World Champs bike checks
Here's a quick look at some of the bikes being piloted by Australians (and others!) at the World Championships in Canada.
Making the Australian Team for the UCI World Championships is a pretty big deal. It represents a lot of hard work and dedication not just from the athlete, but from their support network too.
Matt Rousu is track side for AMB at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Mt St Anne in Canada, and while we have already seen the action in the team relay and the eMTB race, Matt has also grabbed some shots of the bikes being used. Take a look!
Cassie Voysey's Rocky Mountain
The Rocky Mountain Maiden is Cassie Voysey's weapon for Junior DH. We tested one a few years back and were supre impressed by how well it charged even the craziest of lines.
Cassie has a 7-speed SRAM DH group set on the bike, DT Swiss rims and of course a Maxxis Minion combo for tyres.
There are a few nice touches, with some green and gold decals on the fork and frame. Being a National Champion has some perks!
Connor Fearon's Kona Operator
The glitter is back! Last year we took a look at the disco glitter Kona Operator that Connor was racing in Lenzerheide, and it's a case of same same but different in Canada.
The Minion DHR is doing duty on the front as well as the back, and Connor has the SRAM 7-sp downhill group set, perhaps still the Black Box setup from 2018, but updated? The oil slick chain looks so good!
The rims ahve a sweet build with silver hubs and spokes, and the valves show there is Cushcore inside.
Of course, Connor has his boxing kangaroo motif on the frame. World Champs is about having something a bit special and this bike is certainly delivering on that!
Katherine Hosking's Merida Big.Nine Team
Australia's U23 National Champion Katherine Hosking is taking on the Mt St Anne XCO course on a bucking bronco – a hardtail! But she has some smart spec on there, including a RockShox Reverb dropper post.
"I arrived on Saturday and had my first ride on Sunday. Riding a track you have seen on TV so many times was unreal. I managed to ride everything. I had a small off on Wednesday, but the course here is incredible. It's a really honest course."
You can see in the shot above that Katherine runs #fullyslammed with a Syntace FlatForce stem
Ghere's a Quarq for #data and pacing, a wide gear range, tubeless carbon wheels and plenty of charcter and stories in this frame.
Jack Moir's Intense 29
Factory teams pull all the stops out for their riders, and just like Connor Fearon, Jack Moir has something special as well, thanks to Intense Factory Racing and their sponsors.
We have seen a fair bit of Jack's bike in the past, including the alloy proto on our cover a couple of years back. What you can spot here is the yet-to-be-released TRP 7sp downhill group set. We're yet to find out when this will be released officially but Intense Factory Racing have been using it for a while, it must be set to go soon!
Intense run Fox and it's 49 up front and an DHX2 out the back.
Everything else is what you would expect. Rims are carbon, the bars are reasonably high given Jack isn't short, and the Kena tyres are like most non-Maxxis brands, trying to look like a Minion as much as possible.
Holly Harris and her Merida Ninety Six
Holly Harris has raced on a Merida Ninety Six for years. Having won Cape to Cape, Port to Port, Reef to Reef, Australian XCM Championships and plenty of other races big and small on it, it's fair to say she is accustomed to how it rides.
This year, Holly has moved to the SRAM AXS wireless group set for the 10-50 wide range gear set.
And while wireless shifting is cool, so is a wireless dropper post – which Holly also has fitted to her Merida.
The rest of the spec is as you would expect, with carbon SRAM wheels and trusty Maxxis Ikon tyres.
Sarah Tucknott's S-Works Specialized Epic
The Specialized Epic is often the most popular bike you will find at an cross-country or marathon event. And it's not really any different at World Championships, as while there are a small handful of factory riders, many riders are choosing their bikes based on what serves them best. And U23 Oceania Champ Sarah Tucknott chooses the Specialized Epic, in the very tasty S-Works flavour.
Sarah's bike is equipped with Shimano XTR M9100, using the 10-45 cassette and short cage derailleur for fast shifting and mega ground clearance all while delivery a 450% gear range. Sarah has a Fox FActory 32 SC fork for plush and reliable suspension, along with the Fox Transfer dropper post – in Factory spec with Kashima coating too.
And showing she knows what works, Sarah also has the DT Swiss XMC 1200 wheels with 30mm internal width rims, which will be giving her Specialized tyres an awesome profile while being exactly the right set of wheels to stand upto the demands of the rocks in Canada.
Sian A'hern's Norco Aurum HSP
The Norco Aurum HSP was on the race scene for a long, long time before it was finally released. Norco wanted to make a no compromises downhill bike so they made sure they got it right!
Sian's bike is equipped just like you'd expect for a SRAM backed rider, with an XO 7sp downhill group set and RockShox Boxxer fork. Rims are from DT Swiss and the tyres are Maxxis DHR front and rear, without CushCore by the looks of it.
