[blacksim549]

Here it is.

Notice the lock-out on the air shock, the bladed spokes and...flat pedals?

Trek wind tunnel testing and now Gee's bike...Is it really a downhill track?

 

[freeridefool]

The flats cant be for real. This is the worlds on a flat track... Nobody would go from clips to flats.

 

[jcaramia]

wow thats gnarly

 

[mccdh]

The flats cant be for real. This is the worlds on a flat track... Nobody would go from clips to flats.

installed for internet hysteria

 

[Calid0wnhiller]

With the sh*t they are doing to make these bikes lighter and faster, I wouldn't be surprised if half of them fell apart. Bladed Spokes?! WTF?

 

[dhr-racer]

is it just me or does the pivot and swing arm look different?

 

[dagmz6s]

You only get one run to be world champ, I am sure this is one of many interesting things we'll see in the coming days.

 

[General Lee]

With the sh*t they are doing to make these bikes lighter and faster, I wouldn't be surprised if half of them fell apart. Bladed Spokes?! WTF?

hardly a new idea. Peaty ran bladed spokes at least as far back as '02. the only place these bikes will fall apart is on internet forums

 

[Calid0wnhiller]

hardly a new idea. Peaty ran bladed spokes at least as far back as '02. the only place these bikes will fall apart is on internet forums

Alright, didn't know that. My bad.

 

[CBJ]

Good looking bike - looks like a Vertical in the front. That was a favorite tire of mine for XC before I joined the dark side. Are their tires UST?

 

[General Lee]

Good looking bike - looks like a Vertical in the front. That was a favorite tire of mine for XC before I joined the dark side. Are their tires UST?

i'll be shocked if he rides anything other than high-rollers come race day. Probably those tires and the definitely the Shimano pedals (sorry to ruin the e-spec on running flats)) are only on there for the photo. He races on Crank Bros clipless but runs full shimano for anything official

 

[yuroshek]

i'll be shocked if he rides anything other than high-rollers come race day. Probably those tires and the definitely the Shimano pedals (sorry to ruin the e-spec on running flats)) are only on there for the photo. He races on Crank Bros clipless but runs full shimano for anything official

someone is getting sick of the forum nonsense huh? lol tell it how it is lee. i feel your pain. but you gotta remember theres lots of new comers to the game but everyone has to learn at some point.

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

Guess they better get some shots after the finish line to see what's different...

 

[sethimus]

With the sh*t they are doing to make these bikes lighter and faster, I wouldn't be surprised if half of them fell apart. Bladed Spokes?! WTF?

havent you heard of sapim cx-ray spokes? if not, google them...

 

[daisycutter]

It looks like air shocks are going to be the future, this proto-type has lock out and gee says it performs on par with the coil. The worlds course has a flat pedal section having a locked out dh bike has to be an advantage on that part of the course.

 

[klunky]

It looks like air shocks are going to be the future, this proto-type has lock out and gee says it performs on par with the coil..

I dont think so. I remember this happening in DH races when Missy was on global and it never really went anywhere.

 

[daisycutter]

That was a long time ago, air shocks a performing much better now. Like it or not air shocks are going to have a place in dh racing. There is no getting around air shocks are a pound lighter and for one dh race run the performance differences between coil and air shocks are have narrowed.

 

[norbar]

That was a long time ago, air shocks a performing much better now. Like it or not air shocks are going to have a place in dh racing. There is no getting around air shocks are a pound lighter and for one dh race run the performance differences between coil and air shocks are have narrowed.

Ride some air shocks and comment after that. Here it's good because the course is really flat but that can looks pretty small so on real tracks it would overheat, you could go with bigger can but then you'd get more typical air feel that kills it for many people. Apparently there are some nicer air shocks on the horizon but I won't belive until i try them.

 

[Damo]

I dont think so. I remember this happening in DH races when Missy was on global and it never really went anywhere.

Yeah. I remember when Tomac was running disc wheels and drop bars...

But then again, that could make a come back...

 

[MrPlow]

Ride some air shocks and comment after that. Here it's good because the course is really flat but that can looks pretty small so on real tracks it would overheat, you could go with bigger can but then you'd get more typical air feel that kills it for many people. Apparently there are some nicer air shocks on the horizon but I won't belive until i try them.

I agree, Canberra isn't long or steep, so air shocks should be fine. IMO bit different to a Eu style course.

