Subaru / Mondraker Bicycles - Fabien's bike sponsor announced!
- Thread starter Dylan Dean
- Start date
Beat me by 2 seconds. Ass! 
haha... i was already online updating stuff when it came...Beat me by 2 seconds. Ass!
lthumbsdown:
didn't see that one comming. Its not too long since the mondreaker dh bike was just one of those tiawan cookie cutter m1 clones the same as the azonic recoil. The current one looks good kinda m1 meets v10 it will be interesting to see how it changes over the next year or two with fabien on board.
That poor boy has been on some crappy looking bikes eh?
Hasn't held him back much though....
Hasn't held him back much though....
for 2008 he won't be using a BB... he'll be using a shovel.14.5" bb height.....somehow I bet this gets changed for Fabien's ride since he likes his BB in the ground
FYI crappy looking != crappy performing.
Its not the bike, its the rider.
barel, minaar, hill, peaty, the athertons... if you put those guys on big wheels they'd still pin it better than anyone.
Would have rather seen him on the LaPierre.
i to originally expected lapierre... but heard a few rumblings a while back about other companies such as Mondraker.. but obviously salary & future goals w/ the companies has a lot to do with it all... It would seem that mondraker wants to make a push in the market w/ their signing of Fabien... not a bad rider to choose!
although the bike might not "look" the best (though it looks descent enough). I'm sure it'll perform well for Fabien. This kind of reminds me of when the MadCatz (now Monster) team signed w/ Iron Horse. not too many people thought much of the SGS frames then... but w/ new designs & input from riders, it's become HUGE! maybe this will go the same way.
although the bike might not "look" the best (though it looks descent enough). I'm sure it'll perform well for Fabien. This kind of reminds me of when the MadCatz (now Monster) team signed w/ Iron Horse. not too many people thought much of the SGS frames then... but w/ new designs & input from riders, it's become HUGE! maybe this will go the same way.
Umm, is this on the pinned site? I can't find it, even with the link.
Quite right. The SGS wasn't the most sought after frame of the time was it...
Lets see what Mondraker does with one of the best (if not the best) riders on their side...
Looks better in black:
My grandpa (who is not into bikes, but likes golf) used to always say "Jack Nicklaus could play with a broom and still qualify for the open".
That said, I think the bike *looks* fine.
I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. Poor Fabien. 3 out of the last 4 Worlds were decided by less than a second, and anybody who really thinks that a bike can't be a half-second difference on a 4 minute course is deluded. In 2003 Rennie wasn't racing on a stock SGS, and by 2004 they were on proto Sundays. I hope I'm proved wrong and Fabien kills it at the WC and Worlds next year, but...
and I hate the faux SC front end.
edit - although this could be progression... he went from faux bar to four bar.
and I hate the faux SC front end.
edit - although this could be progression... he went from faux bar to four bar.
Look, it's the M1unday10!
Given his results on Kona, he'll do fine on one of those.
Given his results on Kona, he'll do fine on one of those.
There's no doubt that Fabien will be on a one-off rig. Didn't his Kona have a 12" BB, 6" of travel, and a 60* head angle?
It's a Santurner1
12 inch bb? 60d head angle? what!?
Just like Fabien likes it...
are you kidding me? that's slacker than a motorcycle, jeez, that bike was worse than a chopper
f*ck watever copy you guys think it is, fabien is going to rip no matter what. he is one of the most talented riders racing, and im sure he didnt learn to win on custom bikes
if he can make a Kona work then he can make this frame work
it doesnt look too bad anyway, id much rather ride this than the Konas he was on. Kind of like a DHR front end matched to a M1 rear
it doesnt look too bad anyway, id much rather ride this than the Konas he was on. Kind of like a DHR front end matched to a M1 rear
good to see another small company getting into it. Bike is basically same design as a spec bighit but I'm sure fabien will rip on it.
There was a great article in Dirt (last year or the year before) that had all the info on Fabian and his Kona. If I recall correctly everything he rode was stock for the most part but with shock mounting changes that made the bottom bracket and head angle completely whacked out. He was more concerned with body position and suspension characteristics than having the standard sort of geometry that most bikes use. Probably one of the best techy articles I've read.
The revamp and rethink of the Kona DH bike started the day Fabian first sat on one......in the end it turned into a sick bike.
That is probably going to happen here. I cant imagine he would agree to ride that "flaming pile of dung" down a WC track.....
That is probably going to happen here. I cant imagine he would agree to ride that "flaming pile of dung" down a WC track.....
Yep, Fabian can be like that Chef from hell on TV that comes in and fixes up a $hitty restaurant.
His resume should read:
"Do you have a turd for a DH bike? Well, hire me as your rider, and I will come in and tell you exactly where to apply the turd polish.
And hurry up, before KHS signs me."
According to the Dirt article the changes were not made by Kona. He was never given any custom frames to ride and simply worked with the lower shock mount position (by using a bolt on piece of metal) and chanistay length adjustments (the original Kona he rode had two). He also added the floating brake to get what most would consider some strange suspension characteristics.
I read those articles too a couple years ago.....who knows how much i forgot. Can look it up when at home later.....
But he did get a a custom frame once as part of the testing, i thought. It wasn't a custom frame every year type thing it was part of the process of evolving the bike into something he thought was correct.
Didn't the geometry numbers change drastically from 2003 to 2007....and didn't the frame get lighter.....?
2003 HA 67, BB 14.6
2007 HA 63, BB 13.5
hahaha.....that's a great show, good analogy.
I don't recall any mention of a custom frame, but I'll look it up at home tonight. Probably one of my favorite Dirt articles so I know exactly where that issue is.