2024 Red Bull Hardline

sspomer
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5/25/2024 6:39pm Edited Date/Time 5/25/2024 6:40pm

the road gap is definitely a heavy one! i think the road gap has a lot more "gentle" entry into it though. it's a relatively slow roll onto the bridge and then pretty calculated pace off of it, there are no compressions or things that can buck a rider or compromise a bike once committed to take-off on the ladder. the road gap landing into that turn seems sketch though! they're going so fast LOL.

i personally don't care about the aesthetic of the scaffolding and whether it's "mountain biking" or not. i'm terrified by the idea of a rider coming up short (for whatever reason, freak mechanical, second-guess, bad form) and landing on (or in) that structure. it's a death sentence. i'd imagine the only real way a rider would come up short is a mechanical or random accident. there will be a clear don't-brake-from-this-spot-on line and riders should clear it just fine. getting bucked or OJ'ing is a different story but at least they're not falling in the hole.

6
WhiskeyRiver
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5/25/2024 8:08pm

I’m not sure that the cool factor of that jump is worth the risk. It almost reminds me of slopestyle, but with way more consequences if something goes wrong.

2
k3113n
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5/25/2024 9:43pm

Give us some good tech jank. I’d rather watch my favorite riders race good technical “hardlines”  instead of potentially dying. Not to mention many are WC riders who I would love to continue watching the rest of the season. 

12
Mr.Nally
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5/25/2024 11:03pm
sspomer wrote:
the road gap is definitely a heavy one! i think the road gap has a lot more "gentle" entry into it though. it's a relatively slow...

the road gap is definitely a heavy one! i think the road gap has a lot more "gentle" entry into it though. it's a relatively slow roll onto the bridge and then pretty calculated pace off of it, there are no compressions or things that can buck a rider or compromise a bike once committed to take-off on the ladder. the road gap landing into that turn seems sketch though! they're going so fast LOL.

i personally don't care about the aesthetic of the scaffolding and whether it's "mountain biking" or not. i'm terrified by the idea of a rider coming up short (for whatever reason, freak mechanical, second-guess, bad form) and landing on (or in) that structure. it's a death sentence. i'd imagine the only real way a rider would come up short is a mechanical or random accident. there will be a clear don't-brake-from-this-spot-on line and riders should clear it just fine. getting bucked or OJ'ing is a different story but at least they're not falling in the hole.

Ya Spomer, I'm honestly surprised Red Bull gave this jump/course change the green light. I've no idea how the decision making goes over there, but Red Bull are investing big money into this event each year and this is a weird direction

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1
veefour
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5/26/2024 2:30am Edited Date/Time 5/26/2024 2:32am

Another new feature further up the track, again looking like it's an entirely new line from the top.

I think some netting across the gap jump would be sensible.

2
5/26/2024 8:25am
sspomer wrote:
so there's a video that's not mine to post, but it has been guinea-pigged. not sure when that stuff will hit the airwaves (has it already...

so there's a video that's not mine to post, but it has been guinea-pigged. not sure when that stuff will hit the airwaves (has it already? i haven't looked at insta in a while). the rider OJ'd a tiny bit and rode out easily, but the jump seems to work fine. as most here have said however, it's probably not about the jump not working...it's the what-ifs of something going wrong on the way to the jump.

a bernard headtube dismemberment on the g-out at the bottom of the ramp? tire going flat? pedal slip? random shit happens and nothing good could come out of a freak accident that results in coming up short. you could say the same for any 90 ft (or 10 ft) double. there's always risk, but at least brendan's canyon gap at rampage was natural and "soft" enough that if something happened, it was likely survivable. metal, wires and scaffolding protruding everywhere? gross.

i'm bummed this kind of spectacle is necessary to draw attention to DH racing. for the riders in attendance, the jump itself isn't really that "hard," and the jump probably won't be a significant piece in deciding the race results. but, just like at rampage (which feels different b/c the competitors are building in their own risk), every rider at hardline has the ability to make their own decision and not race if they think it's morbidly absurd to risk chucking that thing.

i just hope everyone comes out of this event in one piece and that no one feels "group thunk" into dropping in if they don't want to.

