44 Bikes

[fortyfour]

[fortyfour]

Hunting Season! Little more info on my kit and general safety for riding in the woods during Hunting Season via the 44HQ Blog.

[fortyfour]

More at the 44HQ Blog. Read. Think. Discuss.

[e-RICHIE]

You're right about racing atmo. And it's a percentage point of another percentage point in the scheme of things. Racing isn't the sport, it's the entertainment. We are the sport.

[fortyfour]

You're right about racing atmo. And it's a percentage point of another percentage point in the scheme of things. Racing isn't the sport, it's the entertainment. We are the sport.

It's a subtle nuance of word smithing and definition when I speak of "Shredding" (and to understand that you need to understand my mindset as it comes from the influence of what defines a "pro" in the bmx scene during the 90's.) And I think that "state" of mind is lost / muddied when you commit to a racing format. The bigger point being that you do not need a race format to push yourself to the next level.

The sport is so much bigger than racing.

[e-RICHIE]

It's a subtle nuance of word smithing and definition when I speak of "Shredding" (and to understand that you need to understand my mindset as it comes from the influence of what defines a "pro" in the bmx scene during the 90's.) And I think that "state" of mind is lost / muddied when you commit to a racing format. The bigger point being that you do not need a race format to push yourself to the next level.

The sport is so much bigger than racing.

Almost any, dare I say - perhaps all - "state" of mind is lost when a passion to do something well is intertwined with getting paid/the need to get paid to do it atmo. Any single rider who comes through my team who I can keep from becoming a professional athlete - I consider that a success.

[Diablo de Acero]

I cannot do the quote thing this forum, but "Man(e-Richie) you are right on the button". The same could be said of art and music as well.

[Diablo de Acero]

Also fortyfour, your Instagram pics are some of my faves.

[KonaSS]

In defense of racing.......I race 10-15 times per year, and fit it into my life with 2 young kids, rather than make my life revolve around racing. Plus I am no spring chicken, and have no delusions about my place in the racing world, I realize this is a hobby.

Racing is not the end all, be all. But it does push me to train harder than I would if I didn't do it. And in a race, I push harder than I ever do on any other ride. And I am talking mtb racing here. I shred harder, take corners faster, and let it all go like no other time. It is a beautiful thing to open it up like that on a closed race course. Don't ever get to do that in training. It hurts, but hurts so good.

[fortyfour]

<SNIP>

...take corners faster, and let it all go like no other time. It is a beautiful thing to open it up like that on a closed race course. Don't ever get to do that in training.

I do realize that a race format does help some overcome this hurdle, and I think that's awesome - but...

Here in lies my question and point: So what is holding you back while training to not open it up? Why aren't you taking corners faster when you're just out for a ride?

I also think I need to reiterate that the post is no dig on racing. I actually love that racing has gotten people out and riding, doing things they wouldn't, meeting people they wouldn't, coming together as a community, and is a conduit for pushing yourself. Racing does not need to be defended. What I'm talking about is the mindset. Your state of mind while riding vs while racing. Pushing yourself past "riding" while out for a ride and breaching that gap to what I refer to as "Shredding". This is what I'm getting at. The focus of pushing your limits, pinning turns, picking lines, weaving it all together but with an awareness of your surroundings so that you are entirely in that moment. That to me is Shredding.

You do not need a race course with tape to tell you when and where to push your limits.

[sk_tle]

Here in lies my question and point: So what is holding you back while training to not open it up? Why aren't you taking corners faster when you're just out for a ride?

The question wasn't directed at me but I'll give an answer.

While it is not a complete assurance against all potential issues, riding on marked closed course make other people aware they will see MTBers flying by at full speed. During training / leasury rides I almost never let go full bonk because I am pretty sure I will encounter hikers, dogs, or even people riding the opposite way. I got badly injured this year while doing a recon of a race and found out at the last second that someone had put a cattle plastic fence in the middle of the descent after a corner. I wasn't even going at the limit.

On the other hand race courses are rarely as satisfying as the rides I do with friends. But racing helped me meet those as I was fairly new in that area.

YMMV

[KonaSS]

Yep, Thomas nails a very practical reason 1 above.

Reason 2 is a bit harder, but I think most most people would attest to it. That is that pitting yourself against another or against a course just brings out that extra percentage that is very hard to reach or at least attain as long as you can during a race. The animal brain is willing to push harder in a race circumstance, and you need someone smarter than me to tell you why.

[fortyfour]

[DCT]

Are you kidding me? More pictures now!

[fortyfour]

Are you kidding me? More pictures now!

[Britishbane]

Oh man, that's stunning.

[nahtnoj]

[SlowPokePete]

See now that's EXACTLY what I want.

SPP

[fortyfour]

Thanks for the kind words fellas. I've really been wanting to make a "monster" version of the Huntsman. (Ironically, the very first Huntsman Prototype had room for WTB Nano 2.1" tires.) So when client came to me asking for a Huntsman with room for 2.3" 29er tires, I was all ears. Personally I would have gone towards a 1x11 or 2x11 set up but the client really was insisting on a triple and the ability to run a wider range cassette so that tied us into using a mountain drivetrain. There's a lot going on in this build and I'm going to do a post over on the 44HQ Blog about it later this morning to get into greater detail. I'll be sure to share that here. More pics for this weeks FNL as well of course. Here's a close up of the light, mount, rack and cable routing:

[cp43]

That's my bike! The fact that you guys like it made my morning.

I'm picking it up tonight. I can't wait! :)