My first downhill race was on a tiny hippy island called Hornby Island nearby to the island where I grew up. I was 15 years old and rode a fully rigid xc bike and wore full spandex and rollarblade pads for it. I was so beyond stoked to ride DH because it took months to convince my mom to let me enter and I was getting bored of riding uphill in xc races all the time. I lived for the downhill sections and what could be better than a whole downhill race right?

Anyways, the island has had a huge trail network on it since the mid-90s and back then there was an annual bike fest where thousands of people camped on this one guy’s farm at the epicenter of the trails, partied, and rode bikes. Back then nobody specialized and everyone rode the xc, dual slalom, and downhill, usually on the same bike. There were also no shuttles for the downhill so my dad would help me hike my bike to the top of the course.

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Its headquarters are in Vitoria, Spain, close enough to Orbea's digs in the Mallabia region of the Basque country that you could ride your bike from one bike company to the other and back and it might not even qualify as your long ride for the week. Both these Basque brands have a long history stretching back a century and more, but BH is the much smaller brand and has had a rougher go of it recently, closing its Vitoria-based manufacturing plant, and moving its production to Portugal and... But the more super your bike is, the more you need to consider moving a bike mechanic into your spare bedroom full time. The tri bike industry is moving inexorably toward the superbike motif. But there's another bike maker, Bicicletas de Alavia, otherwise known as BH. Eneko Llanos and Angela Naeth are the notables in triathlon who ride them. In this environment, if you're considering any of several superbikes, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky.

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