In vague relation to the Paris Roubaix video posted below...
Have Gee Atherton throwing himself down the side of a really steep hill on a bicycle last year. This is more my type of riding, but I'm nowhere near brave/stupid/talented enough to even get close to this level of performance. Apologies for fucking ubiquitous Red Bull branding. (Starts to get properly bonkers once he passes the red track markers)
(, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 9:58, Share, Reply)
I went mountain biking for the first time in about 18 years the other weekend
I would've been pushing the bike on about 85-95% of that trail :)
(, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 10:44, Share, Reply)
Yeah, it's definitely a couple of levels above my expertise.
The problem for most of us normal humans is that we can't make a living out of doing this, so crashing into a tree or large rock at 30 miles an hour usually results in a fairly long abstinence from work. I love mountain biking, and I'd certainly say that I ride stuff beyond the capability of your average Sunday woodland trailgoer. But this is just another tier of insanity altogether.
(, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 10:55, Share, Reply)
Gives me a bit of sympathy
for the scout troopers on the forest moon of Endor.
At least ^that guy^ didn't have to contend with Ewoks.
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HoratioFellatio Taking the the out of psychotherapist, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 11:04,
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The indigenous Ewok population of Wales has been in massive decline
ever since local licensing laws were amended to permit the sale of Alcohol to pygmy bearmen in public houses.
Due to their small stature and genetic predisposition to hyperactivity, the introduction of alcohol into their society was utterly devastating.
(, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 11:13, Share, Reply)
first part looked like it was lined with punji stickes and caltrops
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fluffybunnykiller Is feasting on the clitoris of life, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 11:45,
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Does this man have no brakes?
Insanity!
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Ugi , it's a game of give and cake, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 12:43,
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so now GT makes freeride/downhill bikes, eh?
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omnitruncatedkraken from Empire Algol, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 12:50,
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Their DH line is their biggest seller these days.
Back in the 90's they were big on the cross country scene, but the company went pretty much down the pan for 15 years or so. They've made huge comeback recently, though. Along with, bemusingly, Saracen...
On the flipside, Kona have a reputation for being utter shite these days, which is a shame because they used to make fabulous bikes.
(, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 13:07, Share, Reply)
I know, right.
I remember GT BMX bikes too.
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omnitruncatedkraken from Empire Algol, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 17:19,
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Present top of the line carbon Kona (supreme leader or something)
looks pretty nice to me though?
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omnitruncatedkraken from Empire Algol, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 22:16,
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It's probably unfair to call them terrible bikes.
It's more that since Halfords started distributing them, the company lost a lot of prestige.
Back in the 90's, Kona were a pretty boutique manufacturer all things considered. Bikes like the King Kikapu were hugely revered and the company's overall reputation was faultless.
Nowadays you'll struggle to find many knowledgeable mountain bikers who'd say "I REALLY want a Kona!". I suppose it's a bit like owning a Vauxhall. There's nothing particularly BAD about them, but it's not really anyone's ambition in life to finally own one.
Due to Kona's Halfords deal, the company took a lot of stick from the biking community, so there's a fair bit of stigma attached to owning a Kona, with lots of joking about how fragile they are and so on.
The Supreme Operator is a nice bike. I'm not a fan of DH bikes really they're a bit of a one trick pony, but I can appreciate them for what they are. I can't think k of anyone in their right minds who would choose a Supreme Operator over an S-WORKS Demo 8 or a Santa Cruz V10c. Those bikes are just on another league altogether in my opinion.
Me? I'll stick with my custom S-WORKS Enduro 650b :)
I'm such a fucking bike geek...
(, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 23:48, Share, Reply)
I very much enjoyed that, but...
your dippy hippy anti Red Bull commerciality bit is childish and naive. They put a hell of lot of money into extreme sports, so much so that the best can even earn a living out of it, and give such sports a level an unprecedented level of exposure. Parts of that course will have been tricky and expensive to build, who do you think picked up the tab?
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Prufrock Lucifer, son of the morning!, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 13:33,
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Fair point.
I don't have anything against Red Bull in particular and I'm well aware of how sponsorship works. I just feel that 'extreme' sports these days are completely over saturated by Red Bull/GoPro branding.
That being said, the event officials Red Bull tend to employ are known have been fucking imbeciles in the past. A quick watch of Nicholi Rogatkin's brutal crash at Red Bull Rampage last year, followed by Red Bull representatives egging him to carry on his run despite the fact he was most likely concussed is a pretty prime example. mpora.com/mountainbiking/most-brutal-mountain-bike-crash-ever-nicholi-rogatkin-just-fell-down-a-30ft-cliff-then-walked-away
(, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 13:50, Share, Reply)
Oh, I hadn't heard about the concussed chap.
My main problem with Red Bull is that it tastes and smells disgusting. At least it's relatively new and has done well to find a niche in an overcrowded market, and rather than just crap ads on telly they do entertaining stuff like this.
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Prufrock Lucifer, son of the morning!, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 14:01,
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He's fuckin' shit.
chickened out of the last jump and missed going through the closing gate entirely.
(, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 17:19, Share, Reply)
Even if I was just walking the dog, I'd be going "Where's the path gone?"
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fred zeppelin II: Electric Boogaloo, Wed 13 Apr 2016, 19:35,
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