Review: Troy Lee Designs CP 5955

Troy Lee Designs has been spending the last few years on the drawing board with the Shock Doctor team, the ambition was to design the best chest armor possible. A little more than a year ago they presented their result; the CP 5955. I wanted a better and more cooling upper body armor, so the CP 5955 caught my eye. After riding it for an entire year, in various bikeparks, with various crashes, I can finally make a conclusive review, check it out:

The CP 5955 is highly adjustable, with no less than 50 different settings.

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Exploded exterior view. The protection is definitely concentrated around the chest, ribs, the clavicle, shoulder and upper back.

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Exploded internal view. Notice the massive amount of channels. They are there to make the air flowing. The system is called VENT-TRAK.

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Front. Leatt Brace inserted. No need for brace straps - the CP 5955 takes care of stability, even during rough riding. Note the massive thorax/rib coverage.
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Back. Note how the brace is inserted into the CP 5955. This pic also gives you an idea as to how far down the CP 5955 protects the spine. Ive since done a ghetto-mod to extend the coverage with some 20%. Good news however is, that the back coverage is wide. The kidney belt is from Thor btw - and it sucks balls.

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Side. Note how far the rib protection goes in.

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Bulky, its not. In fact, the CP 5955 is surprisingly nonrestrictive.

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After an entire year of use and abuse I can finally conclude the testing with positive remarks for the CP 5955. I had my share of crashes onto the side, front, back, and even head first into a log, the CP 5955 has done its job, as I've come out of these crashes with no injuries. I acknowledge that luck and other factors come into play when crashing, but I've genuinely felt this body-armor has taken the heat for me.

After a few years of riding with body armor that would heat up in no time, it was refreshing to jump into the CP5955 and feel the air cooling me of as I descended, the Vent-Track system is highly effective. Gone is the bulkiness that's been bugging me on past body-armors, besides being lightweight, its easy to move in as well. The fact that micro-adjustment is an option, only adds to the score.

If you are into a high-tech bodyarmor, that has a high degree of ventilation, adjustability, and Leatt Brace integration, then look no further; the Troy Lee Designs CP5955 is a very good piece of protection.

The Good:
-Highly ventilated
-Adjustablility options
-Outstanding protection
-Lightweight: 1.14kg (2.51 lbs) - see actual weight HERE
-Comfortable
-Leatt Brace compatibility and FULL integration
-Non bulky

The Bad:
-Back protection should have been a little longer.
-Adjustment bolts are made of soft aluminium - go figure

Score 5/6

See more pics of the CP 5955 in my preview here

Harbor riding

Its been a long time since I last was on a bike ride on the harbor, an year in fact. So did just that, on this sunny day, and shot a few pics. Warning; no bike pics. 

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This place needs more pipes

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A trip to the woods (Video)

Me and Henning took our bikes and gave them a spin in the forrest. 5 hours of riding on a sunny day, yay for that : ) Henning rode his creaky hardtail, it was as if the bike was crying "Oh god, dont use me for this kind of riding" Good stuff. Anyway, I compiled some Go-Pro footage from this day:

Watch the HD version HERE:

Crappy embedded version here:

Recent riding

..and not so recent riding. A mixed bag this time. All good times tho' : )

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Hitting a small table on the "Church" -line. First pic from this spot.

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The Baaa-shit was everywhere on this particular trail, my gawd I have to remember riding with my mouth shut..

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This log jump was fun, locals will recognise.

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90 seconds in Schulenberg

Back!

Im going to start off with a 90 sec vid from the german bikepark Schulenberg. We had the pleasure to ride this place on THIS trip. Schulenberg bikepark is a true "for riders by riders" place. It had a nice chill out vibe to it, and the DH trail was a true joy to ride. The bikepark builders and designers and owners mingled between the bike-park guests, totally down to earth.

Perhaps the only negatives I could put my finger on is the lack of trails; there was a DH line, and a FR line, and that's pretty much it. There was also a lack of really big stuff (drops/jumps), we where hitting the roadgaps within hours of our arrival, one day more of riding and we would be riding it all im sure (and we do not consider our self as big-hitters).

Overall, this place rocked, the DH line was effin great, steep, techy, and most importantly; it was fun!

Watch the HD version HERE.

Error 37

So im back! Upgraded, motivated, and ... What? My Internet-provider went bankrupt?!? WTF!! *FACEPALM*

Status

I should be doing this:

But instead, all im doing is this;

Things might slow down a notch for a short while. Ill be back shortly tho', stick around.

In the mean time, check out these updates and notes:

-Updated the "Discarded videoes of slow/fast rebound" post, specifying which vid is slow/fast in the comments section. Check it out HERE.

-Got a small bit of information about my RaceFace SIXC crank warranty. Check it out HERE in the comments section.

-A few words on the 661 2012 EVO Knee, in the comments section. Go HERE for that.