 

[chillindrdude]

i would suspect that the only time the lockout would be activated is that last sprint to the finish...

i'm sure some of you CA monkeys wished you had a lockout on that wall sprint in Fontana.

 

[spornographer]

it's not lock out, it's "firm up." audio and photos from gee and mark fitzsimmons of fox shox detailing the set up.

http://www.vitalmtb.com/features/2009-UCI-World-Championships-of-Mountain-Biking,43

 

[rockofullr]

i would suspect that the only time the lockout would be activated is that last sprint to the finish...

i'm sure some of you CA monkeys wished you had a lockout on that wall sprint in Fontana.

Seriously. The lockout is by far the most interesting thing on that bike. Seen plenty of air shocks but this is the first DH race bike I have ever seen with a lockout lever.

On a course with a brutal pedal section I could see this making a real difference.

 

[jonKranked]

Seriously. The lockout is by far the most interesting thing on that bike. Seen plenty of air shocks but this is the first DH race bike I have ever seen with a lockout lever.

On a course with a brutal pedal section I could see this making a real difference.

See spomer's post... IZ NO LOCK OUT!


Also, another shot of the Saint wheels.

 

[scottishmark]

just fanning the flames of e-speculation here:

http://dirtmag.co.uk/news/category/events/world-champs-bikes-sam-hill/dirt-1235630.html

SX trails are much the future of DH as air shocks

 

[scottishmark]

on the other hand, V10s are the real future of dh

 

[rockofullr]

See spomer's post... IZ NO LOCK OUT!

Also, another shot of the Saint wheels.

Good point.

Never seen a "firm up" lever on a DH bike either.

Still, it's gonna be interesting to see if the performance hit of an air shock is gonna be offset by the obvious advantage in the pedal section (same dilemma with all the short travel rigs).

Wonder if Gee is gonna get flak for needing a "firm up" lever? Doesn't sound too good.

P.S. Sam's SX is UGLY!

 

[redride]

is sam's sx stock? looks a little longer...

 

[b1k3_r1d3r]

I would say sam's sx isn't stock. especially head angle and bb height but i could be wrong.

 

[monkeyfcuker]

WTF they made a Crackencal lighter uh oh!

 

[Nagaredama]

Will Sam be running Specialized rubber in the finals?

 

[ire]

Good point.

Never seen a "firm up" lever on a DH bike either.

You have to go a ways back to see lock out levers on DH shocks, like mid-late 90s. I may still have my Vanilla RC w/lockout in my shop...

 

[LMC]

Seriously. The lockout is by far the most interesting thing on that bike. Seen plenty of air shocks but this is the first DH race bike I have ever seen with a lockout lever.

On a course with a brutal pedal section I could see this making a real difference.

gregs honda had a battery powered lockout button too

 

[BigHitComp04]

Will Sam be running Specialized rubber in the finals?

Hasnt he been running Specialized rubber for most of the season? I remember in South Africa he had some sharpied out Maxxis tires but for some reason i thought since then he was on the Specialized rubber and loving it. I could be wrong though.

 

[Sandwich]

i'm not much of a fanboy but to his pSeudoX trail. That thing is low, slack, long, and what specialized should turn their demo into. Love it.

I like the idea of a firm up lever on the commencal. Not sure a lockout is usable, but firming up the suspension quite a bit in different sections has a very large potential advantage.

 

[funkendrenchman]

That lockout is sweet!

 

[DIRT-HQ]

That lockout is sweet!

get it right...it's called a "Firm-Out-Lock-Up-Look-Out-Flock-Out" lever system

 

[General Lee]

get it right...it's called a "Firm-Out-Lock-Up-Look-Out-Flock-Out" lever system

but, but . . . even Gee called it a lockout

 

[JCL]

Will Sam be running Specialized rubber in the finals?

Best tires on the market. Doubt he'll trade down.

 

[CBJ]

i'll be shocked if he rides anything other than high-rollers come race day. Probably those tires and the definitely the Shimano pedals (sorry to ruin the e-spec on running flats)) are only on there for the photo. He races on Crank Bros clipless but runs full shimano for anything official

All great info but as indicated by my question mark I was trying to find out if their DH tires are UST (saw nothing on the site).

He did mention that he would run some of their tires on Vitalmag but who knows. As I said they do make some good XC tires so they are now without skills.