# AORTA 2011 Videos and Photos



## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

As time permits, I try and work this stuff.

AORTA 2011, Duponts New Trail






Jeannes Lost Shoe






Dupont Ridgeline, you may have already seen this one






PK


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## XC Mike (Sep 26, 2004)

Wow looks like Fun so many trees you don't want to miss a turn lol..........


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## zibell (Apr 13, 2007)

Paul, great videos. Thanks for sharing them. So much fun to be riding with other big bikes.


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

XC Mike said:


> Wow looks like Fun so many trees you don't want to miss a turn lol..........


Stay Tuned!...I have one coming that captures us missing a turn.

PK


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## clj2289 (Jan 2, 2010)

I love the slow-mo on the new trail. Good work P&J!


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## malaclemys (Oct 22, 2010)

Paul added a new video



. It looks like it was the first day of AORTA.


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

malaclemys said:


> Paul added a new video
> 
> 
> 
> . It looks like it was the first day of AORTA.


Yes that was Friday at AORTA. I did not link it yet as I was toying with making changes and seeing if the upload quality could be better.

Regardless it is there and can be watched.

If you watch close, around the portion Jeanne asks about slowing down, you can see the bars are turned but we are still going straight. The next corner has us off the trail, pivoting around the tree that is the trails outside limit, and then we get right back on with minimal loss of control or time.

The beginning is when Jeanne thought she was stung or bit by something.

Honestly, I / we love that one trail at Bent Creek. It would be a trail I would like to know is clear and have the ability to run wide open.

malaclemys, you can also get a good shot of the small rock garden pass. The camera shows it but doesn't really show it if you know what I mean. I would never have attempted or pulled that off on a hardtail. The ECDM eats those rocks up.

PK


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## giff07 (Jun 7, 2010)

Paul,
Were there a lot of mosquitos on that descent? It seems after you over cooked the portion of trail that had you short cutting around the tree there seemed to be a lot of buzzing in your ears.(Sorry Jeanne) Its funny cause whenever I do something dumb I seem to get that same buzzing sound for quite a while after it. I really loved both the climb and descent of that trail also. Thanks for the vid.
Ed and Pat Gifford
the Snot Rocket tandem


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## clj2289 (Jan 2, 2010)

We wrecked at the exact spot that Jeanne said please slow down.


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

clj2289 said:


> We wrecked at the exact spot that Jeanne said please slow down.


As I mentioned you can see the bars turned and we were still heading straight / did not even attempt to toss the bike into the next turn.

That section was really slippery, I locked up the front wheel a couple of times before deciding to just go off trail. I could not get it slowed down, both wheels were sliding around.

That section was also kind of rocky so glad you two did not get seriously hurt worse than you did.

PK


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## arly (Apr 20, 2005)

Nice video's Paul. Sure do like Vimeo better than Utub! Silly question,, in "A portion of Santos Vortex Trail on the Ventana Tandem" Which is the cool video you took looking back at the rear triangle. The triangle appears to be flexing, left and right. Do you think that's really the case??


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

arly said:


> Nice video's Paul. Sure do like Vimeo better than Utub! Silly question,, in "A portion of Santos Vortex Trail on the Ventana Tandem" Which is the cool video you took looking back at the rear triangle. The triangle appears to be flexing, left and right. Do you think that's really the case??


You say you watched the Vortex video. In another video, the flex is more noticed in the Spider Kingdom video. FWIW, the Spider Kingdom video is done on a ride with pretty good grip, the trail is mostly flat and the speed was 19>20 MPH. Lot of side load on the machine. Notice also, I do not ride the single bike line but rather straighten out the turns to carry as much speed through them as possible.

Most folks have commented they believe it is the rear suspension flexing. Either the swingarm twisting and moving side to side, or I speculate it is a combination of the swingarm attach point and the "J" shaped forward swingarm section. I never really deemed it noticeable since any flex is only 1/2 felt by the captain on account of length.

Many folks have seen it. I do believe it's there and does have an effect on handling to some extent. Just not sure how much effect.

We are in no way easy on our equipment and not petite.

