Riding The Hardest Trail We Could Find On An XC bike!

GMBN’s XC whippet Rich Payne has been tasked with the EPIC challenge of riding a triple black diamond DH run on his Orbea XC bike! Has Rich bitten off more than he can chew or will our multitalented rider beat the infamous Dyfi trails!? 🎬
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[@uwanallen1893]

The sketchiest part about this video was the helmet choice 😬😅

[@timjacob991]

Burn🔥

[@saddleweary5760]

I don't know man, knee pad choice was pretty sketch also 😀

[@uwanallen1893]

@@saddleweary5760 😂

[@markgeorge2200]

I mean he has Goggles so it's not too bad I guess.

[@johnnykramolis7469]

Do you mean its color? Between purple and pink? 😁

[@JayBirdPhotos]

Rich is absolutely nuts... no full face helmet, no gloves, no pads on the knees or elbows, and doing it clipped in!

[@IsaacHaupt]

Seriously I get that the bike needed to be xc, but the kit didn't need to be.

[@Magoo71]

Seems to be a fad lately that a lot of KZbinrs think it's cool to ride gloveless....when your hands are the first thing you stick out when you crash....I value the use of my hands better than these brainless riders do...

[@madrapperdave]

Some of us jus tcall this 'mountain biking'. With you on the gloves though... nuts. I think Rich is bungign it on though. I'm sure he can ride this stuff no trouble and is just addign drama for the vid.

[@bigbarrelbr]

This trail is far from even being a double black in BC... In fact the unique session not duable was exactly the one he skip.

[@marianmariuszb]

It's invitation for sponsor.

[@wjcbbike4]

Get Blake down there on his hardcore hardtail

[@Fauz11ukman]

*his gravel

[@gmbn]

It's got to be done at some point! 👍

[@alecfotsch3533]

Yeah I think it's geometry not travel that is holding him back.

[@joelhenderson3723]

@@gmbn Of the features you skipped, would you have attempted any of them if there were more appropriate tires fitted to the bike?

[@lwdemons]

Blake on his fatbike

[@dukeofspeed2072]

It reminds me of how mountainbiking used to be 15-20 years ago

[@spencercolson5661]

This still has better geo than those

[@tupolev141]

It's why people start to take gravel bikes out on XC trails. MTBs are too capable to be enough of a challenge for some.

[@flowstateofmind]

@@tupolev141 hmm 🤔

[@-T90Vladimir]

@@tupolev141 I can confirm. Got a trail hardtail for when I want to have comfortable fun, and a ridig 26 steel machine from the 90's for when I want a challenge.

[@bobbyhempel1513]

The limits of a good xc bike are your skill level and tire choice.

[@litenantjv]

Well said

[@bigbarrelbr]

it can do almost everything, not that fast, but it cans...however there is no space for forgiveness, wrong jump or drop, can easily break the frame

[@litenantjv]

​@@bigbarrelbrabsolutely

[@ssmtb]

Agreed, IMO the video would be more interesting with burlier tiers, to test the bikes geo limitations and less the limitations by choice of tires.

[@MaadReapeR]

At the beginning I was like: "yeah, I would do it on my HT", but later it was more like: "I'm not sure if I could do it on my feet"

[@Rodolfowei12345]

the camera confuses a lot....when you're there does not look at all as through a video

[@zanewaldie-rusic4809]

Yeah I was thinking the exact same thing aha, even that first drop would be painful on a hardtail

[@bikemike1118]

The additional rear damping helps only a little bit as you wouldn’t stay in the saddle anyway and your legs (and knees) have way more „travel“ than these few millimeters on the rear wheel. And: a hardtail doesn’t give you the hassle with worn out pivots and constant damper maintenance. LONG LIVE THE HT !

