Just before heading off to the World Champs, The Brigade Team Rider Alex Marin shares details and set up of his custom V10 race rig.
Alex Marin, the speedy Spaniard of The Brigade Team scored a solid 12th place at this past weekend’s P2V Invitational in Les Gets. He hit the trail on his newly decked out Santa Cruz V10 frame with custom Monkeys Sauce wrap with unique galaxy livery, matching helmet and coordinating Kenny custom riding kit. The wrap is a great alternative to custom paint, permitting the team and riders to produce new graphics from race to race in very little time.
After months of testing, Alex has settled on a mullet set up for his V10, running a 27.5in wheel on the rear and larger 29er on the front. The purpose is the large wheel rolls over the terrain better than a 27.5, while the small wheel on the rear increases speed and acceleration out of corners.
The mixed-size Crankbrothers Synthesis wheels get mixed tyre sizes. A 27.5in Vee Tire Co. Snap WCE in 2.5in width on the rear inflated to 1.7 bar, while the front 29er is set for grip with just 1.4 bar. Each of the tyres uses Vee’s durable Downhill Core so there is no need for a tyre insert, and because the super sticky Top 40 compound is the same material used in dragster tyres, there’s no shortage of grip no matter the conditions.
Alex’s Suntour suspension fork is set at between 65-67psi depending on the number of volume spacers he is running. High-speed rebound is set 3 clicks from closed, low-speed rebound at 19 clicks, low-speed compression 14 clicks from closed while high-speed compression is set fully open.
Fork Settings
- 65-67psi
- 3 clicks HSR
- 19 clicks LSR
- 14 clicks LSC
- HSC fully open
Rear Shock Settings
- 450lbs spring
- 3 clicks of compressions
- 4 clicks of rebound
Tyre Pressure
- Front: 1.4 bar / 20psi
- Rear: 1.7 bar / 25psi
Working closely with SR Suntour, Alex is running a top-secret coil shock. We don’t have much information about the design of the shock system, but we do know that Alex uses a 450lbs spring, with 3 clicks of compression and 4 of rebound.
Production Privée bars and stem, and HXR Easyshift components are unique to The Brigade Team, as are the Braking disc brakes. Italian brand Braking is a big name in the motorcycle world offering stunning modulation and performance, and it’s great to see a fresh new company enter the mountain bike world at such a competitive level.
The next time we see Alex Marin on track will be at the World Champs where he will race for Team Spain, and we’re sure that Monkeys Sauce is going to pull out all of the stops with another one-off custom wrap.
If you want to see more from The Brigade, check out Rudy Cabirou’s bike check.
Comments (2)
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Yay! Always good to see downhill stuff.
Pretty bike. I’d have more respect if it was an airbrush job but the I suppose the cost of those isn’t justifiable with the amount of coverage this unfortunate season.
Alex’s suspension settings would have more relevance if we knew his height and weight and the track these settings were for. And of course the settings for the mystery shock are a bit of a waste of space.
“Italian brand Braking” – how DO they come up with these whacky names…?
I really like these custom wraps and paint jobs. They just look amazing. I think I’d cry if I had one on my bike and scratched it, though.