Bruni's Lava Frame and Ravanel's WC DH Bike: Tech Randoms - Val di Sole World Cup 2017

 how else do you think world cup riders go so fast?

 C'mon, give the guy a brake.

 @MTBrent: ugh go homeeee dadddd

 ^^ Found the mechanic.

 You really shouldn't be questioning the doings of a mechanic of such caliper.

 @Jack-McLovin: geez, who piston your cheerios?

 I hope GT come up with something a bit more original for 2018, It comes across as if they are not really interested in selling bike by reverting back to a 2016 paint job and not even really designing a frame it looks like they just looked at an older catalogue from Scott in the mid 00's saw the Octane and thought we can just copy that design and put it onto are frames thats sucked.

 @heavyp: yep..the chrome was sicky but i guess commencal stole it..

 @rocky-mtn-gman: No one pissed in my cheerios but there were greasy finger prints on my spoon

 And ill get to see everything live on saturday. Hell yeah!

 @heavyp: anyone else notice it didnt have a swing link on the rear shock. Kind of went the sanction frame with a 40 up front. maybe to save some weight

 @adrennan greasy fingers touching new rotors (pizza). cringeeee

 @heavyp: New team next year for GT ? Im pretty sure their contracts are up ? New team new schemes?

 If you're a pro mechanic, often the dirt and grime is worked into your skin even when washed: a black and white contrast photo is going to make them look greasy. Even if there was grease on them, a pro wipes them clean before they're mounted on the bike. A lot of means wear nitrile gloves, but they're a pain in the ass.

Hands that only work keyboards never look this way.

 I just have to ask - does anyone know 'who' says it's time for a new frame?

Does Iles say "I want a new frame with a new paint scheme"
OR
Does the mechanic say "The frame is beaten, we need a new frame"
OR
Does Specialised say "We want Finn to run a new paint scheme this weekend, we'll send a new frame"


How does it come about?

 @Waldon83: I would guess its a little of all worlds? Sorry my answer is not definitive.

 @richierocket:
Surely they wouldn't keep changing frames just to show off new paint jobs (unless it's for worlds)
I can only assume that the frame is damaged and needs replacing, there is something different about the new frame - other than colour, or the company it self want more advertisement ?

 @Jack-McLovin: that was clever.

 @Waldon83: Advertisement would be my first guess. Money talks, everything else walks (speaking business).

 @Waldon83: Possible that some companies want their image to be fresh eye catching designs. I know if (Big IF here) I was running a race team I'd like the bikes looking trick AF, same with if I sponsored riders I'd like the kit of mine they used standing out

 I don't think so. For me it will be at least 15 - 20 second back from winning time- mark my words. Wc DH is completely different than EWS. Anyway best of luck for her

 @AdamOdh: Nahhh.. She is BOSS

 @AdamOdh: Yeah I'm not so sure about that... Her bike handling skills are ridiculous on any terrain. I think she'll hang easily.

If you compare Ravanel times to Sam Hill times on ~5 minute stages, she's closer to men's times than top women DH times are to top men's DH times. Dunno how comparable that makes it, but I think she's got the speed and the talent to keep up.

 @AdamOdh: Remember that stunt Martin Maes pulled at Fort Bill in 2014?
Don't count EWS athletes out, they know how to handle a bike and then some

 @Spark24: Yeah I remember but he was a Junior then. VDS and Fort Bill are completely different type of tracks. Anyway Maes is super talanted and looks like he has better results in DH than his teammates. Remember that Cecile will be competing with Veterans of Downhill

 @Jvhowube: Compare times at 2017 crankworx AirDH. She was almost 20 second back. Totally different effortt and VDS is the most brutal track

 @AdamOdh: I guess time will tell! I'm excited to see what happens!

 @Jvhowube: if you want to put it that way we can also reverse it. why dont we take a look at sam hill's times in WC compared to his EWS results as of late....

