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80g lighter - dbap GmbH

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or electric lock out, rebound control, low and high<br />

speed compression and adjustable travel. The response<br />

behavior and tuning possibilities of the cartridges have<br />

long been at the same level of open oil-bathing system,<br />

but maintenance is still a piece of cake. What was the<br />

most important feature to James for his fork? “Set and<br />

forget”, was his statement, this is how he loves his forks.<br />

The High-End Research & Development Program, which<br />

was founded by SRSUNTOUR and top athletes like<br />

James Doerfling some time ago, is called WERX. Within<br />

this development program the fork producer works<br />

directly with the athletes. World cup athletes are easy<br />

to find if you visit the regular events. Getting access to<br />

Big Mountain Freeriders, however, is a different story.<br />

They are usually riding where no man has set foot<br />

before. They are always looking for new spots and often<br />

disappear from the radar for several days. This is why<br />

the two days with James in Kamloops were rare and<br />

precious for the product development between athlete<br />

and industry.<br />

Kamloops is situated north east of vancouver. It has<br />

about 85.000 residents and is surrounded by steep and<br />

hilly landscape. Although there is some vegetation<br />

around, the soil is always dry and desert-like. For Big<br />

Mountain Freeriders the province of British Columbia is<br />

a paradise, but for bikes and camera equipment it is a<br />

pretty dusty challenge.<br />

Within a radius of 20km around Kamloops there are a<br />

wide range of terrain choices from deserted strips of<br />

land with canyons to jungles and alpine mountains. So<br />

for product testing and photo shootings there are many<br />

options to choose from.<br />

To get a good range of riding shots in the two days we<br />

had, we went to man made downhill trails, untouched<br />

downhill runs, built some kickers into the slope and<br />

also went to a North Shore Trail in the mountains with<br />

rocks and root passages, still partly snow-covered. The<br />

weather wasn’t always on our side, but there was no<br />

time for moaning.<br />

There is one more secret to tell: James was on a<br />

secret mission testing the new Big Mountain forks by<br />

SRSUNTOUR: The RUX fork.<br />

53

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