Banshee Bikes News

Wheel size facts Part 3... Contact Patch and Tire Factors.

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 12:30:00 +0000

In this post, I'm continuing with the wheel size theme, but looking at tire related factors such as contact patch, tire pressure and tread. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this mini series for some other wheel/tire things to consider. In Part 1, small wheels beat big wheels, but in Part 2 big wheels fought back... so which, if either, is going to come out top for you?

Here, I discuss contact patch and related factors across the 3 common wheel sizes. Once again I will be taking the wheels and tires from Part 1 for consistency.

Contact patch:

What is the contact patch, and how does it effect grip and rolling resistance?

Fig.1 Contact patch on simplified tire represented in blue

The contact patch (shown in fig.1 in blue) is essentially the footprint of the tire that is making contact with the ground at any instant in time. For any given tire, it will change with tire pressure, as Pressure=Force/Area. So the lower the pressure, the more your tire will deform to the contours you are riding over.

A larger tire contact patch area represents more rubber on the ground, which increases friction and therefore grip (good). However, the larger the contact patch area the greater the rolling resistance (bad). So, as with most things, there is always a compromise, and you just have to pick the right balance between grip and rolling resistance to suit your needs.

Shape and area:

For this section on contact patch shape, let's look at a basic representation of each wheel size (no tread, and no tire stiffness) each with 2.3" width , based on 50kg of weight (assuming 50:50 weight distribution, and bikes + rider = 100kg), and 2Bar (about 29PSI or 200,000 N/m²) of a perfect gas on a flat surface for all wheel sizes. Since the pressure is the same in each tire, the contact patch area will be the same for this scenario as Pressure=Force/Area. This is not very realistic as pressures will change a bit with wheel size (I will go into that later), so this is just to give an idea of patch shape.

Fig. 2 Contact patch shapes for same tire pressure.

In Fig .2 you can see the 3 wheel size contact patches overlapped for the same tire pressure and loads: the bigger the wheel size, the longer and narrower the contact patch. But the variation in shape is probably much smaller than you'd expect, or have been made to believe. So let's look at this slightly differently...

One way of measuring optimal tire pressure is actually as 'tire drop', which is a percentage of original tire height (a little like suspension sag) as seen in Fig.3.

Fig.3 Explanation of tire drop

If for each wheel size we have a 6% tire drop when riding along a flat surface on a slick tire, then this will tell us a lot about required tire pressure, as well as contact patch shape and area for each wheel size.

As you can see in Fig.4, the contact patch area and lengths change as tire pressure changes, but the width remains the same due to same tire carcass width and cross sectional shape. So for the same tire drop of 6% the 29" wheel has a 2.7% bigger contact patch than 650b, which in turn is 1.85% larger than 26". The difference in contact patch area and shape is far less than most marketing would have you believe, but it is present.

Fig.4 Contact patch dimensions for 6% tire drop, and tire pressure for each wheel size

This also shows that the larger the diameter wheel, the less tire pressure is required to achieve the same tire drop. Therefore you can get away with running lower tire pressure on bigger wheels if you wish. That said, the volume of the tire is the more significant factor, so the width of the tire will have a more significant impact on required tire pressure than wheel size.

These factors are the reason that mountain bike tires are wider than road bike tires. For road cycling, traction is less important than minimising rolling resistance (and weight) and so they run narrow low volume tires at high pressure. Mountain bikes run lower pressure, larger volume tires to increase traction as well as shock absorption. It's a case of picking the best tool for the job, by optimising what you want, and compromising on factors that are not as important to you.

Tire tread and compound:

All this marketing chat about contact patch actually ignores the most important factor. Tread patterns are massively relevant, because in reality, none of us ride around on fully slick tires. So when talking about contact patch, we really should be considering actual contact patch of the top of the treads on the surface, and also considering the extra grip provided by the edge of the treads biting into soft ground. Tread pattern and rubber compounds make a bigger difference than contact patch area.

The tread pattern changes the contact area far more than wheel size will!

