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I've seen the new Norco and they are pretty rad. Lots of potential for them. And unfortunately, the Tallboy is definitely not a flex stay design
That one is still great and will Be around for a bit
I was just watching Matt Joneses yearly hot tub interview and there was talk about changing tire pressures on the run to firm them up for the final part of a track. And Ronan said something to the effect of "They already have that for suspension." So I'm guessing that's what those lumps on the back of Rock Shox forks are. The ability to firm up an air fork on the fly for sprints.
it's not pneumatic, it's hydraulic. The damping is increased to firm it up.
Earlier in the thread, the new Tallboy was said to be similar to the Vala suspension layout, with a 4bar.
And in another post in this thread, someone said they saw someone riding a new six-finity pedal bike.
We've had both adjustable travel and compression damping at the push of a lever for more than a decade already, Fox CTD and Scott Nude/Twinloc, and I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't the first.
Edit: and I think it's worth remembering that most sponsored riders probably don't have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of mountain biking tech, because they don't need to and they just ride what they're given.
Agreed. And shoutout to those crazy Cannondale/Fox DYAD pull shocks and later the Gemini shocks that changed stroke length at the flick of a lever.
I think he was referencing having electronic suspension (Rock Shox Flight Attendant) and how it switches up compression damping automatically. It's not any secret that wireless shifting and Flight Attendant is making its way to dh stuff.
This isn't a rumour, but why is a guy like Luke Meier-Smith still running old XTR brakes? Spotted them on his bike in his winning run video from this weekend. I'm always under the assumption that riders would be required/want to use the newest tech from sponsors (obvious exceptions exist, like the Podium fork).
He's in Aus, so until unless they send it down, or there is a WC level event in the southern hemisphere they run what they have until they meet up with the team bus again.
SRAM are coming for hardline and doing some testing post Hardline as well as Frameworks are staying for a week doing testing as they'll open the DH track just for them to test on. I'm sure some new gear will be trialed that week, not sure if I can get spy shots for you all.
I just bought this bike and it’s all time.
I need a big ass battery and full power rig for what we ride in and around Tahoe. All the buds rode full power so it wasn’t a decision (I did see a guy on the trail with the new Norco e-bike - must be coming soon - and he said it pedaled great without the motor on).
But the range is absolutely perfect. Has pop and feels really jibby, yet it’s a high pivot and slays the rough. I knew about this other rig and chose the range full fat. But a new Norco is imminently dropping.
Few speculations:
New Sram stuff: there is currently a countdown at this page https://www.sram.com/en/sram/mountain/campaigns/dh for February 23rd-24th, that is most likely Transmission AXS DH and new Boxxer E1 with linear XL air spring add-on and Charger 3.2 being launched. There is a possibility new Zeb B1 get launched at the same time they share the Linear XL air spring add-on. New Lyrik would most likely be only updated to charger 3.2 so could be soft launched at later date (possibly switch from D2 to D3 in Sram product nomenclature)
I hope the new Pike D1 doesn't only get the updated 3.2 charger but also some chassis tweaking so it can compete with the 36SL on weight. There might be some brand waiting for those launch to also launch new bikes but the three brand I am interested don't normally spec Rockshok forks.
Yeti Six-Finity regular bikes: checking yeti website the SB120, SB140 and SB160 all got 2026 build kit with 2026 fox shock and forks and a XT di2 build kit. The SB165 MX and the full 27.5 SB135 don't have those updated build kits. My hypothesis is the SB135 get the axe and the SB165 is the first to get the Six-finity platform this year with the full 29er SB160/140/120 launched later.
Santa Cruz Tallboy gen6 : currently SC lineup is full Fox spec shock & fork but SC did some full rockshox or mixed spec in the past so there is a possibility the new Tallboy is waiting the launch of the new Pike. If they stay with a full fox spec then the current 36SL is the perfect spec for that bike. If the rumor that the Tallboy goes horst link is true, then I have no interest at all in that bike. Would rather go for the upcoming Forbidden new trail bike than a horst link Tallboy.
