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Field Trip: 8 Value Bikes VS the Impossible Climb, 1 Huge Upset

Apr 21, 2020
by Mike Levy  


PINKBIKE FIELD TRIP

8 Bikes VS The Impossible Climb


Bro-science in the name of climbing



Welcome to the Impossible Climb. Again.

While the last so-called Impossible Climb was a wide, steep section of trail made more difficult with beer can slalom gates forming tight switchbacks, strategically placed logs, a watered-down rock slab, and some banana peels (?????), Sedona's rocky singletrack required no such gimmicks. Mother Nature did most of the work for us this time around, making sure that traction was questionable at best, and that there'd be a cactus to catch me if and when I tipped over before I could unclip. I wish we remembered to bring tweezers.

The rules were the same as last time: All eight bikes got two attempts, and I had Mike Kazimer inflate the tires (19 and 21 psi) and make sure the sag was correct across the board. For an added dimension, I also rode the bikes in order of how much they cost, starting with the most expensive ($3,149 USD for the Norco Torrent) to least expensive ($1,300 for the Calibre Bossnut). Yes, deputy Fun Police, I was obviously more tired going up the climb for the sixteenth time than I was during the earlier attempts. And yes, this is definitely bro-science with a capital BS, but that doesn't mean we can't learn a few things along the way.

A lot of cactus and a bit of heatstroke eventually saw a surprise winner: The 27.5" wheeled Bossnut shook off my medium-low expectations to set the high mark not just once, but on both of its uphill runs. Who doesn't love an underdog story?



The 2020 Pinkbike Field Test was made possible by support from: Smith, 7mesh, and Thunder Mountain Bikes.



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182 Comments
  • 115 1
 You guys with the loamy trails need to come to the northeast for some practice.
  • 56 0
 Rootsville, population: all of the NE USA.
  • 18 4
 @johnski: you can extend that down to northern SC, GA and western NC too. lol
  • 28 1
 @gmoss: I live in NC, but spent the first 22 yrs of my life in upstate NY and still ride up there whenever I travel north. The northeast US is the root capital of mtb.
  • 5 0
 @johnski: Roots & rocks up here, better learn to love it or you're in for a bad time.
  • 11 0
 The only time that dirt exists in the NE is during mud season. Otherwise just roots and rocks
  • 9 0
 Or just ride in Sedona, where everything is basically a rock
  • 15 43
flag keen515 (Apr 21, 2020 at 7:57) (Below Threshold)
 Technical climbing with your seat all the way up! Couldn't have been that technical!
  • 51 0
 Seems like the impossible climb would be a good opportunity to test Mike vs. Mike
  • 3 1
 @johnski: Been to Maine. less dirt, so get more rocks and roots. LOL but the mtns here, as you likely know, are root invested. we just have a little more dirt, depending on where you ride.
  • 3 6
 @johnski: Nah, they ain't got enough rain up north, try the wet and humid southeast for roots. Not only does everything grow bigger down there, but the deluge makes sure the roots are exposed and huge!
  • 12 1
 @johnski: I think the Beautiful British Columbia would disagree...
  • 4 1
 @keen515: Exactly
  • 11 0
 @johnski: You guys may have roots but we have roots and mud.
  • 28 0
 Whats loam? Asking for a friend.

-Santa Barbara CA
  • 2 0
 @johnski: The stables....
  • 1 0
 @fartymarty: yep, we all do. haha they just close a lot of our trails when it rains. argh. Wish I was closer to the mtns to make it not such a long day for a ride, they don't close as much with weather.
  • 4 0
 Yeah New England is totally like Sedona
  • 5 3
 @RadBartTaylor: Nope.

