Mountain biking is full of crazy new ideas to help riders go faster.
What if we told you that bikes are about to get warmed up – literally – to make them faster??
Trek World Racing announced tonight that they have a new secret weapon in their campaign to go faster and win races.
At Fort William tonight, Trek’s team manager unveiled the “Hot box” – a device that will heat bikes up on the start line so that they will be 100% ready to go out of the gate.
Martin explained that it wouldn’t be used this weekend because the weather is good and temperatures are already high. At colder races however, suspension and brakes will often hit the start line below their ideal working temperature.
It takes – he explained – a certain amount of riding to get the bikes up to temperature and working effectively. At a race like Fort William where conditions can often be bad and there are no big hits in the first section of the track it can – they say – make a big difference.
The big secret though is the temperature that the bikes work best at – something Martin was staying mischievously tight lipped about. They’ve been working closely with Fox and dyno testing suspension at various temperatures to see what works and what doesn’t. They reckon – according to Martin – that they’ve cracked it and that it works.
The Hot Box isn’t a device for getting teenage boys high – it is a portable tent that fits up to two bikes and has a heater attached to it. It packs up into a trailer and can be transported up and down the track fairly easily.
Now the important question – what do you think?!
Will everyone be warming their suspension up at the start of races in 2013?!
