A quick look at the bike that Mark Weir – WTB rider and multiple Downieville enduro DH winner – was riding when he came to visit Singletrack Towers last month.
It’s always good to see the bikes of team riders, because they tend to be particular about different aspects of their machines and are constantly tweaking them to get them just how they like them. The same as the rest of us then, only they’re usually doing it with nicer components.
Here’s Mark’s main bike that he was off to France with to do a couple of Avalanche Cups. It’s a carbon Santa Cruz Nomad with brand new 10speed XTR, new Fox 36s and a smattering of WTB components. There’s also a Gravity Dropper post (with aftermarket cable entry mount) and a trick headset spacer, not to mention non-factory approved 1×10 setup.
Riding with Weir, you start to see how the niche of the 'endurance downhiller' has evolved. This guy can ride uphill and downhill with equal panache.As happy to 'highpost it' as to whip down the descents.Pretty trick spacers from Dirt Unity. Stepped spacers that allow a fair amount of adjustment in a small package, Cane Creek XIX tapered headset. And that's a £25 PRO stem there.We'd just had delivery of some Mucky Nutz Bender Fender 2.0s in and Mark thought he'd give one a try. He seems to love it so far.XTR Trail brakes and ziptied-on WTB gripsA good view of the XTR trail brake pads with their integral cooling fins.What tyres for? A 2.2 Wolverine, run on a WTB Stryker tubeless rim with Stan's juice.Shimano engineers take note. Mark's running new XTR cranks with a single 40T Saint ring and an MRP G2 chain device. (Old SPD pedals though Mark, what's up?)Always a good one for the camera, Mark gives us his view on the Calderdale riding.If you can't beat him on the hills, you can at least send him to bed with a Duvel. That helped slow him down a little the next day...
With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)
How does the Fender Bender 2.0 differ from the original? I like the idea but my original one lasted 3 months before it went all brittle and broke off. I’d still consider another though since they’re reasonably cheap.
40t chain ring for AM… Dear McDonalds… What kind of legs you guys have to uphill that?! I trained as much as I could this spring, mostly XC riding, got pretty fit comparing to my buddies. In the summer made some 2500ft uphills with technical bits, that I never managed to pull out before. Got to the form of my life really. Still I cannot imagine my intimate uphill life without 24t granny ring with 11-34 casette…
Why is it that you spend most of your time on longer travel bikes?
MW – They are just way more fun for me. I figure I do this for exercise and I want to have fun so what’s the harm of slugging a 12lb heaver bike up the hill if it’s going to make that ride down that much more enjoyable. If you are going to suffer anyway why don’t you just suffer one way on the way up?
I have no doubt Mark Weir can throw it uphill even on 44t. Guys like him (i.e Rene Wildhaber) have lungs of a whale and heart of a bull and legs harder than a porn actors U-kno-wha after 4 viagras. With all the respect I apologize but I was just a bit sceptical about a internet forum person being so enthusiastic about 40t… I sort of believe if you can uphill 40t, u have no time for singletrack website… you train
OK Guys, I just gotta put this out there. In 99.9% of hydraulic disc applications (automotive/moto) it is NEVER the pad the engineers are trying to cool, it’s the caliper and disc; the heavy metals (that retain heat) you want to cool. Sure, making the pad out of metals and compounds that are less likely to retain heat, OF COURSE. But fins on the TOP of the brake pads. The fins aren’t even on the back of the pad where the heat incepts; they’re remotely placed ABOVE the source of the heat? Why? Because heat rises? Not buying it; BS. While this design may offer some “cooling”, fins on the CALIPER keep the bulk of the unit cool, pulling heat away from the pads more effectively. The caliper should look like an air cooled cylinder head……Also much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye; think Porsche air cooled cylinder heads. I can say I have never had a bad thing to say about Shimano until now. I think they’re trying to sell something at this point; if there is not some radical change (HUGE PEACOCK LIKE FINS, BULGING OUT OF THE TOP OF THE BRAKE) then what’s the point upgrading? I know I gotta have some! THIS IS NOT ENGINEERING, It’s 99.9% a Hoax. Don’t be a tool$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Adjustable headset spacers are by Dirt Unity.
