2 questions about dh-riding

dhkid · Jun 8, 2006

Q1: propably not, there are soo many riders out there who work on the off season.
Q2: because they can!!! :rofl:

like its been said before, a light bike always helps. but no one goes round saying i am just 5 grams away from turning pro.

ink:

jonKranked · Jun 8, 2006

dhkid said:
no one goes round saying i am just 5 grams away from turning pro

what about 5 kg's away from turning Bender? :rofl:

habitatxskate · Jun 8, 2006

it makes it a lot easier to go faster..since i think the formula for speed is weight*accelleration, but i'm probably wrong.. and jon update the kranked site!

jonKranked · Jun 8, 2006

i thought that was you jesse. i've been meaning to, but between work, riding, and drinking, i don't really have the time. been working on new shirt designs and the designing the first hats at least.

dhkid · Jun 8, 2006

jonKranked said:
what about 5 kg's away from turning Bender?

more like 5 kgs away from turning bubba.:nuts:

the F.H.B · Jun 8, 2006

1/ yes it is possible but very few manage it, its not just ability to ride fast youve got to sell your self.

2/ Its not just the US riders, functional plus light = fast. look at the times from Willingen, so so close. So if taking 1kg off your bike weight gives you say .5 of a second advantage over a race run, well...

jonKranked · Jun 8, 2006

a rider/sponsor relationship is an interesting thing. its not only a matter of how well you can ride and your race resume, but also your ability to help promote the company and their product and give it a positive/appealing image.

DirtBag · Jun 8, 2006

Downhiller said:
i am very intresting in what are you gonna say about this (my friend told me to ask yo first is his mine is second

1,,,,,can you live of DH riding, i mean get some sponsors and ride on dh races like Gracia, Peaty and other guys, i mean can you live from mtb just like people live from moto.auto sport etc..??

2,,,,,what is the big deal with you USA dh riders why are you consider how much you bike wheights in grams, i mean really i know it will be good if bike is light but looking parts to be so light is crazy, my bike wheights 22 kgs and i still can beat light dh bike riders....

thx..

1. Spell check.
2. Grammar check.

I mean if you are going to point out that we count grams on DH bikes, the least you can do is call us out with an understandable post.....

kidwoo · Jun 8, 2006

DirtBag said:
1. Spell check.
2. Grammar check.

He's from eastern europe

Transcend · Jun 8, 2006

DirtBag said:
1. Spell check.
2. Grammar check.

So how's your Croatian? :rolleyes:

You clearly must be more fluent in Croatian than he is in English, right?

DirtBag · Jun 8, 2006

If I were to post on a Croatian site I would at least attempt to make some sense...

dante · Jun 8, 2006

DirtBag said:
If I were to post on a Croatian site I would at least attempt to make some sense...

Ahhh, so this is what the little reputation butten is for. :rofl:

stinkyboy · Jun 8, 2006

Downhiller said:
sorry guys,my english is not perfect i try my best but i see that aint good enough, if you want i will delete this thread so no one will argue, i will in future ask people to "translate" from "my" english on "real" english so everbody can understand...

again sorry

Screw that friggin noob. Your English is fine.

jonKranked · Jun 8, 2006

DirtBag said:
If I were to post on a Croatian site I would at least attempt to make some sense...

spelling and grammar wise, the sentences were incorrect. but unless you're just flat out stupid you could still get the point he was trying to make. all things considered it wasn't a half bad translation. english is one of the hardest languages in the world to get correct. every language has set rules, and no other language even comes close to english in the amount of exceptions to the rules. and i'm willing to bet that downhiller knows more languages than you.

downhiller... don't let one person's smartass comments get to you.

SylentK · Jun 8, 2006

Downhiller said:
sorry guys,my english is not perfect i try my best but i see that aint good enough, if you want i will delete this thread so no one will argue, i will in future ask people to "translate" from "my" english on "real" english so everbody can understand...

again sorry

No worries my Croatian friend! Some of us appreciate the diversity!

To add some more light to your questions...

1) Back in the mid to late 1990's, yes, you probably could live a decent life by racing bikes. But those days are over. Just ask Stik how it was back in the day. So to answer your question, unless you are a top World Cup pro you'll be working a second job (because your first job is racing bikes, remember?).

2) Yeah, I know what you mean with all the gram counting. I'm not too into that weight weenie jive, but it is worth a look. Some cranks weigh a pound more than others. Same with wheels and tires. It all adds up. It's nothing new. MTBR has a forum devoted to the topic. Some of those peeps get stupid anal about weight. It's just bikes. Go ride!

DirtBag · Jun 8, 2006

Well it seems my little attempt at some humor went the wrong way. I apologize. I am so used to seeing 12 year olds get on their parent's computer and type such crap.... Coming from another country/language is tough. After going back and re-reading it is understandable - but that was not the intention...

