Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Emily Batty's
Trek Superfly
There is more happening at the first World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, than just downhill racing, with it also being the season opener for the cross-country racing contingent. And much like what their longer travel brethren have to tackle, the lycra set is facing a blazing fast course that puts a premium on rolling speed but is also loaded with a number of land mine-like rock gardens that are able to take a rider to the ground like they were just hit with a taser. The average rider, and even the average racer, might be best off on a short or mid-travel bike that would allow them to pinball through such sections with relative ease, but a World Cup cross-country racer's needs see many toe the start line on hardtails that are more efficient than a Prius and handle as quick as a Razor Scooter - don't be fooled by the lack of a dropper post, pizza cutter tires, and ultra low handlebar height, because these racers have to have world class bike handling skills in order to descend as fast as they do on the machines they race aboard.
Trek's Emily Batty chose to head to the start line with her Superfly hardtail rather then the 100mm travel full suspension Superfly FS, a reasonable choice given the hard packed and fast rolling Pietermaritzburg track. The all-carbon frame is built around 29" wheels and sports Trek's G2 geometry that sees her FOX 32 use a custom offset fork crown to add liveliness to the bike's handling. This isn't a custom option, even if it sounds like it, with Trek's production 29ers incorporating the same technology. Think thru-axles are only for full-suspension bikes? Emily's Superfly sports a 12 x 142mm rear end that shows that isn't the case.
Trek's World Cup downhill racers have used FOX suspension for many years and it's no different on the cross-country side of things, with a 100mm travel 32 FLOAT FIT iCD spec'd up front. The air sprung fork features FOX's electronic 'intelligent Climb Descend' system that depends on a small servo motor to adjust the amount of low-speed compression damping with a quick push of the rotary remote mounted next to her left hand brake lever. The iCD battery looks to be non-existent, but a closer look shows that it appears to be tucked away into the bottom of the fork's tapered steerer tube. Very slick.
Racers put a lot of effort into having their bike be as light as possible, but nowhere is weight loss more important than when talking about wheels and tires. Batty runs Bontrager's lightweight XXX 29er wheelset with this in mind, and she's had a set of fast rolling XR1 tires mounted up - 2.2" up front and a 2.0" out back - to match the hard packed conditions. An XTR double chain ring drivetrain makes her bike go forward, and she's chosen to go with a slightly smaller than usual 36 tooth chain ring that allows her to keep from having to shift down to the 26 tooth inner 'ring too often. Big chain ring equals big speed, after all.
Emily isn't exactly the tallest racer on the circuit, a fact that explains her ultra low handlebar setup that is attained by forgoing any spacers and running a Bontrager stem in a negative rise position. All that would be for not if a fashionable riser bar was bolted in place, so she's gone with a Bontrager XXX flat handlebar instead. There are also no lock-on grips to be found, with a set of white foam jobs slid on instead.
We'll be dipping our toes into the World Cup cross-country waters during the 2014 season, so stay tuned for more short-travel content from around the world, including photo epic pieces covering race day and bike check features showing you exotic machinery of the top racers.
Its working !!!
Hm.
www.bontrager.com/model/11445
In a world of relentless flashy marketing and constant "new" tech press releases, it baffles me that one of the most famous XC rider has a bike that looks like it has been fitted by Macgyver... I understand that female XC is probably not the most sought after feeds on redbull.tv but Batty is still great click bait for Trek.
The word you were looking for was 'naught', i.e.: zero, nothing.