CONGRATULATIONS – AND THANKS – TO GREG AND THE OTHER15 SHIMANO-EQUIPPED MEDAL WINNERS.LEOGANG, AUSTRIA: GREG MINNAAR TAKES HIS SECOND DOWNHILL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. GREG’S SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE TEAM CHOSE SHIMANO SAINT COMPONENTS FOR THE 2012 SEASON. FOR SAINT AND THE SYNDICATE, DOWNHILL SPEED IS EVERYTHING. IT’S THE PERFECT MATCH.

CHASINGRAINBOWS

SHI120917_ADV GregMinnaar_297x210.indd 1 13-09-12 13:26

[R] FP.indd 1 5/2/13 6:47:22 PM

GET SICKSOON THE DEMO 8 IS BORN FROM DESIRE—OUR DESIRE TO

DESIGN AND ENGINEER THE FASTEST DH BIKE IN THE WORLD. TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING AND RACE-PROVEN BY SAM HILL AND TROY BROSNAN, THE S-WORKS DEMO 8 IS EQUIPPED WITH 200MM OF TRAVEL AND A SUPER-TOUGH FACT CARBON FRAME. GETTING SICK NEVER FELT SO GOOD. SPECIALIZED.COM

GET SICKSOON THE DEMO 8 IS BORN FROM DESIRE—OUR DESIRE TO

DESIGN AND ENGINEER THE FASTEST DH BIKE IN THE WORLD. TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING AND RACE-PROVEN BY SAM HILL AND TROY BROSNAN, THE S-WORKS DEMO 8 IS EQUIPPED WITH 200MM OF TRAVEL AND A SUPER-TOUGH FACT CARBON FRAME. GETTING SICK NEVER FELT SO GOOD. SPECIALIZED.COM

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ISSUE 30 // FEBRUARY 2013

Sam Hill Tim Bardsley-Smith

// ON THE COVER //

Contents page artwork by: Jonny Wellman RedBull Photo Files

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Back iN augusT lasT yEar wHEN wE firsT rEpOrTEd ON sHiMaNO’s HEavily rEfiNEd, prEMiuM graviTy grOupsET wE caME away vEry iMprEssEd aNd aT THE TiME THOugHT THaT iT Had THE pOTENTial TO BE THE BEsT dEdicaTEd graviTy sET ON THE MarkET. NOw, HaviNg spENT 6 lONg MONTHs rippiNg dOwN aNd arOuNd THE Trails ON saiNT, wE NO lONgEr THiNk iT MigHT BE THE BEsT grOup gOiNg arOuNd. wE kNOw iT!

Our trusty custom built green Santa Cruz Nomad carbon has been taking quite the flogging throughout summer. Let’s face it, set-up like this the thing is a pure road gap loving machine, and we’ve been sending her into orbit as often as possible. This bike has seen countless days shuttling our local DH spot. It’s been on more than a few all-day epics and she’s even been interstate with us for a couple of roadtrips. How’s the big girl looking after all that trail time? Still just as fresh and stunning as the day she came into our lives. If we had to summarise the Saint groupset in just one word it would have to be ‘reliable’. Or maybe ‘versatile’. Actually, let’s go with ‘durable!’ We haven’t had a single mechanical. Well, actually we’ve had a few flat tyres and the rims aren’t exactly in great shape anymore, but that just adds character to a bike like this. As far a component failure, or anything like that, not a thing. When we take a close look over it right now sure she’s got some battle scars, a few rock nics here and there, but everything is still dead straight and running smoothly. If that says anything it’s that Shimano has built this new Saint range bloody well. This is the lightest Saint group to ever be released, perfect for gravity racing, and so we were always going to be interested to see if it’s weight saving would come at the expense of durability. We need not have worried it would appear. Shimano has always had a stella reputation when it comes to the strength and reliability of their components, especially their rear mech’s and crank, making Shimano the go-to choice for riders on a budget that need their parts to last. We can attest that the new Saint range falls right within that category. This is going to be the perfect groupset for a rider that wants to get a few seasons of racing out of their parts. Or, a gravity rider that likes to go big but sometimes comes up short and cases the odd jump, these are the cranks for you my friend. Let’s take a quick look at each component and see how they’ve been holding up.