[@gmbn]

Yeah, it looks way bigger in person as well! 😅

[@mscustomlures]

@@gmbn that's what she said 🤣

[@field.palmer]

I would definitely like more XC content

[@gmbn]

We love making XC content, so stay tuned! 👍

[@pierrebroccoli.9396]

XC bikes - light enough to carry down the track 😂 Yeah best to be safe.

[@bartek.igielski]

The most hardcore thing about this challenge is that he is not using enduro/fullface helmet and don't have any body protection, even something as basic as gloves, knee pads and long sleeve.

[@malex6964]

Yeah they also ride without a fullface helmet in bikeparks, which I would not recommend at all, new teeth are damn expensive.

[@bartek.igielski]

@@malex6964 Most likely due to sound caputre reasons, it's not that easy to speak loud and clear in FF.

[@MarvinWestmaas]

@@bartek.igielski Not just sound, it's also less appealing to many people to look at helmets instead of a face of a person.

[@andymoss4285]

I guess it’s like anything, if you know your skill level and the consequences, and have the experience… and he knew when it was too risky and wasn’t going to take on anything he wasn’t sure about. Doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen but you know when something ain’t right. The spidey senses do tingle from time to time

[@MarvinWestmaas]

@@andymoss4285 The problem with people's spidey sense is that it's not reliable. To often I only acknowledged that tingly feeling in my neck as omnious for what I was about to do, thinking it were normal nerves. I'm assuming this is true for most of us, excuse me if you actually got bitten by some lab spider ;) My local mtb track is described as an very easy entry level XC training lap ( it's not even 2km but you can ride as many laps as you want and they do get taxing quickly if you go at it ). There is a sign you need a helmet. There are international signs with poles with mtb track and helmet designations. Still people ride without helmet, and every so often someone's skull meets a tree because while classified as a great place to introduce your kids to riding the moment you hit the gas it gets a lot harder and especially people who choose to ride without helmets seem prone to not knowing what speed they should approach blind corners at. I know this doesn't apply to the video, I fully think he's capable of riding a dutch Omoefiets down while wearing light xc gear. But I also think that's not true for such a large part of the population we should assume he's the exception ;)

[@devincook3278]

Love the XC videos! Keep ‘em coming!

[@gmbn]

Will do! 🤘

[@themarauder6108]

Doesn't matter what bike you have, it's how you ride it that matters. I ride a cheap hardtail down trails that it's not designed to go down and while it's extremely uncomfortable for me, the bike takes the hits and carries on.

[@GodFearingg]

Exactly, this clown was taking about how incapable the bike was through out the whole video

[@themarauder6108]

@@GodFearingg , It's a full suspension bike that he's riding and it's perfectly capable of handling everything but severe drops. I've got 100mm suspension travel on the front fork on my bike and i've taken it over rougher terrain than what he was riding over in this video.

[@marklouieadame]

@@themarauder6108 marketing they want you to buy ht, xc and dh bike the best choice is one ht and one suspension bike thats it

[@Ronald.1Rigas]

✊ 😑

[@sigiroy1]

Love this video. Shows everyday XC challenges and also proves that even pros just say no regularly acknowledging limits.

[@mellissanash7517]

Would love to see a short travel trail bike(120-130mm) vs a long travel xc bike(120-130mm) on the same trails to see which is better. Like one modern xc trail and one AM/enduro trail. Even better if HT cause more HT content would be sweet.

[@nl3712]

This ^

[@YoramPomer]

Same thought as many comments before me - Body armor protection!!! Specially if you tell us all the time how crazy it is to go down this trail with a XC bike.

[@simondrew7346]

I’m an old bugger, when I started riding in the 90s we were all on fully rigid, steep angled bikes with narrow tires, narrow bars, long stems etc…and we rode down everything, the terrain never changes but bikes have got much much better.

[@Rodolfowei12345]

To be fair it does.... during last decades doable trails did change quite a bit....if he, a pro or ex pro cyclist is steping down on a really capable bike... on the old days most likely that trail would have been not done or just walked down...

