Video: Pinkbike Academy Season 2 Official Trailer

 Hahaha, love this.

 Can we add in sneaking out for a ride without waking up your kids?

 @chapwes: you mean not only getting out of the house without waking them, but also getting back before they wake up and wonder where the eff Dad went? AND tell Mom!

 Spot on haha

 @chapwes:

 I'M IN FOR MASTERS! You forgot explaining to your kids that you do love them, but you need 45 more minutes of ride time to make your weekly Strava goal.

 all about the zoom call in from the bike park!

 Taking a base build bike and whoever gets away with the highest value in upgrades without getting caught wins. Extra points for a complete frame swap.

 Also getting a big bike package delivered to a local depot and finding an excuse to pick it up and get it into the garage undetected

 Haha, amazing. You hit the nail on the head! As long as there is no mid-season drug test for THC then I'm in.

 Also add: doing favors for the wife in order to accumulate enough good will throughout the year to allow you to go on a guys bike trip. Only once a year tho!

 @tkrug:
-“Idk how these parts got here”
-“It was only (insert low price here)
- “I’ll sell some old stuff..”
-“That’s been on it since I got it”

 I am all in for the Master's version. Can we please have it at Killington or Thunder Mountain ?

The Masters FTP test should be interesting...remove the last digit of your birthyear...hit that number and you win.

I'll have to commute and can't be there till 11 so I can get the kids on the bus for school. Any chance Levy and Kaz could help make our kids lunches for the next day ? If they could do that the "Masters" could have a little more time on the mountain or a few minutes for a much needed hot tub to soothe the old bones.

I will also have to tell my wife this is for work meetings.

 Taste The Beast™

 I picture him just opening the hatch of his Mini and handing out warm Monster from his personal flat.

 Challenge one: Suck down this vape pen while lifting your diesel F250. (also I can't wait to watch this season.)

 i got my reason to try and participate even though I am going to get smoked. FREEEEE MONSTTTTTTTTTER

 "So you've got to do an Efficiency Test, but first you need to chug these three cans of Orange Sunrise Monster... Good luck and please sign this waiver first."

 @mikelevy: nothing tests resilience quite like trying to keep a gallon of monster energy in your stomach while tackling a rowdy climb. pinkbike academy s2: college rules.

 If there isn't a Kyle will it really be by Monster?

 @landisb: * Monster can cannon

 @flattoflat: Challenge 2: How many hours of the day both inside and outside can you wear white sunglasses?

 @dirtnapped: Chad stops scrolling for long enough to take a sip from one of the Monster cans littering his desk before placing it back between between the Kleenex box and Lubriderm hand-lotion bottle. He sloppily wipes the residual Monster Energy Drink from his lip with his oversized DC hoody sleeve and mutters to himself "who the f$%k is Kyle?" Now agitated, turns and yells through the Rise Against poster on the back of his closed door "MOMMMMM...ARE THE PIZZA POPS READY YET?"

 What have I become

 How about a fantasy league.

 Is that a John Candy reference in Blues Brothers?

 @landisb: he probably likes them warm too

 @ArloMullan: I like them any way I can get them

 Palmer is older and grumpier than everyone else so it wouldn't even be fair.

 @brianpark: challenge one- give me your best 15 minute rant about a specific industry trend. Aaaaand go!

 @withdignityifnotalacrity: Press in BB, Poorly done cable routing. 1X chain lines. Alloy nipples' on MTB wheels. Internal cable routing, with out tubes. Frame ports for internal routing are too small( need to be able to fit brake housing with thread ins on through). I may have a small issue with internal cables....currently working on a poorly done bike.

 @brianpark: Gone full Stig with the Pro's, epic work.

 @withdignityifnotalacrity: Next Challenge: How many of your tools can you throw and stick in the shop wall at 10 paces. Throw until your toolbox is empty.... in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.....

 @Augustus-G: Everything but the Pedros plastic tire levers.

 @bookem13: @Augustus-G: The wheel truing stand took a few attempts, and a few sections of wall, but I got there

 @Waldon83: My guess is Malemed or Gauvin, on the womens side....hmmmm...Christina Chappetta

 man slopestyle has totally taken over xc too! everyone is just schmeezin and steezin out there like reckless animals, make xc boring again!

