News Roundup - Week of September 16th

Hangtime Returns for 2022

We are stoked to announce HANGTIME , a women’s freeride event hosted by Hannah Bergemann on the Blue Steel jump line here in Bellingham, WA, will be returning for 2022!

Some of the best and up-and-coming female freeriders in the world will come together, ride, progress, and strengthen this community.

The event is September 30th - October 1st, and is co-presented with Red Bull USA.

Event Schedule

-Friday - September 30th: Blue Steel will be closed to public for the athletes to session and get comfortable riding the line

-Saturday - October 1st: In the morning the athletes will have another private session on the jumps. This will be followed by a session in the evening (around 4pm, wind depending) that is open to the public for viewing! All are welcome to come watch these ladies throw down on this massive jump line!

Afterparty at Transition Outpost, ~7-10pm!

(Sunday, October 2nd will be the back-up jam day in case of weather)

SORCA and the Squamish Nation Sign MOU

Last week SORCA and the Squamish Nation celebrated the signing of a precedent-setting Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a witnessing ceremony (Kwis Ns7eyx̱to). This MOU is is the result of years of hard work by many people. We are very excited about what the future of this partnership holds. Thank you to everyone who has done their part to make it happen.

The purpose of the MOU is to affirm the partnership between the Nation and SORCA, and to share the responsibility of stewardship of recreational trails and areas within Squamish territory. The agreement establishes engagement processes for stewardship, governs the conduct of SORCA’s members, volunteers and contractors and allows for trail use on selected private property.

“We are no longer invisible on our shared territory. The MOU is an opportunity to celebrate the Xay Temixw (Sacred Land) and shares the responsibility of stewardship. Recognizing the inherent value of our Territory is a humbling indication of change happening within our local communities and is a step towards protecting our land for the benefit of our future generations.” – Squamish Nation Spokesperson, Swixwtwn Wilson Williams

The MOU validates the vision of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw’s Xay Temíxw (Sacred Land) Land Use Plan and the following priorities:

• protecting the rights and interests of the Squamish people;
• sustaining its territory for its children’s children – seven generations;
• planning ahead instead of always reacting to problems and conflicts;
• protecting heritage, traditional use, sacred and cultural sites;
• protecting old-growth forests;
• providing opportunities for hunting, fishing and gathering;
• repairing damage to the land and water, and reducing soil, water and air pollution; and
• getting Squamish Nation members into the territory for health, education, recreation,
  spiritual and cultural purposes, including camps for children and youth.

The agreement is a milestone in the decades-long relationship between the Nation and SORCA that has created opportunities for the Squamish Nation community and youth to connect with their territory.

“Chet kw’enmantúmi (We are grateful.) We are grateful to live here and ride here. We are grateful for the trust Squamish Nation has in us and our members to love and respect the land as they themselves do. And we are grateful to contribute to connecting Squamish Nation’s youth to the land through the joy of riding bikes in the mountains." – SORCA President Jeff Norman

We look forward to co-creating our shared vision of a unified future, because our communities are stronger when we work together. For full details and parameters of our Memorandum of Understanding with the Squamish Nation click here

GoPro Announces the Hero 11 Black & Mini

GoPro has launched the latest iteration of its Hero action camera along with a new smaller Mini offering. Both cameras have similar feature sets and the specs for the new models include the following:

- New HyperView digital lens for widest angle 16:9 shot ever produced in a Hero GoPro camera. SuperView now available in 5.3K60 and 4K120.
- HyperSmooth 5.0 technology with in-camera 360-degree Horizon Lock.
- Three new Night Effect Time Lapse presets for capturing Star Trails, Light Painting and Vehicle Light Trails.
- TimeWarp 3.0 now captures at 5.3K.
- Simpler camera control with Easy and Pro modes.
- Enduro Battery to improve camera performance in cold and moderate temperatures. Comes with Hero11 Black and as a built-in battery in Hero 11 Black Mini.

For full specs and more, head over to the GoPro website

DT Swiss Launches New FR 541 Free Ride Wheel

Not the first, but the last. The FR 541 aspires to be the last rim you build on your bike. The new rim design enables improved impact resistance and a better pinch flat protection to fit your style and your lines. On jumps, you will not have to pull more to fly more. The reduced rim weight will make sure that you gain altitude without too much effort. Mount this rim with love and it will faithfully reward you.

