Why Enduro is the Best Format for MtB Racing

Discussion in 'Racing and Training' started by herzalot, Jul 14, 2014.

  1. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    Awesome result! Sounds like Graves had some suspension and brake issues on the early stages, but showed who's boss at the end. And what about our own SoCal boy Curtis Keene with a 3rd place finish! I think Rude finished 16th - not bad for the Man-Child.

    :beer:
     
  2. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    Crickets, eh?

    I am sad now....
     
  3. cyclotourist

    cyclotourist Member

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    I didn't get to watch it, bummed, sounded like good times on two wheels!
     
  4. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for chiming in. There's lots of photo essays and video clips referenced in an earlier post. One of the most grueling and challenging days of MtB competition ever, and it's not even blipping on the STR radar screen. (sniff...)

    :?:
     
  5. Danimal

    Danimal Gary the Cat

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    Those riders we on the bike for something like 6hrs, and the top finishers weren't that far apart. Kudos to them!

    Watching it was rather anticlimactic though.
    Best riding shots were the commercials. For the first hour, just interviews and watching people start one at a time.
    Then the second hours, a few shots of riding/riders then the finish.

    Definitely not a spectator sport, but enjoyable to have as background video.
    I'd really like to watch some good riding, maybe next time.
     
  6. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH et tu Danimal? If it's not on TV, it's not worth following or discussing? C'mon - there were even guys on your new Rocky Mountain that were doing great!

    Mo sent me some photos from his ride down "Microclimate," an off-the-grid DH run that made up Stage 1 of the race. He raved about its difficulty - steeeeeep with loamy, rooty dark goodness. And I quote from his text "Brutal climb... Huge props to the pros. I would never run that trail at race pace." And to think they climbed 8000 feet with a time limit (many of them didn't make it in time for Stage 4 and were DQ'd). Most of us could barely ride Cactus at Whiting after climbing 8000' in 95* heat, much less race a 22 minute final stage down the entire 5000 vertical feet of Whistler.

    Come to think of it, most of us couldn't climb 8000' in 95* heat (or 60* overcast, for that matter).

    I think next time you hit up Whistler, you should look into some of these "valley" trails away from the bike park. We might have to warm up with ******* and ______ in Laguna before tackling these monsters.

    And, responding to an earlier post, yes, you are a very different rider than you were in July 2011. Definitely stronger climbing.
     
  7. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    OK, for those of you who have to have a video to interest them in great riding and challenging racing, here you go, courtesy of Pinkbike:

    http://www.pinkbike.com/news/crankwork-2014-video-canadian-open-enduro-2014.html

    It's not great, but gives you a glimpse into the types of trails they were riding. To see them pumping and jumping and getting loose on stage five after all that racing and climbing is impressive. To win by a measly 2 seconds is also amazing. To ruin any reasonable chance on stage 1 with a mechanical, yet claw back to win is phenomenal! Maybe even legendary.
     
  8. surftime

    surftime New Member

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    what bikes are these guys riding - surprisingly they dont look like huge travel - but ofcourse they have to pedal them.
     
  9. Danimal

    Danimal Gary the Cat

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    In one interview, a rider mentioned they went from 5" for most races to 6" for this one. By watching it most rode longer travel trail/all mountain bikes.
    Who rode what bike though is somewhat a mystery ( see link below, except photo of the winner and his Yeti shirt. )
    Nice to hear Rocky Mountain did well, now if I can get out on the trail again.
    And Hrz, don't be too disappointed, I don't follow any sports!

    http://www.pinkbike.com/news/results-sram-canadian-open-enduro-presented-by-specialized-2014.html

    And thanks for the Vid, enjoyed it a lot! Much gnarlier than the webcast showed....
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 11, 2014
  10. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    That's one of the cool things about this discipline - they are riding trailbikes with 5-6" of travel, most weighing under 30lbs. Their efforts make our equipment that much better. Jared Graves was on the new (not yet released) Yeti SB6c. He has been racing an SB66c for the past year and a half, but "switched" to Yeti's new 650b platform. Nico Lau is on a Cube Stereo. Curtis Keene rode a Speshy Enduro 650b. Anne Caroline Chauson has been riding the new IBIS 650b prototype. Tracey Mosely typically rides a Trek Remedy 29er. Lots of Santa Cruz Bronsons, Cannondale Jeckyls, etc. etc.
     
