[Closed] Aaron Gwin is insane

That was some pretty impressive riding from Gwinn. I'm not a fan, but that was ace.

Brilliant to see Ratboy get hos first win. Troy seems to be in very good form too.

Well done Manon too.

Something isn't clicking for the Athertons this season.

"On song like an Austrian transvestite"

😆

But did Ratboy sing the anthem?

Something isn't clicking for the Athertons this season.

Rachel has been ill, in the mens I think Gee is topping the rankings but it is wide open, the last few years there only seemed to be 2 or 3 people likely to take the win at any race, this year it could be 1 of 10.

Troy is top of the overall, according to the graphic at the end.

This looks like being the best season ever.

Obviously 'God' isn't too bothered about his minions getting punctures. He probably works in mysterious ways or something

He doesn't ride Minions, he uses Butchers...oh wait...

Troy is top of the overall, according to the graphic at the end.

ok, I was looking at the uci rankings, looks like it isn't the same as who is leading the world cup rankings. Troy was wearing the leaders jersey yesterday, but I thought that result would probably knocked him off top spot.

Actually getting up to date information on who is leading is crap, the uci and the world cup race organisers could do a much better job of a website to keep the fans informed.

ok, I was looking at the uci rankings, looks like it isn't the same as who is leading the world cup rankings.

Yeah, this has been a bone of contention with some of the riders apparently, with some top 20 WC ranked riders not getting protected status if they crash in qualis.

What is the reason Gwin has what seems to be some dislike? Is it the fact he believes in God (fair play to him), or that he is well paid (fair play to him) or something else?

World Cup results and standing go up very very rapidly on the UCI website.
Finding them is tricky though as the website is bobbins for navigation.

General world rankings
http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTY2MDM&LangId=1

World Cup rankings
http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTcwNjc&LangId=1

What is the reason Gwin has what seems to be some dislike? Is it the fact he believes in God (fair play to him), or that he is well paid (fair play to him) or something else?

I think with me, it's because he seemed to win everything for a year or so & anyone dominating in any sport makes it boring...

Trek might have a different take as to why they don't like him...

What is the reason Gwin has what seems to be some dislike?

His total domination of the 2011 and 2012 seasons that made for quite a dull World Cup. A complete contrast to the wide open season this year (so far).

I also - rightly or wrongly - find his whole image somewhat at odds with the downhill scene. He looks like he should be wearing a cardigan and filing tax returns, not showing us all a masterclass in bike handling.

What is the reason Gwin has what seems to be some dislike? Is it the fact he believes in God (fair play to him), or that he is well paid (fair play to him) or something else?

I guess it's a few things - the move to Spesh was dealt with badly by all parties, he comes across as a bit dull and robotic and the last straw was the interview a few issues ago in Dirt and the whole faith thing mentioned for every answer. Some of which seemed a bit odd / OTT.

But he is a very good rider - you can't argue with two seasons of domination.

Well, I think Gwinn earned a lot more fans yesterday.

Good to see two British winners in the UK media today (not even a mention on bike sites never mind BBC)

He reminds me of Kenny Roberts. Laconic, slightly aloof, focussed. Same with a lot of the top guns

The way the courses are changing the athletes/professionals will have an advantage and the good ole boys (Bryceland, Hart Fairclough Peaty etc) will just be making up the numbers

World Cup results and standing go up very very rapidly on the UCI website.
Finding them is tricky though as the website is bobbins for navigation.

was certainly quicker and definitely easier to replay the video and skip to the end of each race to see the scores / standings.

The way the courses are changing the athletes/professionals will have an advantage and the good ole boys (Bryceland, Hart Fairclough Peaty etc) will just be making up the numbers

Can you explain?

Ta

a handful of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7ths between them over the last few races is "making up the numbers"
😉

The way the courses are changing the athletes/professionals will have an advantage

The best and most-consistent guys all combine top fitness[i] and[/i] amazing skills - Gee, Greg, Gwin, Stevie.

You clearly need both - plus nerves of steel - to win the overall.

Don't let the outward 'all the lads' image deceive you. These guys all take it very professionally in terms of training.

a handful of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7ths between them over the last few races is "making up the numbers"

And Peaty finished in 31st place but was only 7 seconds slower than Bryceland!

andyrm - Member
What is the reason Gwin has what seems to be some dislike?

I won't lie, for me it's the God thing. Makes me wince..
Awesome rider, just that aspect of him makes me lose respect for him a little.

Great run, expect to see a wheel ad featuring it ! What a promo for the wheels.

Excellent to see Bryceland win, was gutted for him last week. I hope this is the start of a good run for him with the "first win monkey" off his back

I won't lie, for me it's the God thing. Makes me wince..

I won't lie, for me it's the God thing. Makes me wince..
Awesome rider, just that aspect of him makes me lose respect for him a little.

So we're happy to accept a rider saying their energy drink makes them X% faster, or their new super part X helps increase gnar factor by Y% (obviously not 650B though as that is a contentious subject best discussed another time!!!! 😉 ), but a guy has a belief structure that makes him live (from what we see) a decent life as an individual, and gain mental strength as an athlete and it's suddenly a bad thing?

^ not really the same comparison though, is it. I somehow doubt that Gwin is being paid a tonne of money by God to say nice things about him

Maybe its his belief in god that makes him so good. Jesus wont let me fall......... so he just guns it. How can you ride a DH cup run 40 secs off the pace with no tyre and not fall on your head... divine intervention.

