In the first World Cup Downhill qualifier of the season, the three fastest women’s times were set on two different belt-drive, gearbox DH bikes. Then on race day, those three all ended up in the top-5 overall, with Gloria Scarsi of MS Racing just a half second off of the World Champion to take the second step of the podium. It’s not the first time we’ve seen a belt-drive bike on a World Cup DH podium, but it looks like the elite downhillers are edging even closer to nabbing Gates’ promised 100,000€ bonus!
Belt-drives shine in Korean World Cup for MS & AON Racing
This weekend’s UCI World Cup racing in Mona Yongpyong, South Korea was exciting and eventful on many levels – from hardtail controversy on the dusty, rocky DH track to wildly wet & muddy XC racing just a day later. But what really stood out in my mind were the Elite Women of the DHI and the bikes they were riding.
Already in the first round of qualies on Friday afternoon, three women set the first elite benchmarks – Harriet Harnden of AON Racing and Valentina Roa Sánchez & Gloria Scarsi, both of MS Racing – all racing downhill bikes with electronic Smart.Shift Pinion gearbox bikes and Gates belt-drives. Those three fastest times in Q1 landed the trio the coveted last start positions, setting up for a nail-biter finish that would see them all end up in the top 5, but with Scarsi missing out on the win by just 0.573 seconds to 4x and current World Champ Vali Höll.
It’s a solid start to the racing season for belt-drive bikes. And Scarsi mused after the race that it’s a huge motivation “to work more, because we want the first” and of course “the 100k” that comes with it.
Let’s take a quick look at the two belt-drive bikes of the Elite Women’s top-5…
Zerode G3 of MS Racing
Just a couple of months ago a belt-drive Zerode G3 bike won Red Bull Rampage. Now, both Gloria Scarsi and Valentina Roa Sánchez set new personal World Cup bests on the same bike.
This high single-pivot aluminum gearbox bike with an idler pulley and tensioner appears unchanged from the G3 bike that consumers could already buy from the start of last year. But that’s not to say the MS Racing team isn’t continually refining the bike and its suspension. It is unique in that the 200mm travel mullet bike features a narrow 12x142mm rear end – like thru-axle road & gravel bikes – which works with a stronger, symmetrically-dished rear wheel thanks to needing just the one belt-drive cog.
I only spy two obvious differences for the MS Racing rigs. The team bikes feature a more neatly integrated, and more machined this year, red plate securing the idler & tensioner at the main & linkage pivots. And they also get a more robust skid plate setup that protects the gearbox from DH racing impacts, also serving a bit as a bash guard for the Gates belt-ring up front.
The team bikes are otherwise built up with SR Suntour Rux 38 & Voro Coil suspension, Hope brakes, cranks, hubs & wheels, Michelin tires, Crankbrothers pedals, Renthal cockpits, and SDG saddle+ seatpost combos.
Gamux Sego carry-over prototype of AON Racing
Harriet Harnden of AON Racing finished in 4th place, just over 2 seconds back from Höll, on a belt-drive Gamux Sego that looked a lot like the bikes her team was racing last year. It is a combo of Swiss CNC’ed aluminum with boxy carbon tubes bonded in strategically for stiffness.
Each of the team riders’ bikes has always been uniquely machined to fine-tune stiffness for their size/weight/riding style – with more or less material removed, or more or fewer ribs and struts added. So Harnden’s bike has less-intricately machined chainstays than the other guys on her team had raced last year.
Besides the Gates belt and Smart.Shift Pinion gearbox, the AON Racing team rides on Manitou Dorado inverted forks and Mara Piggy Back air shocks, purple Hayes Dominion brakes, Hope cockpit, and custom Reynolds Blackline carbon wheelsets. Plus, do you see her high-ride, negative offset stem!?
…and a next-gen Gamux prototype, too!
Interestingly though, the guys on her team – including Reece Wilson (20th-place Elite Men), Stan Nisbet (7th in Junior Men) & Henry Kerr, were all riding a completely different Gamux prototype. One with a completely CNC-machined massive single downtube with modular bolt-on bits, and a wholly-redesigned Horst-link high-pivot suspension design.
Talking with the AON team on the World Cup last season, they described their partnership with Gamux as a way to continue to innovate their DH race bikes. 2020 DH World Champ Reece Wilson established the team, specifically for the freedom to pursue new technologies in their bikes, investing in the “niche” Swiss CNC mountain bike maker.
