October sessions

A few more trips this week. Some jump oriented, others to improve basic skills and cardio - while keeping it fun.

First of all, got lucky with light and focus and shot this pic:

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 One of the drops got a complete overhaul. It got torn down a rebuild from scratch. The reason for this was that we started to miss the transition, and land this sucker to flat - due to higher and higher speeds . We are not fans of flat landings. So now it stands bigger, taller, and more fun. Pics dont do justice.

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Green zone is landing area, blue is a flat section - you dont want to land there..

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And here we go. Ive just hit the landing on this pic, Christian chasing me:

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Now heres an interresting bike. Its the Banshee Spitfire - and whats so interresting about it? Well because even tho its a "short-travel" frame at 130mm, it hosts a 67 degree headangle, and even has the ability to be set at an super aggressive 66 degree (keep in minds this is a 5 inch bike). This bike is serious buisness - despite of its travel. It has a virtual pivot - like suspension system, and from my short time on it, it feel very nimble and flickable, I think of it as a short-travel All Mountain bike. The happy owner of this new bike is Christian - congrats, its a cool bike man.

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And there it goes:
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Ready for more.

October AM riding

Even tho' we've seen alot of rain lately, there has definitely been alot of really nice weather as well - that just begged to be ridden. Got my camera out here and there and shot some pics.

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Christian swirling in between trees:

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Somewhat creepy find on the trail:

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Hoping for the rain to clear up..

Technical trail riding

We took a ride to a well known trail to have a litte spin. But we ended up riding for 4 hours, and Christian ended up doing the biggest air, this otherwise heavily xc-corrupted area has seen. Great ride.

A big smile.

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Now even tho im fresh out of Winterberg, and my definition of whats "big" is somewhat blurred, I still consider this a pretty decent drop...and its to flat. Christian takes a look, and goes for it.

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11 sec vid, no sound:

Winterberg 2010 part 3/3

A few thoughts on the DH track. Its on the shorter side, upper section is a bit too easy, so are the almost non-existing rockgardens, and there are almost no roots or rocks to be seen. Now I might sound a bit negative, but heres an odd twist to it all; its a blast to ride! Its a very fast DH trail, with drops and jumps all the right places and some nice drifty turns, and there is just something very fun riding this iXS approved track. Still a bit sad that I didnt shoot a single pic on this course.

Back to the roadgap. After a lot of inspection, Hilmer and Fredde went for it:

Hilmer on the Continental track, noone could keep up with this guy here:

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Fredde gaps a line on the Continental, you could litterly ride beneath an airborn rider here.

Some more slopestyle action, I give the box a try. Winterberg is heavily gravity fed:

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Ole on his Demo 8. Speaking of the Demo, this place was plastered with Demo's and Canyon Torque's, they where everywhere! Some of the more rare bikes we saw here was a smokin hot 951, a white Canfield Brothers DH rig, and a Santa Cruz Driver 8, they might be often spottet in the US or Canada, but its a rare breed here.

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Im really looking forward to revisit Winterberg, if you have an opportunity to do so as well, then go for it  - its the German Whistler ; )

Winterberg 2010 part 2/3

The Rockshox Slopestyle in Winterberg had plenty to offer, whether you are into tricks or freeride, this place had it all. Good place to push some limits, and see locals do stuff we usually only see in bike movies.

Go crazy here, make your own line, and grab some air:

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Plenty of sizes to choose from:

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Some of the locals here where rippers! Check it out:
Besides doing 360's, and tuck no handers, this guy did this huge step-up onto the box, then dropped it nicely afterwards:

This dude took the biggest drop in the slopestyle section, he was the only guy we saw doing it, props for that:

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Fredde nose dived on one of the bigger drops (I guess it was like 3-4 meters), and slammed head-first into the ground, I was standing with my camera nearby, and saw it all unfold. Sick ,sick, crash! My first thought; thank god he was wearing his Leatt Brace - The first thing Fredde said when the dust settled was: "Thank god I was wearing my Leatt Brace!!" : ) Anyway, besides some minor scratches on the helmet, and a broken visor, he walked it off, and we went on with our day. Now go get that brace, it fucking saves your ass:

Next up, roadgap:

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Winterberg 2010 part 1/3

I went to Winterberg this weekend, well actually, we where 5 guys taking the trip. Now Winterberg isnt just another bikepark in Germany, its actually critically acclaimed as the best bikepark in Germany. So we went out to find out if it really is.
So is it? Well Ive been to a few bikeparks these last two years, and this is by far, the best place ive ridden!

