Lost pics from May

A few shots from last month, that didn't make the cut. Pretty much random shots, check it out:

Mr.Madsen standing on top of a (road?)gap in a German bikepark. What we didn't really get was how to ride it..

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..you see, the run-in was short and awkward, and you where supposed to air it riiiight into the outlined green zone where the transition began... We failed every single time *facepalm*

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Hitting it, and slamming into the red-zone... gah

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I now officially hate my E13 wheels, and here's why;

-They are soft.
-Making them tubeless is a fucking pain in the ass, for several reasons.
-The bead-hooks are too small.
-E13 has still not released their Tubeless conversion kit.
-Louder than a truck filled with hungry babies.

I gave them a good amount a gorilla tape, filled it with stans..and somehow these wheels still fucked up. Never had any problems with my Mavics.
E13 <  Mavic.

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Oh did I mention that I made a huge dent in the rear wheel? So much that future attempts on a tubeless setup is futile.

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Mr.Madsen inspecting the dirt of Schulenberg bikepark on his back.

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Table hitting

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Oh Germany, this might not be gourmet, but you charm me everytime with your food anyway < 3 

I am haunted by my own potential

Yes that just happened.

Old School, Air, and broken bones

With an average age of 41, you would be forgiven to think that this air-session, with 7 participants, would be different...well it was, but not the way you think, these guys where hitting hard, leaving the "41" as a hollow number that was put to shame. Take a look;

Peter was smiling a lot this day, the drops and jumps where quickly turned into a playground.

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I can see my house from here.

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Kim was hesitant to hit stuff outside his comfort zone, as always underestimating himself. But once the other guys began to hit the features - the excuses evaporated and Kim followed : )

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Peter on his 29'er. This a short travel bike, with XC wheels, that bike sure made some weird noises on impact..

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Morten on his way into orbit ; )

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Smiles all around, some of these guys where going bigger than ever before, and the reward was written in their faces..

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..Well except Søren, he nose dived a jump, and broke his collarbone : / Healing wibes out.

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Go big and Go home

So Mr.Madsen and I wanted to do a relaxed air session..and so we did;

Hitting the Treegap, enjoy the airtime.

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Mr.Madsen standing on top of his own bad idea, before hitting it for the first time. I wonder what went through his head.

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 Hitting it

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I give it a go.

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Ahh good times, with a good old air session : )

Malente 2015 Part 2/2

More from Malente.

This small roadgap is one of two roadgaps available.

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Jan hitting a stepdown

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Henning temporary incapacitated by riders block. A small double had him mind-fucked. After a little inner reasoning, he came back to it, and rode it - and that's the way you tackle it. 

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Jan smiled for 48 hours straight : )

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Small roadgap.

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2 days of riding, pushing shit (and bikes), drinking beer and eating schnitzels. Yay! Untill next time.

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Malente 2015 Part 1/2

The return to Malente. I wrote about this place HERE, so check that out if the name Malente doesn't ring a bell.

Anyway, we had 2 great days of pushbike here, I had my cam and shot some pics, check it out;

This is a small forest with some pushbike lines. No longer than a minute of descend at most. 3 lines that we are aware of, but there is a good amount of interlacing, so you could almost say there is about 6-7 lines in total. Some of it in mint condition, some of it in poor. Most of it was good tho'.

Henning chasing Jan.

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Hitting one of the bigger drops, at the very top. Its about 2 meters (7feet), and you better hit it fast enough, there is a hole right below that has to be passed. I'm on my DH bike, and I almost forgot how amazing that BOS Idylle Air fork feels...oh my!

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Henning going for it on a table.

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Jan inspects a stepdown, its one of those features that required speed, but not too much speed..

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..And hits it. Jan was showing great form these two days.

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Inspecting the doubles. Line choices are plentifull.

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Stay tuned for more.

Bikeparks and pushbikes

3 days in two bikeparks, followed by 2 days of pushbike... Im sort of  tired now! ; )

Well whining aside, both trips where awesome, the weather was great, the beers where cold, and there was a whole lot of Schnitzel....and I think a few of us even pushed a few things on the bike.

I shot a whole lot of GoPro footage and boiled it down to a 2 minute edit, enjoy.

2m17sec. With sound, HD AVAILABLE

Random Stuff

From a squirrel, to grips, that's what's random is about.

I love a good quickie, so lets do this:

Hitting Mr. Madsens Bad Idea Version2 - in poin of view. Henning as a bystander in the upper right corner.

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Jan hitting a small new drop.

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Thin, tacky, light weight, all I want in a grip. The Raceface Half Nelson is highly recommended.

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Christian eating travel.

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Big, Bigger, Biggest. 

I am currently testing the pedal in the middle; The E13 LG1+ (2.Gen.), and boy is this a good pedal! Stick around for a preview.

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Skylarking

Shot in a single day, out with Henning and Jan, this is my salute to SPRING. We where hitting the Skull Drop, the new double, Mr.Madsens Bad Idea Drop version 2, and some classics along the way as well. Yay Spring!

1m27sec. HD available HERE!

Back then..

So we just sessioned this particular spot, where good airtime is possible. We tried to whip and throw some tables, but none of it really stuck. For every good one we pulled, we had at least 9 bad ones, fuck. We where having fun trying tho'.

So when I got back home, I remembered that I was hitting this spot almost 4 years ago, and, man, I had my shit dialed back then:

No sound. Short edit. HD available. 4 year old footage:

I need to get back into the game. Beers on me!

Review: Schwalbe Nobby Nic 2015 Performance Line 2.1"

Done testing an old nemesis.

