Last weekend, hundreds of racers lined up to take on the unique challenge that is the Downieville Classic. Now in its 27th year, this two-day race and mountain bike festival — a major fundraising event for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship — has become recognized as one of the toughest, and arguably the most fun, mountain bike races in the U.S. 

If you aren’t familiar, the Downieville Classic is essentially two races in one. It starts on Saturday with a rugged 26.5-mile point-to-point XC race (with 4,500 feet of climbing), which people can race separately or as part of the All-Mountain race. All-Mountain racers go again the following day on a 15-mile “downhill” course with 5,000 feet of descent. Using a points system, the results of the two days of racing combine to determine the All-Mountain champion. The tricky thing is you have to race the exact same bike both days — they weigh them to check — and these trails are fast, rocky, and rough. Bike setup is both critical and incredibly tricky.

Geoff shared this year’s Pro All-Mountain podium with Carter Nieuwesteeg and Tobin Ortenblad. (photo/Katerina Nash)

Among those at the starting line was mountain bike legend Geoff Kabush, a man who, if you’ve followed XC or cyclocross racing in the past 25 years or so, needs no introduction. Over the course of his long and incredibly successful racing career, Geoff has stood on 9 World Cup XC podiums — including 1st at Bromont and 4th overall in 2009 — has won 15 Canadian National Championship titles (nine XC, five cyclocross, and one marathon), and is a five-time champion of the U.S. National XC Series. A three-time Olympian, Geoff represented Canada in 2000 (9th), 2008 (20th), and 2012 (8th). The list goes on and on.  

Now, at the age of 48, his World Cup days are behind him, but Geoff is still mixing it up with guys half his age. He has adopted the motto of “keep racing until the fun stops,” and it seems like he’s still having plenty of fun. He’s definitely still a contender and podium threat in events like the BC Bike Race, Moab Rocks, Whistler Back Forty, The Haulback, and, of course, the Downieville Classic. 

Geoff’s first time racing Downieville was in 2017, and he’s lined up every year since (minus a 3-year Covid hiatus). That year, he took first in the XC and the DH and claimed his first All-Mountain victory. He followed that up with another win in 2018, took 2nd in 2019, and has finished in the top 5 in every other appearance. This past weekend, Geoff landed on the podium once again, claiming 2nd overall in a competitive race against Carter Nieuwesteeg (1st) and Tobin Ortenblad (3rd), two professional racers 20 and 17 years his junior, respectively.

40th Anniversary ASR frame.

Very custom for the legend.

Geoff’s 40th Anniversary Yeti ASR Build

Achieving success at the highest level of bike racing obviously involves determination, fitness, and insane skills on the bike, but any elite bike racer will tell you that equipment choice is also incredibly important. That’s particularly true at Downieville, where you want your setup to be as light and fast as possible while still being able to handle the super chunky, high-speed descending on the rugged old mining trails. There’s an extremely fine line between success and a DNF.

With two victories and two second places in the six times he’s raced the Classic, it seems like Geoff has a handle on it, but even he admits that finding the perfect bike setup for the event is still a bit of a puzzle. Given his 25+ years of racing at the professional level and the fact that he works with sponsors like Maxxis, Fox, Yeti, and Shimano, testing products and providing feedback, he knows more about bike setup and components than most people. Let’s check out the bike he put together to race to another podium finish at this year’s race, along with some insight from him about the parts he chose.

The color matched Fox 34 SL fork is a nice touch.

Geoff added a remote lockout to the Fox Float SL shock

As a Yeti-sponsored rider, Geoff is riding the ASR XC race bike, which launched last year. “When I heard a custom Yeti 40th Anniversary ASR frame and fork were coming my way, I was stoked to say the least.” Up front, he ran the new Fox 34 SL with the Grip X damper at 130 mm (color matched to the frame, of course), paired with the Fox Float SL shock with remote lockout “to improve climbing and the hard sprints on the DH stage.” According to Geoff, “Suspension performance is so good on these little bikes I almost felt too comfortable on the DH stage.”

For the drivetrain, he went with the new wireless XTR Di2 9200. He ran 170 mm cranks with a relatively large 36-tooth ring and a 10-51 cassette. “For the fast course, especially DH stage, it’s more efficient to keep the chain more in the center of the cassette and off of the 10th cog.” Of course, he’s also running the latest XTR brakes but with a unique setup combining the XC caliper with the trail levers, paired with 180 mm front and 160 mm rear rotors. He states this lever/caliper combo “made a big difference for me at my weight and aggressive riding style.”

The latest XTR Di2 wireless drivetrain.

Geoff used XTR XC calipers paired with the XTR Trail levers to add some power.

According to Geoff, “The limiting factor for a fast time at Dville, especially these days, is wheel/tire setup. I have never experienced or seen as many broken wheels as at Downieville. The combination of super high speed, difficult lighting, dust, and embedded sharp rocks can be super challenging on wheels and tires.” He went on to say, “If you want to get a fast time, I feel like it’s 50/50 whether or not you make it to the finish without any issues, and I’ve had some incredible almost runs, so I upped the durability this year.” 

Geoff chose the lightweight new Shimano XTR XC wheels with CushCore Trail inserts and some special edition, tougher construction 2.4 Maxxis Aspens to add some durability. He went with the CushCore Trail inserts because “with wider rim profiles I feel like CushCore XC doesn’t offer quite as much rim protection on the edges in extreme situations like Downieville.”

Very low profile tread on the fast rolling Maxxis Aspens.

Lightweight bar with matching grips for the win.

For the cockpit, Geoff chose a lightweight Race Face Next SL handlebar (740 mm), a 50 mm stem, and Yeti-Turquise ODI Elite Pro grips. A lightweight 125 mm Fox Transfer SL Factory dropper keeps the seat out of the way and matches the gold stanchions on the fork. Other details include XTR pedals, an Enduro Ceramic bottom bracket, King Ti bottle cages, and some special Chris King Anniversary bits. All that added up to a 24.9-pound race weight. 

In the end, Geoff says, “The bike survived the two days perfectly and felt really comfortable descending, but I left town questioning if I played it too safe this year with times so tight. With heavier tires and stiffer, slower construction tires, I could see I lost chunks of time on the fast rolling sections compared to my previous runs. If I had multiple runs, I think I’d go lighter construction tires and focus on rolling speed a bit more with casing construction; even try racing with an Aspen ST, which I tried in practice.”

Indeed, just six seconds faster in the DH — or another combination of what-ifs — could have secured the All-Mountain overall and added another 1st place to Geoff’s very long race resume. But that’s racing. The top step may have eluded him this time, but only by a very slim margin. For now, he’s got another year to dial in his setup again before, presumably, lining up for the Classic again in 2026.

downievilleclassic.com

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