Gee Atherton US Open Course Run - Video

May 27, 2011
by CONTOUR Cameras  
We stuck a Contour+ on Gee Atherton on day 2 of practice at the US Open. This is what it's like to go really freakin' fast.



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114 Comments
  • 136 7
 Not much of an advert for Contour, that wind noise is awful! I'll stick to my GoPro thanks.
  • 78 2
 I think that Contour with its cameras has managed to simulate the sound of an F-16 on a bike.
  • 21 68
flag rydindirty (May 27, 2011 at 12:04) (Below Threshold)
 find something else to complain about for christ sakes...
  • 13 74
flag cGonzalez (May 27, 2011 at 12:13) (Below Threshold)
 the contours is better then the gopro video of this course...
  • 14 2
 yeah that cos they used a terrible chest mount which just bounced around everywhere on the gopro video, if they had used a helmet mount it would have looked much smoother
  • 20 7
 then they ran the chest mount too loose...GoPro owns the shit out of Contour anyday!
  • 8 1
 that's the first thing i noticed: the awful wind noise. my gopro would never do that. lemme upload my video when i was at the back of a truck hauling bikes at steam boat in invermere/radium at 70 kph! you wouldn't hear anything like this. no wonder gopro keeps yakking about how good their sound is coz it probably is.
  • 1 0
 yeah if you use the non water proof rear door housing there is little wind noise but if you use the waterproof housing there is noise for sure. Check my profile for an uploaded vid from Sun Peaks last year. It has the waterproof door on and you can hear the noise easily lol (was borrowing a friends GoPro at the time and didn't know about the non waterproof door option).
  • 21 2
 @mozarle

Are you kidding? F-16s dont sound like that at all idiot... F-16s are way quieter... =P
  • 11 3
 Ill take that over the constant click of every gopro footage I have ever seen.
  • 4 3
 www.pinkbike.com/video/198899

yea gopro totally owns contour...
  • 3 1
 I'm getting one of the new 1080p HD GoPros so that's good news
  • 1 1
 GOPRO owns! www.pinkbike.com/video/198584

www.pinkbike.com/video/187328
  • 8 0
 Using cool after effects, doesn't make the camera better. It just means you can polish a turd. (nice edit btw)
  • 3 0
 Hey dude, don't mean to be rude, the video is great, but that's not dubstep.
  • 4 1
 why does everyone start arguing over helmet cams whenever a course vid is posted. is there not a forum thread for you guys to bicker about which one to get? that course looks like a lot of fun... if you're into the whole rock-garden-till-bust thing.
  • 2 0
 you guys do realize go pros are encased in a plastic box, which is why there is little to no wind noise
  • 1 0
 I have a standard GoPro and the camera still picks up noise very well whilst in its little case. You can hear talking and the crashing waves. You can even hear the waves crashing under the water!!! Although it doesn't make sense, I don't think the case does much to stop noise at all.
  • 1 0
 yeah i agree f-16 dont sound like that. but i dont agree that they sound quieter hahaha i should know, i see them birds everyday haha hoo-ahh!
  • 34 0
 I think the wind noise is just the regular noise that Gee makes when he rides.
  • 20 0
 We're seeing less and less of those insane-o rock gardens in racing. It's cool that the US Open has a fairly technical course.
  • 2 5
 yeah instead of just balls out riding
my first thought was it looks a good track

and then i laughed that gee cant go out the start gate straight Big Grin
  • 1 0
 diablo has rocks for days
  • 7 0
 Having ridden there for 10+ years, it's humbling to see that mountain ridden so fast. Great to see some of the classic Mountain Creek trails cut back in the day by Clayton and crew get used for the race.
  • 4 0
 so it is tricky? he makes it look really easy - typical
haha
  • 4 0
 It can be very tough to carry enough momentum to get thru a rocky section there. It also hurts alot to fall at Diablo
  • 2 0
 that makes sense with the size of the boulders and that
  • 7 0
 go pro vs contour....matter of preference what we can all agree on is simply that Gee is THE MAN!
  • 4 1
 dont know the course.. Gee seems slow.. so it must be Damn hard! respect it's a race course in 2011...tech is good! as for the camera... crikey the noise is shite... worse than my old POV... I'm with the go Pro boys...
  • 2 0
 Helmet cams seem to take away the sense of speed a bit. I have helmet footage from bombing down hardscrabble in eagle co and I was on the ragged edge . On playback it looked like i was going for a sunday ride in the park. Chest cam seems to bring the speed back to the viewer better i think. It was Gee so you know it was fast Smile
  • 1 0
 Agree. Cameras mounted in eye level or above dramatically reduce perception of speed. The lower your cam is the faster it will look on video. Also wide angle lenses show much more that rider actually sees while going fast down the trail. My guess is that if you mount your helmetcam somewhere just below the stem it should result in much more closer to real life experience on video output.

