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But there has been privateers that get good results and end up on a team/more supported setup in revent years. Plucky underdogs are loved. Exactly why Wyn started doing his privateer awards, to help those racing that had the race pace to keep doing the sport in the hope they get picked up. Plus, to do a WC race, don't they need to earn the points to get onto the race (countries jerseys aside)?

thats the adjusters on the X2... its mounted upside down...

No idea but he's been running those for a long time...

That is without a doubt a Hope Evo crankset w/ spider. But what does that gain them over a current Saint crankset?

So are Saints the only DH-worthy Shimano cranks out there? Pretty sure the XT can be enough! Also, other brands do great stuff as well, so the risk of failure by running one of them doesn’t increase. Anyway, you’re right - Shimano reps won’t be happy. I was just curious whether the Summum really needs an idler or not. Didn’t think for a second that choosing to run an O-chain might fuck up someone’s marketing interests.

The O-chain can feel like a very low engagement hub and can feel like you can do a "fall stroke" and go nowhere. This is why WRP has their new one. Isolates the chain from suspension in both directions with instant engagement on pedal stroke. Except being dumb expensive itll be a standard that Id happily buy. the guy knows his stuff

For workshop use it is fine. For function it is crap. I have never had a centerlock rotor firmly connected to the hub. Not even Shimano-Shimano interface! And for on-trail usability - just no. I think it was Robin Wallner who had his race ruined by a bent centerlock that would not let the wheel spin. 6-bolt could have gotten him to the techzone in a jiffy.

Oh gawd please don't. The ease of use of a hex key is unmatched. Also no worries with the centerlock not being so locked and coming loose.

The centerlock junk is just XC stuff, longer travel bikes don't really use centerlocks. On another note, I hope mechanical groups stay even in the higher end. Looking at Bird's new Aether 9 configurator, it's either X01 AXS, GX AXS or GX, there is no mechanical X01. Hopefully not a sign of things to come.

@carlinojoevideo if I was a betting man, this would be the layout to drive the shock I would bet on with a horst-link layout to define the axle path. Speaking of retro DH, I can't believe how much power nostalgia has. The Honda RN-01 is still such a magical bike, even after all these years. https://www.instagram.com/p/CgZME68Ba2v/

How come people are so interested in fullface helmet models? Its like this thread gets 50% of posts about helmets and the rest about all the other parts making up a bike.

All of you going on about aero this and aero that….and no link to this beauty https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/Transition-Bikes-Launches-t… Also, I think we can all agree, aero matters when it comes to the rider, doesn’t mean diddly when it comes to cables, and shock covers, etc. Who figured Loics shock cover was giving him aero gains? You’ve all tucked hard at a bike park to catch his up to a buddy, and went past, that’s aero positioning kids. But the tangled mess of cables, is not slowing anyone in an mtb race or ride.

Yeah, there are very very minimal aero gains to be made on the bike, the largest surface cutting through the air is the rider

Yea, "aero doesnt matter in DH" .... but riders have their pajamas custom tailored to basically turn them into skin suits...... the big teams still do wind tunnel testing.... in-too-fast-to-pedal sections fast riders get into their "speed-tuck" position. But "aero doesn't matter". No one is claiming multiple second differences with small changes, but it's pretty silly to think that it can't account for fractions of seconds over a 4+ minute track with some wide-open, very fast 60kph sections.

Wind tunnel data would be interesting to see for DH riders. Considering how tight times can be, there are definitely gains to be made on sections of tracks. I'd love to be able to gain a tenth or two here and there on a section like the Leogang motorway to negate where I lost a tenth or two somewhere else where aero isn't an advantage. We've seen a few teams working on the aero-tuck positioning and surely they're working on their kit. What else aren't they talking about? Maybe Bruni's shock cover is also saving 1 watt? The skin-suit...

i think there's already a separate thread regarding the changes of DH next year. would be nice if the discussions on the 2023 schedule would happen there and people would stick to TEAM RUMORS here! THX

Comparing aero on mountain bikes and road bikes isn't apples to apples, as was mentioned in the headset cable routing debacle of two months ago. Aero advatage on road is based on consistent speed and mostly consistent wind direction on smooth surfaces. Under about 40km/h the actual wattage gain is extremely small even for a larger tube and while they hit that speed at MSA, the trail conditions can completely negate those gains. That doesn't even take into account line or tire choice. Add in that the cover stresses and de-stresses as the suspension cycles, you wouldn't have a consistent...

It's not just the UCI or even ESO/Discovery who makes these location choices. You also will need to have race organizers willing to shell out the money, time, and resources to organize a World Cup event and a national federation willing to lobby heavily for the event to happen. Local government support (all the way up to the state/province level) will be crucial too.

Holding snowshoe during the school year is going to impact attendance at such a remote event.

Shame so many DH and Enduro events on at the same time for those that try to do both.