Average rainfall Vancouver BC is 47" in the city and up to 63" towards the northern mountains
Average rainfall Smokey Mountains is 55" in the foothills and up to 85" in the mountains
Knoxville TN 50" in the city
Asheville NC 44" plus 10" snow
Atlanta GA 52"
Roanoke VA 42" (this is one of the drier places in the south)

So yeah, all the talk about where it rains the most is nonsense, wettest place in the Continental US is the Southeast. Of course there are super wet places like in the Ho Rain Forest, but in terms of wettest urban places, nothing in NA is soggier than the south.
  • 2 1
 @nurseben: Was talking trails with roots...not sure wtf rain has to do with it.
  • 3 2
 @nurseben: um you forgot to add north shore snowfall. That will likely get the north shore above or equal smokey mts. For precipitation.
  • 2 0
 Bring em all to PA. Pick any part of the state for rocks, roots, mud, more rocks even more roots and up in the north to get blown out tire shredding shale! Fun. Don't forget your hammer as some of these rocks ring right back at you. Oh and don't mind the coal fire under Centralia. That one's just good for inspiring Japanese game creators to make Silent Hill.
  • 1 0
 Na there’s nothing great about NE ????
  • 6 0
 @johnski: a local kid, “enduro racer” moved back with his parents because of lockdown. He’s been frantically over raking(leaf blowing) the trails because he can’t ride them. He says they are unsafe for him because “he rides them faster than everyone” the idiot removed so much soil leaf blowing when it was really dry. The next few big rain storms removed even more soil and exposed more roots. He just complained about the trails and talked about how great his Colorado trails are. The kids a moron!
  • 3 0
 @nurseben: what is rain?
From the canary islands with love
  • 2 0
 @donpinpon29: what makes you grow fast and strong Wink
  • 2 0
 @ViceGrips: pfft, that is standard trail maintenance here. aggravates me to no end. I just have to not think about it and ride...
  • 2 0
 I'm just going to happily live and ride in Southern California and let everyone else complain about their trails.
  • 106 5
 Takeaway: the more you practice, the better you'll get.
  • 54 0
 false: this highly scientific study shows only the bike matters.
  • 10 0
 @lyophilization: "false: this highly scientific study shows only the bike matters."

BroScience approves of this message.
  • 5 0
 Definitely. Though it was still interesting to see the difference between the 27.5" wheels on his last attempt and every try before. He was definitely able to handle it differently, even compared to runs 6 and 7, where the practice was already showing pretty well.
  • 9 0
 @big-red: So we have to have a 27.5 bike to climb the hill and then a 29er to ride back down... check

BroScience approves of this message.
  • 2 0
 @big-red: the broscience n=1 theorem
  • 4 0
 @stiingya: that is completely unacceptable. When they sold us on 29 it was specifically that they were better for climbing, acknowledging that 27.5 was better for going downhill.
  • 9 0
 @friendlyfoe: That was B.B.

Before BroScience...

We currently live in the age of enlightenment...
  • 93 10
 Not impossible. Dick Pound would make it on his bossnut.
  • 11 2
 I'd be really disappointed if Dick Pound rode anything other than a Bossnut.
  • 2 1
 @pinhead907: I heard he’s riding the 2021 wingnut
  • 1 0
 @nrpuk: I thought he was riding the copperbottom says he can pound it all day.....

I will see myself out.
  • 60 3
 This just in: the rider is far more important than the bike.
  • 30 4
 The bike makes a huge difference, don't kid yourself. Look at the difference in Levy's runs. (ya, I know bro science)
I have a 2014 Norco Sight and have been unable to clean a local climb for four years. Rode a 2018 Sight on the same climb and done without thinking.
  • 54 0
 Nah, I have it on good authority from my LBS that thats only true up to $8k, once you cross that threshold every dollar spent makes you a better rider.
  • 20 1
 Almost seems like he got better with practice
  • 7 0
 @doggparadox: You can see the bikes handle slightly differently with each try though. At the end of the day it's an entertaining video though.
  • 2 0
 @rrolly:

