Rockshox 2014
Comments
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milfredo wrote:Those rotors look interesting!
I wouldnt know since ive never used discs before :oops:
Purely so i can learn, do you mind telling me what makes them intersting? Im trying to build knowledge on disc brakes
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GT-Arrowhead wrote:lol! There is acutally a picture of it outside of the portaloo.
And i just saw a link on facebook about it too. http://wideopenmag.co.uk/news/18314/gt- ... -race-bike
So im guessing you must be some top end DH rider to be at the same event as the GT factory team with their prototype!
Pretty much anyone could turn up for a BDS round, people actually stand and watch the races too you know
I agree with Northwind too, there are plenty of places a long travel bike is a benefit and just as much fun as a shorter travel one. I think more than anything longer travel usually means slacker angles, which is what I prefer. In all fairness unless you live somewhere its seriously flat or are bothered about racing, I see few reasons to go for any bike with less than 130mm travel. I can guarantee most people will ride somewhere that warrants it at least once a year, probably at least once month as a minimum. It is terrain dependant to a degree, but there are so many people who just say "fuck it, don't need it" because they don't feel the need for change, when actually if they opened their eyes to longer travel they'd realise they can be more fun more of the time. The latest breed of trail/AM/enduro whatever you want to call them are incredibly capable bikes. Just as an example my Mojo weighs less than half a lb heavier than my dad's 2005 rocky mountain element, which has a third of the travel and a full on xc build with sid's etc and it actually pedals better too, yet has that bit extra when needs be. The difference between most 120mm and 140mm+ is very small these days. 160mm would be the max I'd want though, 150mm is the sweetspot imo0 -
lawman wrote:
Pretty much anyone could turn up for a BDS round, people actually stand and watch the races too you know
I assumed he was one of the riders since he was with the other riders bikes, didnt think audience would be allowed there.
Idk
Would love to watch one of those.0 -
GT-Arrowhead wrote:lawman wrote:
Pretty much anyone could turn up for a BDS round, people actually stand and watch the races too you know
I assumed he was one of the riders since he was with the other riders bikes, didnt think audience would be allowed there.
Idk
Would love to watch one of those.
People can pretty much just have a wander round the pits, that the beauty of it, you get to walk round, see the bikes meet the pro's etc. I went to Bikeradar live a few years back and it was great just casually strolling round the pits and bumping into Steve Peat or any of the Atherton's, its just a really chilled out atmosphere the few I've been too.0 -
I didnt think you would be allowed round the pits since many other sports are like that. Thats good that there is a really calm atmosphere. Would like to meet the Athertons.
Its a real shame that i live in London. Biking hell. Nothing like the BDS or any other events happen in London obivously. Went out of the city yesterday in my charity ride and it was absolutely brilliant. Really nice surroundings, very very few cars, polite riders, saw a few places where offroading would be pretty enjoyable. No broken glass to cause punctures lol.0 -
GT-Arrowhead wrote:I didnt think you would be allowed round the pits since many other sports are like that. Thats good that there is a really calm atmosphere. Would like to meet the Athertons.
Its a real shame that i live in London. Biking hell. Nothing like the BDS or any other events happen in London obivously. Went out of the city yesterday in my charity ride and it was absolutely brilliant. Really nice surroundings, very very few cars, polite riders, saw a few places where offroading would be pretty enjoyable. No broken glass to cause punctures lol.
Every so often something goes on, not necessarily mountain bikes, last year Gee and Dan were up at the Ally Pally last year for Red Bull Empire of Dirt, unfortunately it was BMXs (sorry didn't see any Muddy Foxes) and they weren't riding, just dossing. We spent most of the day hunting them, and every so often someone went flying past on a clown bike, occasionally smashing into the ground at great speed. But yeah, aside from that, fuck all happens... drove me mad while I had to live there, still does now as it turns out Potters Bar really isn't far enough away from London for there to be any really decent biking...0 -
Angry Bird wrote:(sorry didn't see any Muddy Foxes)
Hahahaha, made me laugh!
lkjldfkgjkldf....omg...Ally Pally is literally 10 mins away from me by train. If only i knew
Potters bar is very very close to me too. So you live in Potters Bar now?