I have a video that was sent to me, very poor quality but rider is apparently Jim Monroe. Looks like he ditches the bike mid way through the air and flies past the landing, body checking the last couple feet of the wood. Have been told he’s alive but won’t be racing. Not sure if he was the first to hit it or not but I haven’t seen the video of anyone landing it.

4
earleb
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5/26/2024 10:30am

Drift a few feet further left and  it's a bad time.

4
5/26/2024 10:37am
earleb wrote:

Drift a few feet further left and  it's a bad time.

Bernard's pov is mad, actually thought he was a goner for a second

3
chadkriz
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5/26/2024 11:24am
earleb wrote:

Drift a few feet further left and  it's a bad time.

johnmcginn wrote:

Bernard's pov is mad, actually thought he was a goner for a second

Where did you see the POV video?

1
iceman2058
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5/26/2024 11:35am Edited Date/Time 5/26/2024 11:40am

BERNARD KERR you're a BEAST (canyon gap action towards the 50-minute mark):

 

 

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hogfly
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5/26/2024 11:39am

Wasn’t a fan of this feature before and definitely even less of a fan after seeing BK and Jim do it 

BK almost landed to far to the left and ran off the landing in that direction which looks like it would be disastrous. And the compression from the transition was enough to spit Jimbo off his bike. It’s just not a good feature, imo. 
 

Reminds me of Sam Reynolds (I believe it was) refusing to do a rampage run because they wouldn’t put up safety netting. They need netting on this. 

24
gibbon
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5/26/2024 11:42am

Janky trails are good......janky jumps notsomuch.

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sspomer
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5/26/2024 11:46am

i take back "the jump works" statement i made above. i had seen matt jones clip the other day (different angle). after watching bernard (one of the best jumpers on the planet?) and then jim's compression, clearly it's not a good jump. jim got pummeled. hope he's ok long-term. that was a severe hit to the head.

15
LookinForIt
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5/26/2024 11:56am
k3113n wrote:
Give us some good tech jank. I’d rather watch my favorite riders race good technical “hardlines”  instead of potentially dying. Not to mention many are WC...

Give us some good tech jank. I’d rather watch my favorite riders race good technical “hardlines”  instead of potentially dying. Not to mention many are WC riders who I would love to continue watching the rest of the season. 

One of my absolute favourite Hardline features was a sketchy, slow-speed rock chute to 90* right-hander.

 

I remember it so well because I thought to myself "maybe I could do that" but then watched a rider brake slightly too much on finals day, get bucked by the rocks, and asbolutely explode at the bottom. Suddenly I realized just how precise you had to be over that feature. Even the slightest bit of non-commitment, the slightest inaccuracy in your line, or ever so slightly too much braking and you were off. Compared to the rock-rolls around here that is way less room for error.

Thing is, that move was pretty high consequence, and I feel like a mistake on it had like 50% chance of broken bones. Jumps like this year's course have like 90% risk of serious injury if you mess up. Maybe at some point it starts to all blend together into a binary of "do it right or get seriously hurt" at which point larger and larger jumps don't matter. Once you cross some threshold, everything is the same....

3
kiisseli
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5/26/2024 12:16pm
sspomer wrote:
i take back "the jump works" statement i made above. i had seen matt jones clip the other day (different angle). after watching bernard (one of...

i take back "the jump works" statement i made above. i had seen matt jones clip the other day (different angle). after watching bernard (one of the best jumpers on the planet?) and then jim's compression, clearly it's not a good jump. jim got pummeled. hope he's ok long-term. that was a severe hit to the head.

”Just a concussion” 🤷🏼‍♂️

8
kiisseli
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5/26/2024 12:19pm

Exhibition jumping that one is one thing. Hitting it mid DH race is another. I dunno, maybe they have a plan B and they wont race that one. 