So when thinking about grip, rather than think too much about wheel size and exact tire pressures, you'd be better off spending that time and effort picking the best tire tread pattern and compound for the riding conditions and experimenting with different tire pressures.

A softer rubber compound (lower durometer) will not only deform more to 'grip' the ground, but will also help damp the ride by compressing more easily under impacts. If you use a new soft compound tire you will be able to brake later, accelerate faster, and corner harder because the tread will bite into the ground with nice sharp edges, and the soft compound will have a higher coefficient of friction, and absorb the shock to stay in contact with the ground better.

For you to consider:

From all the information above, you can see that a bigger wheel will offer a slightly larger contact patch area due to the fact that you can run a slightly lower tire pressure. Therefore, a larger wheel will offer a bit more grip than a smaller wheel with same tire drop, but the increase in theoretical traction of larger wheels is probably less you were expecting.

With the larger tire contact patch comes more rolling friction, and efficiency is reduced. So smaller wheels are more efficient than larger wheels in this area for same tire drop. On a perfectly flat surface with a slick tire, smaller wheels with equal tire drop will lose less energy when rolling along than bigger wheels.

But let's be real... mountain biking isn't about just rolling along flat surfaces and we certainly don't use slick tires! It's about carrying speed through rough sections, cornering hard on the edges of tires, finding traction when climbing steeps and many, many more fun things. For most of these things, tire tread pattern and tire rubber compound are FAR more important than wheel size when it comes to grip. So my advice to you is not to get too lost in these wheel size numbers, instead pick a good tire choice and just enjoy riding your bike!

Wheel size facts Part 2.... Rollover factors.

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 13:40:00 +0000

Here is some more independant wheel info to help you decide which wheel size is for you. I will be taking the same dimensions as discussed in Part 1 to perform these calculations. These theoretical calculations do NOT take into account tire deformation... which I will talk a bit about later. This week, get ready to deal with everyone's school subject fav - some trigonometry! So belt up, and let's rollover some wheel-based maths (oh dear....!)

'Rollover':

You'll almost definitely have heard 29er riders saying just how much better their bikes roll over obstacles on the trail. "I carried so much more speed through that rough section!", or something similar. This is probably the key reason that riders and manfacturers give for having a bigger wheel size... But what does this mean, and just how much better do they perform this action?

The diagram below (Fig. 1) shows the height of a square-edge obstacle, and the angle of attack vis-à-vis the wheel:

Fig. 1

When a wheel makes contact with a square-edge obstacle (for example, the curb of a pavement - that's British speak for 'sidewalk'), the angle of attack = the angle of the tangent of the wheel at point of contact with the square edge obsticle and the horizontal as shown above.

Fig. 2

Fig. 2 how each wheel size's angle of attack varies with obstacle height across a range of square-edge obstacle heights. Of course these values are all perfect and theoretical (not taking into account tire deformation, tire pressure or bike lean angles etc.)

The angle of attack itself doesn't really tell you much without applying basic trigonometrical functions to to break it down into horizontal and vertical force vectors. In a simplified form without friction or deformation, if a wheel runs into a vertical obstacle higher than the axle height, it will stop you instantly (horizontal force / vertical force = infinity). Conversely, if an obstacle has zero height it will not slow you down at all (horizontal force / vertical force = 0). On Fig. 3, you can see how the force vector varies as obstacle height increases for each wheel size (the higher the Tan (Angle of Attack), the more it will slow you down):

Fig. 3

Fig. 4 shows how the force vectors vary as a % relative to the 650b wheel. A positive number represents a higher horizontal resistance (effectively, this means it slows you down more). So, you can see that 26" wheels will slow down more than 650b wheels which in turn will slow down more than 29".

This graph clearly shows that the relative efficiency is not consistent across all obstacle heights. The larger the obstacle, the larger the effect the wheel size will have. So it is impossible to say that one wheel is x% more efficient over square-edged hits than any other size without saying the size of obstacle, tire size, and tire pressure etc etc.

