02/26/10 (by Kyle Young)
My eyes! My eyes!
So just wanted to do a quick post and emphasize the importance of eyeball protection when riding...regardless of the style of riding you're doing. You see fairly recently i was up on my local mountain doing a fairly routine XC ride. It was a sloppy day to say the least so conditions were questionable for really pinning it on the way down. Whatever i thought, i'm just XCing, what's the worst that could happen? Well, given all the mud and water flying about i was not "on it" in terms of my eyes focusing on the trail...a few seconds later i find myself off trail and i think to myself "ok no problem, i'm riding off trail. i'll just come to a nice gradual stop..." when all the sudden my tire hits a stupid stick on the ground and flings my handebar sideways pitching me right to the ground where i proceeded to smack my face directly on a stump. I was literally about stopped when this happened and i just wasn't paying all that much attention as i wasn't out of control/etc. It was just a normal off trail coming to a stop situation. Well anyway, turns out i smack my face on a stump and narrowly miss my left eyeball. I was by myself so i had really no idea how bad things were or weren't so i found myself taking pictures with my phone so i could assess it. I was pretty much at the top of my descent so i had a long ways out. Well turns out the stump missed my eyeball by about 2mm. It left a nice little hole under my eye and a good gouge out of my nose and a cut above my eye. basically if my eyeball wasn't recessed in my skull i would have no eye right now. lucky to say the least. So, i'm now at the point of wearing goggles on my XC rides (at least when it's wet and sloppy). So, no laughing at me when you see me on the XC trails wearing goggles! ;)
This is about 4 minutes after the crash. You can't tell but my eye is split open underneath. I now have a nice little eye-nipple cause it didn't close up all the way. Better than having no eye i guess.... Thanks Corrie for fixing me up (and leaving me with an eye-nipple)!
So i'm not one to get all caught up in making my bikes look a certain way but recently people have pointed out that i have 4 bikes that are white on white on white. Yah a bit rediculous. I'm not sure this was on purpose and i didn't even realize how silly my collection of white bikes was until one day i happened to have all my bikes leaning up against each other at home and i went to grab my AM bike and i got confused and grabbed my DH bike. It wasn't until i tried to pick it up to go up the stairs that i realized i had the wrong bike. I had the right color, just not the right bike.
Well, I just had the opportunity to get rid of one of my white bikes and thought maybe now was the time to go a completely different direction.
To start with i've had a polished Covert sitting in my office for awhile now waiting for the right build to go on it. If you look closely you can see the chrome decals. Stealthy....
Fox Van 160 RC2 fork with Crank bros Iodine wheels. Seems like the right thing to do on a bike this bright.
I scored a sweet set of RaceFace Deus cranks which look pretty nice...
And....my favorite product of the year, the Crank Bros Joplin seatpost. If you haven't tried one of these yet you really should. Stopping to raise/lower your seat? Not me anymore....
02/24/10 (by Brad Walton)
Transition does a day at Duthie Hill
Last week we all took the day as a company to go ride Duthie Hill in Issaquah, WA. Evergreen mountain bike alliance has done a fantastic job of establishing freeride trails for all skill levels on this public land.
Cam is healing up from shoulder surgery so he hiked around and filmed us all riding. Video to come soon!
After some practice runs we all rode a tight train down the trails, which was pretty interesting since everyone in our company has a slightly different style of jumping and speed of approach. No serious crashes though.
Kyle with a nice no hander
Kevin stepping down into the hip
Lars shredding berms
And helmet-camming with our new Vholdr ContourHD's.
And Mike of course busting out the big no-cans.
Overall it was a stellar day in the woods to remind us all of why we work so hard at providing you with great bikes! Big thanks to Evergreen and the Dirt Corps, as well as all the many other volunteers for making Duthie such a great riding destination!
We have many more images posted in our Pinkbike.com Duthie Hill gallery so take a look! Again, video of our day of Duthie fun will be out very soon!
