[LeadSled1]

Actually it wouldn’t be cash on deposit. It would be credit (positive credit instead of negative) that can be used for purchases but not cash withdrawls (since it is not cash). Think of it this way, if you overpay your credit card you have a positive balance. No different than the NBL bucks and ABA saver stamps except for it is digital and works on a 1 credit for $1 basis. Plus it would be accepted by everyone and give discounts to members.

[LeadSled1]

The only crashes that really get you on the clips is the over the bars. The bike acts like a lever and it slams you into the dirt. (trust me, I know) The worse OTBs are the ones where you aren’t far enough over the front to completely loop out to the front and not far enough back to bring the bike back down. Basically you are doing a nose manual. You actually pick up speed going down the back side of the jump like this and if there is another jump coming up you get slammed into the face of it. This is how Phil D broke both wrists down in FL (I used to have video of it) and how I did my shoulder the second time. No matter what you do you can not get away from it and have to ride it into the face of the jump. It is a sick feeling. Your bars are pinned into your gut so you can not turn them either.

[LeadSled1]

The SX forks that are as light as carbon forks are very tough. I trashed a chromoly frame from landing nose down and the forks did not tweak.

The kids like how they look. Light weight steel forks all look the same, are cheaper than the carbons and stronger. They do not have that look “gimmick” to sell them. I have been talking to Bill at SX about making some of the ELF style chromoly forks. Remember those ones where the legs are angled forward? A little something to set them apart.

[LeadSled1]

The NBL makes too much $$$ off of the Rookies at the national level. About a third of their operating income at the national level comes from the Rookie class.

This last Morristown national on Saturday:

Rookie totals: 112 up to 16 Rookie ($5040 in entry fees 😯 )
Novice totals: 153 up to 16 Novice
Expert totals: 145 up to 16 Expert

Great Lakes national:

Rookie 82
Novice 90
Expert 80

A comparison between the sanctions:

Now you would think at the Grands the turnouts for beginners wouldn’t be that big, I mean how many Rookies are chasing a national title? Probably more than you would think. These numbers are from the 05 Grands. The NBL had more riders than the ABA yet what classes were those riders in?

ABA Grands/ NBL Grands
1164 total Am Boys/1428 total Am Boys
Beginners 172/306 134 more at the NBL (22+ gates more)
Middle 397/500 103 more at the NBL (17+ gates more)
Expert 595/622 27 more at the NBL (Only 4+ gates more)

If you look at the totals there were 264 more riders at the NBL Grands versus the ABA Grands. Over half of those extra riders were beginners. Only 27 were Experts.

Percent of the extra riders at the NBL Grands than the ABA Grands:
Rookie 51%
Novice 39 %
Expert 10%

The sanctions have based operating incomes on having the beginners at the national level and probably will not give that up. They are a cash cow.

Something to think about.

[LeadSled1]

Common Ant, if you are going to make a post like this you have to bring out the big guns.

[LeadSled1]

I agree that they should be banned but until they do you have to run them to be an a level playing field on the national and international level.

[LeadSled1]

Beginners….. Sore subject here.

Beginners should be a local only class, no points with a temporary no cost membership that is state controlled. 5 punch slots on the temp card and once they are punched welcome to Novice ($45 for your license please). States will have to keep track of the people who signed up for the beginner class and verify who they are to prevent them resigning up at that level. Birth certificate and Parents ID.

No beginners class at nationals. Let them run in the open classes if they want to ride there.

All of the national “beginners” will move up to Novice if they want to compete at that level.

I’ve caught a couple of “national beginners” who were in a higher rank in the ABA and sandbagging in the NBL. I turned them in to the NBL. They moved them up in rank but did not strip them of their points like they are supposed to.

It will be an up hill battle.

[LeadSled1]

dunrite, if you need a 26″ cruiser you can have the one sitting out in my garage. It is a mid-school cyclone. At 5’7″ it is way to big for me but fun to ride. Don’t mind the dirt in the pic as it was a muddy day when I disassembled it.

[LeadSled1]

Elbow pads, don’t leave the gate without them. 😉

[LeadSled1]

😆 Looks like I have a mohawk in that pic. 😀

[LeadSled1]

I’m in. I sent out the preregs the other day. Rich, are you doing the old mans open too?

Jess

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