 Honestly, with or without crushing the field blablabla, just racing is a feat by itself. Keep in mind that she was an XC racer before reigning over Enduro. I mean, how many XC pilots made it to a DH WC?

But I believe she can shine! She has the fitness and the skills that's for sure.

 Oh she does. @Jvhowube:

 @AdamOdh: yes,but the EWS stages are far more techy than the Air DH, i don't think you can draw a conclusion on VDS looking at an A-Line race result

 @AdamOdh: I'd disagree with that... VDS doesn't seem to have as many of those huge jumps and high speeds sections like FW and MSA had... Judging by Claudio's preview, those techy sections at VDS may play right into the hands of the EWS rider's as that's what they do for a living, and putting them on the big bike may just make it that much easier for them... I would love to see the likes Graves or Rude give this track a go... I think they would surprise people... With that being said... Does anyone know if Graves is racing at Cairns? It's his home race and judging by what he did at PMB a few years back, he may well be a strong contender

 While it is awesome to see the women's field get stronger and fresher and while she is an amazing athlete at the top of the EWS game, DH is, at the end of the day, a somewhat different sport. Her bike is different. Her fitness needs to be different. Her mental game needs to be different. Her timing needs to be different, and so on. And this is her FIRST ever DH race, on the burliest, hardest track of the season. Remember when Remy Metallier entered World Cup DH races? Everyone thought he was going to crush it and he could barely or didn't qualify for finals. With that said, I welcome the day that I eat my words. If she makes the podium or takes the win, it will be an awesome thing.

 @Spark24: Cairns is a fair hike from Toowoomba, Graves home town, like about 1600 km. And he's not in the Oz team, anyway. And he was always more of a 4x guy than dh. I wonder more how Sam would go at VDS with his re-found confidence, I guess we'll find out cos he is in the team for Worlds.

 @AdamOdh: Seems like you were pretty spot on with your assessment and with the timing results! In my opinion, the sustained speeds of a WC DH race take years to develop. That's why enduro, or xc athletes, mostly initially do not do that well transitioning to DH, but MX athletes usually transition to DH very well and quickly (Gwin, Minnaar to name a few), MX athletes are already used to those speeds. Yes skill, strength and endurance are all important, but speed is a different animal to train for, it usually takes years to develop your mind to slow things down so your perceived speeds feel more comfortable/normal. Not everyone can reach elite levels in the development of this ability, its just a bit more complicated than the other attributes.

 @dirtyrig: couldnt agree more. Cheers

 rad

 Oh my.. I had one like that except it was yellow. I'd forgotten.

 And Klien paint jobs from the 90's - lightening frame anyone :-) yes please!!!!

 @cunning-linguist: Haha! Yes, like the old Kramer Nightswan and BC Rich Gunslingers...

 Looks like tiger bread

 meh, looks better on the bike. Gotta love the classics!

 80's rock was the best.But maybe that's just because I was born in the 70's.

 so Def Leppard.

 I was thinking the same exact thing...

 3D printing has come a long way.

They probably didn't use a hobby printer in this case

 @HK-Mazur: Unless it's printed in titanium, I doubt it will survive the rocks of VDS. 3D printed plastic is either too brittle (like resin) or super soft (printed polyurethanes are like rubber at the moment).

 Glad there are some fellow nerds on this site

 www.pinkbike.com/photo/12172103

Dark Matter camo in mtb form.

 It's on sale and your resale value is already nil

 Great spot for Zirc fittings. Sarcasm.

 Might as well list them now

 The Commençal bike is one of the most interesting bikes out there in my opinion! Some Sunn radical heritage :-) Put the new Obsys on it and my jaw stays dropped for a week LOL

 @felimocl: there are a few candidates: S-Works Demo, Intense M6 in Ferrari red, Antidote Dark Matter in white, pretty much every single V10 painted for Minaar - hard to chose but these definitely stand out. You can/could identify them in a bike park from a fricking mile. When it comes to Enduro bikes, then Meta 4 in raw alu, and Yeti SB6 in that paintjob from the year when Graves rode for them last (Cody Kelly's one is amazing too) Sweet Salivation. I really miss those red alu intenses... I get same feeling in the gut when seeing one, as I get when I see a Ferrari on the street.

