Fort William Practice Day: Team Modifications and Prototypes
The Fort William practice day saw some exciting bike modifications and prototypes from the teams. Amaury Pierron’s Commencal Supreme DH now features a custom cover on the non-drive side that reads “KODS,” standing for “Keep Our Device Secret.” Brother Antoine’s Supreme DH has a more stock look with an aluminum chainstay, while Industry Nine created custom hubs for Antoine and Austin Dooley on the team.
Pau Menoyo is testing a prototype tire from Schwalbe on his rear wheel, while Greg Minnaar is experimenting with prototype brake levers from TRP, updating the current DH-R EVO model. Prototype Schwalbe tires are also being used at the Propain Positive pits on a team-only version of the Newmen Beskak 30 rim.
The Propain team riders have added a 500-gram diving weight cable to the bottom of their Rage CF bikes for a preferred ride feel. Vali’s Rockshox Boxxer now features a Flight Attendant system on both the fork and Super Deluxe Ultimate coil shock, while an idler pulley has been added to Vali’s bike, mounted via the chain device.
Myriam Nicole returned to the World Cup circuit with her Red Bull helmet, while Shimano introduced a spider-less Saint Crank to accommodate the OChain device, with shortest Saint cranks yet at 160mm. Matt Walker’s Saracen Myst DH bike is equipped with a flip-chip at the front shock mount for adjusting progression without altering geometry.
First-year Junior Taylor Waite is riding a prototype from Yeti that shares similarities with their eBike design but includes adjustable parameters for reach and chainstay length. The bike also features a flip-chip at the lower shock mount controlling overall progression. Yeti has kept many details about their prototype bike under wraps.
Overall, it was an exciting day at Fort William as teams continued to tweak their bikes and test new prototypes ahead of racing season!
