I expect a flood of Sundays in the emporium soon
Sam Hill to ride for Specialized in 2009
- Thread starter syc7090
- Start date
I don't know who payed for the freecaster feed all i know is I love it.
I'm kind of indifferent to Sam Hill and what he does, but for those who say that he's going to get thrown on a straight demo 8 or what not, should probably read this article. For those who aren't in touch with the roadie side of our industry Tom Boonen was for a while the #1 ranked UCI rider. His team got sponsored by Spec, and he told them their bikes sucked. They created a few prototypes and then re-tooled a whole mold for his frames. Think how much that must have cost. Here's the article:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2007/probikes/?id=tom_boonen_specialized_tarmacsl2
The article is only partially correct, there was a huge problem with stiffness and handling. But they were willing to do whatever it takes to make it right and for that, they were rewarded with a lot of wins.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2007/probikes/?id=tom_boonen_specialized_tarmacsl2
The article is only partially correct, there was a huge problem with stiffness and handling. But they were willing to do whatever it takes to make it right and for that, they were rewarded with a lot of wins.
Perhaps a DW-link Specialized is in the works (DW-FSR-ICT combo w/ fries)!
Please refer back to my first post in this thread...
You must have some emotional friends. I didn't even know there was a pill to swallow.
Specialized jumped on board to be the title sponsor for our world championship coverage. This enabled us to bring an entire team etc. They really helped us out and we are incredibly grateful for their support.
We are currently looking to land a title sponsor for our entire 2009 coverage scheduled, which will probably be expanded to include some other events, as well as give us a bit more say in what happens camera wise (our own live interviews at the finish etc).
Money talks, as they say!
This thread is really funny. there was quite a bit of rumor spreading going on at ste anne and bromont the last few weekends in regards to what frames Hill has been testing and which ones he liked, disliked, and why. But i don't spread rumors . . .
i'm quoting my own post, hehehe.
i've gone back to the site and the page is nowhere to be found. perhaps it was a prank by the administrator...
Specialized sent some goons.
Yep. I'll see you tomorrow at 5:30. Braaaaappt.
I believe the audio from that conversation went something like this:
Tom Boonen: "Yeah, your bikes SNOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRTTTTTTTT, suck really bad, I demand you SNOOOOOOOOORRRTTTT, SNIFF, (grinds teeth) build me a new one..... wow, I can't feel my face, this is goooood sh*t!"
:biggrin:
To be honest, I wouldnt be suprised if Sam ended up riding for Trek or Specialized.
He is arguably one of the highest paid riders, with a huge influence on the market, and it could only really come down to large (super) companies like these who have the budget/resources to fully support Sam.
He is arguably one of the highest paid riders, with a huge influence on the market, and it could only really come down to large (super) companies like these who have the budget/resources to fully support Sam.
Should start a poll for this one, first one to poll the correct answer wins a frame from said new Hill sponsor for 09.
LBJ
LBJ
I think he will ride this
:biggrin:
:biggrin:
he'd still beat most internet groupies who waste their day reading about new sponsor rumors, even if he is on a unicycle 
(i dont consider myself an internet groupie but im pretty sure sam would still beat me if he was on a unicycle)
(i dont consider myself an internet groupie but im pretty sure sam would still beat me if he was on a unicycle)
Heh...
Interesting...
I need to call some people about this.
But in regards to the Demo 8 "not being designed for use as a DH race bike", this statement is true to a certain extent.
The 1st generation Demos (8 & 9) where mainly designed with freeriding in mind - hence their suspension design. Being an owner of one of these bikes myself, I can say (as well as some of the old Cane Creek / Spesh guys) that these bikes COULD be set up for racing and handle DH courses pretty well. The thing was that the 1st gen rear end was geared toward absorbing big hits and not really able to efficiently deal with the high-speed chatter type stuff you would encounter on a WC course. Square-edged hits also slowed the bike down a bit compared to other designs that were out there at the time.
When Brandon and the boys re-designed the Demo 8 in the 2nd iteration we currently see, the suspension was also re-designed to give a more compliant ride and takes the bike in a more DH-race oriented direction. The suspension design has more flexibility to it so it is still great for FR, but if you want to race pure DH with it - it will handle that too. The 3rd iteration of the Demo 8 should be a bike with even more DH-oriented geo and suspension design/refinements.
...and I pray they go with a 150mm x 12mm thru-axle system... please guys... or at least a 135mm x 12mm thru axle...
Interesting...
I need to call some people about this.
But in regards to the Demo 8 "not being designed for use as a DH race bike", this statement is true to a certain extent.
The 1st generation Demos (8 & 9) where mainly designed with freeriding in mind - hence their suspension design. Being an owner of one of these bikes myself, I can say (as well as some of the old Cane Creek / Spesh guys) that these bikes COULD be set up for racing and handle DH courses pretty well. The thing was that the 1st gen rear end was geared toward absorbing big hits and not really able to efficiently deal with the high-speed chatter type stuff you would encounter on a WC course. Square-edged hits also slowed the bike down a bit compared to other designs that were out there at the time.
