Last Saturday’s race marked the first event for the Kona mtb bike. I can’t say it was the first time competing on a full suspension though. I have a 2001 Rocky Mountain Team Element SC in the stable that I really enjoyed riding while training with the KHS team. I dusted it off 2 summers ago and raced at Sugarloaf. Ironically there are some Kona roots found in the Rocky Mountain (or vice versa) so the jump to racing full time on full suspension isn’t that great a leap. The difference between the bikes, however, is huge!
The HH is a svelte 22.5 pounds! Any apprehension I had previously about racing full suspension has been erased. The weight penalty on the climbs is negligible and the benefits of a smooth descent are a huge advantage.
The HH had no glitches all race despite muddy and rough course conditions. The guys at Kennebec Bike & Ski set it up to perform despite my trying my best to break it! I had no crashes, but some near misses. The ability to compress the rear when planting the front wheel in a low spot prevents a front endo. Also, being able to sit and continue to hammer on the pedals through rough terrain without getting a pain in the ass is a big advantage to stave off fatigue and gain time. My last lap was the most tenuous when I was in that mental gray area of ride safely in order to finish, and keep up the pace to maintain the lead. This contradiction coupled with fatigue is not a healthy mix! My most memorable “moment” was when riding off-camber on a nasty rocky section and I got bumped off line by a rock and forced into a drainage ditch. The front end took a hard hit but came out unscathed. I can say with total confidence a hardtail would have affected my performance for the worse in most sections of the course.
The big debate for me was tire choice.
The bike is spec’d with a lightweight version of Maxxis’ fast rolling Crossmark. Although the XTR wheelset is tubeless-ready, the tire/tube combination is lighter. This is a step back for me as I’ve been running tubeless for years. Upon hearing the course was muddy, I was already planning to change out the tires, but I pre-rode the course anyway and was pleasantly surprised. I had adequate traction everywhere save a slippery root mid-climb, and most importantly, the tires shed the mud so I wasn’t carrying it around. I raced the bike as spec’d and I think that was a good call. The tires were an advantage on the open climbs and didn’t hurt my handling or performance on the descents.
I also took full advantage of the lockout features on both front and rear shocks.
The bike was in rigid mode on every climb to ensure every pedal stroke was 100% efficient. This took a lot of pre-planning when to switch back to suspension-mode, but I got the handle on it mid-race. A comical moment was when I was beginning the descent to the start/finish, I couldn’t get my left hand to shift to the big ring because my mind had been hung up on the front fork lockout button for so long!
The HH is going to be a huge asset for me and this Bromont course was the perfect debut for it. A smaller version of Mt. Snow, I am going to be super confident heading into Nationals.
The HH is a svelte 22.5 pounds! Any apprehension I had previously about racing full suspension has been erased. The weight penalty on the climbs is negligible and the benefits of a smooth descent are a huge advantage.
The HH had no glitches all race despite muddy and rough course conditions. The guys at Kennebec Bike & Ski set it up to perform despite my trying my best to break it! I had no crashes, but some near misses. The ability to compress the rear when planting the front wheel in a low spot prevents a front endo. Also, being able to sit and continue to hammer on the pedals through rough terrain without getting a pain in the ass is a big advantage to stave off fatigue and gain time. My last lap was the most tenuous when I was in that mental gray area of ride safely in order to finish, and keep up the pace to maintain the lead. This contradiction coupled with fatigue is not a healthy mix! My most memorable “moment” was when riding off-camber on a nasty rocky section and I got bumped off line by a rock and forced into a drainage ditch. The front end took a hard hit but came out unscathed. I can say with total confidence a hardtail would have affected my performance for the worse in most sections of the course.
The big debate for me was tire choice.
The bike is spec’d with a lightweight version of Maxxis’ fast rolling Crossmark. Although the XTR wheelset is tubeless-ready, the tire/tube combination is lighter. This is a step back for me as I’ve been running tubeless for years. Upon hearing the course was muddy, I was already planning to change out the tires, but I pre-rode the course anyway and was pleasantly surprised. I had adequate traction everywhere save a slippery root mid-climb, and most importantly, the tires shed the mud so I wasn’t carrying it around. I raced the bike as spec’d and I think that was a good call. The tires were an advantage on the open climbs and didn’t hurt my handling or performance on the descents.I also took full advantage of the lockout features on both front and rear shocks.
The bike was in rigid mode on every climb to ensure every pedal stroke was 100% efficient. This took a lot of pre-planning when to switch back to suspension-mode, but I got the handle on it mid-race. A comical moment was when I was beginning the descent to the start/finish, I couldn’t get my left hand to shift to the big ring because my mind had been hung up on the front fork lockout button for so long!The HH is going to be a huge asset for me and this Bromont course was the perfect debut for it. A smaller version of Mt. Snow, I am going to be super confident heading into Nationals.
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