Mondraker Announces the "Safety Check" Bike For the 2022 UCI DH World Cup & World Championships

 Ikr like what the heck
Of course there are going to be dangerous features. Your racing a technical downhill track. What are they gonna do next, remove all the rocks??

 Bike should have been named the canary in the coal mine.

 Ski racing has used forerunners for this purpose for a very long time. The forerunner does not need to be going 100% of race pace to assess safety, they just need to know what they are looking for.

 This is actually super important. They have to make sure all safety ramps for drops are removed before the race.

 @Boxmtb: They are already doing on most tracks

 I'm sure this is the last step of many to make sure a course is ready to run. It will have been inspected, walked, practiced on etc... Nice to have one last run through so one of the racers who should have nothing to do other than focus on going insanely fast doesn't also have to worry there may be sh#t or people in the way.

 Marketing Ploy

 I didn't see Hardline in the list of races they will be running this down. Must have been a typo.

 Especially Olympic XC races.

 No dangerous feature was featured in this article. The bike that will be used to check for it tho….

 @hamncheez: Then why not just make sure all safety ramps are removed by means of a procedure other than throwing a rider at them?

 @Muckal: By race day, everyone involved knows how that do or die jump is working or not working. That is not what this is for. The clearing rider immediately before the race is ensure that the course is clear and ready to race.
And ski racing absolutely has large borderline unsafe jumps, and just like in DH, they sometimes get worked on during the week to make things safer. Practice, inspection, and jury inspections all exist for those reasons.

 @bnflynn: skiers send it blind speedwise... dh aint the case!

 its not like the track is a minefield...

 Not a fan of rally or ski racing huh... This is not a new concept

 @ct0413: joke / you

 @CM999: Where riders go against the clock, like you would in...you know...a race.

 You guys realize this has been a thing for a long time, right?
And it makes absolute sense. The forerunner, unlike someone going on foot, will notice things like a big rock in the main line which is about to break loose and needs to be removed etc, so these things can be remedied if necessary. The forerunner´s job is not to check whether the rider field is capable of hitting any jumps, but rather if any jump has deteriorated enough to cause a safety hazard. It´s supposed to be a last safety measure in what ideally should be a well prepared race weekend with lots of already ongoing track assessment.
IDK why everyone is acting as if the UCI is knowingly sending this individual into certain death. Especially since the forerunner always is an accomplished rider and not some rando dude they picked from the crowd.
It´s also not in any way supposed to mellow down the tracks.

What it also is, is a marketing ploy. This bike is just another advertising banner for which the UCI can bag a check. Not ethically questionable in any way, but imho something that should be put directly into price money for the riders.

 Air forces do something similar with planes sometimes

 @bnflynn: at what point are they going to send the forerunner down then? Before every category? Some tracks get blown out during the race of the elite mens' field alone, especially with changing weather etc.. What if a rock loosens and rolls into a dangerous place in between? What if a spectator crosses the track in front of a rider? It's nice marketing for Mondraker, though.

 @hamncheez: don't tell it VDP

 @Muckal @Loki87 they should hire that Aussie who rode Loic's bike down the Cairns track in the rain.

 @hamncheez: Brayton's. The dude booked his trip to Lourdes as soon as he saw this.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/22079931

 @Boxmtb: shhhhhhhhhhh.....don't encourage them!

 @Boxmtb: they are going to grade the rocks and paint them different colours depending on how dangerous they are.

 I feel so out of the loop even though I read comments every day. This is in every thread. I guess I missed the reference. Can someone ELI5?

 @ozarksagd: Pinkbike Academy.

 @ozarksagd: I think it's mostly a reference to one of the PBA S2 contestants (Alina?) having a background in BMX racing

 @ozarksagd: It is funny because it feels like every time, they do an article on a specific rider, it seems like they always have a bmx background. Besides this they always make a big deal out of it so it became kind of a meme.

 @ozarksagd: Some girl said she had a BMX background on PB Academy, and noone on Pinkbike has any respect for BMX racing. . . Despite many legends of the sport having started in BMX racing.

 @ozarksagd: Alaina in PB Academy constantly mentioned she had a bmx background.

 Thanks for the explanations, everyone. I guess I should watch PB Academy if I want to stay on top of my PB memes.

 @ozarksagd: Damn, I though it was a reference to Aaron Gwins BMX background all the time! Still not going to watch PBA.

