It occurs to me that one of the best sprinters in mountain biking is probably Brian Lopes who's like 5'9" and, according to a quick Google search, 352.7 lbs, but that might not be correct. Anyway, I wouldn't put much stock in this idea that there's an ideal body type for downhill and that it's 6'/200lb+. Nico wasn't particularly big and Gwin is pretty average sized. It's not like Danny only loses out to the bigger guys on pedaling tracks. Danny (and everyone else) got smoked by Gwin at Val di Sole, which you can't exactly put down to power.
2012 team rumour and speculation
- Thread starter Straya
- Start date
But you can it explain it with gravitational powers. As you referenced, Lopes is very dense, so gravitational vectors push him faster than other, less dense riders. Heck, he is just pedaling to disguise the fact that gravitational forces are pushing him to finish line at epic speeds. So understanding this, we can surmise that Gwin is also very dense (my guess is around 450 lbs), and the gravitational kinematics in Italy are higher than most places, which exacerbated Gwin's already impressive denseness. I hope this makes sense.
I think that 450lbs is probably a good estimate based on Lopes's stated density although someone would have to get Lopes to take his shirt off to get a more accurate lb/in conversion factor and we all know that's not going to happen. So for now I'll buy your theory. It's either that or someone entered 160lb as 160kg, but I like your explanation better.
that's the "with shirt" weight
Damn I hate Brian Lopes.
Beat you to it, but yours was the better joke.
I hope Bulldog ends up with Spesh... And with that, is MS Mondraker still gonna be around? Just 2 riders in the roster?
the point about troy in my opinion i think is one of the major factors involved in this move. although they appear to have gotten on very well i think for sam's career to return to its glory days he doesent need some pup on his shoulder achieving better results weekend after another.
however this entire thread should end after a shirtless photo of Lopes (or any reference to Lopes in general)
however this entire thread should end after a shirtless photo of Lopes (or any reference to Lopes in general)
Did I ever call them losers? I have another word for those guys as well..****ing boring. With the exception of Carmichael of course. That's sac religious.
Keep in mind, when you talk about power and wattage and all that...Kovarik throws it all off kilter. He won by what is still the biggest margin in World Cup history and during his prime years everyone saw that he had these massive calves and was built like a linebacker. They assumed he was putting the power down.
Rennie said Kovarik tested at the Olympic training center in Australia with the lowest wattage and power rating of any of the World Cup team. But whatever he did on a race run couldn't be touched.
Also, people always talk about how Nico wasn't a big dude. I got to stand next to him at Deer Valley and he is not a little guy by any means. People make him out to be some elf, but he's not.
Oh, and with the calculation on Lopes...is that with or without bronzer?
Rennie said Kovarik tested at the Olympic training center in Australia with the lowest wattage and power rating of any of the World Cup team. But whatever he did on a race run couldn't be touched.
Also, people always talk about how Nico wasn't a big dude. I got to stand next to him at Deer Valley and he is not a little guy by any means. People make him out to be some elf, but he's not.
Oh, and with the calculation on Lopes...is that with or without bronzer?
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I remember a comment by Graves who claimed he needs to drop A LOT of weight for DH since according to him you should be much leaner for dh fitness.
Clearly, 6' 1", 200lbs or so is pretty much perfect. It will come as no surprise that those are my stats. 
I was just thinking the same thing
I call it the one serious guy in a sport that has its head up its ass as it is figuring itself out. Yes really. Watch all those 'world cup' and world champs courses' back then. That shlt was hilarious.
Not carmichael in moto obviously but come on.
vooliefrenchpants wasn't competing in this sport. He was competing in 'dh mountainbiking™ of the 70s.'
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Yeah, the courses were lamer back then because the equipment was lame. But even at the end of his career, Nico was riding circles around other fast guys like Peat, Palmer, Rockwell etc.... Then he gets up off the couch years after retirement and comes and qualifies 5th at Champery which is the hardest world cup course ever raced. Nico could hold his own on any course, but was always faster on the tech stuff. If you don't know this, it may be time to quit sniffing tire knobs and watch some old videos yourself. 
^well that was silly & rude
I kind of agree that DH has actually become a grown up & legit sport only in the last decade-ish. Nico would most likely be a badass today because he's a real professional in approach. The difference (as woo pointed out) is that he isn't the only one acting like a professional any more.
I kind of agree that DH has actually become a grown up & legit sport only in the last decade-ish. Nico would most likely be a badass today because he's a real professional in approach. The difference (as woo pointed out) is that he isn't the only one acting like a professional any more.
Woo and I have a long strong relationship and silliness and rudeness is the cement that holds us together.
