Aaron Gwin Wins DH on a 29er - Jill Kintner Wins on a 650B - Sea Otter 2013

 So would you rather wait until tomorrow to know who won when we take the time to put a full post together? We do quick recap with 2 photos so we can announce who won the race... it's not supposed to be a photo feature....

 just call me the new protour

 With the top 6 men coming in within .5 of a second he's not exactly dominating yet...

 @devinallan000x or we could just call you a bitch

 It's a two minute course, I'm surprised the times weren't closer!

 Danny Hart 28th? Da fuq?

 Full Report says 'Danny decided to ride a Taco down today's track, while Sam Hill used a WalMart trolley painted Monster Green' Not a credible source

 Yaa! Close call indeed. Top 6 are all 0.400ths of a second within each other... Crazy!

 Man I was right there filming...he's so fast!!! Best birthday ever.

 It's sea otter. guaranteed Hard and Hill didn't relly give a flying fk about the flat jump course, the thing is a glorified super-d . At least thats what I'm hoping for.

 How old are Lopes and Gracia now and they showed up all these young blokes? Not to mention Peaty too and on such a pedally course. Looks like Stevie Smith has upped his fitness. With the Worlds in South Africa being a pedally course too this could be a good example of what those results might look like. Onya sick Mick.

 Chopper- the time sheet has their ages to the right of their names... and apparently Richie Rude is 94 years old, hahaha.

 Top 5 all within 0.3 of a second ... and you expected it to be closer!?

Danny Hart/Sam Hill, clearly taking the opportunity to bust some whips for the crowd!

 All he does is Gwin Gwin Gwin no matter what!

 Is it just me or is everyone else over all this wheel size talk ? The UCI need to make DH racing one size wheel and thats it, racheal atherton was right DH is all about the rough stuff, no point trying to smooth it out with bigger wheels!!!

 If they want to use bigger wheels to smooth it out let them and then make the courses gnarlier

 I just uploaded some clips of all the pro guys riding, check it out.

 how could someone hat gwin?

 maybe he's starting to go bald?

 Richie Rude is abit old for racing at top 15 spots.

 I think my golf cart could make it "down" that hill. What happens monday a.m. at sea otter when everyone sober up and realize season hasnt even started yet?

 It ain't a DH bike if you can put 29" tires on it

 Steve Smith...good start. But Im pretty sure theres no Bevelstoke or Nanino in BC

 Looks like Gwin learned something after Mitch roasted him on a 29er at the last GRT. May the best rider/bike combo win.

 It's not a DH bike if you can buy it 'off the rack' in the trail bike section of your LBS

 A win on a 29er UCI wont be happy I foresee a ban

 the all "29er" story gets me bored... who cares?

 im not sure where the resistance to 29ers in DH comes from? the technology and money has shifted from DH to Enduro. every company out there is exploring every option to make their Enduro bikes faster. now because of such rapid improvements these trail bikes are becoming more capable than most DH bikes in a variety of situations. While a full DH race bike will have a clear advantage on some tracks (every one of the world cups for sure) its just not necessary anymore to have such a big bike as it would have been years ago.Tracks aren't changing. The bikes are improving. How is this bad?

Im sure someone tried to ban suspension on top level "Mountain bikes" in he 90s when suspension was first invented because it was an unfair advantage. 6 inches used to be over kill and unnecessary. Or it made things too easy. why cant we just embrace innovation and use our money as a vote to tell the companies what we want? They will only make bikes that people buy.

 If every dh racer has to now take 3 diff bikes to cater for each wheel size to every event then the cost of racing will become outrageously expensive.. It will then become a money thing, you should expect to see big brands do well and small brands pull out of dh all together...

Just look at the "evolution" of motogp the last few years and the efforts they're going to to reduce costs....

 Well said.

 you and I dont have to buy 3 bikes, but i am certain aaron gwin could have 10 bikes if he was so inclined. professionals might be the only ones capable of benefitting from such a choice, but who better to have the choice?! im happy with my 26 wheels, but that doesnt mean gwin will be slowed down at sea otter because specialized cant afford to give him the bike he requires.

 You're missing the point hermit, Motogp has gotten so expensive that two of the worlds largest manufacturers are not represented. Having so many variables is not conducive to good racing, that'd be like formula one cars being allowed to run different size engines...

