Video: Good Times, Better Lines - Freeriding in Southern Utah

“Hiking lines, shredding first descents, making memories and riding bikes,” says Lorin Whitaker, when asked his criteria in scouting new destinations. “It’s about good times and better lines,” the 16-year-old Southern Utah local says simply. This time he’s en route to one of the state’s countless stashes with Canfield Brothers founder, Lance Canfield. The state has become iconic among freeriders, from the grey powder of Green River to the ridges and canyons of Virgin, immortalized by Red Bull Rampage.


It seems almost fitting now that Lorin returns with Lance. Pioneer and competitor in the first four Rampages on some of his earliest handbuilt bikes, Lance was born and raised in Utah.

“There was a certain feeling when we finally pulled off the highway and onto the dirt road,” says young Lorin. “I was eager to show Lance Canfield a new area that he had never ridden. He’s shown me many outstanding locations to ride and it only seemed right to bring this freeride legend to fresh ridgelines in Utah to test out his new 27.5 Jedi.”


The 2015 Canfield Brothers 27.5 Jedi is in its element, carving and surfing the soft dirt beneath the towering book cliffs and otherworldly rock formations in this truly unique location.

The whole idea of this trip was to get away from everyday stresses, spend a weekend in the desert riding bikes and filming, and as two generations take turns following each other, hiking and dropping new lines long into the fading red light, that mission is accomplished.

“It’s the simple things in life that matter,” says Lorin.

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CANFIELD BROTHERS 2015 27.5 JEDI


One of the most revered downhill bikes on the market, the legendary Jedi is a two-wheeled weapon engineered to destroy the roughest tracks in the world, and the latest generation is more dialed than ever. With a gravity pedigree refined through years of racing and riding by Chris and Lance Canfield, the Jedi is given the unnatural ability to maintain its speed and actually accelerate through rough terrain by the Canfield Formula 1 Suspension Design. Combining 9 inches of vertical travel with 3 inches of rearward, the Jedi shrugs off square-edged impacts that slow down other designs while maintaining a more consistent and stable wheelbase under compression. Canfield's famous slack and low geometry has been updated for the maximized rollover and traction of 27.5-inch wheels while maintaining 16.6-inch chainstays for snappy handling with an ultra-stable 62.5-degree head angle.

Canfield Formula 1 Suspension Design
Combining 9 inches of vertical travel with 3 inches of rearward, the Formula 1 Suspension shrugs off square-edged impacts that slow down other designs. This is achieved as the rear wheel moves up AND back out of the way of impacts, versus packing up into trail obstacles as with more traditional designs. Riders have described the Jedi as "hovering" in rough terrain. Not only does the bike simply glance off impacts and keep accelerating, but the rearward axle path is more in line with the front wheel's axle path along the plane of fork travel, maintaining a more consistent and stable wheelbase under compression, versus more traditional designs that actually result in the wheelbase shrinking under compression leading to decreased stability when you need it most. To further keep the rider in control, the idler pulley isolates pedaling forces and negates any braking or suspension feedback.

Click here to learn more about the Canfield Brothers 2015 27.5 Jedi.