Aaron Gwin didn't line up for his race run at the Mountain Creek Pro GRT this past weekend, due to an injury that was sustained after snapping his crankarm during a hard landing. To get the full story, I checked in with Aaron and his mechanic, John Hall. Aaron, how is your ankle? Do you have any other injuries than the ankle?
Aaron: It's just the ankle and it's actually doing really good so far with the few days I've had to recover. John and I flew home a day early from the race on Sunday so I could get straight into my doctor’s office Monday morning for x-rays etc. Everything checked out ok and it just looks like a bad sprain.
Are you able to ride at all right now?
Aaron: I haven't ridden my downhill bike yet but I did do some intervals on the spin bike this afternoon (Tuesday) and things were feeling good. I'm still kinda shocked that it's progressing so fast, it was looking and feeling pretty rough a few days ago.
What does your recovery time to be riding and then riding at full strength look like?
Aaron: It's hard to say exactly at this point, I'm just taking it day by day and doing everything I can to get it strong again. I'm hoping to do some very light riding this weekend and will fly to Ft William on Monday. Right now the plan is to race and I really think I'll be able to. If I can't, I want to be there to support my team either way but I think I'll be good to go.
How are you feeling otherwise? Good spirits?
Aaron: Besides the injury I feel great. John and I have put a lot of bike time in since Maribor and we've made some good progress for sure. We've had some solid weeks and I've definitely been excited to get back to the races. This injury was pretty tough mentally at first, not knowing the extent of it. I think as a racer, injuries are always such a bummer when they first happen because there’s nothing you can do about it at that point and you just want to be back on the bike as soon as possible. Once I got home and had it checked out though that definitely lifted my spirits a bit and I've just been focused ahead on getting better.
What exactly happened this past weekend with the bike? What were the factors that led to what happened?
John: We basically just broke a set of cranks. Straight up, those cranks were simply an old version and shouldn’t have been on his bike. Responsibility and fault for that lay entirely on me. That’s the thing with responsibility, its great when things go right but you also have to accept it when things go wrong. We don’t shift blame and we own up to our mistakes on our team. I pride myself on my integrity and ability to face the music good or bad. This is one of those times for me.
E-thirteen had a conversation with me a little over a year ago about not running that version of cranks anymore due to inconsistencies they were seeing and I got rid of them as instructed. For some reason, there was one pair left in my garage that we had kicking around and I used them to build up the first M29 Aaron rode from Intense early on and never thought to put the new style cranks on once we received them. I knew they were an old style crank when I installed them by looking at them but it never crossed my mind that they were the cranks I was supposed to get rid of because it had been some time since that conversation with E-thirteen. It was definitely not my intention to run cranks that we weren’t supposed to, but again, that's on me and I should have been more on top it than I was. It was just a bummer and not a proper representation of the high quality of the current E-thirteen product. The last thing I want is for Aaron or any rider to doubt their equipment and I understand the importance of that first hand across all fronts.
Aaron: I think John pretty much answered everything. It was just a slight mistake that ended up costing us. These things happen in bike racing and life in general. John knows that I’ve made my fair share of mistakes too. I trust him completely, it’s unfortunate but we’re just stoked it didn’t end up worse and we can get back to racing real soon.
It looks like that is a pretty harsh hit on the landing from photos and video we've seen, that has to take a toll on any product, right?
John: It was a pretty big hit and there was a big hole in the landing as well that caught out a few other riders and even claimed a few other competitors' cranks from what I’ve heard. We had data acquisition on the bike for suspension purposes and the numbers seen after that information was downloaded confirmed that the hit produced a number seen very rarely. That kind of hit that you would never tune your suspension for because it's so harsh and rare. I only know of one other time in the testing that they’ve done with other athletes that that number has been achieved. The video I saw doesn’t look as hard as it was.
Aaron: Ya it was a big hit for sure. As soon as I left the take off I thought, “this one's gonna hurt a bit”. Gave it a little too much juice coming in. Haha, I wasn’t the only rider to break cranks off that thing, it was a pretty beastly impact if you went deep.
