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Brendan Fairclough is piloting a prototype Scott downhill bike at the 2018 Fort William World Cup. We caught up with him in the pits to have a chat about the new bike and what he thinks of the new track for this year.
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however run this is will from
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singletrack magazine we're here at the
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2018 Fort William World Cup and I'm
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joined by none other than Brendan
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Fairclough hello hello how are you doing
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very well yourself I'm doing all right
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thank you for asking
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and we're gonna have a bit of a look at
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this this brand new bike that the
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Brendan is going to be piloting this
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weekend for Williams so so tell us about
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it I mean it's obviously very different
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to previous race bike you had so perhaps
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we can talk a little bit about frame the
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different components we've got on here
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go for it what have we got well
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obviously with prototypes were very hush
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if you know a few things we can talk
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about basically it's a work-in-progress
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where this is the first prototype of
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something that eventually may come along
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the line every week and we work on
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different things trying to figure stuff
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out try to improve break and try to
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improve speed here there whenever like
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everyone is doing you know so but this
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is a like I said raw prototype which i
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think looks pretty cool I think it looks
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rather snazzy we were just commenting on
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Brendan's artistic talents here on the
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down tube very impressive taken all my
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years of crayons at school to finally
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was paid off and you got all the logos
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on the back done as well new boss
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suspension these new pretty badass moto
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inspired Forks up front
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new brake to the TRP brakes really
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really impressed with these awesome
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moderation great power so I'm really
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happy these yeah obviously a new a new
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DMR death grip that's come out this
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weekend exclusive and exclusive yeah
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this is this is the first it's a new
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camo one but snow camo yeah it's pretty
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stock really but yeah what's it like
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jumping on a new bikes you've been on
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this for a little while having you I've
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been on this for about a month now so
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maybe a little over a month but yeah
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it's it's good you know we can all ride
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bikes you know
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our level all bikes are good but we're
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just trying to find that extra percent
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those little marginal gains you know so
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you can jump on anybody from get used to
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it within a day I feel and then after
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that you just trying to find like I said
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those marginal gains and that's as I
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thought we're doing now we're we're
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hunting for those those split seconds
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you know because at this end of the the
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World Cup you know you can a second
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devise you with ten positions and a
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second down a four and a half minute
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track is like a quarter of a second a
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minute so like I said we're moving each
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weekend and we'll see a see where we get
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to just trying to wring out just a
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little bit more performance each time
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yeah yeah always and I notice there's a
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few nice little custom little details
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here noticed some rainbow colored bolts
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on here and we've got a nice chain stay
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protector as well we won't say rainbow
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that would mean world champ which will
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say petrel bolts a nice tight there from
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tie bolts tie spring gave us some some
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nice flashy petrol colored bolts put on
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there get the weight down a little bit
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again little marginal gains here and
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they're cutting the grams and then yeah
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just the the velcro and there's just to
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keep there to keep the noise down this
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all is really just to keep the noise
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down and I mean you're when your bike
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it's nice and quiet you know you feel
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fast and smooth so makes all the
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difference
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let's see Bo yeah well every bit helps
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right exactly and as far as the the bike
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goes for this course Fort William how
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would you set it up different to say
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some of the other rounds if you're
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racing out this year
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well obviously especially this weekend I
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think it's gonna be really really slippy
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on top of all that dust on top of the
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rock so I think you're gonna want to
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really try to make the first part of
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your suspension really soft so it grips
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everything you can but then you've also
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got a got to take into consideration
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it's like nearly five minutes long so
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you're gonna not want it too hard so you
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don't your body doesn't get beaten up
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too much but then you've also think well
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there's lots of like drop-offs into
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turns we don't your folks it goes right
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through the travel so suspension to look
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really important probably the main thing
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is
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all of you will be stressing about most
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of the weekend Donna said and what about
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like tire pressure and tire setup tire
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choice that kind of thing yeah yeah we
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[Music]
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again that's really important always
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always playing around with that but we
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have we have a tire setup they were
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pretty gonna stick with like about 29 in
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the back and 24 in the front mhm so
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slightly higher at the back than we
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normally would but I you need to it's so
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rocking Ruffy you got to a lot like I
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said if you get a puncher then you know
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where you know yes absolutely nobody
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wants a puncture nobody what do you
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think of the you've obviously done the
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track walk this afternoon what do you
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think of the course and the changes to
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the course as well yeah yeah
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controversial changes for me in the
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woods you know I I'm always up for fresh
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lomi natural stuff and they've paved it
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but I guess you know they didn't know
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what the weather was gonna be like and
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the other side had to take them
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consideration all the riders you know
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not everyone is capable of getting
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through that woods last year but I felt
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it could have taken a few small changes
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and we could have kept some nice low me
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dirt and good for the crowd off the
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riders but they've paved it and it's
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what they've done so we're gonna get
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used to it and same for everybody and
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I'm sure we yes well I take it you're
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one of the few riders that enjoyed it
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last year a lot of lot of complaints
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people it would have taken this cutting
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two routes out beforehand so riders can
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carry some speed in right riders don't
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want to you've only got to look 30 out
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of the top 50 riders were crushed in one
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section yeah and that's not making
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anyone look good so if you can just make
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some small changes let's carry a bit of
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speed into a section then I think we'd
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be happy but a lot of works been put in
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and we appreciate that so guys all right
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well best of luck this weekend hope it
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all pans out for you thank you very much
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no worries thank you for taking us
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through this prototype eyes peeled
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please speculate away yeah Brendan thank
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you very much for your time thank you
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no worries
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