Always cool to have your name on your bike/components!
Are your eyes glazing over? Is your mouth open and drool running out like a waterfall? If it is already you may just be eating some donuts or you’ve just seen this beast in front of your eyes! If you’re not you will be after casting your eye over Troy Brosnan’s fresh new Specialized Demo race bike. Put together by his ace (or should that be race) mechanic Aaron Pelttari (look out for an interview on Downhill247.com real soon!) we were fortunate to have Kaneophoto shoot it before it got packed up bound for the UK and more specifically Fort William.
Now….. Troy was good enough to let us get some shots of the bike and show them to you guys but with a condition, we can’t show you guys too much of the bike as there is some trick prototype stuff going on! So we are going to show details but there is a good reason you wont the bike layed out fully in front of you! A sneak peak if you like…
Are you looking at the winning bike for the upcoming Fort William World Cup? Quite possibly…A nice looking narrow wide 36 tooth Renthal sprocket.There is neat rubber protection and well thought out cable routing/guides all over the frame, schmick!An air shock is now in the mix, more and more riders are making the switch. Will this be on the bike for Fort William, one of the longest, most punishing tracks on the circuit…?! We will just have to wait and see.More little touches! Troy is running a tubeless set up., this helps lower rotational mass and increase protection from punchers.A real touching tribute to a dear old friend of Troy’s and the whole Brosnan family, who are all animal lovers.You have to admit from what you can see it is tasty enough!
Well wipe the drool up that’s a wrap! Now we can’t wait to see what Troy can do on it at Fort William.
We have been getting to know Five Ten’s latest offering, the Impact VXI, well over the past months. Read on…Image: kaneophoto.com.au
We have just finished up our long term testing on A�pair of Five Ten Impact VXIs and we want to share our impressions with you. First off, if you’re new to the sport and haven’t heard of Five Ten then expect to hear a lot more about them, it is fair to say they revolutionised the flat pedal (more about that later) shoe market when they burst onto the scene. Initially known for their rock climbing shoes, it was this technology that when applied to the mountain bike world really got people talking.
Looking at this shoe in particular we tested the flat pedal model, there is a clipless version also available if that is your thing. With help from the most famous flat pedal rider in the world, Sam Hill, as well as his friend Brook MacDonald, Five Ten went about designing something that was even more improved from the previous highly regarded Impact shoe. The first thing you notice when you take them out of the box (we got the black and red model as the pictures show) is their lighter weight, coming in at approximately 400 grams per shoe you notice the reduction straight away.
How did they feel? Great, there was no issue with strange sizing or anything along those lines and they felt good from the first wear. We wore these all day long (sometimes on the bike sometimes off climbing mountains taking photos, etc.) and they didn’t become any less comfortable.
The next question is; how did they grip? Fantastic! A reworked version of the rubber Five Ten used ensures these pedals stick like nothing else. Furthermore the dampening/rebound has been improved so you feel less of the bumps/fatigued, now we know that sounds like a long stretch and we couldn’t experience this first hand when it comes down to those tiny percentages they all count. With any Five Ten shoe you need to make sure your foot is in the right place as your feet grip so well it can be challenging to readjust your position (some might consider this a negative but the extreme grip far out weighs the negative if you ask us). The sole was quite stiff meaning optimum power transfer, some people might like a slightly more flexible shoe so they can ‘wrap’ their foot around the pedal but that is personal preference.
Lighter weight and improved rubber are the two biggest improvements of this new shoe.
It’s cool to see the front area of the shoe receive some reinforcing to help stop any damage if you get rocks flicking up or stub your foot. It’s worth mentioning the Impact XVIs are constructed from a material that is supposed to help wick water away super fast so you don’t have to ride in wet shoes the next day (nobody enjoys that!).
We have been downhilling, enduro/Trail riding, heck we have even commuted on them! There are no signs of wear or signs to say that longevity is going to be an issue. We have seen plenty of pairs of Five Tens that go for years, one common issue on older models was the glue holding the sole on coming loose but the sole now looks more integrated so we think this will be even less of an issue.
It may have been us imagining it but ankle support seemed marginally lower than the older model but a visual inspection shows this may not be true, that was the only real issue to note over the months we tested the show.
A definite favourite anywhere form a world cup to a local club race, Five Tens have been seen lasting for years.
In Australia these retail for $234.95 whilst that is a large amount when you see it if you think about how good these shoes are and how long they last the price tag becomes justified. The distributor is Lusty Industries so find them at your local bike shop or hit up their website at;A�www.lustyindustries.com
This is the part riders really care about, the ‘soul’ of the shoe if you know what we are saying. Five Ten’s rubber allows the sole to be super sticky and keep your feet on the pedals. Image: fiveten.com
Overall the Five Ten Impact XVI would be at the top of our list for a new riding shoe, light weight and grippy whilst still maintaining comfort these are a winner.
