Racing used to be a game of inches, nowadays it's a game of millimeters. World Cup mechanics are constantly looking for small advantages they can eke out of bikes to get them working that much better for their athletes. So, while pros bikes may look similar to the ones we ride, take a closer look at the set ups and you'll see a number of nifty hacks that are used to give them a competitive edge. Ten of our favorites are below.Wheel weightsIf you get a mountain bike wheel spinning fast enough, you'll sometimes start to see it wobble from slight deviations in the weight. For pro racers, this can be off-putting, especially when they're in the air. These deviations can come from manufacturing or, most likely, from the valve stem, so to keep their wheels running straight and true downhill racers use wheel weights to counterbalance any anomalies. For some, it's a case of simply glueing a bit of metal onto the wheel but others, such as Sam Blenkinsop, have had
a full, custom set of weights built to fine-tune the weight distribution.
Custom linksA linkage that works for us mortals may not be quite up to the task for the world's fastest racers. The one pictured above was produced by Devinci for Dakotah Norton and provided a bit more progression for the bigger hits he can expect at World Cup level. We've also seen a lot of custom links these past few seasons as teams try to get their heads around changing wheel sizes, especially when the mullet phase came in last year. The good news is, if custom links are successful, we very often see them trickle down into production eventually.
Customized CassettesGetting good gear spacing can be a case of personal preference for a lot of riders and so some of them will look outside the box for the perfect cassette. Road cassettes have much more tightly packed gears so can often provide better ratios for riders looking for downhill racers looking for slim advantages, on top of this, they can sometimes provide a straighter chainline that can improve reliability and suspension performance. This year we've seen everything from
4 to 8-speed cassettes cobbled together to get the chain line and ratios to match a rider's preference. The best bit of cassette tinkering still goes to the Athertons though and
their neutral gear system designed to eliminate pedal feedback.
Mix & match padsIn an effort to get the best of both worlds, some racers run mix and match pads in their brakes. Greg Minnaar, for example, has previously used one metal pad and one resin pad together. The metal pad sits on the side that receives best airflow for improved cooling (inside for front and outside for rear).
Data acquisitionYes, we may have Shockwiz and SussmyBike, but the kind of telemetry that World Cup racers are using is way out of reach of most mountain bikers. The Stendec kits that a lot of teams were running in 2019 uses an array of pressure, speed and acceleration sensors used to assess suspension action, braking, ride height, and weight distribution. It all adds up and Stendec claims the data, if interpreted correctly, can shave three to five seconds off a two minute track.
Custom noise dampening.A quiet bike is a fast bike or, at least, a quiet bike lets a racer push harder. One of the biggest trends in mountain bike racing in the past few years has been towards silent bikes, and it works too. Standing trackside now you'll no longer hear creaks, cracks and slaps; instead there's just the whir of a freehub and the thwap-thwap-thwap of rubber on root. A lot of production bikes do have molded chainstay protectors now but World Cup mechanics still go a step further and use folded inner tubes, rubber pillows or velcro to keep the bikes quiet enough to ride through a library.
Some mechanics take this a step further and fill frames with expanding foam to keep internally routed cables quiet. Be careful if you're doing this yourself though, when we
spoke to Brook MacDonald's mechanic he told us that he made a mess of his personal bike before he got the hang of the technique to try it on Brook's.
Cut spikesIf a tire's tread isn't quite suited to a rider's liking, the tire cutters will come out and it will get trimmed down to match their preferences. Most commonly, center knobs will be shaved to reduce the rolling resistance. This means a rider can stay on a tread pattern they're familiar with while keeping a tough carcass and cornering performance but still not feel held back on flatter, hardpack sections.
If you want to try this yourself, practice on an old tire or just buy a tire that's designed to replicate a cut-down spike, such as a Maxxis Shorty.
Brake and shifter grip tapeThere's nothing too technical behind this but a finger slipping off your brake lever or shifters could cost you the race. Most racers will put a thin strip of grip tape on the important controls to give a bit of extra purchase and ensure that no chances are taken.
246mm rotorsAs the wheels get bigger, the riders get bulkier and the speeds get higher on World Cup tracks, more stopping power is needed to keep it all under control. Galfer have been pushing the boundaries of rotor size recently and introduced this mammoth 246mm rotor to the front of Baptiste Pierron's bike this year. This is probably another bit of tech you can expect to trickle down soon but it will probably come to e-MTBs first as they need the extra stopping power more than a regular bike due to their extra mass.
Grip protectorsWith mechanics spending most of their days working on pros bikes, the chances of their greasy paws contaminating a rider's grips are fairly high. To combat this, most bikes will sit in the pits with a piece of branded fabric over the grips, keeping them pristine for when a rider hops on.
What I'm wondering though is, do the pros also run custom modded computer keyboards like us PB visitors? With macros for the TL;DW (too long, didn't write) comments like I am using?
www.pinkbike.com/news/aaron-chase-softtail-cannondale-bike-check-2008.html
Your welcome.
