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For that (supposed) Megatower, SC is doing a really good job at making their normal bikes look like E-bikes lol.
Anywho, went to have a look at HG+ stuff on Shimano's site, turns out Ultegra does have a Hyperglide+ compatible cassette in 11-30 and 11-34 and it's compatible with both HG and Microspline freehubs at the same time!
Dunno about derailleurs though (how compatible mountain derailleurs are with these narrow cassettes).
EDIT: obviously same goes for the Dura Ace cassettes, they just weren't listed in the HG+ minisite...
Does anyone know off the top of their head what the cable pulls for currently public derailleurs from Shimano are? Saint vs. 12spd MTN vs. some older road stuff (12spd road is useless as it's electric only...)? Though it would make sense for the proto derailleur from last year to show up again when there's an XT shifter on the bike.
New air shock from Marzocchi? It doesn’t look like the current Dpx2 or X2 from Fox.
If anything it makes it harder because you have to be more active and aggressive on the bike.
So tired of this labelling of folk because of the size of bike/wheel/brand (etc) they ride.
Re reach, X fore-aft movement on a longer reach bike (which usually means a longer wheelbase bike as well) will give you less of an effect on either the front or rear wheel. So that means you can be sloppier with your inputs and of course more precise with them on a shorter reach frame.
With a longer reach (longer wheelbase) you also get additional stability at higher speeds, which makes it more comfortable mentally, enabling 'lesser' riders to go faster. The negative is of course the tighter stuff, where long bikes ARE cumbersome (riding a 1292 mm wheelbased 150 mm trail bike, I know what I'm talking about).
If you can deal with less stability and can be more precise with your positioning, a shorter bike will give you more nimbility (yeah yeah, I know...) in the tighter stuff. I'm guessing this is a benefit the pros take advantage of.
So, do we go back to rigid bikes with little wheels, road geometry, narrow bars and longs stems, just so we can all be proud of our technique?
Or do we keep on heaping shit on everyone else because they chose a different size?
I’m really hoping the new saint/zee has a long cage/larger cassette option like the zee fr. Still rocking the zee fr personally. Such a good drivetrain for the $$$. If they release one with smoother shifting and a slightly larger range I’d be all over it.
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/bike-check-finn-iles-custom-specialized-d…
I played around on linkage a bit to see the differences in the link. In last years bike check, linked, they comment on it being more progressive. While this is true, it's done in a slightly different way than you'd normally see. Generally, when the comment of "more progressive" is made, the starting leverage rate is higher, and the ending leverage rate is generally the same, or slightly lower. This is the case with most of Cascade's linkages. This requires a higher spring rate to actually make more force at the end of travel.
So, in the case of Finn's linkage, the entire rate comes down. Instead of starting around 3.3 and dropping to 2.1ish. His is starting closer to 3 and dropping below 2 at the end of stroke. This makes more end of stroke force with the same spring rate, but can make the top of the travel feel a bit less supple, as you have less leverage overcoming things such as friction. A starting rate of 3 is generally high enough to feel smooth with a coil shock though. Cheers.
also plenty of bike sleuthing to be done in the lourdes slowmo vid from today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJsM-jJQrqc
Weight distribution on longer bikes is actually easier because the bike is more balanced and you have a longer range of stable motion. Long bikes allow you to remain centered and the long chainstays are more stable and make it easier to drift the rear end. You tend to turn more with the backend like with a motorbike.
Climbing steeper stuff is easier due to long chainstays, steep seat angle and long front end which makes it less likely for the front end to lift and wander.
Tight stuff works fine but you do have to adjust your technique, either be more aggressive, lean more or simply learn to nose turn.
Using the pros as a reference isn't ideal as they a) tend to stick to what they know, b) don't test everything and c) don't have access to all different sizes.