THE BIKES OF RAMPAGE

Truth be told, Rampage wouldn’t be happening without one very key ingredient - bicycles. Seems like an obvious thing really, but the almighty bike tends to fly under the radar at hugely publicized events like this. There’s a ton of stories going on right now, why pay attention to inanimate objects?Take a look around, the building projects that have clinked, dragged and dug since Tuesday are insane (wait until you see the finals lines off the top). The stunts and infrastructure built by organizers over the last couple of months are equally ridiculous. And then there are the athletes, their skill and bravado, so compelling and dramatic. To be totally honest, this might be the most risky athletic competition on earth, why then talk about a thing?Well, without said “thing”, Brandon couldn’t fly to the bottom of the mountain in 30 seconds—half of that in the air. Aggy wouldn’t be able to “warm up” for qualifiers by hitting the canyon gap a couple times. Gully wouldn’t be backflipping where you should not be backflipping. You see, behind each athlete are bike companies and component manufacturers building high tech parts that aim to blend strength with light weight, durability with performance. From brakes to tires, frames to suspension, handlebars to pedals, the amount of time, energy and innovation put into the Bikes of Rampage represents a catacomb of evolution and innovation.Not to mention, they’re super cool.So, not one to miss out on the story behind the story, Sterling Lorence embarked on one of his yearly missions: shoot the Bikes of Rampage. Here’s what he found.