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betsie
- Member since Mar 5, 2007
- Male / 51
-
Forres , Scotland - 175 Followers
- 4 Trailforks Points
Building, testing, racing.
Trust the data, not some thought you read online.
Recent
betsie mikekazimer's article
Jul 24, 2026 at 0:29
2 days
Mountain Bikes From the Past 7 Years That We'd Still Happily Ride
I still happily ride my 2017 Tallboy.
Only retired my 2016 Session this year.
Still ride my old Nomad too.
I havent gone any faster on a DH bike (probably because I am getting older) since retiring my full coil 26" V10.
betsie mikekazimer's article
Jul 24, 2026 at 0:26
2 days
5 New SPD Trail & DH Pedals Tested: Can Anyone Beat Shimano?
Having gone from Shimano to Crankborthers then to Flats (CB nearly put me off clips for life), and now on Hopes.
Hopes are my favourite apart from breaking 2 of the mechanisms and if its super muddy (like shimanos too) they are poor once you have dabbed to get back in to.
betsie mikekazimer's article
Jul 24, 2026 at 0:24
2 days
5 New SPD Trail & DH Pedals Tested: Can Anyone Beat Shimano?
@chrismac70: and you dont really feel like you are ever clipped in to a pedal, more like having a stone under some 5.10 shoes on flats.
betsie mikekazimer's article
Jul 24, 2026 at 0:22
2 days
5 New SPD Trail & DH Pedals Tested: Can Anyone Beat Shimano?
Mallets 50p feeling put me on Flats for years! And I had all the fancy ones from full ti egg beaters to Mallet DH.
betsie edspratt's article
Jul 21, 2026 at 5:29
Jul 21, 2026
Results: British DH National Championships 2026
@FruitoftheForest: Mendips... as we have loam, we struggle on your southern slippery like an eel soil when its wet. Would love to have the opportunity to ride down there, but being from the NE, anything over 16C and we start to melt!
If you ever have the opportunity to ride the North East of Scotland, there are probably more trails on 1 hill than you have in the Mendips and there are lots of hills with trails on up here.
Loam, roots and rocks, steeps and plenty of gnarr to be had. There is flow and trail centres too if thats your thing.
betsie edspratt's article
Jul 21, 2026 at 1:13
Jul 21, 2026
Results: British DH National Championships 2026
Scotland owns Britain, we just let them tag along for the ride.
betsie edspratt's article
Jul 21, 2026 at 1:11
Jul 21, 2026
Results: British DH National Championships 2026
@fartymarty: no way, you need to come to North East Scotlandshire in the winter for the best mud.
The only place with proper dirt.
betsie Dario-DiGiulio's article
Jul 20, 2026 at 1:05
Jul 20, 2026
Poll: What Would You Change About Bike Geometry?
When its all geometry but the important things are, tyres, rims, wheel weight, bar sweep and stem length and some crank arm length.
Its only when you back to back test an old XC bike v modern enduro bike or an old DH bike v modern enduro bike with control tyres on that you realise there is no real difference, just perception of difference, and its all in the setup, not the frame and fork. Even changing from a basic damper to a top of the range damper doesnt make a significant difference if they are all setup well. The bike is a compromise and what you want to feel on the trail is all about where you want to sit/feel on that compromise. The most important thing is to have fun, and not everyones fun is the same.
Jack Moir found the same thing in his head to head testing.
betsie edspratt's article
Jul 20, 2026 at 0:54
Jul 20, 2026
Video: Head-to-Head POVs from Asa Vermette & Reece Wilson at the Andorra DH World Cup
Its so cool that we get to see these side by side videos.
Reece makes a mistake at 1.23 in between the left and right, he lands on the bank on the left which costs him everything he built up to that point. He then opened the gap back up again after the rock garden.
The view also shows how much more is in the tanks for ASA once he does less "micro turning" on track which is scary to think about how fast he will be when he does less of them. The future of racing is looking so good.
betsie edspratt's article
Jul 14, 2026 at 6:33
Jul 14, 2026
4 Things We Learned from the 2026 Andorra DH World Cup
Reece ran a different Dorado earlier in the year than he is riding now. No external part mounted and maybe back to 200mm? Looks like he changed bars back to what he ran at the first nationals too.
It would be interesting to see what he rides for each race. Reece is interesting and has been changing it up, looking for every "feel" gain. His results over the last 2 years since leaving Trek and experimenting are also fascinating, Reece is progressing nicely for a development project in terms of percentage from the winning time.
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