breakfast with
tinker juarez
nZO 12hr epic 100km endurance 100 handmade in america
factory tour aussies at the
worlds
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Doug Dalton / Cannondale
PUBLISHED BY on behalf of Cannondale Australia EDITOR Dave ‘I’m in the trees - I’m in your tent’ Cooper ART DIRECTOR/ DESIGNER Andrew Threlfall andrew@freewheel.com.au EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Dave Cooper, Hamish Elliot, Aiden Lefmann, Andy Threlfall, Todd Warnock. SNAPARAZZI BIKE PIX, Andy Threlfall, B. Ferraro, Dave Cooper, Chris Herron, Mikkeli Godfree, Michael Taylor, Mark Watson, Doug Dalton / Cannondale, Todd Warnock. Rider on cover: Aido / Pic: Mikkeli Godfree ENQUIRIES - FreeWheel Magazine TEL : (03) 9690 9065 MOBILE: 0438 292 006 EMAIL: info@freewheel.com.au WEB: freewheel.com.au/enduro
welcome
“RUSH”
It’s the feeling you get when you ride your bike; when you get to the top of a climb, win a sprint, make that drop, get cleanly through that technical section or go faster or further than you ever have before. In the case of a bike manufacturer, you build a bike that does what it’s designed to do better than anything else that’s out there! Cannondale has been manufacturing high performance bicycles for every kind of competitive cycling for over 30 years. Take a look at the world of bicycle racing and you’ll see the SIX13 Road bike underneath riders in the Tour De France, Christophe Sauser tearing up the World Cup XC
blood, sweat & gears the Red Bull District Ride (Germany) in Sept 05. Closer to home the Australian CANNONDALE/MAXXIS team had every member finish on the podium at the 2005 National Mountain bike championships. How do they do it? Flick through these pages and you’ll get a taste of what goes into producing and riding world class, hand made bicycles. Innovative designs, years of R&D, feed back from riders, in house testing and even good old fashioned trial and error. All these things combined mean we know what works, and what doesn’t.
circuit on his Scalpel, Tinker Juarez winning the last 3 U.S 24hr national titles on his new dual suspension Rush. Just a few months ago Cedric Gracia took out the Crankworx event at Whistler on his Prophet and Aaron Chase winning
Welcome to the world of Cannondale….It’s a Rush!
www.cannondale.com
Words by Todd Warnock Pics B. Ferrarro
CANNONDALE FACTORY TOUR BEDFORD PENSYLVANIA 22ND August 2005
It was the chance of a lifetime, spend 2 days touring the CANNONDALE factory in Bedford PA. USA and then fly half way across the country to Salt Lake city, UTAH to attend the launch of the new endurance race bike, the Rush. It meant plenty of traveling. Not much sleep and a lot of looking at, and talking about bikes. I was totally up for it!
The in house test facility putting the Gracia 220mm frame through its paces.
Cannondale have been making World class bicycles
comes out the other end as a shiny new frame. Our
in this otherwise sleepy part of the world for over 30
tour guide for the day was John M. who knew the
years. One of the very first bicycles produced was a
process inside out as he started with Cannondale over
touring bike and the remarkable thing about this bike
20 years ago as a welder.
was that it was fashioned out of Aluminium tubing rather than the steel tubing popular at the time. Before
Appropriately enough at the time we were at the
long Cannondale’s name became synonymous with
factory RUSH frames were being produced. We got to
oversize, light weight, alloy tubing. Whether it was the
see them made from scratch and then a few days later
Caad series Road frames ridden by the Saeco team
ride them on the trails outside of Park City, Utah.
in the Tour de France, or, the hard tail Mountain bike frames raced by riders in the World cup (like our own
At the start of the frame building process the tubing is
Cadel Evans back in the Volvo/Cannondale team days)
reduced to a Zero temper by an annealing process, this allows the tubing to be cut, butted, drawn and shaped
Ever wondered where the Cannondale name came
into whatever design needed for that part of the frame.
from? Well when the founder of the company, Joe
Tubing is shipped heat treated to prevent dents and
Montgomery, went to register his new bike company
other damage in transit, somewhere between T4 and
he didn’t have a name. Thinking on the spot at the
T6. T6 being the highest level of heat treating, zero
registry office he took the name of the local railway
the lowest. If you were to try and bend or shape it in
station and “CANNONDALE” was born. Funnily enough
this state it would “resist” becoming weaker and even
a similar thing happened with Oakley sunglasses…
cracking or splitting. Great care has to be taken with
Oakley was the name of the guy’s dog, but that’s
the tubing whilst it is in zero temper as it can be easily
another story.
dented.
We did our factory tour “Chronologically” …Raw tubing
Once the tubes are returned to T6 small test pieces
is delivered to one end of the factory and a week later
of alloy, which have been made specifically for the
Fit tab ‘A’ into slot ‘B’ for a nice straight frame. Note the nicely machined head tube
the 1.5 head tube is oversize for extra strength, it provides a bigger surface area to attach the top tube and down tube, and also caters for Cannondale’s unique Lefty fork (or Headshock). The head tube is machined on the outside to remove alloy from the front two-thirds ie:where the head badge would be, making this tube thinner at the front saving up to 10grams and leaving the back half thicker where the frame tube will be attached. This attention to detail was consistent throughout the whole frame building process. CNC machining is used on important frame parts like the new 1 piece Rush Bottom bracket and swingarm pivot, the
purpose, are put into a machine to be stretched until breaking to ensure that the heat treating process is up
swing arm main pivot section and lower shock mount (called the Hot Box), in fact all shock
to scratch at this stage.