I know it doesn't need to be said again.... but that run was nuts!

What is the reason Gwin has what seems to be some dislike? Is it the fact he believes in God (fair play to him), or that he is well paid (fair play to him) or something else?

Depends on your view
Negative spin/ positive spin

Boring outcome of races/ Dominating everything
Apparent dull personality/ kept himself to himself
F'd over Trek for a big money deal at Spesh/ Was f'd over by the media making him look bad for nothing out of the ordinary
Open about not wanting to be in MTB forever/ open and honest about his passion for everything two wheeled

It was certainly hard to get behind Gwin when he [i]seemed[/i] to come from nowhere and dominate everything. He does seem a lot more outgoing now which I think has a lot to do with why people are warming to him. Listening to the Spesh videos, he comes across really well, clearly has a great passion for riding and is smart (in a racing sense) with it...

Why am I not a huge fan of Gwin?

1. Support the local guys
2. All the puns linked to his name (they were funny at first... Not now)
3. Spend any more than 5 mins on any pinkbike thread regarding DH and you just want to throttle most of his followers
4. The whole transfer saga
5. He's a bloody good rider!

He has however gone up a bit imo after last weekends race.

I too thought Gwin's run was mental and couldn't believe the wheel survived to the bottom.

Question:
I thought a lot of the DH riders were running tubeless these days? Yet lots of people out with punctures in the last few races. I know tubeless can lose some air sometimes but it's very hard to lose all of it isn't it, so can't the Gwin situation be avoided by going tubeless?

it's very hard to lose all of it isn't it

A hole is a hole, tubeless can be more puncture resistant, but there's no inherent reason you'd lose less air with tubeless, the workout their tyres are getting I'd not expect sealant to do owt.

Listening to the Spesh videos, he comes across really well,

The last one was very illuminating and honest about his approach to his race runs.

And I was pleased to see him genuinely delighted when Troy won at Fort Bill.

It's clear now that his main advantage was mental, and he was just completely "on it" for two seasons. Can't see his eight-second lead at Val Di Sole happening again now though...

If I can burp air out of tubeless tyres at the (low) speeds I'm riding, I imagine 5 minutes on full on DH would have those tyres burping like a kid in a fizzy pop factory.

Has anyone tried running tubular tyres for downhill and if so, are they any good? No burping of air and no pinch flats.

I thought the unenthusiasm toward Gwin was due to the colour of his hair, didn't realise that people have genuine issues with the guy.

The footage from Fort Bill and Leogang this year has been excellent, but you still won't catch me drinking Red Bull. I might consider buying a can if they let Warner push the boundaries a little - it was heart breaking to hear him apologise to anyone lip reading.

Gwin dominated 'cos he'd not had his big smash, DH is all about confidence and he hadn't taken his hard knock. We seen the same with Hill, we always get someone dominating until they have a big stack or the rest of the field catches up. The truly impressive riders are people like Minnaar who've been up against the best over and over again and kept stepping up.

it was heart breaking to hear him apologise to anyone lip reading.

Heartbreaking, really? Anyway, I'd have thought putting a warning on the video stream would be enough or do they have some sort of voluntary code for broadcasters online too?

Heartbreaking, really?

Yup. Heart breaking, in that overly-serious way one discusses unimportant issues on the internet. I was devastated, worst anything ever. I'm actually writing to my MP about the matter, and my MEP as it happened in Austria; might tweet NATO and all.

monkeyfudger talks sense. I think Minaar has been the most consistent rider in the years I've been following the DH and still looks more than capable of winning on any track. I do wonder if he can pull back enough points from his DQ at Cairns though.

stilltortoise - Member

Has anyone tried running tubular tyres for downhill and if so, are they any good? No burping of air and no pinch flats.

I use it, works well for me with specialized, conti and maxxis dualplies, but I am a total mincer.

I can't remember any real details but Dirt had an article that mentioned some of the pros experimenting- it might have been Marc Beaumont? Anyway, the gist of it was that it worked but for a race run they were adding 10psi extra because it'd lose that much every run. Greg Minaar used to do tubeless, don't know if he still does.

I use it, works well for me with specialized, conti and maxxis dualplies, but I am a total mincer.

I can't remember any real details but Dirt had an article that mentioned some of the pros experimenting- it might have been Marc Beaumont? Anyway, the gist of it was that it worked but for a race run they were adding 10psi extra because it'd lose that much every run. Greg Minaar used to do tubeless, don't know if he still does.

Tubs, or tubeless?

Tubs would appear to make sense on the face of it if you can make them stiff/tough enough. My guess would be that the advantages of a nice supple carcass really aren't what you want for DH, where they need to be stiff enough to support some rather aggressive handling, which probably doesn't make for a good tubular carcass.

Gwin said he rolled the tyre off the rim in a corner so it sounds like he had the pressure too low.

Northwind, I was referring to tubular tyres, not tubeless. Like the pro roadies use. A quick Google suggest they do exist and whilst I can appreciate why they are not popular for general use, for a 5 minute single run DH track they perhaps have some advantages.

Has anyone tried running tubular tyres for downhill

I was wondering that. Maybe there's not a glue strong enough to keep them on the rim?

Ah, sorry, I misread tubular for tubeless!

Maybe it's time for Scott to transfer what they've learned with XC and Dugast to get Brendan Freeracing on some tubs and see how they stack up 😀

Or, sounds like what they all need are UST tyres... maybe