02/24/10 (by Mike Metzger)
Skye Schillhammer's New Double
TBC Double first impression: So iv been riding a Bottlerocket for a year and half and loved it, but this year i want to move towards slopestyle specific riding so i sold my beloved rocket and picked up this custom Double.
My first ride i took it to my local riding spot, Beacon Hill in Spokane, WA. It was an unusual Spokane day, meaning it was pissing down rain the whole day but i know where TBC is from, and i know TBC bikes are made for those kind of conditions. So i broke it in the way it should be, muddy, dirty, and wet. I have to admit, it was a little tough to rally with k-rads and one brake, but i fit right into the bike. I have never felt so comfortable going big and throwing tricks, and especially not on the first day of riding a new bike!
It rides so much smoother through lips and i can get alot more boost with less effort. Overall, im stoked on the new ride and cant wait till spring to road trip around the PNW and BC to put it to the long term test.
02/23/10 (by Mike Metzger)
Harrison Mendel's new jump
The latest thing I have been doing is riding at Harrison's house. We recently
"borrowed" a front-end loader to build ourselves a "BIG" jump.....FINALLY! After
the landing was done at about 12ft tall and 20ft wide we brought in a 7ft tall
wood lip for our master piece. We set the gap at about 15-20ft and just sent it!
Kai Wendt and Bryce Piwek took photos for evidence :p
This video is going to be off the hook! Kinrade and Groves are throwing down
in this vid, along with every other rider featured, Check this trailer out it
will blow your mind. Buehler's drop at the end is craziness! Cant wait to see
it
02/17/10 (by Kevin Menard)
TR450 and Double Make the Dirt Magazine Top 100
The annual Dirt 100 just came out showcasing the top 100 products of 2010 and our TR450 and Double made the list. The UK editors fell in love with the clean lines and functionality of both bikes. If you get a chance to pick up a copy it is well worth it as they do an amazing job of showcasing the product.
02/17/10 (by Lars Sternberg)
Transition Racing's first 2010 podiums.
This past weekend was the Australian National series round # 3 in Thredbo NSW.
Bryn and Jill both debut their new digs, and it sounds like it was one heck of a first race. 8+ minutes of nasty mud, with intermittent rain all weekend. They both killed it, amidst a few mechanicals. All of which can be expected during such adverse conditions. Here's an update directly from www.jillkintner.com
THREDBO, AUS Thredbo is part of the snowy mountains, which has the highest peak in Australia, Mt kosciusko-7,300ft. It's one of the few summer mountain bike venues that has a chairlift at a ski resort, so as you can imagine, it's a pretty popular place. (About 7 hrs drive from our place in the Blue Mountains, couple Hrs from Canberra I think), and open most of the summer. Really nice place, stream flowing though the village, ski lodges, nice trees and greenery, etc, most everyone enjoys this venue.
We are in the midst of Round 3 of the Aussie national series, had some really wet weather the last few days, all through practice, but a small break in the rain just for qualifying today. Visibility was a major issue all through practice, so it was about a thousand times better to actually be able to see. Dirt was decent, except in a couple spots, where the muck was deep and pretty hard to navigate through. The Maxxis cut spikes were the ticket, but I'm not sure that many Aussies would even own a set of wetscreams. Some were loving the conditions, and some were getting all slideways. Track is pretty well destroyed. Lots of holes, ruts, plenty of mud, super long effort 7min+....
This is Bryn and my first Dh race of the year on Transition. Kind of one of my first real national DH races ever. I have done about 5 or 6 DH races in my day, Crankworx, Hood, sea otter, Lisbon, Snowmass, Northstar, etc?? but none quite like this. I am really really enjoying it!! In any condition:) My Tr450 feels like it suits me really well, comfy geometry, everything feels natural, Crankbrother Iodine rims are holding strong as well, just gotta get my fitness and hand strength up to par for these long ass courses:). I have ridden mud more than dry as it seems, and been practicing ruts on my little dirtbike, so all those rainy days are paying off for times like these.
