Preview: Rock Shox Monarch RT3 2011

The elusive Monarch shock. Man ive been trying a long time to get my hands on this 2011 version, now I finally succeeded.

The first version I got was faulty, the shock had issues with compression and rebound, send it back in, and got a new version - faulty as well. You can imagine my frustration at this point. I finally got a working version, and are now setup to do some proper testing.

My initial impressions are positive, this shock has very good midstroke, and the most effective compression adjust ive ever had the opportunity to try. The low/mid/firm setting is really just that, way more efficient than the one you find on the Fox RP23.

On the downside, I think that the beginning stroke is a bit hard, and end stroke is very hard to reach. However, the compression-curve to the endstroke is satisfying liniear, so I have some issues even mentioning this "fault".

To be honest, Its hard and snappy initial stroke makes me feel like its more a XC shock, but its potent handling of big hits allways makes me doubt this very idea. This shock has a split personality.

The RT3 has a 3 way compression tune, a low-speed rebound, and an internal pre-set highspeed rebound. I went for the high volume canister.
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Officially the monarch has a spring curve that looks like this. The actual spring curve looks very different tho', I will post my study in the final review.

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Weight resembles a FOX RP23, size shown is a 216x63mm:

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So is this a XC shock with a high volume canister strapped to it, or is it a legit AM shock that takes whatever you throw at it. Stick around to find out in the actual review.

BikePark Shootout JUNE 2011 Part 3/3

Third day of our bikepark shootout was supposed to be Schulenberg Bikepark - a rider owned park (rider build as well). Turned out they where closed this day, bummer. We packed our gear and went back to Braunlage Bikepark instead, glad we did, because we had a blast here! We cranked everything up, 2 days of bikepark riding hones in the speed, and the desire to push it even further, thats exactly what we did here.

This attitude does backfire a bit tho'; in the end of this third day all the bigger crashes came, and fatigue was showing its ugly face, and rookie mistakes where more common.

Check out the pics taken this day: 

Some fun on a table, this park should really build some more (and bigger!). First up Janus, next up me.

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 Braunlage Bikepark is still under construction, and had a brand new addition to the DH section, it was closed tho'. Being the gentlemen we are, we naturally resisted the temptation to ride it anyway.

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The top section of the RaceDH line in Braunlage Bikepark must be some of the most steep and tech sections ive ever ridden, and ive seen some crazy lines the last few years. Evil rockgardens, loose rocks and stones, loose dirt, and offcamber root-sections, combine this with rocks that point in all the wrong directions and a line thats just steep as hell. I love this shit. (the latter 2/3 of the line is plain poo in comparison tho')

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Youre doing it wrong!! Oh, thats me btw : ) One of my most dramatic crashes, look forward to seeing it on video. I walked away btw - albeit a bit dizzy from slamming my head into a log, thank god for the Leatt Brace.

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Drea crashing on the wall ride, I was riding right behind him, so I had to brake - in the middle of the wall ride - and that equals a crash as well. We walked it off, and had a good laugh. Next pic is Drea showing of.

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I give the wall a spin. Good fun, just remember to bring speed ; )

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All in all a pretty sick trip, great crew, and shit loads of fun.

BikePark Shootout JUNE 2011 Part 2/3

Second day in our 3 day bikepark shootout  was in Hahnenklee bikepark. An eventfull day, read on:

Chasing scene in Hahnenklee, im followed by Drea, gopro cam is strapped to Janus's back with the chest mount, worked surprisingly good.

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Drea going fast in the northshore section, even tho its a bit odd constructed, we did have alot of fun there. Considering Drea's 160mm front and rear (air) on his Norco range, this guy did really good, and there was no holding back.

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Janus checking (and trying) out a drop/stepdown, its ill design meant that this particular construction didnt allow us to ride it, it required silly speed, which could not be archived in this section of the trail. Makes me wonder what the park designers had in mind. Even tho' I flame this park a bit, I would say that most of the work done here is pretty decent. But coming from places like Whistler and Winterberg suddenly makes everything looks a bit different.
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A kid crashed. Hard.

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Im really happy with the Vivid Coil, and Boxxer setup. The bike is fast and very playfull, unlike other DH bike ive tried. Next up is a direct mount stem.

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Treating Drea's multiple fractured hand after a failed, but huge backflip on a wall gap. Nah, he actually sprained it while dicking around in the pool area : ) Good story tho' : D

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I dropped into a big water drain canal (!) and slammed my balls full force into the saddle, so much so that it cracked from the seatpost. I had a stinging sensation in that area for an entire hour. Note how the "rail" system is torn in different directions on the saddle.

