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He was just feeling the Assegai for that race. It’s a pretty natural track that doesn’t have the top speed of many World Cup tracks so the benefits of the stability weren’t huge, so it came down to very fine points deciding which tread pattern was going to be best for the track on that day. Both tires would have been fine but there’s something to be said for almost 10 years of experience on a tire vs 1 year if the track neutralizes some of the DHX’s advantages. When I say it does everything the Assegai does that is...

So a few things: First off, I feel like any intermediate or above mountain biker could benefit from data as I do believe there's just basic performance numbers that are decent enough targets that are worth aiming for. Even just getting the front and the rear to behave in a "mostly" balanced way would benefit so many riders. Putting data on and targeting numbers can be eye opening to riders who have never ever felt what good suspension is capable of, I've slapped an old MI kit on various peoples bikes and after a run or two they are in...

Yup, at this stage I feel like Fox adds HSC & HSR just to add a couple more lines to the spec sheet - the HSC effectively does nothing and while the HSR technically works, they are extremely sensitive to assembly tolerances, and IMO is not needed because a) LSR adjusters usually have a wide range anyway and b) rebound shim stacks are probably the single easiest valving option you can give to bike companies/service centres to cover rider weights outside of the stock tune. eg 1 tune could quite serviceably cover 150-280 psi or 300-550lb (as a general example)...