Thursday, March 31, 2016

Booooooo E13!

So just got the word from E13 that they would not honour their warranty, and help me out with a defect I have with their LG1 gen2 pedal.

The problem is that the spin control tensioner gets jammed, and stops the pedal from spinning. Loosening it does nothing. A quick search on google shows that I'm not the only one having this issue! At a recommended retail price of 169,00 € this pedal is pretty expensive, and having it to fail after 6 months of use sucks.. ugh E13...go fuck yourself.

Enjoy your E13 LG1 pedal. It has amazing grip, the six months it works..

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Review: Twenty6 Predator Ti Pedal (Generation 2)

16 months of testing of the Generation2 version of the Predator pedal is finally over, and the conclusion is crystal clear. Tyler (the man behind Twenty6) promised an evolution of the much acclaimed Prerunner pedal. Pretty much everything was reviewed and improved upon... And Tyler delivered....with the Gen2.

The result is the Predator pedal; thin, big, lightweight, grippy, and more expensive than your car. I wanted to find out whether this pedal is worth your hard earned cash, or whether this a CNC adventure gone wrong? Read on and find out. But first the basics:

Enduro sealed bearing, and quad o-ring seals should keep this sucker going strong for a long time.
(click to enlarge)

Self lubricating tapered turcite bushing, on a burly nitride coated titanium spindle. The CNC milled pedal body is has a concave and offset design, and each pin is isolated and raised so that the foot is resting less on the pedal body, and more on the pin itself. This pedal has more tech than your flat screen tv.
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My pin-system is smarter than your pin-system. No seriously, have a look at this picture to fully understand why this is such a smart system.
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The Predator is slightly taller than the 11mm Point One Racing Podium Pedal. But overall the Predator is bigger. If some of you would want some more comparison pics, please say so in the comments field, and Ill upload them. Comments does not require a sign-in.
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Predator with a Ti-axle. 343grams. Pretty close to the claimed 340 grams
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The amount of grip is really good. If you are a 5.10 shoe user (and if you are not, you should be), be prepared to experience some serious grip. The pedal body is large and thin, finally a pedal where there is enough real estate to rest the entire width of your foot, and I really like that. The grip is not as good as the E13 LG1 pedal, but its close.
(click to enlarge)

16 months of testing has given me a very good idea of what the Predator pedal has to offer; a lot. The huge platform with the amazing grip are definitely the highlights, and are quickly apparent. What comes after months of testing is the question about durability, and there is nothing to put my finger on here either. These pedals are tough, and durable, and continue to take heat. Top that of with the fact that they are thin as well, and offer a innovative pin-system, and you have yourself a winner, and a product above the competition. If you got the cash, then there are no excuses not to get these.
(click to enlarge)


Generation 1 -issue
After 17 months of intense use, the generation 1 pedal had a catastrophic failure. The pedal body snapped during a jump session. I wasn't hurt, and there was no drama, it just felt weird, and my foot "collapsed" into the remaining pedal body, allowing me to ride-it out - so to speak. The generation 2 version is improved according to Tylor wrote me: "On the supporting arms that come off from the center, I removed a few through holes and replaced them with counter bored holes."
(click to enlarge)

All 3 pedals are actually quite big, but the predator still ranks among the biggest out there. Lots of real estate for your foot.
From left: Specialized Boomslang, E13 LG1, Twenty6 Predator.
(click to enlarge)


The Good:
-Huge platform
-Good grip
-Thin
-Lightweight
-Smart pin-system
-Gen2 is durable

The Bad:
-Replacement pins are very expensive (and so is the pedal)

Score: 5/6

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Hello Spring

Small new feature up and running, so some testing was due. Its a small stepdown leading to a larger jump. Great place to session!

24sec. Simple edit, with sound, 30-120fps.

I love spring (in fact, I could love it for 55 minutes if I wanted to)

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Canyon Fail

Lets do some math:


+


=




My riding buddy Jan just found this huge crack on his Canyon Spectral AL. Anyway, lets see how Canyon handles this.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Most Wanted 2016

My last year here on All Mountain Next.. So what to look forward to in '16? I would usually mention gear and equipment, but I don't feel like it this time around - I've gone soft ; )

I took a look at whats interesting for 2016, and what I look forward to, or hope for. Lets take a look:


More contestants at Redbull Hardline ....and a live stream!
Redbull Hardline is the most interesting mountainbike race there currently is. Yes there I said it. Its only existed for two years, but its already hailed as the most difficult racing-line there is. We need more contestants, and more media exposure - a live stream would be awesome.
Keep it up Dan Atherton - you are doing it right.

New Parks
I want to try something new, something fresh, something I haven't tried before. I'm not talking dirty, I am talking about Bikeparks. Austria? Spain? Portugal? Canada? UK? I don't know yet, but I crave a new experience.

Redbull Rampage revised judging
I don't know, something doesn't seem right. I'm no expert, and I won't be vocal about some theory. But its pretty clear that the general opinion by the Redbull-Rampage contestants is that there is something very faulty with the judging. I thinks viewers where scratching their heads in 2014 and 2015 as well. I think it needs a total revision. 

New trail features
We are stepping it up, but not quite ready to show of the work. After nearly a year of working, we sure are looking forward to hit these new trail features.