 @szec: And brad Simmons

 Their carbon DH rims are solid. Hubs are garbage, however

 @Balgaroth: the alloy rims I had were the softest POS’s I’ve encountered in over 30 years of riding. Maybe the carbon aren’t as shitty, but I’ll never give E.thirteen another dime.

 @unrooted: Which one was it ? I am using the LG1 DH, I think mk2, for Enduro/DH and nothing to complain about really. But I run rather high pressures so I rarely dent rims, flat spot them on hard landing more often tho. Those have resisted well enough. Good experience with their LG1 DH mk3 tires as well, MoPo compound is good and can be found super cheap in Europe sometimes (around 30€). No experience with anything else.

 e13 carbon hoops are amazing. Hubs used to suck, but their hubs in the last 2 years have been WAY better than my last DT 370 and Stans POS hubs.....

 It's intentional. The logic here is "Well... if an e13 can survive it then all other wheels are going to be fine."

 @Marky771: history and a certain Pinkbike review very much said otherwise. Then said jorno was never ever heard from again…..

 @ilovedust: I have heard they have gotten a lot better and I E13 have always been really responsive to customers concerns in my experience- that said- I had a pair of their aluminum hoops a few years ago that came on a Transition Sentinel (N of 1) and the rear wheel lasted less than a month. I have been riding long enough to know that any wheel can be destroyed on any ride given the unique set of factors they are exposed to. However, these ones felt different. Riddled in dings and flat spots without riding them that aggressively, regular tire flats etc. Went back to my trusty Flows on 350's. None of the same problems. At first I wondered if it had to do with my suspension setup or the new bike. Nope. Seemed to be the wheel. I'd love to believe E13's are better or I just had a dud set... but given the investment in new products one crap experience like that is enough to turn you off to a product given how many other options there are and especially when you have had really good experiences on others (DT350/Flow).

 @Balgaroth: how dare you objectively state the result of your positive personal experience!

 @ilovedust: Wasn't that Enve, not E13?

 @ilovedust: What review was that? Don’t remember it…as said above maybe you’re thinking about Enve?

 Or.... they could put a remotely operated switch on the bike which jams the front brake on at a random point to make it more realistic...

 @bigtim: you're right, we joke but even a sign saying not breathing, I wonder who has the authority to do anything if an airway is blocked

 this. but those colors on that bike are still pretty sweet. bendy bendy.

 Up the irons \m/

 And if the maiden rider crashes, do they switch to Flight of Icarus?

 I’m going to suggest, “Can I Play With Madness” as an alternate tune.

 @jgoldfield: And as the medic team rush up the mountain "Run to the hills"!

 @jrouellet: if they introduce an ebike component they can just play the entire powerslave album. ( i havent commented on front page shit in years. and here i am doing it on the dumbest bike premise i've seen in ages.) but, this comment thread is gold.

 If it's a hard course then they should play Bring me your daughter to the slaughter for the women's race

 Claudio

 @NatusEstInSuht Came here to say this. lol

 And Michael Masi as race director.

 @thtas: Can we then have a world champion by fan vote or something like that?

 lmao,imagine the amg drifting at the track xdd

 looks cool B)

 @normalrat: yeah that checks out.

 They're emulating motorsport Pace cars I guess. Free marketing.

 I wouldn't know, but it's safe to say the UCI didn't have to pay for the bike, cash only flows one way with that organisation.

 Gosh, ya think?

Maybe Outside had the same idea.

 If you can't qualify you aren't qualified

 If Jorge can make it down, anyone can! Perfect test rider. 100% marketing though, mondraker would of paid UCI for this spot.

 I was wondering the same. Wtf happened to David vazquez?

 So I worked on the track team (taping, course prep etc.) at the 2019 Fort William World Cup. Bumped into David while he was doing one of the UCI safety track walks. I believe he is still involved with the UCI as a technical delegate. I asked him if he missed racing and he said that he didn't particularly miss it. Maybe he just wasnt interested in taking on the role at this stage in life.

 The safety argument didn't ruin the courses, cameras and televised races did. Dense wooded singletrack is just too hard to film. If EWS ever gets proper coverage, expect a decline in courses.

