onenerdykidEspecially since he claims it's a medium... with a wheelbase of 1330mm and head angle of 59.2°... I'm all for long, low, & slack bikes (I run my Gambler is its low and slack setting, so my head angle is a touch steeper than 62°) but that strikes me as a bit nutty.

Granted I don't ride at world cup race pace, so I'm sure he knows/feels something that I don't. But even if it was guaranteed to make me a faster rider, I'm not sure I would take it- I already scare the shit out of myself far too often haha.

Theres a possibility it forces him more backseat but idk. How do you like the gambler? Is it playful at all?

kim_jong_illTheres a possibility it forces him more backseat but idk. How do you like the gambler? Is it playful at all?

I like it a lot. It's a medium 2015 team frame, so it's slightly different than a production frame (mainly lighter). And even though it's a medium frame, it's longer than the large Evil Undead that I was on previously or Specialized Demos prior to the Evil. There are times I wish it was a little longer in the reach department, but I would say it still feels stable even when riding at the edge of my comfort zone at places like Schladming. I haven't made the switch to 27.5 yet, so it's still a "playful" 26. I'd really like to see how it feels/handles when set up as a 27.5 but I don't think I'll make that investment this year.

kim_jong_illIt could very well eat up rough patches or force him to be further back on the bike. How do you like your gambler? Is it playful?

NO. Don't buy it. It may be stable at high speeds and decent at monster trucking, but only when going straight and not touching the brakes.

I say this because I myself and my team rode for Scott last year, and coincidentally all five of us had a serious regression in race results. It essentially ruined a race season for all of us. Look at Brendan- it took him what, 5 years to learn how to ride the thing. Neko is a friend of mine and I am so bummed for his situation. Granted, the new links make it a completely different bike, but unless you can CNC your own, I would highly suggest a different bike.

Sorry for rant. very much not a gambler fan.

special-JNO. Don't buy it. It may be stable at high speeds and decent at monster trucking, but only when going straight and not touching the brakes.

I say this because I myself and my team rode for Scott last year, and coincidentally all five of us had a serious regression in race results. It essentially ruined a race season for all of us. Look at Brendan- it took him what, 5 years to learn how to ride the thing. Neko is a friend of mine and I am so bummed for his situation. Granted, the new links make it a completely different bike, but unless you can CNC your own, I would highly suggest a different bike.

Sorry for rant. very much not a gambler fan.

Interesting, in a shitty way. Sorry to hear you guys had a bum year. You weren't racing on Zach's team by any chance were you?

My favorite thing to check out after the race- Dirt Mag's GEEK STATS

Cairns is this weekend, but remember race day is on Saturday!

http://

Cairns, Australia, World Cup Track Walk Slideshow — More Mountain Bike Photos

onenerdykidInteresting, in a shitty way. Sorry to hear you guys had a bum year. You weren't racing on Zach's team by any chance were you?

Thanks man, no worries. it was a good year of learning for everyone. Do you mean Zach Miller? if so then yes, it's the Billy Goat Bikes team

special-JThanks man, no worries. it was a good year of learning for everyone. Do you mean Zach Miller? if so then yes, it's the Billy Goat Bikes team

Ah, different Zach- I was thinking of Zach Faulkner from Drummer Racing/Descent World

Lot of big names getting caught up in the rock garden (even when it's dry)

Ratboy's helmet cam from practice

THAT WOOP SECTION!!!

So cairns is dusty and rainy.... I don't understand how the jungle works.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/timed-training-results-cairns-dh-world-cup-2016.html

It means nothing but cannot resist trying to predict winner.

Throwback to last year to when some drunk guy tried taking a bike down the course!

that was great

e.litttThrowback to last year to when some drunk guy tried taking a bike down the course!

that was great

If you're going to post up vids of stuff that happened in the past, actually know what happened...... good lord.

skiermanIf you're going to post up vids of stuff that happened in the past, actually know what happened...... good lord.

Yeah a rider crashed, then usually when there is a DNF someone walks the bike down. In this case this fellow tried riding it, crashed, then got 2 broken vertebrae and a dislocated shoulder.

Qualification Results!

Elite Men

1. Troy Brosnan

2. Mik Hannah

3. Aaron Gwin

4. Loic Bruni

5. Steve Smith

Elite Women

1. Rachel Atherton

2. Manon Carpenter

3. Tracey Hannah

4. Emile Siegenthaler

5. Tahnee Seagrave

Junior

1. Matt Walker

2. Harry Bush (best name ever)

3. Remy Morton

Super rad to see Sik Mik only 0.322 off the lead. It would be awesome to see him get another win. Same goes for Brosnan too. Shit it's gonna be a sick final tomorrow!

close times. should be a good one.

much excited.

I want loic to win but i feel like brosnan has this one

stupendous-manI want loic to win but i feel like brosnan has this one

Gwin's got it. Those two don't have the level of fitness he does and it showed in qualis.

FUCK YEAH LOIC!!!!! So pumped for this!!! Such a sick fucking race, Troy 2nd on home turf, the return of sick mik on home turf!!! only thing I'm bummed for is stevie getting a puncture

gapersarefriendsFUCK YEAH LOIC!!!!! So pumped for this!!! Such a sick fucking race, Troy 2nd on home turf, the return of sick mik on home turf!!! only thing I'm bummed for is stevie getting a puncture

Dude I thought Brosnan was going to get him for sure when he was up. So stoked for Bruni!

gapersarefriendsFUCK YEAH LOIC!!!!! So pumped for this!!! Such a sick fucking race, Troy 2nd on home turf, the return of sick mik on home turf!!! only thing I'm bummed for is stevie getting a puncture

BOOM!! So stoked for Bruni right now!! I was hoping Troy would do well but he can take second so Bruni can finally have his first win. This is awesome, good for both of them.

