- It's early on race day
and we have snuck in the pits
to check out Laurie Greenland's
Mondraker Summum.
(rhythmic rock music)
So this downhill bike is
based on the 27 frame,
but, however, it is a mullet bike.
So it's got the 29 inch wheel in the front
and the 27 out the back.
Derived from, what is incredibly
sleek-looking carbon frame.
Just the linkage plates that are alloy.
Everything else is carbon.
To give it an incredibly
clean and clear aesthetic.
I especially love little power triangles.
I don't know, they just
look so smooth and so sleek.
The reach on this is 442,
however, he has got an angle set in there.
This bike is pretty cool.
It's got two degrees of
adjustability, either way,
in terms of head angle.
Taking it from a 61 all
the way through to a 65
to fine tune it to your preferences.
Obviously, this does affect
the reach a little bit,
so I can't be exact on that number.
Mondraker have long been known
for their super progressive geometry,
and it's no surprise to see
an adjustable chain-saver.
So you can basically fine tune it
to the length that you want,
depending on the course
and your riding style.
Interestingly enough,
this bike hasn't really
got much in the way
of damage protection.
It does, however, have lots of silencing.
All this, kind of, the
soft side of the velcro.
Which is a really, really good
material to dampen any noise.
Also a really new touch,
is on the brake hose.
Some little winglets of it.
Just to stop it vibrating
on the number board there
when you are going warp
speed or in high wind.
So Laurie is a Mavic rider
and sticking with the French theme,
he's also a Michelin rider.
So DH22 takes care of the grip duties,
while there are some Mavic Deemax,
Mavic's go-to downhill
rim, front and back,
obviously, in the different wheel sizes.
Mavic did recently bring out
a new downhill wheel set.
I can only imagine they didn't
want to change mid-season
or experiment with a
course as rough as that.
This bike came straight
from the last world cup
in the U.S. of A.
So I imagine they had
a long time on the road
and were probably doing some
testing during the off-season.
A FOX 40 is bolted onto
the front of the bike
with the grip 2 damper.
Seems to be a really,
really popular choice
with racers here this weekend.
He's got a really, really nice,
custom stickered marsh guard
which looks pried in place to go along
with all the other custom
stuff on the frame.
There is a FOX DHX2 coil on the back.
Though, interestingly
enough, a black spring,
but upon closer inspection,
I think it might have
been sprayed for aesthetic reasons.
When the springs are used,
they do twist and distort slightly
and that can sometimes
flake or break the paint
and if you look carefully underneath here,
you can see specks of orange.
So I think, keeping in the black theme,
they decided to get the rattle can out.
Laurie is running
the brand new Shimano
XTR 4 pots which, actually,
the modulation feels very
smooth, very consistent.
Not punchy and bitey
like some of the bikes I've tested here,
but rather, kind of a
more ramping up approach
with a bit of free stroke there.
The blades are almost, I'd say,
on the flatter side of things
without being parallel to the ground.
And these calipers,
which are something of a work of art,
are paired with some 203
Shimano rotors, front and back.
These bars are running
at 760mm in width.
Coupled with a 50mm stem.
Their 35mm clamp, but interestingly,
may be due to the 29 inch wheel,
Laurie is running at pretty much slammed.
Another fitting tribute to
his teammate Brook Macdonald,
who had a spinal injury
in Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Kia kaha, stay strong, Brook Macdonald.
An SDG Fly saddle coupled
with a really, really
clean looking Next carbon
seat post, by Race Face.
Some Crank Brothers Mallet Downhill pedals
with the pins wound in to
just a bit less than flush.
Coupled by some 165 mil Saint cranks.
A red number board holder,
presumed to be from ODI
which compliments the red
of the Mondrake decals
and the FOX decals,
pretty much to perfection
I have to say.
It looks really, really tidy
and everything is in keeping
to a strict color scheme.
A 36 tooth chain ring on the front
with a LG1 chain device
top and bottom from E13
Shimano Saint takes care
of the shifting duties
and the shifter mech and
an incredibly stripped down
cassette on the back.
These Mavic hubs only have
space in for about seven gears
and it looks like he's
only got what he needs
and nothing else.
Now to look at this bike,
it doesn't look anything
too out of the ordinary,
however, close inspection
reveals a Trek Stache bottom bracket
which is usually used to add tension
to a single speed system,
but I suspect they're using it
to adjust the geometry
and angle setter reach adjust headset.
So I think there's more
to it than meets the eye.
We caught up with Laurie's mechanic,
Mark Sterland, for all the
details on how they truly
modified this mullet bike.
- We've changed, basically,
a stock 27 and a half bike
to a 29 front.
First thing we found was obviously the
front axle got a lot closer to the pedals
so we needed to go up a frame size.
Head angle was completely out,
so we're running minus two cups.
But then, obviously
the BB is far too high.
So we have some custom bushings made
for the shock to drop
it down a little bit.
And that still wasn't quite enough
so I managed to find this old
little bottom bracket thing.
- So that is how you spec
and adopt a mullet bike
from the rigors of Red Bull Hardline.
I think it's absolutely spectacular,
especially a fan of the custom paint work.
Thanks for watching and, as always,
please don't forget to like and subscribe.
Cheers.