Your welcome.
I broke my freehub on a long ride and luckily I was almost at the top of. I just took my chain off as it was causing problems. It was downhill all the way and I would say my suspension never felt so good.
I think there is something to it.
Why does a ~23kg ebike (about 9kg heavier than a real mountain bike) need big brakes but an XL frame where the rider is likely 20+ kg heavier than a rider on a medium frame get the same sized brakes as a small frame?
Are ebike riders all huge fatties or is it just marketing bullshit?
But I'd say size-related brake systems, dropper posts and bar widths (together with adapted geometry, and leverage curves) would definitely be the way to go.
Or maybe it's a conspiracy by Big Bike to er...dick over heavy people for some reason?
I ride an ebike, I still have and use my regular bikes. One other thing is I've had an mtb since I was 13, I'm now 42.
So make of that as you will....
I guess it depends where you live. There are tons of people in my riding area that absolutely shred on e-bikes ( or any bike for that matter) on some pretty gnarly terrain.
Beginners would have a hard time comprehending that what they’re looking at is actually a ‘trail’ that can be ridden.
A few are Enduro pros. It just depends on what they feel like riding that day.
The latter you won't see being ridden very often but probably a big part of overall sales.
The WC racing game evolved so much it changed from imperial system to metric system. Now that's big improvement
Also if someone is riding on long trails that require lots of braking those rotors will also make sense. I remember one trip where my brakes overheated constantly just because the trails required a lot of brake use. So I get that you are the main apostle fighting against bike fashion but some new trends make sense if you know what you are doing.
However I don't even know one brand who makes MTB rotors who are not stainless. I know 3 brake manufacturers because I used their systems and all of them had laser or water cutting for their rotors. Trickstuff even grind down the edge to get the wheel faster back on and ofc you can't cut your hands. The intend rotors are also freaking great but cost also 100$ each.
Back in the day I melted a front and cracked a rear Stans Aluminum disk during a big decent during a long distance XC race.
Also: Definition of dampen
transitive verb
1: to check or diminish the activity or vigor of : DEADEN
the heat dampened our spirits
2: to make damp
the shower barely dampened the ground
Bikes carry humans weighing 120 lbs to 250+lbs and while weight what 15-20 more lbs than a regular bike? Why do we keep hearing about specific components needed for ebikes but not for the absolutely MASSIVE range of rider weights?
Not sure whether this would translate well from a 20mm Vittoria Pista CS at 180PSI to a 2.5" DHF at 22PSI or not . . .
All this said, I'm not sure what tire sealant is made of but it probably contains water. Especially the ones with latex will release water as it solidifies. So that defies the point of going with dried air (or nitrogen). I'm actually using Oko sealant which supposedly doesn't contain latex but I don't know what it does contain.
@PinkyScar: That's clever. The can inflate it with low pressure farts and ignite it in order to get the pressure up. In the context of what @just6979 mentioned, the challenge will be to get the air sufficiently dry. Temperature measurements will be more exciting though so for the sake of science this is the way to go.
Heck, I was even doing my own version of the specialized sine wave cushion pattern on my DH bike years ago using Suguru putty (boy do I wish I had an patent attorney buddy back then smh).
Grip tape and cut spikes are also stretches. Plenty of riders use grip tape and cut their own tires.
I think the big one you you missed were those bontrager resonance eliminates that the trek riders were using a few years back on their brake calipers. Also the quark wireless pressure monitors because those feel so far out of reach for the average rider. Even dentists.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/13405520
Moto foam?
Custom handlebars that look like the punter ones but are custom?
Custom shock valving?
Custom fork valving?
Custom pedal axle lengths?
Tubes... haha.
As to skill, me and my buddy followed folks on rental bikes in Hafjell. Normally we stop and wait, so we did that but we kept on catching up to them so we followed them for a minute: We got battered. It is amazing what sort of physical demands near constant braking poses on human body.
not all test beds are pro racers on the world cup circuit.
That’s basically fitness supplement and fat loss industry right there. I mean one telling you to purchase X amount of supplements instead of getting your shit together and educating yourself? Is that what you are postulating?
Shame that production DH bikes aren't optimised for racing though if that's true.
I guess the masses want a plush bike that makes things comfy, instead of progressive and un-bottom-out-able for going mach 10 through a boulder field
Anyone have more info on this?
Perhaps I should run a lowered Fox 49er....?
If they started from 203, they would need to add 43, which means they stopped at 220 or 223 in the middle? If started from 200 and added 23 twice, well that's stupid because 200 is already nice and even and part of the 140/160/180/200/220 line instead of 160/183/203 (which still has inconsistent gaps!)
Secret behind Aaron Gwin's and Neko Mulallys succesful chainless runs in part revealed..
what about the zip ties around the bottom bracket and to rear brake line with a frame tie 2 inches away?
They release a product pretty soon
Suddenly a 246mm rotor doesnt sound so crazy anymore, does it?
It does, however, make a difference with brake chatter.