Bike Check: Caroline Buchanan's Trek Ticket DJ

Aug 24, 2021
by Alicia Leggett  

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BIKE CHECK
Caroline Buchanan's
Trek Ticket DJ
Photography by Vibe Imagery

Caroline Buchanan needs little introduction. The eight-time cross-discipline World Champion has made a name for herself across BMX, pump track, dirt jumping, and more. After two trips to the Olympics in London and Rio and countless elite podiums, she recently announced that she is moving away from her full-time BMX focus and will primarily chase down mountain bike progression.

This week, Caroline joins eight other women at Audi Nines to make history at an event that has historically only invited men. After that, she plans to fly over to Crankworx Canada. To help her progression, she rebuilt her backyard "compound" with large dirt jumps and has shared several videos of big hits including both front- and backflips.

At this exciting turning point in her trajectory, we figured it's a good time to take a look at the bike Caroline will be riding at her upcoming events. We've already seen her putting it through its paces both on the ground and in the air, and can't wait to see more.

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Caroline Buchanan
Age: 30
Hometown: Canberra, Australia
Height: 163cm / 5'4"
Weight: 67kg / 147lb
Instagram: @cbuchanan68

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The Trek Ticket DJ is Caroline's bike of choice for dirt jumping.

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Details
Frame: Trek Ticket DJ
Fork: RockShox 110mm DJ Pike, 130psi, LSC 3, rebound 6
Wheels: 26" Stan's NoTubes Flow
Tires: Maxxis 2.3 Pace F (40psi) & R (36psi)
Drivetrain: SRAM XO1 Dub 170mm cranks, singlespeed with 32t chainring
Brakes: SRAM Level Ultimate
Cockpit: Deity Ridgeline Bars 650mm width, 25mm rise, Copperhead Stem 35mm
Weight: 13.08kg / 28.84lbs
More info: trekbikes.com

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The inspiration? "Rose gold jewelry meets beauty salon vibe," Caroline said.

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We'll see the full gamut of bikes at Audi Nines this week, from dirt jumps to downhill bikes.

Since she was five years old, Caroline said, she has run her rear brake on the right side. On this bike, however, she chose to change it up and swap the brake to the left side for dirt jumping and tricks. She's right handed, so tends to grab the bars with her right hand first and take that hand off the bars more often, and she would rather have the brake lever out of the way on the left.

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The bike is spec'd with a Deity saddle and cockpit, with 650mm bars and a comfortable 35mm rise.

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Stan's and Maxxis keep her rolling, and her preferred tire pressures of 40psi in the front and 36psi in the rear make sure she's rolling fast.

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"Beauty and the bike," she said. Caroline can add glamor to dirt jumping like no other.


Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Bike Checks Dirtjump Bikes Trek Trek Ticket Caroline Buchanan Audi Nines 2021


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71 Comments
  • 24 5
 I'm blown away she's 5'4" and 147. That's the same height and almost 40 pounds heavier than my wife...she's got to be crazy strong.
  • 8 72
flag trollhunter (Aug 24, 2021 at 18:47) (Below Threshold)
 The bike (Trek Ticket) thinks this big girls riding me is super fun - just don’t tell my friends or I might SLASHed and there won’t be any remedy to embarrassment…
  • 12 3
 There was a comment a while ago about how she has better abs than basically all of us haha she's fit asf!
  • 22 0
 She’s a world class bmx racer, so probably able to throw down 1500 watts. That takes some serious guns and core strength.
  • 8 0
 She's a top of the food chain BMX athlete, those are are amongst the strongest riders on the bike world. Go check her IG, she squats north of 300lb
  • 2 1
 Dude some chicks are crazy dense in mass. I lifted my sister the other day and was shocked lol.
  • 1 0
 I'm the same height and she out weighs me by 20lbs. I'm just a broken old guy.
  • 19 0
 Terrific to see CB back from catastrophic injury.
  • 4 0
 exactly my thoughts. Crazy that she's been so silent and then it's like boom Audi 9's.
  • 3 0
 @onemanarmy: It did seem like CB was chasing another shot at the Olympics before not being selected.
Having seen her racing CB's skills are incredible, with the practice in adding a bag of tricks will definitely make her one to continue following and watch her chase the riding dream.
  • 1 0
 @Drawn: Ah. That makes sense. Thanks.
  • 18 0
 13kg seems about 2.5kg too high for the overall weight.
  • 2 0
 Yeah actually I came here to say that. My Top Fuel with a full coil setup and Reserve 30 wheels weighs about 29 lbs. And my Ticket S with a Pike DJ was 25 lbs.
  • 3 0
 That's 2kg more than my pbj... How is this possible water in the tires?
  • 2 0
 I was thinking the same...my Mutant Bikes Petyan with an heavy crank set and wheels its arround 10,75Kg.
I am Shocked, how can this bike with carbon crancks and minimal spec be at 13kg?!!
  • 4 0
 @hardcoredivision: I've actually lifted this exact bike and there's no way it's 13kg. Incorrect for sure.
  • 16 2
 I’ll tell you what it doesn’t look like is a trek ticket DJ
  • 11 6
 looks like a session
  • 6 0
 New design. R-Dog is riding one with that updated back end too. The Ticket Ss that Semenuk, Rheeder, etc have been on the last few years have been evolving too but the production model has been the same since 2016(?). Curious whether or not this updated Ticket DJ frame will be available to the public or if it will be like the pros S frames
  • 9 0
 Frame design looks different from the standard ticket DJ. I wonder if this was a one off build for her.
  • 7 0
 Honestly such a gorgeous dirt jumper!!
  • 17 19
 Yes! The bike is nice too!
  • 4 1
 @yodudes: lol indeed
  • 7 0
 650mm bars seem super narrow?
  • 2 0
 For a 5'4 BMX racer they probably feel super wide I guess? Box one carbon BMX race bars are 21"/533mm.
  • 1 0
 @Patrick9-32: those are mini bars for kids. My 9yr old uses 24” bars.

