MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation

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xy9ine
Posts
28
Joined
5/1/2019
Location
ZW
6/26/2025 12:54pm

What the heck is going on with the bridge?

xy9ine wrote:

tuning compliance with a plastic insert? fascinating.  

tho now that i look at the zoomed image, it appears the casting is continuous below a plastic cap. alas, my dreams of lateral / torsional compliance tuning via swappable brace inserts has been dashed. dashes off to patent concept 

3
Digit Bikes
Posts
180
Joined
9/22/2021
Location
Irvine, CA US
6/26/2025 1:34pm Edited Date/Time 6/26/2025 8:17pm
xy9ine wrote:
tho now that i look at the zoomed image, it appears the casting is continuous below a plastic cap. alas, my dreams of lateral / torsional...

tho now that i look at the zoomed image, it appears the casting is continuous below a plastic cap. alas, my dreams of lateral / torsional compliance tuning via swappable brace inserts has been dashed. dashes off to patent concept 

It could be be a stiffener. Magnesium is not very stiff so if this were carbon, titanium or steel the combined structure might be improved. Manitou had a fork in the 2000's with a carbon arch.

edit: I hadn't noticed the hollowed out thickness of the black part, that make my stiffener idea seem less likely.

3
6/26/2025 1:38pm Edited Date/Time 6/26/2025 1:39pm
pheller wrote:
Am I the only one who's really only excited by radial tires and lightweight ebikes for kids right now?Airshock tech is sorta at a standstill (Fox...

Am I the only one who's really only excited by radial tires and lightweight ebikes for kids right now?

Airshock tech is sorta at a standstill (Fox Genius aside), the Fox Podium seems like a great representation that we're getting desperate for innovation with front suspension. The new Shimano lineup is great but its not going to massively change your ride experience. 

Preventing flats, protecting rims, and having reasonable weight tire/wheel systems still seems like there is more to learn. 

The Mondraker F-Play 24 caught my attention for my kiddos. She's a little ripper who would love to be able to have more in the tank for longer rides and more vert, plus it's only 35lbs - only a few pounds more than comparable non-motorized 24" full suspension bikes. The YT Primus is 28lbs. Biggest difference is a huge price jump - $1300 for the YT and $3200 for the eeb. 

I'm no expert, but I don't think kids will learn much on a full sus ebike... I've gotten a Trick 24 for my kid and that is an awesome bit of kit already.

Also, I'll carry the ebike shame and let the boys grow on pure, cheap(ish), accoustic bikes

3
Mr. P
Posts
77
Joined
5/8/2010
Location
Rocklin, CA US
6/26/2025 2:01pm Edited Date/Time 6/26/2025 2:03pm
xy9ine wrote:
tho now that i look at the zoomed image, it appears the casting is continuous below a plastic cap. alas, my dreams of lateral / torsional...

tho now that i look at the zoomed image, it appears the casting is continuous below a plastic cap. alas, my dreams of lateral / torsional compliance tuning via swappable brace inserts has been dashed. dashes off to patent concept 

It could be be a stiffener. Magnesium is not very stiff so if this were carbon, titanium or steel the combined structure might be improved. Manitou...

It could be be a stiffener. Magnesium is not very stiff so if this were carbon, titanium or steel the combined structure might be improved. Manitou had a fork in the 2000's with a carbon arch.

edit: I hadn't noticed the hollowed out thickness of the black part, that make my stiffener idea seem less likely.

I'm going with fender integration. And/or bike rack protection. It has depth, yet is hollow.

image 377.png?VersionId=9TsyshdBZEBJiFJTPpF
18
6/26/2025 2:30pm

Apparently Fox has a new fork released in the last few days, not seen much about it though…

Are any sponsored riders using it this weekend at the ews round?

1
6/26/2025 2:47pm

From the first look I could have sworn those stanchions looked smaller than 38mm. My initial theory was that this was a beefed up Lyrik to fit with WBD's push back to all mountain race bikes. 

I ended up doing some ghetto math in relation to the valve stem in a blown up photo of the fork on Dan's Bronson. Measured the valve stem at 3mm with the stanchions at 23mm on my computer screen. Compared those to an actual valve stem measuring 5mm. 

(5*23) / 3 = 38.33mm Pretty damn close to the current 38mm stanchion! 

The beefed up crown could be the cause of the eye fooling here, looking at the existing FA Lyrik, the crown to stanchion interface has a similar edge compared to the smaller step found on the current Zeb. 

3
1
6/26/2025 3:21pm

Hope shows a new stem at Eurobike which unfortunately will not go into production

Screenshot 20250626 092112 YouTube 0
5
2
earleb
Posts
351
Joined
3/23/2023
Location
North Vancouver, BC CA
6/26/2025 3:40pm
From the first look I could have sworn those stanchions looked smaller than 38mm. My initial theory was that this was a beefed up Lyrik to...

From the first look I could have sworn those stanchions looked smaller than 38mm. My initial theory was that this was a beefed up Lyrik to fit with WBD's push back to all mountain race bikes. 