The only way that you can claim that the bike makes a huge difference is if you do tests where you normalize for things like getting used to the bike, fitness level variation, weather, tires, suspension settings, and so on.
  • 3 3
 @rrolly: same tires? Fresh suspension service on each?
  • 4 0
 @doggparadox: Exactly. Should have done practice on each, then testing in same order.
  • 1 0
 @phops: Are you saying Mike is not Normal?
  • 4 1
 Well said.
I like Mike Levy very much, but this test is completely awkward.
And what Kazimero did during that test? Hum...........
Bravo Mike Levy for the effort and the good mood ;-)
  • 12 1
 Rider more important than the bike -- I don't know if I can agree with this one completely. We use to have this grueling impossible climb on one of my favorite trails. I rode it a lot, starting in 2002 with a Stumpjumper hard tail that weighed about 24 pounds. The climb was steep with lots of water bars and thick, slippery gravel. I can count on one hand how many times I made it up with the Stumpy over the course of eight years. Maybe 3-4 times? Conditions had to be perfect -- a little wet and packed down to keep traction.

Then I bought an Enduro in 2010. Heavier bike by a good 6 pounds, but the full suspension and geo made it a better climber under these conditions. I no longer spun out over the water bars. I made it up this part of the trail with the Enduro EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It didn't matter what the trail conditions were. This bike made it up.

Same rider, same conditions. Different bike, different results. Don't fool yourself -- the bike can make a difference.
  • 4 0
 Yes the rider matters but you can swap to another bike, you can't swap to another body. People who say the bike doesn't matter much probably haven't ridden a really good tech climing bike. My 2019 Patrol was much better at tech climbs than any other bike i've owned. Even better than my 2020 Sight.
  • 2 2
 @TheR: The #1 component that affects a bikes climbing ability is the tires.
  • 1 0
 @hamncheez: What? How do you quantify that?
  • 2 0
 @hamncheez: Could be. Over those 8 years with the hard tail, I had a variety of tires. I'm sure in this case, it was a combination of everything. They've since decommissioned that part of the trail, so I can no longer experiment.
  • 1 0
 @phops: do the same test at least three times, randomise the order the bikes are ridden in, then take the average.
  • 2 0
 @phops: Similar tires, fresh suspension on both, same sag, same fitness since I rode my 2014 just before and just after. The whole package (geo mostly) just flat out made a significant difference.
  • 1 0
 @mnorris122: yup pretty much. The 2018 had a DHF on the front whereas the 2014 had DHR2's front and back.
  • 49 0
 What have we learned here, folks? The amount of f-bombs dropped is proportional to the distance traveled up the climb. It's almost like a turbo boost.
  • 56 3
 And... 27.5 rules!
  • 8 0
 @trillot: hopefully we'll see more 275 reviews now.
  • 54 9
 So, the shorter bikes and the smaller wheeled bikes did best, hmmmm

Yeah, no suprise there, those are the characteristics that make tech riding easier.

As a reformed 29er fanboia and current 27.5 rider, I concur, 29" wheels are no bueno for anything tight.

This message brought to you buy people who have figured out the con.
  • 27 1
 Agree 100% and proved it to myself many times over. 27.5 way more fun for twisty tech climbs period.
  • 14 0
 Yep, road and raced a 29r last year. This year riding and racing (maybe), 27.5.
  • 9 2
 I keep reading that big wheels are better climbers, but I prefer tech climbing on a 26" bike. It feels easier to control the wheel going over every root and rock.
  • 17 1
 That’s why 26 front 29 rear mullet bikes are the future.
  • 9 1
 In all reality, he just got better at the climb as he practiced it.
  • 5 0
 You know Ben, you're the antidote to my FOMO on 29ers.
  • 7 0
 @acali: I think 29ers are better climbers on long smooth climbs. as soon as it gets techy (whether roots or tight turns), the 29er gets a little more cumbersome.
  • 11 1
 this makes me smile as someone that bought the 29er coolaid and subsequently switched back to 27.5
  • 10 0
 When I break my Sentinel....again, I'll be going back to 27.5 Easier to accelerate and felt more maneuverable. But I won't be cool anymore.
  • 7 1
 I confirm: made the test few years ago on a playful and nimble 29er - Transition TranAm - where I installed 27,5 wheels.
It was a 1 month test in rough super technical terrains in Spain.
Such a difference in switchbacks, technical trails, and to relaunch.
Since that, I stick to 650B `cos it`s a perfect balance... for me though.
  • 5 0
 @softsteel: i enjoy the rollover of 29er in rocky terrain, but I miss the nimble nature of 27.5 in tight tech. Been working on my trials skill, I'm thinking once I dial that in, might be time to go back to 27.5.
  • 2 3
 @NWBasser: missing out on what? You mean like you are worried you can't have fun unless you ride what I ride? Dude, see a therapist Wink
  • 6 0
 @nurseben: LOL! No man, I've been enjoying 27.5 like you do, but there's all this hype with the 29er bikes which makes me wonder if I'm missing something. Probably not.
  • 2 1
 @NWBasser: No dude, you are definitely not missing out Smile

