Tag Archives: mountain

2024 WORCS ROUND 5: BLYTHE, CALIFORNIA

The 2024 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS Series made its annual cease at Shorty’s MX park in Blythe, California this weekend. This is a singular course consisting of deep sand and quick straights. Endurance is the secret, and all three professional courses had lead modifications all through the race. Justin Hoeft introduced dwelling his second season 450 Pro victory as Mason Semmens made it his third in a row in 250 Pro.

Dare Demartile led the 450 Pro class deep into the race. Photo by Connor Moore.

A heat weekend in April introduced sunny skies to Shorty’s. Temperatures had been within the mid-80s, and a breeze made it the most well liked spherical of the 12 months thus far. Dare Demartile put his Beta USA 450 within the lead and located himself with clear air early. Tyler Lynn had a slight mishap on the beginning, forcing him to start out in useless final, however that didn’t cease him from closing the hole and stepping into the combination early. He made some strikes as he battled towards teammate Cole Martinez and Purvines Racing’s Jack Simpson earlier than solidifying his place in third behind Demartile and Hoeft. He completed there after closing the hole on the highest two late within the race. In typical Hoeft vogue, he began the race easily, permitting Demartile to assemble a major lead, however then, across the midway level, he started to place the hammer down. With only a few laps left, Hoeft made a go stick on Demartile to seize the lead. They battled arduous, however Hoeft stood on prime slightly below ten seconds forward of Demartile. Lynn completed the race in third with Jack Simpson and Tyler Belknap completed within the prime 5.

Ryan Surratt

The 250 Pro class has a few of the closest and most entertaining battles to look at each weekend, as each racer right here is matched so evenly. Australian rider Mason Semmens, using for RPM FMF KTM Racing, grabbed the holeshot in entrance of the stacked class. Just earlier than they headed down the canyon, he had a slight tipover, permitting Colton Aeck to make the go and seize the lead from him, however he was on the bike shortly and solely misplaced one place. Aeck held off Semmens’s cost on his Hatch Racing Kawasaki for some time, however Semmens discovered a approach round him after just a few heated laps of racing. Having a breakout 12 months on his Husqvarna, Cole Zeller had an unlucky begin, however that didn’t cease him from getting sooner every lap and selecting his approach by means of the category one after the other. The class battle appears to be between Zeller and Kai Aiello nearly each spherical by now, and this one was no totally different. Battling for third place, Zeller discovered a approach round him, however they stayed simply seconds aside for a lot of the second half. Unfortunately, Colton Aeck needed to name it a day after a mechanical ended his battle for first early. Semmens completed only a minute forward of Zeller to seize his third win in as many rounds at WORCS. His teammate Jake Alvarez and one other Aussie, Sam Pretscherer, completed within the prime 5.

Justin Hoeft

Noah Gordon got here flying out of the gate within the Pro-Am class and put a good way between himself and the remainder of the sector. Behind him, the battles had been raging because the race continued. Jackson Glathar had a tough useless engine begin, giving him an uphill battle to make his approach to the entrance. He slowly picked off riders till he was in second behind Gordon, who had a sizeable lead for a lot of the race. With two laps remaining, Gordon blew a shock, making him inspect his lead, and Glathar took benefit of that as he completed simply forward of him, lower than a second in entrance of Gordon after the brutal 2-hour race. Racer Fry and Kayden Lynn had an identical battle coming all the way down to the checkered flag, with Fry profitable simply over a second towards Lynn.

Mason Semmens

On Saturday, the 125 Pro class lined up with Ryan Surratt, who was trying to proceed his scorching streak as of late. Surratt was in a position to let that child sing within the desert, main the best way after an early Moto go on Tristun Alvarez. Unfortunately, Surratt will go in for surgical procedure on his shoulder later this week. Travis Damon completed in third. Women’s Pro lined up on Saturday afternoon with Mikayla Nielsen pushing her SLR Honda to its restrict as she gained with Kaitlyn Jacobs ending in second place.

New Scott Voltage eRide Is Here To Charge Up The Trails

Even as a lifelong mountain biker, on days after I really feel like going for a fast trip with out an excessive amount of of a exercise, I whip out my e-bike and go. Yes, that is likely to be sacrilege to some however right this moment’s crop of e-MTBs are tremendous fascinating as, not like their city and cargo counterparts, energy isn’t the secret.

