All

Honest question for knowledgeable people in the forum: are these standards any different than what Trek was already offering on their ebikes? Have they downgraded the speed, power, or throttle access of their ebikes, or are they just committing to not upgrade the speed, power, or throttle access?

PR in from Trek about e-bike standards Trek calls on bike industry to adopt voluntary e-bike speed standards [WATERLOO, WI] – Trek Bicycle today announced its new voluntary electric bike speed standards in the United States. These self-imposed standards are designed to help protect trail access, improve safety, and preserve places to ride for future generations. The company is inviting other bike manufacturers to adopt similar self-imposed standards. All Trek electric mountain bikes sold in the United States will be Class 1 and will: • Have a 20mph maximum pedal-assist speed • Will not have a throttle All Trek electric...

Not sure if this was discussed previously, but it looks like the XD Slim driver allows you to run a 157mm hub (and get the benefits of wider flanges) on a 148mm frame... https://www.oneupcomponents.com/products/rear-hub-157x12 Another nail in the coffin for 157mm rear ends.

Oooooh I love word puzzles

All i can confirm here is that it does not look like someone took a chainsaw to it, but they have not taken a spartan approch to the design. I think it's going to create a big bang when it drops.

Rudeau is a two-time world champ in trials.

The US Nationals are this weekend at Big Bear Lake in the 4th race of the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series. Qualifying is Friday, July 24, and Finals for the Pro category are on Saturday. No live stream, as far as I know, but live timing will be available ( https://www.prodownhillseries.com/timing). I'm not sure when registration closes, but some World Cup racers are currently registered: Aletha Ostgaard, Frida Ronning, Aaron Gwin, Luca Shaw, Dylan Maples, Ryan Pinkerton, and Richie Rude among others. Defending US Champs are Kailey Skelton and Ryan Pinkerton.

Not rumor or top secret tech (or is it?!), but all this SS talk got me excited... Fellow Luddites rejoice. $5 in hardware and proper reuse of a destroyed derailleur: Keeping it about tech, though, this little contraption really made me want to try the Lal Supre Drive. I hope the Supre Drive or similar concept shows back up in the future.

Dead shifter pod class. Lame AF IMO. Make SS hardtails again.

66 degrees looks conceivable.

I don't recall seeing info on the Blur 5 here yet, but I think both Tobin Ortenblad and Ruth Holcomb were on it at the BCBR.

Can we please not turn this into a d*ck-measuring contest regarding who rides which steep thing w/ which gearing?

I don't think anyone who understands the basics of gearboxes or derailleurs expects them to be a good fit for XC bikes in the foreseeable future.

There is a carbon version of the Unno Ever DH Prototype in the works, it comes later in the season that is being mentioned in the GMBN Tech video,

My impression has been that most posters in this thread agree that GB with chain or belt have a justifiable place in gravity bikes. It's their use in XC and trail bikes that get pedaled a lot that is still a point of contention. Also, I'm not sure if this is common knowledge here, but a new discovery for me was that eCVTs with dual motors provide infinite gear ratios using just a single planetary gear stage with no belts or chains internally, which can bump up the efficiency over older belt or chain-driven CVTs substantially - probably something like...

I used to run that setup 22/32T but then realised I didn't need the 32T over here in the Alps. I also came across a narrow wide 22T direct mount sram chainring on Aliexpress so now just run that. When I go ride somewhere flatter I put on a bigger chainring.

Fred, are you just running a 2x crank in front and droppin down manually when needed for those long grinds the puttin the chain back up onto the larger ring for the descents? Some guys around here (SW Colorado, lots of long steep high altitude grinds in the high country) used to do that too. No front derailleur. Just the double ring. Takes about 10 seconds to move it between rings. I don't run that setup, but I do run a 28/52 for the same reason as you and also because its a bit easier on my knees for steep...