One of Ireland's fastest enduro racers, 23-year-old Greg Callaghan was the local favorite this weekend, and put on quite a show for the cheering fans as he pedaled his way to a win after seven tricky stages. An 8th place finish at the Scotland stop of the EWS last year showed that Callaghan has the pace to be a contender, and an 11th place finish at the first round in Rotorua likely gave him even more motivation to find the extra speed required to take that top spot.
Riding for the Cube Action Team, a 140mm Stereo outfitted with a 160mm FOX 36 will be Greg's bike of choice for this event. Like a number of other racers, he's chosen to go with a shorter travel option due to the rolling nature of the course, and will likely stick with the 140mm bike for the next stop in Scotland as well. On courses with rowdier terrain he'll be switching to a bike with 160 or even 180mm of travel depending on the nature of the track.
SuspensionThis weekend's course is one that requires a rider to be very active on their bike, full of quick direction changes and instances where split-second decisions about line choice will be crucial. For that reason, Greg has chosen to go with a stiffer suspension setup than what he would typically run on a steeper, more rugged course. In addition to the higher air pressure, volume spacers have been installed in the fork and shock to create more ramp up at the end of the travel. There are 2 orange and two blue spacers in the FOX 36, and a .752” air volume spacer in the Float X EVOL rear shock. A remote on the right side of the handlebar allows for on-the-fly adjustment of the rear shock's compression, with three available options.
ibert.co.nz
They need space under the stem to fit.....
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So has anyone actually ridden on the XTR 1x rings? Do they work? Do they even exist?
Just looking at Strava I have almost 2,200 miles so far this year. This is split between two bikes but still, I ride a lot more than "not much"
Ps: Magic Mary up front pinkbike
There is a guy at my LBS who is a moderator on Pinkbike and he told me that if I wanted to be fast and have have trailhead cred I needed to be riding an XL with a 10mm stem (I'm 5'9"). He was right! I feel so much faster now and when I'm at the trailhead these days I can just "feel" everyone checking me and my ride out. It's almost like people are intimidated to ride with me now because they see my 60" wheelbase and they know they can't hang.
I think Callaghan is a little bit taller than me, so he should be on a XXL at the very least. Get him on a XXL (or better yet, XXXL) and shave down the top headset cup and bottom of the stem just a little bit, and clamp that seatpost so the only thing exposed is the stanchion and maybe I'll believe that bloke has the required stones to hang in an EWS race!
dave