"Screw that friggin noob. Your English is fine".

Noob = new to something, correct? Since I have been speaking English for 30+ years, riding bikes for 20 years, FR/DH for 5 years and using a computer for over 10 years - how exactly am I a noob in relation to this?

In any case my defensive post will not get me anywhere except banded. So just ignore my ignorance…..

Sorry for the thread misdirection....

Radarr · Jun 8, 2006

habitatxskate said:
it makes it a lot easier to go faster..since i think the formula for speed is weight*accelleration, but i'm probably wrong.. and jon update the kranked site!

Yup. You sure are.

Force = mass * accelleration. Speed, as you referred to it, is just your velocity in m/s, mph, whatever. Also, weight is something that changes, so mass is what you should use. Your mass is the same on Earth and the moon, but your weight changes due to the change in gravity. This happens because weight is more of a force that is related to gravity and mass than anything else.

This lesson brought to you by: The number 5, and the letter R.

jonKranked · Jun 8, 2006

In Soviet Russia, lesson does you! :rofl:

Transcend · Jun 8, 2006

Downhiller said:
sorry guys,my english is not perfect i try my best but i see that aint good enough, if you want i will delete this thread so no one will argue, i will in future ask people to "translate" from "my" english on "real" english so everbody can understand...

again sorry

Ignore him. If he can't read what you posted, he needs to go back to primary school.

Also, your English is probably 1000x better than his non existant Croatian, so I wouldn't worry.

Transcend · Jun 8, 2006

jonKranked said:
In Soviet Russia, lesson does you!

approved.

dante · Jun 8, 2006

Radarr said:
Force = mass * accelleration.

*and* since Force = mass * accelleration, it must also be true that accelleration = force / mass. therefore, less mass (or more force) will provide greater accelleration.

:teacher:

(or something like that...)

seismic · Jun 8, 2006

There are quite a lot of non-native English speakers on the board (myself included) and even though some sentences or words may be used in the wrong way I am sure most people get the overall meaning.... let us appreciate the diversity of the monkeys (-ies ??)

Radarr · Jun 8, 2006

dante said:
*and* since Force = mass * accelleration, it must also be true that accelleration = force / mass. therefore, less mass (or more force) will provide greater accelleration.

:teacher:

(or something like that...)

True, but don't forget that you have to calculate the mass of the person plus the mass of the bike (which makes the difference less), then figure out how hard the person can mash on the pedals, not forgetting to subtract out the amount of force that is lost to the suspension...

I think that lighter bikes are just easier to handle than heavier bikes and thus, they make it easier to go faster.

DirtBag · Jun 8, 2006

Well I would like to say thank you to all of the wonderful comments each of you have sent me.

You're an idiot. Nice Pinkbike photo... -Stinkyboy. and suggest you head back to pinkbike... you'll fit in better - dante
Just for the record, the photo that was in my sig is not me. I posted a pic of my Demo on pinkbike a long time ago. Somehow the pic got erased and/or replaced with whoever is riding that bike. Did not notice until now....(Just removed)

you failed at being witty and just look stupid instead - t
Admittedly...

In my first post I was not implying that the thread was unreadable, just was not reviewed before posting. Again explained and apologized....

Now I am sure that everyone else on this forum has never made a mistake, right? I admit I was wrong to post initially and I manned' up and apologized.

Downhiller - I personally apologize to you for the content of my post. I was not trying to be a d!ck although the outcome is pretty clear that I was....Lesson learned...

jonKranked · Jun 8, 2006

haha welcome to RM! these guys can be relentless. i said my piece about it (and tryed not to be an a**hole about it). i was going to make a reference about your comment and pinkbike but better judgement said otherwise. at least you can man up to your mistake.

oh yea and this is the internets.

habitatxskate · Jun 8, 2006

i think i told you jon..anwyays i'm bored so i'll retype ti
you douches made him feel bad

I am very interested in the answers I will recieve from you guys. (my friend told me to ask you first)

1. Can you live off DH riding? i mean some get sponsors and ride in downhill races like Gracia, Peaty, and some other guys. Can you make a living from downhill biking/racing like nascar racers and all other types of racers?