Australia has produced some of the best downhill riders in the world and Remy Morton 16, is one of Australia’s up and coming junior stars! Between his travels, signing with a new team and life in general we sat him down and had a chat. Remy is super laid back, down to earth and honest, here is what he had to say;
“I am Remy Morton and I have been riding bikes since I was about 4 when I rode BMX, I got into mountain bikes when I was about 6 and I did my first downhill race when I was 7 years old.”
Remy lives on the Gold Coast and if you haven’t seen he has a pretty dialed pump track in his backyard and some serious jumps him and his mates look after just down the road. “I mainly ride these because they’re fun but I do think they help with the downhill and being smooth. The closest downhill tracks use to be 5 minutes down the road but unfortunately, in an all to familiar tale, they have been closed and the closest are now about 30 minutes away. My favourite kind of riding/track is low speed technical, where you actually have to have skill to ride it, I also like race tracks that are flat out fast with big jumps and corners.”
Smiling and happy to be out on a bike!
We asked him a set of questions and these were his answers, a great insight into his positive attitude:
You’ve ben racing for a few years now, when did it all start: My first full national series was the 2012/13 series and that was my last year in under 15s, I won the series and the championships that year.
Was that when you decided you wanted to make a career out of it and ride bikes every single day:A�I don’t think it ever changed, I always just wanted to ride, its always been my dream because I mean I ride every single day anyway, it’s what I would like to do for a living because it is what I do.
If you enjoy doing your job so much then they say you never have to work a day in your life.
Moving up to Under 19’s for this upcoming season what are your goals: I just want to try and do well and have fun, I think the more fun I have the better I will go. I would like to get top 3 at all the races.
With the upcoming national series what races/tracks are you looking forward to the most: Thredbo and hopefully Toowomba because it is a local racetrack I have ridden since I was about 7.
What is your race weekend routine for a track you haven’t ridden what is your plan:A�I do a track walk either the day before or the morning of practice, then in practice I try to do every A line feature by my third run. That’s so that by my fourth run I can really try getting up to speed. I do as many runs during practice as I can, I like to get my moneys worth! If I am having fun there’s no point sowing down the number of runs.
Technical tracks are Remy’s favourite, he seems to do well on any style of track though.
Moving on from the Australian series last year you spent a lot of time overseas racing: I finished school at the end of year 10 (December 2013) and went and worked full time for about 8 months, saved as much money as I could then we (Remy and family) went to Europe around June (2014). Originally we were going to go to Crankworx in Whistler and then a month or two before we saw cheap flights to Europe and thought that would be a good idea. When I was over there I didn’t even expect to podium because everyone told me the riders were really good there, I was hoping to podium but then I got a shock when I won the first race in junior mens (Downhill247 – by 15 seconds no less).
You said you headed over to Crankworx, it is definitely one of the biggest events on the calendar, what did you race there: I entered for everything but I ended up doing 4 events; Garbo downhill, I was really sick the night before and when I woke I wasn’t even going to ride, I had tonsilitis but I couldn’t really help myself haha but somehow I got second! Then I did the Air DH and got third which I was pretty happy with because to do well you have to scrub and pedal. I am usually not that good on pedally tracks but that’s the one race I did well at. I did pump track that night for fun and got 20th in pro men. Then the one race I really wanted to do well, all year, was Canadian Open. That was probably the best day of my life, I felt good on the track but i knew it would be hard because I had all the riders taking it serious. I ended up winning that and the overall in the junior category.
Remy Morton has a big year ahead of him – 2015 will be his first year racing on the World Circuit – here he is looking fast and flash in his fresh Hutchinson UR team kit.
You rode sweep at a few world cups this year, tell us about them: I was a sweep ride at the Cairns and Leogang world cup, Cairns was so crazy, the spectators were so loud! I crashed in Cairns coming into the whoops – the bike shot me backwards into the whoops. I landed and the back end just dropped, I was so lucky to get just one graze I definitely scared myself. I got a run in the morning and one in the afternoon there, in Leogang I could do runs all during B practice which was really good to ride.
“I really just like having fun and riding technical tracks where you’re scared if you will make it through a chute or something where you are not sure if you are good enough to make through.”
Previously you have been riding a Devinci and NSD have been helping you out, for 2015 you are riding for Polygon UR, how did that come about:A�I started talking to them at the Cairns world cup and then in Europe, I knew a few people in Europe when I was there but became good friends with Tracey and Mic (Hannah), I was hanging out with them then I got to know some people from the team and it all fell into place from there.
What does the 2015 Season look like for you:A�I am doing the full world cup series and all three Crankworx, plus hopefully the world championships if I am selected, then maybe a few races between that, hopefully some IXS cups again.
A strong overseas season in 2014 really set Remy up for a big 2015 and onwards.
Finally, who would you like to thank: Definitely NSD more than any one else, Nigel was the first person to be talking us into going to Europe and if I didn’t I don;t know if I would have got a world cup, I am thankful for everyone that has helped me out. Oakley for doing more than they should have initally, they went out of their way to help me and Gabe Fox from Devinci. He was always making sure if I had bike problems or something I was okay. My parents have definitely helped a lot, if it wasn’t for dad I probably wouldn’t be riding. He initially wanted my brother and I to race moto, he got us racing Peewee 50s then to get bike kills took us to the BMX races. He got a hardtail so he could ride around the BMX track to ride with us and thought that was really cool so he got a downhill bike and then I got one. He is always the one driving me shuttles and has helped more than anyone. My parents definitely went out of the way to help and travel Europe with me.
