2012 Ancient Peaks Race Coming

April 20, 2012 – San Luis Obispo - The privately owned, 14,000 Santa Margarita Ranch is set to open its gates yet again to eager downhill and cross country riders this June and July. Featuring improved cross country and downhill courses and a new dual slalom track, the course has been built specifically for this event by local volunteers and MTB activists. Riders do not have access to the trail systems outside event dates.

Ranching is an expensive proposition, and this ranch is huge: 14,000 acres – the size of Manhattan and populated mostly by cows and vineyards. Its owners were looking for ways to bring additional income from the land without a lot of impact so when Yishai and Kristin Horowitz, owners of All Out Events, proposed a mountain bike course, they jumped at the idea. All Out Events and the ranch worked together to ensure minimal impact on the environment and the ranch is excited to see these trails on their property. But rather than just trails, the idea is to make this a premier racing event.

2012 Ancient Peaks Race Coming Soon To Central California

Ian Morrison And Steve Smith

World Cup racing takes DGR ripper Stevie Smith far afield. He’s sampled Pisco in Chile, kangaroo in Australia, explored game reserves in South Africa, seen the fjords of New Zealand, and crisscrossed Europe from boot to mullet. While abroad, Stevie constantly hears about all the amazing riding at home, in British Columbia. Early in the 2012 season during Devinci Global Racing team discussions, he mentioned B.C.’s epic terrain and trying to sneak in some sample time. 

Because there is no time like the present to re-experience B.C.—and with a one-month break in the World Cup schedule—it was on. Springtime in Pemberton is the time. Tacky hero dirt is out and ready to be hit before it expires and desert-like conditions sink their teeth in for summer. 

With Whistler Bike Park opening on the Canadian May long weekend, local shredder and Devinci ambassador, Ian Morrison, was looking to sharpen his skills—preparing to wreck dreams in the upcoming Wednesday beer league races. Ian is known as the “scrub master.” He finished 6th in the 2011 Crankworx A-line event, solidifying his reputation as a force. At home he’s a style-driven rider focused on beer league race scene domination… and holding his own at one of Gold's famous GLC after parties. When Ian was asked to do some early-season riding with Stevie, it was time to detonate the bomb. 

Ian Morrison And Steve Smith

NEKO MULALLY WINS INAUGURAL DURYEA DOWNHILL

Racing just minutes from home, Trek World Racing's Neko Mulally took another win for season 2012 by taking the victory at the Duryea Downhill, an event held in Neko's hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, and an event he help put together. Here's what he had to say about the weekend.

"One of my side projects this year has been helping to organize a downhill race in my hometown. The race was very enjoyable for all who participated. The Duryea Downhill is unique because it finishes in Reading's City Park which is in the center of town. There were a lot of spectators and for that reason and it was cool to race on a track that's a little different to the ski slopes we're used to. This race was awesome for me personally because it was so clo se to home and being able to race on my home trails in front of all my friends from school and my family was really special.

Neko Wins At Duryea

Banshee Legend MK II Test

We received the frame in a nice box that had all of the Legend's attribute on it. The first thing I noticed upon opening the box was the excellent finish of the frame. It had very nice welds and looked very polished and well thought out. Banshee had people there checking frames during production to make sure they were within spec.

We assembled it and put it up on the scales. With the above list and DH tubes it came in at 40lbs even with pedals. Not bad considering it is a large frame. All the parts went in easily and assembly was a standard affair with no issues. We put The Cane Creek -.5 Angle cup in making our test bike HA 63.3 degrees. It was plenty slack and low as is. In fact for tight and twisty areas I would suggest the 0 degree or even flipping the -.5 the other way to be 64.3 degrees instead. Keep in mind this is personal preference.
 Features
- 8" (203mm) travel

- All performance characteristics have been painstakingly and carefully scrutinized to make this a single purpose world cup level race bike. The goal was to make one of the fastests race bikes regardless of cost or time it took.

