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XTR is one piece, lighter and presumably stiffer. XT is bolted together.
Hey guys, I just came across this. Not a new product but an ingenious way to get handlebars perfectly aligned.
Fair play to him, simple, cheap and ingenious.
Sooo - Did shimano get mad about the leaked pics since the post is gone? Not like its not already posted on several other forums
yes. i deleted because they asked.
edit - further clarification - it's embargoed material that some brand, shop or media "hero" is putting on the internet. if shimano doesn't their images on vital and asks for it to be removed, i'll oblige. i would do this for any brand in the same situation. i don't control other websites the material may land on.
if it was spotted out in the wild or posted on a site in error to be freely seen, well that's an entirely different situation.
I wonder if Shimano will have one of their employees stand on there new derailure in the launch video? 😐
Posts all over FB/reddit/pinkbike.
with even more photos of the brakes/drivetrains/hubs.
I will never believe in this whole removing posts because a brand cant keep their own sh1t a secret - especially in this case when Shimano Rep's have been telling everyone.
i added to my post above with more clarification, FYI.
IMO it doesn't come down to shimano (or any brand launching a product) being the problem in this case. they have a launch coming up (they said, june 5). they have to get their product and info in the right places before the launch. it's a kook or two at these places (OE, shops, brands, media, who knows) who are posting things they don't have a right to post.
if shimano asks vital to remove stuff but not other outlets, it must mean our viewers are actually important 🤣
Fair enough!
At least we wont need to wait long for it to be officially released now!
they will have to one up it and have a sumo step on it 😂
Can we at least get a [post deleted for embargo reasons] or something, as a placeholder? It would make the forum threads a lot less confusing.
Your backend is in php right? I'd do it for free!
sure. from now on, we'll do something like that.
Totally support this - it sucks when people who have been given privileged information choose to leak it just so they can feel cool - We all complain when dealers aren't properly informed on launch day, but info getting out in advance can be really damaging in certain situations. So when it gets leaked it just makes it harder the next time, around since the brand has to tighten up what that put out. And what do people gain by knowing about a thing a few days early? nothing......
But I was told you never deleted anything on this very forum a week or two ago
This exact issue was addressed 3 months ago when the Fox Podium got leaked here and Sspomer deleted the post and explained why.
Vital playing by the rules means they get access to product early, so we get great reviews and also fosters good will in these forums where a lot of industry people come and contribute.
Why jeopardize the best MTB tech forum there is so we can see shots of a product 5 days early?
Also note the leaks from the factory via weight weenies didn't get deleted?
Because I asked a good faith question about if it was made financially worth their while to delete users' posts on their platform (definitely more of a grey area than Vital posting) for these very valid reasons and was given a condescending answer that it never happens.
As I said in my original post, I don't blame them at all for deleting them given that it would be impossible to make it in the biz without being on the good side of big players. I just felt like I was being told not to believe my lying eyes.
"Ingenious" is over-egging it more than a little bit but either way he says "...you're relying on your eyesight and everyone has a dominant eye..." and "...you're still relying on your eyes and one eye's going to take over from the other..."
Who on earth does it that way without closing one eye?!
Edit: Whoops, this wasn't intended to be as dismissive as it ended up being. It's certainly a neat way to minimise the faff if you need to be sure that it's just so and you're committed to using a string.
have 15 beers in the garage night before ride
bars 15 degrees out of alignment
dealwithit.gif
Best get 23 friends over to help or it'll take 24 days to get it right.
so no one is too scarred from #deleteGate, here are pit bits photos from loudenvielle today. they even include some shimano brakes with what appears to be a prototype aero mesh.
https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/pit-bits-2025-world-cup-downhill-loudenvielle-france
You're just assuming it's 100% financially motivated - this might be a concept you struggle to grasp but it is entirely possible for Vital to be proactive and delete posts like that purely on their own accord or because they understand the issue with them
Oh.......now I see why you got a condescending response
Probably inspired by shark skin, which is highly hydrodynamic.
Edit: more seriously, I wonder why manufacturers of aero bikes haven't experimented very much publically with anything but smooth shiny surfaces.
i never said never 🤷♂️
I find it really amusing this team uses Aliexpress special EZMTB bleeding kit instead of a SRAM official one:
i just want to make one last comment re: deleting pics, community etc then i'll be quiet.
over the last few years, i've become very aware of how much of a privilege it is to be a part of a community that is supported by some of the best brands in our game. but the key word here is community...YOU all are the community. without you and your sleuthing, your knowledge, your stoke for the sport and its equipment, or your informed opinions, vital wouldn't be very special. with that said, if all vital does is bow down to brands at the expense of hosing all of you, you wouldn't stick around.
vital has an incredible balance of both exceptional, respectable folk here and those willing to help us keep our lights on so we can have a "here" to discuss the nuances of the latest fastener, knob shape, shimstack, chainline, gearbox, wheel size or whatever will pop up tomorrow. i'd say most of the time, the discussions here probably make brand folk wince because they're so honest and thoughtful (and probably accurate). but i know they respect the talks here, too.
i guess all that to say thanks for being such a great group of mountain bikers.
Is the mesh for optimal air resistance?
Ribbed for her pleasure!
I have one of their kits from AliX, it's actually incredibly good quality and it was like $15 or something. But yeah that's hilarious to see it at a world cup.
I was surprised a few years ago spotting Risk branded titanium bolts on World Cup dh bikes, those are AliExpress brands too
There are a few brands reselling that same kit - maybe a team sponsor? They're pretty decent though and I've got one in the drawers too.
If I was on a team half my toolbox would be ali express gear - anything thats consumable or easily lost I'm not paying big money for. Certain tools need to be decent, but for the rest of them I would rather always have a brand new EZmtb tool ready to go than a worn out "genuine" one that doesn't do the job any better