Top US World Cup Downhill Pro, Neko Mullaly, is preparing to race the 2022 World Cup season on a self-designed one-off bike hand-built by Frank Wadelton aka the Welder. As a lifelong mountain bike nerd, this blows my hair back.
World Cup DH is a bicycle death sentence. Riders push themselves and their bikes to the limit; smashing through rock gardens with pinpoint abandon while bending gravity in tire ripping corners. The races happen over a scant few minutes creating a competitive pressure cooker where talent rides a razor’s edge.
But you don’t have to like all this “gravity bully” business to get into this story. The undeniable DIY ethos stands out amongst bike industry’s manufactured homogeneity. This is a story about taking chances, going fast, and doing what you love. I’m a fan.