Six months down the trail.

6Months

Brakes (M820) These things are neck snapping powerful! Even on the longest descents we haven’t experienced any brake fade what so ever. Not sure what was going on with Aaron Gwin’s set because ours have been nothing but reliable and consistent. Everything about these massive 4-piston stopers has been designed and optimized for heat management. Ceramic pistons (4 of course) inside the caliper prevent heat transfer from the pads to the brake fluid. Aluminium finned brake pads provide even greater cooling. A new, longer hose banjo extending from the caliper is designed to assist in cooling brake fluid. The brakes use mineral oil because unlike DOT fluid mineral oil does not absorb moisture, which is known in DOT brake systems to be a big cause of that spongy feeling at the lever. Speaking of levers, we love the feel of the new ergonomic ‘shorty’ lever. We haven’t needed to bleed or service our brakes yet. We pulled the pads out last week to check for wear and there’s is still plenty of meat left on that bone. Reckon they’ll be good for another 6 months of thrashing before calling for a fresh set.

shadow+ rd-M820 rear Mech & shifter We’ve grown to be big fans of Shimano’s dedicated 1x10 Saint drivetrain. We’ll be honest with you, we smashed this rear mech into more than a few rocks. And, it’s still sitting there perfectly straight! This rear mech features a ‘clutch’ system which works fantastically. Shimano are using the same system throughout most of their MTB range this year, and they’ve really got it dialed. The adjustable clutch works similarly to a coaster brake hub where a small tension band prevents the derailleur cage from pivoting forward, thus eliminating chain slap. Other features of the Saint rear mech include a urethane elastomer bump stop to reduce noise, low-profile Shadow Plus chain stabilizer, super-wide links for resistance to twisting and improved durability, and an integrated skid plate to protect the derailleur from impact. Add to that Shimano’s patented Shadow+ design which keeps the mech well and truly ‘out of the line of fire’ – they way that we’ve been riding we would have snapped off a dozen conventional derailleurs by now. Shifter wise, there isn’t really much to report about. It’s just a shifter after all. It’s the same as the day we got it, it hasn’t broken or anything like that. Don’t really take much notice of it to be honest. End of story on that front.

M820 cranksWe’ve kind of covered off on the cranks already; they’re as stiff as a double brick wall, as light as something that weighs just 840 grams, and most importantly/impressively they’re insanely strong! The original Saint cranks are unbreakable and these things are claimed to be 250% stronger again... WTF!? They come in 73 or 83mm axle/BB widths, 165mm, 170mm, and 175mm lengths, and with 34, 36, or 38 tooth ring options. A DH press-fit BB is also available. The strongest crank on the market? Probably.

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The last few months have been pretty exciting for me. As I mentioned last issue, I was going to have some big news coming at the start of the new year and as most of you probably know by now I have switched teams for the 2013/2014 seasons. I am now riding for team CRC, Nukeproof which is an English based team.

I am really happy to be on the new team. Everything has been amazing so far and there is a great group of people that I have to work with. I also have a couple new team mates, Matt Simmonds and Joe Smith who are both UK guys and have been on the team for a couple years now so I’m looking forward to getting to know those guys and ride together this year at the races. I’m also going to be competing at a couple English national rounds this season. It’s something I have wanted to do for a while as it looks like a cool scene over there so that will be cool to check out and compare to the Aussie stuff.

The team has a bit of a training/test camp coming up around April to get everyone together and get photos/video stuff before the World Cup season kicks off so that’s going to be cool.