When Brandon and the boys re-designed the Demo 8 in the 2nd iteration we currently see, the suspension was also re-designed to give a more compliant ride and takes the bike in a more DH-race oriented direction. The suspension design has more flexibility to it so it is still great for FR, but if you want to race pure DH with it - it will handle that too. The 3rd iteration of the Demo 8 should be a bike with even more DH-oriented geo and suspension design/refinements.
...and I pray they go with a 150mm x 12mm thru-axle system... please guys... or at least a 135mm x 12mm thru axle...
Jeesh.
I love how the initial demo 8s weren't race bikes but the turner DHRs were.
The old 8s were very progressive and ramped up quickly.......just like a DHR.
And yeah the new ones are less so.
But every model has always had a pretty low bb, head angles comparable to every other 'race' bike at the time, and were lighter than most.
Chris Herndon, Curtis Keene, Evan Turpen and Kyle Strait racing much more competitively than most of the people calling them 'huck bikes' seems to have meant nothing.
It's amazing what marketing and a few pics of Kyle Strait, Darren Berrecloth and Matt Hunter can do to people's perception of a bike.:huh:
Tell team decline Amurika they picked a 'non race platform bike'
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It's amazing what owning one can do to people's perception of a bike :huh:
not everyone likes the Demo, or specialized . . . or Michael Bolton. get over it.
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I don't even own a demo anymore jackass
Consider just for a moment, my words as written. Not a fanboy assessment of my own bike.
I might actually have a point. Or did you even read my post?
Not liking a bike is perfectly fine. Dismissing it as a 'category bike' when it exhibits almost every trait of something else that's not thrown into that category is something completely different.
I still say he'll go on Trek next year.
Bets?
Bets?
Let me ask this:I don't even own a demo anymore jackass
Consider just for a moment, my words as written. Not a fanboy assessment of my own bike.
I might actually have a point. Or did you even read my post?
Not liking a bike is perfectly fine. Dismissing it as a 'category bike' when it exhibits almost every trait of something else that's not thrown into that category is something completely different.
with a few exceptions, like the Judge, aren't most race bikes an issue of "relatively" minor geometry setups, like head angle or BB height, which can tweaked with replacement linkages, shock length, and fork height?
I mean if any bike is too heavy or leverage ratios are wack, that seems to require all new engineering. But if it is geometry setup, it seems to be in the realm of race tuning.
For the most part yeah, of course (except for some of those wierdos like devinci bikes with 15"+ BB measurements).
Which is even more of a reason to not discredit a bike as 'not a dh racing platform'.
Hell I personally think a V10 is less of a 'race bike' than many others based on the published geo numbers. But obviously it's a legit platform based on who's sitting on the UCI podiums lately.
It's just funny to see how people's opinions of what constitutes a 'good race bike' fall in line directly proportional to who's winning races on what model. It's a very real phenomenon.
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"It's just funny to see how people's opinions of what constitutes a 'good race bike' fall in line directly proportional to who's winning races on what model. It's a very real phenomenon."[/QUOTE]
Which is why companies sponsor race teams, I would imagine (aside from R&D purposes).
"Win on Sunday, sells on Monday." Or something like that.
Which is why companies sponsor race teams, I would imagine (aside from R&D purposes).
"Win on Sunday, sells on Monday." Or something like that.
Hey! That's what I ride!!!Here's one exception:
Damn you!I feel pretty safe betting against you
Did you flip upside-down the linkage plates and set up the floating brake mount so it compresses the suspension when you use the rear brake?
sorry to high jack the thread but what would flipping the linkages do to the bike? i thought about it a month or so ago to lower the bb and slacken the head angle on my stab but thought it might have some strength issues later on in life. and the calculations i did gave me a 12.5" bb height which i thought was a lil too low considering its a 9inch travel beast.
Actually both principles apply on that one. One single rider can't undo the years of bourdon and watson new world disorder indoctrination.Here's one exception:
I'll admit it. I rode one of those last year. I was pleasantly surprised. The fact that I was surprised makes me guilty as well I think.
Sam hill should ride for Kona. That would be hilarious.
get over it. there is no "right geometry" for a type of bike. Sam is likely the highest paid WC racer ever and will have a frame built to his specs. they will then slap a demo____(?) decal on it and there you have it - a specialized DH bike. If He wanted a 67 degree HA you'd all be calling 65 too slack.
I don't remember Barel's reasoning for setting his bike this way. I was just pointing out that race setup for any rider could be totally off-the-wall, but in this case, I doubt many Stab riders duplicated the WC's geometry.
Not a chance
I meant single contract.
No, I did not. But then again, I'm not WC caliber. Or French.