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Prototype 27.5" Trek Session and RAD Fox Rear Shock (Lots of New Pics)
- Thread starter peecee
- Start date
That's a sexy ride right there
Regardless of wheel size, that's a sexy bike.
no 26" forever post yet? ridemonkey i am disappoint...
Anyone notice that Bulldog is using clips? That's equivalent to Sam Hill running clips, no? So has downhill officially lost its soul in search of speed with big wheels and clips having become necessary?
Looks like a slack Stinky.
Skinsuits and peak-less helmets will be back soon as well. Even moar speed!
Nope, that's a new one.
Edit: Fox 40 I mean.
Edit: Fox 40 I mean.
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Elite Men
1st:George Brannigan (Havelock North, Trek World Racing) 3:01:40
2nd:Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui, Lapierre International) 3:02:00
3rd:Nick Beer (Switzerland) 3:04:26,
4th:Rupert Chapman (Christchurch) 3:06:50
5th:Brook MacDonald (Hawkes Bay, Trek World Racing) 3:06:51
1st:George Brannigan (Havelock North, Trek World Racing) 3:01:40
2nd:Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui, Lapierre International) 3:02:00
3rd:Nick Beer (Switzerland) 3:04:26,
4th:Rupert Chapman (Christchurch) 3:06:50
5th:Brook MacDonald (Hawkes Bay, Trek World Racing) 3:06:51
dogboy already mentioned it, but its the float 40..
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didn't he run clips at a few races last season? i think he switches back and forth depending on the course.
Last year he was full time on flats.
Also Brannigan with the old damper?
The new doesn't work. Brook's only 5th.
Also Brannigan with the old damper?
The new doesn't work. Brook's only 5th.
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Man.... anyone else feel the pressure of switching to 27.5 only because of all these pics of new bikes showing up??
Having demoed a 650b Rune recently, nope. Did not like.
The Hans Derph tires didn't do it any favors. Good god those things suck.
I feel the pressure after working hard to match the speed of another racer who was on 29s during a section of last year's Moab Enduro on Porcupine. He said he'd been gradually reeling me in over the entire stage but only making gains on the high speed sections. It felt like he had free speed and that added up to nearly 30 seconds over that long stage. I wanna stay with my current bikes but don't wanna be giving up a 10th here and there because of it.
P.S. Does the current Session have carbon seatstays? This one does, but still alloy chainstays.
P.S. Does the current Session have carbon seatstays? This one does, but still alloy chainstays.
I'm really interested in knowing how Fox circumvented the Öhlins TTX patent.
Yes, it has. That bridge between the stays... TINY.
I raced DH on my enduro 29er last season. Any big direction change really hurts the speed. Chutes, jumps, drops, that's all easy, but switchbacks are a huge killer. You really notice how hard it is to accelerate out of the corner comparatively. Since 27.5 is marginally bigger than 26 and more like 26 than 29, the 27.5 probably won't see this in such a dramatic way. On any straight-away it was like I had an electric motor or something, just coasting I'd pick up speed on the other guys without pedaling. Nasty rutted and chunky chutes were about the same.
4 years ago I predicted that 650b would find it's way into DH, but that DH would likely remain a mix of 650b and 26. The few 29er bikes that will come out will never be successful (PBJ, prototype Intense, etc) due to the sacrifices in travel, geometry and acceleration (not just forward acceleration).
Having done the racing and DH riding last year on the 29er, I wouldn't think twice about buying a 650b for downhill, I know I'd have fun on it and modern tires/rims will negate much of the rotational weight/acceleration penalty and give you the advantages of a slightly bigger wheel. Not that it will be dramatic either. I wouldn't use it as a reason to not buy a DH bike either, as it's a marginal difference and 26ers are so well suited to downhill.
I got the 29er of course to "do everything", which it does pretty well, even some stuff like big-doubles and features that until now have rarely been attempted by anything with wheels larger than 26. It's also blazingly fast most of the time. The little things I like to pick at above are really only important at the very edge of where you push yourself to, not what impacts a day of DHing.
Not until I start making a living racing DH bikes, which isn't happening any time soon.