Turner DHR final specs

Last month we told you about a pending Turner DHR build and test from Sicklines. This bike features our new Split-Second Infinite DM stem, giving riders reach and height adjust-ability depending on their riding preference or which trail/course they are on. Here it is in the flesh, click on the photos below to read more about the parts spec and their real world weights.

China Jiangsu Bicycle Tradeshow

Last month our South Korean distributor EXO attended the 28th annual Chinese Jiangsu international bicycle tradeshow. Check out some of the attached photos...

CCCX DH #5

CCCX DH returns to Toro Park! The Fall/Winter series has been combined with the Spring/Summer series earlier this season for a year-long winner take all event. Last month a race was canceled due to conflicts with the collegiate MTB championship, so this past weekend became the first of three for the series finale.

Torrential rain brought low visibility, but great traction to the bone dry hills of Toro Park. Fortunately the wind did not play a factor, only the rain which forced a lot of riders to race without goggles. Points will be doubled for these final races, therefore making it every bit as important to be there racing. Best of two runs also became the topic of hot discussion and speculation, with the rain, it made it difficult for riders to want to do a second run. However, those who did, certainly had the option of letting it all hang out to chase a fast time.

Ben Vickery opting for a second run managed a great time and a top 10 in pro!


John Hauer showed up on his new KHS bike and put down a clean run, 2nd on the day in Pro class for him.


Co-founder Tim Lukko struggled with visibility, as did most of the other racers. Finishing out towards the bottom of his class.


Ian Massey had some problems with staying on his bike, a couple crashed knocked him off the podium, but still got some good points.


Alex Amaral also had a crash and flat tire, however with two more races left, he will still be in the points chase for first.


Mike Amaral showing everybody how far you can launch off this jump. Finishing in the top three secured him more points for the championship.


Founder Jimmy Amaral had a fairly clean run and therefore a good result, top 3 in Pro will keep him in first place overall.


Results

Intense M9 Renault

Check out part 2 of the custom Intense Formula One inspired M9's. Proudly made in the USA, along with our Podium Pedals.

Transition TR450 review

Back in March, we told you about a pending review of the Transition TR450, well Sicklines spent the summer testing it out and putting not only the bike, but our Podium pedals to the test! Check out the full review here.

Intense Tazer HT

Check out Leigh Donovan's custom champagne Tazer HT, just in time for Ray's indoor bike park opening weekend. Complete with white Podium pedals!

Flat Pedal Shootout

Singletrack Magazine has posted a flat pedal shootout, containing all different types based on thickness, price and serviceability. Click on the quote below to read all about who they thought came out on top!

"...these are possibly the best functioning flat pedals available now."

Intense M9 Lotus

Check out the Lotus inspired Intense M9, complete with Podium pedals! For more pictures click here.

Max Houtzager

Keep your eyes peeled for up and coming DH/XC/Super-D racer Max Houtzager. After recently coming off a hat trick at the Downieville Classic in the juniors category, and a win at the BC Cup Finals, racing XC. He also scored a top 3 at the Race for Tara at Northstar earlier this month. He is a sure threat no matter what discipline he ends up racing. Keep up with his racing blog here. As well as a daily food account for a healthy body and the fuel necessary to win, Flavor to go Fast!

Check out his take on the Race for Tara.



I didn't race much downhill this year except Sea Otter / two Northstars. I had a good race at the Otter with a decent result but a flat and a crash at the N*'s. I wanted to have fun shredding some downhill on this last Northstar trip and possibly end with a good result, however, a failing to recover-bruised heel and a blown up fork almost made me not race and just go home early. I got the fork to work ok with some adjustments but it was still pretty useless, and after getting more use to my bike and the blown course I decided to race. This event is a lot bigger than the usual N* races, with some big sponsors and plenty of big pros showing up such as Mark Weir, Jason Moeschler, Brian Lopes, Carl Decker, Evan Turpen, and Duncan Riffle.

The course started from the top of Northstar (where you don't usually get to ride), which basically just added a fast and pedally fireroad to a fast pedally singletrack with a sort-of climb (for the guys on all mountain bikes it wouldn't be a climb but for dh bikes it definitely was). Then you went down Sticks and Stones, which was already ripped apart having been raced on a few weekends before. It's a lot of sandy ruts with scattered rocks, some flat pedaling sections, rock drops, and two big technical rock gardens. The top half you were pretty much sliding through the dust the entire time and then the bottom half opened up a little bit with way more steep sections and rocks. Definitely a downhill bike course, at least in the dry. You then traversed back over to the main trails and finished on the reworked Daytona berms and finish line jump.

