2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker

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Eae903
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Laramie, WY US
Fantasy
1 day ago
jalopyj wrote:

Haven't seen anything announced. But new Spot short travel bike:

https://spotbikes.com/products/diggity-125

I have a soft spot for Spot bikes and this new short travel bike looks great.

Eae903 wrote:

How is it already on sale? I've literally never seen a spot listed for full price. 

jma853 wrote:

It's not easy being a bike company in 2026

Well yeah, but it's stupid. It devalues the brand. It would be better to just list the bike at the lower price, make that the retail price shown, than to list a brand new model that doesn't seem to have had any press or marketing yet at a marked down sale price. Spots been in a tough spot for a while, and I honestly find what they're doing with the leaf spring link super interesting and want them to succeed. 

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1 day ago Edited Date/Time 1 day ago

I can't find the suspension thread, so full well knowing I will be downvoted: 

@Primoz So you're saying I can get this, file down the arch a few mm (file up?), and run it on my 29er? It would save me a bunch of bucks

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/4170208/

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ratchet_catch
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Albuquerque, NM US
1 day ago
I can't find the suspension thread, so full well knowing I will be downvoted: @Primoz So you're saying I can get this, file down the arch...

I can't find the suspension thread, so full well knowing I will be downvoted: 

@Primoz So you're saying I can get this, file down the arch a few mm (file up?), and run it on my 29er? It would save me a bunch of bucks

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/4170208/

I’m not going to downvote you because I’ve got a 2018 27.5 fox 40 and I have the same question

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AgrAde
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1 day ago

No, you would also need to limit travel. Otherwise the CSU runs into the tire at bottom-out. The CSU has less clearance at bottom out than the arch does.

It was easy to do on the 40 because you can move the crown up the stanchions.

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1 day ago
jalopyj wrote:

Haven't seen anything announced. But new Spot short travel bike:

https://spotbikes.com/products/diggity-125

I have a soft spot for Spot bikes and this new short travel bike looks great.

It looks even better in person! Never ridden a Spot myself but I like what they’re doing. A buddy of mine is a big fan, he’s got the Mayhem, their hardtail, and gravel bike. 

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amanitas
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1 day ago
One thing missing here is the fact that with the proliferation of composite know how, there are more people around able to safely repair a wider...

One thing missing here is the fact that with the proliferation of composite know how, there are more people around able to safely repair a wider range of issues.


Rather than pretending we are recycling carbon bikes I’d love to see more frames designed in ways that facilitate repair. Repair is verifiable in a way that recycling is not, it is cost effective for everyone concerned, and it is as close as you’ll get to good for the environment. It probably flows on to other design decisions to ensure repair is viable (like bearing placement, etc etc), but designing bikes for ongoing duty rather than ‘until they fail’ would leave us all better off. 

TEAMROBOT wrote:

Double upvote.

Also agree! The order is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for a reason.

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Primoz
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1 day ago
AgrAde wrote:
No, you would also need to limit travel. Otherwise the CSU runs into the tire at bottom-out. The CSU has less clearance at bottom out than...

No, you would also need to limit travel. Otherwise the CSU runs into the tire at bottom-out. The CSU has less clearance at bottom out than the arch does.

It was easy to do on the 40 because you can move the crown up the stanchions.

This. 

Plus it's one thing to file down the arch in order to fit a bigger wheel when a 29 fork doesn't exist yet and you want to get all the benefits to try to be as fast as possible at (dry) world cups. 

When you're the average consumer with the correct forks available, you just buy what works. Especially when the incorrect option isn't even that cheap. 

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AgrAde
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1 day ago

I feel bad already about cluttering tech rumors with a politics post. Lets leave it here and I'll let someone make/revive a politics thread if they want to bitch more.

In terms of thermoplastic vs epoxy carbon and the repair of frames, are carbon repairers able to work with thermoplastic? There are two carbon repairers in my city that do excellent work on bikes. All fairly affordable and straightforward. What happens if I approach them with a broken thermoplastic carbon frame? Ignoring theoretical repairability, is it currently practical/possible to fix?

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Primoz
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1 day ago

Buttons near the left grip? Something electric driven? 

1
Ploutre
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FR
1 day ago
Primoz wrote:

Buttons near the left grip? Something electric driven? 

Wasn't there a rumour a while back of the Rallon RS but with Avinox ?

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IndeSi
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1 day ago
piroloco wrote:
1000115556
New Rallon?

We can see that the shock is right side up, and a nice XT mechanical derailleur (yet to be released). 

I would guess a new Wild. 

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1 day ago
Primoz wrote:

Buttons near the left grip? Something electric driven? 

Ploutre wrote:

Wasn't there a rumour a while back of the Rallon RS but with Avinox ?