Ultra-wide angle cam + helmet mount = no speed at all
  • 5 0
 I read on FB that Gee's running an inverted Fox 40..? Anyone?
  • 3 0
 I think its just the damper that is inverted.
  • 2 0
 The rumors are saying Dorado/Shiver status inverted - the inverted damper isn't news.
  • 1 2
 yer ive heard tht rumour too but wen u try to find pages on theyve all be deleted, but if u pause tht vid at the right moment you can see he's running normal 40s
  • 17 0
 Joey, GET A LIFE.
  • 1 0
 Or u could just look at the photos of him in the other us open post lol
  • 2 0
 Dunbar Cycles:
Rumours are flying about Gee running an inverted 40 at the US open. We'll try to get you some pics!!

Dean Tennant:
i saw he had it for like one run, now he's back to running a regular 40 again.
  • 8 1
 I heard they're calling it the Fox Gullible...
  • 1 0
 Check the fox prototype article champ.
  • 1 0
 Yer wow I can't believe they've actually made one! Great innovation from Fox, glad to see radical new designs are being tested again since all the upgrades in technologies elsewhere.
  • 1 0
 Here's a link about Gee running inverted Fox forks... www.pinkbike.com/news/Fox-Prototype-Inverted-DH-fork-World-Exclusive.html

Hope it helps Smile !
  • 1 0
 Started watching, was thinking "Oh, this rock section looks like a good contender to the 'infamous' one over at Gethin, then it just kept going and going! Looks so awesome, Gee seems to just float over them. Be interesting to ride this!
  • 1 0
 diablo has trails that are full of rocks .
  • 1 0
 seems like this just goes to show why Go-Pro is better-less wind noise(two different types of cases so you can get better sound in diff situations) and way better quality fps and rendering from what it looks like....the vid just seemed to choppy ya know
  • 1 0
 because this sounds like your going through a war zone. and the go pro is just amazing, good footy and none of that awful wind sound, so you did not state a fact you made your self look like a dumb ass Smile
  • 4 0
 I like the way they've edited one of the sections... lol?!
  • 3 0
 looked like a fast tree coming at gee to me
  • 3 0
 holy butt hole that was fast
  • 3 0
 Does he see in slow mo???
  • 3 0
 some of those trails look narrow as fuck. props.
  • 2 0
 wonder how many will get taken out by narro wtrees and wide bars
  • 1 0
 those rock gardens look a bit tasty dont they!!!!!
i wish i could ride half as good as this with or without contour/go pro i wouldnt really care ahahahaha!
  • 1 1
 that must have been fast as Contours make you look slow as hell in real life when mounted on a helmet...and how rocky is that course!?
  • 2 0
 i like the part where he turned on his afterburners
  • 2 0
 The upper Part is such a funny course for a hardtail Big Grin
  • 1 0
 yo people, if you're bothered about the F16 , theres a mute button in the bottom right corner! Big Grin
  • 1 0
 he makes it look sooo easy...I was only 54 seconds behind him...he went to get coffee in the meantime
  • 1 0
 Yah he really does make it look pretty dang simple. He's definitely a graceful rider. Being graceful AND fast is rare, but a pleasure to watch.
  • 2 0
 ye .. that was pretty damn fast, jus floated over the rocky sections ...
  • 2 0
 That's a hell of a rock section in that track ha ha.
  • 2 0
 amazingly fast run.very humbling.
  • 2 0
 Damn really liked that wind sound track, really soothing
  • 2 0
 ...mute the sound, drop good tune...Enjoy SICK riding.
  • 1 0
 The video is pretty cool, but not the greatest choice in camera, the sound from the vid is really annoying -.-
  • 1 0
 "This is what it's like to go really freakin' fast" Wink