After dry dry dusty practice it started pouring rain on race day, becoming an all mountain bike course for sure. I got one practice run on the lower half and it wasn't too wet, actually quite tacky for Northstar (once in a blue moon). By the time the race started it really rained hard and everyone froze standing around under the over hang at the start. After getting soaked on a 15 minute lift ride in the rain and then standing around for 40 min trying to warm up and dry off (pedaling would just make you more wet and cold), most people couldn't feel their hands. I started, teeth chattering and hands shaking, and couldn't really shift gears at all let alone keep my fingers on the brakes. It was way harder than I anticipated to pedal the flat fireroad and uphill singletrack out of the saddle on a dh bike with flat pedals, which became even more evident when my friend Marshall (WTB/Santa Cruz/Fox) caught and rode away from me on the climb, making up the 30 second gap. It was also really hard because the dirt was wet and slow and lots of giant puddles sapped your speed (making you freeze even more). The rest of the course was all about being smooth and fast but still hanging it out a little bit, since the changing conditions were unpredictably sketchy. What was a little tacky and occasionally muddy became one giant gnarly creek with tons of slick rocks and some wet ladder bridges. I made two major errors by clipping my pedals, getting sent completely off the track once (hiking back up) and almost going OTB and coming to a crawl on a flat rock section in between the two main rock gardens the second time. Overall I pedaled as hard as I could and rode most sections at a respectable pace but didn't hang it out too much. It was mainly just really awesome pinning it in the pouring rain because it was really gnarly and felt like a world cup, where the tracks are always steep, rocky and brutally wet due to unpredictable weather.

I thought I'd be lucky to podium because my run felt slow overall. I left because results were taking a while, I had fun racing in the rain, and there was some stiff competition for sure. I guess it was just as hard for everyone else though so I found out I ended up 3rd! I was totally stoked to finish off with a good result again this year and win some sweet Smith goggles.

Cal State Downhill Finals - Allen Stoddard

The final round of the California Golden State Championship Series was held in Southern California in Fontana. I picked up Trevor Reeves in Santa Cruz and headed down 101 South toward San Luis Obispo to pick up Alex Kachlakev. After stopping in SLO for about an hour picking up Alex and greeting a few friends we were on the road. I decided that I wanted to take Interstate 5 instead of taking Highway 101 South so I made a "little" detour. I found out the hard way that my detour added at least an hour to the drive down to Kevin Aiello's house in Rancho Santa Margarita where I was staying for the race. After about 8 hours of driving we finally arrived at Kevin's house around 3:30am. We unloaded my truck and fell asleep immediately on Kevin's couches.


Tony Tarumoto photo

In the morning I was greeted by the smell of french toast made by Karen Aiello (Kevin's mom). After a delicious breakfast we loaded the trucks and headed to Fontana which was about a 45 minute drive from Rancho Santa Margarita. Arrived in Fontana, registered, and got geared up for practice. Typical Fontana weather was the case; hot, dry, and windy. The race course was surprisingly disappointing due to the lack of technical features. Although the course was rather tame, it was a blast to ride. The first section of the course was quick with fast, loose corners, jumps, and some interesting chutes. The middle section was very disappointing due to the fact that is was literally impossible to get a solid flow going on. Once you got toward the bottom, the course picked up some speed and then into the infamous wall. After about 4 practice runs I was happy with the way my runs were coming together. Packed up the truck and drove back to Kevin's house. The night involved eating, watching some funny shows on tv, and relaxing. The next day was race day so we went to bed early.


Mike Lord photo

Race day arrived and we were up and ready to go. We ended up leaving Rancho Santa Margarita around 8am arrived in Fontana around 8:40am. I took 1 practice run and then just rested before the race staying hydrated. Racing started at 10am so I got in the shuttle van around 9:35am. Got to the top of the hill and waited for the show to begin. I did some stationary spinning and course visualization in my head. Finally got in the starting gate and off I was on course. I hit all my lines and had a strong top half of the course. Once I got into the middle section of the course I couldn't keep a good flow going on. Came down the fast section then into the wall. I gave the wall everything I had and pedaled til the finish line. My run was overall decent but I knew that the middle section of the course was going to hurt my time. I was only 3 seconds off top 5 which was surprising because I felt like I could have taken 5 seconds off my run. 12th in the race, 10th overall in the California State Series with a missed race and a DNF in the series. It was a fun race and made some good memories. I know what I need to work on with training during this upcoming off season so I am eager to see some results. Big shout out to the Aiello Family for a nice place to stay at and being so welcoming!