mounts. No welded on “tabs” to mount shocks onto as
A lot of care is also taken to remove excess material
under constant load. If you are going to offer a life time
from the frame to keep the weight down, more material where it’s needed and less where its not. The oversize head tube was an excellent example of this,
these are high stress areas and the first things to give Guarantee on a frame it better be right!! One of the keys to the quality and durability of a A row of Headshock forks waiting for their frames
Cannondale frame is the tab and slot process
A Rush 1 piece B/B shell & main pivot tacked onto the downtube
followed by the 2 pass smooth welding. Every frame tube has a tab in the end of it with a corresponding slot for it to fit into. This means the frame can pretty much be plugged together outside of the jig and be aligned correctly. The frame is tacked together in a jig, alignment checked and then sent of to the welder for smooth welding. If frame building is an “Art” then the welders are the true artists especially when it comes to smooth welding. There is no sanding back needed, thereby removing material and potentially affecting weld strength. After 2 passes by a skilled welder the join looks as good as it does on the showroom floor…amazing. The focus is on quality the whole way along the production line, frames are pulled out and tested to failure, individual components like handlebars, stems cranks and forks are all tested to failure before they are selected as standard spec’ for any bike. All this happens in Cannondale’s own test Laboratory right here in the factory. It was a shock to see all those “high end” components being destroyed in front of our own eyes. The row of long travel forks being “flexed” to simulate braking forces
Main: Todd W was really impressed with the smooth rear end. Inset: A total of 20 Rush frames in bits
until they finally gave way was hard to watch. After a day on the production line I was left with the overall impression of a “boutique” frame building company but on a grand scale. I was struck by how much work is done by skilled hands and not a single robot in sight. It struck me as I watched the decals being placed by hand on each frame that the “Hand Made in the USA” sticker proudly displayed on the rear stay was no idle boast.
Smooth welding is an art
Main: Cannondale DH wired up to see waht really goes on when riding
Top shock mount CNC’ed out of 1 big chunk of alloy. The wastage is collected & recycled.
Sydney NZO
Words by Hamish Elliot Pics Michael Taylor
Watching MTB’ers run is always entertaining
Craig Gordon going for it
On the 10th of September myself and trusty team mate
un-edited track from the ‘River Dance’ album (highly
Craig Gordon descended upon the well known and
recommended) and with M.C Stu Plant providing the
well worn Yarramundi single track for the annual N-ZO
lyrics, who could ask for a better start to the day.
12hr, hosted by Western Sydney MTB club. The pre-
The start was fast with Matt Flemming setting a
race team tension began at registration when ‘Gordo’
wicked tempo and eventually fastest day lap, while
convinced the race organisers that I was his mechanic
our aim was to keep it fast and consistent. Our 2
by swiftly ordering me to wheel the bikes to the
lap on, 2 lap off routine was working well especially
tent. Tension soon settled and we both came to the
with the thermometer reaching the high 20’s, staying
agreement that it was time to call a truce and get down
hydrated and fed was particularly important. The race
to the business of racing, Cannondale/ Maxxis style.
was going well with no upsets until mid afternoon
The race began with a 500 meter chaotic run that
when an inexperienced rider accidentally rammed their
started on an old, hole ridden, concrete road. The
foot through the front wheel of Gordo’s Team F1000
sound of cleats on concrete was something like an
while dismounting on a rather technical section of the
12hr
Hamish all smiles, during the event.
course, God love em. This wasn’t going to stop Gordo
a Nite Rider light and Gordo set the fastest night lap
as he charged past the tent with the teeth out, Hip Hop
while we built upon a solid lead over our category
in the ears and three dangling spokes bouncing off his
competition and tried to reel in the stomping 3 man
Carbon “Lefty” front fork creating a sound close to that
team consisting of two Yeti’s and a Trek.
of the ‘old school’ spokey dokies……..respect.
The race finally drew to an end leaving the Cannondale/
As the sun disappeared behind the Yarramundi hill
Maxxis duo (ie: Us!) Taking line honours in the pairs
the event centre turned into a glow of halogen. The
category with 21 laps, while remaining 2nd overall.
wacky characters of endurance racing seem to emerge
A big shout-out to the entire Cannondale Australia
when the sun goes down with numerous variations
crew, all the Cannondale/Maxxis team sponsors, and
and modifications made to house hold appliances in an
the committee behind putting together such a well
attempt to create enough light to navigate themselves
organised race, 5 years in a row.
around, what was now, a treacherous course. We, on the other hand, ventured into the night with
Peace.
Aiden’s Epic
Words by Aiden Lefmann Pics BikePix
a 100km race - an Epic
L-R: Craig Gordon, Hamish Elliot, Craig Saunders, Aiden Lefmann
After the memory of the heat and exhaustion of
to the fact that a large sum of cash was on offer for the
last year’s event had finally faded, it wasn’t long
first rider through each checkpoint (25km, 50km, 75km) it
before we were headed up north in the Toowoomba
quickly separated the contenders from the pretenders.
QLD direction to once again try and conquer the demanding route that the Hidden Vale Epic
It was agreed around the Cannondale camp the night
presented us.
before the epic, that we would go for the lead at
Apart from the addition of some fairly rough single track
there. As we raced down Ma-Ma creek towards the 25km
nearing the 100km mark, the course itself remained relatively unchanged, the usual long unforgiving climbs remained as hard as always, the flat roads continued to allow the roadies a little break and the ever flowing singletrack down Ma-Ma creek opened up opportunities for the opportunistic mountain bikers amongst us. We decided the hot set up for this course would be the elusive (only 50 sets in Australia!) Maxxis Larsen 1.9 tubeless fitted to our trusty Optimo F4000 hardtails, ideal for those long
checkpoint one, and see how the race pans itself out from mark, it was Scott’s, Nick Booth who took advantage of a little course knowledge and was the first rider across the line at checkpoint one taking the cash, and the lactate, with still a nasty 75km to race. Plan B, was now in place! For those who haven’t done the Epic, the real test comes at the 25 km mark, as the race heads up into the Razorback ranges. The gruelling fire road / double track climb stretches an evil 12kms as we cross over
gruelling climbs ahead of us.
