Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast

Are Pro MTB Race Bikes THAT Different from Stock? We Asked a Team Manager

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Ryan Gaul is the Trek Factory Racing DH team manager and technical director. He’s been at Trek for about 10 years and is based in Madison, WI.

  • How close to stock do DH and enduro riders run their bikes?
  • Which aspects of a bike are modified to suit track conditions, and what stays the same for every race?
  • Do World Cup racers take many risks when it comes to equipment, or are they pretty conservative?
  • Is it common to run test parts, or prototypes in races?
  • Is it difficult to convince athletes to try new components on their bikes?
  • What type of race information is useful for product designers at the brand? How do you collect and communicate that information?
  • How many spare parts/bikes do you bring to a World Cup race for each athlete?
  • Are most athletes pretty involved in working on their own bikes?
  • What’s the most stressful part of a World Cup weekend for you?

    • Keep up with the Trek Factory Racing team at racing.trekbikes.com.

    The Singletracks podcast is brought to you by TPC -- The Pro’s Closet. Spring is the perfect time to upgrade, and TPC has an industry-leading selection of new and Certified Pre-Owned bikes, plus frames, wheels and accessories. Each Certified, Pre-Owned bike is inspected, tested and serviced, and every bike includes thirty day returns. Visit ⁠tpc.bike/singletracks⁠ and enter code Singletracks40 to save forty dollars on every order over two hundred.

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    Singletracks Mountain Bike PodcastBy Singletracks.com
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