Anyway, we've been training super hard getting ready for the season, and were excited to gain extra race experience. There is solid competition at these rounds, over 12 women on the start list, and the Men's field has about dozen world cup quality racers; Bryn ,Kovarik, Josh Button, Amiel Cavalier, Will Rischbieth, Shaun o'Connor, Rhys Willemse, Ben Cory, soon to be Rhys Atkinson, Swiss rider Lars Peyer is here, former MadCat- justin Havukainen is here riding for some fun, and a few others. Good crew of people with common interest, so yeah,it's good to see everyone again and catch up.
Since the weather has been so crappy, and we are in a national park with erosion issues, and a big storm predicted for tomorrow, They told us to run qualifier like it was the final. So without ever doing a full run due to visibility and tiredness, we all prepared for this quali to be the final. Bryn and I did early practice, but the conditions changes slightly from sloppy mud to a peanut buttery texture by race time. So brutal to pedal through that stuff, and all the holes were no picnic either, this track was rough to begin with, but damn. We sat out the later practice to save energy and stay warm, but it didn't really matter, in these conditions it becomes a lottery, minimize mistakes, pedal in all the spots you can, stay outta the holes and try to flow.
u-19 groups went first then Elite ladies, elite men. I was back in the field, so had quite a few gals in front of me. Passed 5 of them in my run over the course of my 8 min 37sec effort. Enduro Dh here. Yeah, pretty nutty, had to sit down and pedal i more places than I would've liked, but it was really tore up, rough , and loose. Took top time, So that's cool. May or may not have to back it up tomorrow, we will see how they call it. Clair Kovarik was +11 seconds for 2nd, Clair Whiteman 3rd.
In the mens Josh Button edged out Kovarik both on a 7min08sec run. Ameil 3rd, Rhys 6th. Bryn was riding unbelievably all weekend. He was on a ripper of a run, till the last bit of wood, when he popped out carrying and running his bicycle about downhill to the finishline. Had a bit of a mechanical tragedy and broke some stuff, so he still finished 9th!! With that happening running his bike which was unable to roll for about 45- 50 sec downhill to the finishline 7min50sec. Troy Brosnan won u-19.
Back to the lodge.... clean shit, dry shit, Shower, eat, repeat . Getting worked.
Thredbo DH final
Well no lightning, but it did rail all day, and the race was on. They allowed everyone one practice run, on a drastically different course. New lines formed everywhere, ruts were deep, holes were deeper, visibility not so good, pedaling slow, flat, and tiring. But I'll tell you what, I had an awesome time in the mud hitting ruts and learning all kinds of new skills.
First time for a lot of things, first tear off pulls, first 8min+ long course, first aussie DH race, first full mud race, and first DH podium of the new year:) My run was ok, but had major stall outs in some flat bits, pretty wild sliding through mud, and was blind thorough some big sections with mud all over my lens, didn't quite master the tear off pull. Claire Buchar-Kovarik had a solid run and got me:), so I finished 2nd and I was happy with the riding and the lessons learned. For example, I now know to wear my goggles a lot tighter when using tear offs. DH WOMEN 1. Claire Buchar 2. Jill 3. Indy Boer
In the mens, ol Willy Rischbieth was in the hot seat forever, he was the first one down from his deflated tire yesterday, then Bryn blitzed and took over with a 7.17? or 18. He spent all night jimmying up his bike, finding parts, adding washers, rigging an axel, and just made it work, so a bit of redemption for him. Kovarik, on dry tires came pretty good, but it wasn't enough- 4th. Josh Button, the top seed, made it all the way to the bottom woods and had a little crash. Not sure how Rhys ended up, top 10 I think, he sort of smahed a finger in practice but still did good, and Ben Cory, who has probably done more runs on this track than anyone, but fresh off a broken wrist, won with a 7.15. Track was quite a bit slower than yesterday 7 sec they were averaging. It's interesting how every person and every run has such a monumental story behind it. DH MEN 1. Ben Cory 2. Bryn 3. Shaun O'connor 4. Kovarik 5. Ameil
in U-19 Troy Brosnan crashed and went off course, not sure who the winner was, Aiden something maybe?? Dunno. Serious weather though, taken a beating this weekend just holding on, glad monday is our day off. Soooo much clean up to be done...
