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We get messages at least once a month from someone in the desert Southwest who's pissed that we no longer make the Chronicle.
I could never get along with plus tires. If I ran the pressures low enough to get a benefit in traction then the tire would fold and roll like crazy even in mellow corners. With enough pressure to provide cornering support, I was getting bounced all over the trail. For me, plus tires offered only downsides. I'm glad they were a relatively short lived fad in our fad obsessed industry.
Nobody saw Cascades instagram post yesterday?
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGCEWu1Sy7m/
Hoping @CascadeComponents can chime in on what they think @CascadeComponents are up to...
They are definitelly up to something
Floating/dynamic idler?
Almost looks like they're going to sell an entire rear end to convert an existing frame to high pivot(?) Looks like a green carbon frame + Cascade high pivot rear end.
All three of the components are in the same CNC'd style, including the bit that is either the entire chainstay, or a lower link in a VPP or similar lower link set-up.
My guess is a high pivot conversion for Santa Cruz. You can just about see the frame in the pic, there was a Megatower in that minty greeny colour at some point.... but also a recent Stumpy, which goes against my lower link theory.
to quote myself, that green is the current stumpy 15, and the Megatower I was remembering is not the current version. Would like to change my vote to a new chainstay (with possible moving parts) and idler to make a stumpy a high pivot .... and possibly a 6 bar rather than 4 bar?
Looks like the Stumpy 15 green carbon frame. And it looks like the idler will move as suspension cycles.
Good eye, def looks to match this, also if it were for a SC, I think you'd see the shock/tunnel.
They have so much space behind the seat tube to install all that hardware. Looks like a fun project.
But what about the mullets? won't somebody think About the MULLETS??
modern mountain biking is coming to an end
Massive wheels are fun as hell. My 29+ rigid Surly Krampus with ~30.5" outer tire diameter is just a stupid monster truck/klunker, I absolutely love it. I'm 6'2", was always on board for 29" wheels, and definitely would try a 32" XC bike. Obviously they're not going to work well for shorter folks, does that even need to be reiterated to the people getting up in arms about it?
I remember watching Emeline Ragot ripping workd cup dh tracks on a 29er that looked massive for her... I am afraid we will see such things again, because "20% more traction and roll over obstacles"
29 ain't dead
Hopefully cascade bring to market a front triangle upgrade kit after they release this. 🙃
In all seriousness, this is rad and I hope Cascade make the chainstays longer. I know they elongate with a HP, but something more significant than stock, or an adjustable option for the long CS converts.
in 2014 my Enduro 29er had:
430mm chainstays
Front derailleur support
142 (non boost) rear spacing
Aluminum and Carbon builds
No reputation for snapping chainstays
Its all just excuses.
The gen 1 Enduro 29 was not a good bike, but if Specialized engineers could do it over ten years ago, it can be done now
You know I have worried about Cascade Components as bike companies are getting pretty dialed with stock suspension as it is for us non World Cup riders. Being less demand or less that Cascade could even change on a bikes kinematics. But this! This is actually really bad ass. Seriously this is so cool because now you have 2 bikes 1 frame technically. Like this is what pro riders must feel like when RnD says “Hey we heard you were not 100% with that link, so we altered it and the whole frame. Try this homie” If this is a whole rear end assembly to a stumpjumper, I would want one just to play around with for fun. Kudos to you Cascade. I hope for the best to you.
This. I had a 2014 OG Canfield Riot with 414 stays and 29x2.5 tire clearance. Chainline was a little fucky, but anyone that says you need super boost for tire clearance is drinking the Kool aid...and I own a Knolly.
Props for knolly comment
I think the real question for cascade is :will you be able to run a derailleur cable??
troy brosnan's cockpit from cannonball w/ flight attendant on fork and left hand pod for what would assumed be suspension control? what's up w/ the brake levers too?
video here
https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/2025-race-talk?page=18#comment-5789…
This is what "tech rumours and innovation" is about, So much more of this! I'm a huge fanboy of the @CascadeComponents stuff, its functional bike jewellery, and I'm here for it!
This looks very much like a whole rear end to make a Stumpy a high pivot trail bike, and thats incredible
Look like Freedom Coast levers.
https://freedomcoast.net/products/freedom-coast-brake-levers?variant=44640940818648
Feel more than free to boo me on over the companies-shutting-down-thread if this is too economic and not enough tech, but I'm going to be really curious to see the economics of selling your current frame and buying a different one vs the cascade linkage and rear end. For example, I eyed their Code calipers, but ultimately just bought new brakes. And their links have always had an element of breathing life into an older frame for way less than the cost of a new one.
For the record, I love Cascade and I understand the realities of manufacturing high quality things in small quantities. The folks at Cascade are sharp and have definitely thought of this. Maybe this product gives you something you can't get in a current frame?
Regardless, it's another aspect of this that makes it, in my mind, one of the most interesting thing I've seen from the industry in a decent bit.
Haha OK. Yes 29er design peaked with the 2014 Enduro. I encourage you to double down on your statement, seek one out and replace all your other bikes with it.
I'm glad to see all the comments, I saw the insta post and couldn't make any sense of it, I knew the crew here would.
Nobody said it peaked. Far from it. What was said and what I agree with is that said Enduro had short chainstays, front derailleur and a nonboost dropout. Probably did not run tires as wide as today, but yes, clearly packaging is not as big of an issue as it is claimed.
Packaging is indeed an issue that is still being stick-handled today. I've dealt with many frame designs over the years that compromise on features, stiffness, weight, cost, geometry, industrial design, manufacturing feasibility, etc. If that 2014 chassis was so perfect, then there would be little reason to stray from it. The actual STA alone makes that bike, both resulting from Specialized deciding that 430mm CS was the priority, a prominent packaging issue that would anchor bikes to the shop floor today.
Pendulum on geo has swung pretty far out and has already started coming back. People of or near average size are figuring out that supersized bikes are not all that they were marketed to be. I'm not saying 32" wheels are bad, but they will be relegated to frame designs that are, at the smallest, XL or larger. Even then, you compromise on the riding experience you get from having huge wheels and wheelbase that don't quite fit on the trail.
Keep in mind I'm always talking about high performance Trail, Enduro MTB as the needs here are much more focused. Things (Priorities) change when discussing XC, Offroad touring, gravel, etc.
Bikes peaked at the 2014 Devinci Wilson, I've been chasing rear suspension that can compare for the last 10 years lol.