the ranges to the open and fast trails heading towards
Unlike last year’s epic, the start was fast and furious with
climb started, the stronger riders of the day rode away
a strong pace that wouldn’t really settle at all. Due mainly
the half way mark. The race really began as soon as the from the stragglers (me being one of the latter!). A lead
group formed towards the top of the climb but missing
Craig Saunders, from River City Cycles, on the rivet
the presence of a lonesome Craig Gordon (Cannondale / Maxxis), who decided to tear the climb to shreds and was found off the front by almost 1 minute by the time the race hit the half way mark. Line honours went to Cannondale on this one, but the race was still far from over. For those of us that had struggled over the razorback ranges, it was time to play catch up but, with team tactics playing an important roll up front, finding help to regain the race was elusive and frustratingly non-eventful. After a half-arsed chase, my prematurely tired legs begun to shut it down, (racing with a viral infection doesn’t help), and the race towards Peppers Winery Hidden Vale continued. The climb from checkpoint two (half way point) is most probably everybody’s most dreaded part of the race. At the pointy end of the race, the leaders regrouped just 4kms along the gradual climb towards Laidley Gap. Laidley Gap provided us with a pleasant 26 percent gradient climb nearing the top with many of the riders choosing the walking option, which was actually not much slower, (well not for me anyway). But as per usual, what goes up in the Epic goes down just as long but a hell of a lot faster. It was clear that the true Mountain bikers would have their day at this years race, even considering most of the descending is on fire-roads, the dry and rocky nature of the course gave the technically skilled riders a slight advantage. I decided my day was well over, and slotted into fifth gear for the roll down to check point two. Checkpoint 3, at the 75km mark was a vital point for riders to refuel with water and Enhancements Providing Opportunities (otherwise known as soft and legal methods of EPO), but Cannondale’s Craig Gordon was one of a few riders who missed out on that refuelling opportunity as his support crew got slightly lost on the way and arrived too late. As the temperature was dancing around the high twenties, fluids were extremely important, and this quickly showed on some of the riders. The Pace didn’t really settle at all in the final stage and shortly the group narrowed down to the four leading riders of Craig Gordon Cannondale/Maxxis, Mark Frendo (Pearl Izumi), Sean Lewis (Yeti), and Giant’s Murray Spink. With the new section of single track added to the final kilometres of the race, none of the riders had any knowledge of what was to come and it was a nail bitingly close finish between the top 4 riders. A smart ride by Murray Spink saw him cross the line to take out first place honours, Sean Lewis capped off a good performance
edging out local boy Mark Frendo for 2nd place, with the dehydrated Craig Gordon rolling in for 4th thinking about what could have been. Last years course record was smashed by a number of riders in the Elite Field showing that this race is really drawing a strong and classy contingent of riders from all across Australia. Not just because of the generous cash purse on offer, but due to challenging nature of the well organised event and the high profile and level of exposure that the Event Co-ordinator Peter Craegh has created. The scenery and atmosphere of the finish is enough to turn an otherwise hard day in the office, into a lazy afternoon of free alcohol drinking (and wasting) and gourmet food consumption thanks to the folks at Peppers Winery. Ahh, the serenity. With a capacity number of competitors making the trek to the Flowery Elevated town of Toowoomba this year, make sure you get your entries in fast for next years event as places will surely fill fast. Till then, RYD 247 Aiden
Tinkerpr Juarez e l ofi
Enduro Magazine caught up with legendary mountainbiker, Tinker Juarez for breakfast the day after he won the Endurance 100 in Park City, Utah. Partly to see what he had to say for himself and partly for the free breakfast. Words by Dave Cooper
EM: Alright umm…I’ll have the Fried Eggs with crispy bacon, hash browns and French fries on sourdough thanks and umm, coffee…white. No…No sugar, I’m on a diet. TJ: I’ll take a bran muffin and coffee. EM: It’s the morning after the Endurance 100 mile race here in Park City and Tinker after a solid 10 hours racing yesterday you look like you could do it again…you look fresh. TJ: I feel really good. I was really happy with the way my new bike [the Rush] performed. I had good legs yesterday. You know it’s really hard as you get older to know exactly if you’re going to have a good day or a bad day, but I felt good and early on in the race my legs felt good going up the climbs. I feel flat today but I feel like my legs are not tired or anything. EM: You have a busy race and travel schedule, is hard to keep yourself "up" week in and week out, did you do any special preparation for this event? TJ: Umm, nothing different than what I normally do. You know I just got back from Switzerland last week where I didn’t have a good race. I was riding good at the beginning of the race and I was kinda hoping to have a good race there, but it didn’t work out that way. It was good to at least win on the Rush with the launch here in Park City. EM: You are concentrating on marathon events now, what’s your training regime like? TJ: In an average week I do three long days of 4.5 to 5 hours, ranging from 80 to 100 miles [130-160km for us metric folk]. Then on easy days it could be 40 to 50 miles and usually just on the flat. But yeah, with all the racing I have done more 12 hour rides and fewer 24hr rides this year. I’ve got 1 more 24hr but I also have a RAAM (Race Across America Marathon) qualifier which is gonna require racing overnight so I consider that like a 24hr race too. EM: So you’re saying your training is your racing if you know what I mean [which he did]? TJ: With the experience I have, I just have to maintain myself and not over do it when I come to these kind of races. If you are gonna ride long you want to just save your energy for the race. EM: Do you train all on the dirt? Do you get out on a road bike much? TJ: I used to, you know, in the earlier years I used to be able to train on my mountain bike. You know get in my car and drive to the mountains and then train. Now I just get up and when I’m ready to go out the door at
like 9 O’clock or 10, then I get on my road bike, it’s just that much easier. So all my miles are pretty focused all on the road bike. You really feel a big difference, I get a lot of consistent power from the road bike, I train by myself so I gotta deal with my own headwinds and just you know everything. I push myself on the hard days just to get the job done, I give like an 80% effort and anybody that ever rides with me would know that I’m pushing hard. To me though it’s good EM: You mentioned that you have been racing bikes all your life, some people may not realise that you have a BMX background. You raced BMX for years way back in the 70’s and 80’s… It’s a long way from 30-45 second sprint races to riding 100 mile events!! How’d you make that transition? TJ: Yeah…Yeah…(smiling) I went from 30 second races to 24 hours races and my goal next year is to race across America and that’s gonna be 3,000 miles
pic Doug Dalton / Cannondale
so really…. it’s just the way it is. It’s a choice that I
bike shop, it’d be a real sweet thing. I never thought
made…I love endurance…I love the way it makes me
about having it in California; I’m kinda thinking the
feel, the way it makes me feel on the outside. I really
future maybe in Florida. That’s why I’m thinking about
just love that kind of suffering that comes with it. It’s
having a bike shop as I really want to stay in the bike
not a bad suffering once you learn how to do it.