 First off... That's not what it means at all.. it means that if you want to race a 29'er, bring your 29'er. If you want to race a 26", bring it... If you have only one bike, ride the hell out of it and don't worry about the wheel size. Now, setting that aside, privateers aren't winning now so it changes nothing. All the top teams, the teams who are fighting for wins now, can easily afford to get a selection of wheels and frames from their sponsors and it won't be giving any of the teams a competitive advantage based on finances.

Beyond that, there's already a huge gap in finances... you don't think that a full factory team that can afford putting on brand new hand cut rubber every run has a huge advantage over a privateer who's been racing on the same tires for four weekends, regardless of wheel size??? You don't think that the teams who can afford data acquisition sessions with their riders and suspension developers to dial in bike performance has a huge advantage over a rider who pulls a RC4 out of the box and slaps it on his bike? There will always be financial limitations but that shouldn't limit the progress of racing. Choosing 29'ers will cost some riders victory at some races and will bring some riders victory at other races. The point is that the choice is a good thing, whatever you prefer in the end the option is good.

 Pretty sure Gwin already has the bikes. He just didn't race them before. I mean how many vids have you see of Gracia on his Tallboy or Peat on his Chameleon?

 I know, I saw every pro go down the first part of the course, props to Elliot Jackson, threw an extremely steezy whip, ill upload a vid of it tonight, the race was awesome regardless of who won its a blast to see all those pros in person

 TO EVERYONE WHO REPLIED TO THIS....READ THE FIRST COMMENT ABOUT PANTIES IN A BUNCH YOU DAMN HYPOCRITES.

 I agree, and the comparisons to motoGP are both ridiculous and irrelevant. Gwin beat a racer on 26" he usually beats, and by only 1/100th of a second, so you can obviously still be competitive on a 26" wheels, especially on a real World Cup DH track.

 Exactly, this course does not need 8 inches of travel and has no technical rock sections, I have no problem with riders riding bikes that they feel comfortable on in different courses..if I were a pro I would use whichever bike felt the best on the course and could get me to the bottom fastest

 protour amazingly posted something relevant. you're the one trying to start a shit show if anything....

 I knew the wheelsize-f*ggotry will be exploited by our fellow marketing-"journalists"

 Yeah cos 29er are only ridden by lycra clad road fags...! Oh no wait, I'm not a homophobe. Or an idiot.

This is not an out-and-out DH course - even if it is 'down' the 'hill' so why shouldn't they use a more or less appropriate bike? Is Sea Otter a UCI sanctioned event?

Even if this kind of trend did mean that racer had to keep a stable of different wheel-sized bikes it wouldn't mean that they would have to take each bike to ALL the races - just the ones that are appropriate. Much in the same way the pros probably don't take their road bikes to the races because they don't need them there for training.

Badbadleroybrown's point about privteers not winning is absolutely on the mark - nothing changes and that's fine. There is no industry consipiracy to take your 26ers away. Most people in the industry love and want to ride their bikes just the same as you. As we saw in the video that came out with Santa Cruz's Bronson; they released that bike due to customer demand.

 Funfact: the times rather disprove that the wheelsize has any measureable effect on the race-outcome. Minaar is basically right behind on a full-blown dh -rig and one week before cunningham wanted to convince us that 650b would make up seconds. Lol

 Im with ad15 on this. One wheel size is fine. It should be about rider skill and not who picked the right wheel size. More wheelsizes means it will be more annoying for amateurs with small budget trying to go pro. If we want more people entering this sport it should be easier not harder.

 Protour, if Gwin was on a 26 he might not have won...we will never know wether it was skill or wheel size. at least if everyone races on the same wheel size then that is one variable out of the window, it is the same reason that rally cars are restricted to a certain engine size, it's the same reason that olympic sailing uses one design class racing,, so its about the talent of the racer, not how much money they have.

 Get your shit together: The six fastest riders where all in the same second with 650b, 26, 29, enduro, trail- and dh-bikes. To say wheelsize has a measureable effect on the outcome of that race is ridiculous and you know it.

do you think gwin won because he's gwin or because he's on a 29er? Minaar being just fractions of a second behind him on a 26 V10 means either that minaar is fit like hell or 29 is bad.