2,What is the big deal with people trying to cut their bikes weight down? I can beat guys with light bikes and my bike is 22 kgs. I don't get the point, can someone explain?

i'm bored.. :rofl:

jonKranked · Jun 8, 2006

big name riders have it better than you think. i recently read an interview w/ Gracia. When he first signed with C'dale (early-mid 90's) he was making $250,000 a year just from them. Last I heard Wade Simmons was in the 7 figures with all his sponsorships.

fiddy_ryder · Jun 8, 2006

its a sad day when a person from croatia speaks/types better english than american kids from SB....

dante · Jun 8, 2006

hey, I signed my comments. :wave:

your first 2 posts on this thread were a bit much, but owning up to your mistakes goes a long way here. welcome to the board.

sayndesyn · Jun 8, 2006

Gracia is an exception to the rule even for the big name riders and he is a smart businessman. I'd say the majority of fairly big name pros make around 25-50k from what I've heard. Then there is the fairly big names that get product, plane tix, food money, and that is about it. I would definately tell your friend to quit his day job if he was considering going pro for the money. :rolleyes:

If anything do it for the crazy fame and mad biatches that will come.

jonKranked said:
big name riders have it better than you think. i recently read an interview w/ Gracia. When he first signed with C'dale (early-mid 90's) he was making $250,000 a year just from them. Last I heard Wade Simmons was in the 7 figures with all his sponsorships.

blue · Jun 9, 2006

Downhiller said:
i saw that people here on RM have some sponsors, do they give you $$ or just parts?

Parts, generally. For most people on here, it's not even giving, it's letting you buy them really cheap. Many "sponsorships" give you a worse deal than mail-order...true story.

A.P · Jun 9, 2006

blue said:
Parts, generally. For most people on here, it's not even giving, it's letting you buy them really cheap. Many "sponsorships" give you a worse deal than mail-order...true story.

That is not a sponsorship. 50 percent off 661 because youve raced junior beginner twice is not a sponsorship, its a marketing ploy.

Money and downhill riding is kind of like a reflection of the wealth gap in american society....1 percent of the top pro's control 99 percent of the wealth.

Lopes has an MTV-cribs worthy home in trabuco canyon, an escalade with 22's, a 120,000 dollar porsche tuned race-car, is waiting for his ferrari 360 modena and has a whole bunch of other six-figure toys worth more then what most of us make in a year.

Then again, he was fully salaried as a AA pro bmx racer before he turned 15 and was already touring the world on other peoples dime.

To contrast, there are people racing in the high levels of the pro field who arent even getting free bikes.

jonKranked · Jun 9, 2006

Downhiller - we have come to the concensus that your English is fine, so don't worry about it.

It's hard for pro dh racers in the US nowadays. The large mountain bike racing governing body, NORBA, no longer puts up a cash purse for gravity events. If there is one, it is put up by the facility hosting the location (plattekill does this) and by the other industry race sponsors. Diablo recently held the US Open, a non-NORBA event, and had a very nice cash purse. 1st place pro men had $5000 cash prize plus other goodies put up by the events sponsors (including a brand new, fully built Scott High Octane DH bike). It helps explain why a lot of riders in North America are shifting focus to freeriding - there is more money in it. Now with the rise of slopestyle, there is going to be even more money. One of the primary reasons is that it is easier to market. Look at the Crankworx Festival. With their location and format, they were able to draw around 10,000 spectators last year. Try finding a DH race with 1,000 people total at the event in the states. Big companies are putting up big money too. Old spice has been sponsoring events, and so has Adidas (i'm sure there are others i'm forgetting). If i'm not mistaken first prize at crankworx takes home $10,000. In comparison to other sports (bmx, x-games type stuff) this may seem small in comparison. However for a sport like freeriding/dh/mountain biking its a big step, as money for DH racing has been drying up in recent years. Slopestyle is breathing a lot of life into the sport/industry so it will be interesting to see how it will develop.

habitatxskate · Jun 9, 2006

john does have a point, i'm goignt o switch to skateboarding for a second so stay with me...you can't fit 10000 people down a hill, but you can throw a park inside an arena, like slam city jam in vancouver..the more popular, and different it is,the more people like it..motorcross is racing and freestyle, but i think there is more money in freestyle then racing..if that makes any sense what so ever

redical · Jun 9, 2006

fiddy_ryder said:
its a sad day when a person from croatia speaks/types better english than american kids from SB....

HAHAHA! Fiddy is absolutely right!!!

As challenging as the first post was to read, it was easier to decipher than the SB Brats' beach bum whig text-mess speak.

U kno wahttt eIe myn?

goofy · Jun 9, 2006

fiddy_ryder said:
its a sad day when a person from croatia speaks/types better english than american kids from SB....

I don't think that's a problem just in SB, because i see it on the eastcoast too

2 questions about dh-riding

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Detective Dookie

blah blah blah

Detective Dookie

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Detective Dookie

Monkey

Artisanal Tweet Curator

My Nuts Are Flat

Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Unabomber

Plastic Santa

Detective Dookie

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Detective Dookie

My Nuts Are Flat

My Nuts Are Flat

Unabomber

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

Monkey

Detective Dookie

blah blah blah

Detective Dookie

Turbo Monkey

Unabomber

Turbo Monkey

Turbo Monkey

boob hater

Monkey

Detective Dookie

blah blah blah

Monkey

Monkey