-Lastly I stumbled upon THIS little fun vid on my HD, containing a small crash. Read more about the origin HERE. Good times : )

Review: Continental Mountain King II Racesport

The Continental Mountain King has been out for quite a few years. A few years ago it got a complete makeover; the Mountain King II was born. Gone where those awkward placed knobs, and a more aggressive sidewall pattern was implemented.

I have been hearing alot of positive hands-on statements about this tire, and I even got more than a few direct encouragements to test this tire - the red line was; the Black Chili compound is above the rest. Black Chili is a german-produced tire compound, that's said to improve grip, but also decrease rolling resistance - it sounds a bit contradicting to me, but I have been trying to be open minded about it.

I have been using this tire for 5 months now, and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised; the tire has a good bite, corners predictably, braking is consistent as well. Its not a tire without some rolling resistance, but its okay. Ive been running this tire in soft and loose conditions, both dry and wet, and this is actually a decent performing tire, I have a hard time putting my finger on a single bad thing for these conditions - well besides the slight-above-medium rolling resistance

 Mountain King II has given me a single snakebite during my test time, contrary the Schwalbe Nobby Nic, that just kept the snakebites coming (and yes, Im using the same pressure, and riding the same trails). The carcass seems to be putting up with the heat as well. But for very rocky conditions it would probably be a wise thing to go with the "Protection" version of this tire, boasting a thicker sidewall. The size I have been testing is a 2.2", and is just that, not bigger, not smaller (take note Maxxis).Overall a great performing tire for the Trail and AM rider, who wants a lightweight tire, and doesnt ride trails with needle-sharp rocks. Definitely recommended.

Size: 2.2"
Tested on: Rear
Claimed weight: 550 gram
Actual weight: 531 gram
Score: 5/6

The Black-Chili compound is not the holy grail of grip, but it IS really good.

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Discarded VIDEOES of "Fast vs Slow rebound TEST #2"

These two vids had too many variables to be considered good enough for a head to head comparison. The line wasn't as good as we had hoped, as well being a bit too jumpy, and not really representing what we had in mind.

Ill post the vids anyway, however I wont tell you whats SLOW and whats FAST rebound. Im kinda curious whether you can guess it, just by watching these two vids. Lets call it an experiment. Answer will be posted after feedback.

VIDEO 1 Raw edit:

VIDEO 2 Raw edit:

So whats slow, and whats fast? VID 1 or 2? Comments does not require sign in.

Slow vs Fast rebound. TEST # 2

My second take on slow vs fast rebound. Last time I did this kind of test, it was somewhat inconclusive. This time around; we had a better setup, let me summarize;

-some 75m of testing range (240 feet).

-more variation in bump size.

-way faster rider speed.

-camera focus on fork action, and nothing else.

-testing done with a BOXXER R2C2, allowing for longer stroke action

-polarizing between slow and fast is bigger, a massive 17 clicks. Slow is slow, fast is fast.

So what we wanted from this test is to see how slow vs fast rebound would affect rider, traction, and overall performance. Lets take a look:

Fast rebound, 240 fps:

17 clicks slower rebound, 240fps:

Conclusion:

When looking at the footage I still have a hard time seeing any actual difference. However I did FEEL a difference. 

When riding the fast rebound, the bike felt more alive, and a bit more - say, playfull. This appealed to me as a rider. It was however a bit harder to steer, and a tiny bit more energy consuming. I wouldn't run a fork with such a fast rebound setting, but boy, was it fun to try. 

When riding the slow rebound, the ride felt a bit more stabilized and controlled. The fun factor suffered a bit, but that really depends on who you are, and what you want out of your ride. Traction felt a bit better, but there was no gain in actual speed, or in some way better clearance over the cluttery stuff.

There was NO DIFFERENCE in A-B speed.

Im still not completely satisfied with this comparison, like the small change in line, and an even longer test section would be nice, so expect to see some more.

Do you see something I don't? Have an suggestion? Feel free to comment, it does not require a sign-in. 

Another Roadtrip

Another trip to the mountains of Germany. We didn't really shoot that many pics, but the few we did shoot are here. I guess I was the photographer, because im not on a single of the pics : D Anyway, we had 2 days in Braunlage Bikepark, and once again there was new features and improvements to find here. We also had a day in Schulenberg Bikepark, witch turned out to be quite surprisingly good for its size, I hope do do a small mashup-video that shows some of the lines, as well as adding some text to go along with it. First up, the few pics we did shoot from Braunlage:

Normally I crop pics to some extend, this one however, stands its own.

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I wasn't the only one shooting pics..

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Had this pic been in a higher resolution, It would probably be one of my best shots of the year. Note the couple sitting on the rock enjoying the view.

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Some house-wife decided to strip her clothes outside the hotel, made the guys, old and young, (allmost) jump out of the window. Apparently, tits are still in.

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Janus was riding aggressively, I could barely recognize him from our trail session earlier this year. I on the other hand, was taking it easy.