You dont have to go too far away from potters bar to get to some nice country roads though. I went very close to potters bar yesteday and it was a really really nice ride. (on the road, not sure about off road)0 -
I should have added i was talking about my countryNorthwind wrote:It's being reported as tapered steerer only, be a shame if that's true. Also curious if it's "full length" or if it's like the 34 with a shorter axle-to-crown. If they do a straight one, and it's full length, then I reckon I might be buying one.bennett_346 wrote:160mm is far too much for trail riding.
Respectfully, this is bobbins. Some bikes don't carry it too well, so it makes things feel too easy and all you get is downside unless you're really working it hard. But better long travel bikes aren't like this. My Hemlock's got Lyriks in it and sure, it's harder work but it's every bit as fun to ride at glentress (frinstance) as my hardtail or my rigid. Just faster, is all.
It's been worked a lot harder in the UK than in the alps in all honesty, a good trailbike like this works fine round simpler trail centres but will step up to downhill courses or big mountains without any fuss. Nice to have a bike you can fling in the boot and take up fort william one day, then do a mile-muncher on the west highland way the next, and finish up with laps of laggan. I guess it depends where and how you ride.
Not many mountains here. If you get up to scotland or wales regularly fair play but i rode my 140mm full susser in the alps last summer and it was more fun than the year before where i took a 160mm bike.0 -
Travel is as much about the rider as it is the terrain. I can have fun with no travel, or 200mm, even sometimes on the same terrain!
Some people simply prefer a set number for their all round riding. if they have tried and tested stuff, then no one can say it is wrong for them.0 -
GT-Arrowhead wrote:lawman wrote:
Pretty much anyone could turn up for a BDS round, people actually stand and watch the races too you know
I assumed he was one of the riders since he was with the other riders bikes, didnt think audience would be allowed there.
Idk
Would love to watch one of those.
It's an ameture event with a category for pro's. I will enter next year, didn't think I would be quick enough this year but a mate who I usually beat in races did ok.
Anyone can wander around the pits and the pro riders are pretty friendly. The pro's even come out and watch the racing with us normal scum sometimes.
If you want to watch a round have a look at the Saracen BDS website, you won't see the world cup factory racers at many rounds but you will see some very fast racers.
Last year I almost knocked Gee Atherton off his crutches with a portaloo door!Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=130702350 -
RockmonkeySC wrote:GT-Arrowhead wrote:lawman wrote:
Pretty much anyone could turn up for a BDS round, people actually stand and watch the races too you know
I assumed he was one of the riders since he was with the other riders bikes, didnt think audience would be allowed there.
Idk
Would love to watch one of those.
It's an ameture event with a category for pro's. I will enter next year, didn't think I would be quick enough this year but a mate who I usually beat in races did ok.
Anyone can wander around the pits and the pro riders are pretty friendly. The pro's even come out and watch the racing with us normal scum sometimes.
If you want to watch a round have a look at the Saracen BDS website, you won't see the world cup factory racers at many rounds but you will see some very fast racers.
Last year I almost knocked Gee Atherton off his crutches with a portaloo door!
Yeah i will definitely go to one though. Im getting more and more into biking so i would love it, im sure. Im still a HUGE noob though atm. (dont know if youve seen the abuse my bike got in the CC)
Id love to be a DH Racer like some of you guys one day. I see onboard videos of people doing DH tracks and stuff on youtube. I personally like the one where its a street DH course in i think it was Chile? Looks bloody brilliant, with all those people cheering you on and watching you.RockmonkeySC wrote:Last year I almost knocked Gee Atherton off his crutches with a portaloo door!
Hahaha, thats not something you do often! 0 -
GT-Arrowhead wrote:I assumed he was one of the riders since he was with the other riders bikes,
I could ride a BDS round, and I'm a total nobody Downhill's a really accessible sport, money aside. (I'd even get into the pre-entry, you only need 1 BC point and I got more than that for wobbling down glencoe once in an SDA round that no bugger turned up for- all in the timing)milfredo wrote:Those rotors look interesting!
Are they not just standard Saints?Uncompromising extremist0 -
Really?? I read that the top 300 riders in the country ride in the BDS. :O
When im a bit older and able to get around, use my own money and what not ill definitely get entering in some DH competitions.
Money does seem to be a problem though. You need liscences, insurance, entry fees, travelling fees and ofcourse the bike.
DH kit and parts always seem to cost alot more than other bike parts though. That puzzles me. Is it because they are much better built to withstand a battering from jumps and the overall challenge of a DH ride? DH bikes seem to be very costly too. For example a direct mount stem costs like the best part of £100, then you get the normal stems that you would get for your average mountain bike costing something like £60 ish for something that would be high quality. Its the same story with forks. Boxxers go for 1k and for non-DH forks your looking at ALOT less than 1k.0 -
How it works is they open the entries first for higher points scorers, to make sure most better riders get in if they want. Then, they open it to anyone with points, which restricts it to people who've raced before with at least some minor success (it's not that hard to get points, though) . And then if there's still spaces, it goes open to the public- all you need is a licence.
Looking at the signup for this round it's pretty high level so it's possible the first release took all the tickets actually... Doesn't always happen. Still places available for round 5
But BDS is the national series, so it's not the best place to start really- expensive and, to some extent, as a novice you're probably taking a place from someone who could do more with it. I've not raced one but I expect it's also pretty serious, I'd feel like a spare prick- there's a line between "can race" and "should race" I reckon
There's a difference between competing and taking part Uncompromising extremist0 -
Ohh right. That makes sense.
Yeah im not looking to jump straight into some serious DH series. Id look like a right pillock!
This is kinda how ive got it planned out:
-Learn about higher end bikes (probably by building 2-3 and keeping them for a while to learn how to fix them and maintain them)
-Learn how to ride DH tracks but not in races, just casually as in normal riding.
-Get myself a GT Fury (obviously). Jokin. Get myself a proper DH bike if im not happy with the bikes i had before.
-Get a licence
-Get racing! From the novice stuff and try and work my way up.
Proabably making it sound really simple but i know it wont be.
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DH bikes can be expensive just as any bike can, but you can get into the sport relatively cheaply and work your way up, a DH hardtail can be reasonably cheap to learn the trade and skills needed. A little company called BTR make handbuilt frames for DH which last an age and they're not too expensive either. I'd say for a decent hardtail for DH you could do it brand new for around a £1k or so if you shop around, budget a few hundred for riding kit and then you'll have race entry and stuff on top of that.
Imo as good as DH is I can really see Enduro taking off in the next few years. DH will always be cool but Enduro is so much more accessible for more people, you can ride it on any kind of trail bike and from what I've seen the scene is very is very similar to DH, really chilled out, especially in the UK. I plan to enter a few next year probably once I've finished at Uni and other than entry fee's and travel it will cost next to nothing compared to if I wanted to race DH, but by no means is Enduro a poor mans DH, if anything I'd say it's even tougher as you need good all round bike skills. We have some seriously fast DH guys in our club, but I bet a fair few of us supposidly slower xc type guys would give them a beating in an Enduro event.0 -
£1k sounds like a very healthy budget to get a decent DH bike going. I googled BTR and i found these two pictures quite cool. I really like the fact that they've got the bike information on a plaque thats pinned onto the headtube. Never seen that before but it is a nice idea. I like it.
