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Gwin had an interview where he said he clears $1M per year including endorsements. But if you think about it, he's getting paid less than he deserves (being the fastest rider on earth) considering how much he puts on the line. But DH is not a popular sport, so there. Here's Gwin on your actual bike... he rode it like he stole it... lol!

SEND IT!!! Seriously, I love that model frame (I'll call it Sam Hill's frame) over Loic's new bike and Gwin's asymmetric frame. \m/

I hope you find "the bike", man. I'm sure you already know how much avid MTBers like myself would LOVE to move to BC! Rode Mt Seymour a few times (I have family in North Van) and Whistler once... you guys have it GREAT! Except for the bacon. LOL

I know you prefer Mammoth but in the meantime: https://www.bigbearmountainresort.com/summer/plan-a-trip/purchase/bike-park-passes?utm_source=ibm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BB_REV_06.08.20_Bike_Park_Pass_Dedicated_Campaign&utm_content=ctabutton1&spMailingID=5503388&spUserID=OTg5NTA2MTkyMzQS1&spJobID=1040336298&spReportId=MTA0MDMzNjI5OAS2

Bike wise? Like R50Jr I have a bit of a bike problem, but on the cheap end: DH Bike: 2011 Turner DHR (really my fave bike but I admittedly have not touched it in a while because of the carbon mistress, went overboard with the polishing on this one) https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/16787245/ Trail/Enduro: 2018 Cannondale Jekyll (bought new for $2.7K out the door, in a box, carbon everything. First modern bike, does everything but not anything well) https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/18190890/ DJ: Sinister Angus (hand made by FTW, I don't use this bike a lot because I'm old) https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/16919543/ 2007 Transition Bottlerocket (my old trail bike, handed down to my 13 yr old who doesn't ride it anyway) https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/18100019/ 2015 GT Zaskar (built new from frame up, for 13 yr old too since she was "supposed to race XC... that didn't happen) https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/17256523/

It's discontinued but the specs are here: https://www.4wd.com/p/pro-comp-52-rock-crawler-series-gloss-black-powder-wheels-52-6783/_/R-FPWF-52-6783

You, sir... have a bike problem (two DH bikes???). LOL! I have a buddy who has the same stable of DH bikes (actually an old V10 and the last V10 before the 29er era, and two Demos). I dig both bikes for sure. I hope Northstar opens over here... I do plan to do a couple of Snow Summit trips but I'll be on the enduro bike this time. I'll hit you up if I do. ?

I LOVE that bike... I will own it until I can't ride anymore. So yes, it's still my park bike and occasional freeride bike, although I've scaled back on the aggression at my advanced age (52). What do you ride?

Well, I did your collective advice and used the tie-down hooks as my base. Really surprised how beefy those things were considering. Anyway, I did not weld (because I don't have one but was this close to going to HB to buy a flux welder). I bought four 1/2 inch fine thread bolts (3.5 inches long). I just used a stack of washers along with the bolt through the tie down base to secure the bar, and used the same bolts to secure the hitch (I could have used 1/2 inch shorter bolts but eh). I installed my makeshift Yakima bike holder (probably weighs 40-50 lbs total),stood up on the end (I weigh 150 lbs) and tried to impart some downward motion and it did not flex. I then test drove around with my 30 lb bike and the bike looked solidly held. It's 11 inches to the lowest point (for reference, the diff pumpkin was 8.5 inches). I say it's good. Thanks for all the help! https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/18743859/ https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/18743858/ https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/18743857/ https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/18743856/

Hi Patrick! All is good (aside from this COVID crap). Your springs have been perfect on the truck... she's running really smooth. My 14-yr old daughter says it'll be her first vehicle. I think that's a wise choice. ?

Fancy! Mine's a lowly Hold-up... a $75 deal. Still kicking myself for not picking up a nice 4-up from Thule at an REI garage sale. $75 too. Ugh.

You know, I just looked at this again and I'm very likely to follow your advice. I may even end up welding (I don't have one but I may have access to it). I also have the raw materials to make this work, although doing this drops the receiver height by two inches. I'll post up when this is done.

