Pro Bike Check & Interview: Hattie Harnden’s Trek Session Downhill Bike

There’s a brand new face at the British Downhill scene. The 2022 British Cyclocross Champion, a former UCI World Cup XCO racer, and 2022 World #3 Enduro racer, Hattie Harnden, is now attempting her hand at Downhill. Mixing it up with one of the vital global’s best descenders, Hattie and the Trek Factory Racing Team headed to Fort William for Round 2 of the British Downhill Series only a couple weekends in the past.

Hattie is relatively new to downhill. With mechanic Andy Lund, she spent simply 10 days at the Trek Session over wintry weather, applying the Dyfi Bike Park to get some welcome air time. While she took the highest step at Round 1 of the BDS in Rheola, the problem at Fort William used to be some other kettle of fish completely.

This used to be Hattie’s first actual time racing down Aonach Mòr’s World Cup DH Track, and he or she had the likes of Nina Hoffmann, Camille Balanche, Monika Hrastnik and Veronika Widmann to cope with, in addition to a couple of speedy locals like Mikayla Parton and Phoebe Gale.

We have been stoked to look her installed a cast race run, completing up in P8, simply 5 seconds off the field. Notably, she secured the 4th quickest time in Sector 2 – complete effects right here, Clearly, the lady has tempo. Hattie is a surprisingly proficient all-round bicycle rider, and if someone has the facility to scale it up from there, it is her.

We stuck up with the lady herself to determine extra about her DH ambitions, and we additionally chatted with mechanic, Andy Lund, to get the main points on her Session DH Bike.

Interview: Hattie Harnden on Getting into Downhill Racing

Bikerumor: Congratulations on a cast lead to a stacked box of World Cup DH riders. How do you are feeling the weekend went?

Hattie Harnden: The weekend went easily, I would not have performed it another means. It used to be my first time at Fort William, so the primary center of attention used to be on my finding out and getting up to the mark at the monitor moderately than on converting motorcycle setup an excessive amount of. So I felt like I did reasonably a couple of laps on target however I believe the advantage of finding out outstayed the extra fatigue I had right through my race run.

Bikerumor: You rode in particular smartly in Sector 2, putting fourth forward of DH athletes way more skilled than your self. Why do you suppose you excelled in this a part of the monitor?

Hattie Harnden: I in truth concept sector 2 felt like my worst one, as I had a large second and needed to virtually come to a forestall. However I do really feel like I controlled to hold my pace smartly despite the fact that the tighter sections on that sector, as it is extra like one of the vital enduro tracks we journey.

Bikerumor: What have been your targets for this weekend, and did you succeed in them?

Hattie Harnden: My private targets have been to have amusing, live to tell the tale and end within the best 10. I accomplished all of those 🙂 I had such a lot amusing at the monitor and assembly such a lot of new faces, I stayed on my motorcycle (simply) and I stopped eighth, so we ticked all of the bins for the weekend 🙂

Bikerumor: You are quite new to downhill – I believe your mechanic, Andy Lund, mentioned you would ridden the Trek Session DH Bike simply 10 occasions over wintry weather. What are your ambitions inside the self-discipline for this season?

Hattie Harnden: Yes it’s all nonetheless very new to me, I’m playing simply finding out one thing so other but in addition very identical on the identical time. The preliminary thought used to be to only journey DH to go with my enduro using and assist me paintings on some other spaces of my using. This has modified visibly despite the fact that as Worlds are in Scotland, so it could be superb to qualify myself a place to race at World Championships, this is my new ambition. I’m certain it will by no means occur once more in my occupation, I’d be foolish no longer to take a look at and get a place, simply to be part of this sort of particular match.

Bikerumor: What has it been like for you being used to the downhill motorcycle, having spent such a lot time at the Trek Slash enduro motorcycle?

Hattie Harnden: It in truth hasn’t truly taken any time in any respect to get used to the DH motorcycle, I felt proper at house right away. Plus I journey such a lot of other motorcycles I’m virtually on a unique one every day of the week, I revel in the best way every motorcycle feels other and is fitted to one thing other.

Bikerumor: Are you having a look to qualify for the World Cup?

Hattie Harnden: I’m recently having a look to race the Lenzerheide World Cup, between the enduro global cups. No one is anticipating the rest, it is only a really perfect finding out revel in for me, I consider one of the best ways to be informed is at races.

Bikerumor: Finally, what’s the point of interest of your coaching now, within the run as much as the European bloc of Enduro World Cup races?

Hattie Harnden: I’m coaching truly exhausting at the present time as it’s the previous couple of weeks sooner than I’m off to Europe, most commonly health targeted, as I’ve had the DH races in between.

Pro Bike Check: Hattie Harnden’s Trek Session

At 174 cm tall, Hattie rides the Trek Session within the R2 length. It may also be run as an entire 29er, or in a mullet configuration; Hattie runs hers with the Mino-Link within the upper geometry place to house for the decrease backside bracket top that includes the 27.5″ rear wheel. The Session has size-specific chainstays, coming in at 441mm at the R2 proven right here.

The body’s 200mm commute is delivered thru Trek’s four-bar suspension platform, through which the seat remains and chain remains meet at a pivot concentric to the dropouts. This is Trek’s ABP linkage design, or Active Braking Pivot, installed position to isolate the suspension from forces exerted below rear braking. The primary pivot is in a mid-to-high place at the seat tube, necessitating use of an loafer pulley to attenuate chain expansion.

Hattie runs the Session with a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate air surprise, pressurized to 190 PSI, with the decrease surprise mount flip-chip orientated to provide the linkage its much less revolutionary curve, with an general development of 20%.

Details at the fork are off-limits; as you’ll see, it is a prototype RockShox Boxxer, the stanchion diameter of which we weren’t authorized to measure.

Hattie’s Trek Session rolls on an aluminum Bontrager Line DH 30 wheelset, which in truth has a 29mm interior rim width. Seated onto the ones rims are Pirelli tyres, with Trek Factory Racing having switched to the Italian producer’s tires for the 2023 season after a few years on own-brand Bontrager tyres.

On the entrance, we see a Scorpion Race DH M tyre, inflated to 24 PSI. On the rear, Hattie runs a Pirelli Prototype #0 inflated to 26 PSI. Despite the ones CushCore valves on show, there aren’t any inserts within those tyres.

In the cockpit, Hattie runs a Title MTB Bar lower to 760mm, with a 25mm upward thrust. The stem is Title’s DM1 35, with a achieve of 45mm. ODI grips, an very fashionable selection amongst DH riders, around issues out.

Managing pace are the SRAM Code RSC brakes with 4-piston calipers, with levers boasting tool-free adjustment of chunk level and achieve. These are paired with a 200mm SRAM HS2 rotors, entrance and rear.

To end, a SRAM XO 7-Speed ​​Drivetrain interprets Hattie’s efforts into ahead propulsion by way of Crankbrothers Mallet DH Pedals.

You can stay up-to-the-minute with Hattie’s coaching and racing on her Instagram. @hatt1e_hardnen,

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