I had a look at what Enduro is just now since i didnt know quite what it was, its sounds like something i would like doing. It sounds like its just DH with some added bits on like XC. I do like the sound of it. I like to have a more aggressive riding style. And i pretty much always go as fast as i can on my bike, i know it probably sounds stupid to say i have an aggressive riding style since i mostly ride my bike on roads and stuff, but i wouldnt describe myself as a relaxed and smooth rider. I absolutely belt it to where ever im going most of the time. I like to ride as fast as possible. I improvise and have a bit of fun though, i love riding really close to things and swerving in and out of lamposts that are close together and going on the outside of dustbins on the pavement right on the edge of the road and just try to make my riding as fun as possible really. Jumping off stairs, skids. Anything to make it more enjoyable than riding in a straight line.
Id love to join a club at some point when i do get into the more serious stuff. Sounds like a really good idea, and will probably make you a better and more competitive rider i would imagine, as you talk about your mates about it all and try and beat them. So it sounds good.0 -
Lawman's spot on, enduro's mint. It's also- IMO- a better event for the folks that aren't doing so well, which is 80% of everyone that enters. Normal downhill is mainly for the 20%, everyone else is there to pay for it Not to say it can't be fun though.GT-Arrowhead wrote:-Get a licence
-Get racing! From the novice stuff and try and work my way up.
Other way round, relatively few lower end events need a licence. Though there are other benefits, insurance etc. You can also race dh on a smaller bike though obviously it can be harder. But, what more folks are cottoning onto is that you can ride downhill on pretty much anything. You can be Jesse Wigman and race fort william on a rigid Or you can go and do an uplift on your normal bike. It's just riding... Uncompromising extremist0 -
Riding DH on a trail bike is bloody awesome I must admit! Admittedly I wussed out of the harder runs last time, but I'll be hitting the gnarlier tracks next time for sure.
Just a quick look at CRC found some great deals on hardtails that would be good for either DH or Enduro, and shows that it need not cost the earth to get into, and these are brand new, warranties and all, will be cheaper bikes out there that will have been well looked after for less.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=95401
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=85801
The kona would be an excellent entry level enduro bike, while the NS is slightly more DH focused, and thats just a quick 5 minutes browsing, plenty of other options out there, but as Northwind said, in theory you can do it any decent mtb with decent kit0 -
Northwind wrote:Lawman's spot on, enduro's mint. It's also- IMO- a better event for the folks that aren't doing so well, which is 80% of everyone that enters. Normal downhill is mainly for the 20%, everyone else is there to pay for it Not to say it can't be fun though.GT-Arrowhead wrote:-Get a licence
-Get racing! From the novice stuff and try and work my way up.
Other way round, relatively few lower end events need a licence. Though there are other benefits, insurance etc. You can also race dh on a smaller bike though obviously it can be harder. But, what more folks are cottoning onto is that you can ride downhill on pretty much anything. You can be Jesse Wigman and race fort william on a rigid Or you can go and do an uplift on your normal bike. It's just riding...
Ohh. I always thought you needed a liscence to race in events.
Id like to ride a DH track on something that wouldnt let me down though. if i did it on a bike that wasnt well suited then surely id be wasting my time since i wont be competitive at all. Id much like to try and ride DH on something rigid though 0 -
lawman wrote:Riding DH on a trail bike is bloody awesome I must admit! Admittedly I wussed out of the harder runs last time, but I'll be hitting the gnarlier tracks next time for sure.
Just a quick look at CRC found some great deals on hardtails that would be good for either DH or Enduro, and shows that it need not cost the earth to get into, and these are brand new, warranties and all, will be cheaper bikes out there that will have been well looked after for less.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=95401
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=85801
The kona would be an excellent entry level enduro bike, while the NS is slightly more DH focused, and thats just a quick 5 minutes browsing, plenty of other options out there, but as Northwind said, in theory you can do it any decent mtb with decent kit
I do like Konas. Apart from the name they give some of their bikes
That NS looks seeeexy! Wouldnt mind having one of those at all
Tbh, i dont think ill ever buy a brand new bike ever again, well not a complete one anyway. Even if i did id probably take it apart and put it back together again just to make myself feel better. I love building bikes just as much as i love riding them. And it would be more specific to what i would want and probably cheaper too.
