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He did, but he also has kept a somewhat open mind towards it.

Greg Minnar disagrees with you, but keep on.

Ever watched any sport ever? How they are full of people born with qualities that make them especially good at their sport? You think the top pros don’t have a better baseline than your neighbor? Sports have ALWAYS rewarded athletes who have natural predisposition for their sport. Look at the inverse, sports that favor smaller riders. Hell, talk to a 6’5” downhill rider and ask them if a 5’5” guy has an advantage…

Are smaller wheels not an equal disadvantage to taller riders right now?

These are good posts and discussions for the bikeconomics thread. This thread, is about new technology rumors and new tech. Remember, no one forces you to buy a new bike. The gear in this sport would be less interesting and not worth talking about if the prevailing notion was, "meh, we didn't develop this any further because it didn't fix the market and new riders don't care." Bikes used to be shite, but the sport was still fun. Now the sport is fun, and bikes aren't shite.

E-bikes completely changed the average persons idea and relationship with cycling. It revolutionized the industry

I see what you mean, but if that were the case, why not limit DH bikes to 160mm travel because smaller forks are cheaper and more accessible to the everyday rider? Or outlaw cleats in soccer because they give better grip? I agree that every single innovation isn't necessarily better for us mere mortals, but in the pinnacle of the sport, we should be pushing the bounds of what is possible.

The Chinese play dirty? Have we not come to the point where we realize all money guys play dirty? It’s called “being good at business,” unfortunately. I know we were taught differently but dude. Singling out The Chinese is bonkers! Ten years ago I was asked, in writing, to go on Amazon to pump up positive reviews when I was at the bike company. I couldn’t believe it but nobody around really thought it was anything untoward. Luckily my slimeball director was also a total coward so I was allowed to just laugh at the sales group who’d brought it...

"Also, apparently Bosch is going to match Avinox power levels soon" Looking forward to hearing what Hans has got to say about that. 🤣

All I wish for is Bosch to slim down their batteries so Bosch-equipped bikes looked as sharp as Avinox bikes, but kept everything else that's already great about the Bosch system. I don't need nor want more power as I already burn through batteries being a heavy rider even when using Eco mode frequently, but e-bikes with huge downtubes just look generationally outdated from a design perspective even if they are just as good if not better than Avinox-equipped bikes from a performance and tech perspective.

I cannot believe how inane the convo around 32 is. Please, people: you are saying the exact same things they said about 29.

Not to mention the Square-Cube law making it increasingly hard to maintain a competitive W/Kg. I doubt there are any endurance athletes on earth who would ask a genie to be 6” taller.

How big of a disadvantage is being taller on the air resistance front? And how much of an advantage being smaller brings here? If we're banning wheel sizes, why not also ban frame sizes?

Flame me if you’d like, but 32” wheels is one of the few things that has me excited for a new bike. There are so many amazing full suspension bikes now ,and geometry, for whatever discipline, have pretty much leveled out. As someone that rides my Singlespeed as much or more than my FS, I’m excited to build up a rigid Singlespeed 32er. My local trails are fairly mellow and as I get older I appreciate momentum and keeping a higher average pace over “shredding the gnar!”

I have a different opinion. As long as it's a bike with 2 wheels and human power output, I say anything flies. Don't level the playing field. Let it be raw. If the winning combo is sitting in between 60 inch wheels then let that be. Maybe there will be an advantage we don't know yet to shorter people vs taller people. Don't limit the equipment beyond necessary, let it all play out.

Interesting back to back testing between 29'' and 32'' wheels hard-tails on XC loop from French magazine Vojo. the result shows faster times for the 32'' wheels in every loop parts ranging from almost 2% to almost 5% in the different sections (flat, uphill and downhill). https://www.vojomag.com/notre-vtt-32-pouces-face-au-chrono-vraiment-plu…

Nobby nic ultrasoft coming?

I wonder how fast the Santa Cruz V10 would be with Aspen STs