[@rengamz]

O my Rich, no padding, gloves ang trail helmet only. Confidence right there!

[@albaniansk8er]

You gotta love how the camera makes triple black diamond trails look like gravel roads 😂

[@Thealchemist233]

I definately like more XC content. I am more Enduro myself but I do like these videos :) Keep up the good work Rich!

[@Milessongs]

That was FANTASTIC, Rich! Don't know why you chose to avoid ELBOW PADS, and KNEE PADS, and even GLOVES! (Well, we know you ride with naked hands, anyway.) But - very cool that you actually bailed for safety on those few sections. There's a vital lesson in that as well! Cheers!

[@trailrunnah8886]

It's funny, his XC bike has the same travel as my trail bike that I bought in 2013. More alarming than the bike choice was the near lack of safety gear.

[@nvire5202]

People like to underestimate XC bikes, these bikes are very capable now and I ride a down country bike with 120mm suspension front and rear, and I ride in the French Alps and I don't have any issues tbh, even riding on steep, technical trails

[@TWIZZeditzz]

Well my bike has 110mm suspension front and rear, CABLE disc brakes and 26'' tires. I manage to ride double black diamond trails (Theres no triple's near by)

[@nvire5202]

@@TWIZZeditzz what bike is it?

[@TWIZZeditzz]

@@nvire5202 Its a giant yukon fx 2014, when I said 110mm travel turns out its 100mm front and rear

[@stevenh766]

Sweet. Now ride the same on a mid-90's 26'er. The trails were pretty similar then, you just have to add more roots and rocks :D

[@laurynasjagelo5075]

might as well go on a Penny-farthing. Why stop there?

[@myusername570]

Feel like this bike would do absolutely fine if it had bigger rotors and a different tire

[@pituife]

Yeah, 120mm susp was fine and tires are easy to switch. The only downside are the light brakes, but with gripper tires you also break better, so could compensate

[@joesmith-sv4dc]

Seat post height.

[@myusername570]

@@pituife brakes aren't bad to change either, but a combo of tires and brakes would be huge. I'm a bigger dude and went from 180s to 200s on my Hightower and it was an amazing difference. The brake job was half an hour of my times and 400 for rotors, mount kit and new pads

[@vehicle-stuff]

Tires are first. Like with cars. First you change the tires. Then if your tires exceed the brakes. Then you go to brakes. This track is not long, so you will not have a problem with overheating, so the brakes might be ok. All in all only brakes will not help. They could do that for an experiment if they want. First change tires, then brakes, then.... the bike. Otherwise I do not see a straight person doing this without atleast some proper tires.

[@JackMott]

grippier tires just melt the brakes faster @@pituife

[@soccerchamp0511]

Thanks, Rich. This makes me feel better about saying "no". Sometimes it's ok to just hike-a-bike.

[@elguamo2003]

Enjoyed the video. As someone that rides a H/T on black and double black tech in Colorado I envy the full suspension you had. A couple of mods make a huge difference though, a 203 rotor on front and a dropper post. Oh yeah, I also have it setup as a 1x10. Makes those 3000ft. Climbs almost as much fun as the downhill.

[@jdwells7233]

Placed second on a Ripley AF at the 2021 national championship downhill at Winter Park. Mind you it was in the 60 to 64 age bracket but still placed second

[@MtbOverload]

Why didn’t you ride it on a hardtail 😂

[@albioncia]

or better yet a gravel bike

[@mtbmadman187]

I do enjoy the hardtail

[@huntii]

A little travel is better then no travel

[@nicolasmalmsten457]

@@huntii than* (sorry)

[@gmbn]

Maybe next time! 😉

[@Mary-db7ls]

Love seeing you guys walk around features too, haha! New video idea, please show us how to look cool walking around features and sliding down trails we can't ride.

[@usernamefromhell]

120mm, full sus, 29er, with a dropper post? Yeah, that thing can go down damn near anything. The lack of protective gear worries me way more than the bike.

