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The hourglass design on that kit is a big fail. One of those things where it looked great on the computer screen. Then when the riders put it on it's a different story... Haha. The curved hourglass makes everyone look like Umpa Loompas with massive thighs/quads. Lol. Laurie probaby said "F that, I ain't wearing it" hahah
I think this has already been discuss; are the semis going to broadcast in any platform? Youtube or any other?
quali won't be broadcast live
here's reece w/ the belt on his shoulder from around 12:40 in vital raw
Ha ha even Jackson has a camel toe in that kit
bernard's (well pivot's) LSD from today from "poldan" HAHA
Looks like the belt didn't snap, but how could it fall off the bike without snapping?!
take rear wheel off and then remove it i'd assume?
also Fast AF RAW
To be honest, I avoid looking into wireless/electronic sort of stuff. I either won't want it and it doesn't matter...or I'll think it's cool and start thinking about spending more money than my riding justifies!
I didn't realize Flight Attendant was user-selectable from the handlebars. That's pretty cool! Isn't there also an option to create a third, user-definable-in-the-FA-app mode between open and locked? I thought I remembered someone on a podcast saying something like that.
The other day, the MTB Rumors thread was trying to figure out what something was on Vali's top cap...I'd bet it's the same thing (and indicator light).
Either way, the suspension seems to lock at his behest using a mechanism no matter what it's called. Useful, for sure! Plus, Lloris doing his first course preview was pretty funny.
Belt on the shoulder looks like it could be a sling for a men’s purse. This look would compliment Jackson’s kit nicely.
@sspomer Im so confused by that pic too. Its rear wheel off, but also you would have to remove a seatstay/chainstay to take the belt off. But if it did break he couldn't just wear it like a bandolier. So who the hell knows what happend. Probably belt came off and didn't break but I cant see how its easier to just remove the damn thing rather then put it back on.
I looked at another vid of his bike and you dont have to take apart the bike. I was thinking it was like the Aetherton one which you would need to pull off a stay. Either way must have bashed something to make it so the belt wont stay on.
Why on earth is this content not available to view in New Zealand???
+1 its absolutely terrible, I shouldnt have to use a VPN to watch this stuff.
It looks like it wouldn't be super easy to come off in one piece but defiantly doable
Strange that the only ones with any fashion sense are Brits 😂
Who's on plate #1?
No one yet. That plate is reserved for the current leader of the World Cup, so it gets to patiently sit out round one waiting to see who is the lucky one.
Detailed course preview and rider chats with Josh Carlson:
Looks like it would come of pretty easily as the belt is above and below the chainstay. Would you not just pass it over the crank arm and pop it off? Isn't trapped between the frame like a regular chain. Guess is it popped off an idler and was easier to whip off that put it back on.
Does anyone else remember the Nike Swiftsuits that were used in the Sydney Olympics? The story is incredibly similar to the Fox Speedsuit. Nike came up with a suit for runners with claimed aerodynamic benefits that was not that practicle and definitely not intended for or relatable to the average club runner and fan.
It went on to win some races and wasn't banned but fell out of use because the claimed benefit didn't really show up in further testing and without that there was no reason to use it over the standard kit.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with the speedsuits. It seems there are more riders using them this year but some who wore them last year have gone back to normal kit.
I would guess that since there is a higher max speed in DH, any aero gains are more significant than in running, plus the rider is on their own not in a pack so the aerodynamics of the rider should be more consistent. Rider comfort and rider position on the bike are probably more important factors in outright speed, but the onesie will likely have a positive impact if the rider is happy to wear it.
Exactly. Aon's design allows for easy belt replacement with their "mono(?)" stay just by releasing the tensioner. No wheel removal or anything. I'm guessing that something got kicked up or he unfortunately laid it down and the tensioner took a freak hit. The sprockets should be protected enough from any bottom out, so a side impact is potentially the only vulnerability. Must be tensioner related
Zerode, Intense, Atherton, and most other belt drive bikes requires taking apart one of the pivots or in the case of a hardtail a break built into a stay.
UCI taking the IKEA line on the existence of NZ. 🤣
I would say that what appears as being self-absorbed is really focus. The only way to know that amount of work being put in to be a true World Cup athlete is by being a world cup athlete.
Loz to Stone Island for ‘26 😂
Elite Q1 results are in - there's a crazy list of riders who didn't make the cut and will have to line up again in Q2!
https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/results-bielsko-biala-uci-dh-elite-world-cup-qualifying-q1
Amaury in Q1...glad to see he walked away from all this! Q2 in a couple of hours for another shot at keeping the rubber side down.
Q2 is going to be stacked!
Get the badge in!
Did the weather changed abruptly during men's Q1? A lot of big names did not make top 20 but does not look like they all crashed judging by split times.
Edit: 11 podium contenders or past winners were outside the top 20, someone "big" is not going to make the cut.
So many former WORLD CHAMPIONS not safe after Q1. Wild.
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