- Over 4 years in development - was the design engineers [Keith Scott] thesis at Durham University to get his Masters in Mechanical engineering.

- 4 Prototypes ridden in world cups and world championships. Its first ever race brought home the 2008 Pan American Championship.

- 60 Preproductions of the Legend MkI were ridden and tested on the world cup circuit, national level races, and regional competitions all across the globe to gain feedback in over 4 race seasons in different terrains and conditions, from a varied skill level of riders; 12 of which were also engineer/racers that gave valuable input. Everything was on the table to modify, change or scrap and many things were as it developed into the MkII version

- Tuned virtual pivot design includes an anti-sag component under heavy pedal acceleration, and a minimal amount of tuned-in squat so under hard braking it helps balance the bike as the fork starts to dive thus letting the bike go into corners fairly level.

- All CNC'd parts are forged first for optimal strength to weight ratio.

- Hydroformed 7005 butted aluminum tubes putting the strength were it needs to be. All hand welded, aligned multiple times between heattreats before assembling, with 100% final quality checks by either Keith or Jay.

- The "canoe" includes hardpoints for shock basement, mainpivot, and seattube pivot creating an incredibly light but very strong and stiff area where the "business" happens

- Easy access to all the shock dials for quick changing of settings.

- Titanium pivot hardware for strength and lightness.

- All top of the line full compliment bearings, don't just make the suspension "buttery" smooth but more "slippery" smooth.

- We've worked with all the major shock manufacturers to ensure our suspension kinematics work perfect with the shocks standard tunes right out of the box. However for maximum performance some shock manufacturers will tune to your weight, terrain, and style of riding and we have provided our suspension rates to most shock manufacturers and can do so for your favorite tuning center if they send us an email.

- Lowest center of gravity and low BB height helps cornering stability.

- Centralized weight for stability in the air.

- Internally ribbed seat and chainstays for increased stiffness.

- 1.5 headtube so you have flexibility in headset cup choices.

- 12x150 Maxle for quick tire changes.

Banshee Legend MKII Review

Barel Joins E Thirteen

FORMER WORLD CHAMPION FABIEN BAREL JOINS E*THIRTEEN AS BRAND AMBASSADOR

 

Petaluma, California, May 3, 2012 – E*thirteen welcomes former DH world champion Fabien Barel on board as their media spokesperson and drivetrain/component Brand Ambassador. “Fabien is not only a savvy media guru, but he has a very keen understanding of MTB components that we can use in our development cycles as well,” stated Director of Engineering George Dubois.

 

Fabien Barel Joins E13

Plattekill Bike Park Presents The Third Annual Pro GRT Fox Racing Shox Gravity Open

Plattekill Bike Park is proud to present the Third Annual Pro GRT Fox Racing Shox Gravity Open. This year the Fox Racing Shox Gravity Open moves to Memorial Day weekend, May 24-28, 2012. The race will be the third stop of the USA Cycling ProGRT National Series and will offer double series points in the POC Eastern States Cup Regional Championship Series. The ProGRT is the most prestigious downhill mountain bike racing series in North America. The POC Eastern States Cup is the richest, largest and fastest growing series in the nation. This combination event is aimed at riders and racers of all abilities.

Top domestic and international professional riders including many World Cup stars will be competing at Plattekill to test their skills on one of the best downhill mountain bike courses in the United States. This year Plattekill is featuring a classic track on the steep North Face side of the bike park. The course has steep chutes, berms and some big gap jumps at the finish.

Plattekill doubled the Pro GRT Purse and is offering a $5000 pro purse and some great prizes for amateurs. The race is a USAC qualifier for selection to the World Championship Team, so the pros will be really going for the win. Practice will open Thursday, qualifying is on Saturday and the race will be held on Sunday. Plattekill Bike Park will remain open thru Monday and will be open for freeriding every day of the event. Plattekill will run two lifts for complete access to their trail system.

2012 Plattekill Pro GRT