Fig. 4

It should also be said that not only are big wheels more efficient at rolling over square-edge hits, but they also result in a smoother ride. This is because, for any given speed, the larger the diameter of the wheel the longer it is in contact with the obstacle (i.e. it hits it sooner and leaves it later). Therefore it has longer to react to the obstacle. Plus, the bigger the wheel the less of it is going to drop into holes (think braking bumps), hence 29ers feel like they smooth the trail out.

Once again I want to make it very clear that these numbers are based on wheels that do not deform at all, and that are rolling over perfectly square-edged obstacles, which is obviously not realistic. So let's have a quick look at some real world factors that significantly complicate the situation.

Tire deformation helps to absorb the impact of hitting a square-edge obsticle. This not only reduces the shock that is transferred to the frame and rider, but also makes the wheel roll more efficiently over an obstacle by effectively reducing the angle of attack when it absorbs it. The more the tire absorbs the obstacle the better, so actually lower pressure tires roll over obstacles like this more efficiently (unless you get a snake bite!).

Tire size is an important factor... for example you could realistically have a larger outside diameter running a very high volume tire on 26" wheels than a small volume tire on a 650b wheel. In this situation the 26" wheel would roll over things better than 650b, so tire height should be considered if analysing options.

We have indeed confirmed that big wheels roll over obstacles better than small wheels, and help maintain momentum as a result. But frame geometry and axle path also play a factor if the frame has suspension, as the suspension can help absorption of obstacles and make the bike roll over them better. The slacker the head angle or more rearward the axle path, the better a bike will roll over an obstacle if all other factors are equal.

Plus there is one very very significant factor that none of these numbers take into account...We can bunny hop over things! This is why you should never listen to arguments taken from automotive industry as the car can't be thrown around independently of the driver.

If this second installment of wheel physics hasn't boggled you even more than the first part, the third blog post will tackle contact area and grip. Woop!

Wheel size facts Part 1.... Dimensions, Weight and Strength.

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 15:15:00 +0000

You may have read certain online and printed marketing strategies which talk about wheelsize with a significant bias towards one size. The size they promote will always be either the only size that the source company produces, or the size that they want to push. Intentional marketing spiels are often very misleading and can skew the purchaser's judgement.

I feel it is my duty to set the record straight by writing a series of blog posts that kick off with this one, which addresses two key components of wheel size: weight and dimensions (and little bit of strength thrown in for good measure!). I plan to give unbiased information that you may find useful when deciding what size hoops you want your next purchase to be.

I can offer nonpartisan information (actual facts, rather than marketing blurb) as here at Banshee we offer all 3 mountain bike wheel sizes. We let the customer decide what they want rather than force it upon them, so have no reason to promote one over any other.

Every wheel size has its pros and cons, so picking the best wheelsize for you really comes down to personal preference. The main things to consider when picking wheel size are your riding style, riding purpose (style or speed), the terrain you ride, and rider height, but there are also many other factors. I'll try my best to cover the main ones.

So read on if you want some real numbers...

The following comparisons for this whole series are based on using Maxxis High Roller II 2.3" tires on each wheel size with same rim width for all sizes.

Any comparison I do will be relative to 650b wheels since they are the middle wheel size and so it makes the % change figures clear and constant.

Dimensions: (Outer tire dimensions taken from official Maxxis 3D files)

Straight away this table is likely to cause some confusion... because as you can see, none of the rims or tires match up to their name sake. You can find out why this is the case by reading from a master of bike knowledge Sheldon Brown.

However, one point to notice is that while 650b is marketed as 27.5", it is only 1" larger diameter than 26", and 1.5" smaller than 29", so it is significantly closer to 26" than 29. The 650b tire (often marketed as the 27.5") does not actually fall equally between the 26" and the 29" tires, so the characteristics of the 650b are far more similar to 26" than 29" wheels.

Weight:

Static weight

Obviously, tire and wheel build weights can vary significantly for all wheel sizes. So I'm sticking with 2.3" wide High roller II 3C/EXO/TR. For the wheels, I will use Stan's ZTR Flow EX wheels for each size.

