More 2008 pics

I'll let the pics speak for themselves






















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2008 bikes

2008 Pictures

I will be uploading more as i take them. They are the raw studio shots before processing, I thought it would be neat to show them with the strings hanging down and stuff before I process them for the catalog and web.



I'll also try to take some pics of the behind the scenes look.

I've got more on the trip and Lance from Canfield and Ryan from Astrix say hi. I've been hanging out with those guys while I'm here. Luckily I missed racing in the hill climb they did before I arrived and both are still hurting as it was 75K ride uphill, in basically a mild hurricane... maybe I'll get Lance to jump on here and give the gory details.

anyway I gotta get back at er

Legend Geometry..

I feel it is important to gain feedback about the legend geometry at this stage (before design is complete) as the nature of the legend design means that adjusting geometry at a later date is very difficult to do!

I know a lot of you are eager to know more about the Legend (DH race specific frame), so I'll give you all a bit of an inside scoop!

7.5 - 8.5" adjustable travel

DH Specific geometry (again adjustable)

Very low center of gravityLight weight but with strength where it needs it

....and the linkage is totally new to banshee, and in a sense..the industry (however I have been working on fine tuning it for 2 years now to get the best possible performance)

So here is the early geometry that I have put together. Please comment on changes you would like to be seen made! I want to design the best bike possible, so the more feedback I get from the riders the better!Please give me some feedback... I want to get the geometry of this bike right the first time!!

Colorado Banshee World

Hello to all! Just to introduce myself, my name is Linden Carlson. I'm 27, a Colorado native and I love bicycles. I grew up riding BMX and dirt bikes in the desert hills around Fruita, CO. Now I ride Banshee and feel incredibly fortunate to be their Colorado sales rep/rider. I operate out of Glenwood Springs CO, because it is a great place to be on two wheels.

I became involved with Banshee after I bought a Morphine frame through a shop that was sponsoring me. I was so impressed the when I heard about a sales representative position, I jumped on it. Not for money, but for the passion of such bikes and to break into the industry that I love. People deserve to see these bikes, to ride them and understand what it is to ride a great machine.

I also work with Devon Balet Photography. You have probably see more shots of me than you realized in the '06 and '07 catalogues and many more to come. Devon and I are at every Mountain States Cup race, or at least in the nearby hills finding great places to ride, take photos and just hang out.

Devon is a well trained photographer , but his natural ability to light and capture a moment is stunning. At 24 years old, he has a glorious career ahead of him that will be long and prosperous. Other than that, he climbs rocks like a spun monkey, can more than hold his own on a mountain bike and is simply a cool guy. When he's not taking photos of me charging wild flowers or hucking my corpse over some spooky gap, I am stoked to be his assistant. He rides a beautiful Scirocco, and along with being the official photographer for Team Dead Bros/Banshee, he puts his nine years of bike mechanic skills to the good use on our Banshee Bikes. He works really hard for free bikes and photo credits, no money, so he gets mad props for all his help. I could not have pulled this all together without him.

Speaking of the team, we are mostly amateurs running expert across the roster. We have a few valuable sponsorships. Banshee bikes being first on the list with a great deal for riders on bikes. Jay and the crew are really laid back and just completely friendly and helpful. We couldn'tbe lined up with a better bike company. We also have the Gear Exchange helping us out. This has to be the coolest shop in Glenwood Springs, and in my opinion, the entire Roaring Fork Valley. Darren and Kendall have been so supportive and help out whenever they can. I am proud to be one of their sponsored athletes. Culligan Water, of Carbondale CO, is helping is out with some expenses and making sure we aren't thirsty by giving us all the bottles of water we can drink. Come see us in Keystone for some high quality H20. Culligan has been my employer for almost 4 years and I really like everyone. They're a great set of people and have taught me a lot when I'm not ditching work to ride.

Team Dead Bros/Banshee is looking ahead to next year. I think we'll have a couple of pro spots open and a place for a dedicated youth. I'd like a hardcore XC rider, man or woman, to round out the team. To find out more write an email to noslrac669@yahoo.com and apply.