[@TheDustAutumn]

Sam Pilgrim riding trails on dumpster bikes meanwhile these guys are acting like a 7k bike is not good enough lmao

[@tobylestrange4081]

really love this video! Thanks guys ❤

[@X41N3]

That XC bike looks amazing though. I want it. I don't think I would go for these kinds of trails but good job on staying in one piece.

[@SneakerKoenig]

Whenever i watch the XCO i am Like "man this Downhill Sektion Looks like the black singeltrail in my local bikepark"

[@ShiftyXC]

This is a kind of video I am waiting for man! Not a weird tyre test video. You are great!

[@gmbn]

Thanks for the support! We're glad you enjoyed this one! 👊

[@samallen9017]

I find it so funny how helmets are matched to bikes and not the terrain that's being ridden. 🤣

[@quitemountainous2528]

Same with body armour, clearly needed on this trail

[@gmbn]

That's a great point! It's all about looking the part! 😅

[@indianadave8881]

I ended up on a double black diamond on my 2008 Gary Fisher Procaliber. It's only 80mm rear and 100mm front travle XC bike. Definitely saw the advantages of a trail bike, or all mountainbike.. First drop caught me off guard and without a dropper and I could barely get back far enough to not go over the.bars. Couple more drops and jumps used up all my travel. I did add a dropper, and will be switching to a shorter stem, to make the occasional jump trail a little more manageable.

[@lucdury442]

Hi guys, that was fun to watch. An episode about the Black hole in Maribor Slovenië would also be something I would like to see here on the channel;-). Stay awesome!!

[@SubversionGarage]

People do trails like this on hard tails every day

[@markbils4179]

Hi hard tail down a triple black diamond that's nuts but epic 👍👍👍👍

[@AndrewOliverHome]

A harcore hardtail with the right tyres, a slacker head angle and bigger rotors but not an XC hardtail.

[@markbils4179]

@@AndrewOliverHome yeah did see rich tyre's looked my like road tyre's balls of steal lol

[@ultimateoutdoors4659]

Looks tough. How about some vids of veteran mountain bikers 60+ doing trails, downhill or X country? Ive recently started mountain biking at 67, but most vids I see on KZbin show young riders! My most recent X country trail I did was in the Peak District - bit pedestrian compared to Richs efforts but still enjoyable! .

[@edgarsnezinu1439]

When you so skilled like you any bike is good lol

[@chrisridesbicycles]

Mr. Payner you are a beast! I looked much worse at Lake Garda on a 190mm Enduro. Double kudos for riding XC style without kneepads and nothing and for choosing a helmet matching the flowers.

[@rogertitcombe1870]

I'd be in A&E after the first part 😂, nice stuff 😉

[@valdodevirus]

Full suspension with 120mm travel - it’s a decent bike for trails overall. Just put a dropper seat post, and perhaps other tires.

[@doxielain2231]

I did last year at the dh bike park on a trails bike, and was just bounced around and beaten up. This year I' on an enduro bike, and I can do so much more now. You can do it, it's just a lot more difficult.

[@nicolaunionsspezialfiliall3962]

Next ride an EWS on an xc bike pls, that would be amasing!

[@christianisaacjones]

Next episode: winning cross country race on downhill bike

[@the_spanner_ch7mp]

Now Rich calls Martyn Ashton a wild man on the trails well Rich you were the wild man today 😂 Great video that shows just how gnarly and steep some features are that you don't get to see/realise when you see them riding straight through the sections. Great stuff #gmbn 🤘

[@KompletterGeist]

Having seen what Sam Pilgrim is riding on a gravel bike, I think the big drop at 5:00 is not beyond th limits of the bike but rather beyond the limit of the rider :D

[@b11rianmorales31]

Hi GCN! Can u make a video of using a Hardtail XC on a triple black diamond. Love your vids!!

