As ever, Fort William pits has a myriad of different custom and prototype offerings that we’ve been keeping our peepers out for.
Here’s a selection of things that have caught our eye on the numerous laps of the pits here at the opening round of the 2024 UCI Downhill World Cup in Fort William.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Hope
Adam Brayton is celebrating his 100th World Cup start here in Fort William and has some custom stickers and master cylinder caps to celebrate.
Mondraker
Dak Norton had been running a heap of spacers under his stem and kept getting his chin pretty near it. The solution? 75mm rise bars…
Saracen
They might have just launched their updated Myst but Madison Saracen are always pushing for the next best thing. The team’s race bikes have a flip chip that adjusts progression only, with a data acquisition port built in.
Fox
The opening round is the first opportunity to see the new Fox dampers in use, and the 50th Anniversary editions also come with some black adjusters all round to complete the look.
Ergon
Vali’s YT Tues was sporting her signature Ergon grips with a raised waffle-esque patter where the palm sits.
Cotic
Cotic debuted their latest RocketMAX colouray here at Nevis Range, with the new Golfie Green option looking good amongst the moss and sunshine.
Schwalbe
Schwalbe have a ‘First Ride’ tyre out in Fort William that is ‘not-an-Assegai’. Mostly seen on the rear in combination with a Magic Mary out front but there are a few folk running these front and rear.
Specialized
Finn Iles and Lic Bruni are both running these humbpack covers on their bikes. Rumour is that there’s some automotive solenoid-based tech under there but it’s well under wraps.
Orbea
Martin Maes is here at the opening round on a heavily (we assume) modified Orbea Wild. He’s looking fast as ever but will the big Basque bike get the big Belgian into semi finals?
Yeti
The man, the myth, the legend Mick Hannah is here on a Yeti Special Projects downhill bike that looks pretty slick. With the motorway now just more big jumps, will the biggest calves in the business come into play?
Lapierre
Antoine Rogge of the Lapierre Zipp Collective has arrived in Scotland with a prototype Lapierre downhill bike. The Frenchman remained tight-lipped about the bike and the linkage was deliberately hidden. There’s a lot going on under there though.
Cube
Cube Factory Racing have a monster of a floating brake arm aboard their bikes. This drops anti-rise massively (105% to 18%), keeping the bike stood up when the riders are charging.