 Jesus christ... shut the f*ck up tabletop. We get it, you don't think big wheels mean anything. Reality check, you're a keyboard warrior who thinks he has a clue but the best riders in the world are choosing to ride the big wheels which means that they feel there is some advantage to be had. Given that a typically very close race was made closer by several riders opting for big wheels, I think it's pretty obvious... Who's to say Minaar wouldn't have won by a full second if everyone was on 26" wheels... or that he wouldn't have still won by a second if he was on 29" wheels like Gracia, or 27.5" wheels like Peaty... if your head is so far up your own ass that you can't see the correlation and just want to pretend it's "ridiculous', well then cheers... enjoy the view. The rest of us are out riding big wheels laughing at you.

 Also though, it's important to bare in mind that there are of course infitinite other external and internal factors which either can or can't be measured, like the racers' positions in their training schedule, their ability to pedal vs descend (not mutually exclusive, I know), their mood on the day, their 'comfortability' on a new bike and/or in a new team, etc... Who's to say that Gwin wasn't having shit day and not have smoked the competition by further seconds had the race not been held the next day?

My point being that, as XC showed, it wasn't one victory that made 29 the go-to wheel size, but a series of wins, so no we won't we be able to tell from this race what the best wheel-size is for mountain biking in general (if there is such a thing) but we can take a guess that on a fairly flat course with not to much tech and turns with lots of pedalling, that a larger wheel size is going to be preferable.

I'm super interested to see how the pros approach South Africa this year.

 @badbadleroybrown

helloooo sheeple. LoL @ "what the best riders in the world choose" - does 'marketing' ring a bell or are you completely oblivious?

And so far Gwin won vs. 26 in fractions of a second - that's a few inches difference so maybe wheelsize might have something to do with it...

 Hate to blow your hole world apart tabletop, but race results ARE marketing.

 they may be exploited by marketing but what makes a race result is the technical ability and the physical fitness paired with the mental attidude of an athlete. Not so much a bike or even an energy drink if you mixed that up.

 Well didn't Graves win on his 4x bike last time? I think for such courses it doesn't really matter how big your bike is as long as you can handle it. Sometimes it seems to be wise to stick with short travel or in this case with bigger wheels. Kinda reminds me of everyones special features back in Canberra

 Yeah, and I still wouldn't buy one

 yeah a DH race. on a non-DH course. lame sauce

 TG-air, best answer on PB

 Killer toys that in less than five years we will have to finance in order to purchase. Or randomly have 10K on us.

 because some people need to know that the money they lost selling the 6 month old 26er they had to buy the 29er they have just sold at a huge loss to get their new 650b bike was worth it. fashion is expensive people.

 @b45her - best reply on PB ever!

 b45her great answer. 100% of new wheel-size haters on here.

 It's because people like to put themselves into sects and tribes and argue over things that don't really matter. I ride a 29er. If you ride a 26er, nice. If you ride a 650b? I want a go, I haven't ridden one yet.

 Do it, the climbing and acceleration are both really worth it

 yeh what happened there.......

 LMAO. Yeah... cause Canberra is soooo challenging.

 Also a POS track. No arguments here

 They shouldn't call tracks like this DH, maybe call it a wannabe DH.

 Maybe they should have DH Beachcruiser class !

 If you would have been there you would of had fun on any bike you brought. Course was fun and so was the atmosphere!!!!!

 NOOO we must argue angrily over 3 inches of wheel diameter!!!!!!!!!!

 Of course the real issue is spoke count ......... 28 32 36 or 48

 Next, it will be the color of your paint job. Flashy gold or ninja black...

 Because people are worried all the pros will go 29er, or 650b, or 28.25 or whatever's new, and can't be seen riding a bike that the pros aren't riding!

 Gwin ran multiple practice runs on 3 different bikes.

 Then why were all the pics from practice of him on the 29" Enduro?

 I haven't seen "all" the practice pics but my good friend who's a Trek Pro 'Eye' witnessed him trying multiple bikes in practice runs.

 ah your friend. of course.

 Mick Hannah was on a 650b... who's to say that .010 didn't come directly from the difference in wheel size?

 True enough. Or tire pressures for that matter. Too many variables to say that the wheel size made him. I'm curious if Gwin chose the 29er or was told to ride it.