3
veefour
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5/26/2024 12:53pm

Very pleased to hear BK say they're putting a net up at the end of his video. Maybe they could do with another one on the landing, he was so close to missing it. Shocked

1
5/26/2024 12:57pm Edited Date/Time 5/26/2024 1:02pm
sspomer wrote:
so there's a video that's not mine to post, but it has been guinea-pigged. not sure when that stuff will hit the airwaves (has it already...

so there's a video that's not mine to post, but it has been guinea-pigged. not sure when that stuff will hit the airwaves (has it already? i haven't looked at insta in a while). the rider OJ'd a tiny bit and rode out easily, but the jump seems to work fine. as most here have said however, it's probably not about the jump not working...it's the what-ifs of something going wrong on the way to the jump.

a bernard headtube dismemberment on the g-out at the bottom of the ramp? tire going flat? pedal slip? random shit happens and nothing good could come out of a freak accident that results in coming up short. you could say the same for any 90 ft (or 10 ft) double. there's always risk, but at least brendan's canyon gap at rampage was natural and "soft" enough that if something happened, it was likely survivable. metal, wires and scaffolding protruding everywhere? gross.

i'm bummed this kind of spectacle is necessary to draw attention to DH racing. for the riders in attendance, the jump itself isn't really that "hard," and the jump probably won't be a significant piece in deciding the race results. but, just like at rampage (which feels different b/c the competitors are building in their own risk), every rider at hardline has the ability to make their own decision and not race if they think it's morbidly absurd to risk chucking that thing.

i just hope everyone comes out of this event in one piece and that no one feels "group thunk" into dropping in if they don't want to.

I feel like this statement is pretty whack.
 

“i'm bummed this kind of spectacle is necessary to draw attention to DH racing”.

You and all the old people saying rampage is to smooth hardline has to much scaffolding…. it’s not like it was in 2001… People are pushing limits. 90’ jumps are the norm for a pro… it’s not called puffy soft cloud line. It is hardline. It should have wild and weird features. 

I bet the boys there are stoked on getting to send some wild once in a lifetime stuff. I get it your a magazine editor, but who is the builder? The event organizer?? It seems like Dan wouldn’t let someone muddy up his vision.

DH will always be a weird fringe extreme sport. It’s never gonna be golf or football. Thats why I like it.
 

 

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34
gibbon
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5/26/2024 1:17pm

Old person here.
Rampage is too groomed.It's so 'mid' now.
90ft jumps are not the norm for pro's......not even the darkfest crew.
I know some of the 'boyz'. Most of them are scared shitless.
*You're
The event is owned and run by RB. The diggers (some of the Dyfi crew) are contracted to build/maintain the course.
Dh is a minority sport.....but that does'nt mean that there should be a high chance of death for a minor mistake. Both Bk's and Jims jumps could have gone very,very,very badly wrong.It's bike racing.....not Beyond Thunderdome (ask your Dad).
I'm going back to my cocoa and shouting at the sky now.......

35
1
5/26/2024 1:28pm
gibbon wrote:
Old person here. Rampage is too groomed.It's so 'mid' now. 90ft jumps are not the norm for pro's......not even the darkfest crew. I know some of...

Old person here.
Rampage is too groomed.It's so 'mid' now.
90ft jumps are not the norm for pro's......not even the darkfest crew.
I know some of the 'boyz'. Most of them are scared shitless.
*You're
The event is owned and run by RB. The diggers (some of the Dyfi crew) are contracted to build/maintain the course.
Dh is a minority sport.....but that does'nt mean that there should be a high chance of death for a minor mistake. Both Bk's and Jims jumps could have gone very,very,very badly wrong.It's bike racing.....not Beyond Thunderdome (ask your Dad).
I'm going back to my cocoa and shouting at the sky now.......

Again it isn’t puffy cloud line. Take your whining with you to the discovery channel. You should be terrified. 
Doesn’t sound like your a pro rider either. Crab apple is almost 70’ and basically everyone at Whistler can hit that myself included.
Your wrong 90’ jumps are the new norm. Your in gb. I grew up on Utah desert shelves. shit at rampage is not that buffed out in person. Fly there and check it out. 

37
All-MTN-MTB
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5/26/2024 1:47pm

When those jumps first came out, I thought, “Oof, maybe it’s just the angle that makes it look so bad?” Now I’m firmly in the territory of, “Fuck that shit, I have no interest in watching the event now.”
I’m fine watching pros hit xxl features that are built well (Rampage or Dark Fest for example), but I’m not down with watching someone get bucked to their death on a feature that looks like it was drawn out by a child that drank one too many energy drinks. 