Gwin and Hall are a formidable duo on the World Cup circuit.
Is it normal to have non-race ready product, or old product still around?
John: I think Aaron and I are often at the forefront of a lot of product development with almost every one of our sponsors. A role that both of us quite enjoy and love the challenge of. So what a lot of people don’t realize when teams and riders do testing and product development is that we and the brands don’t have an unlimited supply of whatever we want, whenever we want it. There are a lot of factors to consider. Like availability of the prototype product, how many are available in the prototype stage, at what stage in development is it in, availability of materials, manufacturing times and windows, running changes being made, when will production parts be available to have enough for the team and spares and many more factors all determine what and when something is on the bike. Sometimes we only have one of something and you're left with taking that one part with you all over the world and installing it on the race bike or practice bike at home trying to keep a level of consistency for your rider.
With that in mind, you try to keep as much stuff around that’s still ridable and safe for a potential test build or if it comes up that we need multiple bikes to do back to back testing. Instead of constantly asking for new parts, being wasteful or over ordering at the beginning of the year in anticipation of projects ahead, we try to use stuff we already have. That way when a new part comes out in production you’re not stuck with a bunch of old product thats still usable, just not the newest of the new. Basically its not always possible to have multiple bikes built up with the newest stuff or have enough prototype parts to be able to have them on all race and practice bikes so sometimes that's why we’ll have a previous version of a part on there to keep us rolling until enough of the production parts are available to install.
It’s
incredibly rare that any of these parts are defective and if they are we try to do everything we can to make sure they don’t get mixed in. Whether thats sending them back to the manufacture or destroying them. In this situation that didn’t happen and it cost us.
Do you have any concerns with the integrity of any of the products you're using?
John: Absolutely not. We’ve always had trust in our sponsors and the products they provide for us.
Aaron: If I ever had any real concerns, we wouldn’t run the product, it’s just not worth the risk. Bike parts aren’t perfect though so there is always the possibility that something crazy can happen but as a racer or casual rider, you accept that before you get on the bike. We definitely take a lot of pride in the integrity of the products that are produced and I think that’s shown through the warranty programs and customer service that E-thirteen provides as well.
You all probably test quite a lot of different set ups, new parts, prototype parts, etc. Is it ever a concern that things will break and injuries occur because of it while testing? Or are most products that a brand sends out typically good to go? At your level of riding, is there a concern that you are the end point in product development? Being that, if a product is good enough for you then it's good enough for anyone.
John: Sure, that possibility can be present with anything related to testing a new product or some variation of a prototype. It’s not in anyone's best interest to try something that has the potential to break while testing though. When something gets handed over to us it has been machine tested extensively and just needs to run through real world scenarios and small tweaks made before production.
As for it being a concern that we’re the end point in product development? There’s no concern there for me. We’re usually not the only ones testing or running something through its paces. Parts are usually dispersed amongst a number of teams and riders as well as your average level riders to ensure that it has been put through anything and everything possible. That way when it gets to you, the end consumer, you have the best possible version of whatever it is you spend your hard earned dollar on.
Is there anything else you want to add?
John: Like Aaron’s said before, a big part of a relationship like ours involves trust and the ability to own up to your mistakes, not pass the blame, represent the truth and move on. That's exactly what we’re doing. As for E-thirteen, their product has been ridiculously good for us over the years and they continually work on improving it for us and have done nothing but support us above and beyond.
Also, I know some people thought Aaron “threw me under the bus” when discussing this himself earlier in the week. That’s the furthest thing from the truth and people thinking that clearly don’t know the whole scope or reality of the situation. We’re going on our 6th season working together and over that time have built a level of trust and friendship that’s not shaken by things like this.
Aaron: So often people are afraid to just tell the truth but to us, it’s important that people know the truth about these situations and we want to be honest with the public about whatever’s going on. John’s been with me through some of my best and worst times as a racer. He’s also been there for me as a friend through all the difficult circumstances and transitions I’ve made over the last few years. We've got each other’s backs and I'm thankful every day to have his help and friendship. We're all going to make human errors at various points in our lives and that’s just part of the growing process. There’s nobody else I’d rather be working with and I’m just looking forward to chasing these goals that we have together for as long as we can.
