Once again, everyone knows better. My work colleagues discuss my muesli bowl like crazy. "The bike is far too heavy for the marathon." Another slaps me on the shoulder with a grin: "But you'll run out of suspension travel on the downhill finish jump, won't you?" Yeah yeah, blah blah. I have a completely different problem. In a few hours I'm due to compete against former fourcross world champion Joost Wichmann in the pump track battle, and I haven't ridden a single metre of the bike that my colleagues are currently ranting about. How the hell did I come up with the idea of competing in all the races at the BIKE Festival in Willingen on one and the same bike?
The answer: Because I'm simply exasperated by all this segmentation fuss: nowadays you're a touring rider, marathon racer, enduro rider, downhill rider or even a more sophisticated subtype of off-road cycling. The simple, true mountain biker no longer seems to exist. The bikes are also tailored to specific areas of use. MTB legend John Tomac achieved his World Cup successes in downhill and cross country in the early nineties on the same bike. It was a long time ago. The Giant Reign, the bike of my choice for this self-experiment, with 160 millimetres of suspension travel and a weight of 13.5 kilos, offers much better technical conditions than Tomac's steel hardtail.
Here at the breakfast table, shortly before my first start, my colleagues still doubt my theory. But no one has tried it yet. I spoon the bowl of muesli empty with a mixture of tension and anticipation. I have to get going and pick up my starter packs for the downhill, marathon, enduro and pump track races. After this weekend, we'll see if you can still do everything on a bike today.
Friday, 5 pm, pump track battle
The track is just 30 metres long and has only three bends. Should be doable, I think to myself as I press my front wheel against the start gate. I've actually already completed my daily cycling quota. Because until the start of the Pump Battle Series, I was training on the downhill course. The contrast couldn't be greater. I've just been battling with nasty root passages, jumps and stone fields, and now I'm supposed to show off my skills, or rather the bike's skills, on an artificial wave course made of wood and roofing felt. Well, at least the spectators will like it when top favourite Joost Wichman humiliates me in the lane next to me, I think to myself. The long Dutchman puts on his helmet, then things get serious. The people at the side of the track fall silent. The loudspeakers at the start emit the command: "Riders ready, watch the gate!" A random generator brings the start gate down. I sprint onto the mogul slope. My bike reacts sluggishly. The long wheelbase is difficult to manoeuvre over the waves. The downhill tyres are rolling underground. And the suspension swallows up some of my pumping energy, which I actually wanted to convert into propulsion. The former world champion on my left is already over all the humps on his hardtail when a riding error throws me out of the last bend. I have to bunny-hop back onto the track to finish my run. But a top 32 place is out of the question with my lousy time. The finals will take place without me. The interim result after the first race: Neither the bike nor I can score points with our skills on the pump track. However, there's not much time to analyse things in detail. Because I still have to complete two compulsory runs on the downhill track before 7pm, otherwise the German Cycling Federation won't allow me to qualify on Saturday.
Saturday, 7.30 am, Marathon
The tight Lycra outfit pinches as I fill my water bottle for the marathon early on Saturday morning. My test bike also looks a little different today. After the pump track race, I swapped the downhill tyres for lightweight cross-country tyres. I'm sure that's what John Tomac did back then for his World Cup races, I tried to justify myself to my blaspheming work colleagues. It's easy for them to say, they don't have to rush 53 kilometres and 1422 metres in altitude through the Hochsauerland at ungodly hours with 2000 other crazy people.
