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I’m dying of thirst over here

I’ve been mountain biking since I was a teenager in the 90s and the marketing material has never been as sober as it is right now and the products have literally never been higher quality. Thirty years ago you’d drop a huge stack of cash on 1.9” tires made out of QC-rejected pencil erasers and hay, they’d be hard as coffin nails and look leprous after three rides (several flats per ride), and the marketing material would be all like “God himself couldn’t make rubber stickier; this rubber is so sticky it’s gray; you can ride on the damn wall”...

I know I'm repeating common talking points that have been said over and over for years. But every so often it hits me, as I don't really follow regular mtb pricing too much anymore. But when I saw the tallboy release the other day, and it is a beautiful bike, all I could think was "How could anyone consider the entry level spec for 6k when a similar spec Amflow PR for 4,5k exists?" Apples and oranges, I'm not saying the ebike will be better for everything, but from a simple "add up all the parts on those frames and...

Stop talking about Ford, with enough mentions the Ford sales team will find this thread and think we want more of the abominations. https://ford-bikes.com/collections/frontpage?srsltid=AfmBOopli28vcdxT2i…

Take it easy buddy. I’m not trying to derail the entire conversation but also think it’s allowed to have an aside now and again. There’s plenty of off topic quips that go on in this thread.

I can comment on these setups. I have posted on vital MTB a little before and felt there was a closed mindedness to this kind of a-typical stuff... That seems to be changing in MTB circles. I am not here to change any minds. I have my own opinions, coming from the moto side of things and the trends in MTB just do not feel right in terms of front wheel grip and rider / body position. I post regularly on VitalMX and have been a motocross racer for most of my life at the amateur / expert level. June...

Surely not every bike fits everyone, but I do think people freak out over mere millemeters when the fact is - you can get used to just about anything. Its just fucking bikes. I've got an XL GT Fury with 515 reach & 70mm bars: best DH bike I've ever had in 20+ years... a 2019 YT capra with 480 reach and 50mm bars: super fun, still going strong. A size L 2023 Marin Alpine with 490 reach and 35mm...no 50mm... no 80mm bars. Super fun. I move around on these bikes, jump them all mercilessly and continue to get...

I stocked my home workshop with a lifetime supply of cables, crimps and ferrules plus hose, olives, banjos and barbs for multiple brands for less than I paid for my last 'Shimano' replacement line and banjo from my LBS, took about 10 days to arrive. Wouldn't even need to be that responsible to make it work, just slightly more responsible than average.

Your mismatched grips are triggering me.

PB to scroll, Vital to read

Cartert Bilawchuck is a 16-year old who made his own bike, it ended up looking incredibly polished - and rad ( it was a lock for Vital BOD of course too)! This deep dive edit is full of insights into the trials and tribulations behind pulling off such a project, I figure it should be of interest to the followers of this thread:

Technologically, that's comment carcinization happening in front of your eyes. Evolution is a biatch.

This looks suspiciously like a mullet setup!?!

Too bad Levy is no longer there to inspect the new alien data from their server.

Speaking of pinkbike, it's been down all morning ON THE SAME morning as the Department of War starts releasing classified docs on aliens?? Coincidence??

I know there’s a difference because it’s harder to control with bikes, but why is it such a big deal here when people unlock their hardware? I can drive a car faster than the speed limit, too. It’s the driver’s responsibility to follow the rules. If they don’t, there are penalties—or they lose their insurance coverage. It’s true, though, that we as humanity are apparently generally unable to exercise restraint at the moment. I think it’s illusory to believe that anyone will regulate themselves. As a personal experience: I still think my Unno with M1 is great. I don’t need...

Thank you all for the interest in our bikes and in our distribution / sales model. To give you a bit of context, we’re currently a team of 9 people at RAAW, based in Germany, and we ship worldwide directly from here. The US has actually grown into our biggest market after Germany, which is pretty wild considering that every RAAW in the US has been shipped individually from Germany. Our goal is, of course, to make the ordering process and ownership experience as easy as possible. Having stock in the US would be ideal, but that comes with a...

Any chance we can take this ebike power rules chat to a new thread? A few pages ago it was fascinating reading about Alta's struggle and DJI's structure vs old school German power.

Oof. I saw a gang of like 12 middle schoolers on Surrons just as I was leaving a trail system here in Nashville last weekend. Only 2 of the 12 had full face helmets. I have been saying to anyone who would listen that the bike industry should push back on companies like Surron referring to their products as e-bikes. Even things like Super73s are treading too close to the moped/e-Moto line for me. But alas, here we are and the waters may be irrevocably muddied now. Most states - or at least the ones I’ve lived in - have...

I'm a fan of most of these policies. My only disagreement is over the mandatory online training courses, because mandatory online training courses have never taught anyone anything in the history of the world. But the rest of the rules make a lot of sense. This e-bike/motorcycle/scooter/vespa space has been the absolute wild west, and has been steadily marching toward regulatory oversight for a while. It will be interesting to see how these regulations continue to play out. For instance, New Jersey's recent e-bike regulations to the effect that "everything with a battery needs to be licensed and insured like...