2010 UCI Gravity Survey Results

This is an interesting survey that the UCI did in 2010. It asked a variety of questions on how to improve Downhill and increase its participation while also making it more appealing for sponsors.

2012 UCI WC Round 1 Pietermaritzburg Is In The Books

The opening round of the RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano concluded on Sunday with the Downhill, a crowd favourite in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  And why not?  The home town son, Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate), came from behind to win the men's title, while Tracey Hannah (Hutchinson United Ride) marked her return to international competition with a win in the women's competition.

Heavy rain on the previous evening had led to concerns that the track would become muddy and treacherous, but the morning sun quickly started to dry things up, and many riders said that the rain actually made the track better than ever by race time.

The women's field lost two top contenders even before racing started, with Floriane Pugin (Scott 11) crashing the day before and injuring her shoulder, and Sabrina Jonnier (Labyrinth Shimano) crashing on racing day morning and suffering a leg injury.  However, there was never any doubt who the fastest rider was; Hannah qualified first by an impressive three and a half second margin, and took the win by nearly a second over the 2011 Junior World Cup champion, Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen).  World champion Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker) was a distant third, nearly three seconds in arrears.

Hannah, who has been away from the World Cup circuit for four years and is a former Junior World Champion, explained:  "It has always been my intention to come back, it just took a few years.  This was more of a test race for me, to see where I was, and I didn't know what to expect.  I'm in pain, but it is good pain.  I am so exhausted.  I'm happy, and extremely satisfied.  I just can't believe it, it is so amazing."

The men's race was expected to be close, after Minnaar, the 2009 winner in Pietermaritzburg beat Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing), the 2011 Pietermaritzburg champion, by an infinitesimal eight one-thousandths of a second in qualifying.  After Gwin set the fastest time and Minnaar was over two seconds behind at the first time check, it looked like the race was over.  However, the 'Greg Minnaar Nation' was cheering their hero on, and the Pietermaritzburg rider made up the time deficit in the lower half of the course to win by over six-tenths of a second.

"I knew at the top I was behind," admitted Minnaar.  "I made two stupid mistakes at the beginning, so I knew had to make up as much as I could down at the bottom. As much pain as it was to pedal, I just had to put my head down and go."

"Oh man, it was electric, hearing the crowd at the bottom, it was so wild.  I could have done with some more support further up on the pedaling bit when I wanted to sit down, bu there was no one there, they were all down at the bottom.  But when I jumped into the finishing area the crowd was just amazing."

Mikey Haderer Photoshoot On Zerode G-1

I got a call from Mikey a few weeks back. He was interested in checking out the Zerode. So we made the drive up and I told him I could snap images of him. One thing about the trails is that they are made from hero dirt for sure. Traction by the gobs, just not many rocks.

 

2011 Zerode G-1 Impressions

So we have had the Zerode G-1 built up now for about 4 months. I have had ample time on the bike so far and a few new people have had some saddle time on the bike also. Overall the bike had some very strong points and a few quirks.

Building the bike was very easy. It has a 12mm by 150mm rear wheel. A 1.5" headtube we went with the Chris King variety there. Then we ran a Thomson 30.9mm seatpost. It takes 2 chains but actually uses one complete and about 1/3 of the other chain. The build quality of the bike is excellent and should be since it is being made at SAPA in Oregon.

The bike is the best bump eating bike we have tested to date. Those include some of the best DH specific sleds on the market. It flattens rocky terrain and the faster you go the more stable it feels. I am a fairly aggressive rider that is not smooth at all. I run over things in the way and am pretty strong. The rear of the bike is the stiffest I can remember riding. The Zerode has no flex that I could detect. It will go exactly where you aim it. Initially we did not have the Gearbox set up correctly so it hesitated to shift while under power. It turns out we needed to do some more fine tuning to it and now it is good. The bike is almost as nimble as the Transition TR 450 we tested awhile back. It is very easy to move around and change lines with.

It is a little heavier than the other bikes we have tested. Complete it weighs 41 lbs so it basically has about an extra pound or two on it. This is due partially to the Alfine Gearbox but also the tubing as these were the first batch Zerode went extra thick with the tubing and it is sitting at about .20mm wall thickness where some DH race sleds out there now are at .12mm! So the frame has a lot of extra metal to shave off and save weight. 

"The rearward path that the wheel travels is just amazing for the rocky trails in this area. It just eats up anything in its way. It is definitely the best bike I've ridden in regards to "square edge" hits. It sails over the rocks on that trail like they aren't even there. Compared to my V10 this bike is like a Cadillac, the ride is amazing."

Alex

One rider has decided he wants one for next season and he just had a go at 5 very impressive DH sleds over the last 3 months so that is saying something for sure. If you see us out there with be sure to stop us and check it out. Check out more at ZERODEUSA.