"How many UCI points do you have?" the race organiser at the entrance to the first starting block wants to know. "Twenty," I fib and I'm through. The air in the front rows at the start is filled with the scent of muscle oil. I nervously place my Enduro fully between emaciated athletes with carbon companions under the ten-kilo mark. There are hardly any fullys here in starting block 1, and certainly not any with 160 millimetres of travel. I switch the Giant's suspension to standby mode. The platforms of the suspension elements are supposed to stabilise the chassis. And indeed, the rear suspension hardly bobs on the first climb. Nevertheless, at 13 kilos, the bike is noticeably sluggish - despite the cross-country tyres. I envy the passing riders who overtake me light-footedly and seemingly without effort. I have to admit to myself that the pro starting block was a little too ambitious given my fitness and my bike. Towards the middle of the first climb, I found my position in the field. Almost in unison with my competitors, I pant through the morning mist. When the narrow path under my cleats slopes downhill again at the top of the mountain, my hour has come. I break away from the single file of carbon hardtails and manoeuvre the 800 millimetre wide handlebars past the less technically adept marathon riders. Some of them grumble. But hey, I don't moan when they pass me again on the uphill. Although, I don't get overtaken that much anymore. I've found my stride. The Giant is doing well - even with the weight taken off. To be more streamlined on the long straights, I reach down to the crown of the massive Pike fork and create a few extra centimetres of saddle elevation. I roll into the finish in 62nd place at around 10 o'clock. Exhausted, but satisfied. After the defeat of the previous day, the bike performed better than expected in the marathon. 25 per cent of the course was on single trails, but even on the remaining 75 per cent I didn't have to push myself any harder than the competition around me.
Now I quickly swap the weak Maxxis IKON tyres for tyres with more grip. After all, I still have to get through the downhill qualifiers quickly in the afternoon.
Sunday, 10:00 am, Enduro race
While everyone is talking shop about how the overnight rain has affected the enduro course, I would be happy if I knew the course at all. I know that there are almost 40 kilometres and 1200 metres of altitude to cover, but I still have to get to know the root passages and tricky bends that my fellow riders are talking about. During the official training times yesterday, I was still panting around the marathon course in lycra clothing.
The sociable part of the race ends at the start of the first special stage. I adjust my pads, full-face helmet and goggles. Then I make my way under the pavilion. The starter raises his voice: "Fifteen seconds to the start!" I click the pedals and wait, balancing. "Three, two, one, go!" The chain is energised, I dash across a meadow and the fluttering tape leads me into the undergrowth. My mighty tyres dig through the loose forest soil. The 160-millimetre suspension swallows up the rocky sections. The wide handlebars help me to steer the Giant through the dense tree line. I don't think about my bike, but let my reflexes guide me. Barely two minutes later, I slide over a disgusting hanging left-hand bend through the finish of the first stage. I take a quick breath, gather my thoughts and start to grin. Even though I didn't know the track and therefore rode a little more cautiously, I still had a lot of fun.
The Giant Reign has shown what it was designed for and can easily cope with the challenges of an enduro race. After five more special stages, I ended up in 14th place - an acceptable result with almost 300 participants.
There's not much time to cheer. I have to be at the downhill start at the summit of the Ettelsberg in 40 minutes.
Sunday, 2 pm, Downhill
I'm not really prepared for this competition either. As I float up in the gondola, my thoughts wander. I had four training runs on Friday and the qualification on Saturday. But some of the other daredevils had plunged down the mountain 15 times, while I struggled on the pump track, marathon and enduro race. Damn! My water bottle is empty. And I've even left my energy bars at the valley station. I roll into the start hut with a sticky mouth and a feeling of hunger pangs. But it's not so much about finishing in first place as it is about completing my self-experiment with dignity. "Number 186! 15 seconds to go until the start!" My stomach responds with a growl. The clock ticks: beep, beep, beep, piiiiiiep. I want to tighten the chain again like in an enduro race, but my thighs refuse to do their job. But luckily it's all downhill. The big jumps in the upper section aren't perfect, but I get over them. The guys who are going for victory in this discipline pull much harder on the handlebars on the jumps. Some at the side of the track spot my underpowered bike and shout loudly after me: "Enduro, awesome!" I'm not so keen on the stone fields in the centre of the track, even though the Giant underneath me does what it can - the obstacles are just too big. The air shock can't swallow them up.
Then it happens in the lower section: I hit a bump at the wrong angle, my rear wheel kicks it up and I'm in danger of crashing in the next bend. No way, I think. My self-attempt would have been a failure if I were to make a break for it now, 500 metres before the finish. I get the Giant back under control at the last moment. With a time of 2:33 minutes, I roll through the finish arch of the European Downhill Cup. Even though my time will later only be good enough for 81st place, my inner tension drops. I'm standing at the foot of the Ettelsberg without having taken a single chicken line. I also showed my more knowledgeable colleagues, because I didn't run out of travel on the finish jump. Above all, however, the Giant performed well in all sub-types of mountain biking, even if it wasn't quite optimal here and there. It actually worked! Yes, the industry really does build bikes that you can do anything with. Who would have thought that?