Thanks for reading this blog, all you hardcore riders, ragers and fans are the people that make our subculture so great. I love going from town to town, meeting new people and exploring all the local scenes. I'll be in Keystone for the next MSC race. Devon will be there too. Don't be shy. We'll be there to have a good time and help out so track us down and hay hi. I'll be the guy on the blue and white Scream trying to reach terminal velocity. Peace out!

On a personal note, R.I.P Peter Jessup: you are irreplaceable.

Bow Cycles 50th

So a big congrats to bow cycle for reaching their 50th year in operation. I was invited to quite the party and few people can put on a party like the guys at bow.

I decided to ride the rocket out there and 11 hours later I arrived at Bow Lake to stay at the Num Ti Jah Lodge between Lake Louise and Jasper. Really an amazing place and you need to be careful to not run off the road because everywhere you look are sights to behold. Great place to ride anything on 2 wheels.

Also on the way out I passed through Kamloops and had lunch with Matt Brooks. I met him working at the Bike Ranch and he was setting up a sprinkler system; I have to say I'm pretty amazed with some of the stuff they had in there... actually I'm kinda jealous because I wish the city of Vancouver would do something like that... I'm thinking Stanley Park, maybe get rid of the flower garden and put in a few dirt jump and pump track lines. Parks are for having fun not looking at shrubberies.

Next day I rode into Calgary for the party.

They pretty much cleared out the store of all the bikes and product, set up a stage, and a concession area and there were at least two bars serving up wine and all the free pilsner you could drink.

Before the festivities got under way there was a road crit around a few blocks the store is located on and I managed to get a few shots of a crash that happened in one of the corners.

Finally when all 700 guests were fed we were entertained by Canadian rock legends April Wine which Specialized was good enough to fly in for the event. Norco and Kona alumni were all on hand and everyone had a great time.

Personal thanks to Kurt, Kev, Fransky, Cristie, and Terry -- oh and can't forget Brian and Jimmy. Thanks for the invite!!!!

A day later and I'm off to Taiwan.

I'll have a report tomorrow or the next day.

Matt Brooks

Hey there everyone, I’m Matt Brooks and I am the newest addition to the Banshee freeride team. I thought I would sit down and let you know a little about myself, and my riding,

First of all lets get the boring stuff out of the way, I’m 22, blonde hair and blue eyes, live in Kamloops, and have been riding for about 8 years. Great, now that we got that out of the way we can get to some more interesting stuff. If I’m not out riding I like to spend time with my girl friend or other friends, because a lot of my summer is occupied by riding so I don’t get to see them as much as I would like. A usual casual day for me is spent down by pioneer park/ beach, or floating down the river. Sounds rough eh? We also like to try and spend at least a few weekends of the summer out camping and 4x4ing. Nothing like the great out doors! Another thing I have been doing, especially in the last year is working with the Kamloops Bike Ranch. I’m not sure if everyone knows yet but Kamloops has a city funded bike park, which is one of the first of its kind, so I like to try and put some hours in there when I can, just helping with shaping lips, and general up keep.

As far as my riding goes this season I had a great start to the year, shooting with multiple photographers, and freeride entertainment. However, I suffered a fairly serious ACL tear in my left knee which will probably end the rest of my season. I will still try to make it out to the remaining events like Crankworx so you might see me lurking around the village. Hopefully when I see my orthopedic surgeon after Crankworx he will give me some good news and get my in for surgery ASAP. Oh well, better luck next year I suppose. Luckily before the crashed I got lots of building done in Kamloops for New World Disorders new movie. There has also been lots of construction going on in my friend Brad’s back yard and I am happy to say that we finally have our own private foam pit! One of the cooler things that happened riding this year though was living with Kurt Sorge. We got to build, shred and film a lot together this year which was a nice change of pace. As always riding this year has been a blast and I’m sure you will be hearing from me again soon. Remember, ride Banshee, and ride hard!

