oldschool43

DH1, DH1, DH1... It's because of the threat of groups, promoters, etc, like DH1.. The UCI want's to be in charge and stay in charge. Don't know if the ixs downhill is a UCI thing either. If the guys at Freecaster had a ton of cash to put up and RAN those events, UCI would look like a bit silly. Well, so far, Redbull tv's coverage is just okay. Rob is awesome. I kinda miss the 3 hours of "LIVE" coverage. That new-ish Enduro series, don't know if there are ties to the UCI. But DH1 was thinking about running or dabbling in Enduro or running in conjuction with enduro events (I might be mistaken. But I thought I read that somewhere) I think this rule might be more for road cyclists and the drug issue. In the end, it's about money or who's meat is bigger. And just cuz you have a ton of cash or a huge sausage, it's how you look using what you have, so someone with a pocket full of nickles and a good 6" has frightened the old man...

Still can't get over this pricing. They have a "special" on the Aluminum version for $3400 with STX, but for a mostly XT bike, $5315. Which I would prefer. However if you look at a comparable motorcycle, a newly redesigned, aluminum framed 2013 Kawasaki 250f, with a Kashima coated fork and shock (coils), sells for $7595. Even if they claim it's for R&D, the moto has a new ECU, fuel injection and fork. A complete motor and transmission, radiators, fenders and plastic pieces, would price it well over the $2300 in the difference. People will pay for the Bronson, but with it being manufactured overseas for pennies on the dollar. Knowing what raw materials cost, I think it could sell for less and still come out ahead. And they would sell more of them. The Bronson looks great, probably has a stellar ride and would bring a big smile, but my 2013 KTM Duke is looking like a huge bargain. That's just my opinion.

Not the mud, but the cylinders appear to "float" inline. Looks like 3mm's of free space before the nipple would stop the rim from moving. Meaning the rim could "deflect" causing it to give a loose feel. Like riding a strong rim with loose spokes. It might not actually do that. It's a cool design for spoke issues, if you frequently have that problem..

Wow... That's crazy. Probably comes down to results. He's fast enough, still, to be on top. Might be a mental change. I'd watch out for him if it is.

Hope EVO's, Syncros DS28, DT butted. 1890 grams $500. 2 years of heavy use (150+ rides). 2 minor touch ups. They are heavier, but I could buy 3 sets and enough beer to cause problems while building them for $1800. Add the warranty and I could replace almost every part on my bike with something lighter to makeup the 170 gram difference, including new wheels with lighter hub and rim options. I know the reasoning behind the lighter wheels, I have a set of lighter wheels that come in under 1700 grams, but aren't as strong. Will carbon last 3 times longer than what I'm running now, which would be a minimum 6 years?

No UCI affiliation? Let's hope they stay clear of them and become HUGE. Why? Because a DH class could be run in conjuction and would open up doors to more stops and countries. More wishful thinking than anything. EMBA and DH1 join forces for a World series? 10-12 stops on 5-6 continents? Sam Hill or Brook MacDonald at a home race? South America? The Atherton's sweep all events in the UK? Enduro is pretty cool on it's own, but like I said, it's wishful thinking to maybe get DH more than 7 weeks a year.

When mainstream media gets involved, this is the outcome. Sometimes it's like this. Look at the TV coverage of Lucas Oil outdoor motocross. Fuel had Jeff Emig, motocross guy in booth. NBC had Jamie Beswick, a bmxer. Jamie's great, but how can you compare 2 different sports? Erin Bates is knowledgable AND hot (boobs bigger than bubba's head), but never appeared on NBC as the pit reporter. The first years of the xgames had some goofy stuff, including some goofy "sports". Did anyone see the mountain bike events? Summer: Slalom downhill with embarassing wooden structures. Winter: Mass downhill on icy ski hills. Crashing was a major component. Corporations look at graphs and charts and think this needs to be done to appeal to all groups to get ratings. If actual DH racing ended up on TV, I doubt Mr Rob, one of best play-by-play guys ever, would get to call the races for the masses, because he's not what the "people" would like or understand. And, I don't think many people remember this, but Mountain Biking had a weekly national outlet. It was on NBC in the early 90's. The host sucked. The coverage was weak. Crappy music. 5 minutes of race coverage. Hans Rey always had a segment. Nothing against Hans, he's a skilled travelled rider. Anybody that really rode wanted to be as far from that image as possible. "I saw a guy on tv bouncing on a picnic table. Do you do that?" Just wait, "I saw a guy jumping off a cliff. Do you do that?" It's coming, Dec 10th, tell your co-workers you're going for a ride... It is coverage, but it always seems to come at a price.

I'm riding 2 bikes, both hardtails. A steel hardtail w/150mm for jumping and dropping, with flats. My second bike is a SC Chameleon, setup kinda XC with 130mm, slightly longer stem, lighter weight parts, clipped in. It's far from an actual xc racer at around 25lbs. I use the clips and weight of this bike to do some crazy stuff trying to keep my speed up going downhill. Fun as is the key word there. I've owned 4 full sus bikes with 4 inches being the minimum. A few single pivots and a few linkage bikes. I raced bmx for years before moving to mountain bikes. I was a shop mechanic for around 10 years and had a chance to ride a number of different bikes, including a 2 downhill bikes that most people would sell a kidney to ride. They were great bikes and a blast to ride. It was super steep with shoots and rock gardens. But, I had more fun later in the day riding a 5" bike. I could flick it around. I had to pick my lines. The DH I had to figure out where to hit the brakes to make the turn. Why didn't I keep riding a full suspension? It was a toss up between an Specialized Enduro, SC Nomad or a Cotic BFe. I wanted something fun and different to ride. In one season, I have yet to see another Cotic. No pivots. No sag. The 150mm soaks alot up. I have to keep a rear end light. That might be why when I rode the 5" bike mentioned above, I felt like I was going faster, it skimmed all but the biggest bumps. The Cotic also comes in at under 29lbs. Doesn't climb like a goat, but I never need to push it uphill. I keep up nicely with my friends riding 6" full suspension carbon bikes, even on the downhills. I'll get a full suspension again one day, but for now, I'm having too much fun...

Are "Boris bikes" those sweet looking grey and blue "rent-a-bikes" or is that France? HAHA It takes more guts to bomb a "proper" trail with a hardtail. Oh yeah, what types of trails ARE there in London? I always thought it was quite flat. There's a river and a clock and a big building for parliment and the Queens house. Yeah, think the olympics were in a field 25 miles from London??? Oh, that had a hill!!! Sorry I doubted you man...cheers

That's what it is. Thanx.