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That does it, I am officially retired.

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Echo

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
Went to Diablo this weekend and had an awesome time. Hit everything there, lovin' it. Then about 3:00, I hit the Phantom drop (like I did at the bottom of every run :brows: ) and heard a loud SNAP! Actually everyone in New Jersey heard it, from what people were saying.

Broke a suspension bolt and some sort of bushing sleeve. The tire jammed against the seat and I skidded to a stop. I was happy about 3 things: first that it happened towards the end of the day, second that it wasn't the frame that broke, and third that I didn't eat sh!t because of it.

However the fact that a bike I considered basically as strong as they come broke on about an 8 foot drop to a nice transition, well basically I've lost the fire. I don't have anything else to prove in freeride/DH riding and after seriously screwing myself up earlier this year and now this, I'm calling it quits. I'll be 40 in a week and it's time to move on to road and XC racing with some urban and Ray's rides to get my occasional fix of airtime.

Keep an eye on the Buy/Sell for a sweet deal on my Nicolai after I get a few parts :)
 
stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,248
408
NY
Dude, you are the youngest looking 40yr old I've ever met!

Sorry to hear about your bike!
 
douglas

douglas

Chocolate Milk Doug
May 15, 2002
9,887
6
Shut up and Ride
I hear ya, I use to go to Platty twice/month plus once a season to mount snow & gore

but in the last 3 years I think I've been on my DH rig twice

ps:glad you didnt get hurt
 
brungeman

brungeman

I give a shirt
Jan 17, 2006
5,170
0
da Burgh
wow, that sucks, I am glad to hear you were OK.... reading the title and about halfway through I thought you were going to say you got jacked up in the process!

Well, I have to say I am going the opposite direction, and taking more and more risks... Hitting Snowshoe a few weeks back opened my eyes to the whole freeride/dh thing, and I had soooo much fun I want to build up a bike that I can use exclusively for it!

I have to agree with stosh, you are a young looking "39" year old! (then again, I am gettin close to the "mid-thirties") :bonk:
 
Echo

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
brungeman said:
wow, that sucks, I am glad to hear you were OK.... reading the title and about halfway through I thought you were going to say you got jacked up in the process!

Well, I have to say I am going the opposite direction, and taking more and more risks... Hitting Snowshoe a few weeks back opened my eyes to the whole freeride/dh thing, and I had soooo much fun I want to build up a bike that I can use exclusively for it!

I have to agree with stosh, you are a young looking "39" year old! (then again, I am gettin close to the "mid-thirties") :bonk:
Click to expand...
Yeah definitely the one thing I'm super happy about is that I didn't ragdoll and get seriously facked up. The one thing that always scared me about big drops was that the bike would fail, I was always pretty confident that I could land them. As far as I'm concerned this was a message, time to quit while I'm ahead.
 
McGRP01

McGRP01

beer and bikes
Feb 6, 2003
7,793
0
Portland, OR
In all honesty, I've been thinking about selling me DH bike as well. I haven't been able to race much this season, and have only been DHing twice. At this point it just makes more sense to have a 5-6 inch bike that can pull dual-duty if needed.
 
DNA

DNA

The human raccoon
Jan 31, 2003
1,443
0
NH
If all y'all are getting rid of your DH bikes, who wants to swap for an On-One 456?
 
brungeman

brungeman

I give a shirt
Jan 17, 2006
5,170
0
da Burgh
Echo said:
Yeah definitely the one thing I'm super happy about is that I didn't ragdoll and get seriously facked up. The one thing that always scared me about big drops was that the bike would fail, I was always pretty confident that I could land them. As far as I'm concerned this was a message, time to quit while I'm ahead.
Click to expand...
I hear you! sometimes we are able to see the signs, and other times we dont. It seams like you have instinct and vision on this one!
 
J

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
Quitter!

Meh, whatever. I've thought about not really riding DH anymore, because of the cost and the fact that I still love riding XC and road. But, then I go out and hit some jumps or have a fun day and remember why I bother with this expensive bike that almost always has something broken on it. Then again, I'm 22. And yes, it was damn loud when you landed that drop.
 
Echo

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
JRogers said:
Quitter!

Meh, whatever. I've thought about not really riding DH anymore, because of the cost and the fact that I still love riding XC and road. But, then I go out and hit some jumps or have a fun day and remember why I bother with this expensive bike that almost always has something broken on it. Then again, I'm 22. And yes, it was damn loud when you landed that drop.
Click to expand...
Yeah I was actually gonna hang it up after Whistler, but I had such a blast there, I decided to stick with it a little longer. I imagine I'll get the urge to rock some DH occasionally, when that happens I'll just pony up for a rental. The rental bikes at Platty and Diablo pretty much own nowadays anyway.
 
psychobiker

psychobiker

Monkey
Jul 17, 2006
549
0
charlotte nc
good too see your okay. i drove to sugar got off the lift and dropped the bike, no rear brake:banghead: i almost trew it off the lift... did not get to ride but i got to fix some one elses bike and made some friends. dont worry i know you wont quit :biggrin:
 
Fool

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
2,919
1,669
Brooklyn
Were you the guy I saw skidding out of control with his feet off the pedals and somehow managed to wrangle his bike to a stop?

If so, nice save.
 
Echo

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
Fool said:
Were you the guy I saw skidding out of control with his feet off the pedals and somehow managed to wrangle his bike to a stop?

If so, nice save.
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Nah, aside from the CRACK! noise it was pretty uneventful, I had my feet on the pedals the whole time and never got squirrely.
 
W4S

W4S

Turbo Monkey
Mar 2, 2004
1,282
23
Back in Hell A, b1thces
I feel your pain.

This happened 10th and final day at Whistler at 4pm.



I'm thankful that it happened on my last day of riding at the end of the day, and I'm REALLY thankful that it happened on a flat section of trail, not a big jump, fast section or technical section. It has also made me paranoid about my other bikes.
 
Echo

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
W4S said:
I feel your pain.

This happened 10th and final day at Whistler at 4pm.



I'm thankful that it happened on my last day of riding at the end of the day, and I'm REALLY thankful that it happened on a flat section of trail, not a big jump, fast section or technical section. It has also made me paranoid about my other bikes.
Click to expand...
Damn, thats nasty! At least it looks to be a warranty break.
 
Heidi

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
You got to know when to fold em. Sorry to hear about your bike dude. There is plenty of radical xc riding to get your fix on.
 
hooples3

hooples3

Fuggetaboutit!
Mar 14, 2005
5,245
0
Brooklyn
glad to hear your ok Echo.. being a pretty big guy I always have the fear that something is going to snap ( like a friggin handlebar) when im being aggressive... I, like you, am too old to get hurt!!! besides i'm allergic to pain
 
llkoolkeg

llkoolkeg

Ranger LL
Sep 5, 2001
4,335
15
in da shed, mon, in da shed
Perhaps I missed something, but is it possible to salvage your career with something as "exotic" as grade 8 hardened steel bolts? If it's your extremely advanced age or fear of irreversible injury, I can certainly appreciate your rationale, but you won't get warm piss for a used DH rig...especially one that's actually been ridden. Riding your broken DHer off a drop looks more palatable to me, frankly, than that century!
 
Echo

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
llkoolkeg said:
If it's your extremely advanced age or fear of irreversible injury, I can certainly appreciate your rationale, but you won't get warm piss for a used DH rig...especially one that's actually been ridden.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'll part it out if I don't get any decent offers. We'll see. I gotta make it rideable first.
 
Da Peach

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,781
5,220
North Van
Yikes. Never broken any equipment, just my body. The fear of injury definitely lurks less furtively these days...
 
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