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Putting on flat pedals for a mud race is one thing. Running flats in good weather is another.

Random thoughts / observations: I watched jr's this weekend. I normally don't have time and maybe just watch the highlights of them if anything. The jr women are fucking flying and its not just Aletha either. They are all tapped and riding really active on the bike. It would be interesting to see where the majority of them slotted in vs the elites. I think the Elite womans field is going to get detonated next year and they are going to need to expand the number of finals. Go watch the Jr's!

How was Loic’s suspension at worlds last year?

i think the sentiment is that the v10 hasn't changed much in years (not a bad thing) and is a "simple" design (also not a bad thing). the demo is basically a new-this-year freak bike of a contraption that is holding its own, so it's kind of exciting.

As someone who's won and lost bike races, I think there's something to be said for that old saying. When I was racing, I always kept that phrase in mind when I was processing my nerves about a high risk section, especially the gnarly gaps that only the gnarliest riders were doing in practice. Hitting all the gnarly lines is a great way to win practice, but at Andorra, for instance, Jackson Goldstone was the only rider that I saw doing that super gnarly gap in the bottom third of the track (same rock section where Amaury ate shit and...

V-10 got four wins in a row last year and nobody said a thing.

Hey there, While phased pawls are not a new innovation for bicycle hubs (our original hubs from when we started the company in 2009 had phased pawls), the Sixtus hubs do things a little differently. The I9 Hydra (and Solix hubs) use a phasing that relies on the drive ring having an extra tooth which allows the flex from the axle to push the pawls to engage. The Sixtus hubs have and equally divisible number of teeth in the drive ring to the number of pawls. Instead of relying on axle flex to engage all the pawls, the steel ring...

How does the "breakthrough" described in the copy differ from what Industry Nine did with the Hydra?

Some of you will have seen this already, but since it pertains to the discussion at hand, I'll just plug our latest review: https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/tubeless-flat-prevention/peatys/…. So far I've been seeing good results, easy to fill sealant through and very high airflow for seating tires. The design is very similar to Fillmore, yes, although there are some subtle differences (easier to rebuild, a base that should work better with inserts). For me, this kind of valve solves my biggest headache with classic presta, which is the reduced airflow you invariably get as the sealant starts to build up inside (and the presta...

Fred, are you just running a 2x crank in front and droppin down manually when needed for those long grinds the puttin the chain back up onto the larger ring for the descents? Some guys around here (SW Colorado, lots of long steep high altitude grinds in the high country) used to do that too. No front derailleur. Just the double ring. Takes about 10 seconds to move it between rings. I don't run that setup, but I do run a 28/52 for the same reason as you and also because its a bit easier on my knees for steep...

Don't be shitty, man. Breach your shop's terms with trek and then Sspomer's just going to have to remove it anyway. You could have just said "I was in my Trek dealer and overheard they were launching two 32 inch bikes soon". THAT's a proper rumour!

Especially that guy who owns a bike company. 🙄

Raw action from Pro DH Solitude!

I need to rip the intro from these to start the podcast haha

Lawlor will be at Worlds, Whistler and Lake Placid.

Freshy B Practice for La Thuile and Andorra 🤘

Well, When Conroy’s dad helped him buy Yeti 20+ years ago, Yeti sorta became Yeti again… The late Scott/early Volant years were the only time I can recall Yeti not being as invested in bike racing as they were in Agoura Hills or Durango, but the entire mtb racing world collapsed in on itself at the turn of the millennium anyway. Yeti painted themselves into a corner with the decade they spent focused on Enduro(after shuttering their ownership of Mountain States Cup), but they opened those sample molds for pumptrack and dh bikes a few years ago and have been...

after reading of all these messing arounds with various brakes i'm happy i've chosen GR4 which have been consistent af in the last 4 months of riding

They do. They even make a cam that makes a Shimano shifter compatible with an Eagle cassette for example. You can mix and match a bunch of stuff with the cams they offer. Props to them on that front.