Pros only race steel bars in bmx, and they’re pretty wide.
  • 1 0
 @Patrick9-32: Here is a common pro bar: tangent-products.myshopify.com/collections/hndlebars/products/31-8-flatiron62-bars

It’s 28 or 29”, so closer to 710-735mm
  • 1 0
 @Reno233: 5'3", ape index 1.10. i ride a 17 with 440 reach and 785's and thats the sweet spot for me
  • 2 0
 Great bike. Legendary rider.
I had a BMX to skill up for MTB when I couldn't hit the trails and I could manual/bunnyhop pretty well on it - super fun but I found when I got back on my mountain bike it didn't help too much as the wheel size and length and weight was just soo different.
Anyone use a DJer in a similar way? Do you find it feels very different or is it more transferable when you get back on the big bike?
  • 4 0
 Reason why I took on Cruiser rather than proper BMX when I started BMX race few years back. But many friends from either BMX race or DJ ride 20" and have no problem taking their skills on the Mtb. It is pretty frequent that when I encounter some rider that is particularly good at jumping they also happen to BMX Dj. Moves and balance is the same, it taks few tryies to re-adjust to the bike you are riding but no worse than transitioning from HT to FS or Trail to DH bike for instance.
  • 1 0
 @Balgaroth: ok - thanks for insight Smile
  • 4 0
 To add to what @Balgaroth said riding a bmx or DJ bike consistently whether it is at dirt jumps, street or a skatepark also expands how you look at a mtb trail and potential features that others ride right by.
  • 4 0
 @nyhc00: Two prime exemples of this for me was manualing in holes (like a natural double) and pre-hoping stuff, two things I never done before starting bmx racing. Not sure it makes me faster but it certainly makes riding even more fun and engaging. At a completely different level, If you follow DH WC, Daprela (former BMX racer) had a very special sequence at the top of Leogang, using the doubles offset to the normal rythm if I remember well, this is a typical BMX race stuff.
  • 3 0
 Where is the weight at. My single speed dj is 22.5 and no carbon at all. Seem really heavy for that build. My trail bike trek remedy 9.8 with minimal upgrades is 28 pounds
  • 2 0
 Ripping around a skatepark or riding dirt jumps on a bmx makes switching back to the mountain bike feel like slow motion for me. I have so much more time to react and adjust on the trail bike versus a bmx bike.
  • 1 0
 The weight on that bike is wayyy off. My absolute (which is a way bigger frame) with heavier brakes (trp) and a heavier saddle weighs in at 21 lbs so I know damn well her tiny bike with that component list same fork and wheels as me with carbon cranks is probably sub 20
  • 8 5
 40 PSI in the rear and 36 PSI in the front, typo? If not, I'm curious about the rationale behind that
  • 29 6
 Seems normal for DJ.
  • 2 0
 I'm no expert but faster rolling and less traction is needed for dirt jump tracks? I guess.
  • 4 1
 Pretty common in BMX to run less PSI in the back.
  • 14 0
 I run 60psi front and rear on my ticket ‍♂️
  • 13 0
 That's not very high for a bike like that.
  • 30 0
 I did not put a male sign on my last comment. That’s suppose to be a happy face. I have no idea how that happened
  • 1 0
 I run the same Smile
  • 4 2
 oops...my brain corrected the description because that is what i would normally write / run!

the description is flipped, it says: "Stan's and Maxxis keep her rolling, and her preferred tire pressures of 40psi in the front and 36psi in the rear make sure she's rolling fast."

aka higher pressure in the front than back. seems backwards, no?
  • 1 0
 The typo is probably the weight. Most bikes like this are ~25lbs or less
  • 1 0
 @scotteh: Front has suspension, rear doesn't
  • 1 0
 Yeah there is no way that bike weighs that much @SirWonky:
  • 1 0
 She's a little lighter than most of us, but it could also be set up for audi nines. That is one big ass dirt course, so the lower pressures might give a little more traction in high g banks and passive suspension on the landings.
  • 1 1
 @Evansmtbsaga: is it due to forward weight bias? less pressure in the back to avoid spinning out during out of the saddle efforts?
  • 5 0
 Beautiful bike!!
  • 3 1
 I don’t get the popularity of those tires. I scrub out on them, be it in concrete bowls or dirt. I wiped out so many times in one week….changed them immediately.
  • 2 2
 low rolling resistance I'd bet. Those seem like low pressures (for BMX style riding) so maybe that helps grip.
  • 3 0
 I wish they would make that frame for slae, i want one for my son.
  • 3 0
 Great to see CB on the Audi 9 roster! Go get it! Smashforth Fistarmy
  • 3 4
 The censoring of comment is cancel culture in worst form. Stop blocking comments if they appear sexist, disrespectful or stupid. Everyone deserves a voice even if they are fembot or a misogynist. All voices should be heard however disrespectful or stupid. Stop cancel culture abs political correctness…
  • 1 0
 Has the back end of the bike grown? The one thing I liked about the Ticket was that it has/had a short back end...
  • 1 0
 ive tried to buy.....for me...for daughter....i still want.
  • 1 0
 Style on and off the bike!
  • 1 0
 Those bars look longer than 650 to me, maybe 750?
  • 1 0
 Love that rose gold touch!!
  • 1 0
 All this
  • 1 2
 This woman is super hot!
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