Jay says "make sure you check Matt out in NWD8... AZ Freeride has scoped out a teaser someone posted on youtube. Also Matt was able to get some filming in with Rebel Media and Wicked Wheels for those of you who can get that show in Europe"
I did get a message saying the surgeon had checked out his leg and he's ok to do some light riding until his surgery but needs to keep the knee from swelling up. He should be 100% for next riding season so we're really happy the prognosis is good and that he'll be back doing what he loves.

Matts riding pics are courtesy of John "gibby" Gibson

Pyre MrkII Images

Some screen shots of the pyre mrkII

Pictured here is the large frame.

The only things that are the same are the hydroformed toptube and downtube, the BB extrusion, and the lower link (although changed geometry to ensure that it is fully compatible with front derailleur). There will be a size to fit everyone!

Crankworx [saturday]

Met Chris at the Crankworx competition and told him just to ride his ride and not to worry about what was getting thrown down. He had a solid first run and played it safe, as most of the top guys tend pull out the big bag o tricks only when they need to.
Chris's second run was not as good as the first although it could've been much better if he hadn't have wrecked his seat after landing a superman seatgrab a little off which bent the seatrails and twisted the saddle. The top part of his run was clean, flowy and had a tuck no hander followed by a superman seatgrab off the first two jumps. If he had of been able to follow that up with a turndown near the RaceFace wall, a one foot corked flip off the next jump followed by something else I think he could have moved into the superfinals as it didn't seem to take much; Vanderham got in with a series of motowhips so I know it would have been possible.

The judging was pretty good for the most part but a few of the calls really made the spectators question what was going on; with a 360° stomped clean at the last drop clearly the right guy won - Congrats go to Ben Boyko.

Even though the usual suspects had a few big crashes which one could question how they made it to the finals, I think the fans want to see the recognizable names and the judges know if they can get a second chance they do have the talent to give the crowd what they want. In the end you want an entertaining contest even if you have to play with the numbers a bit. You could see guys like McCaul, Zink, Bearclaw really throwing caution out the window just to please the fans and they paid with some nasty crashes for the attempts, but big props to them and I'm glad everyone walked away.
Paul Bass had a big crash at the end after landing a tailwhip off the TV-tron drop when his front tire crumpled. I think he could have rode it out if the transition wasn't so flat. You could see the younger guys taking major whiplash once they landed and I bet 90% of the riders were just too scared of the landing to pull anything major.
The buzz I've been hearing is they'll probably change the course up for next year, but the battle will still rage on whether they want a course -similar to the elevation jumps- that a BMX guy on a hardtail can win or keep it massive to segregate mountain biking from dirt jumping. Its pretty clear the fans want more and bigger tricks and there's a lot of pressure to give them what they want, so I suspect a slightly smaller course next year with more flow.
From my perspective I hope they can keep the same size but work on the transition a bit more on the last drop. Also try to increase the flow a bit more with less criss-crossing the mountain with nothing in between and lastly have the course laid out early and keep it the same as I heard they kept changing it right up until the last minute.

Chris and Alan will be heading back to Auz. to train all winter. They will be back next year and hopefully we can get them both in the contest and other slopestyle events.

I'll put up more in the next few days, but I'm kinda burnt out... It was a long week and its time to do some recovery.

Crankworx

Headed out to Whistler early this morning but arrived a little late to catch Alan and Chris's qualifying runs; they were both in the first group of three.
After only about 5 minutes in Chris's name was posted on the massive TV screen showing he's qualified 4th in his group but it looks like Alan didn't squeek through - too bad.
I'll get some pics of the comp and of the lads throwing it down on the elevation jumps.

There was lots of carnage today and Cowan's slopestyle course definitely seperated the men from the boys. There were some riders who think they're better then they actually are and shouldn't be showing up to qualify because I'm sure there were a few better riders that could've taken their spots but because of the lottery system didn't get in. That said I think this year is the fairest its been for being an "open" comp, and nothing is every perfect so no complaints from me... its a total pro event all the way and I saw a lot of "happy to be here" faces.

