[rigidhack]

I have officially entered the suspension age with a new bike (the very last single pivot Sinister Splinter MX, custom welded by FTW). Took it to a local shuttle run in the pouring rain on Saturday and had a blast. Went from sessioning a series of 12"-18" rock drops to clearing a rather large stream gap (estimated at maybe 15' from takeoff to landing, but you are a good 8-10 feet in the air for it all) in about a half hour. (Talk about progression!) Sunday I went to the Iron Horse DH Series race #1 at Mt. Snow. First DH race ever (30-39 beginner), first time on a lift with a bike ever.

Here are things I did not understand before yesterday:
1.) why anybody would actually need anything more than 6" of travel?
2.) why MX goggles for biking?
3.) how anybody could think that 8" rotors were not overkill?
4.) the whole concept of "sag" - aka what's the big deal about a bike being "plush"?
5.) how DH'ers are alway breaking parts (I just assumed they were probably hacks)

I pretty much figured all of that out as I slid my way down the rocks in the mud, thankful for my 8" rotors, cursing the fact that I left my goggles at home, and wishing I had another 4" of travel. I won my category (there were only 2 riders), only drew small amounts of blood, and managed to snap a brake collar bolt (not exactly sure how).

Here are some things I still dont understand:
1.) How the hell do these guys go so fast?
2.) How do you call THAT a line?
3.) Why did I wait so long to get off the rigid with rim brakes?

If you can't tell, I'm loving this suspension thing.:love:

 

[Transcend]

Fun Answers! (sortof)
1 - The fastest guys have 0 regard for their own safety, and have a penchant for not even touching the brakes. (see: Nathan Rennie)

2 - Fastest line is usually straight and allows you to jump the entire section (this is where those extra 2-3" come into play).

Downhill bikes rule! Have fun on it.

 

[bizutch]

welcome to the dark side...no more Zima for you.

 

[dhkid]

for not even touching the brakes. (see: Nathan Rennie)

is it true that some pros dont even run brake pads in the brakes? does that depend on course or all the time?

 

[Transcend]

is it true that some pros dont even run brake pads in the brakes? does that depend on course or all the time?

Eh? I have never in a million years heard this.

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

excellent thread rhack! congrats. bet you wish you were 20 again. i do.

 

[OGRipper]

Congrats dude, you're undefeated!!

Squishy bikes are way fun.

 

[sama1ter]

holy crap talk about a bike upgrade--rigid to a splintermx?

i did the switch about 2 years ago when i sold my stumpjumper fsrxc for a bighit. now im on an SX trail after having a few other bikes, and couldnt be happier.

 

[rigidhack]

I am completely AMPED about this whole suspension thing. Sadly, the bike came with a factory pre-blown 5th that has pretty much no rebound and tops out like mad. (WHAT !?! Never heard of that happening to anybody! ) My bike sounded like a Flamenco dancer as I came down the hill. (clackety-clack)

The good news is that FTW is the KING of CUSTOMER SERVICE and I am getting a new shock tomorrow.

I am still coming to the realization that all of those scary cool lines I have been eyeing for years are now do-able. I'm going to love learning how to ride this thing properly. :love:

 

[sayndesyn]

Actually top pros put slices of butter in place of their brake pads. True story.

is it true that some pros dont even run brake pads in the brakes? does that depend on course or all the time?

 

[S.K.C.]

Here are some things I still dont understand:
1.) How the hell do these guys go so fast?

Like Transcend said - the Pros don't use their brakes half as much as the rest of us do. The main things that help them go so fast are:

1. Bike Handling Skills: as in MAD skillz... these guys have put in so much time in the saddle that they instinctively know what they and their bike will do at the limits of: cornering, braking, jumping, landing, and have an excellent overall spatial awareness of themselves on their bike on the course (squeezing in between trees at speed for example)

2. Knowing how to "pump" natural features of the race course to gain or maintain Mo (momentum). An example of this would be to push down on the bike on the backside of anything with a downhill face such as a large roller or "whoop" (whoop-de-do)

3. They trust their tires when they corner at ridiculous speeds, and trust their brakes when they lock up the rear briefly to scrub some speed when entering a corner.

My best advice to you would be to get a copy of the Fundamentals DVD. It's basically a how-to on the basics of MTB specifically geared toward FR/DH and was made by the Brits over at Dirt Magazine / 4130 Productions.

You can get a copy here:http://store.nsmb.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=42

 

[Bicyclist]

Good stuff S.K.C.

If I was articulate that's how I'd explain the pros' incredible speed. I usually leave it to "they're just better" but your explination is a bit more precise.

 

[PatBranch]

This is a cool thread. I've been on my hardtail for a while, and I can't wait till I get a FS bike.