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Braunlage Bikepark has been the place to destroy gear, this time was no different. My pedal slammed into a stone, so much so that the pedal thread got ripped out! Pedal itself was unharmed. Im currently trying to warrant it, ill keep you guys updated on that matter.

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So without my left pedal arm, on the first day of riding, I had to think outside the box, spare SIXC crank arms are not particular easy to get hold of. I talked to the local bikeshop near the bikepark, and got this Hussefelt crank arm for a bit cash. Does it fit into the Raceface? No. Did we install it anyway? Yes. Did it work? Sorta - just be near an allen key at all times. I call it the "FrankenCrank", 175mm on the right side, 160mm on the left side - and constantly loose. It was.. interesting.

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Gear updates

A few random shots, and some thoughts to accompany it.

My latest Point One Racing Podium Pedals are still going strong. Sure its lost some pins here and there, but overall they have been doing great since mid-2011. Perhaps I was unlucky with my former set.

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I did a very positive review of the Fox Launch Pad Pro some time ago. But after a year of use they started to annoy my skin, just above the knee actually - its the red stuff on the pic.

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The annoyance resulted in the purchase of the 661 2012 EVO Knee. Relatively expensive, but you get that 661-knee-comfort, that few players match. These pads has their cons and pros, but overall im positively surprised, there is a big BUT however. I will do a full review shortly and let you know what im talking about.

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New shoes from FiveTen, its the FreeRider PRO. The Pro model adds a hardened toe box, and an ankle support. The ventilation has once again been improved, and  the weight has gone down as well, about 80 grams, FiveTen is obviosly very keen on improving their most popular shoe - good job guys.

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So its been more than an year of ONE riding. Still a great bike, that I really enjoy to ride. The low BB took some time to get used to, but today its something I enjoy, and its definitely a charming side of the bike

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How to (almost) destroy a camera.

So there is a story to this clip. On the first day of our roadtrip we wanted to shoot some rockgarden footage with my high-speed cam. And so we did, from several angles, all was good and dandy - so we started to experiment some more - with camera placement in particular.

I asked Christian to to ride past this stone field, with close proximity to the camera. He did so, what he didn't tell me was that he decided to block his rear wheel to "make stones fly". So there he went, blocking his rear wheel, kicking up stones, some of them where pretty big, like in hand-size big, and just as he did so, I saw them coming full force in the direction of the camera, I remember thinking; "There goes my cam".

For some lucky reason the stone missed. The camera was a inch from destruction, but hey, they footage turned out sweet. Watch the stone at 22 sec.

Roadtrip R us

We packed our stuff, and went south. The plan was to ride some AM and DH for the 3 days we where away. Day 1 was all about the AM, but we got ourself into an awesome local DH-line , and we ended sessioning that alot. Day 2 and 3 was spent in Braunlage Bikepark. The weather was amazing, and we had such a fun time there. We shot a few (not many) pics:

Christian trying to spot the best line. The AM trail we rode was challenging, so much so that we actually had to walk past a few technical spots - as we deemed them unridable (this day). And that's something I usually NEVER do, I rather prefer a fight to the death, than walking away - tail between the legs.. Fun fact; the stuff wee rode this day far surpassed the tech stuff in the bikepark. 
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AM-setup. Dual ply tires, and coil out back. Btw im not taking a dump here, Christian is cracking me up by asking me to do a better am-pose.

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Rubbing elbows with...trees.

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Breakfast when its at its best. The redbull is not mine tho' - thats taking it a tad too far ; )

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DH-setup. Boxxer up front, 40mm stem, and no adjustable seatpost. 15.89kg, or 34.96 lbs btw. Note the Mavic Crossmax SX wheels. I wanted to stress-test them in a bikepark on the DH and FR lines - they did great, so look forward to a concluding review soon.

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The cue to braunlage bikepark. This place is getting better and better every year, and people has started to notice.

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Felt a bit XC'ish

Several hours away from home, new lines, new territory, what is there not to like? I had the opportunity to be a bit more XC'ish, and took upon the challenge..sorta.

So without mentioning actual trail names;

Another day of sharing a hotel room - with your bike.

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Sweepy trails near the sea is not that uncommon to me, what is new to me are the trails itself.

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Pulling a little fun out of the xc trail

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Another place I had a go on my bike, was this huge forrest, lots of climbs and descends, and good variation as well. The xc trails where very varying in quality; both good and bad trail work was apparent. 

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Besides sporting alot of animals..

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...there was the occasional roadgap. Its actually a DH line (well more like a FR line), it was pretty apparent thats this particular line has had a solid thought process behind it - and I salute that.

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Raw vid, of a "Your Mom" session

Good times, background stuff here.

Watch HD version here.

33sec, raw edit.

Chicks dig scars - not bruises

Apparently I'm doing it wrong

Look at it, looking all guilty and stuff..