Racing Hard, But Hardly Racing…
by Walker Thompson on May 18th, 2008
I love racing, but now I’ve got the 6" bug! That’s right folks, this entire weekend, I’ve been researching the best in All-Mountain/Freeride bikes. My options center on a 2008 Ellsworth Moment, 2008 Kona Coilair or 2008 Turner RFX. All are pretty much the same bike, so goes to show you how interested I am.
My motivation comes from the sheer desire to, well, go sheer. My friend took me riding the other day. He’s of the "Freeride" persuasion. We got to a few drops that, I admit, have passed up. But this ride, my friend in his infinite encouragement, said, "Hey cross country boy, you got to get over your fears…" I pull up to the drop, look over and think, "This is nothing. I’ve dropped bigger stuff in Fruita." I nail the jump. Psyched and all, I stop with my friend and tell him all about how I want a new bike. My friend reminds me, "I told you to buy a 6" bike last year." OK, he’s right…
Kona Pros:
I love the new Magic link system. Seems like they’ve made dramatic improvements on the design to account for XC and Freeride for a truly All-Mountain ride.
Turner Pros:
Well, besides being a Turner, I’ve heard more good things than just about any bike. I say this because when I go to Fruita, I see nothing but Turners.
Moment Pros:
My buddy, the one I mentioned earlier, is a moment freak. He says it is the best bike ever built.
Now it is a matter of price, persuasion and passion. I’ll keep ya’ll posted…
May 19th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
yeah i know what you mean. I have been more of an XC guy and now I have been chillin with the DH guys and I am itching to pick up a 6-8″ bike.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
OK, Could not resist this one. Guys, notice what Bike I am racing at NMBS #3 Firestone. While you guys were reading and writing I was studying my arithmatic, aeronautical enginieering to be sprcific. See that picture Dr. Thombs took of me on “Take Off” of the final runway at the finish line at this race. That is Specialized Flight # Enduro Pro (circa 2004 air frame) recently outfitted with a 2007 (?) Fox SHOX Talus 36 Fork,COURTESY OF SOME GOOD HORSE,CASH,AND WHISKY TRADING with Brett Miller, and a Fox DH 5.0 on the landing gear (rear). This bird weighs in around 34 lbs, that is about 6 lbs (20%) lighter than my Giant Glory full DH bike and this bird is 6×6 ! According to my calculations on MASS and INERTIA, that means I will reach a crusing altitude and a fuel distance range that should be about 20% higher and farther for each flight. Very efficient AIRCRAFT ! This was my second race on it, shake down flight was CCCX 2 weeks ago.
Bottom line, 2 races 2 1st place finishes ! OK, so who cares if both races had no one else in my class show up, “what is with that”, Story is, this is the ONLY WAY TO FLY, for any FreeRide or DH Race course except the Ski Resort Courses I have been on, Northstar,and Mt Snow, in my humble opinion
Cheers Again
Tom GEEZER Judy
May 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
I got a new(ish) kona!! They’re awesome!!