Static weight (the weight of an un-rotating wheel) is often emphasised by marketing teams. But it only really matters when you lift the bike on and off a rack or carry it on your back. However, static weight does have an effect on the...

Moment of Inertia

Moment of inertia is resistance to angular velocity change about an axis of rotation. Basically, the higher the moment of inertia of a wheel the harder it is to accelerate (and decelerate). This is far more significant than static weight when riding a bike.

Moment of inertia is related to both radius and mass, as Moment of Inertia (I) = Mass x Radius². A low moment of inertia results in a fast accelerating wheel (easy to start spinning). The flip side of this is that a high moment of inertia is harder to decelerate (harder to stop spinning), and so the wheel will carry the speed better once rolling if all other factors are equal.

The below table shows approximate moments of inertia by using the BSD as the effective rotational radius for all wheel sizes.

What these numbers illustrate is that if you ride flowy trails that do not require lots of braking and accelerating back up to speed, then a larger wheel might be a better choice. However, if the trail demands regular braking and pedaling up to speed again then a smaller wheel might be better suited.

If using the same effective components, then as the wheel size increases the weight and inertia increase accordingly (as you would expect)... but because inertia increases at a rate that is proportional to the radius squared, it goes up more steeply than weight as the wheel size increases.

What does this really mean?

Lets take these numbers and do some simple calculations to look at how much kinetic energy is theoretically required (ignoring rolling resistance etc) to accelerate each pair of wheels up to 10m/s along a flat surface.

The above table shows the following:

-Rotational kinetic energy (energy of a stationary spinning wheels with external velocity of 10m/s).
-Center of Mass (CoM) kinetic energy (energy of static mass traveling at 10m/s)
-Total kinetic energy (adding together rotational and center of mass values)

The kinetic energy contained in each wheelset rolling at 10m/s is then compared to that of the 650b wheel value.

What this shows is that these 26" wheels require 4.87% less energy to accelerate up to 10M/s than 650b, and that 29" wheels require 6.71% more energy than 650b.

On the flip side, once traveling at 10m/s each wheel requires the same amount of energy to come to a complete stop... so if we consider rolling and wind resistance forces equal for all wheel sizes, then the 29" wheel will continue to roll 6.71% further than the 650b wheel which rolls 4.87% further than the 26" wheel. This is due to the 29er wheels having the most momentum for any given speed.

Strength:

A factor that is strangely often overlooked by marketing teams is that of the strength and stiffness of the wheel. I find this particularly strange as wheels cost a lot of money, and are subject to a lot of abuse, and personally the lifespan of a wheel is a significant factor to me when choosing what set to invest in.

If comparing like to like wheel builds (same rims, hubs etc), smaller wheels will always inherently be stronger than larger wheels. This is due to wider gaps between spoke eyelets and poorer spoke triangulation etc. So strength to weight ratio is something that will always be won by smaller wheels.

It is however easy enough to compensate for this by getting stronger and stiffer wheels, but they do generally either weigh, or cost more. So something has to give.

It doesn't stop there....

Weight, dimensions and strength are obviously very important factors to take into account when considering what wheel size to choose. But... there are other factors too! And if this mini-blast of physics chat hasn't put you off too much, stay tuned for future blog posts about topics where bigger wheels have the advantage.

KS link bike sag charts

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:47:00 +0000

I've had a few requests for sag charts for the KS link bikes. Most people get confused between shock sag and suspension sag... they are not the same.

It is important to set sag specifically for the frame, and not just assume that 30% shock sag = 30% suspension sag, because that is very rarely true.

Below you will find simple graphs that outline how shock compression equates to suspension sag within recommended range.

Remember to be constant when setting the sag. Next to a wall for balance get into riding position fully kitted up (pads, backpack with contents, helmet etc etc) and carefully make sure not to overcompress the suspension from this position as you get off. Then once off the bike, measure the gap between the o-ring and the shock seal to get shock compression at sag point. There is no such thing as an optimal sag for everyone, it depends on the individuals riding style and the terrain and speed that they ride at, so have fun experimenting and find what works best for you!

