BIKE REVIEWS
2012 Specialized Demo 8 IIThis is one of the best bikes I have ever tested is the 2012 Specialized Demo. The frame was versatile enough to take on the huge 40 foot drops that I put it through. It peddled very well through some flatter sections of the downhill course I was testing it on, like the final stretch to the finish line. It's suspension, when set up right, felt so smooth that sometimes I wondered if I was seeing things right and if I was riding on a smooth road. While the rear shock took some time to set, it was well worth the time. The Cane Creek Double Barrel was very smooth and allowed the Specialized Butcher DH tire to keep very good grip through the rocks, roots and whoops on the technical parts of the test tack. The RockShox Boxxer fork up front worked extremely well through huge jumps and unexpected landings. On the massive 100 foot gap jump on the DH test track, I landed a little awkwardly, with my bike tilted heavily to the left. Still, the RockShox Boxxer fork did not flex. The overall stiffness of the entire bike felt unrealistically awesome, allowing me to manoeuvre through the tight and twisty sections of the test track with ease. The tires kept good grip with the track, and I was really surprised how little rolling resistance they had compared to other tires. The braking power of the bike was very strong, and the Avid Code 4-piston callipers stopped the bike at just a touch of the X0 levers. The only thing that could improve braking performance further would be Avid Code levers, which would add some features like tool-free reach adjust and contact point adjust. While this would be a welcome change, it is not necessary because the existing X0 levers are adequate. Overall, this is one of the best bikes money can buy, and if price isn't a restriction for you, go ahead and buy this bike, and you will have the best bike in the world.
Trek Session 9.9
The Trek Session 9.9 is a new carbon DH bike inspired by world cup champion Aaron Gwin's bike. It can take on huge drops with ease and riding technical trails like Mont-Sainte Anne felt at home. The bike also features an air Fox Shox 40 RC2 fork. Talk about bringing prototype products to the market! The Trek Session 9.9 features a complete Fox Shox suspension setup, with the 40 RC2 up front and the DHX RC4 shock in the rear. Both of them were extremely smooth, but the Cane Creek Double Barrel in the rear would be a welcome change. The fork was buttery smooth and the Kashima coating was noticeable. I liked how stiff the fork was, and even on the biggest gap jumps it didn't flex. The frame was very stiff, just the way we all like it. This bike had awesome stiffness throughout the frame and I enjoyed drifting through turns: hard. The Avid X0 brakes provided suffice braking power, although the Codes found in some other DH bikes provide more stopping power. Also a Shimano Saint package would work perfectly together with the Fox 40 in my opinion. In conclusion, this is a very good DH bike, but at $8 929.99, it's definitely not cheap.
BIKE PARK REVIEWS
Whistler Mountain Bike Park
This is one of the best bike parks ever created. I enjoyed trails like Whistler Downhill Upper And Lower and Canadian Open. These were the best trails because they combined technicality, tightness and jumps perfectly to make for some of the trickiest trails to manoeuvre. If you like jumps (like I do), the A-Line trail is for you. Packed full of jumps and berms, you will love this trail to practice your jumping and turning skills. The Whistler Downhill and Canadian Open trails felt at home to my prototype Specialized Demo, while I enjoyed riding the A-Line course with my custom Specialized SX bike. The tracks felt very good to race down, and while not everybody is a extreme DH racer/freerider, everybody will enjoy Whistler's trails. Overall, this is probably one of the best extreme DH/Freeride bike parks ever.
Canada Olympic Park
Home to a UCI World Cup race in 2004, this is a cool bike park inside Calgary city limits. I enjoyed the downhill course and liked how there were lots of jumps in he end followed by a fast pedalling stretch. This was one of the places a good bike was really required, and my prototype Specialized Demo served. Other cool trails included Laser Fade, which was a really cool extreme freeride trail, littered with jumps. It also has a few fair sized wooden drops that I managed to 360 with my prototype carbon freeride bike. The dirt jumps felt at home to my dirt jump bike, although sometimes I felt that the biggest set's lips were too steep. Even though this bike park may not be the same as Whistler, it is definitely one of the best bike parks around.
CLOTHING REVIEWS
2012 Troy Lee Designs GP Air Jersey/Pant
The first thing that jumped out at me was the flashy colour scheme: or course, exactly what you would expect from TLD. The next thing popped out when I begun riding: it was one of the best ventilated, most comfortable jersey/pant combination I had ever worn. Also after numerous crashes from huge jumps (I'm thinking 60ft...) I didn't even tear this combo up one bit, even after I managed to catch it on rocks. That being said, I don't mean that it snags on rocks easily: it was just how I ceased ended up being the best (or worst... you know what I mean!) case scenario to catch it on rocks. The pants cuffs ran slightly on the larger side, but in my opinion, unless the pant cuffs are extremely large, a little loose is good. This was one awesome gear combo!!!
2012 Fox Rampage Helmet
This is an extremely good helmet and even though it is not the top-of-the-line helmet from Fox, it's the preferred choice of the McCaul brothers and many World Cup athletes. Probably the coolest feature of the helmet was the steel reinforcement on the bottom of the helmet. The helmets graphics are very cool, and it has the traditional 'Fox' look to it. The helmet is well ventilated and is quite comfortable. It has a wide range of vision, and works flawlessly with my Oakley goggles. One of the only problems with this was that the helmet seemed to create a pressure point at the top of my head when I started wearing it, but this issue was gone after some usage. The only constant problem with this helmet was that the top padding attached between the inner shell and the outer shell on the outside, and was prone to slipping. I also thought that it's chin bar and overall design should be sleeker and smaller. All in all, this was an awesome helmet, not Fox's top-of-the-line but still awesome.
PHOTOS NOT OF ME
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