- In today's pro bike check,
we're taking a look at a very fast downhill bike.
This is Rachel Atherton's Trek Session 9.9.
(funky music)
So this is the Trek Session 9.9.
It's a full carbon fibre frame.
This is the 27.5 inch wheel version.
We have seen her brother Gee
and their teammate Graeme Mudd run the 29 version,
but not Rachel just yet.
So it's full carbon frame.
It's a large frame that Rachel runs,
but she actually runs this offset headset
cut back six millimetres
to bring that reach back just a touch.
So, there's some really nice touches on this frame.
It's full custom graphics,
as you'd expect for the world champion.
We've got the rainbow stripes on the back of her bike.
Up on the top tube,
it's got some stickers for perfect season last year,
where she won every downhill race,
so all of the world cups
and then those rainbow stripes from Italy on the back.
Here we've got a number eight as well
in dull colours or graphics, very cool.
So eight big wins last year on this Trek Session 9.9.
The Trek Factory Race is an RA Shimano sponsored team,
so as you'd expect, full Shimano brakes.
We've got the Saint fixed uppers,
two or three rotors front and rear.
We've got the Saint shift that's run in a small race,
your 1 by 7 set,
and also the Pro Tharsis bar.
So, Pro, an offshoot of Shimano,
they make the components.
So the bar, the stem, that's a 50 millimetre stem,
and also the seat and seat post.
So we have fox suspension on Rachel's bike
in that Factory orange colour.
We got the 40 up front.
We've got the DHX2 coil shock on the rear
with a 450 spring on there.
Also obviously got that Kashima coated shaft there,
and also the stanchions make it look very cool.
We've got Bontrager wheels and tyres on this bike.
They are a track brand,
so we've got the lined DH30 wheels.
The 30 I'm guessing stands for the rim width.
We've got the G5, team-issued tyres,
dry condition tyres.
Hopefully Fort William's gonna stay dry.
We've got a Shimano drivetrain on this bike, as well.
We've got the Saint cranks.
They're in 165 mil. length.
It's relatively short,
that's great for downhill bikes,
where you're sitting into that travel,
just so you've got a bit more clearance
when you're trying to pedal through the rough stuff.
Shimano modular chain device,
so top and lower guides there.
We've also got that sort of quarter bash plate.
Nice little touch on the inside of this top roller,
a sort of stick-on velcro
just to quiet that down in the bumps.
We've got the Crank Brothers Mallet DH Pedals,
the brand new ones,
and also, we've got this seven speed cassette on the back,
that's an 11/24, and a Saint rear mech.
We've got this funny device on the rear brake calliper
that I saw on Gee's bike last year.
It's actually just like a floating weight
that take away any vibrations from that rear brake.
All right, I'm here with Rachel Atherton.
We've taken a look at your bike.
Some very cool little things on there.
- Yeah.
- Obviously we've got all this stuff
for the perfect season last year.
How did that feel to win all those races?
- Well, I'm a little bit sad that it's over, you know?
It's so just absolutely mindblowing
to win every single race in the season,
and Trek brought this bike to Fort William,
and it's got all the graphics from each world cup
with the winning margins and stuff,
so hopefully it's gonna give me a little bit
more confidence up on the start gate.
- Well you've already won the first round this year.
I guess this might be going on.
You might need a bigger bike to fit all these stickers.
- Well, yeah, I mean, Lourdes felt like so long ago.
It's quite a while ago now, the first world cup,
and I think it's almost like a new season.
We're here in Fort William, second round,
and everyone's been training for a few more weeks,
and you know, anything could happen.
It's such a wild track up there.
There's so much going on.
- So we were looking at your bike setup.
Would you say that you're a fussy rider?
Let's say, for example, Joe, your mechanic,
let your tyres down by 5 PSI,
would you notice a difference?
- Yeah, I'm convinced I notice every half PSI,
and the guys from Fox and Bontrager.
"You won't notice that."
I'm like, "I notice."
If my bike has to be perfect, you know,
every time a rider, if the suspension's not dialled,
if everything's not, the setting's aren't right,
I can't ride it.
- Joe was shaking his then, so maybe Joe's out on that one.
- Well, I think for a girl, you know,
we're not as strong as the boys,
so the bikes almost makes more difference.
I can't ride down Fort William
unless my bike's perfect.
When it's perfect, it's so much easier.
- So you're still on the 27.5 wheels.
Obviously, we've seen Gee,
and we've seen Graeme on the bigger bike.
Rumours are you've tried it.
Do you think you might swap to it?
- I've done one run on the 29, a downhill bike,
in the winter,
and I had the choice to ride it this weekend
in Fort William,
and I thought, you know what,
I'm just gonna stick to the 27 and a half.
It's my race bike.
I feel comfortable on it.
I think going to a whole different bike, bigger wheels,
in two weeks to get used to it,
it's too dangerous.
I need time to get used to it,
and I think a lot of other riders feel like that,
but they're not admitting it for their ego.
So yeah, I think the 29,
you need a long time to get used to it.
I think it will be faster, for sure.
I mean, I've started riding a 29 cross country bike,
and it's unreal.
The grip is fantastic.
- Awesome, well, good luck this weekend.
- Thank you.
- So there you go,
that is Rachel Atherton's pro bike check.
If you want to see more videos from GMBN,
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Click up there for Gee Atherton pro bike check,
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