Just at home off the ground as on it.Remy tearing it up at the Thredbo national round just recently.Getting wild coming into a corner.Solid style as always.
No doubt one of the future stars of the sport and an all round good guy, that was our interview with Remy Morton, we will be following his progress all year.
Image Credits:
Jason Stevens / www.jasonstevensimagery.com
Ryan Finlay / RFPhotographics
Jaime Black / www.jaimeblack.com.au
Connor Fearon has been riding this handy little rig over the past few months, we sat him down and asked him a few questions about it!
Enduro bikes are in. We saw it at the first Australian national round late last year and whilst that was mainly due to the track set up there is no denying that enduro type bikes make good downhill bikes in a lot of places! Add to the fact and we can’t all afford to have multiple bikes so having a do it all bike is an even smarter idea!
Connor Fearon rocking the enduro rig at the national round at You Yangs.So we have full downhill tyres but tubeless to save weight and still be good over the rocks. The stem spacers can be swapped around depending on the height Connor wants for the front end. He made the switch to clips recently for most tracks, it definitely makes sense for the flat Australian tracks. A stiffer set up in the front end as well for trails that don’t need as much compression.Compared to the stock bike there is a bigger chainring at the front, this makes sense when you are primarily using it to go down and you don’t want to be spinning out.Just like his downhill bike there are 7 speeds at the back. No dropping gears into the heel and nice close ratios.Connor had the dropper posted removed for the race, not like you would need it! Plus it saves weight and then you don’t have to worry about the extra cables getting caught on anything or bashing against the frame and making noise. A quiet bike is a fast bike!A 40mm stem and as you can see a pretty low set up, getting the weight further forward over the front wheel to carve the turns.Bars are cut down to 750mm which is wide but not ridiculous.Third at the first national round shows the bike is more than capable.It was also the bike he used at the enduro race he raced a few weeks prior, which he won!When we talked to Connor he had the new DebonAir upgrade which is available to the public. Essentially it makes the shock feel plusher and bottom out less, useful for the bigger hits on the downhill track.Being a factory rider would be nice…..
That’s a wrap for the moment, we will be checking out a bunch of other bikes too so stay tuned!
Images: Stock Downhill247.com images,A�RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics) and JBPhotomediaA�A�(Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JBPhotomediaA�or follow on Instagram @jbphotomedia)
It seems every riding location around Australia has a local pinner or an up and coming kid who shreds. We had a quick chat with Darcy Grooby, an 18 year old kid who started riding in 2011, as a lot of us do he started on dirt jumps before turning his bike down some trails and getting the downhill bug. A few years later and we have a genuinely nice guy who can win a state level Under 19 downhill race by an easy 4 seconds such as what happened at Fox Creek earlier in 2014! Continue reading “Inside Info: Darcy Grooby”→
Zerode’s have been spotted every now and then in Australia for a few years now!
On our most recent trip to cover the final of the World Cup series and the World Championships we spotted a range of privateers, the hardcore racers just keen to race their bikes! Being privateers mean they are free to chose whatever bike they think will help them get the results they want, one of the most popular choices was Zerode. The standout feature of these bikes straight away is the internal gearbox, moving the weight inboard and getting rid of the rear derailleur has a host of benefits!
These bikes have actually won national titles in places from as far away as New Zealand (okay that’s a joke!) and Finland!
In 2012 Clint White put together the Clint White Racing. A team aimed at supporting athletes with the focus they deserve and using mountain bike as a marketing platform. Clint approached Rob Metz from Zerode about working together as Clint saw a lot of sense in the Zerode Design. Knowing Clint is a talented rider himself and has spent some time on the Zerode G2 DH we asked him for a little feedback. This is what he had to saya��
The Zerode just makes sense to me and I have a lot of confidence in its design. The bike finds traction where others cannot and instantly inspires confidenceA�eating up the roughest terrain andA�nastiest square edge hits with ease.
The sealed gear hub mounted within the frame significantly reduces maintenance and most importantly almost eliminates any chance of damage or mechanical problems, less unsprung weight adds to suspension performance allowing it to be more active and have greater sensitivity.
The G2 received important changes which made it lighter, more comfortable and a sharper steering in the tight stuff while retaining everything we loved about the G1 for when things get fast and blown out. The G2 is the best bike I’ve ever ridden.
– CW
Team manager and rider! Clint looking good out on his personal ride. You know it is a good sign when a rider chooses to continue riding on the bike even after the team/sponsorship has finished.
If this is the type of feedback the Zerode G2 is getting surely at some point, with or without a massive marketing budget we will see more people stepping away from the big guys and transforming the Zerode G2 from a curiosity to real candidate for downhill ridersa��
