2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker

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Primoz
Posts
4737
Joined
8/1/2009
Location
SI
17 hours ago
Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because...

Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because of chains snapping. Both on SRAM, which uses the T-type 12 speed chain I think? Why are we not using the beefiest chain possible for 7 or 8 speed drivetrains?

Career ending? Care to elaborate? 

2
1
17 hours ago

You guys like rumors ? 
What’s going on with the nukeproof rear end ? 
Seems like it could almost be release with the milled out chain stay. 

1
3
JVP
Posts
242
Joined
4/20/2016
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
16 hours ago Edited Date/Time 16 hours ago
Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because...

Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because of chains snapping. Both on SRAM, which uses the T-type 12 speed chain I think? Why are we not using the beefiest chain possible for 7 or 8 speed drivetrains?

Kiefer's chain didn't snap, he smashed his chainring on the last jump in the woods. 

 

8
9 hours ago
Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because...

Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because of chains snapping. Both on SRAM, which uses the T-type 12 speed chain I think? Why are we not using the beefiest chain possible for 7 or 8 speed drivetrains?

JVP wrote:

Kiefer's chain didn't snap, he smashed his chainring on the last jump in the woods. 

 

It did snap: "lost the chain" also you can see the chain clearly flying off at the beginning of the other site's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-w1oI60PEs

1
1
AndehM
Posts
854
Joined
5/7/2018
Location
El Granada, CA, USA
Fantasy
7 hours ago
Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because...

Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because of chains snapping. Both on SRAM, which uses the T-type 12 speed chain I think? Why are we not using the beefiest chain possible for 7 or 8 speed drivetrains?

JVP wrote:

Kiefer's chain didn't snap, he smashed his chainring on the last jump in the woods. 

 

It did snap: "lost the chain" also you can see the chain clearly flying off at the beginning of the other site's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-w1oI60PEs

It did snap: "lost the chain" also you can see the chain clearly flying off at the beginning of the other site's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-w1oI60PEs

Smoking the chainring (+ chain) against a rock can do that.  It's not a case where it snapped out the start gate or something where it broke from pedaling torque.

10
j0lsrud
Posts
112
Joined
7/20/2021
Location
NO
7 hours ago

The solution is clearly gearbox and beltdrive. 

#nosnappedchains

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kperras
Posts
200
Joined
12/19/2012
Location
CA
4 hours ago

You can see the dust from the rock strike that damaged the chain. For some reason he wasn't running a bashguard, or maybe it broke off from the same rock strike. No surprise that the chain broke.

Screenshot 2026-09-29 090214
7
Jotegr
Posts
389
Joined
6/28/2024
Location
Interior, BC, CA
2 hours ago
Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because...

Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because of chains snapping. Both on SRAM, which uses the T-type 12 speed chain I think? Why are we not using the beefiest chain possible for 7 or 8 speed drivetrains?

Primoz wrote:

Career ending? Care to elaborate? 

I would also like to know this. Back those claims up!

2 hours ago
Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because...

Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because of chains snapping. Both on SRAM, which uses the T-type 12 speed chain I think? Why are we not using the beefiest chain possible for 7 or 8 speed drivetrains?

Primoz wrote:

Career ending? Care to elaborate? 

Jotegr wrote:

I would also like to know this. Back those claims up!

There was also another rider that snapped (or it broke or whatever) coming into a massive drop. It’s really not a stretch of the imagination that coming off a large drop with almost no control could result in some very serious injuries. All it takes is a little over the bars whoopsie and some spinal compression… even if you land two wheels first you can (and people have been this year in WC events) get unlucky and flip over on the rebound.

That said i have no opinion on chains and there supposed durability or lack there of.

2
torw
Posts
10
Joined
1/31/2025
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
Fantasy
1 hour ago
Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because...

Not to beat the new Saint 12sp chain dead horse but I think we saw not one but two possibly career ending crashes at Whistler because of chains snapping. Both on SRAM, which uses the T-type 12 speed chain I think? Why are we not using the beefiest chain possible for 7 or 8 speed drivetrains?

Primoz wrote:

Career ending? Care to elaborate? 

Jotegr wrote:

I would also like to know this. Back those claims up!

The original post said "possibly career ending crashes", they didn't say that two careers were ended by crashes this weekend. They're talking about Henry Kiefer's crash and Bode Burke's crash, and it's not too hard to imagine how crashing off those two drops could end in a double femur or spinal cord situation that you never fully recover from. I was talking to Bode after his Q1 crash and he thought both of his legs were going to break on impact. 

Definitely hard to ignore two SRAM XX DH drivetrain failures leading to very similar and terrifying crashes! 

1

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