here's my first "dh" bike....Giant stole the idea for the AC series from me
...went on to place 3rd in my first dh race....D
...went on to place 3rd in my first dh race....DWhat bike did you use for your first time DHing??
- Thread starter MMcG
- Start date
First Time I rode DH was last summer on my KHS FR1500 with a Fox Vanilla 125R fork.
Then I gots me a Norco Shore and havent looked back!
Then I gots me a Norco Shore and havent looked back!
Mine was in the Summer of 2002 on my Giant AC2 (2002). It was at Sno-quo, really rock and freaking scary in the Black Forest, I figured it couldn't have been that bad and was I wrong 
Now I sport my Dirtbag and is soooo much better than my AC2
Now I sport my Dirtbag and is soooo much better than my AC2
Kos island , Greece, Zia Mountain DH (training not race). 1993
I used to do 20km fire road DH on a Scott Unitrack CST hardtail, with Deore DX and a Scott Unishock with 2" of travel. At the time, old skool DH was all about carving at high speeds on bumpy fireroads, and believe me... the Greek fireroads are veeeery bumpy...they are just wide... (oh...the other roads are bumpy as well... bombed actually).
I used to do 20km fire road DH on a Scott Unitrack CST hardtail, with Deore DX and a Scott Unishock with 2" of travel. At the time, old skool DH was all about carving at high speeds on bumpy fireroads, and believe me... the Greek fireroads are veeeery bumpy...they are just wide... (oh...the other roads are bumpy as well... bombed actually).
here is a pic of the rig...11yrs later
1994 Yeti PROFRO, hence the name, with a Manitou 2.
I have broken a pinky
, wrist (x2), L3 and L4 vertebrae, and numerous cuts, gashes, and scrapes with some requiring stiches.
I have broken a pinky
, wrist (x2), L3 and L4 vertebrae, and numerous cuts, gashes, and scrapes with some requiring stiches.
1996 GT Avalanche LE hardtail, with a Judy XC fork.
1997 Balance FS Pro with a Manitou EFC and more red anodized parts than you could shake a stick at.
Before DH on that bike i was doing slalom on a jamis dragon with a Lawill Leader 3.
Before DH on that bike i was doing slalom on a jamis dragon with a Lawill Leader 3.
First was the old scott HT with a white bros. sc90
Then the K2 animal
Pimp yellow w/an old jr T. I loved that frame. When i got my balfa I hated it:angry: I had more problems with it than i could deal with. Stripped it and put the boxxer on the animal, that was a sweet ride until I twisted the frame really bad one night.
Balfa is sweet now w/a shiver.
Then the K2 animal
Pimp yellow w/an old jr T. I loved that frame. When i got my balfa I hated it:angry: I had more problems with it than i could deal with. Stripped it and put the boxxer on the animal, that was a sweet ride until I twisted the frame really bad one night.
Balfa is sweet now w/a shiver.
Yep, I remember that frame, this was it after it was refinished.
Attachments
Bicycle envy is tough when your a kid
Originally posted by MMcG
Uber Pimp?? I'd sorta call it dull but really functional myself.......sort of anti bling - well except for the Hope Bulb that Jesus laced to my Singletrack up front when we did a little fork trade/sale transaction earlier this year.
All in all it handled well....now if the rider were more skilled it would have rocked even more........but I'll keep getting better.
It was nice that I could have the seat so low.....now I just need to keep working on my focus and technique and keeping my weight back. I think I also got major cable stretch on my Avid Mechanicals by the end of the day as well! And a couple of times the red adjuster dials moved when I slid in the mud......then I forgot to check em and was like OH Sh*T!
Actually having a little less power to my front brake probably was helpful to me.
On my last run I was getting tired and I totally spaced out on a not too difficult section and grabbed a handful of front brake instead of a little bit of rear brake and I went flyin! landed with my foot stuck in between my frame, seat and rear brake line! It went a little something like this:
Me - endoing and then falling and yelling ouch! that hurt
Douglas calling back to me to see if I was okay
Me - "yeah I'm okay but I'm stuck! Help!" or something like that.
My foot was all jammed up in between the frame and seat and a little tree and I was stuck! Now that I look back on it, it I must have looked pretty damned funny!
not really at the time but right now, I'm LAUGHING!
first DH'ing at a real mountain (ie, not xc riding, but riding the lifts up) was on my ted wojcik w/ a judy sl. went to plattekill in '98 and had my eyes opened to a new realm of technical riding. hit up killington the next year, end of the season columbus day weekend ('00?); it was snowing on the top. after that i was definitely hooked and got a joker. rode that for a year at Sunday River until my friends who had real DH bikes and forks prompted me to get a DHi. that bike rocked, until it cracked, and it's been replaced by my giant since '02.
riding DH is so much fun and the camraderie is typically the best aspect of it. i really can't think of many douchebags i've met while riding, whereas the number of cool people is pretty damn large.
riding DH is so much fun and the camraderie is typically the best aspect of it. i really can't think of many douchebags i've met while riding, whereas the number of cool people is pretty damn large.
For me, I was in school in Ottawa and I went to camp fortune on my Proflex 854 (1994 full suspension elastomer bike). I rode my bike from Ottawa all the way through the Gatineau park and ended up at Camp Fortune. I rode with a couple of guys from California who also had sh!tty bikes. It was awesome...at the end, I fell so hard I almost broke my collar bone.
The following seasons I got a 1998 K2 Beast, then it was a 2000 Giant Team DH (ATX), then a 2003 Balfa BB7 and now a 2003 Nicolai Nucleon ST.
The following seasons I got a 1998 K2 Beast, then it was a 2000 Giant Team DH (ATX), then a 2003 Balfa BB7 and now a 2003 Nicolai Nucleon ST.
I started downhilling on Evil Imperials with super-substantial front forks, DH tires, and low tire pressure. Starting out on a hardtail was a good thing.
Now I ride a Cannondale Gemini 900.
Now I ride a Cannondale Gemini 900.
God my wrists hurt just thinking about it.
I moved "up" to a diamondback vlink 1.0
I moved "up" to a diamondback vlink 1.0
Totally agree...I wish I had really started DH riding on a heavy hardtail. I started getting FS bikes right away. Now I can't go back because I find riding DH on a hardtail sucks even if it has its benefits.
I was thinking about it last night and I started laughing to myself too....if you had a camera that would have been a good "OWNED" photo op!
'94 Helen Ga national
I was on a spanky Cannondale KillerV with a 1 1/4 Pepperoni rigid fork, and super rad coda "bramha bars" Integrated bar/ends.
I don't think I raced dh again until that fall when I had slapped a Mag 21 sl ti up front. I did a couple dh races in Florida, Rode at Vail the week before worlds and raced something at Slatyfork in WV. After those few races i didn't race DH except at the state championships so I could attempt to win the omnium title. Mt Snow '97 was my second go at dh racing. I borrowed a highly modified Super V with a Junior T that i promptly broke in half during practice.
Raced '99 collegiate nats in Helen again, on a Spooky XC bike
I actually started riding dh seriously last year on a Giant DH.
I was on a spanky Cannondale KillerV with a 1 1/4 Pepperoni rigid fork, and super rad coda "bramha bars" Integrated bar/ends.
I don't think I raced dh again until that fall when I had slapped a Mag 21 sl ti up front. I did a couple dh races in Florida, Rode at Vail the week before worlds and raced something at Slatyfork in WV. After those few races i didn't race DH except at the state championships so I could attempt to win the omnium title. Mt Snow '97 was my second go at dh racing. I borrowed a highly modified Super V with a Junior T that i promptly broke in half during practice.
Raced '99 collegiate nats in Helen again, on a Spooky XC bike
I actually started riding dh seriously last year on a Giant DH.
I used to ride logging roads in the Adirondacks on my mom's OLD Schwinn 3 speed. We didn't even call it downhill. It was just like, "Hey lets race down this hill!"
The first bike I ever really raced DH was a Jamis Dakar circa 1997. It had a whopping 75mm of Judy XC travel and a Noleen coil over in the back with like 3" of travel.
At the time, that bike ws actually pretty cool. It cost $1100 with assorted XT parts and cantilever brakes. I think I had Panaracer Smoke and Darts on it for rubber...
I remember thinking you weren't the sh$t unless you had a big chainring, so I had like a 48T on it. I could barely pedal the thing, and on the crappy 1997 Michigan DH course we had it was not the most fun...
The first bike I ever really raced DH was a Jamis Dakar circa 1997. It had a whopping 75mm of Judy XC travel and a Noleen coil over in the back with like 3" of travel.
At the time, that bike ws actually pretty cool. It cost $1100 with assorted XT parts and cantilever brakes. I think I had Panaracer Smoke and Darts on it for rubber...
I remember thinking you weren't the sh$t unless you had a big chainring, so I had like a 48T on it. I could barely pedal the thing, and on the crappy 1997 Michigan DH course we had it was not the most fun...
Remember thats basicly the only type of bike availible in 93, I think the post is trying to discribe in the modern DH era within the last 4-5 years.
My first DH race was at the Norba National at Crystal Mountain a few years back. I raced on a 2000 FSR. I still had the V-Brakes and a SC Judy on the front.
There are at least 2 courses in Fl that are at least 100 seconds long. That is about the same lenght as some of the WC courses from last year....Originally posted by Lexx D
A DH race in Florida? And people make fun of north east mountains being small?