Nukeproof also have a new downhill frame for 2013 called the ‘pulse’ and that’s what I’m riding now. I felt so comfortable on the bike my very first run and have been loving the time I’ve had on it. It’s a fast and fun bike to ride. I think the team did a lot of testing on the bike towards the end of last year to get it so good.

A couple weeks ago we had the first Australian national round in Mt Buller, Victoria. I always love racing on the track there as it’s rough and real challenging to keep your momentum up. It was the first real rough track I had ridden the Nukeproof Pulse on and I was impressed with how well it rode and held speed through the rough stuff. I was actually pretty nervous racing the first race of the year and rode really tight in my final run. I went slower than my time in qualifying which I wanted to improve on but it was still enough to grab the win which was awesome. There’s a lot of fast talent in Australia right now so winning felt good.

Recently I’ve been back home in WA training hard and trying to get faster for the next few National rounds. We’ve got some good races and tracks coming up which will be very physical so it will be a good test to see how I’m going and hopefully I can grab some more wins.

In the meantime I’m heading south to have a few relaxing days with my family and friends before I have to pack my bags and get back on the plane.

See ya at the races!

SPONSORS: teaM crc, nukeproof, Monster enerGy troy lee desiGns, fiveten, leatt, sraM

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rocky Mountain INSTINcT 970First Impressions

The reason we asked if we could get one of these in to test in the first place is because this bike has been intriguing us, ever since we first spotted pictures of it online. What’s really interesting about the Instinct is that whilst a thrall of manufacturers are racing to develop long travel, aggressive handling 29ers, Rocky Mountain’s long travel big wheeled range was already so dialed that they’ve been spending their time taking it a step further, upping the ante and developing what might be the most user friendly (read: bloody simple) rider adjustable geometry changing platform on the market. Talk about versatility, the 2013 Rocky Mountain Instinct is practically a chameleon.

Within seconds it can transform from a 69.3 degree head angled nimble all day XC voyager into a full blown 67.7 degree head angled trail eating all-mountain ruler. If you look closely the key piece to the puzzle lies within the bikes front shock mount. The shock mount contains two interlocking chips that enable you to significantly customize the bike’s geometry and rear suspension behavior. Simply removing the shock bolt and rotating the chips raises/lower the bottom bracket half an inch and changes both the head and seat angles by as much as 1.6 degrees. Rotating those chips also tweaks the leverage ratio on the Instinct’s rear shock. In its slackest settings the suspension has a more progressive stroke which helps prevent bottoming out and (should) allow you to plough through the rough stuff out on the trial easier. Rocky Mountain have dubbed this clever piece of technology ‘Ride-9’. Now that you know the theory, the question is does Ride-9 work out in the real world? That’s exactly what we’re intrigued to find out with this review. Guess you’ll just have to tune back in next issue.

What we can tell you right now is that there were several things that struck us as really cool when we pulled this beast out of it’s box and bolted it together. Firstly, they’ve included a little bundle of spare spokes. 8 to be precise. You know what that says to us? It’s Rocky Mountains way of saying, “hey you, enjoy your new bike, now get out there and really ride the hell out of it! Go ride gnarly trails, go adventure, take risks, have fun and don’t worry about silly little crashes. This bike was made to be ridden!” We’ve never heard of a company supplying spare spokes before, so bloody good on you Rocky Mountain. The second thing we noted was that the levers were already set up inboard about 10mm from the grips. That might not sound like a big deal but considering we pop the seals on dozens of new bikes each year here at the mag we’ve never, ever seen a manufacture put so much effort into the bike coming out of the box and being ready to ride. I’ve never once unpacked a bike that hasn’t had it’s levers and controls right up against the grips. Keeping in mind this bike wasn’t pre-assembled by Adventure Brands before coming to us either, it was a sealed box straight from the factory. Before we even rode this bike we knew it was going to be awesome. They say the eyes take the first bite of a meal, and in that case, the first bite of this meal was f’kin delicious!

