Troy Brosnan ripped down the course to take the win aboard his Canyon Sender, shaving a solid (in DH terms) margin off his competitors (who, it seemed, were hell bent on each shaving just hundredths of a second off the prior run each time) and making for a very exciting finish to the Crankworx Les Gets Men’s Downhill. Now that we’ve had a second to process the photos and take a close look, we spotted a few things on their bikes.
Troy Brosnan’s not-quite-stock Canyon Sender
Canyon’s website promotes that fact that you can ride the same bike Troy does, and for the most part that’s true. The spec he’s running is virtually identical to what you can buy as a complete Sender 9.0 Carbon. Or, at least, that’s the way it appears…
His bike handler told us that the carbon layup is different than stock, tailored to the demands Troy puts on it. That could mean lighter, or stiffer, or both.
Those machined (and un-anodized) linkages give away another difference. Their layout and shapes, along with the shock’s orientation, are very different than the stock bike:
Up front, the stock bike comes with a Boxxer World Cup, but Brosnan’s running the latest Boxxer RC Debonair. Or so it seems. Interestingly, it has the red World Cup Debonair lowers, but the single low-speed compression rebound knob of the RC Debonair (and note the Debonair markings on the stanchions, showing it is an upgraded option from the base World Cup model).
They seemed a bit secretive about the compression settings, but the knob looks like the current RC model’s standard low speed control.
A sticker on the lowers simply says B#1CR, which we guess means Boxxer #1 Compression Rebound. Perhaps code for internal settings, or just an inventory number. Either way, they weren’t talking, and all we could get of Rockshox’s people was the standard “Our athletes are always testing new parts and technologies…”
The current Canyon Sender carbon debuted in 2016 (with an alloy model following in 2017), so perhaps this new linkage is the first step toward an updated model, or just a way of integrating a different shock. There’s little markings on the shock, so even that could be a new (or metric) version of the Rockshox Vivid Air.
Sam Blenkinsop’s Norco Aurum 9
Immediately after his run, Blinkensop was checking his front tire’s pressure. It looked fine, but apparently was enough of a concern for him to give it a squeeze.
Blinki’s bike is the new Norco Aurum 9, introduced at Sea Otter in April and using a raised chainline to keep everything running tight by looping the chain around the high single pivot’s location. Without this, there’d be a ton of chain growth under compression.
Several SRAM sponsored riders (of which there were plenty) had these custom red Code RSC brakes with carbon levers imprinted with the racers’ names. Word is they’re the stock calipers you and I can buy, just painted red to match the Boxxer forks and get more attention.
His bike was running the World Cup Debonair, which has high- and low-speed external compression controls up top. Other bits on his bike include Schwalbe tires, HT Components’ pedals, Deity cockpit, Novatec Demon XL wheels and SRAM XO DH drivetrain.
