Myles Rockwell won the 2000 UCI downhill world championship in Sierra Nevada, Spain aboard this Giant ATX oneDHJames Huang / Immediate Media
Although he retired from the sport about a decade ago, Myles Rockwell was until recently still intimately involved with top-level downhill racing, most recently as a coach for the Trek World Racing team. These days, he’s a part-time skills coachJames Huang / Immediate Media
The Giant ATX oneDH frame featured 7 inches of travel via a simple single-pivot layout. Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, the bottom bracket is very, very highJames Huang / Immediate Media
A slim strut provides some reinforcement to the front endJames Huang / Immediate Media
Huge forged aluminum rockers rotate on sealed cartridge bearing pivotsJames Huang / Immediate Media
There was a time, in fact, when sponsors were plentiful in mountain bike racingJames Huang / Immediate Media
The Giant ATX oneDH main frame was quite a simple structure, basically consisting of a bunch of rectangular-section aluminum tubing that was mitered and weldedJames Huang / Immediate Media
Before the days of the ISCG chainguide standardJames Huang / Immediate Media
Rockwell’s bike has seen plenty of use and is definitely no pristine showpieceJames Huang / Immediate Media
Despite the simple suspension design, the Giant ATX oneDH actually pedaled reasonably well since the main pivot was located close to the chainlineJames Huang / Immediate Media
Yep – even downhill bikes used quick-release wheels back in the dayJames Huang / Immediate Media
The stock cable routing was less than ideal with housing stops that were perfectly located to shred a rider’s legs. They’re ground off on Rockwell’s bike with just a simple zip-tie taking their placeJames Huang / Immediate Media
RockShox’s BlackBox elite racer program provided custom tuning at both endsJames Huang / Immediate Media
The custom rotors were a surprise gift from then-sponsor HopeJames Huang / Immediate Media
The massive machined aluminum calipers house four separate pistonsJames Huang / Immediate Media
Even many cross-country riders wouldn’t consider using bars this narrow todayJames Huang / Immediate Media
Perhaps even more surprising to modern downhill riders is that top pros were using Grip Shift shifters while hurtling themselves down a mountainsideJames Huang / Immediate Media
Hope actually used its own spline rotor interface for its hubs 15 years agoJames Huang / Immediate Media