KS Link Geometry Settings

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:27:00 +0000

There are 3 different geometry settings possible on the new KS Link bikes (2013 Prime, Rune & Spitfire). The geometry is adjusted by swapping or flipping the 'flip chips' & 2 sets of chips are supplied with every frame - neutral & low/slack or high/steep. The flip chips are compatible with 135mm, 142 x 12mm, 150 x 12mm & 650B dropouts.

The following illustration explains how to orientate the chips to achieve the desired geometry setting.

Banshee Prime Leverage Curves

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:33:00 +0000

For those who may want to custom tune their shocks for the Prime, please see the the below leverage curve.

Have fun tinkering!

Keith

Banshee Prime Geometry - for production frames

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 10:38:00 +0000

I know that there are a lot of people out there trying to work out what size prime will be best for them. However, I'm not convinced you are all refering to the refined final geometry that will be used for the production frames. So I've attached it below for you to have a look at.
**Click to make bigger and more clear

New Banshee Paradox v2 !!

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:12:00 +0000

Took my new Paradox v2 out for a video shoot today..
enjoy!!

Fakawi

Paradox V2

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:15:00 +0000

The tried and tested Banshee Paradox is seeing some significant updates and improvements for 2012 with the release of the Paradox V2 to further improve the ride.

Have a look at this info sheet for a quick run through the main changes.
ParadoxV2PR110928

Most of the geometry remains the same, with the 16.9" chainstays for a fun lively feel, and low BB for superior cornering control. The head angle has been made slightly slacker for better high speed stability and confidence on steep descents, and combined with a new tapered head tube for greater fork compatibility.

Increased tire clearance at the chainstay is achieved by a new 1 piece forging which increased tire clearance at this location, improves lateral frame stiffness, and also allows for greater vertical compliance for vibration absorption when combined with the shock stop chainstay.

The high direct mount front derailleur improves derailleur tire clearance. The ISCG 05 mounts allow you to run any chainguide combo you wish. The 30.9mm seat post is compatible with all popular adjustable seat posts, and there are cable guides under the top tube for a seat post remote lever.

The new tapered head tube has a 1 1/8" zero stack top interface (44.0mm) and 1.5" traditional bottom interface (49.6mm) to make the frame compatible with all straight and tapered fork steerers. The zero stack top cup also allows the rider to lower the handle bar height further if desired regardless of what fork steerer is being used.

The Paradox V2 is a no nonsense 29er hardtail that is designed to put a massive grin on your face. If you don't believe me, then try and get a test ride to see just what this frame is capable of!

Banshee Rune, Rampant, and Spitfire info

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:19:00 +0000

Although this is PDF is specifically for the Rune, the information is identical for Spitfire and rampant also since the pivots are the same and require same maintenance and care.

Banshee Rune info

Legend MkII info sheet

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:18:00 +0000

Legend

Mike Montgomery - Alpinestars athelete!

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 01:05:00 +0000

(He also rides for Banshee Bikes!!! haha)

New Banshee Dealer in Whistler - Summit Sports

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:24:00 +0000

I'm very happy to say, that my favourite Whistler bike shop Summit Sports has just become an official Banshee dealer, and even have some Banshee rental bikes for you to try out either in the bike park, or on the amazing local all mountain trails. So if you're in town, go and check them out, they are the best Whistler bike shop (in my personal opinion), have friendly knowledgeable staff, and really near the gondola!

Also, if you are looking for a new hanger or something, they have spares for all our bikes, so it is nice for you guys to know where to go if you need anything.

The 17th Asian Mountainbike Championships, 2011, in Suzhou

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:15:00 +0000

Team Fakawi Banshee rider Adam putting the Legend mkII through its paces at the 2011 (UCI) Asian Continental MTB (DH) Championships at Suzhou, China.

Race results: CyclingNews.com

Freakin Bike Checks!

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 03:44:00 +0000

Check out my new bikes for the season!