Like for my chucker, if i wanted to i could probably spend £150 and get one complete. But i dont want that. I wanna build one myself. So i just bought the frame and now im in the process of collecting parts. 0 -
GT-Arrowhead wrote:Northwind wrote:Lawman's spot on, enduro's mint. It's also- IMO- a better event for the folks that aren't doing so well, which is 80% of everyone that enters. Normal downhill is mainly for the 20%, everyone else is there to pay for it Not to say it can't be fun though.GT-Arrowhead wrote:-Get a licence
-Get racing! From the novice stuff and try and work my way up.
Other way round, relatively few lower end events need a licence. Though there are other benefits, insurance etc. You can also race dh on a smaller bike though obviously it can be harder. But, what more folks are cottoning onto is that you can ride downhill on pretty much anything. You can be Jesse Wigman and race fort william on a rigid Or you can go and do an uplift on your normal bike. It's just riding...
Ohh. I always thought you needed a liscence to race in events.
Id like to ride a DH track on something that wouldnt let me down though. if i did it on a bike that wasnt well suited then surely id be wasting my time since i wont be competitive at all. Id much like to try and ride DH on something rigid though
Believe me it takes more than a well suited bike to be competitive I've been riding 9 years all over the country and am relatively fit, competent would be a good word I suppose and even on a DH track more suited to a short travel bike like mine the top DH boys on full on DH bikes still smoked me You need so many different things to be competitive, the bike actually plays a very, very small role in it all. As I noted at Antor Stiniog t'other weekend, the really fast guys have skill and the balls to go with it, there is no short cut to speed, it takes years and years. Not wanting to put you off, just being realistic and don't expect to grasp it quickly, cos it takes a long time believe me
You can build a new bike from a frame only you know my last 3 have been done from a bare frame and I've picked each component, t'is great fun!! 0 -
Yah, I'm barely faster on a dh bike than on my trailbike, the limiting factor's the pilot Uncompromising extremist0
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Sounds pretty promising for then cause I LOVE SPEED! And id say id have the balls to ride fast, definitely...i hope... Obviously will take time to get used to. Cant expect to perform straight up!
I consider myself to be pretty fit on a bike (for my age anyhow) I do it more than anyone in my school so i guess the fitness part of it will be okay. My thighs have gotten huge within the last 2-3 years. I got large legs naturally so i dont look retarded though
Managed to keep the same pace as someone on a road bike on a sort of hybridified retro mtb across 50k. Id probably say i could have finished before him but we had to go together for the last part. So im quite pleased with my fitness.
Thats exactly what i mean, just the frame to begin with and then build it up from there. My Chucker will be exactly that. Indeed it is great fun! Nothing compares to getting a new part through the post. Or the satisfaction you get when you complete a build from scratch. 0 -
Northwind wrote:Yah, I'm barely faster on a dh bike than on my trailbike, the limiting factor's the pilot
Im pretty surprised to hear that trial bikes are really good on DH tracks. Isnt the geometry on the frames different?
I have no clue AT ALL about geometry but ive read about people saying that if you put the wrong fork on it ruins the geometry or if you use a bike with the wrong geometry it handles shit and all the rest of it. I dont know what they are talking about tbh LOL.0 -
GT-Arrowhead wrote:Northwind wrote:Yah, I'm barely faster on a dh bike than on my trailbike, the limiting factor's the pilot
Im pretty surprised to hear that trial bikes are really good on DH tracks. Isnt the geometry on the frames different?
