Ben Cruz Video

 Bro, that's what biking is all about. Just enjoy the ride and don't let people push you too hard.

 Don't let yourself be pidgeonholed into a genre or class of mountain biker. Just ride your bike and be happy with what you're doing.

 Happy..!! Happy..!! I have my ipad hooked up to my handle bars. Im using the new 4.1 Braille codec interpreter software as input device for steering.. My friends at Perkins School for the Blind turned me onto it. It helps a little when I try to steer, most of the time.

Then I tried that downhill course. Im glad that wasn't my bike I was riding..... Now I understand why skiers don't like trees.. Bling
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I identify with the guys riding style. Thats a positive, not a negative. Im a free rider and have broken things including myself many times just like everyone else.

And I really like being labeled a specific type of rider. I like the identification...

Thanks guys.....

 Bible study tho^^? that made me chuckle, right on for the spirit!

 All mountain = Enduro = Super D. But yeah Enduro sounds cooler.

 I'm jelly of both his bike and the trails

 i get super jealous when i see people ridding trails that aren't completely full of roots and baby heads! freakin east coast!

 must be super slack, it seems to handle really well....................

 What can i say, awesome bike!

 I did that. It improved the bike handeling a lot, for the better.

 My buddy just did that and it sits really well. i've only pedaled it around but he likes it.

 Yeah I just don't understand why he doesn't just ride a claymore. Well actually there isnt a carbon claymore at the moment so thats probably it...

 Long travel front increases DH capability SO much, while a short rear end keeps the pedal ability there...makes perfect sense to me. I run 130/100 on my DJ/AM/DH whatever bike.

 The problem with that long of a fork on that bike is that it wont climb nearly as well as it does with a 150mm fork.. Ben did not have that Fox 180 on his bike at Downieville this year.. If you are climbing fireroads and stuff thats not steep then its fine.. but anything very steep at all and the front of the bike will wander and put you in a position thats not that great for climbing.. I would love to have a 180 fork to go on my AM bike but the current 160 forks hold there own on the downhills.. If a frame can handle the jump to a longer travel fork, then It will make the bike slacker and typically descend better, but you are giving up your climbing ability too.

 it might be a Talus 180/140 ..................???

 180mm !! IT can be ridd,n up hill in shorter bursts. Im not saying its ideal. It isn't. For what he's doing in the video. I think it will work. I would rather have an adjustable 160mm at this point. I wouldn't go beyond that. 140mm would be preferable.. However, it was mentioned about the downhill segment. I guess its about the type of rider.

I loved the 180mm on my 2008 Reign X. not for all mountain. For street and Free ride. For the mountain. Im not convinced. 140mm is bit more realistic...

 The one problem with this is that it voids your c-dale lifetime warranty... they only allow you to have a max of 160mm fork. there was a long debat on mtbr about this as jerome clementz runs a 170mm lyric on his jekyl. Looks sweet and ben sure rips it but if you can't afford to buy a new frame out right if you break it I wouldnt void your warranty, ben and jerome do not have that issue, ha

 Yeah, couldn't you just put your 160mm (provided, that you still have it of course) and just say your frame cracked

 his forks are fixed 180's, they're vanillas. I was suspicious of how much the 180's would mess with the climbing on the jekyll but i rode bens bike last weekend and it was like cheating it was so easy climbing up the hills. It put my 160mm spesh enduro to shame

 Stompeinator what fork u have on yer enduro ??? I 've got a reign X with a 180 float...not finished yet any thoughts/recommendations??? anyone else tried this ?

 Seems like a weird match. I think he is compensating for missing bike in the Cdale line. I would bet that Cdale is working out a longer travel Jekyl - or a light Claymore or the like.

I wonder if he wishes he could stick a ti coil shock on that thing? Weir it out.

Team WTB is the meat and potatoes of All American All Mountain. Soild riders.

 why would he put a ti coil on a pull shock, thats just stupid. all thoughts aside that bike would mob, until you ride a jekyll you can understand the set up.

