All

I am going to be completely transparent here in that I work for FSA, but I will say I worked really hard on making the 31.8 40mm Gradient alloy bar one of the most compliant on the market. and here is the proof: (chart from PB article)

I've had great luck with the Specialized Cannibal. I know running Specialized tires isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the slightly stiffer carcass means you can drop a psi or two and help with some of the sensation you're talking about (along with a grippy compound). They work great for the summer dirt surfing here in Colorado. Not to mention they're a few dollars cheaper, which never hurts.

Damn I consider the Assegai as ann all-lean angles mega gripper, have you ridden a DHF?

I agree. I think the norm is that reach should tend to be the same or shorter on a DH vs. single crown bike, but wheelbase should absolutely be longer. The only way your wheelbase wouldn't be on a DH bike is if you already have a trail bike with DH geometry (i.e. longer chainstays and super slack head angle). I suspect that's not the case, because Stumpjumpers aren't known for having super long chainstays, and V10's are. But even if your new DH bike has a similar wheelbase to your trail bike, you'll still notice plenty of benefits on...

Your progressive and regressive zones are backwards. In general, and I mean very general because millimeters can have large effects on the outcome, link-shock angle 90 degrees or more produce a rising progressive rate, and any portion less than 90 degrees will produce a regressive rate. So just eyeballing that image and assuming 40mm stroke, the kinematic would be regressive all the way through. Orbea OIZ for example:

this count?

I used offset bushings "reversed" when I had a GG that I mulleted to help preserve the geo, and had no issues with them flipping themselves. It's just something to keep an eye on. I only did 1 offset bushing in the front shock mount. My reasoning was that the front shock mount doesn't see really any rotation, but the rear does. If you ran a reversed offset in the rear, that one would definitely tend to flip itself, given how the link rotates around the rear of the shock.

Well just wanted to share some results on some tire durometer measurements that I have collected of some of the more popular tires in my collection. Method: All tires were measured while sitting on a flat plate of steel to provide equal and consistent backing support. Nothing was measured mounted. I measured the Maxxis brand new out of the box and again after this weekend's Boondocks race at NorthStar, no change was detectable in the results, so I just added the miles that I was at after measuring yesterday. All measurements were an average of 3. The hysteresis of the...

With Mavens, the black pad spacer that comes with them is designed to work as a centralizer with the pads in. Pads in, thin side of the spacer between them, and there are 2 wings that extend out into the notch in the caliper. Another reason not to skip on the piston massage (using this piece) after a bleed, it gets the pistons advanced nice & even.