I have no clue AT ALL about geometry but ive read about people saying that if you put the wrong fork on it ruins the geometry or if you use a bike with the wrong geometry it handles shoot and all the rest of it. I dont know what they are talking about tbh LOL.
Geometry does make a huge difference to how a bike handles, and I'll be here all day trying to explain it, there's probably plenty of stuff online and in mags to better explain it than I could.
What Northwind is getting at is some people have a speed barrier. They're comfortable upto a certain point and no matter what bike you're on once you reach that point you go no faster. The best riders don't have that. Me and Northwind aren't shabby riders by any means, but the difference between us and the good guys you'll see at a trail centre or uplift is huge in places, and then the gap between them and the top pro's is equally as vast. Balls plays a huge part, but having the skills to handle the bike over rough terrain also plays a huge part, and its that aspect that takes the time and practise to get. I used to ride street stuff on my hardtail with mates on BMX's, some bordered on semi-pro or were getting towards that level, I was quite happy to just roll down some stairs, they had the balls and the skills on their little bikes, but DH was totally different, throw in a few mega rooty sections and they were way out of their comfort zone. They gave it a hell of a go because they were mad, but even with their excellent bike handling skills they still found it a challenge. As I say I sure as hell wouldn't want to ride certain DH stuff!0 -
Ill definitely try and read up on bike geometry and see what its all about.
I understand what you mean about the speed barrier. Makes sense. I personally wouldnt want to try out the kind of BMXing where you flick the bike around 360 degrees and land back on it. That really isnt for me, i cant imagine myself doing that at any point. But i quite like the sound of a controlled decent over rough ground. Sounds like something i would really enjoy.
I would be put off by many features of a DH track, for example like going downhill really fast, then seeing a corner with a massive drop on the outside of it, so if you go too fast or with too little confidence, your facked. and im assuming thats what you mean about the speed barrier and the balls. If you get too scared and slow down then obivously you wont be the best. But if you go for it (without going completely mental and killing yourself) then you are a better rider since you arent as scared as others. 0 -
GT-Arrowhead wrote:Im pretty surprised to hear that trial bikes are really good on DH tracks. Isnt the geometry on the frames different?
Trail not trial!Uncompromising extremist0 -
Sorry, that was a typo.
I do know the difference xD
Trail bike is just your standard trail bike (dont know how to describe it really)
Trial bikes on the other hand are fk ugly things that you hop across rocks and stuff with.0 -
GT-Arrowhead wrote:Northwind wrote:Yah, I'm barely faster on a dh bike than on my trailbike, the limiting factor's the pilot
Im pretty surprised to hear that trial bikes are really good on DH tracks. Isnt the geometry on the frames different?
I have no clue AT ALL about geometry but ive read about people saying that if you put the wrong fork on it ruins the geometry or if you use a bike with the wrong geometry it handles shoot and all the rest of it. I dont know what they are talking about tbh LOL.
It depends what you call a downhill track. The forest of dean downhill trails are really tame and just as easy on a trail bike as a downhill bike. A lot of UK DH tracks like that are pretty tame. Ride something like Super Tavi or Egypt at Gawton or some of the big Welsh tracks (not Cwmcarn!) or Fort William and you will then understand why you need a DH bike. The speed you can carry through the really tech stuff on a DH bike is far higher than most people can manage on a trail bike.
DH bikes are a lot of fun to ride, you can get up some ridiculous speeds through really rocky & rooty trails and they soak up big drops and jumps really well and you can be as aggressive as you want with them. But they are very expensive, you regularly break expensive parts like chain devices and wheels and suspension needs really looking after and it's unlikely that you frame will last more than three or four years of hard racing.
Racing is huge fun but the difference between a fast weekend rider who just does uplifts and a competitive racer is quite surprising. Before I started racing I was keeping up with the fast riders on uplift days and it's taken me two years of racing and regular training to even get mid field results. To be fast you need to be very fit (XC racers and roadies won't believe that though).Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=130702350
