January 2016: Good Month or Bad Month?
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Specialized's World Cup Downhill Prospects
Pure Agency joins forces with Specialized
Pure Agency joins forces with Specialized
Aaron Gwin's departure from the Specialized Factory Racing team was as much of a surprise as the announcement a month later that Pure Agency's Gravity Republic team ditched Lapierre and headed to California to sign with Specialized. Pure Agency will technically run the show, now called the "Specialized Gravity Team," which brings a heap of young talent to Morgan Hill: 2015 World Champion Loic Bruni; Junior Loris Vergier, the 2014 Junior World Champion; and first year junior Finn Iles.
The marriage to Pure Agency brings Specialized a full program instead of the one-man show they were left with after contract discussions failed with Gwin. If Loris and Finn continue their rapid ascents toward the podium, and if Bruni carries the momentum of his victory in Andorra, downhill could be business as usual for the big S.
The marriage to Pure Agency brings Specialized a full program instead of the one-man show they were left with after contract discussions failed with Gwin. If Loris and Finn continue their rapid ascents toward the podium, and if Bruni carries the momentum of his victory in Andorra, downhill could be business as usual for the big S.
Loic Bruni's last ride with Lapierre will surely be his most memorable - World Champion and his first win as a World Cup Pro. Michal Cerveny photo
Fat Bikes
The inevitable occurs in Crested Butte and good news from Duluth
The inevitable occurs in Crested Butte and good news from Duluth
Devon Balet photo
It wasn't so long ago that PB was joking about the possibility of a Fat Bike World Championship. Well, here it is: Crested Butte, the sleepy ski town that became one of the birthplaces of the mountain bike, staged the inagural Fat Bike Worlds on a packed snow XC course that incorporated some of the area's Nordic tracks.
The Pro women's division was owned by Amy Beisel, with Alexis Skarda nabbing the silver and Judy Freeman, the bronze. Like Beisel, Pro Men gold medalist Robbie Squire rode away from the field mid-way in the race, leaving the silver to Taylor Shelden and the bronze to mountain bike hard man Travis Brown.
Fat bikes are normally not allowed on the Nordic tracks at Crested Butte, but at least one ski area in the USA has proclaimed itself fat bike friendly. In Duluth, Minnesota, Spirit Mountain announced that it was the first official lift-access fat bikepark in the US. Skiers and snowboarders will share both the trails and the mountain with fat bikes, and if it goes well, we can expect many more resorts to follow suit.
Fat bikes are normally not allowed on the Nordic tracks at Crested Butte, but at least one ski area in the USA has proclaimed itself fat bike friendly. In Duluth, Minnesota, Spirit Mountain announced that it was the first official lift-access fat bikepark in the US. Skiers and snowboarders will share both the trails and the mountain with fat bikes, and if it goes well, we can expect many more resorts to follow suit.
Fat bikes will join skiers and boarders at Spirit Mountain Resort.
Old School Snow Shredding
Two videos that may prevent you from buying a fat bike this winter
Two videos that may prevent you from buying a fat bike this winter
Two edits posted in January demonstrated that, providing you have skills, you don't need five-inch tires to shred snow. Vincent "Vinny T" Tupin shows how it's done in Chatel, France, in this must-watch POV edit, "Snowy Laps and No Handers." Vinny machs his way down a slushy track for a while, but the fun begins a third of the way through when the Scott Voltage rider is making first tracks on new snow, pinning it off wooden features and then finishes off the edit with a mega steep fall-line run. Watch and learn.
One of the most popular videos in January was "Ice Heist," which has Casey Brown and Cam McCaul stealing their way into the Manning Park Resort in BC, Canada, and armed with big bikes and heavily spiked tires, they rip up the area's ski runs at impressive speeds. If you are considering a fat bike this winter, you might invest in a couple of boxes of self-tapping sheet metal roofing screws and some polyethylene anti-flat liners instead. Apparently, the 20-dollar snow-bike conversion worked fine for Casey and Cam:
German Direct-Sales Bike Brands
Rose, Canyon, Cube, and YT
Rose, Canyon, Cube, and YT
Matt Wragg's trio of factory visits gave us an insider's look at Cube, Rose, and Canyon and they epitomize what modern bicycle brands should be: contemporary, well run businesses with relevant products, connected to their customers, and staffed with supercharged, up-to-the minute designers and engineers. Germany's fourth direct-sales brand, YT, announced their impressive 2016 range in the same month.
