Photo: © Park Tool

Garage Days: Calvin Jones' 2004 MTB World's

As MTB equipment becomes more sophisticated and specialized, a mechanic's life becomes proportionately more complicated. Especially if that mechanic is travelling on the road - or harder still, out at an event like this year's MTB World Championships in Les Gets, France, where Park Tool's Calvin Jones found himself as manager of the Team USA mechanics.

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2004 MTB World championships, Les Gets, France, September 8-12, 2004

Thursday, September 9 Junior Women's XC Championships, trials semi-finals, and downhill seeding are today. Today is when the preparation pays off. 4-cross training is in the evening. The downhill seeding is a "dry run" of the main event Saturday. Riders get a full run on a closed course and will test themselves and their equipment. 8-inch rotors are the norm, as they provide better leverage when braking. However, the larger the rotor, the easier they bend. When re-bending, it can be useful to number the spider arms a track the rubbing. There can be bends that simply move around the rotor. During practice, we set up a station at the bottom of the downhill. We fix flats, hand out water, and simply provide a place to hang out. There are many factory teams here with large vehicles, all with logos. The US National Team vehicle is simply a rental. We take only minimal parts to downhill practice, as we work out of our home base back at the hotel. This rider pinch flatted and wanted one more run before the lifts closed. His rim strip was completely shot, so we had to use blue electrical tape. This is only a temporary fix, and we will replace it later. Getting by on what we have at the time. During the seeding runs, we go to the top with a tool roll, tubes, a pump, trainers, water, and energy bars. The water and bars are for the athletes, as the mechanics station is a source of dependability for the athletes. On a nice day like today, the world seems a perfect place. Mount Blanc is off in the distance, Gale Dahlager (US rider, left) and April Lawyer (US rider, right) are ready. There is no rain in sight, and the bikes are dialed...

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