When I return my hire bike to the Giant stand on the festival site, I look into a petrified face. Okay, the down tube is still covered in mud from the enduro race, there's some energy gel on the top tube from the marathon, the brake pads are rocked down and the chain is dry. With a broad grin, I pat the irritated-looking Giant employee on the shoulders: "Awesome bike, it can really do anything."
...
PHASES OF THE SELF-EXPERIMENT
FRIDAY 10:00 a.m.: Start number distribution
The self-experiment begins with the collection of four different starter packs at the race office. On the information boards, I find the latest information on the mandatory use of protectors and training for the downhill race. Oops, I still have to get elbow pads.
FRIDAY 12:00 pm: Downhill training
If you want to ride the DH course on the Ettelsberg, you have to queue. Over 300 starters gather in front of the lift at training times. In the end, I only have time for four training runs, while my competitors plunge down the mountain up to 15 times before the race.
FRIDAY 17:00: Pump track race
I was surrounded by dirt hardtails, disco music and numerous spectators. I didn't have the opportunity to practise on the course. When the starting gate drops, I mess up the first corner. As a result, I was eliminated in the preliminary round. The organiser Joost Wichman comes third.
FRIDAY 17:30: Downhill compulsory runs
The BDR not only checks the prescribed protectors, but also obliges every rider to do two training runs. As the marathon is on the programme for Saturday, I have to work overtime on the DH course on Friday evening.
SATURDAY 07:15 am: Marathon start
While Willingen still lies quietly in the morning mist, I roll lonely with my Giant Reign to the start of the marathon. Shaved legs and tight clothing are a point of honour in order to at least somewhat
the endurance clientele. I am nervous.
SATURDAY 15:00: Downhill qualifying
After the morning's lactate shower at the marathon, it's now time to put your skills to the test in the downhill qualifier. Quickly adjust your goggles and off you go through the timekeeping at the summit of the Ettelsberg.
SATURDAY 10:10 am: Enduro start
Day three of my self-experiment. The sticker on my top tube indicates the marching times for the enduro race. I don't have much time between the six stages, I have to complete the transfer stages at almost marathon speed to stay within the time window.
SUNDAY 13:40: Crossing the finish line Enduro
I race my Giant over the enduro course in Hochsauerland without any knowledge of the track. 1.40 pm I stretch my front wheel over the finish line of the last enduro stage. After the failure on the pump track, the Giant slowly gets going.
SUNDAY 14:25: Downhill race
Not even 45 minutes after crossing the finish line of the Enduro, I'm already on my way to the next race. The same bike, start number, protectors and outfit have been changed. After three days and four disciplines, the self-experiment is over.
...
ALLESKÖNNER: Giant Reign Advanced 1
No, we haven't customised a bike for this story. The Reign Advanced 1 is equipped with 1x11 gears from Shimano, a chain guide and a telescopic seat post. Everything comes as standard. We simply fitted a bottle cage and converted the tyres to tubeless. The all-rounder gene of the Giant is in the Rock Shox suspension. The massive Pike RC fork does not have a separate compression adjustment, but it does have a lowering function, which, however, remained unused. The platform levers at the rear and front did their job and stabilised the bike during the marathon. In the enduro race, the Monarch Plus RC3 shock blossomed and swallowed up all the bumps.
More expensive bikes are above all lighter, and the function leaves nothing to be desired even in this price range.
Material / Sizes Carbon / Aluminium / S / M / L / XL
Price / weight 4599 Euro / 13.3 - 14 kg depending on tyre
Fork / damper Rock Shox Pike RC / R. S. Monarch Plus RC3
Cranks / gears Shimano XT / Shimano XT 11-speed
Gear ratio / handlebar width 32; 11-42 / 800 mm
Brake system / DISC-Ø Vo. / Hi. Shimano XT / 203 / 180 mm
Impellers DT Swiss Spline M 1700 system wheels; Maxxis Ikon 27.5x2.2 (Marathon); Maxxis Shorty Double Down / Exo 27.5x2.5 / 2.3