Canyon's testing laboratory is second to none, with stations to replicate all industry standards, and in some cases, exceed them.
Rose's assembly facility is a busy place. Bicycles are quality checked at each station and then personally signed before they are boxed.
Cube puts blue pins on the countries where they are currently selling bikes. Amber pins are markets they plan to enter soon.
YT's 2016 Capra CF Pro was released January 11 and reportedly, the first production is already sold out until March.
Perhaps it is because they are German brands, or perhaps it reflects a wholesale shift in the awareness of the enthusiast bike buyer, but the commonality of the four bike makers is that they concentrate on selling great bikes at reasonable prices, not conjuring up BS about how cool they are - and their direct-sales model has gained enough momentum to suggest that the established brands had better come up with a better plan than heaving insults if they intend to remain in the driver's seat.
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High-End Suspension Brands in the US
BOS names Quality Bicycle Products as North American Partner
BOS names Quality Bicycle Products as North American Partner
BOS suspension is oft heralded as the best-performing fork and shock that money can buy - and reviews from nearly every media outlet have supported those claims. The downside of BOS, however, has been its centralized support ethos, which means that customers who can't take a train to its headquarters in Toulouse, France, and wait for service or tuning, may be without a ride for a month or more while their suspension returns by post.
![YT Capra Review]()
The deal means that Quality Bicycle Products (a make-it-happen company) will handle rebuilds, warranty, tuning, spares, and sales to dealers and customers throughout North America - a huge incentive for many riders who would have considered BOS suspension, but were wary of potential turn-around issues for tuning or regular service intervals. A base in North America also makes BOS a viable alternative to upper-end offerings from the likes of Fox, RockShox, Cane Creek, and DVO in the aftermarket and elite OEM sales.
The deal means that Quality Bicycle Products (a make-it-happen company) will handle rebuilds, warranty, tuning, spares, and sales to dealers and customers throughout North America - a huge incentive for many riders who would have considered BOS suspension, but were wary of potential turn-around issues for tuning or regular service intervals. A base in North America also makes BOS a viable alternative to upper-end offerings from the likes of Fox, RockShox, Cane Creek, and DVO in the aftermarket and elite OEM sales.
Freeriders
Kelly McGarry is gone
Kelly McGarry is gone
January was the last month that friend and freerider Kelly McGarry was among us. If there is any truth that only the good die young, he is certainly proof. If anyone characterized everything good about freeride, it was the tall, ever-smiling New Zealander with the wild hair who seemed to have spent every waking moment of his short life making the world around him a better place. RIP McGazza.
Kelly McGarry (1982-2016)
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Member since Mar 23, 2011
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Is it just me or does anybody else think it was a bad month for Aaron Gwin's future brand? Aaron has said publicly that he was anxious to get the news out but has been and is still waiting for the company to release the news. Everybody seemed excited last week after but after Kelly passed as well as Mirra, I kinda feel like people are starting not to care... Does it really take this long to put out a press release? The more they make us wait the longer Aaron can't show up to any of the grass-root races.
And if Aaron can't show up to any small events prior to Lourdes, is that really so bad? If he really wanted to, he could show up on a blacked-out Walmart bike and still win, or swing by without a bike just to hang out and sign posters for his other sponsors. Sure, he will be missed, but judging by how YT has handled this so far, Gwin is no longer their priority right now. As it should be.
And TBH the vast majority of people who watch downhill will only find out who's riding what when they tune in to watch the first race of the season. Especially for a rider like Gwin who doesn't tend to put out much off season content anyway it really doesn't matter when he announces his new team as long as he's got his bike ready in time for Lourdes.