Gravity AK Trip Photo Gallery
The photos shot by Harookz during the Gravity team trip to Alaska are now up on our site! Click HERE to check out the gallery.
Eric Porter – Winter Update
I just got back from a super fun backcountry yurt trip, snowmobiling and snowboarding for 3 days. It was a good crew, about 12 people, all there for our friend Doug Dalton’s birthday. We had a mix of snow and sun every day, and there was already a ton of snow up there, as the yurt is at 9600 feet. It was about 12 feet tall, but completely underground because the snowpack was so deep. We spent the first day just shredding and scouting on the sleds, then the second day was spent getting the whole crew up to this rad zone where we got some good runs and built a late in the day kicker over a natural double, and then the final day was mostly packing up and heading home. The nights were spent eating great food, sitting around the wood burning stove in the yurt, and knocking back a few beers. All in all super memorable trip, hopefully I can get a video together soon from it! – Eric Porter
Bikesoup Gravity Team Race Report
(Via Wideopen UK Bike Magazine)
Halo British Downhill Series, Round 1, Nant Gwrtheyrn, Wales. 20th March 2011
Bikesoup Gravity Team Riders:
George Gannicott, Junior Men: 2nd
Arran Gannicott, Elite Men: 28th
The Bikesoup Gravity team had an excellent first race at the 1st round of the Halo British Downhill Series. Over 300 riders registered at the remote location of Nant Gwrtheyrn, a stunning setting in North Wales with a super rocky, steep technical track, made even more challenging for riders with extreme weather conditions.
Day 1 for practice started off misty and wet but then the sun came out and each rider got in 8 runs, practicing lines for seeding and the timed race on day 2.
Both Arran and George loved their new race set up with Transition TR450 frames and Gravity components. George ran Marzocchi 888 Ti forks and Arran Rock Shox Boxxers, with both looking forward to receiving new 2011 Marzocchi forks before the next round. The boys said the handling of their new bikes marked a significant difference to anything they had ridden before, the frame giving them directional confidence, coupled with super light, strong Gravity components they felt they had an edge. www.ridegravity.com
Despite George crashing in practice and having to change his forks, both were very happy and confident with their race bikes and both spent time testing out tyres and disc brake rotors for the best set-up.
George Gannicott seeded at number 2, ran a great race despite the shocking weather and a really tough track and secured 2nd place with a time of 2.35.174. He wanted to win and disappointed not to get 1st place, but is focused on securing this at the next race.
This was Arran Gannicott’s first race in elite men category, with a huge elite field and up against nearly 50 elite riders. Many with 15 years experience on the British and World Cup scene, including 2009 UCI World Champion Steve Peat and top ten World Cup riders Marc Beaumont, Matti Lehikoinen and Josh Bryceland. Arran ran a great race, faster than 15 experienced elite riders and came in 28th place at 2.34.741. His was clocked at 23.31mph, just 3 seconds off 1st place Marc Beaumont, GT, at 26.63mph. He is focused on going faster at the next race and getting closer to the top ten.
Overall this was an excellent first race for both Arran and George. Official jerseys were delayed in arriving, however these will be ready for round 2 of the Halo British Downhill Series.
Due to the extreme weather conditions on race day, photography was difficult. The photo-call will be taken at the next race of both riders in their complete race kit and bike set up. Arran and George are really looking forward to the next round and we will report back further with feedback on product.
Bikesoup Gravity Team
(Via Wideopen UK Bike Magazine) – bikesoup.co.uk, the UK’s premier new & used bicycle marketplace & partnered by Gravity components – ridegravity.com, have formed a new DH team for 2011 with current British Youth Champion, Arran Gannicott & 2009 British Juvenile Champion George Gannicott as team riders.
With Arran & George looking to ride together in the same team for the 2011 season, Bikesoup jumped at the opportunity to support & promote riders of such natural talent & ability.
Both Arran & George will be focusing their efforts in 2011 on the Halo British Downhill Series with George aiming to take the Mens Junior title. Arran, in his first year in Men’s Elite, will be looking for some top 10 finishes & to gain more valuable experience in the UCI World Cup rounds. Being based in the Borders, both riders will also be competing in Scottish Downhill Series rounds too.
