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For the last 2 years of my bike shop ownership for me in Wellington, the Orbeas were my biggest selling brand by a long way.

Long time lurker, first time poster here… Have noticed that PFR no longer follow Jake Jewett on IG but do follow Vinny Armstrong, Heather Wilson, Dani Castellanos and Harry Schofield. They only follow 23 profiles and 18 of those are sponsors/media/mechanics/current team plus still following Dane and Teagan. So maybe some potential there? Side note though… Apologies for the off-topic but I feel it’s worth a mention. Ryan Griffith seems like a top sportsman. The only PFR member that I’ve seen consistently stoked for everyone in the comments on all the posts, Pivot and beyond. An asset to the sport.

I'd agree that $150k USD might be steep for Danny these days. But I reckon he's getting at least $100k after some good results this year and his name. This will be the final 'big' contract of his career. Probably a 2-year deal. Maybe $80k-100k base, with bonus opportunity. The reason I think he could possibly be 100k+ is that Danny is a well-loved character, and is a consistent finals guy. Norco is now a full-blown marketing machine and they will find ways to bring his likable personality to the fore and get eyeballs on the brand.

Giant Factory Team is official with Jewett bros and Alan Hatherly on - full PR - https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/giant-factory-road-team-ups… 2025 Giant Factory Off-Road Team Dane Jewett (Canada), DH Jakob Jewett (Canada), DH Rémi Thirion (France), DH Luke Meier-Smith (Australia), DH Dario Lillo (Switzerland), XC Alan Hatherly (South Africa), XC Jens Schuermans (Belgium), XC Carter Woods (Canada), XC

Also, someone must get to the bottom of where Norco is finding all this money in 2024 and 2025 with the bike market being in the dumpster. Greg, team manager and part-time racer has to still be commanding $200-250K+/yr. Then 6 factory-level riders. Granted the only 'big names' are Danny and Erice (Danny likely still came at a discount, maybe $175k). But still, having 6 full-time riders, Greg part-time. That's a ton of mechanics, travel expenses, etc. And their marketing budget is considerable, based on what they did last year with the videos and design. This fresh team announcement video...

Thomas Estaque officially in the Santa Cruz Goodman team.

so scott confirmed

Looks like the mother of headset tourisms

Do all you fellow nerds not listen to Making Up the Numbers podcast?? Cami Balanche to Yeti for DH Breeden’s Intense team to pick up a rider with points to stay on the WC and get EXT into the big show, releases Ryder Lawrence

Cuz it’s probably safer than downtown Vancouver lol

Benoit posting a teaser to his story

This might not mean much outside the UK but I'd love to know how Greg Minnaar came to be wandering along a street in Birmingham for the Norco clip

Looks like I'm late to the party since I've been on vacation. Brakes are definitely not easy. Between custom seals, custom tools, and some necessary knowledge that isn't widespread, good brakes take a lot. I would say they are either third or fourth most difficult thing on a bike behind the frame itself, the fork/shock, and, depending on specific design, the dropper. Some droppers are pretty simple, though. Frames are only on that list because doing a full blown production run requires tons of testing and the tooling is more complex. Brakes definitely are not something that anyone with a...

I think Mille’s off to Intense. Possibly the gearbox proto frames they had…? ETA: Forbidden didn’t qualify as a DH race team - not close to the top 20. Can’t see them funding a team next year. They’re too small.

I swear that "hack" was staged, commencal will stoop to any sort of wild shit for attention lol also, the Norco shimano batteries that were no good are made by BMZ. Mine has died a few times now. Pain in the ass.

Anne-Caro herself confirms Vergier on Commençal in "En roue libre" podcast (french)

Just leaving this one here for you guys Edit 23.12.2024 - I do not allow Pinkbike or any other outlet to use this picture. Vital Team Rumors exclusive!

Who? Never heard of Danny Norco. Jr rider? 😁