Ibis light trail bike aka Ripley SL, a few poster on MTBR have floated the date of Feb 17th so we should know very soon but consensus seems to be a DW-Link bike, 130/120ish DW-Link 66deg HA and 5lbs frame weight so most likely spec with a 34SL. More in the lineage of the Rocky Element type of stout XC bike.
Commenting on the Yeti in particular, iirc the sb160 came out in November 2022, followed by the sb120 then sb140 in quick succession. Wonder if that timeline will be similar again this year since the current gen was a 2023 model.
Isn't the sb165 the newest non-E-bike from yeti? Wonder if that factors into the 2026 build kits. When I saw the 2026 catalog, I was slightly surprised to see yeti break the 3 year cycle they had done for at least the last 2 generations but I didn't pay that close of attention to the build kits
FWIW it's hard to see Yeti making a 120 mm bike a 6 bar... With all other brands going seeker and lighter, what would a 6 bar, which is known to be heavy, bring?
Obviously I have zero insight, it just seems strange to go for a 6 bar 120 mm bike...
Definitely eagerly awaiting Yeti Sixfinity analog bikes to see how the kinematic design carries over or is adjusted from their ebikes, and how it compares to Switch Infinity, Horst, VPP/DW, etc!
Hear me out, double flex pivots.
Why have one flex pivot emulating a four-bar, when we can have TWO flex pivots emulating a six-bar.
Those 3 brands + others mentioned in the old thread https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/The-Hub%2C2/2020-MTB-Tech-rumors-and-innovation%2C10797?page=999
For Norco's new motor platform you speak of it's gotta be TQ right? They are all Bosch at the moment and launching with Shimano or Fazua would be suicide as those are old and hated motors. (I have no qualms with my Shimano motor) I'll eat my hat if it's SRAM Powertrain.
Hear me out, ditch the six, go straight to inifinity. Infinite pivot points!
(It's really just a flex-tail).
Sram Powertrain... Talk about hype that disappeared quickly.. I thought I had read somewhere that a new version is in the works... Wait and see?
In case anybody is curious about how the new derailleur kid on the block performs, here's our Madrone Jab review after a few months of trail time: https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/rear-derailleurs/madrone-cycles/jab-72616#product-reviews-744396.
Yeah, I was thinking along the same yesterday. It'll be interesting to see how the lineup changes and of every bike gets the sixfinity treatment. Clearly it already works well on both the Lte and Mte, but would it work well on a smaller bike, who knows
My counter-arguement for the sake of conversation is switch infinity isn't all that light, so I wonder that the weigh tradeoff would really be
The way I saw it, it was just Sram dipping its toes in the ebike motor market, by doing almost nothing, just to be there while they develop its own thing. Sram is used to buy a company in order to enter a certain market, but thats probably not the right way to do it in this particular case
I can agree with you on the dipping their toes in the water.. By using an existing platform, Brose, it was about the easiest way to get in.. Losing a couple of their exclusive partners shortly after launch didn't help.. Then, DJi showed up...
TQ HPR 60 indeed
Yeti ASR (2 martini) Lunch Ride Incoming... Piggyback air shock, 34mm stanchion fork and EXO Minions/stock. Full downcountry syndrome.
The bullit and the vala share the same frame right?
IMO it won’t be a surprise if Santa Cruz continues to consolidate their non-eeb line similarly.
Bullit / Vala are slightly different frames. While you can put a 65mm stroke shock in the Vala, it won't get you 170mm travel, and the geo will be different. The shock orientation is visually different side by side - Bullit's is slightly angled whereas Vala's is more vertical.
more insight with Vorsprung
That'll be some interesting data to correlate to real life experience, if Steve releases it. I don't know why, but my old avalanche hybrid zeb is still kicking dirt in the face of everything that has been brought to market over the last few years, including the podium and 9-1. I'd love to see if this is represented in a damper plot.
5010 (and Tallboy) both listed as "-2025" whereas other bikes are "-Present."
Edit: ...and Chameleon listed as "-2024."
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