Bikesoup Gravity riders will be running distinctive acid green Transition TR450’s with Gravity cranks & finishing kit plus Marzocchi 888 Ti forks provided by Dan Jones at Windwave. Arran & George will sit pretty on saddles supplied by fi’zi:k.
Bikesoup are proud to be riding with the support of leading global racing brands Gravity and fi’zi:k on the DH scene. Both manufacturers literally jumped at the chance to support young up and coming talent and are looking forward to following Arran and George through-out the season. Both Arran & George are really excited to have their support at such an important time in their development.
Gravity AK Trip – Behind the Scenes
Harookz put together a collection of photos from the Gravity team trip to Alaska last fall including ‘Behind the Scenes’ captions. Check out the feature on Pinkbike by clicking HERE!
New Gravity Light Carbon Flat Bar & Direct Mount Stem
Here is an update on some new products showcased at the 2011 Taipei Cycle Show. (via Pinkbike)
We are very excited to announce the release of our new carbon and aluminum hybrid flat bar that measures out at a full 29″ wide, as well as the updated lower rise Direct Connect stem.
The Gravity Light OS flat bar is completely new for 2012 and uses a combination of carbon and aluminum to create a wide bar with some unique traits. The new bar will be right at home on the front of downhill bikes.
The new Gravity Light OS flat bar is not only wide, measuring out at a full 740mm wide (that’s 29″), but is also made using an interesting combination of double butted 6066 aluminum and unidirectional carbon. The obvious question is, why combine these two materials? If you were to cut the bar in half you’d discover that the aluminum internal layer is thinner than you’d find on a standard full aluminum bar, and is reinforced with the carbon outer layer. Unlike a lot of carbon/aluminum hybrid parts, the outer carbon layer is not a simple wrap around the metal component. Instead, the two parts are thermally bonded together and the carbon plays a structural role in the bars performance. Gravity calls this Carbon System Integration (CSI)
Gravity Light OS handlebar details:
• Flat bar
• Carbon/alloy construction
• 9° sweep, 4° upsweep
• 740mm width
• Weight: 240 grams
• MSRP $130 USD (approx)
The unidirectional carbon hides a double butted aluminum internal layer.
It is obviously more labor intensive to build the new bar out of two different materials, but it does offer benefits over both aluminum and carbon bars. The hybrid bar offers a slightly different ride characteristic, halfway between a full carbon and standard aluminum bar when it comes to stiffness. But the real benefit comes from the aluminum core’s added resiliency against damage, from both impacts and clamping forces from an over-tightened stem or lock-on grips
The Gravity Light Direct Connect stem gets updated for 2012 with less rise and a sharp looking finish. It also forgoes the multiple mounting positions, instead using a single 45mm reach.
FASTFOKUS Ep.1 Sweet As Bro – NZ feat. Kelly McGarry
The FASTFOKUS team decided to travel to different countries and film with different pro riders on their favorite tracks. For episode one, they visited and followed team rider Kelly McGarry rippin’ in New Zealand. Check it out!
MBR Magazine March 2011
The ball seems to keep rolling for the Gravity crew who made the trek out to the Last Frontier, Alaska. In the latest MBR magazine’s photo annual, Harookz scored a beautiful double page spread of Eric Porter and Chris Vandine riding a trail called “No Room For Error”. Click HERE to watch the video! MBR also included 3 glossy prints with every issue and the Harookz/Vandine combo landed one of those as well.
For more information on mountain bike guides and heli services in Alaska, email info@akdownhill.com
Unit Farm Jam 2011
Unit just dropped this amazing video from the Gravity sposored Farm Jam a couple of weeks ago and it’s off the hook! Congrats to Kelly McGarry for finishing in 3rd place, bouncing back quickly from his collarbone injury!
Spoke March 2011 Cover
This shot of Kelly McGarry collecting some air miles is the second cover from the Gravity team trip to Alaska, photographed by Harookz! Here’s what he had to say about cover #2.
This shot like the current Decline cover, is also from the trip to Alaska with the Gravity team. It’s always a nice feeling to score two cover shots from one trip. One of the longer descents Kelly McGarry had on deck ended with a vertical wall, perfectly aligned for a stepdown. All we had to do was buff in a run in and she was good to go. Sleeping in a F-350 for a week and a half wasn’t the most thrilling experience but what we’ve achieved from this AK expedition sure helps cover up those uncomfortable memories.
