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Vali Höll was out riding/filming with the YT Mob near LA. Getting the 2024 Santa Cruz V10.8 dialed on Secret Trail (Testing on a Legit DH Trail) 1/15/24 (youtube.com) (embedded here too)

Could be something could be nothing, brook tagging dharco in his latest post, forbidden synthesis team use dharco clothing….

The bend around the dropout looks like the new commencals to me

? Huh? Moir was on YT all last year. And he’s been riding his DH bike quite a bit through the off season.

Racing also keeps frame manufacturers up to date on the latest and greatest technology from tire, wheel, and suspension manufacturers. Technologies like Flight Attendant/ LiveWire, or new tire patterns are prototyped for years sometimes on the racing circuit before they are ready for the retail market. That's a big advantage for product managers to already have solid data on new components before other companies have even seen them in person. It doesn't make sense for companies to be doing R&D in a vacuum, when they can do it on the race track AND get exposure at the same time. If...

Yeti has been doing the same thing with Enduro racing. Essential all racing is the same, it's about brand image not direct return on investment.

I'm an old guy from Spain. Three years ago I bought and ebike "to do some exercise". There's a small bikepark/trail network near my house. Got into some e-enduro and felt in love with them gravity things, so I started following the DH WC and EWS and got obsessed with all things MTB. Last year I introduced a friend who is s trial-bike guy to the WC and he is now a fan too. Been feeding him snippets from this amazing thread about the "silly season". Yesterday, he asked me:" any news from Mondraker?" Told him "the espionage things were...

Top 5 '24 signings of all time? Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan & Dylan. Because he Schralps hot fire!

Aron Gwin said something really smart in a podcast (don't remember where) regards the marketing side of DH. From memory he said viewers/fans of DH own around 3,2 bikes, and viewers/fans of XC and road owned around 1,5 bikes each (in the ballpark,). By that it means 1 fan of DH is likely to buy more bikes from said company for each use. But the hardcore XC/road fans often has one high end/expensive bike. With that in mind maybe the long turn ROI of a WC DH team isn't as bad as it looks? And I'm sure temas don't throw...

From a pure numbers perspective (cost of running a factory team vs. sales generated from the team) I don't believe DH racing has ever made financial sense. That doesn't mean there isn't a bigger return for the company. DH racing is a halo product for an entire brand. DH racing has a huge impact on the brand image. The brand image helps sell bikes. DH racing also helps develop technology that transitions out to other types of bikes.

As many have pointed out in this discussion already, a top rider can have good results on any bike. But I would say that all other things being equal, the bike is actually what can push you over the hump towards that podium finish or even the win. Or put another way: to score a top ten finish at a World Cup, you have to be one of THE best racers in the world, and that's all on you (skill, training, mental game, etc). But within this (very) elite group of riders, can the bike make the difference between a...

Peaty did that video riding a current V10 and a 2007 V10 and was 6 seconds slower at Pleney on a 3ish minute track? Obviously hes not elite top 30 fit anymore, but it gives an indication that its less than what you'd think.

I would be much slower without my bike, that much is certain.

I love these type of topics. Okay, this is just my opinion, so please don't attack me and burn down my home like they do on Pinkbike forums. My opinion is that its 50% rider skill and 50% bike. And my reasoning for this is as follows. Remember when Sam Hill was on the Iron Horse Sunday. He was almost unstoppable on that bike. And when you gel with a certain bike, you ride better and faster. Simple as that. Remember when Sam showed up to DIRT magazine's famous 1:04 DH test track? (I'm aging myself here...) Sam showed up...

It's 95% the rider. Case in point: Jackson won World Cups his first-year Elite on the new V10, while Greg struggled all year to find a good setup. Or for you Moto fans: Chase Sexton battled with the Honda the past two years, while Jett Lawerence moved up to 450s over the summer and went 22-0. I've watched plenty of really talented riders hop on different bikes and go really fast. Shit, Dakotah beat me on a Morpheus multiple times. The sweet sauce is understanding setup, having resources (like the ability to evolve a bike to match one's style), and...

Great thought experiment. Like others have said, I think the bike and rider aren't inseparable as the feeling on the bike plays into the rider's confidence and mental game, which is at the center of race performance. If the suspension kicks weird, or the bike is too steep and nervous, its probably the out-and-out performance of the bike that is slowing the rider down, but how that feeling impacts their confidence, which in turn influences their physical approach to riding (leaning back more, not attacking, etc.). Noise is a perfect example. There is no mechanical reason chain slap should make...

Longtime NE Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a polarizing figure in American sports, but there's this quote he said that I love and can't get out of my head, "Coaches don't win games. Only the players on the field can win games. Coaches can lose games, though." That's what I think about bikes in competition. Bikes can't win races, but they can lose races. As such, my goal in setting up a bike is that it doesn't lose me the race, i.e. mechanical drag or inefficiency, mechanical failure, flat tires, inconsistent or unpredictable performance, major unpleasant tradeoffs, etc. Basically if...

Looks like he just re..............signed.