Dr. Bong Hit, PHD, I respectfully disagree. Until recently, World Cup DH racers were drilling out their shoes so they could run the cleats farther back than the stock shoe would allow, and that phenomenon only stopped because shoe companies started offering DH shoes with longer cleat slots. Everything I've seen and everyone I've talked to says that, overwhelmingly, clipped-in World Cup racers run their cleats slammed as far back as they go. For the flat pedal question, a quick google search of Sam Hill shows that he normally has his flat pedals pretty mid-foot. I don't know anything about...
Ummm... what? Curious where you heard that the modern MTB technique is to ride flat pedals on the balls of your feet. Don’t think I’ve heard that one yet.
Luckily haven't touched the shocks yet (and don't intend to) and have been limited to Grip(1) 36 forks, but my god is RS sooooo much easier and cheaper to service. Plus it looks to be built better with a lot less (none actually?) plastic in the damper. Night and day. RS >>> Fox in my opinion.
I'm on XT 11 speed and not looking to change until they stop selling it. I'm not a fan of Sram derailleurs, the GX groupo or AXS in general but I'm having a hard time understanding how the derailleur is bucking your feet off?
@jesse - so rad you chimed in. thank you! i selfishly hope you focus on racing and not vlogging/interviewing if your goal is podium contention and you're in your racing prime. let the media nerds and race organizers stay up late editing and uploading. your POVs are dialed.
Stick to what you are already doing. Its honest, enjoyable to watch, and a great perspective. Most other guys that try to tell a story, more often than not, come across super cringy. As others have said, your stuff is about the only content (other than Vital RAW) that I can watch start to finish.
Wow. Never thought a top 3 guy (where ironically I know every part on his bike) would chime into this thread. First, I completely agree the risks & riding you guys are doing is absurd. Even the guy who gets like, 60th, is doing things that most of us in this forum can't fathom. To be honest, (ironically) you were the only rider who has published anything I found entertaining. Your practice lap on the pro stage was great not just for the riding, but when you stopped and looked at a line, hiked up, rode it, and found time...
I have wondered this for a while as well. If I'm allowed to say it, being the one who is doing it, I think it's insane how fast we ride gnarly terrain after only one look at it. It makes for loose riding and wild moments, and this is why I have thought Vital Raws in the past were sweet. Unfortunately those moments are hard to catch on camera as there is so much track that we race. More cameras would be ideal, I feel like last year we had a lot more camera's out on track getting footage for...
Also seems to be a lot less climbing and more use of shuttles/lifts for liaison stages in recent years? I think back to the crazy Whistler Crankzilla EWS years ago. That was excessive, but as a fan it was cool to see the top athletes put in crazy race runs while fatigued, like TOTW down through RDS at race pace is just crazy let alone having to pedal 2500m+.