business. After 33 years of racing it would be kind of a
I think this sport makes you feel good on the inside, I
waste to go and do something totally different. Plus, I
always feel that I could really be better than any of the
don’t have any kind of experience other than bikes, so I
‘youngsters’ in my races, even those a lot younger than
think it would only make sense to stick with it.
me and I really feel confident when I go out competing
EM: Do you remember your first mountain bike
against those kind of people. So I think that’s a really
race?
good thing about competing as you get older, just
TJ: It was in California, probably not far from my
the fact that you’re still doing it. I think that’s what
home. I thought it was more like a Cyclocross type
keeps me excited, keeps me doing it and why I’m still
course. Real fast and flat. I started off on a $200
winning races! It’s even more rewarding now.
bike. After that the magazines started letting me use
EM: What do you see yourself doing after racing,
some bikes that they got to test ride. So I got to test
can you see that far ahead?
and race those bikes. Well I started racing mountain
TJ: Well…it doesn’t look like it’s so hard now to see
biking seriously in 1986 so I guess it was around ’83,
that far ahead. I’m still dreaming of having my own
something like that.
EM: So that would have been around the time the
the last 2-3 years in a row?
very first purpose built mountain bikes appeared?
TJ: Actually 4 times in the 24hr champs and 3 times
TJ: Yeah. There was nothing that was cool like that
in the NORBA cross country and I was going for it this
now, I mean there was no shocks, heavy frames and
year but I just kinda went berserk at the beginning.
I think that the only thing trick about mountain bikes
Me, Chris Eatough and Nat Ross, some of my top
then was Aluminium frames and toe straps. It was
competitors at 24hrs, we all just ended up frying each
good as I learned from the ground up, as I came from
other out. Before even halfway through the race us 3
a BMX background I needed to put the miles in, it was
guys were DNF’ed. It didn’t make any sense but I think
pretty simple to figure out.
nobody wanted to let anyone ride off from the other.
fi o r p
EM: Were you racing BMX then?
EM: The race across America, is this now your new
TJ: No I had retired from BMX, I retired and I kind
focus?
of just stepped out of it, just got out of that whole
TJ: You know, the RAAM is gonna be my goal for next
atmosphere you know? The people were just young
year, I got the qualifier in October and that’s going to
and I didn’t really get the kind of respect I needed. I got
be 508 miles and I think you have to do it in a certain
a little disappointed with BMX after being in it for so
time. You don’t have to really win it. I think I’ll do a
long, you almost felt like every year people were yelling
couple of early 24hr races if I can and do some serious
out you were an old guy and stuff. It was perfect
miles on my road bike and just kinda keep it more
switching over, it was great…
tuned to what I really need to do for that. There’s so
I started seeing people my age, and even a little
much planning to do for the RAAM that it’s almost
younger, and it was like, you know, being reborn again.
too much to start thinking about. The qualifier is in
It was like older guys on bigger bikes and doing the
California and I’ve half my crew there that I’ll be using,
coolest trails out in the mountains and my skills were
there so we will use the qualifier to get used to each
just perfect for it.
other.
EM: So you’ve been riding pretty much non-stop
EM: After all the exotic locations you’ve raced in like
since then.
Peru, Switzerland, Cairns etc it’s this race here in
TJ: Yeah I never had a year off where I didn’t see a
Utah that stands out??
bike.
TJ: You know what? Truthfully Sydney 2000 was one
EM: What about injuries…have you kept yourself
of my all time favourite trips of my life because I was
injury free?
there for the Olympics and I had the dream vacation!
TJ: Yeah, except for about 2 years ago I fractured my
To be racing there was, well, it was just amazing
hip. It was really just a kook’s fall. I kinda lost focus for
how beautiful the country and the people were. That
a moment and just how I landed was just really weird. I
probably does stick out in my mind. I’ve been to Costa
didn’t know what was wrong with me, I was in Munich
Rica, I’ve been to Brazil; all through Switzerland and
at the time when it happened and I had to get all the
stuff like that and I’ve learned it’s all about timing; you
way back home. I was really only off my bike for about
gotta be there at the right time.
a month.
EM: How many 24 hr races do you think you can do
I just started doing my own rehab, I put my saddle up a little higher and put my bars up. I recovered
in a month and still recover?
TJ: My next race will be in 2 weeks and that’s a 24hr
really good after that. I got second in the 24hr World
race and I’ll be fine by then. I think I’d be lucky to do 2
Championships in British Columbia, so I was really
max per month and be able to give it my best. There
happy to place that well after so short a recovery. I got
was a time when I would need at least 2 weeks to
back my self confidence again because it got me a
recover from a 24hr but now I’m down to a week.
little nervous not knowing how I was gonna race after
EM: Do you have a special diet?
that fall. I’ve fallen on that side and I’m still in good
TJ: There ain’t no special diet when you are putting in
shape, it was a hairline fracture and they just put 2 pins
a lot of miles in, you know that’s one thing I love about
in it. And then I got your typical rashes that you get…
riding bikes because you can always eat as much as
from crashes, scars here and there going over layers of
you really want. I always think that I eat a lot more than
other scars.
I should for my size you know, but that’s OK!
