Forum menu
BTTF references aside I reckon you're massively underestimating how fit pro riders were BITD. Don't forget they were all racing XC on Saturday and DH on Sunday. I reckon they'd still get the win.
I dunno. I think it would level the playing field pretty well. Still, probably not a win, but close.
I wouldn't want a V10 but something more like a Whyte T129. Tyres would make a huge difference I think they were shit back then I don't know myself as I was 4.
You reckon the difference between a chipper and a world champion of 20 years ago is tyres!?
I definitely think folk are underestimating the riders of yesteryear.
Don't forget they were all racing XC on Saturday and DH on Sunday.
On the same ****ing bike too by the looks of it! Hats off to them, they look pretty fast even on those sketchy rigs. I don't think I'd be going that fast on my modern Enduro in that mudfest to be honest.
So that would be a no for me personally, but I reckon a reasonable amateur racer on a modern enduro rig would beat them on that course. Any of those guys on a modern full-sus rig would have a colossal advantage.
Those 94 bikes look like they have hipster fixie bars.
There must be a track somewhere in the world that the pros raced 20 years ago and we can compare times to?
Maybe it was just me but those 1993 bikes looked like they were making hard work of that 1993 course, they are all over the place. Im not convinced I wouldn't be going similar speeds on a modern day enduro bike on that course, and I'm not very fast at all. Biggest issue would be fitness i reckon...
That said I may be talking out my ass.
The first Megavalanche was in 1995. I think the course has stayed roughly the same as it still starts and ends in the same place, and would give you a good idea as to how pro and amateur times have evolved, if they even timed it back then.
The earliest result I can find on their site is from 2001 when the winning time was 1:04:14, and has come down gradually since then to the winning time in 2013 which was under 40 minutes, and in that year a time of 1:04 wouldn't have got you in the top 300.
I can believe a strong amateur (typically finishes in top 20% of field) would win a race if they could go back in time 20 years with a modern bike.
Watching that video, I wonder why no one thought of long, slack and low bikes back then - it seems obvious now of course. The old klunkers would have probably been more stable than those bikes! I know it looks like they where having pedalling a lot, but it looks like most of them were sat down whilst trying to get around the corners.
Mega times can't be compared. Different levels of snow pack year to year make a massive difference IMHO
njee20 - Member
You reckon the difference between a chipper and a world champion of 20 years ago is tyres!?I definitely think folk are underestimating the riders of yesteryear.
I think those riders had awesome skills but lets face it their bikes were shit! I bet some of the guys here who race enduro and the like would stand a chance.
Well they've been coming down pretty consistently so it doesn't seem to make much difference. The snow only effects the first 5-10 minutes of the race.