Scott Alleyn came up short on the drop in during practice and twisted his ankle. Honestly I'm kinda glad cause I was really afraid he was going to seriously hurt himself. The course is big and to do it on a hardtail takes some kind of guts, to do it on a broken hardtail thats well...
He was suppose to be in heat 3 but I didn't find out he was not riding until I called him from inside the middle of the course. He's in the pic standing in the white shirt with a phone to his ear behind the pipes of the judges platform sitting with Dylan Tremblay and crew. I snapped the pic while I was on the phone with him telling him I was taking his picture as he looked around for me "are you that fat old dude?" hahaha uh no Scott thats not me try again.


Jarl Jensen is also in town and we're hoping he'll become our next DH racer. He's an Aussie and everyone knows those guys are fast. I was sure we had him "sewn up" but it looks like other big names have seen his potential and have also made him an offer. I'm sure I can do some fancy negotiations and keep him under our banner [the pic is of me doing some of those negotiations]. He's stoked to ride the Legend Mk1 and the Rampant at the US Mountain States cup next year, and him and Keith have made a few tiny tweeks to the design. He's a great guy and would fit in well with our 22Pride.


Kim Subrunoff has been riding the Rampant for us and got 4th in the Womens Air DH on it. She wasn't actually racing but boosting large on the jumps. I'm totally cool with all our riders just going out and having fun and if they place high in the rankings thats just a bonus.
Tomorrow she'll compete in the Dual Slalom.
The pics are of the last training run of the day and because the track was getting chewed up they had to shut it down early to save it for the comp, with the last one being of Keith talking about the course and some techniques for the course. I would have liked to get more pics but I think my best ones will have to come tomorrow and Sat.

Matt Brooks just called while I'm writing this.... he says he just arrived in Whistler and will be there until Sunday because he's got a doctors appointment to look at his torn ACL on Monday. He tore it filming with Troy and gang from Rebel Media when a gust of wind rotated his bike on a huge jump. Wind is a big factor, and I'm sure its been the same in the slopestyle qualifiers as it doesn't take much to throw you off your intended target.

Bumped into Transition rider Mike Metzger, looks like he's out again this year with an injury. Its too bad he can't catch a break cause he's a good rider and would totally do well at this comp. We used to sponsor his good buddy Grant Brashears [who left us to start a family] and so I know him through that.

Well I'm going to sign off.. I need my rest because there will be a hard days work of drinkin tomorrow and I need to be at the top of my game. Bradley [Brad Ewen - Crankworx, Redbull announcer] seems to always keep'm coming when I'm around him and he's about the best guy to party with... at Sun Peaks a few season back I watched him in the bar throw ice cubes at Cedric and then pick him up and throw him on a pool table... all in good fun.
First thing he does when I see him is hands me a ticket for a free pitcher o beer... ah... goodtimes being in the mountain bike industry. There's really a great bunch of people that work behind the scenes too

Sofa King

Keith, just called me about DOD's [David O Dowd] video of the pro's in the boneyard.
We'll you can see Chis Soininen, Alan Hepburn, and new Banshee rider Scott Alleyn on his broken P3 - I couldn't get him a Wildcard in time and there's not enough time for him to get comfortable on a new ride so he's going to ride it in the slopestyle comp, against my wishes cause its broken. I'll be putting Banshee stickers on it tho.

Anyway here's the vid.... you can tell Alan and Chris cause they're the guys wearing full face and Scotts on a blue bike... it is kinda hard to tell whose who tho.



I'm off to Whistler tomorrow with my cameras and media pass. I've got the whole crew up there and want to give you a good look at who the faces are behind the bikes and who will be riding for us next year so I'll try to get as much content as possible.

In addition Simon at the French Championships has been putting some fear into the international pro's in 4X, on the Rampant. I hope to have pics and video soon from the championship.
The Rampants getting great comments both in France and in Whistler, both for its looks but mostly its performance - were letting anyone who wants to give it a try take it for a rip - Pretty cool huh? how many other companies let people ride their prototypes and then get talk to the engineer/designer about how they liked it - its stuff like this that makes me so stoked to be with Banshee