WHISTLER 2011 part 1/2

Whistler, Canada. The best place to ride - on earth.

Whistler has a legendary rep, so no wonder most mountain bike riders all over the world dream of coming here. So did I. The idea started to materialize in my head 2 years ago, back then my bike technique was not honed in yet, I didn't feel "ready" just yet. If I was going to Whistler, I would want to ride everything, every line, drop, jump, wallride, whatever the park had - I wanted to roll it. 2 years later (and many bikepark rides later) I felt that Whistler had to be next. Got the the plane tickets, packed my stuff and went to Canada : ) 

Let me start with some praise of the Canadian people. Besides being helpfull and friendly, they are very social as well, and you wont wander long before someone wants to get a small chat goin'. I really enjoyed that, and I wish it was more like that here where I live. Canada also left me with an impression that its a very clean country, and it seems to me like people care about keeping it clean. Props for that.

Whistler is a beautiful place, dirt, vegetation, and the mix of rocks and stones really make it a perfect place for this sport. I was amazed. Oh, and I finally got to see some bears in the wild.

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My first day at Whistler bikepark, I got lucky, within the first 30 minutes I stumbled upon Paul (white shirt), and his brother Ian (black shirt), they where kind enough to show me around the park. And before I knew it we where all rippin' together. Such cool guys. Paul was actually a whistler-local, besides being ridiculously fast, he pulled whips like no other, just wow! I have so much to learn.

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I planned to bring my own ride, but changed mind last second. I had a feeling that I could get away with a rental. I packed my body armor, and pedals - thats it. To my surprise, the rentals in Whistler where of a very high caliber; 2011 Norco bikes, 2011 Giant, 2010 Specialized and 2011 Trek to mention just a few. My ride was a 2011 Devinci Wilson. While not as playful as my Canfield Brothers ONE, it sure was a sweet bike to ride, slack, fast and very controllable, the rear end felt bottomless.
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Gettin' mah wheep ooohn, some of the tables where absolutely huge here, and gave the opportunity for some serious airtime. I wont show too many pics of the park and rides itself, as im in the midst of making a short vid. So stay tuned for that. 

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Tight section on lower A-line. The Whistler bikepark is HUGE, you could easily ride here an entire week without getting too repetitive.

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The famous GLC drop. Hit it fast and enjoy the air-time.(Paul just landed in this pic) 

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I met freeride legend, and mtb pioneer Brett Tippie. Such a cool character!

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Im chasing Paul, he salutes with a whip : )

The park wasn't fully up and running due to the snow. The more popular trails where open. Im sorry I missed Dirt Merchant tho'  - A good excuse to come back ; ) The trails I rode where very fast, and so much fun! The lines where often quite wide, making it possible to make multiple lines in one, at some points. Clearly the main focus for the park is good airtime, so dont expect your bike to be grounded for too long. Lines are as professionaly crafted as youdd expect of a place like Whistler.

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As I mentioned earlier, I wont be posting much more Whistler pics, as I have 12 gigs of vid, that im currently compiling into a short vid. So, this wraps up my bikepark side of Whistler. If you got any questions, feel free to ask, the comments section does not require any sign-in.

I got more stuff tho', you see, I stumbled upon some trails outside the park, and got a bit of a surprise..

Stay tuned.

Sorry for the lack of updates.

But my hands are full

Stay tuned

Teaser Video

60 seconds of trail action in 2 German bikeparks.



Follow the link to see a better quality:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v96zA8ypSUY&hd=1

Gear update 2

Got back from an AWESOME weekend of German bikepark action(Winterberg and Braunlage). I had such a blast, and had a great time testing my gear. Biggest surprise is the RockShox Boxxer R2C2 2011. Just WOW, what a difference! Plush beginning beginning stroke, a midstroke that actually exists, and a end stroke that wont bend your bars when you get to it. Adjusting low and highspeed rebound took an entire day to find the sweetspot, but I think I got it now.

The bike itself was just shredding, it has such a playfull character. You sit deep into the bike, so its more like that, rather than sitting on the bike, its more intuitive with your body movement, that's the best way I can describe it. I also got a chance to test the claimed "active suspension while braking" - and it does just that. The 200mm up front and rear makes everything faster and more forgiving in the bikeparks than my previous bike, the Enduro SL. I had a blast.

Anyway, more gear landed at my door step, so let me take you through it:

My SRAM X-0 shifter finally died. So I went with a SRAM X-9 this time. BEWARE, its a full 5 GRAMS(!) heavier than the X-0. Silly.

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Got the newest Freerider 2011 shoe from FiveTen, propably the best shoe for platform pedals there is. Its the third generation, and the one that has seen most revisions and improvements. Shredding almost 200 grams, a bit lower profile, and its a bit more ventilated up front.

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Got a direct mount stem from Superstar Components for my Boxxer. Im not sure what size fits me best, so I went with a cheap option to see if it fits. It might be a bit hard to see the weight numbers, but the scale says 150g.

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Specialized Clutch SX Dual Ply for the DH trips. I was using this on the rear wheel this weekend for the DH runs, but I originally intended this tire to be up front for wet/muddy or very loose conditions. Actual weight: 986 g. More on this tire later.

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Forgot all about posting the weight of the RockShox Boxxer R2C2 2011. 3.09kg (6.8lbs) Uncut steerer:

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Gear update

Ive had alot of things going on right now with my gear. So I thought ill give you guys an update.

Finally got my Monarch RT3 back from service, the compression and rebound adjuster didnt work, so I had to send it in. Now I got it back and installed it onto the bike, and was happy to see the compression adjuster is working - however the rebound adjuster still didn't work! Man that sucks! I though SRAM would at least check the shock after servicing it. Apparently they dont. CanfieldBrothers.EU told me they where sorry (its not their fault), and that they would contact SRAM in order to get this right - once and for all.

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Got a new set of PointOneRacing Pedals under warranty. Im quite sure that PointOneRacing has continuous revisions, some of it is already evident, so im hoping for a longer lifespan for this set ; ) Check out the new raw finish. I have a weak spot for these pedals, so even tho I gave them a hard time in my review, I still gladly run them - they are that sweet (when working). I still havent got the longer pins, so im not installing them just yet.

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..What I do have installed are these flat pedals from SuperStar Components. The CNC Nano Tech pedals has got alot of very positive reviews, and I have to admit that they feel pretty good, sturdy, and are pretty thin. Lets see how they hold up. 450g btw.

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Its late spring, and the bikepark trips are queuing up. So check out the bikepark setup. Following changes are made compared to my normal AM setup:
-RockShox Boxxer R2C2 2011 up front.
-Vivid RC2 2011 in the back, coil set to 30% sag.
-Adjustable seatpost swapped with a normal one, with a lightweight saddle.
-Dual Ply tire up front. 2.3"  (Specialized Chunder SX)
-Pedal boots on my SIXC crank.

Im really looking forward to test this setup. I got a Dual Ply rear tire ready for installation as well, should the conditions require it.

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15.98 kg. Thats 35.16 lbs. Not bad.
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A BOXX of fun..

Low/High speed compression, Low/High speed rebound, and bottom out resistance - right at my fingertips.

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Stick around.