What's considered an Olympic quality MTB?

Thewaylander

supersonic wrote:

Thing is, the Olympics doesn't know what it is anymore. Has gone from ancient greeks throwing rocks, to an amateur competition when the modern era started, to now where they randomly include stuff and not others.

i Agree 100%

Chinley Churner

deadkenny wrote:

Was just about to mention winter olympics and beaten to it. Grungy image and crazy stuff like skier and snowboard cross, so why not DH and 4X. They have halfpipe in winter too, so should have freeride in the summer.

Because their inclusion would mean dropping other cycling events which are all lumped together (track, road, mtb and BMX) in one allocation.

I get a bit miffed about people slagging off the XC course. Ridden eyeballs out and in a big field of riders, it'll be a fast and furious race with a significant amount of climbing as the laps add up. It's a totally different kettle of fish to bimbling round your local trails on a 140 mm travel slack angled bike, with a few mates and barely getting out of breath.

It's the same as when people slag off centres like Sherwood Pines. OK, there are no fast descents, but ride flat out round the Kitchener Trail a few times and it's not such a breeze. Speed and thrills don't have to come just from gravity... we have these things called pedals on our bikes.

Anonymous

I'm sure it's "okay", just it's a huge wasted opportunity, even for XC.

This is XC but looks far better - 2012 XC World Cup 4 - La Bresse

I'd actually want to watch that and would love to ride it too. Can't say the same for the field in Essex.

Sure I know it's "London" Olympics so had to pick something near London, but as said - sailing in Weymouth? huh? and something equivalent to what the French have done could have been knocked up round those things called 'hills' that are south of London, or places that are already equipped for both bike events and TV or film crews.

timpop

bluechair84 wrote:

If Olympians are provided with standard skis, crossbows, lumps of lead all made by one company to level the playing field, couldn't one comapny provide framesets (frames, shocks, forks) for the competitors and the team can kit out the rest? Or do they get to choose and use their own kit in each sport?

Olympians are not provided with 'standard' skis. There are standards, like turn radius but the rest is down to the manufacturer and ability of the skier.
They might have a standard in Olympic XC mtb that only allows for a 26' wheel but I can't imagine there's much more to it. They might not but we'll see soon enough.

supersonic

They should include darts, then we could send Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis.

Chunkers1980

Yeah but Barney would play well and take it home for the Dutch.

Anonymous

http://youtu.be/clv0S--z4p0

bluechair84

timpop wrote:

bluechair84 wrote:

If Olympians are provided with standard skis, crossbows, lumps of lead all made by one company to level the playing field, couldn't one comapny provide framesets (frames, shocks, forks) for the competitors and the team can kit out the rest? Or do they get to choose and use their own kit in each sport?

Olympians are not provided with 'standard' skis. There are standards, like turn radius but the rest is down to the manufacturer and ability of the skier.
They might have a standard in Olympic XC mtb that only allows for a 26' wheel but I can't imagine there's much more to it. They might not but we'll see soon enough.

If advantages by equipment aren't a problem in other disciplines (like in the XC), then it shouldn't be a barrier to DH. Bring it on. Watching the Fort Will WC a few years ago was a brilliant day!

jonnyboy77

Boardman talks about Annie Last's Olympic mountain bike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW4Mk5U9Wfo

YeehaaMcgee

supersonic wrote:

Thing is, the Olympics doesn't know what it is anymore.

Did it ever? It used to have events for poetry and the like, much like an eisteddfod.

grl

ddraver wrote:

Think he means Annie Last...

And yes Boardman supply Team GB's off road stuff...

Yeh, sorry about that. Sailing is also another of my past times.


Giles