MENTIONS: @intensecyclesusa /
@aarongwin1
Everything breaks, other cranks broke in this exact spot, he didn't even need to release a statement. He chose to release a very dumb statement and now has to do these interviews to fix what he should have never screwed up in the first place.
Gwinn defended his sponsor in a comments section and was pissed at his supposed industry "friends" for only posting the video without any context from him or his mechanic. Seems reasonable to me. Shitty reporting deserves to be blasted with all the click bait bullshit online now days.
Greg Minnaar snapped a frame in half last season and said nothing. SC's response was something along the lines of "Shit happens, that's racing". Admittedly the situation is slightly different in that no blame would have fallen on his mech, but until Gwin blamed his wrench nobody would have suspected a thing. Most of us are smart enough to understand that pros push their gear harder than we could ever dream of, and snapping a crank is no big deal to anybody but the guy who's foot is in jeopardy.
This was the biggest star at the biggest race in the US, you can't expect not to be covered by the media when you're the star. This wasn't a team camp, or even just a day at the park. Yeah, it's annoying that you knew the guy who shot the video, but had he not been friends with the videographer, then what?
Again, this all could have been avoided by simply saying nothing. I like Gwin, he's fast as hell, fun to watch and seems like a genuinely good guy. This was a rare slip-up, but it was still a slip-up and this article doesn't exist in a vacuum, it's him trying to fix a PR gaffe. The OP said we should be thankful for this kind of follow up, my point was that we never would have wanted any follow up had it been handled quietly behind closed doors in the first place, as these things typically are.
I'm glad the ankle is not broken..
P"
But for the love of God, can we all stop with the "privileged" bullshit line?
We're all reading this on our goddamn phones.We're all privileged if we dont have to whore our our offspring to buy food.
Stick to the armchair QB'ing.
Hate this sponsor friendly bullshit. First it was Sick Bikes and now Gwin. Shit happens, it sucks but let’s not pretend context impacts the final answer.
The whole reason for this blowing up is the drama around a part breaking and the discussion of that on social media by fans and AG himself. He's a top 5 racer, I think any reasonable person knows they break stuff pushing the envelope.
Glad to hear the ankle is healing up!!
this seems like Gwinn's way of getting back with Vitalmtb because they didn't removed the post when he asked them to...
the crank breaking wouldn't have been an issue until he made it one with the way he is handling the media.
I've snapped everything on a bike in my time riding & some of it has come at piece of cake times with no logic to why it blows. Other things have refused to ever die or quit on me & yet crumple under others.
It's as if we're taking rubber and alloy and smashing them into random things constantly all day every day or something???
Oh wait...we are.
E-13: "We released a product into the public that wasn't up to scratch due to either it hadn't been engineered and tested properly, or we didn't oversee and check manufacture and quality control with our oversees manufacturer correctly. Upon realising this product was failing, we re-engineered it and released the revised 'fixed' version to the public under the guise of it just being an incrementally updated new model year product, this avoided us having to do a product recall and/or face bad press for a faulty product - then we just hoped the problem would fade away in the background and we could gradually warranty all the old defective product as and when they failed."
Gwin: 'Snaps old model crank'
E-13: "People will automatically assume that our top sponsored pro and one of the most winningest riders of all time will be riding our new crank that we just fixed, we can't have this - get Gwin and John to do some social media damage control and lets blame John, after all, no one gives a f@rk about some mechanic and the problem will just fade away again."
People: 'Oh no you don't! - where's the recall? where's my refund? how do I know my crank isn't going to explode? Your products are shite!'.
Me: Don't worry E-13, time heals all all wounds :-p
This is where its gets tough for me. They went the route of defective product, which is fine, it happens. But if there was an "old version" of the cranks that E13 was telling their riders not to use, meaning it was a known issue, why weren't they letting everyone else who owns the cranks know about this?
