There are many important lessons one should go through in life, but I'd argue that being humbled is probably at or near the top of that list. Being knocked off your high horse not only provides some valuable perspective, it's often also the best way to learn... just so long as you recognize that you've been taken down a peg or two, of course. Unfortunately, many of us seem to have a phobia when it comes to such things. As for myself, I've been
humbled so often in my life that I've actually begun to look forward to getting owned, despite my dogged cocksure attitude.
And that's exactly what happened when Scott's Brendan Fairclough took me down a peg or five while riding together in the Whistler Bike Park.
Filmed and edited by Nick Van Berkel
Thanks!
wanna try droppin in a vert ramp?
what could go wrong?:
lol.
all kidding, cool idea for a web series.
I logged in just so I could thumbs that up.
That is officially my quote of the day.
This is a useful video explaining traction on motorbikes. It touches on @socket's traction circle towards the end explaining it in a slightly different way.
(I have a car racing background and that's how its often taught.)
On flatter (i.e. less steep) corners it's common to have too much rear traction and not enough front traction, so the net cornering speed could potentially be faster if (for example) you used a faster entry speed and dragged the rear brake a little to keep the front wheel loaded. Of course if you decelerate too much then you'll be below peak cornering speed, but to answer your question, it's not always detrimental as some may imply.
Any brake dragging also causes decreased bump absorption and increased bump force transfer to the rider though (which means increased fatigue and potentially decreased overall performance in rough terrain), so it's important to apply this "advantage" sparingly.
That was awesome, in fact it was damn useful. Would love to see more PB editors get humbled on a variety of features.
You can pay the flights
It *IS* good for the soul - I wish more of the cocky riders on my local trails would get humbled... oh and drive slower on the shuttle roads. Turns out you're neither Semenuk the biker nor Semenuk the rally driver...
Brendan seems like a good and fun coach to have .
Awesome teaching from Brendan, he's a top lad. Those flatter less supported berms always screw me, rad to see the difference. More please!
Having had some coaching from a couple of pros (Neil Donoghue and Al Bond) watching them demonstrate stuff is proper awe-inspiring.
Mr Levy ain't too shabby a rider either by the look of it!
This was a free lesson with a Master, can't wait to see the next one !
what happened to tech Tuesday?
@mikelevy: cool, thanks for letting us know. Just thought there might be ore of a 'long-term' review of the Altitude in the making.
"Schooled" would also be an apt title.
@mikelevy the world needs more of this please.
Which reinforces my view that there are two types of mountain bikers. Those obsessed with bikes. And those obsessed with RIDING bikes.
Levy would roast you. It was a fun, and educational video.
Now I don't know you from adam and would hope your last sentence was just tongue-in-cheek. Because with your attitude (judging from a jocular video?) you would make a poor hire
EDIT - Mike certainly can defend himself adequately so let me make it clear I'm just making a counterpoint to your point. With respect
www.pinkbike.com/video/477594
So every bike review we read, no matter what bike, should be written by park rats who spend their time practising manuals between the tabletops on A-Line, and any opinion from different kinds of riders is not worth hearing? Come on, dude. Danny Hart makes your riding look ordinary, but that doesn’t mean I’d keep coming back for his engaging written insights on the DH scene (no offence Danny).
Levy placed extremely well at this year’s BCBR. That’s not an easy event. I’d lay a medium-sized wager that, were you to race it, you’d be at least a couple hundred places back.
Since you are so convinced of your own superiority in every department, I suggest you forget about lowly Pinkbike and crack on with establishing your own media empire. You’d do well to observe one golden rule though: don’t be a dick.
You say you want a Youtube channel and presumably to be Youtube "star"? I'm sure you've already seen that there's very little correlation between YT "stardom" and skills. What makes something attract followers and virality on YT is, for the most part, unknown.
My comment stands. I have a say to destinations about where to allocate marketing money for the many riders or companies who want to visit and profile the destinations. Based on the attitude in your posts I would have a very hard time recommending you. On the other hand having personal knowledge of Mike L and his professionalism I would recommend him.
Take this comment for what it's worth; just one person's opinion.
@Franziskaner This is my personal opinion. I personally would value reviews coming from someone with a more dialed grasp on technique. Also please don't put words in my mouth that I didn't say. I see that most of you disagree with my opinion and that is just fine haha. And in the grand scheme of things my riding is nothing to brag about and I never intended to do so. I am reminded this every time I show up to a pro race and get decently scraped.
The fact is, I want reviews of equipment done by someone who is at least riding at the mortal/non-pro limit of what the bike is capable of.
Funny thing is I'm sure most of the idiots flaming you didn't take the time to watch a few of your videos and see the caliber of rider you are. So few people post meaningful footage of themselves (myself included) and are vocal in this community.
This much negative feedback to being realistically critical of someone who tests equipment and essentially rides bikes for a living is beyond me.
I don't know you at all, and the only way any of us here on PB form an opinion of anyone else is from their contributions here. The same will be true for any YT channel you run.
There is a lesson here maybe somewhere for anyone and everyone who can see it.
Good luck with the channel. Think of this little section of comments below yours as a kind of "focus group" maybe, and it could help with identifying the angle you could attempt reviews from. Have a good weekend, hope your back heals up, and did you sell that Carbon Yeti frame with the crack in the downtube btw?
In relation to PB's review team I am pleased they aren't World Cup level athletes as what suits someone at that level does not suit me. Taking an above average bike handler who lives surrounded by bikes is a pretty good qualification in my opinion, and more relevant to me. I suspect that they are faster than most...
Whilst @meafroninja you are clearly very skilled on a bike, I worry that if you are looking to place yourself as a high skill level reviewer that the target audience you are looking for is only going to relate to a very small portion of the Mtb community in a crowded market. They are also likely to have already formed pretty strong opinions on what they do and don't like. This immediately strikes me as a difficult venture although I wish you all the best.
To summarize:
1) Yes we watched his video
2) Yes he's a fast & capable park rider
3) No that does not mean he is good at reviewing multiple different styles of bikes and presenting them to us in an engaging way
This much negative feedback to being a gigantic douchebag in a public forum is entirely normal.
This argument is a waste of time...I think Mike is a subpar rider taking his career into consideration, but the majority have spoken
@nvranka - What else, anyone who designs bikes must be a good rider? How about the reviewer should be an engineer with 10 years of experience? How can I take his opinion about suspension layout seriously if he isn't certified and hasn't got the full understanding of kinematics and fluid dynamics. Well... if you are such a great rider and when you want to buy a bike, you need to read a review to help you decide, then you are an idiot. It's like Louis Hamilton wanting to buy a combi and opening piston heads forum to read what people have to say about Volvo V90 or Audi S6. Totally happening.