WHY IS THIS A SUPER BIKE?
- Custom tuned RockShox BlackBox suspension means this Ticket S can suck
up huge drops and landings while still offering grip in the turns
- Brandon worked closely with Trek to create a bike with custom geometry
that he feels is the ultimate machine for today’s hugely demanding slopestyle
courses
- Trek’s Active Braking Pivot helps the back end to continue soaking up the
hits when Brandon slams on the anchors
Is this the ultimate slopestyle
machine?
Custom angles and suspension mean Semenuk
has the winning Ticket.
THE DEMANDS ON slopestyle
bikes are incredible. They need to be strong enough to survive sending huge
drops and launching jaw-droppingly wide gaps, while still being light and agile
enough to be flung around at the rider’s discretion. Trek were one company who
recognised these complex demands early on, and they’ve been building custom
slopestyle bikes – aided by rider input – for the likes of Brandon Semenuk, Cam
McCaul and other members of their C3 team for years now. “The riders have
always been key to development,” adds Ted Alsop, the R&D engineer behind
the Ticket S project. “Slopestyle events like Crankworx’s Red Bull Joyride push
a bike to its limits and the only way to design a bike that can meet the demands
of the riders and courses, is with direct rider input.”
Tickets please!
“Brandon first tested a prototype Ticket S in the fall of 2010 and the
bike continued to evolve through several rounds of protos for the next two
years,” continues Ted. Cast an eye over the Ticket S’s silhouette and it’s easy
to pick out the similarities with its longer travel, downhill-ready and thoroughly
proven counterpart, the Session. Both bikes are built around flickable 26in wheels
and use Trek’s Active Braking Pivot (ABP) system, which helps to keep the suspension
active when braking. They also share the Full Floater arrangement, where the
shock is attached to two moving linkage points to further smooth out the trail.
Naturally, geometry and travel are very different though. Ted, working
closely alongside Brandon, spent the early years of the project getting this
sorted. “It’s the little boring things that a highly technical athlete like
Brandon focuses on,” he says, enthusiastically. “Small head angle tweaks and
subtle changes in suspension progression were just a few of the changes I made
during the prototype stage.”
So, how does Brandon’s Joyride winning Ticket S differ from the
production frame? Well, in short, it doesn’t really. Not massively anyway. In
terms of geometry, the 563mm effective top tube, steep 69.3-degree head angle
and stumpy 398mm chainstays are the same. “The only difference is that Brandon’s
2013 Crankworx bike was part of a very small run of frames that were built a year
or so ago to support the needs of the C3 Project,” explains Ted. “The
production Ticket S switched from CNC machined parts to forgings. The forged
parts are far superior but the tooling was too expensive for just a handful of
frames.”
Sting in the tail
To help Brandon avoid exploding his ankles on every big landing, his
Ticket S boasts a small but very effective 100mm (3.9in) of rear wheel travel.
While Ted can dial in the kinematics of the Ticket’s suspension, it’s down to
Shaun Cruickshanks, AKA The Wizard, to tune Brandon’s RockShox BlackBox
suspension.
“The rear shock is a 165x38mm Monarch RCT3 with a heavier compression
and rebound tune, and an air volume spacer in the air can for additional ramp,”
says Shaun. “Brandon runs his air pressures high (obviously), but not as high
as many other slopestyle athletes because he does still like the suspension to
move.” And who in their right mind wouldn’t want that little bit of squish when
trying to flip-whip the final, absolutely enormous jump into the fan filled Whistler
finish area?
So, if you’re looking to fling yourself sky high, upside down or round
and round, what better bike to do it on? Although Brandon’s Ticket S is a
‘Superbike’ special, the fact that, according to Ted, “for the 2014 season Brandon
and the C3 team will be riding production frames”, speaks volumes.
SHORT STUFF
SRAM’s compact, short cage X0 Type 2 rear mech is clutch equipped and
helps keep chain slap to a minimum when Brandon lands or clatters through rough
downslopes.
SHOCK CHANGES
Unlike some other slopestyle riders, Brandon likes his suspension to
move enough to take the sting out of the landings and help his tyres grip the trail.
He does run a heavier compression and rebound tune on his shock than standard
though, with a volume spacer in the air can for additional ramp-up at the end of
the stroke.
NO GUIDE NEEDED
Helping to keep weight down are SRAM’s X0 carbon cranks, complete with
an X-Sync ring from the XX1 groupset. The beauty of this set-up is that there’s
no need to run a chain guide because the chain syncs with the alternating
narrow/wide teeth of the single chainring.
IN A SPIN
To shift up and down the compact cassette, Brandon uses a down tube mounted
thumbshifter. With fewer cables to get tangled up front, Semenuk is free to spin
his bar and bike beneath him to his heart’s content.
ROUTING WIZARDRY
The little touches go a long way on a bike required to perform at this
kind of level. Brandon is part of SRAM’s BlackBox programme, and the mechanics
have neatly routed his rear brake hose through a custom headset top cap to keep
it tangle free and out of the way when bar spinning and tail whipping.
ROLLING STOCK
With most slopestyle comps being run on groomed, well maintained
courses, rolling speed is just as important as grip in many cases. Brandon opts
to run the light, fast rolling Maxxis Ikon in 2.2in form. The tread may be low
but the 3C triple compound is deceptively grippy.
PRICE: 2036$ (frame only)
