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That's the one! Still available for sale if anyone's looking to cement their position as the most prepared buddy in their riding group:

Yeah, Berd spokes seem ideal for backcountry repairs, due to the ease of carrying spares. Back in the day there was actually a company that made fiber spokes specifically for temporary use, to get you home if your steel spoke failed. I'm forgetting the exact name...Fiberfix, or something like that. At that time, they didn't consider the fiber tech to be sufficiently durable for permanent usage, hence the temporary repair angle.

Friend of mine has been beating the crap out of them ever since they were available. A lot tougher than I expected. The argument that it would be hard to source one on a trip is kind of silly. You can literally just put a couple in your pocket…

I mean a stick getting stuck in a wheel will also easily take out a metal spoke. Ive also gone on to do plenty of riding after breaking a spoke or 2

Respectfully, I disagree with your characterization of the Base brake's lever feel. I don't think there has ever been a brake in the history of the universe with a more on/off lever feel than the Maven Ultimate, and the thing I like most about the Base is that it keeps 90% of the power but makes the lever feel mushier in a good way. Lots more room to fine tune brake power using your finger on the Base, whereas the window to do that with the Ultimate feels like it occurs in roughly 0.04mm of lever movement.

My Specialized contact says no new Epic any time soon. And why would they. It's widely considered to be the benchmark of its class.

If only that sweet purple paint job wasn't an extra $1000

Agreed with the first part but what's the beef with Transition?

Mo awesome hiding something from transition. Has a 34sl and the cable insertion is not the same as the current spur

Tim at Esker here. You are correct sir, it's not us. The only thing I can say is that every guess in this whole thread is flat out wrong.

An updated SID ultimate chassis that goes up to 130mm and is charger 3.1 damper compatible

I'm locking this thread for a day or two. Not trying to be rude, I'd actually love to jump in myself, but we've gone way off the rails. None of this ties back to the bike or outdoor industry directly. If you want to continue the AI discussion, please start a new thread, take it to X/Twitter, or head over to LinkedIn. Those platforms are built for this kind of speculation (and overflowing with this sort of banter). I want to keep this space focused on industry-specific topics. Nothing personal,I genuinely enjoy these conversations, this is just a "thread hygiene"...

I don't think 4.23mm chainstays are possible..

Would love to hear some thoughts on limited edition releases / drops to keep full price (or above) sales going. We've got $20k Levos, green 38s, silver Transmission, retro Yetis, etc, etc.