Super happy to see Mick pull through and back up his qualifying run. He's obviously got what it takes and has proven it before, just rad to see him still on the box after so many near-misses and injuries.

That was a sick race!

Tanner-DDude I thought Brosnan was going to get him for sure when he was up. So stoked for Bruni!

onenerdykidBOOM!! So stoked for Bruni right now!! I was hoping Troy would do well but he can take second so Bruni can finally have his first win. This is awesome, good for both of them.

Super happy to see Mick pull through and back up his qualifying run. He's obviously got what it takes and has proven it before, just rad to see him still on the box after so many near-misses and injuries.

That was a sick race!

Fuckin sick race! I cant believe troy lost it in the pedal section, i thought he had loic. Kid was fucking flying

This was such an awesome race. Seems like a lot of big names had trouble with it and the locals killed it. 3 aussies in the top 5. Who the hell is button?

Exciting to the last seconds. great racing.

TingaWho the hell is button?

I know, right? Apparently Connor had an extra bike and wanted a teammate. He hadn't raced world cups in a couple of years, put his 9-5 job on hold, hopped on a new/foreign bike, and fucking smoked everyone haha. Such a good story.

onenerdykidI know, right? Apparently Connor had an extra bike and wanted a teammate. He hadn't raced world cups in a couple of years, put his 9-5 job on hold, hopped on a new/foreign bike, and fucking smoked everyone haha. Such a good story.

I know so crazy. I love it when shit like this happens you'd never see this in the NFL or whatever

Santa Cruz Syndicate - Round 2 Cairns

I'm honestly surprised to see Minnaar doing so "poorly" this season. He's feeling good and likes how the bike is riding, perhaps his results are simply a consequence of getting older and he's starting to lose what it takes to stay at the top. I hope that's not the case, but it will happen eventually at some point.

This is AWESOME!! Mick Hannah's 3rd place helmet cam run. So rad to see him absolutely pin it everywhere and land back on the podium.

onenerdykidThis is AWESOME!! Mick Hannah's 3rd place helmet cam run. So rad to see him absolutely pin it everywhere and land back on the podium.

that jump right before the whoops was fucking massive

onenerdykidSanta Cruz Syndicate - Round 2 Cairns

I'm honestly surprised to see Minnaar doing so "poorly" this season. He's feeling good and likes how the bike is riding, perhaps his results are simply a consequence of getting older and he's starting to lose what it takes to stay at the top. I hope that's not the case, but it will happen eventually at some point.

I feel the same way. Would really like him to do well though. I want Ratboy to get back on the podium soon too!

gapersarefriendsthat jump right before the whoops was fucking massive

and sending it full speed into hip deep whoops isn't something I'd get in line to do.

onenerdykidand sending it full speed into hip deep whoops isn't something I'd get in line to do.

Yeah certainly not on a DH bike

gapersarefriendsYeah certainly not on a DH bike

how about a walmart bike?

YEEEEEEWWWWW

can't believe we got to wait till june UGH

gapersarefriendsYeah certainly not on a DH bike

fixie would handle it much better

butternotbatterhow about a walmart bike?

stupendous-manfixie would handle it much better

Compared to a moto hahaha

Rachel Atherton's winning run:

Dirt Magazine's GEEK STATS

Awesome to see where and how each racer won/lost compared to each other. Interesting that in the final sprint to the finish, Gwin only managed 41st !

#LongLiveChainsaw

Ok.. I'm not gonna lie- Fort William is my least favorite track of the year to watch. It's basically like riding a bike down a sidewalk that's in various states of disrepair with some big jumps thrown into the mix.

Nonetheless, I am still excited to watch the race. The fans, the history, and all of the racers will make for an assuredly good time.

While Gee took qualifying, I still think Danny Hart is going to take it. He won the BDS here a few weeks ago (ahead of Gee) and his run in timed training was still faster than Gee's qualifying run. Here's my men's podium:

1. Hart

2. Gee

3. Gwin

4. Troy

5. Minnaar

On the girls' side, I think Rachel has this one. It seems that Mannon only takes a win when Rachel falls or is sick. If Rachel can keep it rubber side down, she'll take it.

This race was pretty hard to watch. That first woods sections was insane.

This is kind of a weird season. First race was great but cairns and now fort bill races have just kinda been meh.

TingaThis race was pretty hard to watch. That first woods sections was insane.

This is kind of a weird season. First race was great but cairns and now fort bill races have just kinda been meh.

Cairns and Ft Bill are definitely my least favorite tracks of the year. I wish Schladming would get interested in hosting one of the rounds, it would be so rad to have that track back in the mix.

But, I thought it was pretty awesome to see Adam Brayton finally put together a quali and matching final run. That was the highlight of the race for me, aside from the silent remembrance run for Stevie.

Anyhoo, let's hope Leogang brings more to the table next weekend!

Dirt Mag's Geek Stats - crazy to see how the motor way & finish sprints affected people's overall times.

https://dirtmountainbike.com/racing-events/world-cup-geek-stats-fort-william-2016.html

onenerdykid

Dirt Mag's Geek Stats - crazy to see how the motor way & finish sprints affected people's overall times.

https://dirtmountainbike.com/racing-events/world-cup-geek-stats-fort-william-2016.html

sweet graph. you can really see the consistent vs inconsistent riders on different terrain.

No fort bill which is cool, but Cairns world champs sounds pretty weak.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/2017-uci-world-cup-calendar.html

byuboundNo fort bill which is cool, but Cairns world champs sounds pretty weak.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/2017-uci-world-cup-calendar.html

Fort Bill is still there, June 3-4

Agreed, Cairns is a weak spot for Worlds. At least it's not Canberra, that was laughable.

Good to see Vallnord, MSA, and Val di Sole still on the docket.