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10/06/2008
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Trek/Fisher Media Camp
Whistler and the Chilcotins
Cam McRae |
It was to be a dream gig. Head up to Whistler for a little riding in
the park - on new bikes from Gary Fisher and Trek - and then fly in to the South
Chilcotins. Most of the experienced and discerning riders I know have
ridden up there and they all rave about the wilds north of Pemberton. Tales
of grizzly sightings, alpine flowers, incredible views and ribbon-smooth single
track as far as the eye can see. The plan was to spend the first day in
the park and then, early the next morning, pile into a float plane on Green
Lake and get delivered to Spruce Lake. This sort of service normally costs
$178 Canadian per head so I was feeling pretty blessed to have the opportunity
to do it on someone else's generous dime. Spoiled rotten would be another
way to put it. Chris Winter of Big
Mountain Bike Adventures was arranging all the details and providing us
with awesome guides (thanks Chad and Erin!). Short of a Swiss Alp retreat,
the plan was about as sweet as you could imagine.
| September has been consistently bluebird
for the last few years. This year was different though and the dodgy,
unpredictable autumn of my youth returned. Our trip started out
with some product presentations at The Westin - one of the poshest hotels
in Whistler. You could see that as we went through the lines everyone
kept an eyeball on the precip. situation. Now a warm summer rain
is no big deal but Whistler rarely gets those. You're in the mountains
now kid and when the clouds roll in the temperature drops so you had better
be prepared.
One of the first products we heard about was Big Earl. Bontrager's
effort at freeride componentry looks really good. Their hubs are
compatible with standard six bolt rotors and with Shimano's new lockring
system and they will even accept a standard or Saint axle. The cranks
look appropriately burly and the dual compound tires looked just about
right as well. What's even better is that they will retail here
in Canada for around $50 - much less than most of the competition. For
more on the Earl stuff check Stuart Kernaghan's article here.
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Big Earl tires - dual compound rubber on the cheap.
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Big Earl wheels - the hubs are now available separately for
US$90 up front and $180 rear.
During the course of the discussion we learned that the mountain bike market
in the US is worth about 300million bucks and that the only growing segments
are XC trail (35%) all mountain (25%) and freeride (15%). These figures
spurred Trek to broaden their product ranges to include bikes to meet these
needs. I have also heard that freeride is growing at an even faster rate
in Europe and it was this realization that finally knocked Trek's freeride program
into high gear.
All the journalists from around the world (there was even a dude there from
Israel) were keen to hit the bike park, rain or no rain so as soon as we were
geared up it was off to the trailer in the parking lot where all the bikes were
kept. By the time I got there all the Trek Sessions were spoken for so
I grabbed a KingFisher. The KF was designed as a seven-inch travel bike
with a suspension focused on bump compliance, while the goal with other Fishers
has always been pedalling efficiency. The 73° seat tube betrays Gary's
roots while putting your legs in a powerful position to step on the throttle.
The first thing I noticed when I jumped on the bike was how steep the front
end was. Being used to slacker rides it took me a few runs down A Line
to get the feel but once I did I found that the bike railed like a 4X bike.
For Dirt Merchant and A Line the bike was brilliant but when we took our rain-soaked
carcasses up to Garbanzo things got dodgy. The bike was sketchy in the
steeps and there were a few times when I thought I was done for.
Truth be told I'm not a fan of Whistler in the rain. Most of my favourite
trails get shut down and I'd rather be down here on the Shore. Around
40% of the topsoil from A Line came with me to my hotel room at the end of the
day. The wet weather made me anxious to get up to the drier Chilcotins.
Muster stations; getting geared up for our first Chilcotin ride.
Photo Sterling Lorence
The plan to fly in to the über buff trails
that lead down from Spruce Lake was not to be. Because of the low
ceiling and the snow at elevation we piled in to rental vans took the
poor man's route to the lodge. Our first ride was a quick shuttle
above the Lodge. I managed to snag a Liquid 55 - a 5" all mountain
rig that has been redesigned for 2005. Last year the bike had 'Black
Magic' carbon stays instead of pivots in the rear end and this year it
has a rocker link that is said to improve the action. This year
there will be a Liquid 65 dressed in Earl's wear with a 6" Nixon
up front. Once on the trail it became clear we were in for a treat.
The trail could not have been more glorious. It slithered through
widely-spaced aspens never seeming to cross a root or rock. It was
as if the trail was sculpted for bicycle tires by forest elves.
