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I think the thing that really killed off Pole was their bikes are really ugly, if you are in business to sell things its best to give the consumer what they want. If I'm going to spend that much money on a boutique and unique bike it can't look like someones science project from the 90s. Kona is sad to see. It seemed they had a lack of capital that lead to a lack of reinvestment in design and updates after the push to develop the Process line. I would argue the Process 111 is one of the most influential...

This is exactly the mess WC DH and WC racing in genera doesn't need. With having GCN as the one stop shop platform last year, I was happy with the coverage and access. But this different region, different provider stuff is a nightmare for DH. Exactly how to kill viewership. The left over people from ESO need to push for an F1.com style service where you can access live coverage, highlights, BTS and stats etc... all in one place.

$1M/yr NZD is the equivalent of £475k GBP/yr. I've got a close friend who puts on similar scale music festivals and that wouldn't even cover infrastructure, policing costs (road closure/diversion costs), staff costs etc.

" on first blush it may appear to have peers, but don't get it twisted, the reincarnated ASR is a lot like nothing else" Who writes drivel this bad? Whilst I don't blame you guys for ctrl C,ctrl V'ing the whole lot a bit of editing would'nt have gone amiss.

have heard "bernard is fine," so hopefully that's the case. i'm really surprised brands running protos in a race environment don't have a statement ready for social media before making bikes visible on the race track. "this was a prototype, we're pushing the edge of technology and racing. our athletes are putting them through extreme paces and sometimes the rider out-performs the prototype. we all know the risks involved with such daring endeavors. we're making sure our athlete has all the care they need after this incident. we'll research the cause of the failure and make our next one better."...

I couldn't own a Kavenz for this reason, the raised chainstay and double axle pivots make it look like a dog squeezing one out.

I think looks are always going to matter but for me it comes down to the silhouette, the lines and the balance of tube thicknesses more than the industrial design details. Brands like Unno and Scott are doing a really good job on surfacing and design detailing but I don’t think that necessarily makes them better looking than a raaw or a commencal. Going against everything i said above the bike that I always remember lusting after was the Blenkinsop era Lapierree dh team. That thing looked amazing in the polished and raw carbon finish with all the gold hardware...