This bike offers so much promise. The sooner we finish tapping away on this damn keyboard and the sooner we get this issue wrapped up, the sooner we’re free to get out for some adventures aboard it. Enough writing, it’s time to go ride. See you next issue...

THis MurdErEd-OuT Black sTuNNiNg lOOkiNg MacHiNE arrivEd ON Our dOOrsTEp jusT days BEfOrE THis issuE Had TO gO TO priNT. wE pOppEd THE sEals ON iT’s cardBOard BOX, pEErEd iNsidE aNd afTEr TakiNg jusT ONE lOOk aT iT wE kNEw sTraigHT away THaT iT was jusT TOO daMN sEXy TO lEavE iT OuT Of THE issuE all TOgETHEr, rigHT? rigHT! liTErally wiTH lEss THaN a day TO gO wE jusT MaNagEd TO squEEzE jusT ENOugH TiME TO rip iT OuT Of iT’s packagiNg, Build iT up, THrOw THE dOg iN THE car aNd HiT THE lOcal Trails fOr ONE laTE afTErNOON sEssiON BEfOrE THE pHONE BEgaN TO riNg wiTH Our priNTErs wONdEriNg wHErE THE Mag was? wE caN’T waiT TO spENd THE NEXT fEw MONTHs sHrEddiNg ON THis THiNg BuT iN THE MEaN TiME HErE is Our firsT iMprEssiONs Of THE BikE, jusT a fEw HOurs iNTO THE rElaTiONsHip...

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Make no mistake, this is a racing machine. It’s creation and purpose is to win races, world cups and world championships. To its credit the V-10 is the most winningest DH frame ever made. The stats sheet reads like this: 64 World Cup podiums, 14 World Cup wins, 3 World Championships. Throughout the past 11 years since Santa Cruz began working with the VPP (virtual pivot placement) long travel platform the V-10 has been a constant, painstaking and tireless evolution of refinement. All that engineering attention to detail in every single square inch of its frame has not been carried out for you and I, it’s purely there to give Minnaar, Peaty and Bryceland of the Syndicate team an edge over their competition on the highest racing stage there is. Kind of an oxymoron really, considering you and I could go into a store tomorrow and buy the exact frame those boys are racing. And that is where the story gets interesting.

This, the latest version of Santa Cruz Bike’s downhill racing platform features a full carbon front and rear end. Santa Cruz has had a carbon front end version of the V-10 on the market for a few seasons now, so why didn’t they have a carbon rear bolted on there sooner? As you’re about to find out, engineering and manufacturing a rear end of a downhill race bike out of carbon is extraordinarily complex. So much so that Santa Cruz collaborated on the project with Enve Composites, the world leaders in carbon component construction. The result? A frame that is both stunningly beautiful on the eye and heart-stoppingly fast down a race track. By the time you’re reading this the V-10c will have landed on dealer floors world wide. The production frame is the exact same frame that Greg Minnaar rode to the World Champion gold medal last September. Clearly the Santa Cruz V-10c is a phenomenal bike, [R]evolution spent the past few months scratching the surface to reveal it’s story. Read on...

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If consistency is the key to racing, then young Jack could easily be considered a lock-smith. His rise through the junior ranks has been nothing short of extraordinary. Just 12 months ago you’d probably never heard his name before. Then, a 17 year old kid from Central Coast of NSW, with a big old heady of curls, was an outside chance of selection on the Jr World Team. But a string of consistence results through last summer’s national series was enough for selectors to give him a shot. There’s no denying that we (Australia) had a strong Jr team last year. Our strongest in years many were saying. But as we’ve seen time and time again, being an amazing rider and winning races at home in Oz doesn’t mean squat when you get overseas and find yourself peering out of the start’s hut at the top of a World Cup track.