Highlights

• Aluminum with welded rim joint
• Inner width: 30mm
• Available in 29", 27.5" with 28 or 32 spoke count
• Pro Head Reinforcement System increases load-bearing surface of nipples
• Tests conducted with a leading tire supplier showed a 17% increase in pinch flat resistance compared to the previous FR 560 rim.
• Comes with three sticker kits
• Weight: 570g

Even if others before have not managed to match your riding style, the FR 541 will be present on every feature you want to hit. Its new shape gives it particularly attractive characteristics to resist your abuse for a long time. Push a little harder on the rocks and jump a little higher on the jumps; this new rim allows for improved impact resistance and better pinch flat protection to forgive you if your landing is farther away than expected. The optimization doesn't stop there; the rim weight is reduced compared to the previous FR model, allowing you to have a little less weight to pull on your first attempt of that new road gap. The FR 541 may not be the first rim to accompany you on your various adventures, but it aspires to be the last. Mount this rim with love and it will faithfully reward you.

To learn more about the FR 541, please visit www.dtswiss.com

absoluteBLACK Introduces the GRAPHENpads

Brake pads are the single most important part of the bike, which determines how confidently you can descend. The key element to their optimum performance is to keep the temperature of the brake pads and the rotor as low as possible (ideally below 400C), especially on longer descends. The hotter the pads get, the faster they fade, which means they lose the ability to slow you down reliably when needed. Overheated pads loose braking consistency and behave differently each time you press the brake lever, which greatly diminishes your braking confidence, effectively making you ride much slower.

The ideal brake pad will have the same predictable braking power, initial braking bite and perfect modulation throughout a long descend. After 3 years of development, we believe that we have achieved just that with our GRAPHENpads®. The results of the machine tests and thermal imaging show that we were able to reduce disc pad and rotor temperature by up to 35% vs competitors and completely eliminate brake fading.

The key elements of GRPAHENpads®:

First pads on the market containing specially modified graphene in their friction compound, which greatly improves braking performance, durability and heat transfer to the backplate.

Thanks to the backplates being entirely covered in graphene heat dissipating coating, it was possible to achieve much greater heat transfer from the friction material to the cooling fins and at the same time, increase radiation of heat (IR spectrum) by over 20% (which is very significant).

First pads in the market with patented, angled radiator fins for superior airflow and cooling. Angle cutting provides three major benefits. 1. Increased overall surface of the radiator by 40% vs standard cutting methods. 2. Significantly greater airflow compared to traditional radiators that increases convective heat dissipation 3. Most importantly, 45deg angle cutting makes all the surfaces radiate the heat away from the brake pad. Heat radiation (IR spectrum) is the highest in perpendicular direction to the surface so in a standard radiator, every fin is radiating its heat at a neighbouring fin, keeping more heat in the element. Our pads radiate all the heat away from the back plate.

To date, GRAPHENpads® are the only brake pads in the market that completely eliminate toxic copper, ahead of new regulations (copper brake dust is proven to be toxic to aquatic life hence new California regulation will ban use of copper by 2025)

They are produced in EU unlike majority of other pads on the market, which come from a single Taiwanese factory.

What you will feel:

• Predictability and power, allowing you to regain full control of your braking
• Better modulation and faster stopping
• Improved confidence when descending
• No brake fade, more consistency and reliable braking feel corner after corner, even on the most demanding descends.
• They are very quiet, even during long descends.
• They reduce fatigue of your hands due to greatly reduced brake lever force needed to achieve powerful braking compared to competition.

GRAPHENpads® will be offered in 4 models

Disc 34 – For Shimano Dura Ace and other models
Disc 35 – For Sram eTap AXS and other models

Disc 34 & 35 have angled cooling fin cutting structure, graphene coating and graphene performance ROAD friction compound - MSRP $62.99 USD

Disc 27 – For Shimano XTR and other models
Disc 31 – For Sram G2 and other models

Disc 27 & 31 have straight fin cutting structure, graphene coating and graphene endurance MTB friction compound - MSRP $49.99 USD

Disc 15 – For Shimano Deore and other models - MSRP $37.99 USD

Disc 15 has no fins due to caliper limitations, graphene coating and graphene endurance MTB friction compound

For more information, head to absoluteblack.cc