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Really? I feel like this was a pretty long and drawn out prototype process.
Pretty surprised they've been sleeping on the Enduro this long. Six years since the last update. They probably don't want to launch a bike in this market if they can't charge $13k.
It has been drawn out but to have a carbon frame ready so quickly after changing the design is what's impressive.
I like speci but the prototype really grew on me in terms of aesthetics. I guess frameworks has really influenced me because now I wonder why anyone would want a bike with “industrial design” all over it…
Shimano released a new SPD cleat today. Compared to the 30-year-old SH51 cleats, the new CL-MT0001 cleats feature an additional ramp at the back of the cleat, which Shimano claims improves walkability and functionality—enabling back-to-front and top-down clipping in addition to the traditional front-to-back motion. The new CL-MT0001 cleats are backward compatible with all SPD pedals.
If I were asked at the start of the year to guess which longstanding Shimano product would finally see an update in 2025, SPD cleats would not make my first twenty guesses. While 30-year development cycles don't bode well for those holding out for a new Shimano Saint, the addition of multi-directional entry SPDs is a welcome one.
I got a set a few days ago, and the new cleats undoubtedly allow for easier pedal entry, but with some limitations. Like many clipless pedal users, I run my cleats slammed at the back of my shoe's cutout. When in this position, the tread of my Specialized 2FO shoe interferes with the pedal before the back of the cleat can hook into the SPD mechanism. This didn't interfere with top-down entry, which I found to be markedly easier; however, it did make reverse entry (back-to-front) significantly more difficult. I experimented with a more forward cleat position, which made reverse entry much more manageable, though it doesn't feel as nice or intuitive as top-down and forward entry (front-to-back).
I wasn't able to meaningfully evaluate walkability, but I'm skeptical that such a tiny ramp could make a tangible difference. Nonetheless, the new cleats cost the same as the previous version at $23 USD for a set, making these a no-brainer upgrade that can immediately improve safety on the trail. Especially if you can relate to the feeling of getting your cleat caught on your pedal when dropping into a gnarly chute or roller.
Shimano also released the new XTR PD-M9220 pedals today that have a larger platform and four adjustable pins per side to satisfy trail/enduro riders - https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/shimano-launches-new-xtr-clipless-pedal-enduro-and-trail-riding
Welp looks like my SH51 cleats are getting the CL-MT001 pedicure tonight courtesy of a angle grinder.
Mind: blown. Sounds like one could save $23 with 30 seconds of good ole angle grinder action on one's old ones.
Looks like the additional ramp is at the front of the cleat?
You probably need new cleats anyways 😅
Nah, I am good. These work better.
Looks good to me
Open floor plan five-finger shoe hammocks get em outta here
They need to sell some DH bike before Jackson smashes the season on a production bike and everyone is left wondering why they need the new specialized thats been years in the making, but all jokes aside who's buying the Demo these days with all the other good bikes on the market
pretty much everyone who thinks complexity makes them faster.
The general consesus has been that mid-height pivots are the way to go. High high pivots brings some negatives. The problem with mid height pivots is that your idler (and maybe even chainring) has to be very small to fit everything together, which brings with it inefficiencies. This way they could package everything in a way that makes sense kinematics wise.
2chainz is a consequence of pivot height, not the other way around.
It's a lot simpler than that! Plenty of people only buy Specialised, and owning a DH bikes is cool again. Could be the brand image, or the marketing (lies), or the good service they get at the shop, probably trade in their old specialised from 9 months ago...
Not taking shots at anyone, I know plenty of people that operate like this.
Spotted over on Pinkbike -- Ronan Dunne running his tuned mass damper in a novel location.
(More like a tuned ass damper, am I right? Sorry, I'll see myself out.)
More like a tuned mess.
I'll follow you the way out..
This location makes way more sense to me than at the end of the swingarm.
Is this an adjustable tensioner?
Ballzy move. Please someone confirm that's not a rubber band holding it together.
Out of curiosity.. as this is a tech rumours page, can you please tell me in a technical term what makes other bikes good and the demo not good? Technically speaking that is.
Spesh cops a lot of hate for a company that’s always innovating, and so does sram… tall poppy syndrome? Unsure.
I had to google tall poppy syndrome. I call it big d!(k disorder.
Looks like one to me. I made myself a crude adjuster added onto the original hardware. Was working on something like the pictured one but haven't finished yet due to injuries.
My first version also seems to do the job just fine so I haven't prioritized it much, but I'm happy to find my pictures and share
The stock tensioner is pretty hokey, just a elastic cord you have to pull super tight and tighten. According to Gates tension guide you cant really get the belt tight enough. A friend has a G3 and was having issues with the belt skipping due to lack of tension when pedaling around the bike park parking lot.
The Atherton tensioner looks more like an automotive belt tensioner and I would assume provides a lot more tension on the belt....
Can you imagine how many they could sell if these were just integrated into a seatpost?
They could make literally DOZENS of dollars. Every “fast” guy at the bike park would have one.
but how would you sell that to a world of dropper seatpost users?
Downhill bikes i guess, but they usually have super slack STAs which would affect the performance I am sure.
I never thought of this until now, but actually, it seems to me the slack seat angle matches the angle of impacts from the ground pretty well. Impacts on a DH bike come up from the ground at a roughly 45-ish degree angle when you're trucking, so sliding a TMD inside the seatpost would be a pretty close match to the ideal angle. Same reason a rearward high pivot axle path feels so good on chunk vs. an axle path that rotates forward in the travel, or why we shelter our COG so far behind the front contact patch on a DH bike.
I don't know enough about this to comment, but if we're throwing around random stabs in the dark then I'd be inclined to say that if you're in chunk then the hits are going to be hitting one wheel at a time, and that's a recipe for rotation. Any hit with the rear will rotate the sprung weight forwards, making it a worse angle not a better one?
At least we know it works now when you put it on the seatpost