René Wildhaber's Trek Remedy - EWS Round 4, La Thuile, Italy
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Trek's René Wildhaber was busy winning bonkers Megavalanche races long before the e-word made a lot of us trade in our downhill sleds for mid-travel bikes, and the Swiss racer is still at it today on the Enduro World Series circuit. This year sees René move from the longer-travel Slash that we're used to seeing him aboard, or the 29'' wheeled Remedy that he was often on, to the brand new, 150mm-travel Remedy that rolls on 27.5'' wheels.
How does he compare last year's Slash and this year's Remedy? ''I did more work with the Slash. The Remedy, I just got it last week, so I have to start tweaking,'' said Wildhaber.
He's also a rider who's not shy about jumping into some testing to see what works best for him: ''I like to work on the bike, to get the right setup. Sometimes there's not enough time to do it; you get a new bike and have to ride it immediately... I don't like that. I prefer to have the bike and start working on it.''
It sounds a bit like a trial by Swiss fire for Trek's new machine during this weekend's race in Italy.
He's also a rider who's not shy about jumping into some testing to see what works best for him: ''I like to work on the bike, to get the right setup. Sometimes there's not enough time to do it; you get a new bike and have to ride it immediately... I don't like that. I prefer to have the bike and start working on it.''
It sounds a bit like a trial by Swiss fire for Trek's new machine during this weekend's race in Italy.
A groove machined into the headset's top cap keeps the handlebar from rotating too far and contacting the frame.
''I always try to ride different bikes and find out the possibilities on those bikes,'' he explained, before going on to say that we could see him on a number of different bikes throughout the year. ''I'll get a 29er again. I was also involved with the development team, so with the final product, I'm always curious to find out how it works.''
Big rotors on the menu here in Italy.
Wildhaber has been on Shimano's Di2 drivetrain for some time now.
With a number of different bikes and wheel sizes to choose from, Wildhaber is able to pick what works best for him on any given day. That means 27.5'' wheels here in La Thuile, Italy, but he's also pretty straightforward about what he'd be on if he wasn't racing: ''One reason is that it's more fun to ride the 27.5'' wheels, in my opinion. I also have more choice of tires, and wheels are a bit more stable. Yeah, maybe on the straights it's not as fast as a 29er, but I like to ride 27.5 more. The fun factor is bigger.''
''Maybe the other one [29er] is faster, but I also did some testing, and for me, the difference, it was really important which kind of trail it was,'' Wildhaber said. ''On some trails, it was a lot faster, and on other ones the other bike was faster.''
When your day job is to go as fast as possible, you need to know which tool to use and when, but it's clear that René reaches for the smaller wheels when he's off the clock.
He's using a 150mm-travel Fox Transfer dropper post.
Only minimal protection for Wildhaber in Italy - he's had the taco removed.
At 172cm, Wildhaber says that he prefers to ride the 18.5'' size these days, despite spending all of the last season on the 17.5'' bike. ''I like it, a little bit longer bike. I think that it's a little bit more stable in fast sections,'' he said of his choice to go up in frame sizing. ''Last year I was always riding the 17.5'' and it's a little [better] when it's steep and 'corner-y'. It's a little bit better there, but overall, I think that the bigger frame is better.''
The front of Wildhaber's Remedy is home to a 160mm-travel Fox 36, and it's interesting to see him go with the Float X rather than the newer X2 shock, although this could be down to the Float X's air spring working better on the Remedy given that he's had limited time to test.
Unlike a lot of racers, fast or slow, who prefer their suspension to ramp up quicker than a Michael Bay movie, Wildhaber says that he prefers a more linear feeling front end: ''On the fork, I like it linear. On the shock, a little bit more progressive. I have a volume spacer in the shock [on the Slash], but on the Remedy, I'm still trying out different setups.'' René goes with minimal volume spacers in the fork and between 71 and 73 psi (yes, that exact) for his 72-kilogram weight.
Unlike a lot of racers, fast or slow, who prefer their suspension to ramp up quicker than a Michael Bay movie, Wildhaber says that he prefers a more linear feeling front end: ''On the fork, I like it linear. On the shock, a little bit more progressive. I have a volume spacer in the shock [on the Slash], but on the Remedy, I'm still trying out different setups.'' René goes with minimal volume spacers in the fork and between 71 and 73 psi (yes, that exact) for his 72-kilogram weight.
The bike's 150mm of travel is looked after by a Float X shock.
The build of Wildhaber's bike features a Di2 drivetrain and Fox's new Transfer dropper post, as well as a set of Bontrager's Line Elite aluminum wheels rather than any lighter weight carbon setup. ''There's only one thing that works: aluminum,'' he said of his rim choice, no doubt referencing the ability of an aluminum rim to in rough shape but still finish a race run. Carbon? It's all good until it's really not good, which can happen in the blink of an eye.
Bontrager SE rubber, as you'd expect. Wildhaber said he may run the G4 downhill tire if conditions call for it.
Only aluminum rims for the Swiss racer.
MENTIONS: @trek / @foxracingshox / @shimano
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Ramp up means the deeper into the travel you go, the firmer the suspension becomes.
Ramp up(progression) means it take more force for every inch the shock moves into its travel being the highest at the bottom.
That said, there are a lot of us that prefer bikes to be setup based on how we "think" they should work. The important word in that last sentence obviously being "think". Some of us put a combination of thought and experience into setting up our bkes as opposed to just "riding around" or "dealing with" our setup.
My viewpoint, which is reflected in how I setup my bikes AND my cars is that I want compliance and composure. Tires do double duty in providing traction and enough compliance to help deal with small things the suspension never will . Composure means I don't want a linear "bottom-less" feeling shock (like a DB Air without volume spacers), but something that ramps up and uses travel in a manner commensurate with energy input into the system. In other words, if I'm not hitting 40 ft tables, why am I using all my travel right?
I agree, that a lot of guys just get used to riding based on how they've always ridden, but that's not everyone. :-)
"And the funniest thing is that it's even more fun to ride the 26 wheels, that's a fact" I say.
hope you all know that.
shop.acros.de/media/image/thumbnail/51-H_AZ-44BL_BlockLock_Steuersatz_2_720x600.jpg
Such a focused athlete! We went surfing and while he was waiting for me to wax my board he was doing suicides in the sand. On rides when waiting for me at the top he was doing burpies.
So Intense, he said every moment is a a moment to train! But as a human a very humble and mild manner man...unlike some other of his teammates ????
Compare it to pro surfing where many pros only know they have a 5'9" under their feet and are completely clueless of rocker, bottom contours etc.
Well he did go up one size. And me, always confused by Trek sizing, actual vs. virtual. Will also admit to being easily confused.
Seriously, of all the people that up-sized, a good percentage of them didn't like the new seated position and
did just the same. But keep in mind that the reasons for doing so have nothing to do with seated performance!
Right on! :-)
My only complaint is everything except the G5/SE5 (and possibly the new-for-2016 XR4/SE4) has a super rounded profile with lots of transition knobs. There's only one tread pattern in their lineup with a real cornering channel, and it isn't available in a sub-900g casing.