7
1
LLLLL
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5/26/2024 2:04pm
gibbon wrote:
Old person here. Rampage is too groomed.It's so 'mid' now. 90ft jumps are not the norm for pro's......not even the darkfest crew. I know some of...

Old person here.
Rampage is too groomed.It's so 'mid' now.
90ft jumps are not the norm for pro's......not even the darkfest crew.
I know some of the 'boyz'. Most of them are scared shitless.
*You're
The event is owned and run by RB. The diggers (some of the Dyfi crew) are contracted to build/maintain the course.
Dh is a minority sport.....but that does'nt mean that there should be a high chance of death for a minor mistake. Both Bk's and Jims jumps could have gone very,very,very badly wrong.It's bike racing.....not Beyond Thunderdome (ask your Dad).
I'm going back to my cocoa and shouting at the sky now.......

Again it isn’t puffy cloud line. Take your whining with you to the discovery channel. You should be terrified.  Doesn’t sound like your a pro rider...

Again it isn’t puffy cloud line. Take your whining with you to the discovery channel. You should be terrified. 
Doesn’t sound like your a pro rider either. Crab apple is almost 70’ and basically everyone at Whistler can hit that myself included.
Your wrong 90’ jumps are the new norm. Your in gb. I grew up on Utah desert shelves. shit at rampage is not that buffed out in person. Fly there and check it out. 

Rampage has lost rawness for clips or sound bites as old persons would call them. These features take away from the race as you can only clear them as a fixed speed. The race will be won on the transitions between the features, which kinda makes them gimmicks. 

3
1
5/26/2024 2:11pm
gibbon wrote:
Old person here. Rampage is too groomed.It's so 'mid' now. 90ft jumps are not the norm for pro's......not even the darkfest crew. I know some of...

Old person here.
Rampage is too groomed.It's so 'mid' now.
90ft jumps are not the norm for pro's......not even the darkfest crew.
I know some of the 'boyz'. Most of them are scared shitless.
*You're
The event is owned and run by RB. The diggers (some of the Dyfi crew) are contracted to build/maintain the course.
Dh is a minority sport.....but that does'nt mean that there should be a high chance of death for a minor mistake. Both Bk's and Jims jumps could have gone very,very,very badly wrong.It's bike racing.....not Beyond Thunderdome (ask your Dad).
I'm going back to my cocoa and shouting at the sky now.......

Again it isn’t puffy cloud line. Take your whining with you to the discovery channel. You should be terrified.  Doesn’t sound like your a pro rider...

Again it isn’t puffy cloud line. Take your whining with you to the discovery channel. You should be terrified. 
Doesn’t sound like your a pro rider either. Crab apple is almost 70’ and basically everyone at Whistler can hit that myself included.
Your wrong 90’ jumps are the new norm. Your in gb. I grew up on Utah desert shelves. shit at rampage is not that buffed out in person. Fly there and check it out. 

LLLLL wrote:
Rampage has lost rawness for clips or sound bites as old persons would call them. These features take away from the race as you can only...

Rampage has lost rawness for clips or sound bites as old persons would call them. These features take away from the race as you can only clear them as a fixed speed. The race will be won on the transitions between the features, which kinda makes them gimmicks. 

Waaa waaa waaa don’t watch it then. Your two cents and mine don’t mean shit. 

3
27
roostintootin
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5/26/2024 2:17pm

Probably the most gnarly feature seen in any MTB competition in a while. All the wood features remind me of how rampage started getting too many man made additions in the early 2000’s. Hopefully Hardline doesn’t go down this path and looks to add more technical additions to in future events.

2
SteveClimber
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5/26/2024 2:22pm
sspomer wrote:
i take back "the jump works" statement i made above. i had seen matt jones clip the other day (different angle). after watching bernard (one of...

i take back "the jump works" statement i made above. i had seen matt jones clip the other day (different angle). after watching bernard (one of the best jumpers on the planet?) and then jim's compression, clearly it's not a good jump. jim got pummeled. hope he's ok long-term. that was a severe hit to the head.

Yeah was it you or somebody else who point out the first compression would be a problem, and that's exactly where Jim lost it. 

They really need some help building jumps lol, last time it was the 90ft'er after the lily pad, where the original build put BK 30ft in the air above the landing, now this monstrosity. 

 

3

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