Throwback.

Reasons I like this picture...

Downhill bikes.

Hucking shit.

Sharples casing THE FUCK out of this jump.

Full factory kits.

Sharple's Trek has a fender and like 6 top tubes.Also I think those are Kujo tires.

Mike King about to get steezy in the background.You know he fucking did too,it's Mike King.



Developed,part 2.

Well fuck me,it actually happened.

The fork I was just talking shit about a few days ago,in the flesh,all built up,and pretty much ready for production.So,without further adieu,follow me as I run down a list of the first things that popped into my brain when I saw this "game changer".

1.GREEN? Holy fuck,looks like you quickly sourced an anodizer DVO.They did mention they will have "other" colors,but not a good way to make a first impression.Should of left that shit raw.

2.So that's the stiffness torsion arch?You took the lowers from a Magura fork and bolted them onto the drop outs of yours?Should be hella stiff with those two 4mm bolts holding that thing on.

3.Tapered steer tube,is it needed on a big ass dual crown fork?I don't think so,but DVO does.It should really make those lower legs feel nice and flexy.

4.No pinch bolts,but a highly complicated collet tightening system for the crowns.Also requires a proprietary tool to tighten them down.Exactly what I want,more special one-off shit on my DH bike.Thank god it might not make it to production.

5.Powdercoated white crowns and dropouts,no.Just no.

Oh,and just so you know TEAM DUMPED! is making progress on our new fork.

We're trying to line up Stratos to make the internals for us.

Hoping to hit the market by like,2016.

TEAM DUMPED! Presents...

How to build up a bike.
Step 1.
Buy a hardtail frame,no not a slalom frame.Not an XC frame.Pick up some fucked geometry freeride hardtail frame from a German company that has one big ass toptube as roughly half of the frame.
Step 2.
Pick yourself up a Monster T.Look really hard for the late model ones that weighed 14 pounds and had like 8'' of extra fork leg sticking out below the axle.Skip out on buying the older ones that were 8 pounds,worked amazing,and felt fucking good.
Step 3.
24'' wheels.A must have.
Step 4.
Keep this thing versatile.You want the ability to go uphill and downhill.Oh fuck,how are you gonna shift?How's your chain gonna stay on?Answer?...Hammerschmidt.
Step 5.
Go to the local shop and pick up some pedals they took off of their rental bikes.Cheap,metal,and hella grip.While you're there ask if they have any rear reflectors,because the last thing you want is to get hit by a car after hucking that 12 stair to flat.

AND VOILA!

You've got yourself one baaaaaaaad motherfucker.

Developed.

That right there is the first few actual production parts of the hype machine that is currently known as the DVO Emerald.What do we know about the Emerald?We know that it's inverted,made by SR Suntour,uses some fancy pants orifice damper,and has some sort of carbon stiffness arch thingy that they won't show us.Also,apparently,using pinch bolts on your crowns is out.The fuck?We also know that there's a high probablity that it will suck.Why? For one it's inverted.Fox tried an inverted fork and said it wasn't worth the time or energey,also look at who currently makes inverted forks.Manitou and White Brothers,not really leading edge suspension companies right there.Reason number two,they're a start up company.Sure,they have a background in suspension but fuckin-a' they're diving in head first to a pool filled with bad-ass shit made by a little company out of Watsonville.And the third reason,SR Suntour.Need I say anymore?

So if TEAM DUMPED! could kickstart the hype machine,just like DVO,and fire out a leading edge DH race worthy suspesnion fork,what would it look like?Here's how we would do it...

1.-We'd go traditional,not inverted.

2.-38mm stanchions.Some people say 40mm is too stiff,some people say 35mm is too flexy.Right down the middle we go.

3.-Coat said stanchions in whatever greenish/blue crap that the Pro Circuit boys use on Villipoto's fork.

4.-SKF seals.

5.-Cartridge damper,with a whole fuck load of bath oil.50cc's minimum in each leg.

6.-One 4mm pinch bolt per leg,Fox 36 style tool free little flippy lever axle.No more wallowed out axles.

7.-Carbon crowns.Stiff as fuck and light as fuck.

At this point TEAM DUMPED! is pretty much on the same level as DVO as a suspension company.All we need are some CAD drawings,stickers,and a fulyl wrapped race van and we'd be made in the shade.

Got it yet?



The odd duck.

You know how sometimes you're driving through a place you've never been and you see something,and this something just doesn't seem to fit in?It doesn't really jive with the landscape and makes you go,"Oh,what in the fuck is THAT doing there?"Lately,i've caught myself saying this more often than not.Not in reference to cities or landscapes,but in reguards to some people's downhill bike set ups.

Example#1.

Let's take a frame,one that is considered to be a full on race machine,deck it out in all the latest and greatest,including E13 cranks and a Vivid air,but let's not add the icing on the cake just yet.We don't want a super buttery 888,a lightweight Boxxer,or the pinnacle of all DH forks,a 40 up front.No,no.We're gonna go with a Fox Van 180.Because you know what screams "RACE!" a fucking single crown.This ain't the Rampage,chief.Get your silly ass a dual crown.

Example#2.

Shiny white 951 with a shiny white 40.Oh shit,is that a Double Barrel with a Ti spring?And is tha...is that a Hammerschmidt.By golly it is.You know what one of the requirements of my DH bike is?Pedalablity,because I fucking love nothing more than slogging around 42 pounds of alumnium,while a combined total of 16'' of travel and 6 pounds worth of super slow rolling and sticky rubber suck up every bit of effort I put out.

Example#3.

Sweet ass gearbox frame,check.$2000 Dorado up front,check.Dual Wet Screams,check.KS suicide-shifter-style set up dropper post,che...the fuck?Gearbox bikes must pedal like a son of a bitch,because pedaling a 8'' travel bike,up any sort of incline,while in the same riding position as an Electra Townie is one hell of a feat,but this motherfucker must be able to do it.



Damn them

So it's no secret we here at Team Dumped enjoy ourselves a good ol' fashion hardtail. You know, long, kinda low, 100mm fork, some comfy ass bars and go shred it out. I personally have never gotten down with the long travel hardtail thing, and i am still very skeptical of its purpose. Once you blow through all that travel your bike rides like a crap pile, for example when cornering ... need i say more? So Santa Cruz bringing the Chameleon back gives me mixed feelings.
This video is why these feelings are coming about, otherwise i would have probably just looked the other way. Damn you marketing people you are doing your job.

Steve Peat & Josh Bryceland Thrash The New Santa Cruz Chameleon from santa cruz bikes on Vimeo.
So it kinda makes me want to get one of these frames, put all my dirtjumper parts on it and jack my fork up ... I somehow know its a stupid idea though. Wait though a 1x10 would be fun ... no stop it.
So Santa Cruz this bike has tricked me, tricked me into thinking it could be more fun and useful than the bike i have now. I don't like tricks.