02/17/10 (by Mike Metzger)
Harrison Mendel Birthday Jam Update
Well this last saturday was my 14th Birthday, and It was sunny. So I
got my brain thinking, Let's ride bikes. After a quick Facebook email
we got a 25 people coming. So stoked, I almost forgot about my
Birthday, I was stoked to ride with all the bro's. At about 10
everyone started pilling in. It was amazing. My mom was kind enough to
make us all burgers and cake! I was speechless. Then after that some
Photographers started showing up and everyone new it was game time. It
is also really nice now that Dustin Greenall is living in Kelowna
because he is an amazing builder and knows how to run a machine well.
After and amazing day of riding, Dustin and Casey proposed the
idea of a new huge jump. 30 mintues latter a huge loader was driving
down the street along with a 8 foot wood lip on a boat trailer. I know
I was getting myself into trouble, the good trouble thought. So after
we set the jump in place we had a 8 foot lip, 15 foot gap to a 12 foot
high landing thats massive. So we started hucking on that, I'm pretty
sure nothing was landed. Anyway this jump is going to be amazing for
practicing on and I have already been riding it lot's. Today I was
getting some bigger tricks on it and went for my 360 and now I have
some torn cartilage in my knee! Fun stuff Anyway it was probably the
best way possible to spend my Birthday, thanks to everyone who showed
up also everyone that made it possible. Below are some photos and a
video
The Land of Awesomeness was Seattle this past weekend. Friday night, the debut of the first Women of Dirt videos was shown at the Northwest Film Forum downtown, and when the film started rolling, only standing room was left. As the featured riders trickled in amongst the general public, they strutted down the catwalk to pose for cameras in front of the Awesomeland backdrop.
The Alysian Brewery next door had provided a keg of their best to the awviewers who had come from all over Seattle, Bellingham, Colorado and Canada to watch the first-ever women's mountain bike video. Not only does the movie have an incredible collection of riders from all over North America, it also showcases each of their individual styles of riding and personalities, all to an unbeatable soundtrack provided by Portland's Hip Hop artist MY-G and his label Indamix Records.
The opportunity to film with Miles and Mark for this film was incredible, and I can only hope that the progression of women will be tangible from the first to second, to third sequels. The film doesn't take for granted that women can ride bikes at high levels- it introduces the scene from a different gender perspective- one that still is relatively new and growing. It will strike a chord in new riders, women and men who want to be better riders, and anyone that understands the passion, dedication and excitement behind a sport they love.
After the initial viewing, the audience congregated in the auditorium to congratulate the producers and riders in the film while the next group trickled in. For the next 5 days there were 45+ people at each show, and feedback from both the bike and non-bike communities has been overwhelming.
The next day, those who were able to peel themselves off the kitchen floor and out of the back of stranger's vans, met once again for one of the biggest riding days I've ever been a part of at Duthie Hill. There was a smattering of every group imaginable and bikes littered the 2 main Dirt Corps trails and the new one finished that morning by Evergreen's Chad and Jon. Those guys are awesome. Duthie Hill can definitely be a part of Awesomeland
Thanks to everyone who took part in this project, and thanks Mark and Miles for the honor of being an athlete in your first!
If you'd like to have a premiere in your town, please email Mark Brent (mark@bonesovermetal.com) or myself (snychka@gmail.com) and we will direct you to the promoters in your area!
02/12/10 (by Brad Walton)
Lars Sternberg starts off the race season in Fontana, CA
Last week Lars and I headed south to (supposed to be sunny) California to kick off the 2010 race season. It was a good opportunity to blow out the cobwebs and was my first experience filming DH racing.
A rainy practice day introduced us to the new race course, and sections of trail changed throughout the day as it was lapped by practicing racers in the wet.