Props to Gee, I will never go that fast...
  • 1 0
 It's amazing that they got a plane to fly over him the entire time he was riding.
  • 1 0
 that man is such a machine
  • 1 0
 Gee is really good at flat turns ive noticed
  • 1 0
 somebody tell me about this inverted fox 40!
  • 1 1
 yeah, and whats the advantage of inverting it anyway, surely its just the same thing going on? Personally, I prefer the look of normal forks, but i guess if these work better then fair enough...
  • 2 0
 The basic idea is that the oil and other such lubricants drain into the area in which the travel is being used and therefore increase performance.
  • 2 0
 and coz the upper legs are larger than the lower legs/stanchions, its much stiffer vs a normal MTB fork.
  • 1 0
 ahh right, thanks guys. wouldnt your stanchions get wrecked really quickly though?
  • 3 0
 not with guards, no. if they made a full wrap around guard to hide the stanchion completely that'd be ideal... they only seem to make ones covering the front though... no idea why!
  • 2 0
 nope. They look like MX forks- plastic guards covering the stanchions
  • 2 0
 its because generally the rear of your stanchions wont get hit by sticks err sticking out and such, normally just the front i need to make some guards for mine they do take some beating though hard anodized
  • 3 0
 Inverted forks are more sensitive with heavier springs, this is due to the reduction in unsprung weight.
  • 1 0
 that ^ and nothing else!
  • 2 0
 timfrancis...
I guess 'cos rocks and stuff don't normally hit the fork from the back... but more probably so they don't trap water/mud etc. This debate's been around with motos for years. USD (upside down) forks are more rigid fore/aft but twistier (eg. when you turn the bars) because of the lack of an arch. RWU (right way up) forks are less rigid but some argue that the travel is smoother. If one's better than the other damping wise I don't know.
  • 2 0
 mm... Im thinking for all the times your transporting you bike or on an up lift, as well as the freak rock or tree branch to take a chunk off your lovely new fork... surely they could use a wrap around, with mesh holes in the bottom for drainage/mud prevention? not gona start questioning stiffness, I don't know enough about all that. its an interesting topic though.
  • 1 1
 GoPro camera are way better than this, Contour camera are so ''shackkky'' . No comments about sounds on Contour.......
  • 1 1
 you think this is shacky? have you seen the go pro video of this course? haha
www.pinkbike.com/video/198899
  • 1 0
 Sam should be here , he rocks in rocks!
  • 1 0
 i have contourHD and this camera is the best
  • 1 0
 i think i will stick to my gopro thanks Smile
  • 1 0
 ok your welcome
  • 1 0
 Thank god hes finally using his contour
  • 1 0
 i rode with gee today. its not an inverted 40.
  • 1 0
 man he cuts prrty close to those trees eh
  • 1 0
 THE COURSE WAS NASTY!!! LOTS OF PEOPLE DOWN!!!
  • 1 0
 seems like a great course to run 32 inch bars..
  • 1 0
 sick
  • 1 0
 looks like fuuun
  • 1 0
 Where is the video
  • 1 0
 How many rocks?
  • 4 0
 i counted 152
  • 1 0
 rockgnarly track !!!
  • 5 7
 Major event or not, if I was a racer of that caliber I would not be stoked to race that course, looks boring like crazy.
  • 6 5
 1) get your head out your arse
2) ride that course
3) realise how stupid you sound
  • 8 2
 Oh sorry, I forgot for a moment there that I wasn't entitled to my own opinion. My bad.
  • 4 0
 Opinions aren't allowed on this site, unless it has to do with how awesome Xbox is, or Brian Lopes. Read the fine print "nateb"... Frig.
  • 1 0
 Having been to the Open a few years ago and yes I know parts have changed, I can say that the course is tough and that is primarily due to all the rocks. The lack of vertical/steeps is more than made up for in the amount of big ass rocks on course. Rode the old course and I sucked at carrying speed in these sections, but the pros are good for a reason as they win on what ever is thrown at them and $5000 helps too.
  • 2 0
 Again, it's personal opinion I guess, but to me making up for a lack of vert and interesting natural terrain by riding over thousands of large rocks for a few minutes does not compute. Perhaps it's because I have been fortunate enough to crawl out of my momma in a part of the world that has no lack of vert or fun natural terrain to ride. To me that course just looks frustrating. Nothing about what I said implies the pros aren't incredibly fast, whatever the terrain may be. I'm sure they make this look easy.
  • 2 0
 I just want to see photos of the alleged Inverted Fox 40...
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