Phil Atwill's Propain Rage Carbon - Bike Check
 | This one is a bit stiffer to ride, for sure. You can notice it rails a bit faster. The ally' one had a lot of travel - ten inches, I think. This one has eight and a half inches, but plenty there still. |
Phillip Atwill stands just over six feet (182cm) and only weighs about 154 pounds (70kg), but he says he's running the suspension on his new Propain Rage Carbon pretty stiff for Leogang's (now) relatively smooth course, with settings near those of the very pedally Fort William course the downhill circus left behind last week. Phil rides the larger of the two (long or short) sizes Propain offers for their new carbon-framed DH machine. Further lengthening the chassiss, Atwill has the two-position headset cups set 10-millimeters forward, and the two-position rear-axle chips set back for another ten millimeters of wheelbase bliss.
Atwill was very vocal about his disdain for Leogang's apparent lack of challenging terrain, but he's still planning on going fast. His rear tire is a Schwalbe Rock Razor, which is almost a racing slick on top, while his front is a the Addix compound Magic Mary - a very grippy option, probably to counter the flat, off camber corners on course. And, both have ProCore liners installed. He also plans on lowering his stem, but there was not talk about a remote shock lockout, an option that we've seen from both Fox and RockShox.
Schwalbe Rock Razor rear tire with a Magic Mary up front - both protected by ProCore liners.
| It is actually embarrassing that Leogang could present this track to the world as as their World Cup course. It is a joke. |
Funn 785 millimeter wide Fatboy Supreme handlebar with soft-tip locking grips.
X-Fusion RV1 fork with firm spring with 6 Euro coins used as preload spacers. Sticky compound Addix rubber Magic Mary tire. Zelvy PDL DH carbon rims (30mm IW) on both ends.
Fifty millimeter stem clamps with ten millimeters of spacers. "I may take those out for the race to lower the bars."
The Propain frame has a switchable head set chip that can change the wheelbase by ten millimeters. Atwill prefers the longer of the two.
Phil prefers the flat lever angle that is gaining popularity in the pro ranks.
SRAM Code RSC brakes with the lever blades set quite far from the grips.
X-Fusion Vector Coil shock with a Super Alloy 475-pound spring.
Funn crankset, chain guide and Mamba pedals. The chainring is a 36-tooth.
A close look at the two-way axle chip - set long to add ten millimeters to the wheelbase.
SRAM Centerline rotors, 200 millimeters on both wheels.
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It does however make for tight racing
Could it be that sponsors are destroying our sport?
If this is the case, it mean's sponsors are responsible for the new DH29er which seems weird...
www.instagram.com/p/BVF_u_zFYXS
They are mostly on line brand
You know that they won't ship to the USA?
You can always asked them
3 position headset adjustment and 20mm in total that is.
And yeah we currently do NOT ship to the US because of insurance issues. We are working on it but it will not happen this year I think.
Cheers for the great feedback on our bikes.
I m off to Leogang now...
> it is not a proper track to challenge the worlds best
The steep rooty section in fort william did challenge the world's best (half of them walked it or OTBed) and many of those world's best still complained.
I feel that people just want to complain.
What wheels do they run? The hubs sound great.
Well made, tight tolerance internals. Stictionless, and loves to keep traction on the ground. The spring rates are very soft though. I was running xxfirm spring at 160lbs with still 18% sag.
Otherwise it is very plush and has a tendancy to dive in its travel a bit more than I liked on steep terrain, but stayed high in its travel. This forks damping over rough ground is money. Feels like an oil filled cadilac, wallowy and smooth as hell!
www.instagram.com/p/BVIifyNlWi1/?hl=en
Those dudes are risking a lot having to go as fast as they are. I am surprised that isn't challenge enough
What kind of logic is that? The track is shit, period. There´s no way to deny it is not a proper track to challenge the worlds best.
The dude wants to race on a track that is fun and challenging. Maybe he´s not gonna win the thing, but he damn sure has a right to ride a proper track and speak his mind about it.
Top athletes taking responsibility for where the sport is headed and speaking their mind publicly has become increasingly rare and i for one applaud anyone willing to do so in todays world where it may just as well fire back at you in an unexpected way (see Loic). It´s what keeps a sport evolving in the right direction, because opinions from the inside are what really matters. So if only those of the few in the higher echelons matter, you can bet it´ll create
huge problems in the future.
I think it was schladmig a few years ago when everyone was complaining about how dangerous the track is. Can't please everyone.
I just can't help but notice the guys who are winning aren't complaining about track difficulty, save for Bruni
The reason for schladming not being on the tour is not rider feedback.
And Leogang taking out the rockgardens but not replacing them with anything worthwile certainly is not what any rider was asking for when they complained about them.
I've ridden that track. A lot. Line choice is exactly zero. It comes down to how willing you are to hold on for dear live and let the bike go as fast as possible. Not a pleasant thing to do for any guy who barely makes a living from riding his bike, if at all.
Yes, the top guys aren't complaining. Guess what, to them this is a job. Serious business. Their sponsors have expectations and the times of guys like Palmer saying whatever the f they want are long gone. If you wanna stay at the top you gotta play by the rules and be quiet. Just look at most other sports. Champions almost always keep their mouth shut, because being a rebel doesn't fit in with the clean images of most brands anymore.
Leogang is kind of a favourite, being an Austrian brand and all that. Do not underestimate this brands loyalty to it's country and the dedication to the Worldcup as their product. Certainly no RB sponsored rider will risk badmouthing the thing that their sponsor obviously has a huge interest in.
Now i'm certainly not the guy with the tinfoil hat claiming there's some corporate agenda behind this. But there sure as hell are expectations that need to be met by a lot of riders in order to keep sponsors happy.
Most of the guys are in it for the love of it. They want enjoyable tracks that represent the technical nature of the sport.
Also, as the winner would you go on an interview claiming how you did not need that 10k carbon superbike to win because the track was so easy? No, you go and sell the shit out of every victory, pleasanly ignoring all the negatives because they'd only detract from you and your achievement. They would complain just as everyone else. It's just not politically correct for them to do so.