Schwalbe is back with a revised version of the Nobby Nic tire, a hugely successfull trail tire. This is the third generation, and I guess Schwalbe would say its their best yet. Last time I had the Nobby Nic strapped on, it pretty much disintegrated, I thought it was a useless piece of shit, as pointed out in my review. For whatever reason (well I guess its because they finally admitted that the old didn't work), Schwalbe did an entire re-modeling of how the knobs are positioned....again. So have they finally nailed it?

Nobby Nic - third generation.

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26". Performance line 2.1"

Claimed weight; 515g
Actual:526g
Close enough imo.

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Current Generation3 to the left vs  Generation2 to the right.

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The knob position finally makes (more) sense, and the tire is performing at an outstanding level. I have been using it alot in the wet, conditions where Schwable tires usually fail to deliver in my experience compared to the competition. Dry performance is solid.

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Side knobs are finally pushed more out, to allow more of a channel-like distribution. I say more, because Schwalbe is not quite there yet.
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I still strongly advocate the open channel system, that Maxxis, Specialized and Michelin has done for years. The Nobby Nic is aaalmost there.

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This is a tire with a great value. It has a nice big profile, sideknobs that finally make sense, rolls okay, and is easy to setup tubeless. The grip is good, predictable and the tire itself is very lightweight.

I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised by this latest installment, Schwalbe finally nailed it the third time! And its cheap too!

(I have to stress out that this is a tire I have been testing on the rear only!)

The good:
-Great grip!
-Lightweight
-Big overall profile
-Tubeless friendly installation
-Predictable
-Works great in versatile environments
-Rolls surprisingly easy
-Great Tubeless performance
-Cheap

The Bad:
-Long term durability is unknown. I will get back regarding this.
-Tends to burp at low pressure (sub 2 bars) in a tubeless setup, more so than my former Specialized Butcher tire. I only experience this when stressing the tire sideways tho' - so take it for what it is.

Size: 2.1"
Tested on: Rear
Claimed weight: 515 gram
Actual weight: 526 gram

Score:5/6

Just sayin'

Connect it the way you want.

Review: Specialized Boomslang Flat Pedal

In development by Jason Chamberlain, the main man behind FSR suspension at Specialized since...wait for it..2010! Yes these pedals has been in development for five years. Now they are finally here, but are these pedals worth the wait? Are the 5 years well spent? or is this pedal left behind by the competition? Read on, and find out.

110x108mm and 10mm thickness.

 Note the spare pins on the side. Its a neat feature, but does this feature solve a problem that doesn't exist? Think about it for a sec.. You still need the tool right?

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Claimed weight: 430grams

Actual weight: 435 grams

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To keep the pedal as thin as possible, Specialized came up with a way to access the outboard needle bearing via a “trap door” in the middle of the pedal. This helps in keeping the pedal as thin as possible without resorting to laying bare the axle in the middle or having to run super thin bushings instead of bearings. This rotating "trap door" is held in place by two traction pins. Its definitely a different way of doing things.

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11 pins per side. It might be a bit hard to see, but the pins are time-glass shaped. The grip is okay, above average I would say. I usually advocate against pins that has to be uninstalled by removing them backwards, but I think Specialized got around the potential problems with its design, largely thanks to the time-glass shape.

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Specialized is promoting the Boomslang as being big. Well perhaps it is for some, but not in comparison to the TwentySix Predator pedal. The Predator is 1/3 lighter as well. Both are equally thin.

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Btw, take a look at this old 2011 prototype with 8mm pins! I wish Specialized at least offered these pins as an option.

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Overall the pedal was a surprise grip-wise, but a disappointment size wise. Pins are an important factor of a pedal, and Specialized did alot of things right regarding just that. But with a relatively small pedal body, I end up being unimpressed. Your foot has to be placed just right on the pedal to get the most out of it, whereas a bigger pedal allows more freedom of foot placement.

I can't comment the reliability, as this isn't a long-term test, I'm returning these pedals soon. 

In the end, this is a pedal that stands in the shadow of the TwentySix Predator pedal. (I'm testing version 2 of that very pedal and will post a review once I break the 14 month barrier) For pretty much the same money you could get the Steel axle version of the Predator pedal, and its a pedal that I regard better in every single aspect.

The Good:
-Pins bite well into FiveTen shoes
-They feel tough
-Overall pin-design is smart
-Thin

The Bad:
-Heavy
-Medium sized at best. (Shut up, I know my pedals)

Score: 4/6

Best vids of 2014

I uploaded 20 vids onto this blog in 2014, here are my 3 best vids of that year. Sit back and enjoy.

In non-chronological order:

Lets start of with this video. I like it, but I dislike it. But mostly I like it. Fuck. It started with a good intend. I wanted to document our French trip and boil in down into a 3 minute video, and I  was on top of it, I really was!.. Then the alcohol kicked in... And there it was, a peak into the neurosis stuff, and I was having fun doing it - so it stayed in the final cut. I don't get the ending.

2m37sec HD available.

Now this is way more relaxed. An awesome day in the woods, shots got captured the way I wanted it to, and the music just lined up.

1m15sec

Pushing stuff is some of the best and most rewarding things to do on a mountain bike. And to capture one of those situations on video is special, well it is for me anyway. This is such occasion. We  (Drea and I) where to hit Mr.Madsens Bad Idea Drop (Version1) for the very first time. We where the very first people doing it, and that triggered some serious brainfuck. Anyway, we did it, and we got it on cam, check it out;

40sec. HD available.

A honorable mention has to be Drea breaking his glasslike body (I kid bro) in Germany. Check that out HERE.