I do find the 29er hype funny, but whatever, different strokes and all that.

I love my 27.5 so much that I am setting up my GG Pistola 29er with 27+ wheels!
  • 2 0
 I thought that too until I got my knolly fugitive. It's an extremely nimble bike, has incredible traction on technical climbs, and has no problem handling tight trails.
  • 5 0
 A friend and I swapped bikes for a night. I rode his 26" 180mm bike, he rode my 160mm 29" bike. End of the ride, we both had fun. Also, he still preferred his bike, I still preferred my bike.

Lesson: Bikes are fun. Enjoy the bike you have.
  • 2 0
 @JSTootell: you`re so damn right ;-) Cheers!
  • 37 0
 my wife fell on a cactus on our honeymoon in AZ. She got about 25 quills stuck in her arm. Her first comment after the fall. " I don't want to ruin the ride with this fall. You can keep on going I am going to go back to the car and start pulling these out with the needle nose pliers" For the next 3 hours that is exactly what she did pulled em out one by one. No tears no complaining. That was 22 years ago and she is still BADASS.
  • 14 1
 Do you know how her version of the story sounds?
  • 2 0
 @iamamodel: they were mtb’ing on their honeymoon so I don’t think this was out of character for her lol
  • 1 0
 @iamamodel: thats funny, I actually asked her and she said yeah that sounds about right.
  • 3 0
 You let your new wife on your honeymoon go back to the car alone and pull out cactus quills fir three hours...?
  • 1 0
 @stiingya: no lol that would have been bad. I went back with her and as we were driving back home she began to pull them out. It was a ten hour drive home and she was pulling them out for 3 of those hours.
  • 19 0
 Levy says "I am going to go and hibernate for a month"
Thanks for the jinx, on week 5 of isolation/hibernating.
  • 15 1
 Because most cactus spines are barbed. No poison though, as many people believe. I lived in Arizona for a decade, riding a few times a week and avoided any significant cactus encounters until just before I moved north. Tried to descend a feature that was way too steep, started to go OTB, and by reflex put my hand out to catch myself, straight into a saguaro. 60+ spines in my palm and fingers. Messed my hand up pretty good for about 6 weeks. Riding in the desert is a treat, everything is out to poke, bite, or sting!
  • 48 0
 Arizona: everything is out to poke, bite, or sting!
Australia: hold my Bossnut
  • 7 4
 Baja: hold my beer...
  • 14 0
 @mi-bike: Australia is where the devil keeps his pets!
  • 23 2
 Riding in the UK used to be realativley safe. But since smart phones and mobile internet really took off, a lot of the otherwise harmless small woodland mammals can now order weapons online. I've seen a vole with a flick-knife and a badger with nunchucks. A friend of mine reckons he saw a stoat with a crossbow at the trailhead.
  • 6 0
 When I lived in AZ, I kept a bottle of rubber cement in my Camelbak. Best way to remove the smaller, hairlike needles that break off at the skin when you try to pull them.
  • 7 0
 This view is pretty funny. We’ve got plenty of snakes in Oz, which you see semi regularly but pretty much everything else you never see unless you’re trying really hard... unless you live in the tropical parts of the country of course, but only a small percentage of the population does
  • 1 0
 This view is pretty funny. We’ve got plenty of snakes in Oz, which you see semi regularly but pretty much everything else you never see unless you’re trying really hard... unless you live in the tropical parts of the country of course, but only a small percentage of the population does
  • 1 0
 Waiting for the day I use past tense for liv(ed)ing in AZ. I can’t take these hellish summers anymore. I miss seasons. Lol
But hey, riding all year round is great. Just need to be done by 0600 May-Sept.
aaaah... moving north. For that, I envy you.
  • 2 0
 @asf: what do you put the cement on? Your skin, cloth then on to skin?
Ever try duct tape?
Had a friend in Sedona that pulled a ton out and she may have tried tape.
  • 2 0
 @xtcphil: depends on the cactus and spines. Tape may work for the fine hair like spines. The ones I dealt with required needle nose pliers and razor blades to pull/cut out. No fun!
  • 2 1
 @mi-bike: Except all of Australias most dangerous animals are in the water Big Grin
Not much on land that'll actually be dangerous other than snakes, and I've heard the US has plenty of those too Smile
  • 10 0
 So to summarize, the more times you ride the same trail, the better you get at riding it. That applies absolutely to my life. I'm much faster riding uphill and downhill on a trail after repeated rides, my bike didn't suddenly become a better bike and get better at doing it. It would be interesting to see ending the test with the first bike again, and see how much higher he'd get than he did on his first attempt up hill.