It’s a big bad world out there and trying racing on the main stage is a brutal reality for any man. Let alone a boy. At Jack’s first race overseas last year, the notoriously tough track of Mount Saint Anne in Canada, Jack not only managed to qualify for the elite open final, he outshone the entire national team by finishing an incredible 44th! It was no fluke either as Jack went on to prove the following weekend at the USA World Cup round. He then capped his year off with a 5th place finish at World Champs. Jack is the real deal. He’s proven that. Raw speed aside, he’s still only a kid and yet he’s so head strong and humble, it’s ridiculous. Seriously world, watch out, Jack is coming...

JT

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we Bet if you’re readinG [r]evolution riGht now that you either own, have ridden or at very least appreciate dirt Bikes. riGht? let’s face it, Motos f’kinG rule! iT’s NOT rEally THaT alarMiNg TO THiNk THaT way cONsidEriNg THE HugE siMilariTiEs aNd liNks BETwEEN Our spOrTs. dirT, TwO wHEEls, rOcks, cOrNErs, juMps aNd BuMps arE jusT sOME Of THE fEaTurEs THaT cOuld Equally dEscriBE BOTH spOrTs, OBviOusly THE pOwEr plaNT is THE Big diffErENcE. ridiNg EiTHEr TypE Of BikE calls upON skills aNd fiTNEss THaT cOMplEMENT EacH OTHEr, plus iT is aNOTHEr way Of gETTiNg yOur TwO wHEElEd fiX. MaNy Of THE prOs frOM THE MOuNTaiN BikE wOrld caN BE sEEN TwisTiNg THrOTTlEs duriNg THE OffsEasON. iT is a wEll-kNOwN facT THaT [r]EvOluTiON cOluMN rEgular, saM Hill, is NO slOucH ON a MOTOrBikE BuT HE’s NOT THE ONly ONE wiTH MOsT Of THE TOp guys crOss TraiNiNg ON THEir MOTOs. iT is alsO wOrTH NOTiNg THaT THErE arE a slEw Of TOp lEvEl MOTOcrOss ridErs wHO usE MOuNTaiN BikEs TO crOss TraiN, as THEy caN iMprOvE THEir MOTOcrOss skills aNd fiTNEss By dOiNg sO.

Peter Karas

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eyeletA point used for mounting the rear shock to the frame. It houses the DU bush or roller bearing. DU bushes are designed to wear before the mounting hardware/ reducers. The less friction between the DU bush and the reducers the better. This is where needle roller bearings can be used in place of a DU bush. It allows for a free moving pivot point reducing the initial breakaway force required resulting in a smoother/plusher feeling rear end. Some makes and models of damper will have the rebound adjuster located here. It activates the rebound needle which runs through the centre of the shock shaft.

coil sprinGA compression type spring available in steel and titanium. A titanium coil spring can weigh as little as half the weight of a steel spring of the same specifications. The spring rate is the amount of force required to compress the spring one inch, so a required spring rate is directly related to the riders weight. Commonly available spring rates come in 50lb increments but can also be found in 25lb increments. Too light a spring rate can make the bike feel boggy, slow and more likely to bottom out. A spring that is too firm can make the bike feel harsh, rough and limit the amount of available travel. The spring rate also has an effect on the ride height of the bike. A low ride height may handle well in turns and be stable at speed but will be more likely to clip pedals and chain guides. A higher ride height will have better ground clearance but the centre of gravity can be too high resulting in a bike that will be harder to corner. Spring rate is the most important factor to get right before looking into external adjustment or custom tuning. Quite often overlooked.

shaftThe shaft on the damper works in a similar way to the stanchions on a set of forks. It slides in and out of the sealhead on compression and rebound strokes. The shaft has the main piston attached to it inside the damper body and this is partially what controls the compression and rebound force. Shock shafts are usually steel or aluminium and come in a range of different coatings. The slipperier the better! They come in different diameters specific to each make and model of damper. A smaller diameter shaft will have less stiction within the sealhead which can help increase small bump sensitivity. Larger diameter shafts will displace more oil within the damper and usually be associated with strength and stiffness.