EM: You’ve won the U.S. 24hr champs…what,
EM: What do you weigh?
e l fi
TJ: Like, probably 147 [pounds] I remember I was out at this race a couple of weeks ago, there were these people wanting to take a picture of me when this girl, a big lady, she picks me up right offa my feet man! I’m just thinking this lady is gonna snap her back and she was like "Whoa?" yunno, and I’m like "I’m kinda not light" but she still held on to me until the photo was taken. It was like amazing.
I always feel I ride a lot "lighter" than I am, that’s what I’ve always believed that my climbing is my strongest point. I can climb up a hill and I never think about my weight, my weight doesn’t seem to slow me down at all. That is something I have really focused on, being a really smooth and fast climber. I mean you hear about it all the time, good climbers are lightweight, but I’m a good climber and I ain’t that light. I watch road racing and look at Armstrong and he’s a medium sized guy who’s rock solid on the climbs.
EM: Yeah, people get obsessed by the weight of climbers but forget or don’t realize that there’s a technique to getting up hills.
TJ: It’s about technique, exactly. There is a certain stroke/rhythm that you have to have and that’s what I think I have. I know how to throw the power on when I need it, use the right gears when I need it, I know how to get good traction when I need it.
It’s a rhythm thing and I just kinda think of it really like a slow dance. Once you learn how to get those moves
is coming to races ‘cos then you get to see how you’re
down you are gonna be better than most guys out
going and once you know your training is good you
there.
stick with it. I’ve been sticking with my same training
EM: When you first threw a leg over a mountain bike
plan the last couple of years; it’s taken me my whole
did you feel good on the climb? Did you feel you had
life to work out and I finally feel like I’ve conquered
natural ability or did you have to work at it?
something. I’m really happy with the results that have
TJ: My big goal when I first started was to be a good
come out of it.
climber…It stuck with me that to be a good MTB’er
EM: After all these years do you still just love riding
you had to be a good climber. It didn’t disappoint me
bikes?
to realise that you had to work hard, punish yourself.
TJ: Yeah it’s fun! And I love the travelling and meeting
I always looked forward to the climbs and the big
new people, there’s so many great people to meet.
reward when you got to the top was you get to ride
There’s so much good life out there and so many good
down the other side. I think it came with hard work. It’s
people out there that don’t stress like people in L.A.
a really good head game. I mean people take climbing
People in L.A. really over stress and I’d be stressy to if
to be this evil thing but really it’s a beautiful thing
I had to be "on" all the time, working all the time, your
because once you get that confidence, you can climb
whole day is gone. I’d have no motivation to ride if I
anything.
did that. I give a lot of credit to the people who do it
EM: It sounds like you actually really enjoy training?
- use bikes to release their tension - but for me to work
TJ: Heh, heh…Yeah. For me though it’s the hardest
and ride would be a really tough job.
work of all, training. Coming to races is the fun part. I
EM: What’s it like being a bike rider in a city like L.A.
mean when you have to go home and you have to put
where it’s dominated by cars?
in your training that’s still hard work. The real fun part
TJ: Well I just block it outta me and I just have to be
more careful with all the cars out there. So, when I’m
when I was younger that I can’t do now.
going out there I think about trying to make it back
Really, I’m pretty much limited to riding my bike and
home in one piece. I look at cars as the enemy and
resting, but you know what? It’s OK, I won’t regret it
they are! I mean you can’t win in any kind of head on
and it’s my choice. I know I could do something else if
wreck. I mean, it’s sad, but it’s just part of my job that I
I really wanted to and really, I just feel like it’s a great
have to deal with.
thing for me to be bike racing. I’ve done it all my life.
"hard," not a crazy "hard" .
So there’s nothing more important out there for me
EM: Do you find you can be tough enough on
to do.
yourself training alone? You don’t need to ride with other people? TJ: I’ve been really good at knowing how to score myself, I’m really good at discipline, I know how to push myself hard and I know how to make myself tired at the end of the day. I’m really good at knowing how I should feel at the end of a ride whether it’s a long day or an easy day. I want to make sure that when I do rest on an easy day I’ve earned it. I’m always really tired. I am now on a hard day/easy day cycle. EM: When you are training long miles on your own then racing solo endurance events, again riding on your own, don’t you find it a lonely existence? TJ: Well…maybe, but the fun part is… Yeah you get home and it’s kinda boring at times but I have music. I listen to a lot of old music. I get to enjoy listening to a lot of music when I train and a lot of times you can’t listen to music when you ride with people. I don’t race with music though. When you go to the races you get to socialise with the people around you during the build up before the race but I guess in any kind of endurance stuff you are pretty much going into a Solo event. EM: You are 44 now, how long do you see yourself doing this? TJ: Cannondale has been good to me since ‘94 and if they seem to wanna keep me and they are happy with me then I will ride every year. I’ll stay focused on getting results, doin’ all the things they [Cannondale] ask me to do and having fun and just giving back to the sport. I think the main thing is just trying to promote the sport…try to keep it fresh, try to get new people involved in it. EM: Do you think the longer Endurance races favour the older, more experienced riders? TJ: Yeah it seems that way, but you know what? I’ve raced a lotta guys that are still 10 or 15 years younger than me and they’re pretty amazing at endurance. The only thing about being my age is I’m a little bit higher maintenance I think, I need better sleep. I can’t do as much. There’s a lot of things I’d like to do that I did
Tinker takes on a fresh hydra pack whilst leading the Endurance 100
world tour
cannondale / maxxis
words Garry Milburn Pics Chris Herron & Kristjan Snorasson
Garry Milburn doing it for Australia Fear, excitement and anticipation of what lay ahead,
4000m and the other was The Colorado Trail, which
these thoughts filled my mind as I stood in the line in
was an awesome mix of single track, well worth a trip
customs, at Sydney International airport. As always
just for this trail.
when travelling with my bike was the nagging worry “would it be there to meet me at the other end?” and
While in Colorado we raced the ‘Colorado State
what sorta shape would it be in? My Cannondale F4000
Championships’. I am proud to say that the Aussies
hardtail was a well travelled and seasoned campaigner
filled positions 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. The course was a
but I still worried about her as she disappeared out the
hard-hitting mix of climbing and descending. Technical
back to be “thrown” onto the fragile pile.
skills were challenged as 90% of the course was single
As I proceed to the gate lounge I was greeted by my
track.
fellow Aussie team mates, each having that excited
Positions =
1 - Lachlan Norris
look on their faces. It was finally here, Worlds trip
2 - Andrew Arthur
2005. Tomorrow we would be riding the sweet trails of
3 - Garry Millburn
Colorado and 3 weeks on from that, the tough Livigno
5 - Cal Britten
World Championships course.
