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Not gonna lie (and this comes from a trek hater). That thing is sick.
Interesting that they went away from the foreskin shock that the Supercaliber has. I'm sure the bearing & link are heavier so I'm guessing the decision had to do with reliability and we'll see similar changes rolled into the Supercaliber. I've got no skin (of any sort) in the gravel game though.
There is a podcast on Escape Collective with the designers, they discussed it. The integrated shock doesn't work on a road type frame with a high top tube and big angle between the seat stays and top tube, the TT and shock need to be relatively parallel to the seat stays. So the integrated shock design works on a low standover MTB, not on a gravel frame.
The new 38 is ditching the current 38 air spring to go to a normal one where the piston runs directly on the inner stanchion instead of the current tube inside the stanchion setup. It will also be a glide core air spring. Should see some decent weight savings from that change alone.
Didn't they introduce that new floating one for less friction when the fork deflects? This could be a cost saving measure, and to push the higher spending customers towards the podium.
Not going to lie. Kind of forgot that fork existed. Hype died fast I guess
Is it supposed to be like what's in the new 36, or even more conventional than that? I have heard very positive things from heavy riders on the new 36 as far as improved performance under braking, etc. which they attribute to the new air spring. If that's the case, it seems like it would do the opposite of differentiating it from the Podium.
Put a motor in that and I’ll buy that trek.
Yes it will be the same as all the current Fox air springs in the 32/34/36.
Easy to see the vertical shock orientation on that proto Ari
On a total side note, and at the risk of derailing things for a few pages to discuss the engineering justification, Ari’s seatstays are the most offensive aesthetic things in mtb. Can’t change my mind.
The gravel category is about to take a massive nosedive. People on the Radavist are commenting things like “woah you can build a bike to suit the terrain?” unironically! I guess if you insist on drop bars the checkout is cool, but the best gravel bike I’ve ever ridden is the epic hard tail.
https://theradavist.com/are-mountain-bikes-just-faster
Pretty certain. Short answer: they're racing it, so it has to go into production. The clock starts when it's first raced at a UCI event. My guess would be the end of this season or the start of next. Gotta pay for those pricey molds.
Long answer: UCI rule Article 1.3.006 if you want to get into the nitty-gritty.
The official rule across all disciplines is 12 months to be available for order, with delivery within 90 days. Road racing is pretty strictly enforced, while clearly, mountain biking isn't. Of course, there are ways to stretch the deadlines, but most seem to stay within the 12-month timeline. Pivot pushed it to roughly 16-18 months. Specialized is on... V3 visually as far as we know and closing in on three years. Mondraker seems to be taking the easiest approach by releasing a version of the Summum quietly while continuing development.
Anyone have release date info on the new evil bikes models? They looked close to production a few pages back
I’ve never been so anti-drop bar. That was maddening!
Goddamn! Like, you can listen to cool music, you can do cool shit…just because it’s difficult doesn’t make it worth it!
My friend says cyclocross is for dudes who want to get muddy without going fast. He’s right. Gravel is like golf: it seems fine in a vacuum but if I can still ride a mtb why would I choose to do that?
I’m still gonna buy an egravel bike though. Whatever.
You mean like numerous specialized prototypes, intense prototypes, mondraker prototypes went into production right? That UCI rule only applies to road racing.
i Wish, i'm Waiting patiently guessing what the changes are and hoping for some, but the Offering should be close
I kinda came around to them when I visited a friend that is a serious road rider, I noticed he had a gravel bike and asked him about it (hiding my disgust). He got so excited saying it was the bike he rides the most now as the roads have gotten so dangerous with cars, this let's him get out onto paths and dirt roads for all his training.
Meanwhile, I fitted 680mm flat bars to both my "road" bikes and 1x12 slx drivetrain...
This has been discussed before, the rule has never been enforced in DH.
When are we expecting the 38 to be launched? Still this year, or in 2026?
The rule applies to all disciplines. Just not as strictly enforced outside of Road and Track cycling. XC mountain biking is fairly regulated. It's the "others" that are allowed to play it loose. If the UCI really wanted to, they could come in and enforce the 12-month rule, fine teams, and ban equipment. Clearly, brands are finding every loophole they can or seeing how far they can go before the UCI pushes back. My mistake on the Mondraker release, just an update of the old bike.
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I remember hearing teams just show they changed something small every so often so the 12 months always gets pushed out. This is alot easier to do with mtb as they can show they changed kinematics via linkages and pivots. Road bikes would mean a whole new carbon mold.
While there is a minority of gravel bikers who would truly benefit just from getting a mtb. I think the majority do gravel because it’s a pretty safe form of exercise.
Trek’s choices will make it a good bike for both parties. The more adventurous gravel riders hitting single track can run fatter tires and the less adventurous can just have something that rides a bit smoother/comfortable than a rigid bike.
In my brain, I saw my new commuter that I can take some alt lines on the way home.
I don't see a need for rear suspension on a gravel bike. At that point just get a mtn bike. I like my gravel bike for quick rides on mellow terrain or mixed terrain. It a different kind of work out more like road bike as far as cadence than a mtn bike.
Grease / oil is used in bearings only for protection against overheating and corrosion. Lowering the friction between rolling elements is not welcomed as it may finally cause sliding and surfaces degradation.
No, the balls genuinely run (rotate) on a layer of oil (even if greased, grease is just very thick oil at the end of the day for the purpose of this discussion) and technically do not come in contact with the races. If they do, you get wear, overheating, etc.
Gravel bikes has become too wide of a category of bikes, what we need is subcategories! The downgravel, the enduravel, the graero...
I feel I fall into the majority there.. I ride my gravel bike like a road bike that allows for more options. Mine is set-up more along the lines of what some now call an all-road bike. 2x drivetrain and 38s let me do some fun dirt and still roll decently on the pavement.
I'm not sure how I feel about suspension and gravel.. Maybe if I was racing or doing longer rougher dirt rides, I might want it, but I'm in the camp of if I feel I need suspension, I have a mountain bike..