Downhill smash pink fields how to#

At some point the UCI banned them from competition which shied a lot of brands from speccing their bikes as such. If there is no such bike you either compliment it that it isn't there or (like you do here) you ask why there is no mullet and throw in some derogative nomenclature.Īt the end of the day, mountainbikes with different front and rear wheels have always been there though agreed initially the 26/24 combo was mostly for the more aggressive bikes and the Trek 69 had just too much difference between front and rear to work well (and 27.5 wasn't there yet).

If there is a bike with different sized front and rear wheels in the article, you complain that it's there. Much better would be if you do this in real life on the inside of the fifth corner of your local trail instead of behind your keyboard. Just wondering though, if you're just riding your bike on narrow swoopy up and down trails in the woods and you're not racing, what would you call it? Because I'm only more and more confused by all these silly terms. That said, if you say with confidence that XC historically implies racing then I've got to trust you on that. That is, some technical sections with some less demanding sections in between that could be considered transfer sections. Whether it could be called enduro type trails, I can imagine someone would call it like that if the terrain would be suited as such. If you're not timing yourself or are being timed as such, it wouldn't be called enduro as the timing thing is part of the definition. I thought of enduro as stage racing where you have timed sections and transfer sections in between. At least that was the term they had for bikes that were good for rough descends and were a compromise but doable on the climbs. But what would you call them then if you can't call them XC?Īs for enduro, I thought it was just all-mountain riding if you're not racing. The narrow and more delicate ones aren't fit for racing. But most of it seems at least 2m wide, you can overtake there without widening the trail. These race tracks allow for overtaking for most of their length except for typically the fastest descending sections. I only learned about XC as a mountainbiking discipline later.īut the thing is, the trails commonly called XC aren't fit for racing and in no way comparable to what we see races on. So I thought it was a just a bit more able to deal with riding in dirt and not get sucked down or get damaged. Which review are you most looking forward to Ah, the first time I noticed the term cross country was when I saw a Volvo XC70 which looked like a regular V70 but just a bit higher on the wheels and a bigger bumper. You can expect to see the six downcountry reviews and roundtable arguments first, followed by all the trail bike videos, and then we'll wrap it up with the climbing and hucking that we're all here for. Stay tuned for the first Field Test video review that, if everything's gone to plan, should go live tomorrow.

Downhill smash pink fields how to#

Shoutout to Jason Lucas, Tom Richards, Max Baron, and Devin Francis for not just knowing how to turn the cameras on, but for doing pretty much everything else as well. And all of it in the cold, wet fall weather while doing their best to make us look somewhat acceptable on camera. This circus wouldn't happen without the video and photo team who have to do way more work than us, most of it with either bag that weighs as much as an eight-year-old on their backs or with an awkward gimbal in their hands. While it's the five of us you'll see on the videos, the truth is that we don't even know how to turn the cameras on. Notes: Tech editor, full-time Branston pickle enthusiast Speaking of that, there's plenty of fancy stuff, of course, but aluminum and even steel bikes are also included, as are brands from Germany, America, Canada, Switzerland, and the UK. Rear-wheel-travel starts at just 110mm for the downcountry bikes and goes up to 150mm for the trail rigs, geometry is nearly as wide-ranging, and weights begin at 23lbs and balloon out to 36lb with more coils and less carbon. We like to see some disparity in our fleet, and it's no different this time around. Don't worry, it's still too soon to put you (or us) through another cross-country spandex series, but it is time to have twelve of the latest trail and downcountry bikes face off against each other in the fall Field Test. While the numbers show that a new enduro or downhill bike garners the most interest, and especially so if it happens to be still a prototype or has a gearbox bolted to it, the truth is that the majority of us spend our time on bikes with much less suspension.

Words by Mike Levy, photography by Tom Richards