Technical AM

...is the best word I can find that describes todays trip. What a great day; sunshine, a great trail, a good wibe, and alot of fun : ) ... during the 7 hours of riding(!). Awesome!

I dont think it gets much steeper than this (well not here anyway):

I still have alot of respect for this drop, the landing is somewhat sketchy:

Pure fun:

Technical (and damn tricky) descends:

My body and mind craves for some R&R.

New Video: Testing the High Speed function

I had the opportunity to test my new camera and its features. And it all came down to a little test-movie, check it out: 

First downhill session of the year

...and it was awesome! I almost forgot how much fun it really is. There where some decent riders along, so there was a chance to grab some tricks and hints as to how to decimate the rockgardens in the fastest way possible. Good stuff. 

Btw, it was my first ride with the Leatt Brace, and the Deviant-2 helmet. Both products surpassed my expectations, so im really pleased with that. I actually vent on to forget that I was wearing the Leatt Brace!

Anyway, some pics:

Christian:

Sebastian:

Me:

The invisible Leatt Brace:

Ready for more.

FINALLY! Some AM action.

Man, we had such a fun time today! Hucks, drops, jumps, and technical riding, all with 11c in the spring sun, I really cant ask for much more. Fuck yearh.

Finally hucked this SOB:

Ready for more.

Preview: Specialized Chunder SX 2.3

Finally got my hands on the Specialized Chunder SX 2.3. I really wanted to test this tire for a long time, but it turned out to be quite hard to get hold on. Well I finally managed that, so why all the buzz?

Well the Chunder SX 2.3 is a near replica of (in terms of thread pattern) of my all-time favorite AM tire; the Maxxis High-Roller 2.3. But the Chunder SX adds a few things into the mix; First of; its HUGE, the 2.3" is as big as a Maxxis 2.5". Secondly, the knob-hight is about 20% higher than that of the Maxxis tire - that could mean more grip in the corners at high speeds and on the descends. The side pattern is huge and ultra aggressive, and the center knobs are ramped up to give as little rolling resistance as possible - just like the High Roller. Everything has a price tho', this tire is a heavy weight at 1060 gram, but thats for the "indestructible"-dual-ply version im testing.

I have high expectations for the Chunder SX, and I hope to drag this tire through AM, DH, FR, in several different countries during this summer, so watch this space, as I conclude it with a review here on my blog.

(click to enlarge)

 Shameless copy of one of the best tires ever made:

(click to enlarge)

But I want it anyway!

Finally a bit trail action

We had a chance to spin the bikes a few days ago. 2 days later the snow hit us again : /

(click to enlarge)

Christian on my bike:

Christian crashing my bike, he walked it off afterwards:

Im ready for more.

Preview: Specialized Deviant II Carbon 2010

Got my new fullface helmet today, its the Specialized Deviant II Carbon. Specialized made some changes for this helmet for 2010, apparently they took in some of the criticism there was of the original Deviant I, and remade it. This new version has a new chin bar, mouthport and face port design with improved goggle compatibility.

Here are my first impressions; This helmet is light, comming in at 982 gram (M), and its VENTILATED - this thing has vents all over it! I really like that, my head felt too hot in my 661 fullface helmet, so I welcome all the vents, and hope that they can reduce the heat, and keep my head as cool as possible. The fit is good, tight but good. The mouthport is huge, and really makes it easy to breathe - I dont feel "enclosed" when I wear this helmet. One thing I'm abit skeptic about is that this helmet has a double d-buckle retention, and I have never been a fan of that, always been into the click-system. But so far its proven itself to be pretty easy to work with, so I will give it a shot.

I hope to do a proper review when I get some field-time with this helmet, in the meanwhile, check out the pics.

(click to enlarge)