I had the same bike, it replaced my white on sky blue paint job bike with 3 brand names on the frame from costco. I remember seeing bikes at target that came with some off brand vee brakes and a suspension fork just a few weeks after I bought the diamond back for less than what I had paid. I thought I was so stupid for not shopping around more. Fast forward 8 years and I am riding the same diamondback fully ridgid with it's original cantilever brakes and pads down some tight twisty steep singletrack in utah and I think to myself I need a new bike. So I buy an '00 american eagle hardtail with a manitou sx-r fork. It was a huge upgrade to have vee brakes, an aluminum frame and a fork that moved when I hit something. I rode it for about a year when I won a Fox Forx vanilla in a mountain bike magazine contest. I put the fork on it and started riding more urbanish and downhillish kind of stuff and decided that I'd swap the frame for a chameleon that was really my first down hill frame, although I didn't ride down anything I hadn't already ridden on my other bike, I just rode faster and jumped over stuff rather than picking my way around it. About a year later I sold that frame and got my '03 as-x and a super t.
wow, what a great thread - brings back memories...
Trek 930 steel hardtail, w/ toe clips and bar ends, I didn't even know enough to put the seat down; it was fully extended xc-style. 1st ride was at Whitetail back in 98 or 99; I fractured my wrist on my 1st run, but that was enough to get me coming back for more. The bike broke after maybe 2 more DH trips.....
Trek 930 steel hardtail, w/ toe clips and bar ends, I didn't even know enough to put the seat down; it was fully extended xc-style. 1st ride was at Whitetail back in 98 or 99; I fractured my wrist on my 1st run, but that was enough to get me coming back for more. The bike broke after maybe 2 more DH trips.....
My bad. I just thought to post my first DH experience... coz i practiced DH from 1992 to 1995 and then resumed cycling at 2002 (with XC and now with light FR/DH), hence my post. If its out of order...just erase it.
It was my 84 Schwinn High Seirra, 1986 Mammoth Kamikaze! I raced the same bike in the 2000 Kamikaze, rigid class, I was 40 seconds faster and won my class.
Joe Sloup raced too. Anybody know who Joe Sloup is/was?
Joe Sloup raced too. Anybody know who Joe Sloup is/was?
Back in 1995 -96, a brand new Jamis Diablo full rigid from the top Of Vail CO. A 5+ mi. downhill run. Got to the bottom covered in dirt and blood, Laughing, smilling from ear to ear and havn't stopped since....and the results are still similar!
first time? in 1990, in Northern BC, down a straight 5 mile logging road. I was riding a Cannondale 800 "Beast of the East", with the state of art Marzocchi FP1 fork...I think it was their top of the line shock then, which i think they only had two shocks in their line up...I laugh at that still. Got to the bottom, you can smell the old canti brakes just smokin, rims are too hot to touch.
Got the guts shook out of me, fingers barely moving from death grip on brakes. My buddy was riding a Kuwahara fully ridgid bike...poor bastard!.
Great thread you got started here...brings back some great old school memories. Thanks.
Got the guts shook out of me, fingers barely moving from death grip on brakes. My buddy was riding a Kuwahara fully ridgid bike...poor bastard!.
Great thread you got started here...brings back some great old school memories. Thanks.
Rode Sunday River in like '92 on a fully rigid stumpjumper. My buddies all had suspension forks but I was still riding bmx freestyle (half pipes and shi-ot) so I smoked 'em all. I remember passing one guy by basically jumping over him - we went over a lip together, he stayed low while I launched, I kind of accidentally crossed over him in the air and landed in front of him...man, that was fun. I can still feel the pain in my arms and wrists from that day.
I remember we saw some dude with a full suspension rig and thought it was ridiculous...we were a bunch of retro-grouchy bike mechanics...I'm fully converted now, of course, but we sure had fun laughing at that guy...
I remember we saw some dude with a full suspension rig and thought it was ridiculous...we were a bunch of retro-grouchy bike mechanics...I'm fully converted now, of course, but we sure had fun laughing at that guy...
specialized stumpjumper w/ manitou magnum. hoowee that fork bottomed easily! i sold the bike to a friend but i can bottom the fork w/o even sitting on the bike
Summer 2001 at Whistler, with a rental Kona trailbike, about 4" on both ends. The next time I went DHing was the summer of 2002 at Sun Peaks, British Columbia (check it out--it's awesome). I was really starting to get into riding, so I bought a 2002 Giant AC Air Lite. It wasn't terribly well-suited to DH, but it was an awesome trailbike.
The Rhino Excrecaitor, the ghettoest bike ever, Toys'r'Us All The Way
Boy Im really goona date myself, my frist trip that I would call DH'ing was on a Mountain Goat Wiskeytown Racer hardtail with Deore Cantilevers. First trip to a ski resort was on a Kona Hot 853 hardtail with a Atom bomb fork and upgraded brakes to the first year XTR V brakes.
If you want some advice from an old guy.........get something with a rear shock amigo!
If you want some advice from an old guy.........get something with a rear shock amigo!
same elevation drop too, i suppose.
i know that the Grouse track was short, what was the other one?i wonder what time the pros would turn in on the FLA course.