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2013 Red Bull Rampage : 36 BIKES

Oct 12, 2013

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THE BIKES OF RAMPAGE

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Truth be told, Rampage wouldn’t be happening without one very key ingredient - bicycles. Seems like an obvious thing really, but the almighty bike tends to fly under the radar at hugely publicized events like this. There’s a ton of stories going on right now, why pay attention to inanimate objects?

Take a look around, the building projects that have clinked, dragged and dug since Tuesday are insane  (wait until you see the finals lines off the top ). The stunts and infrastructure built by organizers over the last couple of months are equally ridiculous. And then there are the athletes, their skill and bravado, so compelling and dramatic. To be totally honest, this might be the most risky athletic competition on earth, why then talk about a thing?

Well, without said “thing”, Brandon couldn’t fly to the bottom of the mountain in 30 seconds—half of that in the air. Aggy wouldn’t be able to “warm up” for qualifiers by hitting the canyon gap a couple times. Gully wouldn’t be backflipping where you should not be backflipping. You see, behind each athlete are bike companies and component manufacturers building high tech parts that aim to blend strength with light weight, durability with performance. From brakes to tires, frames to suspension, handlebars to pedals, the amount of time, energy and innovation put into the Bikes of Rampage represents a catacomb of evolution and innovation.
Not to mention, they’re super cool.

So, not one to miss out on the story behind the story, Sterling Lorence embarked on one of his yearly missions: shoot the Bikes of Rampage. Here’s what he found.

Cam Zink spent much of Thursday in the hospital having a hematoma drained, but plenty of icing and taping should have him ready to flip his prototype Hyper DH bike off the Oakley Sender on Sunday.

Ryan 'R-Dog' Howard's Trek Session was looking mighty patriotic with its custom stars 'n' bars paint job, red rims, and even color-coordinated housing.

Kelly McGarry's so tall he barely fit into the photo, but it's the bikes we're focusing on, in this case his Diamondback DH8. An injury in practice at last year's Rampage kept McGarry out of contention, so there's no doubt he's eager for a rematch.

Thomas Vanderham is a true freeride veteran, having competed in every single Red Bull Rampage since the event began in 2001. His Rocky Mountain Flatline. decked out in Shimano and Fox components, looks ready for big mountain rowdiness.

Logan Bingelli will be trying to better last year's 3rd place finish, once again riding a KHS equipped with 650b wheels.

This is Kirill "Benderoni" Churbanov's first time in the United States, but he's looking right at home with his Bergamont Straitline Team. His digging time has been spent constructing an open loop for his qualifying run, a feature that hasn't been seen before here in Virgin, Utah.

Mitch Chubey's carbon Morpheus DH bike shares the same unique dropout configuration as their slopestyle bikes. Chubey's part of the no-chainguide club with Cam Zink, trusting that the thick-thin-thick chainring profile will keep the chain on.

Ramon Hunziker and his Trek Session will be trying to improve upon last years 16th place finish.

Paul Basagoitia is prepared to dump out a whole bag of tricks during his run, choosing to go with Kona's Entourage due to its tailwhip-ability.

NS Bikes' Fuzz should be a good choice to help Sam Pilgim tackle the wild desert terrain.

Brenden Howey will be hard to miss aboard his Commencal Supreme.

After a year of waiting, Brendan Fairclough finally hit his canyon gap today aboard his Scott Gambler.

Geoff Gulevich has a nutty line planned off the top ridge, piloting his Rocky Mountain Flatline directly into the gnar with a 20' double drop followed by a backflip off a 15' stepdown for good measure.

Mike Hopkins scared everyone last year when he went extra huge on a stepdown on the lower portion of the course, launching it well into the flats. He'll be trying to remain a little closer to the ground this year on his Norco Aurum.

Makken Haugen's all smiles with his Trek Session 9.9.

If anyone knows how to go big it's James Doerfling, shown here with his Knolly Podium.

Andreu Lacondeguy has been looking comfortable aboard his YT Industries Tues 2.0, showing the moto-inspired style he's known for.

Wil White and his Karpiel Disco Volante are back for their one contest appearance of the year.

Pierre Eduard Ferry has been working with Thomas Genon on getting their lines dialed in for the big day.

Kyle Strait's GT Fury was waiting patiently for Kyle to return from his beef jerky snack break.

Thomas Genon staring at the sun with his Canyon DH bike.

Norbs and his custom Specialized Demo 8.

Mike Montgomery chose to go with an Ohlins rear shock-equipped Specialized Enduro Evo with a Manitou Dorado front fork.

Chris Van Dine is another rider who picks and chooses the events he attends, often appearing at urban downhill races in South America.

Yannick Granieri has his Polygon Collosus DH 2.0 dialed in and ready to rumble.

Nico Vink standing tall with his Scott Gambler.

Red Bull Rampage is Graham Agassiz's kind of event, and his Kona Carbon Operator should be well suited to the course.

Anton Thelander will be trying to maintain his 'clean lander' reputation during qualifiers and hopefully all the way into finals.

Garett Buehler's not afraid of enormous amounts of air time on his SR Suntour and Cane Creek equipped Knolly Podium.

Mike Kinrade attended the original Red Bull Rampage, and now he's back with an Evil Undead for another change to huck himself into history.

Dustin Schaad and his coil sprung Commencal Supreme are ready to get loose.

Brandon Semenuk and his Trek Session Park.

Mark Mathews won't be competing this weekend, as a hard crash on Gee's gap resulted in a broken femur.

Bananas for backflips, Antoine Bizet pounds potassium with his Kona Carbon Operator.

Proud papa Cam McCaul lifts his baby blue Trek Session.

Tom VanSteenbergen was the first person to hit the mighty canyon gap today on his Transition TR450.