 Literallly saw a guy nose bonk to bar turn a roller at the CX world cup race yesterday.

 @ryanandrewrogers: Yeah, That Dutch guy Vanderpole tried a new move called " THE LAWN DART!! "

 Yea, like:
Ben you're only like 20sec faster, you need to create a larger gap to the rest of the field if you wanna show you're the best.

(Ben goes faster)

Ben, we still think 5min 20sec is not enough of a gap. If you would have only been like 20min faster or something...

 I thought it was a cheesefest like everyone else, but the level of the male riders was extremely high. Wall's results speak for themselves. Vlad is a top 10 nationals guy. Ben had raced world cup and everyone kind of figure he's a ringer, but he wasn't even the best rider. Tom is such a legend he got hired by Pinkbike. And Addison is probably rock solid too, though we didn't really get to see him shred. Hope they up the level of the female riders this year, the gap was pretty big.

 Lol, exactly the same here. I have way too much disdain for reality TV to have enjoyed this as much as I did last season!

 @unrooted: Please elaborate on why men and women shouldn't compete against each other in mechanical challenges...?

 @bonkmasterflex: did you watch the first season?

 @unrooted: I would love for you to explain in detail what you are referring to.

 @bonkmasterflex: youtu.be/NHGt09eIyoI

 @bonkmasterflex: The women were not nearly as good as working on the bikes in season 1. Watch it. Don't be offended by it. Specifically, they could not build bikes from scratch. (I sure as hell can't either). Most of the guys had been a shop rat at some time or another and built them up. I was scared for some of the women to go ride those bikes before they got checked. Once again, watch it!!! It is clear.

 @kanute: there's no reason why women should be inherently worse mechanically then men. It's an even playing field. In terms of racing, women would obviously be handicapped and shouldn't be expected to compete directly. But mechanical aptitude is strictly a cultural thing.

 @bonkmasterflex: Read into it how you will:

It’s absolutely mind blowing that they have "People" competing against each other in mechanical challenges, then going and racing those bikes. Some of the "people" didn't appear to be competent with the mechanical challenges.

It’s absolutely mind blowing that they have "men & women" competing against each other in mechanical challenges, then going and racing those bikes. Some of the "people" didn't appear to be competent with the mechanical challenges.

It’s absolutely mind blowing that they have "men & women" competing against each other in mechanical challenges, then going and racing those bikes. Some of the "men & women" didn't appear to be competent with the mechanical challenges.

It’s absolutely mind blowing that they have "men & women" competing against each other in mechanical challenges, then going and racing those bikes. Some of the "women" didn't appear to be competent with the mechanical challenges.

 @withdignityifnotalacrity: Obviously you are correct. Women can have just as much mechanical aptitude as men. The question is do the specific women on the show have equal experience as the men in wrenching? The guys in season 1 generally had more experience than the girls. Is that really what you want to "test" for when you pick a winner? I watched Ultimate Surfer and loved how the girls and guys were paired up on teams, competing together to win separate equal grand prizes. Pinkbike Academy is a show that gives a racing contract, the fastest riders should win. If Pinkbike continues to have the girls and guys competing head to head for one prize, they will always have to make arbitrary decisions on who should win. It can't be a straight up race and be fair.

 @Davemk: I think these critiques are fair. The female cohort in season one was definitely behind the curve mechanically and experience wise, which I think took away from the show a bit. And it is strange to have women competing directly with men on a show where the prize is a racing contract, considering how the women of EWS obviously don't compete with the men.

I was just commenting that the mechanical challenges, which is definitely part of the EWS experience, should be an area where women and men are on pretty equal footing. I hope that with fewer pandemic restrictions, they were able to draw from a deeper pool of lady shredders this time around.

 @withdignityifnotalacrity: More equal vs strength but still not equal. Testosterone gives a preference or even advantage for certain types of activities that aren't necessarily based on physical capability. Test forms our brains a little differently. Another example is driving race cars, in fact most local clubs have women's indexes and even women's driving events. Physical capability is imo about half the differential that separates males and females on mtbs, the other half is mental. I've talked to women race car drivers about it and every single one will admit there's a difference in approach, risk assessment, etc. between sexes that is significant and has nothing to do with physical capability. Of course this is on average, there are plenty of exceptions.