In fact it was so smooth that suspension felt redundant. It was obvious
that the Liquid was a predictable and sweet handler though and I was eager
to get back on after lunch. We arrived back at the Tyax Lodge just
as the sun emerged to highlight the new snowfall on the peaks. |
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The afternoon was more of a hurtfest. The trails were still smooth but this
time we were cruising up and down under our own power and with a bunch of euro-roadie
journalists on the case it was something of a gong show. Every time the
trail paused for some double track the lycra crowd would start weaving through
the pack trying to make up positions - only to slow us down when the track became
single again. The ride itself was a lot of work but the country up there
is unbelievably beautiful. Despite the deluge in Whistler and in Vancouver
it was just about dry up there and the trails could not have been in better shape.
The Liquid felt great on Chilcotin single track. But my
1984 Ritchey would have done the trick. Photo Sterling
Lorence
I had a taste of Chilcotin honey (worse than none at all?) but I was eager for
some real alpine action and the descending that comes with that package.
There was some talk over dinner about what we'd do on our final day and the best
rumour was a shuttle up to Lorna Lake that would allow us to roll back into the
valley from the alpine. Alas it was not to be. Everyone who had travelled
a long distance wanted to stay planted in the bike park as much as possible.
After a boozy night at the lodge we were back in the vans Whistler-bound.
On the final day I managed to corner a Session and I had it all to myself.
I rode a few runs behind Andrew Shandro and there really is nothing like following
a master like 'Tough Guy' to get you rolling right. To me the Session
had the balance between plushness and response that makes a freeride bike truly
rideable. If the suspension is too deep and squishy it's hard to get the
bike to move around on the trail while a lack of that same depth will slow you
down when things get nasty. It really is one of those bikes that just feels
right from the get go. With all the prototyping Trek did, with Shandro
providing feedback, it's no surprise that they nailed it. The Manitou
Sherman Breakout up front felt amazingly stiff and confidence inspiring.
I find many of the stutter-bump sections in the bike park really ugly but on
the Session with the Sherman everything seemed to be manageable - as though
everything just slowed down.
| Swag = Stuff
We All Get. Media trips
can be a killer source of free treats and the Trek camp set the bar very
high. Each and every journalist got jerseys, shorts, a hydration pack
- relatively standard issue stuff - and a Nike Lance 4 titanium watch.
It has a compass, an altimeter, a barometer and a 1000hr timer for the next
time you are competing in a certain month-long race. Every company who puts
on a media camp sends journalists away with goodies so don't think Trek
is doing anything out of the ordinary - they just did it better than most. |
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I had ridden three bikes in as many days and I'm not the sort of tester who
can give a verdict after such brief exposure. I can say that I liked what
I saw with the exception of the angles of the King Fisher. After our first
day on the bikes Aaron Mock, the Fisher product manager, told us that some measurements
indicated that the pre-production versions of the bike weren't quite right -
the head angle was steeper than it was supposed to be for some reason.
When they got back to headquarters in Waterloo
Wisconsin some measurements confirmed his suspicions. The bikes we were
on had a head angle that was perhaps 2° steeper than the intended
67° because the front shock mounts were placed incorrectly on
the frames. This posed no production problems because these particular
frames were made from adjustable pre-production toolings. As you
can see at left none of this cramped Fisher rider Chris Duncan's style.
Most of the time he was on the Bigg'ns hardtail with only a rear brake.
He ripped down A Line scrubbing speed with skill rather than rotors and
often finished off his runs with a flip off the last kicker - just for
fun. I did not get any time on the Bigg'ns but it seems like a massive
departure for Fisher to build a dirt jump/street/trail hard tail.
I guess when you are one of the founding fathers you can get away with
anything. The Bigg'ns is available in four levels of trim; the Ged,
Bitter, Mullet and Opie.
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If you aren't convinced that Trek is serious
about freeride a trip to their Web site might cure you. It's mostly
filled with Lance info and racing updates but if you check out their company
timeline you'll discover that the Session gets equal billing with Lance's
sixth Tour victory. I didn't need that extra nudge - I was a believer
after riding the bikes.
Thanks to Zapata Espinosa, John Riley, Ryan Atkinson, Andrew Shandro
and Aaron Mock for inviting me along and for setting everything
up and to Chris Winter and crew for leading the charge on the trails. |
Zap bears no resemblance to the fiery personality who used to write
for Mountain Bike when you meet him in the flesh. Photo Cam
McRae
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