Tracey Hannah is currently sitting in the lead in the women's World Cup DH points race, but with only a slim, 5-point margin separating her from Myriam Nicole she'll need to lay down a strong performance at Lenzerheide in order to stay at the front of the pack. Ross Bell caught up with Polygon UR team mechanic Jamie Tilbury to learn more about Tracey's Polygon Collosus DH9 race machine.
Tracey Hannah's Polygon DH9 Details
• Rider height: 5' 6”
• Frame size: medium, with headset cups to increase reach by 5mm
• Wheelsize: 27.5"
• Travel: 203mm
• Handlebar width: 760mm
• Stem length: 50mm
• e*thirteen LG1r carbon wheelset
• Trickstuff Direttissima brakes
• SR Suntour Rux R2C2 fork
• Kenda Hellcat Pro tires - 27.5 x 2.4"
Tracey is running the German-made Trickstuff Direttissima brakes, which use mineral oil and a four piston design to provide plenty of stopping power.
e*thirteen doesn't have a derailleur or a shifter in their lineup, but with their cassette, cranks, and chainrings they make all of other necessary parts for a drivetrain. They also provide the bike's LG1r carbon wheels
I'd love to try some Suntour stuff. Could be high on my list for a suspension refresh - along with x-fusion.
That Suntour shock doesn't look to far from production really. So the whole team is running different shocks now, pretty interesting. Then again back when Tracey Hannah was riding bikes from Morewood, she was also the only one racing a single pivot design (without linkage) whereas the rest of the team was riding a different bike. And within FMD they're running different drivetrains too. Good things are getting a bit more diverse now. There's been a time when it was pretty much either Fox or Rockshox front and rear. And yeah, I noticed DNM and RST are stepping up too. Exciting stuff.
I'm so curious about the length of frames and reach and handling. If the frame is 5mm longer, the riders would then use a 5mm shorter stem / headset set up. I'm going to guess the ride is totally different when the length is in the frame for reach rather than stem, headset, bar sweep, fork rake. Wow, things get complex in a hurry when you're designing and talking bike characteristics and all the parameters one can change.
I can ride no handed on my road bike so easy, but on my Capra (on the road) its tougher. . . hmm
The angles on the road bike are scary steep. . .
Lots to learn if I ever want to get a wad of cash and start a company in the far east.
If you're having trouble riding your Capra no handed on the road no handed, go faster. Most AM bikes are so slack, their handling characteristics don't come alive until 15+ mph.
Imagine riding with your mates, BBQ-ing, and having a dedicated mechanic and team to get these details like this dialed! I take an entire season to get my bike dialed when I change one item. I'd love to have it dialed in a weekend!
It is like your trying to hide something. Horribly
I don't think the CK buzzworks one is actually for sale.
I'm just somewhat interested in the subject because I need one, & I haven't found anybody yet that makes one yet with the 62mm lower cup I need. So if I see a new one & don't recognize it, I'm voracious for details.
Take a look at Reverse Components. They got an offset headset too. Maybe it´ll fit your needs.
You actually get decent advice / info from them if you ask for it too, unlike superstar which just tell you to go and look for yourself.
@Racer951
Yup, they were totally willing to chat, & explained how they just can't justify the 62mm lower cups because only a few brands use them on a few models.
Unfortunately for me, my Spartan is one of them, & upsizing for reach would have left me with too little seatpost exposed for a decent dropper.
There is a really small swiss company who does custom offset headsets, but i can´t remember the name :-/
It's a company setup initially to import and rebrand and is now purchasing others products in and copying them in-house, the only thing going for them is price, and that's gone up recently.
Feels pretty good and no other M bike i tried was as good as the S. (My first comment was a bit of sarcasm)
Secondly, you do not have to a ride a small size frame at your size. If your cornering technique is good enough you do not need to ride a small bike. So maybe there´s a reason Tracey is a professional WC racer after all
On a serious note, if you´re not a total beginner try a bigger bike next time. There´s definitely an advantage to them if you take the time to adapt.
DH bikes are pretty specific unless you are riding park stuff for fun, I just wanted to go as fast as I could so wheelbase / reach / stability trumped 'fun' factor, not that going as fast as you can down a DH track isn't fun!
Many 2017 frames have 'caught up' though and added to their reach figures.