Sam Dale joins Madison Saracen team
http://dirt.mpora.com/news/sam-dale-joins-madison-saracen-for-2013.html
http://dirt.mpora.com/news/sam-dale-joins-madison-saracen-for-2013.html
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^^
Good for Sam. Wonder if Transition will pick up another WC level rider?
Good for Sam. Wonder if Transition will pick up another WC level rider?
It's actually a pretty good translation if you know where it came from. Jeremy doesn't actually own a keyboard. He's got a banjo that he plays to a hermit up in some holler in the appalachians. That hermit sqaredances in view of his sister/cousin/daughter down the hill who owns an iphone and puts the translated posts up on the internet.
Credit where due man. Credit where due.
Watching old videos is exactly where that came fromIf you don't know this, it may be time to quit sniffing tire knobs and watch some old videos yourself.
I meant the 'one serious guy' part. That dude was going to win no matter what it took. But it's NOT the same league as now. I'm not saying his results would be any different because he's just that kind of mix of motivation and talent that it wouldn't matter.........but there are WAY more of those guys you have to beat these days.
Sam didnt really ride for Transition he rode for the Sunn team who were sponsored by someone else (think it was Are bike park, could be wrong) but when Sunn went under the guys on the team picked up individual bike deals. So I think he was being looked after by the UK Transition distributor or maybe even a hook up from a UK shop.
Hes a great rider so hope next season goes well for him
Its always important to remember where you came from:
Know your roots! (Even if they are bleached.)
Gaterz joke! YES!!!
edit: I think my sister dated T-bone. Pretty good bicep likeness there.
edit: I think my sister dated T-bone. Pretty good bicep likeness there.
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Right on, and I knew that Transition doesn't have a full factory team, so I should've said "I wonder if any WC level riders will be on a TR-450 next year?"
And if the Hannah's are going to Polygon, I will be interested to see what Morewood does.
Ah, at first glance I thought it said "Tebow", which would further increase the already impressive amount of winning.Gaterz joke! YES!!!
edit: I think my sister dated T-bone. Pretty good bicep likeness there.
Not all of the courses were much mellower than now. Have in mind many of the current courses have a 10+ yeah history and Nico raced them.
Also 3rd in Quali in Champery 07 kinda prooves he has the skills even if the mud killed his chances.
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Dean Tennant I believe.
That was a borderline psychitzophrenic, uneducated, crazy man response.
I won't go into some lame, 'this era vs that era' rant, because neither is 'better' or 'more talented', I have seen them all, in person, not on videos for 23 years. Nico wasn't racing a field of yahoos, guys like the Missers, Beneke, Pascal, Cedric in his prime, Lopez, Klausmann, etc...all were some of the most physically and mentally dedicated athletes I have ever known. The Peaty, Palmer, Voreis days, those guys partied hard, but at times were VERY serious about their training.
A lot of the courses in the 90's were not as technical as tracks today, but as someone mentioned, they were on far less superior product, most of it totally scary proto ****, but there were tracks from that era that would be considered burly today, sure many of these tech sections were linked with more double track and fireroad, but early Les Gets was gnarly, Nevegal, Cortina, Hindelang, Are, Vars, and more would stand today as great world cup tracks.
You should know with all your epic video and photo skills, that it takes good shooting skill to portray the gnarlyness of a trail, and old footage sucked more than the 'hilarious' tracks you think you saw.
All that being said, Nico's skill was unmatched at the time, I said I wouldn't get into a this era vs that era, but...Nico would do the same damage today as he did then, because he would adapt, he was that good, a true alien.
And you wanna tell me that greg, gee, hill, brook, bryceland, hart, fairclough, needles, blenki, etc...all don't dick around like the old days guys?
P.S. the internet almost blew up with the HILL to CRC announcement, can't wait for the next round of announcements, internet will surely stop working!
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looking forward to this as well
Cannot. Wait.
And here I was about to email you to respond.
I still remember an old video clip from Les Gets or Vars of a section from slope to woods across the most massive root ball and then a left down a bank out of the right side of the video screen. Nico through that section is all anyone ever needs to know about how to ride tech.
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vid please
Boy that would have sucked if you had then done exactly that
Let me let you in on a little secret.
Sometimes there's this guy on the internet named kidwoo. And when he uses highly technical terms like 'vooliefrenchiepants' you (as in you personally) obviously need to just quit reading because it's going to get you into an emotional tizzy about really really important things. Like when mountainbiking was awesome (meaning a retard sport with styrofoam cooler helmets to protect guys on roadbikes that got lost in the woods, and done on engineering monstrosities that even snowboarders pointed and giggled at). Don't do that to yourself.
Did you quit reading at 'vooliefrenchypants' this time? I warned you.
THIS IS THRILLING NEWS!!! (tm:Kidwoo)