During the first big race of the season at Monte Tamaro, Switzerland, French champion Julien Absalon decided to ride a full suspended bike with a dropper post. The track is very technical, and Julien told us he will run this set up also in the Worldcup season, depending on the track.
Today Nino Schurter won the first big race of the year at Monte Tamaro, Switzerland (full report will follow soon). We took a closer look at his bike.
Commençal for the season of the UCI DH World Cup 2016 terraced well 3 different liveries with three different outfits for his Supreme DH V4.
The first bike is from team Riding Addiction / Commençal / Vallnord sporting a black anodized coating with yellow graphics. The team is no longer on BOS but aboard RockShox suspension for 2016. Myriam Nicole and Rémi Thirion are leading the charge.
The second is a race bike from the Commençal Lac Blanc team, formed by Amaury Pierron and Thomas Estaque. Orange colors and FOX air suspension.
The third bike, in the traditional yellow Commençal, is that of the HS Racing team, lead by Italian racer Lorenzo Suding and Swedish Oscar Härnström.
Our Italian editor Alessandra photographed the Spider 275 C Expert, which is the third version in terms of price, at the Italian Enduro Championships in Sestri Levante .
SPIDER 275C SL FACTORY: €11.998
SPIDER 275C SL PRO: €6.998
SPIDER 275C NM EXPERT: €6.498
SPIDER 275C NM FOUNDATION: €4.998
SPIDER 275C SL FRAME: €3.998
After a nice trip up to Canada we were fortunate enough to stop by the nicest bike park on the planet : Coast Gravity Park. We bumped into Anton Thelander and since it was our first time seeing the new Canyon Sender in the flesh we thought it was only appropriate that we run a bike check on it. Anton suggested we also check out his Stitch slopestyle bike as well, so you’ll also see pictures of that below.
Part two. Anton’s Canyon Stitched 720 Slopestyle bike. Developed with input from himself and Thomas Genon, this bike looks really sick. It has some rather unique features such as a pivot that’s concentric to the BB. Here is a run through:
Kyle Jameson has been mixing things up a bit lately. While he’s been on Scott for close to a decade now, he recently started riding for FOX, who’s right up the road from him in the Santa Cruz area. He’s been on Chromag for some time now as well, but recently started running Hope brakes, wheels and cranks. Here’s a run down on one of his weapons of choice, fresh with 2017 FOX suspension.
Somewhere near Lapierre’s Dijon headquarters at a press camp, we came across New Zealand’s Rae Morrison and her Lapierre Spicy race bike. Rae was leading a group of journalists around on some new product, but had time to give us a look around her recently arrived 2017 Spicy carbon race frame. She has only had the frame for a week; Nico Vouilloz has the same frame but in a different colour. Take a look close up below.
Rae Morrison in action. Photo: Jeremie Reuiller.
Rae Morrison generally places around the top six female riders on the EWS circuit and she frequently trains with Nico Vouilloz at her home base in Nice, France. She spends her summers in New Zealand riding. Her carbon Spicy frame is set to her preferences and fully stocked with SRAM componentsand RockShox suspension.
Up close the frame is currently fitted without the E:I shock, Rae used it in New Zealand but is currently riding the new RockShox Super Deluxe Metric shock without electronic control. Routing is all internal.
Better than a sticker, your own personalized grips.
Rae keeps things simple with a no fuss 1 X approach, on her 750 mm wide Black Box carbon bars mated to a 50mm Truativ stem.
SRAM Guide Ultimate and XX1 shifting with Lizard skin grips.
Rae says this protector does actually work when she once clipped a rock it didn’t snap her rear mech.
A 32T direct mount ring with MRP chain guide is how she keeps the wheels turning on the climbs.
Michelin Wild Gripper out back and a Prototype cut mud tyre up front. She likes beefy tyres that inspire confidence.
SRAM Rail wheels, although Rae prefers carbon for everyday riding she uses alloy wheels for racing so that if she hits a rock it’s possible to bend back and keep going.
Rae uses 180mm discs on the front and drops in two tokens to her standard Lyrik 170mm fork setup.
Guide ultimate calipers on 180mm disc on the back.
Rae runs two bands in her metric shock and likes the fact she can carry a bottle due to the Spicy’s link design so she can go without a pack at the races.
Keeping things comfortable with a Fabric saddle and Reverb seat post.
In Nove Mesto, we took a closer look at the Cannondale team bikes a few days before one of the most important races of the year.