Nice bike.
Nice bike and nice feature! I’d love to try 1×10.
i think that 1×10 with the g2 chain device and 40t ring is exactly how manufacturers should be speccing their bikes
im happy with 1×9 on the comuter and a 44t tho chain device is a problem
but for my next xc/am build id love to try the 1×10 set up
Love my Mucky Nutz Fender Bender 2.0 too 🙂 it’s nice not to have a face full of cow turd after a grassy descent.
Nice customisations.
That looks like the MRP MiniG which is only supposed to go up to a 36T ring?
That barman in the bottom photo looks quite cross.
I Googled Dirt Unity and found an item at pinkbike –
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/dirt-unity-sea-otter-2010.html
They have a stem which looks and seems to be made in exactly the same way as the Renthal stem. Who got there first or just synchronicity?
How does the Fender Bender 2.0 differ from the original? I like the idea but my original one lasted 3 months before it went all brittle and broke off. I’d still consider another though since they’re reasonably cheap.
40t chain ring for AM… Dear McDonalds… What kind of legs you guys have to uphill that?! I trained as much as I could this spring, mostly XC riding, got pretty fit comparing to my buddies. In the summer made some 2500ft uphills with technical bits, that I never managed to pull out before. Got to the form of my life really. Still I cannot imagine my intimate uphill life without 24t granny ring with 11-34 casette…
A couple of years ago, Mark lived in Downieville and climbed ONE MILLION FEET in a year.
On a Nomad… 🙂
He’s a fit chap.
love the idea of heat sink fins on the brakes, though bet they would get gunked up pretty quick?
bet they are not cheap too, considering they COULD just be extended pad backs with slots cut into them.
Here’s a link to a great article on that 1 million feet of climbing:-
http://www.nsmb.com/2156-mark-weir
@Chipps he did it on a VP Free as well, even tougher than a Nomad!
oops
Here’s the link to the article on the 1 million feet of climbing
Thanks for the link.
Love this answer
Why is it that you spend most of your time on longer travel bikes?
MW – They are just way more fun for me. I figure I do this for exercise and I want to have fun so what’s the harm of slugging a 12lb heaver bike up the hill if it’s going to make that ride down that much more enjoyable. If you are going to suffer anyway why don’t you just suffer one way on the way up?
[Cough]
Enduro Series races NOT the easy Avalanche stuff 😉
[/Cough]
B E A S T(s). Both Mark and Jason.
I have no doubt Mark Weir can throw it uphill even on 44t. Guys like him (i.e Rene Wildhaber) have lungs of a whale and heart of a bull and legs harder than a porn actors U-kno-wha after 4 viagras. With all the respect I apologize but I was just a bit sceptical about a internet forum person being so enthusiastic about 40t… I sort of believe if you can uphill 40t, u have no time for singletrack website… you train
OK Guys, I just gotta put this out there. In 99.9% of hydraulic disc applications (automotive/moto) it is NEVER the pad the engineers are trying to cool, it’s the caliper and disc; the heavy metals (that retain heat) you want to cool. Sure, making the pad out of metals and compounds that are less likely to retain heat, OF COURSE. But fins on the TOP of the brake pads. The fins aren’t even on the back of the pad where the heat incepts; they’re remotely placed ABOVE the source of the heat? Why? Because heat rises? Not buying it; BS. While this design may offer some “cooling”, fins on the CALIPER keep the bulk of the unit cool, pulling heat away from the pads more effectively. The caliper should look like an air cooled cylinder head……Also much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye; think Porsche air cooled cylinder heads. I can say I have never had a bad thing to say about Shimano until now. I think they’re trying to sell something at this point; if there is not some radical change (HUGE PEACOCK LIKE FINS, BULGING OUT OF THE TOP OF THE BRAKE) then what’s the point upgrading? I know I gotta have some! THIS IS NOT ENGINEERING, It’s 99.9% a Hoax. Don’t be a tool$$$$$$$$$$$$$$