Whistler Crankworx Dual Slalom 2019 practice

 Yeah, that was my first ride on them and I didn’t know how slow they were (I only put on the tires 36hrs before, and we didn’t know what the track was going to be like). I’ve been looking for 2009-2012 era Crossmax SX 26” wheels with the 44 point engagement rear hub — exactly what I want and need for this bike...light, stiff, era-correct-ish, and the right 20mm / 135mm axles. I also have some much lighter early maybe 2016 Maxxis EXO Max Terra tires for it now...the ones with the textured sidewall. It’s just been impossible to find a set of Crossmax SX’s or even 2016ish Crossmax XL’s in 26”. I have some 2015 Stans Flow wheels, but they’re not really stiff enough for me for dual slalom at 190 pounds (86kg) riding weight, at least relative to the current wheels and the Crossmax SX’s with their aluminum spokes and such. I tend to like era-correctness in general, unless I’m trying to win a race or something...otherwise I would upgrade everything until I wasn’t even on a rare large/long 2008 Turner 4X =).

But Mick Hannah was drooling over my wheels and XT 4-piston brakes when we were talking in line, and Thomas Slavik was utterly in love with my original Troy Lee Daytona helmet (yes, I intentionally rode old stuff, just for the fun and novelty of it, having last raced dual slalom at Whistler in 2000 — especially as I put the whole bike together in mid-2020 for about $1250 USD and didn’t want to blow much more for a bike I’ll ride once or twice a year. If dual slalom becomes more popular, I’ll probably get a proper new DS bike with We Are One carbon rims and all kinds of trick & light stuff on a Pivot 4X frame or something like a Santa Cruz 5010, depending on how the tracks are built).

 Here’s the 2000 Whistler dual slalom =). Went up there soon after graduating high school — my friends who came with knew nothing about my racing, so they were pretty amped up when the announcers and crowd in the village went nuts when I beat Shandro, haha.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/20234332

 And the monstrous Bikercross jumps at the same 2000 Whistler event:
www.pinkbike.com/photo/20234331

www.pinkbike.com/u/WRCDH/album/Whistler-Crankworx-Dual-Slalom-2019

 @WRCDH: haha I guess bikes have come a long way since that era! They need to add a classic MTB category to encourage more people to do what you did it’s sick :p

 @WRCDH: that’s pretty cool haha four years before I was even born!