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I should have been a bit more clear- I think the new stumpy that’s coming out is going to be fine if it has a yoke. The new shocks are tougher too- all brands. Older designs (bikes and shocks) are more fragile for sure. Monarchs were/are super fragile and had a high warranty rate. I think that is fairly well known. Keep complaining- some companies read this stuff!

Beacuse....

Meh... This is gonna go off the rails again, isn't it? Dang it. Gonna have to rip down my days since calendar:

mechanical transmission is coming, next spring.

I came to the realization this morning watching FiveTen’s IG clips that Brett Tippie should be in the booth with his energy and love for the sport.

so there's a video that's not mine to post, but it has been guinea-pigged. not sure when that stuff will hit the airwaves (has it already? i haven't looked at insta in a while). the rider OJ'd a tiny bit and rode out easily, but the jump seems to work fine. as most here have said however, it's probably not about the jump not working...it's the what-ifs of something going wrong on the way to the jump. a bernard headtube dismemberment on the g-out at the bottom of the ramp? tire going flat? pedal slip? random shit happens and nothing...

How are brands so far off on what is needed for compression and rebound damping with all the development time and money behind these products?

Would y'all want to see a 15-minute VitalMTB video with back-to-back testing on a section of brutal rocky chunder with different pedal kickback theories to see if the Ochain really works as advertised?

Vorsprung has a pretty good video on the pedal kickback in general. Essentially, it isn‘t only the chain „growth“ which is only relevant when the freehub is engaged. But actually the chain flapping around (quite a lot of mass) creates some „pulling“ on the chainring as well, in both directiony. https://youtu.be/grNUgu0H9YA?si=O1BThIcf7w61bBdR

What advantage is there to wetting the fork in a certain travel range?

I hate how the hot seat is in some ivory tower now. The redbull days had that dialed, a seat right at the bottom where the riders could salute each other. The racing is on too late for me these days, I'm tired and wear an onion on my belt. I watch the replay on Tiz the next morning and don't look at my phone so no spoilers.

The coverage is only part of the issues with UCI/WBD Enduro is being sidelined, geographic spread of events is shocking, rider numbers are being cut, privateers being priced out of racing, etc.. I'm in Scotland and ESO bought out our national series then canned it without explanation, and have ignored any questions about it. The Tweed Valley EWS round had a five year contract in place with landowners and they canned that after two years. They also screwed local riders by halting a major trail development to run the XC World Champs on the site, then bulldozed what they'd built...

Neko is the people's champion.

Tyler Waite

Thanks for the reminder of how much I hate the UCI.

EDR is on the press conference vibe this year as well. Pretty sweet.

Good perspective from MW for sure. A testament to his time in the business. I'm confident Neko's race team can get what they need. It's for Anxo and new mechanic, Josiah, that fingers are pulling at my heart strings. Pro tools are damn near expensive and often, oddly personal. And, their salaries are typically well, not to be envied. Neko and his crew has done more for grassroots racing than anyone in the US, possible world, no hyperbole. If they feel comfortable setting up a GFM for the mechanics or other staff, I'm all im. The most common response to...

You can blame the patent system for that. Specialized bought the Horst Link in the US, called it FSR and locked down tight for years. Nothing they actually did themselves but have a canny ability to spend money well. Shame they weren’t so wise ordering bikes.

I’d love to know if Acros is paying companies to run they’re plastic crap headsets

any info on the bar/stem Greg is running?