Comments on: Red Bull Rampage 2012

Red Bull Rampage 2012

roofus — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:30:28 -0800

By: brokkr

brokkr — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:47:35 -0800

What's the over/under for when an athlete sponsored by a certain Austrian soft drink manufacturer offs him/herself while performing?

By: Jofus

Jofus — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:52:58 -0800

I believe the apt expression is "Fuck, dude".

By: gurple

gurple — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:53:07 -0800

Red Bull gives you gratuitous significant damage to a fragile mountain environment!

By: schmod

schmod — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:53:36 -0800

Bicycles seem like a poor fit for that terrain. Better wait a few months and try skis instead....

By: Mitrovarr

Mitrovarr — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:04:37 -0800

I can appreciate the spectacle, but I tend to favor cross-country mountain biking as opposed to downhill. It's more of an athletic endeavor and less a measurement of insanity.

By: straw

straw — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:10:59 -0800

I find it amazing that a single soft-drink brand can support what appears to be several different professional sports completely on its own, and that nobody else is trying to get in on that action. It suggests to me that the brand is extremely profitable, and that the market it's filling is very narrow. Ponderings over the economics aside, I'm torn between "This gladiatorial spectacle is awesome!", and what Mitrovarr said.

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:14:04 -0800

brokkr: “What's the over/under for when an athlete sponsored by a certain Austrian soft drink manufacturer offs him/herself while performing?” Ever since I saw this, I've been a bit less okay with crazy stunts done for sponsors.

By: rtha

rtha — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:14:35 -0800

Bicycles seem like a poor fit for that terrain. The muddy people with muddy bikes we saw when we were in Utah beg to differ! Moab has more bike shops than grocery stores, from what I saw when we were there.

By: setanor

setanor — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:15:44 -0800

Red Bull gives you gratuitous significant damage to a fragile mountain environment! Pretty sure this sort of thing predates Red Bull.

By: sauril

sauril — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:16:49 -0800

This has been making the rounds here since a local (Kurt Sorge) won it. Seeing the crazy trails that they build here I'm not too surprised to see a few locals competing. That being said, I think they're absolutely nuts. But in a good way. These guys are incredible athletes.

By: ph00dz

ph00dz — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:18:23 -0800

Yeah... super fun... kinda crazy. Love these videos.

By: vverse23

vverse23 — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:21:53 -0800

I am becoming increasingly convinced that Red Bull should be classified as a Schedule I drug and regulated as such.

By: brokkr

brokkr — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:24:23 -0800

straw: "It suggests to me that the brand is extremely profitable, and that the market it's filling is very narrow."

Don't know about the US, but here in Germany there are three "premium" brand energy drinks (RB, Monster and Coca-Cola's Relentless) and a handful of widely sold, cheaper alternatives (e.g. Take-Off, Effect). Then there's also Club Mate, which has a certain overlap with the customer base but isn't quite the same. I think RB's advantage is that in a lot of markets, their brand name has become synonymous with energy drinks.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:28:36 -0800

I find it amazing that a single soft-drink brand can support what appears to be several different professional sports completely on its own, and that nobody else is trying to get in on that action. It suggests to me that the brand is extremely profitable, and that the market it's filling is very narrow. Eh. Red Bull mostly turns people's dangerous hobbies into EXTREEEEME!!! publicity stunts. Actual sports, with significant fan following, not so much.

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:32:48 -0800

Personally I'm always surprised to note that Red Bull sponsors some really legitimate and worthwhile things. Like that Red Bull Music Academy thing, which has had DJ Sprinkles / Terry Thaemlitz in for a few really good talks.

By: The World Famous

The World Famous — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:34:34 -0800

Hey now, koeselitz. Formula 1 racing and rally are both legitimate and worthwhile, too, and Red Bull sponsors both.

By: fredludd

fredludd — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:32:54 -0800

There is medication that these Red Bull enthusiasts could be taking.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:35:43 -0800

Just think of it as classic Anthropocene erosion.

By: alex_skazat

alex_skazat — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:00:13 -0800

THAT'S NOT MOUNTAIN BIKING. this is mountain biking.

By: orme

orme — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:44:36 -0800

I heard that they took away the winner's trophy because his blood tested negative for Red Bull.

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:59:10 -0800

Red Bull blue. (Apparently, they needed the money)

By: Rustic Etruscan

Rustic Etruscan — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:05:00 -0800

Even if I had trained as much as these guys have, the idea of running this course would discourage me from even attempting it. The idea of doing tricks on the way - of having to do tricks on the way - would reduce me to a gibbering wreck.

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:07:57 -0800

THAT'S NOT MOUNTAIN BIKING. this is mountain biking. That was wonderful! 20 years ago - a lot of steel frames, I bet, and most of those participants are probably pushing 50 by now. Wow.

By: RockyChrysler

RockyChrysler — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:11:15 -0800

transcendent. so far beyond what i've been doing on my bike for the past 25 years as to be, almost, an entirely different thing. but not.

By: misha

misha — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:40:01 -0800

Red Bull is incredibly profitable, and one reason they do so well has to be the way they aggressively market to college students. They are all over college campuses, handing out samples and getting the kids hooked. The Red Bull truck has visited my son's university, I think, 3 or 4 times since Fall last year. It's pretty much a given on campus now that when midterms and finals roll around, you load up on energy drinks, and Red Bull has cornered that market.

By: alex_skazat

alex_skazat — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:14:43 -0800

That was wonderful! 20 years ago - a lot of steel frames, I bet, and most of those participants are probably pushing 50 by now. Wow. I was surprised at the end to see the winner: David Wiens. 6 7 time Leadville 100 winner, ~~losing finally in 2009 by Lance Armstrong~~.

By: Spumante

Spumante — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 02:14:03 -0800

I love mountain biking and I love watching watching this sort of crazy stuff but I'm never going to DO this crazy stuff.

By: FAMOUS MONSTER

FAMOUS MONSTER — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 08:05:37 -0800

Man, it's a little cruel to post this just as all the mountains around here are closing for the season. Not that I'd do anything as crazy as this, but still. It gives me the itch to ride. And I don't mind the sponsorship aspect of it - pretty much no one is going to do any building or maintenance of a course like this unless there's money involved. If the price of that is naming the event after the sponsor and having Red Bull logos all over the place, I can deal with that. It's like when Travis Pastrana went skydiving without a parachute (WARNING FOR THE EASILY TERRIFIED: That is not a euphemism - Travis Pastrana, in this video, jumps out of an airborne plane without a parachute and I don't want to spoil it but he is not harmed in any way and it is awesome but also kind of anus-clenching to watch) - yeah, he happens to be drinking a Red Bull and making sure to face the product, indicating that obviously Red Bull was involved in making this happen, but regardless of where the money came from, it's pretty fantastic.