Recent Riding

Mr frost is on its way, and im trying to ride my bike as much as possible before the forrest gets painted all white.  Here are some recent pics of us enjoying the lines while they are still rideable.

New jump at the Middle-Meat section. Its so fun to hit, and we actually ended up sessioning it for an entire hour. Good times.

I don't know why it took me so long, but ive finally installed a short cage derailleur. The old one was a medium and it flexed so much during whips that it occasionally slammed into my spokes. I haven't had this issue since I got the short cage installed. Time will tell tho'. 

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Henning is in an upgrade frenzy, He got rid of the skinny bars and installed some 780mm bars, from what ive heard he's loving it. I think the bike is getting pretty damn dialed.

And here we go, in the classic cat and mouse run. Its not only fun, it pushes your skill level as well.

I stumbled upon this flowy field a few days ago, man do I see lines everywhere.

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Review: Mavic Crossmax SX 2012/13

13 months of testing is finally done, and I can finally conclude my time on these hoops with a review. Mavic has revised the Crossmax SX for 2012. Its gotten stronger by the use of a new rim extrusion, a new graphics package is in place as well. Other than that, its known for its stiffness and strength albeit some hub issues, but ill get back to that in a moment. Lets start of with an overview:

The strongest and the best Mavic has to offer for AM riding. Front has a 20mm axle, rear is compatible with pretty much everything right out of the box.

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The ITS-4 hub has proven to be reliable and trouble-free. Mavic got it right this time.

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The Crossmax SX has a Maxtal rim, its 30% stronger than 6106 alloy, and tests has continuously shown that these rims has an immense strength  The rims are even used for pro-level slopestyle, probably some of the most stressful challenge you can pose a mtb rim.

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The spokes use a Zicral Alloy, its a very strong alloy of the 7075 series, with a strength comparable to steel - just without the weight penalty. One interesting use for 7075 alloy is in the manufacture of M16 rifles for the military. Ok back on topic, so, im not a big fan of proprietary stuff, I actually often advocate against it, but the Zicral spokes didn't scare me away because of two things; they have a good rep for not breaking, and despite what some might say, replacement spokes are actually easy to get hold of, well for me anyway, as my LBS carries them.

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Front wheel, 826g.

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Rear Wheel, 937g

That makes for an actual total weight of: 1763g - pretty damn close to the claimed 1755g.

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Ive been testing the Crossmax SX for DH og FR usage as well. They are more than capable.

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But the primary use has been AM and trail. Alot of stress was put on the wheels via jumps and drops, and not all my landings are clean - if I may add.

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So after 13 months of testing my conclusion is clear; This is the best wheelset Ive been on. Its solid, strong, lightweight, and has a attention to detail. Í have been riding this wheelset extensively for more than a year, but it has been a completely flawless experience regarding reliability. Coming from a 2100g+ wheelset, there are definitely noticeable acceleration benefits, and the bike just feels more responsive overall.

If you are into a lightweight AM wheelset that can take some heat, then the Mavic Crossmax SX 2012 might just be your best bet. Highly recommended.

The Good:
-Strong
-Lightweight
-Reliable
-Decals are painted, not just stickers.
-Oozes quality

The Bad:
-The instructions manual is poor and lacking.

Score: 6/6

The Discarded Footage

Not all high-speed footage made it into my short vid "Slow". Some of it (alot actually), was cut out, and before I send it into the eternal doom of the trash bin, I though that some of you may actually enjoy watching it. I know I did. So here it is; the Discarded footage:

Quick edit. 2m20s. Remember to active the 480p.

Now how about that catastrophic nosedive at 1.48? ; )

Oldie but Goldie #1

"Oldie but Goldie" series will be my tribute to the "old days". When 640mm bars where considered wide, carbon was fragile, and adjustable seatposts didn't exist. And I'm doing it, for the fun of it.

So let me start it all with this;

Apparently, back in the day, we where doing it wrong.

Exposure

Got contacted by Canfield Brothers yesterday, that they put my vid "SLOW" up on their Facebook frontpage. If you haven't seen the vid yet, then check it out in the post below.

New vid: SLOW

I have been recording for this 2 minute video all year with my high speed camera, from a lot of different places. And now its finally compiled into a short vid. I hope you guys enjoy it.

2m 12sec, go for the 480p version: