Brendan Fairclough has to be one of the most recognizable names and faces in UK mountain biking. Equally at home shredding a trail bike on his native Surry soil to throwing his Scott Gambler down the Redbull Rampage course in Utah, he’s as versatile as they come. On top of all that, he’s also racing his bike week in, week out on the UCI World Cup circuit, and was selected for the GB World Championships squad. We take a quick look at his Gambler, raced at Val Di Sole.
- Rachel Atherton’s Trek Session World Championship bike
- Danny Hart’s World Championship winning Mondraker Summum
The heart of the Gambler is it’s relatively complex looking, but actually relatively simple linkage system, driving on Brendan’s bike a Fox DHX2 shock. The linkage system is designed to minimize shock hardware rotation; this reduces wear and Scott reckon helps keep the initial stroke nice and supple (more relevant when running an air shock).
Brendan is using a custom made linkage, which may hint at what’s to come in successive models, built to give a more progressive suspension curve. It’s also running a shorter than usual shock, at 240mm eye to eye, rather than the 267mm shock used on production bikes. Supporting it all is a 525lb spring – this is as heavy as the orange versions come, apparently, but spring rates go higher if you don’t mind a black spring.
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Up front the Fox 40 fork is run at 85psi with six volume spacers, two more than standard, and one less than the maximum possible – this is to give the fork extra support in steep terrain, and to stop it diving during braking. Keeping the fork propped up was definitely key at Val Di Sole, with the track full of deep, dusty holes. Brendan’s mechanic said that they were running the bike faster than usual (in terms of suspension set up) as there are loads of blind spots in the track, big holes hidden by deep dust.
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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