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Maybe they're doing lights?

"We know our e-bike customers don't care or even know what VPP is so here's a bike that says SANTA CRUZ on it." (Am I too cynical?)

They bought EVERYTHING they were offered post-covid and had no one to sell it to the past 2 years, didn't they?

The Pro’s Closet Announces Closure After 18 Incredible Years Louisville, CO – 9/26/24 – After 18 remarkable years of serving the cycling community, The Pro’s Closet (TPC) will close its doors in October. Since our founding, we’ve had the privilege of helping over 160,000 customers find their perfect ride and have sold more than 46,000 bikes. It’s been a hell of a ride, and we couldn’t be more thankful to the customers, employees, and vendors who made this journey possible. "This has been an extraordinary chapter in the world of cycling, and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has been...

Hmm, not sure why you assume I’m “not running proper equipment.” My bike is built for riding in legit terrain where shit can go sideways. Thankfully, it rarely ever does - exactly because I “run proper equipment” - but if/when shit does happen I want at least a fighting chance of riding my bike out of the woods. I’ll take the minimal weight penalty of some bits and pieces rather than hiking out.

Every single ride I have an extra liter of water in the frame storage. (using trail running water bottles/bladders from Amazon) I’d rather have that weight at the absolute lowest part of my bike than my back or hip. Being able to do a 3,000ft ride with no pack is so freeing I will not consider a bike without storage anymore. You should try it sometime.

Other than a multi tool, I've not used anything else in the last 5 years on trail and ive ridden All over Alexandra, Queenstown, wanaka, nelson and other places throughout new zealand DD tyres at min, proper Rims/hubs with proper Pressures. No pissing about with EXO/+ etc Id rather have that extra weight as tyres etc than tools and crap inside my frame that now cost extra to make because theres a damn big hole in it. I've always lived by the saying "if you think about what could happen, it probably will" How much does ' (tube, tools, pump...

I have a bike with frame storage, and basically all I use it for is carrying a windbreaker in the fall/spring. Whenever I've stashed tube, tools, etc. in there it makes a horrendous racket unless I spend a silly amount of time trying to fill up the storage pouches to the brim with padding around anything hard kept in them. 99% of my rides I don't need to carry a tube or pump, and the rides I should carry them are long backcountry rides so they can go into my pack which I'll be carrying then anyways.

The times I’ve tried strapping a tube on my frame, the strap has worn a hole into the tube after a few months of use rendering it useless. I’m happy to have a oneup pump/tool and a tube in my Enduro. It’s kinda like having the spare tire and jack in the trunk of your car. 99% of the time you forget it’s even there, but you’re grateful when it gets you home.

He raced against them last year at the US open

Escape Collective reporting that The Pro's Closet appears to be up shit creek without a paddle: "TPC has paused acquisition of any new bikes and also stopped booking service appointments at its shop. The company reportedly went through a deep round of layoffs late last week, with remaining staff told the business could close as soon as October 2. Two former employees told Escape Collective that The Pro’s Closet is in dire financial shape and at imminent risk of going out of business." https://escapecollective.com/the-pros-closet-may-be-in-deep-trouble/ My personal opinion is that TPC tried to grow way beyond their original niche and it...

Fair point. This goes to illustrated one of the big problems when you have private equity involved - short time horizons type of strategy can often trump long term sustainability. Any investor really concerned about long term value creation wouldn't care about any one particular quarter as much as they'd care about the overall health of the company and the company's ability to drive durable profits well into the future. Many private equity firms are more interested in telling a growth story and selling the company (which they have to do within their investment time horizon) at an "attractive multiple"...

Tricky topic. I've long felt one of the few people willing to put their money where their mouth with respect to sustainability is Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. He's the only "CEO types" who has gone on record multiple times telling his customers to not buy something new and instead fix/use/wear out whatever they have; he seems to genuinely want to put the idea of sustainability over that of the bottom line. Who can forget the company's Black Friday ad when they addressed consumerism head on with their "Don't Buy This Jacket - ad". (I know, it still sold...

Right now the market fell out of mid and low end sales post covid. Top of the line stuff is probably chugging along just fine, as the target market is relatively recession immune, so we're going to see the eggs go into that basket for a while.

Personally as someone who is tired of seeing pastel painted bikes, Kashima or Black stanchions, I welcome something that makes me think of the era of mountain bikes when bikes had sick paint jobs from the factory, 27.5 was new, 1X was becoming a thing. Enduro was new as well. I dig em. Probably still better than X Fusion.

Looks like BOS Suspension is back on track with its MTB range: https://www.vojomag.com/news/bos-suspension-revient-avec-une-nouvelle-g… -> Idylle DH fork / Idylle SC (now named Kyll) (39mm stachions anyone?) / Deville + a DJ fork (the USD Obsys should be back too -oh word I'm hoping for a SC version) -> Void / Syors / Stoy shocks as well -> aaaannd surprise surprise, a 2 or 4-pot braking system is in the works (using shimano pads)

Thanks guys. Figured I’d post a couple pics of the bike. It’s a YT Capra Core 2. Got the Renthal flat pedals 😎

There is not much space for sustainability/environmentalism in a high consumption sport like mountain biking. As far as equipment goes, the most sustainable thing you can do is buy a bike that will last you more than a season or two, and avoid driving a lifted Tacoma to the trailhead.

Racing what though? I'm about as die hard an Enduro fan as they come, and even I didn't know some races were happening some weekend this year. There is no (good) coverage outside of some top pros putting in good YouTube content. And there is definitely no space left to join DH...

i swear whenever a woman DH rider is up for a new contract, Pivot is the default rumor