First Dirt: Interbike 2009

Day one of the dirt demo dawned hot and sunny. Surprise, surprise. 38 degrees and clear skies… with more than bit of breeze tossed in for good measure.  Dust storms just add to the atmosphere of the whole enterprise right? We got an early start fueled by quality breakfast burritos and vats of OJ as big as our heads. Credentials in hand we stormed the gates and went for the big bikes straight away.

The Dirt Demo seems to have solved the shuttle woes of years past. With enough tucks in the rotation it made getting to the top of the canyon relatively painless… as long as the drivers did not get “creative” in their lines along the rutted road to the top. All hazards aside it was a prime day for riding bikes, and ride bikes we did.

The GT Fury DH bike looking right at home in the rocky terrain of Bootleg Canyon || photo: David Ferguson

The first bike of the 2009 Dirt Demo for me was the GT Fury. This is GT’s take on what carbon can be when you don’t focus on weight but rather on strength. They didn’t try to save any weight, rather they went for the ultimate in durability. The result is bike that feels very solid stem to stern. When you point the Fury down the rough and ragged lines it does not complain. It also has relatively short chainstays and feels nimble in the air as a result.

On the downside, with a double crown fork the turning radius on the frame is a bit limited. Tight switchbacks can cause a bit of anxiety but it is really all about knowing what the frame is aimed at. This bike wants to haul tail downhill as fast as possible. Anything else is slightly outside its sole goal. It does that and does it well. With a little time focused on dialing in the suspension this could be a serious gravity sled in the hands of a capable pilot who understood its strengths and limitations.

Component highlights included the Saint brakes and the Boxxer World Cup forks. Both performed admirably to keep this DH rocket in line and on target.

Pete got to ride the exact same version of the Fury I did and had this to say about the adventure: Bootleg Canyon isn’t pure downhill country, but you’ll always be happy on a DH bike. Between the steeps, rock lines, and shale, I was happy to take a GT Fury out for the first lap of this year’s Dirt Demo. The full carbon monocoque frame is not sporting a short stack. A Rock Shox Boxxer World Cup and Vivid 5.1 shock worked together very nicely; the parking lot test was not typically less than useful but as soon as you let the throttle out it was easy to get up to speed and keep the faith in he Fury’s capable pedigree.

A full Shimano Saint group made its presence known once the brand new brakes were broken in, and the only thing that would have made the cockpit feel better would have been if the frame was a Large instead of a Medium – but that’s the Dirt Demo for ya.

I was almost immediately comfortable on this bike – it could be my date at the Harvest Huckfest at Whistler if I needed one. The Boxxer World Cup was absolutely brilliant in handling the transitions from high speed chunder to quick laser focus s-turns and rather than feeling a bit sticky or dead like I expected, it was solid if not downright supple; progressive, and of course, super stiff. The back end was capital S solid and very confidence inspiring. For a DH racer competing on their own dime, this will be a hell of an option for 2010.

The Diamondback Scapegoat looking resplendent in its new green and white colour scheme || photo: David Ferguson

Once we came to a screeching halt back in the exhibitor’s area it was time to find another willing steed for run number two. After a few failed gambits, I managed to gather in a Diamondback Scapegoat. The Goat is Diamondbacks take on what their Mission 3 frame can be if money is no object on the component spec. They spare no expense in putting together this aggressive all-mountain platform. The laundry list of go-fast goodies includes the Hammerschmidt front shifting system, Avid Code brakes, top of the line Mavic wheels and Fox suspension on both ends.

The result is a bike built to take some of the heaviest lines in Bootleg Canyon (and your neck of the woods) in stride while not being a chore to pedal when you encounter an incline. The Hammerschmidt delivers in the form of tremendously quick and solid front shifts, extra ground clearance and no chance tossing the chain while banging down even the roughest descents.  It basically felt like someone took the Mission 3 that I spent some time on earlier this year and fed it a steady diet of steroids. It was more of the same but bigger and better all around.