I will also admit to asking Theresa at Ventana about building a new swingarm. With the new changes to the single bikes they are quite busy.

If I weren't so busy myself I would build my own swingarm and a few other things to make the bike even better.

Thing is though...as hard as we ride it, for our ECDM and how it's setup up, we as the riders still hold it back.

The current ECDM is a very capable machine. Ours has been ridden on some crazy stuff many single riders won't attempt, then again we don't know better for our own good. I would not let the flex be a deal breaker if you are looking to buy one.

Truth be told, riding the same Spider Kingdom trail on the Fandango 29r, I notice the rear wheel flex on the 29r more than the ECDM rear end.

PK


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## M-U-M (Dec 19, 2003)

Trail is Hickory. Curious - what is causing the "rattling noise"? Really missed riding with ya'll this time, but the beach had it moments.

("Slow down!" - classic.)

:thumbsup:


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

M-U-M said:


> Trail is Hickory. Curious - what is causing the "rattling noise"? Really missed riding with ya'll this time, but the beach had it moments.
> 
> ("Slow down!" - classic.)
> 
> :thumbsup:


The noise I'm not 100% sure. Speaking to the camera manufacturer, it could be something like the lanyard tapping the case, they also mentioned checking the internal mount screws.

Personally, I suspect that since it is rated to 100' of underwater use, the waterproof case magnifies every sound. Light taps from a branch are way loud. There is a very slight amount of clearance in the mount to camera interface. This may be just enough to give that knocking when riding across rocks or logs. The camera shakes on it's mount possibly.

I'll work on it as time permits.

Glad you enjoyed the beach, the ride was fun and we missed you. Sam did a great job.

See, she asked to slow down and what happens when I try...we go off the trail. Who says the stoker is always right.

PK


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## arly (Apr 20, 2005)

*swingarm flex?*

Ya I watched both of the videos. I guess if the bike handles well, it doesn't make any difference if its flexing or not. Pretty cool video just the same. We've test ridden Ventana's and couldn't appreciate there handling, but maybe they've improved them since. We're a 300 some pound team ridng DaVinci's and ride the same trails the little MB's do. Even when they say "tandem's can't do that" 

thanks for posting the video's



PMK said:


> You say you watched the Vortex video. In another video, the flex is more noticed in the Spider Kingdom video. FWIW, the Spider Kingdom video is done on a ride with pretty good grip, the trail is mostly flat and the speed was 19>20 MPH. Lot of side load on the machine. Notice also, I do not ride the single bike line but rather straighten out the turns to carry as much speed through them as possible.
> 
> Most folks have commented they believe it is the rear suspension flexing. Either the swingarm twisting and moving side to side, or I speculate it is a combination of the swingarm attach point and the "J" shaped forward swingarm section. I never really deemed it noticeable since any flex is only 1/2 felt by the captain on account of length.
> 
> ...


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## Team Breeze - Screamcycle (Jun 26, 2010)

We look forward to AORTA 2012.!
Sorry we missed this one, especially riding new trails at Dupont.
Brenda & Larry Isherwood
Team Breeze on the Screamcycle & Slimecycle.


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## Rorschach1 (Sep 19, 2011)

More pictures from AORTA. Sorry about the delay, but we just got busy after getting back from our trip. We really enjoyed it, and we are riding MTB more and more. It is more fun than road now. Let me know if there is a problem with this link, and hopefully anyone can download a full pic if you like. 
I can't post links due to this being my second posting, so add https:// to the front of the link below.
Thanks for the memories, for mtbtandems.com in putting it together, and Paul for sharing tandem info.
Regards,
Trey & Haydeé

picasaweb.google.com/106334027965657552844/AORTA2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKul5evK0aqMrQE#


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

Great photos.

That was a great weekend of awesome trails, new and old friends, killer bikes and fun riding.

The photos show just how far it was from the bridge to the small creek. Sadly on of the few times the helmet cam was turned off. That could have been an awesome video, but best part was no injuries in the fall. Bridge 1 / tandem and team 0.

We have had some video files get corrupted by Quicktime, this past weekend I may have resolved a means to still keep them.

PK


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