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The plan was to visit a third bikepark the third day, namely Schulenberg Bikepark. Turned out it was closed this day, so we went for Braunlage Bikepark once again. Glad we did, becuase this had to be the most crazy and eventfull day of all, stay tuned.

BikePark Shootout JUNE 2011 Part 1/3

I packed my gear and went south, heading once again for the German Bikeparks. 2 things made this trip different from the other trips. 1) We where destroying gear and equipment at an alarming rate - the bikes really took a beating. 2) The drama, oh the drama! Crazy high speed crashes was the name of the game, not only for us, but for other riders as well. More on this later.

Lets get to it.

Choose your line. Braunlage Bikepark has some very long tracks, often splitting into multiple lines. This allows for some competitive riding against fellow riders.

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Janus cracked his Reign X, so he had to go for a rental. He went for a Giant Glory. 2 fun facts; This bike is shorter and has a more steep head angle than my ONE. Makes me wonder if the Glory is under developed, or if the ONE is overdeveloped - regarding geo : )
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Braunlage Bikepark had some pedally DH sections as well. Not to my liking. The ONE didnt like it either, the very low bottom bracket causes issues, its obviosly build for more steep stuff when things get rough.

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Janus riding the wall. Such a cool pic.

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We had a quick look at the upper DH-RACE track this day, we didnt ride it, but acknowledged that it was tech. 2 days later we found out just how much.. Im not sure ive ever ridden anything like it.

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Time to wrap it all up for this day, Drea puts away his Norco Range, and priorities like food and a six-pack are on top of the list.

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Next up was Hahnenklee Bikepark, a place that somewhat splits me in two, its a love/hate thing, things has turned for the better tho'. The "tour of destruction" also kicked in this day, stick around for part two.

June AM

Been doing a ton of riding. My compact cam is broken so I dont shoot as much as im used to, still film a bit with my GOPRO tho'. Took out a few frames, check it out:

I really appreciate a good chasing-session, definitely improves on tech and speed. Christian always provide a good challenge. Oh did I mention its a ton of fun?

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Never too shy to do a small flip when I get the opportunity  : ) Christian right in front of me.

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After 2 rebuilds, I finally got a working Monarch RT3 2011. Its still getting bedded in, but initial impressions are very positive, it has a very interesting progression curve. Stay tuned for a preview.

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Guess the shadow tells the story here:

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Vancouver pics

Shot some pics in Vancouver. Check it out.

Love this city.

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So before someone puts some hate on me for making a non-bike related post, I can treat you with this: The prototype and rare SAINT rim from Shimano. Spottet in Whistler (where else).

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Hope you enjoyed.

WHISTLER 2011 part 2/2

So I went to Whistler with the idea that I would only be riding Whistler Bikepark. That was also going to happen, untill I accidentally stumbled upon some off-park trails. My jaw dropped, I began to explore and quickly came to a conclusion; this place is riddled with trails!

Turns out that trail ridng is a big thing in Whistler, and the trail builders are obviously very passionate. There where trails ranging from easy difficulty, to "expert" levels. Make no mistake, some of the trails I got to ride provided more technical challenge than what I rode in Whistler bikepark(!)

I love a good DH session, but im also an absolute sucker for a good trail ride as well. Even tho' the more difficult trails featured drops, jumps, skinnies, stepdowns,  it was rarely true All Mountain, but always more in the lines of aggressive "Trail". Still a ridiculous good time on a bike. The trails where plentifull, varying in lengh and challenge.

Nature is jaw dropping beautiful, and so green, trails almost blend into the nature:

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Moist and humid. You would think that northshore sections like these would be slippery as hell, but they are not. Suck in the fresh forrest air, and enjoy the trail lines in Whistler.

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It was a good mix of rock, roots dirt, and northshore.

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There was some obviously creative and passionate trail builders involved in these trails. Notice the small gaps and step downs:

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The attention to detail and challenge was satisfying; Keep left to ride the easy line, go right and ride the tight skinny. Your choice.

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The rental I went for was a 2011 Giant Regin. A border-line All Mountain bike, with great climbing skills, and competent decending geo. It had 700mm wide bars, while a bit too short for my liking, it was however nice to see that even Giant acknowledges wider bars. One disappointment was the Fox 32 150mm up front; surprisingly under-archiving, its way behind my 36 RC2. I also missed an adjustable seatpost. Big time.

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Evil rocky climb. 2 things the cam doesn't show: 1) How steep it is. 2) My big smile.

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British Columbia is riddled with life. I saw 4 wild black bears, a ton of racoons, squirrels, chipmunks, and even hummingbirds. Here is a shot of a racoon chillin'. Funny fellas:

So that concludes my Whistler report, im working on 2 movies that will depict the 2 distinct riding possibilities in Whistler, the vids will be out in a few months, so stay tuned for that!