GMBN test chain vs. no chain

Which is faster? Chain or no Chain?

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GMBN have just posted an interesting experiment to YouTube, provoked by Aaron Gwin’s winning run at Leogang last year: Will three riders tackle a descent faster with a chain, or without? Watch the video below to find out, and listen to their follow up discussion about the way running chainless affected bike suspension and their technique:


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The attempt at getting a rolling start around 2:15 is hilarious; we reckon they might be missing a trick by using standard tools instead of a burly pair of legs for chain removal. Given they’re all riding trail bikes, the video probably doesn’t answer much in terms of downhill bikes or courses, but doing something extreme beyond your default setup, such as riding chainless, rigid, or on 4″ tyres in the snow can really help you try new things or build a better understanding of different aspects of your riding.

Plus, running without a chain will save you £11 on SRAM’s new 1x groupset, and massively reduce wear… *cough* 😉

GMBN test chain vs. no chain

David started mountain biking in the 90’s, by which he means “Ineptly jumping a Saracen Kili Racer off anything available in a nearby industrial estate”. After growing up and living in some extremely flat places, David moved to Yorkshire specifically for the mountain biking. This felt like a horrible mistake at first, because the hills are so steep, but you get used to them pretty quickly. Previously, David trifled with road and BMX, but mountain bikes always won. He’s most at peace battering down a rough trail, quietly fixing everything that does to a bike, or trying to figure out if that one click of compression damping has made things marginally better or worse. The inept jumping continues to this day.

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