 @Davemk: But lets be completely honest here....the winner was likely already pre-determined. There is no way that Orbea would allow the jabronis at Pinkbike decide who their factory supported rider is going to be based off of a couple weeks of arbitrary 'competitions'. There is too much money and visibility at stake.

 @davec113: Males have faster reaction times, which matters when you're driving 200mph. Females should still be able to tell which way tightens a bolt, though, even if it takes a millisecond longer.

In the US there are fewer women in technical careers than men, so looking around you might assume there is a lack of female aptitude or interest - but the same gender gap doesn't exist everywhere. IIRC in Norway 55% of scientists and engineers are women, and in Iran it's like 70%. It might be cultural. It might be biological. I don't believe there's been conclusive evidence one way or the other.

I think that both men's and women's DHWC and EWS podiums are populated with exceptions to the normal rules of risk assessment...

 @ryetoast: the perpetual nature vs nurture debate. On the mechanical side I lean heavily into nurture, as to this day I think women are pushed into "female" careers such as teaching and nursing and "dirty, physical" occupations like the trades or bike/auto shop are rarely suggested. On the nature side, we're definitely starting to see some racers in the auto/moto world. Danica Patrick is the famous example, but there are others, including in moto. The more physically demanding sports like mtb, it seems it's still pretty much impossible to compete on an even playing field.

 @withdignityifnotalacrity: there’s a HUGE difference between being an engineer and a mechanic, and I’ve worked with both male and female engineers from Iran…and they were not good at engineering.

 @withdignityifnotalacrity: LOL. If Danica wanted to be perfect all she had to do was go out and hit the Pace Car.
God knows she hit everything else on the track.

Now if you want an example of a good female driver try Janet Guthrie, Shirley Muldowney, the Force Sisters, etc...

 @Augustus-G: Props for the Days of Thunder reference.

 @Davemk: I know that at least in the USA, biking was and is still somewhat a mans sport. Marketing is targeted towards men, design is intended for men, ergonomics are made for men. It's maybe a little unfair to pit women against men in an area where women haven't been welcome for decades. It's getting better (RedBull Formation, etc,) but the bike industry is very easy to be a man and learn, however it's much less common to see women in those sorts of roles.

 @Spencermon: but there’s zero difference between men and women.

 @unrooted: That's true, but there is a huge difference in how men and women are raised by their parents, teachers, friends, classmates and society as a whole. It is not common for women to be encouraged to pursue a job when they are young as a bike mechanic. Bicycling as a sport relegated women to other roles such as podium girl. The women are just as capable as the men IF they are given the same opportunities. But they aren't given those same opportunities.

 @Spencermon: you really think I was being serious?

 @unrooted: Sarcasm detector pegged to 10......

 @unrooted: unfortunately, yes. Shows my level of faith in the average pink bike commenter.

 Some say, all of their bikes have AXS kickstands...

 Was thinking the same thing. Should rename their account to Pinkbike Unoriginals

 @DammitMike: Some say their water bottles are full of dumonde tech freehub oil, and that they don't believe that Denmark is a real country.

 He would be such a good bike stig... my god. Though it'd be very unfair to compare any of these folks times to him...

 @bonkmasterflex: eh, Evan was only a minute behind Maes in Tweed Valley, so about 10 seconds per stage, these aren't random punters, these peeps all shred.

 Monster Hydro

 I don't want to say 'that's too far'....but realistically, it's not. Being able to race in the Academy from my couch in VR would be too far


Is this something for the future? Can't wait to become even more lazy and even more pro level armchair professional.

 massive miss if not a thing...

 How about, good to see a very diverse group this time? Sheesh.

 youtube!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmSkiPVNYeM&list=PLQCfPUTFFOklSkwuKaDqiyH9vj1gDxxL9&ab_channel=Pinkbike

 Sean Connery.

 Curious also and dispointed it looks dry and warm so hell be at a massive disadvantage not being used that strange orange thing in the sky :p

 I agree but please god don't make me watch handlebar footage. Even unstabilized chest cams make me feel uneasy. Helmet footage is great, also gives a sense of how good a rider is at isolating compressions and bumps.

 Female for sure... go the girls!