Interbike - Dirt Demo Day 2

Unlike the Day one, Day two started off with an hour line up for the shuttle bus which would take us to Bootleg Canyon. We should have known right away this meant less demo bikes available and longer waits

It’s 10 minute walk from the bus drop off to the main expo area and on the way the road is littered with various companies who cater to the road riding crowd. One of the companies is Scott bikes, and among the many skinny tired bikes there were a few out of placed rigs in their line up.


The new Scott High Octane is the latest offering into the freeride category. First thing to catch the eye on this bike is the carbon sub frame and the adjustable head angle. The High Octane allows for a head angle configuration of 65.5 to 68.5 degrees through configurable head component. The seat angle and BB height can be adjusted as well.


The next stop was at the Mountain Cycle tent to pick up a Sin. This is a lighter, Freeride version of the Shockwave 9point5, with front derailleur compatibility. Rigidity and strength on these bikes come from a full monocoque construction with gives excellent stability at a small price of sounds resonance. If you are not used to this construction, the first couple of minutes on the bike you are distracted by the extra sound resonance, after which you never notice it again and just enjoy the benefits of the design.


D-Rock was awe struck by the beautiful Quebecois bikes and women at the Devinci booth and just had to ride one. He picked one up and started to work it on the trail. She was nimble though the rocks at high speeds, with smooth acceleration out of the corners, light and tight on the downhill and easy to man handle in the air. The 8flat8 bike was ok too.


The next run up the mountain we took an all Canadian field. A Norco VPS Six, Cove Playmate, and Banshee Scream.


Gabe set me up on an XL Playmate which is the freeride brother of the DH Peeler. I had never been on a Cove bike before and was curious to see how it performed. I know a few of the rippers on the BC DH circuit are cleaning up on those bikes and now that I have ridden one, I can see why. I did not have any expectations but the results were amazing. I had my favorite ride of the dirt demo on this bike. I was blown away by the cornering ability and found myself pinning it at all corners and holding the edge through the whole turn. Very predictable and repeatable response in the turn made you faster and faster down the mountain. A little pedal feedback as expected from this type of suspension design, but overall and excellent performance.


Brian from WCFG at the Banshee booth hooked D-Rock up with his custom Scream which was fitted with a Hemi….sticker. Blasting down the Snakeback trail over the technical rocky sections and high speed straight aways made me feel RAM tough. I see why Banshee has made a name for it self as a reliable and confidence building bike that one can ride the sickest Shore skinnies or drop some of Utah’s burliest lines. Just ask Ben-dito.


Russ Day rode the VPS Six while out shooting photos that day,"Flying chase with the camera, I needed a bike to head out on a ride with, and wanting to check out what the Canucks had to offer I picked up a VPS Six courtesy of Norco. The most difficult aspect of trying out a bike at an event such as this one is not having the bike set up for you properly. That wasn’t the case on the Six, I immediately felt at home. The bike felt so well balanced with the Marzocchi Z1 Fr2 up front and up to 6.5 inches of travel in the rear suspended by the Fox Dhx3. With a tight cockpit and seemingly perfect geometry the bike is nimble and quick to accelerate, it behaved like a big hit machine on a diet, I’d love to have more time on this rig."


Run two of the day was successful, but the heat and dehydration started to take its toll. We retired to the Drop In bus for some rest and a few pops. The light started to get perfect and it was time for Cam McCaul DJ air show so Russ Day headed up to shoot some of the most incredible airs I have seen. Photos from Air Show



D-Rock and I decided to get one more ride in and so we searched the expo high and low for any available rides. We finally managed to get a couple of bikes that we really wanted to ride.


I used to race an old Santa Cruz V10 so a clear choice was a new one. The lighter and sleeker V10 has shaped monocoque and 8061 tube set body to balance the stiffness and minimize sound resonance. VPP technology has always glued these bike to the ground and nothing has changed here. After a few minutes it felt like my old V10 tank, but this baby was much more agile. The same ultimate plushness turned the rocky trails into a highway and though this may sound derogatory it’s quite the opposite – these bikes always feel like you’re riding at half the speed. Remember, it’s JUST a feeling as the onlookers will be telling you, you were going insanely fast, but you feel you’re in control and out on a Sunday drive as you pass the field. The closest I can compare this to, is driving a BMW car at what you think and feel is 100km/h and then looking down at the speedometer and seeing 150km/h. The V10 is the smoothest ride on the market.


D-Rock star put on the big boy pants and turned the trail to dust with the Brooklyn Machine Works Racelink. Easy to pedal, strong and stable control through anything that came across. It's one of those bikes that you sit back and make sure everyone is out of view on the trail before you open it up. Point this machine where you want to go and hand on while the Racelink crumbles rock gardens and make drops a blur. Racelink is for going big and turning rowdy lines into a stroll in the park.



Back to the bus we went to rest up and hydrate with a few cans of water. Once everyone was on board including a few run away locals, the private shuttle headed off to town. The usual relaxation, technical conversations about the rides and product highlights were discussed as Ben-dito (aka Bender) surfed the bus down Las Vegas Boulevard.

Next up: 3 days of indoor expo