soo they are using eastern hemlock as the race trail, i watched a helmet from this course and it looks very tame. videos can be decieving (cant see break bumps and pitch) can some one confirm this who has actually ridden the trail? would i better off on my dual slalom bike (jamis parker)? this way i can avoid bringing two bikes? discuss
highland race this weekend
- Thread starter tlproject7
- Start date
Hemlock appears to be the race course, and yeah it's a very tame course. There are sections that will challenge you, but it's mostly flat or shallow, so the ability to sprint and pedal are paramount.
I rode my omfgwtfhax Racelink on it back to back with a new Bullit and the bullit was over 9000 times faster. It was lighter and had moar pop out of the turns (bermz) since every turn there except for one right in the middle of that trail have huge berms on them.
I don't know how much travel the parker packs, but I'd aim for a 5-6" 35lb (ish) bike vs. a 42lb DH sled.
I rode my omfgwtfhax Racelink on it back to back with a new Bullit and the bullit was over 9000 times faster. It was lighter and had moar pop out of the turns (bermz) since every turn there except for one right in the middle of that trail have huge berms on them.
I don't know how much travel the parker packs, but I'd aim for a 5-6" 35lb (ish) bike vs. a 42lb DH sled.
And people wonder why DH racing is dying in the U.S. ...
Looks like its a good time to switch back to Plattekill
I've ridden Eastern Hemlock on both my ASX and my RDH and I felt a lot faster on the RDH. Some of the top and bottom sections get pretty rough at race pace and I feel like I carry more momentum with the DH bike. That and the RDH pedals almost as good if not better than the ASX so the flat sections aren't too bad.
Honestly I was really hoping that it would be on fancy feast. Blasting all those berms never gets old, especially the new lower section.
Honestly I was really hoping that it would be on fancy feast. Blasting all those berms never gets old, especially the new lower section.
Where does the new section go, and what does it eliminate?
you used to cross the ski trail and come very close to the jump park and the current DS course.
You now take a left and head back into the ravine, do an in and out, then go back and meet up with the very bottom of catscratch/meowdow's end.
It's a tossup what will be the fastest bike, and undoubtedly it's going to be the one you're most comfortable on on that trail. My brooklyn was simply too heavy. A 40lb sunday? Maybe, yeah. A nice heavy duty SS/Trail bike?...yeah probably the best compromise.
You now take a left and head back into the ravine, do an in and out, then go back and meet up with the very bottom of catscratch/meowdow's end.
It's a tossup what will be the fastest bike, and undoubtedly it's going to be the one you're most comfortable on on that trail. My brooklyn was simply too heavy. A 40lb sunday? Maybe, yeah. A nice heavy duty SS/Trail bike?...yeah probably the best compromise.
you must spread some hey what's up before giving it to the funny guy again.
Ive raced the course several times and always use my dh bike. There are several sections that are pretty fast and rough where carrying speed is important. You would make up some time on a trail bike in the flat middle sections but I think overall a dh bike is faster.
I think that it would be perfect if they straightened out the flatter parts of the trail and added some features that you could pump and jump to keep speed up. It's still a blast to ride/race, regardless.
I think that it would be perfect if they straightened out the flatter parts of the trail and added some features that you could pump and jump to keep speed up. It's still a blast to ride/race, regardless.
I ride there all the time and it's not that the trail is super steep or technical but it does get pretty chopped up and can get rough at speed in spots. At the last race on hemlock, all the top guys in the pro class were running DH bikes and I don't think anybody else ran smaller bikes unless they didn't have a choice.
You can always reference the World Championships thread for more input and results...
You can always reference the World Championships thread for more input and results...
So basically just run whatever you're used to? I think my DH bike pedals better than my double anyways..