WHY'S IT SUPER?
- The 5010 was Danny's co-star in his Wee Day Out film, which has been viewed by over 8 million people. He's got a new one for 2017 but it's set up just the same
- It doesn't get much cooler than having your own signature kit, and that's just what Danny's brakes and grips are
- With some unique set-up tweaks, Danny has taken a normal trail bike way beyond its intended use
The Scottish star's hike of choice for taking his trials skills into the hills
Danny MacAskill's rise to fame has been quick and impressive. Hopping onto our screens back in 2009, the viral video sensation soon became a superstar thanks to his ability to ride the seemingly impossible. He's used several different bikes over the years, but in last year's Wee Day Out he opted to ride a Santa Cruz 5010. We wanted to know more about why he choose this model, so he agreed to let us have a fiddle with his 2017 bike, which is identical save for the colour.
Short travel, big hits
"For Wee Day Out, and in general, I've always liked shorter-travel bikes that give me more feedback from the trail," says Danny. His medium 5010 has 130mm of travel and a 67-degree head angle, which is perfect for his riding: "I wanted a slightly steeper bike so it would be easier to get up onto the front wheel and hop up out of the suspension travel rather than getting bogged down."
The 5010 may not have as much travel as the Santa Cruz Branson Danny used in The Ridge or the Nomad he scaled Kilimanjaro on last year, but that doesn't mean it can't take the hits. "It's taken all the abuse I can throw at it in its stride," he says. "And these kind of bikes aren't designed to do loads of hucks to flat or take the sideways forces I'm putting through them landing the trials moves."
"I run the carbon bike," he adds. "I've been trusting carbon for a longtime - there have never been any problems and I've never had any doubts about its strength. Some people are snapping bikes, but I'm not worried about this on the 5010. Even doing 12ft drops to flat off railway bridges, I'm confident the bike will hold."
Off-the-shelf awesome
Danny's bike is a standard 5010 CC that anyone can buy, although he did have to modify his red one for the puddle scene in Wee Day Out. "We filled the down tube, top tube, seat tube and bar full of sand, put a roll of lead in the fork and filled the tyres with water," he says, laughing. "I also had a 30kg roll of lead in my backpack. And that barely gave us enough weight to cycle along the bottom of the puddle!"
His new bike is ballast free, but set up a bit differently to most riders', in order to handle the abuse he doles out. “I run the suspension hard because I tend to rough the bike up a bit!” he says. “I like to ride my small bike on trails people would normally choose a longer-travel machine for and don’t want the suspension to bottom out every two seconds. I run the rebound fairly fast too.” When it comes to his videos, Danny is a stickler for detail, but bike set-up is a more fluid affair. “To be honest, when I pump up the suspension I rarely look at the pressure gauge. It’s generally done by feel. I’ll put air in there and then give it a ride and adjust it accordingly.”
Danny runs his tyres hard too. “I pump them up to between 40 and 45psi, which gives the bike loads more stability on landing,” he says. “When you’re often aiming for square edges, you need to make sure you’re not rimming out on things.” When riding trials he’ll slam his seat all the way down, but he runs it a normal height for general riding.
The devil is in the detail
Taking pride of place on the 5010 are the Scottish star’s signature brakes and grips. The Danny MacAskill edition Magura MT7 stoppers have bright yellow callipers, in a nod to the Magura HS-33 hydraulic rim brakes that were favoured by trials riders in the late ’90s and early 2000s. If you want a set, they’ll set you back $900! His Lizard Skins grips are a lot more affordable, and boast a single lock-on collar and slight variations in diameter along their length.
The quirkiest aspect of Danny’s bike set-up is his brake lever angle. “That’s the one thing that if you got onto my bike you’d comment on,” he say. “I tend to run my levers in a nearvertical position, facing the ground. When you’re riding trials you spend a lot of time with your bar up by your waist or the bike in a vertical position. Your fingers get bent backwards and it puts a lot of strain on the levers. In the past, with other brands, I’ve bent levers, especially when things have gone wrong. I find it more comfortable to have my brakes steeper than normal to compensate for the angles I’m riding at.”
It’s obvious Danny has found the perfect partner for his exciting riding in the 5010 – who’d have thought a trail bike could go so hard?
Price Complete bikes from $7800
SIGNATURE BLING
Danny’s signature Lizard Skins grips and bright yellow Magura MT7 brakes have been designed with his specific needs in mind. The leverage ratio of the Magura levers can be adjusted, so they can be set up to be extremely powerful or a bit more subtle. As for the grips, they have more cushioning where your hand holds the bar to help absorb impacts and vibrations.
STAMP ON IT
CrankBrothers’ Stamp pedals come in two sizes. Danny runs the smaller versions on his 5010 and the larger ones on his trials bike.
PUSHIN’ ON
Danny is a big Steve Peat fan and couldn’t resist running some of the big man’s Peaty’s Push On’s [sic] valve caps on his bike.
BLACK EAGLE
A standard SRAM X01 Eagle 12-speed drivetrain takes care of shifting duties on the 5010. Despite Danny’s rough way with his bike, everything seems to be standing up to the unique punishment he gives it.
PLASTIC FANTASTIC
The 5010’s short chainstays, low bottom bracket and 67-degree head angle are perfect for Danny’s trials moves and all of the trail riding he loves to do. It’s constructed from Santa Cruz’s premium CC carbon fibre, which gives high strength and stiffness at a low weight.