 That´s not what this is though. I´m the first to complain about the UCI dumbing down the sport, but that´s not what i get from this announcement.
He is supposed to check for track deterioration, not assess rider capability.
Being on a bike he´ll notice a loose rock in the main line which is about to get knocked loose, which someone on fot would not notice. A broken off root which sticks out and may catch the front wheel of a rider. He´ll feel when a jump´s takeoff has become too muddy and will inevitably suck the necessary speed from riders. Things like that. Imho a good change. Some jumps can easily be cut out if necessary without altering the character of the course, or at the very least simply throw in some gravel or whatever to pack that section down a little.
I´ve had a race where a puddle formed in a grass section, deep enough for your front wheel to immediately sink into the mud to about axle height. Considering riders hit that section at full speed, someone should have noticed this section needed to be redirected. Yet me and a lot of other came to a very sudden stop in that puddle and got thrown out the front at full speed. I can only assume the forerunner would indeed help to identify such blatant safety hazards on a track before half of the field inevitably crashes on it.
I did not however understand this announcement as them looking for a way to check whether certain features should exist on a track in the first place. Imho this is actually a rather good idea and even though afaik this has already been done at the races anyway, making it more public is a good step in legitimizing the sport.

 @Jamminator: why would you argue that World Cup courses are ruined? Have you ever ridden one or been to a World Cup in person?

 @Loki87: mmm, nah, there's training on race day before finals and then each category's finals. In the end any of the 200 riders can be one breaking a rock loose or exposing a root whatsoever, and a random guy passing by before each category starts
is useless in that regard, tracks are everchanging.

In rally theres a '00' car, and then '0' car before the participants, but those are just to let spectators know the real ones come next so they GTFO the road. Is for the safety of spectators, not the drivers.

In this case, just a paid ad.

 Yeah, I’ve been at regional races where someone does a course sweep between classes.

 Came here to say this. I mean, come race time, isn't everyone pretty familiar with what the course is like? They do pre-rides, don't they?

 To be honest, they do. However they didnt make a song and dance about it. I frequently attend the Fort William round here in Scotland and have worked on the track crew before. There is a group of course sweepers who are the first people down the track at the start of every session and also sweep at the end of each session. I am pretty sure this is a UCI requirement at all world cups. I know at Fort William the course sweepers were good local racers who weren't quite at World Cup level. This is simply just a marketing exercise from the UCI and Mondraker

 Exactly. Just ask the racers!

 @Tambo
Exactly. There are no better set of opinions than from the racers themselves within each category. All due respect to Jorge, but can he speak for junior women or for the top five elite males?

 @Tambo:
It may seem like a good idea, but imho it´s really not.
We´ve seen these things in other sports. Athletes are a special breed and when in competition mode, the last thing they can do is realistically assess risk or make a risk vs reward assessment.
For them too much is at stake, be it bragging rights, social and self image, sponsors, motivation, self confidence etc.
Often times an athlete complaining will lead to negative outcome for him/her.
Athletes are also the most enthusiastic people involved in any sport. And while that at its core is a good thing, certain assessments should be made by an unbiased third party to ensure their safety.
That´s why in so many sports athletes and athlete commitees have voted against very important rule changes and held back the development of a sport.
Take MMA for example. A lot of great athletes there, but if you asked them whether the rule which allows the corner to throw in the towel should be removed, they´d overwhelmingly would vote against that rule. Yet many fighters´ health has been saved from their own ego because a coach had the balls to pull their fighter from the fight against their own will. They´d all ratehr go out on their shield and die in that cage than admit they got bested. None of those guys would ever admit to themselves they´re scared or unwilling to take damage because it fundamentally would undermine their ability to participate in the sport in the first place.
So an outside commission making these decisions and assessing risks is fundamentally a good thing.
Add to that the fact that the rider field is predominantely very young males which on top represent a very specific selection of individuals with rather specific thrill seeking tendencies, you have a recipe for disaster if you leave necessary safety precautions to them.
So if you ask me, it´s a very good thing these guys can solely focus on being the wildmen they are while a third party implements basic but useful safety measures like this one to make what they do more safe.

 Nah, it would be like trying to remove the Steilhang's corner from the Streif in Kitzbüel. It makes it more interesting.

 Because this has already been a thing. If anything the UCI is simply increasing the effort by upping the frequency of track checks and in the process they found a way to monetize the whole thing.
Basically this is not newsworthy besides the fact Mondraker needs to get their money´s worth in advertising exposure.

 Guarantee this Mondraker-sponsored safety run will be televised well before Juniors ever will be.

 It's mentioned in the article, Jorge Garcia

 @therealmancub: thanks, huge reading fail by me.

 Pero PB siempre ha sido asi, es lo mejor que tiene... Los comentarios jajaja

 Now repeat that 5x faster….