  11. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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  12. monstertiki

    monstertiki New Member

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    Kamikaze games enduro is coming up next month who's gonna be there?
     
  13. redwoods

    redwoods Active Member

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    I read that - pretty cool first-person account. The end was interesting...I don't "follow" racing, but when I heard about how big that event was (over 8000' of climbing for all 5 stages, in one day) I started reading about it. I don't know if that size of event is necessary at all, and the highly competitive nature of the riders won't let them back off when they're fatigued. Seems like a recipe for more mistakes and injuries to me.
     
  14. A D NOH

    A D NOH Custom Newbie Title

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    I follow a few pros on Instagram so it's nice to get updates through them.

    Cranxworks video was great! I appreciate this type of riding where you can tell that they were trying to sustain energy especially at Top of the World where they aren't pedaling all the sections.

    Amazing to see that Graves almost wanted to give up. That was a great read. Also interesting to see his opinions on organizers trying to one up everyone by making things nastier and crazier. With his comments about how grueling this race was, it's crazier to think the top 14 places were within one minute of each other!


    So Herz, when are you going to organize a mini enduro at Aliso.
    Stage 1) Meadows
    Stage 2) Rock it
    Optional 2a - 5 oaks
    Stage 3) Lynx
    Stage 4) Stairsteps
     
  15. nebogabez

    nebogabez New Member

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  16. Adi

    Adi Member

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    About four years ago on a summer trip to Whistler my wife set me up for a ride with an old colleague of hers who was born and raised in North Shore. While riding with him in the North Shore area, he said next time I need to spend more time on Valley trails of Whistler with a six inch bike. He couldn't remember the last time he road the park. So last summer on my trip to Whistler I ventured out on the Valley trails. Yup, he was right! I ended up having more fun off the grid, road less then half my time in the park. Now I had to earn my turns, some climbs were brutal. But is was a blast, a few times I found some hidden gems that were locals only trails. Once I got me a little lost, even a little worried where I was going to end up (worst case I hike back up). I was having way to much fun to stop the flow! So with all that being said, don't be afraid to ride outside of the park for some quality trails (AKA enduro now a days, BC'ers like to call them just trails LOL). Next time I might just bring my six inch bike only and rent a DH bike if needed.
     
  17. nebogabez

    nebogabez New Member

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    mental note "Valley Trails"
     
  18. dcrfx

    dcrfx Member

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    Ya know, I really like the Team Robot blogs. Like this one: http://theteamrobot.blogspot.com/2014/08/enduro-fanbase.html :lol:

    Graves (in his own blog from the link Herz posted above): "I read Charlie Sponsel’s Team Robot blog, and I have to say I agree with a lot of what he says…not all of it, but a lot of it. Seems to be a lot of people drinking the Kool-Aid, worried they will be called (in Charlie’s words) “pussies” for saying they don’t like something about it and having a fear of being labeled as such. People have said to me that they don’t like the direction some races have taken, but then say the exact opposite to the organizers. Seems to me, the best direction for the sport to go is finding that happy middle ground between being pushed to our limit and keeping it fun. I don’t think you’re a “pussy” Charlie, in fact I commend you for saying it how you saw it. People don’t always share the same opinions, but if you have a concern that you feel strongly enough about, you should find an appropriate way to voice it."

    Me: I like the concept of enduro, and the fact that it pushes product advancements that we the public get to enjoy one day. Still not convinced it's a great spectator sport, but like reading about it after the fact. And can't imagine what it takes to compete in such a race like they did in Whistler.
     
  19. Danimal

    Danimal Gary the Cat

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  20. herzalot

    herzalot Well-Known Member

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    Car Wreck?
     

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