I ended up doing some ghetto math in relation to the valve stem in a blown up photo of the fork on Dan's Bronson. Measured the valve stem at 3mm with the stanchions at 23mm on my computer screen. Compared those to an actual valve stem measuring 5mm. 

(5*23) / 3 = 38.33mm Pretty damn close to the current 38mm stanchion! 

The beefed up crown could be the cause of the eye fooling here, looking at the existing FA Lyrik, the crown to stanchion interface has a similar edge compared to the smaller step found on the current Zeb. 

Close...but these are a new 36.5 mm stanchion fork. It's half way between the 38 Zeb and the 35mm Lyrik. And yes they are going to call it the Totem.  

2
5
boozed
Posts
646
Joined
6/11/2019
Location
AU
6/26/2025 4:06pm

Polygon's become a real linkage slut, the new bikes teased at Eurobike now use VPP.  One photo borrowed from Pinkbike, the rest are over there.

p5pb28363251%5B1%5D
3
LTrumpore
Posts
181
Joined
9/27/2009
Location
Taipei TW
6/26/2025 4:16pm Edited Date/Time 6/26/2025 7:07pm
xy9ine wrote:
tho now that i look at the zoomed image, it appears the casting is continuous below a plastic cap. alas, my dreams of lateral / torsional...

tho now that i look at the zoomed image, it appears the casting is continuous below a plastic cap. alas, my dreams of lateral / torsional compliance tuning via swappable brace inserts has been dashed. dashes off to patent concept 

It could be be a stiffener. Magnesium is not very stiff so if this were carbon, titanium or steel the combined structure might be improved. Manitou...

It could be be a stiffener. Magnesium is not very stiff so if this were carbon, titanium or steel the combined structure might be improved. Manitou had a fork in the 2000's with a carbon arch.

edit: I hadn't noticed the hollowed out thickness of the black part, that make my stiffener idea seem less likely.

Mr. P wrote:
I'm going with fender integration. And/or bike rack protection. It has depth, yet is hollow.

I'm going with fender integration. And/or bike rack protection. It has depth, yet is hollow.

image 377.png?VersionId=9TsyshdBZEBJiFJTPpF

Interesting that they’ve gone to the trouble of designing that piece with internal volume / structure.  Would be surprised if it’s just a fender mount. Aesthetically it's less tidy looking which would be an odd design choice for a non functional accessory. 

The lack of bleed ports on the lower legs is curious.  Either the extra volume added below the dropout on the air side casting makes them less necessary or they’re constantly vented to atmospheric pressure.  The challenge of the latter would be large enough vents to prevent hissing and suction while also not ingesting contaminants.  
 

A port at the dropout for adding oil without needing to drop the lowers would also be a user friendly design feature. Not sure that's worth hiding though?

4
1
dolface
Posts
1657
Joined
10/26/2015
Location
CA US
6/26/2025 5:23pm Edited Date/Time 6/26/2025 5:30pm
jonkranked wrote:

Stable Ad?

Stab Lead? 

how are we supposed to read that?

The other site has a few more deets, including that it's pronounced "stable lead", it's not "fully ridable" (whatever that means), and that the squishy bits "should be available to buy early next year."

Apparently the aircan on the shock is carbon which has me scratching my head as to why; maybe for weight? 🤷‍♂️

Just noticed this on their site: "Designed to transcend fleeting trends, our components are built for lasting performance. Rooted in practicality..."  🤣

4
Big Bird
Posts
2280
Joined
2/1/2011
Location
Oceano, CA US
6/26/2025 5:31pm
jsray wrote:

Looks like they're covering a bleed port?

What if you could do a full lower fluid flush by just attaching a syringe? Freshen them up on a whim, or daily during an enduro?

2
metadave
Posts
1242
Joined
2/15/2016
Location
Revelstoke, BC CA
6/26/2025 5:52pm

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I want a podium just to slap on a set of these and relive my 2002 childhood dreamss-l1200

23
LTrumpore
Posts
181
Joined
9/27/2009
Location
Taipei TW
6/26/2025 6:02pm Edited Date/Time 6/26/2025 7:14pm
jonkranked wrote:

Stable Ad?

Stab Lead? 

how are we supposed to read that?

dolface wrote:
The other site has a few more deets, including that it's pronounced "stable lead", it's not "fully ridable" (whatever that means), and that the squishy bits...

The other site has a few more deets, including that it's pronounced "stable lead", it's not "fully ridable" (whatever that means), and that the squishy bits "should be available to buy early next year."

Apparently the aircan on the shock is carbon which has me scratching my head as to why; maybe for weight? 🤷‍♂️

Just noticed this on their site: "Designed to transcend fleeting trends, our components are built for lasting performance. Rooted in practicality..."  🤣

Would love to know the strategy behind launching a brand with a name of invented construction that can neither be pronounced nor understood. 

Also this:

Screenshot 2025-06-27 at 10.11.09%E2%80%AFAM 

3
1
MrDuck
Posts
70
Joined
2/2/2021
Location
CA
6/26/2025 7:50pm
jsray wrote:

Looks like they're covering a bleed port?