 @justincs: I've got a lyrik soloair 160, it's pretty alright but i'd prefer one of the new marz 55 rc3 ti's for stiffness. I'd say the reign x is gonna be pretty sick with a 180 up front.

and ya wtf lol, a ti coil on a jekyll just wouldnt work. Weir was sayin the other day that he loves the pull shock on these things, they are way easier to get riding perfectly than the coils on his old nomads

 Fair enough. Forgot it was a pull shock. I had that coming.

I find it hard to believe any air shock would perform as well as a ti(or steel) sprung shock. If that were the case the world cup guys would be running these shocks. All due respect to Weir - he defined this category - his bike sponsor only produces an air sprung enduro bike - so it is definitely going to be the best enduro bike/shock he has ridden - today.

As you were.

 BTW, There really is no missing bike in C-dales line, except a real DH bike. The claymore is not heavy for an AM/FR bike (32 lbs) and succeeds the jekyll nicely. A carbon claymore would be sick though. Think of it like a Trek Remedy vs a Scratch (or slash now, i guess). And the Pull shock feels just as good as a vivid air. Its kinda amazing

 A carbon Claymore would be a great bike to produce. Good luck this season. And remember young man, YOU are The Future. Rip it up in 2012.

 Im pretty sure he has one hanging in his garage.but i might be wrong

 its aluminum... i almost got to borrow it if my fork had a tapered steer tube

 yeah its sunny here! I have no idea why, this is ridiculous even for california!

 SHUT THE HELL UP D:

 f*ck winter

 here wo got too 2 extra monts of epic weather with sun and no f*cking snow

 It's funny, cause here in So-Cal, winter IS riding season. Otherwise it's too hot and dry.

 NorCal is even better for year round riding. I've traveled all of the west coast all the way up to whistler and I love the place I ride. Couldn't ask for more its literally perfect. For all mountain riding. Now for a ski lift whistled is the best.

 Nason, I used to live in Norcal and I've also spent a few weeks in Whistler (including riding with locals that reject the park). If I was to spend two weeks in North America on a riding holiday I would pick, say, Calistoga over Whistler in a heartbeat.

 @iamamodel i havent rode calistoga i only ride annadel state park

 here epavichthesavage, this might cheer you up: http://www.pinkbike.com/video/223644/

 that indeed cheered me up haha

 Not all of it. I saw some China Camp in there.... not sure why they chose that trail to film though???

 To throw people off

 Open Space China Camp is the best! Plus i wanted to show that there is really good riding in Marin that isnt only Tam.

 I not only like what he's done, I was planning on trying it... Now that I have seen this vid I'll be trying it with my 2009 ReignX0 ASAP. I've got a Tallas 36 100/130/160 on her right now and it's gorgeous for AM/XC. It climbs like a mountain goat and decends well IF I avoid the freestyle jumps off to the side of the trail on the way down. At my current skill level, my landings on like a 4' kicker get sketchy and I have gone over the bars quite a few times on the Reign, where on my Faith I have absolutely NO worries riding those same lines. I think 180 on the front would be enough geo change to make it feel more at home on the decent, it'll feel more like my DH rig and I believe it'd help soak up my landing errors. I won't know for 100% sure until I actually try it out. BUT if it works, I'll go back to riding my Reign more and pedalling UP the hill before I ride down, unlike the Faith... That heavy old girl simply will not climb most of what I ride... I mena I love her an all, but I'd prefer to pedal up than push I guess...

 If you keep hitting all your 100mm and it feels uncontrolled, then yes. Otherwise you're fine. Though try to get your hands on a test bike with more travel and see if it's more fun.