There was a rumor in this thread about Norco and Orbea doing Avinox bikes. I’m surprised they didn’t drop them on DJI Liberation Day considering some of those bikes that dropped are already sold out.

3
23 hours ago

we were talking on our ride last night about avinox, and a couple well placed industry friends was saying that there's a real feeling around that they're about to devour the industry and in particular (SRAM/Shimano/Bosch/etc) as a whole given how much engineering resourcing they're putting into the whole thing (Amflow, Avinox, etc). Granted I'm deaf in one year so hearing the fine points of a conversation at speed can be challenging, but they were saying they have a many many hundreds or thousands of engineers working on the motors, batteries, frames, complete bikes and all the brands playing me too and falling over themselves to get a motor in their ebike is only contributing to the effect that will turn around and consume them when Amflow starts releasing more bikes with potential exclusivity on motor tech and can destroy those legacy brands on price. Interesting conversation and perspective, definitely gave me some stuff to ponder. 

 

11
22 hours ago
amanitas wrote:
Long time lurker, first time poster here. For some background I’m an aerospace composites engineer and spent several years in Advanced Product Development with an emphasis...

Long time lurker, first time poster here. For some background I’m an aerospace composites engineer and spent several years in Advanced Product Development with an emphasis on environmentally friendly materials. There’s so much to get into on this topic and if folks are interested I’d love to start a dedicated thread on materials and environmental impacts.

The TLDR is, carbon fiber as a green product on its own is a fallacy. The raw fiber production may result in a certain level of carbon sequestering, but the process is still so energy intensive I wouldn’t call it an environmental positive. As for the resin, both thermo-set and thermo-plastics are petroleum derived products so we’re already not off to a great start.

Now to the recycling claims. Traditional thermosets can be recycled, but the process involves so many nasty chemicals it’s also not a viable process. Thermoplastics can in fact be reconstituted into new products with the caveat that there is always degradation in material properties. This is why products like tire levers and other non-structural parts are prime candidates for recycled material. My personal opinion is the bike companies touting TPC’s as environmentally friendly are in a best-case misinformed, or worst-case green washing. 

Again, this is such a rabbit hole topic and there is a ton of nuance. But it’s an interesting topic and important to think about how we can reduce the impact our sport has on the environment. There’s also a ton of smart people and industry insiders in this forum that can probably chime in.

Simcik wrote:

In short, can the cycling industry put thermoplastics in the bin for 25 years again?

Well they could throw it in the bin, but if you look at the engineering test values for strength and stiffness, I have seen direct material comparisons of an epoxy material used in cycling now in a very well known/liked product vs a thermoplastic version with the same fiber and general construction. That TP composite is as strong or stronger, and holds up better to impact. And, it can at least be "downcycled" (ground up to make a less strong product than it was - but still a strong product). The issue is, it's more expensive, it's somewhat new and there are few worldwide who have worked to make complex hollow tubes out of this type of material. But it's all possible and "on paper" now - needs effort to truly make a product. 

matmattmatthew
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Fresh Prince of Bel Air, MD US
22 hours ago
One thing missing here is the fact that with the proliferation of composite know how, there are more people around able to safely repair a wider...

One thing missing here is the fact that with the proliferation of composite know how, there are more people around able to safely repair a wider range of issues.


Rather than pretending we are recycling carbon bikes I’d love to see more frames designed in ways that facilitate repair. Repair is verifiable in a way that recycling is not, it is cost effective for everyone concerned, and it is as close as you’ll get to good for the environment. It probably flows on to other design decisions to ensure repair is viable (like bearing placement, etc etc), but designing bikes for ongoing duty rather than ‘until they fail’ would leave us all better off. 

TEAMROBOT wrote:

Double upvote.

amanitas wrote:

Also agree! The order is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for a reason.

This is one of the reasons I ponied up the money to have a custom steel hardtail made a few years ago.  I’m not getting invited to Greta Thunberg’s sailboat or anything, but I liked the idea of having at least one bike that I will keep forever. 

4
22 hours ago
This is one of the reasons I ponied up the money to have a custom steel hardtail made a few years ago.  I’m not getting invited...

This is one of the reasons I ponied up the money to have a custom steel hardtail made a few years ago.  I’m not getting invited to Greta Thunberg’s sailboat or anything, but I liked the idea of having at least one bike that I will keep forever. 

I've got that same feeling with my Reeb SST, It's gonna stay with me a for a very long time. I'll probably need to get repainted a few times in it's lifetime. But, my 5yo has already said that he want's it when gets older haha. 

