Ollie is one of Australia’s fastest and most exciting emerging young talents on the World Cup DH scene. During the offseason he switched teams, signing a deal with the mighty Trek Factory squad. That of course means that heading into the 2025 race season Ollie has a new bike, new gear and new surroundings to get used to.
But even though the stakes are sky high, he’s taking it all in his stride, as we discovered when we recently caught up with him to get some insight about the new bike and his preparation as the opening World Cup round approaches.
New year new team – some exciting changes and no doubt challenges for you mate? How did it all come about?
Thank you, yep I am excited and I’m in a great place. In terms of my new deal, around mid-way though the 2024 season planning for what I was going to be doing next season. I did have the option of re-signing with the Syndicate for another 2 years, but never the less I decided to see what other options might be out there. In all honesty Trek was always a brand at the very top of my radar because their race team is always so strong and you can see how much effort they put into their program and how much focus they place on developing their bikes. Ultimately they made me an offer to race for them, and it felt like being a part of that team was going to be a great fit for me so I went for it! I couldn’t be any happier with how it’s all going so far.
Stoked for you mate. Now I understand we can’t talk too much about the specific details of the bike that you’re currently riding as it’s prototype with some top secret stuff going on. Can you tell us a little bit about it though?
Haha yes that’s right, but yeah for sure I can say a few things. After last seasons races were wrapped up myself and the rest of the team flew over to Trek’s headquarters in Wisconsin, USA, and they basically sat us down and said “right, tell us what you want in your new bike?” They were literally that open to building each of us exactly what we wanted, which was pretty eye opening to be honest. I made some requests in terms of geometry and sizing, stuff like that. And then almost right away they were able to put me on a bike that matched and we were off so to speak!
Wow, that really does sound amazing! And so stepping off the bike you raced last year and onto this new prototype did it take you long to get back up to speed?
No, not at all. After the season I made a point to take a full month off and not even touch a bike just to have a full re-set and then start a fresh. After that headed to Thredbo for my first ride on the bike. Straight away it felt mint! It was surprising how comfortable and natural the bike felt after only a few runs. Put it this way; I was a very happy boy those few days!
The bike obviously features a high pivot and idler design – how does that set-up make the bike handle?
I’ve actually ridden a few high pivot bikes over the years so I had some experience with them and that was one of the factors that made choosing this bike such an easy choice. In recent seasons Trek’s race team had been experimenting with moving the idler around into different positions and they found a really good setting which is what we are running on my bike now. The way the rear wheel moves makes the bike feel quite playful. It doesn’t sink in its travel at all. With any frame design there are always trade-offs and gains to be made in terms of performance but this bike strikes a really good balance, it’s a strong platform to take to the races for sure.
Another big switch for you this year is going from Fox suspension over to RockShox this year – what were some of your first reactions when you started riding the new gear?
I am really loving it and I can say that honestly. We were lucky to have the SRAM/RockShox techs come out to our team training camp early on to help us with the set-up. To begin with they got me to do a bunch of runs trialling different ‘blind set-ups’ in order to find a tune that suited me and we came away from that in such a sweet spot.
In season’s past I used to struggle with hand pump towards the end of race runs because the tracks are often so long and rough. I am finding that has gone away now that I’m on the BoXXer, it’s been a big improvement.
Let’s talk about your wheel set-up on the new bike?
It’s a mullet. That’s what has been working best for me. It just makes a lot of sense to have the bigger front wheel to charge over stuff, and then the smaller rear wheel to help with acceleration and laying the bike over. Plus there’s less chance of hitting my butt and getting spat over the bars.
Haha good point. Speaking of which, how tall are you mate?
I am 180cm and I weigh right around 68kgs.
Would you say that you’re easy or rough on bikes/gear?
Haha I’d like to think I am on the easier side. My mechanics usually like me for that reason! Although all riders have a few bad days where they smash a few rear mechs or go though a couple of sets of wheels, but more often than not I tend not to go though too much stuff.
Let’s dive into the spec and set-up of your race bike.
Frame: Trek Session prototype, it’s got an alloy front triangle with carbon top rear stays.
Wheelsize: Mullet.
Fork: RockShox BoXXer.
Settings: Unlike most racers I don’t actually run my fork or shock overly stiff, but I do run a lot of air there to provide ‘support’ when I am hitting stuff at full speed. I can’t have the front end diving, it needs to hold me up. I also run quite fast rebound.
Shock: RockShox new Vivid coil.
Spring: 475 pounds.
Settings: Again, I tend to set my rebound quite fast out the back. Just because I don’t want it to pack up. I am fully closed compression. I haven’t played around too much with the hydraulic bottom out too much yet but I am looking forward to it as I haven’t had that setting to play with yet.
Wheelset: Bontrager prototype. Alloy rims. 32/32 spokes. DH Swiss hubs.
Tyres: Maxxis. I have been Maxxis my whole career and don’t ever want to change! haha
Go-to PSI: 23 front, 27 rear. I tend to run those numbers no matter the conditions.
Inserts?: No inserts. I really notice the feel having those in there and I don’t like it.
Brakes: SRAM Mavens – they’ve got so much power!
Levers: Rear on the left.
Rotors: 200mm rotors front and rear. Currently testing different rotor thickness for more or less powers.
Handlebars: Burgtec bars, 35mm rise, 780mm wide
Stem: Burgtec, 45mm length, 5mm rise.
Grips: ODI longnecks.
Saddle: Burgtec cloud
Seat post: Burgtec carbon.
Rear Mech: SRAM XO 7 speed
Shifters: SRAM XO
Cranks: SRAM XO DH carbon
Crank length: 165mm
Cassette: SRAM 7 speed.
Pedals: Crank Brothers, Mallet DH. I always clip in!
