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rogue new title sponsor who doesn't want a certain problematic frenchy on the team --> frenchy to privateer again?

live from Maribor… Vali is in an non-brandet Commencal with all her RS FA stuff

Their enduro team was done last year but they graciously kept me on board for this year with my contract having another year on it. Sounds obvious of course, but the bike industry isn't always so giving. The DH team took me in and I had a blast all year long, which was the main reason for doing DH at the end of the year. I just wanted to hang out with the team some more, and who wouldn't take the chance to race World Cup DH while they can. As for next year, stay tuned.

(Quick tangent: so is enduro actually being killed off at like... The UCI level? Right when they FINALLY invest time and energy into covering it, like we've been asking for all this time...)

Speaking of Canyon, is their enduro program done? Jesse Melamed was a team of one this year and racing a DH bike for fun at the end of the season. Anyone know what Jesse is doing in 2026?

Wherever the relationship is now (seems healthy enough) its undeniable it wasnt at least a little bit dodgy. Adult team manager getting romantically involved with team member he signed when she was underage. I think it being called out somewhat isn't necessarily a bad thing so that sort of shit doesn't become normalised.

He does, but he also talks a lot of shit, and is famously a massive nit-picker at race venues and complains a lot. So what goes around comes around really. People in scene aren't vindictive, but you can only tolerate a whinging pom so much, ya know? Still waiting for the Hardline BC announcement to come, wonder when that will be and what teams will be going

ya, strange one if true. PFR should have been rebranded BK Lifestyle Racing a long time ago, as it seems the primary reason Bernard runs that team is to fund his own preferred lifestyle. A guy who's so close to consistent top 10s like Maples needs better I feel.

That is one sick bike! Do you find there to be a pretty notable difference between the rocker links? Obviously the gearbox makes a pretty big change in ride feel so might be harder to tease out the leverage rate changes in isolation. I really do think that for bigger travel bikes like this, the gearbox is a game changer. It definitely adds to the stability of the bike, while still be able to climb, and removing the derailleur off the back for suspension performance and bike park durability are all huge wins in my book.

Me too! Love the dual crown setup on mine. My original V5 set up for park 180r/200f, dropper post, 10-42t 11sp. This year I got the G2 so my V5 went back to 160r/160f. High leverage link bumped it to 200r/200f. Ran the +10 and +20mm dropouts and really enjoyed the longer rear end. 9sp SmartShift Pinion, super quiet and planted like my e-bike. This bike eats. My buddy runs a Crestline setup similarly.

Wow, amazing looking bike!

Love seeing all the dual crown enduro rigs. This is a great thread. Here is Kavenz VHP18 that I have since sold under the guise of “it’s too much bike for everyday riding”. And well that is certainly true in some aspect because it made every trail notable easier to ride, it is without a doubt my favourite bike to date. I miss it more often than not, and I will likely be bringing it back to life in some form with my current Kavenz VHPG gearbox frame. It handled everything from bike park laps here in BC to 1000m...

That was impressive. I was surprised he wasn’t on a Slayer

Yes I'm tootin' my horn here but the winning Rampage bike would fit right in here. That's a regular Altitude frame with a few low key mods that anyone can do.

there are plenty of companies making hubs that are convertible between 15 and 20mm - king, hadley, i9, DT are a couple off the top of my head.

I’m gonna disagree. First off. No one is watching WC downhill that isn’t a huge fan of Mtbs already. Making the broadcast 30-60 minutes isn’t gonna change that. It’s hard to even find the broadcast if you are looking for it. No one is stumbling across it. So let’s not pretend making it shorter will bring in more fans. If you want it to be shorter watch it for time delay and fast forward. Second, you guys kinda mentioned it on the last podcast, but there should be less emphasis on qualies, not more. I feel like there is currently...

There is no continental series. They simply ask favors and string together a calendar from events that went thru the effort and cost to be uci events. Maybe that will change going forward but it does not seem to be their prerogative. also. More runs filmed and presented well is much better than full runs from both an entertainment and sporting perspective.

I do think this is team rumors for now, as what does this mean for Jr's as far as contracts going forward? Does it affect this season at all? Did the teams know of this change before possibly signing young guns that won't get coverage? Also, the Jr's have been hot the last many seasons, kind of being a highlight really in some of the rivalries. Where will that hype go? Will we end up with a Redbull or Monster Jr series?

I counted a dozen juniors on that list that have been signed and are still racing world cups