Joe Connell Wins SDA Downhill Championship 2025

Privateer Bikes and HUNT Mountain rider, Joe Connell, has once again found his way to the top step of the podium. This time around, not only taking first place but also the overall 2025 Scottish Downhill Championship!

Joe is no stranger to winning at the highest level of the sport and was the 2024 Masters National Champ. This year Joe went into his race to take the win ahead of Drew Carters and Chris Mcciver, and managed it on the Privateer 161, rather than a dedicated downhill race bike.

Those in the know will already recognize that one of the standout features of the 161 is its ability to be enduro race-ready out of the box, but by swapping from a single crown enduro fork to dual crown downhill fork, the 161 has proven that it's ready to race and win at elite level downhill racing too.

Other changes Joe made to his stock Privateer 161 was to run a mullet wheel set-up, again a feature the 161 allows through its flip-chips adjustability and a slightly longer stroke rear shock brings the rear wheel travel up to 170mm (something a specialist suspension tuner can accomplish on the stock rear shock that ships with the 161).

All of the adjustments Joe made to his bike were baked into the DNA of the Gen 2 Privateer 161. We all knew it was capable of winning downhill races, and Joe has proven this multiple times!

More Privateer 161 stock will be arriving with us shortly, but this will be a limited drop so act fast if you want one.