I wouldn't be surprised if he threw down an impressive run aboard his new German bike.


Photos: Margus Riga