You see, when traversing technical trails filled with rocks, ruts, and tight switchbacks, two issues are important: a light-weight body and predictable energy. Humans have fairly exact management over our legs, and so with a little bit of apply, a talented mountain biker can traverse technical rock gardens with ease and finesse. But when you throw in no matter electrical motor you need with out tuning it to the self-discipline, hastily you’ve uncontrollable energy inflicting the rear wheel to slide and break traction.

This is the place some actually cool tech comes into the combo, and one thing that the Scott Voltage eRide has in spades.

The Scott Voltage eRide boasts some of the best components in the business

The Scott Voltage eRide boasts among the greatest elements within the enterprise

Powered by the German-made TQ-HPR50, the motor dishes out 50Nm (about 37 pound-feet) of torque, which is way lower than another e-bike techniques in the marketplace, a few of which even put down 85 Nm (62 pound-feet).

But it makes up for this with the combination of what TQ calls a Force Sensor.

This fancy piece of tech measures enter variables just like the crank pace and acceleration from both facet independently, tailoring energy output to every pedal stroke. Theoretically, which means that the pedal really feel on the Voltage eRide is as pure as it may be, making the rider really feel like they’re lots stronger than they are surely, moderately than feeling like they’re using a motor vehicle.

And to make issues even higher, you possibly can wonderful tune motor efficiency by means of a devoted app in your smartphone.

 

As for what makes the Scott Voltage eRide a succesful path muncher, properly, it options suspension {hardware} from none aside from Fox. Up entrance, the Fox Nude 6T fork provides the bike a smooth, race-ready aesthetic, all whereas that includes a full go well with of adjustability remotely accessible through a change on the bars. And the complete body is made out of carbon fiber, with the TQ 360-watt-hour battery built-in seamlessly into the downtube.

The value for such a flowery electrical bicycle? 10,999 euros, or about $11,900 USD. 

The Scott Voltage eRide gets a full-carbon frame with an integrated battery in the down tube.

The Scott Voltage eRide will get a full-carbon body with an built-in battery within the down tube.

Recent years have caused tons of premium e-bikes that command hefty sums of cash. It’s clear that many e-bike lovers are tech-obsessed, and producers are capitalizing on this demand. Performance-oriented bikes just like the Scott Voltage eRide are simply the beginning. We’re seeing big-name gear producers like Shimano leverage the power of artificial intelligence, and I’m keen to guess that quickly, full on AI-powered e-bikes like the Urtopia Fusion will likely be a way more frequent sight on bike paths. 

It goes with out saying that know-how will at all times be the driving pressure within the biking business. But how a lot tech is an excessive amount of tech? What do you suppose? Let us know within the feedback under. 

German Bike Brand Focus Goes Lightweight With New VAM2 SL E-MTB

What makes a superb mountain bike? Of course you want a sturdy body, good suspension, and succesful wheels and tires. When you slap on an electrical motor, issues get a bit extra difficult. Sure, you possibly can have tons of energy, however on a mountain bike, this simply blurs the traces between e-bike and e-motorcycle. It’s exactly for that reason that e-bike manufacturers are dialing down energy and weight within the hopes of retaining a pure pedal really feel and driving dynamics.

A very good instance of this involves us from German bicycle model Focus. The firm has lengthy been making non-electric bikes with a specific concentrate on efficiency, and so when it got here time to develop the VAM2 SL, it just about already had the recipe in its pocket – a light-weight body, premium suspension, and a compact, responsive, and succesful motor.

German Bike Brand Focus Goes Lightweight With New VAM2 SL E-MTB

The top-range Focus VAM2 SL 9.0 will get fancy Fox suspension and a Sram X0 drivetrain.

Tipping the scales at 16 to 19 kilograms (35 to 41 kilos) it’s only some kilos heavier than a mid-tier non-electric full-suspension mountain bike, however due to the Fazua Ride 60 its powered by, signifies that riders can preserve their power to benefit from the downhills moderately than crank away when climbing. The VAM2 SL manages to maintain its weight this low due to a carbon body. It additionally will get a one-piece stem and handlebar setup that’s additionally product of carbon, and the truth that the cables and hoses are routed internally provides a contact of smooth magnificence into the equation, as nicely.

At the center of the Focus VAM2 SL is the Fazua Ride 60 motor. The Porsche-owned e-bike motor producer is thought for its compact motors with respectable energy outputs, and most of all, a natural-feeling pedal help. Here, the motor is rated for 60 Nm (about 44 pound-feet) of torque, and gives help as much as a prime pace of 25 kilometers per hour (15 miles per hour). As for the battery, a 430-watt-hour battery pack guarantees ample vary, which is made even higher due to the bike’s low weight. For riders seeking to eke out additional miles, a 210-watt-hour vary extender can be optioned in.