6 - Joel Healy
Silverthorne, Colorado, was our home for the next 2.5
From Colorado we ventured to West Virginia for a
weeks. Situated at 2700m above sea level, Silverthorne
round of the NORBA series. Race day greeted us with
is located in the heart of Colorado’s ski fields, beside
wet and sloppy conditions. For some of us, this was
Lake Dillon. This was a great base as the trails and
our first race where the field size was bigger than a
roads were endless. The most memorable of which
basketball team. The start was fast, with most of the
would have to be one of our MTB “epics”. We did
Aussie’s scrambling to the front. Throughout the race
2 epics, 1 over Wheeler Pass which climbed to over
there were many mechanicals, the remaining Aussies
rose to the top, filling positions 1 and 2. Joel Healy after leading the race for 2 of 3 laps came unstuck on the last lap, crashing and popping his shoulder out. He recovered to finish a well fought out 6th. Positions =
1 – Daniel Johnston
2 – Cal Britten
6 – Joel Healy
In the Short Track XC the Aussies reigned supreme again. After the 20 minute race there were 8 riders left, 5 were Aussies. Lachlan had a great race, in which he spent most of the time off the front to come away with a hard fought win. All I can say is let’s bring more of this racing to Australia. Positions =
1 - Lachlan Norris
4 - Garry Millburn
5 - Cal Britten
7 - Andrew Arthur
8 - Daniel Johnston
USA to Europe, this was it, The Worlds, the final leg of our tour!!!. We arrived in Livigno, Italy, with one week until our race, and we saw the town slowly come alive with riders and tech trucks as the day drew closer. The Aussie U19 Champ Lachlan Norris
course was steep and generally tough on the body, so practice laps were minimal before the race. Preparation was on track and all the juniors were in goods spirits. We knew what we had to do and how to do it. Race day. The many months in planning, the endless hours spent in the saddle, it all came down to this. Standing on that start line it really hit home, this was it. There were 106 other riders around me that were all fighting for the one thing. The start loop was hectic. Everyone trying to move up. I saw a break in the riders and pinned it. We hit the first fire road climb, riders all still trying to make their way to the front. It was then into single track, we all got bunched up and were standing still as everyone was trying to fight their way in. Once in, I got into a rhythm and started picking off riders one by one. The laps ticked over and I climbed higher in the positions, I’ve never passed so many people before in one race and then it was done. The hard luck story of the day goes to my Cannondale/ Maxxis team mate, the in-form Lachy Norris. He had a hell ride when his chain broke after a good start and being well up there. He fixed it and struggled home in 60th…ahh well, that’s Racing!
Positions =
17 – Cal Britten
27 – Joel Healy
31 – Garry Millburn
39 – Daniel Johnston
50 – Andrew Arthur
60 – Lachlan Norris
Recently crowned Colorado State champion, Lachy takes another bottle.
100
ENDURANCE
This race was dubbed "Mind over Mountains" and not without reason as riders had to complete 5 mountain stages of around 20 miles (32 kilometres) each. Some stages featured over 4,000 feet of climbing and the race in total climbed 18,627 feet over the 100 miles.
Pic by Doug Dalton / Cannondale. To make it even more interesting the course
the steps to the hotel with my back pack on.
was run entirely on singletrack, the only exception being the entrance and exits of
The goal was to challenge the riders not just with the
the transition/feed zones at the end of each
length of the event but to try and keep them on their
stage. It would not be an option for riders
toes by keeping to the sweeping, looping, zig-zagging
to simply put the hammer down and switch
singletrack that criss-crosses the mountains surrounding
the brain onto automatic pilot - any lack of
the town. There were three options for riders: the 50
concentration would see you off the trail or
mile, the 100km or the biggie; the 100 mile 5-stage
even see you get lost. Each stage was marked
event. This event was for solo riders only and last years
with different colour markers and riders were
winning time set by Salt Lake City local Bart Gillespie
issued with maps. Some riders were sporting
was 10hrs and 9 mins.
the latest must-have accessories for endurance events: a handlebar mounted GPS unit with a
The 2005 event kicked of at 6am in pre-dawn darkness
topographical map of the course loaded into it.
as lightning flashed and thunder rolled down the canyons creating quite an ominous atmosphere. Despite
Park City is around 40 minutes drive from Salt Lake City,
the dark and gloomy conditions over half the 200 or so
Utah and is probably better known for its skiing. As
competitors were starting without lights, figuring that
with most mountain ski resorts, in summer the locals
sunrise was only 45 minutes away. As the riders charged
(and visitors) like nothing better than to disappear into
off under the start/finish banner a big black cloud parked
the hills to take advantage of the miles and miles of
itself right on top of us and big drops began to fall,
trails that are completely covered by snow the rest
raising little puffs of dust as they hit the ground.
of the year. It was these trails that inspired the race organizers to put together this event that was first run
We jumped into the van and headed off to the end of
last year. Park City is in high desert country and as
Stage 1, at the base of Wasatch Mountain. The down-
such, vegetation is sparse and in summer it is really dry.
pour didn’t last long though and the sun popped up over
Altitude is a factor as I found that out just walking up
the mountains and began to warm up our day. The wind
Pic by Dave Cooper also picked up and before long was blowing a gale.
minutes on Todd Tanner in second. Now Tinker’s lead
Last year the lead riders came through the first stage
seemed to be growing and the action was between the
in 1hr 40mins but with the wild weather, it was going
2nd, 3rd and 4th placed riders. Incredibly one of these
to be tough to beat that. At 7:47am am the leaders
riders, Sean McLaughlin, had brought a single-speed to
appeared, headed by last year’s winner Bart Gillespie on
the battle and was sticking it to the leaders.
his Raleigh. He was closely followed by Todd Tanner on his Scott with Cannondale’s Tinker Juarez a few lengths
To cut a long story short, Tinker never looked back and
behind. The 2 leaders stopped briefly for supplies whilst
kept going on his own ‘til he crossed the line for victory
Tinker continued on without a break into Stage 2.
in a time of 10hrs 13 mins. Kevin Hulick took out second place on his dual suspension Kestrel 18 minutes later
At the end of Stage 4 (approx 80 miles to go), Tinker
(10:31:35) and then Sean McLaughlin on his hardtail
had quite a lead, with 60 miles to go, he had around 30
single speed, 9 minutes behind him at 10:40:25.