Thanks for the response guys. I wasn't planning on putting a lot of load, less than 100 lbs of vertical load most likely (although if you look at it from a leverage standpoint, it is a bit more and requires a sturdier mount point).

Has anyone installed this on their vehicle? I used the subframe at the bottom (below the radiator) and it was flimsy (I could see the top part buckle as I tightened the bolts). I ended up distributing the load with a strut (the bolts go through the struts) but it still feels flimsy. It's only meant to hold a bike when I'm shuttling. Do you guys have better recommendations? Thanks!

Haha! We should start a bike thread (sorry OP for hijacking). The Elka was tuned for the DHR (under MRP now). The DW-link was notorious for spiking near the end of travel... I started with a DHX on this bike (tuned for FSR suspension) and I was bucked a couple of times. This Elka has been pretty good. I also have a Vector HLR Air which I really like (but blew out the damper at Northstar). I like how the air shock gives me a pedaling platform and makes preloading off jumps more predictable.

Yah, buddy! Big bikes are the best. My oldie but goodie DH rig:

You are correct, sir. It's a 2007... converted it for trail use (reamed out seat tube for dropper, slackened head tube with Angleset and running lighter wheels). Still heavy, a bit twitchy but still too much bike for my skillset. What do you ride?

Very likely. I bought these recently (BF Goodrich for $105 from Walmart) and they rub (front during reverse turning, back during full load full suspension travel). I guess rim offset matters too. https://www.walmart.com/ip/BFGoodrich-Rugged-Terrain-T-A-Tire-P265-70R16-111T/672705797

Added a light bar: And the main reason I dig this truck (it's a bike carrier... lol!)

Well, I did end up buying the rims. I also found a set of used tires (mismatched but they were bigger @ 265/70/16) and installed them by hand (thanks to Youtube for all the tips... wasn't hard at all). I did have to pay for balancing so all in all, I spent $390 for this endeavor ($250 for the rims, $20 for the nuts incuding anti-theft nuts, $70 for tires, $10 for valve stems and $40 for balancing). Didn't spend for new tires initially since I was concerned with interference but after testing it out, I'll probably switch out tires sooner than later. Still a huge improvement over stock, in my opinion. And one more pic of my beloved Helga:

Thinking of changing out the rims (stock and look like they belong to an 80's Escort GT... lol!). I found this: https://www.4wd.com/p/pro-comp-52-rock-crawler-series-gloss-black-powder-wheels-52-6783/_/R-FPWF-52-6783 The backspacing is 4 inch when all the threads I found say 3.75 inches is butter (I know... 0.25 inches isn't much). Just want to see someone with stock size wheels (255/65/16) on this type of rim. Thanks!

Yes.... it taunts me and reminds me what a failure I am. Seriously... lol! There's about a 2-3 inch gap. I could put a 10mm box wrench on it but no leverage (yes, I've tried mating it to another wrench). I've even McGyvered a 10mm socket (grounded it down and attached it to 1/4 inch breaker bar (attached to a pipe) but that didn't break it (slipped a few times near the end of my frustration hence the rounded head).

I'll take pics the next time I go underneath. But I have small hands and it was very difficult to get a wrench on it. Did I say small hands? "I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee you." LOL!

Patrick, I'm almost inclined to just return the cat but as stubborn as I am, I will probably do one more attempt at it. Frankly, removing the secondary cat was a breeze, and after I gave up yesterday, it didn't take more than 30 minutes to button everything back up (I even applied anti-seize on the threads). The seized heat shield bolt notwithstanding, this is probably one of the easier jobs to do for a weekend mechanic. And yes, I am aware of the value I recoup selling the used cat to the recycler (I even saved the broken bits in a bag). I have a 99 E-class Benz and all 4 cats failed and after reselling the used cats, I saved over half of my initial replacement purchase. Hope that's still the case (the CARB cat is $250 versus $100 at Ebay for 49-state). Thank you, California. =)