German Bike Brand Focus Goes Lightweight With New VAM2 SL E-MTB

The Fazua Ride 60 motor within the VAM2 SL has a lift mode that gives a surge of energy when sprinting uphill.

German Bike Brand Focus Goes Lightweight With New VAM2 SL E-MTB

Lightweight e-bikes just like the Focus VAM2 SL are all about conserving your power to benefit from the downhill sections of path.

For a extra fine-tuned expertise, the Focus VAM2 SL gives three help modes and a further “boost” characteristic for high-powered bursts when sprinting uphill. Furthermore, the Fazua app permits riders to customise extra settings reminiscent of most energy, pedal help ratio, and responsiveness and acceleration. Of course, the three modes all optimize these settings for both effectivity, easy efficiency, or outright energy.

In its highest trim degree, the Focus VAM2 SL 9.0 is kind of a formidable machine. It will get Fox suspension full with Kashima coating for easy suspension actuation. On prime of that, it’s rocking Sram’s top-tier X0 12-speed drivetrain. With that being stated, it instructions an astronomical price ticket of 10,999 euros, or about $11,875 USD. There are, nonetheless, extra “affordable” variations of the VAM2 SL, with gear provided from the likes of Shimano and SR Suntour. These fashions carry costs starting from 5,799 euros ($6,260 USD) to eight,699 euros ($9,391 USD).

German Bike Brand Focus Goes Lightweight With New VAM2 SL E-MTB

The light-weight Fazua Ride 60 is on the coronary heart of the brand new Focus VAM2 SL. 

Steward Baylor Secures Second Victory at Rocky Mountain MC/ATV Mountaineer GNCC

The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Mountaineer:
Motorcycle Race Report

Steward Baylor Earns Second Overall Win of 2023

BECKLEY, W.Va. (September 18, 2023) – The second day of racing at round 10 of the Progressive Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, (GNCC Racing) saw intense and rough racing conditions due to rain showers at Summit Bechtel Reserve.

In the XC1 Open Pro class, Craig DeLong of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing secured the $250 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award, but AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell quickly took the lead after the first lap. Russell faced tough competition from other XC1 riders as they raced through the muddy course.

Steward Baylor (Rocky Mountain/Tely Energy/KTM) earned his second overall win of the season at The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Mountaineer. Photo: Ken Hill

Steward Baylor of Rocky Mountain/Tely Energy/KTM Racing worked his way from fourth to first position by the fourth lap. He managed to maintain his lead despite pressure from Delong, finishing with a 1.7-second advantage. This victory gave Baylor his second overall win of the season and also put him in the points lead ahead of Delong for the upcoming round on October 8. Russell finished third overall.

“Man, I’m feeling good. I really, really thought I could break Craig, and that was my intent, but man….we just went back and forth,” said Baylor. “I mean the passes for the lead; it was back and forth. Those last three laps, hell, the whole race you could throw a blanket over us. One mistake and it would have been over.”

Baylor continued, “I tried to put a heater down, I was sending it with two to go, trying to put a gap on those guys. I looked back and I was like “Shoot, he’s matching me.” I gotta say, I expected it from Ben, but not Craig. Hats off to him. That kid has elevated this summer, and this whole sport right now, it’s a good time to be a fan. It’s going to come down to the wire.

In the XC2 250 Pro Lites class, Jonathan Johnson of Liqui Moly Factory Beta Racing dominated the race, leading from start to finish. Despite the muddy conditions, Johnson comfortably secured the victory. Angus Riordan of RPM/FMF KTM Racing finished second, while Liam Draper of AmPro Yamaha took third and maintained his points lead heading into the next round.

Throughout the day, the top riders battled fiercely, with aggressive passes and constant position changes. Other notable performances included Joseph Cunningham of Team Green Kawasaki winning the Top Amateur honors and Rachael Archer of AmPro Yamaha securing her second GNCC WXC National Championship.

Craig Delong (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) would finish second overall, continuing to battle for the National Championship. Photo: Ken Hill

The race also recognized Jacob Hefner, a military veteran from West Virginia, as the AMSOIL Moto Hero for his outstanding service and community contributions. Hefner received several prizes for his dedication.

For detailed event results and current points standings, please refer to the official GNCC Racing website.