Bike Check: Troy Brosnan's Custom Canyon Sender - Maribor World Cup 2020
Troy Brosnan hit the ground running in Leogang last week. On a custom green and gold Sender, he was one of the fastest guys through the Saalfelden slop and was in the top 10 despite crashing coming into the woods. Of course, it's easy to say, "He's Mr. Consistent, what do you expect?" But that consistency doesn't come without a lot of work in the offseason to achieve a bike set up that allows him to perform week in, week out.
Troy and his mechanic, Aaron Pelttari, have been working together since 2015 and are one of the tightest pairings on the circuit. In the offseason they spend three days a week perfecting Troy's setup until he's sure he's squeezing every millisecond of performance out of his bike.
This season he's riding a new Canyon Sender frame but the changes shouldn't be that dramatic. The bike uses the same kinematic the team honed through years of racing on the previous bike, so it wasn't too much of an adjustment for Troy. There are still some new things here though, including an O-Chain spider, some prototype kit and those all-important setup numbers, let's dive into it now:
Troy and his mechanic, Aaron Pelttari, have been working together since 2015 and are one of the tightest pairings on the circuit. In the offseason they spend three days a week perfecting Troy's setup until he's sure he's squeezing every millisecond of performance out of his bike.
This season he's riding a new Canyon Sender frame but the changes shouldn't be that dramatic. The bike uses the same kinematic the team honed through years of racing on the previous bike, so it wasn't too much of an adjustment for Troy. There are still some new things here though, including an O-Chain spider, some prototype kit and those all-important setup numbers, let's dive into it now:
Rider Name // Troy Brosnan
Age: 27
Hometown: Adelaide
Height: 5'9" / 175cm
Weight: 165 lb / 75kg
Instagram: @troybrosnan
Age: 27
Hometown: Adelaide
Height: 5'9" / 175cm
Weight: 165 lb / 75kg
Instagram: @troybrosnan
Model Name Details
Frame: Canyon Sender
Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Coil, 375 lb spring
Fork: RockShox Boxxer, 125psi, 3 tokens
Wheels: DT Swiss EX 471, 29" front and rear
Tires: Maxxis Minion DHR II
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 DH, 36T chainring, O-Chain spider
Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
Cockpit: Canyon G5, custom compound Ergon grips
Size: Medium
More info: canyon.com
Frame: Canyon Sender
Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Coil, 375 lb spring
Fork: RockShox Boxxer, 125psi, 3 tokens
Wheels: DT Swiss EX 471, 29" front and rear
Tires: Maxxis Minion DHR II
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 DH, 36T chainring, O-Chain spider
Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
Cockpit: Canyon G5, custom compound Ergon grips
Size: Medium
More info: canyon.com
 | Troy and I spend 3 days a week in the offseason testing and making sure everything’s dialled. It might seem like we show up at races and do well, but there are reasons why he is so consistent, and it’s because we spend so much time doing this stuff. Obviously his training and his riding ability help as well but we spend a lot of time. It’s beneficial for us, I don’t know if it would be for everyone, but it definitely is for us. |
The new Sender frame gives Brosnan plenty of adjustability to pick from. Troy was riding a mullet set up last year on the old Sender and continued testing it in the offseason, but has settled for the full 29er set up, which puts him in the longest setting in the rear. Apparently, the full 29 setup is a bit faster for Troy and he had more time working on it to get it dialled, but he's open to testing the mullet again this offseason. Tire buzz doesn't seem to be a problem for him thanks to his central riding style.
There's also 16mm of front end adjustment available to the Canyon team. Troy was riding a size large in Australia, but after he came to Europe he switched back to a medium as the tracks in the Southern Hemisphere are faster, flatter and less technical, but he realized he needed a shorter front center for the tech on offer in Europe.
Stendec Data Acquisition helps the team dial in the suspension settings, which Aaron describes as 'a little different'.
Troy runs a 'medium-ish' tune coil shock with a 375 spring, 6 clicks of compression and 8 clicks of rebound. The kinematic is designed around a coil so don't expect to see him switching to air anytime soon.
The fork is run with 125psi of pressure, 3 tokens, 5 clicks of rebound, 2 clicks of high speed and 8 clicks of low speed. The stanchions are slid through quite far to make sure the head angle sits at 63°, which seems to be a key number for Troy.
The drivetrain looks to be a standard X01 DH with a 36T chainring until you see the O-Chain spider.
The spider isolates the chain forces from the suspension but comes at the cost of a few degrees of pedal engagement. Troy wasn't running it in Leogang as the small half-pedals were so important to get through the slop, but here he doesn't think that will be a problem and will be racing using the O-Chain.
Troy has a custom compound on these Ergon GD1 grips.
Troy's shifter lever is also custom. It's a CNC'd piece that has been designed around his hands.
The final bit of prototype kit is this saddle from Ergon that is still in the testing phase.
Troy runs 750 mm bars and a 45mm stem with 0 rise.
Troy runs his levers in a neutral position but can be super sensitive and will know if they're even a millimeter out.
Fenders weren't much use last week but should provide better protection on a track that has been ridden in like Maribor's.
Rubber pillows keep the bike silent through choppy sections.
Troy runs the pins fairly wound in on his Crankbrothers Mallet pedals.
A Maxxis Minion DHR II front and rear seems to be the rubber of choice for Brosnan at the moment, but he may change to an Assegai up front depending on how the track evolves. The tires are mounted on DT Swiss EX471 wheels that Troy has been running since 2015 (not the same pair, obviously) as their tire profile works great for him and he thinks they stand up best to abuse.
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Legend.
I would then go out and ride but pretend I was skiing, my body position would change immediately to a more centred position and I was able to handle slide outs more easily and feel more in control on the steeps and off camber, great trick if you are an experienced skier.
You guys did notice it though? Marketing done right.
That´s why I prefer the Assegai or HR2 side knobs,when you lean the bike it is easier to feel what the tire is doing and the amount of grip you have.
In the DHF this chatter is more evident,it is even harder to me to get a good felling with that tire. I realize of that when the Assegai come out and test it for the first time.
I've heard the new Specialized tires are as good if not better than the Maxxis... and cheaper. Will try out for sure.
Next dh wheelset for me is on HX531 rims. Essentially the burlier version of the 511 made for "light dh/freeri..." sorry I meant "e-bikes". Same dimensions as the EX511 but with thicker alloy on the tire and spoke beds. For a 27.5 it's only 20g more. If you're not able to get a new wheel whenever you want, like a lot of these racers, it's seems like a perfect option.
Well, well... look what the cat dragged in...
And aluminium rims between 24 and 30mm internal has been the standard for DH for a long time.
Other guys similar to his weight are running ~500+ so 375 is really soft. But I know from experience that "how stiff do you run your suspension" can be a nice dick measuring contest among DH racers.
But hey if it works for troy it works for him. He does ride really central and smooth. Maybe he's got some fancy hydraulic bottoming circuit in his shock or custom links to make the bike super progressive
Looks like he was on 375 on the old sender (w/ custom links) too revolutionmtb.com.au/pro-bike-check-troy-brosnans-canyon-sender-world-champs-edition
Aswell.
We have a new version dropping soon.
Use coupon code : VHyeS for 15% off
Thanks
Edit: Missing ??
(Nice typo). Tory Brosnan
Sounds like a female country artist
29 Front and back?
www.pinkbike.com/news/madison-saracen-not-renewing-danny-harts-contract-at-the-end-of-the-2020-season.html