Doing any sort of huge drop or jump requires a special kind of courage, but even more so if you're the first rider to attempt it. However, being the first to guinea pig a monster move at Rampage is a whole other level that calls for some serious stones, of which the younger McCaul is obviously in possession of. He was the first rider to roll off the edge of a three-story tall step-down yesterday, a move that he's christened "El Presidente" in homage to his second favorite margarita at Chilis. If that's the case, I'd like to see the drop that's named after his drink of choice.

Tyler is aboard his usual downhill weapon, a medium-sized Fury that's fitted with Marzocchi suspension and that, aside from a few Rampage-specific modifications, is nearly identical to what you'd find him on when he's riding his home trails.



''Rampage is different in the fact that I pretty much adjust my suspension on the spot during practice to whatever feels right,'' he said. ''I never know how many clicks in or out most of the time, I just know when it's right.'' He did say that he prefers a slightly slower rebound setting for Rampage, though, which is a change that most of the competitors are going with due to the control it can provide when landing from a huge height.




Bike Setup

The Fury was designed around a shorter stem than the 50mm length that's still common on the front of many bikes, with the GT's long top tube working best with a stem in the 30mm range. Tyler is using Deity's Micro Direct Mount Stem and a 30.5'' wide Blacklabel handlebar with 25mm rise of rise, both of which being what he'd usually use anywhere else - no special cockpit changes for Rampage. However, one thing that is out of the norm is his tire setup. ''I've been using the 2.7's for Rampage for a few years now after Strait and Zink opened my eyes to how much better bigger tires work out here in this terrain,'' he said of his 26'' Maxxis Minion DHF rubber that's larger than the 2.5" wide tires that would normally be on his bike.

Like a lot of riders at Rampage, Tyler has gone with regular tubes, likely to avoid burping a tubeless setup on a hard landing. ''Air pressure is higher than I normally would use for riding DH trails but less than I'd run for something like Fest,'' he explained, going on to say that 30 PSI up front and 32 PSI out back feels just right. The relatively smooth terrain and extremely high speeds at a Fest event call for high air pressure, but riders are searching for more traction and forgiveness in the Utah desert.

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