This is the Scott Spark RC 900 that Nino Schurter will use for the World Championships in Nove Mesto on Sunday. The last Worlds with the DT Swiss specs, because the Scott Odlo Team will become Scott SRAM starting from 2017.
| Frame | Scott Spark RC World Cup HMX SL |
| Fork | DT Swiss OPM LTD Team Edition 100 ODL CT – 100mm travel |
| Shock | DT Swiss R414 Trunnion – 100mm travel |
| Headset | Ritchey Superlogic Team Edition |
| Stem | Ritchey WCS C220° 25° Team Edition |
| Handlebar | Ritchey Superlogic Carbon +/-5° rise 680mm 9° Team Edition |
| Seatpost | Ritchey WCS Carbon Vector Team Edition |
| Saddle | Ritchey WCS Vector Team Edition |
| Grip | Ritchey WCS true grip Nano |
| Pedals | Ritchey WCS V6 |
| Rear derailleur | Sram XX1 Eagle |
| Shifter | Sram XX1 Eagle |
| Crank Set | Sram XX1 Eagle Boost 175mm Q-168mm 38 T |
| Chain | Sram XX1 Eagle |
| Cassette | Sram XX1 Eagle 10-50 T |
| Brakes | Sram Level Ultimate |
| Wheels | DT Swiss Spline XRC 1250 29″ /27.5″ |
| Tubulars | Dugast Fastbird 50mm |
| Bottle cage | Topeak shuttle cage carbon |
| Computer | Garmin Edge 500 |
Lenzerheide, Switzerland: the riders are getting used to the pretty technical track in the Swiss Alps, and we stopped at the Specialized pit to check Jaroslav Kuhlavy’s Epic.
Notice the saddle and the stem…
Fox shock with Brain technology.
Rock Shox RS1 fork, also with Brain.
SRAM Level brakes.
Notice the drop between the bar and the saddle.
Garmin mount, carved through the plate.
Long and negative stem.
SRAM Eagle 1×12 drivetrain.
So far, you’ve surely heard a great deal of buzz about Steve Peat and Troy Brosnan’s custom bikes. To mix things up a bit, we stopped by the Syndicate pits for an in depth look at Greg Minnaar’s custom size XXL Santa Cruz V10.
Full RockShox/Sram
SRAM X01DH drivetrain with an E*13 LG1 carbon fiber chainguide. 
The cassette is also SRAM X01DH with dedicated 7 speed block. Calipers are Code… 
Manubrio Joystick Analog in carbon fiber, with matching stem. Note the Code caliper / SRAM Guide RSC combo… 
New DT Swiss EX511. 
Tires are Specialized HillBilly are 2.5 set up tubeless.
…cut down in the middle. 
Finn Iles with the same paint scheme with different colors and nearly identical spec.
Finn is running the progressive race link. You can tell by how machined out it is.
Aside from the link and the rims/tires, the bikes are identical.
It’s race day here in Lenzerheide for the downhill athletes. Just before the riders got on their bikes for the morning training, we put an eye on Danny Hart’s bike.
15.4 kg. That’s the weight of the complete bike as you see it.
Custom Renthal Fatbar carbon, with 9° backsweep. You can’t find this in the shops.
Zero suspension system with Fox DHX2
That’s the remote for Danny’s helmet cam.
“Old” DT Swiss rims. They are “soft”, so they tend to bend instead of cutting the tires.
Tires: Maxxis Minion DHF II tubeless, front and rear.
The Zero rear triangle.
Crank Brothers Mallet E pedals. Danny likes them because they are not too wide.
SRAM X0 DH 7 speed with Renthal chainring.
Mondraker Team saddle.
Danny in action yesterday, when he won the qualification.
Today in Lenzerheide the Cannondale Factory Team athletes will ride the Scalpel SI in the official colours that will be available in the shops soon. We took a closer look to Marco Aurelio Fontana’s bikes.
The FS-i on the right, the Scalpel SI on the left. Today the whole team will ride the Scalpel on the Lenzerheide technical track (preview).
Good luck!
During the Lenzerheide Worldcup weekend we paid a visit to the BMC paddock to check Julien Absalon’s bike.
Weight: 9.8 kg with carbon wheels. On the photos you can see come aluminum “no name” rims with Shimano hubs and a particular plastic reinforcement between the spokes. Julien was testing these wheels during the training on Saturday.
KS Lev Carbon dropper seatpost with 65mm travel.
The seatpost remote control.
The Shimano XTR Di2 display.
The whole handlebar.
3T stem.
XTR brakes and Lizard Skins grips.
Ice technology rotors.
The rear triangle.
Shimano XTR Di2 drivetrain, 1×11, 34T chainring, 11-40 cassette.
Fox Float DFP rear shock with electronic control.
Shimano XTR rear hub.
Fox 32 fork, 100mm travel.
Continental Race King tubeless tires, both front and rear.
Fizik Antares saddle.
Shimano XTR pedals.
That’s all!
