The Rest...of the Kamikaze Story

Anyone who follows the action at Mountain Bike Action may have seen the big ring setup that EC used to take the Mammoth Kamikaze win. We'll call it the Mood Ring, since I know EC was in a damn good mood after winning!

Just like Paul Harvey, we have a "Rest of the Story" from EC's win. Here's some "inside the pits" info that you may not have heard about...

After surveying the course, EC knew that it was going to take something special to win it. Horsepower isn't the issue, as the Electric Catfish has been known to hold over 1700 watts in training. The right gearing was the topic of discussion during practice. EC had an old (I'm pretty sure it had sideburns from the 70's) 56-tooth (that's not a typo) chainring laying around and thankfully for EC, his mechanic John, "Sniper" Canepa was ready to Frankengear EC's Fury to give him every advantage he needed.

Why the Frankengear? A couple of reasons. First, our boys at e*thirteen make some kick ass chainguides, but they only fit up to a 40-tooth ring. Second, the bolt diameter of current DH cranks doesn't jive with the bolt diameter of EC's Mood Ring.

According to Sniper, all it took was a bunch of e*thirteen parts, an old drill, a dull drill bit, some misc. nuts and bolts to hold it all together, and a couple of hours to build.

The result, as you can see is that something special that EC needed.

Spot-on effort Sniper! Here's a comparison shot so you can see just how big this thing really was. And for reference, Sniper's got a melon on him that would make a roadside produce vendor jealous. (I kid because I love, Snipe!)

Got a crazy gearing pic or story to share? Send it over! For anyone out at Interbike ODD, Sniper is working the Demo booth. Be sure to stop by and give him a pat on the back for a job well done.