 @WAKIdesigns: the DeathGrip Scott gambler Brendog had at round one has got to be up there

 Will we be able to add the new Polygon to the list? Will we fcuk!

 @BenPea: no

 @BenPea: will we fcuk?... French - the language of love

 @WAKIdesigns: +1 on the old intenses. Finn iles's red current and blue demo is a beauty. To go against the haters must admit I have a strange fetish for the orange 324

 @WAKIdesigns: The feeling in my gut when I see a Ferrari on the street that is not red is that the driver is a sad misguided fool

 that new Intense in photos above looks SICK!

 @WAKIdesigns: Sam had a raw polished ironhorse at the Canberra worlds, I thought he always had very well presented bikes, but that one was special.

 @felimocl: sicko....

 @whistlingcoyote: weren't Ferrari originally yellow so that's what the die hard Ferrari fans get

 Hope they make a scaled-down 150mm version. Really sharp.

 good thing Jack IS over 6 feet tall

 Like the V10 xxl

 a little brake-kleen or alcohol and it'll be golden.

 Never put your greasy fingers on the contact patch of a rotor and not clean it. If you clean it, you're totally fine.

 ahh baqck when muddyfox were really good. i miss those days when bike building was great as nearly all parts could be swappped around to different frames without a million new hub spacing standards....push fit bb's etc ruining it all.

 Next year, they'll have the new link and shorter shock but that chainstay protector is very standard and comes on every Gambler. Perhaps the story here is Brendan switching from coil to air...

 @ollyforster: But what about the carbon rear end? That's the question

 haha yup fold it in half like a new yawkah... however to some of the points made in other comments - greasy fingers and rotors don't mix...

 Is that an egg in the middle of the pizza?

 @lake-st: hell ya - it's delicious.

Also an egg, hashbrown and bacon on a burger is all good.

Now I need some carbon rims that are 8g lighter.

 @lake-st: fried egg pizza is sublime, esp with pancetta

 No point racing if your heart isn't in it - sure she would still get a top ten finish without risk but if you cant get your head wrapped around the danger and risk then why would you even roll out of the start gate at Val di sole?

 I guess they all run foam inserts that protect the rim. They can probably get away with a lighter rim because of that.

 @AProulx: but doesn't that negate running a lighter weight rim?

 @Klainmeister: probably to make a rounder tire profile.

 The EX741 is lighter and narrower, which creates a more "light bulb" tire shape to better protect against pinch flats. Most teams are running lighter rims (because they can replace them each day) and narrower than 30mm.

 Gueto Huck Norris?

 @mudmandhbrazil: @mudmandhbrazil: you should really apologize for spelling ghetto wrong.

You know... Humility hahahah ;-)

 Dave TrumpWhore!

 @mudmandhbrazil: please don't stop... This is hilarious.

It's not me... It's you ;-)

 @davetrumpore: Took a bit of a turn there.. who knew Pinkbikers were such a sensitive bunch

 @skidrumr: they have been keyboard fighting non stop for 3 days. The typical brazilian guy ready to fight for no reason and the american that makes fun of the grammar of a non native english speaker.

 @zede: no one's ever made fun of his non English Grammer. If anything he's been cut a lot of slack with it despite his constant insults regarding other people's.

He's always a good laugh when he gets worked up but lately he's just turned nasty to everyone on the site on multiple news stories.

 @davetrumpore: I know, but did you really think playing this little game with him, while he obviously doesn't get jokes/sarcasm/irony, would help ? [edit ok i've just noticed he has been suspended]