Bikes matter, skills matter but I'd say practice (repetition, familiarity) is imperative.
  • 3 0
 I agree although towards the end of the test his legs would've been pretty shot. Would be interesting to redo the test in a few days in reverse order.
  • 11 1
 This just confirms my prior biases- we need more brands outside of the West Coast mafia. Long, slack and low is fine for climbing fire roads or climb trails, but the rest of us climb two way trails, with tight switchbacks, rocks, roots, and so on. East Coast trails are still rocky, rooty and tight and I bet 90% of our riding is on our local trails, not some buffed out trail center with nice berms and finely crafted features.
  • 11 0
 I spent this entire video anxiously waiting for Levy to be impaled by a cactus after seeing it in the intro of every video in the field trip.
  • 16 4
 So 29ers climb better than what?
  • 11 0
 "You just got to try harder next time." Best line from the whole thing.
  • 9 3
 Let's see which bike gets higher... On the day after 4/20 Big Grin
  • 9 1
 On all the sub 2000$ bikes we can hear a squeazing during the climb, is that due to SX drivetrain already worn out ? Or is that just Levy's pedals (as you can hear it on all the bikes)?
  • 11 0
 That’s the camera guy following him getting out of breath
  • 2 0
 pretty sure its his pedals
  • 1 0
 I think they need a lube sponsor.
  • 7 0
 My prediction posted in March, since we don't get fantasy this year I'll settle for betting on field tests:

m.pinkbike.com/news/welcome-to-the-2020-pinkbike-field-trip.html

Mtmw (Mar 23, 2020 at 13:20)
Hill climb challenge prediction:

First bikes up don't do well.

Last bikes up do very well.

Conclusion: learning a technical climb takes time.
  • 9 0
 Would love to have seen Kazimer do the same to compare.
  • 43 0
 I think they need Levy for entertainment value, watching Kazimer clean the climb twice on all the bikes would be boring.
  • 1 0
 @honourablegeorge: hey now, that's a bit harsh
  • 7 0
 Funny stuff, boys. The best part is Levy’s constant pep talking. I’m going to try that.
  • 2 0
 ... and his constant cussing which was bleeped out.

