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This was clearly the goal when they changed up the qualification and finals system. To be in it all season, you have to be consistently at the sharp end or go gather points at national, continental and any other feeder race series. Its harsh, but that's elite competition for ya.

Who had Minnaar for world champ in 21?

Love that Forbiddens latest email pays true homage to the Crab link: "Still wondering what the f**** we’re on about with all the crab stuff? A theory exists called Carcinisation wherein all non-crab crustaceans evolve a crab-like body plan. A very clever Vital MTB user noticed how many mountain bikes brands had evolved towards the same form and linkage lay out. He declared that this new evolution of bike layouts be named the crab link. And many pages of crab jokes followed. It’s an obscure and very inside joke. But hey, now you’re in on it too." Trend setters we...

seat twob?

"Designed to push the limits of what's possible on the roughest terrain..." Spec'd with EXO casings 🙃

No one needs any of these bikes, but if they make riding more interesting or fun I'm all for it. The Checkout isn't for me (at least right now) but for folks who are doing really long bikepacking trips/races it's probably awesome. It's noteworthy to me that a lot of the objections being posted mirror those from when suspension was first introduced to MTBs...

Gravel bikes has become too wide of a category of bikes, what we need is subcategories! The downgravel, the enduravel, the graero...

I don't see a need for rear suspension on a gravel bike. At that point just get a mtn bike. I like my gravel bike for quick rides on mellow terrain or mixed terrain. It a different kind of work out more like road bike as far as cadence than a mtn bike.

I remember hearing teams just show they changed something small every so often so the 12 months always gets pushed out. This is alot easier to do with mtb as they can show they changed kinematics via linkages and pivots. Road bikes would mean a whole new carbon mold.

There is a podcast on Escape Collective with the designers, they discussed it. The integrated shock doesn't work on a road type frame with a high top tube and big angle between the seat stays and top tube, the TT and shock need to be relatively parallel to the seat stays. So the integrated shock design works on a low standover MTB, not on a gravel frame.

Yo, also on the trail crew. Not really down to get into the mud with all of the environmental permitting stuff which is really above my dirt-shaping pay grade, but misinformation about the crew test riding our own course build is where I draw the line. We rode it last week on trail bikes and will be riding more this week. T>B

I mean, I'll go on record and say I much prefer wireless shifting and have been extremely happy with my Gx Transmission drivetrains. That being said, I really don't give a flying monkey's banana on what people run, and I really wish people would stop being so damn angry that wireless shifting exists. I think people miss just how easy it is to swap wireless drivetrains around when you do have issues. When my Gx T-type did die, it was a quick 5 min job to swap to another one off another one of my bikes and keep going, and...

Disagree. I do less maintenance on my electronic stuff than I ever did on mechanical. The stuff that does get maintained is present in both flavors (i.e. jockey wheel bearings). The time I spend annually removing batteries to put them on chargers & replacing them is measured in single digit minutes. I'm not saying that everyone SHOULD go wireless, I'm just saying the anti-battery crowd makes wireless systems out to be some overly complex thing when in reality they're not.

If you're risking your life at 10-12 downhill races per year, you get to celebrate any way you choose. That's it. I get it, it's a forum, but anyone trying to police finish line behavior really is, "an old cunt". Even if you're young. We are living in the golden age of gravity. Peak bikes, peak coverage (ok, arguable, but drones are way fun), and peak riding. And most importantly: peak riders. Between Zanna and Jackson there's a ton of great stories, attitudes, riding styles, and results. I loved Aaron winning everything for those 5 or so years, but as...

Would love to see Rach roll up , kick the doors down and walk away with 100k. That would be the MTB story of the year.

Shout out to Tom Pidcock. He’s going to podium at the Vuelta baring anything crazy tomorrow. He’s been an absolute dog all race, never once conceding. .

Just a buncha butthurt Yankees in here. Finding it hard to celebrate a young Canuck on top of the game. The irony is that if Jackson were American, those same butt hurt yanks would be being obnoxiously chanting ooo-rah USA! USA! with hand guns blasting in the air

@ron_goldstone, congratulations for raising an upstanding young man who is behaving in a manner that I find very impressive for someone his age and with the amount of attention and pressure he lives with. Jackson is a fantastic ambassador for the sport and true professional. He is also incredibly fast and his racecraft is phenomenal. His POV track previews are my favorite. The future of DH is bright with the latest generation to step onto the podium. This season ain't over yet! So far it has been fantastic to see so many contenders for the win. The field is stacked...

^^ he had thumb surgery a month or so ago