Great. I was just commenting that the concentric BB pivot would be more of a barrier than the proprietary shock. I’ll give your blog post a read. It’s a interesting concept nonetheless. I love that you’re prioritizing weight. Many of us are sick of riding 30lb bikes regardless of travel.

Well suck was maybe a little harsh. I’ve never owned a bike with one, just worked on them. It’s the friction from the large seals, the service hassle, contamination potential, narrow distance between bearings. You’ve likely optimized it but it would still make more hesitant to purchase the bike than the proprietary shock.

I have three sets of Roval Carbon wheels, although not this particular model. I choose them due to the lateral compliance as I’m 67kg and find a lot of carbon wheels too stiff. I think the compliance mostly comes from the straight spokes and lack of spoke contact at crossover. J-bends are, especially DT, are very firmly secured at the hub. If you’re a bigger guy maybe go with the SC wheels but then there’s a Roval wheel with J-bends etc that are heavier but apparently stiffer than anything. These wheels are one of those things that, love or hate them, Specialized does really well.

I really like the majority of the concept apart from the BB concentric main pivot. They always suck.

I have no idea about the UCI but I totally agree regarding tear-offs. I was watching worlds with my 6 year old and she spotted a rider chucking one and asked her usual “why?” question. I didn’t really know what to say so I just said someone comes and cleans them up after (likely bullshit).

Kyle did a pretty good job here. I agree with both regarding compression damping.

2013 called, they want their geo and sizing back.

It’s a great post but I do wonder how long they’ll last for heavier guys and slack SA’s. IMO anything over 170mm should be 34.9mm and have a proprietary sized stanchion.

They weren’t cool or uncool, just crap.