Banshee Rampant!

Banshee Legend!

Push Pedal Crank

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:12:00 +0000

Hey Banshee lovers, not the norm for us but still an grand journey. I am currently on the most epic adventure of my life so far right now, following the Tour Divide as riders go from Banff Canada to Mexico. If you look closely you might even see a spy shot of a Banshee Bike. Enjoy!

Push Pedal Crank

Devon Balet

Lorien from Sooke Mountain Cycle hits the trails

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:10:00 +0000

Lorien Arnold from Sooke Mountain Cycle putting his Legend through its paces at Broom Hill on Vancouver Island, BC.

#2 Round of the Danish DH cup

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:09:00 +0000

#2 Round of the Danish DH cup

Sebastian Jensen prejumping the last drop.

The second round of the Danish DH cup was held at a new venue in Randers this past weekend. The forecast for the weekend said rain, rain and rain and so it was. The track was not that difficult, there was a couple of turn and a bunch of jumps and drops. Nevertheless it was a bunch of fun to ride. Compared to other danish courses it was good since they only had a couple of months to build it. Props to the builders!

Kasper Nancke pinning it.

Saturday practice:

Both Kasper and myself were on new bikes. Kaspers last parts arrived before the race so he could build up his new Last Herb DH. My old bike was stolen, a couple of days before the race. So Bo and I build up my new bike friday night just in the for the race. I would like to give at big shout out to the people who made it happen!

Practice went well and we got our bikes dialed in for the race on Sunday. We were trying out some funky lines in practice and having a lost of fun. Both Bo and I opted for the Maxxis EXO´s again for a fast and lighter rolling bike.

Bo trying out a offcamber line in practice.

Sunday practice and racing:

Sunday started out fairly chilled with a couple of runs to dial in some lines and get a feeling of the bike.

Bo was up first to race since he hadn´t ridden the first DH cup. Bo´s first run went well until he crashed in the middle section. He picked it up again and ended up posting a 50,7. For his second run Bo wanted to get down without crashing and came in 6 seconds faster, which he was fairly happy with.

Next up was Kasper. He was feeling comfortable on his new Last. Kasper posted a 44,550 for his first run and went into the hot seat. Second run was good but .5 of a second slower but was good enough for a 2nd place and his first podium of the year.

Since I won the first round I was seeded first and therefore the last to pin it down the hill. My first run went good with no real mistakes and I came down in 42.13 which I was happy with. My last run was almost the exact the same only .35 slower which gave me the two fastest times of the day over 5 seconds faster than 2nd place. 1. and 2. for 222Racing was pretty good and were looking forward to doing the same at the next round.

Kasper Nancke - Sebastian Jensen - Mike Thisted - Mathias Lystbæk - Mikkel Groth

Thanks to Simon Nejst and Lars Mortensen for the pictures.

- Sebastian Jensen, 222Racing

Colorado young guns havin' fun.

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:56:00 +0000

Some Colorado local boys are enjoying finishing high school by going on a two week road trip. Check out their video here and be sure to look for more to come!

SKS - Slopestyle

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Hi from Dennis Hoppe!

Last weekend the SKS-Slopestyle has taken place @ Winterberg, Germany as part of the Dirtmaster Festival 2011. Below you find some pics of me riding my Rampant during competition on the rebuilt course, that was extended this year with some new wooden obstacles. The Rampant makes it a lot easier to compensate the hard landings while still having the handling of a hardtail. 1st choice.

Since the slopestyle-track is located in a dip, it's easy for the people to view the ongoing action.

As every year some friends and myself rented a vacational home near the festival . Short ways for lot's of fun, party & action during the festival days.

Impressions from last year...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC8AiJCfr-0

The Festival consist of slopestyle, 4x, Downhill, Enduro Ride and an expo-area.

http://www.dirtmasters-festival.de/

Here you have the view from the middle of the 4x straight to the slopestyle course.

Since the wind was blowing during my runs I did it the safe and not risked to much, so I ended up 27th, pro class, from finally listed 45 and total over 80 starters.

