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If you don’t like the torrent DH, the bottle rocket and the Marin quake you might not have kids who are regularly sending their carcasses— emulating Everything they see on YouTube— I do have kids. They don’t quite send yet…. but my fellow parents that have high school aged kids that send ( like what the fuck!! These “kids” are sending seriously raw lines, maybe not heavy af but the youth are currently charging hard everywhere and always ) are always pleased to see much cheaper, and aluminum frames that aren’t going to break the demographic for these “ not...

Most geometry adjustments are flaw not a feature to some people. I have ridden enough bikes over the years that I can adjust to a few mm or a degree here or there quickly. What I want is the simplest, easiest, most reliable frame. Adding in flip chips and adjustable headset cups just adds more places for tolerance stack-up to fail and creaks (or worse) to show up. Based on the shear volume of warranty experiences I’ve had to deal with, no thanks. I’d probably pay the extra ~$400 for the Norco over a Transition to NOT have flip chips.

"Is the state of manufacturing in the US really that bad that a company, backed by the most important VC firm achieving 30 million motors per year is an achievement?" I'm not in a great position to comment on the annual global production of drone motors, but I can tell you that yes, the state of manufacturing in the US is pretty bleak. By one measure, China's manufacturing sector accounts for roughly 26% of their GDP, Japan is at 25%, Germany is 18%, but in the US that share is only 9% of GDP and continuing to trend downward annually...

But wait, there's more! They are funding a child labour startup.

Ok, but like Jeff said, they're a lifestyle brand masquerading as a tech company. You should have seen what brands like Burton and Oakley were willing splash out on dealer/industry events in the heyday.

I absolutely cannot fathom working in this space. JFC.

Oh it exists. For instance... https://vibecap.co/ Complete with purple gradient background and all.

I think some firms could rebrand themselves as Vibes Venturing firms or Private Vibing firms just in time for the vibe coding fade to start deflating.

Nik Nestoroff, $5k for a win at a local (as in tiny) Snow Valley DH race last weekend (as mentioned by @Jason_Schroeder in our latest bikes: unaffiliated)

I would much rather have him be the guy doing trackside interviews before race , during race. I think his personality lends to that type or role better than talking about what he sees on a screen. I might watch the pre race if that was the case.

Dak's in Schladming in a cabin halfway up a mountain. He said the wifi is nonexistent, but the host is working to get it resolved. We planned to chat this morning, now trying for Saturday or Monday morning. Also working around the 9 hr time difference and Dak training/testing before Leogang. Ohhh the trials and tribulations of the B Practice Podcast. Sorry for the delays, peeps!

Wyn is such a huge asset to the community doing exactly what he does. A commentary booth role would be doing him and us a disservice, he's our guy at the finish line.

Let's get this man a Starlink.

Stat of the Day - Only 1 current World Cup DH racer born in 1996 hasn't won a World Cup:

I will probably get flamed for this, and will offer the caveat that I have only been skimming this page, but I feel like these bikes are great propositions and are in my eyes cool bikes because they’re made to be cheap and practical workhorses for younger demographics that don’t have as much disposable income and want a playful park bike that they can maintain themselves. Maybe I’m just haven’t been following the thread well enough, but I don’t see why the ebike bit is necessary to explain the appeal. Not everyone can afford bougie boutique racing machines, or ebikes...

I have to admit, I do not love the side profile of some of the 32" bikes that are coming out. They end up looking like XS bikes with cramped triangles and kinked bottom/top tubes. Hopefully more progressive geo will enable these things to look like something other than a 2010-2012 era niner.

I think there's a business case to be made for lower-cost park bikes now that many peoples' primary bikes are eMTBs. Back in the day, my cohort of friends had a trail bike and a DH bike. Later, I feel like it became an enduro bike and a lighter trail bike (aka downcountry). Now, I imagine a lot of mountain bikers' pairings will either be a park bike and an eMTB, or a XC bike and an eMTB.

I've always maintained that if you had to pay for your Gopro, I don't want to see your shit.

counterpoint - $600 is easily the cost of an ER visit for many people 🤷‍♂️

surely this is the undisputed post of the year