It’s a rarity these days that people take responsibility these days for mistakes and or oversights.
As for E-13, i have never ridden any of their components and I certainly dont ride hard enough anymore to brake anything more than a wheel these days, but i do know of a few people who have had some problems with their components.
They are also none for the hub to go bad with mud
It appears that e*13 not only failed to recall the "defect crank[] from 3 years ago that should [have] never been on my bike . . . ." but it continues to sell that same gen 3 crank.
I did a search for "crank recall" on the hive. Zero results.
Apparently e*13 gave notice to only 1 customer not to use its defective product? Not buying it.
That poor mechanic. It seems like everyone EXCEPT E*13 is taking responsibility.
You also don't see recalls for SRAM or RaceFace cranks even though there are tons of reports of those breaking.
That brings me to a broader point with carbon cranks. If you use any of them, you have to accept there is a greater risk of them being compromised (without you knowing) and failing. Cranks take tons of rock strikes. Aluminum cranks don't get compromised when a rock bounces off them. I wonder how many instances of carbon cranks breaking are because a rock hit them and gave them damage that allowed the crank to fail under load? I highly doubt people are inspecting their crank every time a rock hits them.
Cranks are a part where you really have to assess if benefits of carbon are worth it. And accept that even though carbon may be stronger under load, it can be damaged more easily from strikes and then is no longer stronger under load. Also there is human error in the carbon layout process the doesn't exist with alloy. It doesn't matter who makes them... these issues exist.
I will await my downvotes
The whole discussion avoids the most important point. The fact that AG acted like an ass is irrelevant. It's just a soap opera.
Carbon is not the wright material for this type of component. They promote it, they sell it, and yet regardless which company is making carbon cranks, they have one common feature: that f*ckin break! Money is money people. They sell you something that simply is there to justify the high price.
Just cope of weeks ago guy we were riding with in Vinschgau snapped his carbon cranks. After like 10 meters of the trail he hit the rock and bam. The day was over for him. 10 other people just had TONS of laughs. But what if that happened a bit later when the trail got serious? :/
Buy metal cranks.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times and I probably am getting a paycheck from your company and am OK with being fooled.
Part of it is that e13 has fantastic customer service (at least that's my experience). So whenever I broke something they replaced it. But the replacements broke. And the replacement replacements broke (hubs). At that point I'd rather pay for a quality product than get multiple free products that break. The products I've replaced them with have worked great, and for much longer. e13 has a quality control, or engineering, problem.
I sense it’s been a slow few weeks in the industry.
However, I did warranty 3 droppers before returning it to the bike store with the fourth post. I have split two of their TRSR aluminum rims down the center of the rim (from eyelet to eyelet).
Despite this, e13's customer service was always on point and more than willing to help me. They will get you a new product to replace your old one if it breaks. They got good products (that they don't make anymore) and shit products. I really like the brand because they have always been so accommodating regarding warranty issues, but not so sure about the quality of their new stuff.
In regard to the safety of TRS and LG1 carbon cranks on everyone else's bikes, rest assured your cranks are safe to ride. You should, on a regular basis, inspect your cranks for damage. If you're unsure, you can always talk to a real human via support@bythehive.com
bythehive.com/products/lg1-race-carbon-crankset gen3
bythehive.com/products/lg1-race-carbon-cranks-gen4 gen 4
This problem applies to any brand of carbon cranks... so maybe switch to alloy and don't worry about it?
Glad that the injury is recoverable and hoping it does not change his career.
Please calm down, keyboard warriors. I don't think too many people who have honestly busted premium parts are outraged about this at all. Try jogging or yoga if you want to be safe and injury-free
The difference between e*thirteen's "old" cranks in discussion and the new cranks (just released at Sea Otter) is massive.
- bythehive.com/collections/cranks
- www.pinkbike.com/news/review-ethirteens-updated-lg1r-carbon-cranks.html
Why not a pair of Diabolous cranks left in the garage ? A man´s crank not not a pussy carbon crank .