Overall it was a great & long weekend

Greetz from Germany

Dennis Hoppe

Dirtmasters Festival / iXS GDC #1 - Winterberg

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 13:06:00 +0000

The Dirtmasters Festival in Winterberg is often referred to as the European version of the legendary Crankworx-Festival. And despite the fact that Winterberg is much smaller than good old Whistler, the comparison is fairly accurate actually. The Dirtmasters Festival consists of several competitions, ranging from speed-disciplines such as Fourcross and Downhill to style-oriented disciplines like the Slopestyle event. And just like in Whistler, tons of companies show up to show their latest and greatest products, tons of people show up to watch the bike action and get drunk, tons of riders show up to compete against each other... the list goes on and on!

Welcome to Winterberg!

My brother Joz and I arrived in Winterberg on Wednesday in order to set up our tent and get a few runs in on the Downhill track before the masses would arrive. Our plan was to compete in the first round of the iXS German Downhill cup, which was actually completely sold out within a few hours. In addition to that, we were obviously looking forward to watching all the other competitions, hang out with our friends, walk across the exhibition area and enjoy the weekend.

On Thursday, the iXS Rookie Downhill Cup took place on one of the well-known tracks in Winterberg. Although called Rookie Cup, the level of riding was far from "Rookie" and a lot of the spectators were blown away by the level of riding. In addition to watching the race, we also managed to walk the track for the upcoming downhill race which looked like a ton of fun, despite being fairly short.

The atmosphere was great as usual.

The track started with a good-sized jump followed by a fairly flat, pedalling-section before entering the woods. All the wooded sections were really fast and constantly changed due to a constant stream of riders on track. The entire course was flowing very well. It certainly wasn't the most difficult or longest track ever but this actually meant that racing on the track would be quite challenging. One mistake and your race run was pretty much over since times were extremely close.

Practice on the track was a ton of fun. Waiting in line to get back up the mountain... well, not as much fun as riding. But this is what happens when more than 500 people decide to practice and race on a course that is just a little over 1.5km in length. Except for waiting in line, the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday were great and both Joz and I felt really comfortable on track.

Having fun on the track! / credit: www.traildiaries.de

On his last run before qualifyers, Joz somehow managed to snap the damper unit of his fork in half. Luckily the guys at Sram fixed his fork for free but he had to ride his qualifying run on a borrowed fork that he'd never ridden before, so he had to ride very conservatively. Despite that, he managed to qualify in 24th position with a 2:06. My qualifier went well and I didn't make any major mistakes but for some reason my time wasn't very good. I qualified in 75th position out of around 150 people with a 2:15. I was fairly happy with my position but at the same time, I knew that I was a bit off my own pace so I was looking to improve my time come race day.

On Saturday night, we watched the SKS Slopestyle where some of the best riders in the world threw down some amazing tricks, including double backflips, triple tailwhips, 360 double whips and so on. Personally slopestyle or dirt jumping isn't exactly my cup of tea but I was absolutely blown away by the level of riding. Thousands of spectators were standing along the course and made for a great atmosphere. In the end, Martin Soderstrom took the win in a convincing manner.

The slopestyle was amazing to watch!

Come Sunday, I was well-prepared to give it all that I could in my race run. I felt great right before the start but for some reason messed up one of the first corners, almost sliding out. Apart from that, everything was going very well and I was riding notably quicker than in the qualifiers. With the finish line almost in sight, my bike slid out underneath me and before I knew what was happening, I hit the ground. I managed to get back on my bike but once again my race run was pretty much over. I crossed the finish line with a 2:19 way back in 96th place. Without crashing, I most likely would have gotten a Top 50 result out of 150 riders so I wasn't too devastated.

Joz rode very well in his finals run but made a few little mistakes that cost him some valuable time, especially on a track this short. He wasn't too happy with his race run but finished with a 2:05 which was good enough for 23rd position. He was less than 1.5 seconds off a top 10 finish which once again proves how close and competetive the racing was.