Seriously PB, what the bleep is with all the bleeping?
  • 7 0
 Don't worry Levy, I always blame my bike when I don't make it up climbs too.
  • 3 1
 This edit really highlights how nimble a 27.5" bike is vs 29! I'm actually shocked at how sluggish and how much of a chore it was for him to ride those 29ers. They look absolutely horrible to ride in certain circumstances and aesthetically no where near as nice as smaller wheeled bikes
  • 6 0
 This is not a test. This is entertainment. Very good entertainment.
  • 4 0
 It’s also a test. A very bad test Wink
  • 2 0
 There is a set of steep switchbacks in the Don Valley in Toronto that I have failed to clean on a 2013 Niner RIP9, a 2005 Niner One9, a 2017 Norco Revolver HT, a 2020 Norco Revolver FS, a 2016 Norco Sasquatch and occasionally on foot whilst pushing whatever it I was trying to ride up the sodding things (not really). The only bike I have ridden all the way up is a 2005 Cannondale CX9 Cyclocross bike with drop bars and a low gear of 36x29.
I have no idea what this says about me, or any of the bikes, or really anything at all. Maybe the best bike for that trail is a short wheelbase and a low front end.
after admitting that, I have just decided that when proper riding starts again, I will go and ride those switchbacks until I can clean them on a mountain bike .
  • 1 0
 The one nice thing about a high front end is that it makes it easier to pull up on the bars and get a pedal stroke in when I'm about to tip over. Switchbacks are the death of me though
  • 2 0
 Steeper head angle, high BB and low weight might all come into it as well.
  • 3 0
 That was Levy talking? Are we sure it was not that face tattooed on his leg? Like a Levy kuato, giving the big Levy a pep talk......
  • 3 0
 Open your mind. Open your mind.
  • 5 0
 More reason's why I'm keeping my 27.'er
  • 4 0
 He looked so awkward on those 29ers. 27.5 looked far better for him, considering his slight stature.
  • 3 0
 Did anyone else notice the bus logo they use in the video the entrance door is on the wrong side?
  • 4 0
 Perhaps it’s a British bus...
  • 6 2
 I had a honzo. That bike is a billy goat on the climbs.
  • 20 2
 Emphasis on had.
  • 4 1
 @tobiusmaximum: I got a little too rowdy for my own good and needed a little more travel.
  • 3 0
 Mike, you have the same climbing style as I. Beep, beep, *****ng beep!

This field trip has been awesome so far!
  • 2 2
 Yes, I get this is bro-science but you could make it a little more accurate by doing each bike over a duration of time so you're less likely to be super exhausted.

2 runs up the mountain per bike. Test only 2 bikes per day with an hour rest in-between each test might be a better way to do these bro-science test?

I dunno, maybe?
  • 2 0
 Yep, and maybe learn the climb well on a familiar bike that isn't being tested.
  • 4 0
 The northeast isn't all roots and mud we also have bugs and humidity
  • 1 0
 hamncheez (4 hours ago)
@TheR: The #1 component that affects a bikes climbing ability is the tires.

@panaphonic: Well, lemme break it down for you; bike with tires is rideable, no tires no ridee. Simple as science.
  • 1 1
 Bikes since they arent listed, in testing order:
Norco Torrent HT S1
Santa Cruz Hightower D
Commencal Meta TR Ride
YT Jeffsy Base 29
Vitus Mythique 29 VRX
Giant Stance 1
Kona Honzo
Calibre Bossnut
  • 1 0
 A bike with a Seat Angle of 73.5 degrees excels at technical climbing -that surprised me! It seems that a shorter wheelbase is king here. Long live Nimbly Bimbly bikes!
  • 3 0
 Bike nerds sessioning a ridiculous segment. That's life there
  • 1 0
 Since the lockdown on flying, we even have sky that clear and blue in #properyorkshire.

