Age: 28 | Vitals: 6’’0”, 165 lbs. | Years mountain biking: 18 | Current Residence: Seattle, WA
I got my introduction into mountain biking in my hometown of Ithaca, NY and began by riding — and quickly racing — XC. By early high school, I had realized that descending really fast and jumping off stuff was a lot more fun than wearing spandex and trying to pedal until you puked, and was soon cobbling together sketchy freeride bikes and even sketchier jumps in my parents’ backyard.
I raced some DH and did a lot of shuttle days in Southern California through college, and then moved to the PNW where I settled into mostly riding Trail bikes for big miles, with an emphasis on fast and rowdy descents. I race the odd Enduro from time to time, but mostly just prefer Trail rides with as much descending as possible. My riding style tends to be pretty planted, with me looking more for features to pump and work than boost off of, and I seem to get my best race results when conditions are wet, sloppy, and miserable.
Some of my favorite gear: Fanny packs, Shimano drivetrains, Cush Core, “top beers” to celebrate the ends of climbs, my BTR Ranger, and mega long / slack bikes in general.
Hi David,
I see you like long bikes, did you have a chance to try Slash from Trek? I’m just a little bit taller than you (around 6’1) and bought a Slash 8 in XL. I based my decission on finding Fuel Ex to small in L size. Looking at the chart I found out that Slash is even shorter reach and ett-wise. Do you think it was a right decission? I have already swapped the stem to 40mm and it feels good reach wise, but I didn’t have a chance to test it in the bike park yet. I think it’s the biggest concern of inbetweener :(