sealheadThe seal head screws into the damper body. It is used to house the seals that keep the oil in and the dirt out. It also has a bush in the centre that keeps the shaft running true. Too tight though and it will restrict the shafts ability to run smooth. Too loose and the shaft can have side to side movement which will lessen the effectiveness of the seals. These bushes are replaceable even though they very rarely wear out. They are very similar to the DU bushes in the eyelets.

daMper BodyThe damper body is full of suspension fluid. The main piston travels through this fluid on compression and rebound strokes. It also has a thread on the outside surface for the spring preload collar to wind up and down on. Too much preload will limit the amount of sensitivity and will encourage the seal head to unscrew itself from the damper body resulting in failure. With the correct spring rate, 1/2 to 1 1/2 turns of preload is sufficient.

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Anatomy of a rear shock

coil sprinG

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lower eyelet asseMBlyThis is where the magic happens. When the shock starts to compress the shaft displaces oil as it enters the seal head, the oil then travels a mystical journey through a series of galleries, ports, valves and pistons. Some makes and models will have as many as 4 separate adjustments controlled in this part of the shock and some of the more simple designs may only have one or no adjustments. There will usually be a static piston housed in this assembly that will determine at what rate the oil is going to flow on the compression strokes. The other more simple task of this component is to house another DU bush in the end eye which will allow for the second mounting point to the frame.

reservoir BodyThe reservoir body is home to the IFP (Internal Floating Piston) and the nitrogen or air pressure. The IFP is used as a way to separate the gas from the oil and to create pressure on the oil so as to prevent cavitation (foaming/airation of the oil). Cavitation can cause inconsistent damping properties and premature damage or wear internally. Once the oil has flowed from the lower eyelet assembly into the reservoir body it displaces the IFP against the gas pressure. Some models have an adjustable pressure range while others are pre set, usually somewhere between 150-300psi. A new model to hit the market in the near future is rumored to have a bladder in place of the IFP. This will have a smoother transition between compression and rebound strokes as well as less breakaway force required on the initial part of the compression stroke which relates to sensitivity. Great idea.

reservoir capThis is the cap on the end of the reservoir body. Some screw into the body while some are held in place by a spring clip. This is also where the gas is filled from. Most dampers that use air will have a schrader valve on top so as the end user can refill/fine tune the pressure. Nitrogen filled dampers will use a more complex system like a self sealing valve with an anti tamper screw or similar. Not designed to be filled or adjusted by the end user. Specialist equipment is required for charging these style of dampers. The reason nitrogen is commonly used instead of air is due to it being more stable with temperature change. For dampers with adjustable bottom out control, this is where the adjuster will be found. Turning the adjuster clockwise will reduce the size of the gas chamber (volume) resulting in a more progressive feeling damper. (ramp up).

sprinG collarThis part is used to seat the spring in place. It is removable by having a slot in it for the shock shaft, this allows the coil spring to be easily removed. Always remember to run the slot in the spring collar opposite the first part of the coil wind. Not doing so can result in damage to the collar/spring or the spring to rub on the damper body.

reservoir Bodyreservoir cap

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Bleed port dO NOT TOucH!

CONGRATULATIONS – AND THANKS – TO GREG AND THE OTHER15 SHIMANO-EQUIPPED MEDAL WINNERS.LEOGANG, AUSTRIA: GREG MINNAAR TAKES HIS SECOND DOWNHILL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. GREG’S SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE TEAM CHOSE SHIMANO SAINT COMPONENTS FOR THE 2012 SEASON. FOR SAINT AND THE SYNDICATE, DOWNHILL SPEED IS EVERYTHING. IT’S THE PERFECT MATCH.

CHASINGRAINBOWS

SHI120917_ADV GregMinnaar_297x210.indd 1 13-09-12 13:26