A DECADE LATER AND THE TURNER DHR IS STILL RUNNING STRONG. THE LATEST GENERATION DHR HAS SEEN MANY REVISIONS AND GAINS IN BOTH TECHNOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE. WHEN WE RECEIVED OUR TEST FRAME FROM

TURNER, WE QUICKLY ASSEMBLED A BUILD KIT OF QUALITY PARTS AND HEADED FOR THE TRAIL. THIS IS OUR EXPERIENCE ON TURNER’S NEW DHR.

TURNER DHRbikes. The DW-Link has excellent anti-squat and bob characteristics that work in unison with programmed wheel rate curves to offer incredible traction and efficiency. DW-Link bikes tend to offer great stiffness as they have short links which are aligned in the direction of incoming forces. The short links and four-bar design are very noticeable when it came time to honking the brakes or getting on the pedals. The Build As we mentioned, Turner primarily focuses on delivering framesets to customers (although a “Privateer” build kit and “Upgrade” kit are both available) so we took this chance to build the new DHR with some quality test parts. The Privateer kit comes with a nice build of Truvativ Holzfeller parts, Formula brakes, Ringle wheels and a Fox 40 to get riders on the trail immediately. The Upgrade kit comes with a few key parts to get the customer started in the right direction:

THE TECHNOLOGYTurner designed their new rig with a few key thoughts in mind. Durability, reliability and performance were key ingredients. The Mass Centralization is intended to put the bulk of the bike’s weight low and close to the bottom bracket as possible. To achieve this they used lighter butted and tapered stays, compact dropouts and post mount brakes. The aluminum frame uses 6069 series tubes with 6061 machined parts at all junctions for strength and stiffness. To help ensure all properties of Turner’s recipe functioned properly they used Enduro Max-type

bearings and threaded Zerk grease fittings. Enduro bearings have been proven to work very well in smaller, more compact applications and the use of the DW-Link in the DHR gives the pivots just that. The stainless Zerk fittings are a nice feature as they allow the owner to lubricate and maintain all of the pivots easily.DW-Link Dave Turner and Dave Weagle worked together on this project to deliver a DW-Link bike that satisfied both of them. The DW-Link is no newbie to the DH scene. It has propelled countless racers to podiums over the years and the new DHR will no doubt be one of those

A Fox 40, e.thirteen guide, and Cane Creek S3 headset. All frames come with a Fox DHX RC4 rear shock. The big highlight of our build is no doubt the RockShox Boxxer World Cup with Keronite-coated lower legs. The World Cup fork features BlackBox Technology and benefits from many top racers’ feedback and input. SRAM also sent us a complete X.7 drivetrain with new Avid Code brakes to slow us down. For the cost of an X.7 kit its performance had us all very impressed. Gravity riders don’t need to spend tons of cash on expendable parts like rear derailleurs when cost-effective products like SRAM’s X.7 do the job just fine at a fraction of the price. To get us rolling down the trail we took some new Michelin Rock’r tires and mounted them to a set of Novatec Demon wheels. The wheelset is a bit on the heavy side at 2,100 grams, however after a few rides we could tell why. These things are incredibly stiff and quite resilient to trail obstacles. We went out of our way to land sideways, plow rock gardens and anything else we thought would help test Turner’s DHR and these wheels and were blown away how solid everything felt.

THE RIDEWe thoroughly enjoyed our time on the DHR. It is a very solid and stable downhill bike with good racing potential. The bike rode very consistently, never giving us any issues and the design lends itself useful to aggressive downhillers looking for a low, slack and stable bike. This thing is race-ready and loves railing corners as much as it enjoys mowing over large obstacles. Handling Our test bike was very stable and predictable throughout all our testing. The 63-degree head angle kept our test riders feeling confident and relaxed on even the steepest of terrain. The head angle and 17.4-inch chainstays work well with the 13.5-inch bottom bracket height to easily rail corners at speed. The low centralized mass is apparent as the bike feels very balanced and neutral underneath us. All around, this bike is very confidence-inspiring as it only responded better as we rode it harder. The tires hook up well as we maneuvered the bike around obstacles and corners. The excellent stability was no doubt partially related to the slack head angle, 46.8-inch wheelbase and low bottom bracket, however we did notice that the bike was a bit sluggish in quick transitions between corners or changes in direction, which could in part be due to its 39.79-pound weight (9.5-pound frame) and long wheelbase. Descending As the DHR moniker states, this is a downhill race bike and descending is what it does best. The 210mm of travel provides a solid platform for riders to work over. We worked with Dave Turner directly when setting up the bike and his personal recommendation is to back out all compression, bottom out and rebound settings completely, dial in the rebound first then work your way in on compression. Once we went with his formula and set the bike up to his recommendations we noticed it was a much quicker set up process and the bike was much happier in the rough stuff. The DHR likes a

084 VERIFIEDTURNER

more open suspension set up compared to some other bikes where compression damping is turned way in. The low, long and slack dimensions on this bike made us smile as the track got steep. Lean back and let ‘er rip was the status quo when the terrain got nasty. This bike likes to ride in the travel and it stays planted very well. Our local test track has some long sweepers that are slightly off-camber with many fist-sized rocks and roots buried in the loose soil. The DHR had us holding our lines well and let the tires dig in without hopping around or having us reach for the brakes. Although this bike remains grounded, once air-born it floats very well. The balanced design allows the rider to point the bike at take off and soar to the landing. Whether we were coming off a jump into a rough section or landing a large drop, the DHR absorbed the impacts well and carried momentum down the trail.

OVERVIEWAll of the painstaking work that went into rebuilding the DHR has proved successful as it yielded this gravity worthy sled. Although the weight and cost of the frame may cause concern for some buyers, you can rest assured that this is a sturdy and high quality hand-made frame from the good ole U.S. of A. Turner has ensured that features such as the Enduro bearings and Zerk grease fittings will let frame owners get the most out of their investment for many seasons. The anodized finish options only add to the durability and offer a nice custom touch to people who want to own a bike that matches their personality. The new DHR is a great downhill race bike and likes to be ridden aggressively and on challenging terrain. It will suit riders who want to support an American made product and ride a stable well-planted bike. This was among the most notable traits of the Turner, no matter how hard we pushed it, the bike would stay straight and true and keep the tires on the ground.

Price: Frame – $3,195; Upgrade – $4,818; Privateer – $6,471; Sizes: S, M (tested), L, XL; Weight: 39.79 lbs; Contact: turnerbikes.com

SPECIFICATIONSCHASSISFRAME: 6061 & 6069 AluminumFORK: RockShox Boxxer World Cup; 200mmSHOCK: Fox DHX RC4; 210mm

COCKPITBRAKES: Avid CodeHANDLEBAR: FSA Gravity LightHEADSET: Cane Creek Angleset 1.5”SADDLE: Fizik GobiSEATPOST: FSA Gravity LightSHIFTER: SRAM X.7STEM: FSA Gravity Light Direct Mount

WHEELSHUBS: Novatec DemonRIMS: Novatec DemonTIRES: Michelin Rock’r; 2.5”

DRIVETRAINBOTTOM BRACKET: SRAM GXPCASSETTE: SRAM PG-1050 11- 26; 9-speedCHAINGUIDE: e.thirteen LS1+CRANKS: Truvativ Descendant DERAILLEUR: SRAM X.7PEDALS: Twenty6 Pre-runner

086 VERIFIEDTURNER