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I don't even like playing the "Who has a 148 rear wheel I can borrow [with my preferred freehub interface and/or a cassette of similar size and # of speeds that's compatible with my chain]?" game. I don't think I would like the 157mm SuperBoost version of that game.

Someone on PB said the rocker link looks like a lawnmower and I cannot unsee it now...

Respectfully, it's more accurate to say " Pro tip, your super enduro will absolutely be acceptable for DH trails." No matter how good long travel single crown bikes are these days, there's still no replacement for displacement.

Yeah I think it is a selling point that nobody ever really uses. I don't think more than a handfull of people across the world will be converting their rallon from enduro rig to a DH rig for a park weekend on an even semi-regular basis. Are people really going to get the different links, shock, fork, and maybe wheels/tires just for a couple of park weekends a year? And if you're actually going to a park more often I'd say its easier to just own a decent DH bike. IDK man. I'd say it's a way bigger win for...

Just keep the dual crowns on tbf. The major thing about DH bikes isn't that they necessarily pedal bad, it's that they don't accommodate dropper posts a lot of the time. Combine a regular dh bike with the ability to run a dropper and some ever so slightly more conservative geo, then you're on to a winner. People won't care that it weighs a ton when they're riding the bike equivalent of a shire horse.

LOL. Quick 45 minute parking lot job.

We deserve a separate thread for stem and handlebar rumors

Ok here is my unified semi-conspiracy theory that explains the proto V10, Jackson Goldstone's bike weights, the mysterious lack of a Specialized Enduro, the development journey of the Demo, lagging enduro enthusiasm from bike companies in general, and even the Orbea Rallon. Manufacturers think that e-bikes are the future and are orienting themselves toward dedicating a majority of their efforts toward producing them. They have the following assumptions about e-bikes: -E-bikes have shown that the weight of the motor under the bottom bracket can actually play a positive role in how a bike handles. It drives the front tire into...

Hold on, I had it on good authority from this very forum that Santa Cruz would abandon VPP and move to Virtual Crab Point!!

On April 1st, we'll see the reverse mullet lower shock mount...

Coming soon.. Aftermarket lower shock mounts for even more or less progression than stock..

technically correct is the best kind of correct

Being 100% pedantic - it's pedal stance width, not q-factor

Are SPD's the new stem?

As a Crestline/Avinox owner I can tell you it's every bit as advertised. Downvoters don't know!

For all you forum diehards who skip the homepage, here is some insight and our thoughts on Specialized first-gen proto downhill bike that went live today - https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/piece-bigger-puzzle-testing-specializ… It was a privilege to ride this bike and, as you'd expect, it was a damn fast. I'm eager to ride the production #2chainz bike, which I'd guess is coming early next year just based on the vague answers Spesh has given when pressed about it. Fingers crossed it won't cost an organ to buy one.

I can't image Santa Cruz (and every other other high end brand) isn't developing a DJI bike right now and they will manage to make it VPP again. Crestline already did it. Ran across one of those in the wild recently and had a chat about it. His buddies were on Amflow and freaking Teewing! There's a sizable chunk of the ebike market that is DJI or bust and will try a "not real brand" just for the motor. I can't imagine SC not wanting a slice of that pie. I'd never buy an Amflow or Teewing, but I do...

I like Santa Cruz but their crustacean justification is boiled, bruh

I'm pointing it out not because a brand ought to go with VPP or Crab Link for their ebike, but because the 'Cruz explained in their podcast that VPP didn't fly with the new bosch motor, and yet - here's another brand launching a VPP ebike after the Vala (although admittedly I can't see what motor Intense is using in the photo). Besides, I vastly prefer the "PON only released the Vala as four bar to capitalize on the R&D of the close-to-launch GT ebike" conspiracy theory anyway.