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I think radials are defined as any tire with greater than 45* orientation. In other words, more fiber length is radial than lineal. Also some lineal orientation has benefits with torsional forces.
Lil shout out to Blake Carney making it into pro finals after a decade away, moving from WA back to CA, having a kid, and taking over a PT clinic. GET SOME.
Damn. I don't know what it is about those Hope bikes but they always look so sick. Even the previous gen short travel bike (HB 130) with the swoopy top tube...I just think their stuff seems awesome.
Plus, I'm always down to support a brand that supports Joe Barnes!
Blake is a bit of a bad ass...
Definitely bringing back memories of stuffing Speed Springs into Judys...
I agree @DontWorryImAPilot, paint looks sick on there too.
Whoa! The newest tech is fun to drool over and imagine the marginal gains it'll give us over our other under-trained Wednesday-night counter parts, but I think this makes me think more about the tsunami we're about the see. The Raidon is what we would typically see on someone's first "trail hardtail" in the $1000-$1500 range. Are 32'' entry level hardtails going to reach sales floors before the whole World Cup converts? Are we going to see 32/29 mix wheels on bikes that will never enter a UCI race? UCI changing their mix wheel ruling has already been discussed at length elsewhere, but it would make sense on a $1200 hardtail that most likely won't see any racing outside of a community focused local race or NICA.
The Sea Otter Dual Slalom course was a sculpted classic. I think one of the last real DS courses in North America, and regular Joes could sign up and be a part of the course the pros are hitting. Huge Gs going through those deep burms. It was a great mountain bike community connection to gravity racing for both racing and spectating. This is a loss. Why does Lifetime always strip all the fun out of racing?
anything about the kind shock ebike dropper?
When did Niner get the budget to develope something new?
I prefer to see this years' oldschool DS to be honest.. Start with a grass track and let the tires cut in the lines. I'd rather see pros get loose and highlight cornering skills on some grass jank than deathgrip a groomed bike park berm for the hundredth time. More in the spirit of the discipline.
Quick couch-scrolling observations:
It would be cool to proceed with the test and put a fox 36 on the bike with the light but long battery and a podium on the one with short battery to see if you feel any difference having extra weight on one and less on the other on the front end
Full disclosure, havnt been to or ever will go to sea otter, but the new grass track DS is sick. Having raced on a few of the all grass ones, they are a hoot. That said, if they do it again in the same spot, that would be lame. Again never planning on attending sea otter, but it would be cool if they shook up the event a bit.
It’s Sea Otter my dude. It is far less of a race than it is a place to check out new products. I loved the og slalom course, but the dh run has always been trailbike territory, the xc in Fort Ord is legit, but that’s about it.
The organizers most likely don’t care about the courses, they care about vendors renting footprints and consumers paying entrance fees.
I just bought one of these frames. It is hilariously fun. It does exactly what it says on the tin. It makes you a rider instead of a passenger. Less plowing, all playing.
That sure looks a lot like the Yeti Sixfinity suspension.
I had the same thought.
The link that connects the upper and lower links is positioned slightly differently
Actofive I-Train
Actofive I-Train 32" full squisher. 120mm rear, 130mm front travel. Claimed build under 30 pounds with all the Intend bits.
Intradrive Gearbox Powertrain
Tucked away in a tiny little booth on a side row was Intradrive. Turns out they're a small Scottish company that's been developing an 8-speed gearbox-equipped motor for eMTB brands dubbed the GD8. Shifting is wireless electronic, there's a 480% range, and the motor can output up to 700w. The founder said that the motors are built and wound in Scotland and that vast majority of the parts and materials are sourced from Europe if not made in-house. There's an emphasis on serviceability, and the unit fits a Shimano EP8 mount pattern. The one on display used a singlespeed chain but belt options are available too.
We were able to pedal it around and the shifting was quick, and consistent. The gear jumps were a bit bigger than what we're used to with modern 12-speed drivetrains, but I think it's safe to say with the motor, do we really need 12 speeds? We'd have to think the limits of standard MTB drivetrains are being pushed with the current crop of motor options, so a gearbox application makes sense. Word is that there are a handful of frame manufacturers interested, and 2027 should be when we see them hit the primetime. https://www.intradrive.co.uk/gd8
Samox
Samox had new hollow forged cranks (HRO - hollow reinforced optimization) on display for trail and DH applications. The TM1 Gold crank lengths are 155, 160 and 165mm while DH Golds come in 155 and 160. The DUB interface cranks will only set you back $225. The 7075 CNC'd chain rings are available in a variety of sizes and will run about $60. At the front of the booth was Jason Richardson's XX steel belt drive prototype, too.
Maxxis
Maxxis had all their current 32" tires on display. With options for XC through aggressive trail, the trend sure seems to be a real thing that's here to stay despite most of the feelings around the show being mixed at this point. The real questions is, when will 30.5 creep in?
Blindfold tire challenge at Polygon still going strong.
Also TM-B
(just hit their website if you want to know more. it's from Rivian or something, LOL. starts at $3,500 - https://ridealso.com/products/tm-b)
Used Bikes for Sale
One of the coolest and funniest parts of Sea Otter. Overpriced, retro and even QR codes to sell your goods these days. That Blindside with that Totem for $500 is pretty freaking sick. Connor Fearon would go on that Kona, too.
Loving the 1.5 steerer on the Totem.
I'm not their target customer, but I applaud using an existing mount standard. There are a lot of used eebs coming through, I'd like to see them repurposed rather than e-waste.
Marin
Marin and Misspent Summers teamed up for a custom Quake wrapped with images and art from their books. The Val di Sole video guy is a standout. Marin also unveiled the Tam lineup today. Starting at just $2,399 and topping out at $5,499, the alloy 120mm bikes look primed for stacking up some miles.
The humanoid AI Sea Otter booth assistant is almost here.
Giant
Giant had a patriotic Anthem Advanced SL in the booth along with their new, $2,300 alloy Stance trail bike. The Stance uses Giant's 140mm-travel STL 34 fork and gets 130mm of rear travel via their FlexPoint platform.
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