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I could see a few benefits - #1 less rigid shock mount will be able to clamp the hardware better, this has been an issue for a number of brands where the frame mount is too stiff so they get chronic bushing wear/looseness problems. Making a thinner welded part could be difficult, especially maintaining alignment so these bolted parts are probably more forgiving. #2 eliminates the "bathtub" under the shock that collects water and mud.

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.

Surely, we’ll be seeing this bike soon...

Interesting! Not sure how they got this far without picking it up, and I was going to speculate on other causes but decided against it. I've never worked on one of these And yeah having more oil on the seal doesn't help, although a failed RSU seal quickly makes a huge mess too. Ideally seals are always "leaking" a tiny bit to maintain a film on the surface, so the RSU fork should be getting at least some oil back up on the wiper. Good lubricating oil sticks to the surfaces so its not 100% relying on gravity. A proper...