4
sethimus
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CH
21 hours ago
owl-x wrote:
touting recyclability of a bike frame sure feels a lot like the weirdo prudes who push for hemp fabrics as a reason for cannabis legalization…I mean...

touting recyclability of a bike frame sure feels a lot like the weirdo prudes who push for hemp fabrics as a reason for cannabis legalization…I mean, I have some hemp jeans but we’re all adults here: we’re trying to get high bro!

We recycle pretty much zero plastic. I wish it mattered, but it simply does not. 

plastics usually get thermically recycled around here. speak for yourselves

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amanitas
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Bellingham, WA US
21 hours ago

I started a new thread to keep the conversation going around TPC’s without bogging down tech rumors. Discussions around metals are also welcome!

Materials and Processes for Cyclists

15
owl-x
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Shell Beach, CA US
21 hours ago
sethimus wrote:

plastics usually get thermically recycled around here. speak for yourselves

it’s a conundrum: what’s better for the mountain biker? How to deal with the plastic? New garbage pile terrain or burn it into electricity to charge our ebike batteries? 

A wonderful problem to have, really. 🤮

the scam of plastic recycling is so sad. 


 

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sethimus
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20 hours ago
owl-x wrote:
it’s a conundrum: what’s better for the mountain biker? How to deal with the plastic? New garbage pile terrain or burn it into electricity to charge...

it’s a conundrum: what’s better for the mountain biker? How to deal with the plastic? New garbage pile terrain or burn it into electricity to charge our ebike batteries? 

A wonderful problem to have, really. 🤮

the scam of plastic recycling is so sad. 


 

power AND heat. dual use

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19 hours ago
AgrAde wrote:
I feel bad already about cluttering tech rumors with a politics post. Lets leave it here and I'll let someone make/revive a politics thread if they...

I feel bad already about cluttering tech rumors with a politics post. Lets leave it here and I'll let someone make/revive a politics thread if they want to bitch more.

In terms of thermoplastic vs epoxy carbon and the repair of frames, are carbon repairers able to work with thermoplastic? There are two carbon repairers in my city that do excellent work on bikes. All fairly affordable and straightforward. What happens if I approach them with a broken thermoplastic carbon frame? Ignoring theoretical repairability, is it currently practical/possible to fix?

Don't feel bad. Life is political.

Politics isn't some small aspect of existence that can be sequestered into a couple days just before elections. It is literally everywhere all the time having huge impacts on people's lives.

Bike materials are political. Trail access is political. The ability to afford a bike - and therefore the folding or flourishing of the mountain bike industry - is political. The existence of rural hospitals is political. Ebike motors are political. The efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics is political.

Is there any sort of innovation in that lane brands should be looking at? Would you be more or less likely to purchase a bike from a brand that offered a carbon repair service?

Who does really great carbon repairs? I think a lot of folks would be well-served by having an option of carbon repair rather than completely replacing a frame...especially when frames are getting to be really expensive as frame-only purchases (if frame-only is even an option).

14
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sweaman22
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1/6/2025
Location
Calgary , AB CA
19 hours ago

In Western Canada Roberts composites is good.  I've used them twice; both times service was great and you can't tell there was a repair.

https://robertscomposites.com/

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MauiMax
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Lahaina, HI US
17 hours ago Edited Date/Time 17 hours ago

I was gonna post this in the economics thread but its locked. I noticed knolly has nothing in stock on their site and then saw this. Anybody have any idea what happened? (wasnt sure if this should have its own thread or not) https://maynards.com/collections/current-auctions/products/knolly-bikes-inc?fbclid=IwY2xjawRxu3dleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFYR3F2VFpLa3VHdERJRDBtc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHo1WQKZVTSv_-Zhkx7v93JSl2O4HdB4uzNg-lgvpg6m6RynxsLYoDaUAjwcs_aem_mUNWnsCxBN09_piLl1vA6A   

heres a link to it as well

May be an image of bicycle and text

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yzedf
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Hebron, CT US
Fantasy
16 hours ago

From the Yeti Instagram post earlier today. 
 

IMG 7420.jpeg?VersionId=XYJ3p4Ar2P65LSo8u38dOyir
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Rick26
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., BC CA
14 hours ago
Primoz wrote:

Buttons near the left grip? Something electric driven? 

The controller we see is Orbea's RS HMI Motor Control. Is third party stuff even compatible with the Avinox system ? I'm not so sure.

Rallon RS HPR60 ?

2
14 hours ago

Re composite repair, it pays to find someone close who does good work.

10 years ago or more we had someone local who could repair bikes so well the manufacturer (think ultra high end custom carbon) would reinstate the life warranties on them. 

3
AgrAde
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AL US
14 hours ago

That's not too unusual I don't think, my friend has a Nomad with a Cruz-approved local repair.

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