Words by Andrew Threlfall Pic Cannondale
CANNONDALE RUSH 2000
Doug Dalton enjoying the Rush
bike Where is the MTB market heading? Well, considering
there are some subtle visual differences the physical
the explosion in endurance racing, it is a safe bet
changes impact the ride of the bike far more. A big
that this is where the money is being spent by you
difference is the four inches of travel, front and rear,
the customer. Thanks to this new category, bike
an inch shorter than the Prophet and an inch and a bit
companies are leaping over each other to release
longer than the Scalpel. The top tube is bent, losing an
new bikes that are endurance specific.
extra tube and some weight when compared with the Prophet. The chainstays have been shortened to keep
With more and more people opting for the more
the bike nimble in the single track while not squashing
relaxed mode, ‘race-at-your-own-pace’ style of
the cockpit. However, in contrast to the shortened
endurance racing Cannondale have released the
stays, the head angle has slackened of from the XC
“Rush”. Designed as a true endurance bike it isn’t
race-bred Scalpel to 69 degrees, meaning the bike is
a trimmed down freeride bike, or beefed up cross
a little more relaxed in the steering department.. Great
country bike. From the cockpit position, angles, spec
for those times where you’ve racked up a few hours in
and materials used, it was designed to keep the rider
the saddle, the mind isn’t as sharp as it should be and
in the saddle racing, not racing to get off the saddle.
the legs keep going round and round....the bike (with
At first glance it comes across as a trimmed down
its 110mm of travel and cruzy steering) will just keep
Prophet, but is actually a lot more than that.. While
doing it’s thing.
Racing around a 12hr event was the perfect testing
are welded to. The location of the pivot isn’t just an
ground for the Rush. Having spent a fair bit of time on
accident either. Being an enduro bike the rear wheel
a Prophet, I was very interested to see how the Rush
needed to have great small bump response. So after
went. Judging by all the curious glances and questions.
what had to be some serious overtime on the CAD
so were most of the other riders there (no, the glances
program, and then again on the trail, the pivot location
weren’t at me for those who think they are funny).
was placed in the best possible position to maintain both small bump response and pedalling efficiency.
The very first thing I noticed about the bike was the lower height overall. BB height was 32cm a full 3cm
The XT equipped Rush 2000 was decked out with
lower than a Prophet. Because of its lower centre of
everything you would expect an endurance bike to
gravity the bike felt more planted, more stable.
have. Tubeless Mavic rims laced onto a DT Swiss 340 rear hub and a Lefty front hub. Crank Bros. Eggbeater
The point at which I really appreciated the tweaks
pedals. Hydraulic Shimano XT disc brakes, carbon seat
in the geometry was heading around tight uphill
post, Fox Float RP3 air shock and of course the ever
switchbacks. The Rush stayed neutral and took the
present Lefty. In this case a 110mm travel Lefty Speed
corners without a drama while the geometry certainly
Carbon DLR2.
helped make the bike more responsive in tight and twisty single track.
Tipping the scales at a tidy 11.5kgs, you can still go lighter with the Team Edition, as ridden by Tinker which
The bottom bracket and pivot are machined out of the
weighs in at 10.5kgs and $8,800
one block of aluminium to which all the other tubes
pic
spec
*Also available in galvanised silver
RUSH 110 mm, hand made in America. Hollowcore swingarm with cnc-forged hollow core. Lefty Speed Carbon DLR, 110 mm. Fork f: Cannondale Lefty - r: DT Swiss 340 Hubs Mavic XM819 Tubeless, Rims Maxxis Crossmark XC UST 26x2.1" Tyres Derailleurs f: Shimano XT - r: ShimanoXTR Shimano XT Dual Controls Shifters Frame
Brakes Crankset Handlebar Stem Seatpost Weight RRP
Shimano XT hydraulic disc. Custom Shimano Hollowtech, Octalink XT Spline. FSA XC-190AOS, 25mm Rise. Cannondale XC3 Headshok Cannondale Carbon 11.5kgs $6,000
Words by Andrew Threlfall Pic BikePix
CANNONDALE PROPHET 1000
bike Well this here is the “Mountain Biking Magazine Bike of the Year, 2005” It said so on the swing tag that was hanging from the seat when I pulled it out of the box. Well it was a damn nice bike, damn nice. But I wouldn’t call it perfect, I haven’t found one yet that is, but this bike certainly does rate highly.