[@briannyob7799]

A big limiting factor would be the tires. Not saying it would super easy with an Assegai and a DHR2 but it would help a lot

[@victorrosario4109]

One word CRAZY.

[@chhadmi]

you looked pretty relaxed haha, great vid thanks

[@EvergreenOG]

New to Mtb-Ing damn your fast…really enjoy you content

[@IsaacHaupt]

It would be interesting to see how the skills not the bike make a difference. Always cool to know that you can do a trail under biked, but most riders that have the skill to do that already know it. New riders would benefit from understanding how the skills change when the bike changes on the type of track.

[@Biking_with_Akiva]

Glad you didn’t break yourself or the bike 🤙🏾

[@damianix4680]

I think you should ride on a hardtail xc thats would be pretty fun;)

[@sergeantmtb]

Damn Go-Pro effect making it seem not as steep as it is until you are standing below a feature. Landing that first drop on the loose 😱😬

[@sergeantmtb]

Also, agree with above. Love the XC content. Keep it coming 🤙

[@TheyForcedMyHandLE]

I feel like the Mont Sainte Anne XC course was harder than this "triple black". (I know trail ratings are relative to the area though)

[@malcolmhatfield1330]

I was just thinking that nothing here looks much gnarlier than most World Cup XCO courses these days

[@SafwanRahmanofficial]

I got a friend that rode Specialized Epic 29 comp 2011 on a downhill trail. No dropper, Standard 100mm fork. It's all about the rider. And we called him Legend 😂

[@avitucasavi03]

I got a friend too who rode a similar bike and won a DH race beating other riders who were on their enduro and DH bikes. Absolute legends!! 🤣

[@TWIZZeditzz]

Does this remind anyone of the trail 'Fox Fast' Located in fox creek bike park SA, Australia

[@Seppster58]

Nice to see what the limits are to an XC bike. I am still feeling out what my new XC can do in various terrains. Love to see Rich push the limits and show us what these can do.

[@bobbyhempel1513]

The only thing limiting your xc bike is your skill level

[@coerce]

@@bobbyhempel1513 that’s true to an extent

[@bobbyhempel1513]

@@coerce yeah but then you just come to how strong is the frame and that's the same with any bike.

[@artixsweden]

Beautiful bike 👌😃

[@rottieshepcalibre9156]

i think Rich was playing it safe because its his own personal bike... i reckon he could do all that trail with no problems at all

[@caldeoreaginkarlr.4065]

Can’t wait for gmbn to try berm peak

[@pablorincon6982]

I'm sorry,but blake would fly thru that triple diamond in a rigid bike like nothing!!🤣🤣🤣

[@pedrito5477]

2:46 Oh ohhh we are going to die today!!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@aussieapple7729]

Xc bikes are the best especially xc hard tails

[@gmbn]

100%! Lightweight and fun!

[@RoyalDudeness]

I had 120/130mm of travel on my first Enduro bike 20 years ago. Nobody's taught it wasn't enough! I rode on 2.3" tyres and the guys at the local bike shop always asked me what the hell I am actually doing and why do I need such fat tyres

[@benbrindle8165]

Remember when a trail bike was a 26” 120 mm bike… and that was the weapon for this type of trail :D xc bikes today are more capable than trail from 15 years ago. Although, I’d say it’s on its way to being a down country bike like.

[@mtblover]

I'm 221st.........🙄🤦🤷‍♂️ Some interesting lines. I'm sure if you only had that one bike you would do more of that track because you would be more comfortable with what that bike can handle. Great job in any case.

[@chaotictattoo]

Come to Pennsylvania. You can find harder trails than this that some of us ride hardtails on.

[@ManuelMartinez09]

Yes people, MTB is also about XC bikes and doing sketchy lines with it (also with no dropper post)

[@jeroenberger9064]

He should have tried all the features tho.. The Orbea Oiz must be an amazing machine

[@mellissanash7517]

I thought the hardest mtb trails were the pro line then orange then triple black. Or is it different in the UK?