 @badbad are you sure sikmik was on 650b? i heard from factory guys it's not race ready yet, sikmik is using standar 26" polygon TX..

 Just before the race I saw shots of the prototype 650b that he was supposed to be riding.. full carbon, I think it was called the Orion or something like that. I haven't seen the actual race so I'm not 100% sure that what he rode. It's possible he changed his mind at the last minute but I don't know for sure either way.

Edit - Here you go www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/2013-Sea-Otter-Classic-Pit-Bits-1st-Edition,5449/Mick-Hannahs-Full-Carbon-Prototype-650B-Enduro-Bike-Sea-Otter-Classic-Pit-Bits,53974/bturman,109

 Mick's 650B is a nice looking bike... I want one.Thanks for the pic link Leroy.

 Spesh couldn't lose here. Even if he didn't win, they can still spin it as an all-mountain bike taking on DH.

 Gwin knows he won't win anymore world cups so he gave it everything he had at a race he knew no one was trying at. Take one win early bin the season to feel good.

 I'll take that wager, sir.

 yup Stevie right there. wicked racing

 No clue what he raced on but I did see a video of him riding a Bronson in practice at some point.

 nevermind, i just saw the post of him racing the v10. mad props!!

 LOL

 HAHAHAHA

Why would someone neg prop Stuuriaan??? Sorry bud, but if I could I'd prop you up to +100 to make up for these kids.

 ^you are the medic. You should have these skills by now.

 Crashed on the last corner

 gRacia

 Maybe you should stop worrying about what others are worrying about and focus on your own riding skills.

 Maybe you shouldnt worry about me worrying about what others are worrying about and focus.... ok this could go on forever. All im saying is I feel like people are becoming preocupied with how a 1 and a half inch or 3 inch change on their wheels are going to make them win races all of a sudden just because gwin, ropelato and other top people are winning on them. These pros are already fast and most likely would have won on a 26er too.

 Just FYI, posting something that actually makes sense will get you neg propped here. I gave you back a + since you are actually right. The "more nimble, funner, better handling" bike (AKA 26") should have won if the 26 actually has those advantages. It simply doesn't no matter what the kids want to believe. Spesh hired Gwin to promote the 29er in DH. They publicly bashed 650b, so they needed a big gun who could win on anything (29er designed DH by Spesh will probably work really well anyway.)

 Headshot, I hear what you're saying. My experience with the 29" wheels was that it was the smooth pedally sections where I had the advantage over the other guys in the group. Even much fitter guys had to put out more to maintain. I agree that this course was inconclusive for the debate (if there's even a conclusion...). With such an array of bike styles ridden against each other and the results being so incredibly close, I'm even more inclined to dismiss the hype over wheel size. Hardly an evolution with those margins eh? More like just another option. Logically speaking, different geometry should shine on different tracks. I'm interested to see the results come in over the next year.
Stoked to see the trails drying up around here!

 yeah wonder why people choose not to discuss about it. i'm super curious about what kind of bike sik mik used this time, he's so good with his new bikes

 42 and 39 years old... much respect

 29ers have been around for over ten years. It took this long for someone to win dh with them.

 Tbang..got the point, it start with Gary Fisher back in 70s , 40 years until now ... ! Gwin is the man even on a "big wheel"

 Do you honestly think they worked themselves into the position they are do someone else can tell them what bike to ride at which race? Get back under your rock. Each rider chose their ride.

 And you've been there?

 Yes, I have, in 2006, last time in 2008, and solidly 'Super-D' by definition as well with the short uphill sections, albiet a short one as defined by the avg ET. ;-)

 No Anne-Caroline though, bummer...

 They don't need a different class. Most of the world is OK with progression. Its just the kids who don't want their current components (26") more closely resembling Wal Mart bikes than a modern race bike who are upset by the progression. They tried every lame argument out there to maintain the illusion that what they currently own is better than the newer designs, and are on their last argument: "Its the lame course's fault my old standard equipment got beat!!!!" Its really quite sad. The same arguments happened over front suspension, rear suspension, aluminum frames, carbon frames, disc brakes, and its now wheel size. Look at the bikes in thread on the 1996 WC event. If bikes didn't change incrementally, we would still be riding those old designs.

 +1to you!