This is an old GT Fury frame that I've been riding for a while. My sponsor sent me the successor model, but I haven't got round to building the frame yet. Why should I? My Fury is awesome the way it is. It has a carbon main frame with aluminium chainstays. I still ride the same frame, with whom I jumped the Jah-Drop. A lot of people think that I'm constantly breaking frames because of my drops and constant cornering. That's rubbish, I've actually never broken a DH frame. Maybe that's because of my hard set-up. By the way, I ride the chainstay short, the Flipchip on the "steep" shock mount. This makes the bike lively and playful.
Wheels - 27.5 inch for life
I ride 27.5-inch wheels, which are nice and playful and have proved their worth for me. I've ridden 29-inch wheels before, but I didn't like the ride feel as much. I have to admit that I'm not a tech nerd who tries out countless settings and constantly tweaks the set-up. Once I've found my set-up, I stick with it. I don't have the motivation or the time for constant tinkering: I want to ride and shovel stunts, not screw them.
Brage Vestavik's cockpit - Fear of reaching into the brakes
I have broad shoulders - a handlebar width of 780 millimetres is ideal for me. My handlebars: the Burgtec Ratboy Signature made of aluminium. The rise: 50 millimetres. This results in a high cockpit - I like that. The rather long stem of 60 millimetres compensates for the frame, which is a little too short for my height. I rely on the Sensus The Boss grips. I wouldn't describe myself as picky when it comes to set-up, but I am particular when it comes to adjusting my Saint brake levers: I adjust them so that I have almost no idle. This means that when I tap them, they bite. To achieve this, I even deliberately move the pistons on the brake calliper out a little. Sometimes I'm really afraid to reach into the brake. Nice side effect: I brake less often and am therefore faster, haha!
Chassis - click madness? No, thank you!
I ride the Marzocchi Bomber 58 at the front and the Bomber air shock at the rear. I like the simplicity of the suspension elements. There are only two dials: one for the compression damping (low speed) and one for the rebound. That's all I need. The set-up is correspondingly simple. I pump a lot of air into the fork, approx. 130 psi at the front (editor's note: Marzocchi recommends approx. 85 psi for Brage's body weight), I do the same at the rear: approx. 360 psi. That doesn't result in much sag. I like the tight set-up, I want to feel the ground. That gives me confidence. I find it funny that everyone wants the suspension to be as soft as possible. Why is that? My credo: hard suspension makes you a better rider. By the way: I tend to set the rebound slower, except in the park.
Tyres - rotating mass is key!
I have Michelin DH 34 tyres mounted on my wheels (DT Swiss 1950 aluminium). As I'm a heavy guy, I pump a lot of air into the tyres (2.1/2.3 bar). The medium-soft rubber compound has worked well for me. I ride tubeless. I pour a lot of milk into the tyres for this. I don't have any problems with burping and hardly ever get flat tyres.
Noises on the bike - no problem!
I wash my bike when necessary and grease the chain from time to time. That's it. Noise doesn't bother me too much. I even removed the chainstay protector once, so my landings in the forest could be heard for miles: "Konk!" Just like the BMXers. What can I say: I'm a BMX fanboy. I watch more BMX edits than MTB videos.
The most important information about Brage Vestavik's bike set-up
- Model: GT Fury, size L
- Fork setup: Air pressure: a whopping 130 psi, tokens: as many as will fit
- Damper setup: Air pressure: approx. 360 psi, set-up: faster in the park, slower for big mountain riding
- Model year: "I've had it for a while..."
- Weight: "Uninteresting," says Brage
- Impellers: 27.5 inch
- Status: Brage-proofed and therefore indestructible
About Brage Vestavik...
- Name: Brage Vestavik
- Age: 25
- Weight: 95 kg
- Body size: 1,85 m
- Best Edit: X-Games-Real Edit - 1:30 minutes of violent freeriding at its best
Laurin Lehner
Editor