Race day offered new trail conditions as the clouds parted and gave way to beautiful sunny 60 degree weather. Lars's race run was super solid up top.
The bottom 1/3 of the course was flat and pedally, and had Lars reconsidering the amount of effort he put in at the top of the course. I'm always of the impression that if you don't crash, you did pretty well, but Lars wasn't real happy with his 8th place finish in the pro class.
Looks like some painful training days ahead before Sea Otter! Keep an eye out for us on the race scene this season, and we'll keep you posted on our next endeavor. --brad
02/11/10 (by Kevin Menard)
Life long customer going to Mongolia
This is a pretty cool story we had to share with everyone. Justin Herx, one of our very first customers that has become a very good friend is embarking on a pretty amazing journey to benefit childrens charities in Mongolia. Justin and a couple others will be racing about 10,000 miles from London to Mongolia. The catch is that they can only drive a 1.2 liter engine (esentially a geo metro). We are helping to sponsor Justin's team and wish them huge success.
For more information on their journey, check out their website: Just a steppe away.
Justin hitting up Groovula on the North Shore on his version 1 DirtBag!
I
just got back from Rays MTB in Cleveland. I met up with my buddy Mike for
a weekend of riding. I had some pretty lofty goals for the trip and
accomplished most of them and got to ride bikes while it snowed
outside.
Rays
is awesome! I took my Transition Bank which I set up singlespeed and it
was RAD! I had a blast. Take a look at the video if you have a few
free minutes. Thanks to Transition Bike Company, Shimano, MRP, Sombrio,
and Oakley.
I
will be heading to Utah for some building and photo shoots along with some
training with fellow Transition rider Dominic in a few weeks to take all my new
tricks to dirt. Stay tuned!
As of January 28th, I have been done high school! So ridiculously pumped that I can now go out and build as much as I can! Lately I have been building at a pretty cool spot near my house to train at. When I am building I have three things on my mind that make me build what I am building. 1) Learning new things 2) Getting them dialed 3) Winning. This time I am not building a trick jump to go nuts on because I am totally over them! I am bringing back the freeride in me that got me riding a bike at day 1.
At my area I have built 2 step downs that both go onto the same landing. One is pretty much a straight drop and the other is a hip with a bigger gap. To the left of them is a big Kamloops style hip. This thing is gnarly, not because of its size but because of the landing situation. You have to dodge 3 Trees, 2 of which are at the top of the landing, so you have to snipe in between them :p
I am pretty stoked on how everything worked out so well! This week I plan to start at the top of the hill and build a lander drop off a big stump which will flow into a berm then into the hip step down. More future plans are coming but one that keeps sticking out of my mind is a big double after the step downs.
02/08/10 (by Mike Metzger)
The pioneers of Downhill racing.
Our good buddy Nick Braun set over this video of some seriously old school DHing. Its unbelievable how much the technology has changed. This video is definitely good for a laugh.
The design that pioneered the way to todays DH scene
02/05/10 (by Kevin Menard)
Winter Covert Shredding Video in France
Just saw this great video of 3 french riders on their new coverts. Great flowy
terrain and good use of the bikes.
02/04/10 (by Mike Metzger)
Winter Riding! by Brigham Rupp
While many riders are no doubt anxiously waiting for the snow to melt and the trails to dry out, down here in the Phoenix valley we're right in the middle of peak riding season: Sunny and 70 degrees nearly every day, a light layer of green covering the desert floor, it's the time of year when you can throw your freeride gear on without dying of heat stroke. Equipped with a new GoPro helmet cam that I scored for Christmas, I've been making the best of the weather by getting out to my favorite spot outside of Mesa. It's called "NRA", named for all the bullet casings left by gun-toting hillbillies before the bikers took over. A handful of guys have put in a ton of work out here and there are some great lines through the desert. The Bottlerocket is the perfect bike for this place. Here are a couple vids of a couple lines, one of which I just did for the first time. If you're ever in the neighborhood, hit up the Arizona forum on MTBR. The locals would be glad to show you around.