After our race runs, we headed up the mountain again to watch the pros take on the course. Unfortunately the race was delayed for close to an hour due to a fellow racer crashing extremely hard in the fastest and rockiest section of the course. Get well soon! In the end, German downhill legend Marcus Klausmann took the win ahead of Andi Sieber and US ripper Logan Binggeli.

Joz on his way to 23rd place out of 150 riders / credit: www.traildiaries.de

Looking back at it now, the weekend really couldn't have gone any better. The racing was a lot of fun as was watching all the other events, the atmosphere was great with thousands of spectators, a lot of friends showed up to support us and while not exactly as well-known as Crankworx, the Dirtmasters Festival once again proved that it's most definitely worth visiting.

Cheers from Germany,
-Moritz Zimmermann

Canada Cup - Mont Tremblant

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:04:00 +0000

Last week I got back from the first Canada Cup race at Mont-Tremblant in Quebec. It was my first time racing outside of BC and my first time being on a plane, so it was quite an exciting trip.

I arrived in Montreal on Wednesday and went directly to the mountain where I was staying with the Cycling BC downhill team in one of the two condos they had.

Thursday the team went for a track walk to check out the course. It was quite a change from riding on the Sunshine Coast, there were a lot of rocks, fast rock faces and huge boulder rock gardens.

The first day of practice was Friday. It took a few runs of the course to get the feel of it and than it was super fun from then on.

On Saturday I slipped off the back of my bike and stretched/smashed my foot on some rocks. It was my first run of the day which really sucked, so I had to sit the rest of the day out with my foot up and iced.

The 2011 Cycling BC downhill team.

I was able to ride on Sunday, with a little bit of pain. I got in four rides in before my race run, which is more than I usually do, but with missing Saturdays practice I was scrambling to get my lines and get up to speed.

I ended up taking a bit of a crash in my race run. I went over the bars and got a little tangled up and out of the tape in one of the rock gardens. Besides my crash I had a pretty good run. I ended up 7th in junior, which wasn't exactly what I wanted but it was okay considering my circumstances.

I have a few more weeks left of school and then I have a BC Cup and then I'm headed back to Quebec for Canada Cup #2 at Bromont.

Thanks to Dave Hord for the photos.

Thanks

Forrest

forrestriesco.blogspot.com

Jump Ship - Pictures

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Greg at Straitline emailed me a bunch of pictures from Jump Ship. I went through them and pick out my favorites.

Flair from the small quarter to the step down landing.

540 from the small quarter to the landing of the step down.

Back flip tail whip in my final run.

Extended no foot can can.

Superman ...

I will be pretty busy until the start of Camp of Champions. I have my sister's wedding, some filming and the Claymore Challenge. Then I get to drive me and my bikes north to Whistler for Camp of Champions and Crankworx, I hope to see you all there.

Mike

Bike of the Week

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:54:00 +0000

In this new weekly feature, we'll be showing off some of the best looking Banshee bikes out there. We're not just looking for the most expensive build or pimpest parts spec, its all about doing something unique & truly eye-catching with your bike. So whatever Banshee you ride, whether that's a single speed Amp or a tricked-out Legend, send in your photos & show the world what you're riding.

If you want to be considered for Bike of the Week, please email your photos & a description of you & your bike to: info@bansheebikes.com
Photos should be re-sized to a maximum width/height of 1000px & your email should be no larger than 1mb. Crashing our inbox will get you instantly disqualified!

This week's winner is Braeden Hitchcock from Vancouver, BC & this is his fully colour coordinated Rune...

Think you can do better? You know what to do!

Banshee Factory Team rip up Austria

info@bansheebikes.com (Jay MacNeil) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:47:00 +0000

Adam and Matej were in Leogand for round 3 of the World Cup DH, and Adam decided it would be rude to go there without riding one of his favourite DH courses, the infamous Schladming, with his mate Scott Mears. Then Matej shows us the way down Leogang on first practice day.

Hold on tight...

Banshee does Austria ( Schladming/Leogang ) from Jacob Gibbins on Vimeo.