I shot some pics here, and thats all dandy and all, the bad news is that I only covered like 5% of whats to offer here, and I didn't even shoot a single pic of the DH trail, or the fourcross - both offered some of the best moments here. Kinda sad about that, but im sure that ill return here next year and make up for it. Ok, nuff' rambling, lets get it on:

Ive come addictively accustomed to see my feet dangle like this, the 2010 season has been so friggin awesome : )

Junior, on one of the many drops scattered over the bikepark:
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The Continental track was massive fun, tables, doubles, a bit northshore, cross jumps, corner jumps and shit load of berms. But the best part; its a real skill booster:
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Fredde inside a berm:

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The continental track was the single most giving track for me regarding skill development, I rode it like a retard the first day (no offence to retards), but ended up riding it pretty fast, and clearing most tables. What a fun track.

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But none developed at such rate as Thomas. This guy came here somewhat green, and left with a bag of skills, and added speed.

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Stick around for part 2

Fall AM riding

The weather has been awesome lately, and that resulted in a lot of riding, mostly local trails. Its been a blast : )

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Been putting an effort into testing the coil characteristics in different situations and riding styles - even been riding some xc. Expect a blog entry regarding this later this month.

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Really like this pic, even tho' the rider got his head cut off:

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This October is going to be crazy.

Review : Specialized Chunder SX and Specialized Chunder Control

Ah the Specialized Chunder. The quiet living underdog of AM tires, finally gets a very well deserved moment of attention. It took ages to test this tire(s). Thing is, I really got impressed by this tire, and just kept dragging it through spots and tracks in-country and beyond. And let me drop the bomb right away; This tire outperforms the Maxxis Highroller. Yearh, one of the worlds most popular DH/FR tires got its ass kicked. Enough of the praises, lets get down to performance:

Chunder Control:

Well the Chunder Control is a near replica of (in terms of thread pattern) of my otherwise all-time favorite AM tire; the Maxxis High-Roller 2.3. But the Chunder Control 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 shows performance wise 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.

The performance is second to none in the turns, the huge side logs bite into the dirt when pushed, and keeps you railed on the trail. This really shines through in loose conditions. When things get wet or muddy this tire still performs, but to extract true mud performance, you'd be better off with a mud-specific tire. That said, this tire holds line in rockgardens, roots, even slips from wet roots quickly gets caught - thanks to the aggressive side pattern.

I see this tire as an all-year tire, for the AM or FR rider that wants the very best. So if you want an easy rolling tire, that offers insane grip in the corners, and has mistake swallowing capabilities - then go get this tire, ignore the high weight (it will pay off), and install this amazing tire, that definitely sits high on the "best for All Mountain" throne.

(I do want to note that the tire is way over its claimed weight, and Specialized should perhaps give their scale a good service check.)

Size:2.3" (Single Ply)
Tested on: Front
Claimed weight: 855 gram
Actual weight: 927 gram
Score: 6/6

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The green line indicates the pattern the tire actually rolls on, the red shows where the tire engages when cornering. This makes a very easy rolling tire in the strait line, with furiously biting in the corners:

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Chunder SX:

This is my remark and thought for the "SX" version of the Chunder tire. The size and handling is pretty much the same as the Control version - so I wont repeat myself. The SX version is dual ply, and therefor more heavy, but also more stiff, less flexy and "cuts" better through challenging rockgardens.

If you are riding really hard and aggressive, and want to go dual ply, then this is pretty much the perfect tire - like in 6/6 perfect. This is however an all mountain blog, and this tire is just a tad too heavy to score a perfect score here. (Ive given this some thought, and I think its the right thing to do - if im all for keeping the integrity of this blog.)

Size:2.3" (Dual Ply)
Tested on: Front
Claimed weight: 1000 gram
Actual weight: 1060 gram
Score: 5/6

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