But I’ve not ridden for around seven weeks, #protecttheNHS.
  • 3 0
 Conclusion: drinking in pubs causes rain.
  • 3 1
 Why do so many lunatics ride without eye wear. He almost lost his eyeball on a cactus!!
  • 2 0
 Hibernate for another month or so. Haha Hahaha haha was he in for a surprise
  • 3 2
 In New Mexico, we see a root, we close the trail for maintenance. And it's 10 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than Arizona. In Celcius, that's ...who the f+$# cares.
  • 2 0
 Hey Levy...guess the hibernation comment was a little understated...who knew Frown
  • 2 0
 Would have been cool to do one more final run with the bike that did the worst on the IC.
  • 1 0
 @mikelevy: That was a really fun and cool video Mike. That is exactly how it feels doing a tech climb. Thanks for being so fun and real.
  • 1 0
 I came here for the running commentary from Levy. Pure awesome. The trials hops and apple ending were a great bonus. Keep up the great work, Pinkbike.
  • 4 2
 i bet the grim donut would have made it
  • 1 0
 Should have started the test with the little wheels so the benchmark would be set.
  • 1 0
 well last bike has the huuge advantage of experiance from previouse runs... So i knew some of last bikes will do best
  • 2 0
 Great way to end the field trip, thanks guys, very entertaining.
  • 2 0
 is that Tolstoy on Levy's shin?
  • 2 1
 Tech climbing on hardtails is not the amazing experience everyone seems to think it is.
  • 1 0
 "I don't know why it needs that name"

It doesn't have that name! It's a Vitus, not a Vitus.
  • 1 0
 Sorry! but a true load of shit comparison on bikes. l would be pissed if that was my bike company.
  • 1 0
 I remember someone saying that Horst link bikes don't climb well. I like the way my old Jeffsy climbs.
  • 2 1
 Would have gotten farther with bar ends....
  • 1 0
 That was nice, thank you! this 'boss nut' is something new
  • 1 0
 Awesome guys! Well done! Cheers. Smile
  • 1 0
 Danny MacAskill can do it on the back wheel of a kids'bike Big Grin
  • 1 0
 Fake news, that looked like a dab on the Stance on purpose!
  • 1 4
 Sorry but every time Levy gets on a mountain bike he embarrasses himself, which is very entertaining indeed but his comparisons proves nothing except for the fact that he is at the very most an average mountain biker. This section of trail is not very steep and not very long as well, and what I learned after riding for over 22 years is that its not about the bike, its all about the rider. Kazimer is a much better rider than Levy by a long shot, so it would have been interesting to see him do this so called technical climb. Seven years ago I did a 3 day MTB camp with betteride.net in San Diego, which was not that good to be honest with you. There was 12 of us plus the instructor, and on the third day he had us do this switch back challenge up this climb, which got steeper as you went up. I had rented a Kona which had the old school technology with 27.5 wheels, and it was not even set up properly, plus it had a 34 ring on the front and I normally run a 30 tooth. I was not only the heaviest person in the group at 245 lbs, but I was also the oldest at 56 years old, and the instructor was 30. I was the only one that made it to within 15 feet from the top on my first try. The instructor tried it and only made it as far as I did. Then he got mad and said that he can do better than that but never got past my mark even on the second run. FYI this run was probably 3 times steeper than what Levy did here, and way longer. My point here is that its not so much about the bike, but more about the riders capabilities on the bike. I live in Vancouver, Canada in the summers and live in Sedona in the winters except for this winter. If you want to stay away from the Cactus you have to stay on your bike, lol.
  • 2 0
 Cool story bro
  • 1 0
 Why does Mike always look like he was run over by a truck?
  • 1 0
 Too soon for youtube!
  • 1 0
 brap
  • 3 3
 dick pound will be happy - bossnut ftw
  • 2 3
 why's Levy wearing knee pads. I don't get it, he's a pad-hater. On a climb...
  • 2 0
 Because rocks are hard
  • 2 2
 Ride over obstacles not around them. Keep single track single!
  • 1 0
 Love it...
  • 1 0
 VIVA THE UNDERDOGS
  • 2 2
 Mmmmmmmoist
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