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Must Watch: No Chain, No Problem – Aaron Gwin’s Winning Run at Leogang

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If bad things happen in 3s, Aaron Gwin’s string of bad luck at the Leogang, Austria DH circuit should finally be over. First it was brake failure at the 2012 World’s competition. Then it was complete rear tire failure in 2014, and now – a snapped chain right out of the gate. Much like the rear tire incident, Gwin wasn’t about to let a broken chain keep him from getting down the mountain. Instead, he coasted the smoothest run Leogang has ever seen and ended up walking away with the overall win without a single pedal. Unbelievable.

Didn’t catch the rear tire issue in 2014? He may not have won after that failure, but the ability to ride down almost the entire circuit on the rear rim alone is definitely worth a watch…

More details on this weekend’s WC action at Redbull.com.

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RC
RC
8 years ago

Sounds like Aaron needs a new mechanic..or were they demo’ing a Shimano chain? KMC rules….

Rich
Rich
8 years ago

I’m guessing it was a SRAM chain, given they sponsor the team…

Eric E. Strava
Eric E. Strava
8 years ago

Turds happen. Ignoring the gear, that was almost certainly the greatest individual feat in the history of downhill racing, and one of the finest races I have ever had the pleasure to witness.

pmurf
pmurf
8 years ago

So cool. That’s up there with Sam Hill’s 2nd run at Champery 2007.

Rider X
Rider X
8 years ago

Amazing run. Crazy how much speed can be retained through momentum, pumping and iron appendages!

Morecore
Morecore
8 years ago

Watching the live stream yesterday was incredible with total range of emotion on that run from “Man he is finished from the start” to “I can’t believe I just witnessed that!”.

Looks like a sram seven speed cassette with a Renthal chain ring.

I wonder if the chain was clocked proper on that 1XR ring? Maybe a broken sachs link?

satisFACTORYrider
satisFACTORYrider
8 years ago

brosnan – “when did that happen?”
gwin – “outta the start gate”
brosnan – “you motherf*#%er!”
gwin – “this specialized works good without a chain”

carbonfodder
carbonfodder
8 years ago

two of the greatest rides I have ever seen. KINGPIN.

Vincent
Vincent
8 years ago

@satisFACTORYrider
The quote was “suspension works better without a chain”

FoolCyclist
FoolCyclist
8 years ago

This will spark the new thing in downhill racing. Whether or not a given course can be ridden without a chain. Now you can free up the suspension.

Ryan
Ryan
8 years ago

I’ve often wondered why some DH bikes even have a drivetrain to begin with, seriously. Besides the initial push out of the gate, often times they appear to be 100% gravity driven. Maybe drivetrain’less DH bikes/races will be the new trend.

satisFACTORYrider
satisFACTORYrider
8 years ago

@vincent- yup. sorry.

MartinR
MartinR
8 years ago

Without a doubt, AG and Chuck Norris have something in common!

Matt
8 years ago

Further proof that DH is not, in fact, cycling.

*ducks and covers*

AlanM
AlanM
8 years ago

I’m working on landing my DH sponsorship with Strider.

iperov
iperov
8 years ago

yup DH like descent on stand-up scooter with saddle.

me
me
8 years ago

@Matt, I agree. No endurance required.

Ilikeicedtea
Ilikeicedtea
8 years ago

@me

Spoken as one who has never done a dh run, much less raced one, eh?

CC
CC
8 years ago

If dh requires no endurance then perhaps for xc we should just put the riders in a training room and see who can pump out the most watts over 90 minutes since xc requires no bike handling skills and the downhill portion is irrelevant.

James
James
8 years ago

Chris Porter knows he was right all along.

pilf
pilf
8 years ago

I recall reading that some World Cup downhill courses are going to be redesigned over the next few years to have more sections that would require pedaling, where if you DIDN’T pedal, you just won’t even make it through.

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