Like the Mission 3, rear suspension setup with Diamondback’s Knuckle Box system is critical. Too much pressure and the back end fails to respond as well as it could. Too little and the bike is prone to wallow and feel sluggish. If you hit the sweet spot though this bike is a willing performer in a wide range of conditions. If I had to nitpick (and let’s face it… I do) the bars on this bike were a little on the narrow side and the rise was pretty steep to boot. The combination made the cockpit feel a little tall and narrow but overall was a small price to pay for having such a capable bike to flog down the canyon for the day.

I also loved the green and white graphics treatment the Scapegoat gets this year. It might not be to everyone’s liking but in person it is pretty striking… not to mentions it shows up well in photos. Always a bonus on days like today, or when your buddy pulls a camera out of his bag and eggs you on down that rock face you have been eyeing for the last month.

Fergs’ comments from the day:

This morning I copied Cam and grabbed a Mongoose Pinnr for my first spin down Bootleg Canyon. Actually, I didn’t copy Cam exactly – I had the Pinnr Foreman model, which I’ll describe below. Last year I rode a Boot’r and recall being impressed overall with the bike. The ’10 Pinnr impressed me as well. At these events I end up carrying a bit more weight on my back than I normally would. Extra hydration and some camera gear usually guarantee the suspension out-of-the-booth won’t be setup right. Unfortunately I had to live with the slightly softer rear shock on the Pinnr, but it didn’t pose much of a problem in our short testing time.

^{2010 Mongoose Pinnr Foreman. I’ll get a better shot indoors later in the week.}

The Pinnr Foreman comes equipped with a Totem RS 180mm fork, Rock Shox Vivid 5.1 rear shock, Hammerschmidt and Shimano drivetrain, and Avid Code 5 brakes. The brakes are Code 5, but the calipers are Elixir. Mongoose are using a titanium hanger this year, touting a much higher resistance to bending or breaking vs. aluminum. Riding impressions were good overall. The bike felt really solid and quiet – something I value a lot. Noisy bikes drive me mental. Despite the rear end being a little bit plush for me, I got away with a few pedal scrapes on the rocks beside the trails and a couple of toe-digs into the ground when standing and pedaling. Otherwise, it was pretty much a ride where I could fully enjoy the trail and forget about the bike. I didn’t second guess on any of the steep or gnarly sections, something I attribute partially to the bike under my feet.

^{Cam on his Pinnr Apprentice}

The other big bike I rode on Monday was the 2010 Santa Cruz V10. It comes equipped with Elixir CR brakes, Race Face Atlas cranks, a Fox RC2 40 fork and DHX RC4 coil/air rear shock. DT Swiss 440 hubs and FR600 rims rounded out the build on a bike that hasn’t otherwise changed. The boys at the Santa Cruz tent put some cool new flats on for me to use: bright green Twenty6 pedals. They were low profile and light weight, but with the longest pins I’ve ever seen on pedals. The tent jockey was glad to see I had some decent leg armour on. I also grabbed a pair of 5-10 Rennie down hill shoes to try out. They reminded me slightly of some old school Air Jordan’s, but were pretty kick ass once I started riding down the trail. Great ankle support and coupled with the monster pins on the Twenty6’ers, they had unbelievable grip.

^{2010 Santa Cruz V10.}

^{Note the crazy pins on the super green Twenty6 pedals. Also note that Cam and Pete have fallen asleep on the couch and it’s not even midnight. Weak sauce!}

I noted above that nothing aside from the parts spec on the V10 has changed from last year. The cliche “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind. I’ve never ridden a V10 before and was pretty stoked at the chance this afternoon. It’s a stable, fast, burly and fun bike. The suspension in the back is dialed and felt really good, I’m not really sure how else to describe it. The progressiveness was good, despite lots of buttery travel. I immediately felt comfortable on the bike, knowing I didn’t need to worry about what the back end might not be doing.

^{That’s me on the V10, with a sleeveless jersey and armpads…}

^{Pete missed hitting the target on the dunk tank after three tries with some softballs..}

^{… but his aim was perfect at close range}

Other bikes we should ride? Comments? What do you want to see? We’ll try our best, but you need to tell us here.

Ed and Fergs (with a little help from Sleepy Pete)