Big Bird wrote:

What if you could do a full lower fluid flush by just attaching a syringe? Freshen them up on a whim, or daily during an enduro?

Exactly the case of the Totem. Actually.

1
6/26/2025 9:07pm
LTrumpore wrote:
Interesting that they’ve gone to the trouble of designing that piece with internal volume / structure.  Would be surprised if it’s just a fender mount. Aesthetically...

Interesting that they’ve gone to the trouble of designing that piece with internal volume / structure.  Would be surprised if it’s just a fender mount. Aesthetically it's less tidy looking which would be an odd design choice for a non functional accessory. 

The lack of bleed ports on the lower legs is curious.  Either the extra volume added below the dropout on the air side casting makes them less necessary or they’re constantly vented to atmospheric pressure.  The challenge of the latter would be large enough vents to prevent hissing and suction while also not ingesting contaminants.  
 

A port at the dropout for adding oil without needing to drop the lowers would also be a user friendly design feature. Not sure that's worth hiding though?

I think you're on to something here. Those castings definitely could have a small 3mm 'tube' in them, exiting at the arch where the plastic thing is a vent. That said, I would think they could really ingest a lot of dust, so maybe there's an air filter material in the plastic thing, and you need to swap that thing out every 50 hours or something. 

2
Outlawed
Posts
55
Joined
3/29/2023
Location
Vancouver Island, BC CA
6/26/2025 9:45pm

couple of new Kona's listed on their website:
1 32 23 1
 

7
TimBud
Posts
530
Joined
2/29/2012
Location
GB
6/26/2025 10:26pm Edited Date/Time 6/27/2025 3:13am
metadave wrote:
I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I want a podium just to slap on a set of these and relive my 2002...

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I want a podium just to slap on a set of these and relive my 2002 childhood dreamss-l1200

Oh man, the dream 🤩

Although give it a few more months and we’ll see the Zokes version of the Podium.
Cam McCaul is probably already testing it so they can debut it at Rampage.

2
Primoz
Posts
4519
Joined
8/1/2009
Location
SI
6/27/2025 12:16am

Any kind of venting of the fork lowers will be an utter pain as you can't just have it open. You need a way to keep the oil in. And that's very hard to do when it's so easy to flip the bike upside down and let it sit that way for prolonged periods of time... 

3
morewoodkid
Posts
5
Joined
3/11/2010
Location
Johannesburg ZA
6/27/2025 12:56am
Hope shows a new stem at Eurobike which unfortunately will not go into production

Hope shows a new stem at Eurobike which unfortunately will not go into production

Screenshot 20250626 092112 YouTube 0

Are you a dentist? Could be good for business 😉

2
6
6/27/2025 2:47am
sprungmass wrote:
Galfer released floating shark rotors. The Kashima one would look pretty rad a Podium fork. Too bad it is not 2.3mm thick. Also in their Instagram...

Galfer released floating shark rotors. The Kashima one would look pretty rad a Podium fork. Too bad it is not 2.3mm thick. Also in their Instagram comments they said their own brakes should be coming out in 2026.

https://galfer.eu/bike/galfer-takes-its-shark-line-to-the-next-level-with-the-new-disc-shark-evo-for-mtb/

 

technical-info-1024x757.jpg?VersionId=omT

 

I love it, but why does the body of a floating brake need to be slippery like that? Or does Kash have some heat dissipation properties I'm not privy to?

Primoz
Posts
4519
Joined
8/1/2009
Location
SI
6/27/2025 3:06am

It has color matching properties. 

31
6/27/2025 5:36am
Primoz wrote:

It has color matching properties. 

sometimes. 

13
saskskier
Posts
324
Joined
11/4/2017
Location
Calgary, AB CA
6/27/2025 7:53am
metadave wrote:
I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I want a podium just to slap on a set of these and relive my 2002...

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I want a podium just to slap on a set of these and relive my 2002 childhood dreamss-l1200

Like when I put Totem decals on my Zeb. Living the dream!

8
6/27/2025 12:14pm

And now a big "disk" at the bottom of the spring leg

image 376
5
metadave
Posts
1242
Joined
2/15/2016
Location
Revelstoke, BC CA
6/27/2025 12:50pm
metadave wrote:
I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I want a podium just to slap on a set of these and relive my 2002...

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I want a podium just to slap on a set of these and relive my 2002 childhood dreamss-l1200

saskskier wrote:

Like when I put Totem decals on my Zeb. Living the dream!

Yeah, your Zeb looks fantastic. Every time I see it I'm jealous I didn't think of that with mine. 

1
bikelurker
Posts
172
Joined
3/23/2023
Location
Bilbao, Vizcaya ES
6/27/2025 3:09pm
And now a big "disk" at the bottom of the spring leg

And now a big "disk" at the bottom of the spring leg

image 376

Don't you guys think there is YET another battery in there? Maybe they are trying to fool us with the regular flight attendant in place but in reality they just swapped the air and damper side between legs, and the cartdridge is now inverted (in order to place the battery beside the caliper, wich seems like a fair better place compared to the current setup)

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1
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