 It's whatever you like and feel comfortable on. The park I ride is about a hour away from the place in the video so it's similar terrain but my park has more of a variety. One of my good riding buddies went from a nomad to a epic 29er and still shreds but isn't as fast as when he was on a nomad. I ride a stumpy EVO carbon which I think is a perfect bike it can take anything but still pedals really well. I had and enduro before and they are a bit heavy and I found you don't need all that travel.

 actually it was a blur lt. but on the topic of whether you need more travel is based on the type of riding you do and how you like your bike to be. I have found that I like shorter travel bikes that I can whip around easily and jump easier. I prefer to air it out over rock gardens so as long as my bike is more playful that is what I prefer. Im way faster on my epic 29er than my blur lt for almost everything I ride except the hardest rockgardens. And that is due mostly to my tire choice and not wanting to kill my rims. So really only you can decide whether or not you need more travel.

 Yea what he said ⬆....

 a scott voltage FR would be your perfect DH/am bike!

 I was thinking the same thing! Watching him stick out his knees so much on the downhill makes me feel uncomfortable...

 you'd be suprised how muddy it gets with even just a little rain...and how long it takes to dry out it doesn't turn black like up north though

 I'm just jealous of the consistently mild climate down there in the winter...

 ya its quite nice and Rider656, What it shows in the video is definitely smooth and flowy for the most part, but I ride stuff just down the road that puts my Bullit through its paces

 ...Never intended my comment to be negative. It's a good video and congrats on being on pinkbike cover page.
I was just trying to give advice to people, that all that suspension might not be so nessary when riding that type of trail.

 Its kind of ridiculous actually, but if it works for him then who are we to judge.

 I was thinking that, great ad for WTB...

 He's using the rear brake to make the back end step out. He uses the brake a few different ways. He initiates turns that aren't there like at 2.07 when he is heading for the tree. He also uses it to get some 'swing' into a turn - he steps the rear out to the left before he hits a right at 2.15. 2.50 is brake induced, but he has his weight right over the front end to lighten the rear and make it slide out fast and hence change his direction super quickly -this technique is usually reserved for right angles or corners where the radius tightens severely.

 if you've ridden those trails you'd also know it's straight bone dry even in winter and he's going 100x faster than it looks. nothing will hook up

 I agree that he is sliding the rear end on purpose. However if he had some sticky rubber on the back it'd be hard to pull off. 60a or 70a slide better than 40a!

 Its an oversteer and it makes tight corners much easier, learn how to do it!

 yes I know it is oversteer. I personally cant do it on my downhill bike because I have a 2.8 rear tyre. I only manage to slide it when the tread is almost gone! Looks cool though and I've seen alot of people use that technic in a lot of vids.

 Similar to my riding style. I keep rear endless loose. I ride heavy on the front end and let the rear kinda float. Counter steer and oversteer. I love the feeling of the rear end floating around. Cutties !

 I ride over the back end all the time though I dig that style. But just doesnt feel right for the steep terrain here in the alpes...

 Though we're both talking technicalities, if you look at really old full suspension bikes, a lot of them had 2 rear shocks in each of the seat stays, much like a "rear fork".

 the first one is public access. the other ones.... nope

 haha sweet. i completely understand, but it was worth a shot. what's the name of the first trail?

 Woodoaks. The trail can be hiked from the Mormon church

 thanks

 Urge All M

 same hubs all 2011. from france to the US

 amazing, those things used to blow up in the parking lot if you wanted them too, or, even better, at the face of a jump you've just sprinted at.
new internals?

 nice to see another biker named Kai!

 My analogy, as bad as it may be, is that jumps and tech. riding is like in surfing when they do aerial trickery and fast flowing trails that you can rip top gear flowing with the land is like when you get barreled in surfing. Both a must experience deal and you'll get majorly pitted!

lol

 just get pitted, so pitted

 I lived in Kelowna and rode there and now in north van.... Fast and pinned is awesome but if you can flow tech trails on a 6" bike then that is the shiz

 Truth, it is incredibly fun and really what's the point of making it easier by adding more travel unless you're racing? Psht, downhill bikes had that much travel a decade ago.

 wtf?

 I also acquired a tr450. It's quite fast
*cough* cannondale

 for dale?

 Somebody forgot to use the reply button...

 Fork off