Both Craig and Andy will be racing Steel City DH this year. While Andy's on a prototype (soon...) Craig is on a custom built Filter. Let's have a look.

First off, let's just get this prototype thing out of the way. Yes, we are doing a new bike. Or more than one new bike. If you want to know what it is, best get down to Steel City DH this weekend! Or you could just wait a couple of weeks - it won't be long before we can share it with everyone.

OK so Craig's bike. His current fleet includes a Fade for DJ and pumptrack, a Slacker for proper DH duties and an Edit as a daily driver in the woods. His Filter is more of a fun/jib bike but he still runs a dropper post and 1x12. The Steel City track calls for something a bit more specific and just because we can, we made it happen.

Craig's gone for a Filter in size Large but he's running a -5mm Works Components headset in there. He probably would have gone for a Medium if we had any left. 

The main changeup is of course the X01 DH 1x7 groupset with a 10-24t cassette. Steel City is basically a sprint DH race with a quick run being around 1 min 10 secs. So not a lot of gears required but it's full gas all the way and the last thing you want is a long-cage rear mech flapping around. 

Also, DH drivetrains look cool on any bike. Pair that up with a short post and a DJ saddle and you've got yourself a sweet looking bike.

Another big change is that Craig's running the new 2024 Vivid Air shock which has literally just come out. None of us have had a lot of time on it yet but on paper it looks like a lovely shock and potentially will end up on Filters in the future. First impressions are excellent.

Craig's supported by Reserve wheels so he's running the HD 30 Carbon 27.5" rims laced to the new Hope Pro 5 hubs. It's no secret that we're big fans of those hubs, and you'll find them on our Works level builds. The rims also point to our new partnership with Reserve - so you'll be seeing Reserve rims on our bikes going forward too - both alloy and carbon. Nice.

The Steel City track isn't quite as buffed out as it was last year (when new) but it's still fast and flowy; grip is less of an issue. So Craig's gone for a faster rolling combo of a DHR II up front and a High Roller II out back. You wouldn't see that combo on his Wharncliffe bike but for this weekend, it's a winner (hopefully).

Full Bike Spec