DH Finals - With Margus Riga - Sea Otter 2013

 You know you all wanted to go and watch it now... So here ya go, thank me later.

www.pinkbike.com/news/Im-Faster-Than-You-video-2013.html

 The whole thing about wheel size, is not about wheel size, but about a track! When someone wins at Champery on 29er, then I will think about it. Till then we have nothing to talk about...

 WAGWININING, this whole 29" thing sucks! PLEASE DON'T TAME THE TRACKS ! (in the name of """"EVOLUTION"""")

 What, do you guys want it like Nascar where everyone has to run basically the same machine even exact same geometry?? Why do you care what wheel size people are running?? Let them run what they want!! I race Cat 1 here in CO and will be aboard my 26 DH bike for most events, but I already know of atleast 2 races this season where my 29er trail bike will at least be tested on practice runs

In a style of racing where .5psi in your tires can get you the hundredth of a second you need, you can't blame these guys for trying any bike they have access to for any advantage.

Now quit complaining and go ride whichever wheel size you have and let others ride what they want.

 Bitch about the course, not the bikes used on it. We should all want to see people shredding down the course on whatever bike makes them go fastest. If you want more gnar, then what you should be criticizing is the location or track design, not the bike.

 Amen to that! Let everyone ride what he wants and what is the best choice for each track! I've got the same opinion. What I'm trying to say is, that if there are races where 29 trail bike is better than proper DH machine, then this trail maybe isn't proper DH track. That's the point I'm missing in a discussion. We are talking about banning bigger wheels... shit! We should be talking about why are these tracks in a Downhill World Cup! And to be clear: I don't have my opinion for this case. I'm not a world cup racer. Maybe it's good that these tracks are different. Or maybe they should be replaced by real DH tracks... I don't know. And that's why I'm missing this point...

 Dude this is the Sea Otter CLASSIC man GTFO with "this trail maybe isn't a proper DH track". Bet you couldnt even get to the finish line with a proper DH machine.

 Gwin went 29er so I did too... just kidding I did it first!

 The Sea Otter DH race is not a World Cup event. lol

 I of course know that Sea Otter isn't World Cup event... I just didn't want to wait. But ok, this discussion doesn't belong to this article. I will save my words for Pietermaritzburg...

 its all the course. you dont see Bode Miller rocking some k2 hellbents in races. yeah the hellbents are a lot cooler then racing skis, but you win on racing skis....its whatever is fastest not whats the most evolutionary or the newest. their sponsers want wins that it.

 so I guess its OK to ride a psycho-cross bike in the XC catagory now that there are NO RULES NO PROBLEM. ABSOLUTE BULL SHIT

 i still don't consider this a win for 29ers. few micro seconds between a 29 short travel (pedal machine) vs a V10 on 26. Both riders are "equals" IMO.
sorry 29er, first hypothesis H0 -> 29er > 26er rejected. I'll wait for a proof of a really significant advantage before i lose all the playfulness of my bike to gain seconds.
kiding, I already sold my 29er and won't get there again.

 LOOK AT WHAT I CAUSED... You bunch of sheep, any time you here anything about wheel size you shoot up like a dogs red rocket and appear to be experts in the field of bike design.

 @spearman

U just made a good day better!
Funny as sh!t

 Homophobia... Cool.

 just because someone voices their opinion behind their computer screen on a well known topic within the bike scene.....doesn't make them an expert....or sheep not the first or last 29er debate here on pb welcome to the internet...

 This isnt a dh race or a rough track. Any bike could make that corse look easy. Put 75" wheels on next year and staple a pizza to your ass gwin. Sea otter more of a product layout for the gear queerheads that spend 10k every season. Need to show the 29ers are cool because that where companies investing and looking to make bank. Next year they should have the jackass crew enter the race and call it Clubbing Sea Otters.

 That's what I was thinking, Gwin winning by a small margin on a flightweight 29er, against guys on full dh bikes ... cause for alarm?

 Nice to see the "old" guys, CG and Peaty who have killer style and insane speed, kicking the crap out of the new "kids"!

 especally after that terrible crash that sidelined him last year. The stash is a class act

 Probably privateers who just dont have enough money for a DH and enduro bike

 but Minnaar and Gee ?? well i guess they arent privateers

 testing their DH rigs perhaps. especially gee's prototype

 I'm with you -- it's great! I just wish I could find a photo of my first-turn, dead-last crash.

 just gonna leave this here:

www.pinkbike.com/video/231034

 "Decided" or was forcibly encouraged to for marketing potential

Lopes would be fast on a unicycle

 that video looked like he was on a HD not a Ripley.

 i prefer a 26 for fun. but hell, on this course, i would opt for a 29'er as well. weeee, look ma, super d!

 Are you insane? If anything the times prove that wheelsize makes no difference at all.

 It shows they make no difference on a smooth course. It tells us nothing about what happens on a technical track. The track where a 29er won a few days ago was quite a bit more technical, and a far less typical winner won. I am not saying 29ers are for sure faster on the rough stuff, but maybe we'll see just that, maybe not.

 It's a theoretical advantage but it also has very real disadvantages. I doubt that real dh-tracks like fort william or val di sole will be won on a 29er. Maybe 650b but that's so close to 26 that it shouldn't say much about the wheelsize.

 The top 20 is amazing and a testament to what an amazing thing it is to have such capable bikes to ride. The top 20 was almost a 50/50 split...(11), "Big Wheeled" bikes and (9), 26" bikes.

It's just a testamanet to how lucky we are to have such a range of amazing bikes to choose from. The variety of bikes in the top 20 is a testament to fact that anyone can find a bike that almost perfectly suits their skills, riding style, and terrain.

A few short years ago, this race was run almost exclusivley on full-on DH bikes. Then a couple years ago, the most capable AM bikes started to be faster than the DH bikes...now we've got incredibly capable 29er's and 650b bikes that can outrun almost anything.

As a full-on DH course, Sea Otter might not stack up. But, as a proving ground for the bikes that the majority of mountain bikers ride...it's an amazing testament to the evolution of the mountain bike.

With such amazingly capable bikes to choose from...the future of mountain biking looks bright.

 The pics would suggest there was only one woman there so...

 no but there was more than one woman racing

 Yeah - Neko. And banger job for the young American. Neko has quietly been improving and climbing the ranks. I look forward to seeing him do well this year and stay on the bike. But for his crashes he would have been top 20 overall last year, with a 14th in SA and I think 19th somewhere else. I hope he gets a little more recognition this year