To start off, here is a brief run down of what this bike is. The Prophet replaces the nice, but some what kooky Jekyll from a few years back. With a slightly more conventional single pivot frame than what the Jekyll used, the Prophet can also use a more conventional shock. Goodbye to the adjustable position Fox shock and hello to a Manitou Swinger 3-way. The frame is a 140mm travel ‘Hydroformed Delta V’ with a 140mm travel ‘Lefty Max SPV+’ fork up front and the aforementioned swinger in the back. For rolling duties there are tubeless Mavic XM819
Andy going down on the Prophet
rims, using Maxxis rubber, built onto Cannondale branded hubs, the front being Lefty specific of course. The drive line comes from the house of Sram in the form of an X.9 rear mech, a pair of X.7 shifters, Stylo GXP cranks and a set of Avid Juicy 7 hydros do all the stopping. The control points are all your usual bits and pieces. FSA bars, on a Cannondale Holy HeadShok stem, a Cannondale Fire seat post and a Fi’zi:k Plateau seat. Bars were a nice width, seat was comfy, what more do you need to know. If you don’t like them change them when you buy the bike, it’s not that much of an ordeal. And now on to the actual riding part. I have ridden this bike a lot in all sorts of conditions. I’ve hit some of my usual trails around Melbourne, as
well as some new ones. I’ve ridden in the rain. I’ve commuted the 15km’s to work on it. I’ve even done trails at night. And damn the bike is nice to ride. The fact that this bike sits on 140mm travel, front and back, means that you are a long way off the ground. Unlike an XC race bike, you tend to have a slightly shorter cockpit, and higher center of gravity. This makes for an unusual feeling when riding, especially when cornering. Tight switch backs can get a little awkward, with a feeling of the front wheel trying to push wide like a front wheel drive car under-steering. But setting this gripe aside, the bike did climb well. The suspension didn’t seem to rob much power unless you were really mashing the pedals. The SPV shock did a great job of maintaining a nice pedaling platform while still taking care of the hits. Same with the SPV tuned Lefty shock. The Lefty fork has come leaps and bounds since Manitou have started taking care of the internals. They are definitely stiff
and I didn’t notice any deflection resulting from only having ‘half’ a fork. Dropping the seat right down moving the suspension back to the FR setting, which drops the BB height a touch and the head angle 1.5°, the bike does turn into a mini DH sled. While not having quite the responsive steering that the XC setting allows, it does move your weight back a bit more and give you supreme confidence in fast bermed corners. So does this bike deserve to be the best bike of the year? Well, there are better bikes to ride down on, and there are better bikes to climb on, but it is hard to find a bike that does it all so well. With a few changes to personalise the setup the Prophet will make nearly every rider happy, and with the quality that Cannondale is renowned for it is definitely a bike that deserves a serious look when it comes time for the next bike purchase.
pic
spec Frame Fork Hubs Rims Tyres Derailleurs
Hand-made in America Prophet frame with 140mm travel Manitou Swinger 3-way Air. Lefty Max. 140mm travel, Manitou SPV+ f &r: Cannondale disc hubs Mavic XM819 Tubeless rims Maxxis High Roller 2.35” r: SRAM X.9 rear mech, Shimano - f: LX E-type front mech
Brakes Crankset Shifters Handlebar Stem Seatpost RRP
Avid Juicy 7 hydraulic disc. Truvativ Stylo GXP SRAM X.7 shifters. FSA XC-280, 25mm rise. Cannondale Holy Headshok 31.8. Cannondale Fire $4,700
24hrs in the saddle, 24hrs in the dirt, rock gardens, mud, sweat & beer. The love-child of the Prophet and Scalpel, the Rush delivers 110mm of balanced travel, a super-lightweight frameset featuring “long ride� geometry suited to the endurance specialist. Quick handling, efficient pedalling and smooth balanced travel makes this a weapon capable of winning the most demanding of XC races through to the punishment of a 24hr.
Rush Team RRP $8,800 Weight 10.7kgs
Rush 3000 RRP $8,000 Weight 11.1kgs
Rush 2000 RRP $6,000 Weight 11.5kgs
Podium proven design. the worlds lightest full-suspension XC frame. More World Cup wins than we can count. Tinker and Sauser’s weapon of choice. the most intelligent short travel design in the industry delivering 67mm (2.7inches) of super active yet pedalling efficent travel.
Scalpel Team RRP $8,800 Weight 10.1kgs
Scalpel 3000 RRP $8,000 Weight 10.3kgs
Scalpel 2000 RRP $5,600 Weight 11.2kgs
The lightest 5� travel enduro bike on the planet. 140 mm of balanced front and rear suspension, adjustable geometry and proprietary hot-box swingarm for unparalelled lightweight stiffness. the Prophet delivers everything on two 26� wheels. Prophet 2000 RRP $5,800 Weight 12.2kgs
Prophet 1000 RRP $4,600 Weight 12.4kgs
test rides
Come and see us at the Mont 24hr, Oct 8-9 2005.
Feel it for your self, experience the light weight responsiveness, feel the amazing acceleration of these bikes. Revel in the incredible performance that happens when state-of-the-art design meets meticulous craftsmanship.
these test bikes. Look for the Cannondale tent at your next race.
If you want to throw your leg over one of
e: cannondaleaustralia@cannondale.com
To arrange a demo ride contact your local dealer or contact Cannondale Australia direct on (02) 9979 5851.
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-AXX,ITE A triumph of Maxxis engineering - Bringing to you the Latest, and lightest 26� knobby tire in the world at a mere 310grams. with a specially formulated rubber compound and lightweight casing, the Maxxlite 310 is available for your most important races. If your ready for extreme acceleration on hard, dry surfaces, Its time to experience the Maxxlite 310, as used and recommended by Team Cannondale / Maxxis 2005.
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)T S GOT MM OF BALANCED FRONT AND REAR TRAVEL ! LIGHTWEIGHT BIG BEND TOP TUBE THAT SUPPORTS SHOCK LOADS WITH LESS MATERIAL ! LOW BOTTOM BRACKET
BIKE SPECIFICALLY ENGINEERED FOR THEM 4HE
FOR CONFIDENT HANDLING OVER VARIED TERRAIN !
#ANNONDALE 2USH HAS BEEN OPTIMIZED WITH
(OT BOX SWING ARM AND ONE PIECE "" PIVOT FOR
KEY PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS FOR LONG HAUL RACING WHICH MAKE IT AN IDEAL ±ALL MOUNTAIN² BIKE AS WELL
ENHANCED EFFICIENCY AND STIFFNESS AND MUCH MUCH MORE 3O GO TO YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP AND GET A 2USH
CANNONDALE CANNONDALEAUSTRALIA COM