[@numbers7905]

Would you have been able to ride those sections on that bike if it was fitted with trail/enduro tires and 4=piston brakes?

[@iDarkXY]

mext time pls try with a fully speced out gravel bike

[@Aquarium1992]

I wanna see you guys ride MOAB and cliffs of moher. Along with maybe white line 😀

[@nobodyisbest]

Do it on a hardtail!

[@LhDiy]

Say thanks for the dry season that we get for free this summer 😄

[@markbils4179]

Wow that track looks epic rich sweet as...

[@RobMcLarty]

Fun video! Trail seems like a BC blue 😄

[@Prnc_95]

Rich needs to record that song immediately and make it into an album 😂

[@jmendez73]

Hey Rich, could you manage to ride the complete trail if you replaced the tires? Like trail ready tires Vittoria Mazza…

[@not-fishing4730]

!Enough with the complaints, I've driven a black diamond without scouting, with a X-country, mid 2000 's rocky mountain element, at 61 and I'm a Roadie! Of course I did fall badly....

[@adventure_hannah3841]

Hahaha, 5:27, the cut to him riding it on an enduro bike, but also in a full face, body armor, gloves, and knee pads. Cut back to him present day in a tee-shirt, shorts, and practically a road helmet 😅

[@nomadic_dad]

I haven't even attempted that trail on my Enduro bike yet and saw several people injured there this weekend who were wearing full face helmets and knee pads (that are needed to get in as a regular punter) on Enduro and Downhill bikes 🤯 Total respect for doing it on a XC bike but theres no way anyone other than a pro should try similar at Dyfi and not sure anyone should without a full face and some protection 😮

[@dwiesch]

Singing "ain't no tripple black damond tought enough for the orbea" after walking several sections of the trail. Lol. Apperently it is to tough, cuz I doubt that it was Rich's skill that kept him back from riding it.

[@Palios33]

It was Rich's decision though

[@KerryFairbanks]

For better or worse I'm riding stuff like this on a $400 Kent Trouvaille from Walmart and my mechanic just told me (after serving my cable brakes) "you know your fork doesn't move?" Yeah I know... I mean it did kinda move at one point

[@mitchb0986]

GMBN: we need someone to go down the gnarliest track we know, on the toughest bike for it. Rich: HOLD MY CROCS!

[@billmccaffrey1977]

Rich, just shows how much bikes and trails have advanced together over the years. In the early '90s bikes were fairly simple and trails were mostly single track with a few creek crossings and maybe a small log to pop over. Today, there are specialized bikes with complex suspension and geometry to match a complex variety of trails and trail features. I can't imagine where things will be in another 10 years. In fact that would make for a good video - a bit of history with a vision for the future.

[@rom1doimin]

You should borrow Alex and Ollie's Eurobike and try it again! 😉😅

[@Itsnotgoodatall]

Fair play to him riding the slab track on an XC bike, defo the hardest track on the main line at Dyfi but overall we were all so disappointed in it. Race line was ok but it’s just a bit shit and there is so many better places to ride

[@alachon205]

i ride trails with an xc just because that was what i could afford at the time. A 2012 specializeed epic to be exact, but its been a bit upgraded. brakes dropper and so on.

[@flowstateofmind]

Now that's some klunking

[@beauharvey8138]

Luckily xc bikes are light and easy to carry down the trail

[@AndrewBeveridge461]

Now do an XC race on a DH bike!

[@LZ13409]

GMBN Team meeting... "Guys let's do a triple black trail on a xc bike"... rich"Hold my beer"😄

[@guglio7350]

he is a proper rider, so even with a steel no suspension bike he can definitively nail it.

[@Alex-ek3ic]

Sam Pilgrim would do a proper test for this XC bike

[@pokegrim5240]

I sent the blacks at degla on a specialized rockhopper, anything is possible 👌🏻💯