Fudamentals is a good movie. You may want to get brian lopes' and lee mccormack's book, Mastering MTB Skills. It has a lot of DH stuff such as how to drop, pump, corner. http://leelikesbikes.com/MasteringMountainBikeSkills/

 

[SXtrailrider]

I want to be the first to tell you to go out and get your self gear especially a full face helmet and knee guards and I hope you already own a good pair of gloves. once to take a bad fall you might also want to upgrade to some kind of a jacket, like the rockgardn flak jacket. I love this company the owner backs up his products 100% warranty is great and same with customer service, it is a family run business that gives you the same top end protection of huge brands "Dainese" for less.

http://rockgardn.easystorecreator.com/Browse_Item_Details.asp/Item_ID/1/categ_id/1/parent_ids/0,1

 

[PatBranch]

^ That's very good advice!

You may soon realize, that when you do wear armor, you may not fall, but when you don't you probably will. It sucks, but it's so true. Same thing goes with a hydration pack full of tools.

 

[jonKranked]

Eh? I have never in a million years heard this.

dude you didn't know this? they'll sometimes take all the oil out of the fork to save weight, and will run their wheels without tires to reduce rotational momentum.

 

[snoopz666]

Same thing goes with a hydration pack full of tools.

yep carried them everywhere i went all last season never used them , but i think everone i ride with used them at least once.

another thing about these pro riders. in some cases you might be able to keep up with them, but youll notice very quickly that theyre riding at a whole different level. while your looking like an idiot trying to keep up and going full out, they will just look like theyre out for their morning ride. and thats why theyre pros

 

[dhkid]

Eh? I have never in a million years heard this.

nvm, it was just a rumour that is soo crazy that it might just be true.
how would they stop at the end of their run anyways.

 

[PatBranch]

yep carried them everywhere i went all last season never used them , but i think everone i ride with used them at least once.

another thing about these pro riders. in some cases you might be able to keep up with them, but youll notice very quickly that theyre riding at a whole different level. while your looking like an idiot trying to keep up and going full out, they will just look like theyre out for their morning ride. and thats why theyre pros

I always taking when on DH trails (and use it once in a while), but didn't about a week ago in Santa Cruz... I got a flat alowing me only about 3 rides down the hill, before I had to go.

Damn irony!

 

[rigidhack]

Great info guys. I already had Roach knee/shins that I used all the time (I've always ridden with flats, so shin protection is a must). I bought the elbow/forearms at the same time, but never used them until I got on the new bike. After blowing my collarbone into 3 pieces a while ago, I got a Thor Force chest protector with floating shoulder guards, which I plan on using again.

I'm going to have to look into some of the DVD's mentioned.

I have not had a chance to hit my regular loop yet, but that is coming soon. I really curious to see the difference the new bike makes.

 

[habitatxskate]

thats what i thought in the beginning..
i don't need 8" i can use a 6" rotor..ahah then i advoided falling off a big rock, ty 8" rotors..yeah, the nice squishy fork does come in handy doesn't it? i still don't get how they go so fast

 

[bizutch]

Actually...this pro I know when he first had a set of Hayes with full metal pads, rubbed oil off his nse on the rotor to make them less grabby. It worked...would scare the hell out of me though

 

[rigidhack]

Actually...this pro I know when he first had a set of Hayes with full metal pads, rubbed oil off his nse on the rotor to make them less grabby. It worked...would scare the hell out of me though

Sooooo, did he do this after his first few runs, once the rotor had warmed up a bit? :hot:

 

[bizutch]

nope...straight up. But this was back in the day coming from V-brakes to Hayes discs. They were a big wake up call for everybody. Grab 2 fingers full of brake and kiss earth.

 

[AtTheGates]

Actually...this pro I know when he first had a set of Hayes with full metal pads, rubbed oil off his nse on the rotor to make them less grabby. It worked...would scare the hell out of me though

I can confirm this. Said pro has done this in front of me before.

 

[rigidhack]

nope...straight up. But this was back in the day coming from V-brakes to Hayes discs. They were a big wake up call for everybody. Grab 2 fingers full of brake and kiss earth.

I skipped the whole V-brake thing. Straight from center pull cantis to Hayes Mag DH's w/ 8" rotors. First OTB took about 8 seconds.

 

[S.K.C.]

Butch:

Actually...this pro I know when he first had a set of Hayes with full metal pads, rubbed oil off his nse on the rotor to make them less grabby. It worked...would scare the hell out of me though

...so THAT"S what I've been doing wrong!

It's the OIL that I was supposed to use.

...and all this time I've been rubbing boogers from my nose on the rotors.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

I skipped the whole V-brake thing. Straight from center pull cantis to Hayes Mag DH's w/ 8" rotors. First OTB took about 8 seconds.

Ugh.... I